At first, Daphne laughed at Velma’s remark. She then said, “Wait, what? But she’s the perfect suspect!”
Heather huffed and folded her arms.
“That may be,” Velma said, “but let’s be realistic, Daphne. The demon bear showed up one minute after she left. Do you really believe that would give her enough time to grab a costume and change?”
Daphne thought momentarily and mumbled, “Not unless she hid it in the forest.”
“She didn’t do it,” Velma repeated, “but I do wonder, Heather, what the real reason is behind Stan’s absence today. We need to talk to him about a boy in the forest.”
“A boy in the—? I already told you that something came up for Stan.” Heather backed away from the gang. “And what are you talking about a boy? No boy lives in this forest.”
Now, Velma looked irritated. “Well, we saw him.”
“You’re hallucinating. Now, would you meddling kids just let us work?” Heather turned on her heel and stormed away from the gang, fists clenched.
“Now what?” Daphne faced the gang. “That tude of hers screams demon bear.”
“Well, we saw her, and now we can leave, right?” Shaggy inquired. “Scooby and I are craving a fish. We can get them deep-fried in Toronto.” He and Scooby seemed to enter a dreamward.
“We will leave, Shaggy, after we solve this mystery,” Velma stated. She glimpsed at Freddie, who grinned. “I’m only doing this, Freddie, because I want to know why our Ghost of Ontario is suddenly aggressive. I also know where to get started. We need to find Ihaan.”
Shaggy and Scooby gulped and whimpered.
At Velma’s request, the gang jumped into their canoes and sailed into Anima Nipissing’s open waters.
While they paddled, Velma said, “Think about it, gang. Ihaan’s lived alone out here for ten years. He likely knows everything that’s happening in this park. We’ll question him and then Stan tomorrow.”
“But where on Earth would we find Ihaan?” Fred inquired. “The Lady Evelyn-Smoothwater Provincial Park is enormous.”
Velma looked over her shoulder. “We do what Stan told us. We search for the eagle.”
“And, like, we then can grab that deep-fried fish, right?” Shaggy fought, sinking into his seat.
“If you and Scooby want it, you’ll help us find Ihaan,” Velma sternly remarked.
Shaggy and Scooby pouted but searched the sky for Ro. Shaggy slathered on sunscreen and sniffed its banana scent.
An hour passed, but there was no sign of Ro.
Daphne, Freddie, Shaggy, and Scooby groaned, but Velma, holding binoculars, continued to study the sky. “Ah ha!” she yelled. “There she is!”
The large figure stooped, soared across the lake, and landed on Velma, Shaggy, and Scooby’s canoe.
Scooby and Shaggy leaned away from Ro, but Velma said, “Hey, Ro! We were looking for you. Could you take us to Ihaan?”
Ro nodded and flapped her wings, lifting off the canoe. She flew gracefully across Anima Nipissing, and the gang followed.
They canoed for another hour, away from their campsite, and ducked into a hidden river in a remote section of the lake. Trees, bushes, lily pads, and the water’s surface sparkled with the afternoon sunshine. A few loons waded, and frogs hopped off their lily pads into the lake.
Ro led the gang to a hooked point with a beach, where Ihaan dug around in his canoe.
Shaggy and Scooby instantly hugged, but Velma nudged them.
Ro hovered and cried out.
Ihaan removed his hands from his canoe and peered up. When he saw the gang, he tossed them back in, drew a bow and arrow, and pointed them at the gang.
“Don’t shoot! Don’t shoot!” Shaggy pleaded, holding up his hands, the others, too. “We surrender!”
“Reah!” Scooby barked.
“Watch it with that thing,” Fred stated. “Somebody could get seriously hurt.”
“I think he’s telling us that’s the point.” Daphne gave Freddie a funny but nervous look.
“Shaggy, the torch!” Velma called from their canoe.
“Right! Right!” Hands shaking, Shaggy reached under his seat and released the torch, waving it over him. “Like, here’s your torch! Here’s your torch!” He chucked it at Ihaan, and the torch landed at his feet.
Velma slapped her hand to her face.
Ihaan lowered the bow and arrow and relaxed his stance. He picked up the torch and examined it. Dropping it, he lifted his weapon again and studied the gang. He then shot an arrow into the lake.
Pop!
Shaggy and Scooby jumped.
Ihaan grabbed the loose arrow and lugged it out of the water. The skewered fish on it flapped its tail and head. Ihaan offered it to the gang.
“Like, it’s our deep-fried fish, Scoob!” Shaggy and Scooby stood in the canoe, rocking it.
“Shaggy and Scooby!” Velma yelped. “Yikes!” The canoe turned over, tossing her, Shaggy, and Scooby into the water.
“Shaggy! Scooby! Velma!” Daphne and Freddie shouted.
Ihaan flung the fish and bow behind him, then dove into the lake. He swam for Shaggy, Scooby, and Velma, whose heads sprouted above the surface.
“My glasses!” Velma said, reaching for her naked eyes.
Ihaan soon popped up beside her and knocked her glasses against her.
“Oh, thank you, Ihaan.” For a second, Velma hesitated, but then she accepted her glasses.
Ihaan swam away and approached her, Shaggy, and Scooby’s canoe. He flipped it over and said, “I’ve got this. You three head to shore.”
Not having to be asked twice, Shaggy and Scooby kicked and scooped up their dry bags. They moved like motorboats to the beach and crawled onto it, Scooby panting and Shaggy saying, “Like dry land! Dry land!” He kissed the sand, and Scooby mimicked him.
Velma, Daphne, Freddie, and Ihaan soon joined them, and Ihaan helped drag the canoes onto the hook’s beach.
Daphne threw a soggy box of Scooby Snacks at Shaggy and Scooby, and they caught it.
The gang giggled at seeing them stuff their faces, but their smiles vanished when Ihaan yelled and dropped onto the beach, clutching his right ankle.
Fred moved toward him, but Ihaan flinched, so he backed off. “What’s wrong, Ihaan?”
“Ah ha!” Velma punched her left palm and shook out her hand. “That’s why Ro got us! You’re injured, aren’t you, Ihaan?”
Ihaan released his ankle and spider-walked to his canoe, his bare back bumping it and slightly moving it.
Velma glanced at Ro, who had landed between her and Ihaan. “Isn’t he, Ro?”
She answered with a few quick whistles and hopped to Ihaan, snuggling under his arm. Her yellow eyes met Scooby’s.
“Hm?” he said, approaching Ihaan on all fours and sitting before him.
“Like, Scoob,” Shaggy complained, “I thought you were my best friend.”
“Don’t worry, Shaggy.” Freddie flipped his open palm. “Scooby and Ro are merely communicating to help Ihaan.” He smiled at Ihaan. “You have some good animals there, Ihaan, and thank you for helping Shaggy, Scooby, and Velma.”
“Yeah, yeah, yeah,” Daphne said, waving mosquitoes away from her. “We get it—he’s an animal person, but he also may know something about the ghost that we don’t.” She mumbled her following line: “Even though I still doubt a real ghost lives here.”
“Daphne,” Velma argued, not looking at her, “do you know the difference between a ghost and a spirit?”
Embarrassment flashed across Daphne’s face—“Of course I do!”—but she leaned into Fred. “What’s the difference, Fred?”
He shrugged.
“Whatever.” Velma waved her hand and focused on Ihaan again, who tickled Scooby behind his ears and urged him onto his back, scratching his belly. “Please, Ihaan, let us help you. Ro trusts us, so why don’t you?”
Ihaan scowled but soon relaxed his face and stood. “I saw you at the site,” he lowly said before increasing his volume. “You’re like all of them—turn nature into a canoe resort.”
“Wait, what? Oh, no!” Velma shook her head. “We want nothing to do with that canoe resort. We were only there to learn more about the Ghost of Ontario, and then that so-called demon bear attacked us.”
“Ghost of Ontario doesn’t exist,” Ihaan added. “I’ve never seen him.” A few shadows covered his face, and he reached for his ankle again. “Today was the first time I heard of him.”
Shaggy raised his hand. “Like, I hate to interrupt the tender talk, but do you think we could deep-fry that fish and not talk about ghosts for the rest of the day?”
“Yeah.” Daphne turned to Fred. “We got our answer, Fred and Velma. The Ghost of Ontario doesn’t exist, so why don’t we have our vacation now?”
Freddie lifted his finger. “Not until we devise a plan to catch that demon bear and see who’s behind all this.” Ihaan could say what he wanted, but Fred still felt that the Ghost of Ontario was real, and he was determined to prove it, one way or the other. That started with learning more about Ihaan and using his knowledge to catch the culprit. Nevertheless, he looked like he wouldn’t make it easy—and it was all because he held some secret and grudge against the Mystery Gang, except Scooby. Just what?
Fred hoped to find out soon.
ns 15.158.61.40da2
