Scooby-Doo and the Veritas Diamond
Author: Jessica
Chapter Two: The Four Clues
"How is everything? Are you comfortable? Do you have any, what are they called, leads?" Oldham asked eagerly. Shaggy responded that everything was fine, they were doing their best, and that they couldn't tell him anything further. The group had just sat down to breakfast. Zsuzsa served them bacon and eggs, and orange juice.
"I'll be going out today, I have important meetings and things to do in town today, but Zsuzsa will still be here if you need anything," the elderly millionaire commented, before leaving the table. The gang finished their meal, thanked Zsuzsa, and went into the main hall.
Freddie said,"This is the perfect opportunity to do some real investigating around here. Oldham hasn't been off our backs since he hired us. Gang, let's split up!" At this, everyone cracked up. Freddie grinned sheepishly.
"You knew I'd say it. It's a tradition!" He protested. "Ok Shaggy, you, Scooby and I will search the attic and second floor. Girls, you take the main floor and basement." With that, they went their respective ways.
"What are we even looking for?" Shaggy asked.
"Ri ron't row," shrugged Scooby. Freddie frowned at them.
"C'mon, you know, anything out of the ordinary, anything that could help us," he said. Shaggy sighed.
"Uh, the burglary was on the main floor, why would we find anything in the attic?" He began looking through an old chest. After moving aside some old clothes, he picked up a scrapbook and opened it. Startled, he called over Freddie and Scooby.
"This book is from Oldham's visit to Romania seventeen years ago. Seems a bit coincidental, that Zsuzsa's from Romania, and all," Shaggy commented. Freddie looked thoughtful.
"I need to ask Velma something about that, later. Let's keep looking."
~*~
"You know what I find odd, Daphne?" Velma asked, as they began their search of the study. Her companion asked her what.
"That no one knew of this diamond's existance. It's not on record, no one knows anything about it- where Oldham got it, or how, even though it's a priceless gem. That's why Oldham's reluctant to report it, he'd be thrown into the public eye and everything," Velma explained. Daphne mulled it over.
"Yeah, that is strange. But you know Oldham, he's a bit, well, not all there," she countered. "Although not having it on record's odd. Specially since it's so valuable." They continued looking around. Then Daphne had a thought.
"Velma, someone did know about it. Leroy." Velma raised one eyebrow, but said nothing. The girls had each taken a side of the room and met in the middle, at Oldham's desk.
"Dare we?" asked Daphne.
"Oh, we dare," Velma said, pulling open the top drawer. "Apparently he's had this diamond for a while, so don't expect anything about it to be near the top of any piles," she said, grinning. Daphne rifled through a stack of papers but found nothing useful, as did Velma.
"I didn't suppose he would have anything in his desk, but he's, as you say, not all there, so it didn't hurt to look. Where would he keep the older stuff, I wonder?" Velma questioned. Daphne surveyed the room carefully.
"Not in here, I'll bet you that. Let's go over to the library. I think maybe that's where they are, I mean, his safe's in there. Who knows? Maybe the papers were with the diamond and the theif took those too," she said.
"Let's hope not," Velma replied, leading the way across the hall and down two doors.
~*~
"Find anything, Scooby?" asked Shaggy. The Great Dane shook his head. "How about you, Freddie?"
"No, but hold on, we didn't look over there yet," Freddie said, pointing to a corner of the room near the window. Light streamed in, highlighting the dust. Scooby trotted over; the humans followed. There were a bunch of pictures and things leaned against the wall, and several boxes next to them. Freddie began flipping through the pictures.
"Oldham... Oldham's father... Oldham's grandfather...Oldham's great-grandfather... noticing a pattern?" Freddie muttered. "Oldham's...great- gre- woah! Wait a minute!" Freddie stopped at what Shag and Scoob assumed was a portrait of Oldham's great-great-grandfather.
"Guys, look!" he said, pointing to a spot on the portrait. It showed a distinguished looking gentleman sitting at a desk, with paper and quill in front of him. A candle burned at one end of the desk, and at the other sat a white stone, on a black base.
"Is that...?" Shaggy asked. Freddie was puzzled.
"I don't know, but I think it might be. We should've asked Oldham for a picture... If he has one," he said. "Although really, it would be a bit weird if it wasn't..." Scooby groaned.
"Like this whole mystery isn't weird enough?!" commented Shaggy. "Do you think it's a family heirloom type thing, passed down?" Freddie shrugged.
"Just some more questions that'll need answering by the time this mystery's over. Should we just *ask* Oldham?" It was Shaggy's turn to shrug.
~*~
"Ok, let's split up!" Velma said, and she and Daphne dissolved in a fit of giggles.
"He's so funny when he says that! Remember how serious he used to be about it? And he would make me go with Shaggy so he could 'protect' you?!" Continued Vel. Daphne gasped for air; she had tears rolling down her cheeks from laughing so hard.
"Yeah, but that's only because he thought you didn't need protecting!" Velma shrugged.
"Well, I still don't."
"True. Like the study? You start from the left, I'll go right?"
"Deal."
They searched quietly for a few minutes, going over shelves of books, looking for anything different about them.
"Vel? Where IS the safe?"
"I suppose behind a set of fake books. It's only logical." They returned to their shelves. Daphne had almost reached Velma when something caught her eye on the bottom of the bookcase. A book had just about fallen onto the floor. She reached for it.
"'Artifacts Through Time: A History'. That figures, he'd have this book, what with owning a rare diamond and all. I wonder if it's in here?" Daphne opened to the table of contents. "Here it is, Veritas Diamond! Page 453." By now, Velma had come over, and watched as Daphne flipped to page 453. She gasped when she got there. The pages on the diamond had been ripped out.
~*~
The door to Zsuzsa's room stood open. The boys cautiously entered, and shut the door behind them. This was the first room they were searching on the second floor. They figured they would start at one end and make their way down the hall. Although Zsuzsa was the maid, she stayed in a room like any guest. The room was rather plain, with pale blue walls and a matching carpet. There was a single bed and nightstand, a dresser, and closet. A few personal belongings were laid out on the dresser- a mirror, a tiny statue, and a necklace. Freddie examined the necklace closely. It was a small diamond, on a gold chain. It was in very good condition.
"If she's only a maid, how come she has a diamond necklace?"
"Maybe it was a gift from someone," suggested Shaggy. On the nightstand was the Bible and a book and notes written in Romanian. Shaggy wanted to take it for Velma to inspect, but Freddie thought Zsuzsa would notice its absence.
"Maybe we can get Velma to just come in here herself and translate a bit," Freddie grinned. The whole gang was still in awe of Velma's genius. She knew at least seven languages, including Romanian. Finding nothing else notable, they moved on. The next room was the one the girls were staying in. The boys hesitated.
"Do we have to? If there was anything, wouldn't they have just told us?" whined Shaggy. Freddie shot him a look.
"Well, they might not have searched it, we don't know. Better just have a quick peak, to satisfy ourselves that we looked everywhere," he said, a gleam coming in to his eye.
"Ruh-roh," said Scooby. He knew that look.
"If they find out, they WILL kill us, you know that don't you?" Shaggy said, following Fred and Scoob into the room and shutting the door. This room was larger than Zsuzsa's, with two single beds, a large dresser, nightstand between the beds, and closet. The girls' stuff was set over a chest at the foot of either bed. After a quick look at each other and the door, Freddie and Shaggy each took a bed. Glancing underneath, they found nothing. Removing the girls' stuff and looking in the chests, still they found nothing. They eyed the closet. Freddie opened the door and saw... blackness. Reaching up, he turned on the light.
"Anything in there?" Shaggy said, as he and Scooby looked curiously at Freddie.
"I don't know yet," he replied, then, "Nah. Let's go."
~*~
"Hmm, that's odd. Well, I'd still like to find information on this diamond, let's keep looking," said Velma. She and Daphne resumed their combing of the library.
"Ok, we've searched every shelf, and I'm positive none of those books were fake. Where is this safe?" Daphne said, exasperated. She turned slowly in a circle, eying the room carefully. Velma did the same. Then, she walked to the farthest corner of the room, where there was a table and some chairs. Climbing onto the table, she removed the coat of arms on the wall above. Sure enough, behind it was a safefront.
"You'd never know. You'd probably assume, like me, that it's somewhere in the books!" Velma said. Daphne shrugged.
"Although if you had any sense, you'd realize after you checked the books that there aren't many other places it could be."
"Daphne, do you see anything funny about the way this is set up? Think very hard. This isn't very high up. Oldham is a tall man, he wouldn't have to stand on a chair, right?" Daphne nodded. "Well then why is this chair out?" Daphne's eyes widened as she caught on.
"And if no one has been in here besides Oldham since the robbery, then..." The girls looked at each other then raced to find the boys.
~*~
"So, Leroy's out. He's at least as tall as Oldham, if not taller. That leaves the girls. Figures," said Freddie, after the two teams had swapped clues.
"Hey, what do you mean, 'figures'? So what if a girl did it, that's only THIS time. Think how often it's turned out to be someone of the male persuasion!" Velma said hotly. Freddie rolled his eyes.
"Well, we should have known from the start, I mean, diamonds are a girl's best friend!" His weak attempt at humor did not appease Velma or Daphne. Before they could argue or discuss clues further, Oldham came home.
~*~
A/N Are you with me so far? Good! Now, it gets fun. Tune in next time (I don't know when that'll be!) for Chapter Three. (Either, "Deeper Confusion" or "Mystery Solved" I'm not sure yet. And don't worry, even if the mystery's solved, that doesn't mean it's over. *evil grin*) What is it with me and my evil grins? So, who do you think did it?
Author: Jessica
Chapter Two: The Four Clues
"How is everything? Are you comfortable? Do you have any, what are they called, leads?" Oldham asked eagerly. Shaggy responded that everything was fine, they were doing their best, and that they couldn't tell him anything further. The group had just sat down to breakfast. Zsuzsa served them bacon and eggs, and orange juice.
"I'll be going out today, I have important meetings and things to do in town today, but Zsuzsa will still be here if you need anything," the elderly millionaire commented, before leaving the table. The gang finished their meal, thanked Zsuzsa, and went into the main hall.
Freddie said,"This is the perfect opportunity to do some real investigating around here. Oldham hasn't been off our backs since he hired us. Gang, let's split up!" At this, everyone cracked up. Freddie grinned sheepishly.
"You knew I'd say it. It's a tradition!" He protested. "Ok Shaggy, you, Scooby and I will search the attic and second floor. Girls, you take the main floor and basement." With that, they went their respective ways.
"What are we even looking for?" Shaggy asked.
"Ri ron't row," shrugged Scooby. Freddie frowned at them.
"C'mon, you know, anything out of the ordinary, anything that could help us," he said. Shaggy sighed.
"Uh, the burglary was on the main floor, why would we find anything in the attic?" He began looking through an old chest. After moving aside some old clothes, he picked up a scrapbook and opened it. Startled, he called over Freddie and Scooby.
"This book is from Oldham's visit to Romania seventeen years ago. Seems a bit coincidental, that Zsuzsa's from Romania, and all," Shaggy commented. Freddie looked thoughtful.
"I need to ask Velma something about that, later. Let's keep looking."
~*~
"You know what I find odd, Daphne?" Velma asked, as they began their search of the study. Her companion asked her what.
"That no one knew of this diamond's existance. It's not on record, no one knows anything about it- where Oldham got it, or how, even though it's a priceless gem. That's why Oldham's reluctant to report it, he'd be thrown into the public eye and everything," Velma explained. Daphne mulled it over.
"Yeah, that is strange. But you know Oldham, he's a bit, well, not all there," she countered. "Although not having it on record's odd. Specially since it's so valuable." They continued looking around. Then Daphne had a thought.
"Velma, someone did know about it. Leroy." Velma raised one eyebrow, but said nothing. The girls had each taken a side of the room and met in the middle, at Oldham's desk.
"Dare we?" asked Daphne.
"Oh, we dare," Velma said, pulling open the top drawer. "Apparently he's had this diamond for a while, so don't expect anything about it to be near the top of any piles," she said, grinning. Daphne rifled through a stack of papers but found nothing useful, as did Velma.
"I didn't suppose he would have anything in his desk, but he's, as you say, not all there, so it didn't hurt to look. Where would he keep the older stuff, I wonder?" Velma questioned. Daphne surveyed the room carefully.
"Not in here, I'll bet you that. Let's go over to the library. I think maybe that's where they are, I mean, his safe's in there. Who knows? Maybe the papers were with the diamond and the theif took those too," she said.
"Let's hope not," Velma replied, leading the way across the hall and down two doors.
~*~
"Find anything, Scooby?" asked Shaggy. The Great Dane shook his head. "How about you, Freddie?"
"No, but hold on, we didn't look over there yet," Freddie said, pointing to a corner of the room near the window. Light streamed in, highlighting the dust. Scooby trotted over; the humans followed. There were a bunch of pictures and things leaned against the wall, and several boxes next to them. Freddie began flipping through the pictures.
"Oldham... Oldham's father... Oldham's grandfather...Oldham's great-grandfather... noticing a pattern?" Freddie muttered. "Oldham's...great- gre- woah! Wait a minute!" Freddie stopped at what Shag and Scoob assumed was a portrait of Oldham's great-great-grandfather.
"Guys, look!" he said, pointing to a spot on the portrait. It showed a distinguished looking gentleman sitting at a desk, with paper and quill in front of him. A candle burned at one end of the desk, and at the other sat a white stone, on a black base.
"Is that...?" Shaggy asked. Freddie was puzzled.
"I don't know, but I think it might be. We should've asked Oldham for a picture... If he has one," he said. "Although really, it would be a bit weird if it wasn't..." Scooby groaned.
"Like this whole mystery isn't weird enough?!" commented Shaggy. "Do you think it's a family heirloom type thing, passed down?" Freddie shrugged.
"Just some more questions that'll need answering by the time this mystery's over. Should we just *ask* Oldham?" It was Shaggy's turn to shrug.
~*~
"Ok, let's split up!" Velma said, and she and Daphne dissolved in a fit of giggles.
"He's so funny when he says that! Remember how serious he used to be about it? And he would make me go with Shaggy so he could 'protect' you?!" Continued Vel. Daphne gasped for air; she had tears rolling down her cheeks from laughing so hard.
"Yeah, but that's only because he thought you didn't need protecting!" Velma shrugged.
"Well, I still don't."
"True. Like the study? You start from the left, I'll go right?"
"Deal."
They searched quietly for a few minutes, going over shelves of books, looking for anything different about them.
"Vel? Where IS the safe?"
"I suppose behind a set of fake books. It's only logical." They returned to their shelves. Daphne had almost reached Velma when something caught her eye on the bottom of the bookcase. A book had just about fallen onto the floor. She reached for it.
"'Artifacts Through Time: A History'. That figures, he'd have this book, what with owning a rare diamond and all. I wonder if it's in here?" Daphne opened to the table of contents. "Here it is, Veritas Diamond! Page 453." By now, Velma had come over, and watched as Daphne flipped to page 453. She gasped when she got there. The pages on the diamond had been ripped out.
~*~
The door to Zsuzsa's room stood open. The boys cautiously entered, and shut the door behind them. This was the first room they were searching on the second floor. They figured they would start at one end and make their way down the hall. Although Zsuzsa was the maid, she stayed in a room like any guest. The room was rather plain, with pale blue walls and a matching carpet. There was a single bed and nightstand, a dresser, and closet. A few personal belongings were laid out on the dresser- a mirror, a tiny statue, and a necklace. Freddie examined the necklace closely. It was a small diamond, on a gold chain. It was in very good condition.
"If she's only a maid, how come she has a diamond necklace?"
"Maybe it was a gift from someone," suggested Shaggy. On the nightstand was the Bible and a book and notes written in Romanian. Shaggy wanted to take it for Velma to inspect, but Freddie thought Zsuzsa would notice its absence.
"Maybe we can get Velma to just come in here herself and translate a bit," Freddie grinned. The whole gang was still in awe of Velma's genius. She knew at least seven languages, including Romanian. Finding nothing else notable, they moved on. The next room was the one the girls were staying in. The boys hesitated.
"Do we have to? If there was anything, wouldn't they have just told us?" whined Shaggy. Freddie shot him a look.
"Well, they might not have searched it, we don't know. Better just have a quick peak, to satisfy ourselves that we looked everywhere," he said, a gleam coming in to his eye.
"Ruh-roh," said Scooby. He knew that look.
"If they find out, they WILL kill us, you know that don't you?" Shaggy said, following Fred and Scoob into the room and shutting the door. This room was larger than Zsuzsa's, with two single beds, a large dresser, nightstand between the beds, and closet. The girls' stuff was set over a chest at the foot of either bed. After a quick look at each other and the door, Freddie and Shaggy each took a bed. Glancing underneath, they found nothing. Removing the girls' stuff and looking in the chests, still they found nothing. They eyed the closet. Freddie opened the door and saw... blackness. Reaching up, he turned on the light.
"Anything in there?" Shaggy said, as he and Scooby looked curiously at Freddie.
"I don't know yet," he replied, then, "Nah. Let's go."
~*~
"Hmm, that's odd. Well, I'd still like to find information on this diamond, let's keep looking," said Velma. She and Daphne resumed their combing of the library.
"Ok, we've searched every shelf, and I'm positive none of those books were fake. Where is this safe?" Daphne said, exasperated. She turned slowly in a circle, eying the room carefully. Velma did the same. Then, she walked to the farthest corner of the room, where there was a table and some chairs. Climbing onto the table, she removed the coat of arms on the wall above. Sure enough, behind it was a safefront.
"You'd never know. You'd probably assume, like me, that it's somewhere in the books!" Velma said. Daphne shrugged.
"Although if you had any sense, you'd realize after you checked the books that there aren't many other places it could be."
"Daphne, do you see anything funny about the way this is set up? Think very hard. This isn't very high up. Oldham is a tall man, he wouldn't have to stand on a chair, right?" Daphne nodded. "Well then why is this chair out?" Daphne's eyes widened as she caught on.
"And if no one has been in here besides Oldham since the robbery, then..." The girls looked at each other then raced to find the boys.
~*~
"So, Leroy's out. He's at least as tall as Oldham, if not taller. That leaves the girls. Figures," said Freddie, after the two teams had swapped clues.
"Hey, what do you mean, 'figures'? So what if a girl did it, that's only THIS time. Think how often it's turned out to be someone of the male persuasion!" Velma said hotly. Freddie rolled his eyes.
"Well, we should have known from the start, I mean, diamonds are a girl's best friend!" His weak attempt at humor did not appease Velma or Daphne. Before they could argue or discuss clues further, Oldham came home.
~*~
A/N Are you with me so far? Good! Now, it gets fun. Tune in next time (I don't know when that'll be!) for Chapter Three. (Either, "Deeper Confusion" or "Mystery Solved" I'm not sure yet. And don't worry, even if the mystery's solved, that doesn't mean it's over. *evil grin*) What is it with me and my evil grins? So, who do you think did it?