It is said that despite their rise to sapience, mammals still had a sense of when danger was near. Luckily for Sheriff Griffon, this belief held true
As Andy approached the door leading to the outside, he heard raised voices outside. A cacophony of curses, demands, and angry accusations all blended together. Steeling himself for the confrontation, Andy swung through the door and into the maelstrom.
Casting his gaze across the now crowded yard, he could see over a dozen Hopps males confronting his deputies, seemingly intent on freeing their father from the vehicle he had been imprisoned in. On the other side Depute Barney Fife, an Alpaca, stood resolute facing the growing mob. Though generally thought of as a bumbler by the townsfolk, Barney had taken control of the deputies and now held back the tide of angry bunnies.
"Stu Hopps is under arrest and will remain in the vehicle until we take him to the courthouse to be processed" Barney shouted over the protests of the Hopps boys, even as the mob advanced towards him.
A large rabbit, bib overalls encrusted with grime, stood toe to toe with Barney. The effect would have been more intimidating had the Alpaca not stood almost twice as tall as the bunny. "You let my Pa outta that car, nothing he did was wrong. He was protecting the kits!" His message was greeted with affirmations and cheers of support by many of the crowd behind him, as the farmer looked at Barney with scorn.
Sheriff Griffith sucked in a breath to make an attempt to calm the crowd, but did not get the chance to voice is thoughts; as a small gray blur shot between Barney and the buck.
"HOW DARE YOU!" Judy snarled into the bucks face, "Chester he KILLED NICK! Everyone knew I was bringing Nick to visit, everyone knew he was a fox! And the second…the sec…" Judy's voice cracked, and her whole body shook as she struggled to keep from breaking down. Tears filled her eyes, as she forced herself to continue on despite the pain each word brought to her heart. "And second he got a chance, Daddy killed him!" She turned towards the car shrieking "You killed him!"
Stu did not answer, bowing his head to hide his face from the world outside.
Chester sneered at Judy and leaned forward, ready to shove the doe to the side, emboldened by yells of outrage from his kin. But before he went another step, Barney made his presence known again, the loud ratcheting noise of the pump action shotgun in his hands instantly silencing the crowd.
"You may not want to press your luck Chester" Andy called from the front porch, "We don't have rubber bullets for our shotguns like we did in Zootopia. Bunny Borough doesn't have the budget for them, so we only have the lead kind". Andy pressed forward, parting the crowd as he continued to speak "And though it has been awhile since Barney has used one, I can assure you that he does indeed know how."
Andy climbed into the driver's seat of the cruiser, glancing briefly at Stu in the back to ensure he was secure before calling out to his deputy. "Barney, can you do me a favor and escort Officer Hopps to the office? I have some questions that I would like to ask her."
Barney nodded without taking his eyes from the crowd, gently placing his hand on Judy's shoulder and steering her towards the other cruiser. But before he could get her in the car, the stretcher bearing the body of Nick Wilde came out of the house. With a wail the doe broke loose from his grip and frantically tried to reach her fox, only to have the forensics team block her path
A serious faced black bunny stood before Judy, the rest of the coroner's team quickly transferring Nick's body into the ambulance. "Ms. Hopps, I know you want to go with him…but his body is now evidence. You of all people need to let us do our jobs so that we can ensure that justice is done."
Judy's eyes continued to rain tears as she slowly made her way back to the cruiser. Deputy Fife gently helped her into the car, so they could follow the sheriff into town.
As he drove the morose bunny to the town center, Andy glanced into the rear view mirror. He did not speak to Stu, leaving that task until they reached the courthouse, Andy instead reviewed what he had learned while the Hopps homestead.
From what he had gathered, Andy knew that Judy and Nick Wilde had arrived for their first visit to the meet her parents. Apparently before their arrival, Judy had informed them that Nick was a fox. Given her upbringing, it was more than a little surprising, but the Hopps clan had established a more tolerant attitude about dealing with foxes recently.
What had surprised Andy was how the entire family had said the old buck was not put out by the news at all. In fact, Stu seemed relaxed at the announcement and just warned everyone to give the newcomer his space. After that, Stu had retreated to the barn after saying that he wanted to finish up some work before meeting Nick for the first time. Witnesses saw him later that afternoon, coming from the barn with a blunt object in his paws.
From there Stu went into the warren where he found Judy helping her mother in the kitchen, having left Nick in a nursery with some of the kits. Judy offered to go with her father to greet Nick, but Stu insisted that he go alone, so that he could "Get a proper feel" for the boy. Shortly after her father had departed, Judy and her mother heard several kits screaming as they ran from the nursery as Nick begged for Stu to stop. When Judy was finally able to disengage herself from terrified kits and make her way into the nursery, she found her father standing over Nick; bloody weapon in hand.
Andy shook his head again, amazed that this quiet farmer had done so much damage to the fox. From his time working in Zootopia, Andy had seen horrible things. Mice crushed underfoot during morning rush, domestic disputes that turned ugly in the worst way, even gang executions and mob hits. But the condition of Nick Wilde's body would haunt him.
"You gotta understand sheriff, I had to protect my kits"
Stu Hopps sat alone in the interrogation room. Actually an interrogation room would imply that the Bunny Borough PD had spent money to get an actual room for this function. Fortunately for Bunny Borough, crime was not a pressing factor. So, the police facilities were more tuned for traffic violations and rambunctious kits, and were not designed to support the more advanced aspects of crimefighting. So, Stu had been handcuffed to a sturdy chair in the sheriff's office after processing. His eyes staring ahead without really registering the room he was in as Andy came through the door.
"Coffee Stu?" Andy offered, holding out a plain white mug. Stu stared for a second, before slowly reaching up to take hold of the mug in both hands.
"Thank you sheriff." Stu mumbled out as he took a deep drink. Stu stared into his coffee, as if seeking answers from his own reflection. But try as he might, Stu could not clear his head, the cloud of what had happened and what could happen in the future roiled in his mind.
Andy looked at the troubled buck, his own mind still trying to process how "Waterworks" Stu Hopps had just beaten another mammal to death. "Stu," Andy started, pressing the button on the recorder on his desk "Do you have a lawyer coming?"
At that the old buck reverted to a small kit, Stu's eyes tearing up as he just looked at the sherrif.
The hound sighed, "Stu, you can use my phone. Call someone at your house, I am sure that they have already called a lawyer. But, I want to be sure."
Stu gave a watery smile, "Seems I have to say 'thank you sheriff' a lot these days" he said sadly as he picked up the phone. After a short, hushed conversation, Stu nodded to the sheriff as he hung up the phone. "Sheriff, he is on his way"
At this the sheriff smiled as he walked across the room towards the door "Alright Stu, I am a simple mammal. Rather than get your lawyer all up in a tiff because I spoke with you without him here, we are just going to wait for his arrival before starting; ok. I will send Barney in here to keep you company while I take care of some business"
Stu nodded again, holding on to the mug of coffee like a lifeline. Barney came in to relieve Andy, leaning over to whisper into his ear "Judy Hopps is asking to see her father"