Chapter 17 - Striped Confessions
Warm morning light filled the narrow alley as nearby street lights winked out one by one. The buildings were so close together that a herd of rhinoceros would have been forced to walk through single file or scrape their tough hides on the red brick walls. Small drifts of sand were piled up along the edges of the alley and an old, faded pair of orange arrows painted on the pavement were replaced by freshly burnt tire tracks.
Sitting near the mouth of the alley between several multistory buildings, was a large, black and white cruiser. The engine was running and both front windows were rolled down to let in the cool dawn breeze. A catchy tune could be heard softly streaming through the open windows and it echoed between the buildings.
Hanging from the brick wall and directly in line with the driver's side door, was a small sliding glass window with a 'Now Hiring' sign stuck to the dust covered glass. A skinny, stainless steel shelf stuck out from underneath the dirty window like a shiny ledge jutting out over a vast desert cliff. The shelf was dented and scratched by several claw marks of varying lengths and a dark, sticky stain clung to the long edge.
A bright smile, whose warmth rivaled that of the morning sun, covered the muzzle of the light grey and white mammal sitting in the driver's seat. The rabbit stared patiently at the sliding window less than a meter from her sparkling, purple eyes. She was leaning against her door with one arm resting outside while she was humming and whistling along happily with the radio.
When the song changed to something more mellow, she turned from her intense inspection of the dusty portal and looked at the red-furred mammal in the passenger seat. Her eyes fell on the uniformed fox sitting beside her and she let out a happy sigh, smiling brightly. The rabbit's large bucked tooth peeking through her warm smile as she opened her muzzle to speak, "Did you ever finish that report yesterday?"
Without looking up from the email app on his phone, the fox casually replied, "Yeah, I barely got out of the office in time to pay my rent." He swiped a claw across the screen twice and tapped on an image in the center before rapidly tapping with the claws on the ends of his thumbs. "I still have to pay the utility bill, but it's not due until the end of the month, so there are a few weeks left."
"I am glad that Bogo didn't keep you there all day," the rabbit let out another little sigh blinking twice in his direction. "My partner really needs his time off. I want him to be in tip top shape when we finally catch the bad guys."
Flexing his arm to show her how tough he was, the fox said, "Thanks for your concern, Carrots, but I am in excellent condition. I took down two armed bank robbers all on my own yesterday, remember?"
"Nick," the rabbit cried in shock. "We already talked about you rushing into dangerous situations like that school bombing, and getting yourself killed."
"I didn't rush into anything. It was a very slow and casual walk, or more like a graceful stumble."
"There are very explicit rules for those kinds of scenarios."
Setting his phone back into his pocket he turned to her and his emerald greens eyes lacked their usual flair, "I will admit that they caught me flat pawed, and I just reacted. Besides, when have you ever been a By-The-Book cop?"
Despite the seriousness of their conversation, the smile never left her muzzle and her eyes continued to sparkle. "Because I am beginning to realize that those rules are in place to protect us and others from getting hurt, and because I lo..." Her voice slowly drifted off while she stared keenly at his sharp, white fangs and the shiny, black claws on his raised paw.
Noticing that she was staring at his teeth, he closed his mouth and turned to look out the window in a poor attempt to hide his muzzle. It was a subconscious reaction that he had learned years ago when dealing with prey, never show them your teeth.
"Nick," Judy grabbed his muzzle with both paws and turned his head towards her so she could look deeply into his eyes. "You are my partner and my best friend, and I just don't know what I would do if anything ever happened to you."
"Taking risks is part of the job, Carrots."
"I know, Nick. But if you got hurt, or-or," she rubbed back a small drop of moisture under her eye. "I-I don't want to be forced to find another partner," punching him swiftly in the arm she glared at him with determination. "You are stuck with me, Fox. Do you hear me?"
The sarcasm that left the fox's muzzle was quick and sharp as the fox's claws, "You know you love me."
Her smile returned with a vengeance and she let out a deep, warm sigh, "Do I know that?" She paused in the middle of their little game. The answer to the question was all too obvious, but this time she really meant it. Looking deep into the green emeralds, she hoped to peel back all the layers that fox had built up around himself and discern if he felt the same way about her. Leaving the question hanging in the air between them, she sighed again and looked back at the sliding window anxiously.
"Are you feeling alright, Carrots? That was the fourth time you've sighed since we pulled in here. Are you coming down with the flu again?"
Suddenly, she turned back to look at him questioningly, "What do you mean?"
"Well, you have been acting a little strange today," he reached out his paw and booped her tiny pink nose with a sharp claw. "Plus your nose is bright red."
"Is not!" Scrunching and rubbing her nose with a paw she pointed at him, "You just made that up."
The fox winked back at her and placed a paw over his chest, "You wound me, madam. But seriously, you have been acting a little odd today."
Her ears rose as she declared, "I am just in a good mood." The rabbit pumped her fists in the air and hopped to the beat of the current song. "How is that strange? Can't a bunny be happy?"
"After everything that has happened lately, it does seem a little strange. So, what has this little rabbit in such a good mood today?"
Tapping a small, clawed finger against her chin, she thought about all of the previous week's events, "Bogo sent me to class."
His jaw dropped, clearly showing his sharp teeth again, "Are you really this happy because our boss sent you to school?"
"No silly," she giggled softly, planting a small grey fist against his shoulder. "He let me sit in on a detective's class. You know how hard I have been working to get accepted into the detective's training program."
The fox leaned over and pointed his long nose at her with the typical smirk that she was starting to realize was actually quite attractive, "So, Buffalo-Butt is finally seeing your potential?"
"I guess?" the rabbit shrugged, letting her ears drop with a sweet, happy sigh. "He told me that Dr. Phill was teaching a class down in autopsy and that I was welcome to join."
Nick placed his paw over her forehead then put two fingers to her neck while looking at his watch. "Something is seriously wrong with you if you're this happy about taking a class in autopsy."
Shoving his paws away, she blushed fiercely, "Nick, that's disgusting!" Pulling one floppy ear over her shoulder, she began to brush it in embarrassment. "I j-just learned a lot about detective work, and ... and someone, ah ... something opened my eyes."
"What's that, Fluff?"
Stuttering, she fought with her emotions to tell him everything that had happened, but her sensible side won out for another day, "A l-long talk with a friend helped me get some things off my shoulders."
At that moment, the sliding window next to her opened and her ears lifted excitedly and they hit the roof of the car with a soft thump. Leaning through the open window was a plump, middle-aged mule deer wearing a white shirt and a reddish-brown apron. The deer pushed two large paper cups out onto the shelf saying, "One Orange Carrot Mocha, a Berry Blue Latte' with extra cream and two berry filled donuts."
Judy thanked the barista, handed both drinks to her partner and put the car into gear. Taking a careful bite out of one of the brightly colored donuts, she pulled the car out of the alley and onto the main street. Before she had finished chewing, the police radio squawked to life with a loud squelch. "We have a 10-31 under the west end of the Deerchester Bridge with a 587. Repeat, a 10-31, west end of Deerchester Bridge. Over."
"I remember this one," cried Nick pointing at the radio and Judy barely glanced at him. "That's the code for a suspicious mammal." She only rolled her eyes at his antics.
Swallowing, Judy exclaimed, "We're on Deerchester right now." She slowly pulled over and flipped the car around while stuffing half of the large donut into her tiny mouth. Gripping the wheel with both paws, she held the other half of the pastry with her large flat teeth, chewing as she drove while sprinkles rained into her lap.
Her partner picked up the radio handset and keyed the mic. "Affirmative, central-one. This is unit two-four-zero responding. We are less than two minutes from that location. Over."
"Roger, 240," the radio squelched again, as Nick hung up the mic.
Nick looked across the center console at the bunny driver as the predatory look in her eyes returned. "She is so cute when she gets like this," he thought, clinging to the seat under his tail as the crazy rabbit drove through two intersections, swiftly dodging cars as they went.
She flew through the early morning traffic like Dale Elkhardt on the final straight away with a checkered flag in sight. The fox beside her fearfully held his breath and closed his eyes. Luckily for both small mammals, most of the light traffic pulled over as their flashing lights and loud siren approached.
After thirty seconds of intense, panic-inducing speed, the tires squealed as Judy pulled the car onto the emergency access ramp. Then recklessly led it down to the river's edge and eventually to the large, clear area under the bridge. She took the switchbacks without blinking and managed to swallow the last of her breakfast donut at the same time.
When they arrived, the open area under the bridge was littered with trash, several large, metal barrels and some broken tents and shopping carts. Standing next to a pair of shopping carts loaded with various household and personal items, was a large, shaggy bison. He was dressed in a thick, dirty coat with several patches that seemed to be falling off. The bison pointed a shaking hoof towards a large pile of boxes and rubbish that sat along the cement wall directly under the bridge.
When they parked the car and climbed out, Judy's large, radar-like ears picked up a distressed yowl coming from the same direction that the bison had pointed. She looked back at the bison, but he was hastily pushing both carts in the opposite direction. Deciding that the homeless mammal probably knew less than they did, she turned back to her partner before taking a determined step forward.
Crossing the cleared out area, she noted that her fox was intently sniffing the air around a large, metal barrel that had recently been used as a makeshift fireplace. It was still warm to the touch and a small wisp of smoke drifted up from inside. Nick stopped and bent down to sniff at the base of the barrel. He circled it twice while Judy continued to walk towards the underside of the bridge.
After he completed his second circuit, he stood back and grew very apprehensive when he saw that Judy had kept going. "Wait, Judy," he cried, reaching a dark paw in her direction with a small leap.
Stopping, she turned to look at him with a puzzled expression on her muzzle, "What's up, Slick?"
"This scent," he pointed back at the base of the barrel. "It's the same scent that Wolfard showed me. The one on the muscle shirt from that townhouse."
"What are you saying?"
"Wolfard told me that if I ever ran into this scent again, that we should call for backup immediately."
The rabbit stepped back towards the barrel and leaned her back against it while keeping her eyes on the boxes under the bridge. "All right, partner, go call for assistance. I will keep a lookout from here."
Nick ran back to the car and immediately called for any units in the area that could assist and upgraded the suspicious mammal code to a wanted suspect. With backup on the way, he ran back to the barrel to find that his partner was gone.
Judy watched Nick rush back to their car and call for support, but before he reached the vehicle, she heard the yowling again. This time, she could clearly make out the pain and distress in the mammal's voice. It was coming from the largest of the cardboard boxes and seemed to be calling to her.
Old boxes and a broken tent were piled up near the bridge supports along with piles of detritus. There were broken bits of furniture, torn pieces of plastic covered in chew marks, several strips of cloth that had once been a decent set of bed sheets and half a bicycle scattered about a makeshift lean-to. The recent storm was only partially responsible for the piles of trash strewn about. Someone or something, had tried sheltering here recently.
Leaving the safety of the large fire barrel, she approached the bridge's overhang and the mountains of trash that had been piled together under the shadow of the huge stone structure. Most normal mammals wouldn't bother living here in such squalor, but it still provided free shelter from the burning, summer sun and refuge from the rain.
With a sense of trepidation, she took several more steps forward and saw something moving among the refuse. Treading into the thick, morning shadows under the bridge as her eyes slowly adjusted to the dim light, she thought she spotted a tuft of orange fur near one of the giant bridge supports. She moved aside a bit of trash in order to get a closer look, when the yowl came again, only this time, it was filled with anger.
Ears fully erect and her pink nose twitching fiercely, she worked her way past a broken shopping cart that held a worn trash bag filled with old, empty soda cans. Taking another step, she carelessly bumped the cart, causing dozens of the cans to scatter noisily across the smooth cement under paw. The sudden noise echoed loudly under the bridge and caused the fur down the back of her neck to stand on end.
"Stay away," a deep voice growled. When she turned to face in the direction it came from, she couldn't see anything past the piles of trash and broken boxes. "I've gone savage," the voice growled again. "Stay away, unless you want to get hurt too!"
"We are just here to help," the bunny declared, trying to swallow her fear with a friendly, confident tone. The voice only replied with a wordless growl and Judy continued speaking calmly, "If you are able to speak and understand my words, then you haven't gone savage. Why don't you come out and we can talk?" She took another step forward, moving a few more bits of junk out of the way.
In the blink of a rabbit's eye, two huge paws with claws fully extended, leapt from the shadows, followed by a pair of gleaming, white fangs.
Nick had barely returned to the fire barrel, when he heard the sounds of another vehicle pulling up behind him. He quickly looked over his shoulder to see Grizzoli climb out of his large cruiser. It only took a second for the polar bear to reach Nick's side and he asked for a quick sit-rep.
Pointing at the rusty old fire barrel, he replied, "Officer Hopps and I responded to the 10-31, but when we arrived, I was able to pick up the scent of the murder suspect from the Palm Court case."
The bear looked over their heads and followed the route of the long bridge to the east and back across the river, "That makes a lot of sense Wilde." He pointed out over the water and slightly upstream, "Those townhomes are almost directly across the river from here."
"That is all well and good, but Hopps has disappeared. I think she headed under the bridge where we heard some yowling."
"Let's see where she went then," Grizzoli said calmly, motioning for the fox to go ahead.
They both rushed ahead at full speed when they heard a loud roar coming from behind one of the large stone supports.
Judy could only watch as the huge teeth and pristine claws descended towards her from the deep shadows above.
Even as large as the tiger was, his paws landed silently on the concrete only inches in front of the rabbit's hind paws. As he came down on all fours, he let out a thunderous roar directly at the small police officer. His mouth was so large that she could have easily climbed inside and used it as a warm and very wet recliner.
Her ears flapped in the heavy breeze and she covered her nose at the large animal's terrible breath, while he continued to roar until his lungs were empty. Once he had finished, the rabbit looked up at the very large predator and a sense of wonder crossed her muzzle. She stared into the jaws of death and her eyes began to sparkle.
Fascinated, she reached out a paw towards his huge, pearly white teeth, unafraid of the knife-like fangs designed to kill her kind. Before touching one of his giant canines, she raised her arm slightly higher and placed the white palm of her paw on the tiger's broad, flat nose. She looked into his orange eyes with a soothing kindness. "It's alright. Everything is going to be ok."
Gazing down his short nose at the tiny, fearless bunny, the tiger blinked once and all of his rage and anger faded with her soft touch.
"It's going to be all right now," the rabbit officer repeated to the giant predator. "We are here to help, Mr. uh?"
"Charlie," the stunned tiger replied softly.
"Ok, Charlie. It's obvious that you are not savage right now, because you are still able to speak to me. However, if you have come into contact with the Night Howler toxin, we are going to have to bring you in."
Still standing on all fours with the tiny bunny's paw on his nose, Charlie twitched it and sniffed at her. With a slow, surprised blink, he replied, "Um, alright. It's no less than I deserve."
"Why is that, Charlie?"
Tears filled the tiger's eyes, "It's all my fault. Just haul me away, Officer, and throw away the keys."
"Ok, maybe we can talk about that back at the station, but for now, I am going to have to put these on you." From somewhere behind her tail she pulled out a large pair of steel handcuffs and presented them to him.
"You're not going to have to muzzle me, are you?"
"Not unless you try to bite me or my partner."
Nick raced around the large, cement pillar with a huge polar bear hot on his heels. He spotted his small rabbit partner standing in front of a large and very naked tiger who had his fangs exposed in a slight snarl. The todd charged forward as fast as his short legs would carry him.
Before the fox could rescue his little bunny from the vicious, giant predator, the tiger sat back on his tail and the rabbit placed a pair of sturdy cuffs on his large paws. She attached a long chain to the cuffs and turned to lead him away.
Turning around with the tiger's chain in paw, she was surprised to see a red and uniformed fox followed by a large, white polar bear officer standing behind her. They had their jaws open wide in shock. Waving shyly at the two males, she led the tiger back to the waiting police cars while reading him his rights.
Back where they had parked, she helped the tiger into the back seat of the polar bear's much larger cruiser and closed the huge door before climbing into her own cruiser and driving back to the station.
Chains rattled and clanked in the dark room. The thick, sturdy links were bolted tightly to the center of a large, metal surface that had once been polished, but was now dented and severely scratched. One single, dusty lamp hung low over the metal, illuminating the chains. Three links from where it was securely bolted, the chain split like a 'T.' Each new branch ended in huge, steel rings. The chains lifted into the air, pulling hard against the solid bolt, causing the links to rattle together loudly.
Each of the large steel rings at the end of the chain contained a huge orange paw. White fur tipped each finger and lined the palms. Long and very sharp claws remained retracted, even as the paws pulled against the cuffs, rattling the chains between them.
A well-bred and very attractive tiger, looking like he had just rolled through a pile of trash, leaned against the stainless steel table, with his giant paws cuffed and chained to the center, while his long elbows hung over the edge. He was dressed in a light cotton jacket and an unwashed, torn pair of jeans that were two sizes too big. Glaring across the grey table, he stubbornly argued with the two cops opposite from him.
The first cop was a large, grey wolf in his middle years. He had a long, white muzzle with a large, black nose and unlike the other officer, he wore a dark blue, ZPD issue t-shirt. Hanging around his furry neck, was a silver whistle on a long, braided cord. His eyes watched the cuffed tiger with a serious and penetrating glare, while the other cop spoke.
Long, sharp claws slammed onto the hard metal table and slowly scraped across it's worn surface. The table groaned and creaked under the weight of two great paws. "Why did you kill her?," a uniformed tiger yelled. "We know you killed that gazelle, so tell us what happened!"
Charles did not move or blink as Fangmeyer's fists struck the solid table. Nor did he wince or flinch at the terrible scraping noise her claws made on the stainless steel. His muzzle remained blank and empty like he'd looked death in the face and was ready to embark on that final hunt. However, when the female tiger mentioned the gazelle, his emotions broke and his muzzle was filled with grief. At her words, he pulled hard on his restraints, nearly lifting the table off the floor.
"Sit!" Fangmeyer ordered, as she pushed the table back down.
Charles sat back into the uncomfortable chair and sighed in defeat.
Standing up at the display of sheer mammal strength from the two tigers, Wolfard calmly interjected, "We have more than enough evidence to put you away for a very long time. Your DNA was all over the room and the victim's body, so we know you were in the room when she died."
"She has a name you know."
"Had," exclaimed Fangmeyer. "She had a name, but now, she is dead."
The dirty, unkempt tiger nodded sadly at the wolf, avoiding the other tiger's fiery glare.
"If you won't tell us everything that happened that night, you will be convicted of rape and murder and the judge will give you the maximum possible sentance," Wolfard noted coldly, tapping a single claw the a file folder sitting in front of him.
Seeing the wolf's not-so-subtle hint, Fangmeyer chuckled and added, "And as a prey rapist, every hippo and rhino in the cell block will want to rip you limb from limb and line their toilet with your corpse. While none of the predators will want to be seen anywhere near you." She turned back to her partner, "I'd give him a week, at most."
Shuddering at her words, the dirty and matted tiger looked at the floor, "It's no less than I deserve."
"Why is that, Mr. Rayahs?" the wolf asked calmly.
He sniffed at the two cops and shook his head, "I told you before, I'm not talking to either of you." Leaning back in the chair he tried to fold his arms, but forgot that his paws were securely chained to the table. "Neither of you would understand."
"We don't have time for this dung," the larger tiger growled. "Tell us what we want to know, or spend the rest of your short, miserable life as an elephant's play thing!"
Shaking his head Charles tried to rub his muzzle with a paw, but ended up leaning over and nearly kissing the table instead. Lifting his chin slightly, he turned to the wolf and replied hoarsely, "The Bunny."
"What?" Wolfard asked, leaning over to better hear the suspects words.
Charles took a deep breath and cleared his throat, "I will tell everything, but only to the rabbit that found me."
"Why?" Fangmeyer stood and slammed both fists onto the sturdy table, adding two more large dents to its abused surface. "Why do you want to talk to Officer Hopps? So you can intimidate her?" With both large fists firmly embedded in the table, she began growling fiercely.
Unphased by her show of strength or her large white fangs, Charles leaned back in his chair and began to laugh smugly. It started as a conceited snicker but quickly rolled into a loud, snobbish guffaw.
Both cops looked at each other completely puzzled, as their suspect continued to laugh like they were a pair of popular comedians. The chains that held him bound to the table were the only thing that kept him from falling right out of the chair.
Wolfard was the first to recover, "What's so funny, Mr. Rayahs?"
Slowly trying to control the laughter, Charles lifted a paw to wipe at the tears running down his muzzle, but only rattled the chains that held him. "That bunny," he chuckled, "is one of the toughest mammals I have ever seen. I couldn't intimidate her if I tried!"
"That doesn't explain why we should let you talk to her," Fangmeyer declared.
"She is the only one who could possibly understand what I have to say."
Glancing back at the uniformed tiger, the wolf again asked the bound suspect, "And what makes you think a rabbit could possibly understand the motives of a tiger?"
"I saw it in her eyes."
"What? What, did you see?"
"When I roared at her. I-I saw the same look in her eyes that Tiffany had."
The wolf's jaw dropped, "What kind of look was that?"
Sniffling sadly at the memory, the tiger recalled, "Tiffany said she liked when I roared at her in a certain way. Sh-She said that it, um..." He sniffled and tried to wipe at another tear, "She said that it excited her."
"I still don't follow how this has anything to do with Officer Hopps."
"I tried to chase her away and leapt at her, then gave my biggest roar. She just stood there with a curious glint in her eyes that reminded me of my Tiffany. Plus, she smells like a predator. As a wolf I am sure you have noticed."
A heavy snort escaped from the muzzle of the great cape buffalo. The muscles on his thick arms bulged as he crossed them over his broad chest. He was getting up in years, even for a cop, but he still kept his body in terrific shape and could still give most of the new recruits a good drubbing in the ring.
Chief Bogo stood in a pitch black room, glaring through a large and very solid glass window into the adjoining room. Behind him, a brown bear sat at a small table in the corner, operating a set of recording equipment. In contrast, the other room appeared bright and he could feel an oppressive wave of heat emanating from the glass.
Snorting again, he watched the two senior detectives put their latest suspect through the ringer. They weren't the oldest mammals on the force, or even a pair of the best. They simply had held the rank of Detective longer than any cops he knew, except old Farley, who had retired after nearly forty years on the force. He knew that given enough time, that pair could break anyone, but time was running out on this case.
The victim's sister was flying back to Zootopia tomorrow for the funeral services and he had hoped that he could present her with this case all wrapped up and tied with a bow. Presenting his pop idol with a neatly wrapped and closed case would not be a reality for the broad police chief, if their current suspect kept holding out.
For a professional dancer, this tiger was proving to be a tough nut to crack. It had been five hours since the chief's smallest team brought him in for processing. Three hours locked in a tiny room, chained to a cold, steel table and the grimy tiger still looked like he had just awoken from a pleasant nap. Another hour under the onslaught of Fangmeyer's feline rage and Wolfard's cold logic could not drag out more than his sad, apologetic guilt.
Earlier, Bogo had nearly walked out of the recording room and gave up on the entire interrogation when the tiger put his head in his paws and cried for ten minutes straight, while muttering, "I did it, I killed her."
Dr. Phill's autopsy report already proved that the tiger didn't end the gazelle's life, but the rest of the evidence they had collected clearly put him in the room at the same time. Which meant that he saw the actual murderer, and if he wouldn't spill, then he must be protecting someone. The chief had already decided that he would tear the city apart and go to the ends of the world to find out who.
The hour was nearly up for Fangmeyer and Wolfard. If they couldn't get the cuffed tiger to talk soon, they would have to call it a day and try a different tactic tomorrow. If he wasn't already the police chief, Bogo would have barged in there and torn the preppy mammal limb from limb until he sang. Fortunately, he was above such brazen acts and was bound to calmly stand by and let his junior officers handle the dirty work while he dealt with the never ending paperwork and politics.
Pinching the top of his muzzle between a thumb and forehoof, he watched the two interrogators start their questioning over again. Fangmeyer slammed a paw hard on the table with her claws out and slowly pulled them across the brushed steel creating a terrible, high-pitched noise that caused the buffalo to wince in pain. While she was berating the suspect, he tried to escape, lifting the massive table more than a foot off the floor. She quickly pushed it back down in place causing the chief to shake his head.
Wolfard stood up and began to describe the worst possible conditions the city's prison could offer, but the tiger on the other side of the table only shook his head and once again returned to his bottomless self pity.
Ready to end the session and walk out the door for the day, Fangmeyer gave him one last ultimatum to speak or die in prison, but instead of turning into a waterfall, the tiger sat back in his chair with a look of surrender on his muzzle. Seeing the change in the tired and dirty mammal, Bogo folded his mighty arms across his chest with a sense of satisfaction that was quickly replaced with shock.
He couldn't quite make out what the suspect was saying but his jaw dropped along with his arms when he clearly heard the tiger repeat himself, "I will talk, but only to the rabbit." Shaking his huge head, he could not believe what he was hearing.
After the shock and disbelief left his muzzle, he turned and looked down at the rabbit officer who had silently been watching the whole exchange. "Are you sure you can handle this guy? He is ten times your size."
Judy looked up at her boss and nodded in that dark room, "You heard what he said. He trusts me for some reason. Besides, Fangmeyer will be there to keep me from hurting him." She said the last bit with a fox-like smirk and a wink.
Luckily, it was too dark for the buffalo to see her expression, or else he would have groaned at the poor imitation of her partner, "Did you really just stand there as he roared at you?"
Pointing to her nose, she replied, "Right in the face, Sir."
"You continue to surprise me, Hopps." With a slight sense of pride, he turned around and grabbed a small, round electronic device off of the table and gave it to the small rabbit officer. "Take this recorder and get his full confession."
She took the quaint, old-fashioned recorder from his hoof and turned it around in her paws. In the dim light flooding from the large window, she could barely see that the device looked like one of the first pawheld tech that replaced the old tape recorders and had a retro-stylish feel. It wasn't as fancy as her carrot pen, but it was obviously a voice recorder and would clearly let the suspect know that they were taping his words.
Grasping the device firmly in her tiny paw, she looked up at her boss with solid determination painted across her muzzle, "All right. I'm ready." Light flooded the small room as she opened the door and marched down the hall.
Sitting back in the chair again, Charlie looked back and forth between both cops across the table. "You're her co-workers, you have to know something's going on. You can't both be nose dead. What other prey do you know that has a predator's sent all over them?"
Wolfard and Fangmeyer silently glared at the grungy tiger and let him continue speaking, hoping he would dig himself a hole that he couldn't easily climb out of.
"She is an inter, isn't she? And I'm willing to bet you know who she is dating." He leaned far forward and his nose nearly reached the far side. "Now you know why I will speak only to her. She is the only cop I have seen who could possibly understand what I have to say."
The lock on the door clicked, and the thick, iron portal slowly creaked open to reveal a tiny rabbit dressed in the blue uniform of a ZPD officer. Forceful determination flowed from her, filling every corner of the room as she walked up to the table. All three mammals in the room watched her resolute approach with surprise on their muzzles. She glanced at Wolfard and motioned for him to leave.
Relinquishing his chair, the wolf played along with the small officer's nod and stood silently. He exited the room, leaving the unwashed suspect in the capable paws of the two female cops. Once Wolfard closed the door, Judy hopped onto the chair he had just vacated. She placed the old fashioned recording device on the table before pulling out her yellow notepad and the carrot pen.
At first, Charles wasn't sure this was the same mammal that he had met in the trash pile under the bridge. Her attitude was cold and harsh, unlike the bright, warm mammal that had brought him in, but after a few sniffs he realized that she was indeed the same rabbit. She had the same strong, musky that stated loudly to every mammal in the room, that she had recently spent a lot of time with a predator. It wasn't the same as the scent marking of a mate or child, but it was obvious that this rabbit was not afraid to get up close and friendly with predators.
"Now, Mr. Rayahs," Judy said standing the chair with her best impression of how a lawyer would speak to a client. "Let's talk about what happened the night Tiffany was murdered." She pressed the record button on the small retro device and looked up at the large tiger sitting on the other side of the table. "I am going to record our conversation and you are going to tell me every detail. If I feel that you are deceiving me, or deliberately leaving out key details, then we are done, and you can tell your story to a judge."
Sitting straighter in his uncomfortable chair, the tiger nodded agreement, "Ok."
"For the record please state your name," she stated coldly, scratching her pen across the notepad.
The tiger cleared his throat, "Um, Charles Adish Rayahs."
"Alright, Mr. Rayahs," the rabbit scratched some more notes. "Please tell us what happened that night."
"Call me Charlie," the tiger's voice was warm and cheerful.
"Excuse me?" Judy said flatly. She looked down at her notes while trying very hard not to smile at his friendly manner. Fangmeyer slowly showed her teeth in a silent snarl.
"Um, p-please," he stuttered. "Mr. Rayahs is my father. Please call me Charlie, or Charles if you prefer."
Looking back up calmly, she gave the tiger a cold grin, "Ok then, "Charles". Can you explain what happened three nights ago in the townhouse at 621 North Palm Court, on the night that Tiffany the gazelle died?"
Tears filled the tigers eyes and he attempted to sniff them away, "Where should I start?"
"You could start from the beginning."
"The beginning, right." With a deep sigh and a short nod, he rolled back his memory, "Well I first met Tiffany back in school when she and her sister first moved to Zootopia. I was pretty shy as a child, but she didn't have any fear, even back then, and after weeks of hanging out in our study group I finally asked her out."
"I meant the start of the evening."
With a light chuckle, the tiger started over, "Oh right, sorry, um… let me think." He sat up and tried to lean back further, "We had just returned from a matinee and sat down after making dinner together."
Without looking up while writing his words in her notebook, she asked, "What movie did you see?"
"What?" The tiger asked puzzled.
"Do you remember the name of the movie?" She asked, glancing at the tiger and slightly nibbled on the end of her pen.
"Oh, um… I think it was called Despicable Mammals 3. I remember it was a pretty funny movie though."
"All right, go on. What happened after dinner?"
"Well, Tiffany suggested we try something new."
"Something new?" The rabbit swiftly looked up curiously. "What do you mean something new?"
With a slight stutter of embarrassment in his voice, Charles attempted to answer her question, "W-we have been together for several years and our r-relationship has, er um, had, I guess is the right word…" He glanced over at the other tiger before continuing. "Our relationship had gotten a little stale, so we had been trying a few things to liven it up here and there."
Trying hard not to blush fiercely at his words, Judy scratched out a few more notes, "I understand. Then what happened?"
"So, after dinner, Tiffany suggested we try these enhancement pills, and that's when things got a little weird?"
"Weird? How so?"
"Well, we have tried various enhancement pills before so I am fairly used to the effects, but what happened next was more like a seriously bad trip."
Nodding, the rabbit explained, "We found a nasty mix of chemicals in Tiffany's system so we can only assume that you had a similar cocktail."
"It didn't feel bad at first. In fact it almost felt refreshing, even liberating."
"Liberating?" Judy asked puzzled.
"Yeah, I guess. Like how you feel after a long workout, but things started to get really strange."
"Ok, go on," she prompted.
"After finishing dinner, we poured some wine and started washing up." Charles leaned back and shook his head with a shudder. "I took a big gulp of wine and emptied the glass, when I heard a deep growl from Tiffany. That growl set something off inside me, so I picked her up in my arms and tore off her shirt and she growled at me again very hungrily."
Curiously, the rabbit tilted her head, "Was that normal behavior for her?"
"No, I have never heard her growl anything like that before… it was almost feline. Well, she gave me a big kiss and leapt out of my paws, running across the room. Playing chase was one of our late night activities, but this time it felt so much more visceral."
Memories of last night's internet searches filled the rabbit's mind and her ears slowly lifted into the air and her nose began to twitch slowly.
"She bounded into the next room on her tight, little legs and I followed, but when I got there, I found myself suddenly surrounded by the jungles of the Rainforest District."
"Wasn't the townhouse in Sahara Square?" Fangmeyer asked curiously.
Shrugging, the unkempt tiger continued, "What I do remember, was that my mate was fleeing through the jungle and she expected me to chase after her, so I happily obliged. We raced through the thick foliage until we came to a deep river. She skipped along its edge and nearly fell off when a gorgeous flower tumbled over the precipice."
"What kind of flower?"
Lost in the story he looked up surprised by the question, "Um, I don't know... It was one of those huge jungle flowers... the orange ones with the white spots all over it."
"Are you really buying this?" Fangmeyer asked Judy angrily.
"If you saw the victim's tox-screen you would too," the rabbit answered. "I am sure he is describing what he thought he saw at the time." Turning back to the other tiger, she prompted him to continue, "Ok, after the flower fell into the river, then what happened?"
"I think we found the bridge after that. She scampered across it easily, but I just leapt the gap and bumped into a bolder. The rock stunned me for a second, but after that, I looked around and Tiffany was gone."
"Do you mean that she left the jungle?" Judy continued to play along with his story.
"No, she was hiding. I sniffed around the foliage and finally found her behind a huge leaf. When she saw me nosing around she hit me with her bra and then climbed up one of those huge trees."
Shaking her head in frustration, Fangmeyer interjected, "Wait a minute, seriously? I don't think gazelle can climb trees." A tiny paw patted her arm and a soft voice shushed her.
"Go on, Charles. Please continue."
"Well I easily followed her up the tree and found her waiting for me in a nest that she had prepared just for me." He then paused, looking very embarrassed, "Are you sure you want me to go into detail of what happened next?"
Judy looked up at Fangmeyer and they both nodded, "Yes, Mr. Rayahs. We're all adults here, and any details you leave out could potentially be an important clue. So feel free to continue, in your own words."
With a deep sigh, he continued. "All right. Spread out in the leafy nest, I could sense how ready she was for me. I could smell her desire and hear the lust in her purr. She told me to take her and even wiggled her tail at me."
At that moment, he stopped speaking suddenly and tried to swallow, but a lump had caught in his throat and he looked like he was choking.
The rabbit officer immediately jumped onto the table and rushed across its smooth surface. She placed a tiny paw on the massive nose and looked into the giant mammal's orange eyes, "It's alright. I understand how hard this is for you. Do you need a minute, or even a glass of water?"
With the rabbit's paw still calmly attached to his nose, the tiger sniffled and nodded.
"Officer Fangmeyer, can you bring us a tiger sized glass of water? Please," she pleaded with the other female. "I will be fine."
Fangmeyer turned to the mirrored window behind her in apprehension, but Judy continued to urge her to fetch the glass and she finally conceded.
When the door closed behind the uniformed tiger, Judy turned back to the other mammal and gently stroked his nose and whispered calming words.
Choking back a stream of tears, Charles found his voice again, "I loved her you know."
"I know," the rabbit affirmed with a nod.
"I loved her so much. She was the world to me. She was so brave and strong. I was the one who was scared of hurting her."
"Oh?" Judy asked curiously.
"One day, just out of the blue, she demanded I treat her like a real mate."
"What do you mean?"
"She wanted me to treat her like she was another tiger. She wanted me to bite and scratch her, like other male tigers do with their mates."
Her heart raced and her nose twitched faster, "Really?"
"I was so scared at first, that I only nibbled her fur, but she kept demanding more until I bit too hard and drew blood, but she wouldn't let me stop. When I asked her about it later, she explained that my bites and scratches really excited her. I had never heard of a prey that felt that way, and that's when we officially started date..."
Charles jumped in his chair, slightly knocking back the small rabbit when the door slammed and Fangmeyer unceremoniously plopped a glass of tepid water next to him.
Climbing back into her chair, Judy picked up her notepad and suggested they continue, "Ok, Charles, do you think you can continue where we left off?"
"All right, but things get even weirder after this."
Fangmeyer threw up her paws and grunted sarcastically, "After jungles in the desert, giant orange flowers and a tree climbing gazelle, how can things get any weirder?"
"Ahem," the cuffed tiger coughed. "So, with Tiffany demanding my attentions, I proceeded to bite and scratch her in all the ways that she loved, until she rolled over and grabbed my muzzle in her hooves and begged for more."
The uniformed tiger scoffed when he mentioned scratching and biting his mate.
"Just as we were ready to begin, the door opened and in walked her sister."
"Wait a minute!" Fangmeyer exclaimed, throwing her paws out in front of her muzzle in exasperation. "Now you're telling me that Gazelle, The Gazelle, walked in on your love making?"
He nodded shyly, "I thought it was some kind of fantasy dream come true. I have always been curious about Tiffany's sister, but I never thought she would ever just walk up and ask to join us in a threesome."
Scratching furiously in the notepad, Judy asked studiously, "Are you absolutely sure it was Tiffany's sister, Gazelle?"
"Um, I guess. She really did look a lot like her, and besides, nobody else has a key to the house." Shaking his head, he added, "I really can't think of anyone else who would have wanted to join us anyway."
"Um, ok. So Gazelle, or someone who looked like Gazelle, walked in and asked to join you?" the rabbit asked, wrinkling her nose, with her ears flat against the back of her head.
"Yes, I am sure it was her."
"Ok, go on then. What happened next?"
"I remember this part very clearly because it was so beautiful that I don't think I could ever forget. She pulled off her long white robe, slowly to reveal the glittering rainbow on her chest. It was so sparkling bright, that it almost blinded me."
"So, what was this rainbow? Some kind of body paint that she was wearing?"
Charles shook his head, "I don't think so, but it was like something out of one of those children's shows. You know, the ones where the little bears show their bellies and blind their enemies with a giant rainbow. It was like that."
"Wow, that is just fascinating," Fangmeyer growled in frustration.
Ignoring her, Judy nodded at Charles to continue. "Then what happened?"
"I think that's when she climbed in between us."
"Between you and Tiffany?"
"Yeah, she climbed into the nest and started to have her way with Tiffany, who seemed to really enjoy the ministrations. I just watched the two for a minute when she told me to climb on top of her and join in the fun." He paused for a moment to look back at the two cops, "I hope this isn't too much detail for you?"
"No, you're doing fine Mr. Rayahs," the grey rabbit noted, waving her pen in his direction. "Tiffany is still alive at this point, so we need you to keep going with the story."
Swallowing a long sip of water, he continued, "I did as she asked, but it was very strange. I thought because they were twins that she would feel the same inside as her sister, but she was very different. It felt like there was something inside blocking the way and I kept having to move her long, bushy tail out of my way."
"Yes, that does sound very strange." Judy said, looking over at Fangmeyer questioningly.
Wetting his dry lips, he proceeded, "As I finished, the climax must have been too much and Gazelle's horn came off in my paw, and Tiffany screamed like you hear in one of those horror films. And there was so much blood everywhere. It was all over Gazelle. I jumped out of the nest to give her room, but she was screaming at me."
Nodding, Judy furiously scribbled with the orange pen.
"I looked back at what I had done and there was Tiffany with her neck bent at the wrong angle, and she was gushing blood. Gazelle was covered in red and the rainbow was matted and gone. There was red all over her muzzle and she was screaming something at me."
The glare was gone from Fangmeyer's muzzle and she had her head tilted in puzzlement, with one paw holding her chin.
"After she had calmed down a bit, Gazelle told me that I had gone savage and that I killed my one true love and mate. She said that I had to run as far away as I could and to never show my face in Zootopia again. Then everything got really crazy after that, the nest and the tree blurred into dark black clouds and we were flying across the city and swimming in the ocean, then we climbed rocky mountains. We found a cave in the tallest mountain where we slept together again and again."
"So you killed Tiffany to run away with her sister and sleep with her in the tallest mountains of a far away country?" Fangmeyer queried cynically.
"I swear, that's all I remember until I woke up in a complete cloud of fog with a massive hangover this morning. I was laying naked in a pile of trash that looked like I had abused it repeatedly. And that is where you found me." He finished the story with a nod to the smallest officer.
It took Judy several moments of frantic scribbling before she caught up with the tiger's words. She flipped back a few pages, nibbled on the green end of the carrot pen and then inquired, "So right before Tiffany was killed, you said that you pulled out Gazelle's horn?"
"Um, yeah," Charles declared with a tilt of his head. "In the heat of the moment I guess I just pulled it right out of its socket."
"So where is this horn now?"
"Ah, um, I don't know," he shrugged. "I might have thrown it out of the nest, or off the edge of the tree branch. I really don't remember seeing it after Tiffany screamed. I think I do remember hearing a loud clang as it went over the edge."
Leaning over to the rabbit, Fangmeyer boldly asked, "You're still believing the tall tale this guy is spinning?"
Judy looked up at the larger officer with a serious expression on her muzzle, "There were a lot of psychoactive drugs in the victim's system that could explain some of what he described, and he may have had a much larger dose. Still, most of what he has said matches what we found at the crime scene, the dishes, the wine bottles and even the moved furniture. It all seems to add up. The only thing we didn't find was a broken horn."
Grinning down at the rookie, the tiger's eyes brightened, "We need to get back to the crime scene and look for it."
"I have told you officers all I know, so are we done here?" Charles pleaded.
The bunny cop flipped through her notes again before looking back at the other tiger, "Just one more question, Mr. Rayahs."
Leaning back with a groan he said, "Ok, what is it?"
"Did you know that Tiffany was pregnant?"
Charles suddenly sat up straight, yanked on the chains scooting the table a foot closer. His eyes blazed as he glared down at the rabbit, "What!? Is this some kind of a joke?"
"No, I'm sorry, but it is not a joke. We found traces that she had been pregnant for only a few days, maybe a week."
Horror flooded his muzzle and he put his head in his paws with a loud thump that shook the table and began to sob uncontrollably.
Judy carefully placed her pen and notepad on the table and climbed up onto its silvery surface. She slowly walked over to the huge, crying mammal and placed a paw on the side of his enormous head and once again began whispering soothing words into his ears.
Several minutes passed as Judy tried to calm the great mammal. With a loud sob she heard a voice from between his paws, "We had been trying for over a year to get pregnant. There was this new treatment for mammals like us at some research clinic that I had never heard of before."
"Do you remember the name of the clinic?" the rabbit asked soothingly.
"At the moment no, it was a long name and hard to pronounce," he said shaking his head. "They had us sign a waiver and said that the treatment was still experimental. But we figured it was the only way that we would ever have children of our own, so we signed up and didn't look back." His tears quickly dried as his sorrow turned to anger, "They made so many promises and claimed the side effects were minimal, but Tiffany started losing her fur, her voice changed and her hooves grew narrow and sharper."
Chewing on one of her own nails, Judy asked thoughtfully, "It looks like this treatment may have actually worked, so why all of the anger?"
The tiger slammed a fist on the table, "Because they lied to us. Tiffany missed her monthly date and was feeling a bit odd so we went to the clinic for tests, but they said nothing was wrong and that we should keep trying. That's why Tiffany wanted to make this last date so special."
A stream of tears flowed down the tiger's cheeks again, and Judy turned off the recorder. She picked up the device and her notes, "I am terribly sorry for your loss. It is clear now that you didn't kill her and didn't assist in her murder. With the help of your testimony we should be able to find out who the killer was."
In between sobs, the tiger glared back at the bunny, "Wait, are you saying that Gazelle murdered her sister? That is just not possible."
"We will certainly investigate that possibility. I personally don't believe she could do something like this," the little rabbit said with a cold conviction, "but trust me, when we find out who killed your girlfriend we will bring the full force of the law down on their heads!"
His jaw dropped to see all that forceful determination wrapped up in such a tiny mammal.
She held out a paw towards him and he shook it gently, "Thank you very much for your help today Charlie. I hope we will see each other again sometime soon." And with the interrogation concluded she walked out the door.
Wolfard was waiting for her in the hall. When she stepped through the door he glared down at her with an expression that mocked their gruff boss. After a brief moment of dark brooding his eyes brightened and he smiled at her, "Nice job, Hopps. I've not seen you play good cop before, and that was actually pretty impressive."
"Uh, thanks, I think," she returned.
"Now, after listening to his story I think we need to revisit the crime scene. So once Fangmeyer has put our trash loving bard back in his cell, we will be heading out. I suggest you grab your partner and meet us there."
Parked next to a block of grey townhomes in Sahara Square, Judy could see a large lake sitting in a grassy depression, sunk into the central park, surrounded by blocks of similar homes. Several mammals walked, or jogged along a narrow trail that followed the edge of the lake where young and old oaks grew.
Her police cruiser had been sitting on the side of the street next to the clear, blue lake as she watched the front door of number 621. A thick strip of yellow tape sealed the door and clearly marked the residence as a crime scene. Unlike earlier that morning, the radio was off and she sat silently trying to ignore her partner.
The bunny wasn't unhappy. Her expression was anything but sad or depressed. A bright smile was plastered on her muzzle, but her eyes were lost in thought, and she would frequently glance over at the umber mammal sitting next to her.
Without being too suspicious, she meticulously watched him as he played with his cell phone. She watched how his ears flicked at the slightest breeze and the annoying gnat that buzzed through an open window. His eyes were where her casual gaze spent the most time. The deep green pools always seemed to pull her in and she knew she could drown in them for days. But it was his predatory aspects that kept her stealing glances of him.
She caught a small glimpse of his claws or his sharp, white teeth and quickly turned away hoping that he would not see how much they made her blush. It became harder with every minute she spent with him, to not imagine how it would feel with those sharp teeth on her neck or to have him run his claws down her back and over her rump.
Several times she had struggled not to simply blurt out her desires in front of everyone. Judy didn't want him to think of her as just another lustful, hormone driven bunny. She cared too much about their growing friendship to ruin it again with more thoughtless words. A year ago she had hurt him and broke her own heart in the process and she wanted to avoid any similar incidents.
She was happy with what they had and their not-quite-dating. The movie nights and their breakfasts and lunches together. And Nick was always the best choice for a mammal to take on all night stakeouts. Yes, she was happy with what they had, but she also wanted something more.
Still not understanding if what she felt was genuine or it was only more crazy, rabbit hormones talking, she kept her muzzle closed and continued to steal glances of his best features.
All of these thoughts, and more, crossed the tiny bunny's brain in the minutes before Fangmeyer and Wolfard pulled up in their cruiser.
Four cops stalked up the steps to the sealed door of the large townhouse. Pulling out the keys to the door, Wolfard noticed that the crime scene tape had been crudely cut along the edge of the door. "Wait, someone has been here."
"Do you think they tampered with anything?" the rabbit asked.
"I don't know," the wolf declared. "But without a legal chain of custody, anything we find inside can't be admissible in court. Any lawyer worth their oats will just have it thrown out."
With his usual smarmy sarcasm, Nick joked, "So what? Do we just go back home now?"
"Naw," Wolfard shook his head. "We have come all the way out here and I am still curious if that horn our suspect mentioned is still here."
"All right, let's do this," the bunny exclaimed, pushing her way past the three larger mammals and into the large living room.
"Foxy and I will look around down here," Fangmeyer suggested, "and the two of you can snoop around the bedrooms."
"Sounds like a plan," the uniformed wolf nodded.
Entering the bedroom, Judy had to hold her nose at the rotten smell that filled the air. The wolf did not seem to be bothered by it. Even with his larger nose, he did not seem to notice.
Being the smaller mammal, she got down on all fours and quickly looked under the elevated mattress. The floor underneath was actually very clean and the carpet looked fresh. However, far under the bed and next to the wall she spotted a small plastic disk.
"Hey, Wolfard," she yelled. "I think I found something."
The wolf leapt to her side from across the room where he had been going through some of the cabinets, "What is it?"
"Take a look for yourself," she said pointing.
What is that?", he murmured. "Whatever it is we should still bag it. Can you climb under there and reach it?"
Pulling out a clear evidence bag, Judy slithered under the mattress to within reach of the object. It was a large, blue, plastic disc that had a slight cup shape with two elastic straps tied to it. She tried to lift it with a pair of tweezers but it seemed almost glued to the carpet and she had to peel it from the thick fibers. With the disc finally bagged, she wormed her way back to the wolf.
She held the bag up to the detective, "What do you think it is?"
"Um, it looks like a diaphragm," he said indifferently. "I thought you would recognize one."
"I've just never seen one this large before," she replied shyly.
"Well, it's not a horn, and who knows how long it's been here, but let's go ahead and tag it anyway."
After a few moments, Nick waltzed in with nothing new to report, other than to state that the fridge had been cleaned out. The tiger wasn't far behind him.
The four cops decided to break up the room and meticulously search every inch. Nick took the farthest corner from the door where a nightstand sat jammed between the bed and the large bay window. On the stand, was an alarm clock that continuously flashed 12:00. In one of the drawers, he found an ancient, Asian manual that described various, mixed mammal exercises and a couple of romance novels. The lamp on the stand also did not work and the shade had a few splatters of blood.
He was about to turn away, but noticed that the lamp switch was turned awkwardly to the side and it had a small dent in the base. Twisting the lamp back and forth he saw how something had struck it, causing the dent and its strange position. "Hey guys, I think I may have found something."
Judy's ears perked up from the opposite side of the bed, followed by her brilliant purple eyes, "What is it, Slick?"
"Not sure yet. Can you and Wolfboy come over and help me with this?" he grunted, trying to move the huge nightstand with his bare paws. "I thought I saw something behind this stand, but it's too far to reach."
With Wolfard's help, Nick was able to move the nightstand just far enough for Judy to scramble behind it and she squealed as she returned with a large grey horn.
Jumping and holding the prize above her head, she swiftly punched her partner's shoulder, "Good job, Slick. We found it!"
After her brief display of victory, she noticed that Wolfard was shaking his head in dismay, "What's wrong Wolfard?"
"That's not a gazelle horn," the wolf declared coldly.
She quickly dropped it in disgust like it was a giant centipede and tried to wipe her paws off on her pants. Luckily Nick caught the large horn before it hit the floor.
"What do you mean it's not a gazelle horn?" Judy asked.
"Um, do you still have the photos of the crime scene on your phone?" Wolfard inquired. "I saw you taking pictures so I am hoping you saved some after filing them with the rest of the evidence. Specifically ones of the victim's head, and horns."
Flipping through the pictures on her phone, the rabbit replied, "Sure, I think I might have a few." After a few dozen swipes, she found a picture that showed a good angle of the gazelle's horns and showed it to the wolf.
"Ok, now look at the two horns. The one in your partner's paws and the one in that photo. It should be obvious that they are not the same."
"Yes, you're right." Pointing at the images on her phone she continued her analysis, "These are narrow and twisted and curled in a long spiral, with distinct patterns along the length." She let out an exasperated sigh, "But the one that Nick has is thick with a long shallow curve that makes an arc. I see now how they are very different."
Nick glanced back and forth between the two officers in front of him, "You guys can forget all that. It's hollow and made from plastic. This horn is a fake!"
[A/N] Wow! This is my longest chapter yet. It's also one that I have been wanting to write since I first started this story. The idea for the gazelle murder, the autopsy and the interrogation all came to me very early on and until now, it has only been a few notes and vague ideas. This chapter really pulled out a lot of clues and even though I am certain by now that most of this stories followers know exactly what is going on, it is now time for Nick and Judy to start putting things together.
The next chapter is an idea I only came up with while I was laying this one out so it hasn't had the time and depth that the last few chapters have undergone. With work as busy and frustrating as it is right now, I really have not had a lot of time to get a good picture of where I want to go with it yet. It may end up being a fairly short one, unless I come up with some cool ideas along the way. That's usually how things work out. For example Bogo's little scene was something I only came up with at the last minute as a way to introduce Judy to the interrogation room, but I thought it came out rather well.
While writing the murder scene I wasn't sure if I should do it in first person, from the tiger's point of view, or in third person with the tiger telling everything in dialog. I have heard that a lot of long dialog like that can be bad, but I felt like it would be a good idea to do it this way and show Judy's and Fangmeyer's reactions. It was originally going to be a very explicit scene so I really toned it down quite a bit to fit the 'T' rating, which I am honestly not sure how far that rating goes. I am just basing it on other 'T' rated stories that I have read.
Oh, and I almost forgot to mention that the reference to Dale Elkhardt is from GhostWolf88's interesting AU story titled Life is a Highway. I have been engrossed it that story for a few weeks now, so I thought I would give the author a shout out here.
I think that's enough of my rambling, so here are some of my replies to everyone great comments:
Mikey2084 - Bogo riot act was originially supposed to be a clue for Judy to realize that everyone else see's that something is going on between her and Nick. It was supposed to come before they have lunch with her parents but autopsy scene had to some after the lunch so I had to rework the order of things.
Guest1 - Glad that you are enjoying the story. I too can see that my own skills are improving, I often go back and reread the earlier chapters and spend a lot of time cringing at them. I had not actually thought about story pacing before until you mentioned it, but Im glad you did ... I think.
Guest2 - Good job spotting Chuckles from the mobile game. I went back and looked him up and he is actually a wolverine and not a raccoon. Unfortunately with work as frustrating as it is right now I will try to keep to every other week, unless I get a weekend off.
imjustlikehumphrey - As always thank you so much for the huge, detailed comments. Cotton may be showing up again later. I have been most strenuously informed by my editor that they really hate when authors suddenly bring in new characters for no reason so the pink bunny may be making a return. For Judy, she may have to make a decision between her job and her relationship, so we have wait and see how that turns out.