Chapter 11: The Conditions and the adventure begins!

October 2, 2008

That day, the latest twist to the Iawo Takamoto Middle School Skeleton Men case came when Senator Jones abruptly withdraws his bid for re-election.

It came after two of the crooks involved in the racket agreed to make a deal with the district attorney, in which they named the key people behind the jewel smuggling racket and handed over key evidence linking those people to the racket, such as recorded phone calls, email messages and documentation, in exchange for a reduced sentence.

The names on the list of individuals involved in the racket included a handful of City Hall officials, including Senator Jones' aide and his campaign finance manager.

The list also named a corrupt senior member of the police department as being involved in helping covering up an expense scandal, in which the mayor canceled a light rail expansion project just as the foundations for one of the new stations was being formed and billed taxpayers with knocking down the unfinished station structures.

With those two crooks making the deal and exposing the involvement of those public officials in the racket, the finance manager in Senator Jones' re-election campaign find himself in the hot seat, and with a lot of questions from the latest developments and twists in the case, the senator found himself unable to dodge questions related to his involvement, which led to his decision to withdraw his bid for re-election.

That early afternoon, Inspector Sam Rogers was in his office signing the case files when there was a knock on the door.

In came Deputy Chief JP Miller, the Director of the Detective Bureau who succeeded now-Assistant Chief Derek Harewood to the post but has bad blood with Sam.

"Well played, Rogers." Miller said after knocking the door, and Sam can hear a tone of bitterness in his voice. "Well played."

"What can I do for you, Chief?" Sam replied evenly as he looked up and met Miller's face. "Don't tell me you're here to tell me that my way of running the bureau isn't the way forward and that the old ways are better."

"Congratulations, Rogers." Miller huffed. "You've just brought down another one of your own."

As it turned out, Miller was one of the senior police officers named as being involved in the racket.

"Well, what can I say?" Sam shrugged. "The likes of you in this department never fulfill your duty of upholding the law by ignoring the weak and protecting the powerful, particularly the ones that uses criminal means to stay in power. The citizens are clearly sick of this trend continuing, especially with the latest development of the case."

"Oh, is that right?" Miller retorted. "Those meddling kids should have minded their own business, and did you realize that they almost got killed while playing detective at their school?"

"Yes, I am aware of that, Chief." Sam replied evenly as he crossed his arms. "However, can you help it if those kids were curious on what was going on at their school? I'm sure you won't be able to focus much at school if you learn that something suspicious is going on at school."

Sam then stood up and came to be face-to-face with the former Internal Affairs investigator that investigated his actions in the Incident of '85 as he continued.

"In fact, thanks to the likes of you, this police department has became a laughing stock for all other departments in the state, and the fact that the police required the assistance of a bunch of 'meddling kids' to make a major discovery in the case makes us a bigger joke." He continued. "Somehow, I'm glad those kids stepped in when they did, because that certainly shows us what is wrong with this department."

"You think you have won, Rogers?" Miller asked. "You think this is over? This city is my city, and the officers of this department? They all work for me, born and raised in Coolsville, and none of them belongs to outsiders like you! Actually, more like, this department doesn't belong to insiders corrupted by the influence of outsiders!"

"This city doesn't belong to you, either, Chief." Sam replied evenly. "The people makes the choice on who runs this city, and they expect officers to be fulfilling their duty in upholding the law and are held accountable for their actions if they don't fulfill their duty. You don't own us, and we don't work for slackers who does nothing to uphold the law."

"Us?" Miller growled. "You're not one of us! You've lost your place in this city when you shot Officer Beyak and got transferred to New York as a result of your irresponsible actions! Why can't you just transfer back to New York, where you belong?"

"Because I choose not to." Sam replied defiantly. "Even if I were to be given the chance to transfer back to New York, I won't. This city is my home, and is the home of my children and their friends."

He then took a deep breath before he continued, speaking in a stern voice, "I was sworn in as an officer to enforce the law and to make things better for my children and future generations."

With his arms folded, Sam then continued.

"If you ask me again about that shooting, I'd say that it was a good shooting and that I'll do it again." He continued defiantly. "Beyak shouldn't have raided that warehouse with her husband that night, and after my transfer back to Coolsville, I've promised myself that I'm not going to let the likes of you, Beyak, Strickland and Gosnell ruin this city."

He then sat back into his seat in a manner that indicates that he has no intention in continuing with the discussion.

Miller was about to say something when Sergeant McCormick's knock on the door signals him that he has got ten seconds to leave Sam's office before he takes action.

As Sam resumes his work, he found himself unable to keep his children out of his mind, and he was now wondering if he and the other parents were too harsh on them.

Later that evening, as he prepares to head home, the telephone rang.

"Hello?" He asked as he answered the phone after noting that it was Skip Jones calling.

Pause.

"Yes, I am aware of that, Mr. Jones. Why?"

Another pause.

"A case file, eh?"

Another pause.

"Alright. How about I meet with you tomorrow at your office to discuss this?"

A pause with a nod.

"Certainly. I've got a feeling we may have to meet with the others tomorrow to discuss the matter."

October 3, 2008

That afternoon, the kids and Scooby waited outside the closed door to the kitchen at Shaggy's place as the parents held a meeting inside.

"I wonder what's this parent meeting about." Fred remarked.

"I don't know." Daphne shrugged. "I only hope that we're not in bigger trouble."

"Yeah, like, it's bad enough that Scoob has to stay with his parents during this month of grounding." Shaggy added.

Their conversation was interrupted when the door opened, and out came their parents.

"So...What's the news?" Fred asked. "Are we still grounded? What have we done this time?"

"This time, nothing serious, Frederick." Peggy replied to her son. "However, your father discovered a case file on the floor under the doorway to your room yesterday while he was on his way to work."

Velma, Madelyn, Daphne, Shaggy, Sugie and Scooby all turned to Fred, who looked embarrassed when he remembered that he had forgotten to completely shut the window in his room that morning, resulting in the breeze blowing the case file he had written earlier off his desk and onto the floor.

Before he had a chance to enquire, Skip said, "Yes. I did pick it up and was completely taken aback on the details of the case you've laid out, including observations from the case. I had a hard time believing that you had written the file, even though I recognized your handwriting, Fred."

"And then, out of curiosity, your father and I looked through your room and found similarly-written case files on a notebook." Peggy continued. "You sure seem keen on pinpointing Red Herring as the culprit in each of your mysteries, huh?"

Fred was shocked by the revelation, but Velma filled him in by asking, "So, what was the meeting about?"

"After Skip made the discovery, he called Sam and they discussed the files." Her father Steve replied. "They then decided to call a meeting with the rest of us, and after some discussions, we've decided that your punishment was too harsh."

"So, does that mean we're no longer grounded?" Sugie asked.

"Not quite." Wendy replied. "Instead, you're now only grounded for the remainder of the week, and once that has ended, you kids have the freedom of solving mysteries, but only if you follow the following conditions."

"Sure, Mom." Shaggy nodded. "Like, what are they?"

"First off: Until they turn 11, Madelyn and Maggie are not allowed to be involved." Sam began.

"Second: Your activity is limited to be at Dawsburg. The rest of the city is completely off-limits until you all start attending high school after turning 14." George continued.

"Third: You must spend at least two hours per week here at the Rogers house for Inspector Rogers to teach you the safety responsibilities related to the field of detective work, starting next week." Skip added.

"Fourth: Unless absolutely necessary, there will be no split-ups." Steve continued. "And even if you kids do have to split-up, stay in groups of two or three at all times. Never go alone."

"Fifth: You boys will be looking after the girls and be making sure that nothing terrible happens to them." Wendy added. "Do not split-up through the gender lines, unless Daphne and Velma decides to go with one of the boys."

"And finally, Daphne." Elizabeth concluded. "Jenkins will be keeping a sharp eye on you and your friends regularly. We don not want to risk getting you kidnapped by a criminal or any of you getting hurt."

"Is it all understood?" Sam asked, addressing all of the kids and Scooby.

"Yes, Mom and Dad." The kids all replied to their parents.

October 20, 2008

It has been almost a month since the gang have finished their punishment. They were quite happy to be together and doing mystery-solving again.

After catching a couple of mysteries, both of which turned out to be the doing of Red Herring and his gang doing some scares to the neighbourhood kids, the tree house officially became the gang's new headquarters for mystery-solving.

In addition to using it as a place to meet together and do homework and study, the gang will also discuss their cases.

It was also during this time that Shaggy had gotten a job as the neighbourhood's newspaper delivery boy. Every morning, he will wake up early and find a stack of newspapers waiting for him on the front lawn of his house.

Riding his red bicycle, he will deliver the paper to everyone in the neighbourhood and then return home for breakfast.

That trend will stop, abruptly, when one day, a monster decides to steal his red bicycle.

Well, that's for another story.

So this is it, folks! The adventures of the Scooby-Doo Detective Agency has officially began!

The adventures of the gang continues in Coolsville Central: Two Silent Witnesses. Please read and review!