I do not own Zootopia, that belongs to Disney. This a fan work made solely for the sake of amusement.
Interspecies Relationship Support Network- Tri-Burrow Chapter
Chapter Five: Up In Smoke
By: Gabriel LaVedier
The barn was a ruin when the last of the embers were quenched. The roof collapse had been only the first part of it, the walls partially caving in as well. The Bunnyburrow rural Volunteer Fire Department had just made it out there with the tanker full of water, getting help from the Network members to dig firebreaks around the flaming barn. Fortunately for them, the regulation clearing around the space had worked as required. The blaze never jumped to any of the surrounding trees and the only casualty was the barn.
Dr. Arctos continued to see to the members, covering couples with blankets the volunteer firefighters had brought. Not much had been salvaged from inside, some food and drinks that had been grabbed were given out. Jenny sobbed piteously, hugged close to Bobby's side, cradling her amplified harp against her chest. Sharla regarded the smoldering heap, staring into the smoke to see if any of the electronics survived in any state.
Travis looked over the destruction, eyes full of tears from the smoke and the emotion. "No... no... it can't... it's gone. It's all gone..."
"All that time and effort... my brothers and I, and you, we stripped the whole thing and painted it over. We took all that time. We made a few days out of it, when we had free time. It was... it was fun. Wasn't it fun? It was a family project..." Ermintrude whispered, standing, disbelieving, beside Travis.
"Had that nice little elevator in the middle. One-a yer simple machines with them pulleys. Worked good, made settin' up the loft easy," Gideon said with a thick voice, as he tried to comfort Sharla.
There was a stunned sense of disbelief, a complete inability to say anything. No one was significantly hurt, a small miracle. Martin Marten had minor burns to his hands and arms from rushing in to keep helping others and try to salvage some of the things inside, before Attie had stopped his quests inside as the structure grew too dangerous.
Several hours into the encounter, after the firefighters and many of the members had gone home, wailing sirens and flashing lights announced the arrival of one of the very rare law enforcement vehicles ever seen in the Tri-Burrows. An older but well-cared-for Pride Simoom with Tri-Burrow Sheriff Department indicia. Given the population and spread-out nature of the rural location they didn't have local police, just the sheriff and a few deputies that covered the whole Tri-Burrows as best they could.
That night, they were quite fortunate to have gotten the presence of Beatrix Nikostytär, the sheriff herself. Her full rack of antlers came out of the car first, the crescent of her reindeer antlers decorated with runic-type carvings daubed with blue in the carved areas. Her cervid face followed, feminine and slim, her eyes somewhat hard as she looked over the scene. Her well-muscled form was wrapped in the khaki uniform pants and shirt, with a thin jacket over it.
Her deputy for that night, Buck Roeberts, came out immediately after, in something of a too-quick manner. Another rack of antlers crowned his head, but a smaller set of tined types, appropriate for a roe deer. He was gangly, almost disjointed, his uniform hanging on his lank form. His eyes darted around, suspicious and judgmental.
"Alright, tell me what we know, and who was here. We can try to resolve this matter quickly," Beatrix said, pulling out a notepad and pencil, flicking the tip with her tongue and setting the tip to the paper.
"Look at that! There were more folks here but the clearly fled the scene of the crime! That just screams something was happening here they didn't want us to see. What did you have going on here? Maybe some kind of naked dance? Orgy?"
Before any of the remaining folk could respond Beatrix snorted sharply and shot a piercing gaze to the side. "Deputy Buck! We gather evidence and ask questions to gather the first pass of the truth. We may see how it measures up, but do not come in with our own wild notions. Do you understand?"
"Yes, Sheriff..." Buck mumbled. "But there was something going on."
"Yes, a meeting of their support network. Everyone of any reasonable intelligence and social connection knew that. Mostly their own members, yes, but they had to get permits for the structure and Mrs. Dreyson mentioned this initial meeting in the new location when she submitted her paperwork."
"It was the very first meeting here," Travis said. "We spent so much time and effort and money getting this place cleaned up and looking good."
Buck shook his head and looked on the wreck. "Not looking so good now..."
"Well!" Ermintrude chittered, tail bristling hugely. "What a terrible thing to say! We've had a horrendous tragedy! We were just fortunate no one was injured beyond coughing and minor burns! How unprofessional! This is a poor representation of law enforcement!"
"Absolutely, you're very correct, Mrs. Dreyson," Beatrix said. "Deputy, either be more capable of understanding the situation or wait quietly in the car while I do the job we're paid to do."
"Come on, Sheriff! Look at this. Most of them are gone, got some fake tears and no injuries or dead bodies, this is all a put-on to get some fake sympathy out of us."
"I ain't... my daddy. I ain't a violent tod no more..." Gideon huffed, body trembling, fists clenching and unclenching. "I ain't... I ain't... Sol Invictus et Sancta Terra I ain't a violent tod but desolation take me... it's hard ta keep the fists still when ya say my wife screamin' fer me, runnin', brushin' embers outta her wool was jes fake!"
"Please, please! Some calm, Mr. Ovine, I genuinely understand," Beatrix said, softly. "Deputy, I don't know if it's the late hour or maybe you had a few shots, but you are on thin ice right now. Cease speculating until I ask questions."
Buck snorted, stalking away toward the barn. "I'll look out there, see if I can tell what happened."
"No, Deputy. We have to examine it together. Just stand there and be quiet."
Buck hmphed and crossed his arms over his chest. "Fine. But I want to get this investigation over with fast. It's just a small barn fire. Nothing special or exciting."
"It was certainly special and exciting for us," Ermintrude huffed.
"Do you have a list of who was here?" Beatrix asked. "Clearly your members went home and I can't blame them. We'll need to interview them to get a fuller picture of what transpired here."
"Y-yeah, I have a backup on my phone..." Sharla said, pulling up the list and showing off the names. "I kept the records on a tablet but... I didn't grab it when we got out. Just tell me when to scroll..."
Beatrix took her time, jotting down names and locations, motioning to scroll the names as needed. "Thank you, Mrs. Ovine. We'll have to see them in the morning. Some of these will take us out into Predburrow and Squirrelburrow. And we'd need to contact the Sheriff of Deerbrooke to talk to some of the folks from Podunk and Hickton."
"Lots of work, yeah, I get it," Buck grumbled, softly kicking a rock.
"But while you good folks are here, I can ask you about some things," Beatrix said, flipping a page of her notebook and turning to Travis. "Mr. Dreyson, what can you tell me about this fire?"
"Honestly, I was here toward the end. I was at the office almost all the evening reviewing a contract," Travis answered.
"Say, did this place have insurance on it? Do you have life insurance?" Deputy Buck asked.
"Well, of course. My partner's an insurance specialist, and I'm no slouch myself."
Buck nodded slowly. "Oh, did you have any of your interns or something at your office with you?'
"Nah, I gave Kenneth the night off, and Sylvia was planning to come here and use her one free time to get free food. It was just a contract review, and I could get my own coffee," Travis replied.
"Can't prove where you were, got insurance on the place, probably got insurance on that rich wife of yours and got her money coming your way... case closed, let's write it up. Weasel here burned down his own property for the money and to off his rich wife," Buck asserted with a smug look.
"I think I understand how much anger you've got in you, Gideon. I'm no little punk kit anymore, but I remember I used to be," Travis hissed, his fist grasped in Ermintrude's strong paw.
"We're both on the policy. We're the representatives of the Network out here, ain't no sense in Travis doin that if he wanted the money," Gideon explained, with some gruffness.
"And you were here. He gets rid of you and his wife, it all come to him. Easy," Buck said with a dismissive wave.
"Sheriff Nikostytär, what is the general penalty for punching a deputy in the nearest location my fist can reach?" Ermintrude asked with a hateful huskiness.
"Quite severe, if it can be proven. While I doubt I'd see anything I think we should avoid testing my eyesight right now," Beatrix said with a calm, even neutrality. "Deserved as it would be, the line of thought was needed. It's an indelicate and terribly worded way of asking a question we'd have gotten to in better ways eventually. Your answers tell me all I need to know."
"We all stayed here because we knew we'd had to answer some questions. The others needed to head home... we should too, but this is an important part of the investigative process, if mystery novels have taught me anything," Sharla said.
"Will you be asking the questions, Sheriff?" Travis inquired, staring daggers at Buck.
"That's why the Burrows give me the big bucks," Beatrix said with a smile. "Now, Mrs. Dreyson, you were here when the fire started, correct?"
"Yes. My brother, Jules, was up at the podium, talking about his feelings when we noticed the smoke. We thought that there was some kind of problem with the wiring or that someone was having a cookout. We didn't get worried until we felt the heat. That's when we started to panic. We all had to rush out of the building, and that got a little confused. There was a jam at the entrance for a while, but we did manage to get out. Martin Marten kept going back to check for any stragglers and to recover things."
"I see. I'll certainly have to talk to him. Did anyone else notice anything?" Beatrix asked.
"I honestly assumed it was electrical," Sharla said, stepping forward. "Sun and Earth love Bobby Catmull but he's not like his father. He didn't train as a practicing electrician, he studied a lot of theory and maybe some supplemental books. He's an electrical engineer, and is good with his sound systems, but I'm not sure about how he is with home wiring. I'm reasonably certain it wasn't but the thought was there. A panic response."
"Faulty wiring, happens all the time, especially in an old place like this wired up by some fraud," Buck said with a shake of his head. "A tragic accident, that can close this case."
"I still don't think it was the case. Sure, he's overconfident, and he mostly did theory. But I'm almost certain that he got some kind of help from his father concerning home wiring," Sharla noted. "He's kind of full of himself but he's sincere and cares about others. He wouldn't do anything dangerous. He'd die before he put Jenny in danger."
"We'll look into the possibility of the wiring. Buck may have been dismissive but he was right about how tragically common it can be to get an electrical fire in old buildings," Beatrix said, continually scribbling in her notebook. "You mentioned food earlier, Mr. Dreyson, that your employee came for food. Were there any hot plates, jellied fuel or similar things? Some source of heat to keep the food warm?"
"Naw, naw, it was all cold stuff or food we let cool," Gideon noted. "Hottest food we had was fried fish and fried vegetables the Martens brought. I brought in some pies, Ermintrude brought plum puddings and a fruit and nut plate, Dr. Arctos brought in a strudel. That was about all I remember. We didn't want folks to bring in food 'less they really wanted to. We'll have a schedule sometime, but they can jes bring it in as they like."
"Fried meat and meat pies, I'm guessing," Buck noted.
"Naw. Could do it, mind. Granny Millie could actually cook, and had recipes fer fish aspic an' blended-bug vinegar pie filling she gave ta me. Only Grey family things of real use."
"Gideon..." Sharla said with a scolding tone.
"I ain't a Grey no more, darlin'. I'm an Ovine. Granny Millie weren't a natural Grey, she was a Mudd, and Grampy O's gone on to his promised place in the Moon's gentle shine," Gideon explained.
"Why not do it, Gid? Wouldn't be a competition with the Martens, and it might be a good side-business," Sharla said.
"Well... if there's some interest..." Gideon mumbled.
"We're getting off-topic. So there was no cooking fuel or anything. It might have been faulty wiring, or maybe some other... circumstances. Quite strange..." Buck said, looking over the gathered folks.
"He's right that it's strange," Beatrix quickly said. "Okay, folks, go on home. Get some rest, you really need it after all this. Please, I hope you have a good night, folks," Beatrix said, putting away her notepad and nodding politely.
"Thank you, Sheriff. Please find out what happened..." Ermintrude said, leaning on Travis' shoulder. "Let's go to the homestead. Jules and Will are probably there already. I'll bet a whole grove of fruiting trees Peony's there in Will's room."
"Alright hon. Jaguar can open the business tomorrow. Let's just get a good night's sleep..." Travis whispered, rubbing his muzzle along Ermintrude's shoulder.
"Need a shearing tonight, darlin'?" Gideon quietly asked, petting down Sharla's back.
"Barely any fuzz in the places it shouldn't be but you get rid of it. Every last piece of wool. Make me smooth as glass where I should be," Sharla said with a soft bleat.
o o o
"Sheriff, it's late! We can do this tomorrow, or send for some help from Zootopia or somewhere," Buck complained, standing a short distance from the wreck of the barn.
"The fire department cleared the scene, and the sooner we examine things the better," Beatrix said, shining her flashlight along the edge of the barn. She leaned in and snorted softly, lips pulled back as she drew in sharp breaths of air, practically tasting each breath.
"What do you expect you find? You can't find electrical damage like that. Well, I guess you could smell the metal and see burned wires," Buck mused, following along without looking.
"I'm not sure about electrical wires. Yes, Bobby Catmull is something of a layabout sometimes, but he files his permits and does everything precisely. I've seen him with that Thicket doe. He might be brash but he treats her like a queen. He'd move the sun and earth to keep her safe, and wouldn't dare have even slightly questionable wiring. I'd be willing to bet he did quietly call his father to look over the wiring," Beatrix answered, slowly moving along and looking down at a spot for a moment before she moved one.
"She's pretty nice, for a mulie... I could overlook those ears, but she's with that scruffy musician. I don't know how they make a living," Buck muttered.
"There's a wedding, a funeral or something else important going on with reasonable regularity. An all-around musician like him can make it. As for her, just keep looking. They're as solid as any other couple," Beatrix said with a soft chuckle.
"I just can't see it," Buck huffed.
"Well, love's like that sometimes. It doesn't need to make sense, it just has to work..." Beatrix said, snuffling loudly as she passed near the fallen back wall of the barn. Her lips curled more and she practically snorted as she reached the middle of the rear. "Wait... rush back to the car and get me the collection kit, and make it quick."
"I'm going, I'm going," Buck shouted, rushing over to the car and hurrying back after a short while, carrying the plastic case that was asked for. "What is it?"
"It's faint, and it's been reduced by the firefighters and evaporation..." Beatrix opened up the case and pulled out tweezers and sample bags after pulling on rubber gloves. She slipped a few leaves and pieces of wood into the bag, then took out an empty vial and scooped up a sample of the soil. "I smelled something. This might work better if we hired some wolves."
"I like the way things are right now. We've got good senses of smell," Buck insisted, curling his own lips and snorting softly. "What is that?"
"That's why we've got a lab and a few folks to run it. But it smells like some kind of chemical accelerant, not necessarily gasoline but it was something that would set off a fire," Beatrix replied, taking a few more samples, especially from the charred wood. "The collapse and scattering ruined the pattern but I think it was splashed on here, and all down the way, but mostly focused here."
"I thought that weasel was hiding something!" Buck shouted, punching his palm.
"Oh drop it, Deputy. If he had done it he'd still be reeking of it, and he would hardly have had time to do it, go shower, dry off, then come back. He'd still smell like it, if only more faintly," Beatrix huffed. "But, someone did this. It's not just some bad wires. The lab's gonna show us, we have an arson here."
Author's Notes
Beatrix Nikostytär- There's a lot going on here. She was always a reindeer, but originally was supposed to be the daughter of Icelandic immigrants, with the patronymic Nikosdóttir, because I know an Icelandic person and it tickled me. But her specific reference is to the movie "Niko and the Way to the Stars", which is Finnish. So I checked for Finnish patronymic endings and found this. So, she is Beatrix, daughter of Niko. Niko and Saga must be very proud that their daughter has such an important position as Sheriff of the Tri-Burrows.
Granny Millie and Grampy O- Yup, I went with the full retcon. To see the inspiration, check "Baa-Baa Black Sheep" in the story "Unbounded Love."
Mulie- Cervid-specific slang for mule deer. It's not overtly offensive but it is a bit rough, somewhat like "cute" for bunnies.