There he was, enjoying the last of a sweet meal, alone in a booth in the back of the restaurant. Emma felt slightly out of place in the fancy café but carried herself with a confident elegance that made up for her casual attire. She approached him slowly. "Count D. I need to talk to you." The tall and graceful Chinese glanced up with a small smile on his face.

"Ah yes, Emma. Please, sit down. How are you liking your new pet?"

The young woman glanced out the front window of the shop at the man standing outside. "Oh, he's great." The tall man who was standing at the door like a sentry was in fact a collie dog. To Emma and the Count, he appeared as a man with light summer clothing despite the cold and bushy orange-brown and white hair. His name was Tucker and he smiled happily at every single person who passed by, though all they saw was a brilliantly groomed and exceedingly intelligent dog. He was the perfect companion for Emma, who had been alone for far too long. "He's really fantastic Count, but…"

"Yes?" He had a curious look on his face. Emma had always come to him with problems but he had been sure things were going much better for her these days, especially with her new pet by her side.

"You… you're talking about leaving." She strove to keep emotion out of her voice but couldn't meet his eyes.

"Ah, yes," said the Count inscrutably.

"Where will you go?" Emma asked, staring at a knot in the wood of the tabletop.

"I've always found Tokyo to my liking," he answered calmly, sipping a cup of tea. "It will be a pleasant change."

Emma clenched her hands in her lap as a hint of despair crept into her voice. "And if what I know of you is true, you'll never return here, will you?"

"Ah…" The Count set down his tea with a tiny smile, but there was a hint of sadness on his face. "No, I won't. I've always found it best not to, ah, return to the scene, as it were."

" 'Of the crime'?" Emma looked up, meeting his gaze, and said with a casual cheeriness that she didn't feel, "D, you're crazy. The people here love you."

"Au contraire, my dear. Many people would here would love to see me go." He nodded pointedly at a police detective sitting across the restaurant.

"You're not a criminal." Emma's voice was low and defensive. She knew the cops had been on D's back since they found out about his pet shop but as far as she knew the Count hadn't engaged in anything illegal.

"They believe I am," he responded matter-of-factly.

"Count, the cops don't know what they're talking about! And Leon Orcot couldn't apprehend a baby in a straightjacket."

"My dear detective's lack of skill aside, they want the shop shut down Emma. Murder, drug trafficking, slave trade. All thing for which I am under suspicion. It doesn't reflect well on their department."

Emma slammed her hand down on the table. "But none of it's true! They're idiots, D! You run a pet shop, it's not you're fault they don't understand the animals' human forms. You don't even like humans, why would you house them in your shop? And it's incense you burn, not a narcotic. They've got nothing on you, they can't even get you for animal abuse. You always make sure your pets are well-taken care of."

"Of course." The Count was far calmer than Emma about the things the police suspected of him. "And the first charge?"

"You're not a murderer, Count D. You haven't killed anybody."

Count D looked Emma directly in the eye. For a moment the depth of their mismatched colors took her in and she wondered at the Chinese wish-granter and all his mystery. He was like a different person. "Oh, I haven't?" he asked her, deadly serious. "And how would you know, my dear?"

Through the haze of his intense stare, Emma realized that there was still so much she didn't know about the Count and his past. He seemed to be capable of nearly anything, but surely not murder. "I believe you wouldn't…" she said slowly, tearing her eyes away and staring at the table again. "That's not who you are, it's not what you want. You don't kill people. Teach them lessons maybe, but not kill."

He sighed and turned his gaze from the girl and instantly she felt the chill of the unknown dissipate. "What other logic can they follow when the Obituaries page of the newspaper has become little more than a list of my customers?"

"Those people died because of their own horrific flaws; insatiable greed and jealousy, it was their own fault. You gave them instructions, they didn't follow. But that aside, so many people have been made happy by the pets you've given them. I don't know what I'd do without Tucker. You changed Maggie from a brat into a nice little girl. Madam Sultana and the other animals are even bringing Chris out of his shell. And your birds inspired Jeanne LaCroix's finest performance ever!"

"And her last. Emma, the happy endings don't erase the nightmares, the deaths."

"But those weren't your fault!" Emma couldn't believe that the Count was ready to give so much credence to the ramblings of one foolish police detective. "Count, animals will be animals! As intelligent and sophisticated as you and I and few others know them to be, they are still animals. And it's not like they can be tried. To a judge and jury they're just another cat, another dog, another house pet."

"And what of the Kirin? And the Totetsu?" It wasn't a challenge but a question. "What is my dear detective supposed to think of events like those?"

"No one's going to believe a testimony about a mythical beast of ancient China. And anyone who sees T-chan thinks he's some kind of goat, not a man-eating beast." Emma could see that her arguments were having little effect on his mindset. She was becoming desperate. "Please, Count! You have no reason to leave!"

For a minute Count D just watched Emma, wondering what drove her to try so hard to make him stay. Usually he could read people like books. They were simple creatures really, compared to the utterly complex minds of animals. But he had never seen this side of the young woman. He sighed and sipped his tea quietly, going for an indirect approach. "Nobody else seems quite as upset about my imminent departure." He wasn't expecting Emma's next outburst though.

"It's different for them!" she all but shouted, reaching across the table and clutching his hands in hers. "They can live without you! I can't!" Emma hadn't meant for this to come out but she realized she couldn't keep her feelings so secret forever. But Count D pulled his hands back and turned away with a pained look on his face, so Emma quickly lied, "And not even in a romantic way, but as a friend." Emma tried to calm herself down as she folded her hands in her lap and focused on them rather than meet his eyes. "Count D. Please. You can't just leave me."

The Count stared at her with an unreadable look on his face. He was not used to being so wanted, but he hid that smoothly. After a pause he said, "Why don't you come have tea with me tomorrow? At my shop."

Emma forced the emotion out of her voice. The Count's rejection had made it clear to her that she was only a friend to him, if even that. "Is that a good idea?"

"Are you afraid?" There was a tiny smile on his lips.

"No," she answered honestly, her brow furrowed as she continued to stare at her lap.

He smiled wider as he placed the payment for his meal on the table and stood up. "Then I'll see you tomorrow. At four. Good day." He turned and walked toward the door. Emma glanced up quickly, still emotionless.

"Count D." He stopped and half-turned to look back at her. She looked directly into his eyes. "Change your mind. Stay." The Count nodded an acknowledgement and left the restaurant.