Chapter 6

The gang hadn't left until almost 2:00 AM and Daphne, making no effort to take the long trek to the bedroom, slumped over on the couch - just barely getting her phone alarm set for 7:30 AM before falling asleep.

And now the alarm was going and it didn't feel like five and a half hours had passed. It also didn't look like five and a half hours had passed. The windows were still dark without even a hint of a red dawn.

That was when she realized that it was not her alarm going off but her phone was ringing, "Hello?"

The voice at the other end was whispering, "Daphne, it's Randy with the Danforth PD. I'm at the Black's and you might want to get over here. A lot is going on."

"Like what?"

"I better not say over the phone but I don't think you want to miss it."

This is the point where one of the Scooby Doo comic books would have said Daphne was instantly awake and bounded up from the sofa. In real life, however, she remained exhausted after two nearly sleepless nights back-to-back and rolled off the edge of the sofa to fall onto her hands and knees on the floor. Then she had to disentangle herself from the blanket that Fred had placed on her before beginning the long tortuous push-up to get herself to her feet. She made it and dragged her feet into the bedroom, checking her phone on the way for the time. It was 4:15 and her stomach hurt.

"Jeepers," she croaked.

She made it to the side of the bed without stubbing a toe which was very good, "Fred."

Fred did come instantly awake, "Huh? Daphne, are you okay?"

"Yes. Something is going on at the Black's and I need to get over there."

"What time is it?"

"About 4:20."

"I'll come with you."

A younger, more stubborn version of Daphne would have refused the offer, but the exhausted version really wanted to let Fred drive and maybe catch a nap on the way over, "I'd appreciate that."

Using both bathrooms simultaneously to save time cost them both taking showers that went from warm to tepid to cold before they were done. The positive side of this was that leaping out of the cold shower got them ready that much more quickly. They were on their way by 4:40 and, true to her promise to herself, Daphne was asleep in the passenger seat by 4:41.

It was short-lived as Fred woke her after twenty minutes, "Daph, we're in Danforth and I need you to guide me to Amanda's house." After a moment to orient herself, she gave him directions and within five minutes they were parking in front of Robbie and Amanda's home. They were one of several cars. One was a Danforth PD squad car and three were government-issue unmarked cars which were two more than Danforth had.

Fred looked at Daphne, "FBI's involved now."

Daphne nodded, "Yep. Our days on the case may be numbered."

They walked up to the front door and were met by Randy who was the front door guard, "Hi Daphne. Like I said, a lot is happening."

"Hi Randy, this is my husband, Fred." They shook hands.

Randy looked over his shoulder back into the house to see if anyone was watching, "Well, to bring you up to speed, Mr. and Mrs. Black, Robbie's parents, got in last night and showed up at the station house. We had just run the plates from the video that you found and had a name which matched one of the men in the video, Hester Bligh. The Blacks started making phone calls and then the FBI ran Bligh's name and car through the Border Patrol database and found that he had crossed the Mexican border around 7:00 last night.

"Riley PD then helped out with his known accomplices, and we had the names of the other two by about 8:00." He pulled out his notepad, "Those names are Aaron Parkinson and Belwether Tate. All three of those guys have pretty ugly RAP sheets. The FBI ran those names and they passed into Mexico about 7:30 in a separate car.

"Amanda's phone rang right at 4:00 this morning and it was Bligh with a ransom demand. Three million dollars. The FBI took over jurisdiction and three of their people arrived about thirty minutes ago. They're inside talking with Robbie and Amanda."

"So, Danforth is off the case completely?"

"They're letting Mort… Detective Johnson sit in but yes, other than perimeter security, we're off completely."

"Any chance that we could get inside?"

"None. Even before the FBI got involved, Mort was pretty mad at me for letting you have so much access. And then when I pointed out that every break we had in the case had come from you, he got really mad. I mean, really, really mad. I'm pretty surprised that I'm still standing here."

"Sorry."

"Not your fault. You just wanted to help the little girl."

From the left corner of Daphne's eye, she saw some movement occurring inside the house. From the right side of her eye, she saw Fred up on his tiptoes waving into the house. Since the latter was more odd, she turned right.

"What are you doing?"

Then a female voice came from just inside the door, "Fred Jones! What on earth are you doing here?"

Daphne whipped around to see a woman who was a little younger than she was and who was gorgeous.

Then her husband said, "Hi Ali. It's been a long time."

Daphne whipped back around to her husband… Ali?

Fred continued, "Ali, you remember Daphne."

Not, my wife Daphne. Just Daphne.

The woman extended her hand, "No, I don't think we've met. I'm Alicia Clark." Daphne shook it.

Fred looked confused for a moment and then, "That's right. Daphne, you were shooting some of the in-studio Flam Flam shows from the Scrappy era. Ali was trying to start her own branch of Mystery, Inc. and she helped us on a mystery. But it didn't pan out. We drove all the way out into the desert and the sheriff had already solved it. No mystery."

To this, Daphne replied with the same statement made by every wife in this situation dating back to Eve, "I see."

At this point three things happened. First, Alicia started talking, "And now, I'm with the FBI. And the first thing that I found out was that everything is very different from how we did things based on your show. With The Bureau, it's all about process. Catching the bad guy means nothing if you don't get the conviction. That being said. It sounds from Amanda Black and our disgruntled Danforth Detective Johnson that all of the progress to date has been made by Daphne. So, there is something to be said for the old Mystery, Inc. style."

The second thing that happened was that when Alicia mentioned Daphne, she gestured toward her with her left hand which sported a very prominent wedding ring.

And the third thing was that Alicia continued talking, "Daphne, I spoke with Mrs. Blake, Amanda, and she said that she would like to keep you involved. Given your success to date, I agree. Would you be willing to work with us?"

"Of course. I was afraid that you wouldn't ask."

Alicia turned back toward Fred, "Fred, unless you want to stay, I can get Daphne back to Crystal Cove."

That stopped Fred in his tracks, "Uh, okay. I guess I'll head back."

Daphne turned back and gave Fred a quick peck on the cheek, "Thanks Fred. I'll see you later."

"Well, I guess I should be getting ready for my and Scoob's meeting with the lawyers."

But no one heard him. The two women had already turned away and headed into the house.

As the two women walked inside, Fred looked at Randy, who shrugged. Something seems to have just happened. Fred wished he knew what it was.

Alicia took Daphne through the dining room and into the kitchen. Daphne could see over the counter that there were several people standing in the den. Edward and Gail Black were there speaking with four people that she didn't know. All of them male. Three of them wore nice-fitting professional suits: FBI. One wore ill-fitting polyester pants, a light blue shirt with permanent stains in the armpit, and a shoulder holster in plan view: Danforth PD's Detective Mort Johnson. Amanda was there but standing off to the side as if she were not allowed at the adult's table. Robbie was nowhere in sight.

Alicia smiled a charming smile, "Amanda just made a fresh pot of coffee. You want some?"

"I would kill for some. Just black, please."

Alicia poured them both cups.

Daphne decided to make some not-so-small small talk, "I thought the FBI was going to monitor and advise on this one?"

"Apparently, Edward Black knows some senators."

"You got here quickly. Where's the nearest FBI office?"

"I don't really know. I'm out of St. Louis and everybody else came in from Sacramento."

"St. Louis? That's quite a distance."

"I got put on it because I'm from here."

"Riley?"

"Yes. And more particularly, Danforth."

"From Danforth? Do you know the Black's?"

"Not really. Robbie's two years younger than I am and Chastity is two years older. I generally know of them but didn't really know them."

"It's strange that you and I didn't meet. I spent a lot of time with the Danforth crowd."

"Oh. We did. At summer drama camp."

"Drama?"

Alicia smiled at the inside joke and attempted an impersonation of Dr. Lewis who had run the camps, "We don't do drama here. We do theater."

The impersonation was not very good and sounded more like a high-pitched John Houseman.

Daphne laughed politely, "I don't remember you. Were we there at the same time?"

"One year. And you wouldn't. You were the lead, and I was third from the right in the back-up chorus. We never actually spoke."

"Pardon my being blunt but it seems with your looks, Dr. Lewis would have put you right out front. He wasn't exactly woke on such things."

"No, he wasn't. He told me once that I had the looks to be a star and the talent to be a librarian."

"That's him. All right."

"But you were the queen of that place. You always had the 'it' factor. It surprised no one when you ended up on television."

Daphne laughed again, "The 'it' factor? Really? That's an interesting turn of phrase."

"I suppose." Alicia seemed suddenly slightly wary.

Daphne turned the charm up a notch, "In terms of the television, I am now selling cosmetics over the counter at the mall in Crystal Cove. That might give you a hint to how my big television career ended."

"You'll bounce back. You're Daphne Blake."

"Well, you certainly didn't turn out to be a librarian. You're in the FBI. You should tell Dr. Lewis to stick that one in his eye."

"What he was saying was true. I am a dreadful actress and giving up that dream let me focus on my other passion which was solving mysteries."

"You and I have a lot in common."

"I never missed your show. When I started my local Mystery, Inc. and Fred asked me to help out on the gold mine mystery, it was a dream come true. But then we got there and it was just a bunch of kids playing pranks. And that was that. So, I went to law school and then joined the Bureau. Now here I am."

Amanda had extricated herself from the group in the den and appeared at the end of the counter. She made an effort at a smile which was a reasonable facsimile. Again, Daphne noticed the white-knuckled fists.

"Hi Daphne. I'm glad you're here."

"Hello Amanda. How are you holding up?"

"I've been better. They tell me my baby is in Mexico."

"I know. The FBI being involved is a good thing. They've got resources. They'll get your baby back."

"I really hope so." Daphne was becoming used to the deadpan delivery of the words but watched as Amanda bunched and released her fists over and over.

"You know I want to hug you, right?"

"I would guess."

"But that would just add to your stress, wouldn't it?"

Amanda nodded.

"Well, just know I want to."

"Okay. Thank you."

"Where's Robbie?" Daphne noted that Alicia stiffened slightly at the question.

Amanda responded with her same emotionless tone, "He had to go to the doctor. They needed him there early for testing. He should be getting the wires off of his jaw later today."

Movement in the den caught all three of their attention as Chastity entered the next room and embraced her mother and father. There were handshakes with the FBI agents and the detective. Chastity then moved over to the kitchen area.

"Hello, Daphne."

"Hello, Amanda."

Amanda looked puzzled, "Chastity. You cut your hair."

Chastity's glare was short-lived but Daphne caught it, "Yes. Yesterday. I had to do something to keep my mind off of… things. I got it cut right before I met with Daphne."

"I've never seen it that short. It looks… nice."

"Thank you." She turned her attention to Alicia, "And you are?"

"Special Agent Alicia Clark, FBI. Special Agent Norland who you just spoke with is the lead on this case." She held out her hand and Chastity shook it.

"Yes. He is busy mooning over my parent's money and connections. Maybe you can fill me in."

"Certainly. We traced the three kidnappers through the Mexican border and are presently working with the Mexican authorities to try and find where they are located. No luck so far. The ransom demand came in this morning on Amanda's cell phone. We traced it to a cell tower in Mexico City and forwarded that information to the Mexican authorities. The kidnappers are asking for $3 million. They said they would call back in five hours, which will be 9:00, with delivery instructions. And that's where we stand."

"How are my parents taking that?"

"Mr. Black is waiting for the banks to open to see if he can convert some bonds into cash. He's worried about how long that process will take. Mrs. Black seems very upset."

Amanda nodded, "My mother-in-law is very emotional."

Another split-second glare from Chastity at Amanda, "Amanda is correct. My mother tends to being very emotional."

Daphne looked at Chastity, "Chastity, do you remember Alicia?"

Chastity took a second look at the FBI agent, "Should I? Have we met?"

Alicia nodded, "We went to high school together. I was a sophomore when you were a senior."

"Really? Were you a blonde then?"

"Yes. It's my natural color."

"I'm sorry. I just can't place you."

"That's okay. I was kind of mousy back then. A lot of people from high school don't remember me."

Daphne smiled, "Except for the boys, I would imagine."

"I wouldn't know about that. I met my husband in St. Louis."

Daphne continued, "Alicia, don't let us keep you from your work."

"This is my work. I'm supposed to talk to the family and friends and wait for further orders."

Daphne pulled out her phone, "Well, I have to make a phone call. Check on one of our other investigators. If you'll excuse me."

She stepped outside, nodded at Randy as she passed and walked out into the front yard. She brought up the 'Contacts' window on her phone and pressed 'V'. It filled in 'Velma' and she hit 'Call. It rang four times before transferring to voice mail but right as Daphne started recording her message, the phone vibrated and Velma was trying to call her. Multiple options appeared on her screen for how to handle the situation. She picked one.

"Velma?"

"Yeah, I was at the counter paying for my coffee."

"Where are you?"

"The campus coffee shop. I'm going over my notes before my first class. What's up?"

"Coincidences. Way too many coincidences."

"Such as?"

"I know almost everybody involved in this case. I know Chastity. I know her parents. I know Madame Lulu. And now the FBI has moved in and one of their agents went to Danforth High with Chastity and remembers me from theater camp. Am I making a mountain out of a molehill?"

"No. that's too many coincidences. What else have you noticed?"

"Both Chastity and the FBI agent referred to me using the exact same phrase. They both said that I had the 'it' factor."

"But they know each other, right?"

"No. Chastity says that she doesn't remember Alicia from high school."

"Alicia? Alicia Clark?"

"Right. Did you go on the desert thing, too?"

"Well, you were busy shooting episodes without us, so Fred and I tried to get a mystery. It bombed."

"What do you remember about her?"

"I remembered that she talked a mile a minute. Never shut up. Really annoying."

"So, you wouldn't describe her as mousy?"

"No. Not mousy at all. Over the top would be closer. Does that help?"

"Yes. The who is coming together but, for this case, the where is the most important thing. I need to figure out where Bettie is so we can get her back to her parents."

"I need to be heading to class. I'll talk to you later."

"Later. Thanks Vel."

Daphne walked back into the house and almost bumped into Chastity on her way out.

"You're leaving?"

"Yes. There's not much that I can do here."

"Where are you headed?"

An expression of wariness flickered across Chastity's face, "Just home. I'll just be getting in the way here."

Daphne beamed, "Can I come with? I'd love to see your place."

Alicia stepped into the foyer with them, "Daphne, I think the other agents would like to see you."

Daphne maintained her smile and her composure, "Thank you, Alicia, but I can meet them later. Right now, I would really like to see Chastity's house."

Alicia was now almost stepping in between Daphne and Chastity, "That's not possible right now. We need to debrief you about what happened yesterday."

"Special Agent Clark?" Randy's voice came in from the door, "I think there is someone in the trees across the street. Do you want me to check it out?"

Alicia locked eyes with Daphne for a moment before turning toward the door, "No. I'll check it out. Just follow me over at a distance and stay alert."

"Yes ma'am." As Alicia passed him through the door, Randy hazarded a wink in Daphne's direction. She smiled in return before turning back to Chastity.

"Now Chastity, I believe that we were going over to your house?"

"Why are you so bound and determined to go to my house?"

Daphne mustered a cold stare which she held just long enough to say, "Because Alicia was just a little too much." And then she smiled again, "And I just love seeing people's houses!"

Chastity returned the smile, "Certainly, but I have to warn you that I wasn't expecting company and it's a mess."

This wasn't the response that Daphne had expected. She followed as Chastity headed out to the car watching to make sure that Chastity made no phone calls or texts. Which she did not. Daphne's watch was maintained from the time they got in the car until they pulled into the open carport next to Chastity's small bungalow which was just outside of Danforth and in Metro Riley. Chastity never made any effort to contact anyone.

When the car pulled to a stop, Daphne jumped out and nearly ran to the door expecting Chastity to try and delay. Chastity made no such effort and followed right behind Daphne opening the side door. Daphne charged in and had inspected the small single-story building within a minute. She looked out all of the windows and around the quarter-acre lot which included no outbuildings or dense wooded areas.

Chastity did not follow her around but waited patiently in the kitchen. When Daphne was done, she joined her there.

She smiled, "You have a lovely home."

Chastity returned the smile, "Thank you. May I offer you some tea?"

"No, thank you."

"Are you satisfied now that I'm not involved in the kidnapping?"

"No. I'm not."

They were both distracted by another car pulling into the short driveway. There was just enough room behind Chastity's car.

Chastity spoke aloud, "I wonder who that could be?"

Daphne allowed the slightest tinge of sarcasm into her voice, "I don't know. Maybe Alicia?"

They both watched as Alicia got out of the car and walked up to the front door. Chastity walked the ten feet from the tiny kitchen to the door and opened it as Alicia was knocking, "And to what do I owe this pleasure, Special Agent Clark? Was it?"

Alicia stepped into the living room (there was no foyer), "Since we went to high school together, I think 'Alicia' will be fine. After you two left, I remembered that I promised Fred that I would take Daphne home. Just fulfilling a promise to an old friend."

"You don't need to bother. I can Uber from here."

"Well, about that. Special Agent Norland still would like to de-brief you. If it's not too much trouble."

"No. That's no problem. So, we're going back to Amanda and Robbie's house?"

"No. That's out of the way, our folks will be glad to meet at your house."

"At my house that's 30 minutes away in Crystal Cove?"

"It's no problem at all."

Daphne took a long, hard look at Chastity who sat and calmly sipped a cup of tea that she had somehow managed to get made. Alicia was trying to make that same calmness but the slight edge in her manner was unmistakable.

Daphne smiled again, "My house it is. Thank you so much for the lift."