Chapter Twenty

In Stephanie's career as a hitwoman, she loved the cities she visited in her line of work. She loved New York City and London especially. But there was one place that Stephanie couldn't stand: Coolsville. The only thing the town was famous for was Mystery Inc., which was based there. But Stephanie didn't care. She had a new long-term assignment that would pay well in more ways than one. Stephanie was in her early twenties and had long blonde hair and blue eyes. The last place she wanted to be was in a cave at the end of Coolsville Beach at two o'clock in the morning. After she entered the cave, she took out her flashlight from her handbag as it was pitch black and not even the flashlight on her cell phone would make it any brighter.

"Hello," Stephanie said.

Unsurprisingly, her voice echoed in the cave, which annoyed the Warden as he approached her, holding a large envelope.

"Not so loud!" the Warden said urgently.

Stephanie sighed with impatience.

"We could have met in a bar," Stephanie said impatiently. "We didn't have to meet in this fucking cave,"

"Oh, yes, we do because we can't afford to be seen together," the Warden replied.

Stephanie rolled her eyes.

"Whatever," she said, annoyed. "Now, what's the job?"

"I have someone for you to murder," the Warden said. "I've been waiting for years to find the perfect man to be murdered, and it finally happened. His name is Robert Ballard,"

The Warden opened the envelope and took out a large photo of Robert and a piece of paper with his details. As Stephanie looked at Robert's picture, she wasn't impressed and couldn't see how this would be worth her time and talent.

"He looks like he's a stone's throw away from death already," Stephanie said. "What's the big hurry to have him killed?"

"It's important that he dies so I can get Daphne incarcerated in my prison," the Warden replied.

Stephanie had heard a lot of weird and downright psychotic motives to want someone dead, but this was a motive that she didn't see coming.

"Why do you want this Daphne person in your prison?" she asked.

"Because she's mine!" the Warden replied impatiently. "She should have been mine years ago, but she's under the pathetic delusion that she doesn't love me and is in love with that Fred asshole instead! No, Daphne is mine and always will be!"

Working for psychos wasn't new for her, but there was something familiar about the names of the people involved. And then her eyes widened with surprise.

"Wait a second," Stephanie said. "Are you talking about Fred and Daphne from Mystery Inc.?"

"You're damn right I am!" the Warden replied. "Daphne's days with Fred and Mystery Inc. are coming to an end, and I need your help to do it!"

Stephanie couldn't see what the Warden saw in Daphne, but she kept that to herself and wanted to discuss business.

"Okay, you want me to murder Robert," Stephanie said. "What has this got to do with Daphne?"

The Warden frowned a little.

"Isn't that obvious?" the Warden said, annoyed. "I want you to murder Robert and set Daphne up for the crime,"

"And how do you intend to frame Daphne for murder?" Stephanie asked curiously.

The Warden smiled proudly as he loved the plan he devised.

"You're going to be dressed like her when you do it," he said. "And there won't be a jury in the world that won't believe she's innocent, and she'll be in my prison by the end of the year,"

Stephanie doubted his plan but was willing to listen based on how much she would get paid for the job.

XXXXX

A few days later, at the Coolsville Mall, Daphne was out shopping for a new dress, and she couldn't find anything that looked good to her, so she walked out of the clothing store without a second thought. As Daphne walked out, she nearly ran into Robert, and she couldn't believe her eyes. Neither could Robert. Neither of them knew what to say to each other until Daphne broke the silence.

"Is there anything you'd like to say to me?" Daphne asked, not attempting to hide the bitterness in her voice.

"I have nothing I want to say to you," Robert said.

Robert began to walk away, and Daphne wasn't going to take that lying down.

"Oh, no, you don't!" Daphne said as she ran to catch up with him.

As Daphne walked in front of him, Robert began to feel a little nervous as he had never seen her so angry.

"Do you really think you have the right to walk away from me after what you did at the convention?" Daphne asked.

Robert frowned a little.

"What I did?" Robert asked with bitter sarcasm. "You did plenty before I got there,"

Daphne couldn't believe that Robert was someone she once loved, like a father. Now there he was, making her feel like the biggest slut in the world.

"Hey!" she said. "I had to do what was needed for Mystery Inc.! You have no right to judge me!"

Robert took a step closer to Daphne.

"I'm William's grandfather," he whispered. "I don't want him thinking his mother's a slut,"

Daphne's eyes opened more with shock.

"You've told William I'm his mother?" she asked.

"No," Robert replied. "But if he ever finds out, I'd like him to think the best of you,"

"So why did you feel the need to humiliate me in front of him at the convention?" she asked.

Robert had been wondering that himself but didn't know how to answer that question.

"When I saw you at the convention you were acting like you didn't have a care in the world," Robert said. "It was like you didn't care that you had a son,"

"Of course I care I have a son," Daphne said, beginning to lose her temper. "Do you think it's easy waking up every day knowing that I'm missing out on him growing up? On missing out on being called 'Mom'. None of it is easy!"

It was apparent how angry Daphne would get, and Robert decided he'd had enough.

"Look, I don't want to talk to you anymore," Robert said. "And stop emailing me asking for visitation rights! You know you're not allowed, and we shouldn't even be talking! So, stop emailing me!"

Daphne felt confused, and her throat tightened, and Robert began to walk away.

"Wait a second!" Daphne said as she ran after him. "I haven't emailed you!"

Robert turned around.

"Go away, Miss Blake!" Robert exclaimed. "And leave me alone!"

As Daphne watched Robert walk away, tears streamed down her cheeks, and she couldn't imagine what she had done to deserve this. Stephanie knew as she sat on a public seat about ten feet away, secretly videoing her on her cell phone.

XXXXX

When Daphne returned to Mystery Inc. Headquarters, she went through the emails in her office but couldn't find any that had been sent to Robert. Fred walked up behind Daphne and put his hands on her shoulders. She wished he had placed her arms around her, but he was still mad at her.

"What are you looking at?" Fred asked.

"I ran into Robert at the mall," Daphne replied.

Fred couldn't believe it and turned her chair around so she could face him. Daphne was surprised by this move.

"What happened when you ran into Robert?" he asked curiously.

"We had a fight about what happened at the convention," she replied.

Fred let go of Daphne's shoulders and sighed.

"Oh Jesus," he said.

Daphne stood up quickly as she didn't want Fred standing over her.

"Fred, you weren't there, and it got resolved quickly," she said.

"So, he's forgiven you?" he asked.

Daphne sighed, frustrated.

"No, he hasn't forgiven me, but there's something you need to know," she said.

"What do I need to know?" Fred asked.

"Robert claimed that I've been emailing him, but I haven't been," Daphne replied. "And I've been going through my email account, and there are no emails sent to him,"

Fred frowned a little.

"Are you sure about this?" Fred asked.

"Take a look for yourself," Daphne replied, upset that her fiancée didn't believe her.

"Okay, I will," he said.

Fred got in Daphne's seat and looked through her email account. Sure enough, no emails were sent to Robert.

"Well?" Daphne asked impatiently.

"You're right," Fred said, ashamed as he turned around in the chair. "There's nothing from you sent to him,"

Fred stood up as he didn't want Daphne standing over him.

"So, what are you going to do about it?" Daphne asked.

"I don't know what we can do about it," Fred said. "But in the meantime, I think you should make peace with Robert if you see him again,"

Daphne felt insulted by his solution since Robert was the one who had humiliated her at the convention, and more importantly than that, he was their son's step-grandfather, which seriously complicated things, to say the least.

XXXXX

From experience, Stephanie knew that some people could be followed easily and others couldn't. Robert counted as someone Stephanie could easily follow. She studied his daily routine carefully for over a week, and Robert had no idea he was being followed. That night, she met with the Warden in the cave at Coolsville Beach.

"So, what have you discovered about Robert Ballard?" the Warden asked.

"After working out his daily routine, he's someone that I can murder very easily," Stephanie replied.

The Warden smiled.

"And will framing Daphne for his murder be easy with my plan?" he asked.

"We need to make some alterations to your plan," Stephanie replied honestly. "But yes, Coolsville will believe that Daphne is his killer,"

The Warden was happy, but there was one thing he didn't like.

"What do you mean I have to make alterations to my plan?" he asked, offended. "It's a perfect plan. I've worked on it for years,"

"Listen, honey," Stephanie replied. "Your plan has a few merits, but I've been doing this for a long time, and if I follow through with your plan, not only will I get caught, but you will too, and I'll gladly send you up the river if I have to. So, let's discuss the alterations that are needed and don't complain about it, or else Daphne will never be yours,"

As the Warden listened to Stephanie's alterations, he realised she was right, and he couldn't wait to execute the plan and the trial of Daphne Blake.

Author's Note: More chapters are coming as this book is longer than the other books I've written.