Part 1

Mary woke up to nothing but darkness. Instinctively, she tried to get up, but found herself bound down on the hard surface she was lying on. With her arms outstretched and secured, her breathing was hard and made harder still by the anxiety of her situation. Unable to see and unable to move, the ewe was terrified of what was happening and cried out for help.
For a moment her pleas were met with silence, until the sound of metal scraping against metal silenced her. The sound grew louder as it approached her, finally stopping at her side. As the scraping continued, a voice accompanied it:

Mary was a little lamb
Her fleece as white as snow…
And everywhere that Mary went
The wolf was sure to go…
He followed her to work one day
He only wanted to laugh and play…
She shot him down and to him she said:
"Why don't you just go play… Dead."

As the voice finished, a loud 'thunk' was heard before Mary screamed at the top of her lungs.

…

Judy wasn't quite sure how to feel about today.
After years of working on the force, she and her partner finally made the promotion to Detectives. Gone were the days of routine patrols and the dreaded 'Parking Duty' which she loathed since day one. From here on out, the fox and the bunny were to be assigned only the most serious of cases. And their first assignment was no exception.
The duo was in a smallish apartment that was being rented out to Dolly Woolens and her roommate. They were questioning the sheep on her involvement in their case, and she was more than a little troubled with her predicament. Judy could understand why; it's not every day that you find the head of your roommate in a cardboard box on your doorstep.
The victim was identified as Mary Lambsleigh and was found the day before by the shaking ewe in front of them.

"Miss Woolens-"
"Please… Just Dolly," The sheep meekly said as she cut Judy short.
"Dolly, we need you to tell us everything you know that could help us," Judy asked in as soft a manner as she could. "When was the last time you saw Mary?"
The sheep held herself in her arms, rocking back and forth as she tried to come to terms with her situation.
"The day before," Dolly managed to say. "Mary was going to work. She didn't come back that night. I thought she was at a friend's place and forgot to tell me. She did that a lot."
Judy jotted down her notes as Nick just observed from where he stood, leaning against the wall.
"Was Mary acting strange in any way before that?" The bunny continued.
"No. Everything was normal, from what I could tell."
"Was she seeing anyone?"
"She never said, but she shared everything. So I don't think she was."
"Okay. Would you mind sharing where Mary was working?"
"She was a waitress at the diner down the block. Nomnivores."
Judy finished up her notes, concluding that was all she could get that would be useful.
"Thanks Dolly," the bunny announced as she got up from her seat. "It means a lot for you to share this. And don't worry, we'll find out who did this."

"So we're going out to eat?" Nick asked as they left the building, knowing full well what the answer was.
"She did say it was just down the block," Judy smirked at her partner.
Nick was taking the whole Detective promotion in stride; he had even bought a trench coat to mark the occasion, which he was wearing right now. The bunny felt a little embarrassed that he was wearing such a dated fashion piece when she was wearing a more modest suit as her working clothes. And despite her objections for Nick to reconsider, the fox wore the coat all the same, and she hated the fact that it looked good on him.

"Um, boss? We've got two officers that want to talk to you," a bat announced as she peeked through the doorway.
"Oh? Well send them in Betty," the boar answered as he made himself comfortable at his desk.
Harry Borrison wasn't expecting any visits that day, much less from members of the ZPD. He hoped that none of his employees had done something drastic without his knowledge. His surprise grew as he saw the two visitors walk in; a bunny dressed in a sharp navy suit, and a fox dressed in a dark brown trench coat.
"Detectives Judy and Nick Wilde, sir," the bunny greeted as she hopped onto a chair facing his desk and reach out for a pawshake.
"Harry Borrins," he greeted in kind as he shook her paw. "What can I do for you?"
"We'd like to ask you a few questions about one of your employees," Nick asked as he leaned against the door-frame. "Mary Lambsleigh, to be exact."
"Mary?" The boar repeated as he recognized the name. "Is she in trouble?"
"'Was in trouble' would be a better way to put it," Judy admitted. "Unfortunately, Mary has been the victim of a murder. And we have a reason to believe that it occurred sometime after she left her apartment two days ago and before yesterday evening. Was Mary working at all during that time?"
Harry dropped down in his chair at the news. Mary was one of his best waitresses, and a favourite amongst the customers for her smile. It was hard for him to believe that she was the victim of a murder.
"Uh, yes… She was working the day before," He finally managed to say. "But she had a day off yesterday and today, so I didn't think much about it."
Judy nodded in understanding as she made a few notes.
"I've noticed that you have a few cameras in the dining area," Nick pointed out. "Are they just for show, or do you have them recording?"
"They're recording," Harry replied. "Did you want to look at the tapes?"
"I thought you'd never asked," the fox grinned as he followed the boar to the back of the office, Judy in tow.

"I hope you'll find what you're looking for, officers," Harry said as he left the two.
The boar had led them into a side-room with some old-fashioned recording equipment and a few monitors that showed the dining area up front. Judy and Nick scoured the shelves for the presumed last day that Mary had worked. It didn't take long for them to find the appropriate tapes and play them.
Mary wasn't hard to find on the footage; despite the low-quality image, she was the only sheep waitress on staff. Nothing much happened as they fast-forwarded through the day, following the ewe's movements, until they found what looked to be a fight between her and a customer. There was no sound on the footage, but Mary looked to have taken offense to what the customer had said and spat something back. The customer grabbed at her arm, but she pulled back and slapped him with her hoof. The customer left with everyone in the diner seemingly shooing him out by throwing napkins and bread rolls at them.
"Possible lead, Carrots?" Nick asked, knowing again her answer.
"Yep, and a few more questions for Mr. Borrins," Judy replied as she took the tape with them as they left the room.

…

Eeny, meeny, miny, moe…
Catch a tiger by the toe…

AN: I hope I haven't scared anyone off yet, because we're just getting started...