Chapter 6: Breakfast in Pinewood Hills
After driving through most of the night, the Mystery Inc. gang along with the Hex Girls and the Milnor brothers finally arrived at Pinewood Hills, a very nice plaque spelled out the name as they approached the city limits.
The town itself looked like most American cities from that part of the country. But one thing that was striking about this particular city was the definite look of Raccoon City from the Resident Evil franchise, though it had a much friendlier appearance.
It was not quite dawn so the street lights were still on as they passed by a 24-hour diner. Shaggy and Scooby who were famished, started to beg Fred to stop.
"Ah, come on, Freddy! Like, stop the Mystery Machine just for a few minutes, so me and Scoob can go and grab something to eat." Shaggy pleaded.
"Reah, stop!" Scooby added his two cents worth.
"No can do guys." Fred said firmly. "Sebastian and Zack said that Mark would be expecting us right in front of city hall and we're already hours late. Besides, I'm sure you guys can hold out a little longer, until we meet him."
"But, we haven't eat in almost three hours and twenty-seven minutes, Fred!" Shaggy whined. "You know when it comes to solving mysteries, our stomachs digest food a little faster than they usually do."
"Your stomachs always digest food faster than they should, no matter what the occasion is." Daphne sighed.
The conversation ended abruptly when there was a call over the radio.
"There's City Hall!" Came Sebastian's voice.
The building had been built of old red brick with a clock tower that was marking the time at five in the morning. In front of it there was a garden with a fancy white fountain spraying water. There were a few benches scattered around the garden, where beautiful flowers flourished. The flowers and the grass had been sprinkled a few hours before and you could definitely see they were still wet.
Sebastian parked the Creepy Crawler right in front of City Hall, followed by the others who pulled up beside him.
"Finally! We've arrived!" Zack said in relief as he climbed out of the Riddle Rider.
"You said it!… My back is killing me." Sebastian groaned as he pulled his helmet off. He turned a bit to ask Velma, "What about you, Velma? Are you okay?"
"Ohh, yeah… more or less… I think my legs are little wobbly still, like they were made out of gelatine." Velma groaned as well as she eased herself off the bike.
"That happens when you're not used to riding a motorcycle, but don't worry, you'll get used to it." Sebastian assured her and got off too.
"Speaking of jello, me and Scooby are famished." Shaggy took up his complaint again. "Can we go to that 24 hour-diner back there now? We want to something to fight off the munchies."
"Reah, runchies!" Scooby growled as did his stomach.
"You guys are always hungry…" Luna observed.
"Sometimes I wonder how you guys managed to eat everything that was on Jack's Restaurant menu back in Oakhaven." Dusk said, shaking her head.
"Like, it wasn't that difficult. Everything was delicious… Especially those last 12 pumpkin pies he served us." Shaggy said, shrugging his shoulders.
"Reah, really relicious!" Scooby agreed, smacking his lips.
"I almost thought I wouldn't be able to eat another bite that night… that is, until you girls showed up and scared the living daylights out of us with those vampire fangs of yours, making us run for almost nine blocks at full speed, and inevitably, making us hungry again." Shaggy explained.
"Well…it wasn't our fault that you guys are a pair of scaredy cats and we scared you away." Thorn said in amusement, while giggling.
"Good one, Thorn!" Dusk added, laughing about it.
"Thanks."
"Still, I could really go for a few cheeseburgers with extra pickles and a huge amount of French fries, with a couple of maple syrup milkshakes." Shaggy sighed, dreamily.
"I would settle for a huge stack of pancakes, myself." Zack agreed, his stomach also rumbling.
"You guys quit it!" Daphne scolded them.
"Yeah, we're here to solve a mystery, not to attend an all-you-can-eat buffet." Velma said, as she paced back and forth. Her leather suit was starting to be uncomfortable. "We are still waiting for Mark which the reason for us being here. You can wait to eat just a little longer."
"Speaking of whom, I wonder where he is." Fred commented, looking around.
"He knew we were coming." Sebastian said. "But we are rather late. Maybe he fell asleep, or got tired of waiting."
"Or maybe the spooky ghost he was talking about on his e-mails got him." Shaggy said nervously.
"Reah, spooky ghost!" Scooby whimpered, covering his eyes with his paws, while shivering with fear.
"I wouldn't count on that… Look over there!" Daphne said, suddenly, pointing to a guy sleeping against a wall on the other side of the street where they stood. "Is that him?" She asked
Zack and Sebastian looked over where the redhead was pointing and immediately recognized their cousin from the photos his father sent them, every Christmas. He was wearing an orange t-shirt with green trousers, and a pair of orange sneakers, similar to the ones Shaggy wore. His face somewhat resembled Sebastian's, although he was a little thinner. He had spiky hair that was similar to his cousin's and was golden brown in colour.
"It's him alright." Sebastian and Zack answered in chorus.
They all walked to the other side of the street.
"He probably fell asleep waiting for us." Fred said.
"I'm a little surprised that he didn't hear the sound from our rides, especially the Creepy Crawler." Daphne remarked.
"He always slept like a rock when he was a kid." Zack said dismissively as he reached out to Mark and shook his shoulder to wake him. "Hey, Mark, wake up, cousin, it's us!" He said loudly, continuing to shake his cousin until the man finally opened his eyes.
Beautiful crystalline-blue eyes blinked at them as he stretched and yawned. He shook himself a bit to further wake himself up.
"Guess I fell asleep, guys. What the heck took you soo long?" He asked in a mellow voice.
"Well we got off a bit late and the trip from Coolsville to here is quite long." Zack told him. "How long have you been here?"
"Since midnight, give or take a minute or two." Mark answered, getting to his feet. "So, how have you been?"
"Oh we've been good. Zack and I have travelled around a lot that is, until we got your message about a creepy and sinister ghost making off with your father. We're excited about trying to help you find him and we decided we might need a little help doing it." Sebastian said turning toward his friends. "Let me introduce Fred, Daphne, Velma, Shaggy and these are Luna, Thorn and Dusk. Over there is Shaggy's great Dane, Scooby-Doo."
"Whoa! The famous Mystery Inc. and the Hex Girls!" Mark exclaimed. "It's an honour to meet you all." He said in awe, as he shook their hands. "I never expected you would bring reinforcements, especially the world renowned detectives and the most popular eco-goth band this side of the Atlantic."
"Well, we don't like to brag about our work but if you say that we're the specialists, then who are we to say the opposite, right?" Daphne said with no little pride.
"Believe me when I say, I was not expecting you. I mean, I was expecting my cousins to come and help me with this, but not you. Anyway, I got lots of stuff to tell you about this mystery, but I think that they can just wait until you guys get some shut-eye." Mark said politely.
"Well, we could really go for a little nap right about now." Fred agreed, trying to stifle a yawn.
"Like, not before we have something to eat, Freddie." Shaggy insisted.
"Hey, I got an idea… Why don't you tell us a few things about the mystery itself, while those two over there and my brother have something to eat? What do you say?" Sebastian asked.
"Why not? And I know just the perfect place, where we can have an early breakfast." Mark said, grinning.
"Is it the awesome 24-hour diner we passed coming in?" Shaggy asked, nearly drooling.
"Actually, no… It's a much better place. And if I were you, I would not get near that diner, folks. There were already two people who had a serious case of food-poisoning in the last three months since that place opened." Mark warned them. "They say the cook is terrible."
Scooby and Shaggy nearly lost their appetites hearing that but regained them at the sight of the cool malt shop Mark took them too. It was very festive and colourful, inside and out. Through the window they saw light-blue tables with matching chairs. At the moment, there were no customers and the two waitresses, standing behind the counter, looked bored. One was reading a science magazine, while the other fixed her nails.
They could see the reader of the science magazine wore a tag that said, Jenny while the girl fixing her nails had one that said, Melody. Both had blonde hair and green eyes and were wearing matching light blue shirts and dark blue jeans with black sneakers. You almost couldn't tell them apart except Melody wore her hair straight while Jenny had her hair in pigtails held by red rubber bands.
The group trooped in behind Mark, immediately their noses perked up at the smell of fresh baked bread and pastries. Big smiles spread across their faces in anticipation of a good meal.
Melody and Jenny stopped what they were doing and smiled at the large group standing before them.
"Well, good morning to you Mark." Melody said brightly. "I see you brought company with you."
"Morning, Melody… These here are my cousins, Sebastian and Zack, and their friends." Mark told the girls.
"You've come here to help solve the mystery, haven't you?" Jenny asked, excitedly.
"Well, we're certainly going to try." Zack said.
Jenny stared at the whole group for a few more moments then recognition lit her eyes and she screamed in shocked surprise and pleasure.
"I knew it! I knew I'd seen you from somewhere! You're the Mystery Inc. gang and you guys are the Hex Girls!" Jenny cried out, nearly hopping for joy.
"Looks like we have been caught in the act, girls." Luna said dryly
"Oh my God! Thorn, Dusk and Luna, here and now! I'm your biggest fan!" Jenny said, beside herself with excitement. "I mean it! I know all of your songs and I have attended most of your concerts when you were on tour on this side of the country. I'm even the president of one of your official fan clubs!"
"I'm glad you like our work, Jenny." Thorn said, mildly amused.
"I know you girls must be tired of hearing this, but, can I have your autographs?" Jenny begged, shyly.
"Sure, it'll be our pleasure." Dusk said warmly then turned to her fellow travellers "Does anyone of you have a pen?
"I'll go get my autograph book and my camera. Just give me a minute." Jenny said hurriedly, as she disappeared through the kitchen door.
Melody was a bit embarrassed by her sister's behaviour. "Uhm… sorry about my sister's… ahh… over enthusiastic greeting. She's a bit crazy about you guys… like way over the top crazy."
"Oh, that's okay. We're really used to that kind of behaviour around us." Thorn said politely.
"Well, we're not." Shaggy said, as he grabbed Scooby, who had leapt into his arms, shivering with fear. "In our business, screams usually mean something bad is about to happen."
"Which means you're always afraid." Velma said, snorting.
"I'm surprised Zack didn't panic too." Fred said staring at Zack.
"Oh, he did, Fred. He just didn't have manage to leap into someone's arms because he froze in place instead." Sebastian said in amusement.
Only minutes later, Jenny came dashing back into the room clutching a book with a red cover in one hand and a pen in the other. Grinning from ear to ear, she handed the items to Thorn.
Thorn smiled gently and began to sign in the autograph book. As each one signed the book, Jenny used her camera to get pictures of all of them. Then she gave the camera to her sister, so that she could get a picture of herself standing with the Hex Girls.
After the commotion died down, the group was allowed to take their seat at the tables and began looking at the menus. The twins waited patiently to take their orders. Jenny's eyes still glowed with her joy at seeing her idols.
It was no surprise that Shaggy ordered first after only looking at the menu a minute. "Like, I think we'll have a couple of cheeseburgers, a huge amount of French Fries, a stack of toasts, a few chocolate muffins, one of those blueberry pies that looks delicious, a box of donuts and a few King-size chocolate milkshakes."
"I think we'll just have a baloney and cheese sandwich each with vanilla milkshakes." Fred said, ordering for himself, Velma and Daphne.
"Zack will have the same as those two over here." Sebastian said pointing at Shaggy and Scoob. "As for me, I'll have a strawberry milkshake and a slice of that delicious strawberry pie, which I can't take my eyes of."
"What about you, girls?" Zack asked the Hex Girls.
"I think we'll have a lemon tea and a slice of blueberry pie each." Luna said, ordering for her group.
"Okay… and what about you, Mark? You'll have the usual cappuccino?" Melody asked.
"Yeah, you know I'm trying to keep my weight down." He said, grinning at her.
"Anything else, guys?" Jenny asked.
"Rancakes!" Scooby exclaimed.
"Oh, yeah, you're right, Scoob… and a huge stack of pancakes with strawberry syrup, for me and my best buddy." Shaggy added to their order.
"Okay, got it. Wow! Sounds like you guys are really hungry. We'll be right back with your orders." Melody said, smiling as she and her twin sister left for the kitchen, leaving the group to talk amongst themselves.
"Those two are really something." Zack commented.
Oh, they definitely are. They're both extremely smart and they love music. In fact, Melody is a great fan of both of your groups, but she usually doesn't mention it, unlike Jenny." Mark explained. "Anyway, I'm sure you guys are all asking yourselves why I asked Sebastian and Zack to come and help me." He began.
"We are… or at least I am." Sebastian said.
"Okay, but I'm not sure where to begin." Mark said hesitantly.
"Why don't you tell us about the disappearance of your father?" Velma coaxed him.
"Well, for those of you who don't know it, my father is the famous scientist and inventor, Harold G. Milnor." Mark began. "He disappeared without a trace, right in front of my eyes, and the ghost that's been haunting the mansion where we live is, I'm certain, the one responsible."
After that surprising beginning, Mark told the group about that fateful night. The others tried to image the scene as he described it.
He and his father had just finished dinner and were in the library spending some quality time together when Mark brought up the subject of the spooky ghost. His father was sceptical.
"But dad, I'm telling you the ghost is real and he wants us out of here!"
Harold G. Milnor was considered by many to bear a striking resemblance to former U.S. President Theodore Roosevelt. He even wore the same distinctive moustache. As was usual for him, he was wearing a lab coat, a pair of green pants, along with black leather shoes. He had been reading a book which now rested in his lap when his son brought up the ghost.
"Mark, there is no such thing as ghouls, ghosts, goblins or monsters. There is always a rational explanation for everything."
"Dad, if you're insinuating that I'm losing my mind, then forget it! I know what I saw and I know what I heard! That ghost is real and he wants us out of this mansion." Mark said flatly.
"I couldn't agree more with you, kid!" A creepy voice was heard.
Mark and his father looked around for the author of the voice but saw no one then a huge plume of smoke poured from the fireplace. It was strange looking because it was coloured black with a purplish hue.
The air was suddenly filled with a maniacal laugh which started soft but grew progressively louder until a man dressed in a Victorian style black suit appeared. He wore a brilliant white shirt and a ridiculously huge cape. His hair was black and scruffy and his mouth sported razor sharp teeth. But what was even more disturbing was the fact his eyes were glowing red. He had some kind of red glowing globe that was floating right next to him. Its interior looked like it was alive. Terrified by the dreadful and horrendous creature, Dr. Milnor asked in a trembling voice:
"W-Who are you?"
"Of course, where are my manners? Allow me to introduce myself." The mysterious creature said. "My name is Robert Spearritt and I'm the owner of this mansion." He said coldly.
"What are you talking about?! I am the owner of this mansion!" Harold said in shocked outrage.
"Oh, I don't think you understood, my good doctor… I meant to say that I'm the original owner of this mansion!"
"See dad, I told you it was a ghost!" Mark exclaimed.
"Don't be ridiculous, Mark! There's no such thing as ghosts! Now tell your friend to stop with these shenanigans and get out of that ridiculous outfit!" Dr. Milnor ordered, regaining his dignity and getting angry.
"This is far from being a shenanigan, Dr. Milnor!" The ghost said nastily. "I'm deadly serious when I say I want you and your son, and everyone else around here gone from my mansion, immediately."
To emphasize his threat, books on the shelves began to tremble then fly off, hitting walls and objects in the room. Mark and his father had to duck. While Mark hid under a table, his father continued to sit in his chair and watch his library being turned into a war zone. He still did not believe this was a ghost doing this though and was getting more furious by the moment.
"Now you listen here, I don't care what you want! I bought this mansion and the land its on in a legal contract. Besides, if you are who you say are, then you're already dead! Why do you need this mansion?" Harold asked reasonably.
"That doesn't concern you!!!" The ghost roared angrily then turned to Mark who was hiding under the table. "I told you to warn your father to leave here!" He shouted.
"But I…"
"Doesn't matter anymore! If you don't want to get out, then I will make you disappear, permanently!!!" The ghost cut him off.
With a smooth quick move of his arms, he threw what looked like a cloud of smoke at Dr. Milnor, hitting him directly in the chest. The smoke spread rapidly until it filled the room, Robert Sperritt could be heard laughing again.
When the dark smoke finally disappeared, Mark found himself alone in the library. There was no sign of his father anywhere. He looked around, and once again his heart almost stopped.
"As for you, young Mark, if you don't want to experience your father's fate, I'd advise you to get out of this house and never come back!" The voice of the ghost filled the room again then all was silent once more.
"And that's what happened… I don't even know if my dad is alive or not." Mark told them, worriedly.
"Like, that's highly creepy!" Shaggy commented.
"Reah, reepy!" Scooby agreed.
"But what about the police? Didn't they investigate your dad's disappearance?" Fred asked.
"They did, but let's just say that the sheriff is not exactly my dad's number one fan." Mark said unhappily.
Melody and Jenny, who had been listening to the conversation, were now approaching the tables with their orders. As they placed the cheeseburgers in front of Zack, Shaggy and Scooby, Melody said:
"Speaking of whom, he's heading this way to pick up his usual stash of donuts for breakfast…"
She'd barely muttered the warning when a bulky man in a uniform, entered the malt shop. His uniform consisted of dark blue pants, blue shirt, and shiny black shoes. His badge was pinned to his less than immaculate shirt. It had stains of mustard or mayonnaise on it. He had a head of sparse brown hair, brown beady eyes and it looked like he was in a foul mood.
"Good morning, Sheriff, you're a little earlier than usual today." Melody said pleasantly as she went behind the counter and grabbed a box full of donuts, putting in a paper sack. "Something happen?" She asked innocently.
"Nah! Just got tired of being behind the desk doing nothing." He rumbled, irritably.
"You always get tired of doing nothing, Sheriff." Mark muttered under his breath.
"What did you just say, boy?!" The Sheriff snapped, turning suddenly to Mark, giving him a menacing look.
"I said, you always get tired of doing nothing, sheriff?" Mark asked nastily. "If you were doing your job properly, instead of shoving donuts down your throat, maybe you would have found out who's behind my father's disappearance!"
"Now you listen and listen well, boy! I don't take orders, especially from a kid like you!" The Sheriff snarled at him. He glanced at the group sitting with Mark.
Scooby and Shaggy were already a little apprehensive with the way the man was talking, and the others were not exactly enjoying the situation either.
"I did my job, which was to find out what happened to your father, so far there's been no sign of him." The Sheriff said flatly.
"That's because you only searched the house but never searched the grounds or are you afraid of the ghost, who you've claimed that doesn't exist?" Mark growled bitterly. "Or is it because you were never a fan of my father's work?"
"That's got nothing to do with it!" The Sheriff said coldly, trying to contain his anger. "And besides, I told you to stay out of this! The same goes for your friends here. If you're smart, you'll stay away from that mansion!"
"Why the heck would I stay away from my own home?" Mark hissed furiously.
"Because it's still under investigation and I don't need you or your friends mudding up any evidence that might still be there, that's why. Even if we've found nothing so far. So stop bugging me and stay away from there, I'm warning you." The Sheriff said. "Now I've said more than I should." Angrier than when he came in, the Sheriff grabbed his bag of donuts, paid and stormed out without saying another word.
"Wow, what a grouch!" Daphne said, shaking her head.
"That's old Sheriff Robinson M. Colt, guys." Jenny said. "He's always like that, so don't take it personal. Since he's been running the office, nothing is ever done and worst of all, he doesn't like strangers… In fact, he doesn't like anyone, except his wife and himself, obviously."
"Not really a person you would like to find in a dark alley nor is he the right kind of person to be sheriff." Velma said thoughtfully.
"Now I begin to understand why you said the local authorities haven't done anything about your father's disappearance, Mark." Fred said, sympathetically.
"But don't you worry… You got the best experts to help you in this. Solving mysteries is what Fred and the gang do best." Sebastian assured Mark. "If something fishy is going on where you live, they'll find out what it is, even if we have to demolish the place to do it."
"We'll begin the investigation first thing tomorrow, and we'll take our secret weapon to help us find clues." Fred said.
"And what is that?" Dusk asked.
"Simple… Shaggy and Scooby… They are our secret weapon." Fred told her, grinning.
When they heard their names, the teenager and the dog almost choked on the cheeseburgers they were eating.
"U-Us? But why us, Freddie?"
"Reah! Rhy rus?"
"Because you guys bump into clues all the time… With you two, we'll be sure to find out what's really going on." Fred said with certainty.
"You know what, Scooby? I think I just lost my appetite…"
"Re roo, Raggy."
"I think you might reconsider that once you see what Melody and Jenny are bringing you." Thorn said, as she giggled.
Besides bringing the rest of the things the guys ordered, the twin sisters also brought something special for Shaggy and Scooby-Doo, a pepperoni and bacon pizza with a very special ingredient on the topping, Scooby Snacks.
"Wow! A pepperoni and bacon pizza with Scooby Snacks on top of it!" Shaggy exclaimed as his eyes feasted on the delicious treat.
"Reah, Rooby Snacks!"
"We thought you two would like it." Jenny said with a smile on her face. "Consider this our welcome gift, guys."
Scooby and Shaggy decided the pizza was the first thing they were going to eat, but before they could eat the first slice, Zack decided he was also going to try it. Grabbing a slice, he poured even more Scooby Snacks he had in his back pack and started to eat.
"Hey! Like, why did you do that?" Shaggy asked him.
"Simple… I told you, of the two of us, I'm the one who still eats more pizzas in 10 minutes than you do. If I don't practice, I'll get rusty." Zack said with his mouth full.
"But did you really have to practice with our pizza, man?" Shaggy complained, to which Zack just shrugged with a mischievous smile on his lips.