The Fire Triangle -- Part II, Oxidizer

The Fire Triangle: Book II - Chapter 9

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The Fire Triangle

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Part Two:

Oxidizer

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Chapter 1—A Rock and a Hard Place
(Continued... Part 9)

Judy was back in Chief Bogo's office, along with Lieutenant Saw. And so far everything was following the script.

So far...

Her recap of the meeting with The Red Pig had been met with grunts and knowing nods, just as she might have predicted. The Lieutenant was of the opinion that she'd hit the nail on the head with her assessment of the Sahara Square Mob chief's motives. He had only agreed to meet with her so he could claim he'd at least been willing to listen to Mr. Big's truce proposal, (which he hadn't.) And although his reasons for cutting the meeting short had come as news to both the Bogo and Saw, they'd been anything but surprised by his actions. That answered a question the doe-bunny had been harboring ever since taking leave of The Red Pig; yes, they had known all along that Mr. Big's son-in-law was a made member of Cosa Nostra. If nothing else, it went a long way towards explaining why Lieutenant Saw had chosen to arrest him in public, (although in Judy's mind, that was still no excuse for having taken Fru-Fru into custody as well.)

When she told them about her 'other' meeting however—the one with Joey, 'The Shadow' Porcini—their' attitudes practically underwent a paradigm shift, especially when she informed them...

"Wait, what? Sheldon Camelson is planning to buy out the Palm Hotel?" Lt. Saw almost fell out of his chair and Chief Bogo's jaw nearly went crashing through his desktop.

"How is it we don't know this?" the big Cape buffalo demanded, blowing a note of vexation through his nostrils. Luckily for Judy, he was looking at Lieutenant Saw not her.

"Mmmm, can't say for certain, Chief," the sun bear replied, already having recovered most of his composure, "although from what little I've heard of Mr. Camelson, he's supposed to be a very secretive individual." The merest hint of a smile flitted across his muzzle and then vanished without a trace. "However, if he's seriously planning to make a play for the Palm Hotel Casino, he'll first need to obtain a gaming license. With that in mind, I'd suggest we get in touch with City Hall."

"Leave that to me." Bogo rapped the desktop with his knuckles as if trying to conjure good luck. "I know exactly who to talk to."

And with that settled, they once more turned their attention to Judy.

"Getting back to what you told us earlier, Hopps; do you know if Joe Porcini said anything to The Red Pig about someone else setting these fires?" It was Lieutenant Saw again.

"Yes sir, he did," the doe bunny answered, mouth feeling as if she'd just taken a swig of bitters, "or that's what he told me. And he also said it got him kicked off the Red Pig's yacht right before we sailed."