"Man, I'm glad work is over for the day. I'm looking forward to eating that pizza for dinner," Colonel Rob Hermann said as he stretched out his arms. "I wonder if I should share it with O'Connell. I could eat the whole thing, but I bet he'll come begging for some," he continued, thinking about the various ways his subordinate scavenged food from him.
Hermann opened the door and stopped. His pizza was gone.
"No… where is it? Where's my pizza?! I've been looking forward to that all day!" Hermann exclaimed, entering the room and looking around for it.
"Someone took my pizza!" he declared, putting his hands on his hips and scanning the room. He then turned around and started looking elsewhere. He then stopped and thought. Who would steal his pizza? Who knew he had a pizza? No one had seen him with it.
"I bet it was O'Connell. He must have come looking for me and found the pizza, and knew it was mine. And only he can do something like that without getting in too much trouble. I better find him before he eats it all!" Hermann said, and went to find Major O'Connell.
Hermann opened the door.
"Hi Colonel," O'Connell said, looking innocently up at his colonel. He was sitting on the floor in a cute and innocent way, with his legs apart and the palms of his hands flat on the floor in front of him, like a relaxed cat or dog.
"Hi," Hermann replied, looking around the room. O'Connell did the same.
"What are we looking for?" he asked.
"Something that belongs to me," Hermann answered.
"Like those paperclips?" O'Connell asked, pointing to three paperclips that lay on the desk. He had a habit of stealing Hermann's paperclips.
"No, not the paperclips. It was edible."
"Your muffin? Because I didn't eat it."
"How did you know someone took my muffin?"
"Um… you look muffinless."
"What? You never make any sense. And no, we are not looking for my muffin. We are looking for my pizza. Did you take it?"
"No."
"Did you take my pizza, O'Connell?"
"No."
"Are you sure?"
"Yes."
"Do you know where it is?"
"Where did you last leave it?"
"On my desk. It isn't there now."
"Are you sure?"
"Very."
"Well, I can't help you."
"Okay…" Hermann looked around again, then moved closer to his subordinate. "What are you doing?"
"Nothing."
"Are you sure?" Hermann asked.
"I don't know." O'Connell stared back innocently. Hermann moved close to O'Connell's face, close enough to smell his breath. It smelt like peppermints.
"Okay then. Bye," Hermann said as he closed the door. O'Connell was very crafty, but Hermann knew he didn't eat peppermints that often, so he was probably trying to hide something… like his pizza breath! Hermann was quite sure that O'Connell had taken his pizza, but he knew that his subordinate wouldn't have been able to eat the whole thing. He returned to his desk to find his pizza there. Three slices were missing.