out after hours of scouring, so after a brief lunch break at a nearby diner, they moved on to Jessie's apartment on the next floor. This time, opening the door met them with a scene of veritable chaos.

"How could someone be so messy with so little stuff?" Judy wondered aloud. Looking through the photos of the place had done little to prepare her for its disastrous state, which looked like a whole family of tornadoes might have come there to die. It was a one-room apartment like Judy's, with few items fit to call 'belongings'; a doorless closet with maybe three shirts hung up and a mess of other clothes on the floor, a ratty-looking TV, and a haphazard shelf of videos and DVDs – with most of the items in question actually stacked in odd places around the apartment. A sheetless bed sported a couple of blankets, and the pillow was over by the DVD shelf, evidently having been used as a weapon against the alarm clock. Yet for the overall lack of actual possessions, the place was all but bursting with a hoard of empty takeout containers, cans, newspapers, and magazines. Posters of female mammals her mother would have screamed at hung so haphazardly on the walls that they must have been sloppy on purpose. To top it off, the room reeked of liniment and one or two odors Judy didn't recognize – which, she suspected, just went to show that ignorance really was bliss.

Nick walked in like he owned the place. Glancing over his shoulder at Judy, he remarked, "You can wait outside if you want." Evidently he had sensed her unease.

She frowned, not sure if Nick was making the offer to spare her the ordeal or to annoy her like he had at Mystic Springs. Part of her was tempted to accept; she was pretty sure all of her hundred-plus brothers wouldn't have made this much of a mess if they had a whole month. For that matter, while the posters weren't quite as bad as what she'd seen on her first case, some of them were pretty raunchy. On the other paw, she figured she'd have to get used to dumps like this if she was going to make a career out of investigating criminals. "Can't do it," she replied, covering her discomfort with a glib smirk she'd learned from Nick. "Technically, you're not a cop. I can't leave you unsupervised – Junior Detective."

"Ha, ha, and also ha," Nick retorted sarcastically, and he began sifting through the junk on the floor.

"What are you looking for?" asked Judy, hoping she could help. She had a few ideas; mail and receipts would be key in this case, since they might yield clues as to places where the conspirators had held meetings or bought equipment and supplies. The sheep had been difficult when it came to information (and their lawyers had been even more so), but from what the ZPD had gathered, Jessie had done much of the running and fetching. That said, Nick had one thing she lacked: a paws-on knowledge of the criminal mind. A single hint from him would probably be worth at least a chapter of the reading she had done at the academy.

The fox shrugged. "Mail, receipts, junk like that. Anything to tell us his favorite hangouts or shopping places."

Judy rolled her eyes heavenward with a beleaguered sigh. Then again, maybe not.

Looking around, her gaze fell on a small container like a laboratory vial or beaker, but made of metal. Curious, she picked it up and unscrewed the cap.

"Eeee-ugh!" With a disgusted cry, she threw it across the room. A green, foul-smelling liquid flew out of the beaker, scattering along its course. Judy started gagging, fighting with all her might to keep from throwing up.

"Carrots, what the- gack!" Nick got a whiff of the stuff too and instantly looked ill. Holding his nose with one paw, he wrapped the other around Judy, who seemed to have gone dizzy from the stink. He half-walked half-dragged her to the door, shutting it behind them with a loud 'bang.'

Free of the repulsive odor, the bunny started to recover. "Oh, what was that?! One of Doug's experiments? It smelled like essence of skunk!"

Nick coughed a little. "Trust me, Carrots, skunk spray is worse... a little. I think you found some Wheatgrass Whiskey."

"Some what?" Judy had never heard of the stuff.

"Booze," Nick replied. "It's the alcoholic answer to Limburger; worst-smelling stuff on the market, and it tastes even lousier than that."

She made a face. "You've tried it before?"

He answered reluctantly. "Once... in high school. Someone bet me fifty dollars I couldn't hold it in my mouth for ten seconds."

"And you went through with it?"

"Let's just say I'm the only guy I know who's ever spent fifty bucks all on mouthwash in one go – and my girlfriend still dumped me when she got a whiff of my breath the next day."

Judy winced, then thought of something. She opened her mouth to speak...

"And no questions about my love life, please."

She frowned. "I was going to say that if we ever went to schools to do those 'don't do drugs' talks, you should tell that story."

He sighed. "You are hopeless," he muttered.

The bunny cop rose to her feet, rubbing her nose as if to clear away the last vestiges of the smell. "The landlord is already ticked that he can't rent out the apartment until our investigation is closed. He's going to have a fit over that mess."

This was met with a shrug from the fox. "Well, at least we've got a clue."

"We do?"

"Yep. Very few mammals – even prey – have a taste for that stuff, so not many places sell it. That means if we check out those places, we might find a lead to our ram."

Judy thought about that. "Got anything more helpful?"

The smirk she got in reply said it all. "Do I have an address?" asked Nick, holding up a matchbook. "Yes; yes I do."

Judy regarded the matchbook. "Cloven Hoof Bar," she read off the front. "Yeah, one of the main watering holes for sheep and goats. We checked it out; Bogo's got our IT guys watching the traffic cams around it for any sign of the sheep we want. Nothing so far, and we don't have enough evidence to get a warrant."

Nick laughed. "Ah, my dear, naïve little bunny," he chided. "Who said anything about a warrant?"

She grinned. "Let me guess. You have a friend who can get in unnoticed?"

"I know everyone," Nick replied glibly. Then, more thoughtfully, he added, "But I can think of one guy in particular who- oh." He pulled out his phone as it buzzed in his pocket. "Well, speaking of friends, I have to be somewhere. I'll catch you tomorrow." He flashed her a 'peace' sign.

"Wait, what?" Judy protested. "You can't just leave me hanging like this!" She darted to block his exit. "What's so important?"

He grinned, feeling more than a little satisfied that he had gotten the upper paw after their back-and-forths in the previous eighteen hours or so. "Oh, trust me; you'd approve if you knew – but I don't think I'll tell you." He stepped around her and strolled on his way. "No need to drive me; the place I'm after is just a couple of blocks away."

Judy scowled and drummed her foot as he departed – but it wasn't hard to guess where he was off to.

Nick had a date.

Cupping her paws to her mouth, Judy hollered off a parting remark. "Don't forget your deodorant, Junior!"

"Ha ha, very funny," he called back, pausing to double-check as soon as he was sure he was alone.

As he was on his way to a takeout place en route to Taelia's, Nick started dialing to call his order ahead. Before he could finish, though, another call came in. He recognized the number. "Hey Taelia," he greeted. "What's up?"

"Hi Nick. Are we still on for tonight?"

He shrugged. "Last I checked. I should be there in about forty-five minutes. Why, did something come up?"

"No. More the opposite, actually. I was wondering, would you be up for something besides just watching the show?"

Nick puzzled over this, hampered by the fact that when he had agreed to the date he'd also been contending with other texts and waiting for Judy to leave her apartment unguarded. "Depends, I guess."

"Well, I'll let Xavier explain. He likes to do the talking, and I have to hurry and get ready – but I told him you were coming and we think you might be helpful for our latest project."

He stopped. Interesting remark. Slightly sinister, he thought. Last time I heard that I ended up getting shot at. He did his best not to sound uneasy. "Guess we'll find out."

I'm sorry this took so long to write as I try to prepare my house for winter, but it's been a blast putting together Nick's and Judy's parts. I don't think I've had this much fun with any two characters in years (nd Bogo and Clawhauser are fun too). I also think this is my longest chapter yet, and hopefully the next will follow fairly soon since I have it pretty well planned out. So what do you think is ahead for Nick: a dream date, or a nightmare?

Speaking of what lies ahead, I've got plans after this for a CHRISTMAS fanfic (sorry; wanted to make sure you were paying attention) – and if I want to release it on a timely basis, I'll have to start working on it now. The premise is simple and spoiler-free enough; Judy's parents have been

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