The Fire Triangle, A Zootopia Fanfiction -- Part One: Fuel - 62

Disclaimer: Zootopia stories, characters, settings, and properties belong to the Walt Disney Co. This story is written under Fair Use Copyright laws.

-----------------------------------------------------

The Fire Triangle-A Zootopia Fanfiction

-----------------------------------------------------

Part One:

Fuel

-----------------------------------------------------

Chapter 7-Tying Up Loose Ends

(Pt. 3...Continued)

"Oh no, not YOU again!"

"Wil-LIE! Now, is that any way to talk to an old friend?" Nick Wilde was spreading his arms as if preparing to embrace a long, lost brother.

Willie Pond did not return the gesture; instead, the muskrat turned hurriedly away, preparing to make a fast exit, stage right ...only to find his way blocked by a smiling Judy Hopps. Behind him, he heard the fox's voice again. "Is that any way to talk to an old friend, Carrots?"

"I should say not, Nick," she answered, smile fading rapidly as her paws moved to her hips. "Walking away from us without even so much as a, 'how-de-do'...and after all the time we've known each other!" She flicked away a stage tear, "I-I can't believe he's treating us like this."

Nick's ears turned backwards as he and his partner closed in on the hapless rodent, "There, now look what you've done, Willie; you hurt Hopps' feelings. Are you happy with yourself?"

The big rodent only backed himself against a pillar and threw up his paws, as though awaiting the order to 'assume the position.' All around him, the late-morning commute continued; animals of all sizes and species moving to and from their trains. Here and there, a few of them paused briefly, but most just continued on their way, with hardly a sidelong glance at the spectacle

Willie had been working the Zootopia Central Train Station for a number of years now. His forte was one of the oldest hustles known to mammal-kind; he was a bunko-steerer, a scammer who specialized in directing unsuspecting animals to crooked games of chance-and his favored marks were always out-of-towners from rural areas. Anyone showing up in ZTA Central dressed like Farmer John was a magnet for the devious muskrat.

Unfortunately for him, a year previously he had spotted what looked like the juiciest mark in months, a rabbit-hick and his wife, fresh off the train from Bunnyburrow. Willie had immediately put his hooks into the hayseed, blissfully unaware that Stu and Bonnie Hopps were supposed to meet their daughter Judy for lunch at any moment.

And also that she had just arrived and was standing right behind him.

When she'd brought the muskrat into Precinct One, Nick Wilde had been there, and he'd had a suggestion for his partner.

"I've known Willie Pond off and on for years Carrots; he'll do anything to stay out of jail. If it was me who'd busted him, I'd try to develop him as a snitch instead of pressing charges."

That had turned out to be one of the best pieces of advice Judy ever got from the fox. If Willie Pond wasn't exactly a gold mine of information, he was no dry hole either. Once he had even volunteered an especially scintillating piece of intelligence-about an illegal cage fight in the Nocturnal District where the antagonists were given hits of Nighthowler before entering the arena; sometimes, they even fought to the death.

Only the part about the Nighthowler had been untrue; the rest of the muskrat's information had been spot on. Judy and Nick had gotten a nice, little commendation out of that episode, and Willie Pond had gotten a fine when he could have gone away for more than a year.

Most of the time, however, he wasn't so free with his information, "That's one tree needs a little shaking now and then." Judy had once observed to her partner.

Lately, Willie's favorite hangout in Zootopia Central was the 'small-mammals' map', located on the wall beside the hippopotamus entrance-ramp.

It had been there for about a year-and should have been put up a lot sooner. The big overhead map of the Zootopia Transit System, posted over the main concourse was difficult for the smaller species to read and downright impossible for the residents of Little Rodentia; they'd been clamoring for 'a map we can understand' for ages. Finally, they'd gotten one and Willie Pond had zeroed in on it like a homing missile; it was the perfect place to spot an out-of-towner that didn't know their way around Zootopia. Even better, it was in a location that was all but invisible to the security cameras. When Judy had suggested to Nick that they go have a talk with Willie, they'd known exactly where to find him.

"So what's the game today, ol' buddy?" Nick Wilde was asking, at the same time laying his paw on the holster where he kept his pawcuffs, "Cards? Dice? Or maybe you're pitching for Goro again?" Goro Kyujitai was a tanuki who ran a (literally) floating Pachinko parlor down in the Canal District, an establishment that was about as honest and trustworthy as an-email from a Ligerian bank president

Willie threw up his paws again, but this time in a gesture of exasperation. "Hey fox, I told you before, I'm OUTTA that game, my mammal."

"Of course you are, Willie." Judy said, addressing him in a mock-soothing voice-while at the same time giving the big rodent the once over. Sweet Cheez N' Crackers, who did this idiot think he was fooling? He was decked out in blue serge-pants with a white shirt and a checked vest, topped off by a bright-red tie, done up in Windsor knot. It was the kind of outfit most mammals wouldn't be caught wearing to their own funeral-but exactly the sort that might prompt you to ask someone wearing it for directions. "And that's why you're dressed like a theme-park tour-guide today, am I right?" She smirked and raised a jaded eyebrow.

"Hey, it's all I got that's clean." Willie's arms flew upwards a third time, and his voice had become a pathetic wheedle. Judy ignored it and shifted her attention to Nick, nodding a silent signal. 'Okay, fun time's over; let's pump this scaly-tailed sleaze-ball.'

The red-fox was only too happy to oblige. He reached into his shirt pocket-taking his time so Willie wouldn't know what he was up to-and after several seconds, drew out a folded sheet of printout paper, which he offered to the muskrat.

"Seen that coyote kid around here recently, pal?"

Willie took the photograph and frowned deeply, an expression that usually heralded a negative answer from him. The way his eyes shifted upward and to the left when he first glimpsed the picture told the fox an entirely different story.

"Sorry..." he started to say, and Judy swiftly cut him off at the pass. (She too had seen his eyes move.)

"Willie, we're on a really tight schedule here, so please don't waste our time, mmm'kay? Here, let me unpack this for you." She moved behind the muskrat, pointing up and over his shoulder, first to the left, and then to the right."

"There Willie, see that CCTV camera there...and that other one over there?"

"Of course he sees them, Carrots," Nick Wilde said, pretending to butt in, "He knows all about those cameras, that's why he always makes sure to keep in their blind spot." He offered the muskrat a conspiratorial wink. "Don't you, Willie?"

The big rodent said nothing and Judy took over again.

"Now the coyote whose picture Nick showed you was spotted by those two cameras around 5:15 in the afternoon yesterday, but here's the strange part." She feigned clearing her throat, "It should have taken that kid all of three seconds to get from camera 'A' to Camera 'B', but instead, he dropped out of sight for nearly ten whole minutes."

"Almost as if he stopped to talk to someone while he was in their blind spot," Nick Wilde added, folding his arms, and tagging off to Judy with a nod of his head. She picked up on it at once.

"Oh, and did I mention that another one of the security cameras caught YOU leaving the station around 8:30?" she said. That was it; Willie's shoulders fell like a house of cards. And that told the bunny-cop it was time to deliver the closer.

She whipped off her sunglasses and looked straight into muskrat's oily, bead-shaped eyes.

"You know who that is in the picture there?" she said. "It's Craig Guilford."

Willie only looked at her blankly, (as she'd known he would,) and she threw in a quick addendum. "He's the son of Jerry Guilford...the coyote who tried to spray down the Carrot Days Festival with weed-killer. Craig was the spotter-and the Burrow County Sheriff's department wants him bad." She paused for just the right amount of effect and then added a dash of bitters, "And so do I."

Okay, Jerry Guilford was a name even Willie Pond recognized. He squared his shoulders, a faint glow seeming to come alight behind his eyes.

"Officer Hopps is from Bunnyburrow," Nick reminded the muskrat, attempting to stoke the flame even further.

It worked like a charm. Judy could almost read Willie's thoughts, the look on his face was so palpable; they didn't want him, they wanted the coyote-kid who'd tried to help spray bomb Carrot Days...and that was someone he could give up with no fear of being branded an informer (again.) Even the most hardened felon in Zootopia would have no qualms about snitching to the cops on a junior terrorist.

And who knew what might be in it for him if he played ball with Judy Hopps on that coyote- punk? Hadn't she just said she wanted his tail bad? Willie's mouth pulled back, exposing his long incisors.

"Why didn't you just tell me that right outta the gate, cute bunny? You could have saved us all a whole bunch of runaround."

"Because," Judy thought but did not say, "If I did that, you'd try and bargain with me...quid-pro-quo, and we'd be going at it until midnight." She felt her ears starting to turn backwards and forced them to stay put; Willie had unwisely chosen to drop a 'c' bomb on her. Well, she could deal with that later, right now she said, "Skip the whining and just tell us what you know."

"Okay, okay," the muskrat said hastily, having realized his mistake a moment too late, "Yeah, I saw that coyote kid." He pointed to the right. "Him and his girlfriend stopped to check out the map, and then got into a big argument with each other."

"About what?" Judy was thumping her foot.

"About why they had to come all the way here to Zootopia Central," Willie told her with an exasperated wave of his arm. 'We should of got off back at Glacier Falls station,' I heard her say, and he just lit off on her, 'One on more word out of you Mandy and I'm leaving you here on your own.'"

Nick and Judy looked at each other; Mandy...as in Amanda, Amanda Hill, the fugitive coyote's girlfriend. They were on the right track all right; Judy could feel it in her bones. But just to make certain, she asked, "this girl, Mandy, was she a red-fox vixen?"

"Yeah, that's right," the muskrat said. "Didn't look none too happy about being where she was, neither. Between you and me, I think she halfway wanted that coyote kid to ditch her."

"So they went and got on the red-line train for Glacier Falls?" Nick Wilde queried. Stupid question, but it needed to be asked, just the same.

Or...maybe it wasn't so stupid. Willie shook his head in disgust.

"Naw, that's what she said too, and it got her boyfriend mad all over again, 'No, you dumb vixen, VINE Street! Why do we want to go all the way back to Glacier Falls and then have to change trains twice?"

"And...?"Judy prompted, raising an eyebrow.

The muskrat shrugged. "And...that's it; they walked away and that was the last I saw of those two kids,"

"And you didn't even try to steer them towards one of your little games?" Nick Wilde was pushing his sunglasses up off the bridge of his muzzle with an index finger. "What the heck Willie, were you asleep at the switch or something?"

"Hey, I told you I don't do that anymore," the big rodent responded indignantly. That was good for another exchange of glances between Nick and Judy. Yeah, riiiight. Willie had probably shined on Craig because he'd figured, why waste his time on some coyote kid who looked like he didn't two nickels to rub together?

Or that was what he'd thought, and it gave Judy an idea. She put her paws on her hips yet again.

"Oh Puh-LEASE Willie, do you seriously expect me to believe you let more than $3 thousand smackers just up and walk away from you?"

"Say what?" the muskrat was staring and his whiskers were quivering like guy wires in a high wind.

Instead of answering, Judy looked at Nick, who caught the unspoken message in her eyes.

"That's right, Willie; you didn't know?" he said, "Craig Guilford had more than $3 Grand on him when he skipped out of Bunnyburrow. Trust me, I know; I saw it for myself inside the truck he was driving."

"I...don't do that...stuff...I don't work the steer any...more." The muskrat was protesting once again, only this time he seemed to be stumbling over his own tongue.

"Anyway, thanks for the information, Willie." Judy had closed her notebook and shut down her carrot pen, once again reverting to Miss Congeniality, "I'd love to stay and chat," She said, "but Nick and I have places to go, things to do, and coyotes to catch. Talk to you later, okay?"

"Yeah...o-okay," the rodent answered, dully. Now his whiskers were drooping halfway to the floor and he seemed nearly on the verge of sinking into a catatonic state.

"Later, Willie," Nick said cocking a jaunty finger, and then he and Judy turned and strolled back the way they had come, with the bunny-cop aiming an ear behind her and mentally counting down, "Four...three...two...one... annnnd..."

And from behind her she heard Willie's anguished cry of frustration, "Three THOUSAND bucks!" followed by a sharp, slapping sound as the muskrat face-pawlmed himself.

Judy turned and smiled sweet venom over a shoulder, murmuring under her breath.

"THAT'S for calling me cute!"

Beside her Nick Wilde sniggered and raised a thumb, "Good one, Carrots."

-----------------------------------------------------

A short time later, they were back across the square in Precinct One, seated at a table in the ZPD commissary lounge. Like many another of their fellow officers, Nick and Judy found it easier to think-and work-away from the noise and clutter of the office cubicles. (Besides, there were donuts and pastries in here and both of them had skipped breakfast.)

At the moment Nick was speaking with dispatch and brushing away the remnants of a blueberry croissant with his fingertips. Judy, meanwhile, was on a ZPD laptop, alternately nibbling on a carrot-cake muffin and entering text. (No mean feat: like most Department Issue, this computer was built for a much larger animal than a bunny and she had to use her paws rather than her fingers to get the job done. Fortunately, she was used to it by now.)

"So," Nick was speaking into his cell, "if they boarded a Red Line train in Zootopia Central at 17:22, they would have arrived at the Vine Street Station at approximately-y-y-y..." he consulted his notes, "17:45. We need the guys in forensics check Vine Street's security camera tapes again for,..hm, let's make it from 17:30 to 18:00 just to be..."

He paused again, this time rolling his eyes. Finally, he said, "I know they did Clawhauser, but now that we know what time and what station...just have them take another look, okay? Okay, good...thanks. What's that? Yes, I'll tell her."

He cupped a paw over the phone and looked at Judy.

"He says the T-Shirt fits perfectly and thanks again," (They had dropped it off at Dispatch on the way to talk to Willie Pond.)

"Tell him he's welcome," Judy answered without looking up from the screen. (Officer Hopps had never been one to mix business and pleasure.) Nick dutifully relayed her reply and then got back down to business himself. "One more thing; tell forensics to look especially for the girlfriend, Amanda Hill. If either one of those two is likely to get careless in front of a security camera, it's her. Craig Guilford might know a thing or two about how to dodge the law, but I'll bet she doesn't. That little vixen is in way over her head with the likes of him; I saw it for myself, up on that hillside. Right Clawhauser. Thanks again. Bye."

He rang off and looked over at Judy

"So, anything on your end, Carrots?" he asked, putting away his phone for the moment.

"Yes-s-s, I think I may have something, Nick," she said, beckoning the fox to her side of the table with a finger. "Come over her for minute?"

Sliding in beside her, he saw a map of the ZTA Subway lines displayed on the laptop screen.

"By the way, I agree with you," Judy told him, "Amanda Hill is definitely the weak link here. Okay, now there's one interesting thing about the Vine Street stop, it's the first station out of Zootopia Central that connects with a Green Line train."

"You think they switched to the Green Line, Carrots?" Nick asked her, responding to the nod that followed with a skeptical frown. "Hm, I don't know about that; remember what Amanda is supposed to have said? 'We should have gotten off at Glacier Falls Station.' There's no connection to a Green Line train from there."

It was a good argument, but not enough to dissuade his partner.

"No, Nick...there's no connection to the Green Line from ANY station on the Bunnyburrow line." She traced a path on the computer screen with her finger, "In fact the only stations where you can switch to a Green Line train are all on the Red Line...and you CAN make the change to a Red Line Train at Glacier Falls."

Nick's ears worked back and forth for a moment.

"All right," he said, still playing the Devil's Advocate, "Then why, Carrots. What the heck kind of business could a kid like Craig Guilford have in that part of the city?" (The ZTA Green Line ran almost exclusively through the Rainforest District.)

"I don't know, Nick," Judy admitted with a shrug, "it's just a feeling I have. But I'll still bet you a fiver that Craig and Amanda switched over to the Green Line at Vine Street."

Nick lifted his paws in mock surrender.

"No bet, Judy." He laughed, "I'm not sure you're right...but I'm not sure you're wrong either. In fact..."

"Dang!" the word burst out of Judy like a popping bag. "Why didn't I think of that be...? Of course!"

"Wha...? Nick had backed his chair away from Judy and was staring warily at his partner; her ears were standing up in a 'V' and her nose was twitching like e telegraph key; something had just put a bee in her hat. "Carrots what the heck are you talking about?" he asked her.

Judy typed rapidly and then stabbed a finger at the map.

"Haymarket, Nick."

His ears began to roll in confusion

"Haymarket...WHAT?" Sheesh, now which one of them was talking in riddles?"

"The Haymarket TRANSIT station Nick," Judy said, still pointing at the screen, "That one's not in the Rainforest District, it's over in the Meadowlands."

"Wha...the Meadowlands?" Nick was more confused than ever, "What's so special about...?"

And then he saw it; less than two miles away from the Haymarket Station, a pulsing red dot was glowing on the screen. Nick recognized the location immediately.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa; you're thinking that they went to Craig's Uncle's house?" He began to make short, pushing motions with his paws. "I-I-I don't think so, Carrots; remember what Mac said? If Craig Guilford is even halfway smart, he won't go anywhere near that place."

Judy had a ready answer for that one, "That's just it Nick, he ISN'T that smart, remember?"

For a moment, the fox just looked at her. And then, slowly at first, but soon much more rapidly, the skepticism drained away from his face.

"No, you're right Carrots," he told her grimly, "Craig Guilford ISN'T that smart," and then, almost to himself he added, "and I should know." He pulled out his phone and called dispatch again. Judy knew what he was up to almost at once.

"Right," she said, "you see if you can get hold of that coyote-kid's uncle while I try and figure out what time he and Amanda would have arrived at Haymarket Station-if that's where they went," she added yielding just a sliver of ground.

Nick nodded and then said to her, "If they did, we might have a chance at spotting them on the security cams. Even at rush hour, Haymarket Station's not that bus..." he halted as dispatch finally picked up, "Clawhauser, it's Nick Wilde again. No, I know they won't have anything on those tapes yet. Listen, can you look up a number for me? It's for..." he flipped rapidly through his note pad "Jake Guilford 12100 Creekside Drive, Meadowlands District, Zootopia. No I'll make the call, just give me the number...wait, hold up for a second." He nestled the phone in the crook of his shoulder, holding it in place with his chin while he reached for a pen, and flipped his notepad to a blank page. "Okay, go ahead."

(More than one of Nick Wilde's fellow officers found it strange that he preferred to use an old-fashioned notepad rather than a tablet-and the red fox always had the same answer for them: "Because this thing's batteries never go dead.")

"Okay...yeah, better have both the home and cell-phone numbers." he was saying, "right, okay, got it. Okay, one more thing: Have forensics check the security tapes for the Haymarket ZTA station from... He looked at Judy, who mouthed the numbers '6' and '40' "6:30 and 7 PM. Got that? Okay, Thanks Clawhauser." He disconnected and scratched at an ear with his leg for a second. "Hmmm, let's try the home phone first," he said.

"You know Nick, it wouldn't hurt to call him 'Benjamin' once in a while," Judy Hopps noted from her seat behind the laptop.

"After hours maybe, but not while I'm working," the red fox countered. He was just about to enter the last digit of Jake Guilford's phone number when Judy's laptop pinged. She squinted at the screen with her nose twitching, and then moved the cursor and clicked 'enter', at the same time slipping a headset over her ears and mouthing another word for Nick Wilde's benefit, "Bogo."

The confirmation arrived less than half a second later.

"This is Chief Bogo," came the familiar basso-profundo. "Are you there Hopps...Wilde?"

"We're here, Chief," Judy answered, glancing at Nick, who had temporarily shelved his phone-call.

"Anything to report on that Guilford boy?" the Cape buffalo asked them, "I've just had a call from the Burrow County Sheriff's Office, asking for a progress report."

Judy looked at her partner again and saw the slight, almost imperceptible nod. She immediately nodded back, the fox was almost certainly right. The phone-call Bogo had just now taken couldn't possibly have come from Mac Cannon, not this soon; it must have originated somewhere further up the chain of command. And now Nick sat back and rolled his paw in another familiar gesture, 'he's all yours.' (They had long since agreed that when it came to dealing with Chief Bogo, it was best to let her do the talking-in theory if not always in practice.)

"We think he switched to the Green Line train at the Vine Street station Chief; may have gotten off again at Haymarket," Judy told the Chief, " Forensics is reviewing the tapes from both stations right now." She went on to recap the conversation with Willie Pond, and then said. "It's just possible Craig Guilford may have tried to get to his Uncle's place."

Bogo's snort of disbelief came over the laptop speakers as a blast of white noise.

"Hold on, the one who despises his father so much? I know you told me earlier that our young Mr. Guilford isn't all that bright, but could he really be that stupid?"

"Don't know Chief," Nick Wilde answered, unable to keep out of it any longer, "But given what we've learned so far, it's a possibility we can't ignore."

"Quite right," Bogo conceded; he had been around the block enough times himself to know that the lead you write off as not worth following may be the one that comes back later to bite you in the tail. "Have you tried contacting the Uncle then?" he asked,

"Nick was just about to do that when you called." Judy answered, taking over again, "and if you still have the Burrow County Sheriff on the line, could you ask them if they know whether or not Craig Guilford was there when his Dad and his Uncle had that fight two years ago. Maybe the boy doesn't know that they don't get along. Jerry Guilford wouldn't be the first dad to hide things like that from his kids."

"Hold on, I'll ask." Bogo said and then his voice disappeared as he switched lines. After only a few short seconds, he came back again. "Yes, Craig was not only there, he even tried to jump in and give his father some help. "

"Darn!" Judy groaned, wincing. There went that theory out the window.

"Okay, then try to get us some background on Jake Guilford," Nick Wilde interjected. "We still can't ignore him, and it might be important."

"I'll...see what I can do," Bogo answered him in a voice sheathed in hoarfrost, while Judy favored her partner with a pained look. This was why Nick was supposed to let her be in charge whenever they talked to the Chief; speaking to HIM in such a peremptory fashion was borderline insubordination. The fox seemed to realize it himself after a second, and quickly resumed his dialing as soon as Bogo was gone.

"Put it on speakerphone," Judy suggested, and a 'burring' sound quickly filled the space around their table. After four rings, no one had picked up and Nick Wilde growled, "Aw nuts, you watch Carrots, we're going to get his voice mail."

On the very next ring the red-fox's prediction came true; there was a click, a long pause, and then a canned voice came on the line.

"Hello, this is Jake Guilford, sorry, I'm out of town right now; if you want to get hold of me, try calling me on my cell-phone..."

Nick shook his head and looked at Judy, who responded with an expression of morbid pity. He waited until the beep and then said, "Mr. Guilford, this is Officer Nick Wilde of the Zootopia Police Department. I'll try your cell-phone in a minute but..." He went on to offer a brief summary of the events in Bunnyburrow over the weekend, following up with a quick explanation of the reason for his call. "I know this is probably not necessary, but if you hear anything from your nephew Craig, call us back at this number right away."

He disconnected and raised a sardonic eyebrow.

"Does stupidity RUN in that family, you think?"

"Now, now; be nice." Judy said, but her feelings were much the same as the fox's; admitting on your voice-mail message that your home is going to be empty for an extended period of time is like putting up a neon sign on the roof; 'Nobody Home! All Thieves, Come On In!'

But then all at once, Judy realized something else, "Sweet cheez N' crackers, Nick!" Her ears shot up in a 'V" again, only this time they were quivering.

"Wha-What, Carrots?" He had nearly dropped his phone in the midst of dialing the second number.

Judy reached out and grabbed his elbow

"Nick, if Craig Guilford tried to call that number, HE would have gotten that same message we just heard...and he's not exactly a ranger-scout when it comes to staying out of other mammals' property."

That sent the fox's ears shooting skywards as well. "Whoa-HO! I hadn't thought of that, clever bunny; you are soooo right. The coyote kid I saw up on that hill the other night would have made a beeline for his uncle's house as soon as he heard that message." But then a sudden frown crossed his features, "Even if he did, though...it might not have done him any good-and maybe his uncle knew that it wouldn't. That's why when he recorded that phone-message..." He trailed off into a pensive, brooding silence.

Now Judy was the one staring in confusion.

"Wha-What do you mean, Nick?"

He sat back in his chair, tapping the side of his muzzle with a finger, and then began to dial again. "One of the first things I learned back when I was working the streets is that pilots are lousy marks, especially airline pilots. Those guys don't miss a lot of details, Carrots, they can't; they work in a job where a whole bunch of lives depend on it."

"Okay, so...?" Judy prompted, not sure if she liked where he was going with this..

"Soooo," the red fox told her, pressing the 'dial' button, "I'll bet you five bucks that Jake Guilford has his house wired up five sides from Sunday with a state-of-the-art security system: THAT'S why he thought he could afford to...aw nuts, voice-mail again. Hello, Mr. Guilford? This is Officer Nick Wilde..." He went through the same recitation as before and rang off with a frustrated look on his face.

"Dangit, if we could just get a hold of him, we could clear up so many things. Uh, what are you doing, Carrots?" She was back on the laptop again.

"Calling up Goggle Earth, Nick," she said, keeping her eyes glued to the screen. "Maybe there's another way to find out if Jake Guilford has an alarm system installed in his house."

Nick tilted his head to one side, "Enlighten me, O sage bunny." This time, he was curious rather than dubious.

"Well," she said, still scrolling, "As you know, a lot of animals who install alarm systems in their houses like to advertise that fact...make sure any would-be burglars know about it before they try to break in; that way, they won't try it. And if Jake Guilford is as detail-oriented as you think he is....Okay, here we are."

Nick craned his neck over her shoulder at the image on the screen.

It showed a white-painted, split level, ranch house, with a big, rambling porch and yard full of rose-bushes...and also a number of blue-and-white signs, posted at irregular intervals. They were too far away for either one of them to make out the writing, but in a familiar shape nonetheless, exactly like the badges she and Nick were wearing. Dangit, it looked like he was right-but she needed to make sure anyway. She put her thumb and forefinger against the screen and spread them outward to zoom in on one of the signs. At once, the shield adjacent to the driveway became perfectly legible-and Judy Hopps groaned inwardly.

"Protected by Mink's Home Security,' Dang, Dang, Da....hold it, hold it, hollllld it."

"Holy Bunnyhopper....he's there, Nick!"

The fox's ears shot up like antennae again and pointed at one another

"Huh? Carrots, are you serious?"

It was a silly question and both of them knew it; Judy was staring at the computer screen with the intensity of a searchlight and tightly gripping the edge of the tabletop, limbs rigid and shaking; it looked almost as if she was attempting to stop the table from sliding forward and crushing her against the wall. In short, she had never looked more serious in her life.

She reached for the laptop again.

"There Nick," she said, panning the image to the right. "See that building, over there on the left, the one right behind the house?"

Still nonplused, the fox leaned dutifully forward. Just past the driveway, behind the main house, was a squat structure with a curving roof. "What's that, a barn?" he asked.

"Nope that's a hangar, see the windsock on top?" Judy thumped her foot excitedly, "And I've seen something like this before Nick; watch."

She typed briskly for a moment, and the image shifted sideways, A few more keystrokes and a ZNN news item appeared beside the picture. The headline read, 'The Guilford Family, Who Are They?' Beneath it was an image Nick recognized immediately from the BCSD file photographs he'd seen, the coyote family's compound, surrounded by Sheriff's vehicles and cordoned off with crime-scene tape. As he watched, the picture detached itself from the news article and expanded to fill the space beside the Goggle-Earth picture of Jake Guilford's house.

Using her fingers again, Judy zoomed in on the second image until both pictures were the same size. Then she sat back and pointed at the screen.

"There Nick, do you see it?" she asked.

He studied the laptop screen for second, and spotted it almost at once. .

"That hangar behind Jerry Guilford's house, it's..."

"...almost an exact copy of the one behind his brother's house," Judy finished for him. "He's there, Nick," she pointed at the screen again. "Craig and his girlfriend are at his uncle's place."

"All right," the red fox answered, lifting an ear and an eyebrow, "What makes you think so, Carrots?" He sat back with his arms folded, awaiting her answer. Judy couldn't tell if he was serious or only humoring her, but she forged ahead anyway.

"Nick, remember what else Mac told us? Craig Guilford is a country mammal." She looked away, for a second, oddly embarrassed, "like me; I grew up in Bunnyburrow too. I know how strange it feels, finding yourself transplanted to the big city when you've lived in the sticks all your life."

"All right," Nick said, and Judy decided he wasn't patronizing her after all. Even so, he was going to need a lot of convincing.

She went on.

"When I first started to get homesick after moving here, I found that the thing I missed most, wasn't my friends or even my family, it was just-how shall I put this? It was just being in a place I knew." She pointed at the screen again, "That's why I think Craig Guilford is at his uncle's house. It's going to feel like a little slice of home for him."

Nick also looked at the screen for a second, and then began to chew his lip

"Carrots, I hear what you're saying but..."

Judy hurriedly cut in again. "I know what I'm talking about Nick; remember that time when I came back to Zootopia and caught up with you under that bridge in the Meadowlands? I never told you this before, but that place felt a little bit to me like being back in the Burrow-and I WANTED to come to Zootopia." She shook her head, "but Craig Guilford didn't; he and his girlfriend only ended up here after getting on the wrong train, remember? Mac Cannon knew it too, 'Being in the city is going to feel like being on another planet for that kid,' he said, and he was absolutely right."

She pointed at image on the laptop screen a third time. "But THAT place won't feel weird to Craig Guilford; I'm telling you, he's there Nick." Without waiting for reaction, she closed the laptop and snatched it off the table with both paws. "C'mon fox, let's take a ride."

"Carrots..." he started to say, but she was already getting down from her chair. The laptop looked as big and heavy as a mammalhole cover in her paws, but she handled it with the ease of an empty pizza-box

Nick stifled a grimace; he knew what that meant. Judy had made her decision and that was that. You might as well try derailing a freight train with a pawpsicle-stick as get her to change course when she was in this state of mind.

"Ahhh, what's the use?" the fox sighed inwardly and got up to follow her out the door.