Chapter 8
D.A. Office, Savannah Central District Court; 11:22 AM
Judy looked up after reading the file. The chair behind the desk was empty. Judy turned around in her chair and saw the wolf move a few books on the bottom shelf near the end of the library and grab a small metal box hidden behind them. He brought the box over to the desk, opened it, and sat back down.
"Here is the evidence that was missing before the theft. I have the security tape and the victim's blood samples. Is there anything else you need?"
"They still use tapes?"
"Ironically so. I thought the system was due for an upgrade on the day of the murder."
"You got something that can play tapes?"
"Sadly, no. Most precincts do, though."
Judy breathed a sigh of relief.
"Thank goodness! I happen to have to visit Precinct Nine today. They also had some files stolen," she said.
Edgewolf furrowed his brow in thought and stroked his chin.
"I was told a murder occurred in Records as well. Could the two be related?"
"My assignment is just to recover the missing files."
Though the two could be related, mused the bunny.
"Shall we go find out then?" asked the wolf as he stood up and reached for a black fedora hanging in the corner by the window behind him.
"You're coming?"
"I have to make sure you hold up your end of the deal. Plus, the detectives in charge asked me to help investigate."
And without another word, Edgewolf put on his fedora, picked up a hefty stack of papers half the size of the one Judy noticed when she came in, and walked out the door into the reception office, with Judy following close behind with the box. The canine then stopped and turned towards the arctic vixen sitting at the reception desk, who looked up and presented to him another stack of papers.
"Boss, I'm finished running through these tax forms. Al Capaw won't know what hit him!"
"Excellent work. I'm going out."
"Where are you off to, sir?"
"Precinct Nine. Murder investigation."
"Sounds fun," replied the vulpine sarcastically.
"Now, Athena, I'm very sorry to have to put you through this, but I've already spent three straight nights on signing these off and I'm falling really behind."
The wolf plopped the thick and heavy-looking stack of paper he was holding onto the vixen's desk, causing her and Judy to jolt from the impact it made.
"I need you to help me finish going over these traffic court complaints. They're due in two days, and the Judge Courtney is on my tail for them. Once you're done, just add them to the two-foot tall stack on my desk."
Athena gaped as she gazed wide-eyed at the stack of papers. Judy felt her chest start to grow a little heavier, and couldn't help but feel her facial muscles contort into an embarrassed grin that she hoped nobody would notice.
"Sweeeeet cheese and crackers! How many parking tickets were written over the last two months?" exclaimed Athena.
The wolf shrugged nervously.
"I wish I knew. I lost count after reading the two hundred-and-sixty-third form. They were all on the same day!"
Judy could feel the weight grow heavier. I guess there is such a thing as trying too hard then...
"Well, look at the time! We really have to get going, right Mr. Edgewolf?"
"Good luck."
"Riiiiight. I'll have a word with Bogo later today, and ask him how his meter maids have been doing."
Uh oh!
The wolf and the rabbit proceeded into the hallway, down the corridor to the elevators, and to the parking garage. Judy walked out of the elevator towards where she parked her traffic cart.
"So I take that we're taking your car?" Edgewolf asked.
"Yes," Judy replied.
"If you say so."
The wolf followed the rabbit to her parking space. When he saw the traffic cart, he smirked.
"A traffic cart? You're kidding, right?"
"Just get in."
The wolf walked up to the passenger side of the car and tried to squeeze in. Judy hopped into the driver's seat and looked to her left to see the canine struggle to even get both his legs in the cabin. She then remembered that the cart could barely fit her and a certain fox at the same time, and foxes are a little over half the size of wolves. Oops. Edgewolf then gave up trying.
"That's it," the annoyed wolf remarked, "We're taking my car. Wait here."
He pulled his leg out of Judy's traffic cart and walked off to the other side of the garage. Judy didn't have to wait long before a dark red sports car turned a corner and parked in front of her. The passenger side window rolled down, revealing Edgewolf in the driver's seat.
"Get in, Hopps."
Judy opened the door and plopped down into the wolf-sized passenger seat, box in her lap. The car's electric engine roared to life and sped its way towards the ramp and out of the garage, with the rabbit clutching the seat for dear life.
The wolf put on a pair of sunglasses when he stopped abruptly at the top of the ramp to wait for an opening amid the stream of cars to get on the road. He turned towards the frightened bunny, who was clutching the edges of the seat back so hard that they were leaving grip marks.
"Don't grip too hard. It'll ruin the synthetic leather. That stuff's really expensive."
Judy refused to let go, even though she was able to adjust the seat belt to her height, a common feature for Teslas.
"You need to learn to relax more. Just sit back and enjoy the ride."
Yeah, I'll enjoy it… if you wouldn't stop and accelerate so abruptly, she thought.
Edgewolf suddenly pulled onto the road the second he found the gap he was looking for and sped down the boulevard.
"So, Hopps. When did you talk to Lionheart?"
"Huh?"
"No one else could've told you what you know about my involvment."
"Yesterday. He kept silent on your involvement and walked out on me before I could get a straight answer."
"Well, you're sharper than I thought. You would make a good lawyer. What else did he tell you?"
"He saw that the victim of AM-8 just let himself get killed. He could've been drugged."
"Now that is new to me. He pled the Fifth during the entire investigation, and didn't even tell me. Correlates with the blood analysis, though."
He suddenly slammed hard on the brakes, stopping the car with a jolt.
"Son of a-"
A large flatbed truck cut in front of him without signaling, which would've bashed into the front end of his car had he not stopped.
"Well that would have lengthened our trip by a lot. So where is your fox friend?"
"Nick? He's at police academy."
"Hoo boy. Good luck to him. I still remember my time at the academy like it was yesterday. I doubt Bearester has changed one bit."
"You went to the academy?"
"Of course. Prosecutors are technically lawmen too. We go through the same obstacle courses and weapons training as anyone in the ZPD on top of the bar exam. We are issued lapel badges and may carry weapons for self defense, but most of us choose not to, since we lack arrest powers. Heck, I haven't fired a dart gun in ten years!"
Judy laughed upon hearing the last comment. Edgewolf continued.
"So why did you become a cop? I heard that you wanted to do this since you were a kit."
"It's a really long story. So what inspired you to become a prosecutor?"
"In short, my parents groomed me to become a lawyer to work at the family firm, I got into criminal justice, and took the job just to rebel. Worked pretty well for me, if I do say so myself."
The wolf smiled at his own remark.
"I'll hazard a guess that your parents don't exactly approve of your career choice either."
"Are you spot on? Yes, yes you are," Judy answered.
The car made another sudden stop. They were at the district border between Savannah Central and Sahara Square, and right in front of them was a long line of cars waiting to cross a drawbridge. Judy rolled down the window to stick her head out to see a long line of barges make their way down the river at a snail's pace; each barge bore the corporate logo of Slothridge Cargo Services.
"Bad news. The barges up ahead are crewed by sloths."
"Better get comfortable then, Officer Hopps. We're gonna be here for a while."
Precinct Nine Guest Parking Lot, Sahara Square; 11:50 AM.
Edgewolf pulled the sports car into an empty parking space under a solar panel awning. Judy struggled to stay balanced as she stepped out onto the pavement, still shaking from the harrowing ride from the drawbridge. The wolf calmly took off his sunglasses, wiped them off, and put them back on.
"Come on, Officer Hopps! We have cases to solve."
Judy managed to regain her balance despite the sudden blast of heat upon opening the door, pocketed the security tape, and followed the wolf into the precinct. The reception room wasn't much cooler than it was outside. The large room was modestly lit and lacked windows to preserve the room temperature. Judy followed Edgewolf up to the reception counter, staffed by a camel, who appeared to be chewing something.
"Hello, you two! How may I help?"
"Captain Kovu requested my presence?"
"Oh, Mr. Edgewolf! Cap's office is down the hall to the left."
The camel pointed at a hallway that ended at a T-junction. The wolf thanked her and headed off to his destination.
"And how may I help you, Officer Hopps?"
"You got a video cassette player I can use?"
"It'll take a while to fire it up. Can you wait until after lunch break?"
"Ugh, sure. Can you point me to records?"
"I'm sorry, but due to the murder of the records manager in records, the area has been cordoned off to all personnel."
"Okay then. Mind if I ask you a few questions?"
Precinct Nine Captain's Office, Sahara Square; 11:55 AM.
Edgewolf knocked on the wooden door that had 'Captain' engraved on it in gold letters. A low, senior voice responded.
"Come in."
The wolf opened the door and walked in. A grizzled old male lion sat behind a large desk. Four other mammals sat across from the lion: a female black cougar, a male ocelot, and two male hippos. The lion stood up and reached out a rough-looking paw to the visitor.
"Ah, you must be Mr. Edgewolf. Alex Kovu, Precinct Nine captain. This is Sergeant Alethea Chadwick, Sergeant Octavius Prowlsmith, and Detectives Arnold Higgins and Dick Yawnus."
"Pleasure's all mine," the wolf replied, shaking the lion's hand, "No offense intended, but I know the detectives here are leading the murder investigation that we're going to discuss, but why are two records sergeants also in this room?"
Kovu sat back in his chair, his face practically expressionless.
"Have a seat. Now, you all know why you're here."
He gazed around at the five mammals sternly giving him their full attention. He picked up a TV remote on his desk and pointed it at a large monitor on the wall to his right. The monitor flickered on and revealed a title slide for a Pawerpoint presentation.
"Four days ago, one of our records managers at this precinct was murdered in the basement."
The screen changed to show a profile picture of a bookish-looking armadillo, accompanied by some bullet notes. The lion continued.
"The poor mammal's name was Armando Dill. Someone killed him by snapping his neck."
The screen changed yet again, this time showing a picture of a stack of records files and accompanying bullet notes that listed unfamiliar case numbers.
"Less than a day after the body was removed by CSI, the day shift records manager, Sergeant Chadwick, discovered that files and evidence for seven cases went missing. These events occurred far too closely together to be isolated incidents."
"What's the plan of attack, Cap?" asked Higgins.
"What we are discussing as of now is off the books. Nobody outside of this room shall know the details of this meeting. Am I clear?"
The lion interpreted silence in the room and focused gazes of his listeners as a yes.
"Now, the plan, you ask, is simple. The two crimes may be connected. Our goal is now to find the thief as well as the killer, so we are investigating them simultaneously. The two may either know something about each other, or may as well be the same person. No one knows about our secondary goal besides us, and they never will."
"Not even Bogo?" asked Prowlsmith in his typical Western accent.
"Not even Bogo."
"Hmm…"
Upon hearing the voice, the other mammals turned around towards the side of the room opposite of the screen to see Edgewolf sit back relaxed in his chair, the brim of his hat tipped slightly to shadow his face and barely obscure an amused grin; this evidently perturbed Kovu.
"Do you find something funny, Mr Edgewolf?"
The wolf straightened his posture and took off his fedora.
"As a matter of fact, yes, yes I do. The lack of transparency in which the ZPD operates continues to amaze me, especially this case, where two secret investigations are occurring at the same time on the same case, oblivious of each other."
"Please explain."
"You of all mammals should know that Chief Bogo is a very shrewd buffalo. Do you really think he's not aware of the missing files from Precinct Nine? And what of other precincts?"
The reactions from the other mammals in the room seemed to answer his rhetorical question. Kovu fingered the bottom of his mane, a puzzled expression slowly forming on his face; the two hippos exchanged a confused glance before turning their attention back to the wolf; Prowlsmith fingered his collar, looking around the room in thought and then gazed back curiously to wait for more info; Alethea looked around at the other mammals' expressions, especially Prowlsmith's. Unlike the others, the cougar did not appear completely puzzled by Edgewolf's revelations. The wolf continued.
"Yes, your thefts are not an isolated incident, and Bogo figured that out. As a matter of fact, I happen to have driven the officer he assigned to this 'off-the-books case' over here just now."
The lion's expression morphed into a frown.
"Are you suggesting-"
"Am I suggesting that you cede investigative authority of the thefts to Officer Hopps? Yes. Yes I am."
"Not gonna happen."
The wolf was stunned by the elderly lion's blunt statement, to the point that the normally stoic Edgewolf's reaction was barely visible. He quickly composed himself, however, and readjusted his glasses on his snout. Hmph. So much for the easy way. He adjusted his collar and tie and his warm and compassionate eyes narrowed into cold, icy daggers pointed right at the elderly lion.
"Oh snap!" Prowlsmith whispered to Alethea.
"He should not have said that!" black panther replied to her colleague.
