Sorry for the delay! I'm going on a trip for work this week and spent all last week and this weekend preparing for it, and I was unable to work on this story as much as I would have liked. See end for AN.
Chapter 2; The Girl in the Diner:
Nick's phone blared its obnoxious alarm as the time struck 7:00 a.m. Nick reached his paw out to it, rapidly tapping at the screen with his finger. "Shut up!" Nick said in a groggy voice.
"Nick!" Judy moaned from beside him, "Turn it off!" Nick forced himself to sit up and grabbed his phone. Swiping at the screen, he finally silenced the alarm.
"Damn," Nick sighed, sliding out of bed, "Too early for this."
Judy sat up, rubbing her eyes, "Didn't sleep well, either?" she asked.
"Nope," he replied with a yawn, "I'll go make us some coffee." He got up and left the bedroom. Judy yawned, climbing out of bed. She grabbed her bag and went to the living room.
Nick dug around in the cabinets for the coffee grounds. "Where's the damn coffee!" he groaned with frustration.
"Where did you put it last night?" Judy asked.
"Don't remember," Nick replied. Judy facepalmed before joining him in the kitchen. She stopped after only a couple of steps.
"Nick," Judy said in a bored voice.
"What?" he asked, still digging through the cabinet.
"Look by the coffee maker," she replied. Nick stopped and glanced down below him. Sure enough, the can of coffee grounds sat by the maker. Nick turned around, flashing Judy a smile.
She rolled her eyes, "Real slick."
She continued into the kitchen, going to the fridge and pulling out the milk. Nick started the coffee maker before returning to the bedroom to shower. Judy made herself a bowl of cereal, then went back into the living room and sat on the couch. She pulled her iPad out of her bag. Turning it on, she went onto Zoogle to look up Carol's family.
Meanwhile, Nick left the shower, getting dressed in his usual Pawaiian shirt and brown pants. He picked up his bag and returned to the living room. "Whatcha lookin' up?" Nick asked.
"Carol's family's address," she replied, "Just wanted to get a head start."
Nick nodded, "Did you get it?"
"Yeah, I got it," Judy replied. Nick entered the kitchen and poured himself some coffee. He looked at the clock on the stove.
"Hey, Carrots," Nick said, "Its almost 7:40, you might want to grab a quick shower."
Judy's ears perked up, "Oh! Geez!" She set her iPad down and ran to the shower. Nick chuckled at her reaction. He opened his bag and did one last inventory to make sure he packed everything. Realizing he forgot his laptop; he went to the bedroom to get it. As he entered, Judy stumbled from the bathroom, rubbing herself with a towel.
"Time?" Judy asked, pulling out her clothes.
Nick pulled out his phone, "7:51," he replied. "Damn!" she exclaimed and quickly got dressed.
"Slow down, Carrots," Nick said laughing.
"No! I lost track of time, we're gonna miss the train!" Judy said frantically. She ran to the living room, repacking her iPad while Nick turned off the coffee maker and poured the remaining coffee in the sink.
"Ready, Carrots?" he asked. Judy looked around the room, muttering to herself.
"Yeah," she replied after a few moments, "I think we got everything."
Nick nodded and grabbed his bag, heading to the front door, Judy joining him moments later. After leaving the house, they went to their cruiser, and drove to the train station. Because they left after 8:00 a.m., they very quickly hit the early morning rush hour.
"Well, this is bullshit," Nick groaned.
Judy slowly reached for the siren button. Nick cocked his eye at this, "Are you really gonna do that?" he asked, "You never let me do that."
"We'll be late if I don't," she replied. She flipped on the cruiser's lights and sirens, speeding through the cars as they parted. At 8:50, they pulled into the train station's parking lot, parking the cruiser in the section reserved specifically for the ZPD. Nick and Judy grabbed their luggage and ran to the ticket kiosk. Nick put in his credit card and printed off their tickets.
"Come on, Nick!" Judy said as she rushed to the platform where the train was waiting. She headed into the second to last car, Nick following closely behind.
"Made it!" Judy said panting.
"We sure did," Nick said unamused.
Judy jabbed his ribs with her elbow, "Come on," she said, "Let's go to the Observation Deck." They both went up to stairs to the glass dome on the second floor of the car right as the train's doors closed.
They sat down on the bench right as the train began to move. "This train is departing," the train's automated announcer said through the speakers, "This train is direct to Meadowlands, estimated trip time: two hours and forty-five minutes."
"Oh joy," Nick said sarcastically.
"Relax, Slick," Judy said.
"Ok," Nick responded, "So, you got the address, right?" Judy looked at him in confusion. "You know, for our..."
"Oh!" she exclaimed, "That! Yes, their address is...289 Herder Road, Grazer."
"Where the hell's that?" Nick asked.
"It's just outside Grazer," Judy replied, "On the opposite side of town from their old house."
"Oh, so they moved out of that old house, huh?" Nick said.
"With what happened inside, I can't blame them," Judy responded.
"Yeah," Nick said. He leaned his head back and closed his eyes.
"Taking a nap already?" Judy asked.
"We got two and a half hours, so why not?" Nick replied.
"We could look up a hotel before we get there," she suggested.
"We got time, Carrots," he said, "Let's get some rest while we can, we've got a long day ahead of us." Judy sighed and rested her head against his shoulder, her mind filled with questions she wanted to ask Carol's family, and how they would react to them.
'I hope this goes well,' she thought. Judy shuffled herself closer to Nick and slowly drifted off to sleep.
Grazer, Meadowlands, 1 hour earlier:
The rays of the earlier morning sun shone through the blinds of a second-floor apartment window. They slowly made their way across the floor, up the side of a bed, and finally on the face of its occupant, a young, grey wolf. He groaned as the sun reached his face, pulling his blanket over his eyes. An alarm clock began to blare from the dresser next to his bed. A grey paw slid out from underneath the blanket and tapped the top of the clock, trying to find the off button. On the fifth attempt, the alarm was silenced.
Another groan came from under the blanket. The wolf pulled down the covers and slowly crawled out of bed. He let out a yawn as he shuffled to the bathroom. Flicking on the light, the wolf answered his morning nature call, showered, then headed to the kitchen. He let out another yawn as he scrolled through his phone.
A call from his boss came through, he quickly answered it, "Hello?"
"Hey, Daniel," his boss said, "I need a favor."
"Ok," Daniel replied, "Whatcha need?"
"Bill's not coming in today," his boss replied, "I would like you to cover his job in inventory."
Daniel inwardly sighed, he hated doing inventory. "Uh...yeah, sure, I could do that."
"Great! Well, I'll see you at 10!" his boss said happily.
"Yeah, see ya soon," Daniel replied and hung up the phone.
He let out another sigh before digging in his fridge. "Out of milk, eggs, lox*," he muttered, "Guess its Harry's Diner again." He returned to his bedroom and put on his work clothes. Grabbing his car keys and wallet off the kitchen counter, he headed out of his apartment. Out in the parking lot, Daniel climbed into his car and drove to the diner.
He arrived at the diner about ten minutes later and parked in his usual spot. Daniel left his car and walked to the entrance, the smell of fresh coffee and breakfast sandwiches making his stomach rumble. Walking by the diner's front window, he noticed a young wolf girl sitting alone at a table. He'd seen her before; she showed up to the diner a week ago, and each day sat at the same table with a lone croissant keeping her company. She was absolutely beautiful, her grey fur was well groomed, her long, black hair hung down over her shoulders, and her golden eyes were striking. Daniel had wanted to talk to her, but he couldn't work up the nerve.
'Maybe today,' he thought to himself, opening the front door and stepped inside. The bright interior lights forced Daniel to squint for a moment. Once his eyes adjusted, he went to the counter and order his usual, small black coffee and a breakfast burrito. Paying for his food, he checked the time while he waited: 8:45 a.m.
'I've got time,' he thought. He glanced to the wolf girl, now staring out the window.
'It's now or never,' he thought. Making a decision, he returned to the counter and purchased another cup of coffee. Both cups in hand, he took a deep breath and walked to the girl who piqued his interest over the past week.
Carol sat at her usual table, watching the world from the window. She had been coming to this diner for the past week now, missing the ice cream shop that used to be here. She remembered the first time she went. It was her fifth birthday, and the parlor had just opened. The banana split she had was the one of the best things she'd ever eaten. The parlor went under in 1995 and was replaced by Harry's the next year, she was rather disappointed by that. But, she supposed, the diner wasn't too bad. It had that nice, homie atmosphere that mammals enjoyed, no one seemed to complain. And the food, while your typical diner fare, wasn't that bad. She watched mammals as they walked by, some with their noses buried in their phones.
She let out a soft sigh, 'Everything's changed so much,' she thought. She pulled from her head when she heard a voice from nearby, "Hey! What's a pretty girl like you doing alone?" Carol looked away from the window.
At her table, stood a tall grey wolf. He was wearing black jeans, a grey shirt, and a blue jacket with a logo from the nearby hardware store on the right breast pocket. In his hands, he held two cups of coffee, his right also holding a burrito. She looked into his black eyes, both wide with excitement, a smile showing off his white fangs.
"Mind if I join you?" he asked.
"Uh...sure," Carol replied. The wolf pulled out the chair opposite to her and sat down.
"Coffee?" he asked offering the cup in his left hand. Carol smiled and accepted the drink, "Thank you"
"You're very welcome," he said with a smile, "So... how are you this fine morning?"
"I'm great," Carol replied.
He chuckled, "Thats great to hear. I've seen you a lot here, you must really love this place."
"Oh! Uh," Carol said with surprise, "Yeah, I come here a lot, I love their croissants."
He let out another chuckle, oblivious to the stares he was getting from the other patrons. "Yeah," he replied, "Their croissants are amazing! I'm Daniel Vincent by the way"
"I'm Carol...Walker," Carol replied somewhat uneasily. Daniel picked up on it, "Are you okay?"
"Yeah, I'm fine," she reassured. Daniel smiled and unwrapped his burrito. Carol took a sip of her coffee, watching as he cut the burrito in half.
"Want some?" he asked.
"Yes," she replied, "Thank you." Daniel set half of the burrito in front of her. He glanced around him, finally noticing the weird looks he was getting. He shrugged them off and returned his focus to Carol, who was stuffing her face with the burrito.
"Wow!" she said after taking a bite, "This is amazing!"
"I know!" Daniel replied matching her enthusiasm, "The breakfast burrito is one my favorites!" They both shared a laugh, then chatted away about their day to day lives, the weather, how things have changed around town.
Daniel checked his watch; 9:30 a.m. "Damn!" he said.
"What's wrong?" Carol asked.
"I've got to go before I'm late for work," He replied, extending his hand, "It was very to meet you miss Walker."
"Likewise, Daniel," Carol replied, shaking his hand, "I'll be here again tomorrow if you want to talk some more."
"That'd be great!" Daniel said with a smile, "See you tomorrow!"
"You too!" Carol said, waving goodbye as he left, carrying his coffee.
Carol let out a happy sigh, "What a nice man," she said to herself.
A bear server came up to the table and began wiping it down. "What a fuckin' weirdo," he muttered, "Talking to himself in public."
Carol sighed and stood up from her chair. She left the diner and walked down the street, looking about the town. 'How beautiful,' she thought. Carol began to slowly fad away, returning to a place she wished she'd never have to return to.
At 9:55, Daniel pulled into the parking lot of Bob's Hardware Store. After parking his car, he ran to the entrance. "Daniel!" a voice called.
He turned to his left and saw his boss walking toward him, the beaver's tail slapping the floor as he hobbled along.
"Hey sir," Daniel replied panting. "You're usually here twenty minutes earlier, what held you up?" he asked.
"Oh...uh I was out of food at my apartment," Daniel replied, "And I had to go to Harry's Diner."
"Oh. Well at least you're here now. Follow me," his boss said. Daniel followed the beaver to the back of the store, where they kept the inventory.
"So," his boss began, "Over there are the new tools we got in." He pointed to a pile of boxes in corner, "I want to sort them out into the bins, making sure you document how many of each tool we have, then Rick will place them on the shelves. Got it?"
"Yes sir," Daniel replied. His boss nodded and went back to his office while Daniel headed to the boxes. Pulling out his balisong*, he cut the tape and opened the first box. Inside were several bags of washers, nuts, screws, nails, and a large container of wrenches. "Alright," he muttered, moving the box aside.
He spent the next fifteen minutes opening and emptying the remaining ten boxes. He sorted the tools and hardware into separate bins, while Rick came in to sort them to their respected shelves. An hour of that later, Daniel sat in the supply office, spending the next hour and a half typing the spreadsheets for the store. He rubbed his tired eyes, thinking about Carol. 'She was really nice,' he thought, picturing her smile. He let out a huff, wondering if she was having more fun than he was.
Meadowlands Train Station, 12:15 p.m.
Judy stirred in her sleep when she felt something wet hit the top of her head. She opened her eyes, scanning the car around her. She noticed a family of wolves sitting across from them, the pups giggled at her. She felt another drop of water on her head. She looked up and noticed Nick still asleep. His muzzle was open slightly, a drop of drool forming on his lips. Judy realized what dripped on her head and her eyes widened.
"Nick!" she said loudly, shaking Nick's shoulder.
"Huh?" he said, his eyes opening.
"You're drooling on me!" Judy whined.
Nick looked down at her, seeing the top of her head was soaked. "Sorry," he apologized with a laugh.
"That's not funny," Judy said, "It's gross."
"I'm sorry, Carrots," Nick apologized again, taking a towel from his bag and handing it to Judy.
She dried off the top of her head, "What time is it?" she asked
Nick checked his watch, "It's 12:20," he replied.
She gave Nick his towel back, "We should be in Meadowlands soon, right?" she asked.
"About twenty, twenty-five minutes," Nick replied.
"Great," Judy said, standing and stretching her legs.
Nick raised his arms above his head, stretching his tired muscles. He looked out the window, watching the countryside flyby. He rested his head back against the window to pass the remainder of the trip. Twenty-five minutes later, the train pulled into the Grazer Train Station. While not as impressive as Zootopia's, it was still very well built and modern for a small town.
"Welcome to the Meadowlands District," the trains automated announcer said, "Please enjoy your stay."
Nick and Judy grabbed their luggage and departed the train. "Should we grab a rental car?" Nick asked.
"Yeah. That would make things easier," Judy replied.
"I hope Bogo doesn't mind," Nick said, "He didn't specify how much we could spend on this trip."
"The department has us covered, Slick," Judy reassured, "Don't worry." They both searched the station for a rental car counter.
After five minutes of searching, they finally found it. "Why was that so hard to find?" Nick asked with a groan, "This station's like half the size of Sahara Square's"
"Sahara Square also has a better directory," Judy replied. They went to the counter and rented a medium sized mammal car. Hopping in, they drove through the town, taking in all the places of interest they could find.
"Let's book our hotel room first and drop off our bags," Nick suggested.
"Alright," Judy said softly.
"I know you're eager, Carrots," Nick said, "But, like I said before, let's take our time on this."
"I gotcha," she replied.
"What hotel did the travel form recommend?" he asked.
"Not a five star," Judy replied giggling.
"I'm sure we won't find that in this town anyway," Nick said.
Judy pulled out her phone, scrolling through Zoogle for a hotel. "Oh, here's one!" she said excitedly, "It's called Grazer Suites. It's about two minutes away."
"Real original with that name," Nick scoffed, "Alright. Let's go." Following Zoogle Maps, they arrived at the hotel. Parking their rental, the headed inside and rented a room. After dropping of the luggage, they returned to their rental. "Where to now?" Nick asked.
"I think time we head to Carol's parents' house," Judy replied.
"Okay," Nick replied, "This might not go well, you ready?"
"Not really," Judy replied, "But, it has to be done." Nick drove out of the hotel parking lot and headed to Mr. and Mrs. Walters home.
Nick didn't want to admit it, but he was very nervous about this. He didn't have any doubts that the Walters were questioned by many a detective throughout the years, and they likely wanted to just move on. He could tell Judy was just as nervous. Would they be angry? Would they accuse them of wanting recognition? Would they just slam the door in their faces? There was only one way to find out, Nick supposed. Another ten minutes of driving later and they arrived at the Walter's home. The house was similar to their old home, large, two story, white paint job. If it wasn't for the lack of a garage, they would believe it was the exact same house.
"Ready?" Nick asked.
"Ready," Judy replied, and they exited the rental and walked to the front door. Nick stood on the tips of toes and rang the doorbell. Footsteps approached the door a moment later. The deadbolt shifted with a click and the door opened. A large, male grey wolf stood in the doorway. He glanced down at the pair.
"Good afternoon, sir," Judy greeted.
"Oh! Officers Hopps and Wilde!" he said with a smile, "I saw you guys on T.V. What brings you two all the way out here?"
"Well," Judy began, "We were assigned a cold case and we wanted to know if you could help us solve it."
Mr. Walters smiled faded, "Officers, are you here to ask about my daughter?" he asked in a cold tone.
"Yes, we are sir," Judy replied somewhat firmly, "I can imagine you've probably had many a hotshot detective question you and your wife over the years."
"Yes, we have," He replied in the same cold tone.
Judy stood her ground, "I know you think we are here to boost our careers, but we are not," Judy assured him, "We may not have known your daughter, but she deserves justice." Judy took a step forward, "We're not here for fame, we want to find whoever did this. We want your daughter to finally rest. And we promise, we will not fail you."
Mr. Walters took a deep breath, "Carol's death has haunted us for twenty-two years now," he said, "In all this time, no one has found anything that could identify her killer and finally put this to rest." He sighed heavily, rubbing his eyes, "Do you believe you will be able to solve this?" he asked.
"I know we will," Judy replied.
Mr. Walters closed his eyes and crossed his arms in deep thought. Nick and Judy looked on in concern. Would he let them? Did he believe them? "Alright," he said after a moment, "You're not like the others, only thinking about their careers. I know about how you two solved the Night Howler case, so I think if anyone can solve this, it would be you two."
"Thank you very much, Mr. Walters," Judy said.
"You're welcome, Officer Hopps," Mr. Walters said, "My wife's picking up food right now, she'll be home in about ten minutes. You're welcome to come in and wait." He opened the door wider and motioned them inside. Nick and Judy walked inside, glancing around at the house's interior. The walls were painted a light blue, with pictures covering most of the walls. The foyer led into a hallway that contained the stairs and backdoor. The left side led to the kitchen and dining room, the right into the den. Mr. Walters led them into the den.
"Have a seat," he said, pointing to the couch. They both sat down. "Do you two want something to drink?" he asked.
"Sure. Some water would be nice," Nick replied.
Mr. Walters nodded and went to the kitchen. As he left, Nick and Judy looked at the pictures on the wall above them. They were multiple family portraits, showing the family throughout the years. The ones that caught their attention were of Carol. The picture showed her life from infancy to the days before her death. She looked so happy in every picture she was in. One picture near the bottom caught their attention. It was of a she-wolf sitting at a table in a diner, one that bore a striking resemblance to Carol.
"Is that?" Judy asked.
"Couldn't be," Nick replied.
Mr. Walters returned from the kitchen carrying two glasses of water. "Here you go," he said, handing Nick and Judy a cup.
"Thank you, Mr. Walters," Judy said.
"Please, call me Frank," he replied.
"Okay," Judy taking a sip of water.
"So, Frank," Nick began, "I wanted to ask, is that?" he asked pointing at the bottom picture.
Frank sighed, "That was taken a week ago by an old friend of Carol's," he said, "That place is Harry's Diner. It used to be Lilly's Ice Cream Parlor. Carol loved that place." He sat down in a recliner across from them. "We didn't know what to think when we got that picture," he said, "Part of us wants to believe she's still alive, that she never died."
"Who's the wolf with Carol in this picture?" Judy asked, pointing to a picture at the top right.
"That was Carol's boyfriend, Randall," Frank replied, "I never liked him. Always gave me a bad vibe. He and Carol broke up a week before he death."
That caught their attention. "You don't think...?" Judy started to ask.
"He was questioned by police afterward, but they couldn't find anything that suggested he was involved," Frank replied, "But, I still have my suspicions."
Judy took note of that, "Do you know if he's still around?" she asked.
"He was," Frank replied, "But he moved out of town years ago. I'm not sure to where."
'Great,' Judy thought. They heard the front door unlock and open. The sound of plastic bags shuffling filled the foyer. A moment later the front door was closed and locked again. Then, a she wolf entered the den. In her hands were bags of fried fish takeout. She smiled at Frank before noticing Nick and Judy.
"Officer Hopps and Wilde!" she exclaimed, "What are you two doing here?"
Nick cleared his throat, "We were assigned your daughters case, and we're here to solve it."
Mrs. Walters stood still for a moment. "We've had a lot of mammals say that," she said softly.
"We know, ma'am," Judy said, "But we mean it."
"Hon," Frank said, standing up and putting an arm around his wife, "It's okay." He led her across the den to a love seat.
"We know it's hard," Nick said, "But we want to put Carol to rest, and make sure the mammal who did this gets what they deserve." Frank rubbed his wife's back to comfort her. She took a bit to gather herself, rubbing her temples to relax her nerves.
She looked up to Nick and Judy, "Go ahead," she said, "Ask away."
Aurthur's Note: Sorry to end this chapter on a cliff hanger, but I plan on chapter 3 being the start of the investigation and will be longer. And again, apologies for the delay. Like I said, I am going on a trip for work, and I will be gone for about a month. Depending on the work, I may or may have time to work on my stories. I will try to write when I can but expect delays in uploading new chapters. For now, please enjoy chapter 2. Apologies if it's not as good as the last chapter, but I wanted to get it upload before I left. Constructive criticism welcome. *Lox-Smoked salmon, *balisong-Butterfly knife