Zootopia: ZPD Mysteries - Case #1: The Blackout at Steel Mountain Manor

Chapter 4: The Bracelets of Truth

As soon as Chief Bogo made his announcement, the raised voices of fear in the crowd grew steadily louder.

"What do you mean, 'crime scene?'" Dr. Killdeer shouted from across the room. "Why is no one to leave?"

From where he stood on the stage, Chief Bogo glared at the unusually loud doctor.

"Because, good doctor," he explained with a firm voice, "we have good reason to believe that our own Felicity Pryde may have been kidnapped."

At that, the whole crowd became even more animated. Several animals gasped and were near panic.

Sensing the ripples of fear, Dr. Killdeer then grabbed up the microphone and made his own announcement through the sound system; brief and to the point: "No one panic. Just let the police do their work, and remain calm."

"Until we can conclusively prove that there has not been a kidnapping," Chief Bogo went on, "we cannot allow anyone to leave the premises, to ensure the kidnapper does not escape."

Nick and Judy both stood next to Chief Bogo, and their own hearts began to race with excitement.

"ZPD Officers," Bogo announced again, "consider your party time over. You're officially on duty as of right now."

Five minutes later, yellow police tape crossed every entrance and exit from the mansion in a veritable yellow spider's web with black text proclaiming "POLICE LINE! DO NOT CROSS!" (Chief Bogo had to yell at Clawhauser to stop fooling around with the police tape and focus on the case at hand.)

Judy and Nick stood off to one side of the stage, talking quietly with Chief Bogo. This was the first major case in Zootopia since the Bellwether Conspiracy, and the three animals knew it. Fourteen months of a steady diet of parking meter violation, vandalism, and the occasional bootlegging case was certainly enough to whet their appetite for something a bit bigger.

"You really think that Officer Pryde was kidnapped?" Nick asked, his green eyes shimmering with excitement.

"It's within the realm of possibility," Chief Bogo admitted. "Kidnapping a police officer would yield a lot of money if they were held for ransom. It's definitely worth all this trouble to see if Officer Pryde has met that fate."

He then turned to face the two of them.

"Lieutenant Hopps, Officer Wilde," he announced, "I am entrusting you with investigating the crime scene."

Judy blinked.

"Lieu—Lieutenant Hopps?" she asked, pointing to herself.

Chief Bogo nodded, accompanying it with a small, fatherly smile; a rare thing to see, indeed, from the gruff Cape buffalo.

"You are the second-highest-ranking officer on the force in this building," he smiled, "so I expect you to prove a good leader of the investigation."

Judy nodded, letting that sink in.

"All right," she said. "Nick and I will check out the crime scene upstairs in just a couple minutes."

Chief Bogo smiled once more, and headed off to speak with several of his other officers who were beginning to interrogate some of the guests.

Nick seemed a tad concerned.

"So, Carrots, how do you want to go about doing this?" Nick asked. "You're the boss, after all."