The Double Edged Sword; Gut Wrenching
Edited by BrutusDeagon; Thank you!
Nick climbed into the back seat, with Skye ticking her eyes between him and Wolford after he had told him where to go. The fox was quiet and Skye was trying not to keep looking back at him even though he wasn't paying attention, he just kept staring out the window until they had arrived and Sharla met them at the door. The ewe invited them in and Nick was laughing as Danny showed them to the table. "I love it when you come to town." The ram chirped as they all took their seats.
"She doesn't cook like this for you every day?" Nick asked with a snarky smile as Sharla batted a hoofed paw at him.
"Good Lord no! I'd be so fat I wouldn't be able to fit in my jeans anymore."Nick laughed as Danny took a seat next to him and started passing things around. They were all having a light conversation-at least it was to Nick, Sharla and Danny while Wolford and Skye sat there stunned at all the things they were discussing. Neither of them could believe what they were hearing. The conversation about the farm and what was going on in town had both of them looking at him a little wide eyed and when he noticed they were both looking between all of them a little dumbfounded Nick sighed as Sharla started clearing the table off. "Judy left me the farm and the turbines on her land. They generate most of Bunny Boroughs electricity so I kinda own the electric company here. The farmers that took over running the land keep most of what they make working the fields and half of it is donated to the local school and a fund that helps the other farmers when things get rough."
"Yeah and he's being modest." Sharla giggled as she sat a blueberry pie on the table. Nicks ears dipped back as Danny laughed. "He also has the money from the electric company helping maintain the city streets when he found out we were having budget problems. He just took what the Hopps were already doing to another level. It fixed most of the roads that were falling apart, bought a new car for the sheriff's office and helps maintain the parks." Nick cleared his throat pulling at his tie as Wolford and Skye gaped at him. The ewe laughed seeing his ears flush. "He came down for a whole weekend once and talked to the city council. I still don't know how he managed to get everyone together like that on a weekend. Must have already talked to everyone before he got here. But, whatever it was, he got the whole town involved, so we all just kinda pitch in where it is needed and now we hold a meeting every couple of weeks to talk about things that need to be fixed or repaired so it doesn't get that bad again."
"You own the electric company here?" Skye asked shaking her head as his ears pinned back further as Wolford just stared at him.
"Well, no it's a little complicated. Anyway uh, Sharla we were wondering if you could tell us about Jack Savage and what happened when…" Nick couldn't finish the sentence so Wolford picked it up.
"Can you tell us what happened after the Hopps Borough fell and anything about Savage being involved afterwards?" Wolford asked and watched as Sharla shrank back a little when she looked at Nick.
"Please Sharla?" Nick asked as Skye looked between them.
The two sheep looked at each other shaking their heads as Sharla leaned into the table. "It was a nightmare. None of us really knew him all that well, He'd only been here once or twice before, but he got here before Judy did." Skye looked back at Wolford shaking her head as Nick raised a brow. "We already had everybody we could get there trying to get them out. By the time Judy got here he had emergency crews that braced and reinforced the areas that had collapsed when they were digging and was instructing everybody on the best way to move so no one else got hurt. Judy went to the hospital with Jessica and he stayed, getting everything cleaned up and taking care of her family. There's not a whole lot we can tell you besides that. He was kind of strange. He really didn't make a point to talk to anyone and Jess had told me once him and his brother didn't get along, she never said why. For a rabbit he didn't display much emotion, not even when they pulled his brother out. The Savages weren't from around here but her husband was the nicest guy you could ever meet."
Nick shook his head. "Sharla, you said he did an investigation in the article you wrote?"
The ewe nodded her head looking back at her husband. "Yeah, he had a crew come in after they had gotten everyone out. Forensics and everything if I gathered right. But they weren't here for more than a few hours. It looked like he was in a pretty big hurry to leave. They sectioned off what was left of the farm house and put up tape for safety reasons. The sheriff agreed to keep everyone out until Judy got back and then he was gone. Judy called a few hours later and told me that Jess was gone."
Nicks phone rang and everyone watched as his face went flat, "What?" Was the only word he managed to hiss out through his grit teeth, Sharla and Danny looking back between all the officers as he stood from the chair, thanked them for dinner and excused himself saying he needed some air.
Wolford's Phone went off and he picked it up, lifting both brows as Skye sat beside him. "Chief Bogo?"
"We have a problem Wolford. We can't exhume her body for an autopsy. Savage owns the lot." Wolford groaned and motioned to Skye to go check on him and hung up.
"Is he alright?" Sharla asked as Danny stepped beside her. The wolf nodded his head as he watched Skye step out on the door...
Skye stepped out to the porch and found Nick leaning over one of the rails, both paws wrapped around the wood in a death grip. She almost shrank away hearing the wood groaning in his grasp, but when she caught the look on his face she felt a twinge.
The fox had his lip curled trying not to hiss through his teeth. There was as much agony behind the scrunched in brow and curled lips as there was anger. She stepped closer placing a paw on his shoulder. "Nick?" The red fox jerked back at her glaring and deflated as Skye shrank away from him.
"I'm sorry. I just…" the fox sighed as he sat on the swing that was hanging from the front porch. "I just never thought about it. After I came to town the first time and everyone found out we were married they didn't have a problem changing the headstone so I never thought to ask."
The vixen sat down next to him shaking her head and he shrugged as he sighed. "We were married a few days before she… I knew Savage was who handled everything. I just never thought…."
"Nick I'm so sorry. I had no idea."
The fox laughed as looked off in another direction. "Yeah, I got surprised by a lot of things too. You gave Wolford a look after hearing about him being here. Why?"
Skye bit her lip as she cringed one shoulder "He was supposed to be in Valicruz at that time. It's a seven hour flight from Zootopia alone. I did all his files, I don't remember seeing anything from Bunny Borough. Like I said, he wasn't supposed to be here at all."
Nick pinched his eyes together and leaned forward groaning as Wolford came out the door with Sharla and Danny. The fox gave the little ewe her usual hug before they left, both other officers noting how unusually quiet he had become. When they got back to the little cottage they both watched him walk over to the fenced off area and shake his head before he started ripping down planks. "Wilde? What the hell are you doing? Hey! You can't go in there! You said it wasn't safe and it's dark!"
"I don't need any light Wolford." The fox disappeared leaving Wolford and Skye gaping. The vixen was biting her nails as Wolford kept shouting into the large pit they were standing in front of. The more time that passed the more they were both yelling and trying to get his attention. They both jumped as he leapt back from the hole, a deep grimace on his face holding a large chunk of wood that he shoved in Wolford's paw growling "Sharla said they didn't know him all that well, that they weren't from around here. How the hell would Savage know how to direct the mammals around in a borough that size he had never been in, or maybe had been in once or twice?: He stormed back into the little guest cottage growling.
Skye looked at Wolford as he blinked, looking at what was in his paw. As he ran his finger over it he shook his head when it splintered, half of it crumbling to dust. "Jesus." Skye stepped closer after he had muttered the word, her brow going up as he sniffed it several times making a sour face and shaking his head. "Acid. If I can still smell it after a year there had to have been a ton of it on this beam to make it fall apart like this. Rabbits most likely wouldn't have been able to smell this and any others who weren't directly around it wouldn't have caught it either. I'm familiar with it because I worked in the crime unit for years. Go check on him. I need to call the Chief and let him know what is going on."
Skye left Wolford returning through the door to find the red fox firmly planted in an over sized rabbit loveseat. The fox had dug his claws into the arm and was staring blankly at the wall. When she called out to him his eyes slashed to her before he got up and started digging through everything. "What are you doing?"
Nick opened the cabinets shaking his head. "She was here Skye. He was here while she was gone. I need to look around and see if there is anything here. You saw what I found in her old apartment. She hid those things for a reason."
"What can I do to help?"
Nick stopped and turned, almost looking surprised before he shook it off. "Look everywhere, through everything. And tell me everything you know about that fucking rabbit…."
After several hours of searching and Skye telling him everything she knew about her former employer she was standing with Wolford at the door as they watched Nick pacing the floor. They hadn't found anything except her laptop, and even though it had been plugged in it had been sitting for a long time and still needed to charge.
"He's going to make himself sick if he keeps doing that." Skye whispered as Wolford stuck a paw over his mouth.
"I'm not sure there is anything we can do to help Skye. Chief said he could have someone come investigate the collapsed borough but it was going to take him some time because he couldn't do it through the department. The Z.B.I. can just look at our files so he has to figure out a way to do it so it's not being seen. He said the financing for it was going to be the hardest thing to hide because he had to find a way to make it look like something else."
The vixen caught sight of the light coming on the laptop and grabbed his attention pointing it out. She figured if anything it might make him sit down and stop pacing, maybe get him to calm down. Nick sat back in the chair sighing as he looked it over after she opened the screen and shook his head. "I have no idea what her password would have been." Wolford sat beside them on the couch with all of them tossing out ideas and coming up blank.
"Well, tell me more about her, how you guys met, anything?" Skye asked as Wolford watched Nick roll his neck. The fox looked back at the larger canine watching him motion to go ahead and started the story. Skye was listening intently watching as he kept looking off remembering things and smiling again. The vixen typed in a dozen things they had thought of. Carrots, savage, case, Zootopia, Jumbeaux's, pawpsicles, nighthowler, none of which worked. When Skye sat up grinning after she had looked behind them and typed in another word they both set their ears on her as Judy's laptop pinged with a welcome chime.
"How did you do that?" they both asked her at the same time, glancing at each other before chuckling. Skye stood up grinning before she walked to the cabinet and plucked out one of the little figurines Judy had sculpted before handing it to Nick. The fox and wolf both looked back at her as Wolford pointed to it when Nick ran a thumb over it. It was the only one that had both of them together. Nick remembered the photo of him carrying her out of the museum to the ambulance after Bellwether had been arrested. Skye laughed as he looked back at her expectantly. "I am a girl, I do think like a girl. You said you had to carry her out of the pit and to the ambulance. She told you you saved her job and her. That made you her hero, so her password was hero."
Wolford dipped his head grinning as Nick looked at the little statue shaking his head and smiling again. The vixen wasn't sure she would ever get used to seeing his ears tinge. She curled her lip giggling at Judy's screen saver and Wolford was chuckling as Nick slapped a paw over his face groaning as he shook his head. It was a photo of her pulling him into the frame by his tie with a shocked look on his face as half his tongue was curled out of his mouth in an awkward snapshot. "Awe. Look how cute you were." Skye teased and he looked back at her with narrowed eyes and smirked.
"Don't call me cute. Is there anything on it or not?" Nick snapped his head to Wolford as the large wolf snickered.
"She has all kinds of files on her desktop. Let me see, family photos, bills, music, accounts, Predj. P."
Nick lowered his brow leaning forward. "What is that one? Open it."
Skye clicked the file, her face going flat as she leaned away. Wolford had a disgusted look on his face while Nick sat there staring. They all watched as he scrolled through photo after photo. The whole file had started with him at the academy, the events of the armory being robbed and Nick being framed. As Nick kept looking through the photos he was shaking his head. "What was she doing?" Photo after photo was attached to a file of a small predator, none any bigger than a fox. Foxes, weasels, rats, skunks, badgers. He opened a subfile and found each one had been in a position that would warrant some kind of positive attention. Something that would catch the public eye, but each one had disappeared or been accused of something that either put them in jail or got their names destroyed. The last one he opened was the one that made everyone go still. Nicks sat there before tilting his head to the side curling his lip. "Savage." He spat as he leaned away.
Wolford shook his head looking over the photos. "That's Shilorahs, director of the Z.B.I. Every one of these photos in here is a high ranking government official."
"You know who they are?" Nick asked as Skye looked between them.
Wolford nodded. "Most of them yes. The horse runs the Z.I.A. The cheetah, she is the Director of the International affairs. Advisors, council members…" He shook his head looking at the screen. "I can't imagine what they would all be doing talking to each other or Savage. There are pictures in here of all of them meeting together at one point or another. Looks like Hopps was digging into something. The others, small predators, it looks like profiling. Maybe some kind of conspiracy. I can't believe she left this on her laptop."
Nick shook his head. "This started with me... It's not likely anyone would have found it. After finding where she hid the other things I figured she may do the same here. I found it under some loose floorboards in the bedroom. You were detective and crime division. This is common for poorer mammals hiding things to keep them from getting stolen in the lower neighborhoods."
"Diversion safes." Wolford nodded as he leaned back. "She did hide it. If Savage was here and he was in a hurry he may not have had time to look around for anything. He may have taken what he had time to spot, whatever was in plain sight and been gone before anyone could notice. If you haven't been here before there's no telling what he may have taken."
Nick looked around and they both watched as he stood up running a paw over his face. "It's not here."
"What's not here? Skye asked.
"I knew she had a bunch of stuffed rabbits, she said her family kept sending them to her because they knew she was lonely. Right before I left for the academy the first time she said she was going to miss me and not being able to yank me around by the tie and talk all the time so I got her a stuffed fox before I left. I looked everywhere for it after I found out everything. I couldn't find it anywhere."
"You think there was something in it?" Wolford asked as Nick shook his head.
"I don't know. But I do know it's getting late and we are going to be busy tomorrow. The other room has two beds. I'll see you both in the morning."
Skye looked back at Wolford after Nick had abruptly left the room. "That was weird."
Wolford sighed as he shook his head. "I'm not sure how I'd be handling this or if I'd be doing it really well either if I were in his fur…."
Nick closed the door and sat on the bed, his eyes locking on a central point before they closed as his tail slashed beside him. The only thoughts he could focus on was Judy and Savage, the way the buck had refused to let him put the bracelet on her, refused to let him approach her the last time he had seen her face. The thought that the rabbit had been with her before she had died, possibly the last one who had seen her alive, that he might be the reason her family was gone, the one who had taken her from him before he got the chance to tell her how he felt. The way she had smiled and all she had given him had him grinding his teeth at the thought Savage owned her plot, the thought he would never be able to find her justice and peace has his teeth grinding before he shot from the bed and opened the door.
Looking around he found the room empty and dark, not realizing so much time had passed before he made his way to the barn and found her family's little truck. Danny had been taking it once a week to make sure it wasn't sitting there rotting. Nick took a breath as he looked it over, grabbed a few things from the barn and closed his eyes as he started the engine. The last thoughts in his mind were trying to calm his raging emotion and regain focus. Thinking about Judy and who she was, all she had done and what her last moments may have been like and the damn buck who could have taken her from him and the thought the rabbit had something she held so precious. My wife, my mate, my partner, mine. I will get her justice, one way or another…..
Skye slid into the seat opposite from Wolford as he handed her a cup of coffee. The vixen was happily humming with the warm cup in her paws before she turned looking at the bedroom door Nick was in. "He's not up yet?" she asked.
Wolford shook his head. "No, I figured if he needed to sleep to let him with everything that is going on. It's not like we're on a clock here."
"I can't imagine how he is feeling right now. Do you have any idea what he wants to do toda-
Both of them perked their ears when a quick pattern of knocking landed on the door, looking at each other and Nicks door before Wolford shrugged and went to answer it. The same rabbit they had met the day before rushed into the room and was talking frantically as he clutched a hat in his paws. "You have to stop him! He can't do what he is doing! If any-
"Whoa whoa! Who is doing what?" Wolford asked as the rabbit in front of him cringed. Skye sat her cup down and stepped beside him watching the buck twist his hat in his paws.
"It's Nick. I tried to stop him. I really did. But by the time I got there this morning he was already…and I can't… he's…
"Nick?" Skye asked and turned knocking on the door and opening it when she got no answer. The bed hadn't even been slept on.
"PLEASE! You have to stop him before he….
"Just tell us what he is doing." The buck curled his lip down shaking his head and Wolford's face sank as Skye looked between them. "You're Arnie right? The caretaker at the…Oh Jesus. Skye get in the car now." The rabbit buck stood there still stumbling on his own words and Wolford grabbed him leading him back to their car before he opened the back door and Skye crawled into the passenger side as he started the car. "Did you call anyone?"
Arnie nodded his head "The sheriff, I didn't know who to call or what to do. But she is in town and it will take her a while to get out here. You were closer and I knew you had to be here with the way the hotels are. He was just, he didn't say anything when I got there and told him to stop. He just looked at me. He had this look…"
Wolford looked to Skye and the vixen shook her head with a frown as he flipped on the sirens and sped to the cemetery. The tires of the large cruiser sent dust flying as Wolford hit the brakes and stopped at the closest junction. He jumped from the car with Skye and Arnie chasing behind him, The wolf skid to a halt seeing dirt flying and put a paw up to let Skye know to keep him back as he stepped closer to the grave when he heard metal hit wood. "Wilde?" he asked as he looked into the hole, wondering how the hell a fox could have dug that much by paw alone. The fox looked up at him with curled lips as he grabbed the side of Judy's coffin and Wolford jumped in tackling him.
"You can't open it! You can't desecrate her grave and stain her memory. You don't want this shit in your head Wilde!" The wolf went wide eyed as the fox stuck a foot between his legs growling and knocked him on his back and he shot forward grabbing the side and opening the coffin before he froze. Wolford tipped up on his elbows, his ears falling as Nick stumbled back shaking his head and gasping for breath.
"Get me out. Get me out!" Nick was near hysterical as Wolford helped him jump from the hole. He knew Nick was capable of getting out and what he had seen was causing him to panic as he shoved him out of the hole and cringed listening to him getting sick. He turned shaking his head and catching sight of what the fox had seen before he jumped out.
The fox was still heaving and Skye cringed as Wolford helped him stand. Nicks had gone half limp and was staring absently as Arnie watched sheriff Catmull pull into the street."Winters, take care of your partner. He's in shock." The wolf turned to the rabbit in gardening greens and shook his head. "Do you have anywhere he can sit down? Away from here?" The buck nodded and he watched as Skye helped Nick stumble along following him into a building and he turned to see Sheriff Catmull curling her lip and shaking her head.
"The townsfolk see this and they are going to be in…." She tipped her ears as he shook his head.
"I'll tell you everything about the investigation we are working. But right now I have more questions than answers and I need some answers. Take a look."
The cougar curled her lip and her whispers twitched as she stepped closer, her mouth falling and face going flat before she looked back at the wolf. She shook her head sighing as she picked up her phone. "Amos, get over to the cemetery now, and bring everything you have about Judy Hopps."…..
"How long has he been like that?" Sheriff Catmull asked as she watched Skye bend at her knees in front of the red fox. The Arctic vixen was petting the sides of his face trying to talk to him in a soothing voice as he stared blankly at nothing.
"Since he opened it and saw everything. How the hell is that possible?" Wolford asked as he kept his voice low.
Sheriff Catmull shook her head. "It's fairly common knowledge in these parts how rabbits do things when one of them dies. Family are the only ones who are allowed to take care of their dead. Savage was listed as her only family so he handled the body, but I can't explain that."
Skye took her attention from Nick as another mammal opened the door. The pig had an uncomfortable grimace on his face as he handed Sheriff Catmull the file. "Arnie, close the cemetery grounds and lock it up. I don't want anyone in here for any reason until we have this mess sorted out. The townsfolk see that and they will all be in a frenzy. I'll take you back to the Hopps farm to pick up your car later." The buck nodded his head before he rushed out the door.
Amos looked at Nick shaking his head as Skye kept running her paws over his muzzle trying to get him to snap back to reality. "I think the explanation you are looking for is in there Sheriff."
They all turned as a low growl rolled through the room. "You can explain that?" Nick asked as his eyes finally moved and planted firmly on the pig who flinched as Skye backed away.
"Wilde," Wolford stated in a firm voice. "You asked me on this to keep you from getting out of paw."
"Out of paw," Nick stated flatly as he looked at him and Skye's ears dipped back. "OUT OF PAW! HOW THE FUCK CAN ANYONE EXPLAIN THAT!?" He shot from the seat with his hackles rising towards the pig and Wolford grabbed him by the shoulder as Sheriff Catmull stuck a paw on her tranq gun. Nick rolled his neck setting his fur back as he ran his paws over his face and down his neck. Sheriff Catmull watched him uneasily as Skye stood beside Wolford. "I'm good." Nick nodded his head as he smiled, taking another step to Amos and the pig ticked his eyes back and forth between all the officers as the fox lowered in front of him slightly with a disturbing smile. "For almost a year I have been coming here, talking to her, leaving her flowers, cleaning off her grave. So I only have one question for you Amos. WHERE THE FUCK IS MY WIFE?"
"S-She was cremated Nick, most rabbits are." The fox curled his lip and stood, looking back at Sheriff Catmull as Skye's jaw fell.
The vixen looked up at Wolford "She wasn't in the…." he shook his head as he turned his attention to the Sheriff. The cat opened the folder Amos had given her, letting her shoulders drop as they all looked at her. Amos took a step back as Nick pinched his brow.
"And exactly where are...is she now?" he asked trying not to growl again when he looked back at Amos.
"Nick, I didn't know. I didn't even handle any of it. We didn't think there was problem because we called and asked about the headstones. He didn't have a problem with you changing them. I only saw her body and started to clean her when he got here and took over. They transferred her out of the coffin before it was loaded to take to the cemetery. Mr. Savage said he thought it would be better if there was a service with a grave because of who she was and wanted mammals to have a place to come to see her. He said it would be better for the town after the Hopps family and…
"How thoughtful of him. They?" Nick asked trying not to bare his teeth.
Wolford took a step closer to him. "Wilde, sit down. We need to get some information here-
Nick looked back at him grinding his teeth and Skye cringed as she watched his jaw locking several times. "That fucking rabbit has my wife. At every turn I have made it's like he is standing there mocking me- MOCKING HER! You know damn good and well there is a high probability that he is the one who-
"WILDE!" Wolford screamed looking back at the other mammals in the room. The fox tilted his head to the side clenching his jaw before he shoved the door open and stormed out slamming it closed. Wolford ticked his eyes to Skye before motioning to the door. "He's your partner. You've spent more time with him than anyone else. Reign him in." Skye nodded before she ran out the door and caught him rounding the corner.
"Nick! Nick stop!"
"When I get my paws on the damn buck I'm going to-
"DON'T SAY IT! If you ever say it I can't lie about hearing it. You can't just go after him Nick. You don't know what he can do. I do."
The red fox turned with pinched lips as he looked at her, Skye's ears fell seeing his eyes lock on her with a dead face. "You don't know what I can do Skye."
"Nick I did all his case files for him. I know what kind of training he has had and what he is capable of. I have seen the things he has done in the reports. You can't let him know you are working a case about him."
Nick leaned over tilting his head to the side "Why would he trust you with that?"
Skye looked away and let her head drop as her eyes fell to the ground. Nick watched as she clutched one of her arms in her paw. "He said he loved me. He told me he was in love with me. That he wanted me to be his."
Nick raised his head and quirked a brow. "You tipped him off that I already knew. Doing that was an accident and was plain as day on your face. He already knows I'm looking into this. Were you his?"
She shook her head as she looked back at him. "He made me nervous. I knew about the things he did. I overheard him telling some of his coworkers that I was his. Like I was property he could claim or something. The way he watched me was creepy. I always knew he was. I couldn't quit Nick. It was the best job I ever had, until this one."
Nick nodded and sighed as he looked off. "This isn't about the case Skye. This is personal. He has her. I'm going to get her back. She belongs here. You may know what he can do, you don't know what I can do. Help me with this and I'll tell you everything. It's like he's keeping her as a fuckingtrophy or something. How can I get her back without breaking the law?"
Skye crinkled her face into a scowl and he raised a brow. "Make an appointment and ask? He won't see anyone without an appointment. If you do this you have to know the guy loves getting his ego fed. But Nick…he's really really uhm….creepy."
"He likes his ego being fed. That might make this easier. If he thinks he is getting away with things and we have no clues it will give him the chance to gloat about it." Nick raised both brows smirking at her."Is he creepier than me?" He laughed as she nodded her head but his face fell.
"Are you alright?" She asked and watched him look off shaking his head.
"No, I won't be until she is where she belongs and this is over."
Skye lurched forward grabbing him in a hug and Nick chuckled as he wrapped his arms around her. "Careful now, I don't want Joe trying to kick my ass for messing with the match."
Skye scoffed and rolled her eyes as she shook her head. "I got Joe beat already."
Nick snickered as he nodded his head. "I noticed."
"Winters, Wilde." They both turned seeing Wolford and Sheriff Catmull standing at the side of the building. "I got all the information we need here. Already talked to the funeral home director and he's not upset about anything. He said he understood it but thought you already knew. Unless you can think of anything else we might need here in the boroughs, we should get back to Zootopia."
Nick stepped the Sheriff, her ears tilting to him as his pinned back. "Stacy, I'm-
"Don't worry about it Nick. I think you should head back and get this settled as quickly as possible. I'll keep everything here as quiet as I can."
"What about the-"She cut him off shaking her head and Nick shook her paw. "Can you have Gideon send Amos a truffle plate and Arnie a carrot cake on my tab?" Sheriff Catmull laughed as she nodded and watched as he started for the car, looking back at the dug up earth shaking his head. This is wrong. All of this is wrong. Remember what Charlotte said. Think Judy, keep thinking Judy. Be like Judy. Think Like Judy. Get proof. Put him behind bars where he can rot. Don't kill him.
Wolford slid into the seat and waited until Skye had gotten into the passenger side before he started the car. He looked back to see Nick lowering his brow as Sheriff Catmull started talking to Arnie. "Why isn't she putting me in jail? You know it would have brought a bunch of attention to this and opened an investigation everyone would have seen."
Wolford pulled away after sitting the file he had from Amos in the seat and puffed his cheeks out as Skye ticked her eyes between them. "We need to go back to the farmhouse and pick up the things we left. I told the Sheriff a little about what was going on. She said if the Mammals here knew why you dug that open and found out she was not there, believing she was, they would probably form a mob and hunt him down themselves. She said they would fill it back in and plant new flowers over the top so no one noticed it had been dug up."
"Damn." Nick muttered as he looked out the window. Maybe I should have invited some mammals from town to help. He almost laughed at the thought. "So what exactly did you find out while I was on my little Savatical of emotional turmoil?"
"Nick, maybe I should handle the legwork on some of this." Wolford replied as he ticked his eyes to Skye.
Nick sat up and leaned forward in the back seat as he frowned. "Wolford. What did Amos tell you?" Wolford ears dipped back as he sighed and glanced at the file on the seat.
"Skye, read it." Nick said in a flat voice as he looked through the barrier between the seats.
"Nick," Wolford shook his head. "There are some things no one should know."
"READ THE DAMN FILE!" Nick screamed as he slammed a paw against the safety bars between the seats. Skye startled as she looked at Wolford who simply dipped his head towards it. She picked it up and flipped it open as Nick leaned back in the seat again.
Skye scanned the page cringing before she started reading out loud. "Autopsy initial assessment. Judy Hopps. Subject positively identified by childhood scar on left cheek, scar on right lower leg, eye color and unique ear markings."
"He started an autopsy on her?" Nick asked.
Wolford looked to see Skye frowning as she kept reading while he talked. "Yes, he said he never got the chance with her family because there were so many. He only had a few minutes before Savage got there and took over. But he was the one who cremated her family."
Nick looked out the window again. "Read the rest of it Skye."
"Nick, maybe Wolford is right. There are some things we shouldn't know."
"Read it Skye."
The vixen sighed and shook her head as she started again. "Subject pronounced dead by E.M.T. on arrival at site. Body temp is abnormally high. Rechecked twice, no breath or sign of heartbeat. Cause may be due to from higher temp under ground or indicates death may have occurred moments before discovery. Blood spatter at chest indicated some kind of blunt force trauma. Undetermined cause until further examination due to clotting and foreign materials caked on clothing. Damaged tissue of fingers extensive. Several claws missing appear to have been ripped out at sheath through vigorous digging and others are broken. Lacerations to arms and exposed areas not covered by clothes indicate subject was attempting crawling or moving through debris. Slight discoloration around mouth indicates foam that could have been caused by seizure or ingesting foreign material underground." Skye glanced back to see Nick staring out the window and peeked at Wolford who's ears had tipped back. "Slight dehydration coupled with healing of wounds on fingers and scratches indicates subject was…." Skye stalled and shook her head.
"Read it Skye. Finish it."
Skye flinched as Nick ground the words out. "Slight dehydration coupled with healing of wounds on fingers and scratches indicates subject was possibly under rubble for up to twenty four hours. Assessment and aftercare taken over by surviving family member and Federal agent," Skye tipped her head up when she saw Wolford from the corner of her eye lowering his head. She looked back and her eyes went wide seeing Nick with his head hanging and one paw over his face, tears flowing under his fingers as he fought not to sob. "Pull over," she whispered as she sat the file down. Wolford went to the side of the road and watched her jump from the front before she crawled into the back seat. She stuck a paw on his shoulder as she stayed on her knees beside him before he shuttered and she wrapped her arms around his neck.
The fox stayed stiff as Skye tried to hug him. "I wasn't there for her when she needed me."
"She loved you Nick. We can do this. We can get her back and find out the truth about everything. Find her justice." Skye nearly yelped as he snatched her into his lap in a tight hug.
"Joe is going to kill me." He sobbed and she giggled as she shook her head hugging him back. Wolford was snickering from the front seat as they pulled into the farm house.
"Joe knows you are my partner. Come on Nick, let's get our things and go back to Zootopia."
After gathering their things and loading them into the car Nick stepped to the porch and found Skye biting her lip. "What is it?"
"I told you I wouldn't talk to him again, but I doubt he will see you if you tried to make an appointment. I know he will see me." Nick was grinning ear to ear when Wolford landed beside him and nodded his head. Both males watched as she dialed the number and set the appointment.
"He is going to see you tomorrow?" Wolford quirked a brow as Nick snatched her in a hug making her yelp. The large wolf grinned seeing her head poke over his shoulder and nodded in approval.
"Make sure you do it in plain clothes. Don't go asking if you are dressed as officers." Wolford stepped away and headed back to the car as Nick set Skye down again.
"Thank you."
The vixen smiled and grabbed his paw "Come on Nick, let's go home."