Paradise Lake: A Love Story

Chapter Two: The Good Daughter

"We'll find her." The snow had stopped after dumping four inches on the ground but the cold wind remained; seeping past the hooded winter coat, stealing the body heat of the red head that knelt in the snow before the tombstone.

"HELEN PEERSON" had been engraved into the granite marker, "beloved wife and mother". Daphne Blake reached out to run her gloved hand over the words that told the story of a woman's life, perhaps trying to reach through time itself to touch 'Gram' one more time.

"I'll find her!" The sound was brittle in the wind as she placed the plastic tulips in the tin cup the graveyard provided. "I promise, Gram." Tulips because they were her favorite, plastic because real flowers wouldn't last a day in the wind and snow. She noticed other flowers that had been placed on the accompanying grave marker, "RICHARD PEERSON".

"Come on, Kitten. It's time to go. You'll freeze if you stay out here any longer!" Strong arms urged her to rise. His had to yell to be heard over the sound of the wind. Her legs gave way as if they had already made their way into the land beyond feelings; she fell into his arms.

"We have to find her, Fred." The wind whipped the coat against her body making her shiver. They threaded their way among the graves to the gaily painted Mystery Machine and the promised warmth within. Did he know? Did he know when he used that nickname he had given her not so many years before, it made her heart jump, bound, and otherwise race madly around the confines of her chest?

"We will, Kitten." She impulsively kissed his cheek; there went her heart again! She had laid hold of the nickname, making it her own. No one else was allowed to call her 'Kitten'.

The warm air blasting from the vents was a welcome relief from the biting cold outside. Daphne pushed the hood off and shook out her hair, accepting a thermos cup of coffee from Shaggy as Fred dropped the van into gear, slowly heading out of the cemetery.

"Thanks, Shaggy. And thanks guys for indulging me this slight detour. It means a lot to me." She sipped the steaming liquid. Shaggy was no longer the gangly, all arms and legs, guy she had first met. He had grown into a handsome young man if you liked the laid-back beatnik look. Daphne didn't but Shaggy had proven himself a trustworthy friend over the years so she guessed she could bend the rules in his case.

Velma had to slap Shaggy's hand as she tried to hand Daphne a Danish Pastry. "You need a few calories to burn after being out in that wind." At two years younger than Shaggy, and a year younger than herself, Velma Dinkley was the youngest of the gang. As a couple, which they claimed they weren't. They were the original odd couple; but they did compliment each other and both had resisted any and all of her match making attempts.

Her attention was drawn from the rear to the front of the van when Fred spoke, "Daph, your father hired us to find Ashley, can you think of anyone who would want to...harm her?"

Gone was the pet name as Fred slipped into the role of leader of the gang as easily as someone slipping into an old comfortable coat. They were indeed a gang of misfits; so different in so many ways yet Daphne couldn't think of not being with her four friends, five if you counted Scooby Doo, who flicked his ears and looked up at her. She shivered at the thought that he might actually be able to read minds.

"No, Freddie, I can't but we had grown apart after I graduated high school."

"Can you tell us Ashley before we get to your home?"

"I was really young when my parents hired Helen as maid." Daphne began to reminisce. A look of relaxed familiarity clouded her eyes.

"My parents hired both Helen and Richard. Helen as maid, although she later became more nanny to me. Richard, her husband, was gardener and handyman. I loved both sets of grandparents but it was Helen who became 'Gram'.

Their daughter, Ashley, became one of my best friends. The difference between age or parental tax bracket was completely ignored. It was Ashley that suggested we try skiing up here one year."

It had been Ashley Daphne had gone to when the importance of boys came up but she didn't think Fred should know that he had been a major topic during those late night, snack sharing confessions.

Fred turned into the driveway, stopping in front of the two story home. Like so many unexplained things, the weather had changed. The wind had died to a mild breeze and the sun had actually made an appearance. Plastic sheeting had been draped over the broken window while several workmen went about the business of replacing the broken glass.

Daphne had excused herself to change into dry clothes, returning to join her friends in her fathers study where portable heaters had been set up.

"They may have been employees," her father was speaking, "but they were friends too. We helped set up a college fund for Ashley. The police won't consider her missing for 48 hours. That doesn't mean we have to wait. I talked to the Coolsville police before coming up here," he handed an envelope to Fred, "this is a letter of introduction and recommendation to the local sheriff."

"Thank you, sir. Did you happen to find out the name of the officer who patrolled the area when Ashley disappeared?" Fred placed the envelope in his coat pocket.

"Officer Paul Goodwin," George drew in a deep breath, letting it out slowly, "they're pretty tight lipped about it, more than the usual protecting a fellow officer."

"Well, gang, looks like we have a mystery on our hands." Fred said just as a car horn was heard from the driveway.

"That would be my rental, I called while changing. Fred, you, Shaggy and Scooby can talk to the police. Velma and I will check out a clue I found at the cemetery, We'll meet you at the Sheriff's office."

Daphne started toward the door, Velma in hot pursuit, "what clue, Daph?"

"Someone left flowers on Richards grave but not Helen's. There are only two flower shops in Paradise.

You coming?"

TBC