Crystal Cove Mysteries {FULL}
There's a small group of friends that live in a small town called Crystal Cove. While this is their home town, they're known for solving mysteries wherever their assistance is needed. They've gone to school together since they were children, and now that they've finally graduated high school, the world is their oyster. Bent on solving mysteries, protecting the innocent and keeping the peace, these six friends work together while trying to keep up with their daily lives, jobs and college work. >> CLICK HERE FOR OOC << http://i1207.photobucket.com/albums/...ps4953c2db.jpg Click the spoiler to see the map, or CLICK HERE for a bigger view.
Crystal Cove is a coastal town where our six friends live, and is said to have a "Strong history of paranormal activity". It is naturally gloomy, and the town plays on this, purposely making the town a sort of scary attraction spot with places such as The Asylum, Fear Street and Terror Land.Background of Crystal Cove
These are characters in our play that have very basic personalities that anyone can control at any time. They can not be killed off without my permission. Please stay true to their personalities when playing them.The OCs and Villains The Mayor Mayor Peter "Pete" TaylorThe Sheriff Sheriff Brock DodsonWaitress at the Blood Box Vernadette "Vern" MaclamoreMore OCs will be added and removed as the story progresses. This play is loosely based off of Scooby Doo: Mystery Incorporated. Previous knowledge or viewing of the show is not required, but, if you'd like to see it you can find it on Netflix! |
Crystal Cove Plans/Timeline - Find a list of objects, materials, artifacts, etc. along with one of the items at the end of first mystery. The items on the list are: To be determined. |
The Rules 1. Follow Mene's rules and TOS. 2. You must post in paragraphs with capitalization, punctuation, etc. No one is perfect, I frequently make mistakes, but this isn't a text message. 3. No Godmodding. If you want to kill a side character that someone else created, ask them first. 4. Keep OOC in the thread to a minimum. If you need to talk, take it to the OOC thread. 5. You must post once every day. If you can not commit to posting once a day, do not join this play and ruin it for those of us here for a fast paced play. I understand that things will come up that keep you from posting sometimes, but if you consistently disappear and have excuses, you will be replaced. 6.To join, PM me the profile with the subject line "I will post at least once a day" and wait for an approval to begin, do not post profiles here. 7. No characters will be accepted other than the characters from the list above. I suggest you PM me the moment you pick a character so that I can strike through it and reserve it. You must then have that profile to me by the end of the day, or I will open the spot up again. 8. I reserve the right to change or add to the rules at any time. I reserve the right to deny or remove anyone. |
Accepted Character Profiles Click here to view the character profiles for Crystal Cove.Character Information and Options The positions have been filled and information has been hidden in this spoiler. Click for details.Character Skeleton Placed here to be saved for future reference. PHP Code:
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Reserved for solved mysteries. |
It was seven o'clock in the evening, on an eerily dark day, and which days in Crystal Cove weren't? The group was supposed to be meeting up at Ellie's place to talk about the mysterious disappearances of local mining tractors from the town's tractor storage facility. Her parents mansion was always a hot spot for the gang since her parents were local and even small time celebrities, her mom always had the chef prepare gourmet snacks, and they had every other accommodation that anyone could possibly hope to have.
"Laney!" her mother called from the top of the large red carpeted steps directly ahead of the front glass double doors. "Are your mystery friends coming over tonight?" Elaine stepped into the large foyer and nodded. "Yes mom!" she said cheerily. "We're going to figure out why the town's tractors are disappearing." Her mother gave her a small smile. "Well, okay dear. I wish you would find another group of friends," she added. "Jeanette from yoga said her daughter only hangs out with the popular kids in town, and they never go around solving "mysteries"." She even made the bunny ears with her fingers. "Mom, I have the best friends in the whole town," she defended. "I know your friends are nice dear, it's just that they, well, they aren't exactly setting the bar very high by chasing ghouls and goblins around the town now are they? Look at your sisters; a scientist, an actress, a doctor and an engineer. And what are you going to do Laney? Help that Alex braid nets for the rest of your life?" "Mom!" Ellie shrieked, blushing profusely. Ellie was sure the boy didn't even know she liked him. He was always so caught up in everything else. Her mom's cell phone rang and the woman disappeared into the vastness of the giant house. Ellie shook her head and straightened her short plaid skirt that always accented her long legs and pulled at her white long sleeved shirt. The gang would be arriving any moment now. |
Matty was trying to convince Oobis that hiding in his backpack wasn't humiliating. Mrs. Windsor had made her feelings about that stray coming into her very clean house pretty clear. The cat remembered that day very well and had a mind to waltz in very muddied from the Windsor family flowerbeds.
The two of them glared at each other, the cat had his butt firmly planted on the sidewalk, his chin poking up in the air, as he stared at his human defiantly. Mathias felt a bubble of anger rising up and he was pretty sure it would fly out his mouth if he didn't put something else in it. He rummaged into a very deep pocket in his baggy black jeans and pulled out a handull of saltwater taffies. Oobis fought for control of his kitty face, only the eyes betrayed him. An almost imperceptible twitch of the pupils. Matty had already unwrapped two taffies and popped them in his mouth before Oobis's paw, of it's own mind, left the ground. He was begging. How humiliating. Rage roiled within the cat's belly. A growl trickled from the cat's thin black lips. Matty tossed the still wrapped taffies into his backpack and chewed slowly, staring down his very angry friend. The growl turned into a primal yell of exasperation. Matty dropped the bag and the cat, grumbling, crawled inside and deftly began unwrapping taffies. |
She adjusted note on the table that said 'Dinner is in the fridge, just heat it up. Love, Sarah' so it was right in the middle and perfectly straight and then hurried out of kitchen, grabbing her black messenger type bag. Moments later, she was out of small, but cozy Kearney house, locking doors behind her automatically, and then turned around corner where her bicycle waited. Before riding off, she dutifully put on helmet.
Sarah chose this mode of transportation because it didn't cost much, it provided her with needed exercise and was far quicker than walking. And she really did enjoy how the wind whistled around her, too. Girl hummed softly under her breath as she rode through lit streets towards her destination. As Elaine's beautiful home came into view, she cringed slightly inwardly. She was fully aware that her red haired friend's mother didn't approve of her daughter's friends too much, although she had always tried to make the best impression possible. Still, the thought of spending time with her friends relaxed Sarah nearly immediately. It always worked like that, they were her refuge without her often realizing it, even though they did some really crazy things that really shouldn't be a hobby. But she loved their cases, loved cracking them. It - they - were highlight of her dull life. Had been so for so long she couldn't and didn't want to remember time when it was different. She left her bike in designated place (and replaced helmet with headband that had tiny ribbons on it, matching the one on collar of her simple shirt) and walked up to the grand doors, ringing bell. While she waited, girl shifted her feet slightly, awkwardly and glanced at her sneakers peaking out from bell cut ends of her loose jeans. They were impeccably clean, but probably held together by sheer willpower more than anything else. If it was Ellie that opened doors, Sarah's face would immediately brighten with smile. If someone else did, they would receive a politer form of the smile. |
Allan drummed his fingers on the steering wheel as he sat at the end of the block. He was debating on whether to park where he was or in Ellie's drive. Either way someone would be mad at him, so he decided to anger the persons whose wrath wouldn't be at his back the whole day and parked on the curb just outside of the mayor's house. 'More like castle,' he thought. His own parents' house wasn't small by any means, a good-sized four bedroom with a single room apartment in the basement, but it was hard to compete with the Gothic behemoth that towered over the neighborhood.
He parked the van, made sure he had his set of keys again after accidentally grabbing Alexander's too many times, and hid behind the van's side while straightening his shirt. Allan always tried to look his best when going to Ellie's. It didn't help that his parents insisted. Since he had his own sources of money his parents' early graduation gifts were spent for him. His father gave him a brand new tool box that he happily filled and tucked in the back of the van. Allan's mother, on the other hand, gave him two weeks worth of brand new buttoned and suit shirts in different colors and personally embroidered. Most often it was a picture depicting a previous case on the breast pocket, and the one he had today had little skull buttons and matching clasps on the sleeves. He thought it was a useless way to help "creep himself up" to help the town's image, but she put so much work into all of them that Allan couldn't not wear them whenever he had the chance. Allan sighed and resisted jogging up to the door until he saw Sarah already at the door. "You knock yet?" He casually stuck his hands into the pockets of his nice jeans. The itch to change into his work pants was strong, but they had mysteriously disappeared from his hamper that morning and no one had any idea where they went. "Every time I stand on these steps I feel like I'm going on a roller coaster," he grumbled while admiring the new foliage. |
Alexander stepped out of the shower, feeling dressed, refreshed, and whatever else might end in a "ssed" sound. After a day of jogging around Crystal Cove (and getting kicked out of Mr. Bently's Car Repair by the Sheriff) he was ready to meet up with the rest of the gang to talk about the recent disappearance of mining tractors from the storage facility. Being the ace detective that he was, he had already started investigating on his own although to limited success. Unlike Ella or JoJo he didn't take to adults in a polite way, especially not when it came to Sheriff. If you'd let us help you we could really get something done around here. Such things were always easier said than done though.
"Ey boy, you done taking a bubble bath? It's been fifteen minutes!" his uncle protested. "My bad Uncle Chris," Alexander apologized, "I was just makin' sure that all my stuff is good to go." "Stuff? Yer meetin' that Ella girl at her mansion," he chuckled, "unless there's some funny business you don't need a damn thing." Ugh, his uncle was always so oblivious. "We're getting the gang together again," Alex clarified, "Don't you remember me talking about the missing tractors and all that?" "Huh? Oh yeah that's right." Uncle Chris (full name Christoph Ramos) often humored Alex's pursuits of mystery so that they would have more to talk about than boxing and the state of the family, but Alex knew that he didn't buy into the idea of ghosts, ghouls, or ghastly hauntings. They were old wives' tales made to attract tourists and most of it could probably be explained by science, probably. Still, he seemed apt to loan Alex his car whenever his nephew needed it and beamed with pride after a mystery was solved. He was family after all, and family always supported family. "Right, I'm off then Uncle Chris. I'll be back by...sometime." The brown-haired boxer left on his bike and raced to Ella's house, already knowing the fastest route by heart. He had taken the liberty of wearing fitted jeans with his usual ensemble of a plaid shirt, tie, and jacket (today he was wearing off-red to mix things up) since he knew that Ella's parents would sneer at him no matter what he wore. The two weren't bad parents by any means, but like most adults, they didn't like the stigma that "The Mystery Gang" carried. Ella's mother always seemed to give him this look, like she knew something that he didn't or that he was the ringleader of their troubled gang. It wasn't untrue, but she acted like he was going to drag everyone into drugs...or murder...or drug murder. When he arrived, Allan and Sarah were already at the door which made him feel a bit more comfortable approaching the front of the very large mansion. He left his bike in the usual place, near where Sarah had parked hers before coming behind the two and waving. "Hey! Where's everyone else?" |
Matty was struggling with a very squirmy backpack and talking to it out the side of his mouth, "banana twinkies AND coconut donuts? What am I made of money? It's one or the other, Oobis. Not both."
The backpack's top flap bulged and a whiskered nose popped out, "get both." The cat had sounded so reasonable that all the fight went ouf of Matty and he just nodded. Oobis usually got what he wanted. Especially when it came to food. There would be treats at the meeting, sure, but they had been discussing the post meeting snack and that was a whole other thing. He was all paid up on rent which meant, beside saltwater taffies, he had ten whole bucks in histhe pocket until he picked up his next odd job. His landlord, the old man running the curosity shop usually found something for him to do. Lask week it was repainting the windows and trim on the exterior of the building. Oobis had, uh, supervised from their bedroom window. Telling Matty he missed a spot, all too often, and at one point, dangling a dripping paint can out the window and above Matty's head. He dropped the paintcan when the shopowner stepped outside and Matty had been drenched in red paint. The owner of Needful things had turned a suspicious eye up to the window, then looked at his lawn in distaste. Matty spent the rest of the day with a hose and really only succeeded. In spreading the paint around. It slipped off the grass, into the dirt and started bleeding out into the sidewalk. Thankfully it looked nicely creepy and added to the ambiance of the town. Still, the shop owner had been less than willing to assign Matty any other tasks and money was beyond tight. Speaking of money, Matty snapped back to the present as he rounded the corner into Ella's neighborhood. He readjusted the weight of his backpack and cat. Ran his free hand, rather pointlessly, through his messy hair and ran to catch up with his friends on the steps. |
Music blared out from the basement door of the mayor's large white house. It wasn't an odd occurrence ever since the eldest Tyler child had turned the large open space into her own personal studio. Joleen was late and she would have realized that if she turned down her playlist long enough to hear her phone alarm. She was putting the finishing touches on a painting that she had been working on since the day after prom. It was a large panoramic of the gang in their pom outfits surrounded by all the ghouls they had unmasked. Well that and singing to Lady Gaga's Monster.
She was putting the final details on Oobis's eyes face as close to the canvas as she dared thin brush adding the light that danced in the feline's eyes. She wanted the panting finished before summer started again. In case she wasn't here come fall.The thin manila folder sitting under old middle school sketch books held everything she could possibly want. Sitting back on her stool she looked at the still dying faces of her friends. Well almost everything she could want. She often wondered if she could convince them all to go to Italy with her. " Joleen!," As pose and put together as Sky Tyler was her voice still managed to hold a sharp crack of motherly disappointment. There was always a long list of things that brought that tone in to the darker blond woman's voice. Jo's friends, her music choice,her disinterest in politics, her clothes, ect... "one of your friends parked out on the curb. You didn't tell us you had people coming over. And turn that music down." Finally looking away fro her work Jo stared the picture perfect house wife looking so out of place standing surrounded half finished clay sculptures and canvases. " I'm not...oh what time is it?" Practically falling off her stool the blond lunged for her phone. The glass screen displaying that her alarm had gone off fifteen minuets ago. "I'm going to be late." Luckily Elle lived right down the street, literally two houses down t was a three minute run- the houses on this side of town were a little excessive . " You aren't going out like that are you?" There disappointment in clothes. Check. Looking down Jo took in the paint splattered navy blue leggins, black cami and gray over sized tunic tank that came to mid thigh. All together not much different then what she normally went out in. " yeah...I'm already running late." Gathering up her current leather bound sketch book, camara, wallet and phone she shoved them all into a worn black messenger bag and pulled her hair out of it's messy bun. " bye mom Love you." Racing out the door and up the stairs Joanna stopped to pull on her favorite black and white converse call out the same parting to her father who was in the kitchen She hadn't been to late judging by the group gathered on the Windsor's steps. "hey.." ,she panted a little fro the sprint down the street." Guys." |
"Hey," she greeted Allan with smile. Sarah always had to fight urge to laugh softly when she saw one of the case shirts, but always pushed the bubble of laughter back down. She didn't want it to be misinterpreted as teasing or mocking. She actually liked them, they were made with such care and love. Allan's mother was truly wonderful woman, and had been in fact the one to teach Sarah art of cooking, something she was deeply grateful for. Home made meal was great way to put a smile on her father's tired face after long work day.
"I rang the bell," she replied neutrally and turned to see what her friend was looking at. The girl spotted Alexander on the path and waved at him, grin growing slightly wider. Just two more, and perhaps they all could be standing in front of doors when they opened. No one would have to feel awkward going inside alone then. Although it'd be their own fault for being late. Sarah always left home 5 to 10 minutes early to make sure she would arrive on time. But that's just how her friends were and she found their little quirks endearing. Still, she was glad that to Alexander's question, she could motion in direction of Matty and Joleen that were rushing towards them. "There they are," Sarah spoke, as always gesturing before voicing things. Even 'yes' or 'no' first came out as a nod or shake of her head. She smiled warmly at two (nearly) late comers, adjusting her bag strap. She recalled that during last meeting, Mathias still had some red paint in his hair from the unfortunate paint can accident. For the rare occasion, even she had teased that while red might suit him, he might have to rethink dying his hair in said color. |
The doorbell rang as Elle was headed for the door. She hurried along pulling one side of the large grand crystal doors open. Her sky blue eyes brightened and she smiled happily. "Hey gang!" she exclaimed. They were all there. She pulled the door open wider as she stepped aside to let everyone in.
She led them all to a large living area with plenty of plush chairs and couches around a short coffee table under a beautiful chandelier. There were already chef prepared snacks set neatly across the table with six glasses of lemonade. There was even a small stylish bowl lined with crystals and engraved with Oobis' name that Elle had made specially for their feline friend at her house. Elle sat on the love seat, naturally. While they made small talk on the way to the living area, Ellie's butler had brought in the newspaper clippings of the machinery disappearances and the laptop, as requested. The butler handed the laptop off to Sarah, in case she hadn't brought her own, as she was always the one researching. Ellie flipped through the clippings. "So there have been six tractor disappearances so far, all at night. They've doubled night security at the lot, but last night another tractor was stolen anyway. They drove it right through the security gate," Elle explained. Though the others probably already knew this information. The question was, who was stealing the tractors, and why? ((I hope my post was acceptable and made sense. I've got so much going on here it's crazy and I can hardly think straight. [sweat] Hopefully my mind will be more into my next post.)) |
Glancing up at the mansion Alex felt a wave of nostalgia hit him. The first time he was dropped off at Ella's doorstep was many years ago, back when he was a child. The gates had towered over him. The way the windows shone were more reminiscent of crystal than glass. The impeccably watered greenery made him forget about the drought that had hit Crystal Cove that year. When the door opened that time it wasn't Ella who answered, but a youthful woman who could have been Ella's older sister if not for the modulated voice and "adulty" (as Alexander had called it) way she chirped "Ella, your friend is here."
Even now, not much had changed aside from the fact that he was older and joined by the rest of Crystal Cove's crime solvers. They were still brimming with anticipation as they waited to see who would answer the door. If it was Ella they would be all hugs and smiles, but if it were anyone else he would hope for one of Ella's sisters. Unlike her parents, they didn't pay as much mind to their involvement with Ella's life since they were largely busy being pretty, successful overachievers that were around every now and again. Don't get him wrong, they would be interesting people by normal standards, but Alexander wasn't about "normal standards". Besides, the only engineer in the Windsor family didn't want to help him with the traps. Luckily for the gang, it was Ella who answered the door and ushered them into her gigantic home. "Yo how's it been?" Alex asked offhandedly as he headed inside. As one might expect, the mansion was decorated to the tee with stylish couches, padded chairs, crystal glassware, and a chandelier worth enough to feed a third world country. Compared to that, he essentially lived in a three-room shack. Granted, his uncle probably could have afforded something bigger but Uncle Chris preferred spending money on his hobbies versus the living space. "Then again I spend all my money on trap stuff." After making his way to the living room and sitting at his usual, designated spot on one of the couches he grabbed one of the clippings that she finished flipping through ("Can I see this?"). "According to this none of the security cameras could place the figure driving the tractors away," he stated, "and none of the mechanics at Mr. Bently's would answer my questions either. Do any of you have leads?" |
Allan Smiled back and was able to wave at Joleen and Matty while saying 'hi' to Alexander. There wasn't much more he could do before being walked into the house. It was a weird thing they had started doing and had bothered him at first, but once you start taking such close steps together you get into a natural rhythm.
He took the the open spot on Alexander's other side, in a rather luxurious armchair, and politely took a cookie before pulling out a little notebook and pen from his breast pocket. "These are delicious-" he paused to swallow what may have been the most deceitfully gooey thumbprint cookie he had ever eaten, "-but I've got nothing more than dead ends." Allan flipped the book open. "I tried talking to Raymond in class, to see if his dad knew anything that he wasn't telling you, but the only thing he knew was that the tractors had motors." Allan sighed. "I have no idea why Ray's in a mechanics class; he hates power tools. You gotta wonder how something that big and loud can just disappear without a trace, though." Allan set the notebook on the coffee table and grabbed his own lemonade with one hand and what looked like a puff pastry filled with a spoonful of crab dip. "Oh yeah, Ellie. My mom wants the recipe for those sandwiches you brought last time. She's been trying to copy it and can't get... something." He looked the pastry over before popping the whole thing in his mouth and taking a sip of lemonade. |
Two thin, furry, arms snaked out from the beatup old backpack. Matty's eyes ticked over his shoulder and widened at the cat's latest mad scramble to escape. Those nimble paws had found the clasp and they were doing all they could to work it open. Disturbingly dextrous for a creature with no thumbs, Oobis had nearly freed himself. As carefully as possible Mathias slipped off the strap and set down the bag. It sank, ever so slightly into a very plush cushion, on a very plush couch.
Matty was way, way on the other side of the room by the time the cat was out of the bag. "So, uh, who would wanna steal a bunch of tractors?" Mathias blurted out, sounding too enthused, trying and failing to sound normal but his nerves betrayed him in that too bright tone. Oobis twitched all over, settling his fur as a bird settles it's feathers. His orange orbs swooped the room and settled on Matty with an almost evil glare. Between them, were serveral humans who hadn't conned him into a backpack and more importantly there was food. Oobis hopped down from the couch, snaked around Sarah's and Joleen's legs, brushed up against the boys he wasn't mad at and facerubbed Ella's ankle. He set the barest edge of teeth against the knob of bone there and hopped up to his bowl, purring. His tail was straight up in the air and he was giving his most unflattering side to Mathias. He was whiskers deep into a crab puff when a thought occured. He shared it aloud, "What's a tractor? He quickly went back to nom nom nomming, as if the answer didn't matter, but he was curious. Big, he had gathered. Hard to hide, he imagined. |
The Windsor mansion was as familiar to her as her own home though her's was not as large. Large parties hosted in the mansion, a diner where her father would talk to Ella's about some hot political issue while their mothers gossiped. Yeah even before she had met everyone in the gang she had been dressed up and carted off to the Windsor mansion. All of her really good memories of the place included the five people gathering in the living room though. After school group meetings, pool parties in the summer, getting ready for Halloween. Those were the times she really enjoyed.
Grabbing her favorite throw pillow of the couch Joleen took her normal seat on the floor.Adjusting so she was sitting on the very center of the pillow she crossed her legs and reached for one of the glasses of lemonade " I've talked to the Sheriff," she shot Alex a look she had been on the receiving end of one of the man's long winded lectures about keeping out of police business and the types of people she chose to hang out with. These type conversations with Sheriff Brock normally only happened after he had talked to Alex. Out of all of them- and she understood that even her status as the mayor's daughter didn't save her much from the too serious man's ire- he really seemed to hate Alex. " No surprise but there is no info on that front. Mr. Bentley agreed to let us look at security tapes though. To see if we could spot anything they missed." This was her role. She may not be the best detective of the group but growing up in a political family gave her the benefit of knowing people. When someone wouldn't talk to their fearless leader she would step in all smiles and big eyes. Then it wasn't that group of teens who go around solving mysteries but the mayor's only daughter who was asking the questions or a favor. |
When everyone had settled in their usual spots, Sarah placed recorder on the table. She'd be writing down everything anyway, but sometimes (very rarely, though) something slipped by her notice and listening to their conversation brought clarity. Then she took her regular seating as well. There would be time to snack and drink later, now there were things do be done. Everyone else was getting their minds on the case, too, and she felt at home.
Sarah always felt like nestling in the armchair she had picked, it was just so large and comfortable, but she would honestly never dare to bring her shoes near the expensive material. So, she sat like a proper girl, knees tightly together and softly thanked butler when he brought her laptop. She liked to use it, it was just so shiny and new... Although the girl would be ashamed to admit she paid attention to such superficial things. Her own laptop, as old as it may be, served her needs well enough. She did have a plan to get a new one, but first she had to save up and as she had bought herself one of those new phones last Christmas and some new parts for her PC after graduation, she had long way to go. Besides, she liked to keep all her research well protected in multiple places after that one unfortunate time culprit stole her very first laptop that she had been so proud of and they had later found it smashed to pieces. She had honestly grieved over Mr. Whirr's demise (it had been named so due to it's obnoxiously loud fan). And they had lost some very precious information, too. So, laptop at Elle's would be one place, her own laptop another and she also kept usb with her at all times with recent case files. It probably sounded paranoid to most, but that's just how Sarah was. It paid off, too. Sometimes. At Oobis question, she perked up: "Tractor's a large car that usually makes lot of rumbling noise. People use it to haul things around, Oobis." She typed away eagerly at the same time, already making footnotes. And when everyone grew quiet for a moment, Sarah looked up with wide eyes and questioned: "Where do they keep the tractors?" She paused and felt as if she had to elaborate. "For now we can assume that same person or gang are stealing them, so where would they keep 6 large and rather loud machines? They couldn't take them too far through city without someone noticing, so they were probably driven away from it. Where could they possibly hide them?" Immediately, she set to look for any abandoned warehouses in the surrounding area of the workshop and also further away from it. Maybe one of them had recently changed ownership? All of that and more she'd attempt to find out. While working, she asked Joleen when it would be possible that they could have look at security tapes. It couldn't be that the tractor had simply become invisible and taken through the security gates, could it? |
Elle scratched Oobis behind the ears and smiled brightly at Allan, always cheery. "No problem," she said. "I'll have Chef make her a copy of the recipe!" Truth be told, none of the Windsor family ever prepared their own food. The chef and help handled it all.
Ellie was a lot more down to Earth than the rest of her family though, and could be found from time to time digging around in the kitchen and making bowls of cereal or hoping for salty chips. Things the family rarely went through very fast on their new-aged diets. Her mother was always in on the newest workout fads, too. While everyone talked among themselves, asking all the right questions, Elaine's mom appeared near the doorway, seemingly distressed, while talking on her cell phone. "Cancelled?" she nearly shrieked. "A mysterious fog?" There was silence for a few moments. "Then move the class to my house, we'll do yoga in my gym then. Call everyone and have them here within the hour!" She disconnected her phone. "Mom!" Ellie called. Elaine's mom entered the large family room. "Mom, what was that about a mysterious fog?" she asked. Mrs. Windsor explained, "My yoga class was cancelled this evening, isn't it horrible? Apparently a fog is keeping the road down by Crystal Caves unusable, and my class in that beautiful mountain-side villa that overlooks the sea isn't accessible now." For a moment Mrs. Windsor had a dreamy expression, while talking about the location of the class. But it quickly disappeared. "Now we have to move the class here," she said. "I will not miss a yoga session," she said in a scarier tone. "I have to go Lainey dear, lots to do!" The woman was back to her cheery self, disappearing around the corner already. Ellie turned back to the gang with a smile. So far they had three things to check in on. Security tapes, the Crystal Caves fog, and the tractor yard for clues and tire marks. Naturally they would split up into pairs. Allan and Sarah would more than likely check out the tapes. Joleen, Matty and Oobis would search for clues in the tractor yard. And Ellie and Alex would check out the fog at the Crystal Caves. Of course, Alex was always the one to split the gang into pairs and direct them, as their not exactly designated, yet trusted, leader. So Elle remained quiet. She could come to her own conclusions, but she did so adore how Alex took charge of things. ((Once they've split into pairs, I'll let you all know over in the OOC what they'll come across as far as ghouls. :) )) |
Alex nodded along as he heard everyone's accounts of their evidence gathering, stopping to chuckle at Raymond's lack of mechanical knowledge.
"I'm betting you he wouldn't know a five millimeter cable wire from a point seven Swanson Trip-Ex!" Taking a pause to scarf down the Windsor chef's wonderfully made snacks he wondered the same thing that Mathias did, namely who in the world would want to steal tractors and how they were able to do so without making noise. JoJo had more success speaking to Sheriff Dodson (disrespect aside, Alex still knew the cowardly man's name) so they would be able to reveal the footage. Even if the newspaper said that the perpetrators weren't caught on camera that didn't mean the gang couldn't find anything. Sarah had a great eye for detail and Allan's mechanical know-how meant that he would be able to figure out how the tractors operated (if he didn't already). In the mean time, they had yet to actually enter the site where the tractors were being held so that would be next (if not first) on the priority list. Criminals almost always left a trace behind whether it was a smell, a calling card, or even a print on the floor. Sure, that might be a bit harder to get access to, but given Joleen's connections he was sure that it would be taken care of. What else did that leave? "Cancelled? A mysterious fog? Then move the class to my house, we'll do yoga in my gym then. Call everyone and have them here within the hour!" The protest came from Ella's mom who had entered the doorway, phone in hand. She fumed about the cancellation of her yoga class, something that seemed absolutely paramount to her happiness...but utterly irrelevant to everyone else in the room. Well that wasn't actually true. She'd unknowingly given out information about a mysterious fog covering up the road that lead to a mountain-side villa. "The perfect place to hide a tractor," he whispered. As Mrs. Windsor left he turned back to his five friends with the same smile that Ella had on her face. "Looks like we've found our leads gang!" he announced, "Allan and Sarah, go check out the security tapes after getting clearance with Jo. Jo, you, Matty and Oobis sniff around the tractor yard for anything that might lead us to the culprit. Ella, you'll be checking the fog out with me." If we're lucky we'll be able to catch this thief in one day's time. |
Allan absently scratched Oobis's passing back while listening to Joleen's recount with the sheriff. He wasn't quite sure if the sheriff hated him, or just couldn't stand Allan's ambling behavior. Either way he was glad it was someone else's job to ask for the evidence. When Sarah immersed herself into the laptop he wished he had sat on the couch with her so he could keep up. Allan may have been a technical genius, but he was no match for Sarah's brain power.
"Thanks, Ellie," he grinned. "Can't say I mind, but I might be eating them for the next few weeks." Allan dropped his voice lower after the strange encounter with Mrs. Windsor. "Why is your mom so scary? And when talking about yoga of all things..." He nicked a few more sweets before standing up. 'Is someone really so obvious as to hide out in the caves?' Even if it did make sense to hide where everyone would think of first, knowledge of the seemingly endless cave system would be required. They had entered the Crystal Cove a few times while hunting down a perp, but the real mapping was left up to spelunkers. Some entrances and branches were still red taped for safety. It was like the whole mountain was secretly a block of Swiss cheese. Allan ate one more cookie as they got the go ahead to split up and put his hands in his pockets before asking Alexander,"You got your keys?" They usually handed the van over to whoever had to travel farthest for the investigations, but to be honest Allen hoped that some of his friends would be getting a more freeing graduation gift. He knew Sarah wanted to toughen up, but that didn't mean he had to like it. "And probably check in with whoever manages that Villa, you know, just in case this isn't the first time the fog has interfered with someone's plans." It felt like an obvious thing to say; fog could happen for any number of reasons near the beach. Something about this, however, was too convenient. "We might want to keep our eyes peeled tonight." |
Inwardly, she flinched when Ellie's mom entered in hearing distance, but she didn't let it show. Or hoped she didn't, eyes trained on the screen. Over the years, she had gathered a collection of programs that some she had adjusted herself that aided in their search and although most of them weren't on Elaine's laptop, she was already compiling list of sites and images that could come in handy. There were some possibly suspicious places around the workshop, but if she was critical (and she was), they were all in positions where it'd be hard to deliver tractors without anyone noticing anything odd, or they had other flaws, such as size.
But when the woman shrieked about cancelled classes and mysterious mist, Sarah's mouth fell open in 'o' and stayed so for a moment, until she realized her expression and hurriedly closed it. One glance at Alex told her they were on the same thought path. It really was an excellent cover for whisking away large machinery and for all they knew, said villa could be involved, too (hiding in plain sight theory could not be excluded). Besides, they had seen so many secret passageways and hidden rooms, the girl nearly expected one to pop up in any case they worked on. Hurriedly, she saved her work and copied it in her USB. While the data transferred, she used her chance to actual drink some of that delicious lemonade and grab a snack. Sarah thought that all food in Windsor house tasted heavenly, although in all honesty she preferred simpler home cooked meals, like the ones Allan's mother would provide. Perhaps it was emotional, more than taste-bud preference. Luxury was stunning, but she loved homily feel more. She glanced at their unofficial leader, already hearing his team set up in mind before he said it out loud. It was a kind of routine, really, but not one that she minded. She only wondered if Alexander had any awareness of how much this familiar pairing affected or gladdened some of them... Or rather, one redhead in particular. Sarah guessed that he didn't. Well, that aside, she herself felt very content about working side by side with Allan. She appreciated that he was calm in most situations and that he'd have her back if needed. His technical know-how wasn't to be slighted either and he was generally quite smart. While she liked working with anyone from their group, with some she felt more comfortable. By now, she had all files on her usb that she pocketed and she turned the laptop off, placing it carefully on the table and picked up the recorder. She was ready to go, when others were. Riding bike through already darkening streets would be a lot more unpleasant prospect if she would have to do it alone. "Good luck all," Sarah said softly with encouraging smile. She would have said that they'd surely return with some leads, but it was better not to jinx these things and you could never know for sure until you actually had some proof. |
Thinking through all the place in town she could think of to hid such large machines Joleen barely gave Ella's mother a glance when she entered the room. The woman reminded her a lot of her own mother, a nicely put together living barbie that could if motivated enough probably take over the world. Forget ghouls or monsters rich house wives were what should really scared people.
Running her finger along the edge of her lemonade glass she eliminated places that she knew the police had already checked. There weren't many and she wondered once again why the Sheriff still had a job. The words 'mysterious fog' clued her in that something was up and she should start paying attention again. Okay so canceled yoga class due to mysterious fog rolling in from Crystal Caves. She could practically say the words along with Alex by this point. The group would split up into the normal mini groups. Back when they were younger Jo use to think that Alex did it on purpose. Teaming up with Ella but when nothing ever happened she realized that there leader was just to clueless when it came their red haired friend's feelings. It annoyed her since she had known Ella for so long. She had failed time and time again to convince her to just tell him. Giving said red head a pointed looked and raised eyebrow-her patented 'god Ella, stop being so stupid and just kiss him already.'- he pulled her elf out of her seated position.Adjusting the strap on her messenger bag the blond dung in to search for her keys. " Okay so when do we want to meet back up?" |
Oobis had been in the middle of Mrs. Windsor's coffee table and she hadn't said anything. She hadn't even noticed, so wrapped up in her rant about the yoga class. The cat had froze in mid-bite but continued chowing down when the society wife had left the room. His humans started buzzing with ideas and energy as the mystery began picking up steam. Their enthusiasm was always so infectious and he wondered if that's what he liked about them.
They were different than most people and not just in the most obvious ways. They were different because they cared. About each other. About doing good. Even Alex, for all his brash and iconoclastic, rebel-without-a-cause attitudes. He liked to help people. Sure he got pumped up about trap making, catching bad guys, but the fallout from that was mysteries solved and people helped. Oobis didn't understand it, really, all this helping others. He found most people tiresome, yet he was an accomplice in all this helping. It was very strange to the feline and the kind of thing he thought about when he had his long stares into space. Matty had snuck up to the snacks. Oobis toyed with the idea of growling at him again but he was stuffed full of crab puffs and couldn't be bothered. Matty took the lack of kitty rage as a very good sign and stuffed his face with whatever he could grab. No thought at all about savory, salty or sweet. Just eat, eat , eat. He used to be so self conscious about pigging out at Ella's but over the years she had convinced him that even he couldn't eat EVERYTHING in the kitchens. Deciding everyone was pretty well on their way to the door, the cat deftly leapt off the coffee table and was strutting toward the front doors of Windsor Manor as if he owned the place. "I'm not getting back in that bag." He stated plainly and kept walking. Mathias shrugged and began shoving fistfuls of cookies into the backpack. There would be a little cat hair to brush off later, no big deal. At least, now, he had some road fuel. He poured a glass of lemonade down his throat and was ready to go. |
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