Chapter 14

The breaking news were the spark that started a rage that consumed me completely in a few seconds. Immediately, I turned off the TV and took my frustration out on the poor remote control, which was flung against the wall.

Marcie: Hey, girls, things will be okay! Look on the bright side, now that the FBI has taken over your case, you're on vacation! You are free to rest and have as much fun as you want.

Marcie kindly brought me a bottle of water. Daphne wiped a river of tears with a classy handkerchief and sighed, trying to breath while an immense sadness was sufocating her. Before she could say anything, her cell phone vibrated and George Blake's face appeared on the screen, Daphne promptly declined the call and sighed.

Daphne: How can I relax with such news destroying my father's public image, Marce? He can be arrested for these lies! Dad is already dealing with a divorce, it will be very difficult to him to deal with extra pressure…

Velma: How can I relax knowing that our case is in the hands of corrupt feds who will destroy all the evidence we found? How can I relax knowing these mobsters won't pay for their crimes? How can I relax knowing that I didn´t break Fred´s face when I had the opportunity to do it?

The mere mention of Fred's name brought tears to Daphne's face again. Marcie sighed and tried to comfort us with a hug.

Marcie: Hey, FBI may have a couple of corrupt agents, but I'm sure most of them are not, no matter how rich the VIPs are, it´s impossible to buy more than 30.000 agents all over the country… and I´m sure these honest agents won't allow a lie to tarnish the reputation of innocent people. Also, Daph, your father has excellent lawyers, and you are one of them. I'm sure you'll be able to prove his innocence...

Daphne: But this is all my fault, Marce… the case, investigation at Liberty, restricted location break-in at Applegate Bank, Fred's fury…

Velma: How can you blame yourself for taking on a case? How would you know it would be so complex, you were just doing your job! And how can you think that Fred's totally stupid and immature attitude is your fault? You´ve saved us! And everything would be ok if our captain didn't behave like a spoiled little boy!

Daphne hugged us gratefully for the kind words we said, but she was still tense and sad.

Daphne: I wanted to help Dad because I believed he was really a victim of Liberty. I had the stupid thought that if I won the case, he'd be proud of me. I had the same thought about Fred: if we worked together on this case, in the end, he would feel something for me. But all I managed to do was make them both hate me... and the worst part is that I don't even know what I have to do to fix everything…

Velma: Why should you fix mistakes you didn't make?

Daphne: I know I didn´t, Velma, the box of horrors was already there, but I was the Pandora who dared to open it! I NEED to fix all this! Defamation will wreck my family's business, and it will only drive us further apart!

Velma: Jinkies! Daphne, that's it, the defamation! Do you remember what Mr. Applegate said? About FBI covering the VIPs up? Then the media bankrupted him with fake news?

Daphne: Are you implying that the FBI is doing the same to my father right now?

Velma: Of course! They want to destroy Blake Bank, so their fintechs can take over your father's business!

Daphne: Your reasoning is perfect and it makes a lot of sense, Velma, but I can't think why they would do that...

Velma: Well, isn't it obvious? For money! Remember all that shit Alan told us about "free competition", best companies win, and stuff like that? These people only think about their own gains, they don't mind destroying their competitors. How many customers would they gain from all this? How many hundreds of million dollars would they make if your father and Steven Applegate closed their doors simultaneously?

Daphne: I understand that, Velma, but Liberty is also a target! If Liberty belongs to one of the VIPs, and it is the source of all illegal activities, why would VIPs defame it?

Marcie: Daphne's right, honey. Why would they denounce their own schemes? It´s like a drug cartel reporting itself to the DEA.

Velma: Well, what if there is a power struggle between the VIPs? All them have their own fintechs, remember? Maybe one VIP wants to eliminate Liberty and its owner to take over Liberty´s business too…

Daphne: And would Alan be one of those VIPs?

Velma: He has plenty of reasons. He's lost a lot of money, he's in debt with Liberty...

Marcie: But wouldn't his reputation be tarnished too if Liberty were under investigation?

Daphne: I agree! If FBI investigate Liberty´s illegal activies, surely his name and his fintech´s name will be revealed…

Velma: So, unfortunately, we have to think about the possibility that Alan is telling the truth and he's not the big villain in the whole story... that implies he's a victim of the other VIPs, just like Mr. Applegate and Mr. Blake…

Daphne: It's an hypothesis that makes sense. Alan was very upset that I had violated his financial privacy and had taken a sample from his suit. I think he felt threatened that we were investigating his deals with Liberty, which is why he was so aggressive demanding the papers.

Velma: Shaggy told me Scooby didn't sniff out Alan anywhere at Liberty. And the fact that he didn´t show any strange reactions when he heard about the blood stains could mean that he has no idea about the crimes and the organ trafficking.

Marcie: Sorry, maybe I´ve missed something, but…why would Alan sue Liberty then? If he knows the lawsuit can expose and ruin his business?

Velma: Damn, none of this shit makes sense! I don´t know what to think about it all!

I threw the empty plastic bottle onto the floor in a stupid attempt to, somehow, dissipate the hatred that was boiling inside me.

Daphne: The only thing that makes sense is: we still don't know exactly what we're dealing with… Alan´s lawsuit against Liberty, the mysterycards, the murders, the disappearance of Cho Sang-woo...

Velma: Plus the VIPs, the desert island that receives millions every year, the corrupt feds, ahhh! This shit just gets worse!

My little outburst was interrupted by several impatient doorbell rings. Through the peephole I could see it was Norville and Scooby-Doo, so I opened the door. Shaggy looked a lot worse than me and Daphne combined, he was totally beside himself and his face was very angry.

Shaggy: Like, have you guys seen the horrible things all the channels are saying about an innocent?

Daphne: I know, Shaggy, dad must be devastated right now… and very furious with me…

Shaggy: I'm not talking about your dad, Daphne, I'm talking about Scooby-Doo!

Shaggy took his cell phone out of his pocket and showed us a video of a journalist mocking NYPD's performance at Liberty. Among several criticisms about Fred Jones, the journalist said: "seems like K9 Unit took its pets for a walk, look how disobedient and poorly trained the brown dog is". Then Scooby showed us once again that he understands our language, because he growled and cringed in sadness after hearing the insult.

Marcie: Hey, how did they manage to film NYPD´s operation? Who told them you´d be there? Aren't investigations secret?

Velma: Surely was the same idiot who gave our case as a gift for the FBI! Fred has a lot of female contacts in the journalistic world…

Shaggy: Like, fuck these monsters and their crimes, I JUST WON´T ACCEPT BITCHES SAYING BAD THINGS ABOUT THIS PUPPY HERE!

Scooby was not so sad anymore (he was destroying the plastic bottle I had thrown on the floor), but when he heard Shaggy mention his name, he cringed in sadness again to arouse our compassion.

Marcie: Hey, gang, calm down! I know the solution of this mystery is right here in front of us, like an unassembled jigsaw puzzle, but we still are not able to put all the pieces together… and believe me, one day you will!

Daphne: The problem is that we have no time, Marce… if we don't solve this mystery before the VIPs and the FBI cover up the evidences, our careers and dad´s business´ will end…

Velma: Neither we have means to solve it… Captain Einstein gave the FBI everything we had…

Marcie: Hey, babe, you're the forensic unit chief and the smartest person I know, I'm sure you'll be able to make a plan. You always do!

On another occasion, Marcie´s motivational speech would have given me confidence, but at that moment, all I could do was roll my eyes and sigh.

Velma: Not that simple, babe… how can I find DNA data without accessing a DNA database?

Marcie: You´ll have to be a bit creative! Crimes have been solved for decades, way before DNA samples... and I know you're a fan of that kind of old-school forensics...

Velma: Okay, I'll ask Miller to send me a copy of the reports. If we analyze everything calmly, maybe we can find something more.

Daphne: Great! In the meantime, we have two cards and the photos Velma took at Applegate Bank to review.

Shaggy: Girls… like… do you think it's bad to do something wrong for a good reason?

Daphne: What do you mean, Shaggy?

Shaggy: Like… I mean… we can access a very extensive private DNA database, which has records from all over the world… a database made of ordinary people´s personal information, and by "ordinary" I mean people who have never committed crimes… like, and we can try to find the remaining victims in that database… or, at least, the DNA records of the victims' close relatives...

Velma: Then, after doing that, we can use a job vacancy database to look for a new job for both us. No way, Norville, I won´t let you hack the forensic unit database, we will surely be fired for that!

Shaggy: I didn't say I´ll use it, Velma... like, I´m thinking about... quickly getting into the database of some genetic mapping site, like Ancestry... and, like, quickly borrowing the information they have there and compare with our samples´ data…

Velma: Are you talking about hacking Ancestry and Family Search? Shaggy, you are a genius!

Shaggy: Wait, like, I didn't say I´ll hack it, I´ll just get in and borrow the data, okay? It's a good crime! I'm just helping the police to do their job… it won't generate any karma against me.

Velma: Relax, it will sound like a common data leak, and you'll save me from filling useless permission protocols asking these companies to use their data!

Daphne: Shaggy, it's a good idea, but we can't do that! FBI knows we have our eyes on these samples, if we do something like that, they will arrest us! I think we'd better talk to agent Flim Flam first, he might suggest something better…

Shaggy: That was his idea, Daph. Like, he said that if we ask permission to access these sites´ data, they will take months to answer, and we can't wait that long! VIPs can make all the samples disappear at anytime…

Daphne: What? I don't believe!

Velma: Daphne, don't you want to solve this mystery?

Daphne: I want to solve this mystery without getting arrested!

Shaggy: Relax Daphne, data leaks happen all the time…

Daphne: And they harm people!

Shaggy: But, like, we're not going to release this data, we're just going to take a look at the information we need and leave. We will help the families of those victims know the truth... like, imagine what Sang-woo's family is feeling right now, he has been missing for a year...

Velma: Shaggy's right, Daphne, it's the only choice we have to solve this mystery and help the victims.

Daphne was confused and looked at Marcie, hoping she would lend some moral support to her opinion.

Marcie: Don't look at me, you know I'm the troll who's been posting bullshit and curses on every Alice May Instagram photo for almost ten years, I have no digital ethics to opine in this decision!

Daphne sighed, laughed and finally accepted our suggestion.

Shaggy: Like, see you at my place in half an hour. Meanwhile, Flim Flam and I will prepare everything.

It was late and I was completely exhausted (unlike Shaggy, I'm not used to staying up all night in front of a video game), but I nodded and showed Shaggy and Scooby the way to the door. In an extremely polite attitude, Scooby-Doo gave me back the bottle (or rather, what was left of it) before leaving. I laughed at his attitude and allowed him to take it with him.

Shaggy: See? How can this bitch say such things about a polite doggo like Scooby-Doo?

Shaggy left saying an extensive and elaborated compilation of swear words about the journalist who had offended Scooby. Marcie went to the kitchen to make some coffee, so we could stay awake.

Velma: First, we need to go to the department, so I can copy the sample data onto a flash drive...

Daphne: Great. I have all the paper here with me. And I´ll take the cards and photos you took at Applegate Bank.

As we were about to leave, the doorbell rang once and then there were three knocks on the door. I didn't need to look through the peephole to know it was Fred Jones. Daphne, naive, opened the door without looking first, when she saw Fred standing in front of her, she immediately slammed the door angrily. Marcie looked at me and asked if she should open the door or ignore it, so I sighed and opened the door myself.

Velma: What do you want?

Fred´s clothes were covered with a mixture of dirt and cement, and he was also a bit bruised. Wordlessly, he pulled several business cards from his jacket´s pocket. The cards were identical to the ones we found at Liberty and at Applegate Bank.

Fred: I want to solve this mystery.

Velma: Great! But you should have wanted that BEFORE LETTING THE FUCKING FBI TAKE OVER IT! Don´t you think?

Fred just lowered his eyes. He didn't admit, but he was visibly embarrassed by the mistake he'd made. His apology was just shaking the stack of cards right in front of my eyes to demonstrate that he had found new clues and he was trying to compensate us for the damage he'd caused. Daphne watched the scene from afar, her intense feelings didn´t let her reach out and ask what he had found, so I did.

Velma: Where the hell did you find these cards? With your FBI friends? With some journalist you have slept with? Or now you´re also friends with one of the VIPs?

The narcissistic Frederick Jones I knew would readily answer something stupid and childish like: "if Daphne is Alan's close friend, I can be friends with whoever I want", but the new Fred that was before my very eyes surprised me:

Fred: Velma, I already know I'm an asshole and I've made a lot of mistakes, you don't need to remind me of that every time you open your mouth to say something, ok? I owe you and apology and I am here to do it right now… Please, forgive me for everything I´ve done… you both…

Fred took a deep breath as he said "you both" and stared at Daphne. He couldn´t mention her name (maybe because he knew she could suddenly fly into a rage). She looked at him with tears in her eyes and bit her lip to hold the sob. Then, unexpectedly, she turned her face and stopped looking at him, showing that she didn't accept the apology.

Fred: …and I will understand if you don't forgive me. After all, I really deserve your hate. But, please, let me fix everything I've done. Things can't stay like this, these criminals can't get away with the crimes they've committed. Please let me help you solve this mystery.

Fred's statement was so unheard-of of that a small smile was formed on my lips.

Velma: Apologies accepted, captain.

Fred smiled back at me and we both looked at Daphne, waiting for her answer. Daphne just wiped her tears, grabbed her belongings and her coat and left.

Daphne: I don't need to answer you anything, Frederick, after all, I don´t work for the NYPD.

Daphne slammed the door so hard that the paintings on the walls shook. Fred was utterly dismayed by her unexpected attitude and sighed.

Marcie: Relax, Fred. She's forgiven you, but she's a Libra with Gemini rising, it's quite hard for her to decide if she should answer or not…

Velma: You still haven't said where you found the cards...

Fred: At Liberty's secret passage. Inside one of those sinister gift boxes, one of them had a false bottom and the cards were inside it.

Velma: How did you get there? They had closed it with bricks!

Fred: Old building blueprints, a flashlight and a good sledgehammer can solve anything... anyway, I'll explain the details later... And you know what? Dogs don't sniff out neither Alan nor blood on these cards.

Velma: Just like the card we´ve found inside the slot machine!

I went through my belongings for the two cards, but apparently Daphne had taken them.

Fred: Yes, apparently they are identical to the card we´ve first found. And there are hundreds of them there, thousands I'd say... I've also saved your sample reports on this flash drive in case you need to...

Velma: I'll need them. Shaggy had an amazing idea, and he's waiting for us right now at his apartment. Let´s go, I'll explain better on the way.

Marcie Fleach is also our nosy fake agent, just like Daphne. When she heard the words "let's go", she understood she was being invited too, so she grabbed her purse and joined us.