Chapter 6

"Seeing the Park Firsthand"

"What do you mean that they are whatever it is you said?" Fred asked Franklin. "You should know that if they are ghosts, they didn't end up the way they did by choice. They were forced into their situation."

"Who are you, dope fiend?" Franklin asked.

"I'm Fred Jones and this is Mystery Inc. We hunt ghosts."

"Like we even have a video game after us," added Shaggy. "Wanna reserve your copy?"

"Shaggy please," I said, raising a hand to silence him and Scooby. "Franklin, did these ghosts ever reveal that they are affiliated with a minister?"

"Minister?"

"Yes, a minister. A ghostly minister named Henry Kane."

"They…they did talk about him, how he was looking for spirits to join his ranks."

Having heard enough, I stepped out of the hospital room and proceeded to process what had just been said. Right then and there, it was apparent to me that this so called Reverend Kane that Daphne had claimed to see may be more than what any of us knew. There was also something else that Franklin mentioned about souls of drug fiends and old people. The more I thought, the more that I began to suspect that the souls of the departed were people who probably died in Hurricane Katrina.

"Velma?" Fred asked as he and the others came out. "I think we've got more than enough out of him. And Beau told him that if he cooperates, then the judge will go easy on him."

"Then the next thing is to go and inspect the park," I declared. "Let's go."

…

So, we drove from the hospital and a little while later, we came across Lake Pontenchain and discovered, lo and behold, a roller coaster and several other tall structures sticking up towards the sky. There it was, Six Flags New Orleans.

"Wow, talk about a creepy theme park," Daphne remarked, as she jangled her keys in her fingers.

"Guess we'd better carry on," Fred replied and following Beau and Barbara, we arrived at what was the main entrance of Six Flags New Orleans. There was an overgrown sign that announced that the park was closed for Katrina with some of the letters missing. Then there were the front gates of the property with the Six Flags sign no longer above the front gates.

Getting out of our rental van, all we could do was stand in awe at the abandoned structure. Before Katrina, this was a theme park that had a promising future entertaining the city of New Orleans and the entire gulf coast.

Suddenly, we noticed what appeared to be a middle aged man dressed in a suit taking pictures of the abandoned park.

"Excuse me!" Beau yelled to the man, catching his attention. "You're on private city property, leave!"

The man turned and looked confused at Beau.

"I come in peace," the man said, raising his arms up and putting away his camera. "I'm Jack Ramsay, from the Bank of America."

"What are you doing here, Mr. Ramsay?" Barbara asked. "And why are you taking pictures?"

"Six Flags has considered coming back here and wanted me to take pictures for them."

"So, Six Flags changed their mind?"

"Yes, they are interested and I'm taking pictures for them to see what they can do with these structures."

He then handed his phone to Fred who studied the photos.

"Spongebob 4-D…DC Comics Adventures…the Jester. Seems like good choices."

"They are good choices," remarked Jack. "Each and every single one of these rides will be brought back from the dead further signifying this city's resolve against Katrina."

But there was something about Mr. Ramsay that was suspicious to me. As someone who frequently reads the paper, I heard nothing nor read nothing about Six Flags ever coming back here to New Orleans. It just didn't seem right to me.

"Say, how would you like to help me take pictures?" asked Jack. "If you do, I will make you honored guests at our grand reopening."

"In fact, Mr. Ramsay," Beau said. "I think you should stop taking photos for a while. For one thing, you need credentials to prove what you say is true."

Immediately, I noticed Jack becoming nervous in front of Beau to the point that it seemed like he had something to hide.

"Of course, they are in my car," he said. "Excuse me."

But much to our surprise, there was no other car in the parking lot aside from Beau and Barbara's car and our rental van.

"While he's gone, we should look for clues," Fred suggested to us. "I want to take a closer look and see if Franklin is backing up his claim."

"You're going to need gloves and other tools if you are going to look for clues," suggested Beau. "However, we are going to need permission from headquarters if we are to remove anything for inspection. So if you see anything, don't touch it until we say so. Understand?"

So, we proceeded to get geared up before going into the park. However, it was more than obvious to me that there was more to Jack Ramsay than met the eye.

Of course, we would find out soon enough and as we entered the park, the smell of rotting food and other things were starting to take hold of our senses.

"Like, it doesn't smell so good in there," Shaggy remarked clutching his stomach. "I think I'm going to be sick."

"Reah," added Scooby, also clutching his stomach. "Ree Roo."

"I don't like the smell of rotting food either guys," remarked Fred. "But we've got to face it, no matter what. Velma, you, Scooby and Shaggy take the eastern side of the park, Daphne and I will take the western side. Let's meet back up here in an hour."

Splitting up, we proceeded to cover for clues and had no idea what we would soon discover.

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