A/N:

Hello again, everyone! I'm super glad that the last chapter's been getting really good feedback, so I'm excited to keep chugging along!

I can't remember if I said this before, but this is my first time attempting a mystery story. I have no clue how to write one, my forte is romance lol. But, I have the whole mystery plotted out, so - just a matter of execution now.

—-

Taking a deep breath, Daphne tried to calm her nerves. This was still an open wound, of course. She was just desperately looking for a bandage.

"It happened a few months ago, uh… September 9th, a Monday." The - well, the scene of her parents murder was a grisly one to recall. But it was a necessary pain, if they were ever going to find the truth. "I was sick at the time, so, I was home all day. From what I was told, they missed a photo shoot, and- well, the photographer was the person who found them…"

Velma nodded, jotting notes down.

'December 1st, 2002. The Blake Case.

Victims - Mei-Ling & Robert 'Bart' Blake.'

–

As she wrote, Velma asked another quick question. "What time were they found?"

"About 6:30. PM." Daphne replied.

–

'Died - September 9th, 2002. Found dead around 6:30 by company photographer.'

–

"Was there anything unusual about their bodies? Anything the coroners found?" Velma said, clicking her pen and looking up from her notebook.

Daphne paused, she hadn't seen the scene first-hand, so she was just going off what others had told her. "No, no, it was just…Like they slumped over at their desk. They said that the cause of death was undiagnosed Type 2 diabetes. Massive levels of insulin in their blood, but…It's all a little too convenient, right?" She had a pleading expression on her face, desperate for approval.

Velma found this detail important to write down, speaking as she did. "Yea, that sounds…Fishy. Both of them having died at the same time… Do you have a family history of diabetes?"

'Cause of death - Ruled as diabetes. High levels of insulin found in blood. Possible overdose?'

At this, Daphne vehemently denied. "No, no, well…Okay, so, I don't know. I don't think so, though. My dad had to get his thyroid removed, and like- a month before he died, he got some blood work done and the doctor said it all came back clear. Or, so he told me…"

Tapping the pen against her chin, Velma stated the obvious. "Just to be on the safe side, I think you should check with your family's doctor. But, considering that letter - it seemed like they were going to have to keep going down the murdered route. Sometimes you gotta shake the tree, and hope fruit falls out.

"Do you know if there was any sort of discourse at home? Did they have any political rivals or disgruntled employees?" Velma asked, the line of thinking being that- well, they were rich! You don't get filthy rich without stepping on some people along the way.

Daphne rubbed her chin, momentarily getting lost in thought - but came back blank. "No, everybody loved them. I- I can't think of anyone who would want to…"

Yeah, that sounded about right to Velma. She remembered them being really kind and gracious.

"I don't know if it's helpful information,.." Daphne held up her index figure. "But… we were planning to expand just before this…all happened." The family's business was in luxury bath-towels. It may sound silly- and, well…It was. Pure snake-oil, they were the same quality as towels you'd get for a few bucks at Walmart - they just had a large advertising budget behind it. But, rich people will buy anything you call luxury - and they were looooaded.

Potentially a valuable clue. "What into?" Velma asked.

"We- were almost ready to launch a line of designer dressed, actually. We had billboards set up, we were working with modelling agencies, But then it just all came…crashing down." At this, Daphne finally broke. Tears began to stream from her ducts, which she wiped on her arm. Her perfectly done make-up streaked.

Feeling a bit of sympathy, Velma grabbed a box of tissues and slid it over. She didn't have a handkerchief on hand, so…next best thing. "Hey, uh, look- on the bright side, I mean…The company was passed down to you, right? How's that been going?" She tried to both cheer up her client and keep the conversation moving, but kind of came off rather callous.

"Well… I was appointed CEO, but… I didn't know what to do, and I ended up breaking down…Eventually I ended up selling the company to the Jones'." Came words between gentle sobs.

That was quite the shock. But, it sort of made sense? The Jones' were general purveyors of luxury goods, so- at least the company was in good hands.

Velma felt like she sunk into her chair, not at all knowing what to do. The devil on her shoulder remembered all the times Daph's posse tormented her, but…The angel thought about all the nice memories, too.

As kids they were the best of friends. Absolutely inseparable, in fact. It was a gradual shift, they both kept hanging out less and less all the way through middle school…

And then, Everything changed when they entered high-school. Puberty hit Daphne, and a mix of good looks and how popular her family was caused her to become hands down the most popular girl in school.

Whereas, Velma was someone who…Well, didn't have the easiest time making friends. Likely unhelped by Daphne's posse of popular girls - the detective was possibly the easiest target.

It slid Velma into a toxic cycle where she fucking hated coming to school because their shit wass never-ending, leading her to skip more and more….Causing them to ramp up their shit. This made her jaded and irritable to the people around her, and- fuck…

It wasn't the only factor, of course…Shit with her parents didn't exactly help, but…It certainly caused deep scars. Even when she begged Daph to get them to lay off, it did no good.

Gentle sobs progressed into a full on cry of grief from Daphne. To which, Velma tried to comfort - putting a hand on her client's shoulder. But Daph just grabbed her old friend and held her tight.