Chapter 9
"Do not kill."
(Exodus 20:13)
"Do not falsely accuse your neighbor."
(Exodus 20:16)
"Good Lord," Dale cried. His eyes met Jeremy's.
Jeremy's body looked terrible. Blood covered his clothes; his leg was twisted at an acute angle; his fur was ruffled; his eyes were wide and his mouth was ajar; bone broke through the skin on one of his arms; his neck was broken; and blood poured from his eyes and mouth.
Dale ran over to a nearby tree and began throwing up.
"Who is this?" Tony asked.
"That's Jeremy Oakmont, Dale's father," Chip explained.
"Hmm, interesting," Tony mused. "Tell me, did Dale have a good relationship with his father?"
"Absolutely not," Gadget replied. "In fact, Dale said he wished his father was dead."
"So, it's possible that Dale did this?" Tony proposed.
"No, he couldn't have done this," Gadget declared. "He was with us all day."
"Nevertheless, Dale is counted as a suspect and must be brought in for questioning," Tony said. He started to approach Dale with a pair of handcuffs. Zipper flew over and bit Tony's wrist. Tony swatted at the fly, but missed. He turned back to Dale. "Dale Oakmont, you're under arrest, son, for the murder of Jeremy Oakmont," he said as he handcuffed the chipmunk. He led Dale over to a police car.
Dale turned to his friends. "Help me, please," he begged. "Do something–anyhing!"
"Sorry, lad, but there's nothing we can do," Monty said.
"This is out of our hands, Dale," Gadget added.
Dale was placed in the backseat. He looked out the window at his betrayers as the police car sped away.
