Down the ridge, a tree stump among the foliage seemed to be moving involuntarily. Slowly, the top of the stump raised, and a pair of eyes peered out the opening.
"Is the cost clear?" One voice asked.
"Yep." The other voice responded, as the lid was closed again.
The drug dealers managed to give the police the slip by ducking into a tree stump, that served as the secret entrance for a network of tunnels they had within the inside of the ridge. Down into the tunnel they went, until they made it into an opening, where they had electricity powered by a generator, a cozy little cove, they could possibly keep hold down there for extended periods of time.
"You think that bastard called the cops on us?" The second crook asked.
"Nah, that guy's too big a chicken," the first crook said, "if anything, I bet it was those rotten kids!"
"So what now?" The second crook asked. "The cops more than likely busted up our joint, they probably already took away all our dope!"
"We'll teach those kids a lesson not to mess with dangerous crooks like us!" The first crook said, as he opened a glass case, full of modified shot guns.
Back in civilization, the chipmunks plastered posters of Jeanette in any place they could. Store front windows, telephone poles, lamp posts, public bulletin boards, even going into the community playgrounds, and parks, passing them out. After retrieving the drug money of a little less than fifty thousand dollars, the police offered the amount as reward money for any information regarding Jeanette's whereabouts.
"Not that I'm not proud of you, Alvin," Dave said, as he talked to his son, in his bedroom, "but do you realize the seriousness of spending that money you found?"
"I do now..." Alvin said, "but Dave, a box full of money is any kids dream!"
"I have no doubts, Alvin," Dave said, "but that money didn't belong to you, you shouldn't have tried to keep it, and spend it on yourself."
"I didn't spend all of it on myself!" Alvin said.
"Oh?" Dave asked.
"I loaned some to Theodore," Alvin began, "payed off the money I owed to Eleanor, and Brittany... Simon didn't want to keep what I owed him, and then I bought lunch for someone at school..."
"Well..." Dave said, "it's... nice... that you payed off those whom you owed money to, and so on... but still, you should have told me about that money..."
"I didn't want you to find out, and make me give the money to the police." Alvin admitted.
"Ignoring the fact that it was drug money, imagine if that money really belonged to someone who lost it," Dave said, "wouldn't it trouble you knowing you were spending someone else's missing money?"
"Maybe..." Alvin said.
"Maybe?" Dave asked. "You wouldn't want someone spending money you lost, would you?"
"Of course not!" Alvin said.
"Well, it would be a similar case." Dave pressed.
"I get it, Dave..." Alvin sighed.
"Do you really?" Dave asked.
"Yeah," Alvin said, "I'd feel bad knowing that I spent someone else's missing money..."
"Well," Dave said, "at least the money's been turned in, minus the little bit your already spent."
"I wonder if the cops ever found those two guys who fled?" Alvin asked.
"I don't know," Dave said, "but I hope they do, we need to take as many drug dealers out of action as possible."
"Did they return those drugs to the pharmacy?" Alvin asked.
"From what I understand." Dave said, as he got off of Alvin's bed. "And, no, the police aren't going to hold it against you."
"Great..." Alvin sighed, in relief.
Brittany and Eleanor walked up to every person they came across, passing out flyers in the park.
"Have you seen our sister?" Brittany asked, handing a flyer to a couple sitting on the bank of the water fountain.
"She's been missing since last night." Eleanor added.
"No, can't say I have," the woman said, "honey?"
"No." Her husband said.
"Thanks, anyway." Brittany and Eleanor said, walking off.
"Nothing." Eleanor said.
"At least one person has seen her." Brittany said, trying to perk themselves up.
"That was someone who was at our little concert last month, and got our autographs." Eleanor reminded Brittany.
"Oh yeah..." Brittany said, dejected.
At the frozen yogurt shoppe, Simon and Theodore handed out the flyers to all the customers, as well as the employees.
"Is there any place we haven't covered, Simon?" Theodore asked, his mouth full of yogurt, as they exited the shoppe.
"I think we've just about covered everything within a five-block radius of our neighborhood." Simon said, realizing he and Theodore only had five flyers left.
"I hope we can find Jeanette soon." Theodore said.
"Me too, Theodore..." Simon said, as he folded the remaining flyers into his pocket.
Brittany and Eleanor walked home, discontently, where they found Miss Miller on the phone, talking to anybody, and everybody, she knows, to be on the hunt for Jeanette.
"... Well, please call me as soon as you know something..." Miss Miller said, "thank you... bye..." she hung up.
"Any luck?" Eleanor asked.
"I'm afraid not," Miss Miller said, wiggling her tired fingers from holding the phone so much, "how about you girls?"
"We gave out just about all the flyers we had," Brittany said, with only two left, "only one person's seen her, though."
"But she was at our concert last month, and got our autographs." Eleanor reminded Brittany again.
"Oh yeah..." Brittany said again.
"I know the boys have been passing out flyers as well," Miss Miller said, "I guess there's nothing more to do now, but wait, and see if we hear from anybody..."
"Which will be never..." Brittany said, dropping the remaining flyers.
"Brittany..." Miss Miller began.
"Why kid ourselves, Miss Miller?" Brittany asked. "Jeanette's gone for good... only those two jerks know where she is, because they're the ones who got rid of her, but they won't talk!"
"That doesn't necessarily mean Jeanette is gone for good..." Eleanor said, with false optimism.
"If it didn't, we would've heard something by now!" Brittany said.
"Sad truth is sometimes people are missing for years..." Miss Miller said, making not nly Brittany, but herself feel worse than before.
"Jeanette's gone for good..." Brittany moped, "we'll never see her again!"
"Sure we will, Brittany," Eleanor said, trying to take her oldest sister by the arm, only to have her pull away, "we can't give up hope, Brittany..."
"Ain't no hope to give up, Eleanor..." Brittany moaned, as she stormed upstairs, and slammed her bedroom door shut.
Eleanor sat on the floor.
"I hate to admit it, but I feel the same way..." Eleanor admitted.
"I know you do, sweetheart," Miss Miller said, "I think we all do."
"I think..." Eleanor began, "I think one of us should've stuck around with her... for insurance... for security... for protection..."
"Then we'd be missing two children..." Miss Miller said.
Eleanor didn't think so. She was sure if maybe she stuck with Jeanette, she'd still be with them. She knows how impressionable Jeanette, and she couldn't help but think she was forced into going somewhere she didn't want to, but was too scared to say anything. If only she was there, maybe she could've helped Jeanette. If only she was there, maybe she could've saved Jeanette. If only. That's all Eleanor kept hearing in her head. If only.
"If only..." Eleanor mumbled. "If only..."
Simon and Theodore also returned home.
"How did it go?" Dave asked.
"Well, we gave out exactly 245 flyers at various locations across town..." Simon said.
"But nobody's seen her." Theodore said.
"We'll still help out Miss Miller, and the girls, in anyway we can." Dave said.
Upstairs, Alvin was also having a case of the "if onlys". If only he hadn't been so greedy. If only had hadn't talked Jeanette into guarding the money. If only he hadn't decided to keep the money. If only he hadn't even found the money. If only he didn't even like money. Later in the afternoon, a reporter from one of the local community newspapers came over to talk to both the Sevilles and the Millers about the recent events as of late, and the disapperance of Jeanette. While both Dave and Miss Miller expressed pride in their kids for busting up the little drug cartel, they both expressed how sad it is that Jeanette went missing in the process. For the article, Alvin was asked to be quoted saying "Jeanette, if you're out there, and you read this, I want to offer you my sincerest apologies for getting you into this mess." Later that night, Brittany and Eleanor got ready for bed, but instead of getting into her own bed, Brittany got into Jeanette's bed.
"What are you doing?" Eleanor asked.
"Until Jeanette comes home," Brittany said, "which I know will be never, I'm going to keep her bed warm for her."
Eleanor paused for a moment, before decided to get into Jeanette's bed as well.
"Me too." Eleanor said.
Out in the night, two figures made their way, slowly, into the neighborhood. Onward they walked, until they made it between the Seville house, and the Miller house.
"This is it, ain't it?" The second crook asked.
"Yep." The first crook said. "I have a photographic memory."
"Which one you wanna take?" The second crook asked.
"I remember the little red capped twerp heading into this one on the right," he said, "I'll take it."
"Fine," the second crook said, "I'll take those other two girls out here."
"Make sure to scare them a little, just before you knock them off," the first crook said, "I'm in the mood for seeing wet underwear..."
With that, each of the two crooks went up the walkway of the two houses, and as if waiting for a cue, they both used the blunt end of their shotguns to knock the front doors down.
"What was that?!" Theodore asked, startled.
"Sounded like some kind of crash downstairs!" Simon said, also startled.
"You think Dave dropped something down in the kitchen?" Alvin asked.
The boys got out of their beds, and exited their room, however once they got to the top of the stairs, and saw the familiar face of the drug dealer they previously did 'business' with, they paniced, and ran back into their room, though the crook chased after them. The boys braced themselves against the door, and tried to hold the crook back, but he was too strong for them. At that moment Dave happened to step out of his bedroom, to see what in the world was going on, though he was a little too late.
"Hey!" Dave called out, the second before the crook made his way into the boys' room.
"Please don't hurt us!" Theodore cried.
"Fat chance, chubby!" The crook said, pointing his shotgun at Theodore.
Alvin jumped in front of his brothers.
"Don't you dare!" Alvin said.
"Watch me!" The crook said, as he changed the aim of the gun, and pointed it right between Alvin's eyes.
Brittany and Eleanor huddled together, in Jeanette's bed, as the second of the two crooks waved his shotgun in front of them.
"Think I won't use this?" He asked them. "Huh?"
"Just leave alone, you jerk!" Brittany said, with a tremble in her voice.
"Jerk?" The crook laughed. "You callin' me a jerk?!"
"What's going on here?!" Miss Miller said, as she stepped into the room, with an umbrella in her hand.
"Run, Miss Miller!" Brittany cried.
"He'll kill you!" Eleanor also cried.
Miss Miller wasted no time in bludgeoning the crook with her umbrella.
"You get that gun away from my girls, or you're going to be sorry, you punk!" Miss Miller spoke, each time the umbrella hit the man's head.
The crook wasn't able to dodge Miss Miller's attacks, because she managed to hit him in every direction he bobbed, or swayed. With all her strength, Miss Miller swung the umbrella from the side, hitting the crook in the side of the head, knocking him to the floor. Using the hook of the handle, Miss Miller hooked the man's gun, and tried to pull it away from the crook, but he refused to let go. Brittany and Eleanor decided they needed to help Miss Miller, so they hopped out of bed, and ran over to the commotion, to which, they both dug their teeth deep into the man's hands, causing him to let go of the gun. As well, Dave and the first of the two crooks were fighting over possession of the gun.
"You get that gun away from my boys!" Dave demanded.
"Your boys are done for, and so are you!" The crook said, as he tried to keep Dave from handling the gun.
The boys ran over, and attempted to help Dave over power the crook, and take hold of his gun, but he kicked them down.
"Hey!" Dave said.
"What am I wasting my time for?" The crook asked himself, as he kicked Dave in the stomach.
Dave grabbed his stomach, and fell to his knees, as the crook quickly cocked his gun, and aimed for Dave's head.
"No!" Alvin screamed, as he charged at the villian, just as the police pulled up outside.
A shot was heard, and the police split up to race into both houses.
"Gunfire, we got gunfire!" One officer was heard, speaking into his walky-talky. "Requesting backup!"
Upstairs, Alvin miraculously managed to knock the gun out of the crook's hand before he could shoot Dave. It the force of the gun hitting the floor, along with Alvin, the caused it to discharge, into the bedroom wall.
"Little twerp..." the crook mumbled, as he lunged for Alvin, only to be brought down, as Dave grabbed his legs, as he ran by.
It made no matter to him, because even on the floor, he reached for his gun, just as the police ran into the room.
"Freeze! Police officers!" They yelled, as they drew their guns.
Shortly later, both of the drug dealers were finally in custody, as the police forced them into the back of their cars.
"How did you know they were here?" Dave asked the captain.
"You that guy that who used to work for them?" The captain asked. "He tipped us off."
"He did say they were going to hunt us down for turning them in..." Simon mentioned.
"Looks like that's what the case was," the captain said, "at any rate, these two guys are going to be put away for a long, long time."
"Thanks for all your help, captain." Dave said, as he shook the captain's hand.
"Thank you." The captain responded, as the police drove off.
Dave and the boys went next to the Miller house, to check on the girls.
"Are you all alright?" Dave asked.
"Sure are!" Miss Miller said, blowing across the tip of her umbrella as if it were the barrel of a gun.
"That guy wasn't kidding when he said they'd come looking for us!" Brittany said.
"But at least the worst of that is over." Alvin said.
The next morning, when Brittany and Eleanor came downstairs, they saw Miss Miller was on the phone with the police department.
"... I see..." Miss Miller said, sounding very disappointed, "well... thank you anyway, I appreciate it... you too... bye..."
"Who was that?" Eleanor asked.
"The police," Miss Miller said, "those two guys still refuse to talk."
"About Jeanette?" Brittany asked.
Miss Miller sadly nodded.
"Then make them torture 'em!" Brittany said.
"Brittany..." Miss Miller began.
"Torture 'em until they talk!!!" Brittany screamed.
"Brittany..." Miss Miller said again.
"Well..." Brittany moaned.
"They've grilled them, and everything, they're firm in not talking." Miss Miller sighed.
"That does it..." Brittany said, walking off. "We'll never see Jeanette again!"