7
Robin Swift lived a short distance away from Edible Greens, on a street that had probably started out as residential but had become more and more commercial as the city grew and businesses spread. Nick and Judy passed a converted house that was now a salon called Bo's Shearing and a diner named The Honeypot that boasted all day breakfast. Across the street stretched an enormous apartment complex that took up the whole block. A sign on the lawn read: JOIN THE HERD! TEN-BEDROOM APARTMENTS NOW AVAILABLE.
The GPS beeped to let them know they had arrived. Judy slowed to a stop.
She gasped. "It's beautiful."
"It's an empty lot," said Nick.
"Well, yes, that too."
Woods filled the space. It was impossible to tell how far back it went. At least a dozen giant oaks cast dappled shadows across the grass. Several were so huge that they had to be over two hundred years old. In each spot of sun where the light had managed to break through grew patches of wildflowers with tiny purple and yellow buds.
Judy pulled over and they got out.
"Is this a park?" wondered Judy. "Why would a park be listed under Swift's address?"
"Because clearly he's a lot better at this game then his girlfriend is," said Nick, kicking at a clump of weeds, expression surly. "Could we not find one person connected to this case who isn't a con artist?"
"You think we're being hustled?" Judy looked around. "I don't know. Maybe we should search the grounds."
"What's the point? Face it, Carrots. He got us."
"But this place isn't listed as a park on the GPS. And there are no benches, or trails, or even a sign telling us were to go. What kind of park is that?"
"You're assuming it is a park. For all we know it could just be some overgrown patch of land that nobody wants."
"In Zootopia? Doubtful." Even apartments in Little Rodentia cost and arm and a leg. Even if you couldn't fit an arm or a leg inside any of the buildings.
"And it's not overgrown." She gestured to the neatly trimmed edging around the trees, the plucked weeds, a small pile of broken branches that had been gathered up and left for kindling. "I grew up in Bunnyborrow. I can tell the difference between landscaping and wild land. This place is being cared for."
"Misplaced tax dollars. The city government probably doesn't even realize it's putting money into the upkeep."
"Now you're just being cynical."
"Doesn't mean I'm wrong."
Judy bit back a retort. She didn't want to argue with him, and more to the point, she didn't want to waste the time.
"Fine. If you're so sure this isn't the place…" She tossed him the car keys. "Go ahead back to the station. See if you can't look up the real address. If you find anything you can call me."
Nick looked down at the keys as if she had handed him rotten vegetables. "And leave you here all alone? No. Not happening."
"I'll be fine," she told him. "You said yourself that it's just an empty lot."
"Forget it. I'm not leaving you."
Judy ignored the way his words made her heart flutter. He was just feeling overprotective because of what had happened to her yesterday, the sweet, silly fox.
Keeping her expression nonchalant, she shrugged and start towards the trees. "Fine. Then in we go."
From behind her came a great sigh. She smothered a grin and kept going.
A moment later, Nick fell into step beside her. "What makes you so sure this is the place?"
"Consider it a feeling."
That almost got a smile out of him. "Fine. But if this turns out to be nothing, dinner's on you tonight."
"Deal."
They made their way into the trees. Branches thick with leaves closed over them, blocking out most of the sunlight besides a stray beam here or there. Little white butterflies fluttered in small swarms between flower patches. It almost felt like they had left Zootopia and stepped into another part of the world entirely. A forest out of time. Only the distant sounds of traffic gave away the illusion.
"If this place isn't a park, it really should be," said Judy. "Whoever the landscaper is, they have talent."
Nick made a noncommittal noise.
"You don't think this place is charming?"
"I just have this feeling… What did Robin Swift do for a living again?"
"His file didn't say." Judy looked around. "Why? You think he might be around?"
"I don't know… But there's something…"
"Well something is what we want to find, right? Oh, look there! Water lilies!" Catching Nick by the paw, Judy tugged him over to a large pond partially hidden by a copse of smaller trees and bushes. Sunlight sparkled over the top of the water like flecks of gold, disturbed only by the occasional fish swimming up to snap at the gnats that flitted over the pond's surface.
Judy sighed. "We have ponds in Bunnyburrow, but not as pretty as this one."
"Feeling homesick because your parents came?"
How did he always read her so easily? "Maybe a little."
"You could go back with them once this is over, you know. Take a little vacation."
"I could." She glanced over at him. "Think you might want to visit with me? I still have to introduce you to the rest of my family."
"And how many more of them are there now? 274?"
"278 now."
Nick's lips twitched. "You bunnies."
"What?"
"Nothing."
"If you want to make a joke, you can go ahead. I won't mind."
"No. I think it's great."
"Uh-huh."
"No, really." He smiled at her, a soft, real smile that got her right behind the heart. "It's good that you have so much family to be there for you. It's an important thing to have."
"You have family too."
"A few cousins and an uncle I never talk to doesn't really count."
You have me, she wanted to say. But she knew such saccharine words wouldn't make it past those sharp and snarky defenses of his. So instead she squeezed his paw, happy when he met her gaze and squeezed back. There had been a time not so very long ago when even such a small gesture sympathy would have been rebuffed.
It was good enough.
From ahead of them came a soft shuffling of leaves. Judy's ears shot up. "Did you hear that?"
She sniffed at the air, but they were unfortunately standing upwind and no scents besides oak, flowers, and pond water stood out to her.
"I don't hear anything," said Nick. "What—"
There was a twanging sound. One Judy recognized a split-second later as that of a bow releasing. She heard the whistle of the arrow as it cut through the air, catching sight of its red feather fletching just before it struck Nick in the stomach with a solid thunk.
Red splattered. Nick grunted and doubled over, falling to one knee.
Judy's heart stopped.
"Nick!" she cried, reaching for him only to freeze with a panicked look over at the bushes. A second shot might come at any second. She needed to get them behind cover. She needed to catch whoever had fired the arrow and stop them. She needed to help her partner, who was staring down at the shaft protruding from his stomach like he didn't quite know how to react to it.
Suddenly he reached up and took hold of arrow, ignoring Judy's choked out, "Don't."
He pulled.
It came without resistance, leaving a bright red smear on his shirt—but no hole, Judy saw when she dared to look closer.
He held the arrow up and sniffed at the red mess coating the tip. "Is this… raspberries?"
The bushes shook. Nick and Judy both froze.
A young fox burst forth, scattering leaves and making her bright green dress swirl about her legs. She wore a feathered cap and was brandishing a bow, a triumphant look on her face.
"Ha! Got you, trespassers!" she crowed.
"You got my shirt," growled Nick.
"Vixie?" said Judy. "Is that you?"
At the sound of her name, the fox did a double take. She stared at Judy, her grin falling lax as recognition dawned until she was openly gaping. Horrified eyes turned to take in Nick again, at the raspberry gore now covering his shirt, and a strangled noise escaped her throat before she sucked in a breath—
And screamed.
"Robiiiiiiin!"
She took off into the trees, the arrows in her quiver clattering together as she ran. Judy could hear the snap and crunch of branches and underbrush as she fled.
"Well," said Nick. "Looks like dinner's on me, after all."
Judy stared at him.
"What?"
Her eyes dropped to the spot where the arrow had struck him. Nick followed her gaze, plucking at the ruined shirt and shaking his head. "I know, it's terrible. This stain is never going to come out."
She reached over and pressed a paw against the flat of his stomach, feeling his muscles contract in surprise at her touch.
Not punctured. Not bleeding.
She closed her eyes and, slowly, breathed out.
Thank goodness.
"Uh, Carrots? Not that I don't enjoy a good belly rub, but is now really the time?"
She looked up. Despite his glib words, Nick was watching her with concern, his paws hovering awkwardly over her shoulders, like he didn't know if he should comfort her or not.
He was fine. He was fine and she was worrying him. Time to pull herself together.
"Sorry." She dropped her paw and stepped back. "We uh... we need to follow Vixie. She'll lead us to Robin."
"Good. Sounds good," said Nick. He cleared his throat and gestured for her to go ahead of him. "Those with super hearing may lead the way."
It wasn't hard to follow the kit. She ran flat-out through the woods, no longer concerned with stealth, yelling for Robin the entire way.
When she suddenly fell silent, that's when Judy knew they were getting close.
The trees began to thin, becoming smaller and less densely packed before abruptly ending altogether, leaving them squinting in the late afternoon sunlight. In the middle of the clearing sat a small stone and wood structure so old and crumbling Judy hesitated to even call it a house. It looked more like one of those historical sites of architectural remains that she used to visit on school field trips. She half-expected to see a plaque somewhere telling her more about the building.
Waiting in the doorway was a fox. Not Vixie. He was tall for his species, with scruffy fur that was an even brighter shade of red than it had been in his picture.
He leaned against the doorframe as he watched them approach, arms crossed and a small smile teasing one corner of his mouth. He didn't seem surprised or bothered by the glint of their badges or the mess on Nick's shirt.
"Now this is surprise," he said. "We don't get too many guests around here. I trust you found the place okay?"
"With a little assistance," said Nick, nodding to the side of building where a feathered cap trembled and ducked out of sight.
"My sister is helpful like that."
"We're hoping you can be helpful, too," said Judy.
Robin's expression gave nothing away. "You want to know about Marian."
"We know you two were seeing each other," said Nick.
"So you think she might be here? Well she's not. But feel free to search the grounds if you want. I won't even ask for a warrant, which I'm guessing you don't have."
"Do you know where she might go?"
"If I knew that I wouldn't be here," said Robin. "I'd be out there. Protecting her. Helping her, if she would let me."
"Some might call that aiding and abetting."
"She's not the villain she's been painted as."
"We never said she was," said Judy.
Robin's smile turned wry. "I might live in the last slice of real woods left in Zootopia, but I still read the news. I saw today's article."
"That story was not approved by the ZPD."
"So you're not looking to arrest Marian and her brothers?"
"Well… that is…" Judy looked at Nick.
"It doesn't matter what we plan to do," her parter said. "Regardless, you have an obligation to help us or be held for obstruction of justice. You should know you're already under suspicion for fraud."
Apparently Robin found that amusing, because his smile widened. "How d'you figure?"
"A few weeks ago you met with a Marty Lop about a fundraiser. Do you deny that conversation occurred?"
"I don't."
"And the fact that the fundraiser doesn't seem to exist?"
"That's because it doesn't."
That took both of them aback for a moment.
"You're admitting it was lie?" said Judy.
Robin shrugged one shoulder. "Sure. It was a cover story. I made it up so I could talk to Marty without his grandfather bothering us. All it took was one request for a small monthly payment before he was stomping out of the room."
"Why was it necessary that he leave?"
"Because while Grandpa Gregor might have a soft spot for Marian and her family, he isn't exactly trusting of all foxes, if you know what I mean. I didn't want to have to deal with his ignorant accusations while I talked to his grandson."
"And what did you need to talk to him about?"
For the first time Robin lost his smile. "I wanted to ask about Marian. She'd stopped taking my calls and I thought Marty might still be in contact with her. They've known each other since they were kids. If she didn't feel comfortable coming to me, I thought maybe she would go to him. I thought he might know something."
"And did he?"
Robin shook his head. "Unfortunately, no. Seems she cut him out shortly after me."
"Why did she cut you out?"
His smile returned, but with a bitter twist to it. "Because that's what you do when you break up with someone."
Nick and Judy exchanged looks.
"Didn't know about that bit, huh? Well, it's true. She ended things with me. That's why I don't know where she is now and why I lied about some fake fundraiser. But I never broke any laws." He looked straight at Nick. "Unlike some of us."
Nick narrowed his eyes. "If you're trying to imply something..."
"Only that I've heard of you, Nicholas Wilde. Before your exploits at the ZPD started appearing in the papers. You were a small-time hustler who got around well for being a fox, if I remember rightly. Committed victimless crimes for the most part, and many of those weren't technically crimes anyway, so the cops could never catch you."
"Sounds like you have me confused with someone else. A handsome and charming doppleganger, maybe."
Robin chuckled. "No need to get defensive about it. I actually admire what you've done for yourself. Both of you. My sister eats up the news stories about your cases and I figure, better you as a role model than all this fictional junk where the foxes are always shady minions to the villain, or not present at all."
Nick made a choking noise. "Role model?"
"But as far as throwing stones just to see if I'll duck," said Robin, "please don't. You won't hit me and I have a few of my own stones tucked away, though I'd hate to have to use them. Especially in front of Vixie."
Nick was still struggling to find his voice. Judy pursed her lips, but only half-succeeded in stopping a smile from slipping out. The fox was charming, she'd give him that.
Robin looked over at her and winked. That seemed to snap her partner back to rights. He growled and took a step forward. "Look. We're not here to discuss our personal history with you, or your sister's—frankly—poor taste in role models."
Robin raised an eyebrow. Judy snorted.
"We're here," pressed on Nick, "to find out what you know about Marian Corsac's illegal activities. The latest being a collapsed burrow in the Rainforest District."
"That wasn't Marian," said Robin. "I don't know what she was doing there, but I know that that burrow wasn't hers. She's never dug a tunnel in her life, and neither have any of her brothers. They're city foxes, through and through." He waved to a group of saplings across the yard. "See those? Craven and Reynard came over to help me plant them just this past summer, and you wouldn't believe how bad they were at it. Even giving them shovels didn't help. They were blistered and exhausted inside half an hour and wound up bringing me drinks instead while I did the rest of the work."
"A cute anecdote I'm sure they'll appreciate in court, where you can help them plead their case," said Nick. "But first you need to help us get them there."
"So they can be unfairly convicted and thrown into jail? Why should I?"
Nick opened his mouth. Closed it. He looked over at Judy. "Should I make the obstruction of justice threat again?"
"You can try," she said. "But he didn't seem too impressed the first time."
"True." He turned back to Robin. "How about some tough honesty then?"
Robin crossed his arms. "I would appreciate it, actually."
"Fine. Then to be completely honest, jail time is the least of your girlfriend's problems right now. Sorry, ex-girlfriend."
"What do you mean?"
"Someone else is after Marian and her brothers," said Judy.
"After them?" Robin's gaze jumped between the two officers. "But… why would anyone be after them? Who is it?"
"We wish we could tell you more. The truth is we don't know much beyond that ourselves," said Judy. "But please believe us when we tell you that Marian, Reynard, Todd—they're all in danger. Craven is already hurt. We don't know how much time we have left to find them. For all we know, we could already be too late. I know you don't trust us, but whatever else, know that we want to protect them just as much as you do. It's true that it's a risk and they might go to jail, but Nick and I plan on doing everything we can to exonerate them, and in the meantime, at least they'll be alive and safe. But the only way we can do any of that is by finding them first. So please, if there is anything you can stand to tell us, it could save their lives."
Robin looked at Nick. "She's very passionate."
Nick rolled his eyes. "Passionate… dramatic. The point is she's telling the truth. So if you really care about Marian like you claim to, you'll tell us what you know."
Robin sighed and rubbed at his head like it suddenly pained him. He glanced over at where Vixie was still hiding behind the house. From where she stood, Judy could hear the soft snap of grass being plucked and then a second later a little piece of green would flutter out to join its broken brethren on the ground.
"I don't know that I can tell you anything helpful," said Robin finally. "None of what I know has yet to help me."
"We'd still like to hear it," said Judy. "Please."
He looked at her, and behind the distrust Judy could see the worry, the need to help the fox he clearly still cared about, somehow.
Nick said nothing. He just stood there, waiting.
Judy knew the moment Robin gave in. His shoulders drooped and he dropped his arms. She tried not to give away her relief.
Pushing off from the doorjamb, he waved them into the house. "You better come inside for this."
The house looked just as old on the inside as it did on the outside. The ground floor was made up of a single large room divided into a kitchen and living room by a single long trestle table. Thick dark rugs covered the living room half of the space, muffling the creaky wood floor. A couple squishy couches that looked like they had been reupholstered and re-stuffed one too many times faced a great stone fireplace that Nick could have walked into without ducking. On the mantel above it sat a large flat screen tv and router. Behind them, a circular staircase wrapped once around the room before disappearing into the upper floors.
Robin went to the fridge to get drinks. Judy took a seat on one of the couches. Unlike her couch at home, she didn't have to hop to get on it. Nick sat beside her, his keen fox eyes taking in everything. Pictures of Vixie, Robin and an older fox couple that might have been their parents decorated one wall in a messy array that said the pictures had been added one by one over time. On the windowsill were a few smaller photos of Marian, and even a couple of her brothers.
Judy found herself lingering on one of Marian and Robin. By the wooded background, they were somewhere on Robin's property. Marian was cuddled up under his chin, smile bright, and Robin had his arms wrapped around her, eyes closed like he was savoring the moment. They looked so happy together. It gave Judy a pang to think that that happiness might now be lost.
Robin returned with glasses of pink lemonade. He set them on the wooden coffee table in front of them, pushing a stack of children's coloring books and crayons aside to make room.
"Your home is very…" Judy trailed off, searching for the word. "Classic looking."
Robing barked a laugh. He took a seat on the couch opposite them, cradling his own glass of lemonade. "It's okay. I know it's a falling down mess. It's actually older than Zootopia."
"But how is that possible?"
"It's one of the few holdouts from when the city was first being planned. My ancestors owned the land and refused to sell. Not that they were offered a fair amount, but it would have been enough to resettle somewhere else if they had wanted to, or buy better property after the city was constructed. But they were stubborn like that." Despite his words, the pride in the fox's voice was unmistakable. "So they wound up building the city around it. There were a few other homes too, but ours is the last one still standing. The trees you passed coming in are the very same ones that were in the area in the beginning."
"That's amazing," said Judy. "How is it that this isn't more well known? I feel like I should have heard about this before now."
"I don't think it's something the city likes to brag about. It was kind of a cheap tactic, building around the land. But I like my privacy anyways, so if the government's embarrassment keeps the tourists away, I'm glad for it."
From upstairs came a thump. Judy and Nick looked up.
"Vixie," said Robin. "Sneaking in through the second floor window again. I don't know how many times I've told her to stop doing that."
"She's going to be fun as a teenager," said Judy.
"Don't I know it."
Footsteps sounded on the stairs. but they stopped halfway without anyone appearing.
Judy and Robin shared a smile.
"So. Who wants to start this party?" asked Nick, clapping his paws together. He looked pointedly at Robin.
Robin took a sip of a lemonade and leaned back in his seat. "I'm still not sure what exactly I can tell you. What is it that you want to know?"
"Well," said Judy. "Finding the Corsacs is the most important thing, but I have to admit we're still fuzzy about how this all started in the first place. Before you two broke up, did Marian say or do anything suspicious or out of the ordinary? Anything that might explain why her and her brothers are acting this way?"
Robin looked down at his drink, eyes sad. "Perhaps."
They waited. When a moment had passed and the other fox still hadn't said anything, Nick prompted him with a short, "Well?"
"You have to understand," said Robin. "Marian is… not herself right now. She's grieving. She took Carol's passing hard, which isn't a surprise. Carol was like a second mother to her. She practically raised Todd after their parents died. Her sudden loss… it affected Marian."
"Affected her how?"
"Exactly how you'd expect. She cried a lot, even over little things. And she wasn't sleeping well. She was stressed about taking over the restaurant, having to run it without Carol there to help. It made her a bit scatterbrained. She'd forget things. Stood me up on a couple of dates, then called in tears because she felt so guilty about it. She's the sweetest fox you'll ever meet, Marian is."
"I'm sure you're right," said Judy, because he seemed to need the reassurance.
Robin gave her a grateful smile, but it faded as he continued. "I knew she was struggling. But—I mean, when my parents died I was a mess. Compared to me, she seemed to be handling it okay."
"So you're saying she wasn't?"
Robin shook his head. "She started losing things. And then she started to get… paranoid. Packing up keepsakes and hiding them. She wouldn't even tell me where they were."
Judy and Nick shared a look.
"Not that it mattered," said Robin. "All the important stuff was already gone."
"What kind of important stuff?" asked Nick.
"Like Carol's recipe books. The bunny had always been secretive about them. No one else was allowed to read them. She insisted on cooking all the food for the restaurant by herself so no one knew the exact ingredients or amounts. She had just started teaching Marian some of the recipes before she got sick. Marian had been so touched. She had gone on and on about it."
"That must have been hard," said Judy. "Losing such a big part of Carol's life."
"No to mention," said Nick, "no recipe books, no meals for the restaurant."
"It was bad," agreed Robin. "But then shortly after that, something even worse happened." He scrubbed a paw over his face. "Marian misplaced the will."
"Carol's will?"
"Yes. It named Marian legal inheritor of Edible Greens. Without it, her right to the restaurant could be contested."
"Carol didn't have a copy filed with the courthouse?" asked Nick. "Or with a lawyer or notary?"
"That's just it. Carol had done all that. Or at least Marian had thought so. But when I went with her to request another copy, we were told that there was no such will on file."
"That is strange," said Judy.
"Did you try looking for the copy Marian lost?" asked Nick.
"Of course. But…"
"But what?"
"I told you that Marian had become a little paranoid. She kept insisting that she wasn't losing these things. That they were being stolen from the restaurant, her house, Carol's house. But she refused to go to the police."
"Did she say who she thought was stealing from her?"
"It doesn't matter. It wasn't them."
"Who was it?"
Robin hesitated. "You have to understand. She wasn't in her right mind."
"Tell us," said Nick.
Robin sighed. "Peter."
Judy froze reaching for her drink. "Carol's son, Peter?"
Robin nodded. "She told me he was punishing her for what happened to Carol."
"Do you know what happened between them back then?"
"Only that they had a big falling out and Peter left. Marian, Craven and Reynard refused to talk about it and Todd was too young to remember. But it's not him. It can't be."
"Why not?" said Judy. "It makes sense that he might come back, especially if he heard about Carol. Just because Marian was in mourning doesn't mean she didn't know what she was talking about."
"You think I doubted her because she was a bit emotional?" said Robin. "No. It wasn't like that. Really. Out of the two of us, I've always said that Marian was the smarter one. I know it wasn't Peter because I checked. I had someone look into it."
"Who?" said Nick.
"A friend. Someone I trusted. That's all you need to know."
When Nick looked skeptical, Judy jumped in, saying, "So this friend. They found Peter?"
Robin nodded. "Traced his steps back to that ignorant dirt strip they call a town and asked around."
"And?"
"And it turns out that Peter died almost a year to the day that he arrived. There's a gravestone and everything."
There was silence for a beat as the officers absorbed that. Nick looked over at Judy. "Well, there goes that theory."
"Did you tell Marian?" Judy asked Robin.
"I did. I thought it would make her feel better. The way she was talking, you'd think Peter was haunting her or something." Robin swished the lemonade around in his glass. He looked… dispirited. Like telling them this had drained something out of him. And not for the better.
"Instead of being relieved, she got upset. She yelled at me for sending someone to check into things and refused to hear me out. She broke up with me then and there. I tried calling later, once I thought she might've calmed down, but she refused to answer her phone. She warned her brothers to stay away from me. Then they disappeared and all this happened."
"You're not angry she broke up with you?" asked Nick.
"How can I be? She was right. It wasn't my business, or my history, or my… family. But things had been going so well between us I felt like we were closer, I guess. Like it would be okay for me to do this for her." Robin shook his head. "Presumptuous. I should have told her what I was doing. I should have gotten her permission first. It's just… I've been an older brother for so many years now, I guess I forgot how to be a partner. I had hoped… I still hope that once this gets resolved I might be able to fix things. Tell her how sorry I am."
He glanced over to the window, and Judy knew he was looking at the picture of the two of them.
A little red head peeked around the stairway, big dark eyes on Nick. Judy glanced over at him to see if he was aware of his audience of one. His tail twitched and one ear flicked towards the stairs, but he gave no other reaction.
"One last question," said Judy. "Have you heard of a bunny named Benjamin Cottontail?"
"You mean the produce magnate?" said Robin. "Vaguely. Why?"
Judy handed him a picture. "Because Marian and her brothers have broken into his factory twice now, and we're still not sure why."
Robin frowned down at the photo. "I don't remember reading anything about that in the paper."
Judy looked over at Nick. "Now that you mention it, I don't think I saw it there, either."
Nick shook his head. "It wasn't."
"Why did I think it was? Cottontail didn't correct me when I spoke with him."
"A lying business animal," said Robin. "What a surprise."
Judy shifted in her seat, feeling uncomfortable and already regretting bringing the matter up.
"He probably just misunderstood what I was referring to," she said lightly.
Neither fox looked convinced. Judy wasn't certain she believed herself either.
"That aside, is there anything else you can think of that might be helpful?"
Robin set down his lemonade. "Only that Marian and her brothers are good foxes. I hope you will keep that in mind when you find them."
"We will. Thank you for entrusting us with this information, Mr. Swift."
"You're welcome. And it's Robin, please."
"Robin. We'll let you get back to…" Judy looked around. "What do you do, if you don't mind me asking."
Robin's smile turned mischievous. "You might say I'm a bit of a philanthropist."
"Oh. How nice."
"I enjoy it." As much as he enjoyed his privacy apparently, because he didn't elaborate.
"Well, we'll let you get back to it then."
Robin walked them to the door.
"I feel like I should warn you," said Judy. "Mayor Lionheart will be on the news soon to update the city on this case, and his stance is liable to be... upsetting to you."
"Thank you for the heads up," said Robin. "But it won't be the first time that overgrown cat has upset me, nor will it be the last."
"Not a fan of our dear mayor, huh?" said Nick.
"Let's just say I didn't cry when he was removed from office last year," said Robin. "It was a pity he was reinstated."
"Mayor Lionheart had good intentions, even if his methods were a bit dubious," said Judy. "At least he seemed to learn from his mistakes, which is not something everyone can say."
Robin blinked, looking surprised. But then he smiled, a giant grin that dazzled. "You really are a good bunny," he said.
"You're just now noticing?" drawled Nick. "And here I almost thought you were clever. Come on, Carrots. Let's go."
Footsteps suddenly pounded down the stairs. Vixie shot out from her hiding place and ran over to them, ducking behind Robin. She stretched up onto her tip-toes to whisper something into his ear and Robin leaned down to accommodate her, lips twitching.
When she was done, he straightened and looked at Nick. "You wouldn't happen to have another business card, would you?" he asked. "Vixie lost the one of yours she had."
"My card? Sure. I guess. Let's see here..." He patted his pockets. After a few seconds of searching, he pulled out a slightly bent business card.
He held it out. "Will this work?"
Robin nudged his sister forward. "Go on."
Vixie reached out and took the card, her giant eyes never leaving Nick's face. Nick smiled at her. "Take care of this one, okay?" he said.
Judy thought the young fox would run away then. But the kit's mouth firmed and her chin lifted. She raised her arm in a salute and held it.
Robin hid his laughter behind a hasty cough. "Vixie, that's not—" But Nick stepped forward and Robin stopped. Straightening his shoulders, Nick very solemnly saluted back. Vixie beamed, revealing one missing canine tooth, and then turned and raced back up the stairs.
"You don't do kids, huh?" said Judy as Nick dropped his arm and beat a hasty retreat from the house.
"Don't even start, Carrots."
She waved goodbye to a bemused Robin and followed after her partner. "Admit it. It feels nice having someone look up to you."
"Uck, never. Will you hurry up? The sun's setting and I don't want to be stuck in these woods after dark."
"You're nocturnal."
Nick's phone started to ring. Judy watched in amusement as he scrambled for it, eager to have an out from the conversation. He answered it and put in on speaker. "Wilde."
"Wilde, it's Howle. I'm at the station and I've got a present here for you."
"Did I forget our anniversary again?" said Nick. "How embarrassing. You'll have to forgive me. I didn't get you anything."
The wolf ignored his sarcasm. "Sending you a picture of it now."
The phone dinged. Nick and Judy stared. It was a shot of the ZPD's interrogation room. And handcuffed to one of the chairs was Mo, looking about as sullen as an arrested mole could look. The handcuffs were superfluous, though, because Mo had been wrapped ankles to chin in a wine red ribbon that came together around his neck in a giant bow. A tag stuck to his forehead read: TO NICHOLAS, WITH LOVE.
"Found him on the front steps of the ZPD like this," said Howle. "He's got some frostbite that'll need to be seen to, but I figured you'd want to talk to him first."
"Thanks, Howle. We'll be right over." Nick hung up and looked at Judy. "Now do you agree we should get a move on?"
Judy did. And just to tweak his tail, she made sure to beat him to the cruiser.
She took the passenger's seat this time. Nick slid in behind the wheel and turned on the siren.
"Is that really necessary?" asked Judy.
"What? We've got a frostbitten mole to interrogate. If that's not an emergency I don't know what is."
Judy rolled her eyes but didn't argue.
The vehicles surrounding them pulled away, the road opening up, and Nick hit the gas as above them the sun slipped behind the high-rises of Zootopia's skyline.
