Previously on WTW~ Fred & Daphne party, Daphne goes on a date, knifes are found!

VPOV

"Velma, how long do Poppies take to grow, do you think?" my mom's voice called out from the kitchen.

"The flowers?" I asked, crossing my fingers that this wasn't a problem that I would have leave my room to help with. I'd only just started this new mystery, and putting it down wasn't on my list of things to do anytime soon.

"Yes, if I planted a few, how long until they would bloom?"

Apparently my finger-crossing was for naught, so I put the bookmark in and rose from my bed. I answered as I moved towards where she was sitting at the dining table, staring at a tiny package of poppy seeds. "Poppies don't grow naturally around here, Mom."

"Well yes, I know that," she rolled her eyes. "Oh, did you by any chance empty the compost yesterday? There really isn't as much in there as I figured, and the little guy is pretty hungry."

Her inability to stay on the same train of thought astounded me. "I didn't touch the compost, Mom."

"Do you think there would be pig food at the pet store, then? I really don't think that what's in there right now is enough." She was still reading the little packet of seeds.

"I really don't think Mr. Jameson stocks up on pig food."

"The packet says that they bloom in early summer, but they do well in the cold. Darn, it's been relatively warm this year, hasn't it?"

"We got snow in March, Mom."

"That's right, well- it's still been pretty warm these past few weeks. It's just about early summer, don't you think?"

"Mom, you can't just plant the seeds now and have them spring up in a few days. It takes longer than that."

"Are you sure?" she looked at me for the first time in the entire conversation.

"Yes, I'm sure."

"Well, okay. I think I'm going to pop down to the pet store and see if they have any pig food."

"They aren't going to, Mom," I warned halfheartedly. Whatever, if it let me get back to my book, then she could run all over the damn town looking for pig food if she wanted.

"I should just buy poppies that have already bloomed and plant them, no one has to know that they don't grow naturally, right?" she mused, pursing her lips.

"Everyone knows that poppies don't grow naturally around here, Mom. No one's ever seen any of them around. They're going to know."

"That just means that they're going to stand out, darling," she patted my cheek condescendingly.

"Why do you need blooming poppies in the first place?"

"Oh, they're going to be a sign from above," she shrugged. "Maybe I could just add more to the compost, build it up so that there's more for the little guy."

The little guy was the pig. The pig that she refused to name. She claimed that until she could be one hundred percent sure that it was given to her with only the best intentions, she just couldn't justify naming it. Because heaven forbid she name it a name that didn't fully express what the pig's intentions were. If only she had been so meticulous about names when she was picking Velma out.

"Adding to the compost sounds better than trying to find actual pig food."

"Hm, I guess I'll go to the store, then." I didn't know if she was talking about the grocery store or the pet store, but I knew better than to ask.

"Don't forget to pick up the poppies, too."

"Oh, yes, can't forget them," she laughs, and I know that she had forgotten them and probably would again. "They're very important to my long standing account with the Sawyers, you know."

"Oh, really?" I try my best to feign an interest.

"Yes, if I can convince Anne that the flowers are a sign from her mother, then I'm practically guaranteed business with them for the rest of time."

So it was another trick, figured. For someone so seemingly scatter-brained, she sure was good at pulling things over on her various clients.

"Why poppies?"

"Poppies signify consolation, dear," she told me as if it was unbelievable that I didn't already know it. "Anne's mother just died, and it only makes sense that her mother would want to console her only child."

"Right." Was Mom a con? Sort of, but I didn't really think about it that way. She wasn't really honest with the people she dealt with, but what she did didn't really hurt anyone. This whole flower fiasco itself would most likely just end up comforting the grieving daughter, and there wasn't anything wrong with that that I could see.

"Bye, darling." With one last wave, she was gone. Knowing her, and her propensity for getting distracted, she would likely be out for hours.

I sighed, but then returned to my book. It wasn't to be, though, because before I could even get past the chapter I was on, there was a knock on the door.

Daphne and Shaggy stood on the other side. What the hell?

"Hey Velm, Shaggy showed me which one was your's, hope that's okay," Daphne spoke first.

"Um, yeah."

"It's very… bright," Daphne raised one eyebrow, making it clear that she had a lot of adjectives that she was holding back about the various poster pasted onto the trailer that I called home. I appreciated the gesture.

"Come on in, guys." They walked in, and Daphne immediately pulled her cell phone out, seemingly checking for messages. Well, she was one of the popular girl's, right? That wasn't so weird. Her expression of total desolation afterward, was pretty weird. Must be a guy.

Shaggy made his way in, and I couldn't help but ask, "Where's Scooby?"

"He's, uh, he's sort of afraid of your pig," Shaggy ran a hand through his hair. "Won't come near this place when the pig's out front. So I had to leave him at home this time."

"Scooby's, like three times the size of the pig, Shaggy," I felt the need to point out.

He shrugged then looked away, clearly not interested in continuing that particular conversation. Not that I blamed him. Wasn't a dog that big supposed to be fearless?

"So we just wanted to stop in for an update," Daphne said, shifting the conversation towards the case. "Fred's sort of climbing up the walls, trying to figure out what's next. He's too nice to pressure you into speeding things up, but clearly I'm not." Weird that she would mention Fred, and even take the time to compliment him.

"Well, I don't have any good news," I admitted. "Neither of the knives that you guys found would have been what made cuts like there were on the victims. The one that Fred found had a very distinct shape at the end, and the cuts it makes are very unique- the authorities would have picked up on its use right away. And the hunting knife that you found had a cutting radius that was too big, if that makes any sense."

"So it's a dead end," Daphne's shoulders slumped.

"I mean, that particular strand of the case is, yes. But that's not the end of things. I've been trying to connect the dots between the two victims, to see if there is anything there that can be used."

"And have you found anything?"

"Not yet. Well, nothing really. I had wanted to get something pretty substantial before breaking the bad news to you guys, soften a blow a little bit I guess." I might not have always been super into this whole werewolf investigation, but I knew that it was Fred's baby and Daphne's pride. Plus, now that we were looking for a man and not a mythical monster, I was able to take the whole thing a whole lot more seriously.

"Sort of sounds like you found something, when you talk like that," Shaggy spoke up.

"I mean, they were both involved in the political races, but they were working for different sides, doing totally different things. The first guy was actually working for Elliot Reese, Walter Blake's number one opponent in the next race? He was just a page, though, practically a secretary. Victor Freeman was a worker in the race of one of the independent parties that were trying to gather enough support to enter a candidate. It wasn't likely to happen, but he worked tirelessly at it nonetheless. I don't know, it didn't seem like much of a connection to me."

"And that was all you could find?"

"I've been looking, I really have. But that's it."

"I mean, it's a start, right?" Shaggy said.

Sure, its a start.

SPOV

"Get in the van, Rogers," Fred announced as I passed by. He was leaning against the ugly ass thing, arms crossed, probably trying to look intimidating. Well, mission accomplished dude.

People from all around started staring at me. Why me? I wasn't the one who was accosting people innocently walking home. That was Freddie boy, they should be staring at him. Not that they would risk pissing off their hero, or whatever.

"Don't just stand there, get in," he ordered when he'd decided that I'd gone too long without blindly following him.

I hated people like this, ones who just expected everyone to bend to their every whim. It had been a pretty bad day- I usually didn't have to go to school on Mondays, but Dad was still lurking around home and skipping wasn't so much an option. Anyways, I wasn't in a mood to be ordered around any more than I already had. Freddie-boy was pushing it.

But, of course, I did eventually get into the stupid van. Because I wanted to keep my face the way it was.

"We have to go pick up Velma and Daph, then we're all heading out," Fred informed me as he got in.

"Nobody told me we were doing case shit today."

"I didn't know until third period, actually. Daph and I were texting and I got this idea. I thought we should visit the family of the injured guy. They live in the area, so we won't have to be on the road for too long. Plus I don't have practice until later tonight, so it all works."

"I might have had plans, you know."

"Oh, my bad," the ass scoffs. "You have someone waiting for you on a streetcorner somewhere? Or maybe you want to go meet up with some freshmen again, and make them buy you're skeevy ass product? Don't be an idiot, Rogers, this is more important."

Again, I swallow my words. Because I'm no idiot.

"I figured Velma would still be at the school, you go in and get her, and I'll go and pick Daphne up. We'll meet you two back here in fifteen. Think you can handle that?"

"Whatever, dude. I'll do it."

"I know."

The rest of the ride is silent. Fred doesn't have anything else to add, and I'm not dumb enough to speak up. He dumps me at the doors of the ridiculously pretentious school, and wheels off. I can't believe where I was. How in the hell was I supposed to find one person in this huge place? The school itself was bigger than the entire Trailer Park. Maybe not exactly, but damn near enough to make finding Velma almost impossible.

"Hey," a chirpy voice came from my side. "You lost?"

I turned to face the pretty blonde who was standing next to me. She looked like she was a little shy of an intellectual, the way she was standing with her head tilted just so. Hot, sure, but maybe not the smartest bolt in the barrel. "Do I look lost?"

"You don't look like anyone I've ever seen before," Blondie giggled, the way that all girls like her giggle.

"Then I guess I'm lost."

"I'm Jess," she smiles. "Can I help you with anything?"

She definitely could. But Freddie-boy was going to be back in thirteen minutes, and I really didn't have time. Especially if I was going to need to find Velma in this monstrosity of a place. "Do you know where Velma Dinkley is?"

"Um, I don't know who that is," she giggled again, as if that sentence was funny for any reason.

"You don't seem to know a lot of people."

"Oh, I know plenty of people," she ensured me. "Important people, at least. I can help you look for her, if you want. Is she your girlfriend?"

"No, just a friend."

"Awesome," she gets impossibly more bubbly. "Well where do you think she would be? School's already out, so she probably isn't in class anymore."

Where would Velma be hanging out after school? I doubted she booked it out of there as fast as possible like I did- this place was a hundred times nicer than any trailer. Plus she had a pig at her place, not a Scooby. I couldn't really blame her for hanging out as long as possible. "Um, library?" Velma liked to read, right?

With the help of Jess, I managed to get to the library without getting lost. And lo and behold, there she was. Sitting at a table, reading. Score one for Shaggy, I'd guessed right.

"Oh, wow, I know you!" Blondie chirped, this time in Velma's direction. "You were in the bathroom the other day, right? Wow, small world, right?"

"We were in the same gym class last year," Velma spoke without looking up from her book, which seemed like the perfect response to me.

"Right, totally! I meant, like, how I knew you from this year," the girl tried her best to save herself, looking at me with a grin. "So, like, I guess I'll see you guys later? Right, V? I'll see you in school tomorrow. And um, I'll see you around too? Maybe?"

"Maybe," I said, not in the mood to commit to anything.

Blondie sauntered off, in such a way that I knew she thought I was watching. Which I guess I was- but that wasn't the point. I looked back to Velma, "Fred has a scheme. We have to be outside in ten."

"I have homework," she pointed to what I now noticed was a textbook that she had been reading.

"I don't think Fred cares."

"Well maybe I don't care about Fred's scheme," she huffs. But she moves to pack up her bag anyways, so its clear that her little comment isn't actually true.

Neither of us want to be there, standing outside the school waiting for him to show up, that much is clear. But, we are. Like the dutiful little puppies that we are to Freddie-boy. It's no wonder I'm scowling.

He does show, five minutes late, with Daphne in tow. "Get in," he says. What a charmer.

"It's like a twenty minute drive," Daphne explains as Fred drives off. "We'll be there in no time."

Velma pulls out her book again and continues reading. Well at least she's able to continue doing what she wanted to be doing. I needed to get home to feed and walk Scooby, plus my Dad is still home and he's going to be pissed that I'm not coming home right away. Damn Fred.

We make it there after a good twenty minutes of silent brooding from me, reading from Velma, and Freddie and Daphne singing along to the radio. Badly, for the record. The place is nice enough. Nicer than my digs, for sure. We spill out of the van and walk up to the front door. Of course Fred's the one who knocks.

Its a nice older lady who answers the knock. She's older than my dad, for sure. But not as old as my ancient science teacher- somewhere in between. She's dressed like the typical old lady, in clothes that she could have possibly made herself.

"Can I help you kids?"

"Yes, hello," Daphne chooses to speak up. "My name is Daphne Blake, are you Amelia Freeman?"

"Yes?"

"We, uh, we'd like to speak with you about your son, Victor? Do you have any time right now?"

"Not much, but I'm sure I can squeeze you lot in. Do you know Victor from his work?"

"Yes," the lie falls easily off of Daphne's tongue, and I try to look agreeing.

"What did you kids want to know? Victor's actually getting out of the hospital in a day or so, you can always just speak to him then, you know."

"We want to get a comprehensive view of your son, and getting some opinion from you, as his mother, would really just be really useful. So we were just wondering, how involved were you in your son's life?"

"Oh, nothing more than the typical mother does with her adult son," she titters a little. "We talked on the phone every now and then, not as often as I would have liked, I'll admit."

"And did he ever speak to you about his personal life?"

"What do you mean? Like women?"

"Um, not so much women, as enemies. We're just wondering if your son ever reported or spoke of having any enemies in his personal life. An ex, or a guy who took something the wrong way, or really anything like that."

"Oh, no, nothing like that," she raised her thin hand up to her heart in a fluttery fashion. "Victor is a very likeable guy, I assure you."

"But if someone were looking for enemies of Victor's, where would you guess they would have to look"

"Well, if I had to point the finger anywhere- then I would point it towards his work, I guess. Like I said, he was a great guy. Bit if he had anyone who would wish him harm, then it must have been politically. Politics is a game, after all."

"Yes, so we've heard," Daphne smiled blandly, as if her dad weren't in the game himself.

"That Blake character, Victor would talk about him being pretty dangerous. He mentioned him a few times, I'm pretty sure. Yes, I'm positive. If you kids want to deal with an enemy of Victor, them I'm sure you need to be looking at Walter Blake."

We all look at Daphne, trying to figure out how she would react. Hoping that it wouldn't be badly, is more like it. But she handled it like a pro- like the true child of a politician in fact. She only smiled and said, "Thank you so much Ms. Freeman. We appreciate it!"

"Bye kids, thanks for stopping by!"

We all headed back to the van, and Fred started driving without speaking. I don't think any of us were expecting that. We each got dropped off one by one, and I climbed out of the side after Velma had been dropped back off at the school and her car. I shot Daphne a look before getting out, but she was just staring stoically ahead, hardly even blinking.

A/N:

Here it is! Thanks so much for everyone's patience and reviews- you're all amazing!