Chapter 15

Daphne, Velma, and Fred put Mr. Grimes' office back the way they found it and headed to the shop room where they found Shaggy asleep and Scooby irritated.

"Rye can't open the doors recause Rye don't rav thumbs. Rut Rye didn't find anything."

Fred tried the two closet doors and found them locked. It was time to wake Shaggy and leave. They dragged the still groggy teen to the exit door. Now that they knew about the exterior cameras, leaving was much more involved than entering had been. Fred opened the door just wide enough for each of them to step out. From there, they slid along the wall to the corner of the building. This kept them out of site of the camera and hopefully didn't trigger the motion sensor.

As they exited, Velma noticed Fred opening the door just a little wider for her than the others. Someday she might have to do something about her weight.

After letting everyone out, Fred removed the magnet and returned to the gym where he found some of the other third stringers working out. No one seemed to notice that he came from the wrong direction. He joined in for a few minutes and then left to join the others at Shaggy's house.

At a brisk jog, he caught up with them as they were climbing the short driveway. Shaggy led them around the house and straight to the back deck.

The rear door opened as soon as they sat down and Colton Rogers walked across the back yard and stopped when he was close enough to tower over them. He looked directly at Shaggy. "Where have you been?"

Shaggy cringed slightly. "I left a note. I went to Velma's and met with these guys to go over some class notes I missed."

Colton surveyed the group one at a time. "The same group you were arrested with?"

The nap had helped and Shaggy's brain was working quickly. "They're the only ones talking to me right now."

Colton sniffed the air.

Daphne knew she was being checked. "I don't do drugs. I'm not stupid!"

Scooby joined Shaggy in cringing as Colton's hands formed into fists, but the older man turned to Shaggy. "Your friend thinks that doing drugs is stupid." He turned and headed back into the house.

There was a moment of silence as they watched Colton's back recede and then disappear into the house.

Velma broke it. "This latest evidence is leaning suspicion strongly toward Mrs. Rastor. She was running unnamed electrical tests during the same week the security system was breached, she's the only person who specifically checked out a key to Mr. Deedle's office just for that weekend, and she's a woman. She's the only one on the suspect list that meets all of the criteria needed to be guilty of the crime."

Fred pointed a finger in the air. "I think that's premature. We don't know whether the suspect list is complete yet."

"And she has no motive." added Daphne.

"Rhat ree know of." Scooby finished the thought.

Shaggy stared at the back door of the house silently.

Velma was thinking. "If we want to ascertain a comprehensive listing of suspects, then we must determine the origin of cause and effect."

Daphne furrowed her brow. "Why do you talk that way?"

"What way?"

"I don't know… like a robot, I guess."

"Don't call me that."

Velma's tone didn't change. Her posture didn't stiffen. There was no physical change but Daphne sensed strong emotions emanating from her. What was wrong with this girl?

"I didn't call you anything!"

"You called me Robot Girl."

"I have never called you that."

This statement caused Velma to replay in her mind the lifetime of interactions with Daphne. The statement was technically true. The redhead, herself, had never used the phrase.

"Your friends call me that."

"I'll tell them to stop." Why did I promise that? Daphne thought to herself. Why do I care at all?

"No. That will just make it worse when you're not around."

"Well, you kind of bring it on yourself."

"How do I do that?"

"Talking the way you do. Acting the way you do. You wear the exact same clothes every day!"

"So do you."

"I do not! I wear the same colors because purple and green are awesome and they're my fashion statement. I wear a different style every day of the month."

That stopped Velma again. Other than basic colors, she was oblivious to fashion, this was entirely possible—actually, likely.

Velma cleared her throat. "I can see where my fashion choices might warrant explanation. My parents don't make much money running the museum/souvenir shop. My mother told me to order enough clothes for the school year on-line. So, I got seven of the cheapest item in every category and two pairs of the cheapest shoes."

Daphne was dumbfounded. "But an orange, turtleneck, knit blouse? There's a reason that was on sale. It was ninety degrees out today!"

"Granted. That one was not well thought out. And the shoes are completely non-functional. I would hate to have to run in them. But the skirt is serviceable."

"It hangs down to your knees. You should trim three or four inches off."

"Why on earth would I want to do that?"

Daphne sighed. "You wouldn't. It would never occur to you."

Fred interrupted. "Girls, maybe we could get back to the case?"

Both girls turned and spoke in unison. "The what?"

"The case we're trying to solve."

Daphne sneered. "Gee, Eliot Ness, have you cracked the caper, yet?"

Velma exploited the opportunity to stop talking about her wardrobe. "It would be a good use of my time to research everyone's name that is associated with the situation and see if it brings more names to the suspect list."

Fred nodded. "That's a good next step. How long will it take?"

"To be thorough and get my homework done, I'll need through tonight."

Fred continued in command. "Then I don't think anyone will argue against our not returning to the school tonight to search for clues. And you're not the only one who needs to catch up on homework. So, can we meet here again tomorrow morning after breakfast?"

Shaggy looked again at the back door of the house. "I guess so."

xXx

A lone figure was in the woods behind them—masked from Scooby's nose by the slight breeze blowing their way and the lingering stench of Shaggy's many bowls of pot that had stained the surrounding foliage.

The interloper stepped silently away. What she had just heard changed things. She pulled out her phone and made a call.

xXx

Fred headed back to the school to finish his workout and Daphne called for a driver to pick her up. She looked at Velma. "You want a lift?"

Velma was startled at the invitation. But she didn't want to spend any more time with Daphne Blake right now. "No, thank you. It's not a long walk."

It actually was a long walk, but Velma wanted time to think. She was embarrassed by what she considered to be a radical display of emotion. She had shown weakness, drawn attention to herself, and created an awkward situation. It was her worst-case scenario brought to life in vivid technicolor. The longest journey starts with a single step, so she gave a brief sigh and started walking.

As she walked along, anyone passing by would have seen her muttering to herself and hoped a Bluetooth was involved. Otherwise, she looked like a crazy woman. But she was alone. The streets were deserted on the warm day and Daphne was more than a little right about the blouse. Velma was beginning to sweat.

The subdivision through which she walked was new and contained many vacant lots awaiting home construction. She was in front of a string of three such lots when a van pulled up next to her and the passenger-side window rolled slightly down. The van had stopped far enough ahead of her that she couldn't see the driver but not so far that she could see the license plate.

She heard a female voice from inside. "Excuse me. Could you please tell me how to get to Coolsville High School?"

She instinctively took a step toward the open window as she mentally prepared her answer to the question and didn't turn toward the sound of the running footsteps behind her until the black bag was already over her head.