The Greys Chapter 21: A Matter of Public Record
#22 of The Greys
Judy ran the name Ray Schaiferhund into the system, but nothing came up. Then she tried Ray's new name, Kody Grey. She was nearly immediately given almost all the information she wanted. Her eyes wandered over the screen, "Let's see here. Fingerprints. DNA Profile. Record of Aliases. Criminal Record. License Plate information. That looks like that's about it."
The rabbit scrolled over to click on the License Plate information. "Huh," she said as she looked at the license plate, "RB57H. I wonder what that means?"
"I have no idea, but he makes enough money to afford a Jeeves Buckaroo Infinity," the fox said.
"I wonder what's in his criminal record," Judy pondered as she closed the license plate information to look at the short list of criminal offenses. Nick chuckled, "Nothing greater than a parking ticket. Told you, Carrots." The bunny rolled her eyes as she went over the list of previous names. There was only one. "Raynard Kody Schaiferhund," Judy muttered to herself, her eyes dancing over the profile.
Nick let out a chuff, "Seriously? Raynard?" Judy looked over her shoulder, "What's wrong?"
"Raynard is another name for fox. Seriously, who names their fox kit after his own species," the tod said as he shook his head.
"Yeah, but did you see his middle name? Kody," the rabbit said softly, "it's a part of his original name."
"Maybe that was the only part he liked," Nick said as he took a sip of coffee.
"Maybe," she said as she closed the Criminal Record, "there's something here that I'm missing, Nick."
"You could try looking up his parents," the fox replied.
"I could, but their records would have been sealed," Judy retorted, "But maybe..."
The bunny didn't finish her sentence as she pulled up a web browser and typed, "Schaiferhund, Zootopia, accident," into the search bar. What came up were articles and obituaries from the last year's car accident, especially pictures of the parents; a German Shepherd and a corgi-wolf looking woman. Judy blinked a few times, "Nick, didn't you say Ray was raised by dogs?"
"Yeah, he was adopted. Everyone knew it, why," the fox asked and then it dawned on him, "Adoption paperwork."
Judy felt her ears droop, "I guess we didn't need to look up his records after all."
The tod chuckled, "Dummy bunny."
There weren't many adoption agencies in Zootopia, in fact there were only two; Our Lady of Zootopia and Open Heart Open Arms. Our Lady of Zootopia was quick to answer their inquiry. They'd never heard of nor had a client with the last name Schaiferhund.
Open Hearts Open Arms on the other hand was a different story. When they'd called, they were answered by a Mrs. O'Donnell. She had a warm grandmotherly voice to her, almost cheerful, though she immediately got down to business, "We have many children who are looking for loving parents and a good home, Miss Hopps. Are you looking to adopt?"
"No, ma'am. I'm trying to find some information on some clients of yours, a Mr. and Mrs. Schaiferhund," Judy replied, trying to wrangle the conversation away from the other woman. There was a long pause as Mrs. O'Donnell seemed to collect herself, "Yes, I remember them. I was so very sad to hear about their passing. It's so hard to find someone that is looking for tod kits, and when you find someone that wants one, they always stand out. I hope nothing terrible has happened to poor Raynard."
"That's actually why we're calling, ma'am."
There was another long pause, followed by some sniffling, "Please tell me he's all right."
"He's fine, ma'am, but we're a little concerned since he changed his name after his parent's accident to Grey and made contact with another family with the same last name."
There was a deep sigh of relief before a more business tone returned to her voice, "It's not uncommon for our adoptees to try to rediscover their roots later in life. He's not the first one to take his parent's last name, especially the mother's last name."
"His mother's last name? Do you know why?"
"From what I remember, his father sexually assaulted his mother and then refused to support her when he found out she was pregnant, which is why she put him up for adoption."
There was a long pause as Judy chewed on her bottom lip, "Did she ever file charges?"
"Not that I am aware of. I believe the father died a year later."
"You... you wouldn't happen to remember the mother's name, would you?"
"I certainly do. Josephine Grey."
Judy blinked a few times as she tried to absorb what she was hearing, "Josephine. Grey?"
"Yes. I can't tell you much else. She never contacted us after the adoption was completed."
"Thank you," the bunny said, her voice and hand a little shaky.
"Thank you, Officer Hopps. Please give Raynard our best if you see him."
The rabbit hung up the phone, her eyes wide. Things were actually starting to make sense for some reason.
"You okay, Carrots," Nick asked as he planted his hand against the wall by her face.
"Nick. I've got to call my mom."