VIII
"This had better be worth it," grumbled Daphne. "It took two bottles of talcum powder to cover that dog." She frowned as she looked at the disheveled, powder puff she held in her hand; it was covered in Great Dane hair. "And my powder applicator will never be the same," she groaned. "Yuck!!"
Fred and Shaggy looked at the powder covered Scooby, who now sported a white coat with black patches. "Good job, girls," praised Fred, "now no one will know that that dog is not Champion Durraley's Domineering Danois Darling."
Velma stifled a laugh. "Except that Scooby is a boy," she giggled.
"Well, we'll just have to hope that the judge is nearsighted," quipped Daphne. Seconds later, the two girls burst out laughing.
"You'll need to put this on your left arm," Preston instructed, handing Shaggy the numbered armband, "and remove Scooby's collar—the dogs are not permitted to wear accessories in the judging ring." Shaggy dutifully removed the collar, replacing it with the woven show leash.
Fred gave the pair one final look over. "Remember, guys, act confident," he instructed Shaggy.
"Gotcha."
"And Scooby, walk proudly—you're a champion show dog, remember."
"Rright," the Dane barked.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * *
"Now judging, in ring seven, the Great Danes."
"That's your cue, guys," Fred whispered, sending Shaggy, Marc and the other Dane exhibitors into the judging arena.
"Like, what do we do?" Shaggy asked, under his breath. He had never been to a dog show before a spectator, and had certainly never set foot in a show ring.
"Just follow us," Marc whispered back, "and do what we do."
"In spite of its name sake, the Great Dane actually hails from Germany, where it was originally bred to hunt wild boar."
The dogs and their handlers broke into a clip trot around the ring. Not accustomed to running alongside of Shaggy, Scooby's gait was somewhat awkward, and he lagged behind frequently, eliciting strange looks from the judge.
"Now standing in front of the judge is Champion Durraley's Domineering Danois Darling. 'Dee Dee' is a favorite to take Best of Breed for the Great Danes, and is a front runner for Best in Show this year."
From the front row of seats, Fred, Velma and Daphne watched the "judging," the blond man hoping that the witch would take his bait. Although he was frequently in charge of organizing and planning traps, his plans were not infallible, especially where Shaggy and Scooby were concerned. A momentary shudder ran through the blond man as he recalled how many of his traps had been ruined as a result of Shaggy and Scooby's bumbling; he kept his fingers crossed that they wouldn't bungle this one. But even if they did, at least he and the girls were on site to salvage the situation.
The blond man kept his eyes focused on the decoy. Scooby and Shaggy marched confidently in the ring, pausing in front of the judge for examination. The judge ran his hands over Scooby's body, carefully scrutinizing the dog against the breed standard. He lifted his hands and turned them over to find that the palms were covered in white powder. "What the..?" he muttered, scowling at Shaggy.
The skinny hippie favored the judge with a toothy grin and a meek chuckle, but before the judge could respond, the arena lights flickered and dimmed, the soft, yellow fluorescent glow replaced by the now too familiar eerie green one. In a flash of bright green light, the witch appeared, suspended in midair above the judging ring. "This is your final warning!" she cackled. "Leave now, or suffer the curse of the witch of Westminster!"
The demonic sorceress swooped down from the ceiling, making a beeline for Scooby. Terrified, the Great Dane reared on his hind legs and yowled, pulling the flimsy cloth leash right out of Shaggy's hands. "No! Scoob!" the skinny man scolded, but the admonition came too late; Scooby tucked his tail between his legs and followed his instincts—he ran. The witch uttered another unearthly cackle, seizing the Great Dane around his chest and underbelly. Scooby struggled and kicked, trying desperately to free himself from the dognapper's grip.
"Remember my warning!" the apparition cackled, as it retreated back into the rafters; but the witch had underestimated the weight of the giant dog. Scooby's weight, combined with the sorceress's, was more than could be suspended from the arena ceiling. The pair swung wildly back and forth, the dog's rash motions sending the witch twirling around in a dizzying aerial ballet.
From somewhere high in the rafters came the sound of a cable fraying. Hearing the sound, the witch tried desperately to readjust her weight, but in vain; with an audible SNAP, the cable gave way, sending the witch plummeting to the arena floor, and leaving a terrified Scooby momentarily suspended in mid-air. Moments later, the giant dog began his descent, ending with a three point landing right on top of the witch; the force of his fall knocked the breath out of the "apparition" who now lay face down on the Garden floor.
From his post in the front row, Fred proudly watched the spectacle. "That's exactly how I planned it!" he declared.
Velma and Daphne rolled their eyes. "Oh brother!" they both sighed.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
"Get off me you stupid mutt!" came a disgruntled, female voice from underneath the dog.
Fred and the girls, accompanied by the security guard who earlier, had refused entry to Shaggy and Scooby, rushed to the scene in the center of the ring. Casually leaning over, Fred mechanically yanked the witch mask off the bedraggled culprit, as if such a task was routine for him. The former "witch" scowled at the blond man.
"Melissa McDaniels?!" Valerie announced.
Velma gave the older woman a dirty look. "Yes, Melissa McDaniels," echoed Velma, "or should we say, Melissa Lamar--Lamar is Melissa McDaniels' maiden name, and Melissa is none other than Valerie's daughter!"
Valerie drew back in shock at the bespectacled girl's accusation. "Just what proof do you have of that?" she asked, incredulously.
"After nabbing that English Sheepdog, the witch left behind two items," explained Velma. "A monogrammed key chain with the initials M.L., and a tiny brooch in the shape of a dog."
"The same brooch that Melissa wore on her suit when we first met her," continued Fred. "Putting these two clues together, we concluded that M.L. stood for 'Melissa Lamar.'"
Mother and daughter scowled at one another.
"This whole witch incident was nothing more than a scheme by Melissa and her mother to guarantee that their dog would win best in show this year." asserted Velma. "Melissa entered the show under her married name so that no one would be suspicious when they found that her last name matched that of the kennel club's secretary, her mother."
"As the show superintendent, and club secretary, Valerie knew the legend of the Westminster curse," continued Fred. "So she used that legend to cover up the dogs' mysterious disappearances."
"That explains why Valerie was so insistent in letting the show go on," said Daphne. "If it were to be cancelled, then all of her efforts and those of her daughter would have been for naught."
"Exactly," said Fred, backing up the girls' statements, "and as a former gymnast, Melissa had no difficulty maneuvering in the harness that allowed her to hang from the ceiling. The strobe lighting and smoke screens were left overs from her husband's rock concert the week before."
"Since the Garden is an indoor facility," continued Velma, "the smoke would not dissipate as quickly as it would outdoors, thereby giving Melissa enough time to dismount from the apparatus and hand the dogs off to her husband who would then take them into the dressing room underneath the arena."
"So, like, that whole story about 'Jay Jay isn't my dog' was a fake?" asked Shaggy.
"No, it was true," clarified Velma. "Jeremy McDaniels is the registered owner of Jerimiah's Jumping Jericoh, but because of his career, he doesn't have the requisite time to devote to showing the dog--that was Melissa's job."
"Melissa denied being involved in dog showing, but while Fred and I were at her apartment, I was admiring the trophies that were on display in her bookshelves," commented Daphne. "Melissa claimed she won them during her years as a gymnast in college, but when was the last time you saw dog statuettes given as trophies in a gymnastics competition?"
"Good work, kids," the guard commented, "I'll take Melissa and Valerie up to my office until the authorities can take them into custody." Following his pronouncement, he looked sheepishly in Shaggy and Scooby's direction. "Looks like I owe you two an apology," he uttered. "And for your sake, I'm happy that your grandmother isn't really that ugly." The others, save for Melissa and Valerie, burst out laughing heartily; even the hard-nosed security guard found himself grinning at his own comment.
Melissa and Valerie scowled at the gang, disgusted that the laughs that everyone seemed to be having at the expense of the two women and their dog. "You brats ruined everything!" growled Melissa. "I would have won best-in-show this year if…"
"If it hadn't been for us meddling kids!" the gang chorused, mechanically, unfazed by the accusation that they had heard countless times before.