AUTHOR'S NOTE: Sorry for the long delay in updating. Just got a new job, and we're at the end of the semester anyways. Hopefully after May 7th things will slow down a bit, but until then updates will be slow. I have not forgotten this story, and will update once more by May 1st. I promise. As always, thank you for reading and leave reviews! I live off your comments, criticisms, and reviews.


To anyone else, this would seem like a nonchalant police interview. The run of the mill, standard protocol sort of deal. But Judy wasn't your average cop, and her partner wasn't acting like he normally did.

No, there was something in how he held himself that was different this time. The corners of his eyes were drawn in and his pupils sharpened. His tail was stiff as iron instead of swaying gently side to side. But most of all, he was taking notes. Ever since he joined the force, he would just listen. She called him out on it a few different times, but he would just tap his head and say he 'had it all in here, Carrots.'

They were down near the Watering Hole, a water treatment plant on the south side near the bay. Judy's nose had scrunched up as the aroma of stale water, refuse, and chemicals wafted up from the shoreline. It was one of the older districts, with half the buildings built over the old quarter. Local myth told of a maze of tunnels and collapsed buildings that were just twenty feet below her. Salt corrosion ate away at the older buildings, revealing the brickwork underneath the stucco and paint.

The restaurant where Winona Stark had worked was called The Waterfront Depot, although it was six or so blocks from the bay. It was little more than a bar. Half of the hours on the little neon sign in the front window were missing, leaving only a random collection of digital dashes and lines. The waiters sat in the kitchen behind the bar, smoking their cigarettes from between arthritic fingers.

"She came in, worked for six hours and then left." The zebra manager said, "She wasn't scheduled for a few days after that, and then she never came in. One day, that's understandable, but three? Winona was a stand-up gal if I ever knew one. She wouldn't just leave like that. I had to do something."

"Do you happen to remember what time she left the restaurant?" Nick asked.

"About 11pm. She finished her shift, rolled her silverware and was out the door."

"Okay," Nick said as he finished writing, "You wouldn't happen to also remember what she was wearing?"

"Sure. She was still in her uniform. Red polo shirt, black pants. She had her little black windbreaker jacket on, and was carrying her purse." The zebra looked over at Judy, "Real cute thing too - Louis Vealton."

"Wait, she had a Louis Vealton purse?" Judy asked, "She was living in government housing. How could she afford that?"

The manager rolled her eyes and puffed her chest, "Ugh. Her husband got them for her. Trying to say sorry, or something."

"Husband?"

"Yeah, I guess." She itched at her arm, "She had been talking about how she broke it off with him recently."

Nick's eyebrow raised and he glanced over at Judy. "Why was he saying sorry?"

"Don't know. They did this all the time, you see. Every few months or so they'll snap at each other's throats. She'll come in a mess, and a few days later she'll be showing off some new trinket he bought her." The zebra shook her head, "Don't know what she saw in him."

"Neither did I," Nick said under his breath. Judy elbowed him.

"Do you remember his name?" Judy asked with a bright smile.

"Sorry, darling. Never met the man."

Her fox partner flipped the cover back onto his notepad and stuffed it into his chest pocket. "Well, Thank you for your time, Mrs. Tepe." Judy said, "We'll be in contact if we need any more information."

"Of course, anytime." She said, "I just hope she's okay. She was a good girl."

Nick flashed a reassuring smile and tipped his non-existent hat to her. They returned to their car, and as the dull thud of the door closing locked them inside, Judy felt her partner's distant gaze.

"Nick?"

He hummed in affirmation, his paw supporting his head.

"You okay?"

"Yeah," Nick said, as he licked his lips, tasting his words. "Yeah. We should see if R&I got a hit on Renard."

"Right," Judy said, as she called it in. Yet, as they reported back to her his current street address, she couldn't help but feel the fog of weariness in the car. She thanked them before hanging it up. She refused to turn the engine on, leaving the keys in the ignition.

The fox was still gazing out the window, lost in his own pale reflection. She let her hand reach out towards him, she wanted to let him know that she was here. She thought, maybe, she should tell Bogo to give them another case- this one was too close to home. But, she could already imagine her partner refusing.

"Carrots?" Nick said, "We got a location. Shouldn't we, I don't know, go check it out?"

"Of course," Judy said, turning the key. "I just-"

Nick raised an eyebrow. "Something's eating at you. Let it out, fluff."

"Your mother went missing six days ago." Judy said, "But we stop to eat and have gentle conversations with people. You haven't even driven all day."

"And?"

"And, if this was any other case you'd be chomping at the bit," Judy said as she pulled out and away. "It's just, you seem less enthusiastic than usual."

"Okay?" Nick said as if he couldn't see the question she was asking.

"Nick, I'm worried about you. Why are you so hesitant with this one?"

Nick chuckled under his breath while shaking his head. "Judy, you're the smartest person I know. You're the best cop that I've ever seen, and the best friend I've ever had. Your head is full of every law, by-law, and statistic that there is."

Judy nodded, trying to ignore the lump in her throat.

"It's been six days. She's a low-income female predator that lives in government housing and works as a waiter." Nick said, "I think we both know what's going on here."

"That doesn't mean that—"

"I know, Carrots, I do." Nick said, "But, hope doesn't get you too far in the world."

"Nick…"

"I know, I know." Nick said, "And I am hoping. That's maybe why I don't want to solve this one. Because as long as we don't know, then...there's a chance—just a chance—that she's alive."

"We'll find her, Nick." Judy said, "And she's alive. I can just feel it."

"You can just feel it?" Nick said.

"If she's anything like you, Nicholas Wilde, she's a fighter." Judy said, "And she won't go down that quickly."

Nick chuckled, "Yeah. That's true."

"We're here," Judy said, pulling up to the little house. It was wedged between two larger buildings, one of the older buildings erected some seventy years ago. The door in front was covered in peeling green paint and had a dull golden knocker. A faded welcome sat on the door, and withering plants drooping out from a little planter.

The brakes squeaked as the car came to a halt. Nick swallowed, a knot of anxious butterflies fluttering in his stomach. The engine stopped purring, and again the empty silence that is the interior of a car settled in.

"Ready?"

"I guess." Nick said, "Let's get this over with, Carrots."

She watched him approach the door, every step heavier than the last. She could tell he had thought this out. Every movement was practiced, like a dance. His gaze was steely, and muscles clenched into tight knots. Nick raised his paw, quivering an inch away from the door.

Knock. Knock.

He took a step back, adjusting his uniform and framing his expression into pure professional police mode. He never did that. The door opened. Nick twitched, but only she could see it.

"Hello?" The old fox said, his fur dropping into wrinkles. Judy was impressed; even in his twilight years, this fox proved to be handsome in some way. Gentlemanly, poised, articulate. The streaks of grey that ran through his fur complimented his sharp eyes and long muzzle.

"ZPD." Nick said, "We're here to ask you some questions about-"

"Nick?"

He narrowed his eyes. Renard leaned forward to get a better picture of the name tag above his badge. N. Wilde. The older fox's jaw tightened his grip on the door handle. "It is you, isn't it."

"Officer Hopps," Judy said, jumping between them. "Sorry to bother you, Sir, but—"

"Seventeen years." Renard said, "Seventeen years, Nick."

"My mother is missing, Renard." Nick said between barred teeth. Judy saw the old fox's face fall, "We'll have the time to talk about everything else later, but right now? Right now, you're gonna start talking."

Renard sighed and nodded. He motioned with his head, letting them inside.