Mysteries and Miracles
Chapter 7: Unmasked
A/N: Sorry it took me so long to update. I've stll been spending a lot of time sleeping. Also, I've been trying to get a head start on "Hometown Horror", the next story in this series and I've only just finished chapter one of that. Anyway, here's chapter seven for all of you wonderful readers and reviewers.
Fred strained with everything he had to reach down the elevator shaft. Just one more inch, he kept telling himself. One more inch and he would be able to grasp her hand and pull her to safety. "Hang on Daphne!" he called as he nearly popped his shoulder from its socket "I won't let you die!"
"Freddy," Daphne whispered as she felt the muscles in her hands and arms seizing up "I-I love-"
Fred snatched her hand and pulled her up. The two of them sat on the floor of the hallway. Fred had his arms wrapped tightly around her. The two of them stared into each other's eyes for what seemed like an eternity though it was only moments.
"You saved my life," Daphne whispered.
Fred brushed a lock of hair out of her face and leaned in, placing a kiss to her lips "I'd never let you fall," he told her.
Daphne felt herself swoon but their moment was interrupted all too soon by Miranda Mathis and her son Mitch running around the corner "What happened?" Miranda asked as she stared wide eyed at the opened doors to the empty shaft "Are you two alright?"
Daphne nodded as Fred helped her to her feet. "We're fine now Mrs. Mathis," Fred said, keeping an arm wrapped protectively around Daphne's shoulders.
Miranda turned to Mitch "Get your father and your uncle. Someone could have been hurt here. We need to have a meeting, immediately," she sighed heavily as she approached the doors and examined them "This old place," she murmured regretfully "Maybe we shouldn't have sent Mr. Wentworth off so soon…"
"Oh no Mrs. Mathis," Daphne said quickly "Don't think that way."
"Give us until noon tomorrow," Fred requested "We'll have this Mystery solved by then."
"We should give them a chance Mom," Mitch said hopefully.
Miranda managed to pull the elevator doors closed. She turned to the others, wringing her hands with worry "Until noon," she told the sleuths "But that's all my poor heart can take. If you can't figure this out by then, I'll be convincing my husband that selling is our best option."
Miranda left and her son followed after a few moments of staring beseechingly at Fred and Daphne "Please, I don't wanna have to leave," he said in a low voice before following his mother.
Fred and Daphne were left alone to stare at each other in the hallway. Their eyes met but they broke contact all too soon. Daphne was the first one to break the silence. She cleared her throat nervously "I guess we should try to track down that ghost."
"Yeah, yeah," Fred agreed, nodded his head as he followed Daphne to the stairs.
XXX
"Like can we go back to the hotel now?" Shaggy asked as he cowered beside Velma just outside the fence of the cemetery. "If there's one thing more spooky than an old abandoned cemetery, it's like an old abandoned cemetery at night," a burst of nervous laughter escaped from him at the end of his sentence.
"Reah," Scooby agreed "Rooky…"
"Just a little longer," Velma told the two "I bet that ghost'll be coming back for his bike. I wanna see where he comes out from."
"Like, can't we just go back to the hotel and wait until tomorrow?" Shaggy asked.
"He'll be gone by then," Velma replied.
Shaggy couldn't believe the words that were about to come out of his mouth "But like Fred wanted us to check the basement."
"Reah," Scooby agreed "Re need to check the rasement…" the dog turned in confusion to look up at Shaggy "The rasement…?"
"Shhhh, you two," Velma commanded softly as she heard rustling within the perimeter of the fence. In the moonlight the three could see a small trap door creaking open. A hunched over figure emerged and slowly straightened up. The ghostly apparition made its way quickly to the bicycle, riding away into the night, its sinister laughter echoing behind it.
"Okay," Shaggy murmured from beside Velma "Like we've seen the ghost, now let's go back to the inn."
Velma hopped over the fence and approached the door that the ghost had come through. It was disguised as a flat rectangular headstone that lay upon the ground. The name on the headstone was clearly visible. Velma gaped as she stared at the ingraving in the moonlight.
Shaggy, who had reluctantly followed Velma into the cemetery once again, peered over her shoulder "Like, I thought this was the Mathis family cemetery?" he wondered out loud.
Velma looked at the doorway that had been disguised as a headstone. She was perplexed beyond belief as her fingers traced the name of Ambrose Anderson. She lifted the headstone and revealed a deep dark hole. Without a second thought she slid down inside.
"Velma," Shaggy whispered desperately "What are you doing. Like, you don't know what's down there."
"It's a tunnel," Velma called back "I'm gonna see where it leads."
Shaggy shook his head "Like, wait for us," he slid down after her. Seconds after he landed on the cobblestone floor of the tunnel, Scooby plopped down beside him.
Shaggy felt along the wall of the tunnel as he made his way "Velma," he called softly "Like, where are you?"
"Here," Velma replied back as she found his hand "I wish I'd brought a flashlight."
"Like, you and me both," Shaggy gulped.
After about twenty minutes of feeling their way through the darkness they arrived at a door in the wall. Velma pushed against it and they found themselves in a room, surrounded by cardboard boxes. The room was dimly lit. It was apparent to the three that they were in a basement. The sound of approaching footsteps reached their ears.
"Like, someone's coming," Shaggy whispered as he ducked behind a stack of boxes.
"Jeepers," the group heard "Do you think Velma, Shaggy and Scooby are here?"
"That's Daphne," Velma stated.
"I don't know," they heard Fred reply "Try calling Velma's cell again."
"It's still off," Daphne commented a few moments later.
From beside Shaggy, Velma mentally chastised herself. She had turned off her cell phone when the group had taken up positions outside the cemetery waiting for the ghost. She hadn't wanted any noises, even that of a phone set on vibrate, to give their position away.
She stepped forward out from behind the cover of the boxes "We're here guys," she called out "But you're not going to believe what we found out."
XXX
"I knew it," Matthew Mathis said angrily as he grabbed the phone off the desk "I knew Martin was behind this whole ghost mess all along."
The gang sat in Matthew and Mark's shared office. Velma had just explained to everyone about what she, Shaggy and Scooby had found. She turned to look at Shaggy "Another mystery solved," she said triumphantly before she spied something stuck to Shaggy's shirt. She leaned closer to inspect the seemingly inconsequential object. "Shaggy how did this get here?" She inquired.
Shaggy looked down and removed about three long blond hairs from the hem of his shirt "Like, I must have picked them up in the tunnel," he replied in utter confusion.
Velma studied the hairs carefully. "Mr. Mathis, do you have a plastic bag?" she asked. Mark handed over a small zip lock baggy and Velma stuck the hairs inside.
Matthew hung up the phone and turned to the group "The police are on their way to arrest Martin," he informed them.
"What?" an angry exclaimation from the door of the office caught all of their attentions. All eyes turned to where Melissa, Marina, Max and Matilda were all standing with shocked expressions.
"You were supposed to prove that Uncle Martin was innocent!" Melissa had tears rolling down her cheeks.
"I told you Uncle Martin would never try to hurt us!" Marina screamed at the gang "We trusted you!"
"Kids," Matthew said in a soothing tone of voice "The evidence is simply overwhelming. Martin has to be behind this."
Velma was still studying the hairs she had placed in the bag. She looked up at Matthew and Mark "Actually, I'm not so sure about that anymore," she turned to her friends "We need to head back to the Ramona Theater."
XXX
"I haven't seen my bicycle since I came to work this morning," Martin was saying to the police as Scooby and the others passed them on there way inside the theater. The lobby that had been so crowded when they had been there earlier was now all but abandoned.
"There's a show going on," Fred remarked.
"Just as I suspected," Velma replied as she lead the group to the stairs "I have a feeling our ghost is going to make an appearance."
"Like, at the theater?" Shaggy asked.
"Yep," Velma replied as she ran up the stairs, heading for the balcony seating. Fred, Daphne, Shaggy and Scooby quickly followed after her.
Velma stopped outside the doors to the balcony where a group of young people were lounging around on folding chairs "Excuse me?" she asked.
A young man with dark curly hair looked up at her "You do know that the show started hours ago right?"
"I know," Velma retorted "I was just wondering if you know where the ticket takers hang out during the performance."
"You're looking at 'em sweetheart," another young man replied as he shot Velma an appraising look. Shaggy caught sight of the look that the ticket taker was giving Velma and he instinctively moved closer to her.
Velma was just about to say something when just as she predicted the ghost made it's way down the hall. "You couldn't leave well enough alone!" the specter moaned as it approached the group.
"Zoinks!" Shaggy exclaimed as he and Scooby made a mad dash. But the ghost was too fast and snatched Shaggy by his shirt. Shaggy's running feet kept moving for a few seconds before her realized he was caught.
Velma didn't waist time. She grabbed a handful of the ghost's costume and pulled. The black and gray robes came away easily to reveal a blond young woman.
"Alexis?" Fred and Daphne exclaimed.
"Exactly," Velma confirmed.
Alexis growled at Velma "This isn't over," she proclaimed. She ran off, dragging Shaggy along with her.
The chaos had only just begun. Fred, Daphne, Velma and a tooth baring Scooby gave chase to Alexis as she continued to maintain an iron grip on Shaggy. She was dragging the frightened young man by his arm now. Shaggy was calling out to his friends for help.
Scooby was the closest to Alexis and Shaggy as they rounded a corner. Velma was hot on his heels and nearly ran him over when she rounded the corner to see Scooby staring in confusion at a dead end.
"What happened?" Velma asked as Fred and Daphne caught up.
"Ri don't know," Scooby whimpered as he thought of poor Shaggy and how he was now unable to help his best friend.
XXX
On a catwalk high above the stage, shadowed by darkness and unseen by the audience, Shaggy was being forced to make his way along. He attempted to call out for help but Alexis produced a gun from her pocket which quickly shut him up.
They reached the other side of the catwalk and Alexis pushed open another secret panel which lead back into the hallway. She closed the panel behind her. She dragged Shaggy down the hall into a small room and shut the door.
"You and your friends think you're so smart don't you?" she asked harshly as she shoved Shaggy against the wall "You just couldn't leave it alone."
"Like," Shaggy gulped hard, his eyes never leaving the gun in her hand "Why did you do it?"
Alexis chuckled "My real name is Alexis Anderson. Ambrose Anderson was my ancestor. When Marcel Mathis proved that he was guilty of murdering Malachi, my family was driven into poverty. Why do you think I work at the restaurant and have a job here?" she grinned at Shaggy as she pushed him up against the wall "We're gonna be in here for a while, might as well have some fun while we're here." Alexis's lips crashed down on Shaggy's.
Shaggy gulped as he felt her body press against his. While she held the gun against his head with one hand, her other crept around to free him from his pants. Shaggy had a feeling that he wasn't going to like where this was going.
A/N: So we know who done it but as Alexis said, it isn't over yet. Please review.
