The body in the coffin was identified as Lily Roper by police and a facial technology machine that reconstructed what the face of the corpse might have looked like in life. Lily's family travelled to America, but sadly only her mother and younger sister. Her father had died three years earlier after a long battle with cancer. He never knew what happened to Lily.

Johann Samson was brought to justice by police. He admitted that after a heavy drinking session, he first proposed to Lily and then, when she refused, hit her seven times on the head with a stonemason's hammer he'd borrowed from a friend for his woodworking. Then he drove home after hiding her body between the sand dunes, and hastily built a wooden coffin for her. He buried her, but returned every year, a week after the anniversary of her death. Fred was right about that.

The police allowed Lily's family to take her body home and bury it in the place where she'd been happiest; in the village of Madley, near the city of Hereford. She had grown up in Madley. She was buried in the churchyard.

Velma struggled at first to come to terms with what had happened- not so much Lily's death and such, but the fact that for once in her life they appeared to have seen an actual ghost, her and Fred. She didn't talk much about it at first, when they went back to Blake House, where they lived, after the mystery, but Fred didn't either and the rest of the gang wanted some information of what had happened from the two.

Eventually they agreed to talk about their separate experiences. Fred simply told it like he was telling a story, in a monotonous tone and not making eye contact with anyone. Velma could tell he was shaken by the whole experience; this was out of their comfort zone, their normal league. This one wouldn't be easy to forget for him. She told hers at least looking at the others, but she couldn't quite come to terms with the fact that this was a real live ghost. Not a fake, not the usual masked man or woman, but a real ghost, a real spirit of a dead person, a person who had been brutally murdered and left in a coffin by her murderer. Velma still couldn't credit that this time, after all the fakes they had had, this one was for real.

"You have to think with your heart this time, Velma," Daphne said, putting her arms round her friend. "This one can't be solved by logic. From beyond the grave, Lily reached out to us, knowing we would be able to help. She tried Freddy first, and then when that attempt failed, she tried you. It's an honour for both of you, being the two she chose. I don't feel left out, nor do Shaggy or Scooby, but you were the two Lily chose to "talk" to, and that is a big thing."

"I- I don't know, Daph, but I just wish that none of this had happened. I wish Lily and her family had never gone on holiday in New Elounda, I wish that we hadn't either, I wish that Lily was still alive because she didn't do anything to deserve to die…"

"This is thinking with your heart, Velma! It's hard, but it beats logic sometimes. This time, it wasn't a malicious ghost, someone trying to scare us off, it was a girl about your own age trying to talk to us, specifically you two. She tried to let someone know what had happened, so that the case could be closed and her family could know after all these years what had happened to her."

Daphne's little pep talk helped a bit, and Velma found a little peace; Fred couldn't for a while, but Velma tried to relay what Daphne had said to him.

The whole gang was restless and lethargic for a few weeks after the case. What was meant to be a relaxing vacation, as always, had turned into a case, and this time the largest case they had ever solved. This one was big; this one had attracted mass media attention and solved a murder case. There was a life involved this time. The natural rhythm of emotions they were all used to was shattered for a while.

A week after solving the mystery, back in Ohio, Velma woke up at three in the morning, not knowing why but just opening her eyes. She turned over, and as she did so she saw Lily standing there, smiling, a true smile that made her eyes light up.

"Thank you, Velma."

Then she vanished, and Velma saw, in the corner of her eye, something appear on her bedside table. She turned and picked it up.

It was a little framed picture of Lily, with her family, standing in the garden of a pretty little house that Velma guessed was Lily's house. Lily was wearing a blouse that looked like silk, in a gorgeous deep purple that went beautifully with the mane of chestnut hair. Next to her was a little girl- Rosa- who appeared to share quite a lot of her beauty. Behind them were their parents, a lovely-looking woman who was clearly the source of the beauty, and a kind-looking man with exactly Lily's eyes. Velma stared at the picture for a long time, her eyes blurred with tears and a terrible sadness in her, but also happiness.

Lily was at rest.

Lily's last words to her, happy and yet somehow weighted down under emotion, echoed in her brain.

"Thank you, Velma…"

Daphne's right, Velma thought.

Sometimes you have to think with your heart, rather than your head.

And with that Velma Dinkley fell asleep again, with a smile on her face and tear tracks glittering on her cheeks.

THE END

A/N: Phew! That one took me a long time. I hope you enjoyed reading it and please, please, I beg of you- review it! I love hearing what you guys think about my writing, it's an awesome feeling. I'll be publishing more of my long stories as well, so keep tuned… Jazzola