Chapter 9: An elaborate plot
A short while later, the trio were in the Darrow University Museum of Oddities, which was presently deserted as it was closed for maintenance.
Of course, that didn't stop the trio from breaking in through a side window, and they were helped with the lack of functioning surveillance cameras nearby.
"Alright, what's the plan, Daph?" Shaggy asked once they were in the display room where the Devil's Eye ruby was housed. "How do we go about in capturing the vampire that can fly?"
Daphne turned towards a nearby pile of construction supplies, which included a safety net and plenty of rope.
"So there's a net and a length of rope." Daphne said as she walked towards the pile.
Picking up the rope and examining it, the redhead continued, "The tricky part will be to triggering the net to drop down on the vampire when she is lured to the ruby display."
As Daphne examined the rope and looked through the pile of construction supplies, a familiar-sounding growl attracted Shaggy and Scooby's attention.
"Whatever it is that you've got in mind, it's gotta be quick, Daph!" Shaggy said as Scooby leaped into his arms in fright while a familiar-looking shadow formed over them at the ruby display.
"Relax, guys." Daphne said as she continued to search through the pile of construction supplies, completely oblivious to the vampire approaching Shaggy and Scooby. "I think I might find something in this pile that can help us capture the vampire."
Swiftly thinking, Shaggy quickly grabbed the ruby from its display before he and Scooby took off running around the room with the vampire giving chase.
As the vampire chased the duo around the room, Daphne continued to search through the pile of supplies.
"No...that's not it..." Daphne muttered as she picked up a crowbar, during which the vampire swooped down from the ceiling in an attempt to grab the ruby from Shaggy.
Fortunately, Shaggy managed to duck down in the nick of time, during which Scooby managed to grab a fire extinguisher and fired its contents towards the vampire.
The duo snickered as the vampire dropped onto the floor with a screech, during which she attempted to get the contents off its face.
Daphne then picked up a tarp and paused her lips, while the vampire lurched towards Shaggy and Scooby, prompting them to take off running again.
"Okay, maybe if I use this tarp..." Daphne began, only for a crash to snap her attention away from the tarp.
Before the redhead knew it, the vampire came flying right into the pile and ended up tangled up in the net.
"Jeepers, what do we know." Daphne remarked as she turned towards the vampire, who couldn't move. "I suppose this saves us the trouble of having to set up the trap for a creature that can fly."
She then turned towards Shaggy and Scooby as she added, "Right, guys?"
Shaggy and Scooby didn't respond, as they were both busy catching their breath from all the running around.
A short while later, the museum was filled with law enforcement activity as the deputies arrived to handcuff the vampire.
"Well, what do you know?" Stone remarked as he faced the trio. "Figured that you three would have enough from meddling in police business, guess that robot hound wasn't enough to deter you from meddling."
"Maybe, but when there's a likelihood of my mother being involved in this, I suppose we needed to be as involved in this as ever, Sheriff." Daphne replied with her hands on her hips.
The sheriff scoffed in response, though he didn't offer anything else regarding the matter as he turned towards the handcuffed vampire and said, "Either way, that's the vampire who's been nothing but trouble lately."
"Indeed she is, Sheriff." Daphne said as she turned towards the vampire. "Of course, as you may expect, she's not really a vampire."
"Right, so who is she?" Stone demanded. "If I'm not mistaken, it might be your mother, Miss Blake, since the vampire did indeed show up at places she was at earlier."
"I don't think you know how wrong you are, Sheriff." A voice from the crowd of onlookers said, prompting the sheriff and the trio to turn towards its source, revealing to be Nan Blake as she squeezed her way through the crowd.
"Mom." Daphne said before she turned towards the vampire and continued, "I was starting to think that it's time for you to explain all of this, especially what you've been doing the past few days."
Shaggy, Scooby and the sheriff only looked on as Nan sighed, then she nodded. "I suppose you're right, dear."
Then, turning towards a certain direction, Nan continued, "Time to explain everything, Colton."
Daphne and the sheriff both turned towards Shaggy, whose hair spiked in surprise. "D-Dad?"
"Hi there, son." Colton said as he stepped forward. "I suppose you weren't expecting this, were you?"
"No, I wasn't." Shaggy said. "What's going on? Isn't Mom the artist?"
"She is, but I have the connections to confirm the authenticity of the Full Moon in Transylvania." Colton replied. "Now, I'm certain you all are confused on why we went through elaborate lengths to do just that, but to be frank, it was the only way we could get the painting restored and returned to its rightful owner."
"Restored and returned to its rightful owner?" Stone prompted. "As in you located the original Jewish family that owned the painting prior to it getting plundered by the Nazis?"
"That, I did." The vampire suddenly spoke as she unmasked herself, revealing to be Shelia Altoonian. "You see, Nan, Colton and I have been working to track down the family of the original owners of the painting in question for the past couple of months."
"Explaining why I have been going out at night for the past while, under the pretense of studying notary." Nan nodded.
"And all this while, I've thought that you were busy handling business out of town, Dad." Shaggy added.
"Yes, well, there's a reason for this secrecy." Colton said. "It started after the Full Moon in Transylvania turned up in the Blakes place as a present given to Barty Blake by a friend from high places."
"Said friend was related to a senior Nazi scientist who came to the US through Operation Paperclip and was involved in the plunder." Nan said. "And knowing Barty to be possessive of any valuable piece of art, we had to do something to get the painting returned to its rightful owner."
"So you decided to swap the painting with a fake copy, except that the moon on the fake copy needs to have the distinctive yellow colour in order to keep Dad from finding out about, even though he wasn't exactly that observant." Daphne said.
"Hence the break-ins at the Botanical Gardens and the restaurant." Stone nodded thoughtfully.
"But what about the auction? How did the painting end up at the auction?" Shaggy asked.
"Oh, the painting stolen from the auction was the fake copy." Shelia explained. "The news of the theft by the vampire was to provide a diversion for us to swap the fake copy with the real painting once we had the distinctive yellow colour for the moon refined."
"So that Dad wouldn't suspect a thing once the paintings were swapped." Daphne said.
"And in case you were wondering how I was able to fly in that vampire suit, well, I had plenty of practice from my hobby of hang gliding." Shelia explained.
Turning towards her mother, Daphne said, "Well, your motive for cooking this up was noble, Mom, but why didn't you tell me about it from the beginning? I could've provided some help."
"And putting you in a position where you will be taking a lot of risks that are riskier than your typical mysteries, dear?" Nan asked as she placed her hands on her daughter's shoulders. "After what you went through with that rogue robot, I really think it's high time you consider taking some time off from this unhealthy hobby of yours for a change."
"I can definitely say the same thing to you too, Norville." Colton agreed as he turned towards Shaggy. "It's time you start thinking about your future after graduating from high school."
"Alright, I will leave whatever family dramas to the both of you, Mr. Rogers and Mrs. Blake." The sheriff said before turning towards Shelia and added, "As for you, Miss Altoonian..."
"Yes, I know." Shelia said. "Just contact my lawyer-"
"Actually, I was saying that I will convince the DA to drop the charges of B&E if you are willing to let me fly over to Europe to return the painting to its rightful owner on your behalf." Stone said. "It's the least...I could do."
"Oh." Shelia said as she turned towards Colton and Nan, who both nodded. "I suppose...I don't see why not, sheriff."
As the sheriff and Shelia carried on with their conversation, Colton and Nan turned towards their respective children.
"Alright, we should head home now before your mother gets worried, Norville." Colton advised.
"Yes, I definitely think it's a brilliant idea to head home now." Nan agreed.
While Colton and Nan carried on with their separate conversations with Shaggy and Daphne respective as they exited the museum, the scene cuts over to the nearby hill overlooking the museum, revealing the man in the dark suit watching the group through a pair of binoculars.
When the Colton, Shaggy and Scooby went their separate ways with Nan and Daphne, the man put down his binoculars as the frown on his face deepened.
The scene then shifts towards the nearby palm trees as they swayed with the gentle late afternoon wind.
The adventures of the gang continues in D3-1 SDMI: The Shrieking Madness!
Please read and review!