The Bubble Popper

Chapter 6

"Ah!... He popped, he tripped, and then...pop." Sud recounted in a stuttering voice as he shakingly pointed toward the remains of the bubble.

"How could this happen?! Call the boss and the police!" One of the bubbles hurriedly said.

The other bubble ran back inside the building while Sud stayed in place, not daring to move. In part worried that his act would be discovered and in part pretending to be shocked.

"Sud, are you ok?" Asked the bubble that stayed behind.

Sud nodded as he watched the shocked bubble trying to calm itself.

A few minutes seemed to drag out longer than they should. A panicked manager soon came running and immediately asked what had happened. The bubbles who answered Sud's cry for help nervously explained what they had seen. They then carefully helped Sud come down from the van. It was a slow process as they tried to not step on what remained of Blob.

Sud knew he couldn't leave the scene; he was the main "witness." He sat on the ground to wait for the police. As he waited, he watched a crowd of employees gathering around, trying to know what had happened. Sud didn't like being stared at by so many people, so he looked down to avoid the gazes of the crowd. While he waited, he used his time to perfect his story and thought of any loopholes that could arise.

When the police arrived, they sealed off the area and began the questioning and gathering of evidence.

"Who was the one that discovered the scene?" One of the officers asked.

"These two workers were the first to rush forward when they heard the calls for help, but Sud was present during the incident."

"Who's Sud?" Asked who seemed to be the lead detective.

"The one sitting on the floor near the door," answered the manager as he pointed toward Sud.

Sud had been observing everything from where he was sitting. He watched as the detective walked towards him.

He stopped a few feet away from him. "Sud?"

"Yes."

"Detective Fizz," said the police officer as an introduction.

"Can you tell me exactly what happened?" Asked the detective as he showed his badge.

Sud nodded and started recounting, "He insisted on helping me move the packages. I told him that it wasn't necessary. He persisted, so I followed him to the van. He started to tell me that I should be grateful for his help." If he wanted to make his lie believable, he had to mix it with truths. At least that's what he came up with while waiting.

"And then?" Asked the detective.

"He pushed me, and I fell. I thought he was going to hit me, so I turned away from him. When the pain didn't come, I looked up, but all I saw was the last drops of the pop falling to the floor."

"Did you guys have any conflict before this?"

"Conflict? What type of conflict?" Asked Sud, playing dumb.

"Did you guys fight often? Did you get along?" Asked the detective.

"We weren't exactly friends. You can ask any of our coworkers. He liked to tease me, but I always tried to avoid him."

"So he was bullying you?"

"Yes. I guess you can say that." Bitterly confessed Sud.

"Did he bully anyone else? Did you report him to the manager?"

"Not that I know of. I didn't report it. I tried once, but everyone kept telling me he was just joking."

"I see." The detective answered thoughtfully.

Sud tried avoiding the detective's inquisitive gaze. He felt that the detective could see through him. He knows, said the annoying voice in his head.

"Mr. Sud I imagine this must've been a great shock to you. For now, that's all the questions we have, but I advise you not to leave town. This is an ongoing investigation. We need to examine you for any evidence that might have fallen on you and turn your clothes in for inspection. You will need to go to the station to record your statement and have all the evidence processing done. Being the main witness, we need you to go with us. So wait for a while, then someone will take you down to the station. One more thing, Mr. Sud, what's in the backpack?"

Sud took off his backpack and handed it to the detective. He opened it and found an identification and a water bottle. After searching through it, he didn't find anything else.

"Okay. You can wait next to that car." Said the detective as he pointed out the nearest police car and handed Sud his backpack.

Since the area was considered a crime scene, nothing could be moved, thus the company closed for the day.

While he waited for the officer who was going to take him to the station, the company's manager walked over.

"Manager Sac." Greeted Sud.

"Did you finish talking to the detective?"

"Yes. They said I needed to go to the police station to record my statement. I have to wait for them to take me there."

"Call me when you're at home. I'll let you know when we can get back to work. Cheer up, Sud. Don't let this affect you too much. Bubbles pop all the time. It was just unfortunate it happened so suddenly." Manager Sac said as he patted Sud's back.

Sud liked the manager. Although he was strict, he never looked down on him and treated everyone fairly. It was rare to find bubbles like him. The only downside was that he saw the good in everyone, including bubbles like Blob.

"Thank you," emotionlessly answered Sud.

The police questioned the employees who were present at the moment of the pop. It took a while for the officer in charge of escorting Sud to the station to arrive. The officer opened the back door of the car, and Sud got in.

As the police car left with Sud, Detective Fizz couldn't help but look thoughtfully at the departing car.
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POV Police

"Did we get Sud's statement completed?" Asked Detective Fizz.

"Yes. He was released a while ago. He also left his clothes and backpack. They were sent to the lab. We also received the surveillance footage from the company."

"While I go and look through the footage, I need you to run a background check on this Sud."

"Ok. Anything else, detective?"

"Yes. See if the victims Spot, Bobba, and this Blob knew each other and if Sud knew Spot and Bobba." Added Detective Fizz as an afterthought.

"Are you suspecting him detective?" asked Officer Bead.

"That Sud is a very strange bubble. Normally, after such an incident, a bubble would be in shock, but he was too composed. So tell Officer Bead, what do you think? Should we suspect him?"