We met up at the malt shop the next day. Shaggy and I were stuffing our faces, while Fred reads the newspaper. Apparently boats have been disappearing near the area for a while now. This dude Ebeneezer Shark was quoted as saying the ghost of Captain Cutler is involved. Newspapers will print anything.
I was pretty miffed and I didn't even care anymore. The only people who showed up to the beach last night were us. The party was a bust. I know mysteries like this are our main gig, but I wasn't putting my all into this investigation. After lunch, Velma took me into the parking lot and straightened me out on a few things. She told me that even though the beach was nearly empty, some spooky shit still went down. That was good enough. She said that you never pull bullshit attitude and you always sleuth your ass off or you don't sleuth at all. She taught me a lot.
So we decide to pay this Shark guy a visit. Do we go out to the docks during the day, when everything looks normal and welcoming? No, of course not. We wait until night, when everything looks dark and eerie. We meet up with Shark, and he tells us how Captain Cutler's boat hit some fancy yacht, shipwrecking his boat and sending the Captain to a watery grave. The ghost of Cutler has been messing with the boats in the area ever since. I didn't want to sit around listening to his shit anymore, so I start sniffing around Shark's boat. Following my nose usually results in a clue or two, and I thrust myself into this investigation, with Velma's advice still stuck in my head. I end up falling below deck, landing near a storage closet that has a diving suit in it. The gang hears the commotion and looks down below at me. Shark explains that the diving suit is his. Uh huh.
After a quick huddle on the dock, Fred and Daphne decide to hang around and spy on Shark, while Velma, Shaggy, and I decide to visit Cutler's widow. Does she live in a regular house on some pleasant beach front property? No, of course not. She lives in a creepy old lighthouse, covered with shadow and fog. We head into Cutler's place, despite the fact that we came unannounced and were not invited. Shaggy thinks the place is decorated for Halloween, but Velma says it's real-deal witchcraft. All sorts of bottles, weird ingredients, and old books are laying about. Cutler's widow shows up out of nowhere. She was upstairs working the lighthouse light. The fact that she didn't care that we were trespassing was odd, but weirder still were here plain and matter-of-fact answers to Velma's questions.
"Yes, my husband is dead. Yes, I summoned his ghost through witchcraft. Yes, he is haunting everyone and I'm cool with it."
I stopped listening after a while, my attention turning to whatever was brewing in a cauldron on the fire. I took a taste and it was good. My life now is basically mysteries and food.
We ditched the witch and walked back along the shoreline. Just a ways away, we saw the ghost diver, walking into a drain pipe. I was the smallest, so of course they wanted me to follow. I don't do well with ghosts, darkness, or tight spaces, so this was a triple threat of danger. But then Velma pulled out the Scooby Snacks. Fuck. I gulped one down, ran into the pipe, and tugged at the first thing to hit my nose. It was a strand of glowing seaweed. Velma was impressed that I had found a clue, but all I wanted was another Snack. Those things are delicious. Gimme some more.
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