Hi-o! So, quickly while I'm still on break, here is your next segment of Motorcross!
While Dr. Teeth, Piggy, and Gonzo were down in the basement discovering hidden jewels, let's see what was going on up top in the theater proper, shall we?
The case of the missing ruby was starting to get at least luke warm for Hollertz and Day as their day progressed. In trying to ascertain who and where the thieves had come from and where they had gone, the two had found what seemed to be three unrelated leads – three cases of murder. The first two were of some local teens who were no strangers to the law, having some minor misdemeanors and run-ins, while the next was a known jewel thief and robber within the western and southern parts of California and the United States.
All three had been found murdered within a few days of each other and that of the museum robbery and while there shouldn’t have been a connection, Officer Hollertz had stumbled across one. That led the two partners to the eleventh annual charity motorbike race that had recently happened in Long Beach. The two teens had been registered to participate, but had unexpectedly withdrawn about two days before the event.
Looking at the registration and participant list, Day had suggested the two contact each person to see if they knew or had seen the boys or even that of David Dickers, the jewel thief that Day was convinced was involved in the heist.
One hour later, the two had gone through those who had registered, but had either been no shows or placed on the reserved list in the case that someone didn’t show. They then focused on those who had been in the actual race; Chesney had of course noted that many of the racers were actual celebrities and it was a known fact that celebrities didn’t hang around or even notice regular people.
“That may be,” Day had chastised. "However it’s a new day and age. Maybe these folks were signing autographs when they signed up and noticed something suspicious. You never know.”
Chesney shrugged. “Okay,” he said. “I’ll bite. Who should we start with?”
“Well,” Day replied, picking up a file folder he had on his desk. “I had been planning on suggesting we start with those who didn’t win, but I got this report here that says a huge brouhaha took place at the end.”
“What?”
“Yeah,” the blue Muppet replied, handing the folder to his partner. “Apparently, there was some controversy over who actually won. The two racers who disputed it apparently went at it right in front of the judges, the guy who took third got involved, and before you knew it, half of the racers were in on it.”
“Whoa!”
Day nodded. “Saw the names of those involved, huh?” he asked. “Was a little bit surprised myself, but I did some checking on some of those involved and like our murdered trio, they aren’t exactly adverse to getting caught up with the law.”
“So who do we start with?”
“I say we hit Muppet Theater,” Day suggested, standing from his chair and grabbing his jacket. “We’ll kill two birds with one stone by talking to both Miss Piggy and the Great Gonzo.”
[hr]
About thirty minutes later, the two officers found themselves in Hollywood proper and on the studio lot of Muppet Theater. Chesney, who knew of the Muppets, was still surprised when a large, furry brown monster greeted them at the gate of the studios; he was a very large and very menacing giant of a guy, but seemed to mellow once Day told him who they were.
The monster had been extremely helpful, pointing them to a parking lot and space and then by literally escorting them to the back door of the theater itself. “Just tell Scooter or Kermit who you are,” he said, in a deep voice. “I gotta get back to the front, you know.”
“Thank…thank you for your help, Mister…um…”
“No mister,” the monster chuckled. “Just Sweetums. Gotta go!” And with that, the inappropriately named Sweetums lumbered back to man the front gates.
“Please tell me that this Scooter and Kermit aren’t monsters too,” Chesney gulped.
“Are you telling me you don’t know who Kermit the Frog is?”
“I’m not saying that!” the younger officer protested. “Everyone knows who Kermit the Frog is, but how do you know he was talking about Kermit the Frog? What if he meant, go talk to Kermit the Large Muppet Eating Monster, huh? You don’t know that.”
“Sometimes Kid…” the veteran sighed, opening the back stage door and walking through.
Anyone who was familiar with the previous version of the Muppet Show was well aware that anything and everything happened backstage. This was especially true when a show wasn’t on or when rehearsals were starting. Currently, a group of penguins were doing a song and dance for a red haired Muppet with glasses who was holding an iPad in one hand and a smartphone in the other.
“Hold on,” he was saying into the phone. “Hold on, Jerry.” Moving the phone to his shoulder, he looked at the penguins and said, “That’s great guys! Cheesy, I thought you were a little flat on that last note and you got out of step in the third bar. I’d work on that if I were you. I’ll make sure to let Kermit know…oh, hey Kermit!”
The group of penguins all wandered off, with the aforementioned Cheesy sticking his tongue out at the red head as he nodded to a slim green frog that had walked over to him.
“I saw that, Cheesy!” he shouted to the penguins. Turning to the red-haired Muppet, the frog noticed the two officers as they tried to stay out of the way of the oncoming traffic that was Muppet Labs and set design. “Hi ho!”
Day nodded, immediately coming over to the two Muppets. “Looks to be a busy day, huh?” he asked.
“It’s been an insane day,” the frog corrected. “As per usual. Kermit the Frog,” he introduced himself. “Scooter Grosse, my assistant and stage manager here at Muppet Theatre. How can we help?”
“I’m Det. Day and this is my partner, Officer Hollertz,” Day replied, as both he and Chesney pulled out their badges and showed them to the two Muppets. “We’re investigating a recent robbery and we’ve traced some of the suspects to a recent motorbike race.”
Both Day and Hollertz didn’t miss the way the frog and stage manager looked at each other.
“I understand that two of your actors were participants in that race?”
“Uh,” Kermit stumbled. “Yes, yes sir. Miss Piggy and the Great Gonzo were both in that race.”
“They were also involved in an altercation afterwards, were they not?” asked Chesney.
“They were,” Scooter piped up. “Unfortunately, those charges are currently under investigation by our lawyers. You’ll understand that we can’t really get into specifics about that.”
“Understandable,” Day replied. “Are they both here? Miss Piggy and the Great Gonzo, I mean?”
“Yes, they are,” Kermit nodded. “Um…Scooter, would you keep an eye on the acts out there? You know how Bunsen gets a little excited when he’s doing a demonstration.”
“Sure Chief.”
As the younger Muppet headed off, Kermit replied, “Why don’t we take this in my office? Sometimes, theaters have eyes and hears in places you don’t want them to.”
The frog lead them also the way they had come, but off to the left where a quaint little office was situated. Inside, there was really nothing more than the standard office fare – two chairs sat in front of a wooden desk that had a variety of different items on top of it, including a desk phone, a rolodex, and what appeared to be a fairly unused cell phone.
Just behind the chairs, up against the wall, was a black leather love seat that barely looked like it could fit two people on it.
Kermit indicated the chairs in front of the desk for the officers, while he immediately went to the desk. After some hesitation and indecision, the frog decided that using the cell phone was probably his better approach at getting the answer he needed. Luckily, as much as he hated needing the device, the assistant and the girlfriend had made sure that those most important were at the top of his ‘most likely to call list’.
It wasn’t any surprise that the person he needed to get a hold of just happened to top the list. Hitting the little green phone icon, the frog only waited a second before it was answered.
“Can’t talk now. Little busy.”
“Piggy,” he said, a little annoyed at the tone he had gotten. “I need you up here.”
“Told you, I’m a bit busy.”
“The police are here.”
Whatever retort he expected was quickly squashed as the weight of the situation became clear. “I’ll be right up,” she returned.
Hanging up the phone, he looked at the officers. “She’ll be right up,” he relayed. “She headed to the basement, so she should be here in about five, ten minutes. Can I interest you officers in some water? Coffee, perhaps?”
“We’re fine, Mr. The Frog,” Chesney said, smiling as he did so.
Four minutes and twenty seconds later, the trio heard a knock on the door before it opened to reveal the Muppets’ leading lady. “You wanted to see me, Kermie?”
“Yeah,” Kermit said. Indicating the officers, he continued with, “Gentlemen, allow me to present you Miss Piggy. Piggy, this is Det. Day and Officer Hollertz.”
“Enchante,” the diva said, nodding to both before taking her place by Kermit’s side at the front of the desk.
“We won’t keep you long, Miss Piggy,” Day replied. “We just have a few questions.”
“Do you mind if I stay?” Kermit asked.
“He has a vetted interest in me,” Piggy quipped.
“Vetted nothing,” the frog murmured. “It’s called ‘liability’.”
“How can I help you gentlemen?” she asked, sweetly, barely sending a look towards Kermit. “I hope this isn’t about that nasty business at the race track.”
“Ironically, it is,” Chesney stated. “But not your involvement in that doozy of a fight. No, this is about the Rheingold ruby.”
“The what now?”
“The Rheingold ruby,” Day said. “Surely you’re heard about it. It’s been all over the news in recent weeks.”
“You’ll forgive me, Detective,” the diva replied. “But my ‘doozy of a fight’ has also been in the news, hence why I’ve been avoiding it. Also, dealing with the…circumstances of that has left me rather bereft of my favorite shows.”
“My sincere apologies for the assumption then,” the blue Muppet replied. “The Rheingold Ruby was a gem that was on loan from some big name museum in Germany to us here in the states. A few days before this race, it was stolen from the Ocean in Pasadena; my partner and I have managed to trace some of the suspects to the race.
“Miss Piggy, did you notice anything suspicious when you signed up to be a participant? Anyone acting oddly or out of place?”
Piggy giggled slightly, a nervous habit that Kermit was able to notice, but so did Chesney and Day. “To be truthful,” she began. “I didn’t sign up; I mean, I did, but…it was Gonzo who actually told me about the race and he was the one that signed us both up.”
“You mean the Great Gonzo, correct?”
“Yes.”
“Is he here today?”
“Yes,” Piggy answered before Kermit had the chance to. “Why don’t I…give him a call?”
Smiling, the porcine princess quickly pulled out her own cell phone and was making a call to the weirdo within seconds. “Gonzo,” she said. “Could you come and see Kermit and Moiself upstairs? Just come up here, please. Gonzo, I’m sure that…the personnel downstairs would be more than willing to watch over things while you’re up here. Gonzo, I’m not going to ask again, so get your blue butt up here! Merci.”
Hanging up, she smiled at the two officers. “Sometimes Gonzo gets so wrapped in his work,” she said, as way of explanation. “You can’t tear him away. Can you, Kermit?”
“Nearly impossible,” the frog said, politely.
Again, the group heard a knock on the door within moments, with it opening to reveal the Great Gonzo. “You guys wanted to see me?”
“Yes,” Piggy said, once again jumping in before the frog could. “These fine officers of the law would like to speak with you.”
To both Day and Hollertz, it seemed as though both the diva and the stuntman were more than a bit nervous in their presence; this theory was only amplified when the blue daredevil also giggled in a nervous manner, similar to how the diva had at the beginning of their interview.
“Oh!” he replied, sending a look to Piggy. “This isn’t about…”
“No actually,” Day interrupted. “We’re investigating the thief of a priceless ruby that was stolen from one of our local museums.”
Gonzo turned to look at Piggy, before turning back to the officers. “What ruby?”
“As I said,” the older Muppet replied. “It’s a priceless loan from an estate in Germany. Anyway, we have reason to believe that suspects were registered for the charity race that you and Miss Piggy participated in last Saturday. As I understand it, you were the one that signed up?”
“Oh!” Gonzo exclaimed, nodding quickly. “Yeah, I uh…talked to Piggy and signed up.”
“And how did you find out the race?”
“There was an ad in the paper,” the weirdo continued. “Well, technically it was an ad in Crazy Stunts; it’s a daredevil magazine I’m signed up for, and well, I saw the ad and thought it was a great idea.”
“You’ll pardon me for asking,” Chesney spoke up. “But what exactly made you ask Miss Piggy to join you in the race?”
This time, both Kermit and Gonzo answered. “She likes bikes.”
The diva shrugged. “Moi admits she is a motorcycle connoisseur.”
“Did you sign up in person?” Day asked.
“No, actually,” Gonzo replied. “There was a number in the ad, so I called and signed up.”
“On the day of the race,” Chesney began. “Did you notice anyone strange? Anything out of the ordinary?”
Both Muppets shook their heads. “Not counting that unfortunate ending,” the weirdo muttered. “Everything seemed okay.”
“Mr. Grosse mentioned that you’re having that win disputed,” Day replied. “How’s the arm, by the way?”
“It’s alright,” Gonzo shrugged. “A bit tender, but shouldn’t stop me from my juggling scorpions act this Sunday.”
“No, Gonzo,” said Kermit, indicating that the two had this conversation earlier.
“Watermelons then.”
“I said no.”
“You don’t look any worse for wear, Miss Piggy,” Hollertz noted. “I heard that fellow who won roughed you up a bit.”
“It was nothing,” the diva replied, smirking at bit. “Healed in a day.”
“Please,” the daredevil huffed. “Don’t let the make-up fool you, boys, she has a shiner to write home about.”
Still smiling, Piggy managed a slight jab into Gonzo’s right shoulder, right in that tender spot where he had needed stitches. Hissing in pain and covering the spot with his hand, the weirdo muttered, “Not that you should be writing about that.”
“Well,” Day responded, standing and prompting Hollertz to do the same. “I think that’s all we need. If you think of anything, here’s my card -” He handed a card to Kermit, nodding at the three. “Give me a call if you think of anything.”
“Sure.”
“We’ll see ourselves out.”
Day nodded a goodbye once again, allowing for his partner to leave before him. As he closed the door behind him, he was sure he heard the frog say, “Please tell me you had nothing to do with this.”