Chapter 9

The File

Alvin poured over the file next to a mug of hot cocoa. He might have been a detective, but hot cocoa was delicious no matter how old or tough you were. Simon and Theodore were both still out. Those two chipettes really had a hold on his brothers. He wasn't about to follow in their footsteps. Brittany Miller… just thinking about her made him grit his teeth.

After leaving Ian's, Alvin had walked around town for a little while then returned to the apartment. He put on the radio and threw the file down on the table. Eventually, after shaking the thought of Brittany from his brain, he opened the folder and started to read. After a first read through, he went to the stove and made the cocoa. This was going to require some mental strength and nothing did that like a steaming mug of warm chocolate and milk.

Now this was his third time reading through the file and he still didn't understand a thing.

The door to the apartment opened and Simon swept into the room, absolutely love struck.

"My pulse is fast, Alvin!" he declared. "My heart rate is elevated, I'm flushed, and I have butterflies in my stomach. As a scientist, do you know what my theory is?"

"That you walked out of the bathroom with toilet paper on your shoe and everybody laughed at you again?" Alvin asked.

"Ha ha," Simon replied sarcastically. "I'm in love, mon frère!"

Alvin raised his eyebrows. "Woah, woah, hold your horses, Si. Isn't it a little early to make a deduction like that?"

"Jeanette Miller is the most incredible girl I've ever met! She is brilliant, easy to talk to, and she likes me for me!"

"I'm happy for you, brother," Alvin said.

"And what have you been up to today?" Simon asked.

"I thought you would never ask. Look at this and tell me what you think." Alvin handed Simon the file and paced while he read it.

"I don't see anything strange," Simon said eventually.

"Exactly, the Captain's questions never got deep. Look how many opportunities he had to dig deeper and he never took them. This is amateur work. He never even got a confession from those two thugs who attacked us in the alleyway."

"You're right, Alvin. There's nothing here that even really implies these men are under criminal investigation."

"Exactly! He doesn't even look into why these guys were following us!" Alvin shook his head. "This isn't going to help us get anywhere close to solving the case."

"That reminds me," Simon said, a light appearing behind his glasses. "I think we might have found some motive."

"What do you mean?"

Simon briefly repeated what happened in Jeanette's lab… well, not everything. He left out the part about Jeanette hugging him, how close she was, the look in her beautiful eyes…

Alvin snapped. "Simon, come back to me, you were telling me about the lab."

Simon blinked back to reality. "Right, now get this… Jeanette is working on a new invention. A car that runs on the power of vegetables."

"Vegetables," Alvin replied. "Strange, but alright."

"Strange? Alvin, it's genius!"

"I'm sure it is."

"You wouldn't believe it, but it could mean —"

"Si, what does this have to do with the case?"

"If somebody were to steal the idea, they would become a millionaire. Jeanette told me that her necklace is really important to this invention."

"Wait, what you mean is…"

"Apparently, the necklace is the key to this new invention. If someone has it, then he could steal the idea."

Alvin clapped his hand to his forehead. "Wow, so this is bigger than we thought."

Simon nodded. "A lot bigger."

Just then, the door opened and Theodore floated inside with a dreamy look on his face.

"Guys, I think I'm in love!"

"Of course he is…" Alvin mumbled.

"Eleanor is amazing!" Theodore went on. "I can't believe how quickly time flies when I'm with her!"

"That's great, Theodore," Simon said.

"Yeah, that's wonderful," Alvin added.

"What's wrong?" Theodore asked.

"It's nothing, little brother," Alvin said. "Just something with work. Here, let me open up some bottles of root beer and you both tell me about your dates. How was the food at Ian's?"

"How did you know I went there?" Theodore asked.

"I'm a detective," Alvin said, popping the cap on a root beer. "It's my job." He winked.

Hey, everyone! Sorry it's been a while since I've posted! Life has been busy on this end. But don't worry, I'll be working on this story and my newest one (check it out - it's Indiana Jones). Don't worry, there will be more A/B, T/E, and S/J in future chapters and I will definitely be moving the mystery along!

How do you like the story so far? What do you want to see more of? How long do you think a Fanfiction should be?

Reminder: I do NOT own Alvin and the Chipmunks! All credit goes to the orignal owners!