Zootopia Short Stories: Clawhauser is on the Case!
Someone is breaking into and trashing Zootopia's coffee shops and bakeries. Our favorite flabby feline steps out from behind his desk and investigates. Is there something more sinister going on than just doughnuts and muffins?
I do not own the rights to Zooptopia or any of its characters. This story was written solely for the reader's enjoyment and without any profitable purposes. The story, all names, characters, and incidents portrayed in this story are fictitious.
Chapter 1: Muffins are a cop's best friend?
"Hamf um frid duf muffms" the red fox in the dark blue police officer's uniform said to the flabby similarly uniformed cheetah sitting behind the desk.
"I'm sorry Nick, but I didn't understand what you just said?" Benjamin Clawhauser chuckled as he leaned over the reception desk and looked down at the fox. "Didn't your mother ever tell you not to talk with your mouth full?"
The fox waved his muffin as he sipped on his coffee. "Sorry Benji! What I said was have you tried the muffins from that new place down the road?" Nick replied. "They are soooo good!"
"You know I'm just a doughnut loving cop," the cheetah replied. "Besides muffins are too cakeish…cakey…if you know what I mean."
Chief Bogo's loud voice echoed from down the hallway, "Wilde, get to work!"
"This is me working Chief," the fox called back. "I'm working Chief, working hard, working my way right out the door!"
The next morning the tubby cheetah made his normal morning stop at his favorite doughnut shop Susan's Bakery, but it was closed. Looking in the window, he saw the owner standing in the middle of her shop. The stout bobcat was crying into her white baker's apron as she looked around the broken remains of her shop. There was broken glass from the damaged display cases, chairs and tables smashed, and even the cash register was on the floor. Looking up she saw Ben peeking through the window and ran to open the door.
"Oh Benny are you here to investigate the break-in," she wailed as she threw herself into his embrace. "Look what someone did to my shop!"
"I was just on my way to work and stopped to get my usual two dozen donuts," the cheetah replied as he hesitantly hugged the sobbing baker. "I'm sure that Chief Bogo will assign his best officers to the case."
"I don't want his best!" she wailed. "I want you!"
"I haven't worked a case in years," Ben started to say, but then he looked around at the mess and the distraught bobcat. "I'll see what I can do! Just don't touch anything until someone comes back to investigate."
The bobcat nodded and gave him a sad little smile.
As he continued his walk towards the police station, he saw a long line of mammals waiting to get into the new coffee shop across the road. Impatiently standing in the line was a familiar timber wolf in a ZPD t-shirt. Crossing the road he called out to the officer, "Hey, Wolford, is this place really that good? Nick was raving about their muffins yesterday."
"I don't know Ben," the wolf replied. "I usually stop at the Snarlbucks over on the next block, but someone broke into it last night and trashed the place."
"That's odd?" the cheetah replied. "I was just over at Susan's Bakery and someone did the same thing to her store."
"Can I get you anything?" Wolford asked. "I understand they give cops a discount."
"No, I really don't care much for muffins," Ben sighed. "I'm a doughnut loving cop! "
Containing his way to the station, he was puzzled about why someone would break into coffee shops and bakeries just to trash them. Then he thought about how sad Susan was and his promise to help her. By the time her arrived at the station, he had skewed up enough courage to ask Chief Bogo if he could be assigned to the case.
When he arrived, he sucked in his gut and marched with forced determination to the Chief's door and knocked. The cape buffalo looked up from the files he was reading, "What do you want Clawhauser, I'm busy so make it snappy!" he grumbled.
The flabby cheetah drew a breath and said, "Iwanttoinvestigatethebreakinatsusansbarkery".
The buffalo looked up at the now huffing and wheezing cat as he took off his reading glasses and asked, "Did you just ask to be assigned to a case? I thought you like working the desk?"
"I do Chief," Ben wheezed. "It's just Susan is a friend and asked me to help with the investigation."
Bogo looked at the cheetah and then at the file in his hoof, "Let me think about it, I'll have to find someone who can handle your job."
"Atemphfumf" Corporal Higgins choked out as Chief Bogo entered the Bullpen. The hippo coughed as he tried to swallow the remnants of the large muffin he just finished.
The buffalo was used to howls, roars, and cheers as he entered the room, but this morning all he heard was munching. His eyes narrowed as he looked over at McHorn, the large rhino's face was banged up as if he had hit a brick wall horn first. Wilde was sitting in his usual place next to Hopps and he was unusually silent because he was eating a muffin. Bogo sighed when he saw the fox's arm had a large bandage across it. As he continued looking around the room, he snorted when he saw most of the other officers were also eating muffins. "This is not the break room!" he bellowed. "Put those away."
The officers looked around their tables, but there was nowhere to put their muffins. "The trash!" Bogo yelled. "Throw them IN THE TRASH!"
Wolford gave a little whine as he tossed his muffin into the trash, Fangmeyer choked on his when the big tiger tried to stuff the remainder of his half eaten muffin into his mouth, but the sadist of all the officers was the fox. Nick's ears lay flat on top of his head and his tail was tucked under his legs as he made his way towards the trash and he whimpered as he dropped the muffin into the garbage.
"Wilde, sit down!" Bogo snapped. "NOW!" The fox quickly scurried back to the seat he shared with Judy. The rabbit looked over at her partner and rolled her eyes.
"Today's assignments are…" the buffalo began, but Nick was not paying the least amount of attention to what was being said as he stared forlornly at the trash bin. He was startled when his partner hopped down and walked to get her file. Slipping off the chair, he began to follow her out the door.
"And where do you think you're going Officer Wilde?" Chief Bogo asked. He was using the sweetest voice as he could muster. When the fox pointed towards his partner, the buffalo shook his head. "No, that case is for Hopps and Clawhauser. I've got another job for you to do today."
"Let me guess," Nick grumbled as his ears drooped. "Parking ticket duty, again?"
"Nooo!" Chief Bogo replied, trying not to laugh. "Someone has to do Clawhauser's job today and that's you!"
The rabbit in the hallway laughed as the fox looked up at the buffalo in surprise. "What no sarcastic or snide comment this morning?" Chief Bogo sweetly asked.
"I've got nothing," the fox answered as he dejectedly walked towards the still laughing rabbit.
"You've been grounded Slick," Judy snickered.
The fox sighed and shook his head. "Remember what you told me had happened after the press conference last year?" he asked her.
"That they reassigned Ben to records," she replied. "Because they didn't want a predator to be the first thing someone sees when they entered the building, so what? Ben is back at the desk."
"What do you think those mammals will think when they see a fox?" Nick sighed.
Judy stopped and her ears drooped, then she said in a cheery voice, "Well then you'll just have to show them that you're the best fox receptionist in the ZPD!"
"Carrots, I'm the only fox in the ZPD," he replied.
"So this button controls the PA system," the cheetah said. To the fox, it seemed like the big cat was droning on and on about the job. How hard could it really be? "Are you paying attention?" Ben asked.
"Yeah if phone rings, answer it!" Nick replied as he climbed onto the large chair and gave it a whirl. "Now, you two go and make the world a better place one doughnut at a time!"
The cheetah momentarily gave the fox a skeptical look, before the rabbit gripped the cat's paw and pulled at him. "Come on Ben, we have a case to solve" she excitedly exclaimed.
Nick watched the bunny try to drag the oversized cheetah out the door and then looked back at the Bullpen. He was thinking of sneaking back into the room and digging his muffin out of the trash, it tasted so good and he didn't even get to work the word puzzle that was printed on wrapper. The one he did last night was a tough one…at least he thought it was? He whimpered as he saw one the of the cleaning crew exit with the trash bin, the raccoon was furtively looking around as he left the room. Before Nick could ask if everything was okay, the phone rang. Pushing the button he answered, "This is the police. It's your quarter so spill it!" But all he heard was just a dial tone and the phone kept ringing. Desperately he began pushing buttons, but the ringing continued.
Stopping outside the door Clawhauser looked back at the police station. "Do you think he can handle things?" he asked Judy.
The bunny smiled up at him and gaily said, "Nick's a lot smarter then he looks!" Then the uniformed rabbit once again began trying to drag the big cat down the sidewalk. "Come on we've got to get going!"