After driving Nick home to shower and change into his usual work suit, Grey suit pants and a shirt and tie, Judy pulled into the police station car-park and the pair headed up to the incident room.
The Incident room was an open office with 6 desks facing a smaller office with glass walls at one end. This was Bogo's office. The desks were set out up the sides of the room leaving a walkway down the middle. A white board along the left side of the room already had the crime scene photos pinned up and all the important facts for the case written down.
Nick and Judy were both shocked to see Clawhouser sat alone at his desk when they walked inot the incident room. He was looking up a mammal that had a file a mile long.
"Who's this?" Nick asked as he pulled up a chair. Judy Just hopped up and sat on the edge of the desk.
"This is Jasmine's husband." Clawhouser said with a tear in his eye. He scrolled to the top of the file showing them the lynx's mug shot. His name was Richard Blackpaw he had a very distinctive look, A scar just below his eye and only one of his ears had the distinctive tuft at the top. The other looked like it had had the tip bitten off.
"Are you ok Ben?" Judy asked noticing he was a bit upset.
"I'm ok. I just knew we'd find her like this one day."
Nick and Judy looked at each other confused.
"before I transferred here… when I was in uniform. We got called out to their address at least once a month. he used to beat her like a bug burger." Clawhouser continued clearing the confusion.
"We need to bring him in." Nick growled. "How could you do that to your own wife?" Nick didn't even bother to try and hide his anger, there was no point.
"Let's go get him then." Judy said as she hopped off the desk.
"What's that address ben?" she asked as she walked away with Nick jogging after her.
"42 Newlands Place skip" Clawhouser shouted over his shoulder, and just in time because the door swung shut when he turned around.
"Call back DC McFang" Judy said into the car radio as she hit the lights and put her foot to the floor, wheel spinning out of the station car park.
"Go ahead skip" Dave said. Nick hated it that Judy still got called skip. The sergeant should be skip, but Judy had hung onto the nickname when she got her promotion.
"We've got a lead. Meet us at 42 Newlands Place. And don't go in until we get there." Judy said, emphasising not to go in. Dave was well known for charging in head on, in fact he was as bad if not worse than Judy for it.
"I'm not far away. see you there" Dave replied. His voice was all crackly over the radio but still clear enough to understand.
Newlands Place was a long road that stretched from the centre of town almost to the river where Jasmine was found. It wasn't a bad area, but it was nothing special. When Judy Pulled up opposite the house Dave was already there. his car was sat empty outside the terraced house with the driver's door open towards the curb.
"Where's that bloody wolf?" Nick barked as he shot out of the car with Judy close behind him. She was just about to call Dave on the radio when she spotted him crouched behind a bush.
"What did I tell you McFang" Judy said, raising her eyebrows at the wolf.
"I… He… I don't think he's home." Dave stuttered. Judy was less than half his size, but he knew almost as well as Nick did not to piss her off.
"Well why are you hiding behind a bush then? Or are you trying to look as suspicious as possible?" Judy asked rhetorically before she walked up the old concrete path to the front door of the property and knocked on the door, "Police, open up." She shouted.
Nick peered through the bay window at the front of the house looking for any sign that somebody was in.
"It looks empty" he said, his nose pressed against the window when an elderly lynx female opened the door and stuck her head out. Nick Jumped back from the window his heart racing from the shock.
"I'm Detective Inspector Judy Hopps, this Is Detective Sergeant Nicholas Wilde and Detective Constable David McFang. Is Richard Blackpaw here?"
"Oh, I'm afraid not. Come on in." the old lynx said before turning and walking into the living room. The room was small for a family of lynxes. the furniture was old and the place needed redecorating, but it was homely enough.
"Sit down" the old lynx said gesturing to the sofa.
"Thank you" Judy said as she sat down on the brown faux leather sofa, Dave sat beside her while Nick stood in the doorway between the hall and the living room. He always felt uneasy in a suspect's house especially if he hadn't had a sweep of all of the rooms.
"I'm his mother. I haven't seen him since last night, he went out at about 9." the lynx continued. Judy pulled out her note pad "Could you tell us where he went?"
"I'm sorry no, he was awfully wound up though. He and jasmine had a row last night and she walked out to go to her mothers." Judy looked at Nick and nodded. Nick stepped out of the room and got his radio out.
"Clawhouser call back." He said.
The radio crackled before Ben's voice came through with a hint of static. "Hey Nick, any luck?"
"No, he isn't here. I want you to put a call out to uniform, tell them if they see him to bring him in. and get someone to watch the house." Nick ordered.
"Ok Nick. I'm on it. He works at the fish market on Charleston Square you should try there." Ben replied. Nick could hear him tapping on his keyboard through the radio.
"Thanks Ben we'll check it out."
Back in the living room Judy had broken the news of jasmines death to the old lynx,
"I know they didn't have the best relationship, but he loved her. He could never kill her." The lynx managed through her tears.
"Ok miss Blackpaw. If you want to tell us anything else no matter how small or insignificant you think it might be call me." Judy said handing the mammal her card
"Thanks for your time." Dave said as they both stood up to leave "We will show ourselves out."
Nick was leaning on the wall outside the front door with his sunglasses on staring off into space when they came out.
"Anything useful?" Nick asked.
"Not a thing." Judy said, flipping her notepad shut and tucking it away.
"Clawhouser said he works at the fish market. we should check there." Nick offered.
"let's go then. He did it, I can feel it." Judy said as she walked down the path to their car quietly seething at the thought of what Richard had put jasmine through.