"Detective Ellison?"

Jim looked up from his molehill of paperwork to see Officer Janice Payton, from Animal Control, standing in front of his desk. "Officer Payton, what can I do for you?"

She shifted a bit nervously. Detective Ellison was a member of Major Crime and one of the best cops in the city. She didn't normally interact with the big leagues, especially having to question one of them. "Detective, I'm afraid we've had some complaints from your neighbors. Would either you or your roommate have a pet?"

"No, is there a problem?" Jim was a bit surprised to find himself getting a professional visit from a fellow officer. Neither he nor Sandburg had a pet. To his knowledge, the only animals in the building were Mrs. Engled's cat and the Holt's Chihuahua.

Payton answered his question with another question, "You do know that it's illegal to keep wild animals as pets?"

Jim's eyes grew wide and he almost chuckled, "Have you seen the size of my loft? It's not large enough for me to keep Sandburg AND a wild animal."

This produced a smile from the young animal officer. "It's just that we've gotten a few complaints from a Mrs..." she consulted her notebook, "Engled. She says that she's often seen you with a large black panther and Mr. Sandburg with a wolf."

"Really?" Jim fought to keep the shock from showing.

Payton smiled, "Yeah, I know it sounds odd, but I assured her that I'd speak with you about it."

Jim rubbed his eyes and took a deep breath, "Well if she calls again, you can tell her that there has never been any live animals inside my loft, except Larry."

The young officer let go of a laugh, "Oh yes, Larry, I remember him."

Jim stood up and shook Officer Payton's hand, "Feel free to stop by for a look if you like, but I don't think you'll find much."

"Thanks, I may just do that," she said as she returned the handshake with a flirtatious grin.

Jim just shook his head as he sat down and started on his paperwork again. He didn't get very far when Blair came up to his desk.

"Hey Jim, what did Janice want?"

Jim smiled widely, "Sandburg, how would you like to have a little visit with Mrs. Engled?"

"The nice old lady downstairs? Sure, what about?"

Jim stood and walked around his desk so he could put an arm around his friend. "Well as the Shaman of the Great City, I think it only right that you be the one to explain to her about spirit guides and why they don't fall under the jurisdiction of Animal Control."

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