She pushed him away, she suffered enough already. Danielle brushed her eyes with her shirt sleeve and got herself up. Peter took a step back and looked at her in silence. Danielle turned and went for her kitchen sink, filling a glass of water. She leaned against the sink and sipped from the cup, feeling the water run down her throat and opening it again, for words and air.
"Sorry." She spoke in her usual tone. Danielle laid the cup back to the sink and paused, eyes closed for a moment more. "And thanks." The words came out with a bit of effort, but she meant it.
Peter approached the balcony between him and her; he picked up a stool and sat upon it. He looked at her in silence, a half smile on his face. Danielle opened her eyes and took a deep breath.
"We have to go to the precinct, a friend needs help." Danielle stretched her back and took a step forward, getting closer to the counter. She took a cold toast from a forgotten plate, it was a bit stale by now, but her stomach needed something.
"Care to share what happened to her?" Peter picked a piece of her toast and took a bite at it. "Hum… day old bread. You really eat well."
Danielle smiled and munched the leathery delicacy. "Her son was arrested during the protests this afternoon. She's the one who called earlier." She picked another toast and bit it hard. I should've picked a jam or something… She thought while munching the hard bread.
"Does she… care for him?" Peter pointed to the bedroom. "I never saw you miss a night shift."
"Yeah… She is a nurse." Danielle backed away from the counter and crossed her arms. "Well, we better get going. It's very late already."
"Oh… sure!" Peter stood up from his stool and stretched his back. "Lead the way, Howell."
They walked the short walk to the precinct, all stores closed by now. The precinct was a shimmering light against the gray city; it felt more like home to her than the apartment she lived in. She pushed one of the glass doors open to an annoyed Clawhauser and a distressed Mrs. Huehue, which paced back and forth in front of the reception desk, glaring at Clawhauser every three turns.
When the door closed behind Danielle and Peter, the coyote turned her head to them, her expression of sorrow becoming one of joy. "Danny!" She shouted, running towards Danielle and hugging her.
Danielle glanced at Peter, eyes wide, and hugged Rosa back. "Hey Rosa, how are you holding up?"
Rosa took her face from Danielle's chest and looked at her with teary eyes. "Oh, Danny… they have been holding Marco since 4PM… I just want my boy back; they won't even say to me what he did!"
"That's not true Mrs. Huehue, I've told you time and time again that your son is being held due to his involvement in this afternoon's protests and the 'burning houses' business." Clawhauser tapped the table with his claws, head supported by his left paw. "Howell, Clawson, how are you two doing?"
"Having a blast of a night, how about you?" Said Peter, while approaching the reception desk.
Danielle pulled Rosa to a bench and sat with her. She looked at her dark brown watery eyes and scratched her chin. Rosa trembled and supported her head on Danielle's hand for a moment, taking a deep breath.
"Was it him? The one with the molotov?" Asked Danielle, softly.
A tear rolled down Rosa's eyes and she nodded. "I don't know what to do anymore with that boy… He has been acting up so rebel of late, even dragging Antonio…"
"Rosa…" That knot was back in her throat. Why has it always gotta be everything at once? "This is very serious. I'll… ask around. But he… he won't get away with this…"
Rosa looked down to Danielle's lap; she clasped her hands, holding the pain in. She holds strong, even in a moment like this. Thought Danielle.
Danielle pulled Rosa's head under her chin and hugged her. The coyote let out a single low whimper and exhaled a hot breath in Danielle's neck. She pulled a handkerchief from her purse and delicately cleaned her eyes, a bit of the rimmel had smudged.
"I'll see what I can do, ok?" Spoke Danielle, softly.
The coyote nodded and gave Danielle a gentle half smile. "Thanks Danny."
Danielle walked away from her friend and passed by the reception. As soon as she made eye contact with Peter she signaled him to follow.
Peter, on his behalf, waved to Clawhauser and jogged to Danielle's side. "Took you long enough." Said Peter with a tired expression.
"Hey, I didn't want to bother you two. You have such good chemistry together." Danielle grinned with her small taunt.
Peter grimaced. "I would rather lick a porcupine."
"Oh, so you got over the interspecies thing now? Judy will be super happy to hear that." Danielle nudged Peter and opened a door for him, entering an empty office.
Peter smiled. "I see you are back in a good mood. What is the situation?"
"You remember that canid which burned the white house? Yeah… her son." She sat at her desk and logged in her computer. "Marco Huehue, 17 years old, no criminal record… well, until today. Hm…" Danielle scrolled his small record to his arrest report. "He did not resist arrest and was captured right after the protest dispersed. He was identified due to the bandana he wore as a mask."
"So… he is pretty much screwed. A-1 felony. The least he will get is fifteen years…" Peter pressed Danielle's shoulder, shrugging.
"Actually he may see as less as 3 years." Sounded the familiar voice of Wilde.
Peter and Danielle looked back, the red fox leaned on a desk behind them, a coy smile on his lips.
"Good to know that you are friends with the Huehues Howell, but that's a tad unprofessional of you." Wilde crossed his arms and widened his smile.
"What? Trying to help people?" Danielle answered, annoyed.
"No. Working on your day off." Wilde moved between Danielle and her desk and started clicking on her computer. "I see that they didn't add his testimony to his record yet… Anyhow, before Cawky here starts yakking..."
"Can't you give us a break and just say whatever you want to say?" Interrupted Peter, slapping Danielle's desk.
"Not a moment too soon." Again, Wilde leaned against Danielle's desk, a sober expression on his face now. "Our little arsonist doesn't seem to simply have acted out of his own will, but was actually paid to accidentally hit the house. What he hadn't thought, and maybe the instigators counted on, was that there was a lot of wind today, so the fire spread quickly and catched some of the warehouses on that street."
"Why is the BI involved? Shouldn't this be investigated as a regular crime?" Asked Peter, a puzzled expression under his whiskers.
"This is the second time a place being investigated by us is destroyed right after being found. I… interrupted Marco's interview with another officer and took over. Nofun orders and all." Wilde pressed the lever under Danielle's chair with his foot, making it get lower. "And I knew of Howell's relation with the Huehue's, so I was expecting you both to show up."
"How did you know that?" Danielle stood up and pressed the lever of her chair, lifting the seat up to it's regular position.
"I know everyone Howell." Wilde glanced around, making sure the office is empty. "We might have a mole or, at least, our info is leaking in some way. We are hoping the prosecutor will allow us to offer a deal to Marco and maybe get some clues on how to identify both our mole and the dealers."
"Aaaand why were you waiting for us?" Peter crossed his arms, staring at Wilde.
"Calm down, Kitty Kat. I am giving you both a vote of trust. Noggum is also backing you on this matter, so it's basically we four to solve this pickle." Wilde extended his feet once more to Danielle's chair lever.
Danielle grabbed his leg and lifted the small red fox to her eye height. "Don't test my patience, Wilde."
"Ain't you a ray of sunshine, Howell?" The fox coyly smiled, upside down.
Danielle looked at Peter, doubt in her eyes. "Should we tell him?"
Peter raised an eyebrow. "Really Howell? Are you this dense?"
Danielle frowned. "Well… we might as well…"
"I'm a bit lost here…" Added the fox to the conversation.
"And why do you think we should trust him?" Peered Peter.
"His wife would cut his balls off if he even slipped from 'perfect cop' mode." Played off Danielle.
"And why wouldn't he screw us?" Peter poked a claw at Wilde.
"Hey! I'm right here, remember! What are you two hiding?" the fox's semblance lost its cool for a moment, showing off that even he could be messed with. "And could you please put me down?"
Danielle smiled and let got of his leg without a warning. The fox fell to his fours and quickly got himself up.
"Thanks. Now, what you two have to tell me?" Wilde patted his pants, getting any dirt they might have caught off it.
"We took… some samples from that house today. We figured it would be deserted due the fire, so we took the opportunity." Danielle scratched the back of her head uncomfortable, she couldn't not smile, though.
"And I found this." Peter took a small black pen drive out of his pocket. "I found it in the back of a wardrobe, thought it might've be interesting."
"How much is… some? And plug it in, let us see what is inside." Wilde pointed to Danielle's computer.
Danielle got out of Peter's way and fumbled with her skirt. "Well… maybe 20 pawprint samples and… some 10 material samples…"
"How do you two find the time? And… oh..." Wilde looked at the computer screen wearing an expression of disbelief, his ears turned toward his back. Danielle felt the smell of his fear.
The screen showed a collection of audio and video files, all indexed by names and dates, which were from a month ago. Peter played one of the files labeled "Garras". The video loaded and the scene of a round table in a bar showed, a known ocelot talking with a beaver. They talked, drank and frolicked, enjoying themselves in the silent video. Peter clicked back to the folder and a separate audio file with the same name as the video one played, now they could hear them talk. Wilde passed his hands over his ears, massaging his head. He seemed distressed.
Suddenly a buzz sounded. Wilde picked his cellphone and started to read on it. Soon after, Danielle's and Peter's cellphone buzzed. She picked it up and it was a message from the precinct: all officers off duty were being called to help in a situation at the docks.