Judy held onto the red soft covered folder, skimming through the small print on the single paper of the rather vague report. Her eyes darted from word to word, careful to not miss out any hidden or underlying clues that would be a bonus to solving the mystery much faster. Not much could be studied in the report itself; There were no pictures clipped along with it and the description of the case was way too generalized. After a moment of proofreading it multiple times, Judy scowled grumpily.
"This is just the exact replica as our first 48-hour case log; No leads to work on, I guess we have to start from scratch when we reach Clawhauser's house," Judy said as she snapped the folder shut and handed it to Nick. "See what I mean? There is nothing to infer from this; unless your acute detective senses could sniff out something like you did last time with the traffic cameras."
"Having full access to all traffic cameras in Zootopia is way different from deducing from a single piece of paper decorated with a handful of written lines, Hopscotch. I am no super detective, but I can always try," Nick replied as he scanned through the details. He shook his head. "Yup, there is zero information that would even help us here. I mean, the description here is whatever Chief Bogo had already delivered to us in his brief," Nick added, gesturing his paw at the written words.
"I hope Clawhauser simply lost telecommunications signal in his region," Judy exclaimed, walking out through the main sliding glass doors of the modern ZPD building. Nick followed behind, taking out his shades and wearing them just as the afternoon sun's glaringly bright rays hit his face. His soft fur radiated a strong vibrant orange under the sunlight.
"Such a bright sunny day, I hope your chocolate treats for easter are not melting in your pockets," Nick joked, playfully elbowing Judy on her side as they entered their police mobile parked right outside of the premises alongside a busy road. This time, Judy had specifically reminded herself to keep note of the time to avoid being issued another golden ticket.
"Do I look like an easter bunny to you?" Judy responded sarcastically as she inserted the car keys into the ignition switch, starting up the engine.
"Yes, you do. And I think you do make a pretty fine easter bunny," Nick answered with a keen smile. He finished the cup of smoothie as he strapped on his seat belt, resting the case file on top of the car's dashboard. "This time, I am keeping the seat belt on and real tight just in case a little bunny decides to stomp on the breaks again."
"You know, I just might one day when I catch you off guard," Judy commented, sipping the warm latte which Nick had treated her during breakfast; Which was cooled to a lukewarm now as the time hit noon. Quenching her thirst, she placed the cup back inside the cup holder and grabbed hold on to the steering wheel.
"Like I said before Whiskers, that will never happen," Nick countered, eyes wide open as his paws were raised in an act of playing defensively. Judy rolled her eyes in disagreement as she drove the car down the street, maneuvering across parked cars and slow traffic. As Judy had her eyes fixed on the road, Nick switched on the radio to a soft volume. Another great hit from Gazelle was playing on the channel; "Hippos don't lie". Resting his back on the seat's comfortable leather bound recliner, he nodded with the rhythm of the song.
"I wonder what would the biggest fan of Gazelle be storing in his house?" Nick inquired as he whipped out his smart phone and tapped away. Accessing his social media was one thing that's a necessity for him. It had been integrated into his usual hourly routine ever since he acquired a phone.
"A whole collection of her albums? I do not know," Judy remarked, cocking an eyebrow as she slowed the police vehicle to a halt in front of a red light. "Just pass a couple more flats and we should arrive at his doorstep."
"Probably more like everything in his house being branded with Gazelle's name," Nick answered his own question with a slight smirk; busy browsing for something using the Zoogle search engine application on his smart phone.
"Come on, Nick. Stop staring at the screen and admire the scenery outside," Judy commented, tapping her digits on the steering wheel with enthusiasm as she studied her partner indulging in the world of technology. As a bunny living in a farm, she was not supportive of being fully reliant on modern day inventions; They were reliable - but way too reliable. Judy preferred to accomplish tasks without relying on them unless it was an absolute necessity.
"As a former con artist myself, let me inform you that I have been to almost any nook and cranny this city has offere. I do not feel entertained watching the same sceneries a thousand times, Carrots. Neither do I see the need to do so anyway," Nick disclosed courteously, shifting his eyes to meet hers. Judy paused to come up with a complaint but canceled her pondering as the traffic light switched to green.
"Just do not get addicted to using your phone," Judy exclaimed as she continued driving. "It is a conversation killer and I got you as a partner for a very clear reason; Else I would have been better off with a rag doll as my partner," she made a left turn down a street as she told Nick.
Nick slipped the phone into his pants pocket. "Why so serious, Hopps? It is not like I never spoke to you at all," he replied casually. Judy flinched from the sentence and pulled on a grumpy expression. "Okay, okay! Fine, I get it, I promise to be socially engaging so do not be mad alright?" Nick gave in, petting her on the head with his paw. Resisting a smile, she turned her head away from him.
"Oh, giving me the silent treatment now? Don't think I did not notice you trying to conceal that obviously wide smile of yours," Nick added, resting his arm on the dashboard, supporting himself as he sat on the edge of his seat; attempting to steal a glance of her face which she was still unwilling to expose.
"Fine, you win this round!" Judy laughed as she turned to face him. "But I do have something to say to you," She added.
"And what would that be Whiskers?" Nick asked with his usual carefree expression, removing his paw from her head.
"EMERGENCY BREAK!" Judy exclaimed loudly as she slammed hard on the breaks, sending an unstable, wide-eyed Nick yelling and crashing into the dashboard as the impact made the seat belts he was strapped on give way, dropping onto the car's carpet below. It took a moment for him to recollect his thoughts, and even longer for Judy to seize her uncontrollable fit of laughter.
"You really are a sly bunny you know that," Nick addressed with a hint of annoyance, dusting his uniform with his paws. "Well, you got me now, bunny cop. You win the bet. Happy? Bet you are."
"Told you so I would get you," Judy burst into laughing once more. "Never let them see that you are going to get to them," she joked.
"I am pretty sure that's not how I phrased it, and why in the world did you apply emergency breaks while driving? There are other cars behind us, you could have caused an accident." Nick responded dryly as he climbed up the seat.
"Which proves my point that you need to stop looking at your phone, Dumb fox; We have reached our destination, thought I could have made use of that opportunity when you were seating on the edge," Judy replied, wiping a tear from her eye. "There are no cars roaming about in this street, excluding parked ones; anyway. Let's get down to business - I hope everything is alright for Clawhauser."
Opening the car door next to the pedestrian pavement, Nick alighted their slightly oversize car first; Lending Judy a paw as she made her way across Nick's seat and jumped down with his guidance. Nick gingerly massaged his left paw as they proceeded towards the apartment complex. "Ah, Oww ouch... I think I might have bruised my paw a little when you threw me off my seat belt," Nick muttered as he rubbed the sore spot, wincing slightly. Judy's ears shot right up and immediately rushed to his aid.
"Oh, oh I am so sorry! Is it bad? Does it hurt?" Judy asked worriedly, instantly regretting the prank she had pulled on him.
"I'm fine, had worse than this before," Nick replied, chuckling as he admired her caring about his injury. "Just give it a day and it should heal up. Enough of my bruise; go check up on the apartment, we still have a case of a missing Gazelle fan boy."
Heading up the porch stairs, the two officers entered the building. It was slightly humid and uncomfortably warm in the lobby; Faded wallpaper wrapped around the old walls of the apartment. Ceiling lights hanging from dust dipped wires provided a moody light to the place. Only the potted plant which sat beside the set of spiral staircase carpeted in velvet seemed fresh. A disheveled goat dressed in odd attire and a clipped on tie manned the reception desk. "Now, what floor does he accommodate in?" Judy asked as Nick fished out the case file which was rolled up and tucked snugly in his pant's back pocket. Reopening the file, Nick ran a digit down the details on the paper. "It is... ah, here - Floor three, room seven."
"Which means we have... three sets of stairs to climb! Time to crack this case!" Judy exclaimed excitedly as she grabbed Nick's paw tightly, dragging him towards the flight of stairs.
"Ah! Watch the paw, watch the paw Carrots!" Nick yelped in pain, whining slightly as he yanked his paw off her firm grab.
"Oh, cheese balls! I am so sorry!" Judy apologized, embarrassed from both acting childishly and accidentally pressing on Nick's bruise.