"I swear to Buddha Judy, you're going to kill me if you keep driving like that," Nick said, rubbing his chin where he'd been slammed into the dashboard. Twice.
"Hey, not my fault you didn't have your seatbelt on in time. And since when did you become Buddhist? You always swear on God or Jesus." She reached up to his muzzle and started turning his head to and fro, checking to see if he was injured.
"Well, considering I'm agnostic, I figured those guys could use a break from hearing me swearing at them whenever I get in a car you're driving," Nick answered, slightly muffled as he tried to talk without moving his mouth.
"You're a worse driver than I am."
"No, you just think that because I barely ever get to drive."
"And that's because you're bad at it," Judy said before taking her paws away from his face. "Nothing broken, but it'll probably bruise. I'm sorry Nick."
"It's OK Judy, I know you didn't mean it."
"I know, but I'll try and wait till you get your seat-belt on next time. Forgive me?"
"Only if you kiss it to make it better." Judy smiled and gave him a quick peck on the chin. "You know, I think I also smacked my crotch against the dash…"
"Maybe later Slick," Judy chided, punching him lightly on the arm. Finally, they exited the car across the street from the Savannah Sunrise apartments. "Got the warrant?"
"Right here Fluff," Nick replied, opening his jacket and showing her the warrant in an inside pocket. She nodded and they made their way across the street and into the lobby of the apartment building. While on the outside the building was as dilapidated as its Zoogle Maps page had made it seem, the lobby itself was at least clean, if not tidy. One of the lights in a darkened hallway flickered, illuminating an out of order vending machine that looked like it suffered much abuse from the tenants, dent marks in the front and sides. But for faults like this, Judy couldn't see a speck of dirt anywhere.
The sound of hooves and jingling metal caused her and Nick to turn towards a staircase to their left, where a young ibex came into view. His horns were a jeweller's wet dream, adorned with every type of shaped metal that could be imagined and must have almost doubled the weight of his head. On his arms, it appeared that he'd dyed his fur with various Asian characters resembling the tattoos other mammals with far less hair would sometimes get. Or, at least what he thought those tattoos looked like. Judy was pretty sure she'd seen one or two at a takeout near their apartment. The ibex glared at the two smaller mammals as he made his way down.
"What you looking at pelts?" the ibex sneered, not even bothering to hide his disdain. Judy rolled her eyes; she was getting sick of rude teenagers, and glad she and Nick weren't interested in having kids.
"Got something to say cutie?" the ibex continued, taking offence at Judy's gesture.
"You wanna take this one?" Judy asked her fiancé, her annoyance getting the better of her. She hated how so many mammals talked down to her, but she couldn't be bothered putting this young idiot in his place. He simply wasn't worth getting any angrier with.
"Glad to partner," Nick said, winking. "Good afternoon sir, I was wondering if you could direct us to either the owner of this building or the super?"
"And why would I do that?" the unhelpful mammal replied, contempt in every word.
"Oh, I dunno, maybe to be a nice mammal, a good neighbour, a helpful citizen," Nick said smiling, before his face hardened into an expression of stone cold authority, "or perhaps to not get thrown in jail for obstructing a police investigation," he added as he reached into his pocket and flipped open his wallet, showing his badge. Right on cue, Judy reached into her t-shirt and pulled out the badge that was still on the chain around her neck. The change in demeanour in the kid was immediate, transforming from a rough and tough rebel ready to stand his ground to someone who wanted to be anywhere but there right now.
"Uh, the super's down the hall, second door on the left,' the ibex informed, pointing the way.
"Why thank you kind sir," Nick said, slipping back into affability without a pause for breath as he replaced his badge. "It's so refreshing to see a young mammal willing to help the police, especially in the border districts. I guess we'll just have to come around here more often, 'ey Carrots?"
This time Judy rolled her eyes at her partner, as he laid it on thick, but allowed a smile of amusement to show as well before nodding to play along with Nick's show.
"Wonderful. Well, we can't keep you chatting here with us, must be off to do good in the community. I sure hope we see you again, since I'm sure we'll be around more often. Take care," Nick said as he walked away from the ibex, Judy falling into step by his side. Nick was counting under his breath "Three, two one…" As he finished, the sound of running hooves at a dead sprint was heard. "I never get tired of that," Nick gloated, a smile of pure smug self-satisfaction across his face.
"You of course know that he couldn't be booked for obstructing an investigation he isn't a part of?"
"Yeah well, he didn't, and I find myself having a hard time caring," Nick replied as they approached the door they'd been directed to. A sign on it read 'Vince Nigiri, Superintendent/Property Manager'. "Your turn I think Fluff," Nick said, getting his badge out again. Judy knocked and heard a shuffling from inside the apartment, followed by a shout of "Oh for the love of…Gimme a minute!"
"ZPD Mr. Nigiri, open up!" Judy barked, her voice becoming authoritative with practised ease. A few seconds later the door opened, revealing a soaking wet warthog. A naked soaking wet warthog.
"Uhm…how about you take that minute?" Judy instructed, turning her head away. The warthog nodded and shut the door.
"So…how long till he realises he didn't have a towel?" Nick asked. The answer came a few seconds later when a load groan of embarrassment could be heard. "I wonder if he opens bottles with that thing?"
"Nick for the love of…" Judy began to chide before the door was opened again, the super now clad in a plain black t-shirt and grey sweat pants.
"Uhm sorry about that, what can I do for you officers?"
"Detectives," Judy corrected, trying to get her authoritative voice back after the embarrassing last few minutes. "Mr. Nigiri, we need you to open up apartment 3B, we have an ongoing investigation and we believe the resident of that apartment is involved."
"I'm sorry, but I can't open a tenant's home without informing the landlord and giving the tenant twenty-four hours' notice. Good day officers," Vince said and went to close the door. He was surprised when a kick from the rabbit caused it to swing back and slam into the wall beside it.
"Again, it's detectives," Nick reminded before taking a breath. "And as per Zootopian Building Ordinances Paragraph 12, Subsection C, a building manager has the authority to allow access to a property without needing to inform the landlord," he continued, dredging up some old facts from an old plumbing scam about a decade ago.
"Well I still need to give the tenant notice…"
"Wrong!" Judy exclaimed, motioning to Nick, who fished out the warrant from his jacket. "Because we have a warrant, and if you don't comply with it, you will be arrested for obstructing a murder investigation."
"Mu...murder?" the super stammered, completely shocked. Judy cursed under her breath. While technically she did nothing wrong in revealing that piece of info, it was something she was trying to keep close to her chest from anyone who might be involved, and with access to the victim's apartment, that might be this warthog. "Is, is Bighana alright?" he suddenly asked. The fact he knew the victim made him even more involved than she thought, but his concern seemed genuine. Judy turned to Nick who nodded back. She reached into her own jacket and brought out the picture of what she had now come to accept was Bighana. She held it up in front of Vince.
"Sir, do you know this mammal?"
"Yeah…that's her, Bighana…shit, she's dead, isn't she?" the warthog asked, deflating with every word.
"Yes, she is. That's why we need to get into her apartment, so we can find out how this happened," Judy said. "Could you tell us her last name?"
"Uhm well, I don't know it…"
"You manage a building and don't know the full names of your tenants?" Judy asked incredulously.
"Look, officer…"
" .TIVE." Judy said emphatically.
"Detective, sorry. Look, the landlord deals with all that stuff, and he's two months into a six-month jail term for drug possession. All that stuff is locked on a password-protected computer in his office. I can't even let new tenants take up residence in the empty apartments. Luckily all the rent and my salary is handled by a property management company or I'd be out of a job right now."
"Can't you get the details from them?" Judy suggested.
"Yeah, with written authority or a phone call from the landlord, who is disinclined to do any work while in prison. Probably enjoying the time away."
"Well, just let us in and we'll see what we can find," Judy urged, softening her tone. Taking the hard-ass route seemed to cause reluctance in Vince, and the longer he held out, the longer it would take to get potentially vital evidence.
"Of course, offi…detectives," Vince said before turning to a wall inside the opening of his apartment/office. He brought up a single key, presumably the master for the building. He quickly closed and locked his door and motioned Nick and Judy to follow him. A few minutes later they stood outside apartment 3B, the one Sandra had correctly remembered as Bighana's. As Vince opened the door and pushed it inwards, he started to step inside. Nick reached up to the slightly taller mammal's shoulder, causing him to stop.
"Sorry sir, but we need to access a potential crime scene without potential outside influence. You're more than welcome to watch from the door, but we can't have you enter just yet," Nick ordered calmly but with an authority that, while not as commanding as Judy's, got the point across.
"Yes yes, sorry, of course," Vince replied, stepping aside. Judy was having a hard time thinking of him as a potential suspect since he was being so helpful and seemed genuine. But then again, he could just be a very good actor. She'd get Nick's input on it later since he was better at reading mammals than she was. It was one of the things that made their partnership work; he knew what to spot in mammals, while she was better at assessing a situation, whether it's a fight or a crime scene, though Nick was getting better in both.
When she and Nick entered the apartment, they found something very different from what she expected. She'd thought the apartment would be like the rest of the building, run-down and dirty. Bighana's was pretty much immaculate. Whatever type of mammal the wolf had been when she was alive, she was fastidious and clean, something Judy wouldn't have expected from a prostitute. She grimaced at herself for making assumptions again, trying to work past her issues.
She and Nick simply stood in the apartment entryway, nothing seemed to fit in with a possible crime scene. No chairs or anything knocked away, no broken plates, nothing indicating any violence, though in fairness she shouldn't have expected anything. It also didn't seem like the place, while tidy, hadn't been cleaned for at least a while, since it smelled stale and not lived in. She went to move and something brushed against her foot, causing her to look down and notice a small pile of mail on the floor. She picked up a random letter, some kind of bill, and read the name on the front. Bighana Akela. So, we finally have a name…why does it sound familiar? she asked internally. I'll ask Nick in a second, he might remember. The letter still in her paw she turned back to Vince, who stood in the doorway looking pensive.
"Has anyone been in here since you last saw Bighana?"
"I don't think so; the door hasn't been forced from what I can see and I have the only master key."
"Did you know she wasn't here?"
"Well, yes."
"And why didn't you report her missing?"
"Well, she was sometimes away for a few days for her work…" Vince answered before clamming up.
"Relax Vince, we know she was a prostitute. We can't prosecute her for that now, and knowing she was a prostitute isn't a crime," Nick reassured, putting the super at ease. He sniffed the air in the entryway and his eyes grew wide. "I smell pounce…" he said before moving further into the apartment and around a corner that lead to the open living area. Judy followed and saw her fox sniffing carefully, keeping his nose held high. If there was pounce around he wanted to avoid breathing it in accidentally. He moved towards an old worn couch in front of a television and raised his nose slightly, breathing in the air above a table where small traces of white power lay, right next to…a cereal container? Nick continued sniffing, edging ever so slightly closer to the container.
"Hey Carrots? You got a pen or something?"
"Yeah, but why?" she asked, fishing in a pocket and bringing out a cheap pen she had stuffed in there God knows when.
"Because I'm going to try and open this without touching it, and because I think there is a large amount of pounce in here but it's one of those frosted ones so I can't see it 100%. Might just be a shit-tonne of sugar, but I doubt it." With that, he held up his paw in an open fist and she tossed him the pen. He caught it, removed the lid and held it by the top. Fumbling for a second, he managed to flip open the container. He looked inside, then let out a long low whistle.
"What is it?" Judy asked, walking over to him.
"Well, if my knowledge of illegal substances is anything to go by, there's almost a goddamn kilo of pounce in this! Judy, that's worth about $30,000! How the hell does a prostitute have that much money on hand?"
"Jesus," Judy whispered, just as astonished as Nick was. Mammals simply did not have that amount of pounce on them. It was either a small amount if you were a user, or a great deal more if you were a dealer. And dealers didn't keep their product in cereal boxes. She eyed the powder closely and saw little purple sparks inside, glittering in the light. "Does pounce usually have bits of purple in it?"
"Now that I don't know. Think we're gonna need forensics for this one Fluff. We better call this in."
"Yeah, I'll head down and radio in. You look around, OK?" Judy said. Though she was better at crime scene evaluation than Nick, she'd be able to run down to the car and be back faster than he could. Plus, it'd give him time to practice his skills in that area. Just as she was about to leave she turned back to Nick. "Oh crap, almost forgot. This has Bighana's full name on it," she said before tossing the letter to Nick. Before he could say anything, she jogged out of the apartment, telling Vince to stay put as there were going to be a lot more police there very soon. A scant minute later, she was at the car.
"Sierra Oscar Five to Dispatch."
"This is Dispatch, hi Judy!" came the cheery reply.
"Hi Ben, we need forensics at the Savannah Sunrise apartments on the corner of Trip and Pack. Apartment 3B. Crime scene discovered and we need a couple of guys to go over it."
"Sure thing Judy. It'll be a little bit before the night shift are ready to head out. I'll make sure they get to you before I clock out though. They should be with you within the next fifteen-twenty minutes. That OK?"
"Sure thing Ben, Sierra Oscar Five out," Judy finished, then cursed. She checked the time on her phone and found it had just turned six. She and Nick should be off shift by now, and they were both still tired. Well, at least she was sure they wouldn't find much else in there apart from the pounce, so it shouldn't be too long. She sprinted back to the building and up to the apartment. She saw Vince looking more worried than he had before.
"Everything alright?" she asked, wondering what had caused the change in mood.
"I think something's wrong with your partner…" he replied, pointing into the apartment. Judy dashed in and saw Nick standing with his back to her, standing over a small table. She saw the letter in his right paw but he was holding something else in his other. It appeared to be a framed photo, but it was partially covered by brown wrapping paper.
"Nick?" she called out as she walked to his right, placing an arm on his back. "Nick, what's wrong?"
Nick looked down at Judy, with an expression of barely controlled panic on his face. He visibly calmed when he saw her and let out a breath. He moved the photo in his left paw over to his right, holding the envelope underneath. Judy took them both. She looked at the picture, observing the two female wolves taking a selfie, hugging and smiling outside of…the ZPD Academy? The one in a plain but smart red dress was Bighana. The other was in the dress blues of a newly graduated officer. Judy still couldn't see what Nick was so worried about. She looked at the envelope and read the name again. Bighana Akela…Akela…
"Oh shit!" she finally blurted out as she recognised the name and the other wolf in the picture. It was Bhrast Akela, former Internal Affairs officer who had gotten demoted back to beat officer and then stuck behind a reception desk in Precinct 99 for accusing Nick of murdering Robin Loxley, his old friend and the fox who had killed himself when Nick was thrust into a hostage situation.
"Oh shit indeed Judy," Nick responded as Judy dropped the photo and letter and wrapped her arms around his waist. "This is going to be a loooong night."