Chapter 8: Back in the library
No sooner did the trio arrive at where the police cruisers were rushing towards, which was located just a few blocks away from the public library, did they find out the source of excitement.
As it turned out, the source was from none other than the Crab Net of Dr. Calimari. Its parking lot was filled with cruisers as the scene became a law enforcement encampment.
When they arrived, Shaggy, Scooby and Daphne spotted her mother and Shelia Altoonian, along with a few other patrons and staff of the restaurant, conferring with the deputies and walked over.
Nan was wrapping up her witness' statement when she spotted her daughter approaching, prompting her to excuse herself and walked over.
"Daphne, dear." Nan said in greeting, though she made no indication of even seeing Shaggy and Scooby.
"Mom." Daphne remarked before gesturing towards Shaggy and Scooby and added, "I was...just passing by with my friends in walking the dog when we saw this excitement...didn't expect to see you or Ms. Altoonian here."
"Ah, of course." Nan smiled as she finally turned towards Shaggy and Scooby. "I guess your timing couldn't be any better."
"Why? What just happened here, Mrs. Blake?" Shaggy asked, though he felt a queasy tinkle in the pit of his stomach as he started to have a feeling where the conversation was heading.
"Oh, we were just chatting away while waiting for our lunch when the lights went out." Nan snorted. "When the restaurant managed to get the lights back on, one of the staff members discovered that the Chateau Rouge Crimson Ruby Rose Bordeaux 1911 has gone missing from the wine cellar."
"The 1911 Chateau Rouge Bordeaux?" Daphne repeated. "Wouldn't the restaurant have the cellar under lock and key if they indeed hold the 1911 Chateau Rouge Bordeaux?"
"Didn't stop that flying creature that crashed the auction the other night." Shelia interjected as she joined in with the conversation.
"The vampire?" Shaggy asked.
"Oh, please." Nan said dismissively. "There are no such things as vampires, and it hardly adds up when it initially stole a painting that no one at the auction wanted anyway, wouldn't you agree, Shelia?"
"Indeed." Shelia agreed. "Now come on, Nan, we still have that lunchtime tea to finish."
Nan nodded before she said, "Well, I suppose you three are going back to what you were doing, huh?"
"Pretty much yes, Mom." Daphne nodded.
Then, looking at Shaggy and Scooby, Nan added, "And you two promise that you won't be out in the dark too long with Daphne, right?"
"Like, if you're talking about dropping her off before evening, Mrs. Blake, then..." Shaggy began, only for Nan to cut him off.
"I'm sure you know what I'm talking about." Nan said dismissively before taking her leave with Shelia.
The trio exchanged awkward glances with each other before they all exhaled.
"That was a bit unexpected." Shaggy remarked.
"Which one? The run-in with my Mom or the theft of the 1911 Chateau Rouge Bordeaux?" Daphne asked.
"I don't know, to be honest." Shaggy shrugged before he nodded towards a certain direction as he continued, "But that also very much further puts your mother under the microscope."
Daphne arched her eyebrows as she turned towards where Shaggy was nodding at, then she placed her hand on her hips.
As he was speaking, Shaggy noticed the deputy that was interviewing Nan and Shelia earlier was conferring with the sheriff and nodded towards them.
The deputy in question was brief in his summary of Nan and Shelia's statements, and the sheriff was nodding thoughtfully before he looked around and spotted Shaggy, Scooby and Daphne.
"The sheriff seems awfully interested in what my Mom and Ms. Altoonian had to say." Daphne observed as Stone proceeded to make his way towards them.
As he approached the trio, the sheriff frowned.
"Shouldn't you three have better things to do than snooping around?" Stone demanded.
"Maybe, sheriff." Daphne replied. "What is it that my Mom and Ms. Altoonian said that interested you?"
"Oh, just that they mentioned that a vampire was responsible for the theft of the priceless vintage wine." Stone replied arrogantly. "Now, has it ever occurred to you that this vampire they speak of has always appeared at where they were at earlier?"
"It has." Daphne said. "But surely you aren't suggesting-"
"-that your mother or her friend are involved?" Stone scoffed and shook his head. "It's bad enough that priceless artifacts are getting stolen across town by this alleged 'vampire', I don't need you kids running around chasing it to add onto my full plate."
Before the sheriff could continue, his radio squawked, as did the radios of the other responding deputies.
Seeing the deputies returning to their vehicles, he turned back towards the trio and said, "Well, since I don't see two of your friends meddling with the three of you, I'm taking it that they've decided to step back. I strongly advise you three to do the same."
Without another word, Stone turned around and rushed back to his car.
As they watched the sheriff's pulling out, the trio glanced at each other briefly.
"Like, now that the 1911 Chateau Rouge Bordeaux has been stolen, there's only one item left from the recipe that hasn't been stolen yet." Shaggy said.
"The Devil's Eye ruby." Daphne nodded. "But there's still one thing that puzzles me? Why go through the trouble of stealing all those artifacts for a youth potion that may not work?"
"Not to mention no one was even interested in bidding for the Full Moon in Transylvania." Shaggy added. "As you've said earlier, perhaps there's more to that painting than meets the eye."
"Which means we should search and see what exactly is it about the Full Moon that makes it worth stealing when no one was even interested in bidding for it." Daphne declared.
A few moments later, the trio were back in the public library and wasted no time searching through the relevant records.
As things turned out, the Full Moon in Transylvania was anything but worthless. In fact, the painting was one of several countless artifacts plundered by the Nazis that remain unaccounted for after the war.
Also, the pollen of the Star Orchid has countless other properties, particularly in producing a rare shade of gold-yellow paint.
This rare shade of yellow paint is further achieved when the pollen is mixed with the right amount of vintage wine, whose supply has been dwindling over the years, refined from a certain breed of grapes grown under the right conditions.
It just so happened that the 1911 Chateau Rouge Bordeaux, which currently has only six bottles in circulation worldwide, happened to be refined from the same rare breed of grapes used for producing the rare shade of gold-yellow paint.
In addition, further research done by the trio found that when a light shines at it from a certain angel, the Devil's Eye ruby emits a certain beam of light that is useful in the forensic analysis of artwork, especially in differentiating real art from counterfeits through the difference in wavelengths visible by the special beam.
"Well, by the looks of things, it seems like that our vampire may be involved in something related to counterfeit art." Shaggy remarked after digging through what they've gathered over the past couple hours. "But that doesn't explain how is it that your mother was unaccounted for whenever the vampire showed up."
"Particularly when she was determined to not let us follow her the other night, near the Botanical Gardens." Daphne agreed. "But again, if she was indeed involved in all of this, what was her motivation? Why would she go through the trouble of forging-"
It was then that Daphne trailed off when something occurred to her, prompting Shaggy and Scooby to stare at her.
"Raphne?" Scooby asked.
"I don't think my Mom was involved in forging art, guys." Daphne said. "I think she was looking to confirm the authenticity of the Full Moon in Transylvania painting that was on auction when it was taken."
Shaggy and Scooby both looked confused. "What do you mean, Daph? If she was indeed looking to confirm the authenticity of the stolen painting, why go through the trouble of stealing the artifacts? Couldn't she approach an art expert beforehand?"
"I'll explain later, guys." Daphne said as she grabbed Shaggy's hand and got up from her seat. "Right now, we need to head over to the Darrow University Museum of Oddities, which is where the Devil's Eye ruby is currently on display at."
"And where the vampire is heading next." Shaggy nodded as he and Scooby followed the redhead's lead in rushing out of the library.
Please read and review!