Tapping the table in frustration, Velma took off her glasses to rub her eyes before closing the ancient cuneiform volume before adding the book to the stack filled with ancient languages and dead ends. Looking up at the clock, she knew it would be too late to make another run down to the library for research materials. Best to leave that for the morning. She hadn't been in LA for a day yet and already she wanted to leave.
Getting up to stretch, she walked over to the window to see Shaggy and Scooby-Doo playing in the yard, which meant they had either just gotten back from their dinner run or they had forgotten about it entirely. Splashing some water on her face, she went next door to see how Daphne and Fred were doing and hoping to find some dinner.
The motel they had found was the first one to allow pets, which was the reason they took it. And while it was not the nicest place they had ever stayed, it was far from the worst. At least the view of the city from the second story was nice. Still, the night had a dry heat lingering in the air, but Velma knew it could turn chill at any moment, so she rubbed her arms through her sweater.
"Please tell me Shaggy remembered to get dinner." Said Velma, walking into the room where Fred had put everyone's luggage.
"It's on the counter there Velma." Said Daphne, looking over a book while absentmindedly playing with an empty Chinese food container with chopsticks still in her hand.
The orange chicken glaze had fused together with the noodles in the shape of the box, but a quick stir helped break the food apart again. Taking a seat next to Fred, Velma looked over the copies of record books and photographs they had scattered on the table in front of them.
"Do you want to go first or should I?" Asked Velma.
"By all means Velma." Said Fred, writing a few notes down as he went through a list of names and dates.
"Thirty languages, symbols, and even cryptic forms and short hands from the Bronze Age. I even picked up a book on oracle bone characters from the Shang Dynasty. There's nothing even remotely similar to the symbols on the gear." Taking one of the photographs of the gear and putting it on the table, Velma traced her fingers along the outer circle with its fourteen teeth each marked with a different symbol. The inside track of the gear had not been visible until it had broken free from the key, but there were grooves on the inside as well, perhaps where a secondary gear could fit, but there was nothing left from that key to fit inside to test that theory.
"We haven't had much luck figuring out what that gear goes to either." Said Daphne, using a napkin to wipe away some sweat from her forehead. "Most of our findings have been about family holdings, property, land rights, investments, things like that. The Bravo family owns land from here to Minnesota, and Jebedissa was the heiress to all of it."
"I'm not really comfortable with this." Said Fred. "Most times we get to meet with the people, get a feel for them before we figure out what's wrong. But this time we come into a situation blind, get stopped at the door by a shady lawyer, and are told to leave before we come face to face with members of a family we're trying to help."
"They don't see us as being here to help." Said Velma.
"It could just be that they're grieving and didn't want to see us." Said Daphne, trying to see it from another point of view.
"Perhaps." Said Fred, finally settling down his work. "Jebedissa did warn us about her lawyer though. Odd thing to do. Perhaps she knew that he was really working for her relatives but didn't want him to get suspicious."
"Suspicious of what?" Asked Velma, angrily setting down her food, and no longer able to hide her frustration. "What are we even here to do Fred? Oh, no doubt there's a mystery here, but it doesn't really concern us does it?"
A silence lingered in the room until the sounds of feet rushing up the stairs and along the balcony led right to their door. Shaggy entered the room, barely able to keep Scooby-Doo from tackling him to the floor. The dog's tail was wagging with abundant energy as he picked up his new toy bone from the ground and put his head in Daphne's lap. Giving Scooby's head a scratch, Daphne tossed the bone across the room for him to fetch.
Sensing the mood in the room was off, Shaggy pulled up a chair and leaned against the wall.
"Posted a couple of videos online of me and Scoobs playing outside. Think those are going to get good responses. I tell you, he's been feeling a little low the past few months but being back on the road and working a new case like this, old dog has got the energy of a puppy again." Shaggy sat forward and looked around the table at his friends. "I think we're all a little tense from the road. A little shut-eye on a nice soft bed will do wonders, what do you say?"
"Gang, I'm with Shaggy." Said Fred. "We'll continue our talk in the morning, okay?"
"Okay." Said Velma, helping Fred and Scooby take their bags over to the other room, letting Velma and Daphne stay. The pause in the air as things started to settle for the night did little to break the tension she had felt.
A sad look from Daphne said enough, and Velma nodded her head before the two of them got ready for the night. Sleep did not come easy, a dream of doors and symbols she couldn't read, she pulled out her magnifying lens to see clearer and all at once she could understand, there was a message written on those doors. Running from one to the next they urged her onward, to go faster, to not look back as the lights in the hallway all died around her. The last door lay before her, and as she reached forward to open it the arm of a man, draped in darkness snapped at her.
"No Peeking," he said, his thin lips parting and growing forward revealing an inhuman mouth that was more like a beak that snapped at her.
Waking up with a start, Velma put on her glasses to see that it was just after seven. Daphne was taking her shower and next door Shaggy was clearly playing with Scooby from the sounds coming through the wall. Sitting up, Velma grabbed her knees and steadied her breath, trying to find a single calm place in her thoughts to settle down from her cold sweat. The only one she found was a memory of a dance hall, being held close and dancing slowly to "I can't help falling in love with you."
Reaching up to touch her lips as the memory ended, Velma saw Daphne coming out of the shower, so she stood up to take her turn in the restroom.
"Hey Daph, sleep well?" asked Velma, seeing Daphne come out, still in a towel and holding one hand to her right temple.
"Not really. I hope it was the Chinese food but I'm not certain." Said Daphne.
"Oh, come on, there's no evidence about any harmful effects of msg." Joked Velma, before taking a critical look at Daphne's condition. "Yeah, you look a little shaken. Sit down, I'll get the boys."
Leaving the room, Velma walked outside only to see a very expensive car was sitting in the parking lot behind the Mystery Machine. The wheels where something to behold, she had seen whitewall tired, but red, white and blue wall tires were something else.
Knocking on the other door, Velma opened it to see Scooby and Shaggy sitting on a bed while Fred was at the table with an elderly man in a suit seated. His dark skin perfectly lit by the sunrise coming through the window concealed his identity for just a moment until Velma's eyes adjusted.
"Curly? Is that you Curly Neal?" Asked Velma.
"The one and only. How are you Velma sweetie?" Said the Harlem Globetrotter.
"Curly here came by to see us in town." Said Shaggy.
"Reah reah. Ree-he-he-he." Agreed Scooby-Doo.
"Well not exactly." Said Curly, passing his hand along some of the books and photos on the table which had not been put away last night. Velma had a strangely nervous moment as she looked to Fred, who also seemed to know what was coming.
"So, this isn't a social visit?" Asked Fred.
"Sadly no. It is not." Said Curly, pulling an envelope from his jacket, he set it on the table and took a breath. "You see, I was a friend of Jebedissa's from way back, and about two weeks ago she came into my office and asked me to be the executor of her estate. Which I thought was odd, seeing as how a lot of that stuff is usually managed by lawyers and accountants. But she was insistent, giving me a copy of her will and everything, and even making me agree to represent her interests should matters go to probate court."
"From what we gather, there are a few sides of the family involved." Said Fred, referring to the genealogy research he and Daphne had done.
"You've seen the will?" Asked Velma.
"Actually, I haven't." Said Curly. "I have a sealed copy of it at my offices, and tomorrow most of the family will be there for the first reading. Which brings me to why I came here today." Tapping the envelope on the table, Curly stood up to open the blinds to let in more light.
"Let me guess. We're being bought off." Said Velma.
"Now I'm not your lawyer. I could be, but you couldn't afford me." Curly said with a smile. "But I was asked by Mr. Hanne to give you this payment for your services. It's ten thousand cash, along with an independent contractor form with a non-disclosure clause. With Jebedissa gone, the family wants you out of the picture, I'm sure that much is clear to you."
Shaggy and Scooby nodded as Fred finally took a seat, seemingly a little crestfallen.
"I'll give you some time to think it over, how about I treat you all to breakfast?" Said Curly.
"Sure, I'll go check on Daphne." Said Velma, feeling a bit feverish as she left the room. Upon entering the other door, Velma nearly tripped over something and landed on her bed in a huff. Looking down, she noticed the bone from the other day had been left on the ground. Picking it up she meant to throw it but found herself examining it instead. What she had initially dismissed as some animal or toy bone was a human fossil. The length, circumference, curve, and density all matched the profile of a human rib bone. Her curiosity and nausea fought each other as she set it down on her bed before walking over to check on Daphne.
"Daph, are you okay?" Asked Velma, seeing the redhead had gone back to bed and was shivering under the covers. Resting her hand on Daphne's forehead, she felt her temperature and sticky skin. "You're burning up. This isn't just a cold."
Running back to the other room, Velma bumped into Curly just as he was leaving.
"Curly, we need to get Daphne to a hospital." Said Velma, feeling her own knees buckle as she fell back against the walkway's railing.
"Like is anyone else not feeling well?" Asked Shaggy, struggling to get up from where he was lying, he flopped down on his mattress with a tired groan of pain.
"Raggy?" Scooby-Doo got up and gave Shaggy a confused sniff before turning his head to Fred, then to Velma.
Clearly assessing the situation, Curly got out his phone and quickly dialed for an ambulance as he walked downstairs. Velma looked up to see Fred rush out of the room to go over to see to Daphne, as weak as she felt she couldn't help but smile. Of the five of them, only Fred and Scooby seemed to still be well. What was infuriating were the symptoms, seeming to change from one moment to the next.
Leaning her head against the metal railing, Velma got out her phone and stared at it for minutes as Fred got Scooby to gather luggage while he packed away all of their case materials. Feeling herself being to fade from a pulsing pain in her head, she opened Johnny's contact info and started composing a text.
"Hey, Johnny, me and the Gang are in the area working a case. I hope you have been well, let me know if you want me to cook up a batch of that hair gel you like. I'd like to text more but the ambulance sirens coming to get us. Give your mom a hug for me. Love Velma."
"Love Velma? Why'd I end the text like that? Good Jinkies, can this day get any worse?" Velma sleepily asked herself, letting the phone fall from her hands as she passed out on the floor.