"This is a busy part of town, Hopps, I'm not sure how the criminal gets away with it, really," Nick and Judy were walking down a street of Savanna Central where a handful of thefts had been reported. Both the fox and bunny were in casual clothes, but on duty; they were undercover. Judy was technically "Mrs. Wilde" at that point, but Nick and other officers still tended to call her "Officer Hopps" on duty out of habit and to avoid confusion.
"I kind of think Bogo should have gotten Officer Pennington to work on this," Judy shrugged. "The thief seems to only be hitting very large mammals with purses around these few streets. Francine would have been perfect bait."
"Problem is, the thief is somehow getting away without even being noticed," Nick stuck his hands in his pockets. "Who's to say they couldn't abscond with something of Francine's too?"
"Do you think it's an elephant with an exceptionally light trunk, maybe?" Judy considered as they waited at a corner for the crosswalk.
"A bit risky for no one to have noticed it yet," Nick replied. "Even with that prehensile nose, they'd have to both sneak it in and out of each purse they pickpocketed, and be noticed by no one. No, I'm thinking its probably something much smaller, someone that could get into the purses, like a chipmunk or a-"
"Squirrel!" Judy gasped, her eyes wide. "Nick, look!"
"Yeah, a squirrel," Nick agreed jovially, following her gaze and blinking as he saw what she was indicating. A squirrel had popped his head out of a hippo's purse. His blue eyes flew open as he noticed the bunny and fox looking at him. He dropped the small wad of bills he had rolled up.
"Ah, nuts," the squirrel muttered simply, leaping out of the purse and onto the sidewalk, starting to take off in the opposite direction.
"He's making a break for it!" Nick exclaimed.
"Stop, police!" Judy shouted at him in her loudest voice. Some mammals turned their head as she flashed her badge and made way as they gave chase.
"Double nuts!" The squirrel grit his teeth and started jaywalking, dodging cars this way and that.
"What the-!? He's going to get himself killed!" Judy vaulted over a smallish car as Nick more carefully weaved through traffic, displaying his own badge.
"Doubt it! Squirrels are great scurriers; we need to catch up with him or he'll give us the slip for sure!"
"Rgh!" Judy accelerated as the squirrel made it across the street. Indeed, his tiny, sharp claws got some use as he started making his way up a sheer looking brick wall, scampering with speed. "Oh no you don't!" Judy crouched down and made an impressive leap straight up, snatching the squirrel off the wall.
"Guahk!" The squirrel yelped, flailing rapidly and making angry chattering sounds.
"You got him, honey-bunny?" Nick chuckled. Judy nodded, holding the squirrel with a firm grip.
"You have the right to remain silent," Judy failed to mask her amusement at the furious, thrashing squirrel. "Anything you say can and will be used against you-"
"Ghh!" The squirrel almost lost his footing as the cage he was thrown into was placed down firmly on a table. He looked around at the interrogation room of the ZPD, trying to seem unimpressed. He sat down on the floor of the cage and folded his arms, looking irritated.
Judy held a magnifying glass up to the wallet that security had recovered from the squirrel as he was brought into the ZPD. "Larry Curlyque. He's only fifteen. We need to call his parents."
Nick deftly held up a stylus and balanced Larry's tiny phone on his paw. "What's the code into your phone, champ?"
"It's bite me," the squirrel replied, rattling his cage a bit. "You guys don't have anything on me."
"Except for seeing you coming out of a hippo's purse carrying a wad of bills," Judy gave a half-smile.
"Aw, the code didn't work," Nick grinned sardonically as he failed to get into Larry's phone.
"I was just... I jumped into the purse to cushion my fall," Larry said waveringly. "The lady had some loose bills in her purse. That's dangerous, you know!"
"You're an awful liar, champ," Nick chuckled.
"Shut up!" Larry balled his fists. "I'm not telling you anything and there's no way you can pin anything on me."
"Isn't there?" Judy opened and closed some tweezers. Larry's eyes went wide as Judy threaded them between the bars of the cage and the squirrel scrambled to the back of the cage in a panic.
"The heck are you doing!?" Larry panicked. "Is this torture?" Larry slightly relaxed as the tweezers merely grabbed a tiny hair that was on the bottom of the cage.
"I'm getting this to Dr. Pedshark for analysis," Judy said evenly, "and give me his cellphone. Karen'll crack it in seven minutes, tops."
"I say five," Nick grinned. "Whoever's further buys dinner."
"Deal," Judy replied musically and left the interrogation room.
"Y'see, sport," Nick started, "we recovered a hair from the bottom of one of the other purses you were probably in. Now like you said, it could just be a coincidence from a squirrel landing in her purse, or the wind placing it there, just... randomly, but if a pattern is showing up, well then. Analysis suggested the hair is a squirrel hair, but the owner's not in the system yet. But, once we match it to the one you just left behind, well."
"No..." Larry's brow furrowed and he began to sniffle.
"And once we crack your phone, we'll get your parents over here so they can see what a naughty little squirrel you've been," Nick said. "And y'know, probably get you a lawyer."
"No...!" Larry repeated in despair, making a choking sound, sinking to the bottom of the cage and beginning to sob. "Yuh- you can't..." He sniffled, then began to weep openly.
"We most certainly can," Nick gave a small, forced smile. Something about the way he was crying distressed him, but he didn't show it.
"Four minutes and forty seven seconds!" Judy happily burst into the room again. "Looks like dinner's on me! Larry's mom is on her way." Larry made an anguished groan as he wept. "Whoa, you broke him already when I was out?"
"Didn't take much," Nick shrugged. "The kit's a marshmallow."
Larry gave a few sniveling inhales, trying to compose himself. "You jerks... just wait till she gets here... you'll be sorry."
"Not as sorry as you," Judy gave a little huff. She turned her head to Nick and jerked her thumb at him. "Wow, the nerve of that kit. What's his mom in politics or something?"
"Ah, Emily Curlyque is here," Benjamin Clawhauser said with reserved gentleness. Nick and Judy's faces read concern; Benjamin's voice was never soft unless something was the matter. He held the door open for the squirrel. Emily slowly made her way in; she was a weak-looking squirrel with several patches of her fur missing.
Judy winced, and Larry's words rang back into her head. Nick swallowed hard, and offered his hands to Emily to lift her up onto the table.
"Hello, Mrs. Curlyque," Nick said respectfully. After slowly accepting the lift from Nick and getting onto the table, Emily gazed upon the cage with her shamed-looking son sitting inside.
"What's this about?" Emily asked gently, looking like she was getting her bearings from the slow, gentle lift. "What do you think my son has done?"
"Well, ah," Judy stammered, "we believe he may be involved in some instances of purse pickpocketing that have been going on." Emily looked shocked at her son, who avoided her gaze.
"Is this true, Larry?" Emily asked in a hushed voice. "Have you been stealing?"
Larry's eyes squeezed shut and he looked like he would cry again, though the fur of his cheeks was still damp from earlier. He didn't respond.
"Answer me, young mammal," Emily's voice continued to be soft. Judy wondered if she could even muster a more forceful voice.
Nick observed the gray squirrel writhe a bit, as if guilt was physically wracking his body.
"We can ah, call you a lawyer, if you'd like," Judy gave a tiny smile.
"Did you steal?" Emily went on, ignoring her.
"Yeah..." Larry admitted, shuddering.
"Why?" Emily asked simply.
"Yhh... you figure it out," Larry closed his eyes again and tucked into a ball. "I'm too young to work..."
"Oh no, Larry..." Emily gave a soft gasp, swallowing.
"What's going on here, exactly?" Judy asked in a tiny voice.
Emily sighed. "As it might be apparent, I've been battling cancer. It went into remission when Larry was almost eight or so, but I had a small relapse and had to get treated again not too long ago. I'm doing okay now but... the bills have been... prodigious, and I haven't been able to keep down a steady job." Emily gave a sad look to the shocked responses of the fox and bunny. "My husband died in a large animal accident when Larry was five. I guess... I guess Larry was just trying to help, in a way..."
"I was gonna..." Larry started, sniffling, "get enough money to pay your bills and then... then you wouldn't be in debt..."
Nick cringed and felt a sharp shard of empathy jab into his gut. During his hustling days, he had sent money to his mother himself; money he hadn't entirely earned legally, though not as overtly criminal as what this squirrel had done.
"You can't just do that, Larry, that's not right," Emily scolded gently. "We're still okay. We'll find a way."
"Ah, as it's his first time," Judy offered gently, "maybe we can get him off easy? He's underage, so... maybe we can just get him a brief probation?"
"Whatever you think he deserves," Emily nodded slowly. "Larry, you can work your tail off if that's what you wish when you're old enough, but until then, you must behave."
"Yes, momma..." Larry closed his eyes once more, tears rolling from his face.
"Well, got some paperwork to do for this, so..." Judy gave a guilty smile, her eyes glassy, and exited the room.
Conflict roiled within Nick as he felt a strange calling to his past. He wrote down his number on a piece of paper. "Emily, you have Larry call me later, okay? I might have some... friendly advice for him."
Emily looked a bit confused, and Larry shared this look.
"I mean, I can't have you stealing from the citizens of Zootopia," Nick nodded. "Buuut... there are... 'other', less blatantly illegal ways to make mammals part with some money."
Emily and Larry shared a small look, unaware of what the sly fox had in mind.
Judy heard this from outside of the room and poked her head back in. "Nick, don't."
"Whaat?" Nick gave a big grin, giving a big, dramatic shrug. "Technically it's only 'legally-adjacent'."