As the night went on, the pair of officers departed from the fox's residence and made their way to the smaller apartment twelve blocks away. Nick insisted he slept on the floor, but being the stubborn bunny she is, Judy wasn't taking no for an answer. Upon the bed, Nick slept like a young pup, whereas Judy slept some-what well on the floor.
With all that past and done, the bunny, as always, had woken up the fox in order to head to work on time. Despite the abundance of taxi's buzzing around them that morning, they decided to continue walking to the ZPD.
Nick crossed his arms, shivering a little. The morning was cold again, like the day before. It seemed that winter was coming a little too quickly for his liking. Judy didn't mind, but she was beginning to get a little irritated at the cold nipping at her ears.
"Perhaps you should start bringing a scarf to work." The fox suggested all of a sudden, gesturing to the bunny's ears.
"To wrap my ears in? I'd be a laughing stock." Nick chuckled lightly.
"No, I mean you could wrap it around your neck and then tuck your ears under the scarf." The bunny thought about it for a second, glancing up at him.
"That's a pretty good idea, Slick!" She said happily, nudging him lightly.
"What can I say? I'm pretty smart…"
"You're pushing your luck-"
"-Okay."
The officers, decked out in their attire, came to another set of traffic lights. The fox pressed the mammal-crossing button, quickly ducking his paw back into his pockets a few seconds later. Judy tapped her foot impatiently due to the cold. All she wanted to do was walk into to ZPD and sigh with relief as the burst of warm air hit her face—her phone buzzed, snapping her out of her thoughts.
"Who texted you?" Nick questioned, watching the bunny take out her carrot-phone.
"Oh! It's Christopher. For a second I thought it would be mom and dad, but they definitely don't get up this early- "
"You have Christopher's number?" His attention hadn't gripped onto the second part of the conversation; his ears were still looming over the mentioned name. "As in that rabbit we met yesterday?"
"Yeah!" Judy exclaimed proudly. "I went for a jog this morning, like I always do, and bumped into Chris who was on his way to work… at least I think he was on his way to work. Anyways, matter of the story is that we exchanged phone numbers! Isn't that neat?"
"Sure—neat. One: You go for jogs in the morning?" The bunny frowned up at the fox in confusion.
"You've… never noticed me walk into your apartment in my jogging gear?" Nick sent her a dazed look. "What do you think I keep in my backpack when I get to your place?! I change in the washroom and leave my stuff by your door to pick up that night!" The fox shook his head.
"Nope… never noticed." Judy stared blankly at him for a few seconds before giggling, the fox chuckling along.
"You dumb fox." She teased, giving him a small nudge. "And two?"
"Why did you exchange numbers with a rabbit you just met. Stanger danger, Carrots."
"Coming from the fox I worked a case with within twenty-four hours of meeting him." Nick rolled his eyes.
"But that was under different circumstances. Seriously…" A green wolf appeared on the lights above them, meaning it was time to move across the road.
"Nick, stop." She playfully complained
"I'm only being concerned-"
"Concerned? Or being jealous?" The fox stopped right in the middle of the road. Of course he wasn't jealous! How could she even suggest something like that? Sure, she'd swapped numbers with loads of mammals from the ZPD around him, but never a rabbit. Maybe she had a point… what if he was jealous? "N-Nick, I'm only joking around… Slick, come on! You're about to block traffic!" The fox shook his head lightly, coming back to reality.
"Sorry- Sorry!" He apologised, dashing to the other side of the road. The pair continued walking side by side, but Nick refused to look down at the bunny. Why was he jealous? Then again, Judy was his only friend he hung around with more often than Finnick... and it was just another animal that roamed Zootopia… whom of which just happened to be a rabbit. So what? It's not like they have much in common—scratch that. They're both rabbits. Try again Nicholas.
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"Alright, settle down!" Chief Bogo bellowed, the room instantaneously quietening down within his presence. "We have a new case." He announced, pinning a large note to the pin board that hung behind him.
Nick and Judy sat in the front row, sharing the edge of the seat as always. The fox hadn't really made much of an effort to make conversation with the bunny for the rest of the walk. He was too involved with his own thoughts and his jealousy toward the new friend she had made. It made him very confused that he felt that way, despite knowing that he shouldn't be acting like so.
"Doran Kempton." The Chief stated loudly. Judy's ears pricked up. "A missing mammal file was handed in late last night from a close friend. No motives toward any other mammals have been found, and we need leads." The buffalo looked to the smaller officers in the front row. "Wilde, Hopps. You'll be taking the case for now. Seeing your reputation on missing mammal cases such as these, I believe you won't have a problem getting to the bottom of this."
"Yes, sir!" The officers replied simultaneously.
"Good. I'll get you two to head down to Officer Clawhauser who has some information for you to start you off… that means now, Wilde-hopps." Not expecting to head down straight away, the two officers awkwardly stood up and walked out of the room in a rush. It didn't take long before Judy decided to try and engage in communication.
"What is up with you?" She questioned. "I was only joking!" Judy softened her sentence with a light chuckle.
"I know, I know." Nick stated, swinging his paws to rest behind his head. "I've just… been thinking. "
"About what?"
"I… I don't know. Just life in general I guess."
"Nicky! Judy! Awh, how are you guys?" The pair of officers looked in front of them, startled by the sudden cry of their names. They were coming into the large golden lobby of the ZPD, guarded by an over excited Benjamin Clawhauser. The fox couldn't help but smile back enthusiastically. The cheetah's energy seemed contagious.
"Benjamin!" He called back. "I'm fine buddy, how are you doin'?"
"Just as well!" The cheetah squealed. "Oh! Judy, did you see Gazelle's new song?! IT'S AMAZING~! I just can't stop singing it in my head!" The bunny giggled, skipping toward the mammal behind the desk; a movement she only did occasionally when she was interested in something.
"No! I haven't, you'll need to hook me up after work." She stated, smiling. "We're here on duty though. Chief Bogo told us you had some files from a case for us?" Clawhauser looked over his desk friskily.
"Of course! I have them right here for you." He presented two folders proudly to the pair, "Luckily we have some more information on this mammal than we did on Mr Otterton a while back." He handed the files to Judy whom had her arms out stretched for them.
"Wow, thanks Clawhauser!" Judy gasped flipping through the files, happy to have something to start off with.
"No problem! Feel free to use my desk if you want." The cheetah was pretty excited and happy to help, but his smile quickly faded into an embarrassed and awkward gaze. "I-uh… I need to head to the bathroom really quickly so… I'll be back!" As the jungle cat dashed away, Judy couldn't help but giggle a little more.
Leaving no time to waste after her giggle-fest, Judy hopped up to the backside of the desk and spread out the contents of the tan file.
"Doran Kempton… That rings a bell." Nick said to himself, joining the bunny.
"It should." Judy replied. "Doran Kempton is the wolf that was supposed to serve us at The Fox and Hound Tearoom yesterday morning." She pulled out a picture of the wolf who was dressed in a stunning suit and tie that complimented his grey fur.
"You've got to be kidding—"
"Unfortunately not." Judy flipped through the records and information. "It seems like our wolf has gotten a few speeding tickets, as well as parking violations too… but nothing relating to the case itself. We do, however, have a few contacts and locations we can check out… how about we start with that?"
"Sounds good." The fox agreed. "What's first up?" Judy flipped through to the contacts sheet. Surprisingly there weren't many names listed. The bunny read out the first name on the sheet, whom also happened to be noted down as the mammal that sent in the missing-mammal report.
"The manager of The Fox and Hound Tearoom: Samantha Foul."
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The fox and rabbit made their way to the Fox and Hound Tearoom. The place was buzzing with many mammals of the canine family eating and drinking beverages and just basically having a good time. Judy wasn't surprised to see a fair few foxes there, a sight that Nick's tail indicated he was excited about.
"You alright there, Slick?" She asked, gesturing to his tail. The fox flushed a dark red.
"Oh, heh." He straightened the fur on his tail, pushing his aviators back up from the tip of his muzzle. "Sorry. I'm just happy to see foxes chilling and not being anxious around other mammals due to the stereotypes." Judy nodded, understanding completely.
The pair walked in a little further and the smell of hot chips met their noses. The atmosphere was so light hearted and relaxed, unlike some of the other cafes around the city. The place was full with chatter, and no mammal seemed to care about the police officers who just walked in.
"Good Mornin'. What can I do fer y'all today?" A vixen approached them enthusiastically, a tray of empty milkshake glasses in her right paw. She definitely worked at the establishment. "Hope we haven't done nothin' wrong." She indicated to the officer's badges.
"Not at all." Nick was quick to state. "My name is Officer Wilde, and this here is Officer Hopps."
"How do ya do." The vixen responded politely.
"We just need to question one of the staff members here for a case." Judy nodded to agree with Nick's statement.
"We're looking for a Samantha Foul?" The bunny asked lightly, cuffing her hands together.
"Yer lookin' at 'er." The vixen said, her smile slowly fading. "Is… is this 'bout Doran?" She questioned, her right paw lowering a little.
"Yes, ma'am." Judy replied solemnly. "I'm very sorry to ask but, is there a place we can talk in private? We understand you're probably really busy at the moment." Samantha waved her left paw in the air.
"No problemo. I can get Shelly on the floor. She's kinda sittin' in the back with nothin' ta do." The vixen guided the fox and rabbit over to a back room, placing her tray down on a counter before entering. She tapped another vixen on the shoulder who was sitting on a wheelie chair, watching monitors. "Shelly, these 'ere are two police officers. They're 'ere to ask me a few questions 'bout Doran. Could yeh take ma tables for a few minutes?"
"Sure thing, Sammy." The waitress said, grabbing an apron that was sitting on the back of the chair and whipping it over her arm. For the first time she looked up at the officers, her heart stopping when her eyes latched onto Nick's.
"W-well, hey there, stranger." Shelly stuttered, a small glint in her eye. The fox officer's ears bent back a little, his eyes widening. Was she flirting with him?
"Hello, ma'am." He replied with a sly smile, sliding his aviator sunglasses further down his nose. The vixen giggled a little and made her way out. Nick, being more proud of himself then what he should have been, straightened his shirt and badge, earning a light nudge at the side from his partner.
"What was that?" Judy teased.
"What?" He cooed. "She started it." The bunny rolled her eyes, focusing back on Samantha who was waiting aside from them. She'd pulled up three chairs for them all to sit on.
"Well," Judy began with a small sigh. "Shall we begin?" The vixen nodded.
"May as well, I just want ta get this over with. It pains me ta think 'bout what's happened ta him."
The whole group sat down, the sound of the buzzing café faintly echoed into the room. Samantha's ears bent back, her paws resting uncomfortably on her lap. She didn't really feel comfortable answering questions about a fellow employee and friend, but if it helped the officers get him back, then what other choice did she have?
"So, Miss Foul, how long have you known Mr Kempton for?" Nick started off, reading off a sheet of paper that was crumbled into his pocket. He'd never gotten the hang of questioning mammals, so Judy had written up a cheat sheet for him in case he ever needed it.
"A few years. He's been 'part of the company fer a while longer before I knew him, used ta be a paper boy and delivered adverts fer us."
"Alright." Judy started. "So, you knew Mr Kempton well?"
"Oh yeh. We hung out a lot outside work. He'd tell meh everythang that was happenin' and if he was feelin' uncomfortable." Samantha explained. "I was his shoulder to cra on, and he was mine." The officers wrote this down, Judy in particular whom had brought a note pad with her. Nick on the other hand just mentally kept the information stored in his mind… at least as long as he could.
"Following up from that, do you know if Doran was having any troubles at home? Perhaps with family or other employees that might have made him want to go into hiding?" The bunny persisted.
"Not at all. He was a very happy mammal, loved his family and friends more than anyone I know." The vixen sighed lightly. "I cain't think of one mammal that he may have ticked off, or been ticked off by."
Judy looked up at her partner, who seemed to have the same trail of thought as she did. They were getting nowhere with this information. Sure, personality and trait wise they were getting plenty, but no leads were surfacing from finding out that Doran was a kind and gentle wolf. They needed another way to find out.
"Ma'am," Nick sat straighter in his chair. "Thank you for your time, we've found out all we've needed to know." Samantha nodded politely.
"No problem, officers. If y'all need anythang, you have a friend at The Fox and Hound Tearoom."
