howdy doo, folks! i hope you enjoy chapter four! it was originally going to be two chapters, but it ended up as one long one. oops.
Chapter Four: The Modern Machiavellian
The second body had been found in a similar state to the first. It was a woman this time, by the name of Gloria Ramirez. Also found in a room at The Coolsville Ritz, also behind a locked door, and also in town for my father's summit. It was clear, at least to us, that what had once appeared to be a single unexplained death was really the first in a string of serial killings.
My dad scoffed at the idea, shaking his head at me as though I were a child. "Fred, my boy," he chuckled, "some things in life are simply unfortunate coincidences. An unhappy accident; that's all this is!"
He reached out to pat my shoulder, but I pulled away.
"How can you say that? People are dying! Don't you think that's worth investigating?" My father looked almost hurt at my suggestion that something more sinister than a few random animal attacks was happening in Coolsville. He glanced behind me, shooting a look at the gang, who hurried out of the room.
We were all alone now. We stood in the late Gloria Ramirez's hotel room, staring at each other. I couldn't see my own face, but I'm sure it was obvious that my blood was boiling. My dad searched my eyes, hoping for my stoic expression to crack, but I wasn't ready to budge just yet. He sighed, taking off his glasses and rubbing his eyes. It was clear just how disappointed he was in me.
"Fred," he sighed, "I know what it's like to be young- trust me. You think everything is the end of the world. And I understand that you're scared and confused, but I promise you that I won't let anything hurt you... But I can't protect you if you won't cooperate with me."
I could tell he was talking about what had happened at the morgue. It was my dad's favorite game- pretending he didn't know what I had done and guilting me into coming clean. Fortunately, I wasn't in the mood to play that day. Realizing that I couldn't be coerced, he kept going.
"There's no reason to be afraid, Fred. Whatever you think is happening is all up there," he said, poking my temple with a mayoral smile. "So, best to leave it alone, right? Tell you what- I'll get animal control to have a poke around these vents, see if they can't see what's going on, okay? How does that sound, kiddo?"
I hated "kiddo." It was one of my dad's many manipulation tactics. He only called me that when I wouldn't cooperate with him, as some twisted way to trick me into thinking he loved me and wanted what was best for me. I believed that he loved me, but over the years I'd gotten smart enough to understand that the only person whose best interests he kept in mind was himself.
Desperate times called for desperate measures, I had learned, and although I resented my father for his constant manipulation, sometimes it was necessary to sink to the level of your opponent. Swallowing hard, I tried to soften my expression.
"So," I said, clapping my hands together. "What did they do with the body?"
"I've asked that Sheriff Stone rule Ms. Ramirez's death as an accident, so I imagine they'll be keeping her in the morgue until one of her relatives comes to pick up the body." My dad shrugged, pushing his glasses up his nose.
"Oh, yeah?" I asked, "and who takes care of the delivery? The sheriff?"
My dad shook his head. "The ambulance. The EMTs just came for the body, as a matter of fact."
"Huh," I nodded, beginning to back out of the room. "Well, I guess I'll just be on my way, then. You know, head on down to the arcade with the gang. Like you said, maybe it is best that I just keep out of this mess- get back to my regularly scheduled shenanigans. Uh, good talk, dad."
When I entered the hall, my friends were all waiting for me. They perked up when they saw me, like dogs waiting for treats, and followed me down the hall. I didn't speak to them, too busy pulling strings inside my own mind.
The EMTs were just about to get into the ambulance as I jogged up to them. None of them looked as though they could have been more than a few years older than me. I rapped the driver's side door, grabbing their attention.
"Hey, fellas," I panted, pretending to be more out of sorts than I was. "They just found another victim up there- still alive. My dad wants you all back right away. He asked that I run the body to the morgue in my van."
The EMTs all burst to action, scrambling out of the ambulance. One opened the rear door and asked if I'd be okay carrying the body by myself, to which I nodded. In a hurry, he left to join the others, who all raced back into the Coolsville Ritz.
I tugged the black body bag partially out of the ambulance and handed the one end to Shaggy, who struggled under the weight. I hopped inside, grabbing the other end myself and carrying it out. Velma and Daphne shut the back doors behind us as I hurried over to the van.
"Why are we leaving?" Velma asked impatiently, "If there's a living victim up there, they could potentially identify the attacker. Don't you want to question them?"
"Oh, I would love the question them." I replied, sliding the body bag into the back of my van. "If there were a living victim."
Velma, Shaggy and Scooby all piled into the back of the van, careful not to get too close to the body, which was starting to give off a foul smell. I hopped into the driver's seat, started the engine and sped away from the crime scene.
"Are you telling me we stole this woman's body?" Daphne yelled
She swatted at my arm, trying to distract me from the task at hand, which happened to be finding somewhere to hide this body (and the four of us). I hadn't thought this plan through all the way, but it was certainly more evolved than running out into the morgue parking lot like a madman.
I pulled a sharp right into an alleyway, and then a left into another one. I found myself in a shady and dismal area the likes of which I didn't know existed in the notoriously pristine town of Coolsville. Pressed between a series of brick buildings I didn't recognize, I drove slowly and tentatively over cracked pavement until I noticed a single parking space, tucked behind a dumpster. A sign hung above it which read "authorized parking only; all others will be towed." I decided that the sign was more of a loose suggestion than an instruction, and reversed into the spot.
Once the van was stopped, I climbed over my seat and into the back, where Shaggy, Scooby and Velma all stared at me with wide eyes.
"Care to tell us what the hell is going on?" Velma snapped. I leaned over and unzipped the body bag. An awful stench filled the van. Shaggy gagged a little and Daphne began to crank her window down.
"You're going to perform an autopsy." I stated simply.
"Are you insane? I can't perform an autopsy on this woman!" She shot back.
"Why not?" I asked. "You did it last night."
"That was different!" Velma cried. "I was just re-examining someone else's work. I don't have the proper training to do this myself- and even if I did, I don't have the proper tools. I don't even have a scalpel!"
I dug into my pocket and pulled out my Swiss army knife. I tossed it at Velma, who looked as though I'd just thrown her a bomb. She continued to argue with me, and it wasn't until I'd resorted to begging that she'd agreed.
Her fingers shook as she made the first incision into the woman. She grimaced as she opened her body up, her sloppy work obvious to everyone. Velma reached out and grasped the stomach, her hands covered in blood already. She sawed into the organ until she was able to look inside. A hush fell over us all as she reached a finger inside the stomach and began to examine its contents.
"This woman ingested the same drug that Steven Adams took before he died," She mumbled, clearly having a hard time believing her findings as she dipped her finger back into Gloria Ramirez's stomach.
"So that does it." Daphne breathed. She'd recently taken Shaggy's spot in the back of the van, allowing him and Scooby to go and act as our lookouts. The severity of our situation was clearly beginning to take a toll on her. I reached out and took her hand and she offered me a weak smile in return.
Velma nodded. "One man dying after taking a mysterious drug could be coincidence, but two?" She wiped her forehead with her wrist. "These deaths were no accident, you guys."
To Shaggy, the distinction between drug dealer and ex-drug dealer was a very important one. Curtis, who sat across the booth from us in the Burger Binge, eating is all-day breakfast as though it were his first meal in a week, was Shaggy's ex-drug dealer. It only lasted six months, after Shaggy's father had died, and he swore he hadn't done anything hard. Details aside, Curtis seemed to be our only shot at sourcing the mysterious black drug we'd found in our victims' bodies.
I tossed a small Ziploc bag filled with the substance across the table. Curtis dropped his cutlery, pausing to wipe his hands on his pants before picking up the baggie that had landed in front of him.
"Yeah, I'm familiar," he sneered. "What's it to you?"
I looked at Shaggy, who'd come with me to meet Curtis- partly because he was our connection and partly because I'd tasked Daphne and Velma with burying Gloria Ramirez's body by the riverbank. Shaggy shrugged.
"That's none of your concern." I replied unsurely. "Just tell us what you know."
Curtis chuckled at me, tossing a strip of bacon into his mouth.
"Allow me to teach you something about my business, Dobie Gillis." He smirked. "Information ain't free. You want me to go down quietly, you'd better make it worth my time."
I huffed, reaching into my pocket and pulling out two twenty dollar bills from my wallet. I flicked them in his direction. Curtis caught them eagerly and shoved the money into his oversized jacket.
"It's not my stuff." He started, leaning in close so only Shaggy and I could hear him. "I don't know whose it is. First shipment came into town on a Cessna the day before yesterday- a tiny little package with no return address. I get texts from a blocked number telling me when and where to drop it off."
"When's the next drop?" I asked.
"Later tonight, as a matter of fact. Some place called The Silver Angel- piano bar, I think." Curtis leaned back with a shrug, returning to work on his breakfast.
The Silver Angel was one of Coolsville's more refined establishments. It was the classiest place in town, always smelling of Cuban cigars and Dior perfume. I'd never been inside, but the people who left were always dressed exquisitely, the men in tuxedos and the women in fur and diamonds. Tonight, The Silver Angel would host all of the politicians in town for my father's summit for a private party. Luckily, I had an in with the mayor.
"You know the place, Freddy?" Shaggy asked, noticing that my wheels were turning.
"My dad's having a party there tonight." I replied. "I'd be willing to bet that I could get in."
The bell on the door rang, and in scurried Daphne and Velma. They didn't approach us, but instead stood near the exit. They tapped their feet, waved their arms, and raised their eyebrows at Shaggy and I, silently calling us over. We excused ourselves, rushing over to meet the girls.
"We have a problem." Daphne began.
"What?" I asked.
"We can't leave the body by the river." Velma replied, speaking at a mile a minute. "Some guy saw us. If the body turned up there, we'd have a witness. It's too much of a liability- we have to drive it out of town."
I groaned, even though I had no right to. It was me who'd gotten us into this mess in the first place. I'd been the one to steal the body, and insist that Velma perform an autopsy- but it was my friends who were shivering and afraid, stressed over where to hide it.
"Where is it now?" I sighed.
"We left it hidden by the riverbank. We need the van to go back and get it." Daphne said.
"Alright," I started, "Shaggy, you take Velma and the van and go find the body. Drive it out of town, but be fast- you only have about three hours of sunlight left."
"What about me?" Daphne asked.
"You're going to help me with something else." I said, pulling a twig out of her hair. She nodded. "Tell me, Daph, do you own any diamonds?"
i hope you loved chapter four! chapter five has got lots of fraphne, for those who are into that sort of thing. also, i've been trying to post every wednesday, but because of christmas, i'll either post chapter five next saturday, or i'll just skip next week all together.