Chapter 11
An Unofficial Interrogation
Alvin and Simon pulled up to Ian's. As they climbed out of the car, they were surprised to find the bald man himself walking through the doors onto the sidewalk.
"Well if it isn't my favorite chipmunks!" he exclaimed as he saw them. "See? I knew you boys wouldn't be able to stay away!"
Alvin cut right to the chase. "Ian, we need some help."
"If by help, you mean you're in need to delicious food and first-class entertainment, then I'm your man! By the way, Alvin, what did you think of the entertainment on Saturday?"
"She's something else," Alvin answered. "Not in a good way," he added in his brain.
"I knew you'd be intrigued. I bet she wouldn't mind if you do a little investigating of your own." Ian winked and nudged him.
"Ian," Simon interjected. "We need to talk to two of your cooks."
"Oh yeah?" Ian asked. "You haven't even ordered food yet and already you want to have a word with the chef?" He laughed.
"Not exactly. Two of your cooks might have information relevant to a case we're working on. Mind if we go back and ask some questions?"
Ian paused, his eyes wide. "Well, I uh… sure, I guess that's alright. But, boys, are you telling me there's another crime going on at my establishment? Because if there is…"
"No, it's not like that at all, pal," Alvin said. "We just need to get some… details, worked out."
"Well of course, go ahead, boys. I've got to go run some errands, but by all means do what you need to do." Without another word, Ian turned and set off down the sidewalk.
"He sure didn't seem thrilled about us doing our job," Alvin remarked.
"Can you blame him?" Simon replied. "Nobody wants law enforcement sniffing around. It might give people the wrong idea of Ian."
"We've got nothing against him. It's those cooks I have beef with."
"We should get inside. The sooner we start the sooner we can get done."
Together, they entered the establishment. It was pretty empty, except for a few people here and there. Obviously, more people came during lunch and dinner. Alvin noticed with satisfaction that the curtains on the mini-stage were closed. Of course, that pink chipette, Brittany, wouldn't be performing until the evening. That thought made him feel significantly lighter as they went towards the kitchen doors.
Beyond, they found a large room of tile floors, ovens, stoves, sinks, and the smells of all kinds of food. It would have made Theodore applaud. People in white chefs' clothing went all around, cooking a wide range of different foods. Waiters entered and exited the same doors that the chipmunks just walked through, either carrying pieces of paper with orders on them or else platters of food.
"There they are," Simon whispered, elbowing Alvin in the arm.
Indeed, there were the two thugs, standing side by side while working at a stove. It was strange to see them in something other than suits (and brass knuckles, Alvin thought).
"Let's go talk to them," Alvin said, grabbing his badge — knowing full well he would need to flash it.
"Harry Potts, Ron Wheezy," Simon said as they approached. "We'd like to have a —"
Before he could finish his sentence, the two men started to run.
"Go around back, I'll chase them!" Alvin shouted, not waiting to see if Simon had even heard him.
The two thugs burst through a back door into an alleyway.
"Deja vu," Alvin thought, dodging trashcans splashing through puddles.
The two men made a sharp left into another side alley, and Alvin narrowly dodged a backing up garbage truck in order to do the same. The walls opened up onto a loading dock.
"Hold up, we just want to talk!" Alvin shouted.
He didn't need to worry. All of a sudden Simon burst through the door of a building and clothes-lined one of the thugs. The other was so startled that Alvin had just enough time to run up and grab him.
"Alright, fellas," Alvin panted. "Mind if we have a talk?"
He looked over at Simon. "Nice save, partner. How does your arm feel?"
"Like I punched a wall," Simon replied, helping the other criminal up. "Sorry for the rough play, but we needed to stop you guys."
"We didn't do anything!" the man with the mustache — Harry — yelled.
"We know," Alvin said. "But we think you might know something. Now can we just ask some questions?"
"What's in it for us?" Harry asked.
"I've seen your record," Alvin said. "Maybe a few of your past crimes — like a couple muggings — will 'accidentally' be erased."
The two men looked at one another. "What do you want to know?" Ron asked.
"Who robbed Jeanette Miller?" Alvin asked.
"Dr. Jeanette Miller," Simon corrected.
"Whatever," Alvin replied.
"We don't know," Ron answered. "We honestly don't. We just got a note with an envelope full of cash. Someone wanted us to keep an eye on her and find out her daily routine. Then we were given another one a few days later with instructions to tail you guys."
"Who did you give your information to?" Simon asked.
"We were told to write it down and leave it in the alleyway behind Ian's," Harry answered. "We never hung around to see who it was."
"Alright, how about this," Alvin said. "Have you ever seen a tie-clip with a dollar sign on it? It was gold."
The two men exchanged a glance. "No, I can't say that I have," Ron said, but he looked nervous.
"Me neither," said Harry.
"I think you're lying," Alvin suddenly accused.
"What?" Ron snapped.
"What do you know?" Alvin demanded.
"Now listen, it's dangerous to talk about it," Ron said. "The Dollar-Bills is a gang here in L.A., surely you know that. It's three guys but nobody knows their names. They wear tie-clips with dollar signs on them. If you're up against them, then you can forget it, Copper!"
That was the last of the useful chefs were let go and Alvin and Simon went back to the restaurant themselves. They needed to sit and talk.
"First, I need to wash up," Simon said. "That running worked up a sweat."
As he wandered away, Alvin got to thinking. The Dollar-Bills… why had he never heard of them? If they were so famous, why did no cops know of their existence…
His thoughts were interrupted by a sweet… and positively infuriating… voice.
"Hi, Officer Alvie, care to buy me a drink?"
Alvin looked up into the teasing, beautiful face of Brittany Miller.
And there's chapter 11! Sorry for taking so long in between chapters. Life has been busy, especially because I'll be taking a week off to go on a trip. Hopefully you all are liking the story!
What do you like about the story so far? Please feel free to leave a review and let me know!
See you all next time on Munk-Noir!