4 hours earlier:

Nick was straightening his tie in the mirror of the locker room when Clawhauser rushed in. "Nick! I've been looking all over for you! The chief wants to see you right away!"

"Settle down, Benji. What's the matter? Someone delete his Gazelle app?"

"I don't know but it must be serious. I've never seen him looking so upset."

Clawhauser hurried off and Nick headed over to Bogo's office wondering what the chief wanted to see him about. He wasn't apprehensive. For all his flippant attitude, he knew he was a good cop and when he saw the chief's door open, he leaned on the jamb nonchalantly. "You wanted to see me, sir?"

"Come in and shut the door." Bogo looked uncharacteristically anxious and a tiny sliver of unease wormed its way into the fox's mind. He closed the door and went over to Bogo's desk and the cape buffalo demanded, "Have you heard from Hopps today?"

The uneasiness grew. "No, sir, but I don't always see her before our shift starts. Sometimes she likes to come in early to catch up on paperwork."

"Yes, she was here this morning when I got a call from the district attorney. He wanted an officer to go out to Sahara Square and pick up a witness. Hopps volunteered." The chief tapped his desk. "They never arrived at the courthouse."

Nick felt a jar go through him like a blow before the pain is felt. "What was the witness going to testify about?"

"She's the attendant of a gas station and caught a couple of juveniles vandalizing the bathroom."

"That doesn't seem serious enough to…" Nick swallowed hard. "That doesn't seem like the kind of witness a cop would be asked to escort."

"Normally, no, but the prosecutor said she was very nervous about testifying." Bogo's hoof was making a dent on his desk and he stopped tapping. "It wasn't even going to be in criminal court, just family court, but the parents had been verbally abusive. You know the sort, their little angels never do anything wrong and if they get in trouble, it's the fault of whoever caught them." Bogo rolled his eyes. "Some animals should never have children." His intercom buzzed and he punched it. "What is it, Clawhauser?"

"I have the district attorney on line one."

Bogo picked up his phone, listened for a few minutes, then hung it up, frowning. "That witness Hopps was supposed to escort just turned up at the courthouse."

Nick sighed with relief. "Nothing like a false alarm first thing in the morning to get the blood going."

"Another officer brought the witness in." Bogo's voice was low. "Hopps is missing."