"Someone's car was stolen!" Roxy flew down the alley.
A man held a car key. He looked furious. "How will I get to work now? I paid a lot of money for that car!"
Detective Smith ran over.
"Who stole your car?" Roxy asked. "Did you see the thief?"
"No," the man said. "But I saw his truck!"
Detective Smith took out his notepad. "What does it look like?"
"It's a garbage truck," the man said. "It says Trashman's Trash Pickup on the side."
Roxy was confused. "The thief was in a garbage truck. So how did he steal your car?"
"The truck has a big arm with a claw," the man said. He held out his arm to show how the claw worked. "The claw grabbed my car and put it in the back of the truck!"
The man kicked a coffee cup lying on the sidewalk. "Trashman stinks at his job. He picked up my car, but he didn't pick up any of this trash!"
"Hmm," Detective Smith said. "Maybe Trashman robbed Metro City Electronics too."
Roxy nodded. "We should find out."
Detective Smith looked up the address for Trashman's Trash Pickup. "The headquarters is just north of the city."
"I'll go check it out, Detective!" Roxy flew off.
Moments later Roxy landed in front of a huge building. She went inside and entered an enormous room. Piles of trash surrounded her. Roxy heard a sound. A man was carrying a box at the other end of the room. Some nice cars were parked near him. He wore a filthy, ripped jacket. His hair and beard stuck out in all different directions.
"Trashman!" Roxy shouted.
The man dropped the box he'd been carrying. "Rocket Girl! What are—ahugh! Ahugh!" The man coughed. "What are you doing here?"
Roxy put her hands on her hips. "You've been stealing things instead of picking up trash."
Trashman folded his arms. "So what? I'm tired of all this trash. I decided to steal some nice things!"
Roxy narrowed her eyes. "You won't have any nice things where you're going—jail!"
Trashman laughed and then coughed again. "No way! I'm putting you out with the trash!" He stepped over to the wall and pulled a lever.
Clank! Doors opened above Roxy's head. Then . . . Shwoompf! Tons of trash crashed down on her.
"Ha-ha! Ahugh! Ahugh!" Trashman ran out the door. "So long, Rocket Girl!"