Eddie and (Y/N) returned to the office after their questioning. They were both a little drained but it had been mainly due to Judge Doom's absolutely horrifying display. (Y/N) was still shaking but Eddie was there to provide her with comfort and she greatly appreciated it.
They headed towards Eddie's office door but paused when they noticed a woman with a baby stroller, blocking it. They stared at her in confusion until they noticed her flick on a lighter and lower it inside the stroller.
They scrambled over to her in panic, (Y/N) grabbing her arm while Eddie yelled, "Hey! Hey, hey, hey, hey! Wait a minute! Hey, hey!"
The woman moved over to reveal that it was Baby Herman, Roger's co-star, and she was lighting his cigar. The two settled down, (Y/N) laughing nervously as she released the woman's arm.
"I've been trying to make him quit but he just won't listen to me." She explained.
Baby Herman waved her off, stating, "What do you know, you dumb broad? You got the I.Q. of a rattle. You Valiant?"
"Yeah."
"I want to talk to you about the Acme murder." He said before turning to the woman. "Hey, doll. Why don't you run downstairs and get me a racing form?"
Just as she turned, he gave her a sharp smack against her rear. She gasped before irritably stating, "Okay, okay, I'm going."
"The lady's man, huh?" (Y/N) asked with a heavy sarcasm-laced tone.
"Is that an offer, toots?"
She rolled her eyes, smacking him upside the head before moving to try and get to Eddie's door.
"Eh, I don't need ya." He mumbled as he turned to Eddie. "My real problem is, I've got a fifty-year-old lust and a three-year-old dinky."
"Yeah. Must be tough."
"Look, Valiant. The rabbit didn't kill Acme." Both looked up after he said that, waiting to see what he had to say. "He's not a murderer. I should know. He's a dear friend of mine. I tell you, Valiant, the whole thing stinks like yesterday's diapers. Look at this."
He took out a newspaper hidden within his stroller and handed it over to Eddie. On the front page was a story on Marla Acme's murder - with the headline reading 'Toon Kills Woman' - along with one of Eddie's pictures.
"The paper says Acme left no will. That's a load of succotash. Every Toon knows Acme had a will. She promised to leave Toon Town to us Toons. That will is the reason she got bumped off!" Baby Herman proclaimed.
"Has anybody ever seen this will?"
"Ah, no."
Eddie glared down at the little squirt as (Y/N) chipped in, "She was never very vocal about her will other than leaving Toon Town to the Toons. It's been a well-known fact to us all."
"And she gave us her solemn oath." Baby Herman added.
Eddie rolled his eyes as he turned the stroller around, trying to move it away from his door. "If you believe that, that harlequin could do anything solid, the gag's on you pal!"
(A/N: If you saw what I just did I above, please give me love in the comments. I thought I was so clever for the change in script😊.)
"I just figured since you were the one who got my pal in trouble, you might want to help get him out. I can pay ya."
Eddie did not take kindly to that remark.
He grabbed onto the stroller tightly and angrily said, "Save your money for a pair of elevator shoes!"
"Hey, no! Valiant, don't!"
But it was too late. Eddie pushed the stroller down the hall and it crashed into the woman who had been with Baby Herman earlier. It also caused his cigar to fall onto the floor, causing a huge tantrum, filled with loud crying and him madly shaking his balled-up fists.
Eddie looked back, smiling to himself, as he ushered (Y/N) inside and slammed the door shut. He locked it, making sure no other interruptions could come waltzing in before seating himself at his desk.
"Maybe wait out the cry baby before you head home, (Y/N). I don't think we're going to get much work today."
(Y/N) nodded as she began packing up her purse, sighing as she said, "It's a shame about Acme's will though."
"Yeah, but from my brief encounter with her, the paper probably has it right." Eddie stated as he poured himself a drink, chugging it down just as fast. "And it ain't my fault the rabbit got himself in trouble. All I did was take a couple of lousy pictures."
He began to take off his suspenders, leaning down as he did so. But he paused for a moment, staring intently at the picture in the newspaper.
He grabbed the glass that lay on the picture, using it as a magnifying glass to gaze at something peeking out from Marla's purse. It was too blurry to see clearly so he grabbed one of the photos he had taken last night, as well as an actual magnifying glass.
"What is it, Eddie." (Y/N) questioned, hurriedly walking over and peering over Eddie's shoulder to see what he noticed.
There in Marla's purse, as clear as day, was her will. It was just barely peeking out of her purse but one could clearly see the words 'Last Will and Testament' written on it.
"Baby was right!" Eddie gasped.
"So, did Marla Acme get murdered for her will?"
They both looked over to one another before Eddie shook his head and stood up. "The hell with it."
"Eddie, how can you just brush this off?"
"Easily, by taking a nap." Eddie stated as he pulled down his bed that could fold into the wall, looking like a set of drawers when it wasn't in use.
"You need to look into this or at the very least report it to the police."
"It's not my problem. Acme got whacked because Roger blew a fuse. End of discussion."
He sat down on his bed, getting ready to lie down, when (Y/N) crossed her arms and angrily asked, "You don't care, do you? You don't care what happens to you and you don't care what happens to the business you and Teddy worked so hard to get off the ground."
"Don't you start."
"You are giving up and I am sick of it! How can I help if you- "
"I never asked for your help!"
"And I never asked for a lazy friend who wastes away and drinks- why is there a lump in the bed?"
Eddie turned to see that she had been right, there was definitely something in his bed. He lifted the covers only to come face-to-face with Roger.
"AAAAAAAAAAAAGH!" They all yelled.
They both jumped off the bed as (Y/N) ran over to Eddie, hiding behind him as they all kept their distance from one another.
"How the hell did you get in here?" Eddie growled.
"Through the mail slot. I thought it would be best if I waited inside, seeing's how I'm wanted for murder." Roger fearfully explained.
"No kidding! Just talking to you could get me a rap for aiding and abetting. And (Y/N) could get the Dip!"
"Eep!" The Toon woman squeaked out, turning pale.
"Wait a minute. Anybody know you're here?"
Roger shook his head adamantly as he said, "Nobody. Not a soul. Except, uh..."
"WHO?"
"Well, you see..." Roger leapt back onto the bed so he could be eye-level with Eddie. "I didn't know where your office was. So, I asked the newsboy. He didn't know. So, I asked the fireman, the greengrocer, the butcher, the baker, they didn't know! But the liquor store guy, he knew."
"Of course." (Y/N) mumbled, slapping her hand to her forehead.
Eddie grabbed Roger by his ears, having lost his temper and walked over to the door to try and throw him out.
"In other words, the whole damn town knows you're here!" He opened the door, trying to shove Roger out but the rabbit held onto the doorframe for dear life, refusing to let go.
(Y/N) worriedly looked between them and pleaded, "Take it easy on him, Eddie!"
"Come on! Get out of here! Get out!"
"Please, Eddie, don't throw me out. You're making a big mistake." Roger pleaded.
"Get out! Take your hands off the door, will ya?"
"He came here for help so maybe- "
"He's now just being a pain and he'll be even more of one if he stays here!"
"I didn't kill anybody. I swear. This whole thing's a set up. A scam. A frame job!"
Eddie tried a different tactic and began to pull Roger inside, stretching the rabbit out to an unnatural length, almost as if he were pulling taffy, while (Y/N) looked on. She was more confused than anything else and wasn't sure what to do in that moment.
"Ow! Eddie. I could never hurt anybody. Ow! My whole purpose in life is to maaake, peeeeopllllle, llllllllllllllaugh!"
Roger couldn't hold on any longer and his fingers slipped. He retracted back to his original size and ended up colliding with Eddie. Eddie was sent falling to the ground while Roger landed on the bed.
(Y/N) scurried over to help Eddie back on his feet while Roger continued to defend himself. "Okay, okay, sure, I admit it. I got a little steamed when you showed me those pictures of Jesse. So, I ran down to the Ink and- "
Eddie lunged at Roger, trying to catch him. But Roger jumped up into the air and Eddie ended up colliding on the other end of the bed. (Y/N) scrunched up her face, sympathising with his pain.
" -Paint Club. But he wasn't in his dressing room so I wrote him a letter from my heart."
It went quiet in the office as Eddie grabbed onto the bed for some kind of stability while (Y/N) sat herself on the bed next to Roger.
"Wait a minute. Wait a minute. You're telling me, that in a fit of anger, you wrote your brother a letter?" Eddie questioned.
"That's right!" Roger confirmed with a proud smile. "I know that he was just an innocent victim of circumstance."
"I suppose you used the old lipstick on the mirror routine, huh?"
"Lipstick, yes. Mirror, no. I found a nice clean piece of paper." Roger held up said paper and it was proof there was some truth to his words, as there really was lipstick used in place of a pen for writing.
"And what did you want to profess in this letter?" (Y/N) asked.
"Well, obviously that I love him no matter what and that this patty cake snafu shouldn't affect the bond we have."
"Seriously?" Eddie groaned out.
Roger was about to attempt to read his letter but (Y/N) politely cut him off as she further asked, "Why didn't you just leave the letter there?"
"Obviously, a letter of this power and sensitivity must be read in person, so I went home to wait for him. But the weasels were there waiting for me, so... So I ran."
"So why come to me? I'm the guy that took the pictures of your brother!"
"It does seem a terrible move to make, given the circumstances, Rog." (Y/N) gave as a more polite answer.
Roger was busy looking through Eddie's old case clippings as he stated, "Yeah! But Eddie is also the guy that helped all these Toons. Everybody knows when a Toon's in trouble, there's only one place to go. Valiant and Valiant."
(Y/N) stared sorrowfully at Teddy's desk as Roger quoted a long dead saying. It wasn't Valiant and Valiant anymore, or at least it no longer felt like it.
"Not anymore." Eddie confirmed her thoughts.
Roger was about to seat himself in Teddy's chair and Eddie was the first to notice.
"Get out of that chair!"
The rabbit fearfully slipped his fingers away from the chair, taking a layer of dust with him. (Y/N) hurriedly grabbed her chair and offered it to Roger.
She gave him a soft smile as she explained, "That's his brother's chair."
"Yeah! Where is your brother anyway?" Roger questioned as he examined a photo of Eddie and Teddy. "He looks like a sensitive and...sober fellow."
(Y/N) eyes widened, both in shock and in an attempt to stop a laugh from surfacing. Eddie had never been called out like that and she sort of loved it. Eddie, however, was less appreciative.
"That's it. I'm calling the cops."
"Go ahead! Call the cops! I come here for help and what do you do? You turn me in. No, don't. Don't feel guilty about me." Roger sobbed as he opened a door and went to leave. "So long and thanks for nothing."
He slammed the door closed, knocking over a couple of things from nearby shelves and all (Y/N) could think about was how she was going to have to clean that up.
What was on Eddie's mind was another matter entirely, as he stood from his desk and yelled, "That's the closet!"
"Go get 'im, tiger." (Y/N) flatly encouraged as she got down on her knees and began scooping up some fallen papers and books.
Eddie walked over and furiously ripped open the closet door. But, to his surprise, aside from coats and other clothing items, it was completely empty, with no Roger to be seen.
"Since when can Toons disappear?" He questioned.
"Unless their magicians then never."
Eddie stuck his head in to see if he may have missed something when Roger popped his head out of one of the coats. He shaped his face to look like a hard-boiled, grizzled detective and even made his voice go deeper.
"Eddie Valiant! You're under arrest!" Roger announced, taking out a pair of handcuffs, cuffing one end to his wrist and the other end on Eddie's. "Pl-l-l-l-l-l-l-l- "
"Get outta here!"
Eddie swung him out, with Roger landing on the bed, and glared angrily at the rabbit as they were now cuffed together. (Y/N) scrambled up to her feet, pacing rapidly in place before rushing over to Eddie's desk.
"I'll start looking for the keys." She announced, beginning to look through a drawer.
But Eddie halted her movements as he stated, "I got no keys for these cuffs."
"Oh, for the love of- "
Before (Y/N) could blow her top, a siren sounded outside. Roger turned his head in question before his big blue eyes widened and he started to tremble in fear. He jumped across the room to peek out the window, making Eddie go flying with him.
In the process, Eddie crashed into (Y/N) sending her stumbling onto his desk, sliding across its surface, knocking everything off as she landed with a loud thump on the other end.
Outside, across from Eddie's building, a black van crashed into a parked car. And from it, the weasels began to pile out. Smart Ass was ordering them around as they all began to walk towards Eddie's building.
"Yaaaaggghh!" Roger yelled out in terror, eyes widening to an enormous size and mouth practically hitting the floor. "It's the Toon Patrol!"
Roger dove under the bed, taking Eddie with him. Eddie's legs stuck out from underneath the bed as clear as day but the bed began to rise back into the wall, so Roger's hiding spot was a dud up until the end.
Meanwhile (Y/N) slowly rose from the other end of Eddie's desk, her pupils just spinning swirls as she dizzily tried to stand. She was covered in splotches of jet-black ink courtesy of a stamp pad, that stained her dress and splattered blotches in her (H/C) hair, as well as a few splatters on her cheek and glasses.
"Hide me, Eddie! Pl-pl-pl-please!" Roger begged as he jumped into one of the desk drawers.
Eddie's hand went with and he struggled to try and get it out. Roger poked his head out of another drawer, looking around with frightened eyes.
"Remember, you never saw me."
"GET OUTTA THERE!"
Eddie pulled him out roughly, dropping him on top of the desk. (Y/N) came to stand next to Eddie, still a little loopy.
"Don't let 'em find me! Come on, Eddie. You're my only hope!"
There was a sudden banging on the door, making (Y/N) sober back up and Roger's ears shot into the air in alarm.
"Open up in the name of the law!" Smart Ass ordered outside.
"Pl-pl-please, Eddie." Roger begged. "You know there's no justice for Toons anymore. If the weasels get their hands on me... I'm as good as Dip."
"Don't make us wait up, Valiant. We just want the rabbit." Smart Ass called out once again, growing impatient.
"Eddie..." (Y/N) warned, hoping he knew what they were going to do.
"What are we gonna do, Eddie? What are we gonna do? What are we gonna do?" Roger worriedly asked, looking at Eddie with pleading eyes.
"What's all this 'we' stuff? They just want the rabbit."
"Eddie!"
All thoughts were cut short as the weasels shot at the doorknob. It fell off the door in seconds and allowed the weasels to slowly slither right in.