CHAPTER 6

A SHORT TIME LATER, BUFFALO, ILLINOIS

The FBI sedan carrying Dave, Velma, Shaggy, and Scooby arrived in Buffalo. The village, three miles west of Dinkley, was considerably larger than Dinkley, but with 600 residents, represented only a slightly "wider spot in the road." The car pulled in front of the City & Country Real Estate Agency on the town's Main Street. But since it was now Saturday afternoon, the business was closed, having done so at noon. Dave then asked a passer-by where Charles O'Donnell lived. She gave an address, Dave thanked her, and they went on to Mr. O'Donnell's house.

When they arrived at the house, Dave went to the door and rang the bell. O'Donnell's wife Cindy answered the door. "Good afternoon, ma'am, I'm Dave Dikes of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, and these are my assistants. May be speak with your husband, please?"

Cindy seemed perplexed by this. "FBI? Is he in some sort of trouble?"

"No ma'am, we just want to ask him some questions," Dave said.

"Come on in," the woman said. "Follow me." The group followed Cindy into the living room. Charles was sitting in a reclining easy chair watching television. A baseball game. Not just any baseball game, but the Chicago Cubs, who were playing the St. Louis Cardinals at Busch Stadium in St. Louis. The game was tied three to three in the ninth inning, bases empty, two outs, and Mark McGuire was coming to bat. Cindy called out to her husband, "Charlie! FBI's here to see you!"

"FBI?" Charlie asked. "Why does the FBI need to see me for?"

Dave then re-introduced himself and everyone in his group. Dave then answered, "We understand you handle the real estate dealings for Jerry Ivorson."

"True," Charlie replied. "Man, you sure can pick the worst possible times to come calling. I'm trying to watch this game." The count on McGuire was now one ball, one strike.

"I'm going to ask you to come down to your office so we can look into your records about Mr. Ivorson's real estate transactions."

"Now?" Charlie asked. "Can't I watch the end of this game first?" McGuire by now had fouled off about six straight pitches, making the count one ball, two strikes.

Dave replied, "Sir, I'm afraid this can't wait. In fact, we can get a search warrant real fast. It'd be better all around if you would just cooperate." Which probably wasn't true because Dave didn't have enough probable cause to obtain a search warrant. Dave hoped Charlie wouldn't know this and cooperate. Dave also decided not to tell Charlie that Jerry Ivorson had been arrested.

"Okay, okay," Charlie grumbled. "Honey, I've got to go down to the office for a few minutes. Be right back!" to which wife replied, "Okay, dear." No sooner than Charlie had gone out the door then there was a mighty crack as McGuire connected, and the announcer shouted: "There's a drive...if it stays fair…back…back…FAIR BALL! HOME RUN! CARDINALS WIN FOUR TO THREE! CARDINALS WIN! CARDINALS WIN! CARDINALS WIN…"

A few minutes later at the office, the group began rummaging through all the real estate transaction files. They searched for about a half-hour, finding nothing incriminating. They were about to give it up, when Velma decided to look through the garbage cans, just to be sure she hadn't missed anything. Sure enough, in one can, she found a wadded up scrap of paper that attracted her attention. She unfolded it and said to herself, "Jinkies! I think I got this mystery solved." She then took this piece of paper and put it inside her sweater. She then spoke to Dave about this "clue." Dave decided not to tip their hand. He thanked Charlie for his cooperation, saying that they'd be in touch if they needed anything more. Charlie, on the other hand, was not too happy a camper, having missed the end of the Cardinals game. "I really wanted to see Mark McGuire hit that home run," he told the group unhappily.

BACK IN DINKLEY

Velma informed the gang of her "find" in the real estate office. It turned out to be a receipt. Dave picked up on this and called Kathy Millens to visit Capital City Costume & Party Supply and obtain a list of anyone within twenty miles of Dinkley who bought Acme Glow-In-The-Dark Costume Dye. He told her to drop the charges against Ivorson, but to continue holding him as a material witness. He also wanted the employment histories of Ivorson and O'Donnell. He wanted the information sent to Velma's laptop computer's e-mail address.

"I think I have a clear idea about who's been doing this, but we need to nab the 'ghost' to prove it," Fred told everyone. "And I've got a plan that'll do just that." He then led everyone to Ivorson's warehouse, and pointed to a loop of rope on the floor. "See that loop on the floor?" he asked. "The ghost will chase our bait in here, and get him to step into the loop. He'll then be hauled up by his feet, and then the net will drop down over him, and we'll have him!" He pointed to a net that hung from the rafters.

"Good idea, Freddy," Velma said. "Simple, too. I'll have to admit, I like this plan."

"But who'd be our bait?" Daphne asked. Everyone then turned and looked at Shaggy and Scooby. "Oh, no, not us!" Shaggy exclaimed. "Roh no, rot rus," Scooby echoed.

But the gang was prepared for their reluctance. "Would you do it for some Salsa favored Scooby Snacks?" Daphne asked.

"Ralsa ravored Scooby Racks?" Scooby said. "Ro roy!"

"Like, what about me?" Shaggy asked. "Don't I get any?"

"We got a box for each of you," Velma told them. She then handed the treats to Shaggy and Scooby.

Fred then explained the plan. Shaggy and Scooby would take the place of Bob Nickels, who lived in the frame ranch house. (Mr. Nickels was agreeable to letting Shaggy and Scooby "commandeer" his house for the night.) When the 'ghost' showed up, both would lure the spook into the Ivorson store, and into the trap Fred had set. Shaggy would wear a wireless microphone, a "wire," so the gang could hear what was going on. Shaggy would also have a wireless radio receiver in his ear, so the gang could give instructions to him. The Mystery Machine would serve as the command post for this operation.

JUST BEFORE MIDNIGHT

The gang had launched their "Operation Ghost Watch" stakeout just after dark. About the same time, Kathy Millens had e-mailed the information she had obtained. Velma downloaded this information and printed it out. Now it was nearly midnight, and there was no sign of a ghost, or anything else out of the ordinary. At one point, Daphne had commented that she had better things to do on a Saturday night than to be on a stakeout.

In the Nickels house, Shaggy and Scooby had spent the evening watching television. Now with it nearly midnight, the two had decided to retire for the night. "Like, if the ghost hasn't shown up by now, he'll never show up," Shaggy told Scooby.

"Reah!" Scooby replied. No sooner than Scooby said that then came a weird glow in the room. The glow dissolved into a headless ghost! "I want a head," it moaned.

"Zoinks!" yelled Shaggy. After a beat he added, "Sorry Mr. Ghost, mine's being used!"

"Rikes!" Scooby exclaimed.

"Shaggy!" came Fred's voice over Shaggy's wireless radio receiver. "It's the ghost! Lead him into our trap!"

"Like, you don't have to tell me twice!" Shaggy said, a hint of panic in his voice. "Come on Scooby, let's beat feet!"

The gang watched as Shaggy and Scooby came tearing out of the house, ran across the road, and into the farm supply store. Everyone scrambled out of the Mystery Machine in hot pursuit.

Shaggy and Scooby led the ghost into the warehouse. Shaggy avoided the loop of rope on the floor, but not Scooby! The canine stepped into the loop and got hauled up by his paws. The net dropped over Scooby, trapping him. The ghost stood below, satisfied that the trap had backfired. "HAHAHAHA!" it laughed. Right then, the gang ran into the warehouse, and was stupefied that the trap had failed. "Jeepers, we caught Scooby!" Daphne exclaimed. About that time, something amazing happened. The rope broke, dropping Scooby onto the headless ghost, trapping him! Within two seconds, everyone surrounded the two struggling in the net. Dave Dikes came running up, and put his hand on his holster, ready to pull out his pistol again if need be.

"Okay, 'Mr. Headless Ghost,' I'd advise you not to make any false moves," Dave told the "ghost."

"Anything," came the voice within the ghost suit. "Just get this mangy mutt off me!" Everyone laughed.

"Now, let's see who our ghost really is," Velma said. She pulled the costume off the perp and exclaimed, "Just as I suspected. Charles O'Donnell."

A FEW MINUTES LATER

The gang freed Scooby from the net, and Mr. O'Donnell was safely in custody. Velma now explained how she figured out who the culprit was.

"There was a lot of clues," she said. "They all pointed to Mr. Ivorson; the bolt cutters, the costume dye, the torch, the solder, the wire, and most importantly, the light bulb. But something bothered me about these clues; they were all too easy to find. Someone wanted us to find this evidence. After Mr. Ivorson told us about how Mr. O'Donnell here handled all his real estate dealings, I suggested we visit his office. We did, and after searching through his files, we found no incriminating evidence. That is, until I decided to search through his garbage can, and found this."

"What is it?" Fred asked.

"It's a receipt," Velma continued. "A receipt for a pair of heavy-duty bolt cutters. You know, Mr. O'Donnell, you should empty your trash more often. It can come back to haunt you!"

"Bah!" Mr. O'Donnell said, frustrated.

"There more," Velma went on. "That information I downloaded? Well, there was also a record of him purchasing some glow in the dark costume dye. That's what he used to make his ghost costume glow."

"But why did he do it?" Daphne asked.

Velma continued, "Mr. Ivorson wanted to expand his business. To do so, he needed the land Mr. Singer's and Mr. Nickels's houses sit on. But the owners wouldn't sell. So Mr. O'Donnell, taking advantage of the ghost legend, dreamed up this scheme to scare the owners away, so he could obtain their land real cheap. Then he'd turn around and sell it to Mr. Ivorson for a huge profit."

"But, like I don't get one thing," Shaggy said. "Why did he cause that train wreck?"

"It was another scare tactic," Velma said. "But he got more than he bargained for because he hadn't figured there was a tank car full of chlorine on that train. And do you want to know why he knew how to fool the signal system into thinking the switch was set for the main when it really wasn't?" She held up another printout. "When he was in college, he worked summers working for the railroad section gang. Part of his job was to install and maintain switches. He knew exactly what to do."

"But what about Mr. Ivorson?" Daphne asked. "Wasn't he in cahoots with Mr. O'Donnell?"

"There's not one speck of evidence to suggest that Mr. Ivorson authorized O'Donnell to use such illegal tactics," Velma replied. "Therefore, I'd say Mr. Ivorson had nothing to do with it. Isn't that right, Mr. O'Donnell?"

"Bah!" O'Donnell said again. "Perfectly good scheme ruined! And I would have gotten away with it…if it weren't for you meddling kids, and that mangy mutt of yours!"

"Indeed!" Velma said. She got right up in O'Donnell's face, and in a huffy tone of voice, told him: "And now let me tell you something! You almost killed my uncle and everyone in this town because of your stupid land grab! Know this: you may pay your debt to society, but you'll never earn my forgiveness. So there!" Finished with her little tirade, she walked over to the gang and said, "You know, it felt real good to say that."

Dave was on his cell phone immediately, calling Kathy Millens. "Kathy, this is Dave. Discontinue surveillance on Ricky Barretto. I repeat, discontinue surveillance on Barretto. And release Jerry Ivorson with our sincerest apologies. We have a perp in custody. Thank you. Bye." Dave then went over to Velma. "You know, Velma, I really enjoyed working on this case with you," he said. "If it weren't for you, I've would of sent the wrong 'man up the river.'"

Velma blushed. "And you know, I enjoyed working with you. I'm just glad I could be of some assistance."

Dave smiled. "Do you think we'll ever work on the same case again?"

"Perhaps," Velma answered.

"Listen, I've got to finish up here, then file my report," Dave said. "Take care of yourself, Vel. And thanks for everything you and your friends have done for me on this case. Bye."

"Bye, Dave." Dave then turned and walked over to talk to the law enforcement officer who was hauling O'Donnell out of the building and off to jail. Meanwhile, the gang was congratulating Scooby for catching the villain.

"You did it Scooby!" Daphne was saying. "You caught the bad guy!"

"Rah rucks, rit was ruthing."