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Chapter Text

Sheriff Loxley

That damn alarm.

He groaned, turning his head in the soft pillow to look at the alarm clock sitting on the bedside table. He sighed, reaching out and turning off that obnoxious alarm that always left his ears ringing. He really needed to invest in a new alarm clock.

Nick sat up slowly, wincing when he felt the flare of pain rise in his right side. He reached around to rub over the scarred tissue under red fur, it had healed long ago but it still ached whenever a storm was on the rise. When he looked out the window by his bed, his eyes fell flat as he sighed once more.

Sure enough there were dark grey clouds rolling in over the ocean outside his window. The wind blew the trees this way and that every now and then. Well, today was going to fun.

Nick moved to stand, his boxers wrinkled as he took a few paces towards his dresser that sat across from his bed. He lost his balance a bit, grabbing the bed post at the end of his bed to gain his balance back. Looking back at his tail, he saw the curl that it took towards the end, the appendage twitching now and then. It use to be straight, like any other normal bipedal fox tail should, but his injuries that he had sustained left his tail crooked and it often messed with his balance. Honestly, he’d rather not think about that right now.

Nick searched around for a moment, spotting the cane sitting on the far side of the room by his door. He stared at it, contemplating whether he needed it or not. Sure, he needed when he had gotten out of the hospital, but he rarely needed it these days. Only when there was a storm coming.

He nearly jumped when a loud ringing echoed throughout his room and he turned quickly to find his phone going off. Nick scooted over the bed, reaching over to answer the phone, “This is Nick,” he said, stifling a yawn.

“Sheriff,” a female voice spoke over the phone, “I’d thought you be out of bed by now.”

Nick smirked, “I am Willy, I am,” he stood up from the bed and made towards his dresser once again, this time with little difficulty.

“Good, cause we got a situation by the pub by the docks,” Willy’s voice was professional as ever, even for a sheep her age. Willamina Scarlet was an old sheep, pushing sixty from the last time he checked. She was the police station operator taking care of all the incoming calls, making sure all the files were in order, all the reports were in, and damn, she’d make sure you went to your doctor’s appointment on time.

“Looks like we’ve got a body, Sheriff ,” Nick heard Willy sigh over the phone.

“Has John be notified yet?” Nick was pulling on his clothes; dark jeans and the beige uniform shirt that branded with the police department’s insignia.

“Just got off the phone with him, he said he’ll be there to secure everything until you get there,” as Willy spoke, Nick was putting on his utility belt and moving to grab his officer’s jacket that hung from his bed post.

“Is the rookie with him?” he smirked, grabbing the last item off that sat on his dresser - his dark green police ball cap that was also etched with the department’s insignia.

“Reluctantly,” he could almost see the smirk on Willy’s face, “Oh! Sheriff - don’t forget you got a doctor’s appointment at three. And I called the pharmacist, she said she’ll have your refill by noon.”

Nick rolled his eyes, but smiled as he shook his head, “Thanks Willy.I got the donuts next time.”

“No problem, Sheriff . Is there anything else you need?”

Nick pulled on the ball cap, his eyes catching the cane by the door. His side ached and his tail twitched, the sky was getting darker, and there was a body at the docks. He didn’t have time for a damn cane.

“No, Willy,” he said, passing by the cane and heading towards the front door, “Thanks.”

He was the Sheriff for the small town of Selkie after all.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Selkie was a small town by the sea, founded by some Irish immigrants that turned it into a fishing town. It was tucked away by the mountains where the cliffsides stood, unmoved by the ocean waves, and the trees were green by every Spring. Selkie was colonial, historic, and quiet - everyone knew everybody, and there was hardly a ruckus to be found in a five mile square radius. Well, if you didn’t count the town drunks and prankster kids that is. It was the perfect, small town to live in.

Or so Nick thought.

The old jeep honcho parked by the pub, Nick turned off the ignition and stepped out. He could see the police tape was already strung around to block anyone from entering the alley behind the pub. He could already see a few locals trying to catch a glimpse of what was going on.

As he approached the crime scene, he stepped under the tape and was greeted by a big brown bear in uniform, “Mornin’ Sheriff,” Deputy John Little kept his voice low.

Nick stepped beside his deputy, looking down at the scene, “John,” he greeted. The fox looked around, “Where’s Tuskety?”

John smirked, motioning towards his SUV that was sitting by the front of the pub. David Tuskety, a warthog fresh to the department was leaning his head against the backend of the car. “Rookie’s been up-chucking since he got her,” the brown bear shook his head, “Kid’s never seen a body before.”

Nick sighed, shaking his head, “Whadda we got?”

“Polar bear, male, out of towner by the looks of it,” John handed Nick a pair of latex gloves, “Honestly Sheriff , I’ve never seen anything like it.”

Nick raised an eyebrow as he put on the gloves, “Any I.D?”

John handed over what looked to be a very expensive wallet; the material was woven carbon fiber and obviously hand made. It was stained with blood on the outside, Nick studying the stains for a moment before opening up the wallet. The license was registered in Zootopia, Tundra-town district; the bear’s name was ‘Rupert Clawden’.

Nick furrowed his brow, the name sounding familiar. Of course it did, he knows everyone in Zootopia. Well - knew everyone. He sighed, handing the license back to John, “Kind of outside his comfort zone to be in a small town like this, judging by the look at that wallet.”

John flipped through the wallet once more, watching as Nick approached the body, “Want to run the usual, Sheriff?”

Nick knelt by the body, the polar bear was covered in a white sheet to hide the sight from any onlookers. His muzzle wrinkled at the smell of iron, there was blood splattered everywhere. Thankfully due to the cold weather coming in, the body hadn’t started to decompose yet. Blood was staining the sheet over the face of the victim, and Nick already had a feeling it was going to be a bad sight. He reached over and grabbed the edge of the sheet, and slowly lifted it from the face.

He immediately covered his muzzle, swallowing hard at the morbid sight before him. There was barely a face left on the polar bear, the muzzle looked like it had been blown off. Nick let go of the sheet and stood up, hearing John call for him again, “Nick?”

“I want pawprints,” Nick said, taking a deep breath, “Make sure the Doc takes paw prints. I want those in by this afternoon.”

John nodded, “You got it, Sheriff .”

Nick flinched at the crack of thunder that boomed across the sky, “Damnit.”

It was starting to rain.

~*~*~*~*~

Nick took a deep breath as his right arm was lifted up by the Doctor’s gentle hands, “That’s it, Nick, deep breaths.” Doctor Purrson began to place her paws around Nick’s ribcage, fingers dancing around the scarred tissue.

Nick was doing his best not to wince; it was a miracle he got to his doctor’s appointment on time. When it started to rain, he knew if they didn’t get the body out then all the evidence would wash away. He and John had been scrambling around to get the body into the SUV, Nick hollering at Tuskety to help John carry the body. The rookie was almost barfing up his breakfast all over again as they hauled the massive polar bear into the trunk. There was no ‘official’ coroner in Selkie, so everything had to be done by the department.

By the time they got to the doctor’s office, Nick was already soaked to the bone. Thankfully they got it to the Doc’s office in time before the body got wet. Doctor Sally Purrson, a black jaguar, was the town doctor and frankly the only one that was reliable enough to perform a professional necropsy within a few miles of the next emergency hospital.

When he had first arrived to Selkie, she’d been given the package deal about his injuries. She helped him through physical therapy until he healed enough for active duty, during which they bonded and he found out about her background in forensic science. Purrson had been his primary doctor ever since. When he became sheriff , he couldn’t trust anyone else.

“Any aches or pain, Nick?” Purrson asked, letting go of the fox’s arm.

Nick rubbed his side, “Only when it rains or snows,” he shrugged, smirking, “You know - the usual.”

Purrson chuckled, “Well, you keep on that medication then we won’t have too much of a problem. Is it the same with your tail?”

“I got it caught around a pole a few days ago, so if it curls up any further I might be able to fish with it,” he grinned, putting on his shirt.

Purrson shook her head, rolling her eyes, “Well, it seems to be that you’re doing fine.”

Nick finished buttoning his shirt, “Did John get the reports?”

“Already sent them two hours ago,” the jaguar smirked, “Hopefully you’ll hear back about the bear soon.

“Thank you Kitty-Purrs,” Nick flashed a toothy grin. He excited the office fast enough before the Doc could swipe at him, shouting, “Stop calling me that!”

~*~*~*~*~

Nick had the results from the pawprints on his desk when he got to the station. They’d run them through the general system to make sure they were covering all their bases: arrest records, FBI, missing mammals, etc.

He was hoping it would be a simple, cut and dry case; easy body, easy autopsy, easy evidence, and easy arrest. But staring at the phone of the deceased polar bear's mugshot, he had a feeling that they wouldn't be quite that lucky.

Rupert Clawden:

Suspect in drug trafficking and money laundering.

Possible connections with the Tundra-town mob in Zootopia.

Currently a key-witness to the murder of Stan Furson.

Investigation is currently open in ZPD: District 1

Status: MISSING

It was coming back to him, Rupert was one of Mr. Big’s boys. He remembered helping Rupert in a few smuggler operations in his early days on the streets. Rupert was a decent bear, had kept an eye on Nick due his age and size, as Nick had been horrendously naive back then.

Nick rubbed his paws over his face, moving to lean in his office chair, elbows settling against his sides. His hands slid from his eyes then over his muzzle until they stopped, making a praying gesture against his nose.

It’d been five years.

He’d left Zootopia five years ago for his own safety, and now Zootopia found him. In a small town like this, it was hard to hold secrets; how he’s done it for this long is beyond him, but somehow he did. And a case like this can’t just be swept under the rug as just another ‘weekend bar fight’. Too many mammals asking questions, too many nosey neighbors wanting to know the juicy details about the scandalous death that has happened in this quiet little town. And it was his job to keep the peace.

Nick let out a deep breath as if he’s been holding it in for hours. He looked over at his office phone that sat on the far side of his desk in his private office. He reached over, a little reluctant at first but then grabbed the phone.

Nick had to call this in.

“ZPD: District One, this Benjamen Clawhowser speaking.”

“Hey, Ben-” Nick grit his teeth, “It’s uh-it’s Nick….”

“Nick?” there was a pause, “Oh my-NICK! Oh man how are you?! I haven’t heard from in ages! How you doin’?!”

“Yeah, yeah it’s-it’s been awhile,” Nick rubbed the back of his neck, already feeling the anxiety rush through his spine, “Listen - can you connect me to Chief Bogo?”

Chapter Text

Officer Hopps & Wolford

The train rocked a bit, waking Judy from her sleep. She sat up in her seat, rubbing her face as she tried to force herself to wake up. She looked out the window, and saw that the train was coming into the station. The loudspeaker across the train signaled that they were arriving at ‘Selkie Station’; this was their stop. There was a soft snoring ahead of her, and she moved to stand up in her seat to check on her partner. Wolford was still dozing in his chair.

Judy smirked and tugged on Wolford’s ear, “Wakey, wakey.”

“Huh?” Ray Wolford shook his head, looking around.

“We’re here, Wolford,” Judy nodded towards the window.

“Oh,” the wolf stretched, canines barring as he yawned widely, “Damn I thought that ride would never end.”

“I kind of enjoyed it,” Judy hopped down from her seat, pulling her jacket around her.

“Of course you would, you actually use the train more than the entirety of Zootopia,” Wolford smirked.

“Hey, just because I actually like my family doesn’t mean I can’t enjoy a nice train ride,” Judy crossed her arms, arching an eyebrow. Wolford chuckled, grabbing their bags, “Well, it was still long. And we’re in the middle of nowhere - this is going to be insufferable!”

“Oh stop, I’m sure it’s not that bad,” Judy rolled her eyes.

“That’s because you’re actually from a small town, Hopps,” Wolford said flatly.

“And proud of it!” Judy grinned.

“I hope they at least have a good coffee place,” the wolf groaned.

“I swear you’re like a spoiled pup sometimes,” Judy turned to head towards the exit.

“And proud of it,” Wolford grinned, following the bunny out.

John was standing outside the small train station, leaning against his SUV that was branded with the police department insignia. When the brown bear looked up to find two unfamiliar faces walking out of the station, well it was a dead give away. “Officers Hopps and Wolford?” John called out.

Judy waved a hand, “That’s us!”

John nodded, “I’m Deputy John Little with Selkie police department,” he greeted, smiling. “Looks like I’ll be your ride today.”

“Good to meet you,” Wolford spoke up, still holding the luggage, “I hope we can be some help on this case.”

“I hope so too,” John scratched underneath his ballcap, “We’re a little stuck out here. I’m afraid we don’t have all the facilities that the big city offers.”

“As long as we got a internet connection, I think we’ll be fine,” Judy smiled politely.

John nodded, “Well all right then,” he turned towards the car, “You two better hop in then, it’s gonna be a twenty minute ride back to town.”

Judy could almost hear the internal groan that Wolford was screaming from his mind.

~*~*~*~*~

The ride was, for the most part, uneventful. Judy spent most of the time watching the world go by in the front seat. Wolford on the other hand kept asking John about whether Selkie had anything remotely close to a Starbucks. When they arrived into town, the two ZPD officers got a first look at the small historic town by the sea. Most of the structures weren’t any taller than two stories, colonial houses that stacked side by side, all with intricate wood designs on their exteriors. Local boutique shops and hardware stores, fishing shops, and tiny local restaurants were seen here and there. It was quiet, nothing like the big city.

Wolford noticed that they were driving slower now, in fact he saw that most of any cars going by were driving no more than 20 miles per hour. It was surreal.

“You folks ever been way up north before?” John asked.

“Can’t say I have, deputy,” Wolford answered, “Though Hopps is from a farm.”

“A farm, huh?” John quirked an eyebrow towards Judy, “I thought you were from the big city. At least what I saw in the papers.”

Judy blinked, “You saw me in the papers?”

“Oh yeah, about that Nighthowler case you broke about - what was it - seven years back?” John adjusted his cap, “Gotta say little lady, that was mighty impressive.”

“Oh,” furry cheeks curled as Judy smiled a bit, “Thank you. I didn’t think the story would reach this far north.”

“Mm-hmm, it sure did,” John turned the steering wheel, taking a right turn down the street, “I know the Sheriff mentioned it to one of our local rabbit families here. Heheh, Mrs. Hareson’s oldest wants to be a bunny cop now too.”

Wolford grinned, “You got fans, Hopps,” he poked his nose towards Judy.

Judy swiped at the muzzle that was hovering by her face, “Oh knock it off,” she whispered.

The SUV parked and John opened the car door, “We’re here,” he said.

When Judy and Wolford stepped out of the car, they found themselves standing before a white, two-story house surrounded by a picket-fence. “I’m sorry,” Wolford, “I thought we were going to the police station.”

John looked back, confused, “This is the police station,” he said, “Come on now. The Sheriffs waiting.”

~*~*~*~*~

The house, from the outside at least, felt more like a set piece from an old romance movie rather than a police station. But once Judy and Wolford stepped inside, they saw the typical amenities you would find in a police station. They just never expected it to be so - small.

“Afternoon, Willy,” John waved a hand at an old sheep that sat a desk in a room by the foyer. There were a few stacks of cabinets in the office on the far wall, as well as few phones lined up neatly on her desk.

The sheep looked up towards the group, “These the two big city cops?” Willy asked.

Judy waved, “Officer Hopps and Wolford with the ZPD, m’am.”

Willy was quiet for a moment, her old face wrinkled and her wool not as full as it use to be. She narrowed her eyes, like she was trying to read Judy and Wolford. “Hrm,” she turned to go back to whatever scribbling she was doing before, “The Sheriffs been waitin’ on you two. You better hurry on in there.”

John shook his head, motioning towards Judy and Wolford to follow him upstairs. “She’s been at the station for years. Runs a tight ship,” he chuckles, “Sometimes I wonder if she’s the one in charge instead of the Sheriff.”

“With the way she looks, I’m surprised she hasn’t scared him off,” Wolford muttered to Judy, receiving a jab as his arm in response.

When getting to the second floor, John waved to Tuskety as he walked by. He led Judy and Wolford towards the room at the end of hall that read “Sheriff Loxley.” The big brown bear knocked a few times, “Ey Sheriff!”

There was a muffled shout from inside the room, “What?”

“I got the ZPD here about that polar bear last week,” John reached up to take off his ball cap.

There was a pause, the soft sounds of papers shuffling littered the air. A soft sigh, then came the response, “Send them in.”

John gripped the handle and opened the door, the office interior expose to the new officers on the floor. It looked clean and organized, a color scheme of white and dark, navy blue made it’s way around the office, lining the caramel colored wood floors. A solid wood desk accompanied by a few chairs, a filing cabinet, and a coat rack added to the decor.

Judy would admire some of these details if it wasn’t for one small thing - a pair of green eyes staring back at her.

“NICK?!”

~*~*~*~*~

Wolford’s ear twitched as he knelt by the door to Nick’s office, John and Tuskety were right next to him. They were trying to listen in on the conversation that was happening currently in the Chief’s office, considering the fact that when Judy saw Nick’s face her reaction was more of anger then of shock.

“Why didn’t you tell me you were leaving the ZPD?” he heard Judy ask.

“I’m going to kill Bogo…” came Nick’s muttered response.

“Answer me Nick!” Judy demanded.

“I can’t tell you, Judy!” Nick almost sounded tired.

Even from where they sat, Wolford could hear Judy’s frustrated thumping feet. It was something he had caught one when he became the rabbit’s partner, he tried to get her riled up sometimes just to her reaction. But he also knew it meant that whenever Judy was mad - she was mad.

Wolford could only pray that she didn’t chew out Nick too much.

~*~*~*~*~

Nick rubbed his forehead, making circles around his temples with both hands. He was leaning against his desk, pushing down the fiery fox inside of him and keeping his composure as the Chief of Police. He spared another glance at the little rabbit standing across from him in his office, her violet eyes narrowed and her hands clenched at her sides.

Yup, that was mad carrots all right.

“You could've called me,” Judy spoke, finally, “Cheese and crackers, Nick - I would of been fine with a text message!”

“Carrots, you don’t understand!”

“FIVE YEARS Nick!” Judy exclaimed, “You left me- your friends in the dark for five years. Cripes, Nick we were all worried about you.”

I know. Nick clasped his hands over his muzzle, rubbing his face with his paws, “Didn’t Bogo tell you anything?”

“He said you were ‘tired of the force’,” she answered with a bit of snark, using air quotations, “I went out to find you. Wolford was helping me, even Feneck was lending a hand in his own ‘Feneck’ way.”

Nick had to smirk at that.

“But now I find you and you’re-you’re a Chief?” Judy motioned towards Nick’s uniform, “And what’s with all this ‘Loxely’ business? You’re ‘Nick Loxley’ now?!”

“Okay, carrots,” Nick brought up his hands up to try and calm the rabbit, his tail twitching, “Calm down.”

Judy huffed again, crossing her arms, “Why, Nick?”

He brought a hand back up to rub over the hair on his head, and he leaned back against the desk. Green eyes stared at the rabbit before him, and he knew it wasn’t going to be easy to hide anything from Judy - if at all. But this was something different entirely, a whole new situation entirely, with more at stake then whatever happened those five years ago.

And he was Chief of Police after all.

“You know, as Sheriff of this establishment,” Nick began, “I don’t have to tell you anything that isn’t related to the current case we will be working on.”

Judy quirked an eyebrow, frowning, “Are you,” she leaned her head over a bit, “-pulling rank on me?”

“That would be correct, Officer Hopps,” Nick leaned down to reach Judy’s level, “You are currently on loan from Bogo of the ZPD to investigate this case regarding Rupert Clawden. And as Chief of Police - I say what goes in this department. So unless you have a FBI badge hidden somewhere in that fluffy little tail of yours, I’d say you’re S.O.L right now.”

Judy was a little loss for words - okay it more like completely. One of her ears flopped down as the other was barely standing on its end. Her eyebrows were furrowed, the face of total confusion and - what was this? Defeat.

Nick smirked, “It’s called a hustle, sweetheart.”

The sound of a soft “Oh snap!” could be heard from outside Nick’s office door.

Chapter Text

Doctor Purrson and the Lion Prince Hotel

Nick couldn’t help but feel smug about his small victory. As he drove his truck down the road, he was aware of the smaller furry figure currently fuming in her passenger seat. Judy was beyond peeved, her arms were crossed and her nose twitched from time to time. She kept her attention towards the window, trying to find some peace in the small, old buildings and the green trees that they were driving by. In order to keep the peace, Wolford offered to sit in the middle. Needless to say, the ride was a little awkward.

First order of business was to meet with Doc Purrson about the results of the necropsy. From there they’ll start their search in the investigation to figure out why Rupert was in the town of Selkie in the first place.

Doc Purrson had the body ready when they arrived to morgue, the sheet covering most of the bear’s form. When the Sheriff walked in with the wolf and rabbit in tow, Purrson looked quizzically at Nick. Nick motioned towards Judy and Wolford, smiling, “Some extra help on loan from the ZPD.”

Judy snorted, arms crossing again as she stood by Wolford, making the white wolf groan internally. Nick could only sigh in response, and nodded to Purrson, “Whadda ya got for us, Sally?”

The black jaguar nodded, giving a small smile in return, “Well I hope you’re ready for the report,” she said, “Because this one has quite a long list.”

“I’m sure we can handle it,” came Judy’s sharp reply.

Purrson looked between Judy and Nick once more, her paws closed around her clipboard.

Nick rolled his eyes, “Go on, Sally.”

“Well -” Purrson pulled out the clipboard, flipping over a page, “You weren’t kidding about the mob connections. Those clothes were far too expensive for your typical tourist.”

“You find anything on him that would confirm that?” Wolford raised an eyebrow.

Purrson turned to pick up a bag of jewelry, tossing it to Wolford, “A few rings, a necklace, and a watch. I found that some of the rings were inscribed with a capital ‘B’.”

“Sounds like Mr. Big to me,” Judy added, muttering.

Wolford glanced to Judy, shaking his head and taking a look at the jewelry, “Almost looks like it too.” His ears twitched, brow furrowing as he handed the bag to Nick. He turned back to Purrson, “But why would one of Mr. Big’s boys come all the way out here?”

“I only find out the ‘how’, officer. Never the ‘why’,” Purrson smiled, flipping another sheet on the clipboard.

Nick studied the rings, looking at them closely through the plastic evidence bag. His brow furrowed, “Cause of death?”

“Stab wound to the heart,” Purrson answered simply, “Though that wasn’t all I found. “

Judy had reached over and snatched the evidence bag from Nick’s hand, receiving a stern glare from the fox. He cleared his throat, “What else did you find?”

“Well,” Purrson began, “Your victim was dead long before he got to the pub.”

Nick lifted his head towards Purrson, his ears twitching, “What do you mean?”

Purrson glanced at Nick, her eyes shifting between the body and him. She pauses for a moment, tapping her class on the back of the clipboard. This probably wasn’t a good idea, but she continued, “Would you - like to see?”

Nick stood, silently for a moment as he glanced at the large form covered in the sheet. He had already seen the body at the crime scene, but since it rained that day he didn’t get a good look at it. He nodded, “Yes, I would.”

Purrson, though a little reluctantly, obliged.

Pulling off the sheet, the doctor revealed the shaved body of the deceased, massive polar bear. The skin was a faded greyish-pink, the body obviously long gone. The face was a mess of course, unidentifiable due to the gunshot wound. On a closer look, however, it appeared that there were several stab wounds to the body, bruises around the diaphragm, the pelvis, and each of the wrists.

While Judy and Wolford were keen on inspecting the body closely, Nick wanted to keep his distance. Something about the state of the body was starting to put him on edge, much to his dismay. He began to clench his fists, feeling a slight tremor rocket through his fingers. He decided to keep his distance.

“Had to shave him in order to inspect him properly,” Purrson began, “But once the hair was gone, I was able to compile a timeline of what happened to the victim.”

“It looks like he was bound,” Wolford said softly.

“Bound and tortured to be exact,” Purrson moved to point out the individual injuries, and all the while Nick was listening in.

Nick’s hand was shaking, he tucked it away before Judy could catch it as she looked back at him. “You going to join us, Sheriff?” she added with some snark.

The fox glanced to Judy, furrowing his brow with a stern look towards the rabbit. He realized that Wolford and Purrson were also staring at him. He swallowed, reluctantly stepping up to the table where the bear lay. When his eyes fell on the body, he found himself unable to look away and the tightness in his chest only rose further. “What did you mean by ‘tortured’,” Nick croaked out, voice low, reaching up rub a paw against his sternum.

Purrson was giving him a concerned look, her golden eyes on the fox, “Nick, you know I could just give you a copy of the reports. You don’t have to be here.”

“But it’s his job to be here,” Judy’s sharp reply came, eyes narrowed as she turned her head to Nick, “Isn’t that right Sheriff? I mean it is your job to supervise everything - right Sheriff?”

Nick closed his eyes for a moment, sighing, “I’ll be fine, Sally. Continue.”

Purrson glanced to Judy and Wolford before to looked back to Nick. She took a deep breath, “Well,” she began, “A contusion on the back of his head suggests that he was hit with a blunt object.”

Nick could feel his tail twitching, his chest was tightening further, and further, and rise in shallow breaths. The state of the body was beginning to leave him frozen in his spot, the scene looking far too familiar to him. He found his mind racing, and his could feel the beat in his chest pound harder. He was trying his best to hold himself together, keeping his back straight and his clenched fists in his pockets. If it wasn’t for the ball cap, the other occupants in the room would be able to see the growing fear in his eyes as memories started to wash over him.

He felt something hit him - hard. He went down easily in that wet alleyway behind the bar in the rainforest district.

“I found the skin on the bottom of his feet were scuffed, so he was possibly dragged and then bound.”

Nick struggled, having woken up to large hands grasping his arms and legs tightly. He was trying to scream, but there was a gag around his mouth. The cords around his wrist were pulled tightly to the point where he felt the skin break.

“The coloration of the bruises suggest that he was beaten next - some with a blunt force object and others most like with a fist.”

He didn’t know how many times they had taken the bat to him, but he felt himself being propelled across the room when the next blow hit. He felt his ribs crack, his body landing against the dirty, greasy wall of the room they were sitting in. Large footsteps echoed, his vision swirling as whatever shapes he could make out were coming towards him. That’s when he felt something heavy smash his tail.

“Then came the stab wounds, the most lethal piercing the heart. And when your victim finally died, the body was moved and the face obliterated with a shotgun blast.”

Nick went still when he felt the bullet pierce into his chest, he felt the blood seep out of his wound and down his orange fur. He toppled over, his knees giving way and his body crumpled to the ground in a heap. He saw those large, furred feet walk over to him once more, the click of the gun gathered his attention as the weapon was cocked once more. He knew his end was coming, but when the screams and shouts of ZPD officers were heard echoing down the halls, his captor took no chances and fled.

“Nick?” Wolford called on him softly.

The fox was giving out heavy breaths through his nose, his eyes watering and his hands shaking. He turned around sharply and hurried out of the room, hearing the calls from Wolford and Purrson as he left. He didn’t even take notice to fall of Judy’s ears, her violet eyes watching him run.

He ran to the nearest bathroom he could find, barging into the door and stumbling towards the sink. His hands fumbled as he tried to turn on the tap, the cold water coming out in a steady stream. Nick was splashing his face with his hands, chest heaving as he began to inhale through his mouth. He looked up into the mirror, finding his watery green eyes staring back at him as the water dripped down his face. Pulling off his cap, he reached over to turn off the water, droplets still falling from his nose.

“Nick?!” the fox jumped, seeing Wolford step into the bathroom.

Nick let out a sigh, breathing heavily, “I’ll be fine,” he croaked, wiping away the water from his nose.

“You’re not fine, Nick,” the white wolf step forward, “is this about what happened back at Zooto-”

“I said, I’ll be fine,” Nick snapped.

Wolford fell silent for a moment, sighing. He noted the paper towel dispenser by the sink and grabbed a few sheets. He reached out to the fox, offering the paper towels, “Here,” came his soft reply.

Nick stared at the wolf, feeling the water run down his forehead in jagged lines around his fur. His shoulders sagged, and he sighed, “I’m-I’m sorry Ray,” he took the paper towels gently. Nick turned to lean his back against the seat, “It’s just,” he bit his lip, eyes searching around for a moment, “It’s just- I didn't expect it to go this way.”

Wolford let a breath through his nose, “Well what did you expect, Nick?”

Nick rubbed the paper towel over his face, the paper crinkling under his paws, “I don't know.” He let out a small chuckle, sighing, “I honestly don't know.”

Wolford leaned against the wall by the sink, “When was the last time you worked a case like this?”

Nick paused for a moment, crinkling the paper in his hand, “Honestly?” He bit his lip, a little hesitant, “Not since before I was in the hospital.”

So it been a long time. Wolford furrowed his brow, arms circling around to hug himself. He was there at hospital when Nick was in the ICU, acting as a guard for his fellow ZPD officer. Even if it wasn't an order from Bogo, Wolford would of guarded the room anyway; coming from a family full of cops, his father always taught him to watch out for one of your own.

Wolford’s crisp, blue eyes looked to the fox, “Nick,” he called softly. When he received the fox’s attention, “Just so you know,” he let a small smile to grace his features, “You're not alone, okay?”

Green eyes looked on the white wolf, a little caught off guard for a moment. He smirked, sitting up from the sink,“Thanks Ray,” he motioned towards the now wet paper towels in his hand.

Wolford smirked and stood up from the wall, motioning towards the door, “Come on,” he said, “better see Judy before her ears fall off from panic.”

~*~*~*~*~

Judy had been standing outside the men’s restroom, her foot thumping against the tiled floor. Her ears perked up as the squeaky door opened up, and out popped Wolford and Nick. Judy stepped forward to Nick, “Are you okay?! I’m so sorry, Nick! I shouldn’t have pushed you to do that, I wasn’t -”

“Carrots,” Nick raised a hand, “It’s okay. I’m fine.”

Judy felt her shoulders fall as she sighed, her expression guilt stricken as she looked at that dumb fox. She was about to speak up when her ears caught the sound of the doors to the morgue swinging open. All eyes went to Doctor Purrson who was holding her phone, “Nick,” she called, “John’s been trying to reach you.”

“What’s going on?” Nick stepped forward, pulling out his phone. Damn, he left it on silent.

Purrson’s eyes conveyed concern, “Another body has turned up at the hotel on Oak St.”

~*~*~*~*~

The ‘Lion Prince Hotel’ was a fancy, five-star, ridiculously expensive hotel near the greenwood cliffside by the sea, just walking distance from the town. It’s one of the oldest establishments in Selkie, really popular for that one percent of customers with cash overflowing from their pockets that come up north for the spring and summer.

The owner, a fourth generation Jonathon Prince, was a lion that never grew into his mane. If you asked him about the history of the hotel, he would go on and on about how his family came from England, that they were related to late Prince John, and that they came here to bring some ‘class’ to Selkie, and blah blah blah blah.

Nick couldn’t stand it.

The Fox was looking down at yet another large bear that was currently laying flat on his front on the floor. There was a gunshot wound to the back of his head, the blood already dry and staining the rather expensive red rug underneath him. The intricate gold designs in the fabric having turned a burnt orange due to the blood stains.

“The staff hadn’t seen him in days,” Nick overhead Jonathon Prince talking in the background to Wolford, “We all assumed he wasn’t the outgoing type, what with all those orders of room service and what not. They never appreciated my wine selection - prefered those awful italian blends. Really? Italian? French is obviously the proper choice and -”

Nick was fighting to hold in a groan, turning his sights to Judy who was inspecting the body with Purrson. The good doctor had volunteered to come along, leaving her small staff to take care of what little patients they were scheduled to see that day.

John stepped up next to Nick, having carefully maneuvered around the crime scene, “Looks like we got a black bear to go with our polar bear.” The brown bear handed over the canvas knitted wallet over to Nick, “Says they came into town about two weeks ago, barely left the room. Says that the couple in the room below started complaining about a bad smell and that’s how they found the body.”

“Did they ever see Clawden leave the hotel,” Nick looked over the wallet, finding the driver’s license that read ‘Xavier Pawlini.’

“Yeah,” John sighed, putting his hands on his hips, “Two nights before Clawden was found at the pub. Says he was by himself.”

Nick stepped lighting over the crime scene, making his way over to the body. Judy was standing up, putting a gold ring into an evidence bag, “Looks like we got another one of Mr. Big’s boys.”

“Looks like it,” Nick said, having stopped behind Purrson. He looked back over to John, “What time did Clawden leave the hotel?”

“From what I’m gathering from the staff, around 8 or 9?” John shrugged, scratching his head underneath his cap.

“Did any of the other guests hear anything?” Judy piped up.

“Just a few noise complaints, some of the guests said they could hear loud music playing from this room,” John adjusted his cap.

“Sounds like a way to cover up a call for help,” Judy added.

“Or to muffle the gunshot,” Nick spoke up, looking over Purrson’s shoulder. He furrowed his brow, “How’s it lookin’, Sally?”

“It looks like our victim has been here for at least a week, maybe a bit more,” Purrson was examining the black bear’s eyes and the stiffness in the limbs. She frowned, “I won’t know the exact time until I get him opened up. You probably won’t hear from me till tomorrow though.” Nick blinked, fumbling a bit to pull his phone out. He sighed, looking at the time; it was nearly 5:30 in the afternoon. Things would be winding down soon, Selkie wasn’t exactly a town that stayed open late. That’s if you didn’t count the few pubs at least.

Nick pocketed his phone, “We’ll get him to your office at least,” he looked back to his team, “And afterwards I think we should call it a day. It’s be a long day.”

Purrson smirked, looking up to the fox, “Sounds like a plan.”

~*~*~*~*~

Judy had a few objections to calling the investigation off for the day. Usually at the ZPD, they worked well with into the night, sometimes she even brought her work home with her. They had rode with Deputy John back to the morgue to drop off the body at Purrson’s office, Nick followed in his truck. After that, it was straight back to the station to pick up her and Wolford’s luggage and then to find their hotel. Nick gave them them directions to the hotel before saying a quick goodbye and then high-tailing it home.

Only problem was, in Selkie the businesses close down pretty early. And that apparently was the same case for the tiny little hotel they were staying - or were going to stay at.

“Are you freakin’ kidding me?!” Wolford practically howled.

The wretched ‘Sorry, we’re closed!’ sign hung on the door inside the hotel. It appeared to sway a bit to Wolford’s cries, almost like it was mocking them through the window.

Judy groaned, “Great,” she rubbed her face with both hands.

“I hate this town,” Wolford growled, kicking at his duffle bag.

“There’s got to be some place around here that’s still open,” Judy pulled out her phone, immediately going to the maps app. She scrolled through the listing, delighted at first to see that there were three other hotels in the area. But her face fell when she saw the ‘closed now’ caption by the business hours. She groaned, smacking the phone against her forehead a few times.

“Well we can’t just sleep outside!” Wolford exclaimed, “I’m a city kid! I need a soft, warm bed with air conditioning!”

“I don’t know what else to do, Ray!” Judy snarled back, turning to plop down and sit on her suitcase.

There was a pause for a moment, Wolford pacing back and forth on the sidewalk. Judy’s foot was thumping against the concrete, her arms crossed as she tried to think of a solution. That was Wolford turned around, “Wait,” he said, “What about Nick?”

“What about him?” Judy groaned, quirking an eyebrow towards the wolf.

“We could stay at his place, at least just for the night?” Wolford smirked.

“Oh come on, Ray,” Judy’s head fell into her hands, “I still feel like an idiot after freaking him out today.”

“He said it was fine, Judy. You heard him. And, besides-,” Wolford knelt by the small rabbit, “-what other choice do we have?”

Judy’s only response was a reluctant sigh.

It was a good thing that Selkie was a small town, otherwise they wouldn’t have directions to Nick’s place. Everyone really knew everybody, even where you lived apparently. They had popped into the few pubs that actually were still open, finding some locals who were willing to share the location of their beloved Sheriff. That’s when they found themselves trekking up the street, walking by the houses that seemed like something out of fairytales. They were mostly either cottages or large, victorian house, both with intricate designs carved into the structures. Almost seemed impossible that Nick Wilde - who could barely live without his phone and enjoyed the rowdy night life - would live in a place like this. But he wasn’t Nick Wilde anymore.

Wolford’s plan seemed a little invasive, Judy didn’t feel comfortable with the idea of just waltzing in and staying at her ex-partner’s house unannounced. Truthfully, she was still a little peeved at Nick; the whole fact that he just up and disappeared still nagged at her. She wanted to know the truth.

When they came to Nick’s address, Wolford couldn’t hold in his grin,”Oh. Wow.”

Judy was a little perplexed as well, “This is Nick’s house?”

“It’s so-” Wolford snickered, “- adorable.”

Nick’s house was - more or less - a cottage with a white-picket fence and surrounded by flowers. A white exterior made up in a english style single story cottage with black window shutters, and a rose red front door. It even had a front porch, complete with a porch swing. It was along the patch of houses that overlooked the sea from its place against the mountain. Quite the picturesque place place.

Wolford was the first one to step forward down the stone path towards the front door. Judy followed behind him, noting all the different species of flowers that grew in the small garden in the front yard. They all looked like they were carefully taken care of, some of them freshly green and blooming. She even caught sight of some herbs near the front porch, was Nick actually growing all of these?

They stepped up on the porch, the porch light was on and the truck was parked out front; Nick had to be home.

“Well, no time like the present,” Wolford reached up to ring the doorbell.

~*~*~*~*~

What the hell was that ringing? Nick lifted up his head from the cushion, realizing he had fallen asleep on the couch. He groaned, looking over to see the small tv across from the couch was still on. The ringing echoed again throughout the house, was that the door bell?

With a low grunt, he rolled himself off the couch, swinging his legs over the edge to stand up. He rubbed against his face as he made his way to his front door, squinting at the porch light shining through the window. He winced, his side a little sore, no doubt from the way he was laying on the couch.

Nick reached for the door knob, unlocking the door and opening it just a crack to peek through. When he saw the familiar pair of blue eyes looking back at him, he opened the door, “Ray?” he quirked an eyebrow. His eyes shifted to see Judy as well, “Carrots? What’s going on?”

“Uh,” Wolford was scratching at his arm, smiling sheepishly, “We need to ask you a favor.”

Nick leaned against the doorframe with one hand, brow furrowed, “What happened?”

Judy was biting her lip, ears flopped down as she appeared to be looking for the right words. “Um,” she fiddled with the strap of her bag, “We sort of had a problem with out hotel...”

Nick look flatly at the duo, “It was closed wasn’t it?”

“Yes,” came the reply in unison from the wolf and the rabbit.

There was a sigh, “And you were wondering if you could stay with me?”

“Only for the night,” Judy added, her sheepish smile accompanying Wolford’s toothy one.

Another sigh, “One of you is going to have to sleep on the floor.”

Chapter Text

The Cane and Nick's Kitchen

Nick was moving in and out of his room and his bathroom, arms full of folded sheets as he kicked a few spare pillows along the floor. His side was pulsing, he could feel the pressure building up around him which meant that either he was overdoing it once again or another storm was coming.

Wolford reached out to grab the extra pillows and tossed them on the couch, “Let me give you a hand.” His larger paws took the pile of sheets and blankets from Nick, spotting the look of relief in the fox’s eyes. Wolford was taking the floor, giving Judy the couch since it was the more gentlemen thing to do. He set a blanket down on the floor while Judy was setting up the couch.

A low rumble vibrated the house a bit, Nick’s ears falling. Ah so it was a storm after all.

Nick sighed softly, “Well that was the last of it,” he looked to the two ZPD officers.

Wolford was already setting down on the floor, Judy on the other hand was setting up the pillows. Judy looked up to Nick, smiling softly, “Thank you again for letting us stay here, Nick.”

The fox shrugged, “The least I can do,” he nodded towards the window, “Better than sleeping out in the rain. You guys need anything else?”

Wolford was laying on his front, head propped up by his paw, “I think we’re all good here,” he smirked, “Thanks again, Nick.”

Nick smirked, turning to leave and finally go to bed. His paw had snaked around to grasp at his side, damn thing was going to be a pain for the rest of night.

As they watched the fox turn in for the night, Judy and Wolford got themselves comfortable. Wolford specifically was looking around Nick’s home and taking in the furnishings. The entire decor just felt so - different from Nick; he had been at Nick’s place before back in the city, and he recalled the more modern furniture and simple designs to everything.

In this cottage, everything looked so intricate. Nick’s coffee table alone looked like an antique; dark wood and foliage designs were carved into the wood. In fact, as Wolford was looking around, most of the fox’s furniture were antiques. The last time he saw anything like this was at his grandmother’s house. Almost like it was second-hand.

He caught sight of a few pictures on a small shelf that sat by the hallway that led to Nick’s room. Wolford could find Nick, John, and Willy in the picture, all wearing their department uniforms. But there was another predator in the picture, a tall grey wolf standing by Nick. Though this wolf was the one wearing the sheriff’s badge. Wolford blinked, noting the wolf’s calm features in his greying, old face, and he had a paw on Nick’s shoulder in the photo. They all looked to be happy in the picture, Nick especially - it was like a family photo.

Wolford blinked and laid his head over his crossed arms, looking to Judy, “Hard to believe that Nick is living here,” he whispered, “Almost like he turned into a completely different fox.”

Judy’s expression fell a bit, “Yeah,” she whispered back, “He’s so much more - on the ball then I remember. You think he’s doing any better?”

Wolford frowned, turning over on his side before he glanced towards Nick’s bedroom door. He sighed, “I don’t know.”

~*~*~*~*~

When morning came, Judy woke up to the sound of soft snoring from the white wolf next to her. She rubbed her eyes, her fur a little ruffled from her sleep. She turned to look out the window by the front door, apparently it had rain well into the morning and the foliage outside looked freshly green and wet. Judy sighed, it was rather calming actually; all this green reminding her of the burrow, how fresh and alive the trees on her family’s farm looked after it had rained.

Perhaps that was why Nick chose to come here?

A soft thud grabbed her attention, Judy’s ears perked up and alert as her eyes darted around. It woke up Wolford as well, “Wha wazzat?” he slurred, still half asleep.

There was muffled groan.

“Nick?” Judy got off the couch, walking over in her yoga pants and a loose t-shirt. She walked across the wood floor and turning towards the small hallway that led towards Nick’s bedroom. The door was closed as she approached it, her small paws grabbing the doorknob. Judy peaked inside as she opened the door, the hinges creaking in protest.

Nick was curled up on the floor.

“Nick?!” Judy ran over to the Fox’s side. His tail was curled around him, his arms were wrapped around his torso, and his eyes were furrowed shut.

Judy could hear Wolford running into the room, taser in hand and ready to fire. He let his hand fall, putting the taser aside and approaching the fox, “Jeezes, what happened?” Ray asked.

Nick grit his teeth, “Nothing.”

Judy frowned, paws on Nick’s shoulders, “This doesn’t look like ‘nothing’, Nick,” her voice was stern, “Come on, you gotta let us look.”

There was pause, and then a heavy breath was released from the fox. Slowly, Nick pulled his arms away from his torso and allowed Wolford and Judy a peak. He wasn’t wearing a shirt, which helped things somewhat, but that didn’t mean Nick enjoyed it. The faint bruise around the fox’s side could seen just starting to form.

“Cripes, Nick,” Judy winced, “What did you do?”

Nick, though still in some pain, couldn’t stop the sheepish grin from crawling onto his face, “F-Fell against the bedpost.”

Wolford slapped his paw against his forehead as Judy shook her head, “You fell?”

Nick paused for a moment, trying to turn his face against the floor - maybe trying to become one with the wood. Well this was embarrassing.

He sighed, “All right.” Nick tried to sit up, “I tripped on my belt and then fell against the bedpost,” he nodded towards the floor behind Judy.

The rabbit blinked, turning around and spotting Nick’s utility belt on the ground, obviously been flopped about by Nick’s footing. Judy sighed, turning back to the fox, “You dumb fox,” though she let out a smirk.

Wolford was helping Nick sit up straight, the fox breathing as he let his hand fall against his torso on his right side - his bad side. Nick let out another breath, not even holding back the snicker, “Guilty.”

~*~*~*~*~

Nick hadn’t received any calls yet, so he took that as a sign to take his time with breakfast. Wolford had helped him stand, and Judy - unfortunately - found his cane. The only plastic stick was sitting right behind the bedroom door, the handle was worn and the plastic dirty and turning yellow around the seems.

It was a little strange when Judy came upon that old hunk of plastic, she recognized that it was the same cane that Nick left with when he got out of the hospital. She remembered how Nick despised using it, but it was the only thing that was holding him when he wanted to move around. They had gotten into a few verbal arguments while he was still at the hospital; he wanted to be left alone, he didn’t want the cane, the medication, or the help. Nick was pushing everyone away from him, but Judy could never fathom why.

Small paws grabbed the cane, and Judy whipped around to hand it to Nick, “Here.”

The look on the fox’s face was outright disdain, “I don’t need that.”

“Nick,” she sighed, “You can barely stand up right now. And maybe it will -”

“I said no, carrots,” Nick snapped.

Judy frowned, her eyes falling on the cane as he ears began to droop. Her foot thumped against the floor, her brow furrowing, “Look, Sheriff,” there she went using that snarky tone again, “If you want to do your job - then I’d suggest using this cane. Because if you don’t, then I’m pretty sure you’re going to be useless if you can’t even get passed your doorstep.”

Nick’s face had turned dark as his ears fell flat, his brow furrowed. Wolford was looking at Judy, almost panick as his face read, ‘What are you doing?!’

“In fact,” Judy popped her hip as she waved the cane towards Nick, “I bet you won’t even make it to the kitchen.”

Nick took a deep breath, quirking an eyebrow, “Is that a challenge, fluff?”

“Perhaps,” Judy tapped against the cane, “I’ll make you a deal - you get through breakfast using this cane, and I won’t bother you ever again about picking it up. Deal?”

The fox couldn’t stop the twitching in his lips, his green eyes narrowed at the rabbit. He was quiet for a moment, glancing at that hunk of plastic that he hated with the intensity of a thousand suns. Take the cane, deal with the humiliation, and ample amounts of snark from the rabbit for an hour or two and then back to work. Or don’t take the cane, deal with the pain, and probably be stuck upstairs in the office all day instead of figuring out the case.

Well he didn’t have a lot of options now did he?

Nick sighed, reaching out to Judy, “Give me the plastic stick.”

Judy was happy to obliged, “Good,” she smiled, awfully smug, “Now who wants breakfast?”

~*~*~*~*~

The kitchen was situated right next to the living room, it was an open kitchen with a small countertop separating the kitchen from the living room. It had a window that overlooked Nick’s backyard that was also beaming with greenery - made a nice view when cooking or washing dishes. Gas stove, wood countertops, nice sized fridge, wooden cabinets, a metal sink, and a kitchen table that sat in the corner of the kitchen.

Nick sat at the round, obviously antique kitchen table, the cane sitting right next to him. Judy had insisted on letting her and Wolford make breakfast while he relaxed. “You know I can perfectly capable of taking care of myself, carrots,” Nick frowned.

Judy was - coincidently - chopping carrots on the cutting board on the countertop. “Nick you tripped over your own belt,” she gave him yet another smug look, “forgive me if I think you may need a little help.”

Nick looked at her flatly, then moved to slouch against the wooden chair. A white paw placed a cup of hot coffee on the table, the fox looking up to see Wolford smirking, “How do you like your eggs?”

The fox sat up, reaching towards the cup to wrap his paws around it. The heat of the coffee cup felt good against his paws, “Can you even cook, Ray?”

“Come on, Nick,” Wolford held his paws out, grinning, “I’m practically a five star chef when it comes to cooking.”

Nick quirked an eyebrow, but couldn’t stop the smirk crawling over his face, “Sunny-side up then,” he chuckled, “Just don’t set my kitchen on fire.”

Ray winked at Nick before turning around to search for the eggs and frying pan. Judy had already finished up with her prep work, having made a vegetarian-style waffle complete with spinach and carrots mixed in with the batter. Wolford was finishing up Nick’s eggs and spinach, and before he knew it there were sunny side up eggs and cooked spinach with mushrooms on the table.

Okay, so the canine could cook.

They ate mostly in silence, the only sound were forks stabbing against plates when anyone would want to take another bite. From Wolford’s spot, he could see the small shelf with the photos sitting just behind Nick. His blue eyes looked between Nick and the photos for a moment, “Hey Nick.”

“Yeah?” Nick had a mouthful of eggs by now, “Oh! Thanks for breakfast, Ray!”

Wolford chuckled, “It’s no problem. But I wanted to ask,” he motioned towards the group photo, “Who’s that wolf in the picture over there?”

Nick went silent for a moment, swallowing his eggs before turning back to peak at the group photo. Green eyes caught sight of the old grey wolf standing next to him in the photo. The fox turned back to face the table, his shoulders falling a bit, “That,” he began, “- was the Sheriff here in town before I took over.”

Wolford packed another mouthful of eggs before continuing, “Oh yeah?”

Nick sighed with a small smile, “Yeah,” he pushed around some spinach with his fork, “I took over after he left. He was a good sheriff.”

“He still in town?” Judy asked, a little interested. Any chance to get more information about Nick’s disappearance, she'll take it.

Nick tapped his fingers on the table, biting his lip, “Uh-”

The distant sound of a buzzing ring caught everyone's attention. Oh sweet distraction.

Nick stood up from the table, hobbling over to his bedroom and grabbing the phone. Judy and Wolford exchanged looks before Nick came back, sitting down as he was on the phone. He motioned to the phone, mouthing, “It’s Purrson.”

“Hold on, I’ll put you on speaker,” Nick tapped against his phone and then set it on the table. He leaned over a bit, “Go ahead Sally.” Wolford and Judy were leaning over a bit to listen, their ears standing on end and alert.

“I have the results from the necropsy on the black bear we found yesterday,” Purrson responded, “Also - goodmorning to you officers Hopps and Wolford.”

“Good morning Doctor Purrson,” Judy piped up, “What can you tell us about the bear?”

“Well I can definitely say that his wounds were similar to the polar bear’s,” Purrson made a hum, the sound of papers ruffling could be heard through the phone’s speaker. “It appears it was the same scenario - both of the victims suffered a blow to the head, were tortured until death, and then a shot to the head. Though our black bear did suffer from a small case of hernia.”

“Same M.O,” Wolford furrowed his brow, “Is there anyway to tell if there were multiple perps involved?”

“From what I’ve found, it seems to be at least one,” Purrson’s voice sounded unsure, “But I wouldn’t throw the possibility off the table.”

Nick frowned, scratching his behind his ear before he sighed, “So we have nothing to go on.”

“I wouldn’t be too sure about that, Nick,” Purrson piped up over the phone, “I did find something else.”

“What is it?” Nick leaned towards the phone.

“Black fur caught in the bear’s claws,” Sally began, “And before you say it might be his - I’ll have you know that this particular fur belongs to a feline.”

“Now that’s something to go on,” Nick smiled, “Thanks a lot Sally! We’ll come by to pick up the fur later today.”

“You’re most welcome, Nick,” the smile could almost be seen over the phone, “Also - don’t forget your appointment tomorrow.”

Wolford snickered, and Judy bit her lip in a smile as they both looked to Nick. The fox sighed, “Thank you Sally. Buh-bye now.” he reached over and hung up the phone.

“Do you need a chaperone for you Doctor’s appointment?” Wolford grinned.

“Shut up, Ray.”

~*~*~*~*~

When they arrived to the station later that morning, John already had some more information about the case. Nick was without his cane, despite Judy and Wolford’s protest, but he had to be able to move around without any difficulty. Though without the cane it was pretty difficult.

Judy and Wolford had a call to make to the ZPD, which left Nick trekking the stairs painfully by himself. John Little was waiting in Nick’s office with a few files in hand, the fox walking a bit stiffly towards the room. “Whadda ya got for me, Deputy?” Nick asked, taking off his jacket and moving around to sit as his desk.

The big brown bear quirked an eyebrow, “You okay there, Sheriff?”

Nick nodded, leaning back against the nice leather chair to his desk, “I’ll be fine, John,” he motioned toward the papers in John’s hand, “What’s up?”

John frowned for a moment, but turned to pull out the papers, “Looks like John Prince had security cameras installed a few years back,” he was placing pictures on Nick’s desk. One was of the Xavier and Rupert checking into the hotel, “Now John Prince ain’t one to give out information about his guests, so we’re quite lucky on this one.”

“How’d you get the pictures?” Nick quirked an eyebrow.

John smirked, “Well, Sheriff,” he began, “Let’s just say I was able to -persuade him into giving me some of the pictures.”

Nick smirked, shaking his head, “I don’t wanna know,” he reached over to grabbed the papers that John was handing him.

Each picture showed Xavier and Rupert in the hotel lobby, in every one of the pictures the bears were always together. All except for one, Nick landed on one picture where Rupert was leaving the hotel by himself, his expression looked like he was fuming. When he looked at the date at the corner of the picture, he saw it was the day before they found the body.

Nick’s brow furrowed, and he looked through the rest of the photos, “That’s it?”

John nodded, “Well all of them with our bears in them.”

The fox leaned back against his chair, a paw to his chin as he tapped the armrest with the other. He quirked an eyebrow, looking back at the date for when Rupert was seen last. The day before the body was found, but a whole week and a half before Xavier’s was found, so that meant Xavier was still alive by that - wait.

When did Xavier exactly die?

Nick sat up, hands on the edge of his desk; Purrson didn’t give them the time of death on Xavier. So there was a possibility…

“John,” he called on the brown bear, “Call Sally and tell her to find the time of death for Xavier Pawlini.” He stood up from his chair, grabbing his jacket, “And go back to John Prince and ask him to get all the footage he has from the day we found Rupert’s body till we were called in.”

“What?” John quirked an eyebrow, “Why?”

“Because if Rupert was dead before Xavier then that means he was still alive when we started this investigation,” he grabbed the photos from the desk, “So if the murderer killed Xavier after Rupert then-”

“Then he would show up on the video feed entering the lobby!” John grinned, elbowing Nick, “Pretty clever there Nick.”

Nick grinned, shrugging before putting on his jacket, adjusting the collar. “What can I say?” he tipped his ballcap, “I’m a fox.”He turned to leave the office, hurrying down the hall towards the staircase, “I want those tapes by today John!“

“You got it, Sheriff!”

Chapter Text

Mr. Big and The Pub Crawl

When Nick had gone upstairs, Judy and Wolford had to make a call to Bogo at the ZPD. Well, Wolford did anyway.

Judy on the other hand was making her own personal call, requesting a video session through Fru Fru to speak with Mr. Big. She expected no response for a little while considering this case was sensitive and a mob boss speaking the cops wouldn’t look too good on Mr. Big’s part. However, when she received a confirmation almost instantly, something in her stomach turned and already she knew that something was wrong.

“Good to see you, Judy,” the shrew’s soft voice spoke over Judy’s phone through the video call.

Judy was standing outside in the backyard of the police station. She was surprised to find a nice little courtyard where she could have the conversation privately, “It’s good to see you too, sir,” she smiled, “How’s my little niece?”

Mr. Big was sitting in his usually, tiny leather chair on top his massive desk. There was a hint of a smile, “Doing very well, my child. Very well indeed,” though the smile didn’t last long, “Though we must get down to business - so you’ve found my missing bears?”

Judy nodded, “Right,” she said, expression turning serious, “Well, the police here did and we’re conducting an investigation.”

Mr. Big stroked his chin; even though she couldn’t see his eyes, Judy could tell with those big, bushy eyebrows that the shrew was concerned. “I can only assumed that there is no good news to come after that.”

Judy frowned, sighing as her shoulders fell a bit, “No, Mr. Big,” and with that, she moved to tell a few details about the bears condition. Not too much though, but Judy was probing to see if the mob boss knew anything related to how the bears died.

Upon hearing all this information, the shrew grew silent. His eyebrows furrowed, and Judy could almost feel the tension over the video feed. Mr. Big had one of his paws clenched on the armrest of his leather chair, “Judy,” he said, voice with caution, “What I’m about to tell you comes with a warning.”

The rabbit’s ears perked up, “What is it?”

Mr. Big sat back against his chair, rubbing his thumb and forefinger together. He left his paw fall against the armrest, “Over the past few years, I’ve been getting reports of predators going missing,” he began, “Ending up on the bottom of the lake or in a dumpster somewhere.”

“So -” Judy furrowed her brow, “There have been more of your employees murdered?”

“Not just mine,” Mr. Big shook his head, “But with the other - ‘organizations’ around Zootopia.”

“What do you mean?” Judy had one ear down.

Mr. Big sighed, “My operations sometime overlap with other families, and even though we all don’t get along - we still keep to our district's.” He leaned forward in his chair, “But over the past few years, predators from other families have been found dead in districts that are not their own.”

“At first we thought that other families were trying to encroach on our territory - trying to take over the business,” Mr. Big looked down, frowning, “It came to a point where we all agreed to a private meeting.”

“Was it one of the families?” Judy asked.

Mr. Big shook his head, “No,” he said, “And that is what has all of the district families concerned. We all found that each of our predators were all found dead almost exactly the same way.”

Judy’s ears fell, “Bound, tortured -”

“And gunshot,” Mr. Big finished, tapping his claws on the armrest, “We don’t know who’s doing this, but whoever they are - they have a nut against every mob family in Zootopia.”

“Do you know why Rupert or Xavier came up here in the first place?” Judy asked carefully.

Mr. Big shook his head, “That, my child, I have no answer for.” He leaned back in his chair. “I can only assume that they saw something - or someone they shouldn’t have. I know I didn’t order them to go up north.”

Judy sighed, shoulders falling once more, “Thank you, Mr. Big,” she gave a small smile.

Mr. Big nodded, “Anytime, Judy,” he smiled, but once again it faded fast. He held up a paw, pointing a finger to Judy, “But please, Judy - be very careful.”

The rabbit nodded, “I will sir-” her ears perked up when she heard the back door opening. “Gotta go,” she said quietly, turning off the video feed on her phone.

“Come on carrots!” came Nick’s voice.

Judy slipped her phone into her pouch, turning back to see Nick waving a few papers in his hand, “What is it?”

Nick smirked, “We’re going on a pub crawl.”

~*~*~*~*~

Within the small, seaside town of Selkie were about three different pubs. All of these pubs have been in the town since or near since the town was founded, and all of them were family owned. Nick had grown to know each of the pub families around the town, which made things a little more simpler when it came to investigations, or just trying to find that one drunk dad who probably fell asleep on someone’s front lawn.

As to why they were looking at the pubs turned out to be very simple - around the time that Rupert left the Lion Prince Hotel, it was around eight or nine o’ clock. The small little town closed down most of its facilities around ten, and with the report from Tuskety checking in with every restaurant and eatery around Selkie - the polar bear hadn’t gone for dinner that night. So there were only three places in Selkie that were opened late, and that were the pubs.

Starting with the Hareson’s “O’Hare’s Pub” which had grown with the times into a modern-esque establishment - Nick brought the two ZPD officers with him in figuring out which pub Rupert had ventured to that night.

“O’Hare’s Pub” was very popular with Selkie’s younger crowd, though Nick had to admit it was a bit of a headache due to the fact that the current generation of Harresons don’t take the time to check I.Ds. Also the pub became a hot spot for any up and coming Irish punk band that decided tour around the north. Nick could only groan at the memories of the countless raging drunk teenagers that wanted to ‘fight the establishment’. His truck smelled of booze and vomit for almost a week with the amount of teenagers he packed in the back of his truck.

But alas, Rupert hadn’t been near O’Hare that night.

Next came the pub where they first found Rupert’s body, an old fisherman’s pub called “Sheep’s Head Pub” that has been in Selkie since it was first founded. It was old, attracted the usual old folk and fishermen that had worked a long day on the water. It was beautiful in its own historic way, built out of old stone and thick, wood beams that held up the old, low ceiling. It was run by a couple of twin sheep brothers, their family had been here for generations. They were old, and not too fond of music in their pub, so it was awfully full of drunk babbling from the fellow fishermen.

Judy had expected that this would be the pub where Rupert was last seen, but to her surprise - it wasn’t. Suppose Rupert wasn’t the fishermen type, considering he was polar bear.

Lastly, and hopefully their winner in their pub search, was “O’Howler’s”. “O’Howler’s” was traditional Irish - old floors, built out of old brick, low ceilings, and the fair share of fiddle music. The walls were lined with old photos from decades upon decades ago, depicting the founders and old families in Selkie. It was run by a wolf family that has, of course, been in Selkie for years. The current owner was grey wolf named Sanford that was currently turning white due to growing old age. By no means he was old, old, but he was certainly starting to look his age at least. But Sanford was always there at the bar working every night with his two sons, welcoming whoever walked in with a warm smile and full glass of beer.

In Nick’s opinion, it was the best one in Selkie.

“Ey, Sheriff!” Billy, the eldest of Sanford’s sons who was a black and white wolf, waved towards Nick.

“Hey Billy,” Nick walked up to lean against the bar, Judy and Wolford stepping up behind him. He nodded towards the door behind the bar, “Your dad in?”

Billy nodded, “Yeah, one sec,” he turned around, hollering for his father, “Hey DAD!”

“What is it you bloody loud-snout?!” came the thick Irish brogue through the door.

“Sheriff’s here!” Billy replied, picking up a glass to polish it with a rage. He looked to Nick, “He’ll be out in a sec.”

“Thanks Billy,” Nick nodded, then glanced to the two ZPD officers next to him. Wolford was already sitting at the bar, looking more relaxed as he leaned an elbow against the old wood-top bar. Judy on the other hand looked hesitant, residing herself to standing and studying her surroundings.

“Ey, Sherif!” Sanford’s voice came, and Nick looked across the bar to see the old wolf walk out of the back.

“Hey Sanford,” Nick folded his arms over the bar, “How you’ve been?”

“Well me back be achin’ and me tail is twisting, but ey! I ain’t stoppin’ now!” Sanford laughed, bushy eyebrows rising in his laughter. He looked to Wolford and Judy, “Ey, who’re these two? And what’s with the bunny in the clown suit?”

Wolford couldn’t stop the snort. Judy frowned, raising a finger to respond but Nick beat her to it, “They’re some extra help from the police force in Zootopia. You know? Big case and all.”

“Aye, big case indeed if you be needin’ help from them big city folk,” Sanford’s ears perked up as he looked between Wolford and Judy. He grinned, looking to Judy, “But you might want to talk your boss about that clown suit, m’dear.”

Judy twitched her nose, “Sir, I’ll have you know-”

“Oh bless me, I’m only jokin’ missy,” Sanford chuckled, nodding towards Nick, “If Nick here says you’re legit, then I believe ‘im.”

Judy sighed, though the frown refused to leave her face.

Sanford wiped his nose, “So what can I do you for, Sheriff? Need a drink?”

“Maybe later, San. Listen,” Nick pulled out the folder with the images of Rupert, passing them over to Sanford, “I was hopin’ you could tell if you saw this polar bear at all two weeks ago.”

Sanford hummed, picking up the folder. He scratched his forehead, his paw slipping down to scratch and rest on his chin as he mumbled to himself. “Hmm, seems familiar,” Sanford looked back to his son, “Ey Billy! You seen this bear?”

Billy walked over and squinted at the picture. He sneered, and frowned, “Yeah,” he put down a newly polished glass, “That’s the bear that forgot to pay his tab two weeks ago.”

“Aye, you’re right, that’s ‘im all right,” Sanford nodded, the memory coming back to him. He looked to Nick, “I remember ‘im now - big ol’ snob he was. Kept complaining about our beer selection and what not.”

“How long was he here for?” Nick leaned against the bar.

“Almost all night, I would say,” Sanford handed the pictures back to Nick, “He would of been here till closin’ if that big panther hadn’t come in.”

“Panther?” Nick quirked an eyebrow., his shoulders falling a bit.

“Aye, nasty lookin’ one too. Wore fancy clothes, and didn’t speak a word to us,” Sanford crossed his arms, “Gave one look to that polar bear and then poof! The bear was gone.”

‘Anything distinct about this panther?” Wolford spoke up.

Sanford tapped his chin, “Well,” he hummed, “There was one thing I noticed. One of his eyes was dead, a big ol’ scar over it. Scary look fellow he was.”

Nick’s brow furrowed as he took in that information. His eyes grew wide, his ears falling a bit, “Did you say a- a scar-”

“Oi!” Nick jumped when a loud cry from across the bar.

Eyes turned around to find a couple of bucks standing up from their chairs. Each of the bucks had big antlers, and of course they were holding a glass of beer. Nick felt his tail twitch as he groaned inwardly he knew where this was going and he knew he would have to step in.

“What the hell you doin’ with ma sister?!” one buck cried.

Three.

“Ey back off man! We’re just chilin’!”

Two.

“I told you to lay off my sister!”

One.

Glass shattered, the big brother buck having thrown his glass of beer at the other. The bar fell silent saved for the music that was playing, all eyes went to the stand off. Sanford looked about ready to pop, his teeth flashing in a snarl. Nick sighed, waving a hand to the old grey wolf, “It’s okay, Sanford,” he said, stepping down from his chair, “I’ll handle it.”

Wolford looked cautiously at Nick, “Are you sure, Nick?”

Nick smirked to the wolf, “Yeah, its no biggie, Ray.”

There were more shouts from the two bucks, a doe was now standing up from the table, trying to keep the peace. Big brother buck shoved the other, and that’s when Nick raised his hands, “Hey! Hey! Easy there!” but they didn’t seem to acknowledge him.

“I ain’t screwing with your sister, man!” the other buck snarled out.

Nick stood between the two bucks, “Hey!”

Both of the bucks look down to Nick, and immediately he could see them stiffen. The fox frowned, hands on his hips as he looked to the big brother buck, “Look, kid,” he said, “I know you got over-protective syndrome goin’ on, but this ain’t the right time or the place to be doin’ this.”

The bucks shifted in their footing, standing down from each other. Nick let his shoulders relax, “Good,” he said, “Now how about you settle down and be civil about this, all right?”

The lone buck snorted, sneering at the big brother buck, “Tff- like this dunderhead would listen.”

Oh no.

Nick held his paws to keep big brother buck from tackling the other. The big brother buck had his fist up, rearing back as he snorted and snarled towards the other buck. Even though he was the Sheriff, it didn’t mean a damn thing when he was half the size of any predator or prey trying to do harm. And this was one of those instances, he hollered out towards the big brother buck but he saw that it wasn’t getting through to him.

Nick reached back to grab his taser as Wolford and Judy starting to approach the scene. He held it up to the buck, but it came too little too late. His green eyes caught sight of the curled, hoofed fist heading straight for his face. The last thing he remembered was hitting the ground and sliding against the floor.

Then everything went silent.

Chapter Text

The Bottle of Whiskey

“I think I’ll take that drink now, San,” Nick groaned out, holding a cloth full of ice to his right eye.

The Sheriff was currently sitting at the far table by the bar, which let easy access for Sanford to approach the table from the bar. Wolford and Judy were sitting on either side of him, both looking at him with concern.

The bucks were guilt stricken almost immediately when Nick went down. Big brother buck was practically having a panic attack about hitting Nick in the first place. When the fox finally came to - which was soon after he went down - he just waved off the buck, telling him to pay for the drinks and leave. Judy was a little concerned about the whole scenario, how Nick could just let it go so easily like that. She wanted Nick to do more, but she could see that he was in no mood to even try. Laid back Sheriff perhaps?

Sanford came walking over with a bottle Irish whiskey and a couple of glasses. “All right,” he set the bottle and glasses down on the table, “Here ya go, Nick. On the house.”

Nick watched as Sanford poured him a glass, and he wordlessly reached over to grab it. He swung it back with ease, placing it back on the table and motioning for another round. “Thanks, San,” he said, leaning his head back a bit to hold the ice pack in pace.

“Why did you let him go?” Judy spoke up.

“What?” Nick perked up an ear.

“I said,” Judy leaned forward to the fox, “Why did you let the buck go? I mean, he- he - punched you.”

Nick shrugged, shaking his head, “He’s just some hot tempered punk kid, carrots,” he turned to the rabbit, flashing a smirk, “And this wouldn’t be the first time.”

“Aye, you’re right about that one,” Sanford chuckled, having taken a seat at the table. Receiving a perplexed look from the rabbit, the wolf continued, “This one,” he pointed a thumb to Nick, ”First day out got his tail handed to him by a angry doe.”

Judy quirked an eyebrow, looking between Sanford and Nick. Wolford was intrigued, grabbing a glass and pouring the whiskey.

“She was drunk,” Nick sighed, taking a drink himself, “And very angry with her mother about - I think it was her dating someone? I don’t remember.” He motioned for another round, and it was Wolford who was happy to oblige, “Anyway,” he rotated the glass with his paw, “She kicked me in the face. Had a bandage on my head for a whole week.”

Judy was beyond horrified, “And you just let them get away with it?!”

“Oi, missy,” Sanford nodded to Judy, “It may be a big thing in the big city, but up here these folks ain’t got much more to do then work-”

“And drink,” Nick threw the glass back.

Sanford chuckled, “Aye,” he looked to Judy, “And it be a waste of time to do anything else. Plus Nick is - well -”

“Short?” Wolford guessed, receiving a displease look from Judy.

The grey wolf chuckled, nodding, “Aye, he is. Most of the town is predators and large prey, with the exception of the Haresons,” he said, “But that’s what usually lands him with a big ol’ shiner on his face. But Nick usually throws them in the drunk tank afterwards.”

“They always apologize anyway,” Nick smirked, looking to Judy.

Judy sighed, sitting back in her seat and glancing at the glass that Nick was pouring. What was this? The third? Fourth glass?

“Hard to believe that you’re the Sheriff around here,” Judy quirked an eyebrow at the fox.

Sanford laughed, “Aye, it took us all by surprise,” he said, crossing his arms over the table, “But Nick’s been good to us around Selkie.”

Nick smirked, looking to Sanford before throwing back another glass.

“As good as the previous Sheriff?” Wolford swirled the contents in his glass before taking a sip.

“Aye, maybe not as good as Sam,” Sanford snickered to Nick, who just rolled his eyes, “But, still good enough.”

“Wait,” Judy perked up her ears, “You knew the old Sheriff?”

Sanford was almost insulted, “Well of course I did!” The old grey wolf motioned towards a photograph that was hanging on the wall behind the table. When Wolford and Judy looked back, Wolford’s eyes narrowed when he recognized the wolf standing next to Sanford in the photo. Sanford leaned back in his chair, “He was me brother.”

Nick thumbed the rim of his glass, pulling the ick pack off his face and setting it on the table. He was silent as he threw back his last drink, feeling the contents rush down his throat. He swallowed and place the glass on the table, rim down, “I think that’s it for me,” and he stood up from the table. There was no doubt he had a black eye right about now.

“Aw, so soon, Sheriff?” Sanford smirked, to which Nick could only chuckle and nod.

“Got a case to crack, San,” the Sheriff grabbed his ball cap that was hanging off his chair and putting it on, “I’ll come by when I’m off duty, how about that?”

The old grey wolf stood up from the table, grabbing the bottle and glasses, “Aye, that be nice, Nick,” he smiled, nodding. He waved the bottle to Nick, “Oi! Make sure you finish this bottle next, eh?”

“I’ll try,” Nick chuckled, tipping his hat to the wolf, “Thanks, San.”

“Anytime, Sheriff.”

Wolford and Judy also gave their thanks to Sanford, making sure to tidy up the table a bit before the left. Wolford was watching Nick carefully, having been counting the glasses the fox was drinking. It appeared as if Nick had an iron-clad liver, his pace was with ease as his crooked tail swayed back and forth.

That was until they stepped outside.

Nick stumbled as he stepped down from the doorstep to the bar, swaying towards his truck. He leaned against the passenger side, his ballcap askew as he rested his forehead against the glass. There was mess of jingling as he fumbled to get his keys out of his pocket, “Who wants to drive?”

~*~*~*~*~

By the time they got back to the station, it was getting close to five in the afternoon. Wolford went to call the hotel they were suppose to stay at to make sure he and Judy’s rooms were set up. In the meantime, the Sheriff - with a tall glass of water - swayed his way upstairs towards his office. Nick found a few reports on his desk with a post-it note from John that said, “From security tapes.”

Nick took a large gulp of water before putting the glass down. He sat at his desk, taking off his ball cap before grabbing the reports. He started to flip through the files, first coming up Purrson’s report on Xavier Pawlini.

Green eyes scanned the report, finding the words that were circle in red, “Time of Death: One week prior to when body was found.”

So he was right, Xavier was alive when they first conducted the investigation.

Nick moved to grab the security tape pictures, sitting back in his chair as he filed through them one by one. The Lion Prince Hotel had quite a lot of guests coming in and out during that one week. He could only assumed it was because a holiday or some big event was coming up-

Oh. Damnit.

The fox slapped the reports on the desk before he could finish filing through them. He sighed as he reached up and pinched the bridge of his muzzle.

St. Patrick’s Day was next week.

How could he forget that there was a holiday coming up next week. Out of all the days, it had to be this one; the one where hundreds of tourists come into this tiny town to get drunk and party all because the small little town Selkie was an Irish town. To be fair, it brought in a lot of money for the locals who ran businesses around the town, but it was always a headache for the police department. Especially for his small little department.

His ears perked up as a loud, howling groan echoed throughout the department. Nick got up from his chair and walked carefully towards the staircase to poke his head through the doorway.

“What’s going on down there?” Nick shouted.

“Our hotel is completely booked until the 20th!!” came Wolford’s snarl.

Yup, it was definitely St. Patrick’s day coming up.

“Even when we already booked it - they just gave our rooms away!” Judy whined down the hallway.

Nick sighed, rubbing his face, “Welp,” he started descending the stairs. This only meant one thing, “Guess you’ll be bunking with me till then.”

Wolford caught sight of the fox when he appeared downstairs by the staircase, “You sure you’re okay with that, Nick?” The fox shrugged, “Well you guys don’t really have much of a choice now do you?”

The two ZPD officers were silent, which spoke in volumes. That meant that Nick was in fact right - it was either stay with Nick, sleep at the station, or camp outside; and Judy knew Wolford would rather have the cozier option.

“Uh…” Wolford scratched the back of his neck, smiling sheepishly.

Judy sighed, “Thank you, Nick.”