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Welcome all to the final chapter of my series, Mere Trifles. I had a blast writing it, though it took me quite a long time to finish. Hopefully, any future writings will be a bit more reasonable in time. That being said, we have a sexless finale for you that hopefully answers any questions and brings the story to nice conclusion, though far from a fully happy ending.

As usual, his is a story about males in love with males, so if you are not into this or are not allowed to read it... well, you can make up your own damn mind. Happy reading, and feel free to vote, comment, and cum!

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Mere Trifles - Chapter 8 It's All the Same in the End

The detective badger walked through the station house. He had spent most of the night rounding up the suspects in the college. His newest case was far too confusing to have to deal with in the middle of the night. Based on some of the testimony from the other dorm folks, there were a few loud noises coming from the dorm where the body was found. Upon further investigation, there turned out to be multiple suspects, some who were no where near the school. Some of them were still coming from farther away, but a few were already in the building. The questioning would begin soon. The badger yawned, looking at his watch. It was already well after midnight, but he couldn't let the suspects corroborate their stories before he spoke to them. His chubby fingers moved through the files, picking out one and heading to Interrogation Room 1 to chat with the male in there.

First Suspect - Brandon Halloway

Detective Barneswell walked into the interrogation room and dropped the file on the table between himself and the lion.

"Brandon Halloway, I'm Detective Harry Barneswell." He said without even looking up at the giant fidgeting lion. "I assume you know why you were brought in?"

Brandon's head was hanging down, ears lowered in submission to the bulky badger. "I... I think so." This action was far beyond the way the feline usually acted. He was usually so strong and powerful, but the fact that he had been hauled in for questioning.

"Someone was found dead in your dorm room Brandon, and when we went to find the four of you who live there, you hadn't been seen for a day. When we found you, you were holed up in a hotel, about ready to skip town. Care to explain that?"

The burly lion huffed, his eyes unable to look directly at the uniformed badger. Detective Barneswell smiled. This one looked guilty already, perhaps they already had their man. "Well Detective, you see, my roommate, Jake, he... he seduced me." Brandon was practically in tears at his point. The badger's eyeridge raised just slightly.

"You are straight, aren't you?" The lion nodded. Harry took a few notes down and nodded. "So you were embarrassed by that, and were running away from school."

"Yeah, that's exactly it. I'm so ashamed of myself. I don't think I could face anyone back at school."

"But no one knows except you and... Jake, right?"

The lion nodded his head, his teeth bared slightly as he growled. "Yes, and I wanted him to never say anything to anyone."

The badger's eyeridge once again cocked...

Second Suspect - Roland Weathers

A dalmatian sat in the uncomfortable metal chair, his tail laying paralyzed against his hip. Slight whimpers and whines came from him as he sat alone in the cold and inhospitable room. His eyes darted from side to side, every once in awhile focusing on the door, waiting for someone to come in. Finally, a tubby badger entered the room with a notepad and a file folder. "Roland Weathers, yes?"

The dalmy nodded. "Y...yes, sir"

"Okay. So, where were you last night at about ten o'clock?" He was studying part of the file, not even looking at the terrified dog in front of him.

"Mm...mm...me? I was actually out at a bar, getting completely trashed. Things haven't exactly been going well for me, and I needed to drown my sorrow in booze and men."

The badger looked up then, finally noticing the multicolored spots on the dalmatian's coat, the pink shirt, and way to tight male Capris. "So you are a homosexual then?"

His nervousness faded just a bit at the question. "Well, duh. I can see why they made you detective." The fear suddenly returned to his eyes and he looked down, trembling somewhat.

At the outburst, the detective caught the rather potent smell of alcohol on the young male's breath and let the comment pass. "So what has been happening that made you turn to the bottle?"

"It wasn't just one bottle, it was several."

"Okay... what made you dive into the alcohol muzzle first?" He chuckled at his own joke.

"Well, it started when I found out that I was losing my financial aid. From there it spiraled down as my boyfriend and I got more and more stressed about my money situation. Finally, he walked out on me, and I fell apart. I nearly took myself out, until I was suddenly beset by the police." His paw idly flew in the direction of the officer, somewhat flippantly.

"Did you ever find out why you were denied further financial aid?"

The haughty young dog's eyes flew up to meet the detective's own, a look of death in his eyes. "I did. I was so mad and depressed at the same time. I thought Jake was my friend. I had no idea that he had orchestrated such a thing." He slammed his fist down on the table, his rainbow arm bangles jingling lightly...

Third Suspect - Timothy McCaffrey

Detective Barneswell walked into the interrogation room, stopping suddenly in his tracks when his eyes fell upon his next interview. Before him sat a humongous black wolf, who was almost as tall as himself even when sitting down. Harry swallowed nervously for a moment, his fear of males who were so much bigger than him nearly getting the better of him. He took a deep breath and moved towards the table and sat down, looking up into the giant's muzzle, the only color on that face was the bright, but malicious-looking yellow eyes.

"So Mr. McCaffrey, do you know why you are here?"

Timothy gulped, showing a little more fear and nerves than he really had intended. "Yes.. sir."

Harry nodded solemnly. "Where were you around ten o'clock tonight?"

The wolf's thick neck twisted as he looked away from the detective. "I was out wandering around."

The non-specific answer made Detective Barneswell raise an eyeridge. "Wandering around? Can you be a bit more specific, and add details?"

Face falling slightly, Timothy sighed deeply, his chin nearly against his chest as he began to speak once again. "I... was just walking around campus alone, thinking. My boyfriend and I had gotten into a huge fight, and I stormed out. I was feeling pretty guilty and was trying to come up something good to say to get him back when I ran into a rather angry young dobie hauling across campus."

Pencil slid across paper as Harry took some notes during the conversation. "Go on."

Another long sigh echoed from the large barreled chest of the wolf. "The dobie was clearly angry, but he didn't see me and we collided with each other. In the mishmash of getting ourselves untangled, we started talking to each other. It turns out that he is the Chris fellow that Roland had been developing a friendship with."

"Interesting."

"Not yet it isn't. Chris wasn't making much sense really, going on and on about the guy that had hurt him. He said he couldn't believe that his fox had slept with that lion. At this, my head nearly spun off into space. Brandon had slept with Jake, and it had somehow really REALLY upset this Chris guy. He was rambling more and more, saying that he couldn't believe he was naive enough to fall for that fox's wiles and he wasn't going to let him get away with it. I was a bit worried at this point, and I was going to question him further when his rant went even more off the deep end."

Harry was scribbling fast and hard on the paper, clearly thinking a lot of what was being said was relevant to the case at hand.

"He... he said that he was sorry that all this bad stuff was happening to Roland. And that he didn't know why Jake had insisted on him getting to know Roland and become his friend. He was sure there was something bad that Jake wanted from it, because he was such an asshole. I tried to push further, but Chris kept ranting about how he even thought that Roland's financial aid problems were somehow Jake's fault. Needless to say this flipped me a bit. I had to talk to Jake, but my blood was already boiling.

"Don't go far. By the way, we already interviewed Roland, he is still in the lobby now."

Before he could get anything else out, Timothy had bounded out of the room to find his lover.

Detective Barneswell sighed and shook his head...

Fourth Suspect - Chris Reynolds

The dobie whined and whimpered as he sat on the cold metal chair, awaiting someone to come in and finally get this interrogation going. He had been nervous ever since they had brought him in, telling him he was some suspect in a murder. The poor dog had nearly thrown up when he heard that, especially when he found out that the one who had died was his very own fox.

After what seemed like an eternity, the door finally swung open and squat looking badger walked through it. "Chris Reynolds?"

The doberman nodded, sweat already forming on his forehead. "Y..y...yeah... I'm Chris."

"Okay Chris, let's get down to business. After a few interviews with other folks on campus, we have heard that you were quite upset with one Jake Wingarten. Care to explain the reason for this?"

Chris's jaw was shaking and he tried not to cry. "I found out that Jake had slept with his roommate Brandon. The lion was so distraught that he was just blabbing what had happened as he walked across campus. I overheard him, and it made me angry. I hurried home to get..." he stopped talking quickly, whimpering again.

"Get what?" the badger asked, scratching down a few notes.

"It isn't important. I never made it home. I ended up in the center of campus, just pacing back and forth, screaming at myself to stop and think. To figure out why Jake would do something like sleep with his roommate. I wasn't really paying attention to the time, the sun had gone down already, but I was still pacing. I ran right into Timothy, my friend Roland's boyfriend, though they were on the rocks right now. I wasn't exactly clear yet, and apparently I spent several minutes ranting and rambling about what was going on. He was clearly upset by the news, and went storming off towards the dorm. I continued on another way to the dorm as well. I couldn't let Jake get away with hurting and using me like that"...

Fifth Suspect - Roger Reynolds

Harry Barneswell walked into the next interrogation room and found what looked like a larger version of the dobie he had spoken to not long ago. He had to glance down to check his paperwork to see if he was in the right place. Looking over his file, he nodded and sat down opposite the larger and slightly more intimidating dog.

"Roger Reynolds, yes?"

The big grey-muzzled canine nodded. "Yes, I'm Roger."

"You have a son, right? A Chris Reynolds?"

"Yes sir. Did my son do something? Is that why I'm here?"

"Mr. Reynolds, I'm sure that when you were brought here for questioning that the officers informed you of your rights?"

"Of course. What does that mean?"

"It means that I'm here to talk to you about you, not about your son."

Roger's ears fell a bit. He hadn't quite realized the trouble that he might in. He shifted nervously in his seat, his calm demeanor all but evaporating before the detective's eyes.

"Wh...what did I do?"

"Innocent until proven guilty Mr. Reynolds. I'm just doing my investigation into the matter. Can you tell me what happened between you and a Jake Wingarten?"

The big male's throat nearly closed up at the speaking of the fox's name. He gasped and reached for the water glass on the table. "Jake? Wingarten? What do you know about him?"

"Well, I know he's dead. What I want to know is how and by whom."

Roger looked from side to side. "Well... uh... Jake was a late start on campus this year. I remember first seeing him when he walked into the Registrar's office to finish enrolling, two weeks late. That's why he stuck out in my mind. Then, of course, his last name made the memory of him burn inside my head forever."

The badger nodded, the Wingarten name having been forever etched into the brains of just about every person in this town. That family had practically built the whole city. Several of the college's buildings were named after various members of that illustrious family. So one attending the school wasn't out of the question.

"I heard nothing about him nor saw him again until I was away at a conference. Apparently he was a big supporter of the college as well, and was going to donate a sizable sum to the school again at the conference. I... I... got drunk that night, and Jake sort of, presented himself to me, and told me he wouldn't donate the money unless I slept with him. I'd been alone for a long time, and have never come out of the closet to anyone, so it just seemed perfect."

"Nothing is ever perfect Mr. Reynolds... nothing."

"So I learned. After my drunken night of fun..." The dobie's anger was quickly coming to the surface. "I was told by Jake that I had to do things for him if I didn't want him to blab about our little tryst to the whole school. Yes, these students are of age, but an administrator having lurid meetings with them away from campus would still cost me my job."

"And what did Mr. Wingarten want you to do for him?"

"Well, he wanted me to cut off a certain student's financial aid. He didn't tell me why, he didn't even really let me ask or say no. To protect myself, I did it." He looked down ashamedly.

"This student was... Roland Weathers, correct?"

"Yes, that sounds right. I didn't want to hurt the student, but I couldn't lose my job, and have to explain that to my son."

"I see" said the badger, writing down some notes.

"No, you don't. If that was where it ended, I might have been able to live with myself. I cut off my ties to Jake as much as possible. I never say him again for any reason, and only barely spoke with him on the phone. But I was made to take notice of him again later, more recently."

"Oh? And what happened then?"

"I found out that he was sleeping with my boy, my Chris. Chris came home freaked out one day saying that the had hurt the man he loved. I didn't even know my son was gay at the time, but that didn't matter to me at all. When I pressed further, I found out that he was in love with a male fox who had been ignoring him a lot. I put two and two together, and it made Jake."

Harry nodded, scribbling down the new pieces of information, and reaffirming some of the ones he already had. "Go on. I need you to tell me what you were doing tonight before you were brought in."

Roger nodded, and sighed heavily. "I had just gotten back from another weekend away to a 'conference' where I didn't do much of anything except worry about my situation with Jake. It was just after dark when I got home. Chris wasn't around, so I sat around, did some pacing, and then left to go find Jake and end his control over me once and for all..."

Sixth Suspect - Ryan Chance (Wingarten)

The otter sat back lazily on the uncomfortable metal chair, looking quite nonchalant and aloof as the tubby badger entered the room and sat down opposite himself.

"Mr. Chance, do you know why you have been bro..."

"Do you know who I am?"

"Yes, you are Ryan Chance, step-son of the Wingarten estate."

"Well, this step-son carries all the power that the name gives, through marriage or blood, and we Wingartens do not accept being dragged out of our homes in the middle of the night to stinky police stations run by fat badgers."

Harry sat through the momentary rant unphased. "If you are quite finished, we can get this fat badger off your tail by answering a few questions."

Ryan slumped back into the chair, looking away from the detective. His paw flew up and circled once to show his boredom. "Fine."

"Okay then, where were tonight between the hours of 8 and 10 p.m.?"

"I was at home."

"Was anyone there with you?"

A sly grin spread across the otter's muzzle. "Why? What have you heard?"

"Playing games will only keep us here longer."

"No, no one was in the house with me at all. The guard, Reggie, was stationed at the post at the end of the driveway and would have seen me leave if I had."

"So you have no idea what was going on at the college this evening?"

"It's a college campus in the middle of nowhere America, I'm pretty sure nothing was going on this evening."

"Hhmpphh" was all the sound that came from Detective Barneswell at that statement. "Fine then, we'll move on. What is the nature of your relationship with your step-brother Jake?"

"Jake? Well, I don't see him very often anymore, since he started at that college. He comes home for breaks and such every once in awhile. I spend most of my time in school myself, high school of course, or at the house. Our degenerate parents are rarely around. It seems they wanted children even less than they want to be with each other."

"So you don't have a very good home life?"

"I have a fantastic life at home, just not with the furs that are supposed to be there."

"I see. So what is it you spend your time doing if you are at home alone most of the time?"

"Oh... I didn't say that I was alone. I just said that my family was hardly ever there."

"So you have friends come over to spend time with you?"

"If that's what you want to call them, sure."

"What would you call them?"

Another devious little grin cast upon the mustelid's features. "I would call them toys."

Harry's eyeridge quirked as he looked up from his notes. "Toys?"

"Yes, young and attractive gentlemen that I have over on a not-so-often basis to take care of certain urges that I have."

"You mean you have sex with them?"

"Yes, quite a lot of it actually."

"But you are only in high school."

"Doesn't matter to me, and it doesn't seem to matter to them once I am naked and spreading my legs open for them." The devious smirk returned to the otter's muzzle, causing the detective to shift a bit uncomfortably in his seat.

"Yes, well... that isn't the crime we are focused on here tonight."

Ryan simply smiled a bit wider. "Yes, why are we here tonight?" He sat back again, seemingly bored and uninterested in the rest of the conversation.

"Your brother was murdered tonight."

The mustelid's face fell for a moment, but returned to it's steely visage once again in only the briefest of an instant. "Caused a bit too much trouble, did he?"

"What do you mean?" His pencil scribbled across the page with blinding ferocity.

"Well, it started when Jake came home to visit me early in this semester. You see, he has always been after my ass, and he was being particularly forceful about it that visit..."

Detective Barneswell walked out of the last interrogation room, head shaking from side to side. "That boy is messed up" he whispered to himself.

Several Days Later

The investigation stagnated for the next few days. There were few leads, and multiple dead ends. Detective Harry Barneswell paced back and forth in his office a lot these days, his whiskers twitching in thought as he rummaged through the interviews and other evidence. So many suspects, and not one had either an airtight alibi, nor a perfect motive. All of them had seen the victim the night of his murder, and all of them had reason to kill him. It was the day of Jake Wingarten's funeral, and the badger had been invited by the family. There was a small note at the bottom of the invitation that came directly from Ryan Chance.

The funeral was lavish, everything one would expect from a Wingarten affair. There were possibly hundreds of furs milling about, waiting for the services to begin. Harry wondered idly how many of them actually knew Jake at all, he certainly didn't. Though the stories he'd heard over the past several days painted a varied and intricate portrait of the male fox.

The service was grand. Many furs popped up to talk on behalf of the deceased, rich and powerful from all over the world. The Wingartens clearly had their noses in high places, so to speak. Some of the folks Barneswell expected to hear from didn't speak at all. With as much as the pup had said he loved Jake, there was no speech from Chris.

Passing by the casket, the detective got his first glimpse of Jake Wingarten. He didn't see anything especially interesting about the fox. His most dazzling feature were his eyes, which of course were closed now. He paid his respects and moved off away from the church to watch the passers by.

A light touch on his shoulder brought him out of his reverie. He turned swiftly and found a young doberman standing in front of him, ears down and nosepad facing the ground. "Chris? I thought you might be here somewhere."

The young male nodded, his tight-fitting black suit crumpling in the afternoon sun. "Are you going to arrest me?"

"And why would I want to arrest you?"

"I wasn't invited to the funeral. I'm crashing, I guess you could say."

"No one has complained to me so far, so what should I care? Now, if you have something to say about who killed Jake, then I'm interested."

The timid dobie took another step forward, eyes still down, refusing to look up at the badger. His paws came from behind his back, holding a small envelope. "I received this from Jake just the other night, after his death."

"Why didn't you call me when you first got this?"

"I didn't know if I wanted this information known. It hurts a lot of people, and doesn't really answer any questions. Then I thought about it. If you want to read it, you can." The dog's paw was held out, the envelope in it for him. The fear seemed to be gone all at once, a resoluteness in his voice replacing it.

Harry took the envelope and pulled out the letter within it:

Chris, I know I haven't been the best fur to you in the recent past, but please believe that it wasn't all me. I had my reasons, and while those reasons are not justified, they are reasons. Please allow me to explain and then decide how you will.

This whole mess started when I met my roommates. Well, I suppose it didn't start there. It really started when I described my roommates to my step-brother Ryan. Apparently he knows Roland and Timothy very well, and has a grudge against them. He made me promise to break them up, cause them pain, and that is how this all truly started. I worked slowly and deliberately, getting to know you, using you so that you could befriend Roland. Then I met your father, and I seduced him as well, using the relationship with him to injure Roland further. Roland didn't lose his financial aid, I made Roger take it away from him. Clearly, this formed more of a rift between the lovers as the stress got to them. Timothy would get jealous of how much you were getting involved with Roland to help him, and that would divide them more.

Brandon fits into all of this because he was a side bet. If I successfully bedded him before this semester was over, then I could get anything I wanted from him. I won that bet, but I never did go to collect. Suppose I didn't want that anymore. In the pursuit of my goals, I hurt so many people. Sometimes I took delight in it, but somewhere along the lines that changed. Somewhere I met a male who captured my interest. That was you Chris. Even though I treated you badly, and caused you pain, I fell in love with you.

Jake

Barneswell looked up from the letter, Chris's eyes full of tears. "He loved me."

Chris turned to leave, sniffling a little bit. "There's more to the letter, something a little less personal. This part is only for me."

"What are you doing with the othe...". Before he got a chance to ask, paper began to rain from the sky. The detective looked up at the torrent of letters coming down. He snatched one up and read it swiftly, turning back once done to talk to Chris, but the doberman was far away, moving in the opposite direction. Harry moved back to his car, radioing in for backup saying that he had the murderer in the Wingarten case pegged.

Copies of Jake's letter, the second part, were mailed to all the prominent furs of the city. Any who had not attended the funeral were still liable to see it. Word spread quickly through town about the letter and what it signified. Detective Barneswell raced to Wingarten manor as fast as his cruiser would carry him.

He pounded on the door of the manor. "This is the police. Ryan Chance-Wingarten, you are under arrest for conspiracy to commit murder." When no one answered, Harry kicked the door in. He wasn't going to let his man get away. His weapon drawn, the badger made his way into the sprawling house. Every was was checked methodically until he finally came to one of the upstairs bedrooms. Laying on the bed, naked as a jay bird, and cold as stone, was Ryan Chance. The otter had clearly struggled with his attacker before he was throttled to death.

Chris walked away from the detective, tears streaming down his muzzle as he thought about the fox and the words he left for him. The other half of the letter rained down behind him, letting everyone in town know who was responsible for the death of the man he loved. The dobie climbed into the restored Jaguar roadster that he had once shared a ride with Jake, driving on his way out of town.

Epilogue

Banners raised around campus heralded the end of the school year. The colorful signs read "Congratulations Graduates!" signaling the end of some furs' school careers. One black-robed figure stood in the quad area of campus, turning in all directions slowly. In one paw was the shining white piece of paper that informed him and everyone else that he had graduated. Still, white fur shone in the sun against his face and paws. The eyes of the dalmatian glistened with tears not yet fallen. The contrast of his fur was suddenly brought into stark relief when a large black paw moved into his, gripping his own tightly. Roland smiled and turned to look into the face of his lover and mate, Timothy, the wolf smiling equally brightly, his own face fur stained lightly with his own tears, already shed.

"Graduation, then a wedding. We are quite the busy furs, aren't we?" the dalmy said with a soft giggle.

Timothy nodded. "Indeed, it will be a glorious few weeks for us, especially the honeymoon." A flash of love, devotion, and a little bit of lust shone in the lupine's eyes.

"Of course it will, my dear" Roland exclaimed, staring at campus. "A lot happened here. I'm still going to miss it."

"Aye. That was a crazy first year."

"Mmmm" the canine agreed, his brow furrowed a bit. "Everything happened so fast. Jake being killed in our bathroom, then his brother murdered right after Jake's funeral. They never figured out who killed... oh what was his name? Ryan? Yeah, Ryan?"

"No, case is still unsolved."

"Yeah, and Chris vanished after that fight with his father, when both of them found out the other had been sleeping with Jake, that was nuts. Have you heard anything from Brandon?"

"As far as I know, no one has heard of him since the night we were all taken to the police station. He ran off pretty quickly after he was deemed no longer a suspect, as we all did."

"Chris hasn't been seen since either. Those copies of that letter that rained down on the mourners said something about being page two. I've wondered what was on the first page."

"I have to admit a little bit of curiosity about that myself. All I remember hearing is that Chris was given Jake's car, and he left. There are rumors that he was responsible for the letters and then subsequently, Ryan's death. That may be why he left."

"I guess we will never know, unless someone finds Chris."

The large wolf put an arm around his future husband, pulling him close. "Don't dwell on that my love, only the road ahead and all that." He smooched his partner on the cheek, eliciting a quiet yip from the smaller male.

"Yeah, onwards and upwards" was the reply.