Zootopia: Undercover Pursuit

Chapter 37: Suspect

As Nick made his way to the locker room to change into his rented suit he thought of nothing but making this day end as quickly as possible. He immediately saw the look in Caroline's eyes that said too much for him, he expected the girl to try to make the most of this meeting as much as she could. He didn't want to talk too much with the girl, but he had no other choice - he stuck to his plan the whole time, not to be fooled for Caroline. Not having Judy beside him caused him a kind of discomfort that he hadn't experienced before. He had never worked alone before, or with anyone other than Judy, so the feeling of awkwardness was quite a bit greater than he had anticipated. Plus the fact that he would be working with his ex didn't help, it was news that was killing him.

As he put on his white deliakte shirt and navy blue waistcoat he looked at himself in the mirror and at the time even smiled a little seeing his neat figure in the elegant, velvet, dark navy blue outfit. The sleek, dark clothing accentuated his orange and white fur, which in this case contrasted the colours giving them a more vibrant feel. He didn't hide from himself that he liked himself. He turned his shoulders a few times to be able to look at himself from different angles, the stares were interrupted by a rapid call.
"Do you like it?" A female voice sounded from behind Nick's back. Fox turned immediately behind him, he expected to meet Caroline behind him, who must have walked quietly inside the locker room. Nick was a little embarrassed, he didn't know if she saw him changing or just standing dressed by the mirror, but he tried not to show it.
"This is the men's locker room. For women it's on the other side of the corridor," burbled Nick indifferently turning to face the mirror again. He adjusted his navy blue and red tie and waistcoat collar.
"You wore a similar suit when we first met at the party, remember ?" Caroline asked. Nick looked at his reflection in the mirror. He remembered when he had just met Caroline, the vixen he had fallen in love with, at a friend's party a few years ago. He remembered, he was actually dressed in a similar suit to the one he was standing in front of the mirror now. At the time, he could not have predicted how his acquaintance with the seemingly nice vixen would turn out. meanwhile, he glanced at Caroline, who was standing behind him and watching him giving him approval with her mere glance, which distracted him.
"Those were the old days. I don't think they're worth revisiting," chuckled Nick dryly.
"Sure..." Replied Caroline quietly. She looked as if she didn't want to press further on Nick, who wasn't planning on letting go of his attention to her game. He moved away from the mirror and opened the door leading to the corridor avoiding her ponderous gaze.
"I think we're ready and able to move, don't you?" Nick communicated.
"I'm just going to go to the Commandant for a moment to get the papers and we can go" replied Caroline. Together they left the changing room parting in opposite directions.

As Caroline went to the commandant, Nick at the time was waiting for her in the car. He didn't want to wait for her alone in the corridor, Judy's lack of presence made him feel less confident and the morning's taunts towards him made him feel jumpy, he didn't want to engage in conversations that wouldn't be necessary or would make him even more jumpy. He had heard rumours a few times that his relationship with Judy was suspiciously strong, but he didn't worry too much about it, there was plenty of gossip at the police station, most of which he didn't react to. It was enough for him that he got to spend the whole day with his ex-girlfriend, whom he officially didn't like very much after the breakup.

Soon Caroline appeared and in her hands she brought a catalogue with data that would help them in their mission.
"As far as we know, the suspect comes in either during the hours the premises are open or closed. He has never been seen during the hours when there are the most people."
"It seems he doesn't want too many witnesses when he's talking to potential victims."
"Do you think that has something to do with it?"
"Probably. I get the impression he makes appointments beforehand with guests he then talks to" replied Nick.
"Any way you look at it, it's kind of weird...a guy would make an appointment with others over the phone to then talk in person?"
"We don't know what's going on here. We need to focus and make sure we don't miss anything. We don't know if there will be another chance to find him. Now let's go, let's not waste time," Nick replied. Caroline agreed.