"Ro!" Scooby yells as the gun produces a large clicking sound.
"What the—?" says Pam. She then inspects the gun. "Empty!" she fumes. Hearing the good news, Scooby crouches his back and prepares for an attack. Noticing Scooby's position, Pam chucks the weapon across the room to distract the Great Dane. It does little good, however.
Scooby leaps into the air and pins the woman under his heavy body just as Sheriff Copland unlocks the door.
Officers instantly pour in with guns. They walk over and relieve Scooby. While being handcuffed, Pam has her rights read to her by the leading officer.
Scooby and the rest of the gang instantly run over to Velma is lying. It is indeed a gruesome sight. Velma's once orange sweater is now a deep red from being drenched with blood as well as the carpet. Thankfully, Velma still shows some signs of life. Daphne quickly checks for a pulse. She finds one, a weak one. Velma stirs slightly and opens her teary eyes. She looks up at Daphne and attempts to speak. She, however, is stopped by Daphne who tells her to save her strength. Instead, Velma mutters, "Well, that was a little unexpected, wasn't it?"
Daphne smiles slightly as Velma returns to unconsciousness.
A minute later, the paramedics arrive. They carefully place Velma on a stretcher and carry her down to the waiting ambulance. Shaggy stops one of them. "Will she be okay?" he asks.
"It's a little early to tell." Is the reply, "Right not, it's basically a fifty-fifty chance."
The paramedic then leaves to join his companions. Shaggy notices the officers leaving with their prisoner. After getting their attention by snapping his fingers, he walks over to Pam, and looks her straight in the eye. "Listen to me, Pam Ferret," Shaggy says, "you better hope that Velma lives or I'll see to it personally that there'll be a double funeral!"
"Shaggy!" exclaim Fred and Daphne.
Shaggy turns to his friends. Judging from the expression on their faces that they could not believe that he would act that way, Shaggy can feel his face grow red.
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Later at the hospital, the others wait patiently in the waiting room for what appears to be a lifetime. Velma's parents were telephoned earlier and had joined the gang. Everyone is on the verge of falling asleep just as a doctor enters the hall and walks towards them.
"Mr. and Mrs. Dinkley?" he says in a low voice.
"Yes?" Mr. Dinkley says arising from his seat.
"I just came from your daughter's room." Is the reply.
"Is she all right?" asks Mrs. Dinkley.
The doctor smiles, "She is going to be just fine."
The others let out a sigh of relief.
"May we see her?" inquires Daphne.
"Of coarse." The doctor smiles, "She's sleeping now."
The others follow the doctor to a dark room where Velma is. It is a relatively small room with only one bed. Mr. and Mrs. Dinkley walk up to the foot of the bed and look at their daughter. Velma's head, shoulder and stomach are totally bandaged. As she sleeps in her bed, the expression on her face gives the impression that she is totally unknown to her previous experience.
"You are welcome to spend the night here." Offers the doctor, "Just incase she wakes up."
"Huh?" asks Fred. He then glances at his watch. It is one in the morning. "Oh, yeah." He smiles, "I seem to have lost track of the time."
"And I would assume that you are too tired to drive anyway." Adds Mr. Dinkley.
"That too." Yawns Fred.
Within minutes, everyone beds down for the night. The rest of the night is silent with only the familiar hospital sounds of beeping machines and talking nurses.
As the night gives into day, Velma finally regains consciousness. At first, her vision is a little worse than what she is used to. After blinking a few times, it finally returns to 'normal'.
"Where am I?" Velma asks herself. Suddenly, there is a sharp pain in her head. "Ow." She groans as she raises her hand to rub her head. In doing so, she realizes that she is hooked up to two tubes leading to two bags: one for IVs and another for blood. Both of which are almost empty.
Velma squints her eyes to try do observe the rest of her surroundings. It is then that she notices a glass case on the table next to her.
"Finally," she grins to herself as she takes out a pair of glasses, "no more of this guessing."
She quickly puts them on. The sight of the room astounds her. Both her parents and the rest of the gang are sleeping half on the furniture and the floor. All except Scooby, who had curled up at the foot of the bed on her legs.
After awhile, a nurse walks in with breakfast.
"Good morning." She says with a big grin on her face. Velma turns to the nurse and gives her the 'quiet' signal. The nurse, in turn nods and whispers, "Did you have a good sleep?"
"Sleep?" replies Velma, "Out cold is more like it."
The nurse lets out a chuckle and adjusts Velma's bed. She then places her tray on the table and leaves.
It is not long before Velma begins to notice numbness in her legs.
"I better get Scooby off me." She thinks. Velma quickly picks up a roll, breaks it into several pieces and roll them into neat little balls about the size of marbles. She then tosses one towards Scooby's nose. Is misses by a slight inch. Velma snaps her fingers in frustration. Just then, Scooby stretches and lets out a big yawn. Velma quickly throws another ball. It lands right in the Great Dane's mouth. Scooby instantly jumps back and begins to cough up the object. He is interrupted, however, by light giggling from Velma. Scooby suddenly sits up and swallows his bread ball.
"Relma!" yells Scooby as he licks her face.
"Cool it, Scooby!" jokes Velma, "I don't think the hospital staff will find this 'sanitary'!"
It is not long before the room is filled with laughter.
"Okay, Scooby." Chuckles Velma as she pushes Scooby off, "That's enough."
"Rokay." Retreats Scooby. He then makes a sudden move and swipes the milk off the tray.
"Scooby!" Velma scolds as she reaches for it. Just then, she jolts her bandaged shoulder. "Yow!" she jumps back in pain.
The scream, in turn, wakes up the others in the room. Daphne looks at Velma and asks, "How long have you been up?"
"Longer than you." Is the reply.
"Velma Dace Dinkley!" scolds Daphne, "How dare you wake up and not tell us!"
"Well…" begins Velma.
"Like, zionks!" exclaims Shaggy in a teasing manner, "The mummy speaks!"
Velma, in turn, gives him a 'very funny' look. "Ha, ha, ha." She replies, "Despite the fact that I'm all bandaged up and this sling does not help much, huh?"
"Hey lay off, Shag." Pipes up Fred, "Can't you see Velma is trying to recover from one trauma? I say: let her get over the first one and then you can lay on a new one."
"All right!" laughs Velma, "I can see that until I get these bandages off, I will be the focus point of your inconceivable and merciless ridicule."
"Like, what's that supposed to mean?" questions Shaggy.
"It means:" answers Daphne patting Velma on the head, "that Velma is mentally sound."
"Thanks a lot." Velma sulks.
"Are you feeling okay?" asks Mrs. Dinkley.
"Yes, mom." Is the reply.
"Like, are you sure?" clarifies Shaggy, "'Cause if you aren't, I can always readjust the bed and…"
"Shaggy," interrupts Fred, "don't you have anything else to do?"
"Like, yeah." Is the reply. Shaggy then goes over to the breakfast tray. "Are you, like, going to eat this?" he asks.
"Yes," replies Velma, "I am, like, going to eat that."
"Are you sure that you are going to like this food?" continues Shaggy, "I mean, hospital food isn't exactly the best thing in the world."
"Shaggy!" Velma emphasizes, "I haven't eaten anything since yesterday. You try doing that."
"Gee wiz, Velma!" pouts Shaggy, "Scoob got the milk and I can't get anything!"
"Rhehehe" chuckles Scooby as he sucks the milk through a straw.
"Okay," Velma gives in, "but only one thing."
Shaggy quickly grabs a jello cup off the tray and joins Scooby in a far corner of the room.
Suddenly, the door swings wide open and Sheriff Copland walks in. "Good morning everybody!" he cheerfully calls out.
"Great, more company." Groans Velma.
"I can tell your not feeling well today, Velma" chuckles Copland.
"Let me put it this way," is the reply, "despite the fact that I ache all over, I'm feeling just fine."
"I can see that you guys are all going to talk," breaks in Mr. Dinkley, "so, I will just go and get some coffee."
"I'll join you." Adds Mrs. Dinkley as she picks up her purse. The two then leave.
Copland turns to Velma. "I just wanted to tell you that I am going to need an explanation for this case. It may be needed for Pam's trial."
"Yes, Velma." Encourages Daphne, "You said you would explain later and, this is later."
"Okay, okay." Velma replies, "I guess I have left you guys in the dark long enough."
The others instantly sit down in the nearest seat and listen eagerly for Velma to speak.
"It is a tale of once upon a time." Begins Velma, "A story of two major companies who were rivals. Both were in making domestic products. One is Smith's Household Products, the other was formally known as Ferret Department Store."
"Like, would we be referring to Pam?" Shaggy inquires.
"Not Pam, exactly." Is the reply, "But her parents."
"What do you mean about 'formally'?" Fred asks.
"Of course!" perks up Daphne, "I remember that old store. It was bought by Smith's after the death of the Ferrets."
"When was that?" Fred asks puzzled.
"Oh, a long time ago." Replies Daphne.
"I remember that." Contemplates Shaggy.
"Well, why is it that everyone remembers but not me?" Freddie complains.
"Fred," Velma responds, "that was so long ago that the only form of news that you ever read was the movie listings and that magazine Comics Weekly."
"I stopped reading that ten years ago." Freddie defends himself.
"Which is exactly when this was." Daphne strikes back.
"Burn!" Shaggy and Scooby chorus out.
Sheriff Copland lets out an "Ahem".
"I don't wish to be rude or anything," he says, "but will you please make this long story short, but I do have a deadline for this report."
"Yes." Smiles Velma. "As Daphne has pointed out, the Ferrets did die in a car accident. Pam was no more than nine. She and her elder brother were put in the custody of their aunt and uncle, with whom she grew up. During this time, she and her brother had only known that their parents' untimely deaths were that of a mere accident. It wasn't until high school, however that this image was to change."
Everyone exchange puzzled looks and stare at Velma for an explanation.
Velma grins then continues. "She met the real Sarah Maclbe who told her about her aunt's business, how some time ago she bought this other business and so forth. It was through this information that Pam began to do a private investigation about her parents' death. She discovered that Catherine Smith was responsible for tampering with the breaks of the family car and, thus, the accident. It was then that she derived a plan to avenge her parents. Therefore, all those unsolved murders across the country these past years."
"She was responsible for all those?" asks Copland.
"Yes."
"But when did she become Sarah?" inquires the sheriff.
"Like, a few months ago." Shaggy answers, giving Velma a break, "After she heard of the real Sarah being killed in an airplane accident."
"I see."
"It was through this unfortunate event, that Pam saw the perfect opportunity for her revenge." Continues Velma, "Acting as a relative she stood to inherit and claim back what was once hers. She had planed it all out to the last detail."
"However, everything was messed up," Fred explains, "when somehow Smith got smart and disinherited her."
"Therefore," Daphne joins in, "Pam figured that she had to act fast to carry out her revenge to the max."
"How did she do that?" Copland asks as he continues his writing.
"Pam had phoned Catherine and invited her to her house where she invited Catherine over." Explains Velma, "Pam instructed Catherine not to tell anyone about her invitation. Therefore, Catherine's disappearance would appear to be deliberate."
"And it was during this visit that Catherine was killed?" asks Copland.
Velma nods.
"But what about the new will? Wouldn't it have gone into effect?"
"It was stolen." Fred replies.
"By Pam?" inquires the sheriff.
"No, is," the reply, "by Susie."
"Like, yeah." Shaggy jumps in, "Susie had figured it all out and used the will, other pieces of information and the 'haunting' to blackmail Pam."
"Thus the need of her elimination." Finishes Velma.
Sheriff Copland continues to write for a while then looks up at the gang. "I take it that this blackmailing went on until Pam refused to pay?"
"Yes."
"What was your first clue to Pam?" he asks.
"Quite simple," replies Fred, "just the way everything was set up. I mean, the body in the garden only the owner could do that."
"Not only that," picks up Daphne, "but Susie's murder was another. Remember there were markings on the window? That was because it was opened only from the inside and someone who had a key and knew the house well."
"However, our biggest clue were her reactions to last night." Says Velma.
"What?" exclaim her companions.
Velma blushes as she explains, "Let's face it, there was no solid evidence against her."
"And you made up that entire charade just to obtain that proof?" Shaggy asks as a frown crosses his face.
"Yes." Is the reply, "which is also one of the main reasons I did not have you included in the planning."
Velma looks sternly at him. Sheriff Copland notices the tension between the two. He promptly states that he has all that he needs and leaves.
"I thought I did the right thing in not telling you." Velma finally breaks the silence.
"Oh really?" Shaggy fires back.
"You didn't think that I would put you guys in a situation that could get you killed, would I?" defends Velma.
"Oh yeah?" shaggy says in a smart aleck voice, "You, like, didn't do so bad yourself nearly getting your head blown off!"
"I'm sure we can settle this out of court." Velma blows, "As I can see that you are filing a lawsuit against me."
"Will you two please stop it?" Daphne breaks in, "I for one believe that this is no time to have an argument."
"Here, here!" agrees Fred.
Shaggy and Velma look each other in the eye and break out into laughter over their childish acting.
After a few weeks, Velma is released from the hospital. As well, start Pam's long series of trials. Velma's uncle Fritz returns home as well as Shuggy and her family. Everything begins to return to normal. However, Velma's near-death experience still remains fresh in the back of her mind.
This memory was only more painful as she was watching the news one day. When Pam was being taken from a courthouse. As she passes the news camera, she yells, "If you can hear me, Velma Dinkley! This isn't over yet! I am still not done with you—I will get both you and the rest of Mystery Inc. You have my word on it!"
A/N: The End…or really? This is only the beginning, folks! Hopefully the second part won't be as long as this one.