Questioning

Alonzo gets questioned by 2 police officers.

Alonzo placed the rat's cage on the porch and walked into his home. He retreated to his bedroom, looked in his first dresser drawer, and took his watch out. 'For good luck,' he thought. He thought back to the time when his father gave him the watch. “You'll be great someday,” his father had told him. For some reason he felt that he couldn't achieve greatness unless this machine worked properly. He felt that if it didn't work, then he would be mocked among the smartest of the smart. He wanted to be world renowned. He we wanted to be the one to stand out amongst his peers. And most of all, he wanted to be rich. If this one worked, then all he would have to do is repeat his building steps without the mistakes to make more. Then he could sell them to all of the various people who wanted one, needed one.

With the watch on, Alonzo walked outside, picked up the cage, and strolled casually across the street to the decrepit warehouse. Getting excited by the minute, Alonzo stepped loudly through the worn door. What his sight saw did not please his eye. He stood there, with his mouth open in shock, staring at the center of the room where his machine was sitting before he left. His shock over in less than a minute, he immediately dialed 911 on his iPhone.

“How may I help you?” a gruff voice asked.

“I've been robbed!” shouted Alonzo with unthinking rage.

“Address?”

“2478 Riverdale Road, zip code 32309.”

“Ok, I'll get some officers down there shortly. In the meantime, be patient,” said the voice then hung up.

Alonzo paced the rickety wooden floor back and forth. He thought about the scientist community. Oh, they'll think he lied about going to build the machine. But wait, they didn't know he had completed it. What if word gets out that he had been robbed? He never even locked the warehouse door. He had lost the key to it ages ago, and he figured that no one would want to break in, anyway. But, they had. He imagined what the headlines would be if word gets out. “Local scientist is robbed! Read all about it!”

Alonzo sighed a loud sigh and wondered who would possibly want to steal his machine? It had to be someone who knew that this was where he worked. It had to be someone who knew the value that would be on the machine. The worth. It had to be someone full of greed and someone who was self-conceited. 'The thief didn't really care anything about animals', Alonzo thought, unknowing who the actual thief was.

Lost in his thoughts, Alonzo didn't hear the soft sound of a knock. But, he heard the second one which was a loud rough knock, and he answered the door. Two officers stood on the outside. One was big and muscly. He looked to be an athlete. He seemed to be of middle age, probably in his thirties. The other one was the complete opposite. He was shorter. Although he was scraggly, he looked like he could run a mile without feeling an ounce of tiredness. This one looked younger than his partner, perhaps in his late twenties.

“I'm Officer Sanchez, this is my partner, Officer Benson,” the muscly one said while indicating to his partner. “Are you the one who called 911, sir?”

“Yes sir, my machine that I've worked on for approximately 3 years just gotten stolen,” Alonzo replied, clearly distressed.

“Hold up! I know this guy! This the guy who said he would build some animal thingamabob! So, where is it wise guy?” The jovial voice of Officer Benson said.

“That's the reason that I called you. It has been stolen. I need you guys to trace it down for me.”

“Did you see the perpetrator?” Officer Sanchez asked.

“No, I was at Eldron Labs when...”

Officer Sanchez rudely interrupted him, “You mean that filthy place where they run animal tests?”

It was clear that both officers highly despised Eldron Labs, and Alonzo could see that all of the respect that the men once held for him was gone. Oh well, he thought. Once he get his hump of devices back he'll be respected by the world. He rubbed his watch, cleared his throat, and strongly replied, “Yes, that place. I had to pick up this cute little rat from there.” At that moment, the rat decided to smell his behind, and all three men frowned. “I came right on home, walked here, and my machine was...”

“Do you know of anyone who...I don't know, might have it against you, hate you, dislike you, can't stand you? You know, an enemy?” Officer Benson butted in.

“Not specifically no, but anyway, to contin...”

The once merry officer was now completely serious. “What do you mean, 'not specifically?'” Officer Benson then asked.

“Wait a minute, you all aren't detectives! Why are you asking all of these questions?” Alonzo asked suspiciously.

“To figure out who robbed you we have to have all facts surrounding the case,” Officer Sanchez replied whilst writing notes on a pad.

“Oh, well, lots of people find pleasure in mocking me, and I have a very close friend although we've been a little distant from each other these past few days.”

“How distant?” Officer Benson asked.

“Well, you know, he hasn't been returning my calls, but I guess we both have been busy.”

“Name?”

“Uh, Vincent Hawkins. Why does this matter?”

“That's all for now, we'll come back tomorrow to examine the place. It's getting late. Goodbye Mr........”

“Alfalfa,” Alonzo finished.