Scooby-Doo: Wicked Game - A Scooby-Doo fanfic in Squid Game universe

[KendraKelnick]

Author's note:

I do not own the copyright on Scooby Doo and Squid Game.

This is a Scooby Doo story in the Squid Game universe, it's not exactly a crossover because the focus will be on the Scooby Doo characters, Squid Game characters will only have their names mentioned. Rated T.

It contains violence (just mention, nothing explicit), murder, swearing and mention of adult themes (just mention, nothing explicit).

The chapters are long and the events take a while to happen, I apologize for that.

English is not my first language, so I will certainly make mistakes while translating. I apologize for this and thank you for pointing out corrections.

I am not a professional writer and this is my first fanfic, so I will surely make mistakes that people with more experience don't make. Please bear with me.

I have read and read it a million times to avoid gaps in continuity and consistency, but if there are any, please let me know.

Chapter 1

There are lights everywhere, flashes from cameras and cell phones, lamps from the film crews of major networks, helicopters, headlights from NYPD vehicles, lasers from SWAT guns... As always, the end of a major case solved by Captain Frederick Jones is something cinematographic. However, for me, the only light that matters at this moment is the light of the digits on my watch, which shows that soon it will all be over and I will have my well-deserved vacation. I am so tired that I don't even care about Fred (again) hogging the microphones and taking all the credit for discovering that a former Marine was dressing up as a diver to steal yachts from the rich Upper East Side people. Months ago, I swear I would have cared. After all, I am the DNA-girl, the science behind every case Frederick Jones solves. I'm the Carbon-14-girl that analyzes any crap found at crime scenes, the girl who finds three phone digits in an old notepad and compares with a database of over 420 million phone numbers and still finds the son of a *****. I am all the dirty work of the NYPD, so I have every right to demand my slice of applause and my lines of praise in the New York Times. But today, I can only care about the comforting scene of arriving at my house, taking off my glasses and forgetting that crimes exist. Today, all the credit goes to Captain Jones.

Daphne: Hey Vel, good job! We wouldn't have made it if you hadn't found those microscopic algae!

The red-haired girl hugged me tightly before I could answer anything. I had no option but to hug her back, so that she could let me go faster. In fact, if it weren't for my algae, Fred and I wouldn't have made it. She, poor little one, had nothing to do with our case, since she doesn't even work for the NYPD. Daphne is always around following our work, offering legal help and meddling a lot. She does everything to get a few seconds of attention from Fred Jones, her teenage-crush since high school. Lately, she is doing even more things to get closer to him, as Fred has recently ended his second engagement and he is available again. I feel very sorry for Daphne because, mentally, Fred is still in high school and has never matured enough to develop any kind of involvement (except, obviously, sexual) with a woman. So, for Fred, the sweet and kind-hearted Daphne is just a pretty lawyer who can adorn his bed and make him earn manhood credits with his (equally immature) friends.

Daphne: Look, Dad even sent his congratulations to our team! He is very pleased to hear that the marina robberies have been solved.

Against my will, the screen of an iPhone 13 was placed in front of my face and Daphne was euphorically pointing to the "Congratulations!" that George Blake sent via Whatsapp, accompanied by an emoji of applause. I have received far more elaborate and emotional automatic emails from Amazon on my birthday, but for Daphne, receiving a simple "Congratulations!" (which probably was only written "Congr" and the rest was filled in by the auto-corrector) and an emoji from her own father was like a family Christmas Eve around the fireplace. Her mother, Nan Blake, is even less affectionate, and Daphne is satisfied when her mom views (without responding) any of her messages.

Daphne: Mommy saw the link I sent! Oh, she's online! Oh, she's typing something!

Between shrieks of joy, Daphne looked at the screen in a childish way, waiting for crumbs of a love she never received. I felt sorry, because I knew the answer would never come (Nan was probably without her reading glasses impatiently pressing the mobile screen to close the application, and Whatsapp understood this attitude as "typing a message"), so I quickly celebrated and changed the subject, so she wouldn't be disappointed by the lack of answer.

Daphne: Marcie also saw the link, look! I just sent it and she already replied, look! She even sent me some jokes about...

Marcie saw it in three seconds because you are incredibly beautiful, if it were any other woman in the universe - including her boss and her own mother - it would take her at least two weeks. And she would only answer if it was very urgent. This is my fiancée, Marcie Fleach. And this is Daphne Blake, my best friend, who is not only an emotionally dependent, but also extremely naive. Obviously, I couldn't verbalize the real answer, so instead I was direct:

Velma: Marcie Fleach is being Marcie Fleach. You know how she is.

My response caused a beautiful smile on her face. Yes, it seems that its not only my fiancée who is inexplicably kind to beautiful women. That must be why Marcie and I get along so well since high school. We have a lot in common.

Daphne: And do you have any plans for you vacation?

Velma: I thought about going to California for about ten days. Chomsky is giving a lecture at UCLA that I am dying to see. Then, we will go to Europe. Marcie said that a group of scientists is developing a study on Hawking radiation at the University of Berlin that will be...

Daphne: Shhhhhh!

Before I could finish the sentence, Daphne covered my mouth with one of her hands. She does it since five years of age, but this time I was offended.

Daphne: Shhh, he's going to talk! - she said, putting her cell phone camera to record and pointing it at Fred, who was starting his "big" interview – Later we talk about vacation, ok? I need to talk to you about something very important!

I didn't say any other word, I just answered by rolling my eyes and making a grimace, which she copied and in the end we both laughed at each other.

Velma: Come on, are you really going to film another stupid interview? How many useless gigabytes of Fred Jones do you have on your hard drive?

This time she responded with a gesture, a rude middle finger shown disguisedly while the other fingers hold up the cell phone.

Velma: You should stop making room for this idiot on your hard drive and make room for him in other of your things...

The emphasis I put on the expression " in other of your things " made Daphne's cheeks blush violently. Soon I felt the beak of the Louboutin scarpin hitting me angrily on the shin, and she - now angry - began the quick maneuver of deleting the video I had ruined and starting the camera to continue filming the rest of the interview. I laughed as I realized the disruption I had caused. Another video successfully ruined.

Shaggy: Like, hey girls! Let´s eat something later? I'm starving!

Daphne squirmed with anger and pointed to the camera on, indicating that she was recording and didn't want any sound to spoil the interview. She didn't ask for silence because I am the one in charge of telling Detective Rogers (whom we affectionately nicknamed Shaggy) to shut up since our high school days, so I played my role once again.

Shaggy: Like, sorry, Daph! Hey, where do you guys want to go? Like, how about that Mexican restaurant that's on youtube ads?

Daphne rolled her eyes and gave up asking for silence. Norville was not good with non-verbal language. And he wasn't good with verbal language either. But by some miracle, Shaggy graduated with honors at college and joined the police. Okay, the major accomplishment of his police career was to work five years in DEA smoking pot in the bathroom without getting caught, but still, seeing Norville succeed in a career was something impressive, especially after so many high school teachers emphasized that he would be a complete failure. I, particularly, never thought he is dumb. In fact, Norville is a typical example of that phrase "if you judge a fish by his ability to climb a tree, he will spend his whole life believing that he is stupid". He is a genius, in his own way. If you judge him by his ability to know what a mitochondrion is, you will think he is stupid; now, if you judge him by his ability to play video games and tinker with computers, you will think he is the new Steve Jobs.

Shaggy: Like, Daph, did I ever show you the app I made for Scoob?

Poor, sweet Daphne made a negative gesture with her head, her facial expression was divided between frustration at having Fred´s interview ruined and compassion for her friend who was begging for her attention. Finally, compassion won, and she ended the short video to hear Norville. As I said earlier, Norville is a genius in his own way. At the NYPD, he is the kennel guy in charge of the dozens of sniffer K9s who do a scientific job that is dirtier (yet very similar, including in labor benefits) than mine. Among so many dogs, his favorite is a brown flat-coated retriever that he named Scooby-Doo because of a stupid old song that keeps repeating "dooby dooby doo". To make his job easier, he has developed an application that translates barking into human language. Obviously, the translation has no scientific basis, but this fact didnt stop it from being an absolute hit with downloads worldwide.

Shaggy: Scooby-doo, give me a bark, dude!

The obedient K9 barked enough to ruin the interview (and to annoy the reporters and bosses of the NYPD) and to form words in the app that made Daphne and Norville laugh.

Fred: What's up, gang? Another case successfully solved!

Daphne welcomed Captain Jones with arms wide open and congratulated him with a generous kiss on his cheek. Shaggy, in his turn, greeted Fred with incomprehensible synchronized hand-shakes that the school boys did. I greeted him with my usual grumpy expression, because he took all the credit for the case again.

Fred: Oh, come on, Vel, I mentioned your seaweed!

Daphne: He did mention it, Vel, I filmed!

Neither Fred's argument nor Daphne's flattery convinced me otherwise, so I made no effort to change my facial expression. Like all egocentrics, Fred Jones couldn't tolerate girls who didn't smile at his charms, so my bad mood was a purposeful weapon to hurt him at his greatest weakness.

Velma: Next time, you will let me talk live about my own seaweed! Or you'll have to find your own seaweed! You're lucky I'm happy with my well-deserved vacation, otherwise I´d…I´d…

The tone of my voice, mixed with my forefinger pointing at his pointy nose every time I finished a sentence contributed to increase Fred Jones' narcissistic insecurity. Checkmate.

Fred: That's right, good point, Vel! We are on vacation now! You are amazing, you always think of everything!

He expected me to return the compliment, which obviously didn't happen and the atmosphere was tense. I learned that tecnique in the book "How to deal with narcissists, page 23".

Fred: Speaking of vacation, I have to go, guys. Nice vacation to you all!

And this is how a narcissist behaves when thwarted.

Daphne: Wait! Fred! We... we are... going to eat something somewhere, right gang? Don't you want to come with us?

My sullen expression made Fred hesitate to answer -probably because he was in doubt if he should extend his evening with one of the dozens journalists surrounding him or if he should accept the invitation and try to extend his evening with Daphne Blake. Instead of formulating a response, he simply looked at me and Shaggy, waiting for some confirmation. Obviously, there was no confirmation from my part, but Shaggy was not so firm:

Shaggy: Like, sure, Fredster, join us!

I sighed and rolled my eyes as Daphne celebrated yet another victory for her pet narcissist. So I decided to practice another precious lesson from "How to Deal with Narcissists": Chapter 1 - Walk away ASAP.

Velma: I can´t go, gang.. I need to go home, Marcie and I need to prepare our vacation stuff…

Daphne: Marcie could join us, Vel! Couldn't she?

The Blake family has the habit of using verbs in conditional mode as a subtle way of indicating imperative. "Jenkins, it's already four o'clock, could you bring me my tea?" means "Jenkins bring my tea immediately because my patience is running out." In other words, "Marcie could" means "Call ******* Marcie right now." Before answering, I consulted my cell phone and noticed 15 missing calls from my fiancée and "call me as soon as you can" messages. I smiled quietly at the possibility that Marcie would decline.

Velma: I need to call her, by the amount of calls, I think something happened.

Fred: And where are you guys going? There is a great sports bar on 35th St. ...

Before returning Fleachy's calls, I put all my energy into shooting Fred Jones one more time with my disapproving look. After all, he wasn't even invited initially, and now that he was included, he wants to determine the location of the dinner. Damn sense of leadership. Fortunately, he realized my intentions and shut up immediately. The phone didn't even call and Marcie answered.

Marcie: Hi honey, I need to talk to you urgently about our vacation...

Velma: What's up, Marce?

Marcie: Well... it's just... well, come home, will you?

Unlike the Blakes, Marcie Fleach uses the imperative mode to indicate the conditional mode. Inheritance from her days as the student council president, when she needed to be authoritative and nice at the same time. That is, "come home" means "could you kindly come home, please, so I can personally tell you something you won't like to hear?" By a lapse of stupidity, I left my cell phone on speaker mode while I asked Marcie about going to dinner with the gang, so I couldn't lie to Daph when she agreed.

Daphne: Great. I thought of a simpler, more informal place, how about Benihana?

Everyone agreed with some resentment. I love it when Daphne Blake tries to be affordable in her choices, she always fails miserably. Now, I was condemned not only to do something I didn't want to do with a person I didn't want around, I would also have to spend far more than I would like to spend on sushi. Finally, we agreed about a time and I left them at the moment the vain Captain Jones was beginning to explain for the thousandth time how "he" managed to solve the crime. In the middle of my five-block walk, a high-speed Scooby-Doo runned over me with Norville's car heys in his mouth. .

Shaggy: Like, I'm sorry, Vel! Scooby loves this stealing-my-stuff game!

Norville helped me up and continued walking silently beside me. It was his own way of talking about my disagreement with Fred without having to say anything, or having to choose one of us to defend.

Velma: Another case successfully stolen, uh?

Shaggy: Like, let it go, Vel.

Velma: Let it go? It's obvious that you're upset too! He stole the ******* case for himself, Norville! We worked how many months on it? 6? 8? I can´t count how many tests I did, how many botany books I had to read to find out about those damn algae, and now all the credit goes to him!

Shaggy: I don't care, really.

Velma: You don't care? Of course you do! If it weren't for Scooby and the other K9's, we'd never find the bandit's trail, and without the trail we'd never find the algae...

Shaggy: Like, forget about it, Vel. The bandit was arrested, that's what matters. The rest is a useless fight of egos and vanities...

As I said: Norville is a genius in his own way. He managed to silence my anger with a simple and cathartic sentence. I couldn't answer anything; after all, he was right. Putting my vanity in a ring with Fred Jones's vanity would be an endless duel of titans. Not having anything to say, I laughed to see the cheerful Scooby running from his guardian and stopping from time to time to look back and make sure he was being followed.

Velma: Are you also depressed to spend the amount of five meals on a single dinner? Or is it just me?

Despite being just the dog guy, Norville makes five hundred dollars a year more than me, the DNA-girl-with-post-doctorate. Great merit of sexism. Plus, he comes from a financially comfortable family, he is the son of a generous and understanding father who gives him money as often as my parents give me bad advices about how I should live my life. So, Norville's major problems with money are actually caused by an unexplained metabolism (which makes him hungry all the time) and the existence of first-person shooting games that require payment for the release of accessories. So the five hundred dollars that he earns more than me are always spent on piles of hamburgers and CS:Go guns.

Shaggy: It's okay, Vel, I'll take some of the money from the reserve I made for Valorant's battle pass...

When I was about to start talking about another random subject, Scooby-Doo got tired of running and laid down to chew the keys. Shaggy said a quick goodbye and runned to the dog, who happily started running away from his guardian again. I didn't have to walk far to get to my building, nor I didn´t have to get to my house to talk to my fiancée. As I passed through the gate, Marcie was waiting for me in the hall with the familiar "I did some kind of shit and I'm here to apologize" face.

Marcie: Honey, I'm so glad you're here! I so needed to talk to you.

Marcie hugged me superficially and quickly. I returned the gesture in the same way, waiting for her to explain what was going on. However, like all the times she wants to justify herself for doing something she knows I won't like, she was not objective. As we were walking up the stairs, she started a confuse conversation about magnetic cards, commented about her experience as a Marketing Designer, brought up the card subject again by revealing that she started a project to make ecologically harmless cards... but I only understood the meaning of the conversation when I opened the door of the apartment and found hundreds of magnetic cards (made of recycled paper) with the logo of the amusement park that the Fleach family maintains in Orlando, FL.

Velma: Marce, what the **** is that? Why you didn´t pack your bags yet? We leave tomorrow morning!

Marcie: Vel, I'm sorry, I've started a publicity project for my parents' park and we will have to cancel our vacation... Dad called for help and I couldn't refuse! They can bankrupt, Velma!

The Fleach family has been trying not bankrupt for years. Obviously, due to the fact that keeping a traveling amusement park (with dubiously operating toys from the 70's) in a city like Orlando, FL is not a very smart idea. And also due to the delusions of success of Mr. Fleach (motivated by bad financial coaches books), who spends twice as much as he raises believing that one day he will be the new Walt Disney. I swear I´ve searched for words to confront Marcie, but I couldn't find them. A few questions popped into my mind (will they pay for your work? Will your work be a success? Can your father afford hundreds of recyclable magnetic cards? Will colored cards convince customers to pay and risk their lives on toys that use pig grease as lubricant?), but I wasted no time in verbalizing them. After all, I know the answers to all of them.

Velma: Marcie Michelle Fleach, I can´t believe what you just told me...

Marcie: Velma... listen...

Velma: I refuse to listen, Marcie! Do you have any idea how selfish this decision is? And why I am the last one to know about it, at the last minute?

Marcie: You're not the last one to know!

Velma: Nevermind! You should have asked me first, don't you think? Did it even cross your mind that I should have been consulted about how I will spend my well-deserved vacation? I work like crazy, Marce, I don't even get some credit for my work, we hardly see each other daily, we're always working on our careers, and the only time we can be together you...you...arrange to spend the vacation in your parents' filthy trailer park? How do you expect me to react to all this?

Marcie: I expect the woman who loves me understands me! That's all! How selfish it is to demand that I have some fun while my parents are on the edge of bankruptcy, unable to afford their own medicine?

Velma: As selfish as using the love I feel for you as a way to manipulate me in favor of your decisions!

And we drag on this argument for hours. Between accusations and emotional exhaustion, the discussion lasted until twenty minutes before the time we set to meet the gang at the restaurant. I quickly got ready - far away from her, because I couldn't even look at her face – and I intended to go alone, but then I realized she was ready and waiting for me at the door.

 

[KendraKelnick]

Chapter 2​

Marcie and I didn't say a word to each other until we reached that restaurant, where Daphne was waiting for us at a reserved table.

Daphne: Hi girls, glad you came early!

We greeted Daphne, but we still ignored each other's presence. Sensing that something had happened (and Daphne's intuition never fails), Daph looked at me, and then at Marce and kept shifting the look, waiting for either of us to say anything. Obviously, Marcie did, just to annoy me:

Marcie: Wow, Daph, you look great! Are you trying to get someone's attention with this dress?

The totally inappropriate comment made Daphne blush and made me step on Marcie's toes angrily. Instead of complaining, Marcie smiled and hugged me, thinking that my gesture meant that everything was ok between us, but I continued to ignore her.

Daphne: Oh, no way, Marce! What makes you think I get someone's attention with this dress?

The fact that all heads turn to you, perhaps? I think Marcie, like me, also answered Daph's question mentally, because after my kick she didn't say anything. Daphne, however, started talking, ´cause she wanted so much to change the subject and not to make it (even more) evident that she had dressed for Fred Jones.

Daphne: Did you finish your cards, Marce? Can you believe that right after we bought those recycled paper cards I found beautiful bioplastic cards, I think we should buy some, don't you think?

Yes, I'm the last one to know! That's what I told my fiancée, screaming telepathically. I shot Marcie with an angry look, and luckily she understood my non-verbal language. Daphne, with her keen intuition, realized that she overshared, and again started talking about random subjects that could make me forget about it. I tried to look on the bright side of the situation: at least we are not paying for those stupid cards. Or maybe we are? After all, Daphne's wealth comes from the abusive fees that her banker father charges us, his poor customers. When a normal talk finally started, we saw Shaggy waving at us at the door with an Alice in Chains shirt, a short beard and a huge smile on his face. When he arrived, he gave us tight hugs that cracked our spine joints while the sound of loud, low-pitched barks could be heard from outside the restaurant.

Shaggy: Sorry girls, Scoob won't let me stay here with you, he'll be barking til I leave so, like, I just dropped by to say hi...

Daphne: Oh, no way, I need you to stay! You need to hear about my new case. You can sit here by the window, so Scooby can see you…

Shaggy agreed and took his place by the window. When Scooby-Doo saw him, he went wild, barked, and started jumping so madly against the restaurant's window that security guards had to intervene.

Shaggy: Wow, Daph, did you dress to receive an Oscar?

Shaggy's comment made Daphne blush again, as it confirmed what Marcie said about he dressing to get Fred´s attention.

Shaggy: Like, hey, Vel! Hey Marce! How is the card-making process?

I'm definitely the last one to know about the damn cards . This time, Fleachy replied " Well, thanks " and smiled awkwardly at Shaggy. She avoided looking at me because she knew this time my angry look would be as deadly as an atomic bomb.

Shaggy: So, tell us about your case, Daph! Like, meanwhile, I'll choose the food because I'm starving…

Daphne: Well, this case is different from anything I've ever seen, and I´ll need your help... but, let's wait Fred and my client arrive, so I tell you the details once...

Shaggy responded with joy, but I wasn't sure if his reaction was due to what Daphne's said or due to the menu he was analyzing. I started mentally elaborating a polite refusal, because I didn't feel like spending my vacation working so Daphne could spend days seducing Fred Jones. I have a lot of skills, but none of them are "being a ******* cupid". When the waiter came to get Shaggy´s list, Marcie asked some Yuzu Margaritas and I ordered a Mojito, so the mint could boost my patience and the rum could help me deal with all the shit I would have to deal with until the end of that night (including the presence of Captain Jones). I love my friends, but sometimes they only make some sense when they're accompanied by a good dose of alcohol. Daphne didn't order any drinks ´cause she´s alcohol-weak (she gets completely drunk with Coors light), and Shaggy ordered and ate so many things before my Mojito arrived that I couldn't even count. Scooby was watching us from outside the window, suddenly, he pricked up his ears, looked around carefully, and ran away. Shaggy left quickly to follow Scooby, at the door, he saw the dog euphorically barking and circling Captain Jones.

Daphne: Fred is here!

I understand that Daphne has her personal reasons to celebrate Fred's arrival, but I gave her a fierce glare anyway. Due to the case solved hours earlier (and shown at all channels), Fred Jones was a celebrity. He couldn´t even walk to our table without being interrupted by people waving, clapping and even asking to take pictures with him. Daphne, as usual, greeted Jones with smiles, with arms wide open and a kiss on his cheek; Shaggy did his indecipherable handshake, and Marcie repeated the cheap flattery everyone was giving him. I just said hi, downed my Mojito, and hoped the therapeutic properties of the mint and rum would make an immediate effect in my mood.

Fred: Hey gang, what a day, uh? Looks like the whole NY city is celebrating our case solved.

Marcie: You guys are amazing! People admire you guys! By the way, have you noticed how beautiful Daphne is tonight?

Daphne's face turned as red as her hair. I tried to kick Marcie to make her stop talking, but when I got an accidental kick from Daphne, I realized that someone else was also trying to make Fleachy shut up. Obviously, Fred had already noticed Daphne, but after Marcie's words he analyzed every inch of her again and ended his analysis by looking deep into her eyes.

Fred: She is not beautiful tonight... she's beautiful everyday…

Daphne smiled, but Fred Jones is an ******* so he didn't continue the courtship. He suddenly started talking about the damn details of the case he solved. Rather than helping me to relax, the quick addition of alcohol into my bloodstream gave me a horrid state of mind. During the conversations, I was distant, silent and everything irritated me. I was distracted looking to the image of Scooby-Doo sitting on the sidewalk when, suddenly, the dog raised his ears and repeated the gesture he did when Fred arrived. This time, he didn't run away, he put his paws in an alert position and began to bark. Shaggy asked for silence more than once, but Scooby didn´t stop. Without hesitating, Shaggy opened his dog language app to discover what his best friend was saying. The app translated the barks to the english words "Get away!" and "Killer". Daphne, Marcie and Shaggy looked at each other and shuddered at the ominous message. Jones and I, for the first time in our lives, agreed at one thing: we laughed at Norville's app.

Fred: Come on, gang, it doesn't mean anything! We all know that this app is just for entertainment…

When the barking and the scary "translations" stopped for a while, Shaggy looked at me and asked my personal scientific opinion.

Velma: Fred is right, this is ridiculous, there is no scientific basis for this app and dogs have no verbal language.

My words soothed them and made Shaggy close the app. Scooby continued to bark, the restaurant security guards approached to make him stop and Shaggy had to leave the table to make the dog calm down. I couldn't pay attention to the next random topic that Fred, Marcie, and Daphne were talking about because I was distracted by the image of a mortal, american, blond version of a greek god getting out of a type of car that, to me, only existed in Fast and Furious movies. I don't usually care about cars, let alone men, but this time both called my attention. Obviously, everyone at the restaurant noticed the arrival of that New Yorker Apollo and followed his steps into the restaurant. For my surprise, his destination was exactly our table, Daphne got up and greeted him.

Daphne: Guys, I want you to meet my client, Mr. Alan Mayberry.

"To me, his name is Apollo ," was the thought I had when I offered my hand to charming Mr. Mayberry, having an inexplicable straight-woman smile on my lips. I didn't feel guilty for that because my fiancée did the same thing (so that ***** also notices handsome men?), and after her, Daphne did the same, but her hand was pulled by Apollo's strong hand and he gave her a hug. The only one who wasn't impressed was Fred Jones, who refused to step down from his ego's pedestal to greet Mr. Mayberry. With his manhood bruised due to the presence of another alpha male, Captain Jones just waved and glared.

Alan: Client? Please! I am not a "client ". Daphne and I are friends… we're neighbors, actually. I live next to Blake Tower, I can see her from my window. And she is always working, she's incredibly talented. Daphne is the only Blake girl who has the competence to lead George's empire. BTW, I owe everything to George Blake, a great man who taught me the path to success…

Apollo kept praising and praising Daphne for five minutes. And the bad trip caused by the Mojito made me feel depressed that I was wasting my money and my time watching another stupid male tryin to get a relationship with Daphne Blake. My only amusement in those wasted five minutes was Fred's angry, jealous face as he watched the scene. Fred Jones doesn´t want to have a serious relationship with Daphne, he doesn´t even care about her enough to tell her his real intentions. But Fred Jones doesn´t want any other man to have it either. He wants to keep Daphne in " standby mode ", always at his feet, after all, a completely-in-love Daphne is a beautiful trophy.

Fred: Well, Daphne, can you please tell why you brought us here?

Daphne smiled when the jealous Fred abruptely interrupted Apollo. She waved at Norville to make him return to the table, Shaggy waved back and started walking, but Scooby ran after him, bit the bottom hem of his shirt and pulled him out again.

Fred: I don't think Norville will mind if you start without him, Daph. We'll explain it to him later.

Daphne: Okay! Gang, I brought you here to talk about an exceptional case I took recently and I would like your help to solve it. Mr. Mayberry…

Alan: It's Alan, Daph... for you, it's Alan...

Daphne: Okay, Alan, my client…

Alan: I´ve already told you we're friends, Daph, and also neighbors...

Daphne gave Alan a reproachful glare to make him stop interrupting her. Mr. Mayberry got the message and smiled disconcertedly, then made a gesture for her to continue talking.

Daphne: So, Alan is the CEO of a huge fintech in Manhattan and claims that a brokerage company called Liberty stole his money…

Fred: So we're wasting our night because Mr. Mayberry is an incompetent investor?

Fred´s words were violent, but instead of offending, they made Alan laugh derisively.

Alan: No, Daphne knows I have a lot of experience …

The mischievous tone of Mayberry's reply made Daphne blush and stutter while she angrily explained

Daphne: No! What… what Mr. Mayberry means… is…that... that he worked for my dad for many years. He was Blake Bank´s director for many years before starting his own business,that's what he means when he says that "I know he has lots of experience". Oh, nevermind, let me finish… Last year, Alan gave Liberty the sum of 2 million dollars to invest in bonds, but the person in charge disappeared with his money last month. So, Mr. Mayberry wants to sue him for the loss, but while I was studying the evidences to build the case, I came across a mystery…

To me, the only mystery is: why a person who spends about 4 million dollars in a car wants to sue someone for losing "only" 2 million? Unless the lawsuit is an excuse to flirt with Daphne Blake and become George Blake's son-in-law. Well, looks like I've already solved this mystery.

Fred: And what's so mysterious about that, Daphne? Financial scams happen all the time, you just need to be stupid enough to be caught…

Alan: So you're saying Daphne's father is stupid enough, Jones, because he's a victim of Liberty too...

Fred was kind of embarassed by what he said, and immediately looked at Daphne to confirm what he had just heard.

Daphne: Calm down, I'll explain about my dad. Let me finish, yes? I need your help because the crime happened in NY, so it's your jurisdiction, Fred. I found out that the place where Liberty is supposed to be operating has neither business licenses nor employee records, nor anything that proves that a huge investment management company really exists at that address. Furthermore, I found out the Liberty manager who was responsible for Alan´s money is a missing person in his country, South Korea. His name is Cho Sang-woo and local police says he´s been missing since June 2020. On the other hand, Interpol says his last bank operations occured in NY city last moth at a Liberty branch in Cedar St., so this city is the last place where Cho Sang-woo was before dissapearing. I couldn´t find Sang-woo´s missing report at NYPD missing person department, so I need you to do it.

Fred: It´s a classic case of embezzlement, Daphne. Fake companies appear all the time offering millions quickly and magically, and unprepared jerks end up falling for their promises. Its obvious that the person responsible disappeared, all thieves hide after a robbery.

Daphne: Liberty is not a fake company, Freddie. It was founded more than 20 years ago, it has offices all over the world and lots of customers. But Liberty´s biggest office here in NY, at Cedar St., has no licenses. Isn´t it weird?

Fred: Honey, trust me, I´m in NYPD for years and it seems that your case is not a mystery. It's just a financial scam. Velma can digitally track the money… if we find the money, we find the thief, case solved.

The lovely "dear, trust me" made Daphne melt and sigh, but it didn't make her give up her arguments.

Daphne: I know where the money is, Fred, and this is the weirdest part. Alan said my dad recommended him Liberty´s services last year, after he did a 36 million investment. I went through my own sources and found bank receipts for 36 million going from Blake Bank Inc.´s account to Liberty´s Applegate Bank account, so this information is true. Then, Alan invested his 2 million… but last month, the all the money disappeared. The impressive amount of 38 million dollars - 2 million is Alan´s and 36 milions is dad´s - left Liberty´s Applegate Bank account in NY and ended up in several Applegate Bank accounts located in Silmido, a desert island in South Korea. DESERT ISLAND, Fred. And then, all the money was withdrawn from ATM machines on that same island. Is there a logical explanation for 38 million being withdrawn from ATMs in a desert island?

Shaggy: Maybe wild animals are learning bad consumerist habits?

Norville made the infamous joke and finally sat down at the table. Apparently, he heard a bit of the conversation.

Shaggy: Sorry guys, Scoob don´t want me to be here, he said "It's dangerous"!

Alan didn't know about the app and when he heard that "a dog said the place is dangerous" he doubted at Shaggy´s sanity. We just ignored the damn app one more time.

Fred: Daphne, sweetheart, it's a classic financial scam, believe me. Obviously, this island must be a tax haven and maybe it´s not really uninhabited. Liberty´s smart-ass just managed to put the money he stole in a safe place far from police and from taxes. Don't worry, we'll catch him. I'll get you a warrant and tomorrow Shaggy can take the dogs to the scene. And Velma can manage the digital forensics, we will solve this easily. Don´t worry.

Daphne: Frederick Jones, listen to me! Silmido has NOTHING, the South Korean army says there is no kind of construction or human activity there! And Interpol and Google satellites confirm it. How can a place without internet or modern buildings have ATMs or bank branches?

Shaggy: Like, you said a korean name when you mentioned the manager's name, didn't you Daph?

Daphne: Yes, Shaggy, the manager is called Cho Sang-woo, and he's from Seoul.

Shaggy: Like, I thought maybe he might be somewhere else in South Korea withdrawing that money, but he purposely altered the place to hide his location… like, those VPN programs for games… I just need to find out if bank systems could behave like this too…

As I said, a genius.

Velma: If online banks can do it ? Absolutely Shaggy. So, apparently we're dealing with a hacker embezzler, Daph. Something not very simple for a police captain to solve ALONE, as it requires an exhaustive work with forensic experts, right Fred?

Daphne: There's more. As I said, the money left NY and went to several Applegate Bank accounts in Silmido. Applegate Bank has filed for bankruptcy after some financial scandals, my dad is Steven Applegate´s friend and helped him to recover so far, but the government and the federals are still keeping an eye on his company. So, a bankrupt bank involved in financial scandals before suddenly transfers 38 million to a desert island and FBI does nothing?

Shaggy: Like, we could have corrupt feds, Daph. They just pretend nothing happened.

Fred: Or maybe it´s some kind of money laundering…

Velma: Or maybe we have another Deacon Carlswell, Fred, remember? He was a bank manager, just like Mr. Cho Sang-woo, and had a complex scheme to steal from the bank he worked for.

Alan: Anyway, I just want the motherfucker arrested and my money back. That's why I hired the best lawyer in New York city…

Daphne tried to ignore, but her cheeks inevitably flushed.

Daphne: So, I need your help to go ahead, gang. I cannot accuse Liberty of theft or embezzlement having only the little information Alan has given me. Also, I need you to find where Sang-woo is. I'm sure the best police team can hel…

Fred: No! No way, Daphne. I cannot start a case about a huge company without real evidence. It´s very clear that this was a financial scam, and Mr. Mayberry fell because he is… unskilled. Plus, this is a case for cyber crime department. All we can do is to fill a report and case closed...

Daphne: Fred! Please, I can't miss this case! Alan is a very dear person to my family, and the other victim is my own father, can you understand how important it is to me to solve this mystery?

Fred: …and it's also very dangerous for you, Daphne. If it's really an international money laundering scheme, we'll have to deal with dangerous people, only an ******* would get you involved in such a thing…

Then Daphne looked at me, begging my intervention to make Fred change his mind. I didnt want to intervene because I had lots of plans for my vacation and I wasn´t really in the mood of seeking stockbroker freaks on internet, but… DAMN IT, Fleachy was so right! How selfish it is to prioritize your own wellness while a loved one needs your help? I knew the answer to the question was "******* selfish", and I knew my own mind would be calling me "selfish *****" all summer if I didn´t help my best friend. So, I made my choice…

Velma: Fred, Shaggy and I can go to Liberty branch at Cedar St. tomorrow and gather some evidence, right Shags?

Shaggy: Like, sure, Vel!

Velma: Great. Also, I´ll ask the cybercrime department to check for more information. Now, Jones, please get me the ******* warrant ASAP.

Apollo and Daphne celebrated my verdict, while Fred Jones frowned at me and only answered monosyllabically until the end of our dinner. Marcie hugged me gently and gave me a sweet, proud smile because I did the right thing. Not long after, my cell phone vibrated and I was surprised by a message from Fred Jones secretly asking me "why are you following an *******'s orders? ". As soon as I finished reading, he kicked my foot and looked at me with a disapproving expression. I replied sarcastically " because is he my captain" and laughed at my own joke. My answer only made Fred's mood become worse, and he didn't answer me anymore. Then, we started to order some food. Outside, Scooby-Doo started barking again, this time he barked for minutes and pulled the traffic sign he was tied to so hard that he almost got off the leash. Shaggy hesitated to consult the app after Fred and I laughed at him, instead, he left us one more time to calm the dog down.

Fred: Hey, you're spoiling him, Shaggy. He's a police dog, not a pet. You cannot whatever he wants, he will unlearn all the lessons and good manners he received in training.

Shaggy: Like, I dont know what the hell he's quite agitated here, Fredster, Scoob isn't like that... there's something weird going on and he's trying to warn me...

Daphne: Freddie is right Shaggy, Scooby will be fine. We're in NY, he must be sniffing out someone carrying drugs or something...

Daphne and Fred convinced Shaggy to sit down again and wait for the food. In few minutes a huge portion of food began to be prepared right before our very eyes. Shaggy looked at all the ingredients on the griddle like a dog. Well, looks like Scooby is not the only one who needs to relearn good manners. When the food was ready, Marcie, Fred, and I hurried to get it before Shaggy. Apollo wasn't so smart (because he didn't know about Shaggy's habit of stealing other people's food), so he lost all the dishes he ordered. Daphne does not eat gluten, lactose, carbohydrates, meat, animal derivatives, or fried foods. Which, in practice, means that she eats only fresh vegetables & fruits, dishes from restaurants that charge more than $500/meal and that kind of exotic stuff nobody likes. Her bad eating habits come from a mother who was too lazy to feed her in the absence of babysitters (and encouraged her to eat quick and easy things, like blueberries and grapes), a financial condition that made her get used to eat in the best restaurants and an entire adolescence carrying the burden of being school´s prettiest girl.

So, when Daphne´s weird food was ready, she didn´t have to hurry since not even Shaggy wanted it. Outside, Scooby was still agitated, barking a lot and pulling the leash. Suddenly, the leash broke and he ran quickly and happily. We all were startled by view of the giant, 110-pound Scooby Doo running in high speed towards us, but we had no time to stop him: he jumped through the open window and landed on our table, kicked the glasses and drinks, stepped on plates and scared all the customers and the sushimen. If it wasn't bad enough, the clumsy Scooby continued his destruction, he jumped up on my head and sniffed me out until my glasses fell on my plate, Fred grabbed him by the tail and Scooby bit his forearm. Then, he jumped up on Marcie's lap right after stepping on the soy sauce spilled on the floor, which made sauce marks in the shape of giant paws in her clothes. Shaggy tried to hold him, but he broke free and jumped up on Daphne till she fell in a wine puddle. Scooby only calmed down when his snout found Alan's suit hanging on the chair. He sniffed it calmly for a few seconds and then began sniffing Mayberry as carefully as he sniffed the suit. Shaggy tried to hold him again by the leash, but Scooby escaped one more time. Concentrated and serious, Scooby showed his big sharp teeth and started growling and barking loudly at the suit. Mr. Mayberry backed away from the dog, Shaggy told him to stop, but Scooby was so angry that he couldn´t listen to his owner. The other customers began to scream and run away from the big brown beast, security guards approached, surrounded the dog and threw chairs and objects to make him stop.

Shaggy desperately begged them to not hurt his dog. Marce and I picked some sushis on the floor and we tried to make Scooby eat and calm down, but he insisted on growling and chasing Alan Mayberry. Fred took advantage of Scooby's distraction and approached, then he grabbed him by the leash, said some command words used in training, and Scooby finally obeyed. Shaggy ran, hugged Scooby and scolded him, in the same way that a distressed parent does with a small child after doing something wrong. The customers returned to the (partially destroyed) restaurant and we could feel the weight of their glares against our shoulders. The security guards and the restaurant owners yelled at us, and Fred told us to leave so he could solve the situation. Mr. Mayberry apologized for the confusion and handed the restaurant owners a black credit card to cover all the damage and end the mess immediately. Daphne gathered our belongings and we left with our heads down, Shaggy followed us, pulling Scooby on a leash. On the way to the door, Scooby ate all the food he met on the floor and left the place with his snout up, wagging his tail in happiness.

Daphne: Scooby! What the heck happened to you, honey? Did you get hungry?

Marcie: I think he sniffed some kind of… uh… an exotic cigarette in Mr. Mayberry's suit. Or some flour that can´t be used in cakes, if you know what I mean. After all, he is a police dog.

We all laughed at Marcie's suspicion and greeted Scooby, who seemed to be smiling.

Shaggy: Like, I thought the same thing, Marce. Scoob came from DEA, and you know the noses of these Wall Street yuppies consume more flour than Pizza Hut and Domino's together.

We laughed one more time, and we only stopped because Fred Jones arrived to spoil any kind of fun we could have.

Fred: What the **** was that, Norville? Bringing a K9 to a restaurant? How many times do I need to tell you to leave this stupid dog in the kennel? Can you imagine all the shit this mess is going to cause me?

Daphne: Freddie! You can´t talk with Scooby and Shaggy like this, apologize immediately! It wasn´t their fault!

Shaggy: That's right, Jones, if you are having any trouble with me, just tell me and we can solve it between us! Now, if you say loads of shit about my dog I´ll punch you until y…

Velma: Hey! Calm down you both! And take it easy, captain. The dog was tied in a proper place, probably he did what he did because he sniffed something suspicious inside of the restaurant. Accidents happen.

Marcie: Yeah, we think Scooby sniffed drugs in Mayberry's suit...

Velma: Or somewhere inside the restaurant. Maybe someone there is hiding drugs, as Scooby is a drug-expert, he found it…

Fred liked the theory of Mayberry having drugs in his suit because it was a great way to defame the one who threatened his leadership and his monopoly of Daphne´s attention. Alan Mayberry approached slowly, and Shaggy took Scooby for a walk around the block to avoid another attack.

Alan: Well, since this dinner has failed, we could go somewhere else… there's a great restaurant on 76th, it's just a few blocks from my tower, so after dinner we can have some drinks at my place…

Marcie and I both nodded in agreement, but only a second after we did it, we realized Alan's invite was only for Daphne.

Daph: Alan, that would be great, but I have a web conference with District Attorney Reyes about that Hell's Kitchen crime, so I´ll have to decline.

If Daphne had known that Amanda Reyes slept with Fred Jones more than once, she would never have used that excuse to turn down a date. Since she can´t even fathom that, that was the most credible excuse she could find. Alan then said goodbye and left in his multimillion-dollar car. Fred Jones had a pathetic victorious expression in his face, so, of course, I HAD to provoke him.

Velma: Wow, Daph, he's gorgeous! Did you notice those arms?

Daphne blushed and Fred looked at me angrily, telepathically asking me "so now you gay-***** notice men, really?" with his jealous eyes.

Daphne: Ah… yes, Vel… but… I don't trust him very much… because…

Fred: Because of the drug stuff?

Daphne: What? No, Fred! Alan is not like that!

Fred: Don't be ingenuous, Daphne, why would Scooby attack him?

Daphne: I don't know, Fred, Scooby may have sniffed something… but I´m not talking about this accident when I say I don't trust Alan very much...

Velma: And why wouldn't you trust a strong, polite, multi-millionaire greek god, who watches you from his apartment window and who wants so bad to ask you out? He seems to be way better than the jerks you've ever wanted to date, doesn't he?

Daph: Vel, there's nothing wrong with the way Alan look, I just don't fully trust him. I can't explain it exactly, maybe it's only my intuition… there's something about him that is not trustworthy, you know? Plus, I have evidences that there's something wrong behind his façade of charm and success. I've searched about his wealth over the last two years and I've noticed that there is a 2700% increase. Even the luckiest and most experienced investor would not have such exorbitant gains in such a short time. During this period, he founded his own company, he certainly had a lot of expenses, how did he manage to become so rich? I mean… it's not possible that Alan did it with honest work and fair play, there must be something else. His financial life has clear corruption signs. And that's why I called you before I take on this case, I want you to investigate him. I can't risk my career defending a corrupt person.

Fred: Absolutely, Daph, we'll investigate him. Maybe his money is coming from drug dealing, maybe Scooby's attack wasn't an accident... You know, when I first saw him I thought he looked suspicious…

"He looked suspicious for spoiling your leadership", I said to myself. Daphne smiled for finding some reason to work with Fred Jones again and hugged him gratefully. Suddenly, Shaggy and Scooby arrived smiling, munching on a pepperoni pizza they bought during their tour.

Shaggy: Hey, gang! Let's eat something somewhere else? My stomach is killing me.

Daphne: Sure! Can we meet in an hour? I need a bath and clean clothes…

Shaggy: Like, we need a pet friedly place…

Marcie: How about a dinner at our house? Scooby is welcome!

The good thing about knowing your friends since childhood is that they know you enough to read your thoughts. As soon as Marcie invited, everyone looked at me, waiting for my verdict about the questions "Can we go to your place?", "Can we have dinner there?" and "Is Scooby welcome? ". Considering my utter horror of food crumbs and pet hair on the floor (I have a high standard of what "clean" looks like), my automatic reply to the second and the third questions was NO WAY. And considering that I couldn´t do my daily cleaning routine because Marcie spread stupid cards all over the place, the answer to the first question was NO. Fortunately, my telepathic negatives were understood before I verbalized them.

Daphne: Sorry, gang, it can't be at home. Alan can see us from his window, and he may be offended that I said no to him.

Fred: So he really watches you from his window? What a maniacal son of a *****!

Said the guy who turns his head towards to check every woman out.

Shaggy: Like, it can be at home then. In an hour?

Fred: I´ll need more time, Shaggy. I need to take care of my arm.

I've seen Fred Jones suffer horrid fractures and concussions in football and still stand up like nothing happened. But when there is a beautiful woman around, he becomes a helpless victim pretending to be on the verge of death by a mere superficial scratch. This time, he was suffering for a bite-shaped bruise. Daphne obviously took the bait and offered her help. Something quite ridiculous, since Daphne let the dummy die during all first-aid training classes at school.

Velma: I think Fred can handle this, Daph, it's nothing serious. So, see you all in an hour? We will have a long forensic work tomorrow and I need to rest my neurons.

Daphne was confused with my intervention, but she trusts me more than her own family, so she understood that whatever I was doing was the right thing to do. Scooby started playing with Shaggy´s keys again and Shaggy left us quickly, without saying goodbye. Daphne hugged us, gave Fred her traditional kiss on the cheek, and said a shy " I'll see you later ". Marcie, as a good girl, realized that there was a pending argument between Fred and I and she decided to go in front.

 

[KendraKelnick]

Chapter 3​

Fred: Thanks for pushing Daphne away, Dinkley. You always stick your nose into my work, now you will stick your nose into my dates as well?

Velma: What the hell are you doing, Fred? You know Daphne loves you!

Fred: I know, then I had a chance to ask her out and you screwed it up!

Velma: “Ask her out”? Really? For a real date? So why it seems one more casual ******** in which you two spend a night together then pretend nothing happened on the following day?

Fred: Can you tell me exactly whats the problem about it? Or, at least, can you explain why should I care about what you think of it all?

Velma: Jinkies, how can you be so insensitive, how can you take advantage of her feelings? Daphne wants you to love her!

Fred: But I do love her!

Velma: This is not love, Fred! And until you're ready to give her everything she deserves, I WON'T LET YOU DO IT ANYMORE! Hear me? I WON´T LET YOU HURT MY BEST FRIEND'S FEELINGS!

Fred: So, if it´s not exactly like your definition of love, its not love? If a case solved is explained by someone else, the case was not really solved, right? Everything has to be your way, bossing everybody around…

Marcie looked back and my eyes met hers. I immediately felt a chill down my spine, as I understood she totally agreed with what Fred just said. I gasped, but took some courage to continue talking.

Velma: OMG, Jones, dont be so stupid, can´t you see she wants a real relationship? Not this kind of high-school-******** you´ve been doing for years!

Fred: Now I should start a relationship just because you think it´s the right thing to do? It doesn´t matter if it works for me and for her, things have to be your way?

Velma: It´s not my way, Fred, it´s her way! Its not “working” for her at all! Can´t you see you are hurting her feelings? You give her hopes just for one night, then on the following day you go out with another girl and tear her apart!

Fred: Oh, I love her but you disagree about the way I love her, so I am hurting her feelings… can you hear what are you just saying, Velma? You are so bossy and immature that you can´t even make sense… If Daphne had a problem about it, she would tell me…

Velma: She is trying to tell you, Fred! For years! But you are too stupid to understand! She follows you, she helps you, she does silly things just to be around our cases, she´s trying to build a relationship, believe me, I'm her best friend, I know her since kindergarten…

Fred: Oh, sure, how could I forget Velma Dinkley knows everything? I met her first, remember? I know her more than the way your arrogance supposes.

Velma: You met her first, but since we were, like, 12? You´ve been the ******* who's been running away from her, so I guess you have absolutely no idea about how Daphne feels.

Fred: Who are you to talk about running away from someone, Velma? Just take a look at poor Marcie Fleach, you´ve been deceiving her for a decade because you´re afraid of getting married! You hate your in-laws, you´re terrified of adoption… you're afraid of becoming your mother, aren't you? And become everything you hate most? I know you're afraid that your relationship with Marcie will turn into the relationship your parents had! But, still, you dare to point your finger at me, at my failed engagements and at my casual relationships… When will you admit that you and I are alike, Velma? In every small detail? We both had our lives screwed by our parents, and we just don´t want to pass on this ****** legacy!

Fred Jones has a lot of faults that I hate, the one I hate most is being very shrewd during an argument. His answer was so unexpected that Marcie gasped and walked away, a gesture that proved he was right. Another fault that I hate: he's always right.

Fred: Do you know how it's like to grow up feeling guilty about your mom's death, and then find out she's alive? And she decided to leave you and your loser dad to marry her teenage-times boyfriend? Do you have any idea how it's like to have the same name as your father and spend sixteen years being exactly what he expects from you, just to keep the name he built clean? Do you have any idea how many sports I had to do, how many stupid trophies I had to win to make him proud, and in the end nothing was enough? I've lived this shit, Dinkley, college, military service, this stupid police career, everything I do in my ******* life is for him, and you know what's worse? The more I try to not be like him, the more I look like him. I speak like him, I act like him, I demand from others just like he demanded from me, so I will just end like him. I will screw people´s lives up just like he did and…

Velma: You will be abandoned just like he was abandoned by your mom? Then you do it first, so nobody will ever abandon you? Is that your personal reason to be such a selfish jerk to Daphne?

Fred: No, Freud, I would talk about my reasons to not get involved if you stopped pointing your hypocritical fingers at me…

Velma: Hypocritical fingers, Fred? I am the daughter of two Nobel laureates, my sister Madelyn is the youngest-ever Nobel laureate, and I decided to become a simple forensics expert! I was raised to repeat the steps of Curie family, and when I gave up my science career to solve mysteries, I died to Dinkley family. My parents don´t care about how happy I am solving crimes, helping people and living an ordinary life, to them, I am just a failure as a scientist. So, don't tell me about pressure, toxic parents and high expectations, I live this shit every day. But, unlike you, I don't use my pain as an excuse to hurt people, I don't think my feelings matter more than others´ feelings!

Fred: This is what you say to yourself to make you feel better, Velma, but… does Marcie agree? Marcie doesn´t get hurt? Or she feels like Daphne and she hopes that one day you'll grow up and have a real relationship? Because your ten-year-old-failed engagement looks as serious and as mature as my one-night stands.

Suddenly, I discovered Fred´s scariest fault: he is just like me. Or am I just like him? My heart rate increased and adrenaline made my legs shake. This time, Marcie didn't look back, she just walked away with her head low, a gesture that she does when she's sad.

Fred: Velma, stop forcing me to live the kind of life I don´t want, you don´t even practice what you preach…

Velma: Listen Fred, this argument ends here. Do what you want with your own life, and I'll do what I want with my life, I don't care! But this is not about me, about you, about our toxic parents or about Marcie, it's about Daphne! It's about a sad girl who has been constantly abandoned by her own family, you can´t do this to her too! You can´t play with her feelings, Fred, I won´t let you do it, you understand? If you don´t want a real relationship, you should dump her and let her move on with her life.

Fred: Why should I dump her if we have something special?

Velma: “Something special” was special when you both were in high school, it won´t be special for the rest of your lives. Daphne wants to get married and have kids, just like her sisters.

Fred: Right. Said the ten-year-old-engagement girl… Funny how you know exactly what Daphne wants for her life, but you completely ignore what Marce wants for hers. Focus on your girl, Velma, and let me focus on mine.

This time, Marcie looked at me quickly and I saw some anger in her eyes. My cheeks blushed involuntarily.

Velma: M…Marcie is not the focus, Fred. I mean…at…at least we're trying, I'm not perfect, but at least I'm trying to make her happy and give her what she wants…that´s why we´re on a relationship…

Fred: Velma, you clearly can´t fathom the issues that a relationship will bring…

Velma: No, Fred, I have no idea about relationship issues, I've been wearing this stupid ring for ten years just for fun and to make the department's metal detector beep...

Fred: I meant a relationship with Daphne, stupid, I´m not talking about your relationship. Marcie´s parents are amazing, that´s why you are together for years. Now, please, imagine Nan and George Blake… and those sisters. Four sisters-in-law, Dinkley, FOUR! They will ruin in one month all the love and friendship we built since our childhood. Moreover, Daphne and I live in different worlds, can´t you see it? I can´t be part of her world, and I will ruin her life if I bring her to my world. You love to say I'm immature, but I´ve already thought several times about the fact that this relationship won´t work…

Velma: You don't know anything about dealing with Marcie's parents, so shut the **** up. You know what? I won´t argue with you all night. Do whatever you want with your life, but stop playing with her life. Let her go, Fred! Let her date a handsome CEO, let another guy endure her parents, whatever! The only think you can´t do is let her think that one day you´ll finally propose to her!

I was so nervous that I didn't notice Daphne approaching silently, I only did when she touched my shoulder to let me know that I had forgotten my purse with her. I can´t say exactly when she has arrived and how much of that conversation she overheard. By the melancholic expression on her face, I can say she heard enough. Marcie came to me and held my hand to make me walk faster and leave them alone to talk, but Daphne just gave me the purse and left without saying goodbye. Fred called her back and ran after her, but she got into her car before he could reach her. I walked beside Marcie in silence all our way back home. At our door, when she started looking for her keys, I tried to explain myself.

Velma: Marcie, I know you heard everything and maybe Fred is a little bit right about me and our relationship, but I´d like to say that…

She laughed scornfully and looked at me with some anger in her eyes.

Marcie: Fred is “a little bit right”? Oh, Velma, please, don't say anything, ok?

 

[KendraKelnick]

Chapter 4​

The silence between Marcie and me lasted about an hour and, thankfully, it ended with a quick knock on Norville's door. Scooby-Doo was the first one to answer, he jumped and scratched the wood uninterruptedly to let people know we were there. When Shaggy opened the door, Scooby pulled the bottom hem of my shirt and dragged me into the living room.

Shaggy: Hi girls! Make yourselves comfortable! Like, I need a minute to find a place for you.

Norville took some clothes (apparently clean) out of the sofa, joined them with other clothes (visibly dirty) that were on the floor and threw everything into a closet that was so messed up that caused me anxiety just by looking at it. When we found available seats, we sat down and Scooby started bringing us dozens of recyclables that were on the coffee table, as if they were the best gifts in the world. Daphne was sitting on the floor with a video game controller in her hands, taking her anger out on a horde of Resident Evil zombies. She said a quick “hi” and didn't get up to hug us as usual. Nice, now another person is giving me the silent treatment. By her side, holding the other video game controller, was Crystal Stevens, a K9 agent who is as tall, as thin, and as hippie as Shaggy, but instead of the caramel-colored hair (like Shaggy's), she has a beautiful, brown, long and straight hair. It´s a secret for zero people that Crystal and Shaggy have been having an affair for months, but for some incomprehensible reason, they prefer to pretend they're just good friends. In an armchair next to them was Shaggy's sister, Maggie "Sugie" Rogers, eating nachos and patiently loading a Nerf machine gun that she had just unloaded on her brother. My brain still struggles to understand that Sugie is now a 20-year-old college student, to me, she will always be the cute baby Shaggy showed on show-and-tell class in 1st grade. Unlike Daphne, Sugie came and greeted us, then she started to gather the dozens of empty fast food packages and empty beer bottles that were on that table for days. Scooby didn't like her attitude and chased her to retrieve his precious recyclables. Norville took advantage of his sister's absence and stole her seat in the armchair. Marcie started to talk with him, and anxiety hit me hard when I realized that I was really being ignored.

Sugie: Oh, Fred is here.

Fred arrived and he was only greeted by Sugie (who opened the door) and by Scooby (who greeted him with an empty Coke bottle). Marcie gave him the silent treatment, Norville said a quick “hey” and Daphne didn't take her eyes off the screen, which showed that whatever she had overheard during our argument, she'd already told everyone about it. I dont know why the hell I was afraid of receiving a third silent treatment. After that stupid argument I should be the offeded-one, right? But somehow, at that moment, I cared about it. Instead of ignoring me, Fred was nicer than usual, and I understood everything was ok between us. Sugie took more clothes and more trash out of a chair to make a seat avaiable for Fred, and I noticed his disapproval face looking at that mess. Norville's house was ok for the ones that don't clean (Shaggy and Sugie), for the ones that are unable to take off a sock and put it in the laundry basket (Crystal and Marcie) and for the ones that have two maids and two personal organizers to take care of everything (Daphne). For pesky perfectionists like me and Jones, it was a total shit. Damn, we're really alike.

Shaggy: Hey, why don't you get some beers in the fridge? We have to order food ´cause I have none.

Immediately, I went to the kitchen to get a beer, because I felt that alcohol could make that ****** situation a little better. The completely full fridge belied Norville's “We have to order food ´cause I have none”, and I understood that he just had said that because he didn't want to share his food. I returned with a 12-beer-pack, wishing the ones who were mad at me would drink and would forget about everything. I handed Marcie a bottle and she accepted without saying “thanks”. Then, simultaneously, Fred and I handed Daphne a bottle and she refused using Nan Blake´s arrogant contempt style.

Daphne: You both prefer to get me drunk instead of just saying “I´m sorry, I was wrong”…

Fred and I looked at each other and I could see in his face the same deep embarrasment I was feeling. Shaggy noticed that we were about to have a terrible argument, so he tried to pacify (he´s such a sweetheart).

Shaggy: Like, I think you forgot that Daphne doesn´t drink, but I accept both, hahaha!

He grabbed both bottles from our hands and continued laughing, expecting that we would laugh too, but nobody did. Daphne just sighed scornfully and managed to turn things worse.

Daphne: No, Shags, I do drink, but I´m not going to drink right now because that´s what Velma wants me to do. She thinks she can boss my life the same way she bosses everything around, so I´m showing her she´s completely wrong!

The mix between deep anxiety and the instant anger I felt right after hearing that shit untied the worst part of me. I was tired of being called “bossy”…

Velma: Jinkies, Daphne, what do you want?

Daphne: I want you to mind your own business, Velma, I want you to not hurt me!

Velma: What have I done?

Daphne: I heard you! I heard you both…

Velma: So, its all about an argument you shouldn´t even have heard? You overheard something, you got offended and now you demand me an apology? Who´s being bossy? You shouldn´t be there, period!

I was tired of being called bossy, so I was a bossy ***** again to fix things. Brilliant, Velma, nice try. I will never forget their disapproval faces looking at me. That was a hundred times worse than the day I let mom and dad know I was quitting Mensa (and that day was rough enough). When I finished, my anger was gone and Daphne decided to leave us too. Shaggy immediately got up and put himself in front of Daphne to make her stop.

Shaggy: Hey, Daph, you can´t leave now, the food delivery is coming! Like, if you leave, who´s gonna eat your food?

Scooby looked at him with attention and licked his lips when he heard the word “food”. Obviously, if Daphne left, Shaggy would eat her food, he eats our food even when we dont allow him to do it, but it was cute to see him trying to stop her anyway.

Daphne: I think you and Scoob can do it, Shags.

Daphne gently took Shaggy off her way, so Fred grabbed her arm to make her stay.

Fred: Hey, Daph, stay! Why are you doing this?

Daphne: I ask you the same, Fred, why are you doing this? Why are you hurting me? I have known you all my life, how could we “live in different worlds”?

And there she was, our drama queen making a scene. Katharine Hepburn would lose an Oscar to her if both were indicated. Ok, Daphne had good reasons to act like that, but none of them were strong enough to make such a drama. Most of her issues could be solved by a good adult talk, but Daphne always prefers the drama-way to deal with everything, in which she dramatizes her overestimated feelings and we, mere mortals, crawl after her begging for an apology. Anyway, I was pround to see my friend stand up for herself and confront the jerk who has been hurting her for years. After that Oscar-worth scene, Fred had tons of shame and guilt in his face. Before he could say anything he stroked her wrist to calm her down and make her stay. He was successful for a while, but the caress itself couldnt fix all the situation, Daphne wanted that feeling expressed in words, loud and clear. Since the words didnt come (and the tense atmosphere between us all sucked), she sighed, pulled her wrist off his hands and…

Marcie: Daph, please, don´t go. I feel that way too about Velma, so I think we all need to have a good talk.

…Marcie suddenly convinced her to stay. I paralyzed, and all the pride I felt for Daphne was gone. Marcie´s words have started some kind of WWIII between us, so the ones who had nothing to do with that decided to leave.

Shaggy: Hey! Like… I… I think it´s time to get Scooby to go to bed, gang… sorry, I´ll have to leave you for a while.

Yes, Scooby has an entire queen-size bed for itself, another worthless purchase financed by those extra $500/year Norville makes in the department (more than me). It´s so relieving to know it´s a well spent money.

Crystal: I´ll help Shags…

The couple quickly left and sweet Scooby licked each one of us before leaving the room.

Sugie: I have to go too, because… because… oh, **** that, I won´t hear this shit, period…

Sugie took her Nerf gun with her, as if any other +20yo-person in that room would be interested to play with it. Then I remembered some techniques I used when I was the president of debate and speech club at school. And I also remembered Marcie was the vice president and Daphne wasn´t even part of the team, so technically I had some advantages over my oponents. I focused on my weakness – being bossy – and tried to rearrange my speech, so it wouldn´t be exposed.

Velma: So, we are losing another dinner tonight, uh?

Bossiness: 0. Arrogance: 10. Nice beggining, Velma. That sounded insensitive even for Fred´s standards of sensitiveness – and he is a fierce ogre – because he just looked at me with his “stfu, you´re not helping“ face.

Marcie: Better lose a dinner than a whole relationship, uh?

That answer showed me that Marcie was the vice president just because she loved the president enough to let her be the president. She was skilled enough to move up to my role if she wanted to.

Fred: Wait… Daphne and I are not in a relationship… you and Velma can discuss lat…

Marcie: That´s exaclty why YOU are here, Fred… wanna start and talk about it?

Truly a president. Standing up for the weak.

Fred: Ok… let me explain…Right after Daphne left… better, right after the moment we thought that Daphne had left, Velma confronted me because she thinks the kind of relationship I have with Daphne hurts her and…

Daphne: …and it obviously is not true, because, as you said, we don´t have a relationship. After all, we live in very different worlds, remember? I have an horrid family, you´ve had enough pressure in your life, that´s why nothing will ever work between us… wait, that´s why you should dump me, right? But don´t worry, I´ll be ok, I am sad girl who has been abandoned constantly…

Damn, I forgot the president of the Drama Club was there to show us her incredible ability to memorize an entire script and summarize it in a few words. And perform everything in a way to make us feel guilty.

Velma: Daphne, I was trying to help you!

Daphne: I don't need your help, I'm not a damsel in distress! And what a help, uh? What the heck was that?

Velma: Daphne, I was trying to protect you! You haven´t heard enough, that´s why you misunderstood!

Thankfully, the football team´s captain was there to push the things into a rational path again and do the same thing that brought him so many trophies in sports: focus.

Fred: Daphne, you really misunderstood. Velma was mad at me and I told her she was overreacting, ok? I told her she was seeing things by her point of view, that´s why she couldn´t understand our… our… friendship… and…

Marcie: Can YOU understand this “friendship”, Daphne? ´Cause it seems confusing to me…

I think zodiac signs are pseudoscience, but the only explanation I found for Marcie´s evil & poisonous question was: “she´s a scorpio woman”. Daphne would agree, since she was the one who taught me this ********.

Daphne: I… I…

Daphne tried, but no words came out. I could see that part of her wanted to speak out about her feelings and make things change, and the other part just wanted to shut up and keep things right in the way they were. The fear of ruining the “friendship” fighting with the fear of never achieving something else. I felt her pain, because I ´ve been kind of dealing with the same thing for ten years, the only difference is that I wear a fancy ring on the fourth finger of my left hand. The most rational part of me asked me to not force her to make a hasty decision. And a weird irrational part just told me she can´t make decisions because she´s a Libra. Apparently, our captain felt the same, so he tried to fix the things before Daphne´s answer…

Fred: No, it´s not only a “friendship”… I meant… Daphne and I have something that is not exactly like Velma´s definition of love, so Velma thinks it´s not love, that´s why she has started that argument and then we both said things we wouldn´t like to have said and…

Marcie: And what do you think, Fred? Is it love?

Suddenly, Marcie took the captain´s focus to end zone and waited for the touchdown. I had nothing to do with that, but I begged for a very good answer. At that moment, I think everyone did.

Fred: I think Velma is right, we are losing another dinner with a nonsense discussion. Plus, it´s already late and we have to gather evidence tomorrow at 9. I have to set everything…

**** NFL´s rules, that was truly a foul. A huge one, and so serious that Daphne immediately got up and left. Fred rushed to the door before I could finish my “well done, moron!”

Fred: Daphne, listen… I just… think … we are not in the right place to talk about it, ok? We´re starting a new case tomorrow and we have to focus on evidences… I mean… it´s not the right time, you know? If we talk… I may… lose you, and I dont want to lose you, Daph.

Daphne: You don´t want to lose me, but, also, you don´t want to love me…that´s really complicated, isn´t it Fred?

And Daphne left us. I couldnt see if she was crying, but I felt like crying for her. And, somehow, for Fred too, because he visibly wasn´t ok (yet he would never ever admit it or shed a tear). My anxiety hit me in the stomach, and fear elevated my heart rate when I realized I was the next victim and Marcie would do the same with me at anytime. I got up and walked for while through the room – to see if that could calm me down -, and while doing it, I saw Shaggy, Sugie and Crystal hiding behind the kitchen door like 3 small children. Well, I least I wouldn´t have to explain everything when this shit ends. Fred came to me in silence (he would never ever say a word about his feelings) and his terrified face asked me some help.

Velma: Focus on your girl, and let me focus on mine…

Sounded a good advice in my head, but when I said that, just sounded like a revenge. Fortunately, he understood my intentions, gave a pat on my back and left us too. My stupid phrase sounded good to Marcie also, because she had a little smile on her face when I looked to her.

Marcie: Sooo… your girl is here and you can focus on her now…

I couldn´t. Before I could say anything, we heard the delivery person ringing the doorbell. One minute after, Shaggy came to us with his hands full of food packages and we could finally have our dinner.

Shaggy: Like, I can´t believe Daphne and Fred left us… such a waste of food…what a shame!

Said Norville, while eating Daphne´s meal in less than 2 minutes. When he grabbed Fred´s meal Sugie shot his head about a dozen times with her Nerf gun to make him drop it, and I finally understood that gun´s function. Our meal was peaceful - except for Rogers siblings´ fight for fries -, yet I could feel their curious faces expecting me and Marce to talk about it. When Marcie left the table to wash her chili sauce dirty hands, they had a chance to ask.

Shaggy: Like, whats going on between you and Marce?

Velma: I'd like to know too, Shaggy. Well… I think I know, but I don't know how to make things change… I gave Fred a long, boring lecture about the importance of showing feelings and building a relationship, but I have found out that I am on the same boat. I´m a moron just like him, and I make Marcie feel the same way Daph feels and I don´t know what to do to save our engagement. I don´t know how to make a healthy relationship for both us…

Shaggy: Like, if I knew the answer, Vel, I wouldn't have been dumped by all my girlfriends...

Ok, that was for me, but I took no offense because I didn´t dump him – my sexual orientation did. Shaggy thought his confession was funny and laughed, but we all considered it very sad. Unlike Fred, Shaggy is an amazing boyfriend and always takes his relationships very seriously, but… the app to communicate with Scooby, the queen size bed for a dog, the filthy apartment, his extra $500 spent in videogames and his 20 yo sister using a Nerf gun to protect her food explain a little why women usually dump him. Crystal laughed to join him, and ended up kissing his cheek so passionately that he forgot all abandonment. They are a cute couple. Judging by the love for dogs and for video games they share, I think Norville won't be abandoned this time.

Crystal: I think you are together for a reason, Velma. You should focus on this reason instead of trying to control the things all the time, or trying to talk about feelings and make things perfect. Remember: the reason is perfect, forget the other things. Well, it works in my relationship…

My surprise face when she said “relationship” made her blush.

Crystal: I mean… if i had a relationship… with someone…

Sugie: Try donuts on Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays, vodka on Mondays and Fridays, and red lingerie on the weekends. Works for me.

We laughed and I blushed. All the embarrassment I felt was my fault, after all, I was asking a college student with a Nerf gun for relationship advices.

Marcie: Ooor… you could just continue trying. You´ve been doing a good job…

Those words gave me a smile, the first one in that night. About 11pm, when Marce and I said goodbye, I set Shaggy´s cell phone alarm clock (ten different alarms) for 7 am, so he could arrive at Liberty at 9 o'clock. Marcie left first, so Shaggy hugged me tighly, asked me to save our engagement and take good care of us. I promised him I would, even though I didn't know exactly how to do it.

The silence between us continued, only ended when her cell phone rang and showed her parents requesting a video call. The Fleachs were happy and thanked me so much for buying the cards, for helping Marcie with them, and for agreeing to give up my own vacation to help the Fleach family. At each “thank you” I heard, I just smiled, but I felt a stab of guilt in my chest for not being responsible for those things. By the end of the video call, things were ok, but I felt like a despicable person. Why didn't I support her? Why do I always despise everything that is important to her? Why does she have to hide things from me? Why am I just like Frederick Jones if I know how wrong he is? That night, for the first time in ten years, we went to bed in silence. When she fell asleep, I felt safe to start being a new person to her.

Velma: Marcie, I'm so sorry...

 

[KendraKelnick]

Chapter 5 – Part I​

I arrived at the Liberty building at 8:40 am and took the opportunity to drink the coffee I bought six blocks ago. I noticed, in the surroundings, the discreet presence of several NYPD agents in plain clothes, and part of my forensics team. Liberty was apparently operating normally, the lights were on and the panoramic elevator was going up and down, so I understood why there were so many NYPD people there. Someone from the Emergency Services Unit discreetly approached, asked for procedural instructions, and I was confused. For the first time, I didn´t have a slightest idea of how I should proceed.

Velma: As far as I know, we should search for some embezzlement evidences. This company was accused of diverting money to foreign accounts, so I think we're just going to get their computers and get our asses out of here.

Daphne: In fact, the court order says “illegal activity”, since they don't have business licenses or such records. There is also a search and seizure court order to gather evidence in connection to the financial cyber crimes. So, yes, you will take all their electronics, including the security cameras.

Fortunately, our nosy lawyer knew more than I, the forensics chief, so I was able to give clear instructions to my subordinates. I love when Daphne Blake knows more about our work than ourselves, it says a lot about our professional competence. When the clock was 5 to 9am, my anxiety arrived to make things harder. It made me think about all the possibilities that could happen during the invasion, from physical fights and gunshots to a bunch of bitcoin incels resisting to give us their money-machines. And made me think of how ****** my work will be, searching for evidences in a 650ft tall building, then searching for digital evidence in every electronic inside it. Jinkies, mom was so right, its easier to win a Nobel Prize. When the clock finally showed 9 am, NYPD agents started to move around and my anxiety made me paranoid that Liberty's workers would suspect and hide all the evidence. Then I looked by my side and noticed Daphne was still ignoring me, so my anxiety had one more subject to torture me.

Velma: Jinkies, where are the boys? It's 9 o'clock!

I tried to act normally, but she just shrugged her shoulders.

Daphne: Shaggy didn´t hear the alarm, but he´s coming. Don´t you dare to ask me about Fred as if I should know…

Velma: I won´t. But I thought that maybe you both have met last night, maybe you have talked and… maybe… haved fixed everything?

Daphne: Only this…

The way she said “only this” clearly showed it was not “only this”. And I sighed.

Velma: And…?

Daphne: And it´s none of your business, by the way…

Velma: Jinkies, seems like someone just woke up on the wrong side of Fred´s bed this morning…

Daphne: Velma! Objection! Relevance…

Velma: It matters! Oh, how it matters! A lot!

I looked at her eyes and she sighed. My mental judge just told me: Sustain it.

Velma: It´s not my business, Daphne, but it´s yours! You cannot keep doing the same thing, the same way, and keep expecting something different to happen! Fred thinks you are ok about this “special friendship” ********, don´t you think you should tell him about how you feel?

Daphne: I know! But I think Fred is not the only one fearing changes… I… don´t want… to ruin our friendship with something else… In fact, I don´t want to change everything we have… I´ve been thinking about what he said…about my family and everything…and jeepers, he´s so right… it hurts, but he´s right…

Velma: I know, I feel the same about Marcie, but yesterday I´ve learned that changes won´t hurt if we have love.

Daphne: I´m not sure if Fred loves me…

Velma: He does, Daph, but he´s just not able to admit it… I´m sure somehow he does love you, and he shows it in a cold, weird, confuse, immature way… the same way he was taught by his father…

Daph: Well, I´ll never be sure. But I love him enough to not scare him with my feelings.

That phrase was so intense that hurt me, so I hugged her to give her some comfort.

Daphne: Hey, this hug doesn´t fix anything, I´m still offended! You owe me an apology for what you´ve said. And for wearing these lovely kitten heel flats with such horrid uniform pants.

I giggled and I could see a shy smile on her face too.

Velma: I'm sorry. Really. I din´t want to argue or hurt you, I just wanted to help, I swear!

Daphne: I know. And you did help. At least he knows how I feel… I mean… now, at least he has an idea about it… thanks to you…

When she finished her sentence, I saw Captain Jones getting out of a taxi, an evidence that proved that my “only this is not only this” theory was right. Judging by his sleepy face and by the hickey on the right side of his neck, I was only wrong when I said Daphne woke up on the wrong side of his bed. In fact, he clearly woke up on the wrong side of her bed. My mental judge didnt care about it at all, and the mental court decided the verdict: Velma, please, mind your own business.

Fred: It´s 9 o´clock, girls, let´s go!

My clock (and everyone else´s) showed 9:13, but if the captain said it´s 9 o´clock, it´s 9 o´clock anyway. After all, the captain himself getting late says a lot about our professional competence.

Velma: But what about Norville? The K-9 Unit has not arrived yet.

Fred: It's embezzlement, Velma, not murder. We don´t need dogs to find computers.

Daphne: Shaggy is on his way, Freddie. We have a missing person, remember? We need the dogs.

Fred: No one confirms Mr. Cho's disappearance in New York, Daph… I´ve searched for his name in Missing Person Dept´s records…

Daphne: Interpol says his last bank operations occured last moth in this branch, Freddie, so this is the last place where Cho Sang-woo was “seen” before dissapearing. We need the dogs, let´s wait.

As I said, our pet lawyer knew more about the case than our own captain did, and it also says a lot about our department's competence. Daphne showed us a stack of paper to prove what she was saying. Of course, her last name helps her to obtain easily much of the information she needs in her cases, but her golden cradle isn´t the only responsible for the quality of her work. She could have been an amazing co-worker if she hadn´t given up when she found out that NYPD women don't wear high heels or elegant clothes like they do on TV shows.

Fred: Daphne, it´s 9:18! We can´t wait forever for Agent Rogers!

Suddenly, the first K-9 Unit van parked at the corner near Liberty, followed by two other vans that did the same at the next corner.

Fred: Three vans full of K9s? Are you crazy? This is not a ******* 9/11, Dinkley, we don´t even have victims!

Velma: I didn't ask for that, Captain, I just told Agent Rogers to come and…

Fred: AND WE JUST DONT NEED DOGS, Dinkley! It´s a bunch of computers! Can you imagine how much this will cost? And how many useless forms and reports I'll have to fill out to justify it?

Velma: I have no idea, Jones, because I'm not a stupid administrator, so I dont care. I just follow the confusing orders of an immature captain, who arranged a nonsense inspection just to impress Daphne while a gorgeous CEO was flirting with her.

I didn't see Fred's reaction because I immediately turned my back on him, but I could see Daphne with a self-satisfied smirk on her face. Norville was waving happily at me, so I approached the K9 van.

Shaggy: Like, hey Vel! I´ve told you a zillion times that your songs dont wake me up! I need something heavier, like, Metallica´s “For whom the bell tolls”! Daph called me and…

Velma: What the hell, Norville! You'll have a whole month to sleep as much as you want, why you decided to oversleep today? Come on, it's almost nine-thirty! And Fred is in a bad mood!

My words clearly showed that Fred was not the only one in a bad mood. Norville didnt give a single **** about it and just started to take the dogs off the van.

Velma: 3 vans? I was clear that you should only bring Scooby-Doo!

Shaggy: Like, relax, Vel, I will only take Scoob! I brought the rest of the kids for a walk! Like, you can't take one kid and leave the others in the kennel, it's like having a favorite child!

Before I could argue, I was surrounded by dogs. Crystal was holding Scooby´s and a female golden retriever ´s (that Norville calls Amber) leashes, when the K9 agents got distracted, Agent Rogers kissed her quickly and said goodbye. I sighed and made my way back to Liberty, to my surprise, there was no one left in front of the building. Apparently, Captain Jones had started a forensic inspection without the forensic unit chief, an incredible thing that also says a lot about the competence of our department. I looked back and realized there was no one left around the vans either. The K-9 agents and the dogs were blocks away (yes, apparently they were there for a walk, a fact that says a lot about the kindness of the K-9 Unit chief).

Confused, I ran back to the building. A few seconds after I was overtaken by Scooby-Doo running and Norville running after him with a leash in his hands. Liberty's door was automatic, so Scooby didn't have to stop running to get in, but when Norville and I arrived, Fred and the others weren´t there. The lights were on, the place was very clean – smelled like fresh concrete and bleach -, there were loads of cameras, cables, routers, modems, computers, sensor, but there were no chairs, tables, coffee machines and other things that offices full of employees usually have. Scooby-Doo slowed down in the middle of the Hall and assumed the same lunatic behavior he had in the restaurant: he started barking and growling, when he stopped, he sniffed every inch of that place. Norville and I looked at each other.

Velma: I think he found something, Shaggy.

Shaggy: Like, can you smell that? I don't know, it´s a chemical, synthetic smell…

Velma: Yeah… looks like… bleach… acetone… I can't say exactly.

Shaggy and I spent minutes sniffing the air trying to define exactly what that smell was, meanwhile Scooby sniffed around. When he started scratching the floor, we ran to the spot he was scratching, but the ground was firm and had nothing underneath. Shaggy bent down to check for loose tiles or something, but Scooby started running again, approached the elevator, the automatic door opened and, in the same way, it closed, taking Scooby to the basement. Shaggy and I looked desperately for a staircase, but there was no other way to get to the other floors. Also, there was no elevator button to make the elevator return with Scooby. After a few minutes, the door opened itself, but the elevator was empty. Norville screamed when he realized that Scooby had disappeared, I comforted him with a hug and pulled him into the elevator with me. Inside, there were no floor buttons either, neither a panel to show which floor the elevator was on. Suddenly, the elevator door closed and took us several floors up, Norville grabbed my arm, dreading what was happening.

Velma: Calm down Shaggy, it must be a smart elevator, a computerized system or something...

I invented an explanation to make the situation less tense, but I was scared too. Shaggy was calling Scooby-Doo and screaming for help, but nobody answered. I assumed that there was some sort of soundproofing inside that elevator, since Shaggy's screams didn't echo as they should. Inside the elevator, the chemical smell was stronger and suffocating, for a moment, I thought that Norville and I would get trapped there and we would die of asphyxia.

Shaggy: Like, it must be a secret drug lab…

Velma: Well, if it´s a drug lab, our money laundering theory is true…

When I finished, the elevator stopped, the door opened and revealed a floor as cold as a refrigerator. Hundreds of Frostbit 1000 machines were scattered around the room, their green lights were flashing, indicating they were working. Each machine was connected to several cables, and the network of cables ended in a large metal box, similar to an electrical panel.

Shaggy: Zoinks, Velma! Bitcoins!

Velma: Yeah, apparently, Fred is right, it's really a financial fraud…

Shaggy: Like, we don't need to look for the stolen money, I bet all those millions are here! These machines are expensive as hell…

Velma: Ok, let's take them.

We both walked around the bitcoin machines looking for clues, Norville admired them and talked loads about their incomprehensible technical specifications. I tried to send a message to captain Jones to let him know about it, but inexplicably, my cell phone was dead. So, I asked Norville to contact Jones, but his phone had no service either. Then I remembered the buttonless elevator, and a ton of panic just fell over my shoulders. There was no cell phone reception, no stairs, no elevator buttons, so we were stuck there. Fortunately, I didn't need to explain verbally that we were really trapped,Shaggy just realized it, ran to the elevator and started kicking the door and screaming desperately.

Velma: Dammit, how could I be so stupid? Surely someone wanted to trap us here!

Shaggy screamed loudly when I suggested that someone was coming to get us, I just tried to stay calm and find a rational solution. Suddenly, the elevator door opened, Shaggy and I looked at each other, fearing boarding again, but when the doors started to close, we decided to get in anyway. Unfortunately, we went up and up. I couldn't count how many floors exactly, I think it was about five floors up, then the elevator stopped again and the doors opened. The room was completely empty, but in the end of it, there was a door. We ran as fast as we could to that door, wishing we would find an emergency staircase behind it, and we really found a staircase, but… hell, not in the way a staircase should be. When we opened the door, the view was something like a coloured version of Escher´s print “Relativity”. Several staircases - painted in pink and green- were arranged up, down, left and right, leading to doors in all directions (and some staircases led to nowhere). Those staircases continued several floors up and several floors down, it was impossible to see the beggining or the end of them, but I could see that the we were in a very high floor. The view caused me vertigo – and I am not affraid of height. Plus, all the stairs were very narrow and there were no security bars on the walls, so, if we stumbled, it would be a fatal fall. The staircase right in front of us ended in a door about 30ft down. Shaggy immediatley grabbed my arm, violently – I could feel he was shaking – and pulled me back to the door, but I insisted that we should walk through those stairs.

Shaggy: Velma! No way! You wont get my ass out of this floor!

Velma: We need to go down and find Scooby, remember? The elevator is only going up…

I knew that Norville would agree if I mentioned Scooby -that´s what I did that – but I myself doubted that we would find anyone in those paths. Then, I extended my hand to make him feel secure to continue, but he decided to walk in front of me, so he could guide me and protect me from any kind of danger. We went down the stairs very quickly, but when we opened the door, we found a very long and dark corridor, with a weak red light above a door in the end of it. Shaggy immediately tried to return to the stairs, but he was so nervous that he accidentally slammed the door and it locked – and we realized that there was no doorknob in that side of the door. He whimpered in deep despair and I had to push him til the end of that place. Fortunately, the door beneath the red light had a doorknob and we opened – just to find out we were back to the weird place full of staircases, but now, we were about 40ft higher than the door that first led us to the that place.

Shaggy: Zoinks! This makes no sense at all! We went down those stairs, how can we be in a higher door now?

Velma: I think it´s some kind of illusion, Shaggy, we can´t be really higher than before…there must be some sort of logical explanation for this…

Shaggy wasn´t convinced about my “there must be some sort of logical explanation” theory, so he tried to return. Unfortunately, the door had closed mysteriously, and there was not doorknob in that side of the door either. Shaggy said a compilation of curses while I pulled him again through the staircases that led us to a higher floor.

Shaggy: Like, we can´t continue, Velma! This place is scary!

Velma: So, do you have any other idea about how we can get out of here? It´s obvious that someone wants us to go ahead, all doors are locked, we can´t return anymore!

The door in the end of that staircase led us to an identical corridor with a door in the end of it, but this time there was a green light above the door. Shaggy tried to hold the door to keep it open, but some sort of magnetic system made it so heavy that Shaggy couldn´t stop it from moving. Immediately, I pulled his hands off the door – and in the following second, the door closed so violently that it could have cut off his fingers if they were there.

Velma: Are you crazy? I just told you we have to go on!

I didn´t have to pull him – he was so grateful for still having his fingers that he moved through the corridor by himself, but I had to take his hands off the green-light door when we opened it. Yes, the door led us back to the weird staircases place – now, inexplicably, we were many feet down.

Velma: Jinkies, someone is joking with us… How is this possible?

Shaggy: Like, I told you! We are stuck in this labyrinth!

This time, there were two paths: one leading to a long staircase that ended some feet down, and the other leading to a door just some steps away on the left. Shaggy couldn´t choose a path, so he looked at me wainting for instructions

Velma: We´ve already tried to go up and down and all those paths brought us back to this horrid place, so let´s choose the left door.

It was a stupid choice, anyway. We ended in a dark corridor and there wasn´t any door in the end of it. In fact, I couldn´t even call that a corridor: it was warm, wood covered, very narrow and had lots of spider webs, something pretty similar to a cavity where the house´s thermic insulation goes.

Shaggy: Like, I never thought I would miss those freaky stairs!

In panic mode, we started to hit and kick the walls until we found a loose board. We pushed it and found out that, in fact, it was a secret door. It was relieving to be out of that cavity yet the room where we got into was even more frightening. It was all painted in white, the ceiling had big led lamps and the walls had no doors and no Windows. The place was very cold, empty and a strange repetitive noise kept coming from the end of it, the noise sounded like an electrical equipment.

Shaggy: Like, now I miss those doors too…

Velma: The control panel of those bitcoin machines must be here, can you hear this noise?

Shaggy: Like, invisible control panels? Cause I see nothing but fear and danger...

I sneered at Shaggy, but before I could answer him I felt… funny. I felt some numbness in my hands, a weird shiver ran through my entire body and the noised increased.

Shaggy: Velma, are you feeling weird too? Like, feels like I'm floating, I can't explain it, my body is numb, feels like something is pulling me...

It was exactly what I was feeling, but I couldn't admit it. I needed to comfort Shaggy and keep the control, if I admitted, he would have a panic attack.

Velma: Shaggy, you're having a panic attack. All the symptoms you´ve described are compatible with panic and anxiety symptoms, and you know you have such disorders frequently, so the logical explanation is physiological and… ahhhh!

Suddenly, I was violently thrown against one of the walls and I got stuck, with no possibility of getting my body off that wall. I couldn't see properly what was going on since my glasses were gone, I only saw a large, panicking blur stuck in a wall a few feet away from me and I deduced it was Shaggy. I tried to think fast and I soon realized that the parts of my body that were stuck were exactly the ones that had metallic components: my watch on my left wrist, NYPD badges, the bra frame, bulletproof vest´s buckles, my belt´s and my shoes´ buckles.

Velma: Shaggy, quick! Take off all metallic stuff you have! We are in a magnetic field!

I think the room heard me, because the intensity of the attraction increased and the noise got louder. I removed the shoes and the blazer with the badges easily, but it was impossible to get off the watch (all metal) and the other things . I realized that Shaggy was also trapped by just a few objects.

Velma: Keep calm, Shaggy! Let's think rationally, okay?

And there I was again, pretending to be Fred Jones and trying to take the reins, even though I had no idea about what I should do. Fortunately, I didn't have to think too much, suddenly - and inexplicably- a large colored blur just appeared from the ceiling, hanging on a rope, and it kept spinning slowly, like those damn piñatas we were forced to destroy in our childhood´s birthdays. My free hand searched for my acrylic-framed glasses in my blazer, so I confirmed: it really was a piñata, shaped like a smiling horse, made of cardboard and colored crepe paper. However, it had a red button written “off” in place of nose.

Shaggy: Like, a piñata! I can't believe I'm trapped here and I can't destroy it to get all the candy!

Shaggy has a teenager´s mind and a 6yo´s heart, so, to him, that piñata was as therapeutic as the lollipop doctors give children right after examining the throat.

Velma: Forget the candy, the piñata has a button to turn this crap off, look at the horse's nose!

Suddenly, the noise stopped and we could get off the wall. We had no time to celebrate: seconds after, the noise returned and we were thrown against the damn walls again. About a minute later, the noise stopped, Shaggy said a compilation of curses and I quickly ran to push the button, but when I was close to it, the noise returned and we got stuck again.

Velma: Shaggy, listen, it´s a game and someone surely is having fun with us, I think the only way to get out of here is to press that button...

I couldn't finish: we were released again and we both ran as fast as we could to acchieve the button. Shaggy - faster than me - made it to the little horse, but when he was about to press the button, the noise returned and we were thrown again. This time, the impact was so violent that my acrylic glasses fell and shattered, I felt some blood trickle down my nose and Shaggy looked at me with concern.

Shaggy: Velma, like, I think they're increasing the field, please don't leave the wall anymore! I counted 15 seconds to get to the piñata, I can do it!

Velma: Shaggy, no need to run, just get rid of the metallic objects.

Shaggy looked at me with a “seems so simple, yet not so simple” face, and I only understood what he meant when the noise stopped and I took off all the metallic stuff I had. When I got my metal glasses back - in better condition than the acrylic ones-, I looked at myself half-naked and totally regretted taking a decision based solely on science (and regretted not thinking how totally inappropriate this decision could be). Shaggy was more careful: he got rid of his watch and vest and kept his belt, believing he could break Usain Bolt's speed record before being thrown back again. We waited for another noise on/noise off cycle and we ran as fast as we could, but we ended up stuck once again due to the metal objects we still had.

Shaggy: Like, I counted less than 15 seconds this time, whoever is playing with us is changing the rules of the game! It can be dangerous, we´d better hurry.

Shaggy was the first to get rid of the metals, he ran to the piñata and pressed the button. Fortunately, the magnetic field ceased and a small part of one of the walls opened and revealed the elevator. Shaggy and I quickly grabbed our belongings and we got into the elevator, as we entered, we could hear Scooby Doo's distant barking. The doors closed and the elevator took us some floors up, Shaggy tried to turn on his cell phone to access his canine language app, but after so much exposure to a magnetic field, his cell phone was dead. Before I could test my own cell phone again, the elevator stopped, the door opened and Daphne and Fred were there. Shaggy had an emotional reaction and ran desperately into their arms, my reaction was more restrained, despite I was feeling the same relief. Apparently, Daphne and Fred didn't have such bad experiences, yet they were happy to see us too. Shaggy and I tried to get out of the elevator, but Fred said there was nothing to do on that floor.

Fred: Unless you want to knock down cans, there's nothing to do on this floor.

Daphne: Yes, we only found boring amusement park games… this is the third time!

Daphne had three teddy bears in her hands, a proof that their challenges were simpler than the ones Shaggy and I had to go through. The traces of Daphne's lipstick around Fred's mouth and neck showed that, yes, they had a lot to do on that floor. And the silly smile Daphne had in her mouth was a proof that the games she had played were not so boring at all.

Shaggy: Like, you are so lucky! Vel and I found a creepy labyrinth made of stairs, then we played piñata, but in a psychopathic version in which some psycho turned a magnetic field on and off and made us crash into the wall like a slice of cheese falling off a hamburger! BTW, have you seen Scoob? I can´t find him!

Fred: We heard him barking, I thought you were together…

Velma: We were together before you left us behind! why the hell were you here? And alone? Where's the rest of the team? Why didn't you wait for us, Fred?

Bitchy Velma was back, furious, sore and demanding explanations. Daphne's smile faded and I could feel she was formulating an answer less pathetic than "Fred Jones asked to be alone with me and I said yes". Fred, the unshakable Fred, was less insecure than her and answered immediately.

Fred: Because you brought dozens of dogs without my permission and delayed my operation…

Velma: Oh sure, YOUR operation! Due to that, you thought the most appropriate thing to do would be leave everyone behind and disappear with Daphne?

Fred: Daphne has all the information about the case!

Velma: I have the information, Norville has the information, Agent Collins has the information, everybody here has the ******* information, why did you bring only Daphne? And why her lipstick is in your face?

Daphne stopped formulating a good answer and looked at me with a “please STFU” face. However, I was too bruised to care about other people's facial expressions.

Velma: Fred, this is not a joke and you both are not in high school anymore! Whoever is behind this crime is a dangerous person, look what he did to us! Those challenges were creepy, we could have died! Also, Scooby-Doo and the rest of the team have disappeared and we're stuck in a buttonless elevator! Can you take it seriously, please?

Fred: The way Miss Always-right talks shows she has found many important clues, right? Way more than the captain?

Then I had to swallow my anger, along with my pride. Very hard to admit that I let Liberty people play me for a sucker.

Velma: Wrong. We´ve found a room full of bitcoin machines and we assumed they´re responsible for the financial fraud… they´re very expensive, maybe Liberty used Mayberry´s money to buy all them… Shaggy and I were taking them off and…

Shaggy: bwahaha, like, we were taking them? Nah, we´ve only admired them, Vel, remember?… before we could do anything, we got stuck in a freaky labyrinth and we couldn´t return…then, the piñata game started…

I had no intention to mention that part of story, but…

Velma: Shaggy, these details dont matter… what about you, captain? Any real clue while searching Blake area?

Fred literally rubbed some paper in my face. I could read “Cho Sang-woo” in a sheet or two.

Fred: Our last floor was an old office, guess who worked there…

Daphne: All dates before June 2020. By now, we can assume June 2020 was the last time Cho Sang-woo was here…

Suddenly, the door opened and three members of our team desperately got in, pushing us against each other.

Collins: Close this elevator door, quick!

They started to hit the elevator walls, looking for a button to close the door. We only understood their despair when a terrifying humanoid robot-doll with twintails and a yellow dress emerged from the back of the room and approached in slow steps, saying "Simon says wait".

Collins: That doll forced us to play “Simon says” in a horrid way. And she is always Simon!

Luckily, the door closed before the robot reached us and the elevator continued up. On the next floor, three more colleagues joined us in the elevator, and it was unbearable to breathe and move inside it.

Steward: A robot voice instructed us to play a-tisked, a-tasket, but the handkerchief blew up…

When the doors closed, the elevator took us down. Steward and the others were bleeding and it was an empirical proof that, yes, we could really have died in that building. Fred looked at me and I could see some guilt in his eyes. He was not responsible for all the sadism in those “games”, but he was the one that left everyone behind. I couldn´t say anything – I was the shortest sardine in that effing can -, but the tallest did…

Shaggy: Like, things could have been different if we were together…

… and everyone agreed. Before Fred could explain himself, the doors opened and a huge, elegant floor was revealed. Apparently, it was below the big hall where we first entered Liberty building. I tried to ressurect my cell phone and, curiously, the signal worked normally in that place. Shaggy shouted his lungs out Scooby-Doo´s name, and his screams made everyone look at us – then made them realize we were in our underwear.So we awfully remembered that we needed to put back our pants, bulletproof vests and shoes, and quickly did it. However, Daphne was faster. Of course she would not let it go.

Daphne: When I saw you, you were alone with Shaggy in an elevator… with no pants, no bra under your shirt, full of bruises and your glasses were broken... aaaand you dared to ask about my lipstick?

Velma: Can you give me a logical explanation on how your lipstick got into Fred's face?

Daphne: Can you give me a logical explanation on how your pants were taken off? It's even more embarassing than my lipstick on Fred's face, don't you think?

Under the normal conditions of temperature and pressure, I would have taken that discussion much further. At that moment, though, I was too happy (for being alive) to fight with my best friend.

Velma: In my case, strong magnetic fields. And in yours, apparently, a different kind of magnetism.

My answer made Daphne blush and, thankfully, the discussion endend in smiles. While walking through that place, I realized it was pretty similar to a cassino. A big bar counter covered one of the walls, there were poker tables everywhere with whiskey bottles on them, dozens of slot machines and some ATM machine. Luckily, the rest of NYPD agents were there, alive and safe.

Steward: I can't believe you guys were sitting here drinking and having fun while a psychopath was playing with us!

The whiskey glasses and hundreds of coins showed that Steward was right.

Fred: So, that's it, gang! This is a ******* illegal casino... full of weird games that should attract way weirder people... that´s the only clue we have at all…and after three hours of work!

Velma: You mean, this is the only clue besides the fact Liberty people knew we would be here and they clearly tried to kill us?

Daphne: Dont you say that! We´ve found Cho Sang-woo´s office, remember? Now we know he really worked here and Alan was telling the truth…

Fred: Yeah, but nothing confirms Mr. Cho is part of this case, Daph…

Velma: And it´s such a small clue… it´s frustrating! I thought we would find many answers for this case, but now I only have questions…

Shaggy: Like, don´t you forget the bitcoin machines! It´s a good clue, isnt it? Maybe they have the answers we need…

Velma: It´s a clue, Shags, but it doesnt change the fact that our mission has completely failed…plus, how can we get them? The building is huge and that elevator doesnt even have buttons, we have no idea where they are…

Daphne: Velma is right, we can´t return! It´s dangerous…

Fred: So, it's a weird casino, with freaky games, with a crazy elevator and bitcoin machines… I bet this is the most bizarre case of the year, gang. What could be worse?

Unfortunately, Fred´s question had an answer. Suddenly, Scooby-Doo appeared, jumped the bar counter and started barking in that insane way. Shaggy ran to him, but Scooby didn't wait for him, he darted through a minibar door and disappeared again.

Shaggy: Scooby-Doo, where are you?

We could hear Scooby´s barks inside the minibar, so we followed him. Through the little door, we could see a larger space on the inside, and we concluded the fake minibar was a secret entrance to somewhere. The secret place was cold and lit by white lights, its walls were painted in light blue. Scooby insisted on calling us, and we looked at each other before getting into that place.

Velma: Oh no, no way! I went through crazy staircases, a buttonless elevator and a magnetic piñata! I'm not getting in!

Daphne: Velma's right Fred, it can be dangerous!

Fred: But we can find the clues we need! Scooby wants to show us something…like yesterday, in that restaurant… maybe drugs?

Velma: Or maybe he´s just found some meat, just like yestarday…

Shaggy: Hey, gang, c´mon! Scooby is calling us!

Fred: We can´t get there, Shags, the door is tiny… we need someone 5ft tall… Velma?

Velma: I can slice you until you fit, Fred, I dont care…

We were interrupted by Shaggy, who pushed us out of his way and jumped into the fridge.

Shaggy: Can´t you see Scoob can be in trouble? C´mon, Fred, lets help him!

Fred and I sighed simmultaneously and Fred followed him, squeezing himself throught the minibar´s door. Daphne did the same, Fred tried to stop her, but she ended up jumping into his arms. And I rolled my eyes when I realized that I would have to follow my stupid friends into yet another stupid forensic mission in a stupid place. So I threw my evidence collection suitcases inside – to make it clear how upset I was – and asked my team to follow me.

The place was a long, narrow hallway, about 8 ft high and 3 ft wide. The walls looked like they were made of Ethylene-Vinyl Acetate (a substance ordinary people call EVA, but chemistry PhDs like me make a point of calling this copolymer by its full name, yet IUPAC prefers but-3-enoic acid ethene). I first thought that place was large fridge, made to refrigerate exothermic chemical reactions during some drug manufacturing process.

Shaggy: Hey Vel, do you remember that chemical smell when we arrived? It was coming from this place!

Shaggy was right, the place was tainted with that synthetic smell. I don't have enough sense of smell to tell an expensive wine from a grape juice, but the synthetic smell was like…

Daphne: It's nail polish remover! And… acetone… solvent…no! More like… formaldehyde!

I trusted Daphne's sense of smell not only because it was exactly the smell I was feeling, but also because she knows how to tell an expensive wine from grape juice. For a moment, I thought the smell was coming from the wall covering, before suggesting this hypothesis I did some quick chemical reactions in my mind (to find out some volatile compound) and found no scientific basis for my theory, so I didnt say anything. As we walked through the hallway, the smell got stronger and there were no windows and no ventilation.

Fred: I think we should return, this smell might be toxic. Let´s interdict this place, then we come back with proper masks.

Once again Scooby-Doo proved he could understand our language: he bit Fred's shirt and pulled him to the end of the hallway, Shaggy followed them and so did the rest of us. We ended up in a large room full of big black boxes that looked like huge gift boxes. Scooby-Doo barked insanely at all parts of the room, especially at the black boxes, and that made Shaggy feel scared and hug me.

Shaggy: Like…this…is…what I'm thinking, gang? Those boxes…are…are coffins?

 

[KendraKelnick]

Here´s the fanfic art:

and soon I will post new chapters.

 

[KendraKelnick]

Chapter 5 - part 2

The word “coffins” made me shiver. I hadn't thought about that possibility until Shaggy mentioned it, but after he did, I couldn´t think of any other function for those gift boxes. Fred looked at us and asked our opinion to proceed (something as rare to happen as finding coffins in the shape of a gift box).

Daphne: Freddie, this smell can be formaldehyde… and, you know, people use formaldehyde to embalm dead bodies!

Daphne was on the verge of tears when she finished. Unfortunately, I couldn't disagree.

Velma: Well, if it's not formaldehyde, it's bleach or some powerful disinfectant. And we all know killers use such things to wash blood off crime scenes...

When I said “killers”, Shaggy hugged me tighter and also pulled Daphne closer, hiding his head on her shoulders. Daphne comforted him, but looked at Fred and me as if she needed some comfort herself.

Daphne: Gang, I'm leaving now. If poor Cho Sang-woo is inside one of those boxes, I don't want to see it!

Shaggy: That's it, I'm leaving too! Like, now it's up to you, captain! And you help him, Velma! Come Scoob! Let´s go, our work is done!

Fred grabbed Scooby by the leash and grabbed Shaggy by the collar at the same moment, so they couldn´t leave.

Fred: It's not over yet. The dog brought us here, so the dog will stay until the end! Scooby can sniff blood and dead bodies, can´t he?

Shaggy: Yes…

Fred: So he's goin…

Shaggy: What about the dog trainer, can he leave?

Fred and I both looked at Norville with the same reproachful look, showing that the question was so obvious that it didn't even need an answer.

Shaggy: Like, I just wanted to be sure, captain...

Daphne: Come on, Shags, let's go together until the end…

Daphne took our hands we walked together. Scooby was pleased to see that we were following him and started to point locations with his snout. I opened my briefcase to get some pins and put them at the places where the dog indicated blood or corpse smell. Fred was trying to find a false floor and almost stepped on my hand with his heavy boots, so I retaliated his carelessness with a pin in his ankle. Inevitably, we arrived at the pile of boxes and Daphne let us know that she would stay away. I took a deep breath and put on my gloves, and my team did the same. Shaggy held Scooby by the leash and gave him the usual commands. When he finished, Scooby pushed the lid of one box with his snout and put his paws inside it.

Shaggy: Yeah, there's something inside these boxes.

Daphne closed her eyes tightly and covered her face with her hands, and Norville groaned because he couldn't do the same. Fred took a deep breath and removed the lid of the first box. Fortunately, it was empty, and that made us feel some relief. Tension returned when Fred was about to open the second box – empty too -, then we had tense and relieving moments until all boxes were opened.

Fred: No victims, gang…

Shaggy celebrated quickly.

Velma: There are no corpses here, right now, but corpses could have been put inside these boxes before…

Shaggy groaned again. Considering Scooby's behavior, he knew I was right.

I started to spray luminol all over the place and lots of stains confirmed the presence of blood. When I finished, we saw a frightening scene: there were stains all over the floor and some splashes on the ceiling. The view certainly astounded everyone, since the only possible conclusion from that was “many people were killed here”.

Shaggy: Like, let's think positive, this place could have been a fridge full of hamburgers! Like, it can be animal blood, you know?

Velma: I need to test if…

Fred: Yeah, just na old fridge that was disinfected after use, we're seeing just a reaction between luminol and bleach, right, Velma?

Velma: Well, the forensic team needs to test the…

Daphne: Is it possible to distinguish human blood luminol stains from animal blood luminol stains, Velma?

Velma: LET ME ******* COLLECT THEM AND TEST THEM, PLEASE?

Sometimes my voice is only heard when it is highlighted with a bit of rudeness, and after that, they realized that my message was clearly “get your asses out of here because I need to work”. I felt goosebumps for being alone in that place, so I collected evidence and performed all the tests quickly and then left. When I reached the small refrigerator´s door, Fred took me by the hand and helped me out of that harrowing place.

Immediately, I called a meeting of forensics agents to discuss our findings. A colleague pointed that the K-9 was the one who had found the secret place while sniffing around, which means that place really had something atypical. I had to disagree, since the smell of bleach was everywhere around, and I thought that could confuse the dog´s sense of smell. We reached a consensus that we should take Scooby back to the crime scene one more time to get a better view of that clues, however, when we saw Daphne sharing a fifty-dollar-box of Swiss Basler Brunslis with Scooby-Doo and his tutor, we reached a new consensus: we would not convince the K-9 unit to get back to work before the last crumbs of that cookies were eaten. When Daphne mentioned the box had only one more cookie, Scooby Doo - like a good flat-coated retriever - took it for himself and ran away, and Shaggy – like our good, old Shaggy - ran after him. In the end, the dog ate the last one, but Shaggy could get the box back to lick all the remaining chocolate zests.

After the cookies, I asked Norville to go back to the crime scene with the K-9. He elaborated such a complex explanation to justify his fear (like: "Basler Brunslis interfere in dogs' sense of smell" or "according to the app, Scooby said its not necessary go back there, he has sniffed enough”) that I decided to not force him to do that. Fred, as usual, gave his ̶u̶s̶e̶l̶e̶s̶s̶ captain's orders, like, "collect all the machines", and the only one who obeyed was Daphne, who – curiously - is the only one who doesn't work at NYPD. In the end, Daphne´s assistance was a big help of fate, because a normal person – including me, several times more intelligent than a normal person - would never notice a needle in a haystack. But Daphne is someone who notices if the color of earrings´ stones match the shoes´embellishments, so as soon as she tried to remove one of the slot machines, she saw something.

Daphne: Look! There's something here!

Inside that hole where the coins come out when the player is awarded, there was a small triangle made of a thin, brown cardboard. Daphne carefully tried to pull the object, since that was a little part of something larger, but her attempt made the small triangle sink further into the place where it was stuck, so she stopped. I approached with a magnifying glass to get a better look, and I realized it looked like a business card or something.

Fred: It's a $100, girls…

Daphne: Freddie, seems darker than a hundred note, and made of a different kind of paper…

Fred: Maybe a dirty, folded hundred bill…?

Daphne: No, Freddie, look, it's a lot smaller than a bill… plus, this machine doesn't give bills as a prize...

Daphne took Fred's hand and carefully put it in the place where the object was stuck, and after that, she took a while to take her hands off. However, Fred wasn't romantic enough to understand her action, he was too busy trying to convince us he was right.

Fred: Maybe a fake, dirty, folded hundred bill…?

Velma: Jones, I think Daphne knows $100s better than us, right? And I think its a little obvious that ITS NOT a hundred bill, right?

Ticked off, Fred opened my briefcase without my permission and took a pair of tweezers. He tried to pull out the small triangle, but failed several times until the initial triangle was reduced to a tiny point in the machine's dispenser. Daphne, again, took Fred's giant, ̶d̶u̶m̶b̶ uncoordinated hands and helped him until he fully took the object out: a thin cardboard business card with no information other than three geometric figures on the front and a sequence of numbers on the back.

Fred: Good job, Daph! But… I don't know if we can consider it a clue… This is a coin dispenser, maybe someone just used a random card to cheat and get more coins…

Velma: Yeah, I hate to say it, but Fred's right. Looks like someone tried to cheat and the card got stuck. Thieves don´t leave business cards.

Daphne: Don't you think it's a weird card? Business cards usually have some information like name, company, title, email, phone number… this one has only numbers and geometric figures! If all the numbers are a phone number, it´s not an US number… neither Switzerland, nor London, nor Milan, because Blake homes in these cities have ten digits long phone numbers… maybe… France? If I remember correctly, Blake Estate´s number in Paris has eight numbers, I need to confirm with Jenkins…

Daphne's remark was interesting, but Fred and I knew from our years of experience at the NYPD that the card had no relevance at all. Fred and I looked at each other and I realized he was asking me to spoil Daphne's little joy of finding a clue.

Velma: Daph, it can be a number, but… let´s think logically, which one is more likely? The person behind the theft, the sadistic games, and that freaky fridge left this card here, or that someone put a random card inside this machine to get a few extra coins? While gathering evidence, we find a lot of distractions, we can't let them take the investigation's focus away...

Daphne was visibly upset that Fred and I didn't consider that a clue. She put the card inside a plastic bag, proving that she totally disagreed with our opinion and she would investigate the card herself.

Shaggy: Hey, Daph! Like, what game store is this?

Shaggy took the plastic bag with the card inside and analyzed it. The phrase “I told you it wasn't relevant” inevitably came out of my mouth and Daphne got very angry.

Daphne: How do you know this is a game store card? And not a clue?

Shaggy: The symbols! Like, check it out, remember the Playstation controller? Look, the figures are identical! It's a typical game store card... it's not a clue... since it's not a clue, like, can I keep it? Like, I'd like to go there...

It wasn't very nice of my part, but I laughed at Shaggy's answer. Daphne got furious and held the plastic bag tightly, showing that no one would take that "clue" out of her hands. Shaggy realized he caused Daphne's rage and tried to fix what he said.



Shaggy: Like, you can come with me, Daph! Or… like… maybe I´m wrong and its really a clue, not a store… maybe the game store sold the slot machines, or the Frostbits machines that Velma and I found… don't you think?

Daphne didn't realize that Shaggy was just trying to be nice with her, so she hummed victoriously as if she had an ally. When all NYPD team finished collecting all the machines and evidences, we left the building. Outside, I arranged the samples with my team, Daphne walked away to take a call, and Fred gathered everyone to discuss forensic findings.

Fred: Well, looks like the initial suspicions of illegal activity and embezzlement were confirmed. Clearly, no business is operating here, this building is just a fake address to cover up illegal casinos and bitcoin machines, so I think the first line of investigation is correct. However, the evidences found show that a murder happened here. The one responsible for the embezzlement, Mr. Cho Sang-woo, is missing, and he can be the victim. So, the forensics report will tell us if we need to change our line of investigation to homicide. Right now, our nexts steps are: check all the machines´ activities, analyze the all the blood samples and wait the cybercrime dept's report about Liberty's financial activities. We need to be sure if Alan Mayberry is telling the truth. All right, gang, I declare the end of our activities.

Shaggy suddenly raised his hand.

Shaggy: Like, the only thing I can´t understand, Fred, is why Scooby-Doo behaved so strangely here… he did the same thing at the restaurant… I've never seen him behave like that!

Fred: Shaggy, we can't rely on a dog's dubious behavior...

Daphne: Shaggy is right, Freddie. Scooby broke into that fridge in the same way he broke into that restaurant. Also, he attacked Alan, isn´t it weird? I confess I trust Mayberry less after that. Seems like Scooby is telling us that Alan has something to do with everything we found inside that secret place.

When Fred heard "I trust him even less", Fred perked up and changed his mind.

Fred: Well, I think you´re right. Scooby´s behavior must mean something is wrong… we have robbery, a missing person, then a suspicious crime scene where the robbery has occurred…

Daphne: And we have Alan Mayberry, who has lots reasons to wish Cho Sang-woo was dead…

Velma: Well, if this building isn't exaclty what it seems to be, maybe Alan isn't exactly what he seems to be…

Shaggy: Like, maybe Mayberry himself killed Sang-woo after the robbery, then forged this case to have a cast-iron alibi…

Fred: Right, gang, looks like we really have a mystery on our hands...

 

[KendraKelnick]

Chapter 6​

Daphne: Oh, Jenkins just let me know he has cancelled Dad´s appointments for today, so he can meet us in an hour. Dad is a victim just like Alan Mayberry, I think it´s important to hear his point of view. Also, we can consider this short meeting as a deposition, since Dad will never agree to go to the NYPD for questioning. Well, see you at Blake Manor.

We couldn´t even say goodbye: on the other side of the street, three black cars were waiting for us, and I recognized Blake family´s drivers inside them. Much to my surprise, Marcie was inside one of those cars, happily waving at me. I couldn´t argue about my scheduled activities, my inadequate clothes and my lack of desire to go to that lunch, Daphne just turned her back on us and left - probably because she was still angry about the card discussion. Fred had lipstick on his white shirt collar, and I had bruises and chemical remnants all over my body, so we both agreed that having lunch with the elite in such conditions was a stupid idea. Shaggy looked even worse, since he has already arrived disheveled, with wrinkled, food-stained work clothes, but he wasnt concerned – in fact, his only concern was if those cars offered candy to passengers. Apparently, Shaggy discovered that only one of those cars offered such perk, so he quickly got into and the car left - while Scooby stomped on him to get to the window and stick his head out. I took my car quickly too - I didn´t want to travel with Fred – and I spent the entire ride telling Marcie that our work at Liberty was a fiasco.

When I looked out, our car was leaving the city. Then I realized that Daphne said “Blake Manor” instead of “Blake Tower,” and that information added ten pounds of inadequacy to my struggling heart. Blake Tower is the synonym of George and the male-wing of Blake family, which means a dozen old, white, male ardent disciples of Milton Friedman who dictate the course of the world but only appear in the news under the pseudonym of “the investors”. Blake Manor, meanwhile, is even worse for being the synonym of the female-wing of the family, which means elegant, powerful ladies ̶a̶s̶ ̶u̶n̶p̶l̶e̶a̶s̶a̶n̶t̶ ̶a̶s̶ ̶B̶l̶a̶k̶e̶ ̶m̶e̶n̶ who treat you according to the brands of your clothes.

Marcie: Hey babe, you look nervous! Relax, you look great!

Marcie took my hand and magically all anxiety was gone. Fortunately, Daphne doesn't fit into those Blake categories. And luckily, I have a wonderful fiancée to help me deal with all the rest.

***​

The mix of feelings I had when the car parked at Blake Manor garden made me realize how long it has been since I last went there. I estimated about twelve years, although I realized that some things there remained the same. Thankfully, Marcie and I arrived after Fred and Daphne. Fred was wearing a suit and I assumed he'd asked Daphne suitable clothes. I didn't have time to ask for proper clothes too, Daphne's fashion sensor told her what to do. I can´t say I felt good wearing those clothes because femininity and expensive brands are not my priorities in life, but they suited very well for that situation and that was enough. When I was on my way to meet Fred and Daphne, I heard high-pitched female voices and some laughing, and the discomfort I first felt returned immediately. In fact, it was a double dose of discomfort, with first and last names: Nan and Dorothy Blake. Our presence also made them feel uncomfortable, since they stopped laughing immediately and questioningly looked at Daphne - making clear that they didn't want us there.

Daphne: Mom, Dot, do you remember my friends Velma Dinkley, Marcie Fleach and Frederick Jones?

Nan: Oh dear, of course! Vel…ma…Din…kley… and…Mar…cie…

When talking with her social class equals, Nan is outgoing and speaks very well. The pauses in Nan's speech only occur when she talks to people from the lower social classes, because her eyes keep scanning the person up and down, looking for something repulsive. In that case, Marcie and I were those lower-classes people, I felt her eyes saying “ok” to the clothes and shoes, but detecting our common engagement rings, then judging Marcie's freckles, the 2 or 4 extra pounds in my hips and my old NHS glasses. Even so, she cheerfully greeted us by offering her hand, just like the swiss etiquette school had taught her, then smiled cynically. Nancy Blake is so fake that she would be able to greet Hitler with a beautiful smile on her face. Unfortunately, Dorothy was more direct, she looked at us with the same contempt of school times, when she had fun bullying other girls.

Dorothy: Right, it´s hot dog water…

Daphne: Dorothy! Her name is Marcie!

Marcie lowered her eyes when she heard that old nickname and I felt like carving Marcie´s name in her forehead to make her remember forever. Much to my surprise, Nan disapproved her attitute.

Nan: Dorothy! They are your little sister´s friends: Freddie and Velma, remember? And this looovely lady seems to be as wonderful as both them…

Dorothy then followed the swiss etiquette school´s protocol and greeted each one of us in the same fake way. The sick, evil emphasis Nan put in the word “wonderful” – whatever it means – made me understand what Fred meant when he said he didn´t want to be part of that family.

Daphne: As you know, Fred is NYPD captain and we are working together on a big case right now…

Nan: Honey, you are an elite lawyer, why are you doing… uh… this… uh… police work?

Another hurtful emphasis. This time, it emphasized how right Fred was during our last discussion.

Dorothy: You are a bit old to chase mysteries…

Daphne: You are a bit old to drive cars too, since you are 5 years older than me!

Dorothy: Ok, but daddy has never told me to stop driving… I thought he has told you to not become a… uh… detective…

Nan: Sweetie, your are a tax attorney! This country has a lot of unfair taxes against us entrepreneurs who provide job opportunities for everyone… and also has people claiming for taxes on hyper-fortunes! This is the cause you should fight for, not these… minor problems…

My watch (which wasn't a Bvlgari like Dorothy's, but somehow was unnoticed by Nan Blake's eyes) showed that we'd been there for only fifteen minutes, but it seemed like an eternity. Fred looked at me and I could clearly read "now you understand why I don't want to be a part of this" in his face.

Daphne: Mom, crimes and mysteries are not minor problems, remember 9/11? Hollywood makes movies and shows about police work, they are heroes! That is why I'm so proud to work with them... anyway… I was saying that Fred and I are working on a big case now, and Velma is helping us with her scientific knowledge…

Dorothy: So Velma is the smart one and Fred is the leader. And what exactly do you do, sis?

Suddenly, Daphne became their target and that overstepped all Fred´s boundaries of what ought to be allowed in a toxic family.

Fred: Daphne is a fundamental part of the investigation, she is the victim´s attorney and she is… amazing…

Nan, the sarcastic emphasis queen, didn´t like Fred´s true emphasis at all and crossed her arms in disapproval. The compliment made Daphne blush - and lose the good response she was about to say to her sister.

Nan: Right, and why don´t you prosecute people like a normal lawyer?

Daphne: Mom, that's not how it works...

Nan: Of course it is, I have really good lawyers… and I've never seen them work with the police...

That emphasis was another boundary crossed. A dangerous one.

Fred: Police work is not needed when you prosecute someone who badmouthed you on social media…

Nan: Like I said, police is busy with minor problems…

That emphasis battle could not end well, so Daphne intervened.

Daphne: Mom, please! Let me explain…

Nan: Explain? So explain, Daphne, because I don't understand your "career"... you went to college, chose to remain anonymous, now you have distanced yourself from high society... to solve crimes?

Dorothy: I don't see any solved crimes on your Instagram, sis… by the way, you have a very boring account… you have, like… three thousand followers? How can you have a career if no one knows who you are and what you do?

Nan: Dorothy has a career as a racing driver, Daphne, and she has millions of followers… and so does Dawn…and Daisy, I love my Daisy's medical tips! And Delilah… did you see our Lilah´s model pics?

For Blake women, the real world is Instagram and the world we live in is a paltry shadow of everything that happens on Instagram. Maybe because it's easier to have a fantasy life on the internet than having a real life in the real world. For example: In real life, to become a racing driver, you need skills, training, discipline, talent and hundreds of other things. On Instagram, Dorothy only needed to sleep with a NASCAR driver or two and take party pictures with Danica Patrick and Penelope Pitstop. Since Daphne chose to have a career outside Instagram, she was just a shadow to her family.

Daphne: Mom, police solve the crimes and gather the evidences! In my work, I use the evidences to prove to the jury that the defendant committed or not the crime…

Daphne talked to the walls while Dorothy and Nan laughed and commented on Delilah's pictures. Then she sighed and looked at us with a tired, defeated expression, showing that she didn´t want to be part of that family either. Fred apparently felt her secret feelings, cause he held her hand to show some support. Daphne blushed and smiled at him, he smiled back and let go of her hand. Then he looked at me and muttered "you're right". Nan and Dorothy only stopped ignoring us when our saviour arrived.

Shaggy: Like, hey gang! Sorry, I'm late, I had to stop to buy some food…

Shaggy's arrival took Nan and Dorothy off the cell phone screen and Nan's eyes began to scan him up and down. She didn't take long to find something wrong, after all, everything in Norville was repulsive to her.

Daphne: Mom, Dot, remember my friend Norville Rogers? He's also a NYPD agent and works in K9 section along with this cutie here called Scooby-Doo...

Shaggy: Like, how are you, Mrs. Blake?

The swiss etiquette school´s protocol was not followed this time beause Norville surprised Nan Blake with a tight hug that lifted her and transferred the tiny ketchup and mustard drips on his shirt to her Chanel coat. Shaggy dropped the leash for a second to do the same with Dorothy, so Scooby Doo ran happily through the gardens of Blake Manor and, like a good flat-coated retriever, ended his quick tour diving into the water fountain. Then he returned, shook off water in our clothes and continued his tour running (wet) inside the house, so Shaggy had to run after him. We had no other option besides laugh. Fortunately, Dorothy and Nan laughed too —probably because they hadn't noticed the stains on their coats.

Daphne: So… I was trying to explain that the gang is here to make a...

Daphne couldn't finish her sentence because the noise of an approaching helicopter echoed through the room. Nan and Dorothy looked at each other with a surprise expression and then looked angrily at Daphne since she was the reason for the helicopter's arrival.

Nan: Daphne Ann Blake, what is your father doing here?

Daphne: He will have lunch with us and discuss the case we're working on, Mom.

Nan: And why am I the last one to know about it?

Daphne: I was trying to tell you, but Delilah's pictures were way more interesting!

Nan rolled her eyes and muttered incomprehensible curses while she canceled her appointments for the day on her cell phone. It was a secret to nobody that the Blake couple were not getting along anymore, but seeing that situation with my own eyes was heartbreaking.

Dorothy: You just can´t invite daddy without consulting us first! Daddy thinks I'm in LA!

Daphne: Oh, sis, aren´t you a great racing driver? Why don't you get in your car and get there quickly before Dad realizes you're here?

Dorothy felt so much hatred that she couldn´t move. In the same moment, George arrived and Daphne greeted her father with a victorious smile.

George: Nancy Elizabeth…

Nan: George Bartholomew…

Blake couple met each other in a threatening way, like the beggining of a wild west duel, but thankfully the swiss etiquette school has taught them to not let others know about their failed marriage – so the duel ended immediately.

George: Dot… you should be in LA, right?

Daphne: She's a race driver, dad, she'll be in LA soon...

The joke was no longer funny, but Daphne repeated just to taste again Dorothy´s hatred. Only her father laughed, and in fact, it was a disapproval laugh.

George: The day old Pitstop pays your Ferrari, you'll be a race driver. As long as the money you use comes from Blake Bank, I want you working at my company in LA… am I being clear?

Dorothy: Yes, Dad.

George: All right. Now, Daphne, what do you want from me? And why NYPD officers are here?

George pointed at a big room and waited his assistants to prepare it for our meeting. Marcie looked at me questioningly, since she was not used to see how formal Blake family relationship was. After a while, we could take our seats - except Shaggy, who was still chasing Scooby-Doo through the gardens. Curiously, Nan joined us, but she sat by the fireplace, a little far from our group.

Daphne: Well, why don't we have lunch first, Dad? I asked Anette to prepare a special menu for us…

George: I don't have time for this, Daphne. I was supposed to be at a meeting in London right now and you got me out of my way saying you had an urgent subject to discuss with me. So, please, be direct.

George Blake was so stern and hard to please that I felt ridiculous for thinking that Marcie's clingy parents and their damn park were the worst thing anyone could have in life. After that, obviously, Daphne felt powerless to talk about her work, and another one of those Fred´s boundaries was overstepped.

Fred: Mr. Blake, I'm Frederick Jones, NYPD capitain, and we've received a embezzlement report against brokerage company Liberty. The theft was carried out by the company's financial manager, Mr. Cho Sang-woo. The victim is Mr. Alan Mayberry, who gave Liberty the sum of 2 million dollars to invest in bonds, and according to him, the other victim is you, since you´ve done a 36 million investment. According to Mr. Mayberry, all the money ended up in several Applegate Bank accounts located in Silmido, a desert island in South Korea. Your daughter Daphne is Alan´s lawyer and the one who brought us this case, so we are here to hear you and proceed with the investigation.

Daphne, Marcie and I looked at each other and smiled at Fred, feeling thankful that he had led the situation. George didn't feel the same admiration for Fred, but Nan had a small smirk on her lips and seemed to be amused by her (perhaps ex?) husband's misfortune.

George: The report is unfounded, Jones. I have no business activities at Liberty.

Daphne: Dad, when I analysed Alan's case, I´ve found a transaction receipt of 36 million dollars going to Liberty´s Applegate Bank account… the money came from Blake Bank Inc.´s account and I got worried, that´s why I asked to talk to you…

Daphne's sweetness was not enough to melt George's stern personality: he just laughed and scorned everything she said.

George: So you had the brilliant idea of taking me out of my way to a £200 million deal in London just to talk about $36 million that came out of MY ACCOUNT? Will you oversee what I do with MY MONEY now, Daphne? You are just like your mother...

Fred: Could be a $100 theft, sir, it would still be a crime. And it is our duty to investigate what happened and punish the responsible ones, so I count on your collaboration to proceed.

Another boundary was crossed, but Fred brought George down a peg so quickly that Daphne didn´t have enough time to feel her father´s rude words. George didn´t really expect such insubordination and treated Fred with the comtempt he deserved. Then, Nan cackled victoriously and clapped her hands briefly when Fred finished.

Nan: Great job, Freddie! Well done! Bravo! Yes, let Barty explain his version of the facts, we all want to know, right? Well, to me, it looks like a classic case of a greedy tycoon going through divorce… and he is just diverting his fortune to tax havens to avoid the property division, right… honey?

Suddenly, Nan Blake became the bad cop o four group and - apparently - easily solved part of the mystery. Daphne had already told us that, when it comes to money, her mother is truly a genius, but I had never seen that with my own eyes. The second insubordination made George's contempt increase, and he scornyfully laughed again.

 

[KendraKelnick]

Chapter 7​

George: Stupid conclusion… oh, Nancy dear, you don´t know what you´re talking about…as always…

Nan: You're right, when I said “yes” to you forty years ago, that was really stupid… what do you think you're doing, George? I thought at least you had a little dignity left, you greedy bastard! Do you want to embarrass your daughters publicly? That´s tax evasion, a federal crime!

George: Shut the **** up, Nancy! That money was really a donation!

Nan: Don´t you raise your voice at me, George! The money is not listed on your donation statements!

Daphne: Stop! Stop it right now!

Daphne had tears in her eyes and took a deep breath to steady her nerves. Apparently, her parents’ divorce was a novelty to her. When Fred approached and held her hand, inevitably a tear ran down her cheek and she quickly wiped it away to pretend she wasn't crying.

Daphne: This is so… ridiculous! I have been here for only an hour and I heard criticisms about my career, I was compared to my sisters and now I have to watch you two argue?

The Blakes glared angrily at each other and agreed to stop. Obviously, it was not a sign of respect for about their daughter's feelings, they just didn't want to make their marital problems more evident.

Fred: Mr. and Mrs. Blake, I'm sorry for taking your time. I´d like to ask you to focus on our questions, please. George, can you please clarify? NYPD needs information about the money to proceed.

George: As I said, it was a donation. Actually, it was a gift, that´s why it´s not listed on my statements…

Nan: Oh, your father gives 36-million-gifts, Daphne, how generous he is with others! That´s strange, because he usually is a complete ******* to his own family, he was not that generous with poor Dorothy minutes ago…

Daphne: Mom! Please!

Fred: Mrs. Blake, I need you to let George speak...

George: As I said, it was a gift to Alan Mayberry. He mentioned that he would start his own fintech and I decided to help him in acknowledgment of the excellent job he did at Blake Bank. I am surprised to hear I am “the other victim” in this case. I didn't lose any money, I just gave him with the amount he needed. Also, I am surprised that the money ended up in South Korea. I didn't even know Alan had invested the amount in a foreign brokerage instead of investing in his own business…

George´s testimony surprised us and destroyed all the hypotheses we once had about that case.

Fred: So you're saying that Alan is the owner of those 36 million dollars because you deliberately gave him the amount?

George: Exactly.

Fred: Did you transfer that amount from your Blake Bank account to Alan's Applegate Bank accounts?

George: No, the amount was transferred by him, he was one of Blake Bank directors, he knew how to do it, so he did it himself.

Fred: So… if Alan needed the money to start his own business, why did he invest the amount in a foreign brokerage instead? Can you explain that, Mr. Blake?

George: I think he tried to make the money grow faster…

Velma: What about the other 2 million dollars that Alan gave Liberty? Do you know who is the owner of this money?

George: Certainly, Alan is the owner. He is a genius as an investor, he wouldn't be stupid to take out loans…

Velma: Based on your experience as an investor, a 36 million investment would make a 2 million return?

George: Depending on the investment and the period of time, yes.

Velma: Is it possible to lose a whole 36 million investment?

George: Depending on the investment, yes.

Velma: Do bitcoin investments offer such financial loss risk?

George: Certainly. And Alan is a cryptocurrency enthusiast.

Fred: Mr. Blake, do you think he invested the 36-million amount in Liberty and earned back 2 million?

George hesitated slightly before answering.

George: Hmm… let me see… if I remember right, the donation ocurred about 2 years ago… so… maybe… yes… I think its possible that he got 2 million back in some good investment…

Daphne: Wait... dad, what you said doesn't make any sense. 36 million dollars was transferred to Liberty's accounts at Applegate Bank recently, take a look at these receipts! And the money came from your Blake Bank personal accounts… this is your transaction history…see?

George got surprised. He held the receipts at an-arm distance and squinted at them to read the information.

George: These receipts are fake Daphne, they show 2021 dates… the donation I mentioned happened two years ago in 2019, when Alan was about to start his own business. Whoever got this receipt for you is trying to deceive you and manipulate the facts...

Daphne: I got them myself, Dad, and they are real, I´ve checked Blake Bank's systems twice.

George was perplexed and squinted again to read all the information written. When he finished, his eyes widened as if he could scarcely believe

George: Damn Mayberry! How did he do this? And why?

Velma: What did he do, Mr. Blake?

George: How did he dare to steal my money after all I've done for him!

We were surprised to hear that. The case was getting more and more confusing.

Daphne: How do you know Alan is the one to blame, Dad? Can be somebody else... Mr. Cho, Liberty´s manager, maybe?

George: It was him! Take a look at the transaction code, this eight-digit authorization key is a special key that only Bank directors have. Huge transactions need authorization to be done, and in this case, Alan is the one who authorized. I remember his key number.

Daphne: Now I'm confused, dad… why would Alan do that? I mean… why would he steal from you if he's financially successful? And why would he use a robbery as evidence in a lawsuit against Liberty?

Velma: Hmmmm… seems like I´ve solved this mystery, gang… the probable possibilities are: Alan is not as successful as he seems, or he was never robbed by Liberty. Or both.

Daphne: Velma, it doesn't make any sense!

Velma: Daphne, it makes lots of sense! Hours ago, we discovered that Liberty develops suspicious activities to make money: we found a casino and cryptocurrency machines. Now, we discovered Alan received 36 million dollars two years ago to start his own business. If I remember right, yesterday you said Alan's wealth inexplicably increased 2700% in the last two years, right? In my opinion, the explanation for such exorbitant gains is: Alan invested the 36 million dollars in Liberty´s activities and had huge returns. Then he started his business and enjoyed financial success for a while… until losing all the money in a bad investment. Well, but he is the CEO of the largest fintech in America, he can´t simply report his loss and declare bankruptcy, it would ruin his name and his business forever. So, what was the smartest way he has found to deal with it? Simulating a robbery, suing Liberty for it and earning the lost millions back.

Fred: Yeah, it's similar to burn down a house to get the insurance money, Daphne. A good, old swindle.

Velma: Exactly. And Alan has involved you, Mr. Blake, to make his story rationally believable. Also, you are a respectable person in NYC and Blake Bank is worldwide famous, justice would certainly favor you against Liberty. That´s why Alan has said you are “a victim” too.

Fred: Well, Mr. Blake is indeed a victim of robbery. But Alan was the robber, not Liberty.

George looked at Fred and I, despite his face showed that he was impressed with our line of reasoning, he didn't thank us for our work.

Fred: That´s enough. Thank you, Mr. Blake, and sorry for taking your time. Apparently, Mr. Mayberry is trying to fake a crime to recover the money he lost in a bad investment.

Nan: It's your fault George, you trust everyone! You could have put your daughters in danger! Don´t you remember what happened to the Pitstops? They trusted Sneekly too much and…

George: Mayberry is not like Sneekly, Nan, for God's sake! And how would I know? Alan was like a son to me, the son you never gave me! There must be something wrong, it's not possible, I can't believe the boy did that... I'm going to call my lawyers right now...

Nan: Nice! So take this opportunity to answer my lawyers' calls. They will watch your stupid generous donations closely from now on.

Daphne looked to her mom and dad every time one of them mentioned the word “lawyer,” but neither of them realized that she is a lawyer and could handle all those the situations herself. Apparently, she wasn't in the mood of reminding them about that, so she just sighed and started gathering her papers. Daphne was frustrated with the quick end of a mystery that (according to her plans) would last our entire vacation. Fred, on the other hand, was ecstatic to know that Alan was the villain, so he started listing all the crimes Mayberry committed and all the ways we could arrest him – and no one cared at all. Then I remembered the wise words of Bertolt Brecht: What is robbing a bank compared with founding a bank? And I couldn´t empathize with neither the accused nor the victim.

George: I need to go. Please, next time, don't you involve Daphne. I didn't raise my daughter to solve crimes and do your police work. Sometimes I have the feeling you go out of your way just to have her around, Jones.

Daphne: Dad! Don't say that!

George ignored and left without saying goodbye. The Blakes ask us to stay away from Daphne since middle school, so we weren't surprised with that.

Velma: You're welcome, Mr. Blake! It was our pleasure to help you, no need to thank us!

My heavy sarcasm made everyone laug. Even though Nan hated us, she laughed too, after all, she wanted to disagree with her ex-husband on everything. Daphne was the only one who didn't laugh, she looked upset with the case conclusion.

Daphne: Ahhh, I'm going to kill Alan! I´m going to beat him up, strangle him and tear him to in shreds! That... that... stupid idiot!

Daphne doesn't know how to swear. She still has the same repertoire of swear words she had in kindergarten, but the combination of two light-swear words to define Mayberry showed how mad she was at him.

Daphne: I'm going to call him right now and demand an explanation! I… I… I feel ashamed for asking your help with this ridiculous case…

Fred: No, don´t do it! It's dangerous, Daph. He can get angry when confronted with the truth and have a violent attitude…

Daphne: Freddie, I can defend myself, okay? I asked your help, you solved the whole mystery, now I´ll take care of the rest! I will take appropriate legal action...

Velma: Fred is right, Daphne, we don't know how Alan will behave. You´d better let the police take over from here.

Daphne disagreed, but heeded our advice. She took all the anger she felt out on the lawsuit papers, muttering her double childish swear words. When I looked around, I realized that Nan had left just like George - without saying goodbye - and Marcie was walking around the room admiring every inch of that luxurious architecture. We were in the big hallway when Jenkins met us and politely stopped us to introduce Shaggy and Scooby-Doo eating some cookies.

Jenkins: Miss Blake, I´ve found your friends in the dining room looking for you. Anette has served lunch fifteen minutes ago. Would you please take your seats before Mr. Rogers and Mr. Doo eat everything?

Scooby jumped on us with joy, and Shaggy was also smilling.

Shaggy: Hey, I´ve finally found you! Where the hell were you? Like, I got lost, then I found the dining room and I was waiting for you there, but nobody showed up… when are we having lunch?

Getting lost in a 100,000 m² property is absolutely normal. But getting lost with a sniffer dog and not being able to find your friends - yet conveniently finding the place where food is served - is something that only happens to Shaggy. Ever.

 

[KendraKelnick]

Chapter 8​

As we sat down at the table, we repeated our mealtime ritual: we served ourselves as quickly as possible to avoid Shaggy taking everything. Daphne explained to Norville the outcome of the mystery while he ate all the food she put in her plate. Unfortunately, we couldn´t eat any of the main dishes. With the same sudden agitation he had at the restaurant, Scooby-Doo jumped on the poor maid, then dropped the roast beef she had in her hands and ate before we could scold him. Taller than the table, Scooby quickly mouthed the pie and ran away with it. When Scooby´s show finally ended, Norville ate the remaining food, so lunch didn't last long.

Shaggy: Wait, gang, this mystery hasn't been solved yet, don´t you remember Scooby's behavior in the restaurant? And also in Liberty building? Scooby-Doo has never behaved like that! Something strange is going on…

We all (including the poor maid who was still taking the meat sauce off her clothes) disagreed.

Fred: Shaggy, Scooby-Doo is not a K9 anymore. You turned him into a pet when you pampered him and gave him bad habits. Now, he is behaving like a normal, spoiled dog.

If Jones had called Mrs. Rogers a wh*re, maybe Shaggy would not get as offended as he got when he heard the captain badmouthing Scooby-Doo. Like a father defending his child, Norville got angry and raised his voice.

Shaggy: Hey Jones, Scooby-Doo is my best friend and I know him very well, if I'm saying he's never behaved like that ,I´m sure about what I'm talking about! Scoob can be a little unpolite sometimes, but he's the best K9 sniffer in the department and surely there's something wrong! Did you forget about the luminol stains?

Shaggy was so angry that he almost hit Fred, but Daphne offered him her dessert plate and he decided to spend more energy putting a delicious cake in than useless words out.

Velma: Well, Shags, don't get us wrong. What we're trying to say is that Scooby probably behaved in such strange way because he has sniffed some meat in that restaurant and in that secret fridge. He behaved like that when Anette brought the meat, didn't he? So, we can logically conclude that the reason of his behavior was the meat smell. About luminol stains, that place was a huge fridge and obviously stored pieces of meat that dropped some animal blood, simple like that.

Fred: Or Scooby has sniffed drugs in Mayberry's suit, because he certainly is a drug dealer.

Fred´s point that Mayberry was carrying drugs was another silly try to invalidate Alan to Daphne (because the captain knows well that drug dealing is a much more serious crime than faking a robbery). Shaggy was still angry, but he didn't say anything because his mouth was too busy chewing with the same anger showed by his eyes. Daphne seemed a bit hesitant.

Daphne: Well… being honest, I agree with Shaggy. I felt something really bad in that secret fridge, those gift boxes looked like coffins and... I can't explain right. My intuition says something is wrong, yet I don't know exactly what it is... I know, all the evidence says Alan faked everything, but I feel that this mystery has not been fully solved…

Shaggy: And, like, do you remember that the app showed that Scooby said "Beware, killer!" at the restaurant? He has never said that before! I mean, he has only said that when he has found a real murderer, but like, under normal circumstances, he has never said that... like, I think Alan killed Sang-woo and he is faking a robbery to get an alibi... a lot of murderers report their own crimes to pretend they have nothing to do with the crime, don´t you watch crime series on TV?

Inevitably, Fred and I laughed again about Shaggy's dog language translation app, and he got so mad that Daphne had to ask Anette to bring more cake to distract him.

Velma: C´mon gang! I'm sorry, but we can't guide a whole investigation based on intuition, TV series and an app that translates barks into human language. We need real evidence, and all the evidence says this mystery is solved and Mayberry is a liar.

Fred: Yeah, and now we have to discuss how we can trap Mayberry and arrest him for his crimes…

Fred started talking again about arresting strategies that no one cared about. Daphne and Shaggy looked annoyed and disagreed. Suddenly, my cell phone vibrated and the face of cyber crime department´s captain appeared on the screen. I got up and walked away to answer the call since Jones wouldn't shut up and wouldn't let me hear. We talked for some minutes, then I returned to give them the news.

Velma: Gang, I have one more good proof that this mystery has really been solved. The cybercrime department has said there is nothing wrong with Liberty´s NY branch besides that business licenses issues. They´ve traced the bank transactions of all Liberty managers an nothing unusual was found. The only suspicious activities were done by Cho Sang-woo, and this is the part where things get more interesting…

Fred stopped talking when I said “things get more interesting” and paid attention, and the others did the same.

Velma: First of all, Cho Sang-woo is a famous embezzler. He is the most wanted embezzler in South Korea and in four other different countries. His crimes are: taking money from his clients, creating pyramid schemes and gambling. Here in NY, Alan Mayberry was his most important client. However, unlike the story Mayberry told us, Alan is an old client. The first time he got involved with Liberty´s services was two years ago, in a $36 million investment in a cryptocurrency scheme…

Daphne: Oh no, it´s the money Dad gave him?

Velma: Certainly. However, as we had thought, Sang-woo made the money melt down and lost everything in a bad investment. That loss has prompted Mayberry's second involvement with Liberty, a loan…

Fred: And he probably used the borrowed money to start his fintech.

Velma: Probably not, surely! The transaction history proves the money that founded Alan's fintech was a loan. However, his start was not so good as he had expected, and he had to take out several loans over the next few months…

Fred: And the loans became debts…

Velma: Lots of debt! But luckily, he still had his Blake Bank director key to give him the opportunity to pay off those debts…

Daphne: So he stole Dad´s money to pay off his debts?

Velma: I'm not saying that, your bank receipts are. His debt was up to 38 million, so Mayberry took 36 million from Blake Bank and 2 million from his fintech customers accounts to pay Liberty…

Fred: Then he got into a 2 million debt again, and now he needs this amount to pay back his customers and cover up his embezzlement…

Velma: Exactly. And maybe that's why he faked everything, he intended to win that amount in court in a lawsuit against Liberty.

Daphne: What about Liberty's money ending up in an abandoned island in South Korea? I have proof that really happened!

Velma: Yes, it happened, but Sang-woo wasn´t the one who did it. The authorization key used in that transaction was not his key. Also, the transaction occurred last month in Liberty´s accounts, the last activity in Cho Sang-woo's personal bank account was in June 2020, which is the same month he went missing.

Daphne: So you're saying that Sang-woo is innocent?

Velma: No, I´m saying he didn´t transfer that money to that desert island. That bank transfer was authorized by a secret key and the cybercrime department was not able to track this person's data.

Shaggy: Wait, is Mayberry guilty or not?

Velma: Alan stole from Blake Bank and his own customers to pay off his debts and faked a robbery, so I think he could be considered guilty in a couple of crimes. Also, he used the desert island money transfer as an evidence in his fake story, so he must know who made that transfer and why, or he must be involved in it too.

Fred: I think we definitely got Mayberry.

Velma: If we combine all the evidence we´ve found with the evidence cybercrime department has, we can put a good case together, Daphne.

Daphne: But… what about Sang-woo, gang? What happened to him? And who is the author of that desert island bank transfer? Why was that money transferred?

Shaggy: Like, and what about Scooby-Doo's behavior?

Daphne: Shaggy is right! We haven't solved all the mysteries of this case...

Velma: Daphne, we can't have all the answers. We have neither evidence nor accusations against that transferred money, so technically it's not of our business. It must be a crazy investment, I dont know. And Sang-woo is missing because he's a embezzler…

Daphne: It's the same amount, Velma, it must be something related to Alan…

Velma: It must be only a coincidence, Daph. We have evidence that Alan is lying to you. Alan is in financial world for years, he certainly knows a lot of investments and used one of them in his case.

Fred: We unmasked him Daph, that's what matters.

Daphne didn't want the case to die, since the solution meant that we would split up and would enjoy vacation far from each other. However, she had no arguments to keep the case alive, so she accepted the outcome.

Shaggy: Like, if you guys don't mind, Scoob and I have to go back to K9-Unit because I have, like, a lot of administrative stuff to do before my vacation...

Shaggy's "administrative stuff" were three messages from Crystal on his cell phone screen, saying "where are you?", "I'm waiting for you" and "come soon, I'm alone". Fortunately, Fred empathized with Daphne and offered to take her back to town - apparently, they had also their own “administrative stuff” to deal with before vacation, and I celebrated his decision with a grateful smile. Fred winked at me, signalling a thank you, and I was glad we both have changed a little since our argument. Marcie and I also said goodbye, I wasn't in the mood to "do administrative stuff ", but I was looking forward to our vacation together, even though I knew our destination would be Fleach amusement park.

The way back to town was relaxing. “Duty accomplished” feeling gave me inner peace, I felt happy for myself – for realizing my mistakes in time to fix them – and also for my friends, who were getting along very well with their crushes. I felt lucky for being Marcie Fleach´s fiancée, the kind of woman who makes you want to “do administrative stuff” even when you're not thinking about it, and that's exactly what we did when we arrived home. I woke up many hours later with the irritating sound of a cell phone call from a forensic agent.

Miller: Dinkley! Are you at the department?

Velma: No… I'm home, agent… what happened?

Miller: I need you to come here as soon as possible to take a look at these samples!

Velma: What's up, Miller? What samples?

Miller: Those samples we took at the Liberty building this morning. It's human blood, in perfect condition.

My heart raced immediately. Damn, Shaggy and Daphne were right, the mystery was not completely solved.

Velma: Do we have the victim's DNA? Do we know her or his identity?

Miller: Hmm… yes… we do… we were able to extract DNA from the samples, Dinkley…

Miller sighed loudly.

Velma: And who's the victim, Miller, tell me!

Miller: Well… it´s not "the victim," Dinkley. There are thirty-five different DNA samples, which makes thirty five victims. Among them, Cho Sang-woo.

 

[KendraKelnick]

Chapter 9​

Marcie tried to calm me down while I desperately searched for my glasses and my purse. On my way to the department, Marcie sent me the message “things will be fine, good luck”, but anxiety didn´t let me answer. Captain Jones and part of our team were waiting for me at NYPD, he looked worried and he was impatiently dialing Daphne's number, but she didn't answer the phone.

Fred: Please, take charge, Dinkley. I'm going to check if Daphne is ok. She´s not answering the phone and I'm afraid she confronted Mayberry…

I nodded and Fred left us. Then, Miller showed me the samples´ details and we started some complementary tests. In the laboratory, the hours passed quickly and my heart felt each positive result obtained. Fred and Daphne not answering their phones afflicted my already aching heart, and I only felt a little better when Jones replied "I'm with her, I´m on my way".

Miller: So, doc, what did you find out?

Velma: Well, forensic hematology showed the samples are not recent, some are older than others, and they have from 10 to 12 “months of age”, I´d say. Cho Sang-woo has been missing for 12 months, so our calculations are right. I don't think a slaughter happened there and all the victims died in the same day, I think they were killed one at a time, perhaps in small groups, one day a group died, two or three days after another one, and so on. Obviously, all the deaths are directly related to financial issues, considering the place where the bloodstains were found. DNA tests showed all the victims have Asian ancestry. We know that a sum of money was transferred from Liberty in NY to an island in South Korea, and Cho Sang-woo is from Seoul, so I suspect they are all South Koreans. I´m only confused about the bloodstain pattern analysis. Those stains are not compatible with any blood-spatter pattern I know, so I can´t say if the weapon was a gun, a blunt object or a knife. The stains are so unique that they look like a painting, as if someone just dropped human blood there. I still haven't inserted the DNA samples in the missing person database. Can you do this for me, please?

Miller: Surely, doctor.

I was concentrated on the samples when, suddenly, a paw touched my knee. With my glasses on, I saw Scooby-Doo next to me, trying to get my attention. Then Norville and Crystal arrived, holding Amber on a leash.

Velma: Hey, Scooby! You were right about that minibar, buddy, good job! And you too, Shaggy, you were right about Scooby's behavior, I'm sorry I didn't realize that.

Shaggy: Like, and I was right about the app too…

Velma: That´s a stretch! I am a science woman, I will never support your unscientific app.

Shaggy is not vain like Fred Jones, so he didn't care when I criticized his job. On the contrary, he laughed, thinking I was only joking.

Shaggy: Like, this may be a revenge crime… maybe done by… uh…mafiosi?

Velma: I wouldn't rule this hypothesis out, Shaggy. We have an illegal casino with a secret fridge full of bloostains, it's something the mafia would do.

Shaggy: Like, I am suspicious of Alan too, Scoob behaved badly around him and at the crime scene, remember? He's never behaved like that anywhere, so, like, surely it´s not a coincidence…

I'd forgotten about that unpleasant detail, and I shuddered when Shaggy reminded me. Apparently, all our hypotheses about Alan Mayberry were wrong, so we would have a lot of investigative work ahead. Suddenly, Scooby barked and his tail wagged in delight. According to Norville's stupid app, Scooby was saying "our friends are coming" and few second after that, Daphne and Fred arrived. Norville, again, took the opportunity to shove the accuracy of his damn app in my face, while Daphne thanked Scooby for his work with some cookies. That made Norville jealous (jealous of the cookies, obviously) and he finally stopped showing me how nice his nonsense app was.

Velma: Gang, our case took a surprise twist…

Fred: Wait, Velma, before you give us the details, Daphne needs to tell you guys what she has found out.

Velma: Don't tell me you met Alan, Daphne! We´ve told you to not do it!

Daphne: I didn't. On the contrary, I'm refusing his calls since our visit at Liberty, I don´t want him to know about the details we've got. Well, Liberty's bank accounts are all Applegate Bank accounts, so I reached out to Steven Applegate, Dad's partner and the owner of Applegate Bank. Steven agreed to see us in two hours. With the merger of Applegate Bank and Blake Bank right after Applegate´s bankruptcy, many of Applegate Bank's services came under the control of Blake Bank. That means: if Alan has that special Blake Bank key, that key may also work for Applegate Bank transactions and…

Velma: …and he may be the one who sent those millions to Silmido Island!

Daphne: Exactly! If we prove the secret key belongs to Alan, we will prove the Silmido bank transaction was made by him. And, who knows, we will also prove that he is responsible for other financial crimes, like the ones Sang-woo was accused of.

Shaggy: Like, I don´t know if Alan has something to do with other financial crimes, but I´m sure he is involved in murder. Velma has discovered those bloodstains are human blood, coming from several people. Scoob got weird when he was around Alan and told us “Get away! Killer!”, so… like, surely, something is wrong…

I rolled my eyes when Shaggy mentioned again that Scooby-Doo was talking throught that stupid app, but soon I ignored and continued my line of reasoning.

Velma: Unfortunately, Shaggy is right. We´ve found DNA of thirty-five victims in the samples we took, including Cho Sang-woo´s DNA. I imagine the deaths are directly related to financial issues, but I can't imagine what really happened. Shaggy suggested the possibility of being an organized crime group, maybe an international group, and I think it's plausible.

Shaggy: Like, if it's really a mafia, Alan can be the leader. He is very rich and he can access two banks to make secret transactions…

Velma: Perfect, Norville, I think Alan's profile fits a mob leader profile.

Fred: Velma, were you able to find anything about the other victims?

Velma: I´ve asked Miller to check the missing person database, as well as other databases at military installations, prisons, police stations and at immigration department. I myself will collect some civilian data from hospitals and morgues for a careful analysis.

Fred: Great. We need as much information as possible about the victims. Meanwhile, what do we know about Sang-woo?

Shaggy: Like, not much. He is from South Korea and had a green card, he was a brilliant investor and worked in four different countries and… uh… he was accused of embezzlement and fraud in those countries. Like, I don't have information about wife or children, the only family link is his mother, who is a market vendor and lives in Seoul. She reported local police that her son went missing last June.

We got surprised with all the information Shaggy gathered. He usually contributes to our cases bringing us some bags of chips. Or asking if we have coins for the chips machine.

Shaggy: C´mon, guys! Like, do you think you are the only ones who have reliable sources?

Daphne laughed and patted him on the back.

Daphne: The name of his “reliable source” is Liang Flim Flam, a chinese Interpol agent we met when we visited Tibet years ago.

Shaggy: But, like, I had to ask him all the information! It counts as a detailed investigative work!

Daphne: Of course it does, Shaggy!

Fred: Well, I think the mother doesn´t know about her son's financial crimes. If she knew, she wouldn't report police her son is missing…

Shaggy made a wait gesture with his index finger and dialed agent Flim Flam to ask the information he wanted to know. Daphne laughed again and ended the call before the agent answered.

Daphne: No, Shaggy, she doesn't know, Flim Flam had already told me. And that´s so very sad, since we will have to tell her that her son is na international embezzler and he is dead.

Daphne is the heart of the team and she always brings out the emotional side of our cases. I never cared about it at all, but this time, that detail caught me deeply.

Fred: In fact, until we find his and the others' corpses, we're not sure he's dead, Daph.

Shaggy: Like, of course they are dead, Jones, their blood splattered everywhere on that room... why would thirty people randomly bleed at the same time in one place, Fred?

Fred: I agree with you, Shags, but the law says we need the corpses to prove Sang-woo and the others are dead. By now, we only know they´re missing. And, somehow, they bled in that place.

Daphne: Fred is right, the judge will not consider “murder” without a corpse…

Fred: To find the corpses, we need to know where the victims were taken. So, I need you and Scooby to go back to Liberty building right now. You will have to make him sniff around again and show the right places.

Shaggy: What? Are you crazy, Jones? I won´t go back there alone! Like, have you forgotten how dangerous it is?

Velma: So… what's your price in food?

Shaggy gazed open-mouthed and wide-eyed when he heard the offer.

Daphne: Wait guys, Shaggy's right, it's dangerous to go back there. Besides, we will meet Mr. Applegate at his office soon, and we'll need Scooby there to sniff out Applegate Bank…

Daphne annoyed Shaggy deeply when she spoiled his chance to get free food.

Shaggy: Like, I'll take Scooby there, but my price is two boxes of cookies, three donuts, two pretzels and…

Velma: You're not going there anymore, Norville. Daphne´s right…

Shaggy: Yeah, like, but there's a price for the Applegate Bank visit too!

I rolled my eyes impatiently while Daphne laughed and paid the amount of cookies required to take Scooby to Applegate Bank. Suddenly, Miller came to us to report that he couldn't find information in those databases, so I started to search information in the civil records. To my great surprise, right after I inserted the samples´ data, the computer revealed fifteen records in hospital databases.

Fred: What do we have, Velma?

Shaggy: Like, are they alive?

Daphne: Are they okay?

When I clicked on the first record, an unpleasant feeling took controlo f every inch of my body. The reason: DNA found in one of my samples matched the DNA of an “anonymous donor” in a kidney transplant record. The transplant was done at a luxury private hospital in Boston. All other records were similar: they showed different organ transplants occurred in different hospitals, and the DNA found in my samples always matched the DNA of the “anonymous donor”.

Velma: Jinkies!

Fred: What? Oh no…

Daphne always says “Jeepers”, and Shaggy, “Zoinks”, but this time, they couldn't say anything.

Velma: They're still alive, gang… I mean, at least part of them still is.

 

[KendraKelnick]

Chapter 10​

Shaggy felt the same panic I felt, because he hid his head behind my shoulders and hugged me tightly, like a frightened child. Daphne squeezed Fred's hands and tears welled up in her eyes. I don't know what kind of body language I used to show what I felt at that moment, but I was totally speechless. The discovery meant we had at least fifteen homicides. During all my years woking in NYPD, I had never seen anything like that. For the first time in my life, I admired Captain Jones' sense of leadership, he was the only one who managed to act in that horrible moment.

Fred: Gang, look on the bright side, now we have evidence that fifteen people died there. I need you to notify these hospitals, Velma. I'm going to send my team right now to gather more details on how these organs arrived at hospitals without following protocols, and who are the donors. Plus, we need to find information about the other 20 victims. Norville, you and Scooby will go to Applegate Bank with us, but you can send the other K9s to Liberty right now. We need to know if the K9s can sniff the path the victims took there, and if they can sniff Alan at the crime scene. Daphne, you… you…

Sometimes we forget that our nosy attorney doesn´t work at any division of the NYPD, so we can´t ask her anything. That's exactly what Fred realized at that moment, but luckily Daphne was smarter and quickly thought of a way to help us.

Daphne: I'll notify Interpol, Freddy. I´ll send Velma's samples to Flim Flam and ask him to search for information about the 35 victims in the databases he can access. Shaggy can help me with this, he also knows Flim Flam.

Fred: Great, I'll notify immigration department and try to contact Seoul police.

Velma: Well, I´m sorry, but I'll have to notify FBI, Fred. Clearly, we're not dealing with a local mob or a local serial killer, we're dealing with international organ trafficking, so I think the feds have to know…

I thought putting that horrid discovery into words would make it less horrid, but the opposite happened. The discomfort I felt while admitting that people were murdered and had their organs trafficked was indescribable, and Shaggy returned his head to my shoulders and hugged me way tighter.

Daphne: I think you´re right, Vel. I think we´re not dealing with a simple embezzlement scheme anymore… or, at least, not dealing with normal scammers…

Shaggy: Like, can I notify Jesus, Buddha, Mohammed, Krishna and all religious leaders, pagan gods, priests, reverends, gurus and psychics I find on Google? ´Cause, like, we will need them, gang… we're truly dealing with the devil!

Shaggy managed to put a small laugh on our lips and dissolve the fear we were feeling at that moment. Immediately, we started our duties: Miller and I looked for information about the other victims in several databases. Emergency division split up to check hospitals and gather information. Machines we collected at Liberty were taken to the cyber crime department for analysis. Shaggy asked Crystal to lead another search at Liberty with Amber and the K9 division. Daphne and Shaggy started a video call with Agent Flim Flam in a private room, Fred notified immigration and his superiors, and during half an hour I trained my Korean on a language app, so I would be able to write an email to the Seoul police. When I finished writing e-mail, Daphne walked out of the private room speaking a fluent Korean with a Seoul police officer, so I took all the anger I felt for working in vain out on the useless email. Daphne noticed my gesture and my questioning look that asked “where the hell did you learn to speak Korean?”.

Daphne: You always tell me k-pop is trash and an useless culture, so it's totally your fault for not being able to speak Korean.

I rolled my eyes but I didn't have time to answer her, because Shaggy asked me to send the samples to agent Flim Flam. Minutes after, Fred showed up and let us know about our appointment with Mr. Applegate. I had completely forgotten about the damn visit at Applegate Bank, so I just had time to get my stuff ready and leave an "I love you, stay safe" message for Marcie.

***​

I have passed Applegate Bank thousands of times, but I had never entered that building and that was a terrible mistake I made. I have a vague notion of architecture and my notion of design comes from Ikea catalogs, but I even being a total laywoman, I have to say Applegate Bank building is the most beautiful place I've ever seen. Marble statues outside, huge and heavy bronze doors, an unique floor that I don't even know what it's made of. Inside, there were many counters, dark wood furniture and stairs, early 20th century wallpaper on walls, famous paintings, more statues made of marble, giant iron safes and perfect crystal windows. Everything little thing inside that place had an unique luxury, built by someone who got rich at the expense of others´misfortune during 1929 crisis. The only things that differed from the typical 30s design were some ATMs (not so modern ones, they seemed 20 years old, at least). There were also outdated computers, with cube-shaped green screens, and I panicked to think that I would have to search information through MS-DOS and Windows 95 data. The huge hall was empty, but we were apprehensive about walking around that place. We feared that the killer – or the mafia? – would be on the prowl and we would be ambushed. Scooby-Doo was the only one who was calm. Unlike what happened at the restaurant and at Liberty building, this time he didn't leave his tutor's leash, he didn't bark nor felt the need to sniff every corner of that place. The only abnormal thing he did was grab a plastic bottle inside a bin and chew it to pieces.

Shaggy: Hey gang, like, I think old Applegate is clean, look how calm Scoob is here. He's even playing with a bottle!

Fred: Shaggy is right, apparently there is nothing wrong here. Applegate must be a victim of Mayberry´s mob like George Blake.

Velma: I agree. Someone is using Applegate Bank for illegal activities like scams, gambling, financial pyramids and… organ trafficking.

Shaggy: Like, if that's true, this person isn't alone. Many people must be involved, including government people.

Suddenly, a man in his eighties showed up at the end of the huge hall and greeted us cordially. Daphne walked quickly and hugged him, then he came to us and introduced himself as Steven Applegate. Steven then took us to a splendid old elevator, which looked like a box made of diamond and gold. All the floors had the same beautiful architecture of the ground floor, and some of them, to my surprise, were composed by large bank vaults. The view from the top floor was beautiful, both the outside – a panoramic view of NYC – and the inside – full of relics, paintings and photos. The hallway that led us to Mr. Applegate´s office looked like a museum, its walls showed the history of Applegate Bank since its founding in 1928. There were photos of several Applegate generations with presidents and officials, old coins on pedestals, framed newspaper news and even stock market data in old notes. All that inspired trustworthiness, and demonstrated that Applegate empire, unlike Mayberry empire, was built slowly and honestly. Plus, judging by the technological precariousness of the place and the way Mr. Applegate apparently worked, he was certainly not involved in electronic financial crimes.

Daphne: Mr. Applegate, thank you so much for…

Steven: So now you´re grown up! I remember you as a little girl walking around here with your father… you're George's fourth, aren't you?

Daphne: No, I'm the fifth... the youngest...

Steven: Oh yes, the youngest! The fourth is Daisy… Dr. Daisy…

Daphne: Delilah is the forth…

Steven: Oh sure, Delilah! The one who has George's eyes...

Daphne: Yes… so, Mr. Applegate, I wanted to…

Steven: Wow, you really grew up, huh, Daphne? It's Daphne, right? I thought you were still a teenager! Tell me, do you have a boyfriend? You know, I remember the day you were born, the city was covered with snow and…

I thought that kind of conversation only happened between me and my grandparents, but at that moment I realized that was the kind of subject people in their 80s like to talk about. Mr. Applegate spent half an hour talking about his past friendship with Blake family members, meanwhile, I read the framed old newspaper on the on the walls and Shaggy took Scooby to sniff around the place. After that, we lost half an hour with Steven praising my parents ( because Daphne introduced me as “the daughter of two Nobel laureates”), asking Shaggy about his family origins, and playing with Scooby-Doo. Fortunately, when Steven did the same with Fred and dropped several hints that he would be a good son-in-law for George, Daphne got so embarrassed that she immediately ended the talk.

Daphne: Mr. Applegate, thanks for having us. I'm a lawyer and I'm working on an embezzlement case involving a stockbroker called Liberty. Well, Liberty uses Applegate bank accounts to do its banking and…

Steven: Wait a minute, are you working with the feds? Are these friends of yours feds?

Fred: No, sir, we're NYPD members…

Steven: Great! Because I don't speak to FBI without my lawyer…

The rancour in Steven's voice caught our attention.

Daphne: Did you have some kind of problem with the FBI, Mr. Applegate?

Steven: Some kind of problem? They bankrupted this bank! The feds and those fintech kids with their damn invisible coins!

Daphne: Can you give us the details, Mr. Applegate?

Steven: Well, I can´t say my current situation is not my fault. It is: I trusted the wrong people. Times have changed, internet is all over the world, people don't use banknotes and checks anymore, so I couldn't continue living in the past. Like your father, I´ve made a lot of changes in my bank, I hired the best managers and the best students from the best universities to form the team that would bring modernization to Applegate Bank. I dubbed them “VIPs”, because that was exactly what they were: the most important people in my company. The VIPs would be responsible for the digital transition at Applegate Bank… but, in the same way technology has changed the world, it has also changed people. Apparently, people are not as honorable as they were in my day. My father could measure a man's worth by the grip of his handshake, and I was terribly wrong when I did the same. I barely know how to use my e-mail, so I naively believed everything VIPs were doing digitally at Applegate network was honest. I only realized how wrong I was when my grandchildren took the company over. Millions and millions of dollars were gone, I had lots of dissatisfied customers and all the VIPs had their own fintechs doing the same business Applegate Bank does. And here I am now, on the verge of a financial collapse, while these motherfuckers have become billionaires at my expense.

Steven's heartfelt testimony fitted like a glove.

Daphne: Mr. Applegate, how the feds contributed to these events…?

Steven: The damn feds investigated Applegate Bank, but hid all the evidence of the embezzlement the VIPs had done. Apparently, the diversion of funds was done with a secret key... look, I don't know the details because I hate this damn internet, all I know is in the end they couldn't prove the VIPs were responsible for the crimes…

Velma: So they blamed you...

Steven: Exactly! I had to shoulder all the blame for the virtual financial scandals, even though I don't know the difference between an iPhone and an iPad. Moreover, they publicized the details all over the media, and I now I am a criminal… a bankrupt criminal…

Velma: While dealing with such defamation, I guess you've lost your customers, right?

Steven: Of course! Those damn fintechs took them from me…

Velma: And how are Applegate Bank´s stocks?

Steven: They´ve plummeted. If it weren´t for the amazing generosity of George Blake, I would not find ways to keep my business…

Velma: Have you received any purchase proposal since then?

Steven: Yes, all the time.

Velma: That's what I´ve imagined, Mr. Applegate…

 

[KendraKelnick]

Chapter 11​

Daphne: I'm sorry to hear that, Mr. Applegate. We are here to help you, not to defame you. We believe that you may be one of Liberty´s victims…

Steven: Oh, Liberty, sure, if I remember right, one of my VIPs was this company´s director… Michael? Jake? Well, I don't care to remember… after all the things those bastards have done to my business, I just want them to burn in hell... Liberty is always causing me problems…

Velma: What kind of problems, Mr. Applegate? And how often?

Steven: Money laundering. All the time. Thousands and thousands of dollars appear in Liberty's accounts without explanation.

Fred: Do you have an idea about the money´s origin?

Steven: It's certainly not coming from good, honest work, son. I'm afraid to know… maybe from drugs, casinos, crimes…

Velma: Did the feds take any kind of attitude about it?

Steven: They did! They destroyed my business right after receiving millions from the mobsters… then they ignored the money laundering…

Fred: When you say “mobsters”… are they really a mafia?

Steven: I can´t prove, son, but I suspect so.

Daphne: Can you mention the names of the VIPs involved with Liberty?

Daphne prepared a small notepad and positioned the pen to write down the names. However, suddenly, Mr. Applegate got terrified. In a panic, he looked around searching for cameras or recorders in our belongings and started stuttering.

Steven: N…no…no! No, Daphne, look… I'm not accusing anyone of an… any crimes, I …I just…well, sorry, I can't accuse them without proofs, you know?…these… these kids… they… they know where I live, they know my family… and they also know your family, Daphne… I don't want to get in trouble, do you understand me?

Daphne: Mr. Applegate, you have no reasons to fear, all the information you´ll share with us will be kept confidential. Please, I need you to tell me who the VIPs are.

Mr. Applegate started sweating, showing that he was afraid to report the ones involved.

Steven: Well… all right, Daphne, we're done here…

Daphne: But, Mr. Applegate! You´ve said you´d help us!

Steven: I'm helping you, honey, my silence is the best help I can give you...

Daphne: Please, sir...

Steven: I'm sorry, Daphne, we're done here. If you need further information, contact my lawyers…

Fred: Mr. Applegate, our investigation involves not only the financial crimes, it also involves several murders, so your help would be essential to solve…

Steven: You can ask my lawyers anything you want, son. Call the number on this card…

Velma: Mr. Applegate, if you don't want to talk about the VIPs, that's fine. Would you mind, at least, answering some questions with “yes” or “no”?

Steven nodded, but his face showed some concern.

Velma: Do you know Cho Sang-woo?

Mr. Applegate sighed as he realized there would be no alternative other than answer.

Steven: No.

I quickly analyzed his facial expressions and found nothing to prove he was lying.

Velma: Right. Do you know Alan Mayberry?

Mr. Applegate showed some apprehension. Before answering, he looked around again for hidden cameras that could record his anwser. Finally, he sighed and answered the question.

Steven: Yes.

His facial expression confirmed once again that he was telling the truth.

Fred: Is Alan Mayberry one of the VIPs?

Steven nodded quickly, then shook his head.

Steven: No.

The quick nod indicated that Steven was lying. That revealed Alan Mayberry was one of Applegate Bank's VIPs, and certainly he was involved in the crimes cited by Mr. Applegate.

Steven: All right, kids, that's all.

Daphne realized that Steven wanted to get rid of us, so she quickly maneuvered her cell phone and set its alarm clock for the next minute. While Fred thanked him for his time, the alarm clock´s song rang, Daphne pretended she was answering a call and walked away. Meanwhile, Daphne sent me a message that said “Fred will distract Mr. Applegate while we look for more clues around the bank. Let´s pretend we have an emergency. Please, agree with everything I´ll say”. Shaggy apparently received the same instruction on his cell phone while he was walking around with Scooby-Doo. After a few minutes, Daphne returned, pretending to be in a hurry.

Daphne: Gang, there's an emergency at the department and we need to be there right now… Freddie, dear, they told me they've sent you some messages and they need your answer…

Shaggy and I agreed and said goodbye to Mr. Applegate. It took Fred a while to understand Daphne's plan, but he started acting as soon as he read the message on his cell phone. Apparently, Mr. Applegate didn't really comprehend technology, since he didn't suspect that we were faking everything.

Fred started talking about sports with Mr. Applegate and, luckily, he took the bait and started talking uncontrollably about his memories. The rest of us took the elevator down, Daphne pressed the tenth floor button and the doors closed, Shaggy then started to shake and held my arm.

Shaggy: Like, Daph, these places have cameras, don´t you know? And alarms! And these shit will warn the VIPs! Didn´t you see how Mr. Applegate was afraid to denouce them? They must be really dangerous!

Daphne: I know, Shaggy, that´s why I'm taking the most computer expert I know with me… he will know how to disable these cameras and alarms…

Shaggy: Oh, Im glad to hear that! Where is he?

Daphne: It's you, silly.

Shaggy got even more nervous when he realized that the safety of our plan depended on him. Before I could comfort him, the elevator doors opened and revealed a floor full of modern computers and screens.

Daphne: And here is the place where my specialist is going to show us all his talent. Come on, Shags, I need you to disable the alarms and cameras of 3rd, 4th, 5th, 6th and 7th floors ASAP. We have little time.

Shaggy was still shaking and holding my arm when Daphne finished asking. He looked at me for some kind of emotional support.

Velma: Come on Norville, it's like one of your action games, you can do it!

I took Scooby-Doo's leash and Shaggy started his work. As I´ve said before, Norville is an unknown tech-genius, in a few minutes in front of one of the computers, he disabled all the security systems of the floors we were going to visit. Meanwhile, Daphne texted Fred asking if he could still hold a conversation with Mr. Applegate for a few more minutes, and he replied: "we are discussing 1972 season NFL´s playoffs, you have enough time until we get to 2021 season". With the security down and Mr. Applegate entertained, we headed to the floors Daphne had mentioned. When the elevator doors opened, I was startled to see four long rows of safes stretching from floor to the ceiling.

Velma: What exactly are we looking for, Daph?

Daphne: We won't look for anything, Velma, Scooby will… come on, Scoob!

Daphne released Scooby from the leash and gave him a cookie. While he chewed it, she opened her bag and took out two plastic bags with scraps of cloth inside, then handed them to Shaggy.

Daphne: When Scooby attacked Alan at the restaurant, I took off a little piece of cloth from his suit. I need you to make Scooby sniff Alan out in these vaults, Shaggy. I also brought one of Velma´s samples…

Velma: Hey, stealing evidence is a crime!

Daphne: …I know, but it was for a good reason, Vel! Shaggy, I also need you to make Scooby search for blood or dead bodies around here…

I got a little mad by the theft, but I recognize that Daphne's reasoning was quick and brilliant. Shaggy nodded and started the training procedures that made Scooby understand he should search for Alan at that location. Scooby ran down the first aisle and we followed him, but he was calm and didn't signal any discovery. We went up to the next floor, also full of safes, and the same thing happened: no trace of Alan or blood. The fifth and sixth floors were bigger than the others and had more aisles, but Scooby didn't find any clues either. When we got to the seventh floor, Scooby started yelping, scratching the elevator doors before they opened. Shaggy hid himself behind us, fearing what he would find in that place. Fortunately, there was nothing but extremely luxurious office rooms with high technology equipment inside. Scooby ran carefully sniffed out each one of the doors.

Shaggy: Girls, like, I think we´ve found the VIPs!

Daphne and I agreed and followed the K9. Each one of the offices had a door with a brass nameplate, and I photographed them all with my cell phone camera, assuming those were the names of the VIPs. Scooby stopped in front of one of the doors and stared, signaling there was a clue at that location. Shaggy approached and pushed the door to make the K9 enter enter the office. The sign at the door said “Brayman Leary, PhD” and I photographed it as soon as we walked in. Daphne carefully opened drawers and cupboards while looking for clues, and Shaggy showed Scooby the scrap of Alan's suit again. After sniffing, Scooby walked around a big, leather office chair, then sit down and looked at his tutor.

Shaggy: Yeah, girls, Scooby sniffs Alan in this room.

Daphne: Great! Now we need to find something that proves this is his office. Otherwise, we're just proving he was here for some reason.

Fred's message saying: "Old Applegate wants to go, hurry up" added extra pounds of anxiety to my already overburdened heart. We started moving quickly through the room, yet still being careful to not spoil the scene or take things from its original places. We looked behind pictures and under tables, we checked the cabinets and drawers for false bottoms and we even tried to open the old safe… and we found nothing but piles of papers with endless statistical data.

Daphne: We will have to take this computer with us, we have no choice.

Velma: Daphne, are you crazy? That's a crime!

Daphne: It's just for a few hours, we'll return it before the bank opens tomorrow morning!

Velma: Oh, sure, first we commit a bank robbery, then a break-in, are you crazy? We don't even have a search warrant!

Daphne: Velma, can you think of anything better right now?

Ten more pounds of anxiety hit my convalescent heart, and the pressure made my hands tremble. “We can steal the hard drive”, “we can copy the data to a pen drive”, “we can remotely access the computer”, were some quick ideas that popped into my mind, but panic and fear didn´t let me act. Finally, the best idea came to me: “we can use Scooby-Doo”.

Velma: Jinkies! When Scooby attacked Alan that day, you´ve mentioned that maybe Alan had something inside his suit, like drugs, for example… and probably you were right! Scooby must have sniffed something out inside Alan's suit… perhaps, that object is here!

Daphne: Excellent idea, Vel! Shaggy, make Scooby sniff the piece of suit again, please.

Scooby did what Shaggy told him to do, then he walked calmly across the office and barked once, indicating he was feeling that scent exactly in that place.

Shaggy: Like, I don´t think so, Vel… wait, let me open the app and see what Scooby is trying to tell us…

Daphne: That´s it! That day, the app showed Scooby was telling us to be careful with a killer!

Velma: Oh, that ******* app again? We don´t have time for ********!

Shaggy showed us his cellphone screen and we read “I found it, Shaggy” at the stupid app. I rolled my eyes and sighed out loud, but Daphne didn´t seem to care about my impatience. Instead, she handed Shaggy my stolen sample and caressed Scooby´s head.

Daphne: You did it, Scoob, well done! Now, please, would you tell us where the bad guys are?

Daphne motioned Shaggy to make Scooby sniff the sample out, and when he did, the dog became so agitated that he knocked over one of the chairs and started scratching it.

Velma: Jinkies! So, that day, he sniffed blood in Alan´s body?

Shaggy: Uh… like, there's something here, girls!

Scooby got so angry that Shaggy had trouble to keep him on the leash. The app revealed that his barks meant “Killer”, “Get away” and “My nose hurts”. Seconds after the “translation”, Fred texted us saying “make the dog stop, for hell´s sake!”. Suddenly, Scooby stopped barking and started to sneeze and put his paws on his nose. Daphne and I approached to help him, but he escaped from our arms and started scratching the chair again. Daphne and I groped the overturned chair for clues, while Shaggy pushed the agitated Scooby-Doo away to make him stop barking and growling. “Applegate and I are on our way down, get out immediately!”, was the message that appeared on Daphne's cell phone screen. I had no idea about what to do, so I started photographing the chair from all angles, maybe I could calmly analyze the photos later and discover something that haste, fear and anxiety didn't allow me to see at that moment. When Daphne she ran her fingers along the underside of the seat upholstery, she broke one of her nails and groaned. I touched the spot where her nail broke and realized there was something under it, so I immediately grabbed a letter opener to reach the object. “We´ve found something, please keep Applegate in the building for some minutes”, were the words Daphne typed with an impressive speed while I carefully ripped the fabric. When I slit the fabric, Scooby scratched the floor and pulled Shaggy, trying to get closer to sniff the chair.

Daphne: Shaggy, please go down with Scooby and wait for us in the van. If you guys stay here, Scooby will bark again Applegate will discover our plan!

Shaggy nodded and used all the strength he had to pull the dog back to the elevator. I tried to put my hand into the slit, but my short, plump fingers couldn't reach the object. Daphne (who has thinner, longer fingers than mine, and also long nails) did the same, but using the same fine motor skills she used to pull the mysterious business card out of the coin dispenser. Then she pulled out… another mysterious business card! Daphne and I looked at each other, immediately, we placed the clue inside a sample plastic bag and we quickly concealed the fabric slit with paper clips. After, we left the room and hurriedly went down to meet Shaggy and Scooby-Doo in the van. After a few minutes, Fred joined us.

Fred: So, gang, did you find anything important?

Velma: Actually, we´ve found something amazing, Fred, you won't believe it! Daphne brought one of the blood samples and Scooby sniffed out a trail to an office. He signaled there was a clue inside a chair, then we found a business card just like the one we´ve found at Liberty!

Daphne: The day Scooby attacked Alan, I took a piece of his suit as a sample. I used this piece to make Scooby sniff out Alan in the same room where we´ve found the card, which proves Alan was there.

Velma: Or proves that, on the day of the incident, Scooby sniffed out the same card inside Alan's suit pockets.

Shaggy: Like, we looked for other clues in the office, but we couldn´t find anything… only names on the doors.

Velma: And I photographed all them. We believe they are the real names of the VIPs.

Shaggy: Like, Scooby-Doo was calm during all the time, his mood has only changed when we asked him to sniff the blood sample.

Velma: He behaved in the same strange way he did at the restaurant and at Liberty building. That´s why I think there is a visible connection between Alan, Liberty´s secret room where we´ve found blood and Applegate Bank´s office where we´ve found this card. We just don't know what is the link…

Daphne: Or do we know? The link is clearly the card. Probably Alan had the card inside his pockets…

Shaggy: Like, but Liberty´s card was found by mistake! Scooby didn´t find it… he has found the secret creepy fridge…

Daphne: But isn´t it such a coincidence that two identical, unusual cards were found in two different places? Places that Alan has once attended: Mr. Applegate said he knows him, and Alan is Liberty´s client. Am I thinking right? Or it´s just my immagination making me see some kind of connection?

Velma: I mocked about the card when you´ve found it, Daph, but now I don´t think you´re making up things in your mind… I see a clear connection between the card and the other suspicious clues… but we don't know the meaning of this card yet.

Daphne: And you, Freddie, did you discover something during your long conversation with Mr. Applegate?

Fred: The only thing I´ve found out is that there is someone in the world who likes football more than I do.

 

[KendraKelnick]

Chapter 12​

Fred: So Daphne was right all the time? I think it's time to make her be part of our NYPD team. She's way better than us, Velma.

I nodded and confirmed with a smile, Daphne just blushed to hear the compliment. Fred took one hand off the steering wheel and caressed her face, trying to make her stop blushing. Daphne tried to disguise her shyness and shuffled her papers nervously, looking for the card found at Applegate Bank. When the card was found, she handed it to Fred's free hand, and Scooby-Doo stomped on me and Shaggy, trying to reach the card and smell it once more.

Velma: I think the card is really the key to solving this mystery. See, Scooby can't stop sniffing it out, and he's a K9, there´s something odd!

Fred: The card must be the key to solving the murder mystery, because the financial mystery we´ve already solved when we talked to Mr. Applegate. It is clear that these VIPs are a mafia, they make illegal activities to get money, and elaborate scams to get rid of their competitors.

Daphne: Gang, what if that card is the mafia's business card? I don't know, it must be some kind of code they use between them… those symbols on the cards must have some special meaning…

Daphne's idea was so ingenious that we all looked at her in awe.

Velma: Jinkies! What if the numbers are geographic coordinates?

Shaggy: Geographic coordinates of, like, Silmido, South Korea?

Shaggy showed us Silmido's geographic coordinates at his cell phone screen, and the final four numbers of them (the seconds and the minutes of the latitude and the longitude) were exactly the numbers that appeared on the back of the card Applegate Bank card: 2406-2630.

Shaggy: Like, but I don´t know why the hell the cordinates´ degrees are missing… like, 37º and 126º…

Velma: Maybe because whoever has made the card didn't need to know the degrees…?

Shaggy: …because that person is in a place that has the same degrees of latitude and longitude?

Shaggy then pointed the geographic coordinates of Seoul, and they had the same degrees of latitude and longitude as Silmido: 37º and 126º.

Fred: So, the answer to our mystery is really at this ******* island?

Daphne: Wait, gang, I don't remember seeing exactly these numbers on the card I´ve found at Liberty machine... If I remember right, it has a different number sequence… the first one was 8!

Daphne went through her papers to find the first card, but she couldn't find it.

Daphne: Jeepers, I think I´ve left it at home!

Fred: So, let's go there and get it to confirm.

Fred turned the next corner to go to Daphne's apartment and get the card.

Velma: Gang, I have to say that this can be just a coincidence… we need more analysis before drawing any conclusion. These numbers can be anything, a phone number, a geographic coordinate, an encrypted phrase…

Fred: …or the secret password that VIPs use to make illegal bank transfers that no one can trace.

Velma: Jinkies! Good idea, Fred! That card was found at Liberty's casino, a very suitable place to make to launder illegal money.

Shaggy: Like, I love our gang!

Daphne: If the numbers of the cards are different, can be both things. One card can be the password, and the other, the place where the mafia operates.

Shaggy: Wait, gang, like, the first thing we need to find out is why the hell Scooby-Doo sniffs out dead bodies at this seemingly defenseless card. And why he gets so agitated when he´s next to it.

Velma: Well said, Shaggy. We still don't quite understand this.

Daphne: Plus, Scooby sniffed out the victims' blood on Applegate card, not on the card found at Liberty. I think this shows that the cards are similar, but not exactly the same.

We were interrupted by Shaggy's cell phone playing Bob Marley´s song “Is this love?” while a picture of Crystal appeared on the screen. Automatically, he blushed and tried to mute the music to not make it more evident that he was having an affair with the Golden Retriever´s tutor. A video call started and Crystal greeted us before starting to speak.

Crystal: Hey, I´m glad you're all together! We ended the investigation here at Liberty. Just take a look at this, how odd!

Crystal pointed the screen of her cell phone at the mini-bar´s, and inside it, we could see a brick wall covering the secret passage. We got surprised when we saw that.

Daphne: Jeepers! How did they close that so fast?

Shaggy: Zoinks! Like, gang, it means they know we were there! They must be watching us!

Fred: They can build as many walls as they want, we have a concrete proof that they´ve committed serious crimes, and we'll get them all.

Velma: Well, the problem is that they´ve just destroyed our crime scene, Fred! I hope the clues we´ve found inside that place lead us to some great conclusion, because the fresh cement won´t let me get more forensic evidences…

Crystal: There is more, gang. The elevator now has a single Button, and it only takes us to the underground casino. We couldn't go up because there are neither stairs, nor other elevators. By the way, did you know that this elevator is armored? The agents couldn't even open the upper part of it to go up the buildng throught the elevator cables. So, we weren't able to take the dogs upstairs and get the Frostbit machines you´ve mentioned.

Shaggy: Like, having a single button is a huge improvement, Crystal, believe us!

Velma: And I'm glad to hear you guys didn't have to go upstairs and play those crazy games.

Fred: Did the dogs find anything, Crystal?

Crystal: Not much… only the evidences Scooby-Doo had already found. They sniffed out a trail to the mini-bar, then returned to the front door. All the dogs have signaled the same thing…

Daphne: So, it´s possible that the victims arrived at Liberty alive, then lost their lives inside the secret passage?

Velma: Certainly. It would be very difficult to carry adult dead bodies into that mini-bar.

Shaggy: Zoinks! Unless…

Fred: What?

Shaggy looked at all of us in silence and held my arm. Immediately, we understood what he meant, and I felt a shiver run down my spine.

Daphne: Unless… the victims… arrived… in smaller parts…? Or… they arrived alive and entire but... left… part by part...?

The idea was so horrid that even Crystal got speechless. Fortunately, our leader broke the disturbing silence that invaded the place.

Fred: Ok, gang, at least we know that all the victims were there, and that's a big blemish on Liberty's public image…

Daphne: We need to find out if Alan was there, right? Scooby, Shaggy, would you do this for a box of cookies?

Daphne took the suit sample out of her bag and handed Shaggy, but he paid more attention at the cookie box's flavor specifications. Scooby bit the box and Shaggy struggled to get it out of his huge mouth with only one hand, while the other hand held the cellphone and the sample.

Crystal: Great! Amber and I are waiting for you here at Liberty. I was going to ask you to lend me Norville, I won't be able to put all the dogs into the vans alone.

Velma: If you don't mind, I'd like to analyse the trail the dogs have sniffed out. The main hall was smelling like bleach, maybe luminol will reveal some drops of blood there. I'll ask Miller to meet me there in half an hour...

Daphne squeezed my hand and looked at me seriously. She blushed and her eyes flitted from me to Jones, and I understood that she was asking me to not leave her alone with Fred.

Velma: ...I mean, I´ll do it after I get the card at Daphne's apartment.

Daphne thanked me over text message and Fred changed the way again to leave Norville and Scooby-Doo at Liberty. Then, we headed to Blake Tower. Fred didn't want to park in Blake Tower's garage (because parking in Blake Tower´s garage meant: showing IDs, license plate and driver´s licenses to security guards, losing 15 precious minutes with the guards´questions and in the end, every Blake alive being aware that Fred Jones parked his car in Blake Tower for some reason) , so he left Daphne and I in front of the building and decided to wait for us in the van. Daphne talked uncontrollably about the way Fred touched her face, and I answered her monosyllabically while I was reading Marcie´s messages. When the elevator finally arrived at the correct floor, Daphne opened the door and we were both startled by what we saw.

Alan: Hi Daph! Wow, you're late! I usually see you here before 7pm, where were you?

The adrenaline of seeing an alleged murderer mobster in front of us left me in a state of shock. I hesitated to enter the apartment and looked around for objects that I could use as a weapon. Daphne was braver, feigned tranquility and dared to face Alan Mayberry.

Daphne: Alan! What are you doing here? This is invasion, and invasion is a crime! I never gave you the permission to come!

Alan: Oh, sorry Daph, I came here without your permission because I thought we were close enough for it. After all, you´ve visited my office without my permission, you´ve ripped my suit without my permission, you´ve violated my financial privacy without my permission… that´s why I thought I could do the same to you…

Daphne: Alan, I can explain…

Alan: Are you scared, Daphne? Why?

I was scared too. Alan came in our direction and gave us a menacing look that made me sure he would kill us.

Daphne: I'm not scared! Listen, Alan…

Alan: That's exactly why I'm here, Daphne. I want to hear what you have to say about it all. After all, I can sue you for that. You're a lawyer, you know it better than I...

Daphne: I'm sorry if I´ve crossed some boundaries, but all I did was to gather evidence for your lawsuit against Liberty!

Alan: But… will you really sue Liberty? Or will you sue me? After all, you took off a piece of cloth from my suit, it makes me think that you consider me a suspect…

Daphne: I know what I´ve done was not right, but I'm a lawyer, I need to see the big picture in order to make better decisions about your case…

Alan: So that's why you were listening all the ******** old Applegate has to say about me, right? Then you´ve gone through Applegate safes and offices… hmm, I think it´s a crime, isn´t it? I mean… is it vandalism? Invasion of private property? Theft? What do you think, lawyer?

Daphne: I di… didn´t… I didn´t do that!

Alan: Oh, Daphne, so beautiful, so naive… do you really think that a hippie gamer would be able to interrupt the security system of one of the biggest banks of the United States?

Daphne: So, you're one of the VIPs that Mr. Applegate has mentioned?

Alan: Do you think I´m a VIP?

Daphne: It doesn´t matter what I think… I assumed that by the things you´re telling me…you know things that only a VIP would know...

Alan: Why? Did you see my name at those doors? Did Steven tell you about me? Or was it just that stupid dog that sniffed out the piece of cloth you illegally took from my suit?

Daphne: Alan, I'm not accusing you, I´ve just asked if you're a VIP...

Alan: Oh, you are not accusing me! So why did you decide to put your father's lawyers after me?

Daphne: All I did was hear Dad´s point of view about your case, and he told me you had stolen his money… after that, he has certainly informed his lawyers to take some action...

Alan: Oh, “he told you I´d stolen his money”, right… he only did that because you first violated my financial privacy and showed him the receipts, right?

Daphne: Alan, the receipts prove you did that! I know the method I used was wrong, but it doesn´t change the fact that you had stolen my father´s money and had lied to me about this lawsuit! I could have asked NYPD to arrest you immediately for this crime, but instead, I declined your calls because I'm trying understand this mystery better before taking some action...

Daphne was brave enough to raise her voice against Alan and show how angry she was. Alan faced the harsh accusations in silence.

Daphne: Look, I'm not accusing you of anything, the evidences are doing that! I really want to help you and Dad, and it will only be possible if you be honest with me right now. No secrets between lawyer and client, ok? This case is getting more and more confusing and serious, so your help is essential to solve it.

Daphne managed to calm down not only Alan, but me as well. The situation became less frightening, and I was finally able to think of a different outcome than my body (and Daphne's) killed on that millionaire marble floor.

Daphne: Tell me the truth, please. Did Liberty really steal your money?

Alan: Yes.

Daphne: How much?

Alan: Two million.

Daphne: Did Liberty really steal 36 million from my dad?

Alan sighed and rolled his eyes impatiently, showing he was uncomfortable with the question.

Daphne: Alan, I'm sorry, but I have enough evidence that proves the opposite. And my NYPD friends have a very different theory than the version you´ve told me, so please, I need you to be honest. Please, let´s solve this mystery now! If you don't tell me, unfortunately, you will face the legal consequences that Liberty will surely suffer...

Alan sighed once more and started to speak.

Alan: Your father never used Liberty's services, I was the son of a ***** who took his money to pay Liberty. I lost a lot of money with cryptocurrencies… I was in huge debt and that was the only alternative I´ve found to recover all I lost. I didn't tell you because I had the intention to return the money soon. And if it weren't for you meddling ones, George wouldn't even suspect...

Daphne: If you were so in debt, how did you manage to invest 2 million in Liberty?

Alan: I owed Liberty a huge amount of money, but they owed me too. Many of my investments were dumbly lost by Liberty´s managers, so I'm claiming back the price of their irresponsibility

Daphne: You mean: the amount you took from your clients and now you have to pay them back, right?

Daphne confronted him with the information the cybercrime department gave us. Alan's eyes widened, showing he was impressed that Daphne knew so many details.

Alan: Yeah, apparently I won't be able to hide anything from you. That's it, I need to return the money to my clients. I can't make Liberty to pay me amicably, so I'm resorting to legal means.

Daphne: Any other secret? What about Cho Sang-woo? Was he the one who lost your money?

Alan: Yes. He made my money disappear.

Daphne: Can you explain how he did it if he's been missing for almost a year?

Alan: It was way before he disappeared…

Daphne: So why you´re only suing Liberty now?

Alan sighed, and that was a possible evidence that he was lying.

Alan: It was a desperate decision… As I told, I needed to pay my clients, and I couldn´t raise enough money…

Daphne: And why didn´t you use the 36 million you stole from my dad? After all, you´ve transferred that amount…uh… about a month ago?

Alan sighed once more, crossed his arms, but he didn´t answer the question. I could see he was kind of nervous, yet his face was struggling to not let it so evident.

Daphne: Alan, you´re lying! I can´t help you if you lie to me! Tell me! We know Dad´s 36 million and your 2 million were transferred to several Applegate Bank accounts at a mysterious island called Silmido, in South Korea! Did you do that? If so, why? Because I know it wasn't Sang-woo who did…

Alan: Look, Daphne, I don't have all the answers...

Daphne: So why did you mention the island when you told me about your case? You knew about the money transfer, just tell me why and how!

Alan: I know because I worked for Blake Bank and Applegate Bank, ok?I know Liberty´s owner in person, I know the investments that his clients make… is there anything illegal about that?

Daphne: So it means you're one of the VIPs, right?

Alan: Is being a VIP illegal?

Daphne: According to Mr. Applegate, yes. He´s told us the VIPs ruined his business.

Alan chuckled, making fun of what he'd just heard.

Alan: Daphne, Daphne, so beautiful, so naive… We're in America! Since when is free competition a crime in this country?

Daphne: That's not what Mr. Applegate told us…

Alan: I bet he didn't tell you how he went bankrupt with wild speculation. Or did you really believe in the version in which he was a poor victim of it all?

Daphne: I believe in the version that says the VIPs stole Steven´s money to invest in illegal activities, then they used Applegate Bank to launder their money… also, their fintechs benefited from Applegate financial scandals…

Alan: The fintechs were successful because the clients realized that Steven was creating a speculative bubble...

Daphne: Steven can´t understand technology, Alan! How could he do that? It´s clear that the VIPs took advantage of this fact and…

Alan: …just like your father took advantage of his bankruptcy, bought all Applegate´s stock and merged Applegate Bank into Blake Bank! Tell me, is that a crime? That's how business works, Daphne, the best companies eliminate the the worst ones… ask your dad! Unless you think he's also a "criminal" like the VIPs...

Suddenly, that menacing look returned to Alan´s eyes again. Daphne was speechless for a moment and looked at me asking for help.

Velma: Thanks for the explanation, Mr. Mayberry. It's good to hear the facts from a different point of view. As a member of NYPD, I analysed your testimony and I assumed that there must be some misunderstanding. Apparently, there is nothing wrong with the VIPs…

Alan: Certainly not.

Daphne: Okay, no more questions. Right, Velma? I think Alan has properly answered all the doubts we had… RIGHT, VELMA?

Daphne emphasized my name and looked at me angrily, expecting me to agree with her. When I looked at her, she looked quickly at the clues and paper she had in her hands, and I understood she was afraid of Alan seeing them.

Velma: Yes. And we need to go now, right, Daphne?

Daphne: Yes! We have an appointment now, Alan, sorry, I can't stay... can we meet tomorrow for a coffee or something?

Alan: Appointment? It's almost 8 pm!

Daphne: Oh! it's an… appointment… uh… with our high school friends… for… uh…our graduation´s 10th anniversary, you know?… and now I have to go and I need to lock the apartment…

Alan: Are you trying to hide something from me, Daph?

Alan was frightening and menacing again, and once more the terrible image of me and Daphne murdered on the floor became a possibility in my mind.

Daphne: Hiding? No! It's not a secret! … it's just… a private event, you know? Just for the ones… uh… from Crystal Cove High, class of 2011, so… sorry, we can´t take you with us…

Alan: Private event? Well, seems to me that you are making up dull excuses to cover a secret up…

Alan seriously gazed at us, and that made Daphne freeze. Then, he approached her and looked at the paper she had in her hands. In a deep panic, I backed two steps and scanned him up and down for guns, knives, or anything that he could use to hurt us.

Alan: Come on, Daph, a lawyer can´t hide secrets from her client! And we are already quite close, you invaded my privacy without my permission, I invaded your apartment… now we just need to be honest with each other…

Daphne: I´ve already told you, Alan, Velma and I have an appointment…

Alan: DON´T LIE TO ME!

Alan raised his voice and gripped Daphne's right arm. I could see fear in her eyes and I felt frustrated for not helping her. Inevitably, I started to think about rational, successful methods to kill a man a foot taller than me (and several pounds heavier, and infinitely stronger, too).

Daphne: I'm not lying Alan, let me go!

Alan: Now I'm the one who asks the questions, Daphne. Are you hiding something from me?

Daphne: Alan, you're hurting me!

Alan: Yes or no? Answer me!

Alan's harsh, loud words startled both us. Daphne sighed, and with na incredible courage, she did what he wanted.

Daphne: No.

Alan: So, what is this in your hands? Let me see!

Velma: Alan, take your hands off her immediately, or I'll have to call the police department! You're crossing the line!

The phrase seemed much more effective inside my head, and luckily, it had an effect. Alan let go of Daphne's arm and started to laugh.

Alan: Oh, I'm sorry, I forgot NYPD was here! Don't worry, agent, my lawyer and I are very close, I would never hurt her! I just want to hear the truth...

Daphne: These are bank receipts and lawsuit´s details, Alan, there is no secret here…

Daphne flipped through the stack of paper quickly and nonchalantly, trying to make him give up looking at them sheet by sheet. I knew the card found at Applegate Bank was among those sheets, but I couldn't think of any strategy to hide it.

Alan: No, not like that, lawyer honey! Show me paper by paper… I want to see all the details… after all, if there is no secret, you won´t mind showing them…

Daphne looked at me in trouble. With no other alternative, she took the first paper from the stack and handed it to Alan.

Alan: Ok, a deposit receipt! From Liberty to accounts at Silmido Island… what did you write here? Come on, I want details!

Daphne: "The secret key doesn't belong to Sang-woo"...

Alan: Ok, Liberty's secret key… it means nothing, after all… come on, next paper!

Daphne handed him another sheet against her will.

Velma: Mr. Mayberry, Daphne and I really need to go. We can meet tomorrow at NYPD, and I´m sure she will show you all the details you want…

Alan laughed again and made a mocking gesture at what I said. In the end, I felt more ridiculous and useless than I was already feeling.

Alan: Noooo, I've already seen those sheets! My bank transactions, my loans, my debts... let me see the other ones, c´mon...

While he said that, he discarded about six sheets of paper from Daphne's stack without even looking at them. Daphne panicked and her hands were trembling, by that, I understood that the next sheets had details we didn´t want to share with him.

Alan: And this one? “30 Frostbit 1000 machines, 23 slot machines…”, what the hell is that?

Daphne: These are the objects we´ve found at Liberty building this morning…

Alan: And what does it mean?

Daphne: It means exactly what you're reading Alan, just interpret it...

The answer irritated Alan, so he gripped Daphne's arm again and glared at her, threatening to do something worse with her if she cracked wise again.

Velma: It's a forensic report, describing what we´ve found at Liberty. The amount of slot machines and bitcoin miners, the next sheet has the exact amount of money we´ve found at the slot machines…

I played it smart and answered him with as little confidential details as possible. I didn´t expect my strategy to work, I just wanted to protect Daphne from Mayberry's anger.

Alan: Agent, please, let my lawyer talk, I'm sure she knows the details I want to hear...

Daphne: What details do you want to hear? That Liberty has an illegal casino? That it steals its clients and invests in cryptocurrencies? Or that it must be a sinister private club that plays weird games?

Alan mockingly applauded after the answer.

Alan: Very good! I knew you were the best lawyer in NY! You´ve discovered all this by your own in less than a day, wow! So, come on, I want more, show me how smart you are!

Daphne looked at me with tears in her eyes. By the color of the header paper I concluded that the next sheet would be one of the blood samples´ exam.

Alan: Come on, Daph! What is this, a blood test? Whose exam is this?

Daphne: It's a sample of blood drops that we´ve found… at… at…

Velma: At Liberty's elevator!

My calm answer helped us sustain the lie.

Velma: Actually, Mr. Mayberry, we´ve sprayed luminol inside the elevator andm all around the lobby because we smelled bleach, then we´ve found some strange stains and the tests confirmed it's human blood...

Luckily, he believed me.

Alan: So, a crime happened there…?

Velma: Actually, we can't say that. The stains were very small and isolated from each other, they can be anything, like: an injured person took the elevator, for example… after all, it's a casino, certainly some fights happen there.

Fortunately, he believed again.

Alan: All right, next sheet…

I knew the next ones would be way more compromising. And by my life experience, I knew scientific language causes sleep, boredom, and inattention in normal people. So, I did the same thing I usually do when I want to repel people: I spoke Science.

Velma: Oh, glad you asked, that's my area. I´ve dated the samples using a radioactive carbon isotope, then I did mass spectrometry with an accelerator just to find out the radioactive decay was not enough, haha, can you believe how stupid I am? Well, in the end I diluted the sample to try it throught spectrophotometry and…

Fortunately, it worked once again and Alan didn't pay attention to neither what I said nor the details of the papers. I interrupted my explanation when I realized the card was in the middle of the next two sheets, then I took the opportunity to end the conversation.

Velma: Well, that's all we've found so far, Mr. Mayberry. If it is of your interest, I can forward all the information to your email address. Now, we end here, Daphne and I are late…

Alan: Thanks, agent, you're dismissed! But I'm not done with my lawyer yet. Come on, Daphne, there are still three sheets left, you owe me the details…

Velma: Mr. Mayberry, I emphasize that we´ve showed you all the information! And I can send you th…

Alan: Shhh, agent, please, don't say anything! Now it´s Daphne´s turn… come on, honey, show me those sheets...

Daphne's looked at me in panic. That was the right time to fight the son of a ***** and get the hell away, but surely we both wouldn't have neither the strength nor the proper training to stop him. Daphne decided to continue my plan to speak using scientific language, so she mentioned two dozen difficult scientific names – and d̶u̶n̶c̶e̶ Alan didn't even realize that none of them made sense. He kept asking for more and more details in that scary, psycho way, so… suddenly, Daphne smiled. Then gestured, and ruffled her hair, and smiled again, and said some legal words about the investigation, and told silly stories about Law college, and laughed, and smiled again, and mentioned Liberty's investigation, and... I finally realized she was using the kind of strategy that never fails: she was flirting with him. I didn´t even have time to think that was a stupid idea: apparently, Alan was way more stupider and started smiling at her after some minutes ̶(̶m̶e̶n̶ ̶a̶r̶e̶ ̶s̶u̶c̶h̶ ̶i̶d̶i̶o̶t̶s̶)̶. After that silly game, I thought he would forget about the remaining paper, but some lapse of consciousness made him grab the sheets from her hands and… smile. In fact, it was a silly laugh, like a dog that grabs your keys then pleadingly looks at you with its eyes saying: “c´mon, come and get!”. Daphne laughed and grabbed the paper back, and I had to watch that puerile game until the moment Alan caught the stack back and turned his back to her. Fortunately, Daphne didn´t let him start reading the first line, suddenly, she tugged at his tie until his lips met hers. Her left hand released his tie and grabbed the back of his neck, trapping Mayberry in an intense kiss. Then her right hand pulled the remaining sheets away from his hand, and used an impressive agility to release the mystery card from the stack and drop it on the floor. I surreptitiously moved some steps forward and stepped on the card, so it could not be seen. Luckily, the quick, unexpected kiss enveloped him so much that he didn't suspect me.

Velma: Oh, fine, you´re welcome, just forget I'm here watching everything...

My sarcastic comment made Daphne released him with a smile on her lips.

Daphne: This was the last detail I had for you. Enough for today. Now Velma and I have to go.

Alan smiled at what she said, he was so stunned and confused about what had happened that he didn't even remember to ask us about the last paper. Daphne and I looked at each other and smiled, because our plan had worked. Nonetheless, our joy lasted a split second: Daphne's facial expression changed from joy to horror immediately, and her mouth uttered a mute "Freddie!" that her voice could not verbalize. My joy lasted a fraction longer because I didn't quite understand what had happened, I only understood the scale of the problem when I heard the explosive noise of the door slamming right behind me. When I turned, I saw a distraught Fred leaving the apartment. Daphne's eyes were filled with tears, but she still had to act out the role that saved our lives and our mystery.

Alan: What happened, Daph? Seems like you saw a ghost…

Alan didn't see what Daphne and I saw, so he thought the kiss had sparked something else between them (like I´ve said, men can be really stupid sometimes). Daphne, stunned, rejected Alan politely, then talked to him just to make him walk out that door and leave. When we saw the elevator going down, Daphne locked the door, I removed the card from my shoes soles and we both sighed. Daphne´s hands were still trembling and my stomach was killing me, but it was relieving to know the danger was gone. Apparently, Daphne wasn´t relieved at all, because she sat down in the nearest armchair and burst into tears.

 

[KendraKelnick]

Chapter 13​

Daphne: I screwed up, Velma!

Velma: You did what?

Daphne: I screwed up my relationship with Fred! Forever!

Velma: Excuse me? What relationship, Daphne?

Daphne: He must hate me so much right now!

Velma: Ok, I´ll repeat: what relationship, Daphne? The one you made up in your dreams or that shameful ******** in which he only cares about you when he has nothing better around?

I knew I was being a rude ***** while my mouth was releasing those words, but somehow I felt so angry that I could not shut up. After all, we went through so much, a killer could had ended our lives and she was worried… with Fred´s opinion. My cruel point of view made her cry louder, so I tapped on her shoulder to, somehow, try to fix the things.

Velma: Sorry for that… but… Jinkies, Daph, were you living in the same planet I lived during the last ten years? Were you friends with the same Fred I´ve been friends with since our childhood? How can you care about him first, you were in trouble!

Daphne: I hate myself, Velma!

Velma: Daphne, calm down! Things will be fine, you´ve saved us!

Daphne: Don´t romanticize the situation, Velma, I´ve kissed a criminal! And Fred saw us!

Velma: Jinkies, how old are you? You pecked him on the lips, goddamnit! 6th graders kiss better than that, and in a more serious way! Plus, you are an adult, single woman, and you did the best you could have done at that moment to save our lives! I'm sure Fred will understand!

Daphne couldn't stop crying and I felt so sorry to see a grown woman crying like a teenager for a man who had broken her heart countless times. I tried to calm her down and offered her some water, but she was sobbing so much that she couldn't drink.

Daphne: We… we were doing so well!… and I… I…

Velma: Doing well, really? If you really think that using you as a trophy is a good thing, you need therapy and some feminist books, darling…

Daphne: What will Fred think about me, Velma?

Velma: He won´t think anything because you're a ******* single, adult woman and you owe him nothing! Fred has hurt you a bazillion times since high school and you always forgive him in the end, I'm sure he'll do the same now.

Daphne: I'm feeling terrible! I´m a nasty person… I… I feel like jumping from this window right now!

Velma: Daph, for God´s sake, calm the hell down! Look, if you tell him what happened and he understands your reasons, he deserves your love... if he behaves like an *******, he doesn't! Think about it, if Alan had taken the card, surely the clues would have disappeared just like Liberty´s secret passage, so you´ve saved the ******* day! Now take the other card and let's get out of here, if Alan managed to get in, it's not safe to stay.

We left as soon as Daphne wiped the tears from her eyes and fixed her blurred makeup. Unfortunately, Fred was waiting for us at the main hall, his arms were crossed and he had a serious expression on his face.

Daphne: Freddie, listen…

Fred: Come on Dinkley, we need to return, everyone is waiting for us at the department…

Daphne: Freddie…

Fred: I have nothing to talk about with you, Daphne. Come on, Dinkley, we have to finish this case…

Velma: Really, Fred? Are you REALLY behaving like a spoiled 16-year-old boy? How can you ignore Daphne, she owns the case!

Fred: She doesn´t work for NYPD, so get in the ******* van right now and let's end this case for good!

Daphne: Freddie, please, let me explain!

Fred: I don't need explanations!

Velma: Fred, this is ridiculous, Daphne has saved us! Alan Mayberry was waiting for us inside her apartment, and you have no idea what a creepy psychopath he can be…

Fred: Funny to hear that, because he looked pretty harmless when I saw him… after all, Daphne was making him feel very comfortable…

Daphne: Freddie, I had no choice! He was going through the case documents and I just wanted to stop him somehow! I didn't mean to kiss him, I was just afraid he'd find the card and…

Fred: But you meant to deceive me, Daphne. You both did. If I hadn't arrived at that moment, I would never have known what happened there…

Velma: And why the hell you should know? She owes you nothing, you are her ******* friend, not her owner! Mind your own business, Jones, what happens in her personal life is her problem!

Fred: Shh, Dinkley, I´m not talking to you…

Daphne: Freddie, I never meant to deceive you! I… I would have told you…

Velma: No, you wouldn´t, because I would never let you do something so stupid just to stroke his ego!

Daphne: Freddie… you… you know I don´t have secrets, I share my life with you since childhood, and since we´ve started working with crimes and cases, we are… the gang!

Fred: WE´RE NOT THE GANG! YOU'RE NOT ON THIS TEAM! You don't work with us! Stop thinking you're part of it!

Velma: Fred, shut up and calm down! Daphne had no choice…

Fred: She had no choice but to hurt me?

Tears were streaming down Daphne's face and she looked devastated after such harsh words. But a sudden, admirable strength made her face him.

Daphne: It hurts to see me with someone else, doesn´t it Fred? Yeah, I know, because this is how I feel for… uh?… ten years?… And wow, I hurt you ONCE, wow! ONE DAMN TIME in 10 years! How many times have you hurt me, Fred? The first time I remember, it was at that stupid school prom, you took me as a trophy, then the next day you pretended nothing happened! The second time, uh… well, I can´t remember, because you hurt me so frequently that it's hard to remember exaclty. Oh, of course, let´s talk about my relationship with Jared Herring! You´ve made everything to convince me he was a loser and I had to break up with him, but after I broke up… surprise! You started a 3 year-long relationship with Alice May, the girl I hate most, and you never gave a damn about my opinion… you even proposed to her in front of me!… you never cared if Jared and I liked each other… but forget about it, Jared is married, happy and very far from me right now, that´s what matters to you, isn´t it? You… you… despicable narcissist!

Fred: Daphne, calm down…

Daphne: No, I won´t calm down! How many girls have you dated, Fred? Neither you nor I know the exact number, right? How many of them were friends of mine, or women I work with? You have no idea how I feel about all this, so don't try to talk about pain just because you're hurting right now!

Fred: Daphne, this drama is getting ridiculous…

Daphne: Yes, my feelings are really ridiculous… and they´re all drama, right? I don't even know why I'm telling you this, you clearly don't care about how I feel, you don't care if a criminal invaded my apartment, grabbed my arm and threatened me... as long as YOU don't get hurt, whatever!

Daphne had a lot of anger in her voice, she sobbed deeply when she finished and she had puffy eyes from crying. After hearing all that, Fred finally shut up and he looked deeply embarrassed. For a moment, I thought everything would be fine because the captain attempted conciliation, but suddenly, Daphne took both cards from her bag, threw them at us, and ran back to her building.

Velma: Hey, where do you think you're going? We need to get back to Liberty and solve this mystery! We still have several victims and two cards to…

Daphne: I don't work for the damn NYPD, remember?

Fred ran towards her and grabbed her arm, but she let go of it quickly.

Fred: Daphne, wait, let's talk... I´m sorry…

Daphne: I have nothing to talk about with you, I don't work for you!

Velma: Daphne, you can't go, Alan was there, remember? He can come back at any time, it's dangerous!

Daphne: It doesn't matter if I die, I'm already dead inside...

Fred: Daphne, I´m really sorry, please, let's talk! I won´t let you stay here, it´s dangerous!… Hey! … Stop running from us!

Fred held both her arms to stop her, but Daphne struggled out of his grasp and screamed so loudly that people around looked at them. When she managed to release herself, she slapped his face.

Daphne: YOU ARE RUNNING, FRED! FOR 10 DAMN YEARS! YOU PUT MY LIFE AND MY FEELINGS IN DANGER, YOU ARE THE WORST THREAT IN MY LIFE!… I'm not your trophy, Fred! You don´t need stupid trophies to be important! I'm not your mother, I won't abandon you and hurt you, when will you finally understand that? And you're not your father either, so please stop copying his miserable life and hurting the ones who love you!

The words had such an effect on Fred that he didn't have enough strength to hold her arms again. Not even Sigmund Freud would be as therapeutic as that. Daphne ran back to the building, and all I did was sigh loudly, applaud mockingly at Fred´s face to show him how stupid he was and pick up the cards. We got into the van in silence, along the way, that silence became awkward, but the sad expression on his face told me the best thing to do at that moment was stay in that way (although my instinct wanted to remind him that I was right during our last argument).

***​

Instead of Liberty building, Fred led us back to the department, and I didn't realize it until I saw two FBI vehicles parked in front of the front door, taking up our parking spaces. Three or four journalists from huge TV channels were waiting for us there, we passed the feds showing our NYPD credentials and soon the journalists attacked us like vultures. We didn't answer any questions and I secretly wondered what the hell was going on. However, Fred was less confused, and his face showed some guilt. When we arrived at the department, all agents were waiting for us and they seemed quite frustrated.

Velma: Miller, what's going on here? I thought we would meet at Liberty to examine the trail!

Miller: Isn't it obvious, doctor? FBI took over our case. Game over for us.

Velma: How is that possible? The investigation is still on, forensics department has not finished its work yet, and we didn´t even notify the feds…

Shaggy: Like, the captain notified them, Velma. **** all this shit and these cards, I´m going home.

Shaggy was extremely frustrated. He approached the meeting table and threw Alan's suit sample angrily on it.

Shaggy: Like, and **** you too, captain. We´ve discovered thirty five murders and now the motherfuckers will get away with it.

Shaggy was so angry that he forgot the department´s rules and lit a cigarette there before leaving the group. I grabbed his arm to make him stay and made him put out the cigarette immediately. Fred was visibly embarrassed by his attitude, he couldn't even look at us in the eyes.

Velma: Fred, I can't believe you´ve done that without even asking our opinion, you´ve heard what Mr. Applegate said about the feds...!

Fred: It was necessary, Velma.

Velma: It was just a revenge on Daphne, wasn't it, you cretin?

Fred was so embarrassed that he couldn't answer.

Velma: That's what I figured, you immature motherfucker, how could you do that? Let your personal sexist problems influence a serious case like this? If anything happens to one of us, IT´S YOUR FAULT, do you hear me?

Fred's irrational attitude irritated me so much that I backed away to not to punch his face. Apparently, the other agents felt the same way, because they all followed me to the lab and totally ignored Captain Jones' authority.

Miller: Doctor, we've made no more progress with the samples, but detectives have discovered that all organ donor files are fake. Death certificates and all information contained in reports are false, which proves the organs have arrived illegally at the hospitals through some organ trafficking scheme.

Biggs: The only true information are the dates. All the transplants´ happened June 2020.

Miller: Plus, cybercrime department discovered many other millionaire money transfers occurred from Liberty to Silmido. Apparently, these transfers are seasonal, they occur once a year, always in the same month of May, for more than thirty years…

All agents were treating me like a captain, but I was so tense that I couldn't even think about the information they brought me. All I could think about were the risks we were taking now that corrupt FBI people (who possibly were friends with the damn VIPs) were in control.

Shaggy: Like, the dogs couldn't sniff out Alan anywhere at Liberty, not even next to that creepy fridge´s door… so, like, I don't think he was responsible for all murders...

Velma: Alan was waiting for Daphne at her apartment when we got there. He´s asked us a series of questions, and he didn't really seem to know about the deaths… neither about the secret passage... anyway, good work, team! And thank you very much for your efforts. Can we finish for today? I think it was a really hard day for all us, we need some rest to deal with all this shit tomorrow…

Everyone agreed, then they left the meeting room.

Shaggy: Like, where's Daph?

Velma: It's a very long and very complicated story, Shaggy. If you don't mind, I'll let you know on the way home…

Shaggy agreed. He took Scooby-Doo out of the kennel, and we left the department, thankfully Captain Jones was no longer there when we left. I explained Shaggy everything during our walk back home, but I couldn't bring him to my apartment to help me analyse the cards because a McDonald's in the middle of the way attracted him. When I got home, Marcie hugged me and she said countless times how happy she was to see me alive and safe, and I felt lucky to have someone so special by my side. Before I could get something to eat, my doorbell rang, on the other side of security peephole was Daphne.

Daphne: Can I stay here until dad sets a biometric lock in my door and hires new guards? I'm afraid to be alone in Blake Tower, my parents don't care about my safety, my sisters are polluting Blake Manor and the best suites at the Waldorf Astoria are taken, so I have nowhere to go…

I opened the door immediately. I was happy to see her, since I was worried about her safety after that argument. Before she could sit down, I burst out talking about Fred's idiotic attitude and how frustrated we all were about it. However, Daphne was not surprised. Instead of saying anything, she hit the on/off TV button and chose the news channel. There was a reporter talking about our case with a very serious expression on her face, but instead of saying exactly what we had discovered about Liberty, she said, "Liberty, Applegate Bank and Blake Bank are under investigation for money laundering schemes and international organ trafficking". That made my heart race, but before I could say anything, Daphne changed the channel and the same sensationalist journalism were on there. And the same happened in every ******* TV channel.

Daphne: You don't have to tell me anything, Vel. I already know what Fred has done.

 

[KendraKelnick]

Chapter 14​

The breaking news were the spark that started a rage that consumed me completely in a few seconds. Immediately, I turned off the TV and took my frustration out on the poor remote control, which was flung against the wall.

Marcie: Hey, girls, things will be okay! Look on the bright side, now that the FBI has taken over your case, you're on vacation! You are free to rest and have as much fun as you want.

Marcie kindly brought me a bottle of water. Daphne wiped a river of tears with a classy handkerchief and sighed, trying to breath while an immense sadness was sufocating her. Before she could say anything, her cell phone vibrated and George Blake's face appeared on the screen, Daphne promptly declined the call and sighed.

Daphne: How can I relax with such news destroying my father's public image, Marce? He can be arrested for these lies! Dad is already dealing with a divorce, it will be very difficult to him to deal with extra pressure…

Velma: How can I relax knowing that our case is in the hands of corrupt feds who will destroy all the evidence we found? How can I relax knowing these mobsters won't pay for their crimes? How can I relax knowing that I didn´t break Fred´s face when I had the opportunity to do it?

The mere mention of Fred's name brought tears to Daphne's face again. Marcie sighed and tried to comfort us with a hug.

Marcie: Hey, FBI may have a couple of corrupt agents, but I'm sure most of them are not, no matter how rich the VIPs are, it´s impossible to buy more than 30.000 agents all over the country… and I´m sure these honest agents won't allow a lie to tarnish the reputation of innocent people. Also, Daph, your father has excellent lawyers, and you are one of them. I'm sure you'll be able to prove his innocence...

Daphne: But this is all my fault, Marce… the case, investigation at Liberty, restricted location break-in at Applegate Bank, Fred's fury…

Velma: How can you blame yourself for taking on a case? How would you know it would be so complex, you were just doing your job! And how can you think that Fred's totally stupid and immature attitude is your fault? You´ve saved us! And everything would be ok if our captain didn't behave like a spoiled little boy!

Daphne hugged us gratefully for the kind words we said, but she was still tense and sad.

Daphne: I wanted to help Dad because I believed he was really a victim of Liberty. I had the stupid thought that if I won the case, he'd be proud of me. I had the same thought about Fred: if we worked together on this case, in the end, he would feel something for me. But all I managed to do was make them both hate me... and the worst part is that I don't even know what I have to do to fix everything…

Velma: Why should you fix mistakes you didn't make?

Daphne: I know I didn´t, Velma, the box of horrors was already there, but I was the Pandora who dared to open it! I NEED to fix all this! Defamation will wreck my family's business, and it will only drive us further apart!

Velma: Jinkies! Daphne, that's it, the defamation! Do you remember what Mr. Applegate said? About FBI covering the VIPs up? Then the media bankrupted him with fake news?

Daphne: Are you implying that the FBI is doing the same to my father right now?

Velma: Of course! They want to destroy Blake Bank, so their fintechs can take over your father's business!

Daphne: Your reasoning is perfect and it makes a lot of sense, Velma, but I can't think why they would do that...

Velma: Well, isn't it obvious? For money! Remember all that shit Alan told us about “free competition”, best companies win, and stuff like that? These people only think about their own gains, they don't mind destroying their competitors. How many customers would they gain from all this? How many hundreds of million dollars would they make if your father and Steven Applegate closed their doors simultaneously?

Daphne: I understand that, Velma, but Liberty is also a target! If Liberty belongs to one of the VIPs, and it is the source of all illegal activities, why would VIPs defame it?

Marcie: Daphne's right, honey. Why would they denounce their own schemes? It´s like a drug cartel reporting itself to the DEA.

Velma: Well, what if there is a power struggle between the VIPs? All them have their own fintechs, remember? Maybe one VIP wants to eliminate Liberty and its owner to take over Liberty´s business too…

Daphne: And would Alan be one of those VIPs?

Velma: He has plenty of reasons. He's lost a lot of money, he's in debt with Liberty...

Marcie: But wouldn't his reputation be tarnished too if Liberty were under investigation?

Daphne: I agree! If FBI investigate Liberty´s illegal activies, surely his name and his fintech´s name will be revealed…

Velma: So, unfortunately, we have to think about the possibility that Alan is telling the truth and he's not the big villain in the whole story... that implies he's a victim of the other VIPs, just like Mr. Applegate and Mr. Blake…

Daphne: It's an hypothesis that makes sense. Alan was very upset that I had violated his financial privacy and had taken a sample from his suit. I think he felt threatened that we were investigating his deals with Liberty, which is why he was so aggressive demanding the papers.

Velma: Shaggy told me Scooby didn't sniff out Alan anywhere at Liberty. And the fact that he didn´t show any strange reactions when he heard about the blood stains could mean that he has no idea about the crimes and the organ trafficking.

Marcie: Sorry, maybe I´ve missed something, but…why would Alan sue Liberty then? If he knows the lawsuit can expose and ruin his business?

Velma: Damn, none of this shit makes sense! I don´t know what to think about it all!

I threw the empty plastic bottle onto the floor in a stupid attempt to, somehow, dissipate the hatred that was boiling inside me.

Daphne: The only thing that makes sense is: we still don't know exactly what we're dealing with… Alan´s lawsuit against Liberty, the mysterycards, the murders, the disappearance of Cho Sang-woo...

Velma: Plus the VIPs, the desert island that receives millions every year, the corrupt feds, ahhh!! This shit just gets worse!

My little outburst was interrupted by several impatient doorbell rings. Through the peephole I could see it was Norville and Scooby-Doo, so I opened the door. Shaggy looked a lot worse than me and Daphne combined, he was totally beside himself and his face was very angry.

Shaggy: Like, have you guys seen the horrible things all the channels are saying about an innocent?

Daphne: I know, Shaggy, dad must be devastated right now… and very furious with me…

Shaggy: I'm not talking about your dad, Daphne, I'm talking about Scooby-Doo!

Shaggy took his cell phone out of his pocket and showed us a video of a journalist mocking NYPD's performance at Liberty. Among several criticisms about Fred Jones, the journalist said: "seems like K9 Unit took its pets for a walk, look how disobedient and poorly trained the brown dog is". Then Scooby showed us once again that he understands our language, because he growled and cringed in sadness after hearing the insult.

Marcie: Hey, how did they manage to film NYPD´s operation? Who told them you´d be there? Aren't investigations secret?

Velma: Surely was the same idiot who gave our case as a gift for the FBI! Fred has a lot of female contacts in the journalistic world…

Shaggy: Like, **** these monsters and their crimes, I JUST WON´T ACCEPT BITCHES SAYING BAD THINGS ABOUT THIS PUPPY HERE!

Scooby was not so sad anymore (he was destroying the plastic bottle I had thrown on the floor), but when he heard Shaggy mention his name, he cringed in sadness again to arouse our compassion.

Marcie: Hey, gang, calm down! I know the solution of this mystery is right here in front of us, like an unassembled jigsaw puzzle, but we still are not able to put all the pieces together… and believe me, one day you will!

Daphne: The problem is that we have no time, Marce… if we don't solve this mystery before the VIPs and the FBI cover up the evidences, our careers and dad´s business´ will end…

Velma: Neither we have means to solve it… Captain Einstein gave the FBI everything we had…

Marcie: Hey, babe, you're the forensic unit chief and the smartest person I know, I'm sure you'll be able to make a plan. You always do!

On another occasion, Marcie´s motivational speech would have given me confidence, but at that moment, all I could do was roll my eyes and sigh.

Velma: Not that simple, babe… how can I find DNA data without accessing a DNA database?

Marcie: You´ll have to be a bit creative! Crimes have been solved for decades, way before DNA samples... and I know you're a fan of that kind of old-school forensics...

Velma: Okay, I'll ask Miller to send me a copy of the reports. If we analyze everything calmly, maybe we can find something more.

Daphne: Great! In the meantime, we have two cards and the photos Velma took at Applegate Bank to review.

Shaggy: Girls… like… do you think it's bad to do something wrong for a good reason?

Daphne: What do you mean, Shaggy?

Shaggy: Like… I mean… we can access a very extensive private DNA database, which has records from all over the world… a database made of ordinary people´s personal information, and by “ordinary” I mean people who have never committed crimes… like, and we can try to find the remaining victims in that database… or, at least, the DNA records of the victims' close relatives...

Velma: Then, after doing that, we can use a job vacancy database to look for a new job for both us. No way, Norville, I won´t let you hack the forensic unit database, we will surely be fired for that!

Shaggy: I didn't say I´ll use it, Velma... like, I´m thinking about... quickly getting into the database of some genetic mapping site, like Ancestry... and, like, quickly borrowing the information they have there and compare with our samples´ data…

Velma: Are you talking about hacking Ancestry and Family Search? Shaggy, you are a genius!

Shaggy: Wait, like, I didn't say I´ll hack it, I´ll just get in and borrow the data, okay? It's a good crime! I'm just helping the police to do their job… it won't generate any karma against me.

Velma: Relax, it will sound like a common data leak, and you'll save me from filling useless permission protocols asking these companies to use their data!

Daphne: Shaggy, it's a good idea, but we can't do that! FBI knows we have our eyes on these samples, if we do something like that, they will arrest us! I think we'd better talk to agent Flim Flam first, he might suggest something better…

Shaggy: That was his idea, Daph. Like, he said that if we ask permission to access these sites´ data, they will take months to answer, and we can't wait that long! VIPs can make all the samples disappear at anytime…

Daphne: What? I don't believe!

Velma: Daphne, don't you want to solve this mystery?

Daphne: I want to solve this mystery without getting arrested!

Shaggy: Relax Daphne, data leaks happen all the time…

Daphne: And they harm people!

Shaggy: But, like, we're not going to release this data, we're just going to take a look at the information we need and leave. We will help the families of those victims know the truth... like, imagine what Sang-woo's family is feeling right now, he has been missing for a year...

Velma: Shaggy's right, Daphne, it's the only choice we have to solve this mystery and help the victims.

Daphne was confused and looked at Marcie, hoping she would lend some moral support to her opinion.

Marcie: Don't look at me, you know I'm the troll who's been posting ******** and curses on every Alice May Instagram photo for almost ten years, I have no digital ethics to opine in this decision!

Daphne sighed, laughed and finally accepted our suggestion.

Shaggy: Like, see you at my place in half an hour. Meanwhile, Flim Flam and I will prepare everything.

It was late and I was completely exhausted (unlike Shaggy, I'm not used to staying up all night in front of a video game), but I nodded and showed Shaggy and Scooby the way to the door. In an extremely polite attitude, Scooby-Doo gave me back the bottle (or rather, what was left of it) before leaving. I laughed at his attitude and allowed him to take it with him.

Shaggy: See? How can this ***** say such things about a polite doggo like Scooby-Doo?

Shaggy left saying an extensive and elaborated compilation of swear words about the journalist who had offended Scooby. Marcie went to the kitchen to make some coffee, so we could stay awake.

Velma: First, we need to go to the department, so I can copy the sample data onto a flash drive...

Daphne: Great. I have all the paper here with me. And I´ll take the cards and photos you took at Applegate Bank.

As we were about to leave, the doorbell rang once and then there were three knocks on the door. I didn't need to look through the peephole to know it was Fred Jones. Daphne, naive, opened the door without looking first, when she saw Fred standing in front of her, she immediately slammed the door angrily. Marcie looked at me and asked if she should open the door or ignore it, so I sighed and opened the door myself.

Velma: What do you want?

Fred´s clothes were covered with a mixture of dirt and cement, and he was also a bit bruised. Wordlessly, he pulled several business cards from his jacket´s pocket. The cards were identical to the ones we found at Liberty and at Applegate Bank.

Fred: I want to solve this mystery.

Velma: Great! But you should have wanted that BEFORE LETTING THE ******* FBI TAKE OVER IT! Don´t you think?

Fred just lowered his eyes. He didn't admit, but he was visibly embarrassed by the mistake he'd made. His apology was just shaking the stack of cards right in front of my eyes to demonstrate that he had found new clues and he was trying to compensate us for the damage he'd caused. Daphne watched the scene from afar, her intense feelings didn´t let her reach out and ask what he had found, so I did.

Velma: Where the hell did you find these cards? With your FBI friends? With some journalist you have slept with? Or now you´re also friends with one of the VIPs?

The narcissistic Frederick Jones I knew would readily answer something stupid and childish like: “if Daphne is Alan’s close friend, I can be friends with whoever I want”, but the new Fred that was before my very eyes surprised me:

Fred: Velma, I already know I'm an ******* and I've made a lot of mistakes, you don't need to remind me of that every time you open your mouth to say something, ok? I owe you and apology and I am here to do it right now… Please, forgive me for everything I´ve done… you both…

Fred took a deep breath as he said “you both” and stared at Daphne. He couldn´t mention her name (maybe because he knew she could suddenly fly into a rage). She looked at him with tears in her eyes and bit her lip to hold the sob. Then, unexpectedly, she turned her face and stopped looking at him, showing that she didn't accept the apology.

Fred: …and I will understand if you don't forgive me. After all, I really deserve your hate. But, please, let me fix everything I've done. Things can't stay like this, these criminals can't get away with the crimes they've committed. Please let me help you solve this mystery.

Fred's statement was so unheard-of of that a small smile was formed on my lips.

Velma: Apologies accepted, captain.

Fred smiled back at me and we both looked at Daphne, waiting for her answer. Daphne just wiped her tears, grabbed her belongings and her coat and left.

Daphne: I don't need to answer you anything, Frederick, after all, I don´t work for the NYPD.

Daphne slammed the door so hard that the paintings on the walls shook. Fred was utterly dismayed by her unexpected attitude and sighed.

Marcie: Relax, Fred. She's forgiven you, but she's a Libra with Gemini rising, it's quite hard for her to decide if she should answer or not…

Velma: You still haven't said where you found the cards...

Fred: At Liberty's secret passage. Inside one of those sinister gift boxes, one of them had a false bottom and the cards were inside it.

Velma: How did you get there? They had closed it with bricks!

Fred: Old building blueprints, a flashlight and a good sledgehammer can solve anything... anyway, I'll explain the details later... And you know what? Dogs don't sniff out neither Alan nor blood on these cards.

Velma: Just like the card we´ve found inside the slot machine!

I went through my belongings for the two cards, but apparently Daphne had taken them.

Fred: Yes, apparently they are identical to the card we´ve first found. And there are hundreds of them there, thousands I'd say... I've also saved your sample reports on this flash drive in case you need to...

Velma: I'll need them. Shaggy had an amazing idea, and he's waiting for us right now at his apartment. Let´s go, I'll explain better on the way.

Marcie Fleach is also our nosy fake agent, just like Daphne. When she heard the words “let's go”, she understood she was being invited too, so she grabbed her purse and joined us.