It had only been three days since the killing of Henry "Hench" Wulf, and the attempted murder of Roy Larson by a gun…that just so conveniently found its way into Lillian Shaughnessy's hand. But the worst part was, Lilly wasn't going down alone, as Dana Canis had been arrested as well, the poor vixen having be found with Lilly, her hands covered in Roy's blood.

Unfortunately for Dana, it didn't take long to find out who she really was as her face was soon plastered on every news channel, newspaper and tabloid imaginable.

GOVERNOR DIANE FOXINGTON CHARGED WITH MURDER AT JASPER STRIP CLUB!

When news broke out that the Governor of California was one of the prime suspects in a murder case, the case was covered wall to wall not just in Alberta, but internationally. In fact, there were reports from the BBC, ZNN, and Cold Scoop News who caught wind of the case. And the only two suspects were Diane Foxington and Lillian Shaughnessy, who found the ride to the courthouse to be the longest ride of their lives.

But as Diane tried to distract herself by scrolling through her phone, her heart sank when she saw a news article sent to her email from Wolf, revealing that she and Lilly weren't the only ones being brought up on criminal charges; Mr. Shark was being locked in the LA county jail for impersonating Diane and trying to pass himself off as the governor.

Needless to say, Diane felt horrible. But at the same time, she was thankful that Shark had kept quiet about the nature of his little masquerade. But as the two lovely ladies were drawing nearer to the courthouse, doctors were still working to save Roy's life. While Sam's generous donation of his own blood for a transfusion had replaced the blood that had been lost, Roy was still in critical condition. And while Sam wished he could stay to see if the teen would recover, he knew he had to get to the courthouse if he could offer any chance of clearing Diane and Lilly.

Meanwhile, from outside the operating room, Elsa and Faith sat next to each other, both silently sobbing as they waited to hear if Roy would survive a second surgery, all while Cain paced up and down the hall, his black blazer sat on the long bench passed back and forth, his puffy bloodshot eyes darting about in worry as he continually loosened the tie around his neck, the pits of his red button up shirt damp with sweat. But the moment he made another pass in front of his ex and her wife, the sound of the door opening caused the dark canine to practically skid to a halt as the two she-wolves to jump to their feet.

And for the trio, the sight of Ellie Lane walking out of the doors, her once clean teal surgeon's attire now covered in blood, was a most disconcerting sight. SO much so that Cain felt his heart drop into his stomach.

"Dr. Lane," he began tentatively, exposing a side of himself that only his family and close associates saw, "is Roy alright?"

Cain's voice cracked as he asked, feeling so helpless at the moment, silently partying for some good news. And much to his and the two female's relief, Ellie smiled as the pretty setter removed her blood-stained gloves.

"Good news is he's going to live," she said, a brief smile on her lips as the trio of wolves before her let out a joint sigh of relief, Elsa and Faith holding each other close as Cain pressed his hand against the back of a nearby bench. Unfortunately, the relief was short lived with…

"But…"

Looking back to the setter, Cain and the two women found that the setter now looked very upset, as if she knew her next words would only be bad news for the concerned parents of Roy. But being a doctor for many years, she knew that delivering unsavory news was part of the job, and the easiest way to do it was to rip off like a band aid. And so, Ellie took a deep breath and said something very heart breaking.

"He's going to be paralyzed below the waist."

Elsa placed her hand over her heart, the revelation about Roy's condition truly hard to bare. It was even more jarring for Cain, who found he could no longer stand, the Dark Wolf, his face blank from the news, sitting on the bench he had just been using to keep himself up. Faith was also upset, but she still had a question to ask Ellie about Roy.

"Will Roy be able to have children of his own?" she asked.

Ellie looked at her charts and felt a smile tug at her lips.

"Yes, but it will still be harder due to his paralysis."

Hearing this, Faith smiled, only for the smile to drop the moment they saw Roy being wheeled out of surgery on a hospital bed, the horrific sight of him on a ventilator and hooked up to an I.V. and heart monitor proving too much to bear for Elsa as she let out a strangled sob, her wife instantly comforting her by pulling her close, all while Cain, who shot to his feet the moment his son rolled by, looked over at his boy as he was undoubtedly being moved to his new room in I.C.U. And the moment he saw the state his still unconscious child was in, Cain felt a burning rage form within him. And so, without saying a word, he grabbed his blazer and made his way out of the hospital, leaving Elsa and Faith alone, both females now greatly concerned for Roy's safety, as there was now a witness in the murder case.

"Don't worry, girls," came the soft, but firm voice of Able.

"I've assigned some of my best officers to stand guard over Roy until his shooter is taken into custody."

Elsa and Faith were surprised to see over a dozen officers show up. Two followed the doctors into the room where Roy was to be kept, while the rest stayed in the hallway. But at the very moment each officer took their spot, the private car sent by Lilly's father to escort her and Diane to the courthouse drove down the streets of Jasper. Lilly couldn't help but smile sadly at the signs, ranging from messages such as "Free Lilly and Diane" and "We Love You," that showed support for them. After all, it was widely known throughout Jasper that Lilly was one of the sweetest, most caring people in the world, with many joining in the theories that she and Diane had been framed. Of course, that did not mean that there was opposition, like the supporters of the Lords of Prey who bolstered signs that read along the lines of "Predators are killers. Go to Hell" and "All predators must die."

Diane looked at one of the signs addressed to her.

"Foxington: Governor or Murderer…both are best behind bars."

She couldn't believe how this could have happened. All she wanted was to help Winston deal with the mob in Jasper, but now she was surely starting to regret joining Wolf.

Upon arriving at the courthouse, Lilly dressed humbly in a black suit and skirt and matching flattop shoes, got ready to face the greatest challenge there ever was. Diane was dressed in a simple gray suit that she would wear around her office back in LA. Lilly gave a nervous gulp as they were helped out of the car by one of her father's staff, his personal secretary Betty Holt, a tall and lithe caribou doe, dressed in the same attire as Lilly, though her suit was a gray pinstripe with a white blouse. Before Lilly could even take two steps, she was blinded by flashes from cameras and bombarded with questions form the reporters and journalist come to oversee the trial, each shoving a microphone, cell, or any other form of recorder in her face as they did so.

Diane also was being bombarded by the reporters, but it was worse because the reporters were from her own city, who had been reporting ever since she first entered office. Even the ever present Tiffany Fluffit had hopped the first flight to Jasper when the news broke, the tabby showing Diane the same support as before, joining journalist who gave her the benefit of the doubt, while trying to keep at bay the ones accusing her of murder.

Of course, she and Lilly had been advised by their saluki attorney, who was definitely miffed that he and his wife had to once again delay their return to Redshore, to ignore them.

"Just keep your eyes front and pay them no mind," he had said.

"Miss Lewis," a tod reporter called, "did you shoot Hench Wulf or Roy Larson?"

"Governor Foxington," a female bear called, "is it true that you were working at the Moonlight Howl at the time of the murder?

"Governor Foxington, why did you leave LA to pursue a career as a stripper?"

"Miss Lewis, is this going to ruin your father's chances at running for reelection?"

Neither answered any questions, that is until Diane was asked a question from ZNN reporter, the lovely Fabienne Growley.

"Governor Foxington, are you afraid of losing this court case?"

Diane didn't know why, but this question seemed to hit a sensitive spot in her, her entre frame going rigid as her brows furrowed in frustration as she stopped, turned around and looked at Fabienne with a soft frown.

"I am," she said, then pointed to the courthouse.

"Ever since I took office, I have always feared the courts, because there are people in power here that can use your very words as a weapon against. However, I know there will be someone out there looking for the evidence that proves Lilly and I's innocence."

"That'll be enough," Betty said in clear annoyance, her round glasses and lock of hair over her right eye, a fashion choice she and Lilly shared, doing well to hide the burning irritation in her visible blue eye. And before long, the trio was escorted through the doors of the Courthouse, through the main lobby, and into the large courtroom itself, every pew occupied by spectators, as well as friends, each looking toward Lilly and Diane as the bailiff, who Lilly was somewhat relieved to see was Delilah, escorted her and Diane to the desk before the judges stand.

Along that short walk that felt like a mile, Lilly felt herself relax even more as a majority of the room seemed to be on her side, some sending her sad smiles, others with firm nods of approval, a clear sign they believed her innocence, and others taking the opportunity to give her a reassuring pat on the shoulder. Diane also allowed a bright smile to spread on her muzzle as she saw Wolf, dressed in a fine suit, practically dashed to her, giving her strong hug and deep kiss, which resulted in a round of soft oohs and chuckles.

"Alright Lover Boy let's dial it back," Sam said as he walked up behind Wolf, the Irish-Wolf uncharacteristically dressed up for the trial, from a gray tweed jacket, neck-tie, vest and Irish-tartan kilt. He even had on a pair of glasses, which resulted in many learning that he wore contacts most of the time. But for now, that had to be put off to the side.

"Sam's right Mason…now's not the time," Dax responded, his voice just as level and serious as his Irish friend as the Texan, simply dressed in a red and white striped shirt, black blazer, jeans, and his boots, stepped forward with Eric, the hybrid teen completely ignoring the exchange between his father and "uncle" with Wolf, opting instead to walk right up to his mother, who couldn't help but chuckle at her "professional little man," dressed in a blue blazer, white shirt, red tie and khakis.

"Good Luck Mom," he simply whispered before being escorted out of the room by Webbs, who ahd agreed to keep the boy updated, the short stack woman having bugged the courtroom… extensively. And as Eric was lead away, Diane and the others watching sadly, Garth, who had also embraced his wife, stepped back to let their son have a moment with his mother. The young pup's eyes were full of tears, having learned that if convicted, Lilly, his amazing mother would be spending a good time of his youth behind bars.

"Mommy, why is this happening?" Albus asked. Lilly hugged her son tightly.

"I don't know, but everything will be fine. But I need you to be a big boy and listen to your father," Lilly said with a forced smile as she handed Albus off to his father. Once they were gone, the white beauty looked at her beloved husband.

"Good Luck, Babe," Garth cooed, reluctantly allowing his father Tony, dressed similarly to his son, to pull him away, guiding him toward the back of the court so that he could take Albus home; While Garth wished he could stay with Albus, he knew the pup was only nine, and didn't need to be exposed to such a situation, especially when it involved his mother.

This allowed Delilah to finish escorting Lilly and Diane to the desk, the girls feeling even more at ease when she saw the other employees of the howl, sans Diego and Shira, who for their own protection were under lockdown at the Science Center with the rest of their friends. But for now, Lilly and Diane were just happy to have the others there, each offering them supporting smiles and calls of support, taking up two pews behind the railing dividing the congregation area and the jury section. And right behind the defense's desk, just ahead of the wood railing, sat her Lilly's family and husband, as well as Wolf, Sam and Dax. Of course, Lilly was disappointed that her mother didn't come, after all, she was busy taking care of Roy with Ellie.

Still, she found comfort in knowing that the four most important men in her life stood beside her in this, her darkest hour. But, if the saluki sat beside her had anything to say about, the she-wolf and vixen would walk free. And as the trio waited for the trial to start, Charlie felt a tap on his shoulder. Turning back, Charlie leaned his chair back as Sam leaned over the railing to whisper in the saluki's ear.

"Any news on Roy?" the Irish-wolf asked, already feeling relief when the saluki lawyer sent him a reaffirming smile.

"Ellie texted me that he was out of surgery and on the mend."

Satisfied, Sam sat back in his seat, releasing another sigh as he rubbed at the still tender spot on his right arm where just three days earlier he had given his blood, his life-force, to save another life. And the moment Sam felt a firm hand pat his thigh, he realized he had been lost in thought when he saw his Texan friend offering a proud smile.

"Ya did, My Friend," Dax said with that confident smirk of his, the smirk returned by a warm smile from his friend.

"Ya did good."

"ALL RISE!" Delilah suddenly shouted, the announcement causing all in the room to do as told as out from in front of the Judges stand, the door behind it immediately opened to reveal a graying red wolf, barely pushing sixty, make his way to his seat, followed close behind by his tod court reporter, dressed in a simple gray suit and red tie, which did little to draw attention away from his golden blonde fur, accented by an orange muzzle…almost making him resemble a duck rather than a fox.

Yes, the London-born Paddington Mallard, Paddy to his friends, seemed to be more well-known than the esteemed Judge Irving Harper. A very lithe fox, Paddy, outside of the courtroom, was known for his very quick wit, made possible from a sharp intellect. Once a Colonel in the RAF, Paddy was injured when he had to make an emergency landing. The resulting injury, which was to his leg, resulted in Paddy having to walk with a limp that resembled that of a "waddle," as could be seen as he made his way to his station to the right of Judge Harper, who took his seat as Delilah continued.

"IN THE CASE OF THE PEOPLE OF JASPER VERSUS LILLIAN LEWIS AND DIANE FOXINGTON, THE HONORABLE JUDGE HARPER PRESIDING!"

"Be seated," Harper called, everyone doing as told. And the moment Harper placed his reading glasses in front of his dulling brown eyes, his gaze lingered on the defendants as they stood by their attorney, the dashing saluki's rectangular glasses on the bridge of his nose framing his hazel eyes. And it was thanks to Winston calling in every favor, every connection to prove that his daughter and his colleague was innocent, that Mr. Lane was here defending them. But at the moment, all Lilly and Diane could do was stand before the judge, the court and jury. Never in her life had either of them ever had to deal with such a problem. It wasn't their fault that they happened to walk into a room with a dead man and wounded one, then be arrested for a murder which they didn't commit.

"You are the last person I expected to see on trial in my courtroom, Ms. Shaughnessy," Judge Harper said in a deep, gravelly voice which caused Lilly to shrink in her chair. Then he turned his gaze toward Diane.

"And you especially, Madame Governor."

This caused the lovely vixen to shiver. After all, she was known to have a few enemies with the courts of the law. However, Lilly felt some of the tension ease off of her when she saw Harper send them a playful wink.

"Consider it a compliment."

And even before the trial started, Lilly and Diane knew things were looking up.

That Is until, Lilly was called to the witness stand by the prosecuting attorney, the cocky donkey, Jack Burro.

And despite her legs threatening to give out as she made her way pass the jury, each made up of random citizens of Jasper, six predator and six prey, whom she had actually never conversed more than a handful of times with, but knew they were carefully selected to wean out any Lord of Prey sympathizers, Lilly took a deep breath as she took the oath.

"Do you solemnly swear to tell the truth and nothing but the truth, so help you God," Delilah asked Lilly.

"I do," she said, then took her place at the stand. The donkey prosecutor, a smug grin on his muzzle, walked up to the ever-nervous Lilly, his brown eyes locked onto her with something of a joyful look. A look which greatly unnerved not only Lilly, but Judge Harper, who knew of the fox's reputation for "enjoying his job a bit too enthusiastically."

Especially when it came to predators.

"Please state your full name for the record," he asked, clearly cutting straight to the chase. And as this point, despite her nerves, Lilly knew that at that moment, she could not show any weakness to this literal ass, even if she was scared out of her mind. And so, despite being terrified, Lilly put on a strong, almost steely expression, one which surprised her family and friends at the knowledge that she could appear so stoic.

"Lillian Rachel Shaughnessy," responded with a small, almost mocking smile.

"What is your occupation?" Mr. Burro asked, this time frowning at the white beauty before him whose confidence had clearly taken him aback. Of course, Lilly felt a little uneasy to answer such a question. But she sucked it up and answered with her voice full of pride.

"I'm a stripper at The Moonlight Howl."

The jury seemed aroused to hear that the daughter of the mayor was in such a line of work. However, the arousal soon turned, to the defenses surprise, almost supportive, almost as if they were thinking "This girl is so brave to admit such a thing."

Charlie could even see more lustful looks being sent Lilly's way.

"I see," the prosecutor said, acting as if he too was aroused to hear such a thing, accentuating his falseness by dramatically placing a hand over his crotch, which caused Charlie to roll his eyes at his opponents terrible acting.

"And were you at The Moonlight Howl the night the murder of Mr. Wulf took place?"

"Yes. Yes, I was," Lilly said, her prideful smile now turning into a frown of pure defiance and conviction, "but I didn't kill him. Neither did Diane."

"Then who killed him?" Burro asked, raising his voice now at Lilly who was shrinking into her chair, her confident demeanor now shrinking with her as she was subject to the onslaught of Burro's question, the Diane suddenly giving her a mocking smile as he pointed a claw accusingly at her.

"Did you kill him because he failed to tip you for a dance or was it because he puked on you?"

"I object your honor!" Charlie shouted, jumping to his feet.

"Mr. Burro is treating my client as if hostile!"

Judge Harper, after a moment of thought, nodded. He and all the jury could see how Lilly had shrunk down in the chair as Burro attacked her with his accusations. Yes, one thing about Jack Burro was that he was the kind of lawyer who didn't look at facts; He was the kind of lawyer who made wild accusations until something stuck.

"Objection sustained," the judge smiled, then turned to look the prosecutor in the eye, the donkey himself actually shrinking under Harper's hash gaze.

"Step down Mr. Burro," he warned. Burro nodded, then walked off back to his side of the court room. And as Lilly's eyes followed the prosecuting attorney back to his table, her eyes caught movement in the back of the courtroom. And to her great surprise, where Alex and Belle O'Connor, King and Queen Bear taking a seat in the back of the courtroom, not unnoticed, but discreet enough so as not to disrupt the proceedings. Belle even sent Lilly a kind wave, which Lilly reciprocated with a small nod and smile. And as this silent exchange was occurring, Harper looked toward Charlie.

"Do you have any witnesses, Mr. Lane?" he asked.

Charlie smiled. Oh, how he loved his job.

"I do your honor," the saluki said, then turned around to only find three empty chairs. For a moment, the council of the defense looked surprised. He even looked to Lilly's family and the Moonlight Howl employees, each shrugging their shoulders at the clear reason for Charlie's confusion. Well most, as Diane and Wolf just rolled their eyes at the immaturity of Charlie's would-be witnesses.

"They were here just a minute ago, be right back," he said. With that, Charlie left the courtroom faster than a speeding bullet, or as fast as his cane and bum knee would let him. As the saluki turned the corner into the foyer, he saw that a group of people had gathered near the main entrance. That could mean only one thing…

"Step right up folks!" Mooch Swanson said aloud.

"Come one come all, see my friend Salty fight the ghost of Black Jack Collins!"

Salty, who at this point was shirtless, exposing a lithe frame, was throwing fists left and right, but was hitting nothing but thin air. At that moment Charlie knew what was happening, and couldn't help but let his face fall in annoyance. Suddenly, Salty was on the ground. People in the crowd began to wonder if he was all right.

"Oh, OW! He's going to kill me! Help me someone!" Salty screamed as he acted like he was being beaten up by a ghost. A red-tailed doe gasped in horror which did not go unnoticed by Shakey, who was currently counting money that the spectators had been so gullible to fork over to see this farce of a fight.

"Don't worry," he said with a smug smile.

"The ghost is well trained so Salty is in no real danger."

Charlie continued to frown at the very sight of his three witnesses goofing off, when they should be helping Lilly out. Clearing his throat, the old lawyer spoke as he hobbled down the courthouse steps.

"Gentlemen, don't you realize that Lilly and Diane are trouble, and their lives are on the line?" he asked, almost scolding them. Mooch, Salty, and Shaky, upon realizing the blunder they made, quickly took off running for the courtroom, knocking over a guard and two of the people who had been watching them. Charlie shook his head in despair.

"'Oh, sure mom and dad,'" he mumbled under his breath as he followed after them, "'I'll go to college and become a lawyer. And while we're at it, I'll join the Air Force.' Now look at me; babysitting three idiot witnesses…I should have specialized in dance like I wanted to."

Meanwhile, the courtroom door swung open, knocking the two bailiffs at the back out cold as the three wolves ran in. Judge Harper's jaw dropped. These were the three witnesses that Mr. Lane had to defend Lilly and Diane against the murder charge? Well, they would have to do, even though the judge wasn't at all happy to see them in his courtroom. And off course, Burro was smiling like an idiot at what would appear to be an easy win.

Mooch was up first.

Taking his spot on the stand, Charlie approached Mooch.

"Were you at the Moonlight Howl on the night of the murder?" he asked.

Mooch snapped his fingers and flashed Charlie a smile.

"Hell yeah, I was."

But, the moment he saw Charlie's disapproving scowl, Mooch sheepishly cleared his throat as he began o to fidget in his seat.

"I mean, uh, yes Mr. Lane, I was."

Charlie, although clearly annoyed with Mooch's behavior, almost dreading Salty and Shakey's testimony, continued with the questions.

"Did you see Lilly Shaughnessy or Diane Foxington in any way, harm or try to harm, the late Henry Wulf?"

Burro jumped up, his face full of anger.

"I object your honor!" he shouted.

"Council is trying to lead the witness."

The judge nodded.

"Objection sustained."

First strike for Charlie, but there was still a chance to win.

"Mooch, did you ever see Lilly and Hench Wolf fight or argue?"

"No, sir," Mooch replied.

"Then will you explain to the court what happened on the night of the murder?"

Mooch cleared his throat.

"Well, you see, Salty, Shaky and I, we're regulars there. Lilly over there was hotdogging the pole while flashing her tits off. This went down as Hench was over at the bar, trying to have Sweets open a bottle rum with her boobs, and a bear by the name of Louis, was looking like he was ready to piss himself."

For the next five minutes, Mooch went on about how the strippers were servicing the customers to when the cops showed. After his testimony, Burro walked up. He didn't play around and really made Mooch feel uneasy during the questioning. However, Mooch did bring up the fact that Salty had seen Roy and Hench walk off to the VIP lounge together, followed closely by Louis thirty minutes later.

Salty was then called to the stand. Burro walked up, clearly still annoyed by Mooch's personality, and feared Salty would be the same.

"Salty, is it possible that Lilly killed Hench and shot Roy Larson to keep him from calling the cops on her?"

Salty shook his head with a slight smirk.

"No, there is no way she could," he said.

"Why is that?" Mr. Burro asked the retired surfer with an annoyed sigh, already feeling something idiotic coming.

Salty looked over at Lilly and smiled.

"Because she was Roy's closest friend."

The sincerity with which the answer was given greatly shocked Burro. Hell, even Charlie found himself touched by the fact that despite his unique personality, Salty seemed to display so professionalism in the matter.

"What of Diane Foxington? She was found in the same room with Roy's blood on her hands."

"She was trying to save Roy's life," Salty protested, his brows furrowed as if Burro had just insulted his mother, but the donkey only glared at the wolf.

"Was either victim drunk?" Mr. Burro asked, believing not a word of what Salty was saying.

"Are you kidding me?" Slaty scoffed, the surfer-wolf continuing to surprise every that despite his usually laid-back personality, he was displaying great conviction in giving his testimony. In fact, many couldn't be sure but they could have sworn he had lost his surfer twang a couple of times as he went on his rant.

"Hench was a very heavy drinker. When I saw him at the bar, he had already downed two whole bottles of Jack Daniels, had six Gimlets, four beers, two Black Russians, and a Sex on the Beach cocktail. He could drink Sam O'Brien under the table if he wanted too."

Burro looked like he was going to be sick himself from hearing how much alcohol the late Hench Wulf could drink without dying. And upon looking back at the Irish-wolf Salty had mentioned, Salty's story was confirmed as Sam shrugged and nodded his head. Still, the prosecutor pressed on.

"Is it still possible that after Hench puked on Lilly, she cleaned herself up, came back and killed him?" Mr. Burro asked, then turned his gaze to Diane.

"And then, she shot Roy Larson as Diane only was there to play doctor with him to hide the fact that she was Lilly's accomplice in this crime?"

"THAT'S BULLSHIT!" Diane shouted jumping up from her seat, the sudden outburst make Lilly move away from the fox as it took Charlie some effort to calm the angry vixen, but it was the judge shouting for order in his court.

Judge Harper looked at Salty.

"Continue with the testimony."

Salty nodded and turned his attention back to prosecutor.

"As I was saying, she didn't have the time," he said, "Because she then went to a VIP booth to give a private show to Shakey. During that time, I saw Roy and Louis arguing near the manager's office which was empty because Scars and Claw was out messing around."

"What were they arguing about?" Charlie asked, slowly standing from his spot at the defense table, his interest in Salty's testimony growing by the second.

"I don't know," Salty said with a shrug.

"But Louis was looking like a rabid animal."

Then without any warning, the surfer jumped from the stand, and grabbed Mooch, the fat wolf shocked by what was happening, as well as everyone else.

"He grabbed Roy by his neck like this…"

As Salty spoke, he demonstrated just that, before bringing Mooch up to his face, mimicking the confrontation he had seen and dragged him over to the table. Mooch struggled to break his friend's grip, but Salty was too caught up in acting out what he saw transpire that night.

"Then he picked up the hammer and hit him over the head like this," Salty shouted, then WHACK!

Salty hit Mooch over the head with a concealed hammer.

"There he is," Sam mumbled to himself as the old Salty was now back.

"Then he started digging though his pockets, looking for something no doubt."

Charlie and Burro both cocked their heads as Salty pulled out Mooch's wallet and took out three hundred dollars, before throwing the wallet away.

"And that ladies and gentlemen is what I saw happen on the night of the murder," Salty said, before he too was hit over the head with the hammer, knocking him out cold. Mooch looked at him.

"Idiot," he growled at his unconscious friend, taking back the three hundred.

Burro had enough of this nonsense.

"I find that hard to believe, because when the police arrived, Detective Samson Jones found the defendant, Lilly Shaughnessy, leaning over a murdered man with a revolver in her hand. By her side was Governor Foxington, her hands covered in Roy Larson's blood from 'attempting to save his life.'"

The jury began to whisper among themselves. Each one asking the same question if Lilly had indeed committed the murder. But Charlie still had an Ace up his sleeve. Getting up, the saluki looked over at Burro with a smug smile. Charlie, upon making his way to the evidence table, which held the weapon in question, looked at the revolver, carefully examining it until a huge smile spread on his muzzle. He knew he had won the case now.

"This goes to prove one of my clients is innocent," he stated with pride.

"Innocent?" Burro asked, shocked that Charlie was refusing to give up.

"Yes, and I'll prove it," he smiled, turning to the jury, he spoke with great confidence.

"Ladies and gentlemen, the action of this pistol is so hard, it would take the strength of a mule to pull the trigger. And even if Lilly managed to pull the trigger, police found no powder residue in the fur on her finger."

Charlie looked over at Shakey and held out the revolve to him.

"Pull the trigger," he said.

Shaky hands shook with fear as he took hold of the revolver's handle.

"Don't worry, it's not loaded," Charlie said to him. Although still nervous, Shakey tried to pull the trigger, but nothing happened, so, with all his might, the hippy wolf was at last able to pull the trigger. Seeing how hard Shaky had to strain himself just to pull the trigger, the jury began to talk among themselves once more.

But Charlie wasn't done.

"Another thing to add…"

The murmuring stopped.

"The bullet recovered from Hench Wulf, graciously provided as evidence by the Jasper Police Department," Charlie continued, walking over to the evidence table, producing a plastic bag that held the bloody bullet, "was a 45 fired from that very revolver. However…"

Charlie paused, placing the bullet that killed Hench back on the table, before grabbing a similar bag with another bloody bullet.

"The bullet recovered from Roy Larson…was fired from a 9mm Semi-Automatic Pistol. Yet the second gun, conveniently, was never found by the authorities. And interestingly enough, the bullet has no rifling, making it nearly impossible to trace. With no disrespect to Lilly, she wouldn't have been able to think of that."

A collective gasp went up from the crowd, each surprised at what they had just heard.

A second a gun…does that mean a second shooter?

At that notion, a few eyes turned to Lilly And Diane, connecting the dots in a way that implicated them of working together. But it still didn't add up. However, Burro proved his own commitment to his profession. In the end, with no real witnesses to the crime, and with the ballistic evidence now working against him, Burro resorted to Character witnesses, ones who would be able to attest to Lilly's overall personality, and whether or not she would have the psychological capacity to carry out such a crime.

However, before Burro could call his first character witness, a crazed elephant rushed into the courtroom. In his hand was a sign showing his loyalty to the Lords of Prey's cause. The elephant started jumping around, throwing things and attacking any predator that was in his way.

"CLEAR THE COURT!" Judge Harper shouted as a handful of security guards rushed in to detain the crazy protester.

The people hurried out of the courtroom as the elephant put up a fight. During the chaos, Diane was able to slip away from the guards escorting her. And while she really didn't want to leave Lilly behind, she knew that if Lilly was to be cleared of the crime of murder, then Diane would need to go look for the clues herself. Still, the lovely vixen knew she better call up Dax and Sam to help her. Luckily, she was able to get a discrete message to Dax, he immediately knew what she was doing with a blink of her eyes, followed by a tug of her ear.

Eyes and Ears Open.

With that, Dax passed the word onto Sam, who watched in a mixture of amusement and mild annoyance as the elephant was finally subdued. And as everything started to die down, Diane made her way outside, she noticed that in an alley by the courthouse Simba was in the middle of some sort of argument with Louis. The lion seemed to be really angry, but the vixen had no idea why, so she made her way quietly toward the two. And as she drew closer, their words became clear.

"You failed me, Louis," Simba growled at the bear.

"The boy is still alive."

Louis pointed a finger at Simba.

"Yet no longer a problem," he replied.

"Shenzi is now single again, so be thankful that he's no longer in the way."

Diane had no idea who Louis was talking about, but whoever it was, had some sort of connection to Shenzi. The vixen figured the next course of action was to have Richie and Wolf tail Simba while she went back to the crime scene.

Later that night, Diane entered the Moonlight Howl and headed straight to the room where Hench and Roy had been shot. After slipping past the guard stationed in the main room, Diane entered the VIP room, the floor was still stained with Hench and Roy's blood.

"Now, let's see who else was in here," she said. Looking around, Diane noticed that the carpet near the door had been disturbed, as if someone had moved it before the police arrived. Thinking back, Diane remembered that just before the shooting, she and Lilly had been given some cocktail and after drinking it, blacked out. It then dawned on her, the minute they woke up, Lilly had the gun in her hand, Hench was dead, and Roy was badly wounded.

"This might be worth taking back to be studied," Diane smiled as she looked at the empty glasses on the VIP stage. She scooped them up and hurried out of the club to find Eve Lewis and Ellie Lane, and ask if they could see if the glasses had any traces of drugs on them.

Diane was about to leave when she heard the sound of a pistol being cocked. The lovely vixen tilted her head a bit to the left and felt like she knew who was behind her.

"Kitty Softpaws, am I right?"

"Indeed," Kitty smiled as she put her weapon away.

"Why are you here, Diane?"

"Just gathering evidence to clear Lilly and I's name," Diane replied as she turned around. Unfortunately, she didn't get very far before Kitty spoke again.

"You WERE drugged...I'll save you that."

Diane turned back to kitty, finding the tuxedo cat was holding a home drug test.

"I put some water in one of the glasses, then performed the test...a mild sedative. Not enough to knock you out but enough to slow your reflexes and thinking."

"Then that's the proof we need," Diane responded with a hopeful smirk, only for it to fall when Kitty glumly shook her head.

"The problem is Jack Burro won't see it that way. He will spin it so that the drug was found after the fact. Maybe even accuse you of putting it there. And a toxicology report on you and Lilly wouldn't yield anything since too much time has passed. It will essentially become a "he said, she said' argument."

"Fuck," Diane swore under breath, pinching the bridge of her muzzle as she felt the sensation of a migraine coming about at everything that was happening.

"But I did find something out."

Looking to Kitty, Diane saw the cat present her with a folded piece of paper.

"Get this to Max Fray."

That was all Kitty said before she threw smoke pellet down on the floor.

Meanwhile, Richie dropped by Simba's hotel room and while he shared a bottle of Jack with the corrupted lion, Wolf was going though his car, trying to find anything that could prove that Simba had some kind of connection to the shooting. And as Wolf opened the glove box, he was surprised to see pictures of Shenzi. But non of the pictures were taken willingly, they were of her going about her daily life, a clear sign that Simba was stalking her.

One picture captured Shenzi in a dressing room, another one of her sitting on the toilet, and some even of her doing it with Roy. Wolf could tell this was enough to prove Simba was stalking the sexy hyena, but nothing to connect him to the killing.

Still, he kept on looking.

Inside the hotel room, Simba was laughing as he downed himself another drink.

"What are you talking about, Richie?" he said pouring himself another shot.

"I would never have done that. I respect Shenzi too much to hurt her like that."

Richie found himself smiling as he could clearly see Simba's hands tense up around his glass. The lion also seemed to keep looking at him and back at his empty glass. The German Shepherd then asked another question.

"But what about your deals with King Bear?"

Simba frowned.

"I only let him use my business so he could save a ton of money."

Richie could tell by Simba's answer and body language that he was lying. So, for the next ten minutes, the two talked, and the German Shepherd studied the lion the whole time. It was clear that Simba was guilty of hiring someone to try and kill Roy, but the only question was who?

As Richie left Simba's hotel room, the German Shepherd noticed that Wolf was sitting in the driver's seat of said lion's car. As he got closer, Richie thought that Wolf was sleeping, but no, there was a dart in the side of his neck. The German Shepherd halted as he heard the sound of a sword being unsheathed from behind him. Turning around, he was able to see Sarah Flasker rush him.

It was time for this dog to deal with this foxy ninja.

In another hotel a few miles away, Lilly had been put under house arrest and prayed that this nightmare would end. A knock at the door caused the white beauty to worry, but she quickly relieved to find out that it was only Winston. Her father had come by to see her.

"Hey, Lilly," he greeted, giving his daughter a big hug.

"I got good news for you."

Lilly looked at her father and gave him a big smile.

"The charges against me were dropped?" she asked hopefully, but the look on Winston's face said differently.

"I'm afraid not, but Diane did find some clues," he said. Lilly seemed a little upset, but at least the news wasn't all bad. Winston felt it was time to help Lilly relax and forget about the trial.

Winston explained to Lilly that as long as Samson was keeping an eye on things, she could order in and spend time with her father. Winston let his daughter pick any restaurant she wanted. Lilly picked a long time favorite. A chain restaurant that boasted pizzas and pastas, as well as lots of free soup, salad and garlic bread. And while Lilly was worried, Delilah, who stood guard, had assured her that Samson was going to keep an on the workers to make sure they didn't add an "special ingredients." And within the hour, both Lilly and Winston were enjoying a nice dinner of fettuccine alfredo and pizza respectively in the hotel room, chatting casually about nothing of importance.

"So, what's going on with you and Webs?" Lilly asked abruptly.

Winston looked up at Lilly.

"What do you mean?"

"I saw you two talking outside the Moonlight Howl just an hour before the shooting."

Winston didn't answer right away and instead pretended to be very engrossed in his third slice of pizza.

"I mean...I noticed the money exchange between you two. I have also noticed you two are always sneaking off to talk, but never once have I seen you look happy about these talks," Lilly tried again.

"You certainly are observant lately," Winston said. He lifted his bottle of beer to his lips and took a long drink.

"Truth is I have had Webs do some digging on Pongo and his so called meetings with King Bear and his brother."

"That's a cop out."

Lilly took a piece of the free garlic bread that the restaurant provided.

Winston took a deep breath and glanced at his beer. He might need a few more of them if this conversation was going to continue on this subject.

"I've tried reaching out to him. Pongo cuts me off at every attempt, so it is clear that he has become corrupt…or King Bear has dirt on him that my friend does not want to get out. "

Lilly eyed her father speculatively. She seemed to be toying with something she wanted to say or ask. Winston kind of hoped she decided not to ask or say whatever was on her mind. As it was, his head was already spinning. He was feeling nothing but rejection from his own deputy mayor, and yet he was coming close to crossing all sorts of invisible lines asking Webs to look into Pongo's personal life. Putting aside the piece of garlic bread she had been nibbling, her petite hand slid across the bed that had been serving as their table and took his. Winston could only imagine how intimate they appeared sitting together in the private room with their hands linked. It reminded him of his youth with Eve before she gave birth to Kate.

"Do you think...you know...Pongo had anything to do with the shooting?" Lilly finally asked, her eyes going wide.

Winston shook his head.

"Nope. He has been too busy getting ready to step down as deputy mayor to be involved with the shooting."

Lilly then changed the subject.

"Are you and mom still having fun together, or has Lyle and Link gotten between you and her?"

Winston coughed hard. With his free hand he took his beer and swallowed a long pull from the bottle. He eyed his daughter over the bottle. There was no way he could discuss his sex life with his daughter. No way, no how. That was his and Eve's private business. Furthermore, it felt wrong discussing that specific topic when lately his sexual fantasies have included her...his own grown child...

"I am sorry. I shouldn't have asked that." she had the good grace to cast her eyes down and blush a pretty shade of pink.

"It's okay, Baby. It's just private." Winston explained gently.

Lilly's eyes narrowed.

"Huh...so you're still active." she said, cocking her head a little.

"Yeah," Winston said softly. But while Winston and Lilly spent their time together, Richie was way over his head.

Sarah Flasker had him pinned down and her blade was at his throat. Before the vixen could finish him, a blast of icy blue energy shot past her. Sarah looked up to see a giant polar bear with bright red eyes looking at her. The assassin knew who this was.

"Captain Winters?" Sarah gasped.

The polar bear smiled as he aimed his ice laser at the her. "Sarah Flasker, just the bitch I wanted to kill!" With those words, Winters fired.

One hour later...

Winston and Lilly remained where they sat, their hands still intertwined. He and Eve hadn't held hands like this for some time. In fact, he couldn't recall the last time they had held hands or kissed, like really kissed. Why had they stopped doing these things?

It had to be when everything in Jasper started to fall apart. First it was the rise in crime, then the Lords of Prey, now his daughter was at risk of being locked up for a crime she didn't commit.

But for now, Winston knew all he could do was sit back and wait.