Buster made his way to Muffy's house. He got out of the car and walked to the front door. Before he knocked, Muffy answered the door.
"What?" She asked, clearly annoyed. Buster kept his calm, and said,
"I'd like to ask some questions."
Muffy looked around, before motioning Buster to come in. Muffy took a seat on a lushly cream couch, with gold embroidery. Buster decided to just stand. He took a look around, before Muffy asked him,
"What do you want Buster?"
"That's detective Baxter to you." Buster scolded. Muffy just rolled her eyes. "In any case, I want to know what you were doing a few nights ago, the night before Sue Ellen had her accident."
"Oh my! Wasn't it tragic!? I do hope she's alright!" Muffy started. Buster extended his hand, and scowled. Muffy quickly quieted.
"Don't change the subject. Where were you the night before Sue Ellen's accident?"
"I was here, talking to Francine on the phone. We talked for about an hour." Muffy replied.
"What time was that?"
"Around five. Why?" Muffy asked.
Buster scribbled in his notepad. He nodded. He took a look around, looking into the dining room, seeing a spotted washcloth lying on the table. Buster immediately started to look funny, when Muffy turned around to see what he was staring at.
"Oh. That's Chad's. He's a mechanic. I keep telling him not to leave his dirty rags around the place, but he never listens." Muffy got up to remove the unsightly object.
"And Chad's your husband?" Buster asked.
"To be." Muffy added with a wink. Buster raised an eyebrow. He jotted down this new information in his pad.
"I'll be leaving then." Buster announced. He exited Muffy's house, getting into his car and driving off.
-Breakline-
Arthur had finally moved from Sue Ellen's bedside. He had told her he was going to go home, then over to DW's house to check on Andy, then he'd be back. As Arthur made his way to his car, he scratched his chin, he really needed to shave. He yawned and shook his head, two agonizing days had passed since the accident, and he was severely tired. He knew it was a risk to drive home tired, but he took the risk.
Fortunately, he arrived at 232 Cherry Picker Lane with little incident. He opened the door and went inside. He made his way upstairs to the bathroom, where he proceeded to shave, in a solemn quietness he had not known since he moved out of his parents' house. He then went downstairs, where he ate two slices of toast. Eventually he made it to the couch. He flipped on the TV, and Good Morning America was on. Having no interest, he just sighed and leaned his head against the couch. He woke up three hours later.
Arthur drove over to DW and James' house. When he knocked on the door, DW opened the door, looking frazzled.
"You need to tell Andy something. He's getting suspicious." DW said.
"Why couldn't you tell him?" Arthur retorted. DW was taken aback, sputtering before just shaking her head and turning inside, telling Arthur,
"Just come on in!" DW said. Arthur swiftly stepped in, and DW closed the door. Arthur saw James holding Dieter on his shoulders, and immediately smirked. James gave Dieter a piggyback ride, before putting him down, and doing the same for Andy. When James saw Arthur, he said to Andy,
"Hey look who's here!"
"Daddy!" Andy held out his arms, and Arthur happily picked Andy off of James' back.
"Hey Sport!" Arthur patted Andy's head. "What've you been up to?"
"Having fun!" Andy exclaimed. Arthur and James chuckled before shaking hands and getting over the normal pleasantries. Andy eventually left to chase Dieter around the house, which DW ran to supervise.
"How's Sue Ellen?" James said when the others were gone.
"She's awake. Doctor says she's gonna be fine." Arthur said, relief in his voice.
"How are you?" James then asked. Arthur sighed and ran his fingers through his hair.
"I've been better." James nodded at the statement.
"Should we tell Andy?" James asked.
"Not yet. Give it a couple more days. Then tell him." Arthur replied. "I just had to check on him."
"I understand man." Arthur shook James' hand again.
"See you later James."
"Take care." Arthur let himself out and drove away towards the hospital.
-Breakline-
When Francine got home, she met her phone ringing. She hurried over and picked it up. It was Muffy. On the other end, Francine heard panting. She frantically shouted, "Muffy!?"
"Francine! Oh it's terrible!" Muffy choked out.
"What happened?" Francine asked.
"Buster came by. He asked me about Sue Ellen's accident!" Muffy said.
"You did not tell him anything did you?" Francine asked with a deadly tone.
"Nothing much." Muffy replied nervously.
"What do you mean nothing much?" Francine almost growled.
"I just told him you and I talked on the phone!" Muffy said.
"That better be all Mary Alice Crosswire!" Francine heard Muffy gulp. No one used her full name. "If I find out that Buster thinks I did it, I will end you!" Francine angrily hung up. Muffy still hung onto the phone even after the dial tone came on. She quickly gathered herself. She didn't tell him anything. He wouldn't suspect them, since she gave a truthful alibi. She was safe.
Meanwhile, across town, Buster sat at his desk, looking over his new information. Muffy's boyfriend/fiancé was a mechanic. Direct access to the tools would be Muffy's privilege. Plus the fact that she and Francine would have had a grudge against Sue Ellen, Muffy might've helped her best friend harm Sue Ellen. That was a possibility as well. Buster nodded. This was coming along fast.
A/N: A short one for now. Something to tie you all over till the next installment. So now we have two real suspects: Muffy and Francine. Who done done it? Can you figure it out? Is it one? The other? Or both? Is it someone completely unsuspected? Find out next chapter, same Bat-time, same Bat-Channel.