(Sorry this took so long, but exams are coming up and teachers are driving me crazy. I also appolagize for any confusion that occured in the event of my pen name change.)
Once inside, everyone collapses on the furniture in the living room from exhaustion.
Puffing, Fred says, "Okay, that was freaky."
"Like, just 'freaky'?" contradicts Shaggy hugging his little nephew and Scooby who are shivering in their socks, "Like, That was, like, more than 'freaky'! That was, like, tremendously 'freaky'!!"
"Well, like, one things for sure," Norville says looking outside, "what ever it, like, was, it's, like, gone now."
"Well, that a relief." Freddie sighs.
In desperate need of a drink, Daphne and Velma search the kitchen for something to drink.
"There's nothing." Daphne pouts shutting the refrigerator door.
Velma sits down at the table facing the guys. With her head in her hands, she looks at little Norville taking a bottle of water from his knapsack.
"Norville," she asks.
"Like, yeah?" Norville replies opening the bottle.
"may I please have some of your water?" Velma continues.
"Like sorry, Velma, but, like, this is my last bottle. I, like, drank all the others." Norville applogizes.
"Well then," Freddie says, "let's split it. We are all in need of a good drink."
"Like, okay then." Norville agrees as he closes up the bottle, happy to share his water.
Daphne is looking for glasses. She finds them. After taking a good look at them she exclaims, "Ewe! These glasses are dirty!"
Velma, who is with her in the kitchen, looks at them. After one glance she concludes, "Those are water marks, Daph. They're really nothing."
"They are gross!"
"All right then," Velma says handing Daphne a dishtowel, "you wash them." She then walks off to join the others in the den.
"Velma," Freddie says.
"Yes Fred?" Velma answers.
"Velma," Freddie begins again, "I'm sorry that I thought that you had lost your mind and was seeing things that aren't really there. After seeing that outside, I now believe your 'silly' tale."
Velma throws her head back and laughs. Freddie looks at her not know what to think or say.
After calming down, Velma says, "Well frankly, Fred, until just now, I felt just about the same way about myself as you did me!"
Freddie chuckles.
Just then there is a blood-curling scream from the kitchen. Everyone runs there to find Daphne screaming hysterically by the sink. Once seeing Fred, she runs to him and holds him tightly. Once seeing what Daphne was screaming about, Shaggy turns his nephew's head the other way, so that he could not see what lies before them.
Velma walks toward the sink and looks at running water. It is bright red and very thick. Velma then takes a quick analysis in it. She returns to the gang, who had settled in the den to calm Daphne down with her results. "It's blood." She states. "Blood?" Shaggy says in a shaky voice. "Rood?" Scooby parrots. There is then a little groan in the room. Everyone looks at Norville who has the expression on his face like he wants to throw-up.
Shaggy quickly takes his nephew to the nearest bathroom. A few seconds later they run out.
"Like, it's not just the kitchen sink." Shaggy says gasping for air, "Like, it's in the bathroom too!"
"It can't be in all of the taps." Freddie tries to reason, "Shaggy, you and Norville stay here. Velma, you and Daphne look upstairs and try all the faucets. Scooby and I will look down here. We'll meet back here."
"Like, Fred." Shaggy asks, "What do I do if Norville needs to barf?"
Fred hands Shaggy a paper bag. "Have him do it in this, then." He instructs.
The teams go their separate ways.
Upon returning, they find that both Norville and Shaggy had fallen asleep. The four then go into a separate room to discuss their findings.
"It's flowing out of every single tap." Daphne states.
"What puzzles me," Velma says, "is how blood could have gotten into the water."
"She put it there." Daphne screams.
"She?" Velma and Fred ask at once.
"Yes," Daphne begins, "she was murdered and has come back to seek revenge."
"The late Miss. Smith?" Freddie inquires.
"Yes!" Daphne yells back.
"Are you suggesting that that blood was Miss Smith's?" Velma asks
"Yes!"
"Try to tell that to Sam." Velma says under her breath.
"What to do mean?" Fred asks.
"I was talking with Sam in the bookstore earlier today," explains Velma, "and he and the force have come to a conclusion that Miss. Smith met with foul play."
"You don't mean suicide, do you, Velma?" Daphne asks.
"You must be joking!" Freddie exclaims, "It is obvious that that is not the case."
By the way Velma looks at them, they can tell that she was not.
"There will be an inquest tomorrow." Velma offers, "You can go there and find out for yourself."
"That seems like a good idea." Freddie agrees, "Maybe we can pickup some new clues."
After waking Shaggy, they pickup sleeping Norville and went into the Mystery Machine to go home. Since, it is obvious that they cannot spend the night there.
Little Norville wakes up the next morning to find himself lying in a sleeping bag on the floor in the Mystery Machine. He looks around. In the front, Fred and Daphne are sleeping on each of the front seats. In the back on one side of the van, Shaggy and Scooby are sleeping one on top of the other. On the other side, Velma is sleeping with a book covering her face. Norville smiles. He had often seen her reading before going to bed, but never falling asleep while reading. "She must have been very tired." He thinks to himself. Being fully awake and very bored, Norville gets up and walks over to where Velma is sleeping. He picks up the book, which is over her face and looks at it.
It is an Agatha Christi novel. 'What Mrs. McGillicuddy Saw' is written on the top of the cover in gold lettering. Below it in smaller letters are the words 'A Miss Marple Murder Story'. He then looks at the back cover to see what the story is. It reads, "Ms. McGillicuddy witnesses a murder of a woman on a train. Having no one to believe her account, she then turns to her old friend, Miss Marple. Who, through cunning interception, catches the murder before he can strike again." Having nothing better to do, the little fellow opens the book to the first page. "Interesting..." he thinks looking over the page, "Like, Miss McGillicuddy is, like, reading a murder story, falls asleep, and, like, wakes up during the middle of the night and, like, sees in an opposite train a woman being murdered." He summarizes. "Cool!" he says with a smile.
He hears a moan and sees Velma begin to stir. Norville immediately seizes this opportunity to have somebody to talk to.
"Like, Velma." He says shaking her shoulder gently.
"Not now, Shaggy," she moans, "I'm not hungry for one of your triple sundae sandwiches."
Norville smiles at this remark. "Like, Velma," he says, "it's Norville."
"Norville, Shaggy what's the difference?" she asks
Norville begins to giggle. He had caught Velma at a time in which she is neither asleep nor awake. He tries again. This time it works.
"Norville?" she asks opening her eyes, "What are you doing up so early?"
"Like, I got bored." The little tyke replies.
Velma grins then, feeling around the floor says, "Have you seen my glasses by chance?"
Norville takes a look around. He then holds up a little orange case to Velma and says, "Like, are these it, Velma?"
Velma holds out her hand and Norville hands her the case. She then feels the case and opens it. With a smile, she says, "Yes, Norville. These are my glasses. Thanks."
Norville expresses "your welcome" by a little smile and a sparkle in his eyes.
Velma smiles too and ruffles his shaggy hair.
"Are you hungry?" she asks.
The boy nods.
"Okay, then." She says sitting up, "What do you want?"
"Like, bacon, eggs, and, like, orange juice." Is the reply, "And, like, some salsa with that."
"Your mother wasn't kidding when she named you 'Norville'!" Velma laughs then gets up to get his breakfast ready on the little grill they keep at one end of the van.
Norville bursts out into laughter. Velma had often playfully teased him on being like his uncle in so many ways.
Soon the van is full of the aroma of bacon and eggs. It soon reaches the keen sense of smell of Scooby and Shaggy. They soon get up. "Like, is that bacon and eggs I smell, old buddy?" Shaggy asks. "Ruh-huh!" Scooby barks happily back licking his chops.
"Like, you know what that means, don't you, Scoob?" Shaggy continues.
"Rit's reakrast rime!" Scooby barks again with his mouth drooling.
The two of them then head off like a missile to where Velma has the bacon frying. Fred and Daphne join them as well.
"Gee, Velma," Freddie says, "it is really nice of you to cook breakfast."
"Actually," Velma informs them, "little Norville got hungry."
Everyone looks at Norville and laughs.
"Like, that would make sense!" Shaggy exclaims.
Norville finds himself laughing as well.
After breakfast, everyone is sitting in the back of the van discussing the day's agenda.
"For starters," Freddie begins, "at thirteen hundred hours, there is going to be an inquest at the courthouse."
"But, like, first" Norville speaks up, "I think I better, like, go home. Since, like, my parents maybe, like, wondering where I am."
"That's a good idea," Daphne agrees, "our parents may be wondering where we all are."
"Okay, okay," Fred says, "we'll do that. Any other ideas?"
"I would like to look at the house once again." Velma says thoughtfully.
"G...g...g...g...go back?" Shaggy asks in a shaky voice, "Like, why?"
"Something just didn't seem right last night." She replies.
Shaggy, little Norville, and Scooby look at each other and gulp. "And, like, that's from a girl that's, like, terrified at the sight of that ghost!" Shaggy exclaims.
"But, like, why, Velma?" Norville asks.
"Reah!" parrots Scooby, "Rhy?"
"I don't know," Velma answers, "something tells me, but I don't know what."
"But, like, what I know what my stomach tells me," Shaggy chuckles as he smears chocolate sauce onto a hotdog, "is, like, that I'm hungry!"
"Oh, Shaggy!" the others moan. All, that is, except for Norville and Scooby. They walk over to Shaggy and join him.
After a few minutes, the gang got back together to discuss the case.
"Like, if you ask me," Shaggy states, "I'd say that, like, this mystery is, like, going nowhere."
"Like, explain yourself, Uncle Shag." Little Norville requests looking up at his uncle.
Just as Shaggy is about to utter a word, Velma breaks in and explains, "It's quite simple, Norville. We have questions, but no answers; clues, but no way of putting them together."
"Oh." Norville understands raising his eyebrows. He then suggests, "Why don't we, like, go to Smith Household Products and, like, ask people there to look around, ask the workers and maybe, like, get some more clues?"
"Capital idea!" Fred agrees, "I suggest that we split up for the time being. Daphne and I will go to Smith Household Products, and Velma you go with Shaggy and Scooby to where ever you think is necessary."
"But, Fred," Velma inquires, "what about Norville?"
"Well..." Fred begins. "he can come with Daphne and me."
"Are you sure he shouldn't stay with Shaggy?" Daphne asks.
"Like, that's okay," Norville speaks up to Freddie, "like, I don't mind going you."
"Perfect, then!" Daphne exclaims, "Two even groups, for once."
Later, Fred drops Shaggy, Scooby, and Velma at her house. The three of them then climb into her car and drive off to Sarah's house.
"Like, what I don't understand," Shaggy says during the drive, "is, like, why we have to drive there ourselves instead of, like, Freddie dropping us off. Like, we were just a few blocks away."
"Because," Velma explains, "I have a feeling that we will be going all over town before the day is out."
Shaggy doesn't bother to speak for the rest of the ride. He just looks at Scooby in the back seat and shrugs.
At Smith's Household Products, Fred, Daphne, and little Norville climb down from the Mystery Machine and stare in awe at the sight around them. There in a huge lot, is an enormous office building—at least one hundred stories tall. Looking up, Norville lets out a low whistle.
"Let's go inside." Fred says.
The three head inside. Once inside, the three look around to find themselves in a sea of black. Every worker is wearing a black suit, dress, or, in the case of the custodians, a black jumper.
"They must have been told this morning." Daphne reckons looking around her.
Just then a lady in a black jacket and skirt with a white blouse walks up to them. There are tears in her eyes. "May I help you?" she asks between sniffs. Norville removes his hat a courtesy jester.
"Uh..." Freddie begins, "if we came at a bad time we ca..."
"Oh, no," she lady interrupts, "it's about Miss. Smith, isn't it?"
"Why, yes." Freddie replies. "Would you mind if we ask the employees a few questions?"
The lady nods her head and says, "You can, but some are more willing to talk than others."
Freddie smiles and says, "Thank-you, ma'am."
As the lady leaves, Fred turns to Daphne and Norville. "We better split up if we want to talk to everybody in the building." He says, "I'll go alone. Daphne, you can look around with Norville."
"Like," Norville says, "Daphne can go with you, Fred. I'll, like, go alone."
"All right, then," Fred gives in taking Daphne's arm in his, "you go alone, Norville, take notes, and if people refuse to talk, don't force it out of them. Above all, be courteous. Miss. Smith was greatly loved by her employers."
Norville smiles and salutes, "Like, you can count on me!"
As they depart, off in the distance looking at them is a tall, young woman in her early thirties, with fair skin, light green eyes, and red hair.
Over at Sarah's house, Velma is turning on the taps in every room where there is a sink.
"This mystery is getting very weird." She says scratching her chin.
"Like, I'd say," Shaggy agrees, "Like, first there is blood running out and now—clean water!"
"Re ree!" Scooby barks in agreement.
Velma begins to walk around the house.
"Like," Shaggy asks, "what are you looking for, Velma?"
"I don't know." she replies, "Just something, I guess."
"Like if it's okay with you." Shaggy then replies, "Scoob and I are, like, going to check out the kitchen for, like, some clues."
"I know what you are really going to look for," Velma says looking over the rims of her glasses, "but go ahead anyway."
Scooby and Shaggy run happily to the kitchen.
"That will give me some time to myself." Velma says to herself once they are gone.
She then looks through the different rooms of the house which Fred and Daphne saw the first day. She is fascinated with the bookshelf and the library of books. She takes one off the shelf. It is a Campion story. Velma looks at it and smiles. She remembers this book well. It is the same one that had been sitting on the shelf in her store since who knows when. There is even a date of sale on it, which Tina always put into books that are sold. "September 10th ," Velma thinks to herself, "hmm...fairly recent. Jinkies! Sarah almost has all the novels of every mystery author here. Impressive!"
She looks around. In the room there is a small couch, a quite nice little table, a television, and quite a few DVD's and videos. Walking towards the video library, Velma spies a newspaper on the table. It is from yesterday. Velma glances at the headline. "Catherine Found In Flowerbed" it reads. "When was the press told?" Velma wonders. She tucks the paper under her arm and looks at the Sarah's movies. There are very little of what you may call family films, mostly documentaries on crimes, and a large amount of Alfred Hitchcock productions.
Velma then turns her attention to a pile of photo albums lying in a neatly in one corner. She picks one up and looks at it. She flips through it then stops when she reaches a picture, which caught her eye. It is a family portrait. In it are four people and the family pet, a Golden Retriever. Standing in the back, there is a father standing strait and tall, next to him is a boy possibly in his teens. Sitting on a chair, is a sweet-faced woman, next to her, also sitting, is a girl no more than nine or ten. The Retriever is lying on the floor by the girl's feet. The dog appears to be looking at the camera with its head tilted to one side as if saying, "What am I doing here?" Velma looks closely at the girls face. "It's Sarah." She says to herself. She then takes a closer look at the parents. "Where have I seen those faces before?" she asks herself. She takes the picture out of the album and looks at the back for a date. She finds one—'July 1991'. Just about a decade ago. Velma puts the picture into her pocket for later use. She then goes to join Scooby and Shaggy in the kitchen.
Over at the company, Freddie and Daphne have not been having much luck collecting clues from the workers. Little Norville has not had much luck with the employees either. He had gotten a talk with a few, but the subject basically stayed with one subject—how "such a sweet lady Miss Smith was". Norville is beginning to feel discouraged. Just then, a young woman walks up to him.
"Hello," she says is a sweet voice.
"Like, hi." Norville responds in a shy voice. He was never accustomed to women walking up and talking to him. To be quite frank, he had always been nervous around the opposite sex.
"What's your name?" the woman asks.
"Norville." The boy replies extending his hand.
"I'm Susie." The woman replies shaking his hand. "I'm sorry for startling you like this, but I saw you when you came in and had heard that you were asking questions about Ms. Smith." She explains.
"Zoinks! Like, that's correct." Norville confirms. "So, can you, like, tell me anything about Ms. Smith?"
"You mean, 'who would want to harm her?" Susie clarifies.
"Like, yeah. So, can you tell me?" Norville says a little nervously.
Susie smiles, takes little Norville to a chair and sits him down.
Sitting in an opposite chair, she says, "I can tell you al lot, young man."