A look of caution formed on Judy's face as Chief Bogo stormed into the room for the morning briefing. His face read anger and frustration; though it always seemed to, his officers knew when something was wrong. Nick met Judy's gaze briefly; they knew something was definitely up. The other officers shared their puzzlement, as none of them started hooting, as they usually did when Chief Bogo took the podium.

Chief Bogo regarded his officers and grit his teeth. "It's with a heavy heart that I report this morning. Last night, the team I assigned to investigate the disappearance of Officer Karen Skippel, our newest Technical Officer has..." Bogo's teeth clamped down tightly. "They have found her body."

Judy's mouth opened a slight bit in shock and she heard a few gasps erupt. Nick held his mouth in a line.

"This was definitely a homicide," Bogo said lowly. "And from what we've figured out, Officer Skippel seems to have been involved in those electronic bank robberies that were occurring all throughout yesterday in various accounts throughout Zootopia. It is likely that she was coerced and then... disposed of." Bogo paused. "The rest of our technical team pored through some of the transactions made and found that she was attempting to communicate in code. She left messages such as 'SOS', 'rhinoceros', and..." Bogo slowed with his eyes closed, but then he looked furious again. "'Help'."

Nick felt a chill, and Judy's breath caught slightly on her next intake of air.

Chief Bogo slammed a folder down on his podium, making the mammals in the front row flinch. "Any of you not on prior assignment are to take a packet. These are dossiers on all of the rhinos in Zootopia with an outstanding arrest history. I don't care if we have to interview all of them. The mammal responsible for murdering one of my officers will come to justice! Do I make myself clear?"

There were a few vacant nods that flowed around the room.

The buffalo gave a loud huff, putting on his glasses. "Services for Officer Skippel will be held on Saturday. You will show up if you are able; we will show support for our fallen officer. Now. Come get your packets, and get out of my sight. Hopps, Wilde, you two first."

Judy came by to get her packet and she thought she saw Bogo's expression soften just a bit when he regarded the bunny, but in the next instant it was firm and angry again. He nodded to the door. "Get to work."

"I had a feeling you'd show up sooner or later," Judy said emptily as Nick appeared over at her cubicle.

"I'm kind of finding it a little hard to focus," Nick admitted, scratching one of his ears.

"Are you suddenly afraid for me because I'm a bunny?" Judy asked in slight exasperation, anticipating Nick's fears. "So she was an arctic hare. She wasn't equipped for field work, being a Technical Officer. And it's not like being a fox would have made much difference either. Nor half of the mammals in our precinct. Rhinos are just... really dangerous when they go bad. Such immense strength, and a built-in weapon..."

"Well, the thought had crossed my mind, to be worried about you," Nick nodded slowly. He looked off to the side, then back at Judy. "I'm just wondering how you feel, maybe? About Officer Skippel?"

"I'm not sure how to answer that, Nick," Judy said, pushing her chair away from her desk. "I didn't really know her. She always pushed me away when I tried to be friendly. I think she... hated me."

"'Hate' might be a bit of a strong work," Nick offered. "I'd go with... ah... resent, maybe."

"Why do you think it was like that between us, Nick?" Judy frowned. "Why couldn't I connect with her?"

"I'm guessing it was because she was the second lapine officer in the ZPD, and she got assigned to the same precinct as you," Nick mused, scratching his chin.

"That's not a fair comparison to make, Nick," Judy gestured towards him. "We're in different departments with different specializations."

"And one of you saved Zootopia," Nick added lowly. Judy gave him a wary look that started worsening.

"I... had a paw in it, okay?" Judy looked angry. "You were a big part of it, too! Besides, no one should have compared her to me."

"What if she did that herself?" Nick suggested. "Maybe she told herself she'd always be the 'second best' lapine on the force, no matter what she did."

"Nick!" Judy grabbed at her forehead with a paw. "Are you trying to make me feel worse about this? I tried all I could to befriend her, but she just didn't want it! We were never paired together on any assignments... it was just... you know."

"Yeah, I get it," Nick frowned, putting a hand on her shoulder. "Maybe I should have been the one to extend an olive branch, though I don't think she was particularly fond of me, either."

Judy gave a prolonged sigh, and Nick removed his hand from its place. "I guess there's nothing we could have done." She gave Nick a look. "You want to go to the service?"

"Yeah, I plan on it," Nick nodded. "Show support for her family and all that."

"I suppose I'll go too, then," Judy said in an unsure voice, "I just feel like anything I could say to her family would sound like a meaningless platitude since I didn't know her personally."

"Well, sometimes it's not what you say, or even how you say it, but just that you're there to say it," Nick told Judy.

"You're right, of course," Judy nodded. "I'll be there. Anyway, we should both probably get back to work looking for a lead. I'm with the Chief; whoever took out one of our fellow officers has to pay."

"Yeah, they do," Nick said flatly. "I'll be in my cubicle if you need me, Judy."

"All right, Nick," Judy nodded. "And I'll be right here." Judy began to stare at the dossiers with renewed focus. She thought she would love to be the one that would take down a cop killer, but she knew that rhinos were a dangerous animal for anyone to take down, much less a couple of small mammals like herself and Nick.

Judy found herself wondering just what had happened leading up to the disappearance of Officer Skippel. Was there anything Judy overlooked? Could she have helped prevent the supposed abduction or the arctic hare's death? Was she at all complicit in the robbery scheme and then outlived her usefulness? Judy grit her teeth as the questions with no real answers popped up one by one, and recognized them as part of a grieving process. She made a soft scoffing sound.

How could she really grieve for someone she didn't even know?