Chapter 12 - Caught in a net (literally)
The sound of Evan's heavy footsteps on the stone floor echoed throughout the building. Gun at the ready in his right hand, he shoved open door after door with his left, hell-bent on finding Marcie. "Where are you, Fleach?" he snarled as he patrolled the hallway. Once he found that girl, there would be no mercy. Evan would see to that. The girl had to pay for what she had done.
A whistle sounded from the other end of the hallway, directly behind him. Evan pivoted on the ball of his foot and there, standing several feet away, was none other than Marcie Fleach. She waved at him, smiling innocently. "Looking for someone, Evan?" Without warning, Evan pointed the gun at her and fired. Fortunately for Marcie, she ducked just in time. "Catch me if you can!" Marcie shouted teasingly before darting out of sight.
Growling in frustration, Evan immediately set off after her. He skidded to a halt at the end of the hall and turned to the left to once again see Marcie, now standing in the doorway of a nearby room. She smirked mischievously and scampered inside. Evan scampered after her. The room he ran into was filled with piles of old rubbish but, surprisingly, Marcie was nowhere in sight. BANG! The door slammed shut behind him. Before he could turn around, somebody grabbed him from behind and wrestled him to the ground. Then somebody else threw a net over him and covered his head with an old rusty a bucket and bound his hands and feet. He struggled and fought against them but they were too strong and forced him to lie still. Then he heard the door open and slam shut again and the soft click of a key turning in the lock. Outside the room, Velma, Marcie, Shaggy and Scooby Doo all exchanged high-fives.
"Great work, guys!" Velma complimented. "I'm sorry for putting you in danger, Marcie."
"No problem, V. I know that, out of us four, it was me Evan wanted most. So it was logical that I be the bait."
"Like, I'm just glad it was somebody else for a change" Shaggy said.
"Reah, re too" said Scooby.
"By the way, did you guys manage to overhear Evan's confession?" Velma asked.
"Better" Marcie answered, pulling her phone out of her pocket. "I recorded him! Now, let's get the police down here ASAP."
The police couldn't arrive at the warehouse quick enough. While the other officers handcuffed Evan and bundled him into a police car, Shaggy, Velma, Marcie and Scooby explained what had happened to Sheriff Bronson Stone, giving him a brief but detailed summary of the crime and showing him the recording of Evan's confession. With all the evidence against him, the sheriff had no choice but to convict Evan, then they all drove back to Crystal Cove. Upon returning to the town, the group wasted no time getting to the police station and took (perhaps) just a little too much pleasure in watching Evan get dragged off to the cells. A short while later, Fred was released and, on the insistence of the gang, given a formal apology by the sheriff.
The gang couldn't have been happier to see Fred. Scooby smothered him with slobbery, affectionate licks while Shaggy and the girls embraced him tightly. By the time they saw fit to release him, Fred was quite red in the face.
"Well, that was a nice greeting" Fred commented as he wiped his face dry. "So, what did I miss?"
As they left the station, the group all delivered him snippets of their adventures over the last few days, each from their own perspective. Fred was beyond shocked when they told him about Todd's murder and his eyes very nearly popped out of his head when they told him Evan was the one responsible for the whole crime. "So...this was his revenge?!" His blood boiled at the very thought. The fact that anybody would even dream of hurting his Daphne for the sake of petty revenge angered him more than anything else in the world. "If prison doesn't kill that sick, twisted psychopath, I will" Fred promised.
"I don't think you'll have to worry about that, Fred. After what Evan did, he'd be lucky to see daylight again" Marcie told him.
They all piled into the Mystery Machine with Fred back behind the wheel, where he belonged. They were about to set off for the hospital when Marcie's phone buzzed with a number that they assumed belonged to one of her work colleagues. "Hello?" Marcie said, putting the phone to her ear. "Yeah, what's up?...What about Daphne? What's happened?...What?! Are you serious? Is she really?...Oh my gosh, that's great news! I'll tell them right away!"
She hung up her phone and turned to the gang with a huge grin spread across her face. They all stared at her inquiringly, wondering what she was so happy about. As if she had read their thoughts, Marcie told them "It's Daphne. She's awake!"
