Chapter One

Nick was unsure how to handle his new assignment. He had just recently joined the ranks of ZPD and was itching to fit in. Being the only fox on the force is not easy. So when chief Bogo asked for a volunteer for a special assignment Nick jumped at the chance. Little did he know that less than 48 hours later he would find himself driving to a rural nowhere town to assist the local police department in solving a case.

Nick lowered his shades as he followed the signs to the quaint town of BunnyBorrow. As he drove in he noticed fruit and vegetable stands littered across the road.

Carrots. Typical, this place is predominately bunnies. Nick snorted to himself.

Strawberries.

Lettuce.

Grapes.

Cucumber.

Blueberries.

Blueberries Nick thought with excitement, his mouth began salivating at the thought. He made sure to add the stand to his list of places to visit. But he had to get to the department, Chief wanted him briefed and a summary emailed within the next 8 hours.

After getting directions from a rather confusing looking middle aged bunny who ushered her children behind her, Nick finally found the department. It was located in a discreet building.

Upon walking inside he was surrounded by sheep, as well as more bunnies.

I large sheep in uniform approached him.

"Wilde?" he asked in a deep bass.

"Yes Officer?-"

"Woole, Officer David Woole," David took Nicks hand in a firm grasp and gave a solid handshake, offering a tentative smile, "Bogo told me you would be coming to assist on this case. I'm really glad you're here. The mystery has all my best officers stumped, leads have stopped coming in, and we just need help. Thank you again for coming."

Don't praise me yet, Nick thought to himself, I haven't even been able to help you.

Officer Woole handed Nick a sparse folder containing all that they had on the case. The first three pages were filed with the case information. In the last three months nine young bunnies had gone missing, four young ladies and five young men. The profile on each bunny was vastly different and no connections were found with the local forces. This is why Nick had been called in. Six of the pages in the file were the interviews the police had found worthwhile. The last page of the file was a list of people closely connected to the missing bunnies or witnesses. The names popped out to Nick one at a time. Baylee Hoppkins, her brother was the first bun to go missing. Thomas Foo, he was acquainted with one of the missing. Judy Hopps, she also was acquainted with one of the missing. The top three names were the interviews Nick knew he could finish today, so he got started.

After notifying Officer Woole of his plans for the rest of the day Nick typed the first address of the day into his GPS.

Baylee was a large brown bunny, almost as tall as Nick. She opened the door wearing denim shorts and a floral print blouse. The sight of Nick seemed alarm her until he introduced himself.

"Hello Baylee, I'm Nicholas Wilde, an officer from Zootopia police department. I've been sent in to assist with the missing bunny case. Can I ask you some questions about your brother's disappearance?"

After taking a moment to compose herself Baylee answered in a falsetto.

"I'm sorry, yes. Come right in."

Baylee's house was busy. Knicknacks, dollies, and pictures were covering almost every inch of space. Pictures of Baylee and another young bunny were hung in the living room, Nick looked at them while Baylee nervously stood to his side.

"Your brother-"

"Brentin…"

"Yes, Brentin. He went missing three weeks ago, correct?"

"Tomorrow makes four weeks since Brentin has gone missing."

"Can you tell me more about his disappearance?"

"It just seemed like a normal day officer. He left in the morning and didn't have anything to say about work when he came home. We ate dinner, carrot spaghetti with garlic bread, and he decided to go on a walk. He left at 7:30, I remember because Zootopias Next Top Predator was about to come on."

"He didn't come back from his walk then?"

"No. I noticed he hadn't come back around when I went to bed around 10 that night."

"Can you tell me more about Brentin?"

"What can I say?" Her eyes began to water. "Brentin is a normal bun, he had a few close friends, minded his own business. I can't think of anyone who would want to hurt or take him."

"And you haven't been able to think of anybody who would have taken him? No connections with the other missing?"

"No Officer Wilde, I fall asleep every night wondering. Trying to think of anything that might connect him. Or fit the pieces together for me."

"I don't want to bother you too much longer Baylee." Nick had started thinking about his other interviews for the day. "Would it be okay if I return another time and ask you some more questions then?"

"You're off no bother Officer. But yes. You can come back whenever you want. I'll show you out."

"Thank you for your time Baylee." Nick said as he exited her house. "I will do my best to bring your brother back home."

Baylee offered up a sincere smile, and a thank you as she quietly closed the door behind Nick.

With a sigh Nick walked back to his cruiser, he wasn't sure why, but he was feeling tense about this case already.