Chapter 1, Cold Case:
Zootopia, June 2018:
The early morning sun began to peek over the skyline of the city, the golden rays glaring off the windows of the city's skyscrapers. The mammalian inhabitants were slowly pulling themselves out of their beds to begin their days. Among them were Zootopia's first rabbit and fox ZPD officers. Nick Wilde uncurled himself from his partner Judy and climbed out of bed. Stretching his arms and legs, he glanced toward Judy, still sleeping peacefully. Nick smiled at her.
"So cute," he said before turning heading to the bedroom door.
"I heard that." Nick's ear perked up and he turned back to the bed, finding Judy staring at him with and unamused look. Nick chuckled softly.
"Morning Carrots," he said with his trademark sly smile. Judy rolled her eyes and climbed out of bed.
"What time is it?" she asked.
"About 6:30," Nick replied.
"Are you serious!", she exclaimed, "How could we oversleep!?" Nick cocked an eye at her panic.
"We still have an hour and a half before work, Carrots," he said.
"But, my workout," she said with a pout.
"You'll have time later," Nick replied, "Come on, let's get ready for another fantastic day at work." Judy rolled her eyes again as Nick left the room and headed for the kitchen.
Judy went into the bathroom and warmed up the shower. When the temperature of the water was to her preference, she stripped off her shirt and panties before stepping in. In the kitchen, Nick flicked on the coffee maker and pulled out some bread from the pantry. Shoving the bread in the toaster, he grabbed his favorite coffee mug and poured him a cup. Taking small sips, he went back to the bedroom to grab his phone.
Judy turned off the shower and grabbed a towel. She wrapped herself up and left the bathroom. Nick turned to Judy as entered their room.
"Shower's free," she said, stopping at the closet.
"I made some coffee," Nick said, "I also made you some toast."
"Thanks hon," she replied, digging through the closet for her clothes. She dropped the towel on the floor, and she bent down to grab her panties. Nick locked his eyes on her tight rear, his mind drifting to a week ago.
He and Judy had come home from a slow day at work, Judy's mood was soured by the lack of crime, dropped their house key in her frustration. As she bent down to pick up the key, her pants accentuated her rear, catching his eye. The sight had given him an idea to cheer her up. He remembered the 'cavity search' roleplay she had suggested to him after he graduated from the ZPD academy. Judy immediately jumped on the idea and stripped off her clothes. Remembering the sight of her laying naked on the couch, her ass in the air stirred Nick's loins. Judy cleared her throat, snapping Nick out of his daydream.
"See something you like, Slick?" she asked seductively, wiggling her butt. Nick huffed and walked to her, gently cupping her butt.
"Just thinking about our little game last week," he said.
"Oh yeah. The 'cavity search' roleplay," Judy said giggling, putting on her panties, Nick moving his hand out of the way, "Remember when you had your turn?" Nick felt a tingle in his member.
"I certainly do," he replied, reapplying his hand and giving her butt a firm squeeze. She giggled and gently slapped his hand away.
"Go on, take a shower now," she said.
"Alright," Nick said with a small laugh, releasing her butt and walking to the bathroom.
Judy pulled out a bra and undershirt along with her ZPD uniform and quickly got dressed. Inspecting herself in the bedroom mirror, she glanced over her uniform to make such it was perfect. Satisfied, she left the bedroom and headed to the kitchen and poured herself some coffee. She turned to the toaster to warm up the bread Nick toasted earlier. Once the toast was warmed up, she slathered them in butter and ate while checking the news on her phone. Fifteen minutes later, Nick left their bedroom fully dressed in his uniform.
"So, what's new?" he asked, pointing to her phone.
"Oh, it's just the same old same old," she replied, sounding bored.
Nick huffed in agreement, "Things have slowed since the Night Howler incident, and that thing with the Happy Town gang last year."
"I know," she said, "But you know I hate slow days. I love catching criminals, making the world a better place."
"Well, Judy," Nick said, scratching his ear, "Maybe criminals take time off too." Judy let at laugh at that and put her phone away. She looked at the time on the stove; 7:00 a.m.
"Come on, Nick," she said while Nick checked himself in the full body mirror they had in their living room.
"What?" he asked.
"Time to go. We don't want to be late again," she replied.
Nick flattened his shirt with and hands and took his hat from the rack next to the mirror. He joined Judy as she unlocked opened the front door. Nick walked to the ZPD cruiser park on the curb in front of their house while Judy locked up. Nick hopped in the cruiser and started the engine. A thump at the passenger side got his attention. He looked over and barked out a laugh. All he could see was the tips of Judy's ears as she jumped to reach the door.
"Nick!" she shouted, jiggling the handle, "Unlock the door!" He leaned over and unlocked the door for her. Judy opened the door and climbed inside.
"Thanks," she said, closing the door and putting on her seatbelt.
"No problem, Carrots," he replied, shifting the gear into drive and heading to the ZPD.
The drive to the ZPD this time in the morning was always quite pleasant, the lack of traffic certainly helping the fact. Zootopia normally came to life at 7:45 a.m., allowing Nick and Judy to drive to work without getting stuck in bumper-to-bumper traffic.
Nick put on his sunglasses as the early morning sun glared in his face. "I hate the sun," he groaned with discomfort.
"Sunrises are beautiful, Slick," Judy said, patting his thigh.
"Not when you're nocturnal, Carrots," Nick replied.
They continued their drive-in silence, arriving at the ZPD ten minutes later at 7:30 a.m. They pulled into the parking lot, parking in their assigned spot. They walked to the main entrance and stepped inside. The atrium was bustling with activity, officers going back and forth between rooms, some carrying files, others with coffee in their hands. Clawhauser sat at the dispatch desk, stuffing donuts in his mouth. Nick and Judy approached him, smiling at his antics.
"Clawhauser! How are you, bud?" Nick asked as they reached his desk.
He gasped when he saw them, "Nick! Judy! How are you two this morning?" he asked.
"Great! Great!" Judy replied, "What donuts did you get today?"
"Oh!" he exclaimed and dug behind his desk for the donut box. "I got the classic glazed, these new blueberry ones, and my favorite, the ones with sprinkles!", he said, pointing at each donut as he named them off.
"Don't eat them all at once!" Nick said with a laugh.
"Don't worry, I'm going to savor these," Clawhauser said.
"Alright. We're gonna head to the Bull Pen now," Judy said, "We'll catch you later, Clawhauser."
"Ok, I'll catch you guys later!" Clawhauser said, waving as they left.
"He's always so happy," Nick said.
"Yeah," Judy replied, "I don't think I've ever him sad, except..." she trailed off, stopping as her ears drooped. Nick noticed her ears and he kneeled beside her, placing a hand on her shoulder.
"It's ok, Carrots," Nick said softly.
"I know, Slick," Judy muttered, "But it still hurts even now."
"I know, but we got through it and the city got through it," Nick said.
"Yeah," Judy said with a sigh, "But, sometimes I wonder how things would have turned out if I had never said what I said."
Nick patted her shoulder to comfort her, "Mammals would have made those assumptions regardless," he said, "That just how some mammals are."
"I know, Slick," she replied, "I just really thought I was above that mentality."
Nick shrugged, "You grew up around it. When learn it young, it's harder it gets rid of it."
Judy took a deep breath, "Yeah."
Nick gave her a smile, "I've forgiven you, and so has the city," he said, "No need to let the past wear you down."
Judy smiled back, "You're right, Nick. What would I do without you?"
"Well," Nick replied with a sly smile, signaling a smartass comment. Judy frowned and crossed her arms. Seeing this, Nick quickly closed his mouth. Judy chuckled at his reaction.
"Come on," she said, "Let's go inside." Nick stood up and took her hand, leading her into the Bull Pen.
Inside the Pen, the officers there were as rowdy as usual. A polar bear and a lion officer were doing their morning arm wrestle while the others around them cheered widely. On the other side, officers chatted away while others played on their phones. Nick and Judy headed to their chair at the front of the room. Nick climbed up onto the seat and reached out his hand to help Judy up. Their chair once belonged to a rhino officer who retired a few years ago, so it was large enough to seat them both. Sitting next them were Officers Wolford and Fangmeyer. The wolf and tigress looked over to them as they climbed on their chair.
"Nick! Judy!" Wolford said happily, his tail thumping against his chair.
"Hey, Wolford, how ya doin', pal?" Nick asked.
"Great!" he replied, "Me and Fangmeyer finally caught that guy who robbed the electronic store last week."
Judy eyes widened, "Really? Who was it?" she asked.
"Oh, it was your old friend, the Duke of Bootleg," Fangmeyer replied.
"Weaselton," Judy said with a groan, rubbing her temples.
"That guy never learns," Nick said chuckling.
The four continued talking for the next ten minutes, as they talked, Officer Higgins walked into the Pen, prepping the podium for Chief Bogo's arrival. "Looks like the Chief will be here soon," Fangmeyer said, checking her watch.
"Let's hope Chief Buffalo Butt is in a good mood today," Nick said with a smirk.
"Nick," Judy said in a scolding tone. Nick shrugged and opened his mouth to reply but was cut off by Higgins.
"Atten-Hut!" he shouted as Bogo entered the room. The officers erupted in cheer and pounded their desks as per usual as He made his way to the podium, a cluster of files in his hand. Setting them on the podium, he raised his hand to silent the room, "Alright! Alright!" he yelled. The room went quieted and Bogo dug through his files.
"First things first," he said, picking up a file, "The Artic Fox gang in Tundra Town has been tied to some illegal gambling operations through the district, I want the Organized Crime Unit assisting Precinct 5." He placed that file down and grabbed another one.
"Second, we have reports of street racers running through east Savannah Central, I want patrols through the area to catch the kids before they cause any more trouble." He set that file down and grab the last one,
"And finally, the most intense and dangerous job..." Bogo paused, letting the suspense wash over the room. Nick and Judy leaned forward in their chair, hoping for some action.
Bogo opened the file. "The Paperwork!" he said, his voice filled with mocking cheer. The officers in the room let out a groan.
Bogo cleared his throat and continued, "So, for Tundra Town, the Organized Crime Unit consisting of Officers Trunkeby, Grizzoli, Delgato, Snarlov, and Mchorn, meet down at the armory in fifteen. For the street racers, Officers Fangmeyer, Wolford, Anderson, and Jackson, Begin your patrols in twenty minutes."
Bogo handed Higgins the files and he passed them around to the assigned officers. "The rest of you, we are behind on the paperwork, so this time to catch up. Dismissed!" With that, Bogo gathered the remaining files and headed towards the door as the rest of the officers headed to their assigned duties.
Nick and Judy lazily climbed out of their chair and followed the others. "I love paperwork," Nick said sarcastically, "I am so damn excited!"
Judy sighed with frustration, "I was really hoping for something today." Her ears drooped again, "Let's get through this." Nick placed a hand on her shoulder as they headed to their cubicles. They both went to their desks, booted up their computers, and began a long, boring day of paperwork.
After three hours, Judy stopped typing and rubbed her tired eyes. "How are you holding up, Carrots?" Nick asked.
"I'm so freakin' bored!" she said with groan.
"That's my line," Nick said with mock hurt.
"Sorry, Slick, not this time," she said, continuing her typing.
"I'm surprised not much is happening right," Nick said.
"Yeah," Judy replied, "After the Happy Town Gang, crime has dropped quite a bit."
"You know, we could ask the Chief if he could find something for us," Nick suggested.
"I don't want to bother him with that," Judy replied.
"Hey, he could something good. Something special for his two favorite cops," Nick said, his tone matching that of a salesman.
Judy stopped typing and giggled at Nick, "I don't think you're his favorite, Slick."
Nick shrugged, "Ah, he'll come around."
"I guess we can talk to the Chief," Judy said. She stood out of her chair, Nick standing up with her, and they both left their cubicles and headed to Bogo's office. On the way, Officer Jones came out of his office and greeted the pair as they passed.
"Hey, you two!" The caribou greeted them.
"Jones, how's it going," Nick greeted with a two-finger salute.
"Hey, Jones," Judy said.
"Whatcha up to?" Jones asked.
"We're bored with doing paperwork, so we decided to see if the Chief has something more exciting to do," Nick replied.
"Ah, yes, the paperwork," Jones replied, "Well, good luck with the Chief." Jones went on his way, and they continued to the Chief's office.
Arriving at Chief Bogo's door, Judy raised her hand and knocked twice. "Come in," Bogo said, his voice muffled by the door. Nick reached up and opened the door, following Judy as she stepped inside.
Bogo looked up from his computer, "Ah, Hopps and Wilde. What can I do for you two?"
Judy and Nick climbed into the chairs in front of his desk. "Well, Chief," Judy began, "We were getting bored with filing paperwork, so we thought you might have something better for us to do."
Bogo raised a brow. "Are you ok, Hopps?" he asked.
"Yes, Chief," Judy replied.
Bogo huffed, "I'm surprised. Usually, its Wilde who doesn't like paperwork," he said, shooting Nick a glance, who just shrugged in response.
"I know, Chief, but I just feel useless when I'm not catching criminals," Judy said "And being honest, paperwork sucks."
Bogo chuckled, "So true, Hopps."
"So, is there anything?" she asked. Bogo leaned back in his chair and hummed in thought.
After a few moments, a sad expression formed on his face. "Well, maybe there is something," he said standing up and walking to his file cabinet. He opened the top drawer, pulled out a file, and returned to his desk.
"This was the first case I was assigned to when I started my ZPD career," he said. He set the file on his desk and opened it. Nick and Judy stood on their chairs to get a better look. In the file was a photo of a young wolf. She had light grey fur, gold-colored eyes, and long raven black hair.
"Who is she?" Nick asked.
"Carol Walters," Bogo replied, "When I joined the ZPD, I worked Precinct 8 out in the Meadowlands District, I remember seeing her a lot on T.V. while I was there."
He looked down at her photo, a sad look in his eyes. "She was an Honor Roll student at Meadowlands University, and she was very outgoing and friendly with mammals," Bogo continued, "I had a chance to meet her once. She was one of the nicest mammals I had ever met."
He stood up and went to the window behind his desk. "Just after midnight, on June 25, 1996, a call was made to our dispatch," he said with a heavy sigh, "On the line was Carol. She was hiding in her bedroom, saying someone was in her house. The dispatcher tried to keep her calm, telling her help was on the way...Then the intruder got her, telling us she didn't need our help anymore."
Bogo left the window and returned to his desk, "Since we didn't get her full address in the call, we had to contact the Sheriff in the town of Grazer, the closest place her house, took us thirty minutes to finally arrive..." he trailed off.
He took a moment to compose himself before beginning again, "When we got there...we found her body. She was lying in a pool of blood on her bedroom floor. She had been stabbed at least thirty times and...The rage this mammal must have had to do this."
Judy and Nick stared in disbelief. It was hard to imagine something like this actually happening. Not even the Night Howler incident led to something like this. "Did you ever catch the killer?" Judy asked in a quiet voice.
Bogo shook his head, "There was no evidence at the crime scene," he replied, "No one identified the voice on the call when we released it to the public, and we've had no leads."
Nick and Judy looked at Carol's picture again. She looked so sweet, so happy; it was hard for them to believe someone would want to kill her.
"So," Bogo said, getting their attention, "Since you two solved the Night Howler case, maybe you two can finally give Carol and her family closure."
Judy nodded at Bogo, "Yes Chief. We'll make sure whoever did this finally pays for it."
Bogo smiled, "Excellent." He reached into his desk and pulled out a fold sheet of paper. "The has the case file number and location," he said, "Go to Archives in Sahara Square, Peter works the front desk, and he will help you when you arrive."
Judy reached forward and took the paper. "I'll give you guys a month to try and solve this," he said.
"A month?" Nick asked.
"Yes," Bogo replied, "With how good you two are at solving cases, that should be plenty of time."
Nick and Judy glanced at each other before returning their gaze to the chief. "OK, we can do this, Chief," Judy said, her voice filled with confidence.
"Splendid," Bogo replied. He pulled out more papers from his desk.
"These are travel forms, fill these out before you leave," Bogo said as they took the papers, "The train for the Meadowlands District leaves at 9:00 a.m. Don't miss it."
"Gotcha, Chief," Nick said.
"Well, off you go," Bogo said, and they hoped off their chairs, heading to the door, "Please, find this son of a bitch."
"Will do, Chief Bogo," Judy said.
Nick and Judy returned to their desks to fill out the forms. "So, Carrots," Nick began, her ears perking up towards him, "What do you think about this?"
"I not sure, Slick," Judy replied, "We haven't done a cold case before, and based on Bogo's reaction, there a lot to this one." Nick gave a nod and returned to filling out his form. "You almost done, Nick?" Judy asked.
"Yeah. Just a few more lines," he replied.
Five minutes later, Nick and Judy turned their forms to Bogo, then headed to their cruiser. "Ready to go, Nick?", Judy asked while hopping in the driver's seat.
"Let's do it," Nick replied, climbing inside and putting on his sunglasses. Judy started the engine, and they drove out of the ZPD parking lot, heading to the ZPD Archives building in Sahara Square.
They arrived at Archives fifteen minutes later. Getting out the cruiser the walked to the front entrance, going through the glass double doors. Inside, a lion sat a receptionist desk, flipping through a magazine. Judy tapped on the desk, "Hello?"
The lion glanced down at them. "Ah, Officers Hopps and Wilde. What can I do for you two?" he asked. Judy placed the file Bogo gave them on the desk.
"Chief Bogo asked us to solve this case," Judy replied as he picked up the file.
Opening it up, the lion cocked an eye at its contents. "The old Carol Walters case, huh?" he asked.
"That's the one," Nick replied.
The lion grunted in response and handed the file back to Judy. "Well, my name is Peter Clawson, and I can help find the case file," he said, "Follow me."
Peter moved from behind the desk and lead Nick and Judy down a nearby hallway. Stopping at the last door on the right, Peter pulled out a key from his pocket and opened the door. Inside, a large cage door with a padlock separated a small office from the file room. Peter pulled out another key to unlock the cage. He opened the cage door and motioned Nick and Judy inside.
"Alright, so..." Peter said to himself, looking down the rows, "Ah! Here we are, homicides."
They stopped at the second to last row. "So, the files are in alphabetical order," Peter said, "The 'Ws' are near the end on the left." Nick and Judy walked down the row, looking at the file labels as they went. Stopping by the 'Ws', the search for Carol's file.
"There!" Judy exclaimed, pointing to a file. Nick looked at the label: Walters, Carol, File Number: 6251996101-1. Judy slowly pulled out the file and blow off the dust accumulated on its surface.
"You guys got it?" Peter called from the end of the row.
"Yeah, we got it," Nick replied. They joined Peter outside the row, Judy clutching the filed under her arm.
"You guys got everything you need?" he asked.
"Yup," Judy responded. Peter motioned them out, locking the cage behind them as they left.
"Good luck you two!" Peter said, waving them goodbye.
"Thank you!" Judy called back, and she and nick returned to their cruiser.
"Now, let's go home and look through this," Nick said.
Judy pulled into the street and drove back to their home. When they arrived, Judy parked the cruiser on the curb. She and Nick quickly headed inside, eager to get started in their investigation. Judy placed the file on their living room table and went into their bedroom to change. Nick went into the kitchen to make more coffee. Judy emerged a few moments later.
"Hey, Carrots, I'm gonna make us some coffee," Nick said as she entered the kitchen.
"Oh! Thank you, Nick," she said. She went back to the living room, plopping herself on the couch. Nick came in shortly after, carrying to cups of coffee. Giving one to her, he sat down beside Judy. She took a sip of her coffee, and then opened the file. The first thing that greeted them, was the same picture of Carol that Bogo had in his file. Underneath it was personal information on her:
Name: Walters, Carol NMN
DOB: Apr. 5, 1975
Age: 21
Species: Canis Lupus (Grey Wolf)
Ht.: 5ft 5in
Wt.: 135lbs.
Eye Color: Gold
Hair Color: Black.
Turning the to the next page, it showed a picture of Carol's family home. Under it was the address; 562 N Farm Road, Meadowlands District. "Wow," Nick said, "That's out in the middle of nowhere."
"That's probably why it to the ZPD so long to get there," Judy relied, "Her killer most likely knew that, too."
She turned to the next page, and let out a gasp, nearly dropping her coffee. The page contained the photos of the crime scene. The first showed Carol's bed, the sheets soaked in blood. The next two photos showed her body. She was completely naked; her lower abdomen was covered in deep stab wounds and lacerations. A few deeper stab wounds were on each of her breasts. A pool of blood surrounded her body. The next picture showed a close up of her head. Her throat had a deep laceration, but the most disturbing part was the fact her eyes were gone.
"Holy shit," Nick whispered, disturbed by what he sees. While he and Judy seen murder victims before, none of them was even close to being this horrific.
"Why would someone do this?" Judy asked softly, reading the police report. Judy turned to the second to last page in the file. On it was the transcript to the 911 call Carol made before her death. She and Nick read through the transcript, stopping at the final words; She doesn't need your help anymore.
Nick let out a sigh at this, 'Why the hell did this happen,' he thought.
Judy flipped to the las page, which contained what like evidence the police found. There was a sign of forced entry to the front door, the murder weapon was a chef's knife that was taken from the kitchen. An interesting note they found was that Carol was acting unusual in the days before her death. A friend reported that Carol told her she believed she was being stalked by someone. Other than that, there wasn't much to go on.
"Is that all?" Nick asked.
"Looks like it," Judy replied. Behind the evidence page, was Carol's autopsy report.
Judy handed it to Nick, she couldn't bear to read it herself. Nick had chills as he read the report; 37 stab wounds, eyes gouged out by clawed fingers. "I don't understand what compels some mammals to do these things," he said quietly. The last line on the report labeled the cause of death as cardiac arrest from blood loss and shock.
"We need to find this guy," Judy suddenly said, her voice filled with determination.
"Carrots, slow down there," Nick said, placing a hand on her shoulder.
"But..." Judy started to say, but Nick stopped her.
"I want to find this guy too," he said, "But we need to take this slow, we'll have a better chance of finding something if we do."
Judy sighed, "Ok."
Nick gave her shoulder a soft squeeze, "Don't worry, we'll find him." Nick placed the autopsy report back in Carol's file.
"Ok, let's go over what we know so far," Judy said, getting up from the couch, grabbing her notepad from the bedroom. Returning to the couch, opened the notepad. "So, Carol thought she was being stalked," Judy began, writing her notes.
"It didn't say if she mentioned that to her parents, right?" Nick asked.
"It didn't say in the report," she replied.
"Ok, we'll have to ask her family," Nick said. Judy nodded and returned to her notes.
"The mutilation suggests rage, possibly a personal connection," she said, quickly scribbling the words.
Nick hummed in thought, "Maybe."
Judy let out a puff of air, "This still doesn't give us much." Judy leaned back against the couch cushion and rubbed her eyes. She checked the time on her phone: 1:30 p.m.
"Let's have some lunch, and clear our heads," she said. She hopped off the couch and headed to the kitchen, Nick following close behind. As they ate, they discussed what they would do upon their arrival in Meadowlands. Judy decided that she should do most of the talking, while Nick would observe the people they interview, watching their body language for clues.
After lunch, they returned to the file, digging through it for more clues. Not finding anything else that would help them, they closed the file.
"I don't think we missed anything, Carrots," Nick called from the kitchen, pouring himself more coffee.
"Should we call Bogo?" Judy asked, "Since he was there, he might know something that's not in the file."
"Maybe. But I don't think we should bother him again today," Nick replied.
"But it might help," Judy countered.
Nick shrugged, "Ok, go ahead."
Judy picked up her phone and dialed the Chief. After a few rings, the line picked up. "ZPD Precinct 1, Chief Bogo speaking."
"Hey chief, it's Hopps," Judy answered.
"Hopps, what can I do for you?" Bogo asked.
"We got Carol's file out of Archives, and there wasn't much in it," Judy replied, "We were hoping you could give more information, since you were there." She heard Bogo sigh on the other end of the line.
"Not too much to add, Hopps," he replied, "Like I said before, we didn't find anything that would have led to a suspect."
"There must be something, Chief," Judy said.
"I'm sorry, Hopps," Bogo said, "I really wish I could be more help. This case has haunted me for the past twenty-two years, and I have never been able to find anything that could give Carol justice."
"Ok, Chief," Judy said, sounding defeated.
"I'll dig around here while you and Wilde are gone," Bogo said, reviving Judy's hopes, "And I'll have a think on this, but that's all I can do."
Judy bounced a little on the couch, "Thats great, Chief! Thank you!"
Bogo chuckled, "No problem, Hopps. Good luck."
"Thank you, chief, bye," Judy said
"Bye" Bogo responded and hung up the phone.
"What did the Chief say?" Nick asked.
"He said he's going to do some more digging while we're in Meadowlands," Judy replied.
"Great, so, now what?" he asked. Judy hopped off the couch.
"I guess we pack," she replied and went to the bedroom. Nick followed her in, digging his bag out of the closet.
Both spent about an hour packing, making sure they had enough clothes and toiletries for their trip. While Bogo gave them a month, they doubled they would be there that long. After packing, they went to the kichen to make dinner.
"What time should we get up tomorrow?" Nick asked, stirring a pot of noodles.
"I think 7 should give us enough time for last minute packing and breakfast," Judy replied, cutting some vegetables, "Make sure you actually wake up, Slick."
"Hey," Nick countered, "You know I'm a morning mammal." Judy let out a snort of laughter.
After cooking, she and Nick went to the living room to eat. As they ate, Judy pulled up the Zoogle map of the Meadowlands. It was the rural area of Zootopia, filled with small towns and farms, not unlike Bunny Burrow, but inhabited by large mammals. Judy then typed in Carol's address. The map placed a pin on a house outside of the town Grazer.
"Wow," Nick said, "That was a nice house."
"Yeah, it was," Judy said. The house was a large two-story country home. The white paint had dulled over the years, and the roof was missing numerous shingles. But the quality of the build was still present. They hoped it would look nicer in person.
They finished dinner shortly after, placing their dishes in the kitchen sink. By then, it was approaching 8:00 p.m. Nick and Judy, went to their bedroom, taking turns in the shower. After Nick showered, he climbed into bed, setting his phone's alarm for 7:00 a.m., and laid down. Judy left the shower ten minutes later, joining Nick in bed.
"Oh!" Judy suddenly exclaimed, "We forgot to look up Carol's family!"
"We can do that on the train tomorrow, Carrots," Nick said, "It is a three-hour train ride after all."
"You're right, I'm getting ahead of myself," Judy said, "Let's get some sleep." Nick nodded and turned out their bedroom lights. He curled himself up into the fox ball he usually slept in. Judy cuddled up beside him.
Sleep didn't come easy for them though. The images of Carol's body filled their dreams, the thought something so horrific could happen to someone so young. Then there was the pressure to solve this case. For twenty-two years, this case has affected so many people, leaving them with no closure. Knowing it was in their hands was a tough pill to swallow. But little did they know, this would be their strangest and most dangerous case yet.
Aurthur's Note: (Reposted) Here is Chapter 1. I know I said it would take a couple weeks, but I managed to get it done faster than anticipated. Took a while to edit some grammar and fix some dialogue, but I think I got everything, hopefully. So, please enjoy. Chapter 2 will probably take a couple of weeks, as I am focusing on getting chapters 2 and 3 of Make Him Whole Again completed. Chapter 2 of that should be uploaded by this weekend, no current time for chapter 3. But, as I said, enjoy chapter 1 of Haunted. Chapter 2 will introduce Daniel and Carol. Constructive criticism welcome.