"Jeepers!" exclaims Daphne as she and Freddie whiz down the highway. "What is it?" inquires her male companion. "Just listen to this," is the only reply, "it says here, 'I hereby leave the entire corporation of Smith Household Products to my cousin, Sarah Maclbe. For she alone, has proven herself to be far better than that of her family of slobs, drunks and genuine society outcasts."
"Whoa!" whistles Fred, "I have heard of hating your family, but this takes the cake. To actually state it clearly in a document that is going to be read to them."
"Maybe that's why she wrote it in her will." Says Daphne, "So that her relatives won't kill her for saying that."
"Are you trying to be funny?" questions Fred giving his partner a side-glance. Daphne just grins and shrugs her shoulders. Fred then turns onto a more serious note. "Which will was that one anyway?"
Daphne instantly searches around for a date. "I would suppose the one that is before the missing one."
"Hmmm." Hums Freddie as they pass a sign advertising Mac Donald's, "How about some lunch?"
As Fred pulls the Mystery Machine into the drive-through, Fred ponders aloud, "I wonder if Velma and Shaggy have found anything."
"Probably so." Replies Daphne, "Velma has always had a way of finding clues no matter what the circumstance."
There is little chatter as Fred orders their meal. However once on the open road, something dawns upon Daphne. She then turns to Fred, who has a mouth full of fries. "Freddie," she says, "I know this a little last minute, but since we are in the area, I feel like donating a little blood…how about you?" Fred just swallows his food and stares at the girl beside him. "You know about the robbery they had." Persists Daphne, "And we might discover a few clues. Sort of like, killing two birds with one stone."
"Why should I want to kill birds?" Jokes the blond, "What did they ever do to offend me?"
"Trying to be funny, Fred?" the redhead asks sternly.
"I'm only getting back at you for that will joke earlier." Is the reply as Daphne gives a mean, yet playful, punch on the shoulder. "And here's its side order!" she laughs.
-
"Like, Velma?" Shaggy says as he and Scooby perk their heads through the doorway, "Are you okay?"
"Yes, Shaggy." Is the reply, "Why do you ask?"
"Well, you've been very quiet lately." Replies the beatnik.
"And is that abnormal to my natural nature?" inquires Velma looking up from the diary and over her glasses, which had slid halfway down her nose.
"Like, I would suppose not." Considers Shaggy. He then reaches into his pocket and pulls out a little black book. "By the way," he says, "Scooby and me, like found this in a drawer." He hands it to Velma. "It's some sort of bank book." He explains. Velma flips through the pages with no reaction except with the slight rise of her eyebrows. "Is there anything interesting?" Inquires Shaggy.
"You could say." Is the reply, "It just shows how much Susie demanded."
"Ruh?" Perks up Scooby.
"Susie was a blackmailer." Explains Velma.
"Blackmailer?" echoes Shaggy, "Where did you get that from?"
Velma hands him the dairy, which is lying right beside her. "This is Susie's diary." She says, "The fact is stated quite clearly on the last entry."
Shaggy turns the pages to the mentioned spot and quickly reads it. "Like, zionks!" he exclaims, "So she was blackmailing the killer, and when the money stopped coming in, she decided to tell?"
"That's usually how the business goes." Shrugs Velma.
"Like, that's just fine." Says Shaggy, "But how does the ghost fit into all of this?"
"Ah," Velma smiles, "I just was reading about that. It appears that the ghost and Susie are one and the same."
"Like, wow! What a racket she had going!"
-
"What do I know about the robbery?" echoes the nurse at the blood bank as she injects a needle in Fred's arm. "Yes." Replies Daphne who is standing by, "What could you tell us about it?"
"Oh, I can tell you plenty." The nurse says, "Of coarse, they would all be rumors that travel around during the coffee breaks."
"Well continue." Persists Daphne, "there maybe some truth to them that we can follow on."
"All right." Sighs the other woman on deep thought; "there was talk for some time that Susie did it."
"Susie who?" asks Freddie.
"Bowers." Is the reply.
Daphne looks at the nurse and asks, "Susie Bowers worked here?"
"Ol' Skeleton-Finding Susie?" laughs the nurse, "Oh yeah!"
"Skeleton-finding?" parrots Fred as the nurse removes the needle.
"Yes," is the reply, "she made it her business to find every skeleton in our closet. Afterwards, she would blackmail us."
"What were her prices?" asks Daphne as she and Fred exchange places.
"They would start out pretty low." Answers the nurse as she prepares a needle, "Since we were fellow workers, it started at five."
"Dollars?" interrupts Fred as he rolls down his sleeve.
"Cents." Is the reply, "Which was okay. That is, until she wanted two thousand."
"Cents?" questions Fred.
"Dollars." Is the answer.
"So she would do this to every staff member?" clarifies Daphne.
"Yes."
"But what makes you think that Susie did it?" inquires Freddie.
"Because she said she would," Replies the nurse, "when we fired her."
"Sore loser, eh?" smiles Fred.
"I'd say." Is the reply as the needle is injected into Daphne's arm.
"When was she fired?" asks Daphne trying to pay to attention to the piece of metal penetrating her skin.
The nurse shrugs, "Roughly a month ago. Somewhere around there."
"Uh-huh." Fred says to himself. He then turns to the nurse, "What position did Susie actually have?"
"She was a nurse just like me." Is the reply. The needle is then taken out of Daphne's arm and she and Fred return to the lobby.
"Well imagine that!" smiles Fred, "Having three different jobs, all at the same time."
"She must have been very organized." Sighs Daphne as a nurse hands both her and Fred cookies.
"Probably." Replies Fred taking a bite out of his cookie. "Sad." He sighs, "Real sad."
"What?" inquires Daphne.
"What would a nice girl like that, who has a nice job and makes a fair income, be doing blackmailing people?"
-
It is not until midnight when Fred and Daphne finally meet up with Velma, Shaggy and Scooby back at Head Quarters.
"How was your trip?" asks Velma as Fred and Daphne walk in the door.
"Delightful." Replies Freddie as he draws Daphne near to him and gives her a hug. Daphne then moves away. She takes off her jacket and gives her reply, "Nauseating."
"Nauseating?" Questions Velma, "But you've never gotten sick in the Mystery Machine before."
"It's not motion sickness." Clarifies Daphne, "It's just that all that driving ruined a thousand dollar hairdo!" Daphne quickly leaves the room to go fix her hair as Fred and Velma just roll their eyes.
"By the way," pipes up Freddie, "Where are Shaggy and Scooby?"
"Where else?" smiles Velma, "In the kitchen! They're trying to get as much as they can, that edible, out of that lasagna we found last night."
Fred chuckles as he heads towards the kitchen, "I better go check on them."
"Like, hi, Fred." Greets Shaggy as Fred enters the room. "Like, when did you arrive?"
"Just a moment ago." Is the reply. "So, what's up?"
"Rhe Rasagna!" Barks Scooby happily.
"Like, I'm telling you, man." Says Shaggy, "This stuff is great!"
"I'd believe that." Fred smiles. He then picks up a few papers lying nearby. "Hey," he says picking them up, "what are these?"
"Those?" Replies Shaggy, "They are, like, the papers we have been taking out."
Freddie takes a good look at the papers. He tries to read whatever ink has not been smudged. After a while, he looks up at his friend. "Shaggy!" he exclaims hugging his friend in delight, "You found it!"
"What?" asks bewildered Shaggy.
"The missing will!"
"Shaggy found what!" Exclaims Daphne as she and Velma come rushing in from the lounge.
"The missing will!" laughs Fred, "The one that Jonathan Parker told us about, we had it all along!"
Velma takes the papers out of Fred's hands. "You have a copy of the will." She says.
"What do you mean?" asks Daphne.
"Simple." Explains the other girl, "These papers only contain the highlights of the will, no signatures or anything else to prove that it's a legal document."
"Let me see that." Says Daphne as she takes the papers. "Get a load of this," she says as she reads the last page, "If you want this to remain a secret, pay fifty thousand dollars?"
"Like, it must be one of Susie's blackmailing schemes." Concludes Shaggy.
"Reah!" agrees the Great Dane.
"How did you know that Susie was a blackmailer?" inquires Fred.
"Like, we went to her apartment and found her diary." Explains Shaggy as Velma holds up the book, which she brought with her.
"So that also means that Susie was responsible for all those hauntings." Concludes Fred.
"Exactly." Smiles Velma as she shows the diary to Fred and Daphne.
"That was a pretty elaborate show she gave us a few nights ago." Comments Fred.
"It's all here, Freddie." Says Daphne as she reads a few pages, "She used her blackmailing money to buy: hologram projectors; wind fans; acrobatic gear; the works!"
"But then what about the blood in the water?" inquires Shaggy.
"Simple." Thinks Fred, "She could have just attached it to the water main."
Daphne flips a few pages and smiles, "Hey, Velma., there's a little bit here about you!"
"Oh?" Says Velma sarcastically, "And what does the great blackmailer say about me? What sum of money does she demand?"
"Very funny, Velma." Says the older girl, "Just listen, 'When she first walked into the yard, I was ready to give her the fright of her life! However, it wasn't until the poor girl had fainted, when I realized that it wasn't her at all, but Velma Dinkley—the youngest member of Mystery Inc. Near the verge of panic, I quickly moved her and made her look as if she intended to spend the night in yard. It was then that I began to feel really good about myself…if I could frighten the wits out of one of the smartest people on the planet who, has made ghost hunting a career, imagine what I could do with her!"
"So that's what happened that night." Comments Velma.
Freddie lets out a long yawn. "After all that driving, I'm bushed." "Me too." Agrees Daphne. "Like, no wonder." Shaggy says as he looks at the kitchen clock, "It's past midnight."
As the others make their way to their bedrooms, Velma returns to the lounge to finish reading the Susie's diary. She always enjoyed reading in the lounge rather than her own bedroom.
After a while, the entire building becomes silent. Velma is just reading the last few pages when a noise comes from the kitchen. Velma sets the book page down on the table beside her. "Scooby?" She calls out, "Shaggy? Is that you in there?" There is no reply. Velma gets up and walks toward the kitchen. "Come on, guys." She smiles, "It's a little too late for a midnight snack!" Her smile quickly fades when there is no response. "Is there anybody here?" she asks. A small scattering sound is heard from behind the door. Velma opens the door just as a small furry figure runs in front of her feet. She jumps back. "It was just a mouse." She sighs in relief, "I'll remember to set traps in the morning." She then enters the kitchen to inspect any damage that may have been done by the little intruder. After quickly checking, she leaves the room. "Brrrr. It's cold in here" Says Velma as she enters the lounge. "But that's funny, we keep the heat on all night."
The closing of the front door then interrupts her thinking. "What the?" Velma says under her breath as she walks to the front. Looking out the front window, she sees a dark figure running to a parked car down the street and driving away. Velma then checks the door. The lock had scratches to show that someone had used a lock pick to get in. Velma then locks the door and returns to her reading. However, when she picks up the book, a small piece of paper falls out onto the floor.
Picking it up, Velma examines it. It is definitely not a page that was originally from the book. Its message is what appears to have been typed on a computer. The message is short, yet gets straight to the point as Velma reads, "So it appears, Velma, that you know my secret. However, I warn you…if you do not keep your mouth shut, I may be forced to drastic measures. You are a nice person and I do not want to hurt you if it is unnecessary. Just remember: this could mean your life and all others' who are involved."
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A/N: So that ends this chapter. I probably won't update until semester two starts up. Thanks for reviewing, everybody!