Chapter 2: Meeting the manager and the split up
The man was dragging out a cigarette and exhaling smoke when he saw the two groups walking towards him.
"Excuse me, sir." Fred spoke as they approached him.
"Aye?" The man asked. "What can I do for y'all?"
"Do you happen to know if the theme park is opening today?" Valerie asked as Shaggy and Scooby produced the tickets they've won. "Our friends here won the tickets for the opening of the theme park here today, but when we got here, the gates are locked up tight and that no one else is around."
"And we're also due to perform a gig here as part of the opening ceremony." Alexander added.
"I take it that y'all came all the way from across the pond, eh?" The man raised an eyebrow as he studied the group.
"Yes, how'd you figure?" Josie asked.
"The accent and all." The man replied. "And y'all say yer here for the opening of the theme park, t'day?"
"That is correct, Mister, er..." Velma was about to continue when the man interjected.
"Dodson." The man introduced himself as he adjusted his flat cap. "Frank Dodson, at yer service."
"So can you tell us if something's happened at the park, Mr. Dodson?" Daphne asked.
"Aye." Dodson nodded. "Word has it that a witch's been disruptin' preparations for the opening."
"A witch?" Valerie repeated.
"Aye." Dodson nodded again. "The theme park was built near the cursed moors that was once the roaming grounds of the Crimson Witch."
Shaggy, Scooby and Alexander all swallowed. "Cursed moors?"
"Who's this Crimson Witch?" Josie asked.
"The Crimson Witch is the vengeful spirit of Wanda Grubwort." Dodson explained. "The villagers know her for her wickedness and eccentricity, and not being a people person, Grubwort resided in this part of the moors."
"Far away from the village." Velma interjected.
"Aye." Dodson nodded. "One fateful summer, the village was besieged by poor harvest and the unexplained, which the locals blamed on her witchcraft. She subsequently faced the rope, though not before she swore revenge on the village and placed a curse on the moors."
"Holy moly." Alan remarked. "And no one has dared to step foot on the moors since that fateful summer."
"Not a soul dared to step foot on the moors, for those that entered or trespassed on her land faced bad consequences that are best left unknown." Dodson continued. "Rumour has it that her ghost keeps haunting the moors and uses a number of tricks and spells to keep trespassers away and cause trouble."
"Sounds like a legend if you ask me." Alexandria huffed.
"Sure, tell that to the technicians and workers that were makin' preparations last night." Dodson said as he eyed Alexandria.
"The witch disrupted the preparations last night?" Fred asked.
"That's right." Dodson nodded. "In fact, the Crimson Witch was responsible for a lot of damages when she came 'round last night."
"What sort of damages are we talking about?" Alan asked.
Dodson immediately gestured towards the roller coaster ride in the distance as he said, "Damaged the tracks of the roller coaster ride over there, for instance. Them lads doin' the tests last night were lucky to be alright."
"Which also means that the opening of the park has been put off until the repairs are done." Velma interjected.
"Aye." Dodson replied. "Safety first, you know."
"Has the police been informed about the attack and damage?" Daphne asked.
"You mean the constabulary?" Dodson asked before nodding. "Aye, they were called as soon as the incident occurred and ordered the park to close up. Last I heard, they aren't rulin' out some troublemakers 'round these parts causin' trouble."
"I doubt rowdy youngsters would go so far as to damage the roller coaster ride." Valerie said with a frown.
"Maybe." Dodson shrugged. "Though until the Crimson Witch has been found, I strongly suggest that you lot head back to yer hotel until it is safe to return here."
"Sounds like a wise idea to me." Alexander interjected.
"Say, is it just you that's here to do the clean up, Mr. Dodson?" Alan asked. "I mean, with the mess you described last night, I'm certain that there would be more crew members around with you conducting the clean up."
"I do have mates with me right now, at other parts of the park, to be exact, though we're down to skeleton crew because many of the other lads ain't willin' to work at a place that is haunted by the Crimson Witch." Dodson said.
"By any chance, is the park manager still around?" Josie prompted. "We were supposed to be performing a concert here on opening day, and we were wondering if this is still a thing even with the park's opening being delayed."
"He is in his office, though I wouldn't suggest goin' there right now." Dodson replied. "He's got plenty on his plate to deal with."
"I'm certain he wouldn't mind if we drop by and try to figure this out." Fred stated.
"Oh yeah?" Dodson raised an eyebrow.
"Several heads are better than one, Mr. Dodson, and besides, we have experience solving these sorts of problems." Velma interjected.
"That a fact?" Dodson asked.
"If this witch is indeed causing him trouble, we won't hesitate to help him put a stop to that." Josie replied.
The caretaker studied the group for a minute, then he nodded.
"Very well, then." He said. "Follow me."
A short while later, the group were led to the manager's office, where the manager was still speaking on the telephone.
"For the last time, Stuart, the answer to your offer is no!" The manager said crossly as the group gathered at the open door.
A few minutes went by before the manager's frown deepened. "Right, then. Have it your way. Ta-rah."
He then slammed the phone with a huff and inhaled deeply before he looked up and saw the group standing at the doorway and staring at him quizzically.
"Can I help you?" The manager asked as his Scottish accent drawled in his voice.
"Hi, uh, we're the band that was supposed to be performing for a gig at the opening of the park." Josie stepped forward.
"And we gathered that the park encountered some problems, forcing the opening to be put back." Fred added as he followed suit.
The Scotsman studied the duo before he asked, "Josie and the Pussycats, right?"
"That's us." Josie nodded as she gestured towards herself and her friends. "And our friends here have won the tickets for the opening."
The manager raised an eyebrow as Shaggy stepped forward and showed the tickets, prompting him to put on his glasses and lean forward to take a closer look at the tickets.
"Well, well, well." He finally said after examining the tickets. "I'm afraid you lot are out of luck today."
"So we've gathered, Mr. Campbell." Fred said, addressing the manager through a quick glance at the name plate on the desk. "It's the Crimson Witch that's been giving you trouble, isn't it?"
"I'm afraid so." Mr. Campbell nodded. "No doubt Mr. Dodson told you lot about the witch showing up and causing quite the racket last night."
"He did." Josie nodded. "Mentioned the damages made to the roller coaster ride, for instance, and scaring off the repair men."
"Aye, that she did." Mr. Campbell said. "However, it wasn't the only racket she caused. In fact, there's a reason why I've called on you lot to come here to perform for the opening act."
"What do you mean by that, Mr. Campbell?" Alan raised an eyebrow.
"Even before she began disrupting the preparations for opening day, I've been havin' quite the trouble in securing a band in performing for opening day, not to mention the usual threats of a curse associated with the nearby moors." Mr. Campbell explained. "I managed to secure Liverpool's native band to come perform for opening day, but just couple days ago, them lot disappeared without a trace."
"Disappeared?" Daphne asked.
"That's right." Mr. Campbell nodded. "The constabulary has been tryin' to locate them, to no avail, so I had to call you lot in after seeing your advertisement on the paper."
"Right, right." Alexander nodded. "Glad that we could be of service, Mr. Campbell. As I've explained over the phone when you made the call..."
"Of course you did." Mr. Campbell waved his hand. "Unfortunately, as I've said, I don't see you lot performin' yer gig while the Crimson Witch continues to roam around."
"Is there anything we could do to help, Mr. Campbell?" Daphne asked. "It just so happens that we've had the experience of encountering the likes of this fabled Crimson Witch."
"That a fact?" Mr. Campbell raised an eyebrow.
"We do." Fred nodded. "Whatever this Crimson Witch is up to - and why - we will get to the bottom of it, just like everything else we've unmasked in the past."
"And if you let us help, Mr. Campbell, the park can open safely sooner." Valerie added.
Mr. Campbell arched his eyebrows briefly as he studied the group, then he reached onto his desk for his pipe and a match.
"Very well, then." The Scotsman said as he struck the match and lit at the bowl of the pipe.
Producing a couple more puffs, he then added, "But you lot must exercise caution, because this Crimson Witch is not yer typical legendary ghoul or other spook, not when her spirit is said to have mastered plenty of sorcery."
"We will be on our guard, Mr. Campbell." Fred said. "We promise-"
Before Fred could continue, one of the repairmen suddenly rushed into the office, briefly shoving the others that were standing by the doorway in the process.
"Mr. Campbell, sorry to interrupt, but she's back!" The repairman exclaimed as soon as he rushed into the office.
"The Crimson Witch?" Mr. Campbell asked.
"Aye, sir." The repairman nodded. "She took out couple of the merchandise stands and left us a note."
"What does the note say?" Fred prompted.
Producing the note, the repairman read, "This is ye last warning. Be off from the cursed moors or suffer the wrath of the Crimson Witch! Ye have been warned!"
After the repairman finished reading the note, the group looked at each other briefly.
"Mind if we take a look at the damage?" Josie asked.
The repairman turned towards Mr. Campbell, who nodded at him firmly.
A short while later, the group were at the scene where the Crimson Witch struck surveying the wreckage.
"Wow, wee." Velma remarked as they surveyed the wreckage. "Doesn't seem like the Crimson Witch's fooling around."
"Indeed." Valerie agreed as she picked up one of the merchandises buried under the rubble. "Though why would she target the merchandise stands specifically?"
"Beats me." The park's chief of security, whose nameplate read "Domino" on her uniform, replied. "Not unless she wanted to really see to it that the park never sees any visitors. After all, this park was the first to be built near the cursed moors."
"True." Melody remarked. "Besides, I don't suppose anyone would wanna buy merchandise that may be cursed by the witch anyways."
At Melody's remark, everyone simply stared at her with strange looks on their faces, prompting her to backtrack. "Never mind."
"Anyways, given the scale of the damage, I think it's best if we split up and search around for clues, guys." Fred declared.
Immediately, Alan felt Alexandra grabbing onto his arm as she said, "Swell idea, Fred. I don't suppose Alan would mind if I tag along with him."
Turning towards Alan, she then added, "Wouldn't you?"
Alan sighed before he said, "I don't suppose I would, though I'm sure Josie wouldn't mind tagging along as well."
Alexandra's face soured as Josie enthusiastically joined in. "Swell idea, Alan. Just what I was thinking."
As Sebastian leaped onto Alexandra's arms, her brother said walked towards Shaggy and Scooby as he said, "And of course, I'll stick around with Shag and Scooby. After all, they're the experts on where to go should the Crimson Witch show up."
"Yeah." Shaggy nodded. "Far, far away. In fact, we may consider sending you guys a postcard when we get back to London."
"Oh, there's no need to do that, you guys." Daphne said with a light chuckle as she and Velma joined Fred. "If the witch does show up, just shout."
"Like, you'll sure be hearing from us, Daph, when we do shout." Shaggy said.
"Anyways, we should get moving, guys." Josie urged. "The sooner we get to the bottom of this mystery, the sooner we could prepare for our concert for the park's opening."
"Right." Everyone else nodded before they went their separate ways.
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Also, rest in peace, Joe Ruby and Chadwick Boseman.