51

Marvin finished hauling all of the groceries into the car, put the cart away, and practically fell into his seat. He wasn't used to all the heavy lifting, since Chef PeePee normally did all the shopping for the house. He had no idea why Bowser didn't just do it, but he didn't care. He was just glad it was over. He started the car and found his way out of the Walmart parking lot. The store was a little ways from the house, so it took around 10-15 minutes to get back. Marvin was more than ready to lie on the couch and take a nice nap before Jeffy got home from school.

The roads weren't very filled, which was nice for Marvin. He hated traffic more than a lot of things. As he was stopping at a red light, a building caught his eye.

The Pensacola town jail.

Jeffy's words instantly came back into the front part of his mind. During everything, Chef PeePee never got a chance to clear his name, nor defend himself. Nobody heard his side of the story unless it was from Bowser's son. Marvin at first brushed it off, but now...

The light turned green, and instead of taking the road home, he took a detour and stopped at the jail. Marvin didn't know the policy on visits, but he and Chef PeePee were at worst acquaintances. Marvin was also friends with one of the cops, who he figured would let him ask the chef a few things.

He pulled into the parking lot, locked the car so his groceries weren't stolen, and walked inside. Luckily, Brooklyn Guy was sitting at the front desk, along with another bald cop. Marvin went up to them, and requested to talk to Chef PeePee.

"Heyyy Brooklyn Guy." Marvin greeted in a friendly voice. "Good to see you again. How was your vacation?"

Brooklyn looked up and smiled. "Hey Marvin. It was okay, I guess. My wife started to get super annoying towards the end though. I'm just glad to be home now."

"I'm sorry to hear that. At least you're feeling better now." Marvin said. "Anyways, I came here because I wanted to visit someone."

"Oh... well, you're going to have to fill out a visitor form. Who do you want to visit?" Brooklyn asked.

"Uh... Chef PeePee."

Brooklyn Guy grimaced slightly, and the bald officer looked up from his phone. He didn't look very happy to hear that name. "Chef PeePee? You mean that evil asshole chef who kidnapped a young boy?"

Marvin stuttered over his next words. "Well- uh... y-yes?"

"I don't think I can let that happen, mate." Simmons said, crossing his arms sternly.

"Why? I just want to ask him a few things." Marvin pleaded.

"What is there to ask? If you want to know more details, the court case is tomorrow at 9 am. Otherwise, we can't tell you anything right now." Simmons told the man.

"I'm not asking you, I want to ask him." Marvin retorted. "You've barely let him get a word in this entire case anyways."

Simmons was about to argue back, but Brooklyn stopped him. He then sighed, before speaking. "It's okay, Simmons." he then turned to Marvin. "You can see him, but only for like 15 minutes. I'll be on traffic duty soon."

Marvin let out a breath of relief, thanking the officer. He was then given a visitor form to fill out. Once he was done, Brooklyn took him to where the cells were, and pointed to one that was on the very end. Marvin nodded and made his way there, passing a few scary-looking people on the way.

Chef PeePee set the final law book down and took a breath. He had finally finished all of the books he had checked out, and even did a few of the quizzes some had in the very back. He knew he couldn't be under-prepared, since Bowser's lawyer definitely wouldn't be, whoever that was.

The chef heard a door open, but just ignored it. He took the time to decide what he could do next. The trial was tomorrow morning, so he didn't have time to do much. He was terrified for that fateful day. He knew Bowser was going to do whatever he could to cause the chef to lose, and Junior would be there to see it.

While lost in thought, Chef PeePee hadn't noticed that Marvin was standing on the other side of his cell. At least not until Marvin greeted him. The chef almost jumped out of his skin, overwhelmed with surprise. "Marvin?! What are you doing here?! Is Junior okay?! Bowser didn't do anything to him, did he?!"

"I want to ask you a few things..." Marvin started. He pulled up a stool that was in a corner and sat face to face with the chef (well, as best as he could while the chef was in a cell.) "So... you ran away with Junior on Saturday night?"

"It was Friday night. I didn't kidnap him. He's the one that came up with the idea." Chef PeePee told the red-clad man.

"Right, Friday, my bad. And it was because Bowser abused you, right?" Marvin continued.

"It wasn't just me, it was Junior too. If I didn't cook something right, I'd get smacked in the face or slammed to the ground, and if Junior did something wrong or talked back... Sometimes it was worse than what he did to me. And if he wasn't beating on him, he was in his room neglecting the boy." The chef explained. Marvin looked as if he was actually listening, unlike anyone else he had pleaded to before. "Junior's okay, right?"

"Yes, at least I think so. He's terrified of Bowser. The first day he was home he hid in Jeffy's closet and we found him at school. Ever since then, he's been really skittish and shy around Bowser, Rose, and I." Marvin told the man.

"I don't blame him..." Chef PeePee said. "And, you're on his side, right? Did he tell you about what had happened?"

Marvin took a deep breath. "Well... I haven't decided yet." The chef gave him a confused look. He had just told him how Bowser really was and he still wasn't convinced? "I was on Bowser's side at first, but that was because I hadn't heard anyone else's side. I kinda just... thought whatever he said was the full truth. It wasn't until Jeffy and Rose talked some sense into me, that I realized that nobody had heard your side yet."

Chef PeePee let out a short laugh. "Jeffy? Talking sense into you? I never thought I would've heard such a thing."

"Well, he does have a history with abuse. He saw through Bowser immediately once Junior talked to him. He's smarter than I realized." Marvin said.

"Did you really think I hypnotized Junior or something like that?" Chef PeePee asked.

"...Yes, for a little while." Marvin admitted. Chef PeePee facepalmed.

"Well at least you're now realizing that Bowser's story doesn't make sense. Junior and I ran away because of his abuse, and he was mad that he lost control, so he lied."

"Yeah... so, what are you gonna do about the court situation?" Marvin asked.

"Well, I've been reading these law books for the past day-and-a-half since I know I'm not getting defended by anyone." Chef PeePee said. "I know the odds are stacked against me, but just moping around and worrying isn't going to do shit."

Marvin nodded in agreement. There was a moment of awkward silence before Marvin thought of something else to say. "Jeffy already convinced Rose to defend you. I'm sure he has other people as well."

"You really think so? That boy is already pretty crazy, and Rose... no offense to her but I don't know if she'd be enough, and I don't want her to get caught in everything, especially if I lose and she's still at the house with Bowser." Chef PeePee questioned, before sighing. "It's better than nothing though."

Marvin was about to respond, but he was called over by Brooklyn Guy, who had been spectating the conversation. The officer let Marvin know the visit had to wrap up. Before leaving, Marvin said a few words.

"I'll see you at the courthouse. Good luck." He then trudged off, and Chef PeePee sat there, once again alone.