Chapter 9
"Who Would Target a Christian Soul?"
When we woke up the next morning, another day into the investigation of Pleasure Island had already begun. Already, a victim of the Island and a survivor had been found and who knew how many other children were missing because of this island. As I drank a morning cup of cappuccino, I saw Daphne sitting at the breakfast table, looking clearly exhausted. Spending time alone with Sabina had clearly taken an effect on her psyche.
"Why would this happen, Fred?" Daphne yawned, almost falling asleep. "Why would someone innocent be dragged into this world of perversion?"
"You're still thinking about her, aren't you?" I asked.
"Who?"
"Sabina."
I then slid a cup of coffee over to Daphne, who pushed it aside.
"You know that I don't drink coffee, Fred," she said grouchy, causing me to flinch slightly.
"Sorry, they don't have tea right now. Anyways, maybe you should get some sleep this morning. I mean…you've been up all night."
"I can't," Daphne said, still looking down at the table. "I can't eat or rest until I find out who is responsible."
I said nothing, but I could understood Daphne's frustration. This was an 8 year old girl we were talking about here forced against her will to be used on Pleasure Island.
"Sabina's parents came last night and took her to the hospital," I sighed, trying to enlighten the situation, if not for a moment. "That's some good news."
"I wish it was the only good piece of news," Daphne remarked, stretching out her pink stocking clad legs. "But…I think Sabina wasn't the only one here. There could have been others like her taken to Pleasure Island against her will."
Suddenly, Beau came down to the breakfast area and from the look on his face, it seemed like he had more news for us.
"I trust she didn't sleep well?" he remarked, holding a cup of coffee in his hands. "Yeah, it makes me sick too."
Sitting down, Beau relayed to us what needed to be said.
"The, uh, Italian police briefed me last night on some supposed accomplices of the Coachman," he said. "They aren't people, but a fox and a cat. They think they work for the Coachman or whoever is in charge of Pleasure Island."
Of course, neither of us said nothing.
"So, I'm thinking we bring them in for questioning," Beau suggested. "The police say that they are usually out and about between the late morning and early afternoon."
"Where exactly?" Daphne asked, her hand sticking into her purse to ensure her weapon was at the ready.
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Soon, we drove to the area of Rome where the fox and the cat were last seen, but it was in an area that was completely unexpected. We found ourselves parked in the Vatican Gardens on the edge of Vatican City.
"Like, why are we positioned in front of the Vatican?" Shaggy asked from the back of the van. "What does the Pope have anything to do with this?"
"He must not realize what is happening," I said. "Beau, don't a lot of children come passing through here?"
"Mostly on Sundays or religious holidays such as feast days for saints and blessed people."
"Of course, it's the feast day of St. John the Baptist," Daphne answered in a tired voice. "Of when he was beheaded."
Both Scooby and Shaggy groaned at the idea of being beheaded, but all of a sudden, I saw what appeared to be a small car driving up to the gates of Vatican City. It was strange, considering that the Vatican must have had tighter security than this.
"Is that them?" I asked as a Fox dressed in human clothes along with a cat get out of the car. Already, a little girl was already calling out to them. "The Fox and the Cat you talked about?"
"Let's be sure," Beau warned as the little girl came up to the car and the two crooks came over to her. For a few moments, they interacted and the Fox started to pull out what appeared to be an Ace of Spades from under his long blue coat. "Anybody play cards once in a while?"
None of us answered.
"Poker, Solitaire, Royal Flush, those kind of games?" Beau asked as the fox handed the girl the card. "That must be a ticket they are using to get children to come to Pleasure Island."
Then we saw the little girl walk away, seemingly refusing the ticket, much to the fox's irritation. Then, as the little girl turned to walk away, the Fox snatched her by the arm in an effort to throw her into the car.
"Let's go!" Beau called and quickly we all got out of the Mystery Machine and charged towards the situation. "FBI, FREEZE!"
Pointing our guns, we stopped the Fox and the Cat in their tracks.
"LET HER GO!" Beau yelled as the little girl's mother ran onto the scene, terrified of what was happening. "LET HER GO!"
As we raised our guns at the duo, I saw Daphne with her finger on the trigger, ready to fire her weapon. Just then, we saw several Vatican policeman arrive to find out what was happening.
"DON'T MOVE!" Beau shouted again. "LET THE GIRL GO AND GET DOWN ON THE GROUND!"
Still, the Fox and the Cat were confused at what was happening. But, the fox still wouldn't let go of the girl.
"Scoob, get ready," I whispered to Scooby as he started to growl, waiting for the order to strike on the duo. Seeing Scooby ready to strike, the cat began to get nervous and his flight or fight strategy came in and started to run.
"Scooby Doo, sic!" I shouted and barking and growling, Scooby charged at the cat and the sounds were distracting to the fox, that he released his grip on the girl as she ran off. The fox attempted to seemingly reach for a weapon under his coat, when he suddenly felt a sharp pain in his side.
Turning around, he saw that had not been shot with a gun, but with a dart. He stumbled forward for a few moments and then collapsed to the ground as the Vatican police surrounded him while Scooby pulled the cat away from the car.
"Scooby, good job, good job!" Shaggy whispered as Scooby released his grip on the cat's leg.
"Take them back to the police station," Beau ordered the Vatican police officers as the fox and cat were loaded into the back of the Vatican police cars. "And get this car towed for inspection. From all accounts, it might be stolen!"
So we had thwarted a kidnapping attempt, but we wanted to find out more about the fox and the cat, known as Foulfellow and Gideon. What were they doing and why were they working for the Coachman, forcing children to come to Pleasure Island?
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