Chapter 7: Just One Little Nibble

Sorry about the delay, things are picking up on the farm with spring moving into summer and I wanted to get the last few chapters of The Greatest Zootopian Hero finished. I also had a bit of a writer's block concerning how this story was going to reach its conclusion. So, we are back with Clawhauser and Judy struggling to solve two seemingly related crimes. Meanwhile, Nick is trying to be the best fox receptionist in the ZPD, which shouldn't be so hard since he's the only fox in the ZPD.


The large muscular cape buffalo leaned back at his desk and rubbed the back of his neck with his right hoof, so far this day had been very unusual to say the least. His officers were now up to five cases of odd robberies ranging from a bank's money to a carton of card stock being stolen from a greeting card company. All of the cases had only one apparent underlying connection, the perpetrator who committed the crime apparently did not remember doing so. Standing up, he stretched as he walked over to his office window and peeked through the parted blinds. What he saw brought a small crooked smile to his snout and it was the highpoint of his whole day, watching that snarky fox being knocked down a few pegs.

Chief Bogo picked up his mug from the desk and sipped the now tepid coffee as he watched the red fox fumbling with the phone while trying to eat a muffin at the same time. Then with a deep chuckle, he walked over to the door and threw it open with a bang. "Wilde!" he bellowed out and tried to laugh as the officer jumped in surprise. "Get back to work and quit eating on the job." Everyone knew Benjamin Clawhauser, who usually sat at the reception desk snacked all day long, but it was fun getting his revenge on the fox for all the snide remarks that he made almost daily. Before Nick could respond, the buffalo turned and slammed his door shut.

As he sat down again, he cast a look at the large brown muffin sitting on his desk. It was a gift from the new coffee shop down the street. He had always tried to keep himself fit and usually avoided sweets, but the hay and barley muffin looked too delicious to refuse. Reaching over with his hoof, he pinched off a bit and took a bite. He was surprised at the taste, it was almost addictive as he tore off another piece and then another.


Sitting at the reception desk, Nick frowned back at Chief Bogo's closed door. "Wilde no eating at the desk!" he whined to himself. "Wilde do this…Wilde do that…Wilde…Wilde…Wilde! It isn't fair because Benny gets to eat at the desk, so why can't I?"

The fox's ears perked up as he heard Officer Bill Grizzoli and another officer approaching the desk. "I don't get it?" the polar bear asked the uniformed warthog. "Why steal a carton of card stock and just leave it on a bench in the park?"

"It's weird," the smaller officer answered. "It's like all the other robberies today, an inside job but this time we caught both the thief and recovered the stolen goods."

"Is she still holding out that she doesn't remember doing it?" Grizzoli asked.

"Not only that, but why would she even do it to start with?" the officer shrugged. "She's the CFO's mother and the greeting card company is family owned. Why steal from yourself and your children?"

"Did her son know that she was the one who took the carton of paper?" Nick asked. "That's embarrassing to turn in your own mom!"

"No they didn't Nick," the warthog replied. "They quickly dropped the charges, but it's still odd isn't it?"

"Maybe she's getting dementia?" the bear offered.

"Or she was trying to get her son's to quit making such corny greeting cards!" Nick added with a smirk on his muzzle. "Have you read how bad some of those cards are? No one holds a candle to you on your birthday, that's because you're probably already hot from all the candles on your cake, now who comes up with saying like that?"

The warthog and polar bear both laughed.

Nick watched as the two officers continued their way out of the building and then looked down at the muffin, his mouth watered and he was tempted to sneak another bite. His ears flattened when he looked over and saw Bogo peeking out his window and then the phone rang…again!

Noticing that the buffalo had turned his back, the fox stuck his tongue out at the larger mammal before trying to answer the phone.


Judy sat at her desk and impatiently drummed her paw on the wooden top because their investigation was going nowhere fast. "Why break into someplace and not steal something?" she loudly mused.

Ben looked over at her and sat his soft drink down after one last slurp. "Maybe it's a mob protection racket?' he suggested. "You know, pay me or else!"

"No Susan said no one was pressuring her to pay for protection," Judy replied. She picked up the photos of the damage to the donut shop and frowned. "Also, why didn't they hit the grocery store on the corner? What do these two businesses have in common?"

"Coffee…donuts…muffins…." Ben began counting down.

The rabbit's nose twitched and then she suddenly sat up, he ears shot up straight. "Of course, it has to be someone who hates coffee!" she happily said.

"Someoneish," Ben corrected her and scowled slightly when he realized that wasn't a real word. "I mean, more than one mammal, because one is a red fox and the other is a rhino."

The rabbit pulled on her ear again in frustration. "That idea doesn't make sense does it," she meekly replied. She drummed the desk again and let out a sigh, before her ears shot up again. "So they hit two of the places that serve morning foods and coffee, but not the new place yet! Maybe that is their next target?"

"So what does that mean?" Ben asked as he dug around his pocket for some jellybeans.

"That means you and I are going to have a stake out tonight and watch the new place to see if anyone tries to break in!" Judy excitedly answered.

The overweight cheetah just sighed and whined, "All night?"

"Sure partner, if we have to," Judy replied. Her foot was tapping again and then she saw the carrot cake muffin that was sitting on her desk, a gift from the new coffee shop. Although she was tempted to take a bite from it, she instead wrapped it up in a napkin and put it in her desk drawer.

"You're not going to eat that?" Ben asked her in surprise. "I've heard that they are really good."

"No, I'll save it for Nick," she replied with a grin. "That fox has a sweet tooth and he would enjoy it more than I would. Besides, too much sugar makes us rabbits hyper."

"We wouldn't want that," the other office sarcastically replied. "I gave mine to Susan so she could try to figure out what is making her competition's muffins so popular."

"Speaking of sweets, I think you're kind of sweet on Susan," the rabbit mischievously asked the big cat with a grin on her face. Her lavender eyes sparked and her nose twitched. "Come on and spill it Ben."

The cheetah's ears flattened and he loosened his collar before he replied, "I really like her, but…"

"But what?" Judy quickly asked as Ben looked away and never finished his sentence. The rabbit's ears drooped slightly. "She seems like a pretty nice girl, why don't you ask her out on a date or something?"

"It's just that I'm not exactly the most macho looking cat," the flabby officer sighed. "What if she says no?"

Judy frowned as she looked over at the cheetah and she wished that Nick was there, because he seemed to have an answer to everything. "Come on!" she called out as she jumped out of the chair and ran towards the doorway.

Nick gave a genuine grin as he saw Judy heading his way and Ben huffing and puffing behind her. "Sup Carrots?" he called out as she approached the desk. "You two ace detectives crack the case?"

"Nope, but we are going to have a stake out tonight and watch the new place," the rabbit happily answered. "I…we figured that might be their next target."

"Possibly?" the fox mused. "It's worth a try."

"Hey Slick, you're always bragging about your dating technique and how it works with the vixens, would you mind giving Ben some pointers?" she blurted out.

It was a good thing the Nick was a red fox and the other two mammals couldn't see him go flush with embarrassment because contrary to his bragging, his track record with the females of his species was dismal at best. "S…sure Fluff," he slightly stammered out. "How can I help you Benny?"

"I want to ask a girl out on a date, so how should I do it?" the cheetah asked as he shyly pulled on his tie.

Nick smirked when he realized that Ben didn't know anything about dating. "Well you first approach the mammal in question and after starting some small talk, like maybe something about the weather for a few minutes, you compliment her on her looks and then ask her out."

"It's as easy as that?" Ben asked. "But what if she says no?"

The fox didn't let on that he was an expert on hearing that particular answer. "Well then you must have asked the wrong girl," he huffed out.

Judy's ears shot up when he said that in a manner that surprised her and she realized that maybe, just maybe, her foxy friend wasn't the suave ladies male he tried to make her believe. In her eyes he was funny, charming, confident, and sexy. Her ears drooped at that that last thought when she realized that she really did think that Nick was sexy. He was after all her best friend and they spent a lot of time together, both on the job as partners and after work as buddies. Her nose twitched in confusion as her amethyst eyes locked onto his emerald eyes. He looked back at her and when she noticed, she blushed and nervously pulled on her right ear without realizing it.

Nick looked over at Judy and was surprised as he watched her nose start twitching and that she was pulling on her ear, she looked so cute. There was a lump in this throat and he began to panic, then it occurred to him that maybe he had been asking the wrong girls out.

Ben on his part stepped back as he looked back and forth between the fox and the rabbit, he knew that something was going on between those two and he tried not to squeal in happiness. Instead a thought suddenly occurred to him and he asked, "Hey Nick, why don't you join us on the stake out tonight?"

Both Judy and Nick blinked at the same time and turned to look at the cheetah and then back at each other, a grin came to Nick's muzzle. "Sure big guy, someone has to keep this bunny awake!" he chuckled. "You know we foxes are nocturnal after all!"

The heavy set cheetah just grinned back at him.