Chapter 4
Scooby Doo, Scrappy Doo and the rest of their mystery solving friends had been walking for about five minutes when they reached a well furnished room with a sofa, recliners, several paintings hanging on the wall, a chandelier hanging from the ceiling, which looked to be quite old along with a flat screen television monitor hanging on the wall and an enclosed fireplace below it, which was crackling vibrantly; sitting in an arm chair towards the center of the room was a well dressed man who looked to be around the same age as Daphne's father, except that while the wealthy red head's father had red hair similar to Daphne's, the man that was sitting in the armchair had dark brown hair; in addition he was wearing a brown suit, which looked to have been recently cleaned, as well as brown slacks and dark brown shoes, meanwhile in another arm chair sat a woman who looked to be the same age as Daphne's mother, the woman wore a dark green dress along with dark red almost ruby colored high heeled shoes and was looking at the fireplace, coincidentally enough the man was also looking at the fireplace as both of them heard a series of footsteps coming into the room.
The hulking man that had answered the door and had let Scooby and company inside the house left the team of mystery solvers and was now moving towards the dark brown haired man in one of the armchairs; the man's footsteps echoed across throughout the room as he stepped across the wooden parquet floor towards the man in the arm chair, once he reached the armchair he stood next to the man and whispered something to him, the man in the chair then nodded and stood up; a few seconds later the man walked from his chair over to the gang and smiled, he stood proudly as he looked the six members of Mystery Inc. over and began speaking to the team of detectives as if he was good friends with them, although he was in fact meeting them for the first time.
"Hello there, you must be Mystery Incorporated or Mystery Inc. for short; I suppose you're all wondering who I am, so the least I could do is introduce myself: my name is Franklin Larson and I am the one who called the six of you to my mansion" the man remarked.
"Jeepers, then you're the friend of my father that he was talking about?" Daphne asked.
"That's right; it's wonderful to finally meet you Miss Blake, your father has told me a lot about you, your career, your friends and your love life" Mr. Larson replied, winking as he said the final part of his sentence.
"Mr. Larson, please; I don't tell anyone except my parents about my love life" Daphne declared, sounding a little embarrassed and blushing a little as she spoke.
"I'm sorry Miss Blake, I didn't mean to offend or embarrass you at all; I really should learn to mind my own business" Mr. Larson replied, offering his hand for the red head to shake it.
"That's all right Mr. Larson, although I'm quite pleased to finally meet you" Daphne said as she shook the prominent businessman's hand.
"Not a problem Miss Blake; so these must be the members of Mystery Inc. I've heard so much about, now don't tell me let me guess: that blond gentleman is Fred, that young lady with the glasses is Velma, that young man with the green shirt is Shaggy and the two canines are Scooby Doo and Scrappy Doo, how am I doing so far?" Mr. Larson asked after pointing out each of the members of the team of investigators and saying their names.
"Pretty good Mr. Larson, yep that's everybody" Daphne replied, chuckling a little bit as she spoke.
"Thank you my dear, now why don't we all sit down and I can introduce you to my wife and we can speak more about why you are all here" Mr. Larson said.
"Okay, that sounds pretty good to me, let's sit down" Fred remarked.
So the members of Mystery Inc. walked over to a nearby sofa and found places to sit down on it; Daphne and Fred as usual sat next to each other, while Velma and Shaggy sat next to each other as well, meanwhile Scooby Doo and Scrappy Doo found places to sit in front of the fireplace, which was probably a good place to be after riding in the Mystery Machine during a major thunderstorm.
"Well, now that we're all comfortable, does anyone have any questions before we start?" Mr. Larson asked.
"I'm curious about something Mr. Larson" Velma replied.
"Yes Velma?" Mr. Larson asked.
"First, why do you know our names, I mean you know Daphne because you're friends with her father but how do you know us?" Velma inquired.
"Like I said, Daphne's father told me a lot about Miss Blake, and the rest of you as well; in addition he told me a lot about your various adventures over the years, and as I said in the e-mail I sent Miss Blake, I am very impressed with your record of success" Mr. Larson replied.
"Oh, well I guess that makes sense; I was curious though about one other thing Mr. Larson" Velma commented.
"What's that?" Mr. Larson asked.
"Well, for starters who was that gentleman who opened the door to let us in?" Velma answered, realizing that if she said the wrong thing there was a good chance that he might twist one of the members of Mystery Inc. like a pretzel, and needless to say the bespectacled young woman didn't want that.
"Oh, you mean my butler Andrew; don't worry about him, he's really harmless, he just really enjoys doing his job, actually he's probably doing one of his jobs right now" Mr. Larson replied.
"What do you mean?" Fred asked.
"Well, I'm sure you brought things with you for the night, correct?" Mr. Larson answered.
"Yes we did, but if he wants to bring our luggage in, he's a bit too late because we already brought it in with us" Fred replied as he and the rest of the group showed their respective suitcases to the wealthy businessman.
"Oh I see, well no harm done; besides Andrew is probably upstairs making up your bedrooms right now anyway" Mr. Larson explained.
"That's probably a good idea; Mr. Larson, besides Andrew do you have any other people we need to know about, on the staff I mean?" Daphne asked.
"Let's see, well besides Andrew, there's my maid Dorothy, my kitchen staff, oh and the security staff, they work in a room here on the ground floor, they monitor my estate for any spies, prowlers or anything of that nature, thankfully we haven't had to worry much about those sorts of things here, yet" Mr. Larson replied.
"Like that's quite a staff Mr. Larson, anyone else we need to know about besides them?" Shaggy inquired.
"Not really, that's pretty much all the people who work for me" Mr. Larson replied.
"Mr. Larson, do you think any of the staff members might be behind all these ghosts and supernatural happenings that have occurred in the mansion?" Scrappy asked.
"No, I don't really think so; my staff wouldn't have any reason to pull anything as childish as a ghost story off, I pay them well and they like me, so why would they feel as if they had to do something like that?" Mr. Larson asked, sounding as if he had been especially hurt by the young Great Dane's comments.
"Sorry about that Mr. Larson, I didn't mean anything by it, I just thought it was possible" Scrappy replied.
"That's quite all right, I'm used to that sort of question by now" Mr. Larson said.
"By the way Mr. Larson, we noticed a small covered bridge spanning a stream on the way here; could you tell us what it is?" Daphne asked.
"Certainly Miss Blake, that bridge has actually been here for around one hundred and ten years; I guess you could tell it was pretty rickety and old when you crossed it right?" Mr. Larson inquired.
"We sure did, heck we almost fell in" Fred replied.
"I see, you know I really should get that bridge fixed, it hasn't been replaced in twenty years; by the way, as for the water: that is a small lake that runs through the property, excellent fishing and swimming when it's warmer, plus it empties into the Ohio River about a couple hundred miles away from here" Mr. Larson explained.
"Jeepers Mr. Larson, that's very impressive and very interesting as well" Daphne replied.
"Yes it is isn't it; oh I almost forgot, let me introduce you to my blushing bride: April, April these are the people I was telling you about, Fred, Daphne, Velma, Shaggy, Scooby Doo and Scrappy Doo" Mr. Larson said; the woman who was sitting in the arm chair then smiled, got up from the chair and walked over to the sofa to shake each of the gang's hands, or in Scooby and Scrappy's case paws.
"My my, what a nice group of young people, I'm very happy to meet all of you and especially you Daphne" Mrs. Larson said as she shook Daphne's hand.
"Thank you Mrs. Larson, it was nice of the two of you to invite us here to spend the night" Daphne replied.
"Oh it was our pleasure dear, we always like having guests around here; Franklin here throws a lot of business parties and such, so most of the company we get is business associates of his, it's nice to have people other than his friends here, although I hear that your father is a friend of Franklin's?" Mrs. Larson asked.
"Yes, my dad went to school with Mr. Larson and I guess they remained friends for all this time" Daphne replied.
"They certainly did, Franklin always spoke with great admiration about George and I can see why; he's a wonderful man and he has a wonderful daughter as well" Mrs. Larson said.
"Jeepers Mrs. Larson, thank you; I'm sure my father would love to know you and Mr. Larson spoke so highly of him" Daphne replied.
"You're welcome Daphne; actually there's someone else here that you and your friends might enjoy meeting and hanging out with" Mrs. Larson remarked.
"There is?" Daphne asked.
"Yes, our daughter Kelly" Mr. Larson replied.
"You didn't mention to us that the two of you have a daughter Mr. and Mrs. Larson" Fred remarked.
"We didn't?" Mrs. Larson asked.
"No, you didn't" Fred replied, his voice raising a couple octaves as he spoke.
"Oh, well I guess I should tell you about her then: as I said her name's Kelly, she's very pretty and she's in high school, which is interesting for us because the school she attends is in Edwardsville, which you probably passed through on the way here" Mr. Larson explained.
"Like yeah, actually we did pass through Edwardsville on the way here; it's a pretty nice little town" Shaggy replied.
"Why thank you young man, we like it too" Mr. Larson said.
"Mr. Larson, we're wondering something else about you and this house; why do you live here anyway? It's kind of isolated isn't it?" Fred asked.
"Well you see I like my privacy and so do my daughter and wife, while we don't really have any neighbors, we're quite happy in this mansion and we intend to stay here for as long as possible" Mr. Larson replied.
"That makes sense Mr. Larson, I guess if I lived in the middle of nowhere I would enjoy my privacy as well" Daphne remarked.
"Thank you dear, and I'm sure you enjoy the privacy at your parents home as well" Mr. Larson noted.
"Mr. Larson, can we ask you about this house and what you made your money in? What industry I mean" Velma inquired.
"That's not a problem at all Miss Dinkley, and I can answer that: you see I run a company called Larson Communications, I founded the company and altogether the company owns around 1,200 radio stations around the country, around 30 or 40 TV stations around the US, we also have an advertising arm of the company that owns billboards in 15 major cities across America in addition we own cable companies in 5 states and newspapers in 10 states" Mr. Larson explained.
"Jeepers, that's very impressive Mr. Larson, so you made your money in the communications industry then?" Daphne asked.
"Correct, and I'm very proud of my company and our family and this house" Mr. Larson replied.
"Which reminds me Mr. Larson; I think we saw a satellite dish on your property as we drove in, is there any way that you can tell us about it?" Fred asked.
"Ah yes that, you see I like to keep track of the stations I own and what is being programmed to make sure there isn't anything offensive on any of them, or if there is something I want to do with a station or cable company I can call up the station or cable provider and tell them what I want or need, then I can see the results on the air almost instantly" Mr. Larson replied.
"Jinkies Mr. Larson, that's quite amazing; you know I'm pretty good with electronic equipment as well, maybe you can show me a few things and maybe I can help you with some things with your radio stations and the other properties you own" Velma said with an intrigued look on her face.
"I might be able to fulfill your request my dear, but not right now, maybe tomorrow; now, let's get to the reason why I called the six of you here to my mansion, as I said in my e-mail to Miss Blake my mansion is indeed haunted by numerous ghosts and other supernatural creatures, like werewolves, sea monsters, and the list goes on" Mr. Larson explained.
"Mr. Larson, how can a mansion miles away from any body of water have a sea monster?" Fred asked.
"Simple, he hides out in the mansion's pool; frankly it's getting a little annoying, considering he always tries to splash me whenever any of us go for a swim in there" Mr. Larson replied.
"Oh I see, although there's still one thing that bothers me: Mr. Larson how can you, your wife and your daughter live in a house full of ghosts and monsters and be as calm as you are?" Velma questioned.
"Well, it's not as bad as it seems my dear; actually the ghosts and hauntings started long before I moved into this house, you see all the supernatural happenings that have occurred on this estate date back to the 1800's when this mansion was built; you see the first people to live in this mansion was a wealthy industrialist and his wife, as well as their son, over the years dozens of people and their families have lived in this estate and each and every one of them have been scared off by ghosts, phantoms and monsters" Mr. Larson replied.
"Jeepers, what a creepy story; although I can see why anyone would be scared away from here, I wouldn't feel safe in a place like this, especially trying to raise a daughter" Daphne commented.
"Well let me say that I do not, nor will I ever be scared off by such silly things as ghosts or monsters; however I do have something to tell you six about the ghosts and creatures in this house, first they are quite frightening, actually if you caught sight of any of them they would be something that might be from a horror movie or a nightmare; second, they are quite dangerous and have harmed people inside this house on many occasions, in fact there is a chance that if you six were to stay here you might not live to see tomorrow, because the creatures and ghosts that inhabit this house may kill you" Mr. Larson replied.
"K-kill? As in murder?" Shaggy asked nervously.
"Yes Shaggy" Mr. Larson replied in a manner that sounded quite serious.
"Jeepers! I-I didn't know that might happen; now I don't know if I want to stay here" Daphne said as she moved closer to Fred and found herself clinging to his shoulder and arm in fear and comfort.
"Jinkies! Daphne, I agree with you, I want to live to see tomorrow, I don't want to die" Velma said, moving closer to Shaggy and clutching his arm and shoulder for protection; as Fred and Shaggy sat on the sofa they were a bit surprised by the reactions of their respective girlfriends to what Mr. Larson had told them, although being good boyfriends they knew they had to comfort the girls and keep them calm in the face of possibly something that could result in their deaths.
"Daphne, I know it sounds frightening and I know it sounds bad, but we have to remember that there are charities counting on the money that Mr. Larson will present us with when this mystery is over tomorrow morning; so therefore I know that we are going to be fine, believe me Daphne, nothing is going to happen to us, plus I'm here and Shaggy, Velma, Scooby and Scrappy are here too so you will be protected against anything that could or might happen to you" Fred said as he held Daphne's shoulders and attempted to keep her calm, although in the face of overwhelming danger and terror.
"I know Freddie, but I'm just worried that if we stay in this house we might not live to fulfill our promise to the charities, and we might not live to solve another mystery as long as we live" Daphne replied as she began to tear up a bit; the blond young adult who she has spent so much time with over the years then slowly reached up towards her face and brushed a rogue tear away that was running down her cheek.
"Daphne, I am going to make certain that nothing happens to you, if you need anything at all or need my company I'm right here, and that's not going to change ever" Fred remarked as he held up the red head's chin and smiled at her.
"Thank you Freddie, you know I really love you; I always have and I always will" Daphne replied as she and the blond young adult continued to look into each others eyes and soon enough the two detectives lips were moving closer to one another and before you could snap your fingers the two began kissing each other; clearly both of them enjoyed it as once they both finished the two of them continued smiling at each other and both of their faces became the darkest shade of red possible.
"Daphne, I-I never realized that you felt that way about me; I mean we are boyfriend and girlfriend but I never knew you…" Fred remarked, still a little embarrassed about what had happened.
"You never knew that I wanted to kiss you right?" Daphne asked.
"Well yes, but now that it's happened I really enjoyed it, thank you Daphne" Fred replied.
"You're welcome Freddie, and I wouldn't mind doing it again, if you want to that is" Daphne said.
"You bet I would Daph, maybe later okay?" Fred inquired.
"I'll be there" Daphne replied.
Meanwhile after looking over at Fred and Daphne and seeing the two of them talk about the upcoming mystery and their relationship, Shaggy knew that it was time for him to comfort Velma about the danger ahead, so the cowardly teen summoned up all the bravery he could as he turned to Velma and began speaking to her, while he held her shoulders to try and ease her fears about the mansion.
"Velma, I heard what you said earlier" Shaggy remarked.
"You mean about possibly dying in this house right?" Velma asked.
"Right; I know you're scared but it will be all right, nothing is going to happen to you" Shaggy replied.
"I know Shaggy, but talking about possibly dying it's just, well there's just so many things I want to do in my life; I'm still young and I want to continue to solve mysteries and work on experiments back home, plus I want the charities to get the money that Mr. Larson promised us and I want to, well I want to…" Velma said, almost on the verge of tears which Shaggy noticed; the bespectacled young woman then noticed Shaggy holding up her chin, ready to brush the tears away if she began crying.
"You want to what?" Shaggy asked curiously.
"I-I want to stay with you, I don't want to leave your side ever; I-I'm just afraid of what could happen to us here while we're in the mansion and the fact that we might die while we're here, it-it scares me" Velma replied in a tone of voice that was unlike anything Shaggy had ever heard, while she had always been the bravest member of Mystery Inc., this might be the first time she had ever sounded as if she might not see her friends ever again, which was apparent in her voice as Shaggy looked into her eyes.
"Velma, you know me and Scooby, we're afraid of everything, even our own shadows; heck, I'm pretty scared that we might not make it out of this place alive either, but I'm not going to let it bother me, I love you Velma, I love you a lot and I promise you this: with me here, no ghost or monster will harm a single hair on your pretty head" Shaggy said as he softly stoked Velma's cheek, sounding unlike he had ever sounded before; as a matter of fact the usually cowardly young sleuth sounded almost like Fred, like a leader, like he was the bravest member of the group instead of the most cowardly.
"Shaggy, I-I don't know what to say; I-I love you too, but I'm still unsure of what to expect while we're here, I mean what if someone or something comes into one of our bedrooms and…" Velma started to say before Shaggy held a finger up signifying for her to stop speaking; the cowardly sleuth then did the only thing he could think of to relax Velma in the face of terror, like the one she and the rest of the group were going to face, specifically he wrapped his arms around the bespectacled girl's orange sweater; at first Velma was confused by what he was doing, but realizing that Shaggy had been good at comforting her in the past, she found herself reciprocated his body movements by wrapping her arms around his waist and t-shirt, the two of them then gazed deep into each other's eyes as Shaggy began speaking once more.
"Velma, I am going to do whatever it takes to protect you while we're here, no one is going to harm you, no one is going to hurt you and to show you how serious I am about this, I'm going to do something that I've never done before, and if you don't like this then I'm sorry" Shaggy said; the cowardly teen young detective then took a deep breath and began moving his lips towards Velma's, the bespectacled teen then realized what he was doing and also moved her lips closer to his, soon the pair's lips met and they also began kissing; a few moments later the young man and the bespectacled girl's lips parted and they began smiling at each other.
"Shaggy, I-I don't know what to say; I've never had a kiss like that before, I mean guys have kissed me but nothing like that, that-that was amazing, it felt wonderful; Shaggy, I-I don't know how to say this but I really enjoyed that" Velma remarked, still blushing after Shaggy kissed her.
"Like thanks Velma, I really enjoyed it too" Shaggy replied, also blushing a little.
"Raww, rhat's ronderful" Scooby remarked with a smile on his face as he watched his friends from his spot in front of the fireplace.
"Uncle Scooby?" Scrappy asked.
"Res Rappy?" Scooby answered.
"How come Shaggy and Velma kissed? And how come Fred and Daphne kissed?" Scrappy inquired.
"Ri'll rell rou rater, rokay Rappy?" Scooby replied.
"OK Uncle Scooby, I can wait" Scrappy said with a smile on his face.
"Besides I can't wait to find out about this" the young Great Dane thought to himself.
Fred and Daphne sat smiling on the sofa, as were Shaggy and Velma, while the two Great Danes of the group enjoyed just watching their human comrades; however unknown to the six sleuths, Mr. Larson, their mysterious benefactor was about to tell them some more things that would chill them, frighten them and possibly cause them to quit their current case; while he didn't show it on the outside, on the inside Mr. Larson was scheming and planning ways for the gang to cut short their visit, because Mr. Franklin Larson was not your ordinary wealthy businessman, in fact he had a sinister secret that he was hiding from the gang, one that if they were discover it would mean his ruin as far as the communications industry was concerned, and possibly his life as well.
Author's Notes: Hopefully I'm doing okay with the story so far; I'm trying to do get as close to the original and the remake of House on Haunted Hill as possible, while giving it a few twists and turns considering Scooby and company are involved; also hopefully I wrote the romance and kissing scenes okay, I've never really written kissing scenes so hopefully I did okay, if not then give me a review and tell me what I did wrong, as always thanks for reading and reviewing.