By Oboroten
Later that day, Charlie arrived with Officer Freeman at Capital City's police headquarters. They eagerly awaited Dr. Foster, one of the few physicians who often dealt with the problems of Beast Town. More importantly, they hoped he would help explain why Congressman Collins had been attacked. Were organ thieves involved?
The instant he walked inside, they could both tell Dr. Foster was perplexed, very unsure of what had transpired last night. He held a number of papers in his hand, evidently the source of some of his confusion. With a furrowed brow, he turned to address Officer Freeman, unsure of how to explain his findings.
"So what happened?" asked the policeman, glancing at the papers. "One of the medics guessed a gang ripped out his kidneys."
"Oh no, nothing like that," insisted Dr. Foster, handing a thick sheet to Office Freeman. "You'll see in these documents that nothing actually was removed from his body. It's all rather strange, as some sophisticated alkaloids had been administered to the victim to ensure that the incision wasn't felt. Very sophisticated for a street gang, especially given that such care was taken to make a precise cut."
"What about the fur?" growled Charlie, causing Foster to jump back a few inches in fear. "I couldn't trace the scent, but I'm pretty sure whoever did it wasn't human. Only someone like a roo morph could jump from a second story window down to the street without breaking both legs."
"Well, there is one lead," added Dr. Foster, passing another pamphlet to the police officer. "We compared the alkaloid to that white powder your sleuth-hound spotted on that girl's jacket. The stuff you found on Border Street yesterday matches the drug injected into Collins. There could be a connection with that rabbit-morph."
"I knew it," snarled Charlie, baring his fangs. "Howie's been bad news from the day I first saw him skulking by Vicky's place. He must be delivering stuff . . ."
"Wait a minute," insisted Officer Collins, reading over the stacked papers, "We can't act too hastily, especially not when a prominent politician was involved. If someone in Beast Town knew that Collins was a regular customer at that whorehouse . . ."
"Shhh. These walls aren't very thick," cautioned Dr. Foster. "We've been instructed to maintain strict secrecy on this matter. What would the papers say if it became known that a pro-human crusader, a man who'd built his career on protecting society from dangerous beasts had been found . . ."
"Beasts," snorted Charlie, smelling fear on Dr. Foster. "The real beast is that congressman, forcing us to stay on the wrong side of Border Street. Do you know how much trouble it was for me to get this pass? Just because I look a bit like a coyote, the bureaucrats were sure my mind was wrecked, full of blood lust and hunger. I had to take four psychological tests just to prove I was mentally stable."
"Down, Charlie! Be quiet!" interrupted Officer Freeman. "I must apologize for Charlie's outburst, Dr. Foster, but he's been a bit obsessed by this Howard Hare lately. It may be his instincts may be taking over, the drive to hunt down prey overriding his humanity. A sleuth-hound might be good for tracking in Beast Town, but he’d rather chase a rabbit than do serious work. You need a real man to handle a difficult case like this one. Do you want him off the case? I can always get another sleuth-hound, as they’re all about the same to deal with."
Charlie wrinkled his snout in disgust. If only he was fully human, he might be Freeman's superior by now. But that would never happen, not as long as there was no way for him to regain his true form. He clenched his forepaws in anger for a moment, but quickly restrained himself. To calm himself down, he trotted over to the corner of a room, aware that he should be cautious not to insert himself into human disputes.
"No, I want to deal with him," insisted Dr. Foster, "In fact, I must work with Mr. Coyote on this case. You see, we matched that alkaloid to a sample from the laboratory of Dr. Jethro Scanlan, an old friend of mine. By coincidence, I received a letter from him earlier today, inviting me to visit his estate with one of your sleuth-hounds. He's very interested in police investigations in Beast Town for some reason."
"Maybe he's guessed we're about to expose him," said Officer Freeman, recalling rumors that Scanlan was behind the drug ring. "But why would you want to take Charlie? Scanlan's quite rich I've heard, from all the profits he made selling pills for the government after the war. His place will have lots of private security, folks who won't want a carnivore anywhere near the front door."
"Well, Jethro specifically requested your sleuth-hound," continued Dr. Foster, showing a handwritten note to Officer Freeman. "If you look on the bottom of the page, you'll see his request: 'Please bring Mr. Charles Robinson, also known as Charlie Coyote, to the listed location at four o’clock in the afternoon. You'll be escorted inside.' I don't know why he wants to see him in particular, but Jethro's often been concerned about the welfare of the beast-men. Maybe he blames himself for failing to find a cure."
"Can we make a copy of that note?" asked Officer Freeman. "I'd like to have a handwriting sample on file, just in case Scanlan really has been sending drugs into Beast Town. This whole thing stinks, now that Collins is involved, so we need every possible lead we can get. Oh - one more thing, please tell us whatever you learn at the meeting, Dr. Foster."
"Certainly, I'll report anything that can help the police," replied the anxious physician, handing the note to Officer Freeman. "But I'm sure Jethro isn't involved in this case. Back when I was in medical school, he was a widely respected professor. He became even more famous when he developed an antidote to the alien agent, preventing the infection from spreading. Why, if it wasn't for Jethro's research, we might all be part-animal like your sleuth-hound now or . . . something horribly worse."
"Yeah, I'm sure we all have to be grateful for his brilliant work," grumbled Officer Freeman, quickly running off duplicates of the note on a nearby copier. "But lots of scientists went nuts after the war, cracking under the pressure. Didn't Scanlan lose his wife in one of the alien attacks? I remember reading about it in one of the papers. He was working on an antidote for her transformation, but she died first."
"That was several years ago," said Dr. Foster calmly. "While Jethro does have a reputation for being a recluse these days, I can assure you that he's not involved in anything unethical. Someone of his stature in the medical community would never dream of being involved with a drug gang. For one thing, he's got more money that he could possibly spend into two lifetimes. There's simply no way he would turn to crime."
Gesturing to Charlie, who was still standing in a corner reading a newspaper, Officer Freeman said, "It's getting late now, Charlie, so you better head out if you're going to make the appointment with Dr. Scanlan. I don't know what he wants with you, but I certainly want a full report."
[End of Part Three]