Chapter 13 - Got Your Goat
A squad of beavers marched around the bed, their heavy paws thumping on the floor with a slow deep rhythm. They each wore the typical orange safety vest over a blue shirt and a stiff yellow helmet covered their tiny ears. As each one passed the head of the bed they would bring their thick flat tails down on the mattress with a loud thump that shook the bed.
"Shoo," Judy swatted at them. "Go away!"
The beavers' only response was to steal the bed covers and march even faster causing the room to spin.
Feeling her sour stomach rise in the back of her throat, the rabbit tried to rush to her toilet but she was held fast to the bed.
Struggling to free herself she opened her eyes and realized that she was sprawled across Nick's bare chest. His dark red paw stretched over her back to clutch her fluffy tail and his loud snoring filled her sensitive ears.
Before the rabbit could ponder how she had arrived in the fox's bed, the dizziness returned. For a brief moment, she worried about the profound indiscretions they may have shared, but those thoughts were quickly thrown off like his red-furred arm, and she bolted towards the bathroom. While the rabbit was noisily sick in the other room, the todd continued to snore away.
After briefly cleaning herself up, Judy walked down the short hall of the one bedroom apartment, with a paw held to her forehead in pain. It was still dark outside but her stomach growled angrily so she headed to the kitchen. Rummaging through the nearly bare kitchen cabinets her stomach growled again and she forced down a wave of queasiness.
"Does he ever have any food in this place?"
She squealed excitedly upon discovering a half-full can of coffee before covering her muzzle as the sound echoed loudly in the quiet apartment. Not wanting to make too much noise and wake the sleeping fox, she quietly started a pot of coffee.
While the fresh pot of dark liquid was brewing, she found an unopened box of pancake mix in one of the lower cabinets, and a small carton of Hopps' blueberries at the back of the fridge. The blueberries were a little old and some were starting to get dry, but they were still in good enough condition to go in the batter.
As the first batch of sweet, berry-filled dough was sizzling in the pan, her tall, fluffy ears picked up the sound of her crime fighting partner stumbling into the bathroom to relieve himself.
"It would have been nice if he shut the door first", she thought, flipping the sizzling dough. But she would tolerate it this once, assuming his headache was as bad as hers.
When the fox finally arrived, with nothing on but his boxers, he gave her a big smile, showing his front two fangs. He greeted her warmly. "Morning Carrots."
A slight glance at his well toned body brought a blush to her ears and she quickly turned away trying not to think about what may have happened between them the night before. "Let him empty that can of worms. And when he does, he is going to get such an earful," the rabbit though, pouring another circle of dough into the hot skillet.
"I hope you slept well," he said, interrupting her thoughts. "How was the couch?"
"The couch? Maybe he doesn't know. Maybe we didn't," her thoughts bounced around her head like balls of flubber, picking up speed each time they ricocheted off the inside of her skull. Her eyes barely brushed across his bare, cream-colored chest, and she shoved a plate with a stack of syrup covered pancakes into his paws. A steaming cup of coffee quickly joined the mountain of calories as the bunny shyly turned away from the attractive todd and said, "It was fine."
A pair of emerald green eyes gazed across the sweet stack of breakfast to fall upon the rabbit's tail. The oversized black t-shirt she still wore had managed to hike up her backside, and was comfortably resting on her bright white tail. His snarky, foxy, attitude could not resist the comment, "Nice tail, Fluff."
Two lavender eyes glared fiercely at him, while a pink nose twitched faster than Flash's race car. Judy tugged the back of the shirt over her tail then shook her paws in his direction. "Shoo!" she said, "Go eat on the couch."
Winking at her, he left the kitchen sipping his coffee.
Grabbing a smaller stack of pancakes and her own mug, she joined him and they ate their breakfast sitting together in the living room. They both ate in silence, but she could not keep her eyes off him. She watched his claws, as they handled the knife and fork. Focusing on his front fangs, she felt a curious tingle run through her body, as they sliced through each bite of his syrup-covered food.
Halfway through her plateful, her ears shot to attention as she heard soft pawsteps outside the apartment door. They were soon joined by a firm rapping sound on the thick wooden door.
"Let me get that," Nick said, dropping the sticky fork and jumping to his paws.
Opening the door, he greeted a small, tan, desert fox with large bat like ears, "Hey, Buddy. How is it going?" The smaller fox, standing at the door, was wearing a black bowling shirt with a single red stripe down one side. "What brings you to this neighborhood?"
Finnick mostly lived out of his van, so anywhere he could find a parking spot was technically home.
Accepting Nick's invitation, the smaller fox stepped into the apartment. "I managed to acquire these tuskball tickets," he said, keeping his paws in his pockets. "And, I just thought you might like to join me this once."
Nick quickly looked over at the rabbit sitting on the couch, who was curiously watching their exchange, before he realized that she wouldn't recognize one of Finnick's code words. It meant he had a hot scam lined up and needed a partner to help collect the payoff.
"Sorry, Pal. I will have to take a rain check this time," the reynard said leading the fennec through the kitchen. "Judy made a few spare pancakes if you want some."
"So, is that bunny living with you now?" Finnick asked, grabbing a plate and adding two pancakes to it.
Nick returned to his own half eaten breakfast on the couch and Finnick sat in the armchair on the opposite side of the coffee table.
Finnick picked up one of the hot, fluffy circles in his bare paws, rolled it up like a burrito and began shoving it into his long muzzle.
Nearly finished with her own breakfast, Judy turned to her partner and stated, "You know, I've never been to a live ball game before. We should go sometime."
With his mouth full of syrupy goodness the red todd mumbled his reply, "Sure, ok." Syrup dripped down the side of his muzzle as he spoke.
One tall ear twitched as Judy watched the syrup dribble down and mat the fur on his cheek.
"Are you always such a messy eater?" she demanded. "Let me get that." Then, forsaking the napkins, she stood up on the couch cushions, bent over and began to lick up the sweet sugary mess on the side of his muzzle.
Once again the old frayed shirt, hiked up her rear to rest on her fluffy cotton tail, revealing the bright orange cotton panties covering her backside.
Finnick's eyes grew three sizes larger at the rabbits' inadvertent exposition. He then coughed with sarcasm drooling from his lips, "You two really do make such a lovely couple."
The rabbit immediately stopped to glare at the smaller fox, "We are NOT a couple!"
"Could have fooled me," the fennec said flatly.
"What makes you say that buddy?" the red fox asked.
"She is wearing your clothes for one," he said ticking off a finger on his paw.
"My clothes are in the wash, and Nick kindly let me borrow this until they are done," Judy replied heartily, tugging on the old Guns and Rodents t-shirt.
"Two. It's pretty obvious that you're sleeping together." Finnick's strong nose could tell that she had Nick's scent all over her, and not just from the shirt.
Judy quickly covered her open muzzle with a paw, and desperately tried to think of a solid defense, but Nick charged to her rescue. "She was sick last night, so I let her stay on my couch. Despite what you think, pal, there is nothing else going on here."
The two foxes looked over at the rabbit's open jaws questioningly.
"What?" she demanded. "Sorry, it was just a yawn. I need some more coffee," she said trying to cover her earlier surprise as she stretched and sipped deeply from the still warm cup.
"And three," the light brown, desert fox ticked off the last finger on his paw, "Your rabbit is surely not afraid to be affectionate in public."
Once again Nick jumped to her defense, and looked in her direction, "It's just a rabbit thing, isn't it?"
Nodding she patted his paw and replied, "Mmmhmm, yep."
"All rabbit's are just overly, um, friendly."
"So what are you saying?" Finnick asked, still not convinced by their reasoning. He rolled up the last pancake on his plate, and began slowly chomping on it.
Nick squeezed her paw in return, "Carrots and I are just really good friends is all."
Jumping across the couch, the rabbit gave the big fox a warm hug, "He is my best friend, and lets me be myself, without any judgement."
Letting go of the barely dressed mammal, she noticed his fur was still ruffled from sleep and pointed a now dulled claw at his chest, "Maybe you should take a shower and get ready for work."
"Oh, right," the red fox said, climbing off the couch and walking back into the bathroom.
Once the shower was running the desert fox turned back to the rabbit and inquired, "So if you're seriously not with Nick, and you're not taken, are you still interested in seeing a local tuskball game?"
"Don't you already have a girlfriend," the rabbit said, collecting the breakfast plates off of the coffee table. She carried them into the kitchen where she promptly placed them into the sink and began filling it with hot water.
"Who told you that?" the little fox asked gruffly from across the room.
Turning to look over her shoulder she replied, "Oh, Nick said you teamed up with some vixen, and the two of you were working together now."
With his ears sticking up Finnick stared at her coldly, "Yeah. Working together. We are definitely not dating."
As the water in the sink slowly filled, Judy began searching around the counters for any sign of dish soap or a scrubbing sponge. When she finally found them in the cabinet under the sink she apologized, "Sorry, I just thought, well, you know ..."
"Well don't, ok," he replied walking into the kitchen to see why she was rummaging around in the cupboards. "She is great at playing a mother down on her luck and fast with her paws, but she is not someone I want to spend too much time with ya hear."
"Yeah, I get it, I think," the rabbit said squeezing several drops of liquid soap into the sink, now half full of steaming hot water. Watching the foaming bubbles quickly fill up the rest of the sink she continued sarcastically, "Who wants to spend all day, everyday, with the same people you have to work with."
The fennec continued like he hadn't heard a word she said, "Besides, since Nick got this new job, I still need someone to push the stroller."
"I always thought it was Nick's stroller."
"No, the stroller, and the elephant suit are both mine."
Judy was just placing the last clean dish on the rack when Nick walked out of his bedroom half dressed in his police uniform. His unbuttoned shirt looked like it had been laying on the floor all night, and the tie was haphazardly flung across his shoulders. He carefully attempted to fasten the first button on the shirt while walking into the kitchen and casually asked, "So what are you two talking about?"
Without a second thought, or even looking up at the taller fox, Finnick replied, "Carla."
"Oh nice," Nick said working his way through the rest of the buttons. "How is she working out?"
Once the sink was drained and the dish soap placed back in the cabinet, Judy quickly hopped towards the bathroom crying, "I'm next." The bathroom door slammed suddenly and soon after the sound of flowing water could be heard.
Finnick did not wait for the rabbit to exit the kitchen before answering Nick's question, "With all the months that you have been gone, she has really started to pick things up."
"Well I am really glad for ya buddy," the red fox said struggling with the second to last button.
"She even found a new spot for the pawpsicle cart."
"Oh really," Nick said when he noticed that he had an extra button on his shirt that didn't fit. He then began to unbutton all of it before starting over from the beginning.
"Yeah, it's actually been pretty good so far," the little fox said proudly. "Well, not as good as the Lemming Brothers on a hot day, but still not bad."
"That's great Fin. By the way, where is this new place she found?"
Finnick's eyes narrowed, and he practically glared at his old partner, "Whoa, hold on there buddy. Now that you're no longer in the business, you think that I'm just going to spill all my trade secrets?!"
Finishing up the last button with success, Nick began tucking in the shirt. "I already know all your deals. Besides, I'm legit now, and I might just want to stop on by and buy a pawpsicle or two every once in a while."
Still standing in the kitchen near the now empty sink, the smaller fox looked up thoughtfully for several moments before replying, "Fine, it's on the corner of Wildaburg and Snyder Lane."
"You mean next to the old Marie Cougars building?"
"Yeah, they tore that down right after you left. It's a new construction site now. They're putting in something huge, with lots of hungry construction workers willing to buy anything when they are on break, which seems to be just about all the time," Finnick said with a chuckle.
Straightening out the tie, Nick cheerfully replied, "You know, I'm really glad it's been working out so well for ya."
A harsh grunt escaped the desert fox's muzzle. He lifted a paw to one ear checking for the sounds of splashing coming from the shower before he changed the subject. "I don't get you," he said pointing at Nick.
"What's not to get?"
"You," the fennec almost growled. "This whole change of jobs and the new attitude of yours."
Black paws stopped mid fold, and a pair of green eyes stared at the smaller fox blankly.
"You bring home a hot, and very drunk, female. Let her sleep on your couch, in your shirt even, and you don't even take advantage of the situation. This is not the slick Nick I used to know."
Nick shrugged and undid the now loosened knot in his tie.
The small, brown fox continued to rant, "She made you blueberry pancakes! And did the dishes." He waved his arms around the kitchen to emphasize his point. "I don't believe for one second that something isn't going on here."
Nick let the tie hang loose across his chest, and with a sigh, put both hands on his knees and bent down to look directly at his old partner. "Trust me Finnick," he said with a serious tone in his voice, "there is absolutely nothing going on between Judy and me."
Finnick turned away from the larger mammal with his arms crossed, "Why should I believe you?"
Nick stood up and frantically tried to finish his tie without much success, "We're working partners for one."
The fennec raised his arms in a gesture that clearly said, "so what."
"It's highly frowned upon."
"When has that ever stopped the sly fox you used to be?"
Giving up on the tie, Nick threw his arms in the air, "Ok fine, you want to know the truth?"
"I want to know what made you quit the streets for this bunny cop," Finnick spat the last two words like he had stepped in something gross with a new pair of shoes.
"She saved my life, ok," Nick nearly shouted into the air. "And she respects me and relies on me."
Finnick stared up at the taller fox like he was a stranger speaking a foreign language.
Not noticing the other fox's confusion, Nick continued his confession, "And she makes me feel like I'm her big brother, like she would be completely lost in this city without me. And that damn cheerful enthusiasm makes me believe that I can do anything." When he finally finished, he let out a deep breath and puffed out his chest with a look in his eyes, like he would take this day by the horns and wrestle it to the ground, even if those horns were attached to a two ton buffalo.
"Ok, I get it, Just don't try to slip me any of whatever it is you two are on."
"Sure, we will be sure to keep our healthy exuberance to ourselves, ya old grumpy butt."
"Just be careful, ok."
"What? Why is that?"
"She really has you wrapped around her little finger, doesn't she?"
Putting both paws on his hips, Nick glared down at the fennec and coldly replied, "She is not like the other vixens."
"Hey boys," a sweet cheerful voice said from behind them, causing both foxes to jump slightly and turn around.
A well groomed and fully uniformed rabbit half walked, half hopped around the corner and into the kitchen with her ears held tall. Not a whisker or eye lash was out of place. Her crisp, picture perfect uniform was immaculate. Every crease and fold was by the book straight, and every item on her belt was in its proper place. She looked like the cop every child aspired to be when they grew up.
Waving her phone above her head she strutted past the two stunned foxes saying, "Clawhouser called and said that our doctor just arrived at the clinic, so we had better get moving if we want to catch a goat."
Not stopping for a reply, she headed out the front door while the todds could only gawk as she passed.
From out in the hall her voice could be heard, "You two might want to close those mouths before you catch any flies."
A tropical storm that had been brewing off the coast of Zootopia for weeks finally made landfall early that morning, only to sputter out and die as it hit the shoreline. The cold, wet air appeared to the casual morning mammal as if a large white wall had rolled up out of the sea to engulf the city in a thick blanket of fog.
The misty air left the streets wet and slick like after a heavy rain. The parking lot outside the family planning clinic was no exception. It had a dark black sheen across its surface, giving the appearance of fresh, new asphalt.
Huge pine trees growing in front of the building loomed out of the grey clouds as if they were silent, stone giants guarding the entrance to vast, ancient ruins. The fog was so thick, that for the two small cops pulling into the parking lot, the tall, glass clinic was now dark and mysterious. It might have been a medieval stone castle, besieged and broken, or an abandoned ship, lost far out at sea. Even as they parked the black and white cruiser, only a hint of the building entrance appeared behind the shadows of the majestic trees.
"It shouldn't be this dark so late in the morning," the rabbit thought, climbing out of the car. Judy lifted her head and sniffed the air above her, searching for the sun. All she found was a faint yellow disk hanging slightly above the dark outline of some trees in the distance.
"Are you sure this is the right place?" a sleepy voice asked from the far side of the car.
As short as bunnies are, Judy wasn't able to see over the hood of her own police car, but she could still recognize the sound of her partner's voice, and the yawn that followed it.
"Still did not get enough sleep, lazy bones?" she called cautiously, watching the distinct shape of a predator appear around the front of her car. "You even had an extra nap on the way over here."
The fox simply opened his jaws wide, baring several large white fangs, while he yawned and didn't even bother covering it with a paw. He reached both arms above and behind his head, in a long morning stretch.
Suddenly, two small, grey paws, reached out of the fog and grabbed his muzzle, forcing his jaws closed. "Oh no you don't," the rabbit cried holding his mouth shut firmly. "You are not getting me that e-e-easily," she said, trying very hard not to yawn with the last word, but eventually gave up and had to let go of his muzzle and cover her own tiny half-yawn.
"She is so cute when she does that," Nick thought, chuckling to himself.
"See what you did," she exclaimed, trying not to yawn a second time, before punching him firmly in the arm. "This is serious Nick, we have work to do and I really need you to focus right now."
"Ok, I am just messing with you, ya know," he said, covering another yawn with his paw this time. "Besides you're just so darn cu, eew, ah, oops," stumbling through the last few words, he watched as his partner balled up her fist and raised it above her head glaring at him.
The small, grey fist descended swiftly towards the fox's arm while the rabbit exclaimed, "Don't call me cute!"
She had only meant to hit him on his shoulder, but at the last second he turned his head to dodge, causing the furious, grey fist to graze his jaw instead. There was still enough force in those small paws the glancing blow spun the fox around and he slipped on the wet pavement. Losing his balance, he kicked both feet in front of him, and made a fair attempt at planting his tail into the hard, black surface of the parking lot with a loud crunch.
"Oh no, Nick," Judy screamed, rushing to try and catch him mid fall. As the fox lay sprawled out on the wet asphalt, the rabbit rushed over to help him up, "I am so sorry. I didn't mean too, um, are you hurt?"
"Only my pride, sweetheart," he said with a smirk, "only my pride." Reaching out his paws, he let the rabbit officer pull on his arms. He groaned and gritted his teeth, leaning on her slightly, as she helped him to stand up.
Back on their feet again, the duo headed towards the entrance of the clinic without any further incidents, aside from a slight limp in the taller officer's steps.
Once inside, the receptionist was very warm and friendly when they told her they were here about yesterday's break-in. She told them that Dr. Walia had moved to a new office on the fourth floor, and even asked a passing nurse to escort them up to his office.
In the elevator, Nick stood in the corner leaning on the handrails. He kept switching between the left and the right sides to try and take the weight off his sore rump while pretending like nothing was out of the ordinary.
When they arrived, the fourth floor hallway was wide, spacious and much brighter, with the morning sun starting to shine through the windows. Being a rabbit, Judy could not help but bask in the warm rays peeking over the dense layer of fog covering the ground outside. The early morning light always invigorated the small mammal, and like a warm cup of coffee, helped her take on the new day. She was nearly skipping down the hall behind the nurse.
Looking back, she noticed her partner struggling to step across the gap leading out of the elevator. The lift would wobble slightly every time he tried to step across it, causing him to grasp the edge of the door and plant his paws firmly on the floor before it would stop shaking. She gasped and immediately rushed back to help him.
With both paws once again on a solid, stable floor, he returned to the same suave walk he used everyday. Unlike Judy's enthusiasm over the bright sunlight, Nick blinked and held up a paw to cover his eyes. Having left the aviators in the car, he had to squint just to see where the nurse and his partner had gone.
A short distance past the elevator, the nurse turned a corner and headed down a narrower hall, lit by much less intense fluorescent lamps built into the ceiling. After another corner, the nurse stopped and knocked on one of the office doors.
"Dr. Walia," she called, "you have visitors," and a muffled voice replied from the other side. Opening the door, she showed them inside, then excused herself to return to her own duties.
Inside of the well-furnished office sat a large oak desk, several potted ferns, and a tall bookshelf covered in neatly arranged ornaments and photos. Someone had carefully placed googly eyes on a miniature cactus, with oddly bent arms, that sat on the top shelf. Sitting in a dark chocolate brown chair behind the desk, was a tall tan and white ibex, wearing a long white lab coat over an old fashioned checkered shirt with a conservatively striped tie.
The goat was writing on a sheet of paper that belonged to a series of files from one of the many manila folders neatly stacked on his desk. Without looking up from the files he gestured to a plush chair in front of the desk. "Please have a seat, I will be with you in a second."
Both cops looked at each other puzzled before stepping into the room. Judy pulled out her notepad and carrot pen, and climbed into the proffered chair. She stood up to see over the large desk, and said in her official police voice, "Dr. Walia, we are here to ask you some questions about the break-in yesterday."
A loud clatter was heard when the doctor's pen fell and hit the finely polished desktop. The well-dressed doctor lifted his head slowly, surprise covering his muzzle, before it was quickly replaced with a frown. He looked down his nose at the small officer standing on the chair in front of him with a scowl, "You're not the appointment I was expecting this morning."
Judy scribbled some notes on her pad before looking back at the tall doctor, "Unfortunately we missed you yesterday after the incident. Dr. Bernese, from across the hall, was most helpful, but we wanted to hear the details from you directly."
He exhaled sharply through his long nose in a huff and leaned back in the stylish and comfortable chair. Raising one hoof, he scratched at his narrow beard silently. His eyes bulged angrily as he eyed the uniformed fox sauntering into his office.
"That's fine if you need to think for a moment, we can wait," Nick added when he noticed the goat was stalling to reply to Officer Hopps' question.
The hoof that was scratching slowly fell to rest on the arm of the chair, and the doctor opened his muzzle to speak. It closed shortly after as he watched the pair of cops for several seconds.
One of Judy's eyebrows raised and her foot began to thump softly on the cushion beneath her.
When the goat finally spoke, his haughty attitude had quickly turned to one of distress, "I don't have any idea why anyone would do such a thing." He spread out his long arms to emphasize his confusion. They did not reach the ends of the large desk. "It's not like there was anything valuable in there anyways."
"Ok. Please tell us, in your own words, exactly what happened when you arrived at the scene yesterday," the rabbit asked.
The doctor closed his eyes for a moment, and his left ear twitched like he was trying to swat at an annoying fly. "Alright," he sighed and shook slightly, "the place was a mess. Broken furniture, and glass and papers everywhere. I already knew something was wrong when I got to my office and saw that my door was left wide open. I always close that door when I leave."
"Did you see anything missing, or out of place when you got here?"
"I rummaged around on the desk for a bit, and that's when I saw it," he said, a lump clearly forming in his throat, and his eyes were getting rather moist. "There it was, under a torn up report. My wife's picture was torn in half and thrown on the floor like a piece of trash," he cried angrily, tears streaming down one side of his face.
Letting the doctor cry for a moment, Judy pulled out her phone and began searching for something. When she found what she was looking for she showed it to the distraught goat, "Is this her?"
"Yes, that's Cindy, still as beautiful as ever," he sniffled, trying to wipe his eyes dry. "It's already been five years, but I still remember it like it was yesterday." He suddenly stopped and stared into the distance.
"Go on," the rabbit urged, her pen held high over the notepad, "remember what, 'like it was yesterday?'"
"She had such a beautiful funeral after the accident," he said matter of factly, but his eyes were clearly focused somewhere else. "There was not a cloud in the sky. The sun was so bright that day, and all of her friends were there, and the flowers were so delicious. Everything couldn't have been more perfect."
"I see. And how did your wife die, doctor?"
Still staring off dreamily he answered her question suddenly, "Oh, she fell. Hit her head on a rock."
"She fell?" Judy asked, her ears perked up and her nose began to twitch.
"Yeah, she slipped and fell down a cliff while out jogging one morning," the goat let out a deep breath. "She did love to run, my Cindy."
"And where was this at?"
The goat's eyes suddenly focused angrily on the rabbit in front of his desk. "Over by the university. What does this have to do with the break-in?"
"Um, well. We did find her picture torn up on your desk, so were just trying to rule out if it's somehow related."
"That was five years ago. How could it possibly have anything to do with my office getting trashed?"
Judy tried to keep a serious, professional face in front of the angry mountain goat. "Just one more question Dr. Walia."
"Sure, anything I can do to help our cities finest," he uttered sarcastically.
"What do you know about the empty beer can, we found in the trash bin?"
"What beer can," he coughed shortly and his ear twitched, swatting at the unseen fly again, "I don't even drink beer."
"We found an empty can of Hogswiser in the trash under your desk," the rabbit said, noting his reaction.
With his nose in the air, and in a calm voice he said, "Like I said, it's not mine. Whoever broke in and trashed my office must have left it."
At that moment the phone on the doctor's desk buzzed, and the receptionist voice could be heard over the speaker. "Dr. Walia, your nine thirty is here."
The goat pressed a button on his phone and responded, "Thank you, Miss Shala. Please send them up." He then turned to the small pair of cops, and with a well practiced smile he said, "Well, it's been enlightening, but I have patients waiting for me. I do hope that any meager details you found today will help you catch whomever did this."
Standing up, he motioned to the door. "And if you have any more questions for me, please don't hesitate to call."
"Thank you very much, Dr. Walia," Judy exclaimed while shaking the doctor's hoof. "We will be sure to contact you if we find anything." She climbed down from the chair and casually walked out the door with her red-furred partner following behind.
Before she took one step through the open portal Nick whispered something in her ear and she turned to wink at him. "Sly fox," she formed the words silently with her muzzle and Nick rolled his eyes. Then turning around she confronted the goat again. "I do have one more question for you doctor."
Sitting back in his chair, the doctor let out a short, anxious sigh and folded his hooves, "Yes, officer. How can I help?"
"Well, you see. We have this other case that we're working on, and my partner and I were wondering if you might be able to help us identify someone in a picture?" the rabbit asked shyly.
"Sure, it can't hurt I suppose."
Flipping through several pictures on her phone she handed him the small device. After one glance his face turned to shock and he nearly dropped the phone on her while stuttering three words. "That's my wi-..."
Nick's sharp ears perked up and he turned around asking, "That's your what?"
Catching the phone before it landed on the small officer, he was also able to recover his calm demeanor, "That is the same lingerie I bought my wife on our anniversary." He then pinched his hooves on the phone, zooming in on the photo for a second look.
"What kind of sick joke is this?" he exclaimed, handing the phone back to Judy forcefully. "That's not even a real goat, just some pred in a mask."
Both cops stared at the tall doctor with their jaws wide open, but Nick recovered first and asked, "What do you mean?"
"Are you two really that blind? Goats don't have paws, see," he held up his hoof with three sharp digits.
Ashamed, Nick covered his eyes with a paw, wiped it down his muzzle and cried out, "Why didn't I see that?"
Judy stepped over to her partner and began rubbing his arm in comfort, "It's ok Nick. I spent three days looking at that photo and never noticed the paws either."
"Thanks, Carrots, that makes me feel really brilliant now," he sighed, giving her a quick hug.
Seeing the brief show of affection, the ibex glared at them and began to shoo them out of his office, "If this interview is over, I really have a lot of work to do."
"Ok," Judy replied cheerfully walking out into the hall, "but if you find out anything else about who would break into your office, please let us know."
As Judy and her partner were turning the first corner in the hall, her large sensitive ears barely picked up the goat gruffly exclaiming to himself, "filthy inters." She didn't comment on what she heard until they both entered the elevator, and the door had sealed shut.
"Nick?" the rabbit asked somberly.
"Yes, what's on your mind Carrots?"
She looked into his eyes and innocently asked, "What are 'Inters?'"
The surprise on his face could not have been more obvious. His paw fell to his side even before pressing the button for the first floor. "Do you really not know what that means?"
"Yeah, I've never heard it before," she sighed, "At least not used like that."
"Wait," Nick turned and knelt down to look her in the eye. "Where did you hear it? Just now, or somewhere else in this building I'm guessing?"
"The doctor just said it."
"Oh."
"I could barely hear anything from down the hall, and around the corner, but I think I heard him say the words, 'filthy inters'"
"That son of a-," the fox exclaimed, reaching for the open door button on the control panel, but the rabbit placed her paw gently on his arm.
"Don't, Nick. Leave it be, ok." Once again her calming touch sent shivers through his body. "What does it mean anyway?"
His first thoughts to her question was, "mammals like us." Instead he looked at her and replied, "It's a crude, derogatory term that's not used very much these days."
"And?" she looked back and him with those curiously gleaming amethyst eyes.
Not being able to withstand the cute bunny glare very long, he caved in, "Inters is short for Interspecies Relations. It's very rude in most circles, and only used by haters, those who are against those kinds of affairs."
"Oh, I see. That's very strange though. Why would the doctor have said something like that?" the rabbit's nose began to twitch.
"What is even stranger," the fox replied, "is if the doctor feels that way about mixed couples, why is he still working in a place like this?"
The elevator dinged and the two small cops got out on the first floor. As they were passing the front desk, the receptionist stopped them and said that the director wanted to see them before they left.
Back on the other side of the building, where the fertility research was being conducted, they met up with the building's director. The director was a tall coyote with mismatched fur coloring, and a pair of artificial legs. She was wearing a dark business outfit with an expensive jacket and a tasteful skirt, instead of the long lab coat she wore the last time they met.
Also, unlike last time, they were not meeting the director in her office, but behind the building near the trash dumpsters. Here, one of the lab techs was shoveling some grey ash out of an incinerator and into a large compactor.
"So after our conversation yesterday," the well dressed coyote was addressing them professionally, "I did some more digging, and I ran across a discrepancy in our waste records from two days ago."
The small rabbit officer was once again taking notes as the director spoke.
"I discovered that a rather large batch of failed treatments was scheduled to be burned the other night."
"Failed treatments?" Judy asked.
"Yes. As I explained yesterday. We make our treatments customized to specific couples' needs, as well as trial batches." the coyote related, pointing to the tips of her fingers, like ticking off items on a shopping list. "If anything goes wrong with a batch, it is recalled and scheduled for incineration."
"Ah, ok. I think I understand." the small officer acknowledged, turning the page on her notepad and quickly scratching more notes.
"Even though the batch was scheduled to be burned," the director continued, "there was no evidence that this furnace had been lit. Every use has to be logged, and it takes hours to heat up before it can be used, and hours longer to cool down. The last logged usage was over three days ago, and Edgar here," she politely pointed at the lab worker, "says the furnace was dead cold, and empty when he came to work in the morning."
While his partner and the director were talking, Nick was inspecting the cavernous hole inside the incinerator that was filled with a light grey ash. After several minutes of listening to the director's explanation, he added his own comment, "I don't quite follow you director. If they didn't get burned the other night then what is the problem. Couldn't they have been destroyed later? Like here for instance?" He queried, pointing to the ash being shoveled into the trash in front of him.
"That, officer, is an entirely different batch. I watched Edgar load this one myself, after I found the discrepancy in our records."
"They are just pills right. How can you tell the difference?"
"Each batch has a very specific code number punched into the tops. If you look at the numbers it becomes very hard to mix them up."
"That's good to know," Nick noted as Judy scribbled.
"And where is this other batch," the rabbit added.
"That's just it, we don't know. They aren't anywhere on the premises," the business mammal declared with her arms crossed. "I would like to file a report for a stolen batch of very expensive drugs."
[A/N] I heartily apologize to all of the loyal readers out there, but this chapter was a real struggle for me just to get past the breakfast scene with Finnick. I rewrote it three times last year, and every time it came out way to flirty between Judy and Finnick so I eventually just ended up against a brick wall and let the story go. So I do sincerely apologize for my absence.
However I am back now, for however long I can stay focused, or romantically inclined enough to write more fluff for you all. Believe me, I want to find out how this story ends as much as you do. I seriously would like to finish at least the first couple of parts before the next film comes out.
To that end I think I need to try and pace myself a bit better. Instead of slamming out several chapters all at once like I have in the past I think I should try and break them up a bit more.
Unfortunately thats not how the ideas flow for me. Usually I have alot of ideas hit me all at once, and not just one chapter at a time, but several all jumbled together. I have Ideas for the next four or five chapters, plus another story all together, and yet I still dont know how this one is going to end :(
Also a big thanks to everyone who is still readying this story and thank you Libious' story Wilde Heart, which inspired me to pick up the pen again and continue writing.
I didnt want to mention this but you can also blame this annoying epidemic for giving me a reason to stay home with little to do but read zootopia stories. :p Stay safe and hope this trouble passes soon.