Mystery on
a Lake 

a Velma Adventure by John Likeglass

With apologies to Warner Brothers, Hanna Barbara and anyone else who might hate this story (although I believe any true Scooby Doo fan will love it!). All borrowed characters have been safely returned intact and healthy. This is a Scrappy free story. It's a long one, so feel free to print it out and save it for later reading!

 

Part One

Shaggy descends the basement stairs at the Blake mansion and down the hall to a room that had become Velma's workshop. It is evening, and all the other's are upstairs eating dinner. Although his first instinct was to simply eat twice as much, he had started feeling a bit guilty and decided to tell Velma that she was missing dinner. When he entered the room, he found her hard at work on a camera. Parts covered the whole table, and she was holding a small cube of blue glass. "Your missing dinner!", he said. "I know", Velma answered. Shaggy watched as she picked up a small, dark red piece of glass and placed it in the lens assembly. "It's .. Ah.. roast chicken pizza...", he said as he watched her, "you know, I'm kind of like glad we didn't lose you this summer. I thought for a while you might just stay and work for your uncle", he added. Velma paused her work. "And break up the gang? I would never do that! Poor Uncle Henry. He had worked so hard on that project, only for us to find that due to a mathematical quirk, the experiment could never be tried again." Velma shook her head and continued working as Shaggy continued to watch. He was dying to ask her what she was working on, but didn't want to seem dumb. "So what does that little blue glass thing do? And why did you put the red one in?" Velma chuckled. She knew what Shaggy was trying to ask. "I'm making a monster-busting camera", she answered. "Most video cameras can see infrared quite well. Too well in fact, so they put this little filter in. I'm replacing it with one that dose the opposite." Shaggy peered a little closer.. "So, like, the only thing it will see is that infer stuff?" Velma turned to face Shaggy. Part of her had always wanted to be a teacher, and for the second, she had a captive student. "All of us radiate infrared... Heat, that is.. So if this thing only sees heat, then no matter what kind of costume the person is wearing, we will be able to see the outline of a person in it!" Shaggy tried to look interested, but was fearful that desert may get served without him. He knew that Velma might go on for hours if left to her own devices, so he had to think of a good line to end the conversation. "Zoinks! Like a superman X-ray camera! Cool! Well, good luck. I'm gonna pop upstairs and check out desert!" With that, he quickly made a dash for the door. "No, not like X-rays! It works by.... Oh, forget it!", Velma said, as she turned and continued on her project.

Fred and Daphne were sitting at the dinning room table. Scooby was sitting in a corner chair watching them. She fidgeted with the ring on her finger, then spoke. "Fred, there's a lot of things that are probably going to be changing in our lives." He looked down at the table for a second, then shifted his gaze to her eyes before answering her. "We can change as many, or as few as we like." She looked a little sad for a second, like he may have said something to upset her. Daphne took a big breath, the let part of it out before speaking. "Some things are bound to change, like for instance, ..." Shaggy burst into the room! "Well I told her we were all eating without her, but she's just too busy with her Superman camera!" Scooby rolled his eyes into his head. "Ro Rother!", he moaned. "Like what's eating you Scoob? Speaking of eating, did you guys start on desert yet?" Freddy smiled. "See, some things never change no matter how many years go by!"


Velma helps Shaggy put the last of the suitcases into the Mystery Machine. "Lake George New York, here we come!", she shouts. Daphne climbs into the front seat. "It gets pretty cool at night up there.", she says, "I hope everyone packed enough cool weather cloths!" As Freddy climbs into the driver seat, he adds to the conversation, "Still pretty warm during the days though, plenty of time for resting in the sun and water skiing!" Shaggy closes the back door behind him and adds, "And best of all, no ghosts!!" "Rats Right, Ro Rosts!", Scooby adds. Velma, who has climbed into the rear seat, turns to face the two of them and adds, "Who knows! Maybe we'll get lucky!" Shag turns to Scoob, "Lucky, she says! That's not luck, that's a vacation turning into a nightmare, just like almost every vacation we seem to take!"

Freddy pulls out to the driveway. "We'll catch the turnpike and head up to Albany. We should be at the lake in about four hours." Shaggy turns to Scooby. "Four hours? Ya think we packed enough snacks for the trip?" Scooby turns and lifts the lid on the usual steamer trunk loaded with food. "Twelve hamburgers, as many hot dogs, two large bags of chips, three pizzas, and... Hey! Only two bags of chips?? That won't last till the first exit!" Velma has been watching the inventory and gags. "Yeck! You guys are the poster children for what NOT to eat to be healthy! Did you pack my carrot sticks?" Shaggy digs in the trunk for a second. "Sorry Velma, there wouldn't have been enough room for the chocolate fudge marshmallow ice cream! We had to leave them behind." Velma turns to face the front seat and plops her face in her hands. "Figures...."

"Route 9, that's our exit!", Fred exclaimed. The Mystery Machine worked is way through the smaller, and quite hilly roads that ran along the west coast of the lake, up to the small town that was their destination. From there, it headed down the long driveway that lead out to a peninsula of land and onto rocks that jutted out into the lake. At the end of the drive were nine small log cabins that sat on the rocks and looked out over the lake. With the van parked, all five began unloading their bags and moving them into the cabin they had rented for the week. The cabin had two bedrooms, a small kitchen, and a center living room with a large stone fireplace. "I can't wait until tonight when we can have a giant fire going in that fireplace!", exclaimed Daphne. Velma had made her way out onto a stone patio that was adjacent to the cabin, and was looking out across the lake. Shaggy was standing beside her. "What's that big island out there shaped like a mushroom?", he asked. Velma looked where Shaggy was pointing. "Oh, that's Dome Island. They call it that because its, well, shaped like a dome! ... Not a mushroom!", she replied with a laugh in her voice. "Zoinks! What's that thing??" Shaggy was pointing to a big, old, run down hotel that was to the far left of their view. The place was located on another island about a half a mile away. This one was connected to the mainland by an old bridge. It looked as if long ago the hotel had been a splendid place, but was now in extreme disrepair. Velma slowly shook her head. "I don't know...", she said in a low voice. "It's the Zimblock Mansion!", came a voice from behind them. The two turned around to see Lisa, the owner of the cabins standing there. "It became a hotel after Madam Zimblock's death, but went out of business about five years ago. Everyone says it's haunted!" "Jinkies!", exclaimed Velma. Shaggy shook his head. "I knew it! Like, I saw it coming! Every time we go on vacation there has to be some strange place with ghosts, mummies, or space aliens in it! Count me out on this one before you've even counted me in! I am here to ski and tan myself in the sun, NOT to chase any spooks!" Velma Laughed. "Who said we were even going near the place! Stop complaining, it is a vacation and we are going to have fun! But still, if we do have some extra time on our hands........"


Daphne returns from the van. "Looks like we need to do some shopping." Freddy looks surprised. "What did we forget?", he asks. Daphne laughs, "Oh, we didn't forget anything, we're just out of food!" Fred is now looking even more confused. "But we have that whole steamer trunk!" Daphne shakes her head. "Empty! Not even a crumb!" Scooby, who is asleep on the bed, opens one eye. "Rut Ro...." Slowly, he slides off the bed to take cover. "Scooby!", the two yell in unison. "Raggy Roo!", comes the reply. Fred turns to Daphne, "Yea, Shaggy too!"

The five load into the van and head down to the town store. About a half mile down the road, they pass the remains of the driveway that lead to the old hotel. Velma peers out the window as they pass. "They say that place is haunted.", she says. Shaggy quickly protests, "Uh uh! No way! Don't get any ideas!" Freddy laughs, "Usually, I like a good mystery, but this time I agree with Shaggy! We're on vacation!" The van pulls up to the small store, and all five head in, pushing a shopping cart in front of them. While Freddy and Daphne look through the produce, Shaggy and Scooby head for the junk food section. Velma has ventured off and is speaking with a checkout girl. Soon she catches up with Daphne and Fred. "So, it seems that there is more to the story about that old hotel. Madam Zimblock, it is rumored, hid her treasure in the form of a ten carrot diamond, somewhere in the old hotel, and walks the halls to this day, protecting her treasure!" Daphne's eyes light up! "A ten carrot diamond??" Freddy stairs down at the floor and says to himself, "I think I feel this vacation slipping away..."

Between the cabins is a large stone barbeque grill. The sun has set and Freddy has a hot fire roaring in the grill and is putting hamburgers and hot dogs on the metal rack above the fire. Daphne is standing by a picnic table, chopping up a cucumber to put on the huge salad she has made. Shaggy walks up to Fred. "Want me to take over?" Freddy bursts out laughing. "No, we want to eat tonight! If you and Scooby take over, the rest of us will starve!" Shaggy drops his head. "Come on, we've grown up a bit... we can do this without giving into temptation." Freddy looks at the sad eyes on both Shaggy and Scooby's faces, and gives in. "Ok.. Ok... I'll trust you.. I mean I can't imagine you guys can still be hungry after cleaning out the steamer trunk... but still..." Shaggy quickly grabs the fork from Freddy's hand and begins flipping the burgers. Freddy stands and watches for a while, making sure his choice was wise. They seemed to be behaving themselves. Velma was on the patio, looking out at the lake with her camera. Freddy joins her. "So what do you see with that thing?", he asks. Velma hands him the camera. "Look out towards Dome Island.." Freddy aims the camera in that direction. Through the viewfinder, the whole island seems to glow. "That's the heat that the island absorbed during the day, radiating back out.", she explains. As Freddy continues to watch, a bright light appears at the one end of the island. Freddy pulls the camera away from his eye and looks out... nothing! Again he brings the camera to his eye and see the bright light. "What is this?", he asks, giving the camera to Velma, and pointing at the island. Velma looks through the eyepiece, then pulls the camera away from her eye. She squints, and adjusts her glasses, trying to get as clear a view as she can in the twilight. "Oh!", she exclaims, "That's a motor boat out on the lake! The heat from the engine makes it look bright!" As the two stand there, they can now hear the distant sound of the boat crossing the lake. "Amazing!", Freddy exclaims. Velma hands him the camera and he puts it to his eye. Through the viewfinder, the grill looks like a rocket taking off. He looks at one of the other cabins, and sees two figures in the front window that he could not see without it. "This is fantastic! Velma, you're a genius!" Freddy returns to looking at the lake, slowly panning across it until he comes to bear on the old hotel.. "Oh my gosh!" Freddy's jaw drops. Velma grabs the camera from his hand and looks for herself. "Yikes!", she exclaims! Both are quite stunned. Slowly Freddy turns to face Velma. Her eyes are in a blank trance, still fixed on the hotel. "There goes our vacation!", he says.


In the living room of the cabin, there is a large window that looks out on the lake. Under the window is a table that serves as a dinning table. It is covered with food, but Daphne, Velma, and Freddy aren't eating much. Shaggy and Scooby are chowing down. "Like I can't believe it Scoob! We were so good about not eating it on the grill, and now that its done, they're not even eating any!" Velma has connected her camera to a small TV next to the couch and is playing back the tape she just recorded outside. Daphne is watching in amazement. "We couldn't believe it either", Velma says, "so I thought if I recorded it, we could look at it on a bigger screen and figure out what is going on." All three looked at the screen. The outline of the hotel was unmistakable. The upper floor was dark, but the lower one had several rooms that were glowing brightly. Bright lines ran from the building down to the water, and sections of the surrounding water were aglow! "What is it?", Daphne asked, "Do you think it has something to do with the story about the diamond?" Freddy turned to her and in a somewhat choked voice said, "Not everything has to do with diamonds! I think that's just one of those tails... But something big is going on over there!" Daphne ignored him. Velma picked up the camera and headed back out to the patio. Daphne followed her. Freddy sat and collected his thoughts, until he heard Velma almost scream.. "It's gone!!" Freddy dashed out onto the patio and took the camera from Velma. He put it to his eye. "Oh my gosh! She's right! It's gone!" Carefully, Freddy panned the camera back and forth. "You can still see the outline of the hotel, but all the bright spots and lines are gone!" Shaggy and Scooby, who were still at the table, but had avoided the conversation, suddenly chimed in. "Oh well! Everything's over! Come on in and eat. We saved two hamburgers for you!" "Run Ramburger!", Scooby added. Shaggy looked back at the table. "Hee hee! I guess he's right, make that one hamburger!" The three of them came back in the room. Freddy was shaking his head. "I guess we do have a mystery on our hands..." Shaggy gave out a nervous chuckle, "Hee hee, no mystery, lights were there, now they're gone! On with the swimming, skiing, and eating! Our vacation is back!" Daphne was scratching her head. "You know, I think right before we turned in to the driveway, I saw an old sign that said something about a Zimblock museum near here." Velma pondered for a second, then added, "I think she's right! In fact, I think it's right on the other side of that fence that runs through the woods next to the last cabin!" Freddy turned off the TV. "Well gang, that seems like the best place to start looking for information about the real Madam Zimblock!"

One by one, each climbed over the fence. "You know Scoob, I knew that old hotel was trouble! Here we go again, another vacation ruined by some spooky mystery!" "Shhhush!", Velma said scolding, "You guys are loud enough to wake the dead!" "Th..Th..The dead? .... Why does she always use those kind of words!" Freddy had worked his way through to a pathway, the rest followed. The pathway lead them around to the far side of the peninsula. They came upon a small stucco covered building that was nestled in the woods. "This is the museum!", Freddy said. Scooby tilted his head to one side. "Rinda rall" Shaggy looked back at him, the towards Fred. "Scoob's got a point! Isn't that kind of small to be a museum?" Freddy had worked his way over to one of the windows and was shining a flashlight in it. "Museums come in all sizes Shaggy..." Velma was peering in the window next to Fred. The room was full of old dresses and display cases. Suddenly, a deep voice boomed out! "Can I help you?" Velma leaped straight up in the air! Daphne screamed! Shaggy and Scooby were nowhere to be seen, but leaves were falling out of a nearby tree. Freddy turned around. A very large man, about six foot six inches tall was standing less then a foot from his face!


"We... we were interested in learning some more about Madam Zimblock.", Freddy answered in a nervous voice. The large figure spoke again, "Many people have shared that interest lately.. My name is Mr. Creat. Follow me..." Velma brushed some leaves off of her sweater and looked up in the tree. "You can come down now!", she said. Slowly, Scooby and Shaggy descended the tree. On the ground, Shaggy looked over to Scooby, "Did he say Creat or Creep?" Daphne glanced back at Shaggy and said in a whisper, "Creat! Creat! Let's not get him mad!"

"And then in 1905, she wrote her 23rd musical composition, which she called Bourgmie" Daphne had drifted off to sleep in one of the chairs. Shaggy turned to Scooby, "She named that on right ! Bore Me !" Scooby chuckled. Velma and Freddy were desperately trying to seem interested, but the attempt was starting to fail. "Thank you Mr. Creat, I would have never suspected that the Madam was such an interesting individual!" Velma nodded her head. "Yes.. Yes.. She really sounds like a woman before her time!" Creat turned and gazed at one of the old faded pictures of Madam Zimblock and spoke, If you ever want to know more, please stop in at any time. There is so much more I could tell you." Daphne started to wake up. "So she played music, eh?", she said, still half asleep.

Back in the safety of the cabin, Velma was the first one to speak. "I thought he would go on forever! Three hours, and he was still going strong!" Daphne yawned, "And not a single thing about diamonds..." Freddy scratched his forehead. "And not anything that would give us a clue about what's happening at the hotel." Shaggy was headed into the kitchen. "All that history has caused me to work up an appetite!" Scooby had a small box in his mouth, he took it out and handed it to Velma. "Rlue?" Velma looked at the box. "Acme in line air filter... yes Scoob, I think it is a clue! But I'm not sure where it leads us..."


With the sun high in the sky, a small motor boat speeds past the cabins on the lake, in tow are two skiers, one is a dog! The boat rounds a curve in the lake and as it approaches the old hotel, one of the skiers spills out. The boat slows down to pick up the downed skier. Daphne, who is driving the boat, turns to Fred and Velma, both are wearing scuba gear, and are laying flat in the bottom of the boat. Shaggy throws his skies into the boat, and as Scooby and him climb aboard, Fred and Velma drop into the water unseen. "I thought you were going to slow down? That water is hard!!"

Daphne guns the boat, and the three of them head back to the boathouse adjacent to the cabins. "Sorry, I'll get it right next time", Daphne says. Shaggy looks at his watch. "And that will be thirty minutes from... now."

Fred and Velma slowly inspect the area underwater that surrounds the old hotel. Freddy motions a shrug to Velma, indicating that he has not found anything yet. Velma's search has not been anymore fruitful, and she is desperately trying to ignore the annoying drop of water that has logged itself between her goggles, and the center of the right lens of her glasses. As she rolls her head to the one side, she sees a shiny object between some of the rocks. Reaching down, she picks it up. It is a gold colored cylinder that is about twelve inches long, and about two inches in diameter. The sound of a motor boat approaching above signals that the half hour search was over.

Again, the five are seated safely at the table in the cabin. "What is it?", Shaggy asks. Velma is carefully inspecting the object. One end is curved, and the other end has a rubber cap on it. "I don't know....", she replies. With her thumb, she pops off the rubber cap. Under it is an electrical connection. "If I had to guess, I would say it is a transducer of some sort." Daphne looks at the object, then to Velma. "And what would that be?", she asks. "Kind of a microphone, or speaker, or both... But designed to work underwater." Freddy put his hand out and Velma gave him the object. "You mean like something that would be used with one of those fish-finding sonar?", he asks. Velma pauses for a second. "Well... This looks way to heavy duty for that. This would be used more for recording shock waves. My parents had a similar device they were using in an underwater geological study. They were mapping rock structures in the seabed off the coast of England. They would place two transducers about a thousand feet apart. One would generate a sound wave, the other would record it. When the information was fed into a computer, it could make a picture of what was underground." Freddy scratched his chin. "Hummmm... The mystery grows deeper. I guess it's time to pay a visit to the old hotel...." Scooby groans and Shaggy rolls his eyes into his head. "I was afraid he was going to say that!" Freddy adds, "After dark!" Shaggy drops his head between his arms, "... and even more afraid he was going to add that!"


On to Part Two!