Author's Note:

I hope you are all enjoying the story so far. Much is yet to come.

I would love to hear how you think this narrative is going.

Enjoy this next chapter.

12:15 AM

"I will say this much," conceded Jack, sitting at his desk looking at the pictures with the aid of a magnifying glass, "the resemblance is uncanny."

"So uncanny it can only be him," insisted Nick with a fist-pump. He batted his eyelashes. "Can we go home, now?" he wheedled.

"Impossible," muttered Jack.

"Why? We can just call a cab," Nick said. Jack looked up at the fox, confused.

"Please, don't fluster the bunny," Skye said, walking over to the buck and massaging his shoulders. "He's had a long day."

"Whatever is going on," Judy said, stifling a yawn, "we're not going to figure it out tonight. Nick? Why don't you call Ed? He's usually available at this time."

Nick held up empty paws. "No phone," he said. "Remember?"

"You're staying here," said Jack with finality, causing Skye to look down at the buck. "I'm completely at a loss, Cyn," he explained. "I need to rethink everything. We don't even know who those raccoons were: For all we know, the WildeHopps' apartment has been compromised."

"Compromised?" Nick said, signing quotation marks in the air with his paws. "Little melodramatic, there, Stripes, don't you think?"

"Mr. WildeHopps," Jack said, standing up to face the tod. "If your convictions are correct, and the lynx you saw is the same one we see in all these pictures, then we are confronted by either," he said, counting out with his fingers, "a time-traveling mammal; a 4,000-year-old mammal; a member of a 4,000-year-old lynx cult; or, one of a 4,000-year-old line of lynx-clones. And these are just the possibilities that pop into my head right now. Give me enough time, and I will come up with others."

"And?" said Nick.

"And, no one has heard of such things in all this time?" posed Jack. "Come now, Mr. WildeHopps," he said. "You're a smart mammal. It should be obvious: We are speaking of the kind of secret that mammals will kill to preserve." For added emphasis, he pointed to several of the clipped articles with headlines featuring variations of the word 'death.'

"He's got you there, Slick," said Judy. "We'll take the couch," she said cheerfully to Skye. "Dibbs on the left."

"Oh, nonsense," the vixen said warmly, taking Judy by the paw and leading her towards a hall on their right while the males continued debating. "Jack has plenty of room." She brought Judy to the first door past the bathroom. "This one should do fine," she said, opening the door. "There are grooming supplies and clean towels in the bathroom. The fur drier is also top of the line: You won't come out looking like a cotton ball."

"What about you?" Judy asked. "I don't want to put you out on the couch."

Skye laughed softly. "I'm two doors down," she said. "Jack is at the end of the hall. He gets up late and has his own bathroom—as do I—so don't worry about anyone barging in. Tomorrow morning, we'll have arrangements for you to get to the precinct. Do not go home, whatever you do. I need to have your place swept and security added before you can go back. Oh, and Jack doesn't keep much in the refrigerator, so I would suggest stopping at Snarlbuck's for breakfast."

Judy nodded, then looked at the vixen. "Why are you being so nice to me...should I call you Cynthia or Skye?" she asked.

"I prefer Skye," the vixen said, then sighed. "And you're taking care of Nicky now," she said warmly. "Nicky Black, a police officer. Who would have ever guessed? For the longest time, I thought he would end up laid out on a slab, like so many other young punks who wanted to impress my father. Thank you, Judy." She pulled the doe into an intense though brief hug, then turned and left. For a moment, Judy thought she heard what sounded like sniffles from the retreating vixen, who went into her own room and locked the door.

Nick came up and gave his mate a quick peck on the head between the ears. Together they went into their assigned room and closed the door, Judy going straight for the large bed next to the window.

"Well," she said, hopping onto the soft mattress, "I see we have a doorknob this time."

"And no 'shiny walls,'" added the tod with a wink, earning himself a pillow to the snout.

Skye lay curled up on her bed, crying quietly to herself. Thoughts jumbled together in no particular order, just a parade of regrets for the possibilities that could, now, never be. Without a doubt, this day had been an emotional roller-coaster ride for the vixen, the likes of which she had not experienced in many years. A soft knock on the door heralded a momentary distraction she really did not want.

"Go away, Jack," she said. The door opened despite her firmly wishing it not to and the striped buck came in, putting his lock-pick back in his pocket. "Remind me to install a chain," Skye told him. The rabbit hopped onto the bed next to her.

"What kind of partner would I be then, if I just let you suffer alone in misery?" he said.

"Wise? Respectful? Considerate?" she replied, staring at the wall. "The possibilities are endless."

"That's just the despair talking," he said, tousling her fur. "You love him, don't you?"

"Well, of course, I do," Skye admitted.

"Then do something about it," he told her. "Challenge the bunny to a duel. You remember: twenty paces then shoot—it would be a fair fight; she actually stands a good chance of winning."

Her eyes shifted to the buck. "You really are savage, you know," she said. The buck smiled.

"Yes," he said with a wink. "Jack Savage, as a matter of fact." Skye giggled despite herself.

"What would I ever do without you, Jack?" she sighed.

"Quoting a friend of mine," he said, "'Pine away to my grave from unrequited love.'" Jack shook his head, frowning. "'Kill the Wabbit' is the much better alternative, if you ask me."

"If life were only so simple," Skye said. "It's not really about Nicky—not all of it…I mean…it's just that…Nicky…he…was my last hope." Tears began flowing again. "And n-now that I've s-seen him," she cried. "Now th-that I know he's m-made a life with s-someone e-else—" The vixen sobbed into her paws. "I kn-know I can n-never go b-back," she wailed miserably. "I ha-have n-nothing!"

"You have me, kid," Jack said warmly, stroking her fur.

Skye wailed louder.

5:10 AM

Judy woke up first, which was typical except for this last month with Nick having nightmares. Her mate lay paws-up, snoring softly on the comfortable bedding. 'Might as well let him sleep,' she thought, and headed to the shower.

The water was perfect, and Judy would have to remember the brand of shampoo, which would be difficult since she could not even recognize the language on the label. She made a mental note to ask Skye, then maybe she could buy some through Mamalzon. The towels were soft as down and the fur drier worked as well as promised, leaving Judy coming out of the bathroom feeling completely energized for the day.

Nick stumbled his way into the bathroom while Judy headed towards the kitchen. Sitting at the breakfast bar in old flannel pajamas, reading the Zootopia Daily News, Skye sipped at a steaming mug of coffee. Taking a moment to watch her, Judy couldn't help being jealous of the vixen. Even alone, doing something as mundane as reading a newspaper in her pajamas before the crack of dawn, she was breathtaking. It was more than simple physical looks. It was her poise, her attitude, and her mannerisms. Everything about the arctic vixen just screamed beautiful. Making it worse for Judy's ego, none of it was contrived: Skye simply was.

"You should be a model," Judy said in awe.

Skye looked up from the newspaper and laughed. "Papa would have a fit!" she said, looking at the rabbit. "Have you no shame, putting mammals up on display like that," she said in an excellent imitation of Mr. Big's voice. Judy smiled.

"Why don't you go see him," the doe asked, joining Skye at the table. "I'm sure he'd love to see you. And Fru-Fru talks about you all the time—though she never saw to mention you were a fox. Have you met her kits?"

Skye's expression fell slightly at that. "No, I haven't," she said. "Perhaps someday."

"Well, Nick and I are going to see them this weekend," Judy told her. "I'm their godmother, you know. Why don't you come with us?"

"Let's see how things stand this weekend," Skye said, not dismissing the idea outright. "I could use the change of pace. And, I do miss Uncle Koslov."

"'Morning, Carrots," Nick said, strolling into the room and planting a kiss on Judy's head. He looked at Skye. "I'm impressed. You can actually read a newspaper at this un-mammaly hour," he teased the vixen.

"I'm surprised you're even conscious," she replied.

"Who says I am?" he said. "Don't let this walking body fool you: it's on autopilot. The snout smells coffee and just drags the rest of the fox along to get it."

"Fresh pot on the counter," the vixen said with a smile. Nick went over, filled two mugs with the rich brown liquid and gave one to Judy. The rabbit's ears drooped with pleasure.

"This is incredible," she said, taking a sip, then to Nick. "Why can't you make coffee this good?"

"Just because I drink it, doesn't mean I can make it." He sat down next to her and sipped from his mug with obvious delight. "And mine, at least, comes out liquid," he added with a smirk.

"One time!" protested Judy. "One time, I put gelatin powder instead of sugar. Cheese and crackers! Who keeps gelatin powder in a jar labeled sugar?" She turned to Skye for support, but the vixen was staring apprehensively at the newspaper.

"What is it, Skye?" asked Judy. Skye turned the newspaper towards them.

LEADING SCIENTIST DISGRACED IN SCANDAL

In a shocking turn of events last evening, merely hours after senior researchers heralded claims of landmark findings, the Head of Mammalogy at the famous Plainsville Academy of Science, Dr. Stagg Elkinson, released a statement during an unscheduled press conference informing the public that Lead Researcher Dr. Gustavf Moosternson has been dismissed from the Institute and his research discredited after evidence was discovered revealing the data cited in the ground-breaking study had been falsified. Dr. Elkinson, furthermore, took personal responsibility as Department Head for the corrupted study that released falsified results to the scientific community and the population at large. "It is a great blow to this Institution that the results of a major funded project could be so easily distorted and falsified. I will…"

A picture of Dr. Elkinson apologizing in front of the cameras with his head bowed low in disgrace took up three columns. Barely in the picture, at the upper right corner of the frame and almost invisible amongst several mammals wearing lab coats, stood Kataiahs Lysander.

"Guess you're going to Plainsville," Nick said to the vixen.