Mystery Incorporated: Back In Business Chapter 1

by Josie Hook

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Sam

Rrrrrr Who’s in the bathroom? I look to my right and see Aunt Barbara getting laundry together. I can literally hear dad and Uncle Scooby downstairs. Out of everyone that lives in this house, it can be only one other person.

“Dooby, get out!” I pound on the bathroom door.
 

“I’m raving!”
 

“You’re shaving?”
 

“Rah!”
 

“You’re going to school naked? That’s a way to start senior year.” The razor shuts off.
 

“I’m done!” The door swings open a second later and..What the hell is he wearing?
 

“Dooby, what are you wearing?”
 

“Clothes.”
 

“Thank you, smartass. I can see that. Wasn’t that your mom’s earring?” Dooby lifts up his paw to touch the sole earring on his ear.
 

“Reah. Only because rad ate the other one and still hasn’t passed it.”
 

“That was five years ago!”
 

“I know! Rad’s weird!” Dooby’s not wrong.
 

“Why were you shaving? You’re a dog.”
 

“Trying a new look for the ladies!” I would say he’s kidding, but we’re talking about my cousin here. Yes, I consider him my cousin. Even if we act like siblings.
 

“Yea, like girls are into bestiality. Unless the ‘ladies’ are other dogs.”
 

“That’s racist!”
 

“No, that’s species-ist. And still, you’re a dog! Now, move! I need to get in here.” I push Dooby aside and walk into the bathroom.
 

“Ram. Ram!” I close and lock the door. I look at my reflection in the mirror. Zoinks! Ugh, thanks a lot, dad! I grab my brush and try to tame the unruliness of my hair.
 

“Ow. Ow! OW!” I hear a knock at the door. Well, probably more scratching than actual knocking.
 

“Samantha, are you okay?”
 

“I’m fine. Just brushing my hair, Aunt Barb!”
 

“Alright then. I’ll see you downstairs.”
 

“Ok!” Aunt Barb’s footsteps going into the direction of the stairs. I manage to tame my hair while ripping out strands of hair. I do the rest of my bathroom routine which includes brushing my teeth and putting deodorant on. I go into one of the drawers to find a hair tie for later. I fish around and find something that I haven’t seen in 2 months. Mom’s headband.

 

“Hello?” I was with grandma and grandpa Rogers when I got the call.
 

“Is this Samantha Rogers? Norville and Beatrice Rogers’ daughter?” Mom only started going by her legal name with the exception of dad still calling her Googie when I came along. Dad still hates it when he’s called by his legal name.
 

“Yes? Can I help you?”
 

“I’m so sorry to inform you, but your parents were in a car accident. Both of them are here at the hospital.” I swear my heart literally dropped out of my body at that moment.
 

“Okay. Thank you.” I hung up and rushed to get my shoes on.
 

“Where are you going in such a rush, Long Legs?” Grandma being the hippie she was and still is to a point. Just like dad’s nickname of Shaggy, mine’s Long Legs.
 

“I need to get to the hospital.” I swear grandma’s eyes would have fallen out of her head if they had gotten any bigger. Grandma walked over to me and started fretting about my well-being.
 

“Are you hurt?” I had gotten my shoes when grandpa walked in on grandma fretting about.
 

“What’s going on?”
 

“Mom and dad are in the hospital. Car accident.”
 

“Damn it, Norville!” Grandpa swearing under his breath.
 

“Colton!” Grandpa grabbed his keys and changed out of his slippers into his loafers.
 

“Come on, Sam. Let’s get you to your parents.” I followed Grandpa out as Grandma slipped on her sandals. Again, very hippie-ish.

When Grandpa retired from being a police officer many years ago, they had allowed him to keep his old police car since they weren’t going to use it after him.
 

“Uh, Grandpa, are you sure you should be using the sirens since you’re retired?”
 

“Would you like to get there today or Tuesday?” Well, it did get us to the hospital faster. Probably not ethical but Grandpa's never ethical when it comes to family. I got out of the car before Grandpa parked it and ran.
 

“Samantha!” I just ran and ran until I got inside and at the front desk.
 

“My name’s Samantha Rogers! Where are Norville and Beatrice Rogers?!?!” I barely heard the nurse tell me where they were before I ran for the room. I kept running until I caught sight of dad’s goatee. Only this year has dad been growing it out again. He had been mostly clean shaven since I was almost a year old. I ran straight into dad at the door.
 

“Whoa, Sammie!” Lots of cuts and bruises all over dad, but nothing major.
 

“Where’s mom?” Dad moved out of the way and there was mom in far worse condition. My legs somehow gained a mind of their own and walked me over to mom.
 

“Mom…” Mom opened her eyes and turned to look at me. She weakly smiled and put her hand on my face.
 

“Sam…My little girl who isn’t so little anymore.” I felt dad slide right next to me and take mom’s other hand.
 

“Oh, Sammy…Always remember that I love you.” Mom’s hand slid down from my face to right around my forearm before she closed her eyes and flatlined. I couldn’t believe that I just saw my own mother die right in front of me. Dad pulled me into his arms as I broke down crying.
 

“I know, Sammie. I know.” Aunt Barbara, Uncle Scooby, and Dooby moved in 2 weeks after mom died to help dad and I out.

 

“Sammie? Sammie, you okay in there?” And back to the present.
 

“I’m fine!” I quickly unlock the door and dad walks in.
 

“Are you alright, Sammie?” Dad’s eyes catch what I’m looking at. Dad pulls me into his arms.
 

“I miss her too, Sammie.” Thanks to Grandpa Rogers being a retired cop, I got a chance to look at the police reports. Now, the car accident that unfortunately ended up killing mom at the hospital and left dad in pain for a long while is classified as an accident. I would believe that if there wasn’t something else fishy about it.
 

According to that police report, the people in the other car were never found after 911 was called. I don’t mean that their bodies weren’t found but, like they disappeared entirely. Dad mentioned that he thought he had recognized the car that crashed into him and mom. What I’m thinking is that someone was purposely targeting mom and dad. Or maybe they were just targeting dad and mom ended up being a casualty from that. I want to find out who killed my mom. I have Dooby on board to help me but we can’t do it alone.
 

Unfortunately for us, it’s not like Mystery Incorporated is still in business. They disbanded like 30 years ago and I’m pretty sure only dad and Uncle Scooby are the only ones still left in Coolsville. It’s not like Dooby and I will end up running into their kids and help us find mom’s killer.
 

“You look so much like her, Sammie.” I look up at dad and he kisses me on the forehead.
 

“Come on, breakfast is getting cold.”
 

“I’ll be down in a minute.” Dad walks out of the bathroom and I stay in there for a moment longer. I look at mom’s headband once more before closing the drawer. Mystery Incorporated or not, mom’s killer will be brought to justice.
 

I leave the bathroom and head downstairs. I smell that Uncle Scooby made pancakes with most likely help from Aunt Barb.
 

“‘Morning, Ram!”
 

“‘Moring, Uncle Scooby.” I sit down at the table and dig into the giant plate of pancakes in front of me. I did get dad’s appetite. It takes me no time to down the entire plateful and go get the rest of my stuff together. Luckily, we don’t live that far from school to walk.
 

“Dooby, come on!”
 

“Coming!” I hear an audible gulp as I connect my headphones to my phone.
 

“Sammie, hold on a moment.” I turn as dad gets up and grabs his keys. Is dad driving Dooby and I to school? Dad takes a key off of his and hands it to me. I take it from dad.
 

“Why are you giving me a car key?” Dad walks over to the door to the garage and opens it. He walks out to the garage. I follow and dad pulls off the tarp.
 

“You’re giving me the Mystery Machine?”
 

“Your mom and I had already planned on giving it to you your senior year.” Dad walks over to me and puts his hands on my face.
 

“Please be careful out there, Sammie. I’ve already lost an important woman in my life, I don’t want to lose another so soon.”
 

“I’ll be careful.”
 

“Good.” Dad kisses me on the forehead again. His hands move from my face to my shoulders.
 

“Have a good day at school, Sammie.” Dad gives me a hug before heading for the door. He flips the switch for the garage door to open on his way out. I quickly grab my backpack and hoodie from inside.
 

“Dooby, come on!” Dooby comes rushing into the garage as I’ve already gotten inside the car. I start the car as Dooby tries to open the door. Right, he has no thumbs. I open the door for him as I buckle up. Dooby fumbles with his seatbelt.
 

“Need help?”
 

“No, I got this.” Dooby fumbles around for a minute before giving up.
 

“Are you sure you don’t need help?”
 

“Reah, I need help.” I buckle Dooby in.
 

“Alright, let’s go.” I shift the van into reverse and back out. Once we’re on the street, I shift the car into drive and take off for school.

 

 

I have no idea how Dooby can sit like a human without being in pain.
 

“Doesn’t it hurt sitting like that?”
 

“Only when I think about it. And I’m thinking about it. OW!” Dooby shifts sitting positions. Luckily, we’re at school. I find a spot and park. I turn off the car as Dooby takes his seatbelt off. I get my seatbelt off as Dooby grabs his bag and gets out of the car. I grab my backpack and get out of the car. I catch up with Dooby. I catch something blonde out of the corner of my eye. Huh, looks like someone will be viral on Tik Tok later. I look towards the doors of school. Senior year, here we come.

 

 

Iris

Starting my last year of school at a new school isn’t something I thought would happen. The last couple of years I went to a private school thanks to being world renowned scientist Velma Dinkely’s daughter. But, due to mom’s mental breakdown last year, last school year was my last year at that school. Since then, mom’s become kind of a homemaker which kind of scares me. Especially since mom is insisting on possibly driving me to school every day for this school year.
 

“And here we are, Iris.” Yes, she named me Iris. You would have thought a scientist like mom would have named me something other than a part of an eye.
 

“Your last first day of school. You excited?”
 

“A little. Love you.” I unbuckle and grab my bag.
 

“Wait, hold on.” Mom reaches into the back and grabs a small bag.
 

“Here’s your lunch. Have a good day at school! Love you!” Mom kisses me on the cheek while handing me the bag.
 

“Bye, mom.” I get out of the car and quickly walk away from the car before I get embarrassed by mom. And looks like Blondie just kissed the ground. She’ll be trending later. Senior year, here I come.

 

 

Stacie
 

“We’ve arrived, Miss. Jones!” I fix my lip gloss in the mirror.
 

“Thank you, Jenson.” I put my lip gloss back into my backpack and grab it.
 

“Would you like your flats, ma’am?”
 

“No. It cost a lot of money to buy these heels and I’m sure that I’ll be grounded for buying these but, I’m going to wear them as much as I can before then.”
 

“Alright then. Have a good day, ma’am.”
 

“You too, Jenson.” I open the door and walk out. I barely walk a few inches away from the door and fall flat on my face.
 

“My flats please!” Well, there could be a worse way to start senior year. I could have fallen face first in dog crap.

 

Sam

So far, Senior year has gotten off to a meh. Thank God, it’s lunch time. I have my headphones on while eating as Dooby is eating his lunch. More like the floor and the table is getting more of it than his mouth. Just lost in my own world in the form of True Crime podcasts. I’m hoping they’ll help me in possibly finding mom’s killer or at least find clues that’ll lead me to them.

“Ram. Ram. Ram!” What is Dooby shaking me? I pull down my headphones and look at Dooby.
 

“What, Dooby?”
 

“We have rompany.”
 

“What do you mean we have company..Oh, hello.” I have no idea who the two girls in front of us are.
 

“Anyone sitting here?”
 

“No. You can sit there.” Both girls sit down in front of us.
 

“Hi, I’m Stacie Jones!” Jones? Dooby, beanie girl and I look at Stacie.
 

“Did you say Jones?”
 

“Yes. Daughter of famous author Fred Jones and owner of many boutiques Daphne Blake Jones!” And they created bubble gum Barbie. Actually that seems accurate. So, two-fifths of Mystery Incorporated in her. I turn to Beanie girl.
 

“What about you, Beanie?” She sighs and rolls her eyes.
 

“Iris Dinkley.” You have got to be kidding me.
 

“As in Velma Dinkley? The famous scientist?”
 

“Yep. What about you two?” Well, here goes nothing.
 

“Samantha Rogers. Call me Sam.”
 

“And I’m Doobert Doo. Call me Dooby.” Iris and Stacie look at each other before looking at Dooby and I.
 

“Shaggy and Scooby Doo!”
 

“Where?!”
 

“Uncle Scooby isn’t here, Dooby!”
 

“Oh.” Well, it looks like Mystery Incorporated is back together in a way. I look around the cafeteria before leaning forward.
 

“How would you two feel about helping Dooby and I with something?”
 

“Anything better than hearing mom going on and on about another lecture, I’m in.”
 

“Stacie?”
 

“Why not?”
 

“Alright.” I lean closer as the others move in closer to me.
 

“So, this past summer, I lost my mom to a car accident.”

“Oh, I’m sorry.”
 

“It’s fine. But there’s something fishy about the car accident.” Iris and Stacie look at me confused.
 

“What do you mean?”
 

“Well, thanks to my Grandpa Rogers being a retired cop, I was able to look at the police report. The people that were in the car that smacked into my parents pretty much disappeared after 911 was called.”
 

“So, you think someone was purposely trying to kill your mom?”
 

“Yes. You in?”
 

“Why the hell not. I’m in.”
 

“Same here.”
 

“Looks like Mystery Incorporated’s back in business.”