Episode 2: A Study in Turnabout

Part 7: Not so Mild-Manored

July 11th, 3:14 PM

Casa Tigre - Entrance

By this time yesterday, they were wrapping up their investigation of this place, not initiating it. Already off to a bad start.

There was no white limousine parked here this time, but the camo-green humvee was. Tooth & Claw had evidently given up on the case while Kyle VanDal had very much not.

"That's odd," Eric said, looking around. "The ZPD are investigating the outside today."

Indeed, most of the officers were now stationed in the garden or around the back. A few in particular were crowded around the window leading into Lord Tigre's study, equipped with protective gear to keep them safe from the surrounding thorns.

"What do you think that's about?" Millie asked.

"I don't know," Delilah replied. "And I'm willing to bet Kyle's not gonna tell us."

"He might not be our only obstacle." Eric pointed to the front doors, and at the large sun bear directly in front of them.

Sunny Urshine stood up straight, arms folded behind his back in the most professional pose they'd yet seen him in. He must have noticed them arrive, yet gave no acknowledgment of their presence.

"I'm sure that's fine." Delilah nonchalantly walked right up to him, whistling innocently, only to be stopped by the bear thrusting his palm in her face. "Dang, I thought that would work."

"Halt!" Sunny commanded, almost managing to sound a little commanding. "I've been ordered to not let you pass."

"What? By whom?" Eric asked. "Lady Tigre?"

"Um… A lady of a sort…"

"Lara then." Delilah groaned. "Come on, big guy, I thought we were friends. Can't you look the other way for us?"

Sunny couldn't keep up the stoic act much longer. "Awww, I'm sorry. I know you mean well, but orders are orders. I need to prove I'm still capable after that fiasco with the fish."

(So this is partially MY fault. There's gotta be a way around him.) "Well… Maybe you could answer a few more questions for us?"

Sunny hesitated for a moment, but gave a nod. "Uh, I guess that's alright. She didn't say anything about not talking to you."

"Great!" Delilah said, giving her most disarming grin. "For starters, we heard from Chef Humphrey about what really happened at breakfast. We were hoping to ask what you remember from that."

"O-Oh…" His face fell a little. "Well, you know I was there. I saw the whole thing go down, with Lord Tigre chewing out Humphrey, and firing all of us. Then he stormed out and I had to go with him, since that was my job. Even though he just said it wasn't anymore…"

(So he would've missed everything that went on between Chef Humphrey and Monty.) "What then?"

"His wife and daughter had a spat with him too, and then he locked himself in the study while I stood guard outside. Everything else you already know." Sunny suddenly gasped, slapping a fist into his open palm. "Wait! There is one thing I haven't told you."

"Oh?" she asked curiously.

"It's about what happened when I delivered the, um, fish to Lord Tigre," he explained, still clearly guilty over that blunder. "I remember seeing him talking to someone."

"There was someone else in the room with him?"

"No, not quite. He was talking to them through the window. It sounded pretty serious too."

"Did you see who it was?" she asked, already knowing the answer. She wasn't that lucky.

Sure enough, he shook his head. "I'm afraid not. They left as soon as I opened the door all the way. Sorry I couldn't be more help…"

Sunny's Testimony updated in the Court Record

Sadly, aside from reaffirming their need to talk to the other Tigres, he hadn't told them much else. "What about Humphrey and Lara?" Delilah asked. "Can you tell us anything about them?"

Sunny's face twitched. His lower lip quivered.

(That might've been a tactical error.)

And then the dam burst, allowing the waterworks to flow freely.

"Uh... There there." Delilah awkwardly patted the sobbing bear on the shoulder. She could barely reach it on her tiptoes even after he fell to his knees.

"IT SHOULD HAVE BEEN SO BEAUTIFUHUHUHUHUUUULLL!" Sunny wailed. "RIA AND I POOLED OUR PAYCHECKS FOR SOME GOOD WINE TO CELEBRATE, BUT IT NEVER HAPPEHEHEHEHENED! I'M A TERRIBLE BODYGUAAAAARD!"

The sheer force of his sobs was enough to push them even further from the entrance. A few cops looked over, probably wondering if they needed to write him up for disturbing the peace. "I-It's gonna be okay!" Delilah yelled. "Really! It's only a matter of time before they're together again!"

Sunny slowed down just a little, sniffling. "Y-You d-don't understand. I… I knew I was awful at my job long before this. I m-might be strong, but I'm too soft to p-protect anyone. I'm nothing but a big, u-useless teddy bear!"

"Hey, that's not true!" Delilah insisted. "Even if you're not punching anyone out, you're far from useless! A teddy bear can be real nice to have when you're shaking in your boots, and that's what the Tigres need most right now. For you to be there for them."

"Yeah!" Millie agreed. "Teddy bears are super huggable! Just ask Stuffy!"

Eric wasn't sure how to feel about that. "I do have a storied history of punching mammals out, but otherwise the point is valid."

Sunny lifted his head. "M-Maybe you're right. Yes, I can be there for them!" Now he lifted his entire body, standing up straight again. "The Tigres still need me! Maybe I can't protect them from physical harm, but I can from emotional harm! Thanks guys, you've really helped me… Guys?"

Sunny looked down, where the lawyers and their intern no longer stood.

The front doors closed behind him.

Inside the foyer, those same three mammals were now rushing up the stairs to the second floor. "I support the results of your gambit, Delilah," said Eric, "but not the method."

"The fact that I had an ulterior motive didn't make my words any less true!" she replied. "Now c'mon, we need to get to Lady Tigre!"

3:28 PM

Casa Tigre - Master Bedroom

They were almost surprised to see the matriarch in the flesh again, after having gotten used to interacting with her through a wooden door. The large tigress was sitting on her bed, purple gown huddled around her as she cooled herself with her feather fan. They thought she had noticed them immediately, but soon realized it was actually the head of the peacock attached to her backpiece that was staring them down.

(That thing had better not be playing dead too.)

"Uh… hi. Lady Tigre?"

In fact, she hadn't noticed them at all, and shot upright as soon as Delilah spoke, hiding herself behind her fan. "Y-You again? What do you want?"

"Don't run away!" she said quickly. "We're here to help. That's all."

"Mr. VanDal told me not to talk to you!" Lady Tigre said, eyes sliding to the bathroom.

Delilah resisted the urge to shout 'Hold it!' on impulse. This would require a gentler approach. "But there's a good reason you should talk to us: Monty. The two of you are pretty close, right?"

"Of course we are," she said, closing her fan with a sudden snap. "Monty, Ellias, all of them are family to me. That is precisely why I wish to stay out of these proceedings. I cannot be a neutral witness, and I risk damning them further with anything I say."

"That might not be true," she reasoned. "As it stands, your words could be the only thing keeping them from going down for murder."

"You and your daughter are the only ones in the household we have yet to hear from," Eric added. "Your perspective at this time would be invaluable."

Part of her still looked ready to bolt, but she eventually sighed in resignation, fanning herself once more. "…Very well. If I don't talk, you'll probably just bang on my door again."

(No, but maybe I shouldn't correct her.)

Delilah finally relaxed a bit herself. "Thank you. I promise you won't regret this. What was your relationship with Lord Tigre like?"

Lady Tigre paused, considering her words. "Well... No relationship is perfect. He was loud, brash, and an open sadist, but…" She sniffled a little. "He was also brave, a charmer, and very charitable. When we first met, I thought he was a knight in shining armor!"

"Charitable?" she asked.

"Oh yes!" For the first time, Lady Tigre actually smiled. "You may have heard, but we have a habit of taking in those who struggle to find work in their fields."

For all the shit they'd heard about him so far, it was easy to forget that Lord Tigre was well-known as a philanthropist, even if Lady Tigre seemed more interested in that aspect. "You mean like Monty?"

"Not just him," she corrected. "All of them. I don't mean to disparage, but you may have noticed that our servants can seem… somewhat unqualified for their positions."

"…The thought did cross my mind."

"So how did they all come to work for you then?" Eric asked.

"Well, I'm sure you've heard some of it from Monty," she explained. "He used to be a member of some old street gang called 'The Mad Geese'. You've probably seen their mark on his arms. We caught him breaking in one night after the rest of the gang left him behind, and decided to hire him on instead of turning him in. The poor thing was so desperate for a second chance."

(And a third, if we count his association with Sang.)

"Chef Humphrey was always a chef," she continued. "But one with a volatile temper and a tendency to cut corners when it comes to food safety."

(Given recent events, that kinda seems like an understatement.) "So he got on the bad side of a health inspector? He does seem to have a grudge against them."

"Yes, though it would perhaps be more accurate to say that the health inspector got on the bad side of his frying pan."

"Yep, that would do it."

"What about Sunny?" Millie asked.

"Ooh! He was so neat! He was a former professional wrestler!" Lady Tigre said with enthusiasm. "But he had to retire in disgrace when he fled in tears from an opponent's crazed laughter. I don't blame him. That hyena was scary. I wanted to run too."

(That is... not what I expected.) "And Ria?"

"That's actually one of my favorite stories," Lady Tigre recalled fondly. "You see, it was the only time I ever went hunting with Dominic. I was so scared! Ms. Nepeta was our guide. She knew a lot about the local flora, but not much about the fauna. She was severely mauled by an ostrich and Dominic had to save her. She was so nice after that, we decided to bring her back with us!"

"Guess I'd be pretty nice too if I got rescued from a murder bird," Delilah admitted.

"Your servants do seem to have the highest of praise for you," Eric recalled. "In direct contrast to their feelings about your husband, I must say."

She frowned, gently petting the peacock over her shoulder. "Yes, I suppose I understand where they're coming from. Dominic was supportive at first, but over time he grew to be less enthusiastic about hiring servants of 'dubious quality' as he so put it. He believed it made him look bad in front of his privileged peers."

(Leave it to rich assholes to ruin everything.)

Eric's brow furrowed. "So he started treating them worse. And you as well?"

She nodded sadly. "That's right. But he mostly tolerated them, for my sake. …At least until he learned about Lara's relationship with our chef."

"How did you feel about that?" Delilah asked.

"Oh, they were just adorable together!" Lady Tigre gushed. "Ellias is such a sweetheart. I've never seen Lara break that brooding angst for anyone but him."

Her face fell. "But Dominic... wasn't as happy as I was. Apparently, the jeweler that Ellias bought the ring from called to congratulate him on our new son-in-law. Dominic raged for hours about the disgrace that Lara marrying a poor chef would supposedly bring on us."

"And he used that as an excuse to sack all of them," Eric realized. "How dreadful."

"The sad thing is, Dominic wasn't even of high birth to begin with," she said. "He married into my family and took my name. I always knew he was insecure about that, I just never thought he'd take it this far. And now…" She looked down, fan hanging limply at her side. "This entire household is falling apart."

Delilah forced herself to meet her eyes, which wasn't too hard when she was still much bigger than them. "Listen... I'm sorry for what happened with Chef Humphrey. But I swear I'll make it right. Once we catch your husband's killer, you can finally have some closure."

"Perhaps…" she said, not sounding entirely convinced. "Very well. I'm ready to talk about the day of the murder."

(Alright! Now we're getting somewhere!) "Thank you! Tell us everything you can remember."

Lady Tigre took a deep breath. "Well, I recall that Dominic was unusually happy that morning. He was never the type to be all smiles... unless he got to deliver bad news to someone. He loved doing that. Obviously, I found out why he was so happy at breakfast. Ellias made such a wonderful meal. A true masterpiece." She sighed. "Then, as soon as the food was served, Dominic just stood up and started yelling. I almost fainted from how foul his language was. I think Lara was morbidly impressed at how many insults he managed to cram the F-word into."

"I could probably top it."

Eric nudged her.

"Right, I mean, what happened next?"

"Ellias retreated into his kitchen and everyone else dispersed. Though I was too distraught at the time to keep track of them all, so Monty could have slipped into the kitchen as well. As for myself, I followed after Dominic along with Lara, pleading with him to reconsider. You can guess how well that went."

She looked away, and Delilah could've sworn she saw her brush her cheek a little, but chose not to comment on it.

"Dominic locked himself in his study and Lara stormed up to her room," she continued. "Naturally, I chose to comfort my daughter over pursuing him further. I still would have even if I knew it would be the last time I'd see him alive. So I stayed with Lara for a bit, maybe about fifteen minutes, before returning to my bedroom here. I needed time to be alone as well."

"So the two of you stayed on the second floor then?" Delilah asked. "For how long?"

"Until I heard the commotion from downstairs and learned of Dominic's death," she said softly. "It was hours later, but honestly it felt like mere moments."

"And did you see Lara again during that time?"

She shook her head. "No, I didn't see anyone. Why? Is that a problem?"

Delilah hesitated to answer, sharing a troubled glance with Eric. She could tell they were both thinking the same thing.

(So neither of the Tigres have an alibi for that entire time frame.)

Lady Tigre's Testimony added to the Court Record

The door opened, and a terrible inconvenience walked in.

Well, hobbled.

Kyle VanDal smiled at them politely. "Heeeeeey! You guys are back at it after all! I was a little worried!"

"We—" Delilah began.

But Kyle completely ignored the clever quip she had planned, and turned to Lady Tigre. "I'm gonna need you to come with me down to the station for questioning. Got a big day tomorrow."

"Oh. Right. Yes." She stood up. "I'm terribly sorry," she said to Delilah and Eric. "But please, feel free to continue searching the place. I really would prefer if Monty and Ellias were found innocent."

"The chips will fall where they may, Lady Tigre," Kyle said, not altogether encouragingly. "But I hope you remember that they need to fall somewhere."

"..." She had no response.

Finally, he looked back at them. "I look forward to matching wits again in the courtroom tomorrow. But just to give you a fair word of warning… you may want to stock up on white-out. Because that autopsy report is due for another revision!"

Delilah could've facepalmed, but she decided she'd rather smack him instead. "You have gotta be shi—"

"Oh, look at the time!" Kyle didn't have the courtesy of even pretending to look at it. "I'm afraid I must bid you adieu."

Kyle gave a wave and left with Lady Tigre, who gave a more sympathetic wave in turn.

"One step forward, two steps back," Delilah muttered. "I swear, he exists to cut us off anytime we get somewhere. Like a bartender on a Friday night binge."

"Your oddly specific analogy aside, I have to agree," Eric admitted. "We have more information, but not much to go on as far as investigating."

TEN-HUT!

They all jumped, looking back to the door, where Detective MacTalon now stood.

The wolverine lifted her shades. "So, I hear you folks are in need of info. Maybe I can help with that."

Between her shout and her offer, they were all stunned into silence. Delilah proved indignant enough to speak up first. "Did I miss something? What makes you suddenly want to help us?"

"Haven't I already? I let you into the crime scene, didn't I?"

"Okay, yeah, but…"

She grunted. "You really wanna know? Then let me ask ya something. Just how familiar are you with Prosecutor VanDal's career?"

"To be frank, more familiar than we'd like," Eric answered. "Dirty tricks and ethical misconduct galore. But we haven't been following his cases too closely, if that's what you mean."

"So you don't know about his nickname then?"

"Oh, we've heard that," Delilah said with a roll of her eyes. "'The Bullseye Prosecutor', right?"

She shook her head. "Nah, that's not the one I mean. Lately, the legal world has come to know him less for his pinpoint deductions and more for his flagrant indifference."

The image of Kyle asleep at his bench flashed through Delilah's mind.

(Makes sense from what I've seen.) "Makes sense from what I've seen."

"You haven't seen anything, MAGGOT!" MacTalon snapped, stomping her boot. "You haven't seen him literally walk out on trials. You haven't seen him put zero effort into a case once he thinks he's got it solved. If he wasn't so good at his job when he actually gives a shit, he probably wouldn't have one anymore. And so he's earned himself a new nickname: 'The Apathetic Attorney'."

"I had no idea…" Eric said. "I thought he was obsessed with winning. I didn't know he just stopped caring. What changed?"

"Not sure," the detective replied. "But if I had to guess, it has something to do with them."

"Them?"

"Tooth & Claw."

"There's that name again," Delilah growled. "So that's why you wanted us to take this case instead of them."

"Yeah, but there's another reason," she explained. "Something about facing the two of you again seems to have finally lit a fire under his tail. Must be nostalgia, I guess."

"Awww," Millie gushed. "That's so swe—"

"IN ANY CASE," MacTalon loudly cut her off, "this is the most effort I've seen from him in years, and I'm not letting you two wash out when he's actually showing some improvement!"

"So you don't want us to win," Eric concluded. "You just don't want him to beat us too badly."

"Exactly!"

(Unbelievable. But what are we gonna say? No?) "Fine. If it's a challenge he wants, it's a challenge he'll get. So give us this info of yours."

"Not so fast!" she said, lowering her shades and narrowing her eyes. "I might be willing to help, but I still have principles. You want this info, you're gonna have to work for it."

"The hell does that mean?"

3:40 PM Casa Tigre - Foyer

Five minutes later, she got her answer.

"PUSH HARDER, MAGGOT!" MacTalon roared down at her. "DIG DEEP!"

"Aaaaaagh…" Delilah strained against the exertion, arms behind her head as she struggled to lift it up to her knees. A task made slightly harder by the fact that her knees were draped across the banister while the entire upper half of her body hung upside-down over the foyer. The only thing actually holding her up was her tail. (Nothing like a little twenty-foot drop to motivate you.)

"COME ON, PUSH! I KNOW THE BLOOD AIN'T RUSHING TO YOUR HEAD, POSSUM!"

"You can do it, Delilah!" Eric called out, cheering up from below.

"The fact that we're here to catch you doesn't mean we don't believe!" Millie added.

The fact that they were there to catch her soon became very useful as her legs and tail gave out, losing their grip and sending her plummeting.

Eric caught her easily, setting the panting possum down.

"PATHETIC!" MacTalon chided, stomping down the stairs as she pointed to Millie. "You! Cover the maggot's ears! Since she failed, only Eric gets to hear the intel!"

"Ah! Yes, ma'am!" Millie scrambled over to cover Delilah's ears.

With them blocked, Delilah could hear nothing as MacTalon said something to Eric. She couldn't see much of it either as she was currently on the floor.

But based on how wide Eric's eyes got, the intel had at least been worth it. MacTalon pulled away while Millie freed the possum's ears.

"…I see," Eric remarked. "That's quite interesting. Erm, permission to share this with my partner now? She's still kind of the lead and all."

"Sure, go ahead." MacTalon shrugged. "I just didn't wanna tell her myself."

(How petty can you get?) She supposed she'd rather hear it from him anyway. "Lay it on me, Rick."

"Right." He clapped his paws together, looking decidedly troubled all of a sudden. "So, you know your theory about Lord Tigre accidentally ingesting deadly Delishafish? Well, it turns out Kyle decided to test it by reexamining the body, specifically the contents of his stomach."

She felt her own stomach sink. "And…?"

"He found nothing of the sort," Eric finished. "Nogu pufferfish toxin is undoubtedly the cause of death, but the victim did not ingest any."

"WHAT?!" Ignoring the pain in her legs, Delilah sat right back up. "That's impossible! What about the chunk that was missing?!"

He looked very uncomfortable having to share all this. "It's no longer missing. The ZPD found it wedged in the thorns outside his window. Kyle's theory is that Lord Tigre cut the piece off to eat before his pride got the better of him and he decided to chuck it. That would make it fly off in a completely different trajectory from the rest of the dish."

"But if the wine didn't kill him, and the fish didn't kill him, then just how the hell did this asshole die?!"

Lord Tigre's Autopsy Report updated in the Court Record

Spoiled Delishafish updated in the Court Record

And Eric wasn't even done delivering bad news. "Evidently, Kyle wondered the same thing. But then he remembered what that helpful juror explained during the trial."

"See, it's true that the pufferfish's venom really is that deadly, when it's injected through contact with the spines. That's how it defends itself in its natural environment."

"When directly injected, the toxin works much faster," Eric summarized. "So he went over the crime scene again, searching for anything that might have been laced with it."

MacTalon chose then to step back in. "Hold on. I wanna test her again. Take a guess where we eventually found that toxin, maggot."

Delilah thought it over for a moment. Then her eyes lit up. "Ah-ha! I think I DO know where it was!"

She pointed as fiercely as she could up at MacTalon. "Lord Tigre's bronze figurine!"

"What?" MacTalon shook her head hard enough to shake the stupid out of her ears. "No! That murder noodle's lapel pin!"

"Ohhhh." Delilah laughed a little, before flinching and clutching her chest. "Ohhhh!"

"Yup." The wolverine smirked. "Soon as we knew what to look for, we found a pinprick under the fur beneath the victim's chin. Our guess is that he wrapped his arms around him from behind so that he'd prick 'em even if he got flung off. So Buttle Boy is still the primary suspect. Not that we're letting Chef Piss-for-Brains off the hook either."

Millie turned to Delilah. "Hey, didn't you prick yourself on that thing yesterday?"

"Yeah, when I was looking under the desk. But it didn't break the skin or any… I COULD'VE DIED!"

Lapel Pin updated in the Court Record

Lord Tigre's Autopsy Report again updated in the Court Record

(No way! How did we go from nearly proving this was an accident to putting Monty back in VanDal's crosshairs?!) "I-I refuse to believe that!" she said defiantly. "Monty's finally being honest with us for once and he didn't say a thing about poisoning the pin! I'm standing by his innocence!" Realizing she was still on the floor, she forced herself to stand. "Ow…"

"I guess we'll see how long you can keep on standing then," MacTalon replied. "Like I said, this was only to give you a bit of a fighting chance, that's all. But I'm starting to think you still aren't equipped enough even for that, so I'll give you guys one more hint."

She walked back into the study, the scene of the crime, beckoning them to follow. "Our troops found that piece of fish searching around that window outside." She pointed to the window in question, no longer occupied by the ZPD. "But there's something else we found there that might just help you out. You'll have to see it for yourself."

"What about the thorns?" Delilah asked, not keen on facing them again. "Do you have more of those special suits around?"

"Yeah, but I ain't authorized to just lend 'em out." Delilah somehow doubted she would even if she could. "You wanna get through those thorns, ask the gardener. She might have a spare suit or two."

"Thank you for your help, Sigrid," Eric said sincerely.

"There's still another problem," Delilah pointed out. "We can't exactly walk out the front door. Sunny's guarding it and it might be... awkward running into him again."

"Oh, don't worry about that, I've got ya covered," MacTalon said, casually walking behind her before suddenly seizing the possum by the tail. "YEET!"

Thankfully the window was open, because MacTalon had one hell of a throw and sent Delilah flying through the air, over the thorn bushes, and tumbling into the grass like a crashed plane.

Moments later, Eric was helping her up. "Are you alright?"

"Yolkswagen…" Delilah muttered drearily. She shook herself alert. "I mean, yeah. How'd you guys get out here?"

"We took the back door," Millie replied.

"It was unlocked and unguarded," Eric confirmed.

"'Course it was…"

"Detective!" They heard Kyle's voice inside the study. "What is the holdup here?! We need to hit the road!"

"S-Sorry, sir! Coming!" MacTalon yelled back.

It seemed that was the most catharsis Delilah was going to get out of this. "Whatever. Now we're outside. Guess we better go visit Ria next. She should be more sociable."

"Perhaps a bit too sociable," Eric said, looking to the nearby gardening shed.

It was an old and dilapidated wooden building, as expected. But there was also a visible smokey haze coming from the place, and they were pretty sure it wasn't on fire. "Looks like she's busy."

"Do we really have to go in there?" Millie asked, already covering her nose.

"Unfortunately, yes," Eric said. "At least long enough to get some spare gear off of her."

Delilah sniffed the air. "Eh, it's just catnip anyway. It shouldn't affect us. Besides, I've had worse."

"Believe me, I know."

"Hey, don't worry. The only drug I'm addicted to now is the truth!" Delilah paused. "Granted, that sorta depends on how you define 'drug'…"

3:49 PM

Casa Tigre - Gardening Shed

"Heeeeeey, guuuuuuys!"

The exuberance of Ria Nepeta's welcome did not seem to match her level of energy. The cheetah wasn't even standing up, just sitting cross-legged on the floor of the shed with a lit bong between her gloved fingers. "Come on in! The party's just getting started!"

"This doesn't look like much of a party," Delilah said, stepping inside. "I would know."

"Ack! My lungs!" Eric coughed.

"My nose!" Millie squeaked.

Delilah laughed. "Heh. Lightweights. So, uh, how've you been, Ria? Sorry I kinda called you out in court today. I mean, I kinda called out everyone, but still…"

"It's all good, Ms. Ninja Lawyer." Ria laughed too. She didn't quite know when to stop. "It all worked out in the end, right?"

"Not… really? Monty's still arrested and now I'm the jerk who just broke up two star-crossed lovers."

"Oh, you mean Lumpy?"

"Huh?"

"You know… Lara and Humphrey… Lumpy!"

(There had to be better options.) "…Right. Lumpy."

"Aren't they just the greatest? I thought their romance was like totally cheesy at first, but lemme tell ya, Ms. Ninja Lawyer. Those two are for real." She raised her pipe, took a drag, then blew out a puff of smoke in the perfect shape of a heart. "And now they'll get to live happily ever after."

Delilah bit her lip. "Well… no. Not yet anyway. Because Humphrey's in jail now."

"Right. Shiiiiiiiiiiiit. What kind of jerk did that?"

"Delilah, I don't mean to interrupt your wallowing," Eric said, shirt pulled up over his muzzle. "But can we please get to the purpose of our visit? I would like to make it as brief as possible."

"Heeeeeey, no need to rush, Stuffy," Millie giggled, swaying slowly back and forth. "Let's stay a while…"

"Millie, no! Not you too!"

(Guess her nose is good enough to cross species boundaries.)

"So listen," Delilah said, before things could devolve into further chaos. "We were hoping to borrow some equipment."

"Awww, you wanting to still those nerves of steel even more, Ms. Ninja Lawyer?" Ria asked, giggling. "I gotchu."

She waved her paw over a rack of gardening tools; trowels, shears, a weedwhacker, a lawnmower, and lots of other things Delilah recognized from her childhood. "Whoops. Not those."

She turned the other way, pointing out another shelf. This one was filled with... glassware?

"Biggest bong collection in the house, dude!" Ria bragged. "Check it out!"

Delilah had seen more extensive bong collections, but Ria certainly had a lot of variety. She had one disguised as an apple, one that looked like a fancy bathroom soap bottle, one designed as a simple glass flute, some kind of twisted eldritch abomination that looked like surrealist art, and even an old, metal one like bootleggers would use back in the day.

"Uh... That's all cool," Delilah said. "But I was hoping more for protective gear. For the thorn hedges around the house."

The concept of a problem that couldn't be solved by lighting up seemed to perplex the feline, but she nodded anyway. "Okay, yeah, sure. I've got a spare suit in the back."

Ria stood up, actually putting the bong down for a second to head towards the back before abruptly falling on her face.

A few seconds later, she got back up and continued her journey. Eventually she reached a door, opening it up to reveal a closet surprisingly filled with actual supplies and a spare gardening suit hanging on a rack.

The exact same kind she was wearing, in fact. "That… might be kinda big on us," Delilah said.

"Well yeah, little dude. Why would I have one that's like half my size?"

(Sadly, she is making perfect sense.)

"Well, it's yours if ya want it," Ria said, quite literally throwing it at them before heading back to her position on the floor.

Gardening Gear tossed into the Court Record

The cheetah wasted no time taking another drag. "Ahhhh… Honestly, it's just nice having company. Things have been mega tense lately."

"It's a wonder you don't get a lot of visitors," Eric muttered, still muffled by his shirt.

He held it up with one arm, while using the other to hold Millie at bay as she seemed intent on climbing him. "Don't try to stop me! I gotta reach the summit!"

"Don't get me wrong, the solitude's nice too," Ria clarified, staring wistfully up at the ceiling. "Monty… Humphrey… Sunny… they all hafta work inside, seeing the worst of Lord Tigre. I just gotta tend to the plants. And the plants don't yell at me, or judge me, or tell me I suck at my job. I just make 'em happy, and they make me happy too. It's crazy, right? You see all these supplies I gotta use, but plants are still way less needy than people. No amount of water and sunshine can restore a dead relationship."

Delilah wasn't sure how to respond to that. (Is she talking about Lara and Humphrey… or Lord and Lady Tigre?)

Before she could ask, Ria was suddenly looking at them again. "Whoa. Think I just had a moment. That was freaking wild."

"Riiiiiight…" Delilah said, backing away. "We better get to it then. We'll let you know if we need anything else."

"Sure thing. And hey, if that thing you need is bandages, don't worry." Ria popped a roll out of her pocket and twirled it on a finger with a grin. "I always carry these on me just in case."

(Nice vote of confidence from the junkie.)

4:03 PM

Casa Tigre- Garden

They hurriedly escaped from the shed, Eric wearing Millie as a very happy scarf.

"How are we even going to use that suit?" he asked, putting up a paw to block cheek kisses from Millie.

Delilah hummed thoughtfully. "You're on bottom."

"Pardon me?"

But Delilah would provide no pardon, and soon the three mammals formed a makeshift tower inside the protective suit. Eric was on bottom, as the largest and strongest, Delilah was in the middle, and once she'd downed a bunch of water from the gardening hose to sober up, Millie was on top, holding a phone set to a video conference app so Eric and Delilah could see everything she saw.

"This is highly unconventional," Eric said, still muffled by his position beneath the closed gardening jacket. He was once a proud attorney. Now he was just the legs.

"Hey, the air's still fresher in here than it was in there," the torso replied.

"Speak for yourself. We may be standing in a garden but your feet don't smell like one."

"We all had to make sacrifices, Stuffy," said the head.

"I thought you wanted to be on top."

"No, she wanted to be on top of you," the torso explained. "Makes no difference to me. I'm a switch anyway."

"D-Delilah!"

"She's not wrong…"

"Millie!"

"Hey!" The possum clapped her borrowed gloves together. The baggy sleeves took some of the impact out. "Less squawkin', more walkin'! Just take it slow and we'll be fine. It's just like that one video game, Cephalopod Grandpa."

With some staggering movements not unlike the real Ria, they managed to wade into the thorny hedge, getting Millie close enough to Lord Tigre's study window to see what all the fuss was about. "Are you getting the video clearly?" Millie asked, tilting up the brim of her borrowed cat hat.

"Got it!" Delilah replied, looking at her phone screen intently.

There wasn't much to see on the window itself. Just a few scratch marks left behind by whatever thief tool Monty had used to close and lock it from the outside.

But what really caught their attention was the nearby drainpipe. It seemed unusually well-polished for a storm drain, and stretched up past the second floor all the way to the roof. However, several odd smudges caught Delilah's eye. "Are those pawprints?"

"Must be how Monty got onto the roof," Eric said.

"No! Look at your phone screen!" Delilah's voice was getting increasingly excited. "Those prints are way too big to be Monty's!"

"Whoa, yeah, you're right!" Millie said. "Hold on, I'm gonna open up the National Pawprint Database. There's an app for that."

After a few seconds, she turned her phone to the pipe and scanned the unknown prints up and down. It chimed in response. "Huh. Interesting. Let me share this."

Delilah looked at her screen. "According to this, the prints belong to… a tiger. Female, based on the size."

"Lady Tigre?" Eric asked.

"Or Lara," she replied. "Shame there's no way to tell for sure. Wouldn't it be neat if every pawprint left some kind of unique signature that let you tell more than just the species?"

"There's no point fantasizing about the impossible, Delilah. Let's focus on what we can deduce from this."

She reluctantly gave up on it. "Right. So Lara, or Lady Tigre, or both, climbed this drainpipe at some point. But we know that neither of them could've gotten into the crime scene at the time of the murder without Sunny seeing them. Unless… this pipe wasn't an exit, but an entrance."

"Of course! We were so focused on the door, we didn't even consider the culprit entering through the window. Mainly because of these blasted thorns."

"But by climbing down the drainpipe, you could avoid them completely! Millie, where does this pipe lead?"

"To the roof, like Monty said." She tilted the phone up. "Oh, but wait! There's another window up there they could've used. I need to consult the map."

Millie drew the large map effortlessly from her sweater, then had Delilah lay it out across the top of the thorns, which proved thick enough to hold it up. "Looks like… that's the window to one of the second floor bathrooms."

"Then either of them could have easily used it," Delilah realized. "By Lady Tigre's own admission, they were both on the second floor at the time of the murder."

"More than once too," Millie said.

"What do you mean?"

"Look again." Millie pointed, before remembering their position and turning her phone to it instead. "Those tiger prints go up and down a couple times. So this couldn't have been a single visit, right?"

"Weird. What could that be about?" Delilah asked.

"Do you remember what Sunny said?" Eric reminded them. "Didn't he mention that he heard Lord Tigre arguing with someone at the window around noon?"

"He did! And look! Monty's prints overlap the others. So all this traipsing about the pipe must have happened before he even entered!"

Drainpipe Prints added to the Court Record

"That's intriguing, but it won't be enough to stop Kyle," Eric mused. "Especially since he already knows about this. We'd best—"

"What the hell are you still doing here?!"

Millie's phone whipped around at the sound of the angry voice, giving all three of them a good look at a thoroughly unamused Lara Tigre.

The polecat thought fast, quickly yanking Ria's cat hat down over her head and substituting its face for her own. "Uhhh… it's just me! Ms. Nepeta! Heeeeeeey…"

Amazingly, Lara did not look convinced. And it was a pretty decent impression too. "Why is your voice different?"

"O-Oh, that would be… you know… the drugs."

"And how did your head shrink?"

"…Drugs?"

Lara honestly must have had infinite patience to last those two exchanges. "I believe I gave Sunny explicit instructions to keep you three out."

"Technically speaking, we are outside the house," Delilah pointed out from below. (Don't need to get him in any more trouble.)

"Hmph," she grunted. "Then keep it that way. You hear me? If I catch you inside, my Humpy won't be the only one in jail!"

"Technically speaking, Monty's also—"

"CAAAAW!"

"AGGGGH!" Delilah screamed as Lenore flew from Lara's shoulder and pecked aggressively at her. Even through the jacket she felt it. (That thing's sharper than the thorns!)

As the raven returned to her shoulder, Lara calmly pulled out her tablet, tapping her stylus pen on the screen.

"My heart is broken."

"So I'll pick up the pieces.""And stab you with them."

Lara stormed off, going around to the front door. They all flinched as they heard it slam.

"She certainly knows how to express herself," Eric began. "I suppose we'd better le—" He stopped suddenly. A huge weight had been lifted from his shoulders, and not in a figurative way. "Delilah has already climbed the pipe, hasn't she?"

"Yup!" Millie confirmed, doing so herself.

Eric sighed. "I am surrounded by ruffians and criminals…" he muttered, trying to manage the pile of clothing atop him as he turned to climb the pipe as well.

But before he could, a glint on the ground caught his eye. "What is that…?"

Feeling a bit like a ruffian himself, he snatched the object up and pocketed it, using what was left of the gardening suit as a safety net to slowly hoist his way up to the pipe. "Don't look down, don't look down…"

4:16 PM

Casa Tigre - Bathroom

By the time Eric flopped onto the tiled floor, his compatriots were already waiting for him.

"Oh good, I was a little worried you wouldn't make it," Delilah said.

"A little warning next time would be appreciated," he muttered, stretching as he stood back up again. "Given that we're now guilty of tampering with evidence."

"Don't worry, I'll take responsibility."

Drainpipe Prints updated in the Court Record

"Not exactly what I meant, but appreciated."

She shrugged in mock-innocence. "Well, we're up here now, so we might as well take a look around."

The bathroom was (thankfully) as clean and polished as expected, with the exception of a few stray feathers in the bathtub. It seemed even this room couldn't escape the bird theme, with a shower curtain draped in the plumage of a swan and a showerhead looking all too much like the swan itself. Millie was currently scouring it for clues while Delilah searched the countertops.

Meanwhile, Eric was momentarily distracted by the presence of a loud, banging rhythm coming through the wall. "What is that dreadful racket? We're supposed to be solving the murder of one feline, not a few dozen."

Millie's head poked through the curtain. "I think it's coming from Lara's room next door. Guess she's cooling off with some music."

"Good lord, what do the kits listen to these days?"

"Relax, Grandpa. The more distracted she is, the better for us," Delilah said, sitting on the counter and swinging her legs. "What's that you've got there?" She pointed to a glint coming from his pocket.

"Oh. Right." Eric carefully removed the object he'd picked up earlier. "I think Lara dropped this."

"Yeesh. She's more of a troubled teen than I thought," Delilah remarked, looking over the kitchen knife in Eric's paws. "Hey, wait a sec. Isn't that the same knife Lord Tigre was stabbed with?"

"No, but it looks to be from the same set. This one is much smaller and thinner though."

"Then maybe this is the knife Humphrey was preparing the fish with?"

"It could be. Lara must have gotten it back from the police while she was at the detention center. The question is why."

"Maybe she wanted something to remember him by?" Millie suggested. "That's sort of romantic."

(Should I be worried if she starts stealing knives?)

Other Knife added to the Court Record

Delilah took a look around. To compliment the tiger prints on the pipe, there was a set of claw marks on the windowsill. (Looks like whoever climbed up here either does it really often or is super stressed.)

Of course, this being Delilah, the first thing she did was search through the trash. There was nothing shiny in there. She was immeasurably disappointed and her day was ruined.

But she quickly perked up as she moved onto the medicine cabinet. There wasn't much in there either. Just a first aid kit and a single pill bottle. "Hey, what's this?"

Delilah pulled out the bottle. Attached was a prescription label with several words she couldn't pronounce and an unfamiliar name: Laurelle Tigre. (By process of elimination, this is Lady Tigre's real name. But why would she have these?)

"Let me see." Eric took the bottle. "Hm. It's medication for anxiety. I had to take it when I was younger."

"You mean you're less anxious now?" Millie asked curiously.

"You don't have to sound so surprised by that."

"It feels a little weird going through someone's pills, not gonna lie," Delilah said. "Buuuuut evidence is evidence."

Medicine Bottle added to the Court Record

"As long as you don't pocket it, I think we're fine," Eric said, letting Millie snap a picture instead. "In any case, we should plan our next move. We can't just hide in the bathroom forever. Nor will we be able to speak to either of the Tigres again without getting kicked out."

"Then I guess we're done here," Delilah declared, hopping back down. "We'll just have to grill 'em in court tomorrow. But for now, out we go!"

Eric paled. "You don't mean…"

"Yep! Back on the pipe!"

"I'll help you down, Stuffy," Millie offered.

"No offense, but I think that would endanger you more than me," Eric said, looking away with a slight blush. "I'll be fine. I just need to focus. Though admittedly, that horrific noise you call music isn't helping."

BEEPBEEPBEEPBEEPBEEPBEEPBEEPBEEP

"And that chorus is just grating!"

"I don't think that's the music…" Delilah said nervously, ears perking up in alarm.

Millie sniffed around, her eyes widening. "I smell… smoke."

All three of their tails stood on end, even Eric's cute little stubby one.

They rushed out the door.

4:20 PM

Casa Tigre - Study

It was just as they feared. Smoke was billowing from the door to Lord Tigre's study at an alarming rate. Flames flickered at the door frame, before exploding out in a fireball.

"Shit!" Eric looked around wildly, then ran for the nearest fire extinguisher, charging towards the flames in an effort to put them out.

Delilah just had to stand and stare for a moment, caught off-guard in a way she didn't know how to explain. The fire raging from the doorway seemed to morph and grow before her eyes.

It soon engulfed the entire building. Delilah could only stare up in horror at the barn burning to ashes in front of her. And then, from among the roaring flames, she heard a scream…

"Delilah! Come on!" She was only shaken out of it when Millie shoved a bucket of water into her hands.

"S-Sorry," she said, and they both rushed to help Eric.

But even working together, they were just barely beating back the billowing flames.

(Where IS everyone?! Oh right, I kinda got half the staff arrested.)

But the other half wasn't ready to back down. "Stand aside!" Sunny Urshine roared, kicking open the door. Wheeling in a massive fire hose from outside, the bear pointed it at the blaze and let loose a deluge of water to douse it.

"Where did that come from?!" Delilah asked.

"The garage! It pays to be prepared!"

They could only watch in awe as Sunny single-handedly put out the rest of the fire himself.

Once the inferno had been tamed, the gaggle of attorneys made their way in.

The smoke had mostly escaped out the open window. Thankfully, the fire hadn't had time to destroy much. A large portion of the carpet was a decimated mess of charred fabric, but much else had survived. The ashes on the floor were still there, and the desk was completely intact.

"Phew. That could've been a lot worse." Delilah brushed a bead of sweat from her brow, only mostly from the heat. "How did this happen?"

"It seems too well-timed to be a coincidence," Eric pondered. "Could this have been a deliberate attempt to destroy the evidence at the crime scene?"

"But what would be the point of that? We already found all the evidence. Right?"

He didn't get the chance to answer.

"Good heavens!" came the voice of Lady Tigre. She was up on the second floor, gasping from behind her fan. "How on Earth did this happen?!"

Delilah cleared her throat. "Well, funny story, but we're actually trying to figure that out too…"

"You again?!" another voice yelled.

"Uh oh."

Also joining the party was Lara, glaring down at them from the top of the stairs. "You guys realize this is straight-up trespassing now? I could have you arrested for this. Might help you understand why I'm so pissed."

(You ain't the only one, sister.) "Hey, at least we were doing something and not jamming out while our house burned down!"

"OUT!" Lara snapped.

Lady Tigre flinched. "N-Now now! There's no need for—"

"No!" Lara interrupted. "I'm done! These lawyers have been nothing but trouble! If any of you see them on our property again, call the cops. Am I clear?"

Sadly, both Lady Tigre and Sunny nodded, cowed by her raw anger.

"We were leaving anyway," Delilah grumbled, beckoning her compatriots out. At this point, she was quite happy to never set foot in this place again.

(Even so, this is far from over. Tomorrow's trial is gonna be our last chance. We need to put this convoluted case to bed, once and for all.)

Moments after they left, Ria popped her head in through the study window. "Whoa! Somebody's smokin' some good stuff in here!"

6:12 PM

L' Aisselle Musquée

"Okay, I'll bite."

"We're eating out. I should hope so."

"You know what I mean! Why did you do it?"

"You'll have to be more specific. And straighter to the point, unless you want your food to get cold."

Pierce Pierson scowled, taking a bite from the bark and pine needle salad he'd ordered. At which point he realized temperature was hardly an issue, especially compared to the one he was trying to bring up. "You gave the case back to B&O."

"Really?" asked Lila Lilac, stirring her fork around a dish of spaghetti and grasshoppers. "I don't recall doing anything like that."

"Don't play coy. I know you too well." Pierson lifted his own fork, pointing it at her. "And I know you could've swayed Ms. Sang to stick with us if you really wanted to. Instead, you let the possum back in with barely a fight. I want to know why."

The skunk continued to twirl her spaghetti for a few moments before finally deciding to respond. "Can I help it if I'm interested in how the current generation develops? I simply thought we'd glean far more information about our competition by seeing how they bounce back from this. Long-term potential is more valuable than short-term victory."

"And if they don't bounce back?"

"Then that will be informative as well. Either way, it's up to them now to show us if they're worth pursuing."

"You and your mind games," the porcupine grumbled, stabbing through a piece of bark with extra force. "I just wish you had let me in on it when you sent me to 'check out' their home office."

"If I had, you wouldn't have gone."

"And maybe that should tell you something."

"More wine, miss?"

Lilac glanced over at an eager otter waitress, holding up a wine bottle nearly as tall as her.

"Yes, please. Thank you." She slid over her glass, letting the otter fill it up again.

Pierson wordlessly did the same, only for the otter to stumble and nearly trip when she caught sight of him. "S-Sorry, sir. Here you go." Filling it quickly, she scurried off again.

"Did you see that?" he asked. "That waitress is on the jury for Gosland's trial. I think she recognized me."

"Why would she recognize you? As you've been harping about, we're not on that trial."

"I don't know, but this isn't an isolated incident," he insisted. "I've seen mammals laughing behind our backs all day long, including in this very restaurant. Word must have gotten out that Tooth & Claw lost a case to some rookie nobodies."

"Interesting theory. But if I may make a correction…" Lilac raised a painted claw. "They're not laughing at us, they're laughing at you."

Pierson scoffed. "What makes you think that?"

She pulled out a compact mirror, opening it and turning it around so he could clearly see the small rubber ball stuck to his quills. "Call it a gut feeling."

"H-How long has that been there?!" He immediately reached back in an attempt to pry it off, which mostly just resulted in him pricking himself repeatedly.

"If I had to guess, ever since you left the B&O office."

Pierson froze, looking utterly mortified. "I went to see a client after that…"

"And you sealed the deal regardless, which speaks highly of your capabilities. Turn around."

He did so silently, allowing Lilac to finally pry the offending object off of him. "You see? There's nothing to fear," she said. "Even at your most ridiculous, our name commands respect."

"Could you refrain from using my humiliation as a vector for imparting lessons?"

"If I must," Lilac conceded, idly tossing the ball up and down in her paw. "But perhaps now you understand my actions. I predict that Mr. Gosland's trial will come to an end tomorrow, and when it does, it is our possum who will have some hard lessons to learn."

"So that's your angle." Pierson gave a nod, but not quite a smile.

Before he could respond further, a phone buzzed in his pocket. He pulled it out just enough to see the screen, and then a real smile presented itself. "Excellent."

"What is it?"

"Oh, just a contingency plan I prepared in case your talk with Ms. Sang didn't work out."

Lilac caught the ball, squeezing it. "What did you do?"

"You have your angle, I have mine." He calmly sipped a glass of water. "But don't worry, it won't spoil your fun."

She released her grip and the ball fell, rolling off the table without any more fanfare. "I admire your persistence."

"And I admire your vision, lack of depth perception notwithstanding. Just keep your head in the game, alright? I wouldn't want you to forget why we joined up with Tooth & Claw in the first place."

Lilac's single eye narrowed, and she grit her teeth.

"No. Never."

To be continued…

Court Record:

Attorney's Badge

This old thing? Well, it does let me do my job, but it mostly just sits in my pocket until I get the sudden urge to flash it at someone for kicks.

T&C Business Card

Those two are really gonna regret hoisting this off on me. I can think of a LOT of uses for a small piece of cardstock that were probably not intended.

Lord Tigre's Autopsy Report

Cause of death believed to be poisoning through injection of nogu toxin. Estimated time of death is between 3-4 PM. Victim died almost instantly. No trace of Delishafish was found in his stomach. Pinprick found below his chin consistent with Monty's lapel pin.

Crime Scene Photo

Shows Tigre collapsed on his desk as if taking a nap, somewhat undercut by the gaping hole in his neck. The rest of his desk is mostly visible, though the papers right under him are obscured. Side note: Totally a Number 4. Nailed it.

Food Cart

Monty's ticket inside the study, brought there by the bodyguard. Credit where credit is due, that was a pretty clever plan. Shame he mucked it up afterward, but then again we might not have a client otherwise.

Wine Bottle

Brought to Lord Tigre on the cart. Contains a grape wine and is partly empty. Also contains deadly pufferfish toxin. Bears Monty's pawprints.

Spilled Ashtray

Found on the floor and stepped in by Monty, leaving a trail of tiny tracks that lead around the desk, up the side, and out the window. Let this be a lesson, kits. Not everyone is cut out to be a murderer.

Termination Papers

Almost no blood was found on them despite being right under Lord Tigre at the time he was stabbed, proving that he was already dead. Suck it, Lilac!

Lapel Pin

Monty's personal possession, that he didn't leave at the crime scene after all. He left it in the dining room instead, which isn't much better because it means anyone had the opportunity to swipe it. Was eventually found to be laced with nogu toxin, making it the real murder weapon. Found under Lord Tigre's desk.

Tigre's Gun

Don't think I forgot about you, mister! Now that we're investigating again, I sense that the evidence to connect this thing to the murder will soon present itself!

Burnt Scraps

Scraps of some weird material found in the fireplace. It seems kind of like paper, but doesn't have the right texture. Where the heck did it come from?

Manor Map

A map of Casa Tigre so 'graciously' gifted to us by Kyle. I'm half-tempted to relight the fireplace just to chuck it in, but I bet that's exactly what he WANTS us to do so we're gonna use it anyway! Out of spite!

(Archived under 'Casa Tigre Map' on Berserker88x's Deviantart.)

Delishafish Dish

Apparently this dish is a big deal among rich folks and super hard to make right. Even Chef Humphrey screwed it up on the first attempt. Oh, and it turns out it's deathly toxic if you screw it up, which REALLY would've been nice to know beforehand.

Spoiled Delishafish

The first version of the dish that Humphrey screwed up, though the arguably bigger screw-up was leaving it out for Sunny to find. Luckily for him, it looks like Lord Tigre didn't actually eat any of it, but he still threw it out the window anyway. Later buried by Ria, utensils and all. The missing chunk was found in the thorns.

Kitchen Knife

A large and thick steel knife given by Humphrey to Monty. The murder weapon? Not even close.

Other Knife

A smaller and thinner steel knife taken from Humphrey by the ZPD. Later dropped by Lara. This seems to be the knife that was used to prepare the Delishafish, but why she wanted it back is anyone's guess.

Wall of Thorns

A spiky ring of pain that surrounds the whole perimeter of Casa Tigre. For when you're just too classy to get a barbed-wire fence. Can confirm: hurts like hell.

Monty's Testimony

After being given a knife by Chef Humphrey, he got smuggled in on a food cart, stabbed Tigre in the neck, and then fled up to the roof with the knife before getting caught. Despite this, he remains insistent that he didn't poison his lapel pin or commit the murder. Finally a straight answer from this guy.

Sunny's Testimony

Due to a tragic misunderstanding, he accidentally delivered deadly Delishafish to Lord Tigre around noon. There he witnessed a conversation between him and someone else outside the window. Later, after delivering the food cart to Lord Tigre's study at around 3:30, on Monty's orders, he locked the door with the master key and stood guard outside until the murder went down.

Humphrey's Testimony

Lord Tigre announced that the staff was being fired at breakfast around 8 AM, in response to finding out about Humphrey dating his daughter. He then became Monty's accomplice and poisoned the wine bottle.

Ria's Testimony

She was witness to flying fish, surprisingly not a hallucination. Which she then proceeded to bury and not tell anyone about. She later spotted Monty on the roof after he stabbed Lord Tigre, watching as he climbed down a tree and fled around back to enter through the servant's quarters. She and Sunny caught him inside trying to plant the knife.

Lady Tigre's Testimony

After arguing with Lord Tigre over the breakfast incident, she and Lara retreated upstairs to the second floor. She visited Lara briefly, but they otherwise stayed apart. She claims they were both on the second floor for the entire span of time until the murder, but this also means that neither of them have alibis.

Bronze Figurine

A scary-ass effigy of Lord Tigre holding a sword and looking like he wants to cut you with it. According to Monty, it's currently facing the opposite way that it usually does.

Gardening Gear

Protective clothes used to get through the thorns without being sliced up. Lended to us by Ria. Shame we had to leave it all behind. It would've made a sick Howloween costume.

Drainpipe Prints

A set of tigress prints found on the drainpipe connecting the study to the second floor bathroom, going up and down multiple times. Could belong to either Lara or Lady Tigre. Monty's prints overlap them. And our prints overlap his.

Medicine Bottle

An anxiety medication found in the second floor bathroom. I won't even try to write its name, but it was prescribed in Lady Tigre's. According to the directions, two pills should be taken daily at noon.

Profiles:

Delilah O'Possum

Age: 24

Species: Sassy Possum

Finally, it's my turn to shine! I am gonna rock the hell outta this case and show the world that I can handle murder too! Solving a murder case, I mean. Glad nobody else reads these.

Eric Badge
Age: 24
Species: Stuffy Badger

My best friend and partner in (solving) crime. He can be a bit of a stick in the mud sometimes, but I'm always happy to pull him out of it.

Millie Muskerson
Age: 22
Species: Polecat Who Wants to Tap That

Old friend, old defendant, current intern. Honestly worth the effort of hiring her just to see her make goo-goo eyes at Rick all day, but she's pretty well-organized too. Strikes a good balance between my lack of tidiness and Rick having entirely too much of it.

Lucy Sang
Age: 29
Species: Literally Bloodthirsty Vampire Bat

I hope all the trouble I went through to get her to hire us back was worth it. At the very least, the heart-to-heart was nice. Just so long as she doesn't get TOO close to my heart.

Martina
Age: 29
Species: Questionably Alive Mouse Girl

Lucy's… friend? Servant? Voodoo zombie slave? Was debating even adding her to this, but I get the impression she doesn't have much in life, so here's to you, Marty!

Monty Gosland
Age: 23
Species: Mongoose That Buttles

Our defendant, for better or for worse. Slightly better now.

Lord Dominic Tigre
Age: 40
Species: Dead Tiger

The victim. Apparently big into shooting birds for sport and living in high society. Well, formerly living. The more I hear about him, the more I don't feel sorry for his death.

Lila Lilac
Age: 28
Species: Stuck-up Skunkette

One of Tooth & Claw's lawyers. Likes: being a tool. Dislikes: peripheral vision. This isn't the only list she's going on today.

Pierce Pierson
Age: 28
Species: Porcupain

Another Tooth & Claw lawyer and a prick in more ways than one. Seems pretty aggro for a guy who's so into defense.

Sigrid 'Siggy' MacTalon
Age: 25
Species: Wolverine on a Warpath

I really hoped I wouldn't have to add her to this. Let's just say mistakes were made and now this hardass detective kinda hates my guts. It's going to be mentally draining dealing with her, and physically draining if she makes me do any more pushups.

Kyle VanDal
Age: 26
Species: Rival Raccoon

This sly prosecutor is known for his keen eyes and dirty tricks. He's also known for half-assing most of his trials these days, earning him a very non-fancy nickname, the 'Apathetic Attorney'. For someone who's been such a jerk so far, in a weird way it's like he needs us in order to give a shit again.

Lady Tigre
Age: 43
Species: Bird-infused Tigress

Lord Tigre's widow, and the only one who seems to feel any kind of sympathy for him. That speaks much more to her character than his. She seems like a good mom too, if a bit of a pushover when it comes to Lara.

Lara (Not Laura) Tigre
Age: 19
Species: Teenager

Okay, I get that I put her fiancé in jail and all, but does this girl have to be THAT out to get me? I wish I could say things were gonna get better, but…

Lenore
Age: 6
Species: Poetic Stereotype

Lara's faithful pet raven. Or familiar, just in case she's some kind of sorceress and takes offense. Probably eats telltale hearts or something. I dunno, I'm not into poetry. Or birdology.

Sunny Urshine
Age: 26
Species: Teddy Bear

Lord Tigre's ex-bodyguard, obviously not doing too great right now. Accidentally offing the guy you're supposed to protect will do that. I think HE'S the one who needs a hug now. I'll volunteer Rick.

Ellias Humphrey
Age: 20
Species: Camel 2.0

Lara's not-so-secret fiancé. Gotta admire this guy's commitment to his craft. Even at the expense of being an effective murderer. I feel a little bad about putting him behind bars, but maybe he'll get to be a prison chef. I bet his cooking will be better appreciated there.

Ria Nepeta
Age: 31
Species: High As a Cat

Casa Tigre's gardener, and she sure 'enjoys' her job. She may be a cheetah, but she's definitely not quick on the uptake. I guess we should be grateful she saw anything of use and it didn't interfere with whatever sensory nightmares she experiences on a daily basis. Did interfere with the investigation though.

Judge Loggins
Age: 45
Species: Beaver of Authority

Always nice to see a familiar face in these strange surroundings. Better than Kyle's at least. I wonder if she'd chuck her gavel at him if he annoyed her enough. That'd almost make it all worth it.

Warden Smiles
Age: 39
Species: Wocka Quokka

Lucy Sang's warden, a position I do not envy. The question is, was he always this cheerful, or did something in him just break after a while?