CHAPTER 4: THE BEAGLE RENEWED!

After a couple of weeks of exercising and eating food low in fat, Snoopy was already back to his normal weight. While many were surprised at the fast rate that he lost the pounds, they were relieved just the same that he was back to a healthy weight. The gang were all at Joe's to celebrate Snoopy's success at losing the weight, even though in the beginning it was quite a struggle, but Snoopy managed to succeed at his goal.

"Here's to Snoopy on his weight loss!" said Matt, toasting a root beer.

"Hear, hear!" cheered the rest, and they all drank a root beer. Snoopy was smiling.

"I'm proud of you, pal," said Charlie Brown. "I knew you had the willpower to do it." Snoopy hugged his owner, who returned in kind.

"So what are you going to do next, Snoopy?' asked Linus. Snoopy immediately got up and when he came back he had about 50 Joe Burgers!

"Good grief!" shuddered Lucy. "He's trying to gain the weight back already!"

But then everyone was surprised to see that Snoopy handed out the burgers to everyone as a "thank you" of sorts. He still kept three for himself, which was fine by Charlie Brown, seeing how weeks ago he was up to 20.

"Snoopy's weight loss got me to thinking I should lose some of this extra poundage I've been carrying," said Linus, who lifted his shirt, revealing his pudgy mid-section.

"While you are on the chubby side, little brother," said Lucy, "you are far from unhealthy. Snoopy gorged himself on food; you actually eat rather reasonable."

"And besides," Eudora chimed in, "I love that round tummy." And she rubbed Linus's stomach, making him blush. "I especially like the boy that tummy's attached to." And she kissed him, making him smile.

"Well we all could benefit from more exercise," said Charlie Brown.

"You're right, sweetie," agreed Frieda. "It couldn't hurt."

"And I'm here to help whoever is wanting to get in shape!" offered Peppermint Patty. And everyone continued to talk about Snoopy's weight loss. Peppermint Patty gave out tips for doing exercises in short amount of time. As for Snoopy, he was happy to enjoy the food he loved again, though he did it in moderation from here on out.

The mansion of the Scorpion, outskirts of Sparkyville

7:55 PM

Brody and Butch were at the Scorpion's mansion talking to their boss, who remained in the shadows. They were the only two who have ever seen his face, as most of his other men have never seen what he looked like at all. But Brody and Butch were closer to the Scorpion than the others that they could go in without him wearing a mask or hide in the shadows. It was rumored when Sam met his demise, he actually got to see the Scorpion's face before he was killed. But other than that, no one knows, or ever lived long enough, to describe how the Scorpion looked.

They were discussing the mystery girl they saw outside of Sam's place a couple of weeks ago. They wondered if that was the girl who had saw them and disappeared all those years ago.

"It may have been her," said Brody, "but we didn't get a good look."

"Are you certain?" asked the Scorpion. "She was said to have been dead for some time now. And it was rumored that her mother, not too long after her death, had moved away from Sparkyville. Butch, did you see her face?"

"Sorry, boss," said Butch. "I didn't get a good look, either."

"Well, keep an eye out for her, but don't do anything until you confirm it is truly her," said the Scorpion. "And still keep a lookout for Sam's girl, too. She's actually the biggest priority than this mystery girl right now."

"You got it, boss," said Brody. And he and Butch left the Scorpion's office. He rose from his chair and went to a safe by the window. He dialed in the combination and opened it. He pulled out a picture and looked at it carefully.

"After all this time, could you have returned?" he asked himself. Then he put the picture back in the safe and locked it. A call on his intercom came in.

"Yes?"

"Boss, you have a visitor," said the guard outside.

"Who is it?"

"Your man who is working on the inside."

"Send him in." And a car pulled up to the door of the mansion. The Scorpion put on his usual mask to hide his identity. He went to the front foyer to greet his guest. When the door opened, he wasn't so pleased to see him.

"Dammit, I told you never to come here without calling first!" growled the Scorpion.

"Sorry, but it was important," said the man.

"Lay it on me, Hanks." It was Agent Hanks, who was working the Auto Salvage Yard case and Sam's murder. He was actually working on the inside of the FBI for the Scorpion so he could get any info about how they found out about the corpses.

"The girl is back in town," said Hanks.

"I know," said the Scorpion. "My men told me that they spotted her outside the junkyard."

"What do we do? She's the only witness still alive who can point out your men!"

"Yes, but she doesn't know what I look like. Hell, no one in Sparkyville knows what I look like! To them this home is owned by an eccentric old coot who is a shut-in. About the girl, I just told my men if it was her, not to do anything yet. For all she knows, we think she's still gone."

"And what about Sam's daughter Gertie?"

"We're still looking for her, as well. In fact, she's our main concern right now as far as the two girls go. If anything changes, I'll text you so your bosses at the feds don't get suspicious."

"That reminds me. We have a local detective on the case now. A Tyrone Young. He actually worked the gang violence that happened in Sam's place those years ago. He's helping with the FBI's investigation now."

"And I should be worried about that, why?"

"Just giving you a heads up, Scorpion."

"Well, thanks for that. Right now you should leave before they do wonder where you went. And next time, try to call ahead before you show up here, okay?"

"Sure." And Hanks left. Scorpion went back to his office to go over some other business dealings he was in. One thing was for certain. The mystery girl and Gertie was both now on the Scorpion's hit list.

MORE TO COME…

AUTHOR'S NOTE: So who do YOU think this mystery girl is? What does she have to do with what happened at Sam's with those bodies, and what is her connection to the Serpents, Spiders, and Lizards? This story is going to get crazier each episode and more clues will be revealed. But next time, we are introduced to a new kid named Carla, who has a substance abuse problem, and also the debut of Charlie Brown's new band, the CB's. Stay tuned!