to attend to other matters, a voice came from across the lobby.

"Chief Bogo," said Officer McHorn. "Should we bag this as evidence?"

Judy and Nick looked and saw a baby chick plush toy sitting atop one of the coffee tables.

"Nick, look!" said Judy.

Then suddenly, the baby chick began chirping.

"Bag that thing and make it stop that annoying chirping, McHorn!" said Bogo.

"Yes, sir!"

Judy turned to Nick to say something, but…

"Nick?!"

She saw him on the floor, on his knees, holding his ears with his paws, his face contorted seemingly with pain.

"ARRRH!"

"Nick, are you alright?" gasped Judy.

"AARRGG…MY EARS!"

As McHorn bagged the plush toy and walked out of the room, Nick suddenly stopped writhing. Judy helped him up and saw that he had a dazed expression on his face.

"Nick, are you alright, sweetheart?"

"I…I don't know," said Nick, seemingly confused. "Suddenly, my ears were ringing and…I heard someone…talking…"

"Hopps! Wilde!" called Bogo.

"Chief Bogo," said Judy, turning to him. "I think I should get Nick back home. Like…now."

"Home? But you two…"

"…might have had a few more drinks than we intended," said Judy, hoping she sounded convincing.

Bogo opened his mouth to speak, but no words came out. He just sighed and nodded.

"Alright. Go home and get some sleep, you two," said Bogo. "Report on my desk, Monday morning."

As Mr Manchas drove Judy and Nick home, they sat in the limo, holding paws and talking about the earlier events.

"Remember at the fair? You said your ears were ringing when you were close to Madame Mystique's tent."

"Yes, but she was nowhere near tonight," said Nick. "At least, we didn't see her anywhere."

"No," said Judy. "But I'm pretty sure she or whoever the hypnotist is was behind this. Did you notice how all three perps were out cold?"

"Yes," said Nick.

"Yet only two of them were knocked out," said Judy. "That coyote girl, I tied her up but she was awake when I did so. And shortly after Bogo and the rest arrive, she was sleeping like she'd been knocked out."

"Weird," said Nick. "Like someone put her in trance from afar…"

"I'll bet you anything that the perpetrators will remember nothing when brought in for questioning," said Judy. "It's just like the Bunny Burrow bank robbery, and I think at this point it's safe to say our prime suspects are Madame Mystique and Old Todd. The ringing in your ears, the baby chick plush toy…there's a connection there, I just know it."

They paused for a moment, thinking about it.

"Now, how are we gonna convince Bogo to look into those two?" said Nick.

"We'll cross that bridge when we get to it," said Judy.

Mr Manchas stopped the limousine in front of Grand Pangolin Arms.

Judy and Nick walked down the hallway and stopped in front of her apartment. A welcoming mat with carrot motifs greeted them as they stood there in front of the door.

"Well, this was certainly a night long to be remembered," said Judy brightly.

She noticed Nick didn't have his usual expression. He looked somewhat glum.

"Nick?" said Judy. "Sweetheart, what's the matter?"

"Oh, nothing. It's just…well, I'm sorry our date was disrupted," said Nick.

"Are you kidding? It was great!" said Judy. "Heehee, any date in which we get to kick some tail and arrest some baddies is beyond awesome. We're unstoppable, you and I."

He smiled slightly, though he still felt it could have gone better.

"Hey," said Judy comfortingly, looking up into his eyes. "It was you and me. Together. There is no better way to be."

She placed both her warm paws on his chest.

"I had a wonderful time, Nick, and it was the most magical night I've ever had. And I would do it all over again, every bit of it, sweetheart, knowing that you would be there for me."

Nick felt cheered up by her kind words. He smiled and gazed into her lovely eyes.

"Remember what I told you the other day?" said Judy, her eyes gazing into his, her paws sliding up to his shoulders.

"Aha," said Nick.

"Well, your fuzzy little butt will be safe with me, honey bun," said Judy. "It was a wonderful night and everything was beautiful. So…here's a little something to make the night just perfect."

Without warning, Judy hugged Nick around the neck and stood on tiptoe, pulling him close to her. Then, closing her eyes, she pressed her lips to his, and kissed him passionately.

Nick was surprised, but only for a second. He enveloped his beloved bunny warmly in his arms and wrapped his fluffy tail around her, lifting her off her feet. Their lips entwined and danced to the symphony of their hearts' love. Their paws caressed each other as they kissed, enjoying every sensation to its fullest, wishing time could stop at that moment.

After a long while, they pulled back from their kiss, their eyes opened and their gazes fixed upon each other. They both had tears of joy in their eyes, their hearts fluttered, they felt warm and happy.

"Well, mister," said Judy. "I think we should call it a night."

"Yes," said Nick, placing her gently back on her feet. "Tomorrow is another day."

"I'm looking forward to our next date," cooed Judy, playing with his bowtie.

"Next Saturday, then?" said Nick on the spot.

"That's a D and an E and an 'efinitely," said Judy musically.

Nick opened the door for her. Judy stood in the doorway for a moment, admiring her handsome fox.

"I'll see you in my dreams, carrot muffin," said Judy sweetly.

"That you shall, my fair lady," said Nick with a warm smile.

One last playful kiss, and Nick turned and walked down the hallway, feeling like singing out loud and skipping all the way.

Judy giggled as Nick disappeared around the corner, and closed her door.

Chief Bogo stood with his arms crossed outside of the interrogation room window. Judy and Nick stood beside him, listening to the police counsellor, a bat lady named Opal, speaking to the coyote girl who had been at the Maison du Bison attempted robbery.

"But I'm telling you, I've never been to the upper-class district in my life," said the coyote girl. "I don't know how I got there. Suddenly I was in a squad car and cops were all around."

"But surely you remember something, dear," said the counsellor. "What is the last thing you remember?"

"I brushed my teeth and went to bed," said the coyote girl with tears streaming down her cheeks. "And that's the last thing I did before I was brought here."

As the coyote girl was escorted out of the room, Bogo and the counsellor spoke.

"Same circumstances," said the counsellor, perching herself on Bogo's ample shoulder. "This makes no sense, Chief. All three of them swear up and down they never left their bed. They're all telling the truth, their heart-rate did not skip a beat during the questioning, no hesitation, no sweating or trembling paws. None of them can remember anything."

Bogo let out a long sigh, which was usually a sign that he was annoyed or stumped by something.

"Alright," said Bogo. "Thank you, Counsellor. Hopps, Wilde, in my office."

Judy and Nick sat down side-by-side on the same chair as Bogo placed three files on his desk in front of them. On the files were the pictures of the three canines who had attempted the robbery at the Maison du Bison.

"Accountant," said Bogo, pointing his hoof at the poodle. "College student," he pointed at the coyote. "Professional surfer," he finished with the dingo.

Another long sigh of annoyance and the chief continued.

"No previous records, blood tests clean as a whistle, upstanding citizens with no motive whatsoever," said Bogo. "And none of them can remember anything about Saturday night!"

"What about the weapons?" asked Nick.

"No record. They were never on the market…parts don't match with manufacturer…my guess is parts were acquired from different sources and assembled by the mastermind."

They sat in silence for a minute or so, processing the new facts.

"It's exactly like the bank robbery in Bunny Burrow," said Judy.

"I was getting there," said Bogo. "I took the liberty of telephoning the sheriff over at Bunny Burrow. He has agreed to send me copies of the surveillance tapes and case files for investigation. Whatever wild scheme was attempted successfully in Bunny Burrow is spreading to Zootopia now, and beyond if we don't pull the plug on it."

Judy and Nick remembered the surveillance tape from the bank. Judy suddenly thought of something.

"Chief, what about the plush doll?"

"Had it examined this morning. Nothing," said Bogo. "It's just an ordinary everyday carnival prize."

"A carnival prize that was given away by Old Todd at the dart booth," said Judy.

"And not just to anyone," said Nick. "He chose who won and who lost."

"I'm not following, Wilde," said Bogo.

Judy and Nick told Bogo everything they had gathered so far. About the magnet in Old Todd's

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