"Dad?" Ashe's voice was nearly a squeak. "Mom, I don't know where he is. He might not answer if we try to call."
"We have to try, honey." Adele brushed fingers down Ashe's cheek. "I want things the way they were, and I won't accept no as an answer from your father."
"Then we'll give it a try," Ashe nodded.
"Adele, are you hungry? It's past breakfast time already," Sharon O'Neill asked quietly.
"I have to get to work," Adele sat up.
"No, I've called the restaurant. Your assistant manager is coming in. She'll handle the restaurant this weekend, until you're well enough to go back to work." Winkler nodded to Adele. "The restaurant will be fine."
"Thank you," Adele nodded and ducked her head. "I'm still shaky, but it'll go away."
"Dr. Slater will be by later this morning," Sharon said. "I'll go downstairs and make some eggs and toast."
* * *
"Sal?" Ashe blinked in surprise when Sali walked into the kitchen later, followed by Jeff and Larry. "I thought you were under house arrest."
"Dad let me off for good behavior," Sali grinned. "He asked us," Sali indicated Jeff and Larry with a finger, "to help guard the community. Everybody was briefed this morning about last night. At least on what we know so far."
"I heard they're holding Randy in his mom's house," Ashe said. "Want a soda?"
"Sure." Sali, Jeff and Larry took seats at the kitchen island while Ashe went to the fridge and pulled three bottles of cola out.
"This okay?" Ashe asked as he set the bottles down on the island.
"This is good," Larry nodded.
"School just isn't the same, Ashe," Jeff said, twisting the cap off his soda and drinking.
"Yeah. Not much is, nowadays," Ashe agreed, taking his seat beside Sali.
"Where do you think Mrs. Smith might be?" Sali asked.
"No idea," Ashe mumbled.
"You don't know?" Sali stared at Ashe in disbelief.
"Long story, Sal," Ashe replied, bitterness in his voice.
"Ashe?" Wynn and Dori walked in. "How's your mom?"
* * *
"Case in point," Kerry Slater, physician and shapeshifting lion, nodded his agreement. "The werewolves will dispense justice in this case, if they can track the Smith woman down. This should be shapeshifter justice. We should have our own trackers, and a team in place to make judgments. I've watched too many shifters go down in the past three centuries. Most of them victims of vampires or werewolves. They generally took those they could easily kill, since we're so varied in our animals."
"We only have a temporary truce with both vamps and wolves," Thurmon Novak pointed out. Thurmon was a polar bear shifter, and as such had been friends with Bear Wright for a long time. "I was hoping it might become permanent when the vamps approached us about having kids with some of theirs. Turns out the vamps had their own agenda, and when things didn't turn out exactly like they hoped, they shut down the program and we're back on tenuous ground."
Midmorning sunlight made Thurmon's pale blond hair appear even lighter, and glinted off the gold watch on his wrist. Thurmon owned an alternative energy company, and made important advancements in the solar and wind energy business.
"I'm with Thurmon on this," Bear's third visitor spoke up. "The vamps always seem to have an agenda. We need our own council, our own trackers, our own justice system. Keep this in mind, though—we still need the vamps and the wolves. Sure, we have a few shifters who might take a werewolf down. Maybe. We don't have anybody who can take a vamp down, unless it's daylight and they're sleeping. The rule has always been that they deal out their own justice. What we need is a joint council or judiciary, with two or three members from each race, to make sure justice is done across the board. This will ensure a balance of power, with each race having an equal say if one race is involved in crimes against another."
Bear nodded at Opal Tadewi. Opal was the oldest among the known Old Ones, at four hundred. Born to a Native American shapeshifter mother, Opal had endured the most difficult times as a velociraptor. Not many shapeshifters survived who became an extinct animal when they turned. Opal was one of those few.
"You're right as usual, Opal," Kerry agreed. "We do need that joint justice council. I like the idea of two or three members from each race presiding in cross-species judgments."
"That's the best suggestion I've heard all morning," Bear agreed. "Anybody want more coffee or a snack?"
* * *
"Mom's asleep again. Dr. Slater came in after she ate, gave her something to make her drowsy and said it was best if she slept most of the day. He went back to Principal Wright's house after that. I figure they're working on a shifter council," Ashe said.
Dori and Wynn had stayed with Ashe while Sali, Jeff and Larry went out again to patrol the community. "I think the carpet truck is here," Wynn half-rose from her barstool to peer out the kitchen window.
"Yeah, I heard," Ashe slipped off his stool and shuffled toward the front door.
* * *
"That looks like something we need to take care of," the werewolf nodded as he examined the bloodstains covering the carpet. "Got a call from the Grand Master early this morning. I take it this isn't shifter or wolf blood?"
"Nope," Ashe shook his head.
"Great. We'll have this outta here in no time, with new carpet laid before dinner."
"That sounds great," Ashe said. "Thanks for coming on short notice."
"Oh, that's no problem. The Grand Master says jump, we jump. Doesn't hurt that Mr. Winkler is paying us double, either."
"Do you need anything from me?" Ashe asked politely. "There are sodas and bottled water in the fridge, and we can get lunch for you if you want."
"Lunch would be welcome," the carpet tech motioned for his two helpers to come inside. "Around twelve or one, maybe?"
"I can arrange that," Ashe said.
"Thanks, kid."
* * *
"I'll bring lunch for them when Amos and I head that way," Flossie Thompson promised Winkler over the phone. "For three, you say?"
"Bring enough for the kid, too. Trajan and I can eat with Marcus and Denise; we're still trying to figure out Dawn's next moves."
"I can't believe she did that," Flossie muttered. "Amos almost had a fit when he found out."