Chapter 3

The Scientist

In less than ten minutes, Alvin had witnessed two of his brothers go bright red in the presence of a gal. He fought the urge to elbow the blue-suited chipmunk standing next to him. Simon wasn't just floored by the fact that he stood in the same room as a "brilliant scientist," as he so often called her. He was absolutely head over heels right now, the fool.

"Ms. Miller," Alvin said to get her attention.

"Dr. Miller," Simon interjected, with such insistence that Alvin put his hands up in surrender.

The purple-clad chipette looked up at them, her eyes wet. She tried her best to regain her composure, and was doing a surprisingly good job at it. "It's no wonder," Alvin thought. "I bet you don't become a world-class scientist by not getting a grip."

"Y-yes?" she asked, straightening her glasses.

"I—," Alvin began.

"I'm Detective Simon, and this is my partner," Simon cut in, uncharacteristically.

"Alvin," Alvin grumbled.

"Thank goodness you've come!" Jeanette exclaimed.

"Dependability, that's us," Simon said heroically. "Don't worry, Doctor, we'll use all of our logic and scientific reasoning to crack this case."

"Scientific…" Alvin face-palmed.

"Scientific?" Jeanette repeated.

"That's right," Simon said. "I guess you could say I'm a bit of a… forensic scientist."

"Oh brother," Alvin grumbled. "Listen, uh… Ms. Doctor, can we ask you some questions."

"Of — of course." Jeanette nodded.

"Just gaining data so we can use our deductive reas—" Simon began before Alvin cut him off.

"We just want to hear what happened."

Simon glared at him.

"I'd be happy to answer anything," Jeanette said, and her eyes lingered on Simon. "Anything at all."

"Great," Alvin said, as his brother distractedly broke out a note pad.

"So what happened, Dr. Miller?" Simon asked.

"I was here in the library doing research," Jeanette began.

"What sort of research?" There was a light in Simon's blue eyes that told Alvin this question had nothing to do with the case.

"I was just studying for pleasure. Studying relaxes me when things in the laboratory get hectic."

"I completely agree!" Simon exclaimed.

"Fantastic," Alvin said sarcastically. "You're both geniuses. What happened as you left the library?"

Jeanette looked as though she had been snapped out of a daydream. "I was walking down the front steps so I could get to the laboratory for the day, then…" Her voice caught. Tears welled in her eyes.

"It's ok, Dr. Miller," Simon comforted her.

"Then some man came out of nowhere. He didn't say a word. He just ran into me, nearly knocked me over, grabbed my precious necklace, and then ran away. I tried calling for help, but he slipped away from anyone who tried to stop him."

"Did you get a good look at the guy?" Alvin asked.

She shook her head. "He was wearing a mask. I didn't see his face. But he wore a blue shirt, the sleeves rolled up, and black pants. Oh, and a black hat. I couldn't tell what color his eyes were."

"We can ask some of the shopkeepers on this street if they saw him pass by. Maybe we can trace out the thief's route," Simon suggested.

"How about a tie? Was the guy wearing one?" Alvin inquired of Jeanette.

Jeanette blinked. "Why yes, he was!"

"Did you notice if he was wearing a tie-clip?" Simon asked.

"No, I didn't notice. I did try to grab his tie, to stop him, but it slipped out of my hands."

Alvin leaned over to Simon and whispered, "Good time for a tie-clip to fall off."

"My thoughts exactly," Simon replied. Then he asked Jeanette: "Were there any features you could identify him with?"

Jeanette thought about it, then shook her head no.

Alvin folded his arms. This wasn't really much to go on.

Simon asked, "Did you tell anyone you were coming to the library, Doctor?"

"No… well, I told my sister, Eleanor. She's a reporter."

"Yeah, we've met," Alvin answered bitterly.

"She had some interviews lined up today but she was going to meet me for breakfast. I gave her a telephone call and told her what happened."

"Anyone else?" Simon asked.

"I can't think of anybody."

"Do you come here regularly?"

Jeanette nodded. "Every other day."

Simon noted that down. If she ran like clockwork, it meant somebody could have planned ahead. Unless she was randomly targeted. But then why didn't the thief just steal her purse and run? Why did he want her necklace?

"What did your necklace look like?" Alvin asked.

"It was a gift when I graduated college. It had a silver chain and a large purple gem in the middle."

"Was it expensive?"

Jeanette nodded her head. "Very expensive. My sisters bought it for me." Fresh tears sprang to her eyes and Simon patted her shoulders to comfort her.

"Don't worry, Dr. Miller," he said. "We'll find your necklace."

"Thank you, Detective Simon."

"Yeah, you're welcome," Alvin said sarcastically.

"One last question," Simon asked. "Are you doing anything tomorrow evening?"

Alvin couldn't decide who looked more shocked, himself or Jeanette. But Jeanette quickly recovered, "Um, actually I have to be at the lab."

"Ah, I see," Simon said. "It's no trouble."

"But I'm free for lunch tomorrow at noon."

"That's excellent — I, I mean…" Simon flustered. "That would be excellent."

Alvin gripped him by the elbow. "Ok, Si, we've got to get going."

Simon tore a card from his pocket and handed it to Jeanette. "Here's my telephone number. Call any time, day or night."

Both Simon and Jeanette were bright red in the face. Alvin shook his head. What was he going to do with his brothers?

The pair of them returned to the street, Alvin already planning what he was going to say to Simon in the car, when another sight made him nearly choke: Theodore and Eleanor, eating hot dogs near a closely parked street vendor. They were talking… and smiling.

"What the —" Alvin said.

"C'est l'amour, Al," Simon said, and Alvin was somewhat pleased to see that Simon also looked a little weirded out. But that didn't erase the fact that he'd just given their victim his telephone number.

Alvin whistled to Theodore, and the stocky police officer scurried back to the library steps. "So, how did the interview go with the local celebrity?"

"Are you a reporter now too?" Alvin asked peevishly.

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"Nothing. Just… be careful. She's a reporter. They're strange creatures."

Alvin and Simon walked to the car, but not before Theodore asked: "Hey, see you tonight?"

"Yup," Alvin said. "See you then."

"Where to now?" Simon asked.

"I say we ask around the different shops, especially the ones with lots of windows. Maybe somebody saw the thief running away."

They both saw Theodore approach Eleanor again. She had finished her first hot dog and was ordering a second.

Alvin said: "Maybe we should talk to the reporter at some point. If Jeanette spoke to her this morning, it could mean she slipped the news to somebody."

"What, on purpose?" Simon replied.

"I don't think so. But maybe somebody got the wrong idea."

"It's worth a shot," Simon said. "But first, let's find some witnesses."

And there's chapter 3! Just a reminder: I do NOT own Alvin and the Chipmunks or even claim to. I make no money off of this story. It's all just for fun. ALL RIGHTS go to the respective OWNERS and CREATORS of this series.

Also, here's a mystery novel recommendation for anyone looking for a good read: The Westing Game by Ellen Raskin. It's a classic, but also really fun and lighthearted!