The incident occurred exactly at 12:13 pm.

As Officer Wedge reported, one Larry the Cucumber had gone to meet the florist, Petunia Rhubarb, in the alley behind her shop at 12:10, as they had previously agreed. The two had experienced an altercation earlier that morning when Larry had accidentally killed all the plants in Petunia's shop, but Petunia had contacted Larry and asked to meet. Larry had gone with a cookie bouquet which he had picked up at the local bakery to help him make amends.

At the time, the front door of the building had been locked. Tina Celery, Petunia's assistant and roommate, had claimed to be in the kitchen of the ground-floor area that doubled as the ladies' apartment, making s'mores with Bacon Bill, who was visiting from out of town. Tina and Bacon Bill claimed to have been distracted while cleaning up an exploded s'more and did not see the incident in the alley. While Larry and Petunia had been talking, a flower pot had dropped from an open window of Petunia's shop on the second-floor and landed on Larry's head. Hearing the crash, Tina and Bacon Bill had rushed out and found Petunia trying to revive Larry, who was then taken to the hospital, but he left shortly afterwards.

The report of the incident recorded in the supercomputer of the League of Veggie Heroes differed from the case file at the police station in only a few details to which the HPD was not privy.

Following the incident with the plants, a contrite Larry had joined his teammates in their headquarters beneath the fountain. He had changed into his costume, becoming LarryBoy, the plunger-headed leader of the heroes, but before they could go on their patrol of the House, Petunia had texted Larry, asking if they could talk. The League had been happy to excuse him to go see her, and after purchasing the bouquet, Larry had gone to see his friend.

On hearing their leader was in the hospital, the other members — SuperMato, JimmyBoy, Junior Jetpack, Night Pony and Motato — had rushed over to see him, arriving just as Officer Wedge was taking Larry's statement. It promptly became a League investigation, and Larry had quietly left the hospital to change back into his super suit (although he now carried an ice pack against his helmet).

"Why did you try to water Petunia's plants in the first place?" SuperMato, his best friend, exhaled as the League helped a limping LarryBoy over to the police station. "You know you have a cardboard thumb. What did you think was going to happen?"

"I wanted to show Petunia that I could do it," LarryBoy mumbled. "She asked Bacon Bill to help her with the shop while he's in town, but I'm just as helpful as Bacon Bill."

"Except Bill doesn't kill plants just by touching them," Motato observed dryly, bringing up the rear of the group.

LarryBoy winced and pressed the ice pack closer to his helmet (although SuperMato pointed out that this would not do him much good). He had known before he had entered the shop that morning that he should not mess with Petunia's merchandise without her permission, but he thought just a little water wouldn't hurt. He really had not used that much, only a splash or two in each flower pot, but one by one all the plants had shriveled up. Then Petunia had come upstairs and…

LarryBoy swallowed. That really had been the worst of it. He had through all that effort to impress Petunia and show her that she could depend on him — much more than she could depend on Bacon Bill or any other guy in the House — and she had turned him out of her shop, angry and hurt.

When it comes to plants, I'm nobody's hero, he mourned to himself.

As the League approached the station, a blueberry holding a magnifying glass met them on the front steps.

"Hello, LawrenceBoy," she greeted the cucumber, business-like. "Are you not feeling yourself today?" — gesturing to the ice pack.

"Something hit me on the head," he replied truthfully, and he glanced at the magnifying glass. "Are you a detective today, Madame?"

Madame Blueberry — or "Madame Clueberry," as she preferred to be called when she was working as a private detective — nodded grimly.

"After what happened to poor Lawrence, Petunia called me and asked if I could help investigate," she explained. "I hope you don't mind if I lend a hand to the League."

"The sooner we solve this case, the better," replied LarryBoy. Over the past few years, he had grown to respect the blueberry as an investigator; she had a way of spotting clues and connecting dots that the superheroes overlooked.

Madame Clueberry smiled and joined them as they went to look for Officer Wedge.

Unfortunately, Officer Wedge could not assist them with the interrogation because an ornery group of scallions were brought in just as the League was getting ready, and he had to focus on them instead.

"I'll handle this," volunteered Motato, tossing back his head. "I've been part of enough police interrogations to know how it's done."

"And this time you're on the other side of the table," JimmyBoy grinned.

While the League watched through the one-way glass in the observation room, Motato called in the first suspect, Tina Celery. She was a tall, slim woman, and although usually friendly and silly, she regarded Motato with a scowl.

"Me and Bacon Bill were downstairs the entire time," Tina insisted. "You got nothin' on me, potato!"

"Weren't you supposed to clean up the mess Larry the Cucumber made up in the greenhouse?" Motato challenged, checking the clipboard with witness statements. "Why would you be downstairs?"

"Because Bill and I wanted a snack, and we got distracted," Tina replied stoutly. "We made s'mores in the microwave, and then we tried to make an Ultimate, Mega, Super S'More using a new type of marshmallow filling from Bill's chocolate factory — but then it exploded in the microwave, and we spent the rest of the time cleaning up the kitchen. Didn't go upstairs at all. Then we heard a crash, and when we went outside, we found Larry out in the alley, and Petunia was trying to help him."

Motato grilled Tina for several minutes, but she would not budge on a single detail. He reluctantly dismissed her and called Bacon Bill next. He was a thin strip of bacon wearing a paper hat that matched his childlike demeanor, and his story matched Tina's.

"We made s'mores and more s'mores, then some more s'mores, and — hey, is that why they're called s'mores? Because you want 'some more'?" Bacon Bill pondered, and Motato had to pull his attention back to the present before he went off on a non sequitur. "Anyway, the last one exploded, and so we tried to have everything cleaned up before Petunia got home. Then somebody shouted, 'OW!' So we rushed outside, and Larry was on the ground with a broken flower pot by his head — and a bunch of broken cookies — and Petunia was standing next to him trying to get him to come to."

After more questioning, Motato had to let him go as well.

"I really thought I was onto something," Motato sighed as he joined his friends in the observation room. "I used to be good at conning people, and I thought I could still spot another con man. Maybe I've lost my touch."

Madame Clueberry gave him a sympathetic smile. "The investigation is not over yet, Mr. Motato."

"I suppose," Motato grumbled. "So, who's the next suspect?"

SuperMato checked his clipboard. "Petunia Rhubarb."

LarryBoy let out a laugh.

"Well, we know for sure she didn't do it. Petunia is the nicest girl in town and my— uh, Larry's good friend," he added, with a quick look toward Madame Clueberry.

Motato rounded on him with a stern glare. "No one is above the law, my good cuke. Your chances of being attacked by a cloying ingénue may be slim, but it's never zero."

LarryBoy shook his head, smiling. "She's innocent. You'll see."

Soon, Petunia, a lovely, even-tempered rhubarb with red hair, entered the room and was directed to sit at the table. Despite the seriousness of the situation, she exuded a polite serenity and composure.

"Here's the facts of the case, Miss Rhubarb," began Motato, pacing in front of her with a clipboard and pencil. "The front door of your shop was locked. Only you and Tina Celery have keys, but Tina and Bacon Bill were at the back of the downstairs area, making s'mores. They claim they stayed downstairs, and they are each other's alibis. So, who else could have gone upstairs?"

"I don't know," Petunia said in her soft-spoken way, her teal eyes gentle. "Maybe someone had a lock pick?"

"The door had no signs of forced entry," Motato countered. "And what were you doing at the time of the incident?"

"I was waiting to meet Larry in the alley behind my shop."

"Why?"

"Well, I felt bad about yelling at him this morning," she replied, looking suddenly embarrassed. "He really did try to do me a favor. I wanted to show him there were no hard feelings."

Motato raised a bushy eyebrow. "And your idea of a good meeting place was an alley behind your shop?"

"The upstairs was still a mess," she answered. "Tina and Bacon Bill were supposed to clean it up, but they took a snack break and got distracted with their s'mores. I texted Larry and asked him to meet me behind the shop because that seemed a good, private place to tell him that I forgave him."

"Oh, yes, it was private," Motato drawled. "Conveniently so, I should say. Not a lot of witnesses, if I understand correctly."

She blinked. "Pardon?"

Motato pointed his pencil at her. "So, Larry destroyed your merchandise, and you called him over to your house to apologize? Doesn't that sound a little backwards?"

"He was just trying to help out," she returned. "I shouldn't have just tossed him out of the shop the way I did, and I felt guilty. Larry is a close friend, and I thought if we could talk together, we could figure something out. He was such a dear about it too. He came right out and apologized before I even said anything. He even brought me those cookies, although we didn't get a chance to enjoy them."

Motato barked a laugh. "Oh, don't con an ex-con man, my dear."

Her eyebrows shot up. "Say that again?"

Motato dropped the clipboard onto the table, letting it clatter.

"You know what I think, Miss Rhubarb?" he sneered. "I think it's mighty fishy that this happened to Larry behind your shop, right after you had a beef with the poor fellow."

"Well, yes, I suppose it's an unfortunate coincidence," she replied, comprehension appearing in her wide eyes, "but that's just circumstantial."

"Ha! I've been locked up based on circumstantial evidence less solid back in my villain days," Motato retorted, "and nine out of ten times, I was actually guilty. So, this is what I'm thinking, Rhubarb. You set up the flower pot to fall, and then you lured Larry to the alley in order to get your revenge on him for ruining your merchandise!"

"No, I—I wouldn't!" she stammered, drawing back. "I couldn't!"

"Don't lie to me, girl!" Motato shouted. "You're guilty, guilty, guilty!"

In the observation room, LarryBoy hurriedly reached for the button on the intercom.

"That's enough, Moe," he told the potato. "Come back over here."

Motato whirled around, squinting at the one-way glass. "Give me five more minutes! I can break her!"

"Now, Moe."

LarryBoy had rarely used that firm tone with Motato since the potato had abandoned his life of villainy, and Motato knitted his brow, looking torn between obedience and defiance. The former won out, and he huffingly left Petunia in the interrogation room, coming back over to join his teammates and Madame Clueberry.

"Interrogation was so much easier when I was a villain," he complained, pouting as he took one of the empty chairs. "I could suspend a veggie over a tank full of pinching lobsters, and they would tell me everything."

Night Pony gave him a nudge with her staff. "But Petunia is one of your friends too, remember? You don't treat your friend badly, even when they're in trouble."

"Well, somebody's lying," he insisted stoutly. "Let me get all three of the suspects together, and I'll worm the truth out of one of them!"

"You have to know when to use mercy, Motato," LarryBoy insisted, shaking the ice pack at him. "Without love and compassion, then a superhero isn't much different from a villain."

"At no time are we supposed to be tyrants," added SuperMato. "We maintain order, but we aren't controlling. We seek the truth, but we don't force it out of people through barbarous means."

"Hmph!" harrumphed Motato.

Night Pony gave him her best puppy dog eyes. "C'mon, Moe. You used to be on the receiving end of the Bad Cop routine when you were a villain, but it wasn't until you made a real friend that you became good."

Motato made a noise that was a cross between a scoff and groan, but he could not deny the truth of his little friend's statement.

"Oh, very well," he grumbled. "We'll do things the nice-guy way."

SuperMato formed a smile. "When it comes to Petunia, I'm sure the Good Cop routine will work just fine. No need for draconian tactics."

"Then let me talk with her," Madame Clueberry suggested, turning from the one-way glass. "She'll open up to me if she's really hiding something. Just see."

LarryBoy and the others agreed to the plan, and Madame Clueberry slipped out into the hallway.

Five minutes later, Madame Clueberry entered with a plate of cookies and two water bottles, which she laid on the table in front of Petunia.

"You've been through a lot today," said the blueberry with a motherly look of sympathy. "How are you holding up?"

"I'll live," Petunia sighed. "I don't know how I got tangled into this whole thing. I'm the one who asked you to be the detective for this case, aren't I? If I was guilty, I wouldn't have done that."

"Yes, dear, but the surface facts are against you," Madame Clueberry reminded her. "You are the only person besides Tina who could have entered your shop, and you previously had an argument with the victim. Motive, means, and opportunity. That won't look good to a jury."

"But I didn't hurt Larry," Petunia insisted. "You have to believe me, Madame."

"Oh, I know you consider Lawrence a dear friend," Madame Clueberry, "but you have to help me help you, Petunia. I need complete honesty if you want to get out of this."

"But I've told everything!" Petunia protested helplessly. "What else can I say?"

"So, how do you think that flower pot fell from the greenhouse and struck Lawrence just when he was walking beneath it?"

"I don't know how it happened," she answered, "but it wasn't me. I could never hurt Larry."

"But he did ruin your inventory this morning," Madame Clueberry countered. "Hours of work for nothing, money and resources down the drain. I'm sure no one would blame you for seeing red. A little lapse in sanity is understandable—"

"It wasn't me," Petunia said with a vehement shake of her head. "I only wanted to talk, not hurt him."

"We all know how much those flowers meant to you, dear. Nobody would blame you for getting angry. Lawrence can be accident prone at times."

"Larry could burn down my whole house, and I would never lay a finger on him! He's too— He's too dear to me!"

Her voice broke a little, and her teal eyes had grown moist. She looked away.

"Not Larry," she said. "Never Larry."

Madame Clueberry looked at her in silence for a long moment before she leaned back in her chair.

"Oh, you poor child…" she said, sounding alarmed. "You're in love with him, aren't you?"

In the observation room, the ice pack fell from LarryBoy's grasp and plopped on the floor, but he made no move to grab it. He stared through the glass at Petunia, who had dropped her gaze to the table, visibly flustered.

"He's a sweet, sweet man," she murmured. "Kind and hardworking and imaginative. He lights up a room just by being there. So, I couldn't… I couldn't hurt him. No matter how mad I was, I couldn't do something bad to him."

"Oh, dear girl…" Madame Clueberry muttered.

An awkward silence had filled the observation room. Even the two children seemed to have lost their ability to move so much as an eyelash.

Slowly, LarryBoy grew aware of his heart pounding away in his chest. A piece of clothing rustled near him, and he acutely remembered the others standing around him. A part of him longed to push them all out of the room so that he could give Petunia (and himself) some privacy in this heavy moment, but he stayed rooted to the spot, gazing in dumbfounded silence at his flustered friend.

Madame Clueberry suddenly sat up.

"I'll be back in a moment, dear," she told Petunia. "Just hang tight."

Petunia ducked her head and made no sound. Madame Clueberry hopped out of her chair, and in moments she joined the League.

"That poor girl," she murmured, shaking her head. "Such a pity."

That snapped LarryBoy out of his daze, and he tore his eyes off Petunia.

"What? Why?" he asked in a strained voice.

Madame Clueberry exhaled, looking like a mortician dealing somber news. "She fell for the one man in the whole House who will never notice her."

LarryBoy straightened. "What."

"I-I-I think I'm going to see if Officer Wedge has any doughnuts left," Junior Jetpack said quickly, spinning for the door.

"Me too," chimed in Night Pony, ducking her head with embarrassment.

"Count me in," said JimmyBoy, following the children out.

SuperMato stepped over to Motato and gave him a nudge. "Maybe we should go too."

Motato did not budge.

"Are you kidding?" he grinned, fixing his uneven eyes on LarryBoy's uncomfortable features. "This is better than pay-per-view!"

SuperMato, however, gave him a shove this time, causing him to stagger. "Just come on already! You're a good guy now, Moe. Good guys know when to make an exit."

Motato blinked, remembrance appearing on his face. "Oh. Right."

The two slipped out, and SuperMato gave LarryBoy a waning smile before closing the door. Alone now with the blueberry, LarryBoy rolled his shoulders. A funny feeling wormed its way through him, and he glanced at Petunia through the glass, but he spoke to Madame Clueberry.

"Why wouldn't I— uh, Lawrence— I mean, Larry notice Petunia?"

Madame Clueberry let out a kind but grim sigh.

"Look, I love Lawrence as much as anyone," she insisted. "He's a wonderful, kind-hearted young man who is fun and good with children. He has a lot of great qualities, and that no doubt drew Petunia in, but I know Petunia, and I know Lawrence, and it's never going to happen."

He stared at her, aghast. "How can you be so sure?"

"Because Petunia is a woman who thinks long term," she replied. "Lawrence is a good cuke, but he's too immature to be in the kind of relationship that Petunia is looking for. He simply can't be the one for her."

"He could be," LarryBoy said softly.

"With a lot of growing up, he might get there someday," she conceded, "but I'm not sure Petunia ought to wait that long for a man."

He squared his shoulders. "Now, hold on—"

Before he could say another word, the door flung open, and Junior Jetpack burst into the room.

"LarryBoy! Madame Clueberry!" he cried. "You gotta hear this!"

Mystified, the two followed the young asparagus, who charged down the hall. As they approached the door leading to the lobby area, the sound of sobbing grew more distinct.

"We're sorry! We're sorry! Don't lock up Petunia! It's our fault!" a pair of voices wailed.

LarryBoy quickened his pace. "That's Tina and Bill!"

On opening the door, LarryBoy was met with the sight of his two friends on their knees in front of Officer Wedge and SuperMato. Tears poured down their thin faces until puddles formed around them.

"We didn't do it on purpose!" Tina wailed. "Bill was just showing me how many flower pots he could juggle without upsetting the potting soil, and we had the window open for air—"

"Because it gets really hot inside a greenhouse!" Bacon Bill interpolated.

"—And I tripped and knocked into Bill, and one flower pot went flying out into the alley!"

"It was an accident! Honest! But we were afraid we would get in trouble, so we didn't want to say anything!"

"But then we heard Petunia was called in to the police station, and we couldn't let her take the fall for us!"

The two burst into fresh tears, clinging to each other like children.

"We're sorry, Larry! We're sorry, Petunia!" they sobbed over and over until the lobby rang with their echoes.

"See? See? I knew something was off about them!" Motato exclaimed, triumphant. "And you guys doubted me!"

"Oh, please, don't arrest Petunia because of us!" Tina begged, catching hold of Officer Wedge's side. "Send me to jail instead! Petunia shouldn't suffer because of us!"

"Of course Petunia's not going to jail," said Officer Wedge sternly. "She's free to go, but you two should know better than to lie."

"We didn't want to get in trouble," Bacon Bill babbled, "but we couldn't let Petunia take the fall for us! It was my fault! I should go to jail!"

"No, I told Bill to lie!" Tina confessed "I should go to jail!"

"Calm down," Officer Wedge ordered. "If it was an honest accident, then we can work something out. Larry the Cucumber might not press charges."

"I don't think Larry will," LarryBoy said with a lopsided smile. "He knows Bill and Tina wouldn't hurt him on purpose."

While Officer Wedge retook Bill's and Tina's statements, the door opened behind LarryBoy, and he turned — and felt his heart leap in his chest. Evidently, Madame Clueberry had quietly slipped back down the hall when he had not been paying attention, and she returned to the lobby now with a bemused Petunia.

LarryBoy gulped at the sight of her.

"Petunia!" he squeaked, feeling his stomach flip-flop.

She flashed him a wan smile, and her eyes shifted toward the other costumed Veggies. She cleared her throat.

"I guess the whole League is at the station today?" she asked LarryBoy, halting beside him.

He rolled his shoulders. "Well, uh…"

She looked away. "If I'm off the hook, I might as well go home."

LarryBoy wanted to stop her, but he could not think of any good excuse, and he watched unhappily as she maneuvered around the crowd of Veggies and slipped out the door.

A/N: I was inspired by a moment from the NCIS episode, "In the Dark", where it is revealed during an interrogation scene that a character is in love with her boss.