Crossroads
Chapter seven: Secrets
Part one
"I'm here." He turned, the last of his sanity drifting away like soft butter in a hot skillet. The red headed ghostly figure, still dressed in the short nightgown she had worn when he secured her to the bed, stepped forward. She stood with her arms held straight out, palms up. "I've come for you."
"As I have," a blond haired figure formed beside the first.
"And I." Another and yet another shape appeared. Each muttering the mantra, "I've come for you." The whitish mist roiled as more shapes appeared.
"No! No! I killed you all! You're not real!" He screamed, his eyes wide with fear. His only thought was to get away. To save himself. And so, he ran; falling in the debris, rolling to his feet, continuing to run.
A whistle sounded, reverberated throughout the room and beyond.
-Xxx
Part two
"You may want to change into something suitable before meeting the police." Velma handed over a small case. "We wouldn't want our kidnapped heroine meeting the authorities in her night clothes."
While the others cleared the dry ice and repacked the puppet costumes, Daphne stepped behind the filthy blanket the guys had arranged. "Sorry, Daphne," sheepishly, Fred averted his eyes, "this is the best we can do for now."
"It's okay Freddie. Thank you, guys." She wanted a shower, a long hot shower but that would have to wait. She pulled the night dress over her head, replacing it with her favorite underwear and wrap around dress. Getting dressed in regular clothes did wonders for her moral.
A whistle could be heard from outside, "Freddie, what was that?"
"A little surprise we had set up for that puppet weirdo. The police have the place surrounded; that was our signal that they have him in custody. It's over, Daphne."
Daphne had seen it before, knew what it was. The wheelchair leaned against the wall, abandoned, the seat torn with padding sticking out and falling onto the floor. The question wasn't what it was but why was it here? Freaky wouldn't need an wheelchair; his uncle had been in prison until his death two years previously.
"It's not over! Shaggy, get upstairs," Daphne was near screaming. "Get the police down here."
"What are you talking about, Daph. You're safe, that weirdo is on his way to jail." An astounded Fred wrapped her in his arms.
"I know his secret. Freddie, I want this guy put away so far he'll never see the light of day."
-Xxx
"What is this about, Miss Blake? What do you expect to find?" It hadn't taken Shaggy long to return with the police chief and several officers. Chief Carver was bald and losing the battle of the bulge after twenty-five years in law enforcement but still had a commanding air about him.
"I'm hoping I'm wrong, Chief." Daphne shivered, hugged herself and leaned into the comforting embrace of Fred's arms. "I can only imagine what we'll find."
The Chief looked like it was a waste of time but nodded at the officers. "Okay, boys. Open it up."
The old door creaked and groaned from neglect. What the light from their flashlights revealed made the group step back, nauseated. Chief carver had seen many things in his years of police work but nothing could have prepared him for what lay in the glare of the flashlights. A dozen or more skeletons littered the floor in a random, discarded manner. From the torn and shredded clothing most looked to be female but at this point nothing was a sure bet. But this wasn't what would haunt their thoughts for a long time.
In one corner, setting in a rotting armchair, the padding pooling on the floor, sat a shrunken, decomposed body. This time there was no mistake, sitting like a queen holding court over the scattered bones, the body was unquestionably female.
"Seal the room as a crime scene. Get on the horn for the corner. It's going to be a long night."
-Xxx
As soon as possible, after giving statements to the police, the gang and Scooby left the unsettling environment for the more pleasing surroundings of home. The trip was made in silence; Velma and Fred sat in the back while Shaggy drove, glancing often at Daphne sitting beside him.
Arriving at home, Shaggy went about making hot drinks, surprised to find only Daphne waiting in the living room.
"Where's Fred and Velma?" He sat the drinks on the coffee table, sitting beside her on the sofa.
"Fred said something about taking a pain pill and going to bed, guess his ribs are still hurting. I think all this has bothered Velma a lot more than she's letting on."
It was Daphne who noticed the blinking light on the answering machine, stretching to finger the 'replay' key. Sounds of traffic was all there was on the tape until the very end; "...Say goodbye to your friend!"
"That's him!" Her hands shook, her eyes growing wide in alarm. He took her in his arms, hugging her close.
"It's over, Daph." He caressed her hair until she calmed down. "He can't hurt you now."
"When did you get so smart? It was you that put the clues together, saved Fred, I want to know how, and you saved me."
She drew back, looking up into the concern in his eyes, "you're not as cowardly as you act."
His face, long and narrow as ever, reflected a warmth of spirit she missed in Fred. This man who comforted her now had a kindness and gentleness few got a chance to observe. He stood, pacing the room like a caged tiger.
He returned to the couch, sat beside the red head but he didn't wrap her in his arms. "I didn't do much...my fight or flight syndrome is more flight than fight. Once I realized the accident wasn't an accident, I thought it might be a good idea to have Fred moved to another room. It took some talking but after explaining to the doctor, he agreed. We set up a medical instructional dummy in Fred's room.
"I could have ran then, but you girls were in danger, I couldn't just leave you and Velma. I couldn't live with the consequences if I did."
"What do you think they'll do with...you know?"
"Oh, mental evaluation first to see if he's sane enough for trial. I doubt if he'll see a trial from what Velma found and the police will find."
"How did he get in, all the door were locked. Maybe we should have the locks re-keyed."
"I don't know what it's called but it's like a lock-gun. Highly illegal for public use; they're for police use only. The locksmith will be here in the morning."
"Well, I need a shower and sleep." Her lips were soft against his, "Thank you, Shaggy, for not running away. Good-night."
"Good-night, Daph. I think I'll clean up before I turn in."
-Xxx
Several days later...
It was completely against all the rules but that had never stopped Mystery Inc.; Daphne and the gang should never been allowed into the patient area. She rarely used her father's wealth or power to get what she wanted. This was one of those rare exceptions. Fred took her hand, intertwining their fingers in encouragement. She looked up into his eyes, smiled and then focused on the three men approaching in their direction.
Bernard had been cleaned up, dressed in white hospital pants and tee-shirt. He walked peacefully between two burly assistants, coming to a stop in front of the red head and blond. All the cleaning couldn't hide the damage the fire he had set had done to his face; no wonder he had worn a mask. One half of his face resembled cooked hamburger, one eye leaked watery fluid constantly.
"They say my son kidnapped you." It was strange to hear the feminine falsetto voice coming from a man's mouth. Daphne shuddered inwardly but gave no outward indication of her revulsion. "He was always a bad boy. His father wanted me to put him away but I couldn't do that to my son...could you?"
"Do you think they'll let me have a new dress?" The assistants pushed him-her-into a room. A single bed, bolted to the wall, was the only relief in the stark white room. "I'd like something in a periwinkle blue."
The closing door had the click of eternal doom; with the closing of the door, their chore completed, the two assistants walked away to their next task. Daphne tried to follow but found she was drawn to the little window embedded in the door. The occupant walked to the bed, bending to examine the shackles attached at each corner. He-she-sat on the edge of the bed before looking back at the window and seeing the redhead looking in, smiled.
"Freddie, when I said I didn't want him to see the light of day ever again, I didn't imagine it would be like this."
Hand in hand, they walked quickly away.
TBC
