7. All I Wanted…
Reginald Bushroot had always been a bit of a dreamer. He had always liked imagining things, come up with ideas and trying to figure out how to make them possible, a quality that he as a science student always had been very good for him. But not even in his wildest dreams had he ever been able to guess where he would have been today. Vice president of O.P.A.L. and Lucas Whiskers's best friend! Not too bad huh? Sure, Lucas might not have been the saint Reginald always had imagined him as, but he wasn't a thoroughly evil person either. He just wanted what's best for everybody.
Reginald had in the beginning been a bit worried that Lucas might would force him to take part in the cat's criminal activities, but that turned out not to be any problem.
"What I do is my business, and I would never force anyone into anything they don't want. Throughout my whole time as the leader of O.P.A.L., I never actually asked anyone to follow me", he had clarified, to Reginald's relief.
Lucas had told him a little closer about more exactly how he plans and how he picks out the time of the victims death. He always let chance decide. This, by throwing his dice. If it lands with number one upward, the death will occur within a year, number two after one year, three after two years, and so on. If it lands on a six he would throw it again and add five years on that next roll.
"In this way, it becomes more difficult for the police to notice any connection between the crimes", the cat had explained.
He had also added that if the person in any way during the period actually would change for the better, he would spare his or her life.
"Sadly, that's very rare", he had told sorry.
Just that specific dice meant very much to Lucas. It had belonged to the board game that he and his deceased baby-sister Luna used to play together. It had been her favorite. She was the girl on the picture that Lucas had in his office. It was when she, about six years ago, passed away when she got hit by a car, driven by a couple of lawbreakers, whom also died in the crash themselves, that Lucas had realized how unfair the world really was.
"She was just a child! She didn't deserve that fate!"
After that incident, he decided that he would do everything in his power to ensure that right people would get what they deserved, something his sister never got. The dice was a reminder of that. It was suiting to let an object that had belonged to someone who got treated unfair to render justice for others, he thought.
When all came about, Lucas was really just a sad poor misunderstood guy who just wanted to do what's right. Pretty much alike Reginald.
The duck also had gotten to take a glimpse at Lucas schedule, and found out, to his great relief, that the feline didn't have any victims scheduled for the upcoming two years. So he didn't have to think of that part in a looong time.
As a friend, Lucas was just the kind of person Reginald had always assumed him to be like, friendly, caring, glad and regardful. It was hard to even think of him as a cold-blooded serial killer.
Having a best friend was just as great and wonderful as the duck had always imagined it to be, though also a bit more time-consuming and tiresome than he had thought. Since Reginald rarely hung out with people at his spear-time, he was used to have a lot of time spending on his studies and his greenhouse, something he had had to sacrifice a part of now. But it was definitely worth it. He only had to make sure he didn't fell too far behind on his works.
Since Reginald's a student and Lucas had his work with the organization to do, the two friends usually used to hang out on the late afternoons or evenings. Since Sullivan's case was still fresh, they therefore also mostly hang out just the two of them, either in Lucas's van or in Reginald's greenhouse. The duck had honestly been quite nervous when they for the first time agreed on that they would be at his house the next time. It might seem strange, but he really wasn't used to having people over at his place.
The mallard did usually tend to carefully look after his plants and keep his garden nice. However, since it's a very large greenhouse, only that part took pretty much of his time, which resulted in that he usually put less weight on the other parts of his home. The day before Lucas's visits, he had therefore desperately struggled to make the place to look at least somewhat homey. He had spent hours on sweeping the floor, put away all the shovels, weed tool and other thing that used to lie scattered here and there, hide away the fertilizer sacks in one of corners, find a good place to park the wheelbarrow (which always somehow managed to stand in the way just about anywhere he parked it), cleaning all the windows (Ugh!), clear up the desktops and at least try to take away most of the spider web. (The spiders, however, he chose to save for Spike, his gluttonous Venus flytrap.) Sometimes he just wished that he simply could just order the plants to help him out.
Lucas sure had been impressed by Reginald's household and enjoyed the indoor forest like a tomato plant enjoys water.
"You know, we should let the Opals have all the meetings here instead of in that dull old cottage", the cat said while admiring the rare rubber tree Reginald had imported back home from South America. "This is just our style!"
"Yeah, right…!" the duck agreed a little nervously and prayer in silent that the Birman wouldn't turn his head right upwards and notice the spider that was dangling in a thread only a couple of inches right above him.
While Reginald already knew quite a lot about Lucas from before, Lucas on the other hand didn't know much about Reginald, so the cat had been eager to get to know him better. The drake had never felt so special and so popular before, something he deeply did appreciate. No one had ever shown interest in him earlier.
The duck shared among others thing his knowledge about his greatest interest, plants, something the cat found pretty interesting, though maybe not quite to the same degree. Lucas himself, however, was very good at tinkering with machines, cars and other mechanicals gadgets (something Reginald of course already was well aware of) and gladly shared his knowledge there. Lucas helped among other things to fix Reginald's electric hedge trimmer, which had been broken since a few weeks back and which the duck never really had taken his time to turn in for repair. Lucas also had a big interest in cooking and Reginald happily provided him with organically grown crops from his greenhouse so that they could make delicious dinners together. Reginald had never ever had as much fun as during those evenings.
At the Opal's meetings, however, the two friends usually ignored each other to not revealed their cover. But Lucas was still careful to ensure that his best friend wouldn't feel too forgotten. At times when they passed by each other, the cat sometimes discreetly sneaks the duck small notes, that said things like: "Can you, please, bring some of that special thyme of yours for this afternoon?" or "Remind me that I have to replace those hideous curtains", or "Albert's hat kind of reminds a bit of a bird nest, doesn't it?". Reginald loved getting those little notes, even though they didn't really say anything specific. He was just glad to know that Lucas was thinking of him.
That no one was aware of the Opals's new vice president or the relationship between Reginald and Lucas didn't really bothered the mallard that much. He was just happy to have a friend and someone who cared about him. He also honestly kind of found the whole thing pretty exciting. It was like their own little secret. Besides, people would get to know it eventually, and when that happens, everything will be different.
Reginald hadn't at first really realized what it actually meant to be vice president of O.P.A.L. He was not only going to get the chance to join Lucas to a lot of interesting events and be involved in important decisions, he was also finally going to be respected and people would listen to his opinions. Bullies like Gary and Larson wouldn't even dare to lay a finger on or even say a bad word to him. That, Lucas had already promised to make sure of. And Rhoda… She would definitely be impressed. At last he could prove himself worthy of her! He could hardly wait until he gets to tell her!
"Why settle for Rhoda? You can get any girl in the world if you'd like!" Lucas had illuminated.
But it wasn't really that what it was all about. For the first time in his life, he finally felt like he was somebody. There was a completely new road lying before him.
Unfortunately, that was not the path that he was going to follow…
Everything turned that day when a tremendous storm had pulled in over the city. Reginald was in full drudgery weeding his garden, and the heavy rain spatted so loud against his glass-covered household that it took him a while before he noticed that someone was knocking on the door. Through the flowing water washing down the small glass window on the gray front door, he saw the dancing silhouette of the gray-white cat under an azure umbrella. Reginald opened up the door for him.
"Hello buddy…!" he greeted cheerfully.
"We've got trouble", Lucas said short, hastily stepping over the threshold while at the same time folding down the umbrella, so rashly that the water splattered.
"Trouble?! What kind of trouble?" Reginald wondered worried.
Ruffled, the cat put, almost threw, the wet umbrella into Reginald's umbrella stand by the door.
"I need you to be honest with me, have you been in contact with a Jake Gander Hooter?" Lucas asked him serious.
"What? Who? No I haven't", the duck told honest, and confused.
"Oh thank GOSH!" the Birman groaned and leaned his head back in relief. "Well, at least there's one good news today."
"W-Wait! What exactly did you mean with that we've got trouble? And who is this Jake Gander Hooter?" Reginald asked bewildered.
"He's an agent of S.H.U.S.H. who apparently has been following up the cases of all my victims", Lucas explained stressed. "Since they all had business with O.P.A.L. he suspects that someone in the organization, or at least someone with connection to it, is responsible of all these deaths or "mysterious disappearances". But that's still not the worst part. On top of that, they've found Sullivan's car."
"They have?!" Reginald exclaimed horrified.
It turned out that when the president had arrived at Ajax he had gotten there by car, something Lucas had informed the drake earlier. When the cat later had returned to the company that night to clean away all the evidences he had also had to get rid of Sullivan's car by dumping it into Audubon Bay.
"Yes, some darn DIVERS found it on the sea bed just a couple of days ago", the cat told frustrated and restlessly began pacing back and fourth in the greenhouse, nervously biting his nails. "Inside the car, they found Sullivan's ID, wallet and bank card. When the agency then got permission to look at Sullivan's account history they noticed that he hasn't done any payments or larger transfers at all during the latest weeks. So now they've come to the conclusion that that big dope likely is dead."
"Whiiiich is correct…"
"Of course it is! We both know that!" Lucas almost snapped. He sighed and worrisomely rested his forehead in his hand. "Still, it doesn't ends there. I was interrogated by Agent Hooter just a couple of hours ago and apparently he's been keeping an eye on me for quite a while now without me knowing. And since he got to know from the police that I've been interested in the president's disappearance he now believes that I killed Sullivan, and the others as well!"
Reginald carefully thought through what the cat just had said.
"Well, heh! That's kind of ironic, isn't it? Since Sullivan was the only one you didn't kill. That was me", the duck pointed out, who couldn't help but seeing the irony a little in how St. Canard's most notorious serial killer gets convicted for a crime he surprisingly did not commit.
"You think this is funny, Reginald? You think this is some kind of joke?!" the cat asked, suddenly staring angry at the waterfowl with those deep blue eyes.
"Huh?! N-No!" Reginald stuttered a bit frightened.
"Is this all just a game for you?!" the cat asked aggravated and slowly walked up to him. "DON'T YOU GET THAT IF THEY FIND OUT ABOUT ME THEY'RE GOING TO GET TO YOU TOO?!"
The scared duck worriedly withdrew and shrunk a little. He had never seen Lucas so angry before. He even feared that the cat might start hitting him.
"I don't think a guy like you would do very well in prison", the cat hissed threatening. "That is, if you somehow magically manage to escape the chair!"
"B-But… I-I thought you said you had the police under control! You-You said so!" Reginald pitifully remarked stuttering.
"The police, yes. But not S.H.U.S.H.!" the Birman clarified and once again started pacing around, pondering. "It wasn't until today that I even got to know that they had taken over many of the cases that are connected to me! Ugh, this is bad. It won't take to long 'til they start interrogating the other members of the organization as well, if they haven't already begun… BUUUT…" Lucas turned on his heel back to Reginald again, with one index finger pointing up in the air. "…luckily we are still a few steps ahead. Agent Hooter still doesn't know about you. Only that gives us a big advantage. You see, Reggie, this was why I suggested that we should keep a low profile!"
Almost a bit manic, the cat shook that invisible orange in his hand again in the air towards the duck, something Reginald by now had noted was a tic the cat did whenever he was excited or upset.
"And that's not all we've got", the Birman continued. "Hooter doesn't either know exactly what happened to Sullivan since his body's never found, simply because, well, it doesn't even exist anymore."
Reginald felt a shiver run up his spine when Lucas reminded him of that awful memory. The bulldog's hideous scream was still keeping him awake at night.
"I've had all of this in my mind ever since the night we fled from Ajax Chemicals", the cat told, and suddenly seemed pretty calm. "So, I've already had a plan ready for us in store, just in case something like this would happen. In business like these, there's nothing called 'being too careful', you know."
"Oh, well, that's great!" Reginald said and relieved wiped the sweat of his forehead with his forearm, partly actually because his bestie's aggressively seem to have faded away. "So, what's this plan of yours?"
"Oh, you see, what we need is a scapegoat, someone else that can take the fall for us, someone we know for sure doesn't have a full proof alibi for that night", Lucas explained. "I'd sincerely hoped that we wouldn't have had to do this, but considering the circumstances, plus the fact that now also my reputation is at stake, I find it necessary."
"Oh…", Reginald said, a bit unsure. "Okay, sooo, who is going to take the blame?"
Lucas quietly sighed a bit anxious for himself. He knew the mallard wasn't going to like this.
"One of the persons that were with us at the company that night, and who also was alone during the same time as we were", he said. "Miss Rhoda Dendron."