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CHAPTER FIFTY-SIX

NED

"Come on, come on" they teased. "Show us the gold..."

Scarlett's ears tipped back in shy embarrassment, but her muzzle opened in a crack of a smile too, as she held out her paw. The intricate diamond sparkled in the brightness of the party lights.

Everyone laughed and tails wagged and Montoya pounded Nolan on the back. "You're getting hitched!" the jaguar teased, and like Scarlett, Nolan looked kinda shy about it, but he couldn't hide the grin that was just bursting out from his lupine muzzle, and he did not protest when Diego and Montoya and Milo all gave enthusiastic congratulatory hugs.

Ned had to wait for the other detectives to finish with hugging Scarlett before he could get close to her. Of course she'd revealed her secret to him earlier, in private, but the others' enthusiasm was catching. "Congrats again, Detective Lewis."

The coyote beamed. "I can't believe it, Ned. I'm getting married!" She squealed and jumped up and down like a pre-teen at a pop star concert, tail going crazy. "If I think about it too much, I'll die. It's too much."

She was grinning so wide it seemed her muzzle would split apart. "It's looking up" Ned felt a paw on his shoulder, and turned to take the glass of wine Garrett offered him.

A second glass went to Scarlett, and then Garrett abruptly leapt up onto one of the bar tables, tapping his glass. "A toast" he hollered, tail beating a steady rhythm. "A toast to the two newest Homicide Detectives in San Fernando!" He thrust a paw out towards Ned and Scarlett like an artist showcasing his newest masterpiece.

"Yes, a toast to the two cops who brought down the man who may become the most notorious serial killer in the history of our city." Ned was surprised and pleased to see that Lennox was the speaker. "Without their diligence and commitment, the city would not be as safe as it is today. Thank you, detectives."

Ned and Scarlett glanced at the badges on their breasts, at each other, and smiled.

"To Ned and Scarlett!" Diego held up his glass.

"To Ned and Scarlett" chorused the other party guests, one by one, and for a moment nothing could be heard but the clinking of glasses and bottles upon one another and the slurping of tongues lapping wine and beer and mixed drinks.

A lot of the officers and family members patted the two new detectives on the back or shook their paws, but Garrett hadn't finished. "I'd also like to raise a toast to Detectives Goodwolf and Lewis, who are now - fiancées!"

Once again the entire party assemblage seemed to cheer as one, glass clinked against glass, and Ned barked "To Scarlett and Nolan." All eyes were on the couple as every voice repeated the toast, bringing glasses to muzzles again. Scarlett and Nolan looked at each other, seemed to shrug, and then kissed.

The roar of approval from the gathering was such that Ned had to flatten his ears from the sound, but he was too happy to care.

A short while later found the wolf with his arm around Garrett's shoulder, the evening an unending flow of conversation and cheer. Of course everyone wanted to hear the story of his takedown of Maxwell repeated again and again - but on that subject Ned found he had little to say. The fox was dead, and had been exposed as what he was. There was no more to say, except to do the best to prevent such a tragedy from ever repeating itself.

"I guess it really ain't that surprisin' that the feller turned out way he did" said Salty Sebastian, after Ned had thanked the rat for hosting the party. "I mean, gettin' his family butchered like that would be enough to screw up most kids."

Ned nodded, feeling Garrett's eyes on him as he expressed himself. Despite the amount of alcohol currently in his system, the whole affair seemed remarkably clear. "When you have the whole picture like that, it's easier to see what kind of atmosphere could create a person like JJ Maxwell." He sipped his wine. "That, and how Maxwell might have come up with all his convoluted ideas about how he had to start killing people in order to paint the homophobic crowd as what they are. Thing is, all he would have had to do was tell his own story. That enough shows the progress our society needs to make before it's truly equal."

Sebastian scratched his muzzle, exposing several gold teeth. "I dunno; from what I heard, sounded like the man had blocked out the memory of what'd happened to him."

"We remember only what we want to remember." Ned nuzzled Garrett, watching how Nolan and Scarlett seemingly couldn't disconnect themselves from each other this night. "Some memories are just too much."

The rat shrugged, as if this kind of talk was too much for him. "Hey, speaking of memories, did I ever tell you about when I climbed Mount Everest? Crazy thing is, the whole mountain's covered in trash! But the view is ta die for."

After Sebastian had moved on to engage with other of the guests, Ned remarked "At least the case seems to be getting people thinking. Even with the revelation that it was a gay rights activist committing the murders, people are still looking into the kind of mentalities that the Traditional Marriage Foundation and others like it advocate. I heard something about a new outreach program to try helping with making it easier for gay students to come out to friends, peers, and their schools. Maybe enough to prevent what happened to the Rosgen family from ever repeating itself."

Garrett nodded enthusiastically, tail still swishing. "Plus" he glanced from Ned to Scarlett, "I talked to my agent, and she says Paramount is already in talks with making a movie about Michael Rosgen. Kind of a fallen hero sort of thing? One of those films where they start with a good character and we follow their fall from good to evil through unfortunate circumstance."

"Strange how people have actually come to sympathise with the fox" Scarlett mused, leaning into Nolan's shoulder. "On one side, he's hated, but people can empathise with him too."

"Even very bad people can have positive qualities, or may have once been very good people," Ned observed.

Garrett leaned up and gave him a soft lick on the muzzle. "You are a very perceptive wolf, my love."

Ned pulled the coyote to him, chest to chest, and they kissed. He didn't try to push Garrett away when the coyote put a paw on Ned's butt, and gripped his tail. He just wrapped his paw around the back of Garrett's head, caressing the big ears tenderly, fingering the earrings, and pulled them together, tasting the coyote's tongue on his.

"I have good teachers" he whispered.

Garrett must have sensed that Lennox wanted to talk to Ned, because when the coyote saw the lieutenant making her way through the gathering towards them, he took Scarlett's paw and laughingly told Nolan "I'm afraid I'll have to steal your lady for a dance, Nolan. It's been too long since I danced with another coyote."

"You'll have to fight me for her" Nolan joked, more cheerful than usual, and the other wolf followed the two coyotes towards the bar's small dancefloor, where some couples, including Arkady and Moira, were already moving to the music of the loudspeakers.

Ned let his eyes follow them for a moment before turning to Lennox. "Enjoying yourself, Parker?" the female wolf inquired. She looked perhaps more casual than Ned had ever seen her; wearing a simple blouse and jeans, and her mane was loose, not tied up or braided as it normally was.

"Of course" Ned sighed. "I-" he hesitated. Lennox was sort of biting her lip, like she wanted to say something, but was struggling to find the words. Ned wagged his tail. "Thank you for granting Scarlett and I detective positions."

"You deserved them" Lennox suddenly grinned. "You can't possibly imagine how paranoid I was, listening to that otter elaborate on every reason why she couldn't allow me to arrest JJ Maxwell. I had to listen to that fool for near and hour, all the while knowing that idiot Doberman was watching me be lectured, and enjoying the sight no doubt." She glanced towards the dancefloor. "And then I come out, and the whole station is in an uproar because Arkady has connected that the dots and discovered a probable new suspect."

Ned grinned, allowing himself to sway slightly to the music as Lennox told her story. He'd heard it before, but not from the lieutenant herself, and every time he'd wished he'd been there to see the expressions on the faces of Senator McCracken and Captain Williston. "They were flabbergasted, but they couldn't show their annoyance" Lennox laughed, her own tail wagging for once. "Williston was asking Arkady, or indeed, anyone who'd listen, if Arkady had talked to anyone, but that fox just said he'd come up with it on his own accord, and what could the good Captain do? All the station knew about the link by then. He just stood there with his big pointy muzzle hanging open." She laughed again. "The otter now, she played her part well; smiled and said how glad she was that we had a new lead...."

"It all worked out ok" Ned remembered the Captain's warning. "Williston didn't even show up, did he?"

Lennox glanced around and shook his head. "Off fulfilling his new duty as the Mayor's favourite pet, no doubt. Or sulking that we all went against his will without being punished for it." She flicked her ears. "Wherever he is, I'll say this: his days as commander of this police department are numbered."

Ned hesitated only briefly. Did he want to become involved with workplace politics so soon after getting his detective shield? "If it comes to that, Lieutenant, I have your back" he decided. "If you need allies."

"Allies may come and go when conflict arises" the other wolf flicked her ears again. But then she smiled. "A friend, however, can remain for life. Thank you again, Parker. I'm lucky to have you - and Lewis - as friends.

"Now go have some fun" she ordered. "You've earned it."

Ned could not have stopped his tail's wagging if he tried.

The party was getting pretty wild by the time Ned and Scarlett again found each other. Sebastian had brought out a box of champagne, and the rowdy detectives and guests were so filled with joviality that they weren't even bothering pouring it into glasses anymore, just popping corks and tipping bottles back. The scent of booze permeated every corner of the bar, and some of the guests were getting pretty drunk, as evidenced by how Diego kept throwing his paws wide and half-singing, half-barking _Don't stop believin'!_although in his drunken state he seemingly could not remember the rest of the lyrics, so he just kept repeating the main chorus. Sitting next to him, Sofia was belting out some Mexican pop song, apparently oblivious or uncaring that Diego was also singing, while Montoya, not quite as wasted yet, watched in amusement. On the dancefloor, Arkady had for once let someone else - Lennox's husband, Finn - escort Moira, and was instead paired with Lennox herself. The lieutenant was moving with an uncaring freedom that was unusual for her, swishing her tail and shoulders in perfect match to Arkady, carefree and happy.

Garrett was also still on the dancefloor, shaking every atom of his body erratically to the beat, throwing a smirk or a wink at Ned whenever he caught the wolf's eyes. Ned had already spent a considerable amount of time on the dancefloor himself, but by now he was feeling a bit too woozy, and had returned to the bar, watching Milo flirt with the vixen barkeep, Tina, who wasn't wearing much more than a bikini. The jackal had his paw partway under her top and she didn't seem to mind; in fact, one of her paws was pressed against Milo's groin. Ned couldn't help laughing, at the way intoxication removed people's inhibitions, although he was well aware that principle applied just as well to him.

The music changed, and Sofia squealed: "They're playing the Beach Boys!" Pushing herself uneasily off the barstool, the black jaguar took a final swig of her champagne. "Tulio, baby, hold my drink will you?" she slurred, and proceeded to drop the bottle in the detective's lap, splashing red over his Hawaiian shirt.

Sofia's outburst snapped Diego from his repetition of "Don't stop Believin'." The wolfdog's head jerked up, and he glanced wildly around the bar. "The Beach Boys? Are they here?"

"No, buddy, they're still on the beach" Montoya said, patting the wolfdog on the shoulder, before pushing himself off his own stool. "Baby, wait for me!" he purred, rushing after Sofia, who'd gone staggering off towards the dance floor.

Diego blinked, nodded, and started hollering I just died in your arms tonight!, apparently not caring that no one was listening. It was then that whether from the hilarity of the scene, the joy of the partiers, the booze in his system, or a combination thereof, Ned started laughing insanely, sounding like a crazed hyena, but too wasted to care. Milo and Tina had fallen behind the bar in a tumble of dancing tongues and groping paws, and judging by the scents and sounds, Ned guessed the pair were well on the way to doing something indecent.

A paw rested itself unsteadily on his arm, and he turned to see Scarlett. "I'm drunk" the coyote admitted.

"Me too." Both of their tails were going like crazy, as if sped up by the alcohol,. "I'm drunk, you're drunk, Garrett is drunk, Diego and Montoya are drunk, and even freaking Lennox is tipsy. It's just so fucking crazy."

"I know" Scarlett laughed too, that high coyote laugh. "It's all fucking crazy. We're both detectives, I'm getting married, you're dating an actor - we caught the fucking Prophet for fuck's sake. Whoever would have guessed any of it? Or that stupid Jason was the one giving information to the media?"

"I don't know." Ned was starting to have a hard time formulating entirely clear thoughts. This evening would probably end up being a blur in memory, but, so be it. It was fun, and that was what counted.

"My fiancé is a fucking detective" the coyote collapsed against Ned's shoulder, her tail slapping against his leg "and yours his some kind of Kung-Fu genius." She laughed. "Also throws knives like nobody's business. Snitch I talked to, said only one other person in 'Nando throws knives as good as him."

Ned drained the last of the champagne bottle, which would soon be replaced with another. "Oh? Who's that? I bet Garrett could kick the bastard's ass."

"Oh," Scarlett giggled, "just that bitch Medea's man. Something with an H?"

Ned vaguely remembered someone named Medea - had she been at the Mayor's gala? - and that she'd had a friend, or an ally, whose name started with H. But he could not remember the specifics. He flicked his ears, shrugging. "I'll ask Garrett about it later" he told her. "If I can remember."

They laughed together as Ned popped the cork off another champagne bottle.