Motocross Mix-Up

WebMistressGina

Well-Known Member
Joined
Mar 26, 2012
Messages
913
Reaction score
655
What is ju talking about? This is the best Gina has posted yet.
Aw. Thanks Counter Dude! Did you notice I took especial care with this one and read it repeatedly to make sure all the mistakes were gone. (oh lawd, please let there have been no mistakes!)

Trust :wink: to have a fully interactive car with computerized phonebank and dialing capabilities.
This is actually art imitating real life. My friend's car has this ability, taping into his phone's/car's blue tooth, so he can talk hands free when driving. It also has seat warmers to warm your butt when it's cool. I especially like those.

Le Count post: 987733 said:
LaChance doesn't have a chance against :mad: and :concern: Why is it called interfering with a police investigation if the Muppets are the ones carrying on the real investigation? If anything, it's more like a case of interference by a police investigation.

But all that aside... More please?
Ha! But in all seriousness, Day and Chesney are doing their best with what they has; Piggy and Gonzo are only trying to help, but you know, they end up finding more trouble than is warranted. Besides, the police actually do have a pretty good case against Gonzo - he has the ability to have stolen the jewel, he's agile and quick enough, and he was a participant in a race with two dead competitors.

And my statement about money being a motivator for murder is actually true (heard from the mouth of an FBI profiler) and I believe the second reason was jealousy/love/passion and they have Gonzo on both - he was either trying to restart his plumbing business or he's in love/having an affair with Piggy.

Not to say that Gonzo is involved (G: are you? :concern:Dude, you're the one writing it! You're certainly making it SEEM like I'm involved!), but...yeah.

So what's next you ask? *shrugs* I dunno. But I guess I could have -

*A reappearance by Carter Smythe (remember him?)!
*A second set of Muppet spies!
*A dangerous kidnapping!
*An even more dangerous plan!
*An epic showdown!
*And a confession!

All coming up on....

MOTOCROSS MIX-UP!
 

The Count

Moderator
Staff member
Joined
Jul 12, 2002
Messages
31,234
Reaction score
2,919
Er, do you mean "tapping"? Cause if you meant "taping", then that's one sticky phone. :embarrassed:!

Meh, the cops' case against Gonzo is built on completely circumstancial theory. It would float as well as Amy, his former dancing brick.

Trying to rekindle his love for the diva? Okay, I'll let you answer to one angry henpecking from :cluck: that'll leave you just as swollen with beakmarks like the former underlord, Mr. Pattypan.

*Ish frustrated with own fic efforts, requests more of this one instead.
 

WebMistressGina

Well-Known Member
Joined
Mar 26, 2012
Messages
913
Reaction score
655
Er, do you mean "tapping"? Cause if you meant "taping", then that's one sticky phone. :embarrassed:!
Um...I meant the 'tapping' one. The car uses the blue tooth, okay?

Meh, the cops' case against Gonzo is built on completely circumstancial theory. It would float as well as Amy, his former dancing brick.
Oh I know and they know, hence why they had to let the weirdo go.

All of that rhymed!

But with the German FBI on your case, I could see circumstantial move upwards to probable cause, which could warrant a police...um...warrant. And of course now that Piggy and Gonzo have pretty much told Det. Day that they know where the ruby is, they now have that probable cause.

Trying to rekindle his love for the diva? Okay, I'll let you answer to one angry henpecking from :cluck: that'll leave you just as swollen with beakmarks like the former underlord, Mr. Pattypan.
Dude, I didn't say that! The policia said that! Only way it make sense, h'okay?

Besides, Gonzo was quite indignant with the accusation. Accusing him of theft was one thing, but insinuating that he's cheating on his girl with his best friend's girl? Just ain't cricket.

No more Motocross for the weekend (maybe), but you do have a shiny new Monday Post Production to look forward to!
 

WebMistressGina

Well-Known Member
Joined
Mar 26, 2012
Messages
913
Reaction score
655
Hi ho! Sorry for the lateness. MPP will probably be late tomorrow too (on the account that I kinda haven't started it yet), but for now...


Chapter XI

Bakersfield, CA is a bustling city and is the ninth largest city within the state. For residents, it was a nice change of pace usually to go up and visit some of the museums and art shows.

Bakersfield had always held a fascination with Carter Smythe and when he needed a place to lay low for a while, it was here that he took his girlfriend of three months. After his disastrous turn as a motocross driver, Smythe had left the track field and hurried home, bursting through his door and grabbing almost everything he owned and threw it into a bag. He then fled, only stopping a few blocks from his girlfriend’s house; he called her immediately, asking if she wanted to go with him to Bakersfield and she had immediately heard that he seemed to be agitated.

Beth Monahan had a bachelors in psychology and could easily hear that her new boyfriend was upset; he then made it clear when he come over to her apartment. He was agitated, nervous, and fidgety. Beth was aware of Carter’s troublesome background; in fact, that was how they met.

She was a counselor at a place for youths trying to get their lives together and while she had never had a session with him, they had passed by each other every so often in the halls and she was a counselor to an acquaintance of his. Carter was unlike many of the people that came through – he was willing and able to make a change in his life, knowing that the decisions he had made had affected both himself, his family, and his friends.

She liked him and liked him enough that she worried about him, hence why she agreed to go with him to Bakersfield.

The first few days had been great – the two of them had gone around the city, gone to some of the outskirts and surrpunding cities just to do something. However, one day when watching the news, they heard the report of the big brawl that had happened after the race he been in. Hearing that two of the Muppets and that of Royce La Chance were involved had been a shock, to Beth at least, but to Carter it seemed to be the start of the downturn to their trip.

As the days turned into a week and then another, it became clear to Beth that something was very wrong. While reports about the jewel heist in Pasadena were mixed, it was the information that Carter had been receiving from friends of his that told the true story of what was happening. She hadn’t said anything, but after listening to one conversation, she couldn’t let this go on without telling him how she felt.

“What’s going on?”

Carter, who had been sitting at the small table in their hotel room, looked up quickly, surprised by seeing Beth standing in front of him.

“What baby?”

“I know something’s going on,” she repeated. “And I know it has something to do with this recent museum robbery everyone’s been talking about. Carter, is something wrong? Did you…did you steal that ruby?”

So stunned, Carter could only sit and stare, mouth agape at the knowledge that she knew. His silence however only confirmed to Beth that he had indeed stolen the gem. “You did, didn’t you?” she sniffed. “You stole that ruby?”

“No!” he cried. “I mean…” Looking down at the table top, he heaved a deep sigh. Maybe in some other life, he would’ve completely denied everything, would have told her she was crazy, but the Carter Smythe of today was not the same Carter Smythe of yesterday.

In truth, Beth Monahan had been the best thing that had happened so far for Carter. After meeting her, he had landed a pretty nice job working in an office; it was only a part time position, which allowed him to be up in Bakersfield, but it looked good enough that, if he worked hard, he’d be able to move into a full time position. And then there was Beth, who liked him despite of his past and thought he was a decent guy.

He just couldn’t lie to her.

“I was with the group that did it,” he whispered.

“What?”

“A friend of mine,” he began. “You remember Johnny-O? Anyway, he called me up and said he was in trouble and he needed help. So I helped him.”

“Helped him steal from a museum, you mean.”

Carter nodded.

“I can’t believe this, Carter,” she hissed, pacing around the table he sat. “And here I thought you were actually different, but in reality, you were just laying low.” Turning to him, she asked, “Is that why we’re here? Because the police know where you are and you’re hiding?”

“We’re here so I can keep you safe!” he exclaimed.

“Please,” she huffed. “Safe from what? The police coming to find you? Well, I won’t be a part of it.”

“You can’t leave!”

“Watch me,” she said, going about the room and grabbing her things. “Unless you plan on keeping me prisoner. Or worse.”

“What?”

“I understand the psychological underpinings of a killer,” she said.

“Beth, wait a minute…”

“I certainly know how to pick them,” she murmured. “I had hoped that you were different, that you just had some problems in your youth and that you were better now. What, was getting up in the corporate world taking too long?”

She was ranting and she could tell, but she just couldn’t believe it. After everything…when she didn’t hear any response from him, she turned to look, finding him standing there, dejected, and hanging his head.

“Is that what you think?” he asked, quietly. “Is that how you feel?”

“I’m not sure what to think and feel,” she whispered. “I thought I was falling for you, had fallen for you, but now…”

The two stood there, both surprised at how a simple vacation could deteriorate into this and what would happen once things sped back up to a reasonable facsimile of life.

“Can I ask you something?”

“What?”

“Will you let me explain?” asked Carter, looking to her finally. “Just…just let me tell you what happened and if you wanna leave, I…I won’t stop you. In fact, you have every right to leave; I’m…I’m not the kind of guy you should be with anyway.”

Taking a shaky breath, she walked past him to the table and sat down. “Tell me.”

And he did.

He told her everything, from hearing from Johnny-O and how he had this plan to steal some of the artwork there and then sell it on the black market in order to get him out of the trouble he was in. He told her how he had arrived and had been surprised to see an actual group of people, including two professional cat burglars.

And he went on, describing how they had broken in and how he had declined, only wanting to be the lookout and being extremely nervous. An unexpected patrol car in the area had stopped them from getting everything they wanted, but the two pros had managed to get the ruby in question; however, they had handed it off to Carter and the group disappeared.

It was only after Carter had heard about the deaths of three of those members that the guilt of what he had done made him realize that he had worked so hard and was about to lose everything, including his job and Beth. He had then made the decision that he would go to the police after he finished the Risen Corp race.

Only he didn’t, all because he had been spotted by Royce La Chance, one of the pros that had been with them. Carter had panicked, simple as that, and he had put the ruby in the first place he thought of – that of the gas tank of the Great Gonzo’s motorcycle. The blonde had been beside himself, quickly leaving the race and coming back to his home. He had hoped that things would calm down and then he could call Gonzo and tell him what he had done, but he had gotten word from several friends that La Chance was watching his apartment.

“And now,” he finished. “The police think Gonzo did it.” Shaking his head, he mumbled, “I didn’t want this. I never wanted this.” Agitated, Carter jumped up from his seat and began tearing through the room, grabbing clothes and souvenirs and throwing them in his bag.

“What…what’re you doing?” Beth asked.

“I have to make this right,” he said, quickly. Hefting his bag on his shoulder, he headed towards the door, but then stopped. He turned to look at her, memorizing everything about her as best as he could. “I know I’ve ruined things,” he whispered. “I’ll go downstairs and leave some money so that you can get home and…hopefully forget any of this happened.

“I don’t…know if I’ll see you again, so I wanted…it’s probably better I say this now, so that I can say that I did. I…I love you. I don’t know what I did to deserve you, but I know what I did to lose you and…and I’ll live with that. But I just wanted you to know.”

And with that, Carter Smythe opened the door and made the journey back to Pasadena.


[hr]


The KAOS Club was a rockin’ little joint that many of the sports personalities and locals went to when they were in the area. It’s proximity to the race track next door allowed for sporting events to take place, while allowing the KAOS Club to host many of the participants and their fans.

Today was a special treat for the club, which usually opened during the mid-mornings; the Electric Mayhem had stopped by for food, fun, and drinks and had been talked into doing a short set for the customers there. That short set, which was only supposed to be an hour at best, had extended itself to about the two hour mark, with more and more people coming in once they heard who was there or the music that streamed out.

That was the reason Piggy could barely hear them when she called.

Shortly after rescuing Gonzo from the stoney lonesome, Piggy had immediately called up Dr. Teeth to find out what was going on at his end. In a stroke of luck, Teeth had suggested that maybe some unfamiliar faces around the track would help in getting some clue on what was going on there.

Sure enough, leave it to the bar crowd to see things that the cops might not have.

“So in talking with Scottie,” Teeth was relaying. “The good doctor, which is me, has learned that our number one with a bullet took an interest in a bird in flight.”

“What?” the diva asked, before realizing what he meant and where he was. “Okay, I get it. La Chance was watching the kid that took off in the middle of the race?”

“You got it, mamacita,” he replied. “Turns out he had the kid’s number almost as soon as he saw him. And I’m sure you know, the guy’s friend is none other than the head boss of Risen.”

“That’s interesting,” Piggy murmured. Hearing a beep in her ear, she quickly checked her phone to see she was getting an incoming call. “Doc, I’ll call you later. The boy wonder’s trying to check in.”

“Over and out.”

“Talk to me.”

“Please tell me you aren’t planning on doing something crazy.”

Piggy couldn’t help but chuckle a bit. “Meaning what, dearheart?”

“I’ve done some research on La Chance,” Scooter began. “Piggy, I’m serious on this; whatever you’re thinking, you need to stop. You have to go to the police about this.”

“What’s so bad about La Chance?” she asked. “Other than his deplorable driving.”

“Piggy,” the assistant stressed. “La Chance was investigated for breaking and entering, as well as murder. Murder, Piggy! The guy has been implicated in murder.”

“Well then,” she said. “That’s all the more reason for us to catch him, right?”

“Piggy, get real about this!” the page cried. “Do you have any idea how insane whatever you plan on doing is? You need to stop this.”

“Scooter,” Piggy replied. “Dearheart, thank you for your concern, but everything will be fine.”

“I’m going to the police if you don’t.”

“Don’t you dare,” she hissed. “Andrew, I’m serious. Don’t you dare go about ruining this. I have a plan and I need to put it through, with no interference, darling.”

“Are you serious?”

“Very.”


[hr]


After getting dropped off by Piggy, Gonzo wearily walked his way up the stairs to his fourth floor apartment. Despite being relatively awake throughout his three days of interrogation, being back home made him tired.

Perhaps the stress was getting to him; he had figured that he would become a suspect because of his knowledge of the ruby, but he hadn’t expected the police to comb through his life as a stunt weirdo and then try to link him to the Muppets’ leading lady.

Reaching his door, the feeling of just wanting to lay down was overwhelming. Opening the door, the weirdo walked through the living room, making the immediate decision that a quick nap on his couch was the way to go. The couch was inviting, almost calling to Gonzo, telling him to sit down and lay down in comfort.

And that’s exactly what Gonzo did, until his head hit something hard and not soft. Assuming he had just aimed too far up, he reached up to push himself back down to the comfort of the pillow or the cushion or whatever was there that would house his head.

Instead of feeling the arm of the couch, his hand brushed across something hard, but squishy. Sitting up in confusion, Gonzo grabbed whatever was in his hand around so that he could look at it. It was a black sequined purse and one that was fairly familiar to him.

And right then, said owner of the purse walked out from the kitchen, surprised to see her beloved sitting on the couch in front of her.

“Camilla!” he cried, jumping up and rushing towards her, all pretenses of being tired evaporating. “When did you get here? How long have you been here?”

The show chicken clucked a response, stating she could have asked him the same thing, but instead held him back from the embrace he was in the midst of giving her. “Bawk?” she asked, giving him a once over.

“Just a little tired, baby,” came the answer. “When did you get here?”

She answered that she had arrived early that morning and quite frankly, she had been surprised that not only had been gone, but was just now returning. Gonzo chuckled, nervously; he wasn’t sure if he should tell her the whole story or what. Ultimately, he decided he’d tell her later and really only after everything was settled.

“Sorry honey,” he apologized. “We’ve been…uh…kinda swamped at the theater and stuff. Did you see my last stunt?”

Deciding that he’d rather stay up with his chickie, Gonzo launched into a play by play of his last stunt.

Afternoon soon gave way into earlier evening, which did see Gonzo doze off for a number of those hours. Camilla, who had just spent a good two weeks on stage and arriving by early flight, just snuggled up with her boyfriend when she noticed he had stopped paying attention to her story of the monkey who had escaped and ran amock around the hotel they were in.

With a good two and half hours of sleep behind them, the two starcrossed lovers were able to catch up on what had been happening in the other’s life. Again, Gonzo hesitated about telling his girl that he was a suspect in not only a robbery, but three murders which were attached to said heist.

Instead, Gonzo felt that this night was a blessing in disguise. Suggesting that they celebrate in style, the weirdo was off to pick up take out and even a bottle of champagne, stating it would only take him about twenty minutes or less.

True to his word, it only did take about fifteen minutes for the weirdo to get the take out he had order and picking up a bottle of champagne. That was the trickier part, as the weirdo didn’t know as much about champagne, so he ended up calling Piggy, who outlined an incredibly crazy plan to trap La Chance.

Now, if Gonzo wasn’t facing imprisonment for a crime or crimes he had not committed, he would have said two things. First, this was probably the craziest idea the pig ever had and that was certainly saying something. Piggy didn’t get wild and crazy ideas that didn’t involve getting married to Kermit.

So for her to suggest that the best way of trapping La Chance was to dangle the ruby in front of him meant that either she had been spending too much time with him or she was having some sort of mental breakdown.

Secondly, this idea was dangerous. They already knew La Chance was fast to bury his fist in both of their faces, so in the case that he was involved, telling him that they had his ruby was so a bad idea. He had politely told her whatever plan she was hatching, to leave him out of it.

For that night at least.

His baby was back and he was gonna party like it was still 1999. So the diva let it go, for the moment, and reluctantly told him what the right choice for champagne would be, though he noted that she did manage to even suggest a couple of wines that would best with their dinner.

Gonzo headed back, happily, to his apartment, food and drink in hand. The climb to his apartment door this time was met with excitement; his girl was back and maybe she’d be able to talk some sense into either him or the pig or both.

“Home again, home again,” he sang, reaching the door and juggling bags so that he could actually open said door.

“Hello again, Gonzo.”

The weirdo froze, wondering who could possibly be behind him and why the voice seemed chillingly familiar.

“Don’t turn around,” the voice instructed, seeing the weirdo starting to move. “I have a gun trained on you, so I suggest we play this nice and cool, alright?”

Gonzo nodded.

“Now,” the voice said. “You’re going to put those bags down, right there, that’s it. Now, we’re going to go and have a nice talk. You have something of mine and I want it back.”

“Listen…”

“I don’t believe I told you to speak,” the voice sneered. “Keep your mouth shut or I’ll be forced to shut it for you. Start walking.”
 

Twisted Tails

Well-Known Member
Joined
Apr 5, 2012
Messages
3,087
Reaction score
1,562
Whoa! Who is this that is getting Gonzo, the weirdo into more trouble. I am on the edge of my seat already.

Ah ha! So, Mr. Carter has framed Gonzo for the robbery and the murders at La Chance. Ouch!

Gina, you have such like very good writing. More please!
 

WebMistressGina

Well-Known Member
Joined
Mar 26, 2012
Messages
913
Reaction score
655
Whoa! Who is this that is getting Gonzo, the weirdo into more trouble. I am on the edge of my seat already.
It's someone we've seen and know.

Ah ha! So, Mr. Carter has framed Gonzo for the robbery and the murders at La Chance. Ouch!
What? :confused:

Do you mean that Carter is framing Gonzo for robbery and La Chance for murder?

No to both.

Carter was a part of the group that initially stole the ruby from the museum. Carter, on the verge of heading to the police - as he has the ruby - when he was spotted by La Chance, who was also a part of the group who stole the ruby. Carter ended up dropping the ruby in Gonzo's gas tank in order to escape La Chance.

As for the murders, there's clue to who the murderer - and the voice - is.
 

WebMistressGina

Well-Known Member
Joined
Mar 26, 2012
Messages
913
Reaction score
655
Ahoy ahoy! Sorry for the lateness in this; my brain just lost all focus today. But here's the penultimate chapter before the very last one and the epilogue.

NOTE - the first section takes place after the last chapter, while the rest are happening at the same time that Piggy's doing her covert adventures.


XII.


Being a detective was hard work.

Forget the fact that she was the leading lady for a popular theatre and movie troop, Miss Piggy had also taken on the dubious task of playing gumshoe with her unwarranted and unneeded investigation into the theft of the Rheingold ruby. The diva wouldn’t have even bothered to get involved if the thought of poor Gonzo going to jail didn’t upset her plans.

After all, he was one of the frog’s best friends.

It was in that regard that Piggy felt immensely responsible for the little weirdo; after all, she had gotten him into all of this. If she had just let him turn the ruby over to the police in the first place, they might not have gotten to this – where Gonzo was taken into custody on suspicion of theft and even murder; luckily, that official detective didn’t think the guy had it in him to kill people.

To complicate matters further, both Kermit and Scooter were now breathing down her neck about her plan. Well, Scooter was at least, only because Kermit didn’t know about her plan.

Her grand plan was simple – she was going to call out her prime suspect, that of Royce La Chance, and tell him she had the ruby. It would be like all those black and white mysteries Kermit made her watch, where the cocky PI and the plucky sidekick gathered around the suspects and threw out accusations until one of them stuck. And seeing La Chance was her only suspect, it made sense that her accusations would definitely stick.

What was the worst that could happen?

Almost as if on cue, her cell phone rang and if she hadn’t seen the caller ID, she would’ve been convinced that Scooter was calling – again – to talk her out of her duty as a concerned citizen of justice. In reality, it was Gonzo, probably calling to ask her about champagne or wine selections again.

“I already told you that red wine works much better for what you’re trying to do,” she began, immediately. “Unless of course you’re calling to get that list again.”

“Hello, Miss Piggy.”

The voice was definitely not Gonzo’s and definitely not the person she wanted to talk to at the moment. And when the person you don’t want to talk to is calling from someone else’s phone, something was wrong.

Very wrong.

“La Chance.”

She heard the chuckle and the sneer that accompanied it. “They aren’t wrong,” he said. “You are pretty smart.”

“Then you’ll know that I’m smart enough to know why you’ve called,” she challenged. “You’ve actually saved me the trouble.”

“Have I?” he asked, a smug grin coming through the phone. “Well then, all the better for us. I can only assume that you know why I’m calling.”

“Actually,” she said, trying to stamp down the nervousness and concern she was feeling. “I don’t have a clue.”

“You have something of mine,” he said. “And I have something of yours.”

There was silence for only a few moments before she did hear the voice of the phone’s owner – “Princess, I think he’s on to us.”

“Indeed I am,” replied La Chance, taking the phone back in his possession. “Now the question is, what’s the little piggy gonna do about it?”

That was the million-dollar question; Piggy had been quite prepared when the plans were in her hands, but leave it to the villain to up the ante and flip the script. It was clear that Gonzo wouldn’t be by her side this time and that she would ultimately have to save him herself; Scooter’s words of La Chance’s connections with a murder made their way to her highly intelligent brain, which warned against the possibilities of bacon and charcoaled weirdo.

But there was also her pride to think of. She hadn’t gone into this to lose out, especially when the stakes were higher, like Gonzo’s life. “Where we gonna do this?”

“There’s an abandoned construction site that’s right off the highway,” La Chance began. “On the way towards San Mateo. One hour. And no tricks.”

“No tricks,” she muttered, hanging up the phone and blowing out a breath.


[hr]


Scooter Grosse was completely loyal when it came to any of the Muppets.

That was especially true of Miss Piggy.

However, in some cases, he was even more loyal to the frog that ran the show.

Even when Piggy had roped him into any and every one of her schemes, the young assistant usually had the presence of mind to turn around and tell Kermit everything; that was just how they worked.

And this was how this situation worked too.

Piggy may have told him not to contact the police, but she didn’t say anything about contacting Kermit.

Tuesdays were usually down days at the theater; very few of the performers ever came in on Tuesday, which was perfect for someone to come in and get some work done. Which was exactly what Kermit had decided to do. Tuesdays were perfect days to stop by the theater and try to get some of the administrative out of the way without having the constant interruptions he usually had to contend with.

With Piggy doing this crazy investigation of hers, Kermit thought it best if he just drowned himself in a bit of creative work before he went home and got roped into whatever crazy scheme she was thinking of. And it was crazy! He should’ve put his foot down when she had approached him with the thought of getting Gonzo out.

He should’ve insisted that she turn over that ruby, because clearly she knew where it was, to the proper authorities and leave everything in the lap of the law.

That’s what he should’ve done and in the years that he had been with that pig, there were a lot of things that he should’ve done and didn’t, allowing those baby blues, hugs, and sweet kisses turn any decision of his around from what he had originally wanted. And for some inconceivable reason, all of that made him fall in love with her harder and faster.

Kermit was sure whatever was going on in that pretty blonde head of hers, he didn’t want to know and certainly didn’t want to be a part of it. But that was the whole conflict that he was now experiencing; it wasn’t that he didn’t care what Piggy was up to – he did! – however in schemes like this, sometimes it was best to just let her handle it.

She was a big girl and she knew how to get out of trouble.

She also knew how to get into trouble, but that was neither here nor there.

On this Tuesday, all Kermit knew – for the moment – was that one of his best friends was sitting in a jail cell and Piggy had effectively stolen both his assistant and his band. For what purpose, he didn’t know and again, he didn’t want to ask. He had been doing his best not to worry, but he couldn’t help it.

He was a worrier and where his girlfriend and friends were concerned, that worry just tended to explode.

Hence why he’d come down to the theater; there were times when Kermit found work to be very soothing. When you’re chasing around cast members, stage crew, and guest stars, a person didn’t have time to think about the other issues in their lives and that was how the frog liked it sometimes. There had been times in his life when work seemed to be the only thing that was holding him together against an onslaught of personal and professional setbacks and hardships.

Having a theater to yourself, not counting the phantom that resided in the rafters, was a quiet affair and allowed Kermit to sit at the rickety makeshift podium/desk that sat backstage. The frog was able to review acts that he would need to look at tomorrow before setting up a schedule where he would hopefully be able to meet Scooter beforehand.

And speaking of the red head, he had also thought to come to the theater, in hopes of either finding Kermit or solace. Scooter could now admit that he was getting a tad bit concerned here; Piggy may have had delusions of grandeur at times, but this new idea of hers was really scarring him. Using what Floyd affectionately called his ‘geek-fu’, the assistant had cracked into what databases he had to in order to find out more on this Royce La Chance.

For an attaché who supposedly had been all over, Scooter had never heard of him. Oh, while he didn’t pay too much attention to the business set that his uncle had effectively thrust him into during and after his life, it didn’t mean that the Muppet didn’t at least pretend to pay attention when it came to someone who was of the traveling nature.

And then when you add his association with Google and that of the TED Talks, these kinds of folks get to be interesting, at least in a business sense. And Scooter had hit all of the ‘legal’ channels to find out more before he hit the ‘not so legal’ channels. In the legal channels, no one outside of LA had heard of him and even those in LA and Silicon Valley were vague on trying to remember who this guy might be. When he had exhausted those routes, he went to the ‘not so legal’ channels, which included covert searches and police background checks.

It was here that things didn’t look good.

When Scooter Grosse did a background check, he did a background check. He crossed checked for any alias that he may had, any cities or countries he may have been to or lived in, was he married, had he been married, any and everything the young Muppet could think of, he searched for. And he had gotten well more than he thought he would.

Royce La Chance, who was in actuality Roland Charles, was born and raised in Detroit and had been arrested a few times for petty crimes, such as burglary. He had been seen or heard from since his twenties, but around the time that Charles had disappeared from Detroit was when a Royce La Chance showed up in New York.

Scooter may never have even thought to connect the two if it wasn’t for a case of breaking and entering. La Chance had been arrested for breaking into a New York high rise and had been questioned in connection to a murder that had happened near those same apartments. Investigating further, the police reports went to reveal that there had been five murders in the same area and at the time, the police had thought it was just a string of robberies.

However what some cops were reporting was that these murders were connected because of the people, their area, and their belongings.

All five victims lived in relatively secured buildings that were only accessed through key card or being buzzed in. However, in all of the crimes, it looked as though there had been easy access to the apartments either by the door or that of the building’s balconies. In each case, the only other way in would have been through the roof.

Four of the victims lived in two of the buildings, while the fifth lived in a separate one, however all buildings had been owned by the same company and the company had been the first to install what would later become laser security beams. The police speculated that this was probably the work of a cat burglar, someone who was probably agile and surefooted.

While the robberies had certainly caught Scooter’s attention, it was the connection with five murders that disturbed him. Certainly, this didn’t mean that La Chance was the murderer, however given the fact that the cases were linked and that the racer had been held for questioning, was suspicious.

And worrisome.

And Piggy wanted to make the guy mad by holding a gem in front of him. If he was responsible for stealing, waving it in front of his face would only make him angry; if he wasn’t, it might give him a reason to take the ruby.

Scooter didn’t mind doing surveillance and he certainly didn’t mind doing background checks, but he certainly did mind helping someone walk into what could very well be their deaths.

So, the Muppet did what any Muppet would do – he tried to talk Piggy out of it. He should’ve known she would get the last word and use his love for her and vice versa to get him to butt out. And he tried; for all of thirty minutes, he tried not to think too hard about it, to not think about what this could mean, and didn’t think that this was a bad idea.

After thirty minutes, he came to a conclusion.

This was a bad idea.

He went back and tried to see if maybe he was looking up the wrong La Chance or the wrong Charles; it certainly could happen. Maybe there was someone else or something else that he hadn’t covered, so he went back and covered it again.

Nothing.

Or rather, nothing he hadn’t uncovered before.

He tried calling Piggy; first he got the voice mail on her cell and then he got the voice mail from the house phone, meaning that both occupants were out. When he tried calling the police department, he was told that Gonzo had been bailed out hours ago. He called Rowlf, who hadn’t heard from her since he called to tell her that Roger Peters seemed clean and not at all involved in what happened at the race.

He tried calling the house again and still no answer. Knowing he wouldn’t get an answer, he still called Kermit’s cell phone and – surprise, surprise – went straight to voice mail because Kermit never answered his cell phone.

So he headed to house, used his key to get in, and noticed that no one had been home since breakfast. And if the big bosses weren’t at home, the next likely place would be the theater; and by the time he got there, he was a nervous wreck. Such a nervous wreck that he practically tore off the backstage door when he came through in a desperate attempt to find the frog.

“Kermit? Kermit! Kermit, are you in here?!”

“Scooter?” said frog asked, turning at the commotion. “I’m right here, you don’t have to shout.”

For the next minute, Scooter began a rambling tale that Kermit didn’t understand. “Wait, what?” he asked, trying to get the boy to calm down and more importantly, slow down. Grabbing him by the arms, the frog shook him lightly. “Scooter, get a hold of yourself!”

The assistant stopped speaking, taking deep breaths, before nodding that he was quite all right.

“Okay?” Kermit asked, waiting for the nod of confirmation. “Okay, now start from the beginning; what’s wrong?”

And Scooter told him.

Told him how Piggy had him staking out Royce La Chance’s apartment, had Rowlf watching Roger Peters, and had the Electric Mayhem watching a dive bar near the race track; told him how he had done some checking, legally, and through business channels, that no one had really heard of a Royce La Chance and how when he went further, that’s when the bad stuff started to turn up.

He told him how he had tried calling both Piggy and Gonzo and neither one of them seemed to be answering their phones at the moment.

If Kermit thought the pig crazy before, she was literally teetering on insane at the moment. What was she thinking in toying with someone who had been connected to not one, but five murders? Was she crazy? Had she spent so much time with Gonzo that she was now certifiably insane? Was she trying to get herself killed?

“I don’t know, Boss,” the assistant replied, answering the frog’s questions. “What I do know is that she forbid me from going to the police, but she didn’t say anything about you going to the police.”

“Well, of course we’re going to the police!” the frog exclaimed, moving past the former go-fer and towards the door. “And she had better hope that she’s not in trouble, because if she lives through this, she will be.”


[hr]


Det. Day would be lying if he hadn’t expected to see Kermit the Frog in the early evening of a Tuesday. While he may have been off about whatever romantic liaison might be happening between his wife and best friend, he did know that if the frog could, he would make sure to keep his friends out of the fire.

What he hadn’t been expecting was one Carter Smythe, a young man who had come in at roughly the same time that the frog and his assistant had, claiming that he had information about the robbery and that he wanted to turn himself in.

Surprised at the willing confession, Day decided to bring all three into his office so that he could hear the story.

Normally, the trio would’ve been separated in different rooms in order to make sure that no cover-ups could be done, but Day had spoken to at least the frog and it was clear that the Muppets had no idea who the blonde kid was. Pulling out a pad and a pen, Day asked the blonde to start his story.

The kid started with the days leading up to the robbery, how a friend of his needed help and that the help included robbing the Ocean museum. Smythe was able to add in some details that they didn’t know, as well as being able to point out Royce La Chance and the three murder victims without hesitation. It was the break they had been waiting for and Day was quick to get Chesney to take the young man into another room where he could record the confession.

As the officer and the blonde left the room, a brunette woman saw them immediately and hugged Smythe. Day would have to ask what that was about later.

Turning to the Muppets that remained, Day asked them to state why they were there.
And just as he thought once he saw them walk in, he wasn’t amused at what they were telling him.

Not only was he annoyed, he was also worried.

And that’s when he sprang into action.
 
Top