Hey, another chapter! I'm a bit of a true crime and serial killer nerd, so I definitely poured a lot of time into research for this chapter. Hopefully it's not to factual and ends up boring….Let me know what you guys think! And of course, a huge thank you to Whatabummer for his help in editing and bouncing ideas around.
I own nothing. At all. Of anything.
How To Solve a Puzzle
Blinding rays from the early morning light shone through the fluttering curtains of the small bedroom. In the center of a large bed, huddled in a tangle of limbs and tails under a sky blue blanket, was a fox and bunny. The ringing of an alarm shattered the idyllic calm of the moment, and prompted both mammas to groan and shift. After a moment, a red paw crept out and began to sluggishly fumble around their nightstand to find the cause of the disruption and shut it off.
"That's just rude," Nick groaned, burying his muzzle into the fur atop his bunny's head and wrapping his arms around her.
Judy sighed, looking up as she patted his chest. "Yes, what a rude alarm that you set. How dare it do its job."
"Exactly. I'm glad you feel the same way. Now less talking and more sleeping in," he replied.
The rabbit chuckled, pushing him back as she rolled out of bed and stretched. "If only every criminal was as lazy as you - then we wouldn't have to get up this early. Now come'on, you can sleep when you're dead. We have a lot of work to do today."
"Fine. But I get a kiss for giving up my cushy life of hustling to wake up early," the fox pouted.
"Your cushy life of living under a bridge with Finnick?" she replied, sliding her shirt on.
"Point to the rabbit, you're definitely a lot better of a cuddler than Finnick. He gets too punchy," Nick joked.
Judy laughed as she threw his clothes at him. "Get dressed and I'll get breakfast started you dork. And I'll consider not telling Finnick that you said that about him."
"You know you love me!" Nick shouted after her as she walked out of the bedroom. He grunted as he got out of bed, rotating his shoulders as he stretched, and picked his phone off of the nightstand. The fox cracked his neck as he buttoned his shirt, the sunlight filtering in through the beige curtains on the right side of the room. A feeling of contentment washed over the fox as he straightened his tie, the aroma of coffee drifting in from the kitchen.
"You made me coffee, you really do care!" he said as he stepped into the kitchen.
"It's more of a safety precaution for myself. Everyone knows foxes are caffeine powered. And besides, who knows what you would do tired and uncaffeinated!" Judy said, handing the fox his mug and giving him a quick kiss.
"That concern is invalid, the worst thing I'd do is drag you back to bed with me," he replied, sipping from his mug.
"We can't have that either. We're going to review the case with Peter today, so we need to be bright eyed and bushy tailed," she replied, sliding a plate in front of him. "Now eat. We've got to get going."
"There's only one bushy tail here, mine. Yours is more poofy and fluffy," he replied, pointing his fork at the bunny as he chewed.
"And if we're late today, your paws won't get to touch it for another week, so let's get a move on."
"You are a cruel bunny, you know?" Nick said, drinking the last of his coffee in one go.
"Yeah, but you like it," she said, reaching over to pull Nick's tie down and kiss him on the lips. There was a lingering taste of coffee, but before they got too caught up in it Judy quickly broke toff and began taking his dish to the sink. "Now grab your stuff and let's get going."
The doors to precinct one opened as the two detectives strolled in, a second cup of coffee already in the fox's paw. Nick gave a small nod and raised his cup as he passed Clawhauser at the front desk without skipping a beat in his conversation with his wife. The two trudged into their division, stopping in front of the murder board as their conversation came to an end. Agent Baxter was already there and sitting at a desk that had been set aside for him, staring intently at a pile of papers and idly sipping at a steaming mug of tea.
"Well, it certainly seems that you've been busy Petey!" Nick said, glancing at the papers spread around the desks and pinned to the murder board.
"What? Oh the papers - right, sorry about the mess. I needed to visualize everything in a way that let's me process all the information we have so far," the raccoon said and rubbed his eyes for a moment before frowning. "Also Petey? That one just feels lazy".
Judy chuckled as Nick frowned, crossing his arms. "Ringtail it is then," Nick said.
The raccoon stopped and stared at him for a second before sighing and moving on.
"It'll grow on you," Judy smiled, patting his shoulder. "So, does anything stick out at you from all of this?" she asked, gesturing towards the sheets spread around the room.
"Well when we talk about serial killers, we typically break them down into two groups," Peter said, holding up two fingers. "The first is act focused killers, and the second is process focused killers. For act focused killers, killing is about the act itself. There's a tangible reason for the killings to be happening in their minds. Maybe they are hearing voices in their heads and they have to kill to keep that voice quiet. Or perhaps they are killing a certain species as they feel that species to be eradicated, such as the case with Joseph Franklin. He was active about 20 years ago, and felt that all foxes needed to be eradicated, and he was on a mission to personally make sure that happened."
It was only years of marriage that gave Judy the ability to read the subtle stiffening of Nick's posture at the mention of Franklin's name. Baxter didn't seem to notice it at all, and continued.
"The second group, process killers, enjoy the process of taking a life. They take their time, kidnapping and slowly killing their victims. So in our case, I believe that ours is an act focused killer."
Nick furrowed his brows as he sat on edge of the desk. "What makes you draw that conclusion? He may not be holding these victims for days on end, but these murders are extremely elaborate. Wouldn't that push it more towards a process focused killer?"
"At first glance, it could seem like that. But it's that very fact that they are so elaborate that makes me believe otherwise. Process focused killers typically kill in more…. Personal ways," the raccoon stated, pacing in front of the two. "You two remember the BTK killer, active in the 80s and 90s?"
"I was really young during that time, but we definitely covered it in the academy. He would break into mammals houses, bind them up, then torture and kill then," Judy replied. "Hence his self given name of BTK."
The raccoon nodded and pushed his glasses back up his face. "Exactly. His method of killing was strangulation. It's personal, it's an in your face way to kill someone. These killings though? They are extremely elaborate, but impersonal. Our killer is trying to send a message, to accomplish something specific. Each one is a part of a story, but we don't have the book. There's a reason for each one, and if we can figure that out, that will be a huge leap towards figuring out who this is."
"So we have to figure out what their agenda, what it is that is driving them to kill," Judy said. "What else do you have for us?"
"The second set of groups killers usually fall into is what's referred to as either organized and Nonsocial, or disorganized and asocial. To put simply, an organized and nonsocial killer is one that's charismatic and charming, they're typically highly intelligent and enjoy playing games with the police. Usually they will kill in one place and dispose of the body in another. They are more likely to dismember the body, and more then likely are either dating or married. Again, drawing from real life examples, one of the most infamous killers ever is Ted Bundy. He hits almost every point for an organized and nonsocial killer."
Nick walked over to the board and studied it. "I'm going to take a guess that the second type is the opposite of the first? Probably lonely and not as smart?"
"They aren't necessarily stupid either though," Peter continued. "But yes, they are mostly opposites. A disorganized and asocial killer will usually live alone, and are an outcast in society. They think of their victims as objects, tend to be more active at night, and generally live close to the crime scenes. However, we can't take each of these classifications at complete face value, but rather as a guideline to build a picture for who we are looking for, and that's how we start to build a profile."
Nick stepped forward and erased a part of the board, grabbing a marker as she turned towards the raccoon. "So what do we have so far for a profile?"
"We have a Mule, somewhere between 25 and 30. They're an act focused killer, so they have a mission and believes they have to complete it," Baxter said, counting off each point on the fingers of his paw. "They're mostly a disorganized asocial type, as evident from the fact that he kills at night, kills and leaves the corpse at the scene, attacks in a blitz pattern, and isn't dismembering the victims. They're very organized, however, as shown from a pristine crime scenes. This all suggests they're probably single and lives alone, probably drive an older car, and may even revisit crime scenes. I'd definitely advise stationing uniforms by each crime scene to watch in case they revisits it."
"Okay, I'll make a note to pass that along to the Captain," Judy said and reached over for a pad of paper and a pen.
"Now, the fact that our killer does have that organized streak points to intelligence, which seems to be supported by the fact that we have possible evidence that he attended college," the raccoon said, flipping through the files in his paws. "Usually disorganized asocial killers don't care about the news, but couple the fact that this killer is clever , and that they're obviously careful about how they leaves the scene, I'd say they're probably watching the news and trying their best to track how close you guys are following them. I'd advise keeping as many details out of the news as possible."
"This is great and all, but how do we take all of this and use it to catch the bastard?" Nick asked, his tail flicking behind him in frustration.
"There's a few things we can do. First, we should use this as a guide to narrow down a list of prime suspects. Use it to rank suspects, but don't use it to rule any out. Second, while this does give us a nice amount of information, it doesn't answer what his mission is, or how they are selecting victims. That part is what's been stumping me the most. The victims cross genders, species, and risk levels, and I don't see anything that links them. I'd place money on the fact that they aren't random however, as our killer's organized everything way too carefully for that to be the case."
"So why don't we stop focusing on the victims differences, and start looking at what their similarities are? There has to be something, a reason they are chosen," Judy suggested.
Nick nodded, dragging a second, blank white board next to the filled one. "We should also get a map and plot the locations of the murders. We could be missing a pattern there that we just haven't been able to visualize."
Peter nodded, shifting the piles of papers and folders, bringing out a map of downtown zootopia and pinning it to the board. Taking a sharpie, the raccoon started to plot the location of each murder. To the left of him, Nick and Judy were spreading out each of the folders containing the lives and information of each victim, digging through to check each aspect of their lives. The room grew silent as the trio worked, interrupted intermediary only by a short remark or request.
An hour later, Nick tossed his pen down and growled. "All I've found is that they all use the same internet service, but so does everyone else in the greater Zootopia area."
Judy looked over from her pile and frowned. "It has to be something we aren't seeing. Maybe we just need to backup from the details for a bit. Peter, have you found anything?"
The raccoon blinked and looked up from his own pile of paperwork. "Um… possibly. I plotted all three murders so far, and all the houses are within a five mile radius of each other, so there is a high probability that he lives in or close to this radius."
"It's progress. It may not be fast progress, but it's still progress," Judy said smiling.
"There's the disgusting positivity I love!" Nick said with a chuckle.
"You could do well to learn some of it Wilde," the bunny shot back with a grin.
The sound of the phone ringing caused the three to go silent. Nick answered it and said, "Detective Wilde here. OK, thanks Spots, we'll be right there," Nick replaced the phone and sighed. "Lisa Reynolds is here, Ben's sister. She was out of town when him and his wife were murdered, but agreed to fly back to talk with us."
"Well let's not keep her waiting too long," Judy said, a twinge of sadness lingering in her voice.
"Ms. Reynolds, we are so sorry for your loss," Judy stated, leading the lynx into one of the empty offices. The office was furnished with a small couch and two chairs, a table sitting in the middle. Along the far end of room sat a water cooler along with a small green plant. The walls were a soft brown, with a large window to let in light.
The young female lynx sat on one edge of the couch, wearing a long red dress with a white rose pattern. In her paw was a wad of tissue, her eyes were red and bloodshot, an obvious sign of a lack of sleep from her weary expression. "Please, Lisa is fine. I got here as soon as I could. The other officers haven't told me much. Why would anyone want to kill them?"
"That's what we are trying our best to figure out, and hopefully you could help us with that. Were you and your brother close?"
"Yes, growing up, our parents were very busy with work. They didn't ignore us, but it was usually just me and my brother, and we spent a nice amount of time together till we moved out, and even then we tried to have dinner together weekly. When Ben married Liz that didn't change."
"So would you say you were close with Elizabeth too?" Nick asked
"Close? We were friends before she ever even thought about my brother in that way! I'm the one that pushed them together," she replied with a sad chuckle.
"When was the last time you heard from either of them?" Peter asked, leaning against the far wall.
"Wednesday. I stopped by the house to drop off the keys to my house. I had to change out the locks on the backdoor and hadn't given them the spare yet, and wanted to see them before I left for my trip," the lynx paused as she wiped her eyes. "I always do, just in case something happens, but I never actually expected something to."
A silence hung in the air as the mammals gave the grieving women a second to breathe.
"Lisa, do you recall either of them ever talking about any suspicious people hanging around their house or work?" Judy asked, placing a paw on the Lynx arm.
"No, they never mentioned anything like that to me. As far as I knew, everything was perfectly fine," Lisa said.
"Your brother and sister in law, did they have any hobbies or interests?" Nick asked, chewing on the tip of his pen.
"Honestly both of them are workaholics. Liz felt her work as a social worker was more important than having a hobby, and Ben spent most of his time at the ice cream shop."
Peter tilted his head as his brows furrowed. "Was the ice cream shop his number one priority?"
Lisa nodded and shrugged. "Yeah. It was actually the same ice cream shop we would go to when we were young. The owner, Mr. Brown, he would sort of watch the kids that came into the shop. Ben saw how much of a difference that made for some of them as we were growing up, having a safe spot to spend their time in. As we got older, it became his mission to buy the shop and do the same for the next generation of kids. He worked for years, saving up as much as he could, and a few years ago, when Mr. Brown was ready to retire, he bought the shop off of him."
Nick paused his chewing, and leaned forward. "Did Ben have a lot of kids that he opened his doors to?"
"A fair amount. He always kept an open door policy. He even had his personal phone number at the bottom of the menu boards, so that even if he wasn't there, the kids could reach them if they needed. I remember him telling me once that, even if he couldn't directly stop whatever obstacle, neglect, or abuse was in these kids ways, that he could at least give them a safe zone and some one to talk to. He really cared," Lisa replied.
"And Elizabeth. You said she was super involved in her work. Did she put herself emotionally into each case?" Nick asked, taking control of the interview a bit. Judy noticed Nicks intensity, watching as she could see connections starting to form in his mind. It was something that she always loved to watch, a simple reminder as to how talented her fox was with mammals.
Lisa nodded as she replied. "Liz always gave 110% with each case. She always wanted to protect each child from as much harm as she could, and on severe cases, or cases where her paws were tied and she couldn't do much, it always hit her hard."
"Did she have many cases that didn't work out?" Nick asked.
"Not a ton, but it isn't uncommon either. Proving verbal and emotional harm is always extremely challenging, especially if a child is groomed by the parents to look good in front of the judge. Liz always had good intuition, but intuition doesn't win a case, evidence does, as I'm sure you guys know," she said.
"Thank you Lisa, you've been a huge help. We have to check on something really quick, could you give us a moment?" Nick said, standing up and shaking the Lynx paw, before motioning to the other two. All three mammals looked at Nick in slight confusion before Judy and Peter followed after him, giving a reassuring smile towards the confused Lynx.
"Alright, what did you figure out Nick?" Judy asked, stepping behind the fox as he scribbled on the board.
"I think I know how he is choosing his victims. Our first victim was Alison Lang. She was a teacher, and she had a student who was being abused, and although she tried to help him, she could only do so much. Next, we have Ben and Liz Reynolds. Liz worked as a social worker, a job that revolves around helping children who are being abused, but not a job that is always successful. Ben spent his time trying to help those that were also being abused, but again didn't have the ability to actual remove the children from the abusive environment. Last we have our latest victim, Eli Daniels. He volunteered his time at the local Boys and Girls club, mostly working as a councilor, and just like the others, worked hard to help those that were abused or neglected, but not able to remove them from that household," Nick said, furiously scribbling all of this on the board, his ears raised in excitement.
Placing the marker down, Nick stepped away from the board and turned to the other two. "I believe that our killer is targeting people he believes could have done more to prevent kids from being abused."
The three mammals silently stared at the board, the faces of the victims starring back as the idea sunk in and took hold, and a few more pieces of a cryptic, bloody puzzle fell into place.