Shaggy turned the television on and saw a commercial. It looked like to him there was a commercial break. It indeed was an update on that contest.
"Hey, gang, come here!" Shaggy called.
His friends ran as fast as they could and see what made him yell.
"What is it, Shag?" Velma asked, sitting on the couch beside him.
"There's a commercial about Perry Mason."
"Is that way you called us?"
"Yes, Freddy. I thought you wouldn't want to miss out on it. This is why I called you."
Shaggy was right – it indeed was an update. It was Paul's voice they heard. Here is what he said:
"This is an update for those who are interested in spending some time with Perry Mason. This is your chance to be the winners. If you are interested, here is the number to call."
Paul left the phone number on the screen. Velma was the one who wrote all of the information that they all saw on the screen.
"I see you wrote the number down, Velma," Daphne told her.
"I did just in case we are the lucky winners, which one of us will call now?"
Paul's voice also added, "This is the perfect time to get involved and help Perry Mason by solving a murder about his family. For more information, please call the number under the screen."
Then the commercial was finished.
"Wow! Who would want to murder a family member of the famous lawyer?" Fred asked as he began to turn the television off.
"Very good question, Fred. I doubt Mr. Mason wouldn't have been the one to do that who happens to be a family member," Daphne said.
Even Shaggy and Velma had to agree.
"If somebody does suspect Mr. Mason, that would really be news big time," agreed Fred.
"He's not that kind of person to murder somebody."
Even though the gang don't know Perry, Paul and Della at all personally, they already knew this as a fact. Of course it might even be them if chosen to win this contest. As far as lots of us know by now, the Scooby Doo gang were well – known for solving mysteries, so they could have that chance.
"Why don't you call the office, Velma? You're the one who wrote all of this information down," Fred told Velma.
"That's exactly what I'm doing, Freddy."
All of them watched as Velma picked up her cell phone and punched in the number. They all stuck around so that way they could hear Velma's telephone conversation.
Velma listened to the telephone ring at Perry's office. She thought there have only been other people who are interested as she and her friends are. Maybe this could be why Paul Drake left that kind of information for people to see.
Della answered the telephone since she's Perry's secretary.
"Is this Perry Mason's office?" asked Velma.
"Yes, it is. Would you mind giving me your name?" asked Della.
"Velma Dinkley. My friends and I are very interested in helping Mr. Mason on his latest case."
"So you have been following the advertisement that Paul is in charge of?"
"Exactly. We just saw there was an update on the latest information."
"Yes, there is. Would you like to speak with either Perry or Paul?"
"Whoever is available at the moment," she answered.
"Mr. Mason is available. I can go get him."
"All right."
While waiting for Perry to come on, Velma told her friends, "I get to talk with Perry. He's available."
That's when Perry took the call.
"Perry Mason speaking."
"Hello, Mr. Mason. My name is Velma Dinkley. My friends and I have been following that advertisement on television. We just saw there was an update. Is that true?"
"Yes, it is. Would you prefer to speak with Paul since he's the one who put this whole thing together?"
"No, that's all right. I'd rather speak with you. What happened to update this advertisement?"
"A family member passed on recently," answered Perry.
"So sorry for your loss. I'd like to hear the story."
"That information can wait until it's time for Paul to decide on the winners. I am not going to share this information over the telephone."
"I understand about personal information. While you're we're still talking about this subject, why don't we find out when you want the lucky people to help you solve this case?"
Her friends were still there as she was talking. They didn't catch every word on the conversation. One thing Velma noticed almost immediately was that Mr. Mason indeed sounded shocked.
He wasn't shocked at all about her telephone call. It was the news of his father's murder. It looked like his mother hasn't said much quite yet.
"Well, Mr. Mason, would you like to have my contact information?" Velma asked.
"Yes, please."
She gave it out. Velma did hear him pull out a piece of paper so he could write down her number.
When she gave the information out, Perry told her, "I'll pass this over to Paul since he's in charge of this contest. I hope that's all right with you."
"All right. Have a good rest of your day."
"Same to you, Ms. Velma."
That's when the conversation disconnected.
"What did you get out of him, Velma?" Daphne asked.
"You asked my question," Fred told Daphne.
"I know, Freddy."
"I thought you guys heard the entire conversation."
"Not every word, Velma. Tell us what he said," Fred told his friend.
"You should've heard Mr. Mason's voice."
"What did it sound like?" Shaggy asked.
"Shocked. That's probably why he let Paul Drake start this whole thing up."
"Poor guy. This will be over before we know it," said Daphne.
Everyone agreed on what she said.
After this telephone call with Perry, she and her friends decided to go for a nice walk.