Zootopia: ZPD Mysteries: Case #2: On Dimm Avenue

Chapter 6: Explaining the AVES

Dandelina Leah Lionheart, known to the city as Dandy, was Mayor Lionheart's gold-furred daughter, and the current vice-mayor of Zootopia. (a promotion from the rank of "assistant mayor" made after the Bellwether Conspiracy). She was tall and slender, with fur that just seemed a slight shade lighter than her father's; quite possibly because her father was in his early sixties. Her fur looked like it had been spun from the finest gold thread, almost shining underneath the lights. Her eyes were a ridiculously dark shade of blue, and her sharp black-and-grey suit made those eyes only look sharper, like a pair of ocean-blue daggers. Her long tail--longer than most--waved back and forth quite slowly as she stood beside her. Her air was refined but not stuck-up; sophisticated but not boring and not like she was disgusted with the lower classes. She seemed like she was less interested in being a politician and more interested in connecting with other animals, personally.

And, although she'd never admit it, she was just a tiny bit taller than her father.

She now stood with her father, across from Judy and Chief Bogo in the lobby of the ZPD. In the background, Clawhauser was chatting with Officer Trumpet about some sort of role-playing game. Judy had seen The Hunt: Battle for Schliectham before, and, while Nick had proven himself to be a total fanboy over it, Judy decided that she'd rather play World of Warthogs instead.

"So, Ms. Lionheart," Chief Bogo began, "can you please explain how your car was stolen?"

Dandy shuffled her paws nervously. It was obvious that she was embarrassed over losing her car at all, let alone losing an expensive government-issue Cattleac Lancet.

"I stopped at the County Clerk's office at City Hall," she began, "to have a few things printed out for me, and as I was riding the elevator down, I saw someone drive my car away. After that, I called my dad, and he dashed over in his limo."

"It beats walking," Mayor Lionheart muttered under his breath, before returning his voice to a normal volume.

"I don't suppose I need to tell you it gets worse," Mayor Lionheart went on. "Those government-issue cars are equipped with all sorts of upgrades that would make a car thief very happy--tungsten-carbide framing, armored plating, bulletproof glass--all of which would make the thief near-invulnerable. You can't be too safe, you know," he added, as a way to justify the ridiculous amount of upgrades to the car.

"Of course you can't," Bogo admitted, nodding as he wrote down all the details Mayor Lionheart was saying.

"Especially when your daughter's the vice-mayor," Judy said, rubbing her chin (once again, proving that sometimes detective stereotypes were true).

"You have some thoughts as to this incident, Officer Hopps?" Bogo asked, noticing Judy's thoughtfulness.

"It seems that Dandy's crook has a similar M.O. to the one who took our cruiser," she began. "It's within reason to assume that the guy knew of Dandy's position in the city government. She's the vice-mayor, right?"

Dandy nodded. Mayor Lionheart beamed.

"So," Judy went on, "it seems quite possible that he knew that you would have a car that is known for its strength and ability to be shielded from threats."

"But why would someone target me?" Dandy asked. "Apart from being on the city council, I don't really have much to do, well, I also watch over Dad's train set. The Lionel Lionheart Model Railroad is the largest in the Free Lands, after all."