Coolsville city hall is one of the oldest buildings in the whole county. That's not entirely thanks to some dedicated restoration crew or anything like that. The local government just can't be bothered to update anything.
"If it ain't broke and all that jazz." Shaggy says as they approach the front steps.
Daphne nods in agreement, crinkling her nose at the sight of a wad of neon blue gum in her path.
Shag, who doesn't even notice the gum, walks a little further ahead to open the door for her, "Do you think they've already figured out how someone broke in?"
Biting her lip, Daphne shakes her head, "Who knows… At the very least they know that someone actually did break in." She glides into the lobby and tosses her hair over her shoulder, waiting for her husband to catch up (which doesn't take long seeing how tall he is).
"So they know just as much as we do." Shag says with a sigh, rubbing the back of his neck.
She nods, her expression grim.
As they approach the main receptionist's desk, the older woman sitting behind it spots the couple and her eyes shine behind her flashy, red glasses, "Norville! Why it's just wonderful to see you!"
Daphne smiles as he leans forward over the desk to give the woman a hug. It was hard to forget that everyone on some level knew who her and Shaggy were. Not just because of all the trouble they got into as kids, but also because they both come from pretty prolific families. Her, the Blakes and him, the Rogers. The main difference between her and her husband was everyone knew Daphne, but everyone loved Shaggy. Loved both of the Rogers kids in all honesty.
They were smart and funny and quick-witted but on top of all that there was something that made you gravitate toward them.
Even after being married to him for so many years, Daph couldn't put the sensation into words. It was some sort of Rogers' Factor that nobody was immune to. In her case, she's extremely susceptible to it.
"Like, how've you been Midge? It feels like forever since we last saw you." He takes a step to the side to make room for Daphne to join the conversation, she laces her fingers with his.
The older woman nods, taking off her glasses to wipe them on her red cardigan, "Not since the two of you walked in here to get a marriage license…"
Daphne's eyes widen – that was a long time ago.
And yet she still remembered who the two of them were. Maybe that was the side-effect of living in a small town. It's next to impossible to forget a name. It's even harder to forget a face.
"We need to have you over for dinner sometime! I can't believe it's been that long…" Daph states, her tone apologetic. She knows that the chances of actually having this woman over for dinner are very slim. But that was what you did in the South; the peak of hospitality was reached at an invitation for dinner.
The corners of Midge's eyes crinkle as she smiles, knowing that Daphne's invitation is not genuine but even the sentiment is appreciated. The dinner invitation never fails.
"Oh! Here I am talking about the distant past when you two probably have places to be and people to talk to. How can I help y'all?" She asks with a smile as she gathers all the papers on her desk.
Daphne shakes her head, "Oh no, don't worry about it. A little reminiscing never hurt anyone." She feels a pleasant warmth cover her as she recounts the day they got married.
Shaggy spots the distant look in his wife's eyes and gently nudges her hip with his, "But we did actually come here to like, ask a few questions."
Midge straightens in her desk chair and nods, "Fire them at me."
"Has security been able to find any evidence of a break-in? Like, into the mayor's office specifically?" Shaggy asks, leaning forward.
The older woman's eyes blow wide with shock, "H-How on earth were you able to…?"
"Just followed the trail from the broadcast last night, clues pointed us here." Shag answers with a shrug.
Daphne continued, "We were able to find out that the emergency signal is right here at city hall as an extension of the mayor's office. So, if someone was able to hijack every TV in Coolsville they would only be able to do it here."
Midge nodded, still surprised that this is what brought the couple here. Then again, why should she be surprised? "The cops investigated this building top-to-bottom this morning…didn't find much of anything." The two of them droop in disappointment, "But…" Midge continues, and the couple perk up again, "The latch for the door to the broadcasting studio is completely busted. It looks like somebody just kicked the door in."
Daphne's eyebrow goes up and she looks over at her husband who mirrors her curious expression.
Turning back to Midge, Shag asks, "And…that's all they found?"
She straightens her glasses, "If they did then I certainly haven't been informed about it. As far as I can tell, all the police know is that there indeed was a break in."
"Then they probably haven't found anything of consequence…" Daph states, leaning against the desk.
Shaggy nods in agreement and his expression grows pensive.
Midge smiles at the two of them, "You know…I remember when you were young and you – the four of you – would go wandering around city hall in search of some sort of adventure. You'd always wait here with the mayor's son because you didn't want him to be alone. Darn if I could remember his name right now, I mean I work for his father for Pete's sake!"
The couple share an amused look and Daphne says, "Fred."
The woman's eyes light up, "That's right! Sweet little Freddie Jones." She's quiet for a few seconds, reveling in the nostalgia of it all (Shag and Daph seemed to have that effect on people) before saying, "I suppose he's not so little anymore… How is he?"
Daphne smiles, "He's good…he's doing what he loves, and he's never been happier."
"Ain't that what we're all looking for?" Midge responds, beaming up at them.
They ask a few more questions that Daphne knows are ultimately superficial. Someone broke into the broadcasting room – just as they had already suspected. But unfortunately, in this business answering questions usually results in a whole bunch of new questions. It's familiar but not in the fun way. Especially when their new question is a big one.
Where do we go from here?
Neither of them actually voices this question out loud until they're both setting the table for dinner.
Daphne breathes it out with a sigh while she continues to rearrange the forks, unable to determine what looks the most aesthetically pleasing.
Shaggy shakes his head, "We figured out part of the how… Like, we know how these people made our TV go whacky…which – in the grand scheme of things – does not do much to help us save Elmira." He rubs at the back of his neck.
She can see the worry in his expression and almost moves to step into his arms and hopefully soothe him. But then Luna peeks her head into the room and asks, "Is the food ready yet?"
Both parents turn to look at her and instantly the concern on his face is gone, "Nah – Mom and I were just setting the table for fun."
Luna and Daphne share a look of playful exasperation before she adds, "Could you round up the rest of the pack so we can eat?" Luna turns to exit the room but then something occurs to Daphne, "Luna!" She calls after her, their oldest steps back into the room with an inquisitive look on her face, "Do you know Elmira?"
"The girl who went missing?" Luna replies.
Shaggy walks over into the kitchen, giving the two a little privacy.
Daphne nods, "Yes, but I mean do you know her at all from school? She's only a year older than you."
Luna shrugs, "I mean…I guess I've seen her in the halls and stuff. She was like super popular until this summer."
Daphne perks up and takes a step forward, "Why? What happened?"
"Rumors started spreading that she was dating an older guy. We never found out if they were true but…" She trails off.
Daphne nods understandingly, reputations in this town have been ruined by far less serious accusations, "But you've never talked to her."
"We roll in totally different crowds so…" She's giving her mom an apologetic look, sorry that she can't be more helpful.
Daph rests a reassuring hand on her shoulder, "Okay you're free to go. Thanks for letting me be nosy."
Luna nods, giving her mom an uncertain expression, "What are you and dad up to?"
Slowly, Daphne turns her head towards Shaggy who has been getting the food ready to be devoured (he also may be sampling everything, but he'd simply call that "quality control"). She smiles and looks back at her daughter, "We're just on a bit of a nostalgia chase. Old people like us love to relive the glory days."
A/N
Sorry! I'm not dead I just got swept up in the holidays and it's way more time consuming than I previously expected. I wanna say that I hope that updates will be more frequent now but that would be a whole lie because the spring semester is already starting back up again.
Lucky for everyone, the plot is finally gonna start getting juicy so hold onto your hats folks.