The next day Judy walked into the precinct exhausted from the previous night's emotional roller coaster and still unsure about how deal with her partner. She was never one to hold a grudge, but his declaration of love and poor decision making had thrown her off balance. He had wanted her to stay the night and she admitted there was a certain attraction to his streetwise charm and quick wit but a sensibly bitter part of her told her to stay back, if only a little. She had lain in her own bed, alone, until early in the morning, trying to analyze her feelings. She tried to picture herself in his arms and the thought of his claws grazing against her skin and his coarse fur pressed against hers left her with an exhilarating feeling but the fact that he had hidden his feelings and tried to deceive her out of his own fear scared her. He had already proven to be a great friend and the idea of him as a lover was an exciting prospect but she questioned if the relationship could actually grow in any sort of sustainable way. Would he stay with her when times got tough? Would he have the courage to communicate to her his problems in life, or would he hide things and allow them to fester unattended until things were too bad to fix? A part of her regretted that she had already agreed to give him a chance at a romantic relationship, despite his betrayal, but another part of her was too curious to stay away from him.
Her head was swirling and preoccupied when she heard a familiar voice call her name. She snapped out of her own little world and saw several officers standing by the reception desk and Benjamin was waving her over to his desk with a big cheesy grin, surrounded by an entire garden's worth of cut flowers.
"Hey Ben, what's with the flowers?" she asked, finally noticing their strong perfume.
"Oh, Em, Goodness! I didn't know you had a little bunny boyfriend! He must be awfully sweet on you to send you all these flowers," he exclaimed with an excited clap.
"M-my boyfriend?" Judy stammered looking at several, overflowing bouquets of white, pink and lavender roses, lilies, carnations, and daisies.
"Must be be pretty well off to afford all those flowers." Judy heard a murmur from one of the cops with her keen ears.
"That or he must have really messed up," came another voice. She turned and glared at the whispering wolves behind her. At the sight of the glaring bunny, both predators averted their gazes and set their ears back. Satisfied at her command over the larger animals, Judy reached for the card Ben was trying to get her to open.
"Read it out loud! I have to know everything about the little buck snuggling up to our only bunny cop!" Ben encouraged her and several of the other officers nodded in agreement. Judy gulped down hard and she could feel her cheeks and ears burn as a blush spread across her face.
Oh, Nick. I don't think I'm ready for everyone to know about us! Please tell me you didn't sign the card, Judy begged internally and scanned the crowed of officers for her absent partner. Not seeing him anywhere around, she opened the card slowly, dreading what it's contents might be. She quickly scanned the writing and relaxed before she cleared her throat and read the card for all her nosy coworkers.
"Judy," Thank you for not addressing me as Carrots or some other silly name, she thought before continuing to read. "I know I messed up."
"Called it!" came a shout from the crowed followed by much shushing from the other officers.
"I know I messed up," Judy continued with a small laugh, "and there is nothing I can do to express how sorry I am, but please know that I love you so much. You made me the animal I am today. I don't know what I would do without you. Love, Rey."
Judy hid her smile as the other, some what clueless, officers swooned or made comments over the short letter. Sly fox, she thought picking up on the joke in the pen name.
"How have I never heard of this 'Rey' before Judy? I thought we were friends," came the swooning whine from the cheetah.
"Sorry Benny, it's, uh, complicated," Judy tried to explain without giving too much information.
"He must be head over paws for you then, Hoppsy," Judy recognized Fangmeyers's low, rumbling voice without even having to look at the tall tigress, "Would you like help moving these?" Judy thanked the big cat internally for her motherly practicality which was always appreciated.
"Thanks Monique, I think they can stay here. If you don't mind that is?" she asked looking from the tiger to the cheetah who nodded feverishly in glee. Judy hopped up on the counter and looked over a single bouquet before picking out a lavender lily with darker purple spots. "I will bring this with me though!" she announced with a big whiff of the flower that covered most of her face before skipping towards the bullpen. She knew that the other officers were probably snickering and her child-like glee, even calling her cute behind her back, but, when cats purred and dogs wagged their tails, happy rabbits hopped.
She continued her hop, right into the bullpen and onto the seat where her partner sat waiting with his muzzle resting on the table, hiding behind his usual pair of aviators and a paper coffee cup.
"You seem extra chipper this morning," he greeted her groggily, though she could see a smile twitch on his muzzle as she fiddled with her flower.
"I am! I got a whole mess of flowers from my boyfriend, Rey," she responded, putting a little extra emphasis on the word "boyfriend." Nick licked his lips, trying to hide the smile forming on his muzzle as he straightened in his chair.
"Yeah, Wilde, you need to tell us about this 'Rey' fellow," Wolford said with a shove to the fox's shoulder. "You must know something. Is he good enough for our bunny?"
"Whoa, careful there buddy! I'm still feeling a little under the weather," Nick complained and Judy rolled her eyes, knowing full well what "under the weather" entailed. "And to answer your question, no he's not, not even by half. He's a little prick and a dumbass."
The wolf cop howled with laughter which was soon echoed by the other three wolf cops that were making their way into the bullpen. "Sounds like someone is a bit jealous, eh Hopps?"
Judy smiled at the wolf as she twirled her flower, "You shouldn't be so hard on him Nick, he's a good guy, albeit yes, he is a bit of a dummy. But considering we only just got into a fight last night, I'm pretty impressed he got these flowers here already."
"Guy must be loaded for the express delivery! Whatever he did, I'd stick with him! Get yourself a bit of that cushy life, eh Jude?" Wolford laughed.
"And that's probably why he sent the flowers here instead of to your apartment," Nick chimed in, trying to sound disapproving, though his smirk revealed his true feelings, "He's probably trying to impress your coworkers so they'll convince you to stick with him so he doesn't have to. What a sneaky bastard!"
"I'm sure you see through all his tricks. Don't you, sly fox?" Judy teased her partner.
"Can't outfox a fox, sweetheart!" he replied smugly as he leaned back in the chair.
Wolford opened his maw to continue the conversation, but was quickly cut off when the the arrival of the Chief was announced. The animals hooted, stomped and banged their customary greeting and Wolford made his way to his usual spot on the other side of the isle. Judy gave her partner a sidewise glance who gave her a knowing smile back between his own barks. She hid her flower under the table as Bogo entered, giving his own annoyed sounding greeting by telling the whole room to be quiet in a less than polite way.
"SHUT UP!" the cape buffalo bellowed, "Assignments! No changes from yesterday, except Hopps and Wilde. You're back on patrol duty."
"But Sir," Judy called, her giddiness replaced with a serious concern, "I thought we were with homicide until the lovebird killer was caught?"
"I need my officers on the streets, not holed up in some office watching pointless security tapes all day. You two are beat cops and report to me. Don't forget that," Bogo explained in his usual annoyed tone. Judy made no further arguments. As much as she wanted to continue to help on the case, she agreed that her talents were being wasted on such menial tasks and she was in too good a mood to be stuck somewhere where she wouldn't be able to feel the sun on her fur. She shrugged towards her partner who silently mouthed a "Thank God" back to her.
Bogo continued his daily updates, reminding his officers to keep safety a priority, before they were released to their various assignments.
"Any chance you'll let me handle the monster today?" Nick asked with a smirk.
"Not on your life fox," Judy replied with a teasing wave of her keys. Nick gave her a gentle nudge with his hip before he climbed into the passenger side of the large vehicle. Judy also climbed in, but before she strapped herself into the seat, she stood up and placed the stem of her flower above the visor, leaving the bloom hanging above her head. She looked at the flower longingly and let out a content sigh.
Nick looked at the flower as well, hanging like a purple star over his partner's head. "So Carrots, what is the verdict of this mystery boyfriend of yours? Do you really forgive him?" Nick asked with a sly smile.
The smile slowly faded from her face and she let out a sad sigh as she stared up at the plant. Though the gesture was sweet, it would take more than trivial gifts to ease her concerns, and, unlike her partner, she believed in addressing issues as soon as they arose. "Let's drop this game. No one is around to hear us now. Let's just speak plainly." She looked over to her partner, the sadness she felt clearly painted across her face. "I thought about this long and hard last night. Nick, you are really special to me and I want to forgive you, I really do, but what you did scares me. It's not even that you slept with someone else, we weren't a thing and so technically, you didn't do anything wrong there, but it was why you did it that really bothers me. If you can't talk to me to tell me how you are feeling, how can I ever know when something is wrong? It bothers me that you couldn't just say 'Judy, or Carrots or whatever you feel like calling me, I think you're, I dunno, pretty and I'd like to take you on a date.' It just seems so pointless to put yourself through all that pain and aggravation. What horrible thing did you think was going to happen that scared you so much?"
Nick sat and stared out the window for a moment before speaking, "As I said last night, I was just afraid. Afraid that I was going to ruin something that was already great by trying to make it better and failing. I know I hurt you and I know it was dumb. I'm sorry."
"Just promise me that you'll talk to me from here on out, I am your friend after all. I want to be here for you," Judy replied as she rubbed her partner's knee. She gave him a hopeful smile and he returned the smile in kind before Judy took a big sigh and started the cruiser. They pulled out of the police station and barely made it a block before Judy let out a little snicker. Nick gave her an intrigued look before she said a single word with a smile, "Rey."
"Oh, like that one did you? I was hoping you were going to get it," Nick asked with a sly smirk.
"Of course I got it. Rey like reynard, as in a male fox," she glanced at her partner, his chest was puffed in pride at his clever partner.
"A lesser known name," he added, "but I thought 'Tod' would be too obvious."
Judy nodded in agreement, "At least you have a trick. What would I sign my secret letters with? Doe?"
"Hmmm, how about Jane? Like Jane Doe, an unidentified female," Nick suggested. Leave it to him to come up with a fitting name without much thought. Judy relaxed as they continued their mundane conversation as if nothing had happened over the past few days.
"Ok, Jane it is. I don't know when that will ever be useful," Judy mused, though she didn't have long to think about it. They hadn't been gone from the precinct for more than 15 minutes when Ben came in over the radio.
"We have a double 187 at 463 Madison Street in Happy Town. Hopps, this sounds like your guy. Are you in the area?"
Nick snatched the radio transceiver faster than Judy could react, and with a nod to his partner he pressed the call button to respond, "10-4 This is Officer Wilde, we can be on scene in 7 minutes. Quick, Carrots! Down that alley, to the right!" Nick commanded as he hung the transceiver back on its hook. "Happy Town is my old stomping grounds, I grew up there. I can get us to Madison Street faster than than ole Benny can run to a box of doughnuts!"
"I was starting to think you didn't want any part of this case," Judy questioned without taking her eyes off the road and Nick pressed the buttons to start the monster's lights and sirens.
"Well, it's been rough growing into it, take a left here, and no lie, I hate watching those damn security tapes," Nick said, placing an extra emphasis on the word "hate." His ears were perked and he leaned forward, scanning their surroundings carefully as the quality of the building quickly deteriorated into boarded up businesses and crumbling town houses. The monster jumped and lurched as it hit pothole after pothole. Judy kept her eyes on the streets and noticed the curious glares of mammals who slunk away from the screeching cruiser like cockroaches exposed to light.
"Take another right here. We need to catch this guy," he added, continuing the conversation, "He's obviously not going to stop." Judy dared take a single glance at her partner's determined face as she wheeled the speeding cruiser around the corner.
So this is where Nick grew up? Makes, sense actually. I wonder if he's more worried that he might know the next victims? Judy thought bitterly as she glanced around the broken sidewalks and windows that were covered in wrought iron bars. The meager yards were completely encased in chain link fences but didn't actually contain much, if any, grass.
"Right here, Madison Street," Nick called out, "Third house down after the intersection this way."
Judy pulled up to where he directed and they jumped out of the monster where an old nanny goat stood in a nightgown and bathrobe, sobbing uncontrollably and motioning towards the house.
"Stay here ma'am, we'll be right back!" Judy called to the distressed mammal. Nick arrived to the door first and with a nod to his partner, he pressed inward, his weapon at the ready.
"ZPD! We are coming in!" Nick announced, his voice much firmer and bolder than the last time he had said those words. Once again, the smell of blood filled the home and the two officers entered, checking closets, hall ways and side rooms for any sign of life. It wasn't until they arrived in the kitchen in the back of the house that they found the next set of victims. Slumped, with his arms bound behind his back, against the refrigerator was a goat with a broken horn and slashed open neck. His sunken in cheeks and rough fur made him look like he had seen better days, even before the killer had ever entered his life. Across from him was the naked and mangled carcass of sheep. Blood stained her ruffled but otherwise stylishly sheared wool, making her appear to have mottled brown fur with a few patches still white. Judy gave a concerned glance to her partner, his ears flicked nervously and his nose twitched, pulling in the acrid air, but thankfully his face appeared stoic and professional.
"Hopps, Wilde, this is Lupe. We are enroute. Is the crime scene secure?" The radio on Nick's hip went off causing the fox to jump. He glared at his partner, his annoyance not directed at her and she gave a small smile of understanding before holstering her gun.
"Lupe, this is Wilde," Nick replied, "Scene appears secure. Running sweeps now."
"10-4. Keep an eye out for beavers! If you see any beavers, apprehend immediately!" Nick looked to his partner who gave a shrug before dashing out of the house, past the wailing nanny and onto the sidewalk. There was no sign of any beavers, although other animals were gathering around the chain link fence, curious to the going ons. She ran slowly, trying to look casual, to the back of the house where Nick was sniffing the air and gave his partner a shrug.
"I don't see or smell any beavers. Why are we looking for beavers?" Nick asked his partner as she ran towards him, her ears twisting and turning for any clue she could find.
"At the last crime scene, while you were with the victim's sister, there was a paw print in blood. Lupe and Tanuki must have identified it as a beaver's paw. Hey, don't look at me like that, I didn't know!" Judy explained to her partner as he gave her an exasperated shrug.
"I wish we had known to look for a beaver earlier, I can't remember if we passed any," Nick said with a touch of annoyance as he scratched the back of his head.
"Damn," the little bunny cursed, "Not much we can do about it now. Let's finish securing the scene." Nick and Judy made their way back to the front of the house where the nanny continued her sobbing in the middle of the yard. As Judy approached her a white van with the familiar "ZNN" logo pulled up to the house. With all the commotion, the animals from the neighborhood began slowly pouring out of their homes for the chance to be up on the latest gossip and maybe be on the news.
"Ugh, this is getting out of hand," Judy grumbled to the fox, "I better get the goat before the reporters do. Will you tape off the area?"
Nick nodded in agreement as he headed towards the monster and Judy turned to the nanny, "Ma'am, please, I'm terribly sorry for your loss, but can you tell me what happened here?"
The goat looked at Judy but couldn't form any words through her choked sobs that boarded on hyperventilation. Judy tried her best to be as sweet and comforting as she could to calm the old goat, her sense of empathy and nonthreatening demeanor usually gave her an edge when it came to speaking with witnesses by putting them at ease, but no matter what Judy did, she couldn't calm the elderly mammal. Maybe her own frustrations were eking out in her voice. She looked around and spied a swing on the porch where she lead the goat to sit until she could calm herself.
"Poofy and Grizzle should be here any moment. How did things go with Gramma?" Nick asked his flustered partner as she stood off the porch, out of earshot of the old goat, trying to get her mind clear.
"She's not talking, too upset," Judy sighed as she wiped her brow and glanced at the reporters who were beginning their broadcast.
"Don't worry about them, just focus on your job. You're a great cop, you'll help solve this." Nick said in a soft voice as he placed his paw on her shoulder. His touch felt good and she returned the comforting gesture by reaching up and squeezing the paw that rested on her shoulder. She wanted nothing more than to step forward and hug the larger mammal, romantic intentions or no, and be comforted by him, but with the older detectives' arrival impending as well as a camera, no doubt recording them, and several dozen witnesses watching, she knew how important a professional appearance was. She sighed and released his paw and nodded to her partner that she would be ok. She turned towards the street where a tan undercover vehicle pulled up and Lupe and Tanuki made their way out of the car and through the crowd.
"What have we got?" Lupe asked the officers, however Tanuki entered the home without a glance to the officers or the nanny goat, who was still sobbing on the porch swing.
"Two victims, one male goat, dead, throat lacerated, presumable cause of death, blood loss. Second victim, a female sheep, beaten, and stabbed. No ID made. One witness, currently suffering from shock and incoherent." Judy regurgitated the facts to the wolf, lifelessly, as if she were a robot. Lupe nodded, satisfied with the explanation before he too turned to enter the house.
"Good work you two, go write your reports, and, for the love of God, make sure those civilians and reporters stay the hell back." Lupe directed over his shoulder before he disappeared from view.
"UGH!" Judy grunted, "That's it! After all the help, all the work we put in? We don't get to do any of the forensics? We don't get anymore new information? Did we do such a crappy job last time?" Judy could feel the tears well in her eyes, even though she tried to keep her cool in front of the crowd of animals.
"Whoa, relax, Carrots. Remember, we are just beat cops. We did our job, and we did it well. We even went above and beyond our duties. There will be other opportunities to shine," Nick did his best to comfort her.
She sighed and glanced into the scraggly flowerbed of withered daisies that lined the porch. The sight of the white flowers reminded her of the beautiful bouquets that had greeted her this morning and the single purple flower that waited for her in the monster and the handsome, albeit sometimes foolish, fox who had given her the generous gifts, the same fox who stood before her. She took a deep breath and let the memory relax her. She continued glancing into the flower bed, wishing for more to comfort her, be it the hug from the fox or the purple lily in her hands. Soon however, her mind froze as she noticed something off about the flowers that had been relaxing her. She blinked a few times staring into the bed, unsure for a moment as to what exactly grabbed her attention. Near the steps, a single daisy, among all the other pure white flowers, displayed a single bright red petal. Judy walked towards the single flower and knelt down.
"Carrots?" Nick asked as she passed him, but his voice was ignored as the bunny let out a long gasp.
"Nick, there's a business card down here. It's covered in blood. Oh God Nick! There's a picture of a beaver on it! And a name and phone number!" Nick was at his partner's side in a flash and glared into the flower bed and she cocked her head to read the small card without touching it. 'He's a repairman! That's how he gets in! This is him! We found the killer! We have to tell Lupe! Oh, Nick!" Judy jumped up and threw her arms around her partner's neck and planted a big kiss on his cheek in excitement, nearly knocking the poor fox over before she dashed into the house, calling for the investigators.
Nick smiled as he rubbed the spot where she had kissed him as he continued to glance at the blood splattered stroke of good luck while he could hear his partner cry out, "We've got him! I know who the Lovebird Killer is!"