Velma felt lethargic and unmotivated the next day, knowing that something was going to happen in connection to Lily but she couldn't be a part of it, no matter how much she wanted to be. She didn't tell Fred, but knew that he could tell something was amiss; whenever he so much as glanced in her direction his eyes narrowed in suspicion.
Daphne and the other boys seemed oblivious. It felt strange to both Fred and Velma, trying to act normal when feeling anything but. They tried to talk in private, but as they were on vacation there weren't as many chances as there were generally.
Velma decided, eventually, that she and Fred should go down to the beach and see what was happening tonight.
They walked down together at about five to three, Velma wearing her bikini under her jacket so that if anyone asked, they were just going for a swim. Velma had a definite and probably very accurate feeling Daphne would disapprove, so she'd made Fred swear he wouldn't breathe a word of this to the rest of the gang.
His reply was typical: "Do I really look that stupid?"
Velma searched for a while, trying to find the sand dune. But there were no obvious differences to Lily's dune; all Velma knew was that it had a large clump of beach grass on top, like several other sand dunes.
Eventually, they gave up the search, deciding that they weren't going to get anywhere, and remembering Lily's warning hid.
No sooner had they hidden themselves than a man wearing a dark jacket and jeans walked onto the beach, silhouetted in the moonlight. He walked over to a sand dune, and as he did so there were tears spilling over his face and onto the jacket.
The stranger knelt down at the foot of the dune, and started saying something. Then he pulled out a small gardener's pocket shovel and started digging at the sand. He was holding something in one hand that neither member of Mystery Inc. had been able to make out, but as he drew it into the moonlight they realised it was a single white lily, pure and beautiful, like the girl it was named after.
The man simply pushed the lily into the soil and carried on sobbing, then left.
As soon as he was gone, the wind became a familiar voice:
"Do not go now. Go tomorrow."
And the two obeyed her without question, walking back up to the hotel quietly, not talking to each other, each embedded in their own thoughts.
As Fred was about to walk into his room, Velma leaned over and whispered in his ear.
"Not a word to anybody, Freddy, this is between us. OK?"
He nodded and they parted, each still immersed in their thoughts.
"Where are you disappearing to?"
Velma had the shock of her life when she walked into the bedroom. Daphne was sitting up in bed with a cross look on her face.
"It's three in the morning, Velma! First Freddy, now you… What's happening, and why don't I know about it?"
Velma sighed.
"To fully explain I'd need Freddy here, and he's not, so I can't explain."
Daphne glared at her. Velma knew she was being evasive, and it showed on her face. It only infuriated Daphne more.
"I'm going to have this out now, with the pair of you in here, and talking, and being honest about what's happening here. I need to know, don't think I've been completely oblivious to all this scheming and these little talks behind my back. I want the truth!"
Velma whistled to herself as she walked slowly next door.
"She's getting smarter…"
Fred poked his head out of the door as she approached it, startling her.
"I know, I thought we'd gotten away with it!"
"Freddy! What-"
"Velma, I think the whole hotel heard Daphne just then. Come on, we'll have this out, but I wish we had a cover story. She might not like the truth."
"I heard that, Freddy Jones!" called a voice from next door.
Freddy bit back a smile and the two walked into the girl's room.