"Officers Hopps, Wilde." Bogo said, "We've gotten a new missing animal case. Savannah Central, near the docks. Good luck."
Sergeant Hopps and her partner exchanged glances and quick nods. It had become routine in the months they had together now under their belts. Always the last assignments, but always the juiciest ones. At least, Judy thought so. Her fox partner, always decked out under his shades oozed an aura of calm coolness in the face of any case. From the nasty undercover operations, to the dangerous drug rings, he was always smirking. Judy loved that little smile.
She grabbed the burgundy folder from the Chief, and dashed after Nick as he went to the door. He sipped on his coffee as they marched through the atrium. His other hand was, as usual, stuffed into his pocket.
"Another day, another case, eh, Carrots?" Nick said. "Anything interesting about this one?"
"Let me see…"Judy said as she began to flip through the case file. The warm glow of the morning sun always crashed through the front of the building, making the fine paper difficult to read. "Predator….ooh, it's a fox."
"Oh?" Nick said, "Anyone I know?"
"Not sure!" Judy said, "Reported missing by her boss after missing work for four days. Witness reports that she was dependable and trustworthy, and that is out of character for her to just disappear like that."
"Any leads?"
"Nothing from her boss, but we know where she lives."
"Anywhere nice?"
"Actually..she lives in the old John F. Hyena houses off of Banyon St." Judy said.
"The projects?" Nick said, as he pushed open the doors. "Not going to lie, Carrots, this one doesn't look to good. What's the name?"
"One Winona Stark." Judy said. She handed him the file, and skipped down the steps to their patrol car. The black chrome glinted, and the horn beeped as she fished the keys from her pockets. "Am I driving? Or can you not take anymore of my wild 'bunny driving'?"
When the sly fox's witty remark did not come, Judy stopped and looked back. The fox was staring down into the file, eyebrows smushed together, green eyes furiously skimming through the page. His sunglasses were in his hand, and his ears were pressed against his skull.
"Nick?"
He shook his head, a slap-dash smile spreading across his face. "Oh, sorry, Carrots. Just, reading the file. You want to drive? I kind of want to read this."
"Sure…" Judy said, keeping an eye on him as he entered the car. She hopped in, re adjusted the seat because her partner always forgot, and started the vehicle. But all the while she watched him get lost in the case file. His eyes darted about, and his fingers leafed through the pages with a soft rustle that built and built as if they were waves.
"Something interesting in there, Officer Wilde?" Judy asked as they began to move.
"I don't-" Nick said, before letting his paw run down his face. "-it's complicated, Judes."
"Nick, I know that voice." Judy said, "What's bothering you?"
"It's a problem of knowing everyone in the city." Nick said, as he put the file down in his lap, and turned towards the window, watching the building faces whizz by in a stream of color.
Judy bit her lip but focused on the road. "So, you know this Winona Stark?"
"I did." Nick said, "A long time ago."
"She's not one of your ex's is she?" Judy said. Nick's eyes were like daggers.
"What? No, Carrots." Nick said, "Nothing like that. I don't have crazy ex's like that."
"But you do have exes?" Judy asked.
"Why does it matter to you?" Nick snapped. Judy's ears laid back against her head, which sunk in between her shoulders. The fox sighed. "I'm sorry, Carrots. Didn't mean to snap at you."
Silence fell between them, and Nick opened the file once more.
"It's okay," Judy said, "but, call me curious, how did you know her?"
"Well, Curious." Nick said, "Believe it or not, Winona Stark is my mother."
Judy slammed on the breaks. "What!?"
"Judy!" Nick said, holding the little handles for dear life. "What's wrong with you!"
"What's wrong with me?" Judy said, "You never said your mother was alive!" The bunny then narrowed her eyes and slugged him in the chest. He mouthed an 'ow' as she said, "And put on your seatbelt, you dumb fox."
"Sorry, Carrots. Bad habit." Nick said, as he grabbed the buckle and clicked it into place. "And I never said she wasn't alive."
"All this time, and you never said anything."
"Unlike your perfect little family," Nick coughed, "- I mean, actually, huge family, to be fair - my early life wasn't that easy."
"What happened?" Judy said.
"Well, long and short of it, it was rough." Nick said, "Zootopia isn't a kind place to little foxes. Remember how I told you about joining the Junior Ranger Scouts?"
"Yes."
"Imagine that sort of prejudice everyday, Hopps." Nick said. "Imagine being poor and having to work at the age of 12."
They pulled onto Banyon Street. Unlike the main ways and streets of downtown, here it was quiet. Few people walked the streets, and the little shops had tiny windows with iron bars across them. Plywood covered broken glass, and was painted with tags and graffiti of black, silver, white, and red. Judy slowed down enough to glimpse someone laying down in an alley, covered in newspapers.
"For some of us, the streets were just a paycheck away." Nick said as he followed her gaze. "I grew up around here, but my mom fought fang and claw to keep us off the streets."
"But why not say anything until now?"
"Well, we had a...falling out awhile back." Nick said as he twiddled his thumbs.
Judy brought the car to a halt in front of the tall brick building, all brown and grey with stripes of windows across it like a prison jumper. She laid a paw on his arm as he looked towards the top. "I'm so sorry, Nick."
Officer Wilde quickly looked back at her paw, and then her. "Don't worry about it, Carrots. I just hope she's okay." He pulled his arm away, and coughed, his head stiffly locked towards the dashboard. "There's a noodle shop down the road we should stop at once we're done here. Best in all the city."
"Alright," Judy said, "If we have time."
Nick let out all the nervous air in his lungs and flashed her a bright, toothy smile and stepped out the car, flicking his sunglasses out and placing them on his face. They started up the steps.
"So why haven't you ever brought her up?" Judy asked.
"Never really the time or place." Nick said.
"How about when you visited my parents? If I recall they even asked you about them."
"Yeah, they did." Nick said, pushing his way inside.
Garish green lights flickered over the cracked and exposed drywall of the lobby. Flies buzzed about, and the low hanging ceiling fan did little else but shuffle and stir the hot autumnal air. The crimson exit sign hummed and an attendant flipped through a newspaper at the front desk, behind wrought iron bars. Nick leaned against the counter, and let out a little cough. The otter at the desk let the paper fall to the side as he sat up straight, pulling his feet from the counter-top.
"Uhh.." the otter said.
"Officers Hopps and Wilde, ZPD. How are ya?" Nick said.
"If there's a complaint about one of the tenants here, I could direct you to Bill, the manager-"
"We're actually here investigating a missing mammal report." Judy said. "Do you know a Miss Winona Stark?"
"The fox lady?" The otter said, "Yeah, sure. Haven't seen her in awhile."
"How long, exactly?" Nick said.
"Maybe a week or so….it's kinda fuzzy. Don't remember." The otter said.
"Well she was reported missing last night by her boss. We need to get into her apartment to investigate and look for clues as to her whereabouts." Judy said.
"Oh, yeah, sure." The otter said, jumping down to reach under the desk.
"Do you uh...know what...happened to her?" He said, his voice slightly muted.
"That's what we're going to find out." Judy said.
"Well, here's the key. 332." The otter said. "Third story, on the left hand side."
"Thanks."
The elevator had a piece of paper across it that read in black sharpie OUT OF ORDER. The stairs weren't much better, cold and dreary, and smelling of something foul.
"You lived here?" Judy asked.
"No." Nick said as he pushed open the door into the dingy hallway. The floor was cement, all stained and lit by fluorescent lights. Judy felt that she could never know what time of day it was in here. "But, nearby. Mom always kept the inside of the house nice. She said, that even though we lived in...well, a rat's nest, it didn't have to look like one."
"Hey, screw you too buddy." A voice piped up from beside his heel.
"Didn't realize it had gotten this bad for her." Nick said. "I should have…" His voice died off.
"Should have what?"
"Nevermind. 332. This is it." Nick said as he took the key. He couldn't even put the key in halfway before it stopped. "Huh. Key broke in the lock. Should still work." The lock turned, and the old door creaked open, the light from the hall flooding the room.
Judy thought the apartment was like her own, small and cramped. But there was a sense of cozy comfort in the room, and as she flicked on the lights she could see that this was a home, not just an apartment. Pictures were hung up and down the walls, depicting the faces of different foxes, and some other animals, and even some art. Heavy red drapes were drawn over the window, and the bed had a fluffy comforter made neatly across the bed. Some books and a journal lay upon the desk to its side, and near the door was a flowery calendar, with red x's through some of the days. The last was six days before.
Around the calendar were sticky notes, and on the a table with the phone were different little reminders. She looked through them as Officer Wilde carefully flipped through the journal.
Judy looked at the notepad beside the phone-the pen was still uncapped and lay beside it, and the top of the pad had scraps of the last page, ripped off. She took out her pencil, and rubbed it across the page gently.
2PM. Minkerton Dry Cleaning. 3rd and Chestnut.
"Hopps." Nick said, "She says here that she thinks she was being followed. She says she's going to meet and old friend for help."
"I think I know who." Judy said, as she ripped off the new page. "And more importantly, I think I know where."
Nick walked over to her and took the page. His ears flattened. "Minkerton."
"Do you know him?" She said.
"Yeah. A local underboss of the Codilia family." Nick said. "We've got to get over to 3rd and Chestnut, as fast as possible."