Chapter 08

Daphne's faith in Fred was not unfounded. We made our way to the wax museum where Fred, with some assistance from Shaggy, had been working feverishly.

Fred was wiping his hands on an old cloth. "Well. That does it."

Shaggy was red-eyed but still pushing the idea of giving up. "But this guy can be strong and fast."

Fred looked tired and his response came out a little grumpy, "So we've had to build the prize trap of all time to catch him." Prize trap of all time was a stretch but it did seem involved. "And this crate is it. Now, here's the plan. Someone will lure the stranger into the trap."

We all looked at Scooby Doo.

Shaggy was still wanting to argue. "But our man will be trapped in the crate with that weirdo."

Fred shook his head. "No. Look up there. We'll pull our man out of the trap in the basket." I don't know where Fred scrounged an old hot air ballon basket but there it was—suspended from a rope which ran through three pullies and was tied off to a pier cleat on an ornate wooden column. I didn't want to think about the damage Fred had done to the column by drilling the screws into that and waited for Mr. Fleach to voice an objection. He remained silent.

Daphne joined in. "If Shaggy will lock the door, then Velma and I should be able to lift Scooby up in the basket."

"Should ree able? Rye rould rike a rittle better guarantee than should ree able."

Scooby wasn't seeming too enamored of the plan so far so I added my bit. "And all Scooby has to do is lure the stranger into the trap."

That flew like a lead balloon. "Ruh-uh." Scooby shook his head vigorously.'

Shaggy was at the point in his high where everything was funny. "Anybody got a Scooby Snak." He giggled.

Scooby wasn't buying any of it. "No racks. Rot ree!"

I had one last ploy. "It's not fair. I'll go with Scooby. We can use the go-kart. I'll drive."

I don't think I fooled Scooby but he acquiesced. "Roe car. Roe car! Rye'll roo it."

I affixed a GoPro camera to Scooby's dog collar and we were able to see a dogs-eye-view, albeit bumpy and frequently out of focus, of the next few minutes as Scooby was the bait. If you are ever taking a veterinary medicine test and the question is Can a dog tiptoe? Answer 'yes'. If your professor challenges the answer, send them to me. I have video proof.

For someone who was trying to lure the robot to follow them, Scooby made amazing efforts to not be seen. He started off hiding in a water barrel and even tried to walk with it on his back. That effort failed. His next move was to a French fry stand where the camera made us witness an up close and stomach-turningly personal view of how a Great Dane eats an entire bucket of fries. It is not for the faint of heart.

Then there was a bumpy mad dash across the midway which led to an abrupt halt. Scooby had obviously run into something solid. When the camera finished swinging, we could see the robot sitting on the ground about three feet from Scooby Doo.

"Run, Scooby!" We all yelled in unison.

Scooby bolted straight toward the trap, leaving the robot far behind and trailing further by the second. As we had hoped, it was the slow version.

Scooby was into the box and waiting in the basket when Fred walked down to the opening. "Scooby, you have to go back out there. You ran so fast that the robot couldn't keep up."

"Rat was ree idea."

"No, the idea was for Charley to follow you in here and get trapped. Now go back out there."

"Rye rate this rait stuff."

Shaggy was a little unsteady on his feet. "Is not ours to reason why, old chum. Is but ours to be the bait." I wasn't sure that Shaggy would know Tennyson if he was straight. Quoting The Charge of the Light Brigade while high was, in its own way, sort of impressive.

"I rate rhis part." Scooby grumbled as he exited the wax museum and returned into the darkness outside.

I watched on my phone as he walked across the midway and did as close as a dog could come to doing a dance and still look like a normal dog. Charley the robot came out of a side alley and started toward Scooby at a shambling trot. The robot was clearly limping. Scooby turned and started to run and then looked back. On realizing that the robot was not keeping up, Scooby slowed down to a trot and then to a walk.

Scooby Doo cleared the entrance to the wax museum, jogged to the opening in the crate and waited for the robot to come in out of the darkness and see where he was standing. Once he had been seen, Scooby stepped inside and hopped into the basket. Daphne and I heaved but Scooby was heavier than we anticipated.

A muffled voice came from inside the crate. "A rittle raster, if roo please."

Daphne whispered a cadence in my ear. "Ready? Pull! Ready? Pull! Ready? Pull!" And we had him out of the top of the crate just as Charley stepped inside. Amazingly, Shaggy was not passed out and even remembered his job. He shut the door and closed the latch. Fred's trap had worked as planned. I didn't get to say that too often.

From inside the crate, we heard a pounding that moved around all four walls. It went around three times with the volume and speed of the pounding steadily falling with each circuit. Then there were several seconds and finally a scream. The scream was feral, barely human, and belonged to a woman.