Chapter 9

The plane landed in Riley 23 hours after we took off from Gdansk with stops in Frankfurt and Washington DC. My butt hurt from having to sit human-style for so many hours straight and I was exhausted. I turned on my phone and it immediately dinged and then dinged again and then seven more times. Nine texts from Amanda all saying variations on the same theme: Call me when you get in. It doesn't matter how late it is.

After the first call from Munich, I had not been able to make a call within the time of day that the time zones overlapped properly. Maybe she was mad about that. If she was nine-texts mad, then it was going to be an ugly call, but I was pretty sure that wasn't it. Maybe she missed me and it was a lovey-dovey call just to hear the sound of my voice. That also didn't match nine texts. It was something else and I had a suspicion that I wasn't going to like it. I called her.

"Scooby."

"Ris everthing okay?"

"We need to talk."

I am pretty sure that when Eve was telling Adam that she had taken a bite of the forbidden fruit and God was going to be ticked, she started the conversation with We need to talk.

"Rokay."

"Not on the phone. Can you be at the Jacoby and McTavish office in Riley at 8:00 in the morning?"

"Racoby and RcRavish? Rhe rawyers?"

"Yes. They can explain it. I can't. If I start thinking about it, I get… upset and I can't think. I'm sorry that I can't talk about it, but I just can't."

"Rokay, Rye'll see roo in the morning." I decided to risk it, "I rove roo?"

There was a heartbreakingly long pause at the other end of the line, "I love you, too." And she hung up. There was no doubt that whatever I was going to find out in the morning, it was going to suck gravy-covered monkey balls.

Velma, and I marched to baggage claim where we found Shaggy waiting. Marcie had gone home to New York from DC. Velma ran and literally jumped in the air for Shaggy to catch her like a scene from a crappy chic flic. Or maybe I was not in a mood to see anyone happy. Probably the second one. They continued to hold onto each other while I stared at the unmoving baggage carousel. The Riley Airport was pretty good in every respect except for how long it took for bags to make it to baggage claim. I waited. They hugged.

Shaggy finally set Velma down, "Hey Scoob."

"Ray, Raggy." Maybe not my most energetic greeting.

"Everything okay, buddy?"

I smiled, "Rine, rust really tired."

"As soon as the bags come, we'll get you right home so you can go to bed and get some sleep." He was half right.

It was a long night spent tossing and turning and changing from my dog-style bed to my human-style bed and back twice. Various scenarios (all bad) played through my mind regarding how the meeting in the morning was going to go. They ranged from Amanda being cast as a femme fatale who had manipulated me to some nefarious end to Amanda cast as the school marm being held hostage by Snidely Whiplash. I tried to force a scenario where an unknown aunt had left Amanda with $100 million and we would live happily ever after on a pile of money, but that one didn't take. My efforts to get some sleep were not helped by the noises coming from Shaggy and Velma's bedroom into the wee hours of the night.

When I opened my sandpaper-covered eyelids in the morning, I was surprised that the amorous duo had gotten up and gone into work early. I found a note on the refrigerator: Scoob, Velma and I headed on into the office. Give me a call when you want to come in and I'll come by and pick you up. -S. I wouldn't be calling him.

I poured two cups of coffee down my throat but otherwise skipped breakfast. All of my focus was on the various worst-case scenarios that my brain had manufactured through the night. I showered and brushed my teeth. I was that combination of being exhausted but also completely wound up that just generally feels lousy. Using the touchscreen on my phone was always arduous with my claws but especially so with my eyes barely able to focus. However, I managed to get an Uber ordered. In our neighborhood, Ubers would take either five minutes or more than twenty minutes to show up. The little notification popped up and told me that this one was in-bound and would be at the apartment in five minutes which was good because there was an accident on Riley Highway and I barely made it to the lawyer's office before 9:00.

I announced myself to the receptionist and within a few minutes, Butch Roberts walked into the lobby, "Good morning, Scooby."

I was on high alert now, the worst of my worst-case scenarios did not include Amanda needing a criminal defense attorney, "Rutch, rhy does Aranda need roo?"

"She doesn't. It's a civil matter which she found out about yesterday. She needed a lawyer but didn't have any money, so she called Daphne, and Daphne called me and asked if I knew anyone who would do a case pro-bono. Given that, on the last case of mine you worked on, two of you almost died and a third went to the emergency room, I figured that I would take it on. Follow me and we'll get you all caught up."

I followed him to a small conference room which had a table and six chairs – one of which was occupied by Amanda. She sat rigidly with her hands resting on the table balled so tightly into fists that they were past white and almost blue.

"Aranda, rerax rour hands."

She looked down at the fists and opened them, slowly flexing the finger with a couple of winces. She nodded but didn't speak.

There was a pile of papers at the end of the table and Butch sat behind them. This, at least, was a good sign. Lawyers learned to very carefully coordinate seating arrangements. If Amanda and I were on opposite sides on this, he would have sat next to her. By choosing the end, he was saying we were all on the same team. Now I just needed to find out what 'this' was.

Butch started talking, "Amanda is having some trouble emotionally dealing with what is happening so she has asked me to explain it to you. The attorneys for Edward and Gail Black…"

"Robbie's rarents?" Robbie was Amanda's ex-husband.

"Correct. It's a pretty involved story and, unfortunately, you are at the center of it. You remember a few years ago when the federal government declared you a citizen and the various state legislatures were debating the Scooby Doo laws?"

"Res, rof course." It had been humiliating with every state in the union publicly debating the idea of me having sex with a human. As if I would seriously contemplate such a thing.

"Well, most of the states considered it a formality since you were one citizen among 330 million and would probably never live in their states. But in three states, it did what things do in 21st Century America, it became political. And those three states refused to adopt the law. So, in those three states, you are still considered legally an animal and having physical relations with you is illegal. And one of those three states is Michigan."

Since I had lived it, the history lesson was boring. I had no idea where this was going.

Butch kept talking, "When Robbie and Chastity tried to take Bettie away from Amanda, their plan was to move Bettie to Michigan. Chastity enrolled her in school there and, in the process, established an address for her. Yesterday, the Black's attorneys, who are out of Detroit, filed a motion for custody of Bettie. The motion is filed in Michigan courts based on the claim that she is officially a resident of Michigan according to those documents."

"Rhat's stupid! Rettie has rever even been to Richigan."

"It gets worse and there is no polite way to say this. They are filing for custody due to Amanda being in an immoral, obscene, and illegal relationship with an animal."

?

I didn't know how to react to this. There were no words. I wanted to get angry and righteous, but I couldn't even do that. I was too stunned. I needed to get my brain around what I had just heard. I needed the anger. I needed the emotion to get myself moving. I reached and found nothing. Until I thought about Bettie. This isn't about me. It was about what was best for a beautiful, happy three-year-old girl. And what was best for her was to be with her mother who loved her more than life rather than grandparents who treated her like a trophy to be won. My brain began to work.

"Get the case out of Richigan." I knew as I said it that this was painfully obvious.

Butch shook his head, "It's not that easy. Like I said, in Michigan this issue is political. And I would be very surprised if the Blacks had not donated significant amounts of money to campaigns and PACs for the appropriate legislators. In most other states, we would already have changed jurisdiction. But Michigan is refusing to budge. We're going to have to run it through the Michigan system and then push it into the federal system. Once we get there, the case should be handled relatively quickly."

"How rong rill it take to get out of the Richigan courts?"

"I've called our office in Lansing and they are thinking that we are looking at two years."

It all came together now. Why I was here. What Amanda couldn't bring herself to say. We were hurtling toward the final words that I was here to hear. I pushed it along, "Who does Rettie stay rith in the reantime?"

It was the right question at the right time. Butch answered, "If Amanda continues her relationship with you – platonic or not – then the Michigan courts will likely rule that Bettie should stay with her grandparents in Michigan. If Amanda doesn't turn her over, then they will declare her in contempt of court and issue a warrant for her arrest. I believe that Mr. Black would add handsomely to any reward offered to the point that bounty hunters would come from far and wide. And, when bounty hunters get involved, things get out of control and people get hurt."

"Rand reople might be Rettie."

"That is correct."

"And if Aranda is rot in a relationship rith ree?"

"Then we all believe that the courts will rule that Bettie stays with her mother through the proceedings."

I nodded. I felt every minute of lost sleep and the exhaustion made my head heavy. It was being dragged down toward the ground by its own weight as I asked, "Rhere is no option, is rhere?"

Butch's voice was a whisper. He seemed to be hurting. Understanding my pain. I hated Butch right now. But I hated him for trying to do what was best for Bettie and Amanda. He was a good man. I listened when he answered, "No. There is no option."

The governor could give no reprieve. Dyno-Mutt was not going to fly in and save the day. The good guys were going to lose. It took every ounce of energy I had to speak the words, "Rye understand. Rye guess rye retter get going." I didn't pause for effect. Any pause would drag on and the pain would be too great. Rip the bandage off in one quick rip. I stood up to my four feet and turned toward the door.

I was stopped by Amanda's voice, "Scooby?" I turned back to her. Her head was hanging and her shoulders slouched. She raised her face and looked at me, "Why can't they let us just be happy."

What answer could I give? I looked at her and said the words that felt true in the moment, "Rit's not allowed." Then I left.

The only thing that I remember about the ride back to our office from the lawyer's office was the Uber driver wanting to ask me questions about the old show. I had no energy left for conversation and wanted to be left alone with my thoughts but I answered them. My answers were short and usually curt. She didn't seem to notice. The fact that Velma and Shaggy were engaged and Daphne and Fred were remarried seemed to make her happy.

"It's so great when everybody has happy endings!"

Isn't it, though?

I made it to the office and gave the driver two stars because I was in the mood to be a dick. The conference room door was closed but I didn't have the energy to glance through the window and see who was in there. I went into the large office and Daphne – who I knew was aware of everything that had just happened – looked up wearing her concerned look. I wanted to slap it off her face. Then she gave me the concerned voice, "Scooby, are you okay?" I hated her right now.

The fact that Fred and Shaggy were guys and they were working feverishly to not look at me meant that they knew what was going on, too. Everybody was getting their jollies rubbernecking at my life. Screw them.

"Rhere's Relma?"

Shaggy answered, "She's in the conference room with Marcie."

The fog of desolation cleared a little, "Rarcie? She rent to Rew Rork."

"Apparently she changed her plans and spent the night in DC and decided to come here."

"Rhy?"

Shaggy shook his head, "No clue, Buddy. You'll have to ask her."

"Rokay." I started heading for my office. Going in there would let me be alone to sit and think. About what? I had no clue. It all sucked. All of it. My dog side compelled me to sit next to Shaggy and put my head in his lap to just feel his presence and the love he and I had always shared. I wasn't going to do that. That was not who I was any more – no matter what the goddamn State of Michigan said. But I was also not going to go into my office for a self-imposed solitary confinement. I turned around, went behind Shaggy's desk, and laid down on the floor next to him. He reached down and scratched my ears. Life still sucked but just a tiny bit less.

After a few moments, I heard the conference room door open, and I stood up and pretended to be looking over Shaggy's shoulder at his screen. As Velma and Marcie came into the room, Shaggy pointed at the screen and looked at me. I nodded. Deception complete. I walked around the desk and stood in front of the two women, "Rerro Rarcie."

She seemed beaten down. There was no glint in her eyes. Just exhaustion. I was looking at my emotional twin. For the first time, I felt for this woman. Her response was simple, "Hello Scooby Doo."

"Rye am surprised to see roo here."

"After you two left to catch your flight, I was alone. I realized that if I went to New York, I would be even more alone – and in my and Reggie's apartment which would compound things. I'm not up to dealing with that, yet. My dad never sold the house here and I pay to keep it up. I thought that maybe a few days in my old room and with Velma's help, I might be able to head back and re-start my life.

Daphne chimed in, "You and your father are speaking?"

Marcie had always hated Daphne and she let us all know how low she had sunk when she answered Daphne's question without adding an insult, "No, we haven't spoken since the trial. But he is still my father, and I am still his daughter and we abide one another."

"Maybe now might be a time to reach out." Daphne was pushing her luck. Probably on purpose, she was no big fan of Marcie's either.

Marcie just looked at the ground, "Maybe so. I'll be going now and let you get back to work." She turned and hugged Velma tightly, "You'll come by the house later?"

"Of course. Right after work."

"I'll see you then."

As Marcie turned away I watched a slight tremble in Velma's shoulders as if something cold had just been slid up the back of her neck. The physical contact with Marcie had been tough on her. The damn bell jingled and Marcie was gone. Velma turned back to me, dropped to one knee, and scratched my ears. Without saying a word, she got up, went to her desk and started to work. She was definitely learning. I went back behind their desks and laid down halfway between them. Shaggy noticed and smiled. Velma was oblivious.

The office became quiet as I laid on the floor trying not to think and the other four tapped and clicked at their computers. The sounds of the morning drifted past. Telephones rang and were answered. I heard Shaggy cancel two morning appointments saying that something urgent had come up. I knew that I was something urgent and my best friend was not going to leave me alone. Maybe the Anunnaki had chosen Shaggy as my best friend, but at least they had chosen well. I heard Fred's damn bell ring and smelled the mailman. Daphne's cheery voice grated along my psyche as she greeted him and exchanged pleasantries. There were days when I would like to see Daphne in a dark, gloomy mood - just to see if it was possible. But people probably said that about me and here it was. Never underestimate life's ability to suck. Blessedly, I fell asleep.

My dreams were stress-filled nightmares which matched my day so there was no relief when I was jostled awake by Velma.

"Scooby, I think we need to visit Marcie."

This was odd, "Rhat rime is it?"

"It's 4:30."

I had been asleep for nearly seven hours and the sleep had helped, "Rye'm hungry."

"We'll get you something to eat on the way."

I was beginning to wake up, "Rhy am I going?"

"I'll explain on the way. Brush your teeth. Your breath is horrible." That last part wasn't necessary.

She did explain on the way over and, by the time we were walking up to Marcie's front door, I was wide awake.