11. The Victim

==Nick==

Once again, I found myself sitting in a car in front of The Grand Pangolin Arms. I had pulled over a few seconds ago, and checked my watch now to determine how early I was. It was seven fifteen; fifteen minutes earlier than when I normally arrived here. The agreement Judy and I had, dictated that either of us picked up and dropped off the other for a week, subsequently reversing the role the week thereafter. It had been our custom since we had become partners, and carpooling was also encouraged by Chief Bogo, as it was deemed environmental friendly by Gazelle. Today was originally Judy's turn, however I didn't mind taking over to further her convalescence. I contemplated going inside to meet her halfway, yet I gathered she was probably getting dressed 'n all, so I would only be messing up her morning routine. She'd look out her window once she was ready.

I angled back my chair, turned on the radio and reclined. With the pilot sunglasses on my nose, I closed my eyes and crossed my paws behind my head. Nothing better than a morning nap after a good night's sleep. And a good sleep it had been. After my dinner with Judy last night, she had assured me that it had been fun, and that the event was worth repeating. There were no words to describe how utterly happy I had been hearing that. Or maybe there were: Yes, yes, YES! At least, that's what I had felt the urge of crying out once I had stepped into my own apartment nine hours ago. I don't know why the foresight of another dinner-date excited me so much. It's not like anything had happened. In fact, the word 'date' had never been used the entire evening, nor had there been any reason to call it that, hence I strongly suspect that she hadn't seen it as an actual 'date'. Still. I couldn't get the image of Judy, loveably nibbling on a lettuce leaf, out of my mind. Or her enchanting giggle when I had offered her to sit down. It had been these small details that had made it memorable. As the radio tenderly hummed one of Wolfplay's latest hits: Howl for the Weekend, I wagged my tail on the rhythm of the song in happiness. I was in a very good mood. This was going to be a great day; sunny, a little music and time to be spend with my bunny.

Sadly, that was about to change. Suddenly, my moment of quiet was rudely interrupted by a sharp , repetitive sound.

*Knock, knock, knock*

I opened my eyes. Dharma Pangolin, Judy's landlady, was uncouthly bashing the side window of the car. Her withered face glared at me and she didn't even stop knocking after I signed that I had took notion of her presence. I hoisted my chair upright and turned down the volume of the speakers. I pressed the button next to me to let the glass slip down into the door.

"How can I help you?"

"What are you doing sitting in front of my apartment building like that? You think anybody is going to rent a room with a police stake-out on my doorstep?" She shouted in my ear.

I cringed from the noise. Boy, and they say I was cranky in the morning.

"Misses Pan-"

There was no room for intervention. The stream of agitated comments on my presence was infinite, like a monsoon raining down and washing away my blissful mood. She even brought along the oldest cliché of my life.

"What do you think my guests will say if they see a fox hanging around?"

Her racist remark had me yearn for the pistols of the firing range. They ought to put her picture on the targets. How crowded would that make the sign up list? Hell, we could start selling admissions!

Fortunately for Dharma, before she could fall victim to unnecessary and excessive police violence, Judy showed up to soothe the discussion. Or at least, avert Dharma's irascible attitude from me. Trying to stop it, seemed inane. Even Judy's optimism didn't succeed in gagging the old crow. Just then, the landlady said something that brightened my temper again.

"... if you want a fox for a boyfriend, that's your business! I don't want any of 'm seen in my apartments!"

Judy's face turned visibly red, yet I failed to determine whether it was from shame or anger. At this point, Dharma's irrationality was putting her under serious duress and for a moment I even feared that Judy would end up being the one to resort to lethal weaponry, rather than me.

"We're very sorry, Misses Pangolin, but we have to race now to be in time for the mayor. Bye."

Judy hastened herself into the car and I derived from her body language that we had to leave as soon as possible. To oblige as best I could, I only shut the window when we were already on the road to the precinct.

"The mayor?" I questioned amused.

She huffed and gave me a dismissive wave with her paw.

"I had to try something to get her to stop." She grumbled.

"Why is that?" I asked.

She snorted to emphasize her cynicism.

"Oh yeah, because she really had something interesting to say."

"Hey, don't be so harsh, Judes!" I played, "that poor lady just wants to keep her apartments fox-free, where's the harm in that?"

"If you're so eager to humor her, then why are you still picking me up? You know she detests you."

"Aw, Carrots, this mean you're breaking up with me?"

Confused by first by my remark, she soon recollected what Dharma had said and her cheeks turned rosier.

"Oh, shut up Nick." She said looking out the window.

I laughed heartily, although a part of me had hoped she had answered that question with 'no', if only jokingly. To merge with our daily routine again, I rode to the Snarlbucks drive through and asked the microphone for our usual two cappuccinos. Joining the line in front of us, I looked my partner over. She sulked, peering out the window on her side of the car.

"Still mad at me?"

"Wh-wha?" She stammered, awakening from her thoughts.

I let my gaze rest on her.

"No, I wasn't mad at you. It's just that Dharma can be a real pain sometimes."

I nodded wisely. Dharma reminded me of a former neighbor of mine. I knew exactly how nightmarish those animals could be.

"No reason to let'em spoil your day, though."

She grumbled affirmatively, which was kind of paradoxical to what I stated.

"C'mon, we're going shopping with Fru Fru this afternoon." I soothed her, punching her shoulder as careful as I could, reminding myself of her injuries. "I thought women liked shopping?"

She was about to argue when her phone rang. When she picked it up, I could hear it was important. I paid for our coffee and placed the two steaming beakers in our cup holders. Her lips muttered a mute thank you and she took a sip as she prolonged her conversation with whomever it was. I reverently waited for her to hang up before asking for details.

"That was Officer Fangmeyer." She stored away her phone. "The polar bear from Sahara Square has revived and he is willing to talk to us."

==Judy==

After climbing to the fifth floor of the Albert Schweizbear, it was another ten minutes' walk to the east wing where James, the former driver of the detonated limousine, was settled. Nick had challenged me to a race up the stairs. I had gladly accepted, though halfway, my chest had ached too much for me to go on. Nick was so kind as to let it end in a tie.

"Now we're both losers." He said.

Ever since my injury, he was so thoughtful of me. If I hadn't forcefully quit due to my bruised ribs, he had rubbed his victory in my face for the rest of the day. Instead, he suggested me to catch my breath atop the stairs, an offer I had gladly accepted before going on. On our way to the other side of the building, we came past many rooms, each similarly sober when it came to their interior. The rooms were, apart from a teal, sail floor, a pale kind of white; the main furniture being a couple of plastic tip-up chairs, four beds, each of those flanked by medical equipment. Among those machines, I recognized a heartbeat monitor and a stand with drip. Most of the rooms were unoccupied, yet it came to my attention that if the patients were conscious, they were rarely placed in a solitary room. A good policy if you asked me. Now the patients could always talk to their roommates should they get bored.

When we passed the corner, and entered the east wing, there were solely private rooms. I believed that all mammals here needed personal attention and a great deal of rest, neither of which would be possible in the other rooms.

Paying a close eye to Nick's behavior led me to believe that he wasn't fond of hospitals. He never dared to glance into a room, nor did he ever look at any patients we met in the hallway. He even ignored a vixen-nurse that gave him a charming hello. The disappointment on the female's face had felt sadistically good, a thought I quickly tried to shake off. Instead, I asked Nick about his evident revulsion of hospitals, a question which he answered with the statement that it was impolite to stare at sick animals. A valid point, but I didn't buy it. Albeit gazing was indeed uncivilized, it didn't explain his aversion to the staff.

When we reached James's room, Fangmeyer stood up enthusiastically, only to plump down with clear disappointment written on his face. He must have expected his substitute. Playing guard wasn't really the wolf's cup of tea. He was more of an active cop, always thrilled to answer calls for assistance in dangerous situations. Admirable as it was, I feared it might someday get him killed.

"Hey!" I greeted him cheerfully.

"Morning." He yawned in reply.

I reckoned he had been sitting here all night, keeping himself awake with coffee and occasional strolls a few meters up and down the corridor. I assured him that his replacement would be here soon, upon which he produced a tired, thankful smile.

"Yes, I'm looking forward to it." He said, unleashing another contagious yawn.

Upon entry, James sat upright in his bed. He was eating his breakfast. It was a scanty meal for such a large bear; a few vegetables, a lump of bread, a handful of potato-parts and a cup of tea. I figured he must have some complaints about it, yet as all Big employees, he kept those to himself. I saw a twinkle of joy in his eyes when he recognized me and Nick, though he never brought that feeling to words.

"Good morning Mister-"

He shook his head and raised his paw to withhold me from talking on. A few seconds passed as he emptied his mouth after which he said:

"Please, James will do."

"All right, James." Nick picked up, "The question we're here to ask is pretty self-explanatory."

The bear nodded.

"It is, but I'm afraid I don't know how it happened. I was away for five minutes to grab a fruit shake at the market. I was on my way back when it blew. That shake saved my life. Well, that and you guys of course."

"Do you know of any mammals that might want to harm you?" I asked, bringing forth my notepad.

He cracked his cranium for a moment, then shook his head.

"No. Not any that hate me so much they want me dead."

"Does Mr. Big allow you to go for shakes during work hours?" Nick demanded spontaneously.

"No sir." The driver replied instantaneously apologetic. "But I was there for a client. We received an order for a limousine at that plaza."

I furrowed a brow indistinctively. That was a strange request. Normally you'd expect animals that wanted to be picked up at home or work. James took notion of my skepticism and agreed with me.

"We too found it odd, however we've had stranger calls over the years."

"Really, like what?"

"Nick." I hissed punitively.

I didn't want to tire the polar bear with useless discussions and we were lingering on an irrelevant topic. Nick raised his paws and took a few steps back, exaggerating an apology.

"Just curious." He mumbled slightly insulted. "Go ahead, don't mind me."

He threw his gaze outside through the window. I rolled my eyes. He could be such a child sometimes!

"So, somebody asked you to be specifically at that point, that plaza."

"Yes ma'am."

I wrote down this answer in detail. No matter how insignificant at first sight, details like these might be useful in unfolding the mystery of a case and lead to the one responsible. This was one of those unorthodox traits that might reveal itself later as cracking.

"But the client was never there?"

"I waited for fifteen minutes and then reported in, all in accordance with corporate standards. If you reach out to our HQ in tundra town, I think you can get the number that was used to order the limo. We mostly keep record of every call that comes in."

I nodded, scribbling down the core information. He excused himself for not being able to tell us more. I reassured, on the other hand, him that he had been of great help.

The door swung open and James's nurse entered the room. It was the same vixen that we had met in the hall before and I saw the corners of her mouth lift a little when she saw Nick. Behind her, I caught a glimpse of Fangmeyer being replaced by a fresh face. She guaranteed us that we could stay if we wanted as she was just here to make sure James had eaten his food and to check on his blood pressure. As she folded the rigid, black linen band around the polar bear's arm, she eyed Nick a few times. I found myself enjoying it that he didn't answer her ogling, visibly disappointing her. When did I become such a vile animal?

"There, all done. Your pressure seems fine James, at this rate, you'll be out of here and back to work in a couple of days."

"Back to work? Can't you prescribe me another week of rest?" James remarked, laughing sonorously with his bass-like voice.

The vixen produced her most charming laugh, hoping one last time to gain Nick's attention. He smiled back politely, but withheld himself from engaging on her advances. He could be more professional than I gave him credit for. And again, that weird feeling of triumph when the nurse ceased her attempts of seduction and left the room. My interest in Nick went far deeper than mere friendship, no matter how much I tried to persuade myself otherwise.

"Thank you, miste-"

James raised his finger to warn me.

"I'm sorry. James, thank you. We'll get in touch should we have further questions."

Outside, Fangmeyer was already gone. His replacement, Officer Higgins, gave us an apathetic hello and resumed reading his newspaper. Of all the employees at the ZPD, I had never managed to hook him into a conversation. As I recalled, he rarely spoke at all. He reminded me of Koslov. In comparison to the hippo, Big's prime henchman was quite a talkative mammal.

When we reached the end of the hallway, Nick nudged me with his elbow. From his amused expression, I happily derived he was no longer mad at me for my intervention during the interview.

"Imagine him and Koslov in a room together," He whispered, as if reading my mind. "who do you think would talk first?"

I looked at him with a tilted head, contemplating a proper reply. It soon struck me that this wasn't so difficult and Nick could only concur when I gave him my answer.

"Would there even be words, I wonder?"