YAY! I GOT A REVIEW! :D Thank you, taylormomsen8! It's nice to hear from you again and I'm glad you're enjoying the story so far! :) Here's a virtual butterscotch lolly to add to your collection of virtual goodies! O- Okay, let's continue! :D

A few floors up, Marlene was screaming uncontrollably. The four penguins found her standing in the hallway.

"Marlene! What's wrong?" Skipper questioned, shaking her slightly. She stopped screaming and pointed into the room she was standing in front of, too stunned to speak. She stayed outside while they went in to investigate. In the middle of the floor was a small, red puddle.

"Kowalski, analysis!" The scientist leaned over the substance, dipped the tip of his flipper in it, and stood back up.

"Hmm. . ." He murmured.

"Well? What is it?" Skipper asked.

"Blood?" Private questioned, trembling.

"No. Ketchup."

"Ketchup!?" Suddenly Rockgut burst in, Julien not far behind him.

"Alright, what happened in here?" Rockgut inquired, stopping and looking at the stain. Marlene shakily entered the room.

"Well, I was j-j-just walking around the hotel, you know? And I saw the d-door was o-open and I came in here just to be like 'Oh, hi!' and t-then I saw t-that!" She stuttered, pointing at the puddle. Rockgut stared at the penguins.

"Whose room is this?"

"Fred's." Kowalski replied.

"The squirrel, huh? This case is getting screwier every minute," He grumbled. "Did any of you see him in the last few hours?"

Skipper quietly gestured to his teammates to keep quiet when the others weren't looking; he feared that Rockgut would only suspect Private even more if they told him about Fred. Rockgut pointed at Julien.

"Let's start with you, lemur. What were you doing up this late?"

"Eh, I was meditating in my room."

"Did anyone see you or do we just take your word for it?"

"The sky spirits were there." Skipper rolled his eyes; surely Rockgut wouldn't fall for that.

"Okay, you can go." Never mind. Julien smirked triumphantly and left. The inspector paced the floor.

"Somebody in this room knows a lot more than he or she is admitting, and I intend to find out who it is." He muttered.

"Are you making an accusation?" Kowalski asked. Rockgut spun around to face him.

"Maybe. I think that lawyer with the fluffy tail was bumped off to keep his book from getting published. Last night, he was murdered; tonight, his secretary disappears. Maybe he's still alive, maybe he isn't."

"He isn't." Private blurted out. Rockgut glared at him.

"How do you know?" The young penguin trembled slightly. Behind Rockgut, Private could see his teammates silently pleading with him not to say anything else. He gulped.

"Uhh. . . Because. . . Well, I mean. . ." His eyes fell on the ketchup stain. "That spot on the carpet. . . It's not ketchup or something." Skipper, Kowalski, and Rico sighed in relief.

"Hmm. . . It could mean that the squirrel got his ticket punched," Rockgut said, rubbing his beak. "Or it could just be a trick." At that moment, Julien reappeared and marched right up to the police penguin.

"You're wasting your time! It is the plumpy penguin! Do you not see the guilt written all over his feathery face!?" He grabbed Private and held him up for Rockgut to see. Private whimpered.

"Ringtail, put him down!" Skipper, Kowalski, and Rico yanked Private away from him. Julien glared at them and crossed his arms. Rockgut continued.

"I thought so too, but Doughboy here has come up with an airtight alibi."

"He has!?" Julien questioned in disbelief. Skipper understood what Rockgut was doing and stayed quiet; Kowalski, unfortunately, didn't quite take the hint.

"He has?!" Skipper slapped him. "Oh. I mean, yes, he has." The investigator placed his flippers on his hips.

"Alright, all of you can go now," Everybody started to leave. "Not you two." He pointed at Skipper and Private. The others left and shut the door, leaving the three penguins alone.

"Doughboy, I wanna tell you something."

"What?" Private asked, tapping the tips of his flippers together worriedly.

"You're in this thing up to your beak, but there was something strange about that lemur's alibi. So, I'm gonna give you one more chance to clear yourself." Private brightened up.

"You are?"

"Yeah, but you two lollipops better think of something fast; I'm getting closer to wrapping this case up, and I won't hesitate to throw the book at you. Now get going!" Skipper and Private exited the room. They waddled over to Kowalski and Rico, who were waiting for them in the hallway.

"So, what did he say?" Kowalski inquired.

"He's giving Private one more chance to clear himself," Skipper replied. "We're going to need some options." Kowalski smiled and scribbled some ideas on his clipboard, which had magically appeared from out of thin air.

"Well, the killer, or Julien, whichever you prefer, might try to get Private again in a last-ditch effort to escape getting convicted. So, I suggest we guard Private around the clock in three-hour shifts." He concluded, showing them the doodles he made.

"Outstanding. Then it's all set. Starting tomorrow, I'll go first, then you, then Rico. We'll rotate in that order until we have enough proof to clear Private's name. Now let's get some shut-eye." The penguins headed to the elevator, not realizing that someone was watching them from the shadows.

The penguins reached the top floor and headed to their rooms. As they passed Private's room, Private held Skipper back with his flipper.

"Umm. . . Would it be okay if I slept in your room, Skippah?"

"Why?"

"Mort is still in my closet."

"Oh, right," Skipper looked at the door and then at Private. "Come on." The two of them headed toward Skipper's room and went inside. His room was identical to Private's, except he didn't have a mirror on his closet door (which Skipper was now grateful for). He locked the door behind them and turned to Private.

"You can sleep in my bed, Private; I'll sleep on the couch." He headed toward the living room.

"Thanks, Skippah!"

"You're welcome, young Private. Now, get some sleep." Skipper left. Private climbed into bed and fell into a nice, lunacorn-free slumber.

So, for those of you out there who have seen the actual movie, this chapter pretty much stayed close to it, only I made the stain on the carpet actually ketchup instead of blood (it has nothing to do with the case, but it sure helped Private from getting arrested by Rockgut!). XD Well, Private has one more chance to clear himself, but will he be able to prove his innocence (and survive long enough to do so)? :O Things are going to get even more interesting! :)