Chapter 9

Chastity Black knew why she had been called to Robbie and Amanda's house with the breaking dawn and she spent the ride over preparing for the role that she would play one final time. Her grand performance was at hand. The ice queen would see how a mother should grieve for a lost child. There wouldn't be a dry eye in the house. Chastity was an actress and Dr. Lewis' theater camps had not been wasted. If only Alicia had had one ounce of talent. She had almost blown everything with her ineptitude. But Chastity stepped in and saved the day and even overcome the one oversight on her part. She pulled up to the curb amongst the various police and government cars and was already well into her I-hope-its-not-bad-news worried face. She was method acting. She felt the concern and the worry and the fear. She was good at this.

Parking her car haphazardly in front of the house, she then cut directly across the grass rather than going around on the concrete driveway. Her gate was a quick, worried step just short of running. The annoying young Danforth policeman who always seemed to be underfoot was in his nearly permanent position on the front porch. They should get him to hold a ring so that horses could be tied to him. At least then he would be useful. She blew past him, through the front door, past the closed doors of the office, and into the den where everyone seemed to have gathered.

She knew her opening lines as she made her entrance, "You called?! What's happened?! Where's Robbie?!" She added just the right edge to her voice.

Amanda answered with that same emotionless tone, the heartless witch, "He left. He needed to get himself under control."

Special Agent Norland was facing Chastity and blocking her view of someone who was right behind him, "Ms. Black. We've received some very bad news and you need to brace yourself."

She was standing near the counter that separated the kitchen from the den, she reached out without looking and rested her hand on the back of one of the bar stools, "What is it?" She felt a single tear begin to run down her right cheek as her actor's mind processed what the news had to be.

"We have received photographic documentation that, once the kidnappers received the money last night, they murdered your niece."

The faint was a thing of beauty. There was nothing graceful about it. She fell away from the stool, losing her grasp. Then she stumbled a step or two like a punch-drunk boxer. And finally, she went down, hard. She took a tough hit from the hardwood floor right on her funny bone which made her left arm go numb and hurt. But it was worth it for the reality of the movement.

Someone in the room should have the cue to come running up to her aid. They were missing it. If improvisation was required, she was up to the task and she opened her eyes and tried to sit up only to put weight on the numb arm and fall back to the ground again. This was real which added to the performance. She opened her eyes again to see a hand extending down toward her from Special Agent Norland. He was late to the cue but at least that gave her a graceful way to regain her feet.

But the room felt wrong. Everyone was looking at her, as they should be, but the looks were more curious than concerned. And now that Norland had moved, she could see the extra person in the room. She immediately recognized the purple mini dress and the bright red hair. What was Daphne Blake doing here? But it didn't look right. The dress didn't quite fit. It was too long. And the hair was a wig. It was the same wig that she…

Daphne turned around and was wearing Velma Dinkley's face, "Hello, Mrs. Redding."

Velma blew a couple of times at the strands of the wig which were sticking to her face. This was why she wore her now longer hair in a ponytail. She was done with her part in this, so she pulled the wig off, then pulled the hairnet off which was holding her real hair underneath. Then she was able to pick her ballcap up from the small table next to the window and put it on to cover the growing natural spot on the top of her head. Ball cap with a purple mini-dress was an odd look but no one was looking at her anymore.

Daphne appeared in the kitchen, "Hi Chastity. What's up?"

Chastity knew that her plan was in shambles but thought that if she could just bluff her way out of the room and drive away, she could regroup and still salvage this. But first, she needed to find out how much they knew.

She looked at Daphne, "What are you doing here?" She then turned and saw that Shaggy and Scooby had been waiting in the office for her to pass and then positioned themselves between her and the front door.

Daphne had an entire repertory of smiles, including the shark smile which she wore now, "As far as I can tell, I am here because you and I really didn't know each other very well in high school. So, you knew me only from the old television show and assumed that Velma was the smart one – which is true – and I am the dumb one – which I like to think is false. Once you found out that Amanda was going to hire us, you concocted a plan to make sure Velma was busy taking pictures of your ex-boyfriend and his new wife so that this case would fall to airheaded Daphne, or all-muscle-no-brain Fred, or stoner Shaggy, or fraidy-cat Scooby. All of the stereotypes which the network created to dumb down our lives for public consumption."

Chastity's brain was going into hyperdrive. What did they really have on her? It was time to start the bluff, "Daphne, I don't know what you are talking about, or why Ms. Dinkley is dressed like you, or why she addressed me by a name that isn't mine."

Velma stepped out of the high heels which didn't fit right and hurt her feet. The changed perspective caused her short stature to be noticeable even to herself, "You introduced yourself to me by the name of Sandra Redding when we met downtown."

"I'm sorry? We've never met in person."

Velma smiled broadly, "About that. The unsigned cashier's check and your refusal to sign a contract was a pretty weak effort to avoid identity theft liability. You see, there were three young men who were harassing me…"

"Rarrassing is a strong word." Scooby remained peeved over the way Velma had handled herself.

"Okay, they were annoying me…"

Scooby was now muttering under his breath, "Rot hard to do."

Velma sighed and continued, "Be that as it may. They were paying a lot of attention to our table and the general consensus of all three young men was that you, as Sandra Redding, were hot and therefore memorable. Memorable enough for all three of them to independently pick your photograph as the woman they saw that day. Even with the haircut. I'm not sure if that was a good ideas or a bad one on your part. You were right that I would have picked up on a wig but Daphne noticed the new, and quickly done, haircut that you got between your meeting me at around noon and your meeting her around 2:00. It raised a flag and got her thinking."

Daphne took over, "Of course, none of that means a lot except for the fact that whatever you told the FBI to get them on the case and after me also got them to list the case as a Patriot Act case which gave them leeway to request information from the bank which issued the cashier's check. And it just so happens that Christopher Redding was more than happy to help after he found out what you had done. The bank's record for that check is that it was issued to Chastity Black for receipt of cash. And your signature is maintained in their computer on the transaction."

Chastity was not giving up, "Okay. You got me. I wanted some revenge on Christopher and that little gold digger that he dumped more for. I had some revenge fantasies of taking the videos and pictures that Ms. Dinkley took and uploading them to the internet. But I was already calming down and did not even take them from her when offered. I will settle up with Christopher over any perceived damages and work with the local authorities over any other misdemeanors that may have resulted."

Chastity took her last valiant shot, "But this all means nothing compared against the fact that my niece has been murdered! How can you possibly be wasting your time when her killers are running free with my parent's money?"

Daphne's turn, "About that…"

Shaggy opened the front door and Fred entered. He was followed by Robbie who was holding baby Bettie. Last, Special Agent Ashby came in. Robbie put his daughter on the ground and she stood and looked around at all of the adults in the room.

"Bettie." The name came from Amanda as she walked briskly through the room to her child. She dropped to her knees and said the name again, "Bettie."

Bettie smiled and responded, "Mommy."

Neither mother nor child reached out to the other. They just stood and appreciated being in the same room at last.

Chastity knew it was over now, "See!" She pointed at Amanda and Bettie, "That's exactly why we did it! The woman has no emotions. What is it going to do to the child to be raised by someone who doesn't love her or hold her or comfort her? She might as well be raised by a robot."

Amanda stood slowly and turned to her sister-in-law. She was shaking harder than Daphne had seen previously but the voice came out level, "I love my child. I feel."

Bettie took two steps forward and wrapped herself around her mother's leg. Amanda bent down again and placed an arm around her child. The motion was tentative and not graceful but Bettie accepted it and leaned into her mother's awkward embrace.

Robbie's voice was muffled since his jaw still did not open fully. He looked at his sister, "They were waiting and came in as soon as you left."

Daphne took the cue, "Once we had final confirmation that it was you, then it was just a process of elimination to figure out where you were keeping her. I had been inside your house and your parent's house. That left the apartment over the stable at your parent's estate as the only place left. Fred went over there last night and looked into the window to see you drying Bettie off from a bath. A bath which had included a very important squeaky rubber duck.

"That was all we needed to get the FBI on our side."

It was Special Agent Norland's turn, "We were able to exchange the bag with the money for a bag full of paper and that is what we put on the plane. Ms. Dinkley helped us to find the closest location in Mexico where the terrain was such that a helicopter couldn't land, and we asked the Mexican authorities to send people in there, and she turned out to be right. At the same time as the airplane flew over the mountainous area, the Mexican Federal Police stormed in and apprehended all three. Extradition is underway."

Edward Black spoke for the first time, "And you weren't able to steal our money."

Chastity looked defeated. She spoke without energy, "Not everything is about your money."

Daphne picked things up again, "But it didn't hurt. You and Robbie were both bothered that you were struggling while your parents did everything in their power to spend your inheritance."

Chastity turned back to Daphne, "I guess you're not as smart as you think. It was not about the money. Robbie and I weren't going to get a penny. That was the payment for the three guys that we hired to kidnap Bettie and pretend to kill her in Mexico. This was for Bettie. She deserved a real mother."

Everyone looked at Amanda who continued to hold her child and look composed, but Daphne saw her hands continuing to shake.

Chastity decided to get her story on the record, "I was going to be distraught and unable to stay here and I would move to the Upper Peninsula of Michigan where I have a teaching job offer and I would take Bettie with me. Robbie would stay here for a while before divorcing Amanda and getting on with his life. I would have continued to take care of Bettie as my own until he could remarry with a good woman, an honest woman. One who would be a true loving mother for Bettie. And then there would be a fake adoption and Bettie would be raised in a wonderful loving family environment, free from that emotionally-stunted thing that she has for a biological mother."

Amanda looked over to her husband, "Robbie, is that true?"

He nodded without ever looking up to meet her eyes.

Her next words came out in a whisper that carried around the room, "How much you must hate me."

His face finally lifted to hers, "I don't hate you. I just love Bettie. I mean, you just saw it. She hadn't seen you in days and she didn't take a step toward you. She just stood and looked at you. She is growing up to be just like you. Please tell me that you don't want that for her."

Amanda looked into her daughter's face which was inches from her own. The child was surrounded by the most intense of emotions and appeared completely unfazed. But Amanda could smell that she had soiled herself. Maybe it was in response to the internalizing of her emotional responses within the maelstrom of emotions surrounding her or maybe it was just that it had been too long since she had last been to the potty.

She looked back at Robbie, "No. I wouldn't wish that for anyone. I need to change Bettie's diaper." She picked up her child and left the room to go into the master bedroom.

Velma followed and stood in the bedroom door watching the young mother undress and clean her child.

Velma had no idea how to start a conversation like this. So, she went with what she knew, "Hey."

Amanda jumped slightly and then turned to see Velma at the door, "I didn't see you there." She turned back to cleaning and replacing Bettie's diaper, "She's gone three weeks without an accident. I guess the stress of everything set her back."

Amanda spoke without looking away from her child which put her back to Velma. Velma didn't consider this rude. She found it easier to talk with people when she didn't have to look into their faces. It saved all of the effort of concentrating on her own facial expressions.

Velma laughed, "If I had gone through half of what she has, I'd probably be set back, too."

"How do you do that?"

"Do what?"

"What you just did. You made a joke. You laughed. Just like you were normal. How do you pass as normal?"

From anyone else this would have been an insult. From Amanda, it was just a question.

"I don't. I'm just a little closer than you are."

Amanda's opportunity to be offended. Also not taken, "But how?"

"You fake it until parts of it become second nature. It's never quite right and you will never be completely accepted but, if you find the right people, then they meet you halfway."

"I haven't found the right people."

"Ya' think?"

Amanda turned and smiled at Velma's joke. The smile was awful and completely unnatural.

Velma continued, "I learned that smiling looks better if you show some teeth. But not too much."

Amanda changed her face and opened her mouth slightly. The result would almost pass as a real smile.

Velma nodded, "That's better."

Amanda turned back to her child who was now cleaned up and dressed in new clothes, "Are you faking it all of the time?"

"Not really. There are things that I find funny and the people who really know me know when that is. Maybe its not a laugh or a smile but they know. I've cried a few times when I've been really angry or frightened. I blush all of the time. I get embarrassed kind of easily. So, I'm able to release my emotions in normal ways sometimes."

"I can't. I feel them. I don't know. I just can't figure out how to take the feelings and make facial expressions and noises that match them."

"You faked it well enough for Robbie to marry you."

"It was exhausting and even then, he knew something was off. He would ask me about it sometimes. He was constantly asking if I was okay. When I told him that I was fine, he didn't believe me."

"I would recommend taking the word 'fine' out of your vocabulary. It's been pretty messed up."

"I already figured that out. But not until after a lot of confusing conversations."

Amanda was now on her knees on the floor facing her baby who was sitting at the edge of the bed. Amanda was holding onto her but more to keep her from falling than for any real sense of tactile comfort.

Bettie rested her tiny hand on her mother's wrist. Amanda spoke, "He's right. Isn't he? About needing a mother who holds her and comforts her?"

"I don't know. There have been studies."

"I've read the studies. They all start with the same sentence: 'Developmental delay is common in children deprived of normal sensory stimulation.' After I told Robbie about who I really was, he started reading them, too. He began to compensate for who I was by constantly hugging her and exposing her to all sorts of colors and sounds. Everything that I just don't think of."

"How did she react?"

"She loves it. She loves her father." These words made Amanda sort of fade out for a moment, "She's different with him than she is with me. With him, she laughs and hugs. With me, she is like me. I know she loves me, but she seems to understand that if she reaches out for me to hug her, I probably won't understand what she is needing. So, she doesn't reach out."

"You said you know she loves you. I'm sure that she also knows you love her."

"She has to. I love her so much its confusing. It's like my nervous system gets struck by lightning and overloads. I just look at her and I feel so much."

"And you shake."

"And I shake."

"You're going to have to fake it."

Amanda digested this statement, "Thank you."

"It's not good news."

"I know. But all of the psychologists say that I have to be myself. They and their textbooks don't understand. You've lived with it."

"To an extent. Yes."

Two-year-olds are at a strange age where they may not understand much but they understand more than adults believe they do. Bettie held out her arms toward her mother, "I wuf you."

Amanda wrapped her arms around her child and held her close, "I love you, too, sweetheart."

The hug was fake and the melodic tone of voice was fake. But the love was real.

In the other room, Daphne's mouth was hanging open, "You have got to be kidding me."

Gail Black was now speaking for the elder Blacks, "No. We will not press charges. When you have children, you might understand."

Daphne let the thinly-veiled emotional dart pass, "But they tried to take a child away from her mother and steal $3 million from you!"

Special Agent Norland joined in, "Mr. and Mrs. Black, Mrs. Jones is right. This is not a broken window on the front porch. This is kidnapping, attempted grand theft, battery, identity theft, fraud, conspiracy on all of those, the list goes on and on. Even if you don't press charges, the Government still has sufficient evidence to make a case."

Daphne kept it going, "And I don't think that the real Mr. and Mrs. Redding will have any problem with pressing charges along with possible civil suits."

Mrs. Black stood stiffly, "Then it sounds like you don't need our assistance. We will do nothing to assist in the prosecution of our children."

"And I won't press charges, either. Bettie needs her father and her aunt." It was Amanda. She and Velma had returned to the den with Amanda carrying Bettie. She was stroking Bettie's back and the child had a fistful of her mother's hair.

Robbie looked up and saw his wife caressing their daughter, "You're pretending."

Amanda kissed her daughter on the cheek and looked at Robbie, "Yes."

Chastity snarled, "That doesn't change who you really are."

Daphne snarled right back, "Get over yourself, Chastity. We all pretend. Some are just better at it than others."

Amanda looked at Velma, "People who meet you halfway."

Velma nodded.

"You're lucky."

Velma nodded again.

Daphne was on a roll, "Mr. and Mrs. Black, doesn't it worry you that Chastity has maintained her relationships with underworld elements that she developed during her revolutionary period? Your daughter made a phone call and hired three kidnappers. What happens if her anger gets focused on you?!"

Her voice had built until the last sentence was a controlled yell. As the echo of her words reverberated through the high-ceiling room, Daphne saw tears in Mrs. Black's eyes, "They're our children."

Mr. Black put his arm around his wife's shoulders, "This issue is closed, Mrs. Jones."

Mrs. Black's tears had taken the wind out of Daphne's sails. How much pain was required to be endured in the name of motherhood? How did women do it? She tried to stop herself from asking the last question that approached her mind but couldn't stop it. Why did women do it? This created one last question. What was wrong with her?

Her reverie had cost her hearing the first few words being spoken by Special Agent Norland, "…consultation with Det. Johnson and the Danforth Police Department, we are jointly notifying you both that you are going to be put on the no-fly list and are strongly requested to not leave the Riley area until we have determined whether the local, state, or federal authorities will be pursuing prosecution. You are not formally under arrest at this time but will be monitored.

"While the FBI respects your parent's right to not press charges, you conspired with known felons to attempt to steal $3 million from them and you premeditatedly kidnapped Elizabeth Black in an attempt to forever remove her from the care of her mother."

Chastity glared directly at Daphne, "And we would have gotten away with it if you had just been as stupid as you were supposed to be." She turned on her heels and left the building, bumping hard into both Shaggy and Scooby on the way out.

Daphne looked at Fred, "Was that an insult or a compliment?"

Fred shrugged, "I'm not sure."

"I miss the old 'meddling' days. It was simple, straightforward. I never wondered what someone meant when they called us 'meddling kids.' These adult versions are confusing."

Fred shrugged again.