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

Chapter 6: A Shout in the Dark

"Lieutenant Hopps," Chief Bogo asked in his deep, booming voice, "what have you found thus far in your investigation?"

Judy stood up from where she had been kneeling to investigate the lens cap and explained everything that had transpired so far.

"Well, as you know," she began, "Officer Pryde disappeared in the vicinity of the ladies' room upstairs. We investigated upstairs and found a pair of her bracelets lying on the floor just outside of the restroom, one of which had a partial hoofprint covered in sheetrock dust. Immediately after we discovered this, the power went off again. Once it was restored, we were informed that another kidnapping had occurred—that of Officer Benjamin Clawhauser."

At hearing of the kidnapping of another officer of the ZPD, several guests murmured. A couple gasped. Chief Bogo's eyes widened with worry.

"Ms. Goldie Gnu was the one who informed us of his disappearance," Judy went on, "and we headed to the library where she had been questioning Officer Clawhauser. We found..."

She was about to tell the group at large about the tunnel system, but Nick shot her a 'don't-do-it' look that caused her to reconsider.

"...we found no traces of Officer Clawhauser in the library apart from a few of his uniform buttons. Hoping for more answers, we took a few minutes to consider the evidence in the old conservatory. That was when the power went off again and Dr. Killdeer found us."

She then looked to Chief Bogo with a smile.

"You've been caught up adequately now, Chief," she concluded.

Chief Bogo nodded his approval.

"Very good, Hopps," he said with an almost fatherly tone, "carry on your duties."

He then turned to the crowd at large, who looked for the most part like they wanted to leave.

"No one is dismissed," he announced. "Officer Hopps may have a few questions for some of you."

With that, Judy turned her attention back to the broken lens cap on the floor. Nick, kneeling down next to her, also focused his attention on the small object on the floor.

Judy, who had been wearing her latex gloves in order to protect any evidence, had kept them on her paws this whole time, and gingerly began to examine the cap.

The lens cap had clearly gone through some sort of blunt force trauma to be broken in three pieces like it was. Shards of broken glass from the actual camera lens glittered on the floor like tiny, messed-up-looking diamonds. It was obvious that whatever had happened, Goldie had been kidnapped very suddenly and with much force.

"Did anyone see anything?" Nick asked the crowd at large, although he felt really stupid for asking something that he knew would be contradicted.

"I was just standing here when Goldie was kidnapped," a female leopard in the crowd called out, "and although I didn't see who kidnapped her, I did see him drag her away as he pushed past me. It all happened so fast, though, I didn't see where he went. Oh, and I heard the kidnapper grunt as he stepped past."

Judy nodded.

"Thank you, ma'am," she said over her shoulder as she leaned a little bit closer towards the broken lens cap. Immediately, she became aware of something interesting: a thin layer of whitish powder was just dusting the pieces on the floor like the sugar on a frosted donut (something Clawhauser would know personally.)