Disclaimer: Zootopia and all Canon characters are owned by Disney. All other characters, product names, trademarks, and copyrights belong to their respective owners.
…..
*bzzzzt*
"Mmmmh," groaned Nick in his sleep, unconsciously wrapping himself tighter around his sleeping bunny.
*bzzzzt*
"Phone," mumbled Judy, refusing to wake up.
*bzzzzt*
"Uh-huh," said Nick, feeling around for his phone on the nightstand before it vibrated again.
*bzzzzt*
Seeing 2:30 a.m. on the screen, Nick groaned as he swiped it and said, "Wilde here."
…
"Uh-huh," replied Nick, combing through his head fur with his claws. "Okay, I'm on my way."
…
"Yeah, got it."
Unwinding himself from around Judy, Nick yawned as he put on some shorts and a mostly clean t-shirt with the Sheriff's Department logo on it.
"Everything okay?" asked Judy, yawning too.
"That was Doc Stoan. Wants help with someone at his clinic. Said he needs some Burrow Meister juice."
"Want me to go with you?"
"Nah, probably just a drunk or a kit out past curfew that needs a talking to. Get some sleep for me. I'll call you once I know what's going on."
"But—"
Nick kissed Judy silent and said, "Tell Mom I took one of the trucks."
"Okay," said Judy, yawning again.
"Have I ever told you how cute you are when you do that?"
Motioning her fox closer, Judy gently grabbed some t-shirt and pulled Nick in for another kiss. "Hurry back so I can wake up next to you."
"Yes, ma'am," replied Nick as he made his way out of the bedroom, hoping for the same thing.
-/-/-
"A streetlight or two would be nice," mumbled Nick as he wished away the heavy clouds blocking what little light the crescent moon was trying to provide.
Parking his truck a pawful of houses down from Doc Stoan's to avoid attracting attention, Nick silently thanked his ancestral DNA for equipping him with everything he needed to navigate the last of his trip in the dark.
Tapping the torch button on his phone, Nick augmented said DNA with some technology and moments later was taking the steps two at a time up to the clinic's porch where…
"Evening," said a solidly built coyote stepping out of the dark.
Along with a bobcat who looked like he worked out with the coyote.
"Just checking, Officer Wilde. Go on in," said the coyote, stepping back into the dark while his bobcat associate opened the door for Nick.
"The Doc's expecting you," said the bobcat. "And just so you know, it wasn't any of us in Predville that did it."
Nodding slowly, Nick went in and called out for Derek.
"Back here," said Derek from behind a large curtain.
Pulling back the curtain and stepping through, Nick gasped, "What the hell?"
Nick almost stepped back. Dalton was flat on his back on Doc Stoan's medical bed, with a splint on his arm, a bandaged ear, bandages on his chest, and splatters of blood and antiseptic on his fur.
"Niiiick…."
He was also drugged up on painkillers.
"This is what I couldn't tell you on the phone. Dalton was attacked inside the forested part of the park up the block. A couple of guys heard him moaning in the trees and brought him here."
"The guys outside?" asked Nick, moving closer to look at Dalton.
"Yeah, they said they'd stay and keep an eye out until you got here and Dalton was taken care of."
Derek lifted Dalton enough that Nick could see another set of bandages covering his shoulder and shoulder blade.
"What are the bandages covering?"
"Claw marks."
"So, did a predator do this? Claw up Dalton and leave him for dead?"
"I'm not sure. The claw marks look like they're from a predator, but the bruising looks more blunt, and his arm is broken from what looks like fainting or keeling over on top of it at a funny angle.
"But what's really peculiar is there aren't any defensive wounds on his arms or paws. It was like someone snuck up on him and knocked him out cold and then beat and clawed him. Except there's no head trauma from getting knocked unconscious with a club or anything."
"Was he tranqed?" asked Nick.
Derek shrugged, "I don't know. I took a blood sample in case he showed signs of being high on nip or something, but he's not, so I can have the blood tested for tranquilizers instead if you want."
"Yeah, let's do that. What can you tell me about the claw marks?"
"With the gear I've got here, not much. From the coagulation and clotting around the wounds… I'd guess he was clawed maybe two or three hours ago. As far as a species… small."
"Small?" said Nick, "And maybe a predator? You know, Doc, you've basically said every mammal in town with claws is a suspect."
Derek lifted his paw and extended his claws.
Shaking his head, Nick said, "Well, I'm pretty sure it wasn't you. And I've got an iron-clad alibi, so it wasn't me."
Derek started to nod but stopped mid-motion and took a sniff instead, "Hmmmm…."
"What?" asked Nick.
Sheathing his claws, Derek rummaged around in a basket of Dalton's things and pulling a bagged bottle of Forest Scent Musk Mask out, said, "Here you go. You might want to use some of this to dampen down the voracity of your bunny doe alibi before someone else calls you out on it."
"Incidental contact at the warren," huffed Nick, waving away the evidence bag.
"Do we need to set up an appointment so I can explain to you what being scent marked means, hmmm?"
"I knowssss….," said Dalton raising a paw. "I loves Janae. She's… mmmhh."
Derek nodded toward Dalton and smiled.
"Yeah, he's obviously deranged," said Nick, "So, what's your plan? Are you checking him in here, or are we taking him to the hospital?"
"Keeping him here isn't an option. It's like when I worked on Andie's ear. If you want me to be able to do it right, I need better facilities than what I've got here."
"Don't sugar coat it for him," broke in Lou, making her way to Dalton's bed. "We don't have all the equipment you need to do it right either. If Janae Hopps doesn't want to be looking at scars on her mate, we need to get this boy an ambulance ride to the hospital fast so Derek can be working on him before the wounds heal ugly."
Pulling out his phone, Nick said, "Sounds like we're calling an ambulance."
"I already did," said Lou. "As soon as you drove up."
"Alright, then," said Nick. "I'm guessing you didn't call me here for my report writing skills, so spill, what do you need from me?
Derek nodded once, "You're right. I know the ER Intern on duty tonight, and Dalton's not going to get the best care with him in charge."
"Luv, you're being nice again," said Lou, "say it like it is, Ignatius P. Heartless is a POS unless you're a rabbit."
"Heartlee," said Derik.
"Whatever," said Lou, waving her paw around.
"Lou's right, Heartless is on duty because Doc Livingston and Carol are out of town."
"I called them. They're getting less naked and will be here by tonight," said Lou.
"Doc Livingston and Nurse Carol, really?" said Nick.
Lou took a sniff of Nick and smirked.
"Regardless," continued Derek, "I need you to work your magic to get Dalton admitted with me as his attending."
Nick waved his phone and said, "Okay, I'm declaring that this matter falls under the jurisdiction of the Sheriff's Department. Which means I get to pick trusted personnel to work it and maintain a legal chain of custody for all evidence found."
The scream of a siren, along with bright red and white lights, pulled in front of the clinic.
"And Nick," said Lou, "We'll need your help getting Derek in the ambulance with Dalton, too.
-/-/-
"Oh god, oh god, oh god, oh god, what will I do if Dalton doesn't get better, what if he—, oh god, oh god. Please let him be okay. Please, please, please…"
"Janae!" said Judy, squeezing her littermate's paw, "Nick said it was just a broken arm and some scratches. He's going to be fine."
"Please drive faster. Dalton needs me, I can feel it."
"Janae, dear, please calm down. Dalton is a very strong, young buck, and Doctor Stoan is one of the best doctors in the Commonwealth. He's going to be fine."
"But, Mom—"
Bonnie turned to her daughter, sitting between her and Judy, and taking Janae's paws in hers, said, "Janae, listen to me…"
"Mom, no. I'm scared. I might lose him. What will I do– Oh, god, Oh, god, I can't breathe… Something's wrong, please…"
"Judy, pull over right now," barked Bonnie, rubbing Janae's arms and petting her ears.
With the truck stopped, Bonnie motioned for Judy to grab a bottle of water from the back seat while she continued her ministrations.
"It's going to be fine, Dalton's going to be fine. He loves you, and you love him, and nothing will ever change that."
"But—" cried Janae as she started to tremble.
Hugging Janae from behind, Judy hummed an old bedtime song they used to fall asleep to when they were kits.
A few minutes passed with Judy gently rocking her littermate and Bonnie petting Janae's ears and arms before Janae's breathing steadied and her trembling stopped.
"Better?" whispered Judy.
"I think so."
"You know Dalton's tougher than most of the rabbits we know, right?"
"Yeah."
"Dorkier, too. Nick even said to warn you that Dalton's in full dork mode, hopped up on whatever Doc Stoan gave him."
"He's not dorky. He's sweet and handsome and the best thing that's ever happened to me."
"Judy's right, dear. He is kind of dorky sometimes."
Janae huffed, "Is not."
Judy smiled, "Is too."
"Not."
"Nick said Dalton keeps singing out that he 'luuuuuuuvs you.'"
"Really? He said that?"
"Yes, in a very dorky way."
"Sounds pretty dorky to me too," added Bonnie, smiling.
Janae tried desperately not to smile but finally broke down, "You should hear him talk about the constellations when we're stargazing. He knows all the stars, how they were named, and every crazy thing about them."
"Dorky?" asked Judy.
"Yeah," whispered Janae.
"He's a good kisser though, right?" asked Bonnie.
"Oh yeah," Janae started to gush when she stopped instead and, "Wait… Mom? Eww."
Judy gave Janae a squeeze and, laughing now, asked, "You sure you're okay?"
"Yeah," and pulling her mom into the hug, Janae said, "Just me being a dumb bunny."
"Stop that. You're not being a dumb bunny, you're just worried about your boyfriend," chided Bonnie.
Starting the truck back up, and pulling it out onto the road, Judy whispered, "I think you're kinda dumb."
"Am not, Mom said," Janae whispered back.
"Are too."
"Am not."
"Girls," said Bonnie, chuckling.
"Uh-huh."
"Nu-uh."
Bonnie shook her head as she watched the morning sun peek over the horizon, welcoming a new day.
-/-/-
"Where's Dalton? Where's my buck?" yelled Janae, rushing through the large double-door entrance of Bunnyburrow General.
Jerking up a bit from the comfy lobby couch he'd been camped out on, Nick immediately focused in on Judy coming through the door wearing cutoff jean shorts and one of her old concert tees knotted above the midriff followed by Bonnie wearing her everyday pink gingham blouse and jeans and…
"Nick! Where's Dalton?"
…Janae, with tear tracks running down her muzzle, her t-shirt, and her jeans, grabbing him by the shirt, shaking him, and then mashing her muzzle into his chest as she started to cry again.
"Janae, please…" said Bonnie. "Let the poor boy tell us what's going on."
Patting Janae gently on the back, Nick said, "Dalton's upstairs in surgery. He should be out in a few minutes."
"Surgery?!" gasped Janae. "What do you mean surgery? He's supposed to be okay?"
Gently taking Janae's paws in his, Nick said, "Cosmetic surgery. Doc Stoan is cleaning out and stitching up the claw marks on Dalton's shoulder and chest. He said that if he gets to them early enough, they'll heal with almost no scarring."
"Dalton's okay, you're sure?"
Nick smiled, "Yes, except for the goofy look on his muzzle when he's talking about you, he's fine."
"Nicholas, which room is Dalton's?"
"Upstairs on the third floor, I can take you there now."
Judy slipped her arm around Nick as they walked to the elevator and said, "Are you doing okay?"
"Yeah, I had to threaten to arrest everyone if they didn't let Doc Stoan treat Dalton, but other than that, I'm good."
"Thank you, dear, for doing that. Janae's been beside herself with worry. Do you know if anyone has called Dalton's parents yet?"
"No, not yet. I didn't know how to get hold of them, and Dalton's not been lucid enough to tell me."
"His parents are helping set up care for his grandmother in Furrida," said Janae, pressing the button for the third floor.
"I have Joylyn's number. I'll let her know as soon as we can see Dalton."
"What about Sheriff Hoofson? Have you let him know what's happened yet?" asked Judy.
With the door opening, Nick stepped out and said, "Yeah, I filled him in with what little I had, and he said he'd be over in a little bit. He wanted to talk to the Mayor first."
"Dalton!" hollered Janae, taking off down the hall toward a gurney being wheeled in from the opposite hallway by a pair of orderlies.
"Janae, dear, please," said Bonnie, hurrying after her daughter, who was now holding Dalton's paw and kissing his fingers.
"You bunnies, so emotional," said Nick, nodding toward Janae as she walked next to the gurney as it was wheeled into a room.
"Yeah," said Judy, pausing as Janae bawled before saying, "They should've gotten together in High school. Dalton's way cuter than any of the other loser bucks Janae went out with."
Looking into the room from the doorway at Bonnie rubbing Janae's back, Nick let his tail wrap itself around Judy's ankles before saying, "Uh-huh."
Unconsciously slipping her paw under Nick's t-shirt and running her claws through his back fur, Judy shrugged, "When a bunny falls for someone, they can fall hard."
"Foxes too," replied Nick, putting his arm around Judy's bare midriff.
"Ahem."
All paws and tails were quickly returned to their upright and stowed positions just as Nick and Judy turned in time to see a smirk be replaced by a professional glower on a skunk boar's muzzle.
"Hello," said the skunk, holding out a paw. "My name's Derek Stoan. You must be Nick's ZPD partner, Judy Hopps, I've heard a lot about you. Nice to finally meet you in the fur."
"Hi," said Judy, shaking Derek's paw. "Nice to meet you too, Doctor Stoan. I never knew until a couple of weeks ago that there was a predator Doctor operating in Bunnyburrow." And with a glance at Nick, added, "Not that anyone's ever said much about you or your clinic."
"Well," Nick coughed, "Carrots, uh…"
Derek chuckled a bit before saying, "Don't twist Nick's tail into too tight of a knot. The clinic has always had to operate on the down-low to avoid getting shut down. And with me being able to do a little more than a regular general practitioner, I've had to swear everyone to secrecy and keep an even lower profile to avoid too much, you know, rabbit involvement.
"No offense."
Judy sighed, "None taken. I worry a lot about what some of the old-timers on the City Council might do if they find out some of what's going on in town, too."
"Yeah," said Derek, "although in my case, I'm betting the stink's out stronger than getting hit full on by my Grandpappy's record breaking spray that a pred doc has been thumbing his nose at the Council for years."
"Sorry, I probably didn't help anything by going medieval on everyone downstairs to get you access."
"No, you were only doing what I asked, and it turns out it was a good thing you did." Motioning the two officers over to a small break area, Derek said, "The claw marks on Dalton were definitely from a small predator."
"Great," said Nick, "that's all Bunnyburrow doesn't need is a predator attacking a rabbit."
"Hare," said Judy.
"Whatever."
"No," said Derek, "Judy's right. Dalton being a hare will help tamp down the outrage since hares are barely a step above predators in this town, but the claw marks weren't the only injuries."
"What else?" asked Judy.
"Bruises on his chest and back. And from what I can tell, they weren't from a predator. At least one looked like it was from a rabbit's hind paw."
Judy pulled out a notebook and a pen from the back pocket of her shorts and said, "We're going to need pictures of the bruises, descriptions of all the injuries, and anything else you might have found, including claw scrapings and anything you found in his fur."
"Already done," said Derek, handing an envelope to Judy. "Except for the detailed write-up, which I'll do this afternoon, this is everything I got while working on him."
Opening the envelope, Judy shook out a USB stick and three clear zippered bags, all marked with Doc Stoan's initials.
"What's this?" asked Judy, holding out one of the bags.
Taking the bag, Nick squinted at it and said, "Looks like the pointy tip bit of a claw."
"Yeah, that's what I was thinking too," said Derek. I found it in one of the claw wounds that ran along Dalton's shoulder blade. It must have broken off when his attacker was slashing him."
"Doctor Stoan," came Bonnie's voice from the doorway. "I have Dalton's parents on the line, and they'd like to hear from you about how Dalton is doing."
"Of course, Mrs. Hopps," replied Derek, waving, and then to Nick and Judy, he said, "I'll email you my report later. If you need anything else, call me on my cell."
Waiting until Doc Stoan stepped into Dalton's room, Nick asked, "So, what do you want to do, wait and talk to Dalton or head out to where he was found in Predville?"
"But momsy, I luuvs her sooo mmmm."
"Predville," said both Nick and Judy.
-/-/-
Coming off the elevator, Nick said, "First, we check out where Dalton was found, then we fill in Sheriff Hoofson."
"Right," said Judy, pulling a set of keys out of her pocket and, matching Nick word for word, saying, "I'll drive."
They both stared at each other's keys.
"Jinx?" said Judy, grimacing.
"You forgot to give your keys to your mom, didn't you?"
"Oops."
Nick grabbed Judy's keys and jumped back into the elevator before the doors had a chance to close, "I'll be right back."
"Thanks!"
"You owe me."
"Yes, yes I do," mumbled Judy as she took a seat in the lobby and started flipping through a stack of old magazines.
"Brittney Steers?" huffed Judy as she caught sight of a doe coming from the far end of the hospital and approaching the reception desk.
Seeing that the magazine was over ten years old, Judy fished around for another one.
"I'm here to see Dalton Diggar. What room is he in?"
Judy's ears rotated to the familiar name being spoken by an unfamiliar voice.
"I'm sorry, Courtney. You know the rules, you have to be on the list to visit."
Putting down an old Omni magazine article on the first cell phone with a color screen, Judy turned to see who was asking about Dalton. Not that she knew who Dalton hung out with besides Janae, but this girl… twenty, trendy fur cut, lots of makeup, and clothes that screamed high-end and spoiled, was definitely not Dalton's type.
"What do you mean? Come on, you know me. I hear he's here, and I just want to know how he's doing."
"Sorry, you're not on the list."
About to get up and introduce herself, Judy was halted when the girl practically spat out, "Fine, you'll be hearing from my fath— Fine!" and rushed back down the hallway she'd come in, slamming the side exit door as she left.
"Morning, Deputy Hopps," said a voice from behind Judy.
"Good morning, Sheriff," added Nick, walking up and holding out a set of truck keys for Judy.
"Headed somewhere?" asked Hoofson, eyeing the key exchange.
Judy nodded, "Yes, sir. Dalton hasn't recovered enough to be questioned, so Nick and I planned to go to Predville to check out where he was found."
Brushing off a few residual ceramic shards from his shirt, Hoofson said, "How 'bout you both fill me in a bit so my next meeting with the Mayor goes a little smoother than the one I just had, and then we see what needs to be investigated."
"Yes, sir, sorry sir," said Judy, now standing at attention.
"At ease, Judy, this is catching us all off guard," and turning to Nick, "So, anything new after you called me this morning?"
"Yes, sir," replied Nick. "Dalton's out of surgery and resting upstairs in his room. His girlfriend, Janae, and Mrs. Hopps are with him now, along with Doc Stoan. They were all talking with Dalton's parents when we left."
Hoofson nodded, "Any pushback from the staff here?"
Nick shrugged, "I'm pretty sure I'm off the staff's Christmas list, especially the ER Intern's. I didn't exactly hold back when I was clearing the way for Doc Stoan to treat Dalton. I expect the Mayor will get a few choice words from the Head Administrator sometime soon."
"She's already been ignoring his calls. She said not to worry, and it's on her plate to take care of him.
"Anything from Doc Stoan on the boy's injuries?"
Judy passed over the envelope Derek had given her, saying, "This is what he gave us. His preliminary notes, pictures of the injuries, and in one of the wounds he found—"
"Looks like a broken-off claw tip," finished Hoofson. "Kind of a reddish tint to it. Doesn't that mean disease or malnutrition in a canid?"
"Yes, sir," answered Nick. "If this is canid, then yeah, bad nutrition, nasty living conditions, there's even a few parasites that will do that to your nails. I used to see some of that in Zootopia's homeless. It almost always meant that the mammal wouldn't last much longer without some serious medical care."
"Yup, so if'n Derek found this in one of Dalton's wounds, it narrows the suspect list down a bit, doesn't it?"
"No sir," said Judy. "Doctor Stoan also found bruising from where Dalton was beaten, including a bruise that fits a rabbit's hind paw. Like he was kicked."
Nodding, Hoofson put the plastic bag back in the envelope and said, "I'll call Raven and have her get busy identifying the species of the claw tip. You two go canvas Predville and check out where Mr. Diggar was found. I'll want your preliminary report on my desk before you head home."
"Yes, sir," said Nick and Judy as the Sheriff made his way to the elevator.
"Good, replied Hoofson, pressing a button, "now skedaddle. The weather's been unpredictable in the afternoons, and the Mayor'll have my hide if you can't finish, and some gully-washer comes through drowning the scene like when Wilde was assaulted."
Judy watched the Sheriff step into the elevator, looked over at the reception desk, and then back to the closing elevator doors.
"Ready to skedaddle?" asked Nick.
"Yup, let's do this."
-/-/-
Walking past the clinic's mailbox, Judy chuckled, "It's funny that no one's ever noticed the snake and staff symbol. Kind of a giveaway as to what happens here."
"Maybe," said a bobcat blocking the walkway to the clinic, "except that most rabbits are deathly afraid of snakes, so it might be best interpreted as a warning to stay away. Especially if you're a doe I've never met before."
Judy looked the muscle-bound bobcat over, along with his coyote friend standing on the clinic porch. Both wore gym shorts and tank top muscle shirts with what looked like bulges in their waistbands.
"Nunchaku here and a knobkerrie up there," said Judy, nodding toward the bobcat and coyote while flexing her paws.
"Whoa, Carrots, stand down. Guys, keep your paws where my partner can see them. Everybody relax."
Putting his paw on Judy's shoulder, Nick said, "Carrots, this is Damien, and up there is Wiley. They're the ones that found Dalton and brought him here."
"We're also the ones keeping an eye on the clinic and Lou while Doc Stoan's gone," added Wiley, slowly stepping off the porch. "Who are you, if you don't mind me asking."
"Officer Judy Hopps, ZPD. Also, on temporary assignment to the Sheriff's department."
"Hopps?" asked Wiley, stepping a bit closer.
"I'll vouch for her and her family, they're good. Her mom and littermate are taking care of Dalton right now."
Visibly relaxing, Damien shook Judy's paw and said, "Nice to meet you, Officer Hopps. I've heard some good things about you from a friend in Zootopia."
"And Stu Hopps?" asked the coyote. "The cat's out of the bag now about Doc Stoan and this clinic. I expect it won't be too long before there's a mob of rabbits with pitchforks and torches trying to close the place down, and it wouldn't surprise me if Stu Hopps weren't near the front of the pack."
Judy nodded, "Yeah, no promises on my dad, but my mom and the rest of my family won't be a problem. Here's a card with my cell phone number. If anyone tries to cause any trouble, call me, and I'll take care of them, personally."
Nick put his paw on top of Judy's card and said, "Give me a call first. I'm going to need a head start if I'm going to be able to keep my partner out of trouble for excessive bunny persuasion.
Putting away Judy's card with a wink toward Nick, Wiley said in a low voice, "Before we show you where we found Mr. Diggar, you need to talk to Lou. She won't admit it, but she's worried about what might happen with Doc Stoan gone and maybe a little worried about him staying overnight at the hospital."
"Alright, let me see what I can do," said Nick, walking the rest of the way up to the clinic. Alone.
"Carrots?"
"Go ahead, I'll be right there."
Nick knocked on the front door and waited until he heard pawsteps before saying, "Lou, it's Nick Wilde."
"Hang on."
The sounds of two latches and a chain lock being undone were followed by a wedge being removed and the door opening.
"Nick, thank goodness. Derek hasn't— Wait, what the hell is a rabbit doing here?"
Looking back at Judy on her phone, Nick said, "That's my partner, Judy Hopps. She's in from the City and helping me out. You don't have to worry about her, she's good people."
"The same Judy Hopps that spewed all that crap about predators during the Night Howler terror attack 18 months ago?"
"She screwed up bad. But trust me, what happened wasn't all on her. That press conference was a setup from the beginning, and she's been beating herself up over it ever since it happened."
"I don't know…"
"While I've been here in Bunnyburrow, the fox community in Zootopia adopted her in. They trust her, and so do I."
"Alright," said Lou, stepping back from the doorway. "But if this goes south, I'll spray you both so bad you'll need to be shaved and dipped in chicken offal before you smell better."
Nick, about to step inside, was stopped by his partner's approach.
"Hi, Mrs. Stoan. I'm Judy Hopps, ZPD on assignment to the Sheriff's Department. I was just made aware of your concerns for the safety of your mate and your home. I've taken the liberty of calling Sheriff Hoofson and requesting that a deputy be assigned to your mate at the hospital for the duration of his duty there, and I've also called my older brother, Lucas Hopps, and directed him to organize enough of my family to provide around the clock protective services to you here."
And then, smiling a bit, Judy added, "I also called my mom to let her know what's going on. She said she'll provide meals for everyone, including you and your mate, starting with dinner tonight."
"Oh, okay. Thank you. That's very kind of you, Officer Hopps. I don't know what to say."
Putting out a paw, Judy said, "It's okay, that's what we do at the Z— actually, that's what families do to help each other, and if you don't mind, please call me Judy."
-/-/-
"Wiley and I were headed home from our second shift job when we heard moaning from just inside the tree line here. We both figured with him being a hare, Doc Stoan's was the best place to take him."
"Yeah," added Wiley, "Poor guy was really out of it, no telling what a rabbit EMT would do if they found him."
"Did he sound drunk or drugged with something?" asked Judy.
"Not drunk," said Damian, shaking his head, "I know what that looks like."
"And it wasn't Nip, if that's what you're asking," said Wiley, "I knew a guy who got messed up bad by Nip, and whenever he came down off the stuff, he'd either start crying or get real mean."
Nick nodded, "I've seen that too, Carrots. Nasty stuff."
"Yeah, that's not what we were seeing when we found him. Besides all the moaning, he sounded a little, I don't know, loopy. He kept saying a name, Janet? Jaylene, uhhh—"
"Janae?" prompted Nick.
"Yeah, that was it. Kept asking after her."
"Sounds like he'd been tranqed, and he was coming out of it," said Judy while writing some notes down on her pad.
"What about these pawprints here and here?" asked Nick, pointing to two pairs of pawprints coming in from the picnic area where he'd found Mr. Pawland.
"Those are mine, the ones without the claw marks," said the bobcat. "I was the first to hear him, and I came into the tree line from over there, knelt right there next to his head, and checked to see if he was okay."
"And these are mine, you can tell, because I messed up the center lobe of my left hind paw when I was a kit, and it's pretty misshaped," said the coyote, letting Judy take a picture of his damaged foot paw pad.
"That leaves these ones here. Along with… I don't know, are these drag marks? They don't look deep enough, more like the ground was brushed with leaves," said Nick, taking pictures of all the marks coming from deeper in the tree line and the pawprints coming from and going back out the same way.
"Any blood splatters, bits of fur, or claw marks on anything?" asked Judy.
"Nope," said Wiley while Damian shook his head.
"I haven't seen or smelled anything either," said Nick. "It was like Dalton just materialized here."
"What's back there?" asked Judy.
"There's another few picnic areas on the other side of this patch of trees," said Wiley.
"Is there parking there too?"
"Yeah, a few hundred yards over that way, but it hasn't been used much lately due to a tree coming down about a month ago and blocking the north side access road. We've complained about cleaning it up, but the Public Works Department doesn't care enough to have it removed."
"So, access from the main part of Bunnyburrow is cut off unless you go all the way around Predville and come in from the South?" asked Judy.
"Yes, ma'am," said Damian.
"Carrots, look at this," said Nick, making a hind pawprint next to one near where Dalton was found.
Nick lifted his hind paw.
"It looks like a slightly smaller version of your pawprint," said Judy.
"Yeah, a mammal smaller and lighter than me, but I'd bet a box of Clawhauser's doughnuts that these pawprints are from a fox."
Judy led the small group into the forest, making sure everyone stayed well away from the trail of fox pawprints. She'd stop now and then, take pictures, add some notes to her notebook, and then lead on.
Until, within sight of the backside picnic area, Judy came across something different, the pawprints going toward where Dalton was found were messed up, whereas the pawprints coming back weren't.
"What happened here?" asked Judy, pointing at the mussed-up groundcover.
"May I?" asked the coyote.
Nick nodded.
Being careful not to disturb anything, the coyote sniffed around the suspect spot and said, "The tracks are from the same mammal we've been following, but the mussed-up area smells like the hare buck along with separate splashes of Forest Scent Musk Mask."
"Forest Scent?" asked Judy. "Are you sure it's not Farm Fresh?"
"He's sure," said Nick. Doc Stoan showed me a bottle of Forest Scent Dalton had on him when he was found. Lou bagged it as evidence, and Raven's got it by now.
"Except…"
Judy nodded, "Except Janae told us that she and Dalton use Farm Fresh Musk Mask after every date, not Forest Scent."
"Carrots, you better take some more pictures between here and the parking area over there," said Nick, pointing along their perpetrator's paw trail. "I can't make out any other pawprints, but I have a strong feeling there were more animals involved in this than just a fox.
"I'm guessing those marks we found were from someone brushing away pawprints, and Dalton was being carried from that parking area over there, accidentally dropped here, picked up, and left for us to find near the edge of the picnic park."
"To do all that, Dalton had to have been tranqed. Otherwise, he'd have fought back," said Judy.
"Which explains what he was doing here so late at night."
"Yeah, he wasn't. All these tracks and no blood splatters anywhere mean Dalton must have been attacked somewhere else, tranqed, slashed, beaten up, and dropped here."
"Supposedly by a fox," huffed Nick.
"Yeah, a fox smaller than you did all this by himself," added Judy. "A fox that we think is suffering from malnutrition and in need of medical attention did all this to someone bigger and heavier than most rabbits."
"What the hell, Carrots? Somebody's setting up predators, and they staged a fox attack on Dalton to do it."
-/-/-
A small truck slid to a stop, nearly running into an ancient defensive berm. Jogging across the warren compound, a light brown doe in jeans and a fatigue-green colored t-shirt pushed open the door to her family home and let the door slam shut after she'd rushed in.
"Abby?" asked Mrs. Evelyn Gardiner, mistress of the Warren. "Were you able to talk Gunny out of his grilled vegetable recipe?"
Slapping an index card on the counter with a long-unmanicured paw, the doe, too busy studying for the ASVAB with her mentor to put on makeup or jewelry, said, "Where's Dad?"
"In his office. What's—"
Abby knocked twice on the closed door and was inside, standing at parade rest in front of her dad's desk, before he ever had time to invite her in.
"Dalton Diggar was attacked last night. Doc Stoan's working on him at the hospital. Dalton's going to be okay, but the word is that he was tranqed, beaten, clawed, arm broken, and then dumped in that forested area not too far from the Predville Clinic.
"Burrow Meister Wilde and Deputy Hopps are investigating."
Sarge tapped a claw momentarily, then asked, "Any preliminaries on who might have attacked Dalton?"
"Gunny heard the current working theory is that it was more than one animal and that Nick thinks the attack was staged to make it look like it was a fox attack."
Sarge groaned, "And there I was thinking relations had finally improved enough to call them good."
"Do you think the attack on Dalton was in retaliation for the attack on Wilde at the pond?" asked Abby.
"No," said Sarge. "I think we would have heard through the grapevine if someone had a plan like that in the works. This is something different."
"Ears up?" asked Abby.
"Yeah, and send a couple of your brothers to check on Lou. I'm guessing Derek's new hospital privileges didn't happen quietly, and right now, she's all by herself in the Burrow's newly revealed Predville Clinic."
Abby nodded, "Yes, sir," and then, with military precision, turned on her heel and—
"Have you decided which service you're going to apply to yet?"
Abby looked back at her dad, smiled big, and then disappeared out of his office.
Shaking his head, Sarge put aside the grim possibility that he might be about to lose his daughter to one of the Commonwealth military academies and instead focused his thoughts on who would want to attack Dalton and why.
-/-/-
"How come you're not eating any of your dinner, Mr. Nick?" asked Sunni.
Nick paused his random fork movements that alternated between swirling his mashed potatoes and pushing his peas around.
"Mr. Nick is sad about what happened to Dalton, and now he's not very hungry," replied Judy, scratching Nick behind one of his ears.
"Is Janae sad too? Mr. Dalton was supposed to cook her breakfast this morning at niney-thirty?"
Nick perked up and asked, "Nine-thirty? That's kind of late for breakfast. The Diggar's store opens at eight, doesn't it?"
"Seven-thirty," said Judy.
Both Judy and Nick turned to look at Sunni.
"Janae and Mr. Dalton had a date in the morning 'cause he had to be at the store until elevendy o'clock cause of his invenstory. Janae was supposed to wake him up. Ask Steven, we heard it on Janae's phone speaker yesterday when she was supposed to be watching us play soccer."
Steven looked up from his dinner plate, muzzle covered in mashed potatoes and milk-gravy, and nodded until a glob of potatoes dropped in his lap.
"Dalton was found around two. Doc Stoan said he'd been clawed sometime after eleven. And with the store closing at eight, it doesn't make sense that someone would hang around for three hours, so…"
"Someone knew how late he was working and hit him when he came out."
Judy and Nick looked back at Sunni as Nick said, "You know what would help me be hungry again, Sunni? If you could remember if anyone besides you and Steven were close enough to hear Janae and Dalton talking on the phone."
"Uhmmm…"
Steven raised his gravy covered paw.
"Yes, Steven?" said Judy.
"Cortknees," said Steven, spitting out a pea.
Sunni shook her head, "Nu-huh, she had music in her ears. She couldn't hear."
"Courtney?" asked Nick. "She was there?"
"Yup, except she was sitting on the other side of the tree."
"Listening to music?" said Judy.
"Uh-huh."
Looking at Nick, Judy said, "There was a girl named Courtney that came into the hospital while you were up giving Mom the truck keys. She wanted to see Dalton and yelled at the receptionist when she wouldn't tell her what room Dalton was in. She left in a huff just before you and the Sheriff showed up.
"Lots of makeup, trendy clothes, kind of prissy-looking?"
Judy nodded.
"Courtney Hayes. She was the one that the Mayor fired for not admitting that young margay queen with the broken arm I told you about. Do you think she heard enough to know how late Dalton was working?"
"Maybe, but if she was involved in setting Dalton up, why was she checking on him so soon after he was attacked?"
"I don't know, but I'm hungry enough now that I think you should text the Sheriff and let him know we've got an interview planned for tomorrow morning."
Sunni pushed a half-full gravy boat toward Nick and smiled.
"Yum."