Disclaimer: I do not own Zootopia.


Chapter 7: Melanie Grace

It was 0800 on Monday morning as Nick Wilde looked out of the windows of the train as he passed through the tunnel between Savannah Central and Tundratown. He was wearing a long wool trench coat instead of his usual attire. He was on his way to a meeting that he was dreading. It wasn't that he disliked interacting with anyone employed by Mr. Big, but he did like to avoid any possibility of being iced. He was set to meet Big's bodyguard, Kosov, at a small diner just inside of Tundratown. He glanced at his phone and made a mental note that he had to meet Inspector Wiley in Sahara Square at 1300.

"Five hours is plenty of time to try to not die," he said to himself.

As the train reached Taiga St. Station, Nick disembarked. The diner was only a block away, and his meeting was set for 0900. He gave himself an hour to scope the restaurant out and make an escape plan if the need would arise.

"If only Judy were here," he said, "She's untouchable to Big's syndicate."

At thinking of his partner, his mind momentarily flashed back to his conversation with Finnick.

"Looking to get a little closer to your partner?"

He shook the thought from his mind. Sure, he missed her; they were nearly inseparable. Aside from spending their work day together, Judy had crashed at his apartment a few times and even snuggled up next to him on his sofa to enjoy a movie. The thought of her petite frame wrapped around his tail caused him to smile. The closest thing that they had ever had to a "moment" happened on Judy's birthday when both of them had many alcoholic beverages, resulting in them agreeing to never speak of it again. In the deepest recesses of his mind, he secretly wished that they would have ever made that agreement. Again, he shook the thought from his mind and focused on the task at hand.

He entered a building across from the street which happened to be a multilevel shopping center. He went up to the third floor which had a small sunroom facing the street. After making sure that he was alone, he pulled out a pair of compact binoculars and looked over at the diner.

"One public entrance in the front, one on the side. Another door near the back, probably leads to the kitchen."

He looked through the windows that lined the front of the diner. As he looked at the patrons, he recognized three of them as members of Big's organization sitting at the bar right inside of the front door. Kosov was as close to the top as someone outside of Big's family could be. If they were there on his behalf, things could get messy.

He put away his binoculars and checked his surroundings again. Once he was satisfied, he reached into the left pocket of his coat and pulled out a handgun that was loaded with compact tranquilizer darts. It could be fired semi-automatically. He popped the magazine and counted the rounds: 9. A polar bear of Kosov's size would take at least five shots to knock out. He slid the gun back into his pocket holster. He reached his right hand into the opening of his trench coat and retrieved the larger tranq gun from his shoulder holster. This one was a bolt action single shot. He made sure that it was loaded and proceeded to count the rounds that he had slid into the cartridge holders along his holster: 7. These darts would only take about 2-3 to put down Kosov if everything went south. He re-holstered that gun and pulled out the extra magazine that was in his right pocket: 9 shots there too.

He let out a deep sigh and checked his phone. 0845.

"Go time," he said as he turned to head back outside.


Nick walked into the diner via the side entrance at exactly 0859 and made his way to the booth where the large polar bear was sitting, drinking a cup of coffee. He sat down. Kosov placed the cup on the table and smiled.

"Nikolai, my friend," he said, "It is so good to see you."

"You know that's not my name Kosov," Nick said as a waitress walked up to the table.

"Can I get you anything," she asked.

"Just a coffee with cream and sugar," Nick responded.

She nodded and walked away. Out of the corner of his eye, Nick saw two of the mobsters get up from the bar and walk past the booth to a table by the side entrance.

"When I asked to meet with you, I believe I asked to meet with you alone," Nick said.

"What do you mean," Kosov asked, "I am alone."

"Save for your comrades at the bar by the front door and side door," Nick said as his left hand rested on the handgun in his pocket.

Kosov smiled, "Precautions. You know how dangerous my line of work is. The boss would never let me go to a meeting without backup."

"So Big knows you're meeting with me," Nick asked as his thumb rested on the hammer to his gun.

"Of course," Kosov answered, "He asked me to say hello to Miss Hopps who I am surprised is not with you."

"Judy is on assignment right now," Nick said, "Her and I are working a case from different angles. My investigation led me to someone you had contact with."

"And who would that be," Kosov asked.

Nick narrowed his eyes, "Selina Winters."

Kosov's eyes widened. He held up a paw and clicked two of his claws together. Nick tensed and began putting pressure on the hammer to his gun and readied to draw as the three mobsters got up and walked outside. Nick relaxed.

"I would prefer that we not have company while discussing my private life," Kosov said, "I never expected that you would be part of the vice squad."

"I'm not," Nick said, "I don't care about your extracurriculars. I'm working a missing mammals' case."

"That explains why I've not been able to reach her," Kosov said, "Is a shame, I enjoyed our time together."

"TMI man," Nick said, "When was the last time you used her service?"

"It has been a little over four months," Kosov said, "We had a standing arrangement to meet at a hotel every third Saturday of the month. Four months ago, she did not show, and has not since. I attempted to find out information, but her manager would not take my calls."

"Manager," Nick said surprised, "What manager?"

"She had someone who did her leg work," Kosov said, "Never got a name. Was male with a very deep voice."

"Was the voice modulated," Nick asked.

"No," Kosov responded, "It was natural. You could tell by the cadence."

"You said you met at a hotel," Nick pressed, "From what I found, she met her clients at her house."

Kosov smiled, "The camera was my idea. A way to get dirt on potential enemies."

"How did you find out about her," Nick asked.

"My cousin gave me her contact information," he responded.

"Do you know anything about her personal life," Nick asked.

"Alas, I do not," he answered.

"You've left me with more questions than answers Kosov," Nick said as he stood up, "Thank you for your time. I have to be going, you're not my only meeting today."

"It has been my pleasure Nikolai," Kosov said as joined Nick next to the table. The two shook hands.

"When you find out what happened to her, please let me know," Kosov said, "Despite our relationship being strictly business, I was quite fond of Miss Winters."

Nick nodded and turned to leave. As soon as he was outside, he let out a deep breath and headed towards the train station.


As he sat on the train that was headed towards Sahara Square, Nick was waiting for an app to install on his phone. Earlier that day, he asked Clawhauser about encrypted chat apps, and per the cheetah's recommendation, he chose one to download.

"I need to talk to Carrots," he said to himself, "and Wiley's not going to let me any other way."

After downloading the app, he created a chat room and sent an invitation to Judy's number via a text message. While he waited for her to answer, he started to set up the accounts and type his messages.

"N for Nick and C for Carrots," he said to himself, smiling.

N-Carrots, I have info about the case.

N-Message me as soon as you can.

N-This chat is private. Wiley doesn't know I set it up.

After a few minutes, he noticed that Judy was online.

C-Prove that you're Nick

Nick thought for a second before the thought of their kiss entered his mind. He smiled

N-On the night of your birthday, we got drunk, kissed, and vowed never to tell anyone else.

C-Okay. What do you have?

N-Selina was moonlighting as a sex worker. She filmed all of her clients.

N-Her last client was an artic fox vixen.

C-Thanks for letting me know. Does Wiley know about this?

N-Yeah. I'm kind of surprised that he didn't tell you about it at your last check in.

C-It is a little weird.

N-It gets weirder. Selina had a manager who found her clients.

C-Any info on this manager

N-Only that he's a male. Has a very deep voice. Does that fit anyone you've interacted with?

C-No.

N-Well, I'm almost at my meeting spot with Wiley. I'll talk to you later.

C-TTYL


"Melanie Grace," Wiley said, "Black-tailed Jackrabbit. Her listed mailing address is a Post Office box, but the postmaster recognized her picture when I showed it to him. He said that she lived in a van by the beach."

Nick and Wiley were in Wiley's car, headed towards the southern shore of Zootopia.

"Then why didn't you have me meet you at the beach then," Nick asked.

"I wanted a chance to talk to you," Wiley said, "I want to know what you're doing in your down time."

Nick tensed, "What do you mean?"

"You know that you signed an NDA, right," Wiley asked.

"Of course I do," Nick said, "Not that I can disclose anything anyway. I don't know who we're investigating. I only know the victims and the perps' favored prey."

"Why did you phrase it like that," Wiley asked.

"Like what," Nick said, sarcastically, "Prey? Do you have a better word for the circumstances? You have to admit that the label kind of fits."

"Because they're rabbits," Wiley said.

"Absolutely," Nick said, "Obviously I know better, but most mammals see rabbits as the stereotypical 'prey' mammal. Out of the blue, if someone asks what the most helpless mammal is, almost everyone would think of a small prey mammal. Rabbits fit the description evolutionarily as well. Back before mammals became civilized, rabbits bred large families to perpetuate their species due to the dangers that predators posed. That's common knowledge. They're seen as weak."

Wiley relented, "You make a fair point. I did notice however, that you managed to sidestep my original question. Bogo told me that you used to be a con-man. You seem like you'd be a good one. I'm just used to the tricks. Where were you this morning? I saw that you got off of the Sahara Square Express from Tundratown. Why were you in Tundratown, Nick?"

"Fine," he said, "you got me. I was following a lead. I recognized a name in Selina's little black book, and I met with the individual this morning for coffee."

"Who," Wiley asked.

"Confidential informant," Nick said, "He exists in a precarious situation where talking to the cops would put him in danger."

"Did you at least learn anything useful," Wiley asked.

"Selina had a pimp," Nick said, "My contact never met him directly, only over the phone. The only detail I got was that he had an unnaturally deep voice."

"That's not much to go on," Wiley said, "Oh well. We're almost at the beach."


Wiley and Nick pulled into the long-term parking lot that was used by the other van and camper dwellers and made their way toward the leasing office. The armadillo that was sitting at the desk looked up when he heard them enter.

"Can I help you," he asked.

Wiley flashed his badge, "Were looking for the van that belongs to a rabbit named Melanie Grace."

The armadillo opened a large binder and flipped through it, "Melanie Grace. It was a converted cargo van. VIN was ###############. Her lease was up two months ago. The van got impounded after she failed to pay."

"Do you know anything about her," Nick asked.

"Nah," the armadillo shook his head, "Never really talked to her. She only ever came in once to sign the original lease for her spot. After that, she paid the rent by putting it into the drop box."

"Can you tell us where her spot was," Wiley asked, "We'd like to speak with her neighbors."

The armadillo looked at the binder, "Spot B4. It's over by the boardwalk."

Wiley nodded, "Thank you, sir."

Nick also nodded as the two of them turned and left the office. Wiley pulled out his keys and tossed them to Nick, "I'll talk to the neighbors. You head to the impound lot and see if you can find her van."

Nick nodded as before getting into the car.


He drove the ten minutes to the Sahara Square precinct impound. As he entered the building, Nick felt all eyes on him. He shrugged off the inherent disapproval that was being lobbed at him and approached the front desk.

The bespectacled female camel behind the desk looked up at him, "Can I help you?"

Nick pulled out his badge, "Officer Nick Wilde, Precinct One. I'm investigating a missing mammal case and was informed that the victims van was impounded at this location."

The camel looked at Nick's badge number and keyed in into her computer. Nick could see his file come on screen in the reflection of her glasses. He saw her eyes widen in surprise before she looked back at him, "Of course officer. Do you have the VIN?"

"It's ###############," Nick said, "Converted cargo van."

She typed the info into the database.

"It's in lot 3, space 25," she said.

Nick smiled and returned his badge to his pocket, "Thank you ma'am."

He turned and walked out to the lot. The lot was locked and being guarded by a lion.

"No unauthorized entry," the lion said upon seeing Nick.

'Here we go again,' Nick thought to himself before pulling out his badge, "Officer Nick Wilde, Precinct One. I need access to a van that was impounded. You can radio the camel at the front desk as she's already verified my identity."

The lion pulled out his walkie, "Camila, there's a fox out here that claims that he's a cop."

"Affirmative," her voice responded.

"Really," the lion said incredulously.

Nick just stood there smiling, slightly perturbed, as the conversation played out.

"Ok," the lion finally said as he unlocked the gate, "You're clear."

Nick nodded in thanks as he walked past.


Finding the van was pretty simple, Nick spotted it right away. It was in fact a large white cargo van that had been converted into a small living space. The rear cargo door was welded shut and a door and fold-up stairs had been installed. Nick tried the handle and found the door to be locked. He pulled out a lock pick that he carried just for this kind of occasion. After a few seconds, he swung the door open. As he stepped inside, he pulled out a flashlight and shined it around the small living space.

Along the left wall was a countertop with some cabinets above. He opened the cabinet and found typical kitchen wares: plates, silverware, glasses. The cabinets under the counter had various appliances: a small hotplate, a blender, and a minifridge that was still running.

He looked at the wall and saw a light switch. He flicked it on. The lights across the ceiling illuminated. About half-way back the length of the van, there was a large curtain hanging. He stepped through the curtain and saw a rabbit sized bed that had been bolted to the ground. The covers were disheveled, and there were personal items knocked onto the floor. He looked over the bed and saw some spots of red. He quickly left the van and headed back to Wiley's car.

Nick returned to the van with a kit bag containing some CSI tools. He went back to the bedroom and reached into the bag. He pulled on some gloves, got out a spray bottle that was labeled as luminol. He sprayed a fine mist over the stains and pulled out a black light. The stains glowed a brilliant purple.

"Blood," he said to himself. The next thing he pulled out of the bag was a small vial with a cotton swab inside and a spray bottle of rubbing alcohol. He sprayed the alcohol onto one of the stains and swabbed some before sealing it into the vial. He began looking over the rest of the bed nearby and saw a familiar white hair. He picked it up and bagged it.

On the wall across from the bed was a large black box. Nick walked over to it and realized that it was a battery. There was a power cable leading from the battery through the ceiling.

Nick walked outside and along the van towards the cab. Near the front, there was a ladder. Nick climbed up and saw a large solar panel lining the roof.

"Explains why there's power," he said.

He climbed back down and opened the cab door. He opened the glove box and found the vehicle's registration. It said that the vehicle was registered to George Grace.

"Must be her father,' Nick said as he pulled out his phone and dialed Wiley's number.

"Wiley," the honey badger answered, "What do you have?"

"I bagged some evidence," Nick said, "Some light blood spatter and a familiar white fox hair. Judging by the state of the room, it looks like there was a struggle. I also found out that the van is not registered to Melanie, but to a George Grace."

"I'll call in the name and see if we can get a location," Wiley said, "You can come back and pick me up; I'm done talking to the neighbors."

"Learn anything interesting," Nick asked as he picked up the kit bag to return to the car.

"Not really," he responded, "She kept to herself. Never really had company, except for a few days before she went missing."

"White fox," Nick asked.

"You got it," Wiley said.

"Okay," Nick said as he climbed into the car, "I'm on my way."


"Thanks, Benji," Nick said into the phone before hanging up looking at Wiley, "George Grace is an accountant, typical, in the Meadowlands. I have his address."

"All the way on the other side of Zootopia," Wiley said, "I'll drop you off in Central and check it out myself.


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