An Averyverse Mystery
It was a cool crisp evening in Stillwater Bay, with Halloween just a couple of weeks away. The whole town was decorated. Up and down the streets were jack-o-lanterns and cobwebs, creating a fun and spooky atmosphere. As the clocktower’s bells chimed six o’clock, many shopkeepers got ready to close.
Avery had been running Scribe Noir on her own for the past three months, since Laura’s arrest. She was locking the door for the night when she heard a familiar voice call out “Hey Avery”.
Avery turned to see Ed walking towards her with a bounce in his step, and waving.
Ed had rented a store front down the street close to six months ago. He offers his clients the ability to overcome their worst vices through hypnotism. The sign in front of his store reads,…
“Mesmerizing Mods, Change Your Way Today”.
“Hi Ed”, Avery responded. “How have things been with the shop?”
“Pretty busy, thanks for asking”, Ed replied. “Are you still running the store by yourself?”
Avery nodded her head. “Yeah, I haven’t had anyone come in to apply. It seems like people are afraid to work here”.
“Sorry Avery”, Ed said with a small smile. “I’m sure you’ll find someone”. Then Ed turned to walk away, but pointed past Avery saying “looks like you dropped something” and then walked down the sidewalk, turned the corner, and was gone.
Avery turned around to see an envelope laying just outside the front door of the shop. When she picked it up, she could see the envelope said “Avery” and nothing else. Avery felt a twinge of panic, “Who could this be from?”, she whispered to herself, looking up and down the street.
Avery carefully opened the envelope to pull out a piece of paper folded into thirds. When she unfolded it, she could see it was a letter, written using letters cut out of magazines. Avery started shaking as she considered who would do this to her. She started to read the letter…
“I know what you did this past summer! Valerie B was a treasure, and she didn’t deserve to die in your store. The fact you still open this shop everyday is an affront to everyone who loved her. Shut it down now, or I’ll make sure you end up in prison just like Laura”.
“This is crazy!” Avery said to herself as she turned and started walking briskly toward the sheriff’s station. “Sheriff Deirdre, Sheriff Deirdre”, Avery called out once she got inside, and Sheriff Deirdre rushed from her office.
“What’s going on Avery?” the sheriff asked.
Avery showed Sheriff Deirdre the letter. “I’m being blackmailed”, she said.
“Who would do this?” the sheriff asked, looking befuddled.
“I don’t know, but it has something to do with Laura”, Avery replied. “I need to talk to her. Which way to her cell?” Avery started moving towards a row of doors.
“She’s not here Avery”, Sheriff Deirdre said, sitting on the nearest desk. “Laura was too dangerous to keep in a cell here. We had to send her somewhere that could handle her”.
“Where is she?” Avery asked, desperate for answers.
Sheriff Deirdre looked sternly at Avery. “She’s been transferred to…
The Turnstone Asylum for Criminally Outrageous Scoundrels,
or TACOS for short, but if you really need to speak with her”, the sheriff continued, “I’ll call them and let them know you’re on your way”.
Sheriff Deirdre called the asylum, and Avery got on a bus out of town.
Arriving in the city of Turnstone, Avery knew to keep her head down, and just make her way to the asylum. The streets of Turnstone were overrun with thugs and nogoodniks, always trolling, looking to cause some trouble.
Avery arrived at the asylum, walked up a set of stairs, and pushed through a large heavy door. She walked across the lobby, up to the front desk, and said “I’m Avery. Sheriff Deirdre from Stillwater Bay called about my visit”.
“Ok”, the guard at the front desk replied, and picked up the phone.
The guard held his ear to the phone for a while without saying anything. Then suddenly, “Ok”, and then he hung up. “Through that door” the guard said, pointing to a door just behind the front desk.
Avery looked suspiciously at the guard, but started moving towards the door.
On the other side of the door, another guard. “Follow me”, he said.
The guard led Avery through a maze of hallways before coming to a large metal door. The asylum guard pressed a large red button, and an alarm started to sound as the door slid open automatically.
“Don’t get too close to the cells”, the guard said as Avery started to walk through the door.
Avery looked straight down a corridor with darkened cells on one side. Moving along the wall opposite the cells, she could see a folding chair waiting at the end of the hall, in front of the last cell.
As Avery made her way to the chair, it sounded like there were whispers coming from every cell she passed. Reaching the chair, she peered into the cell. Suddenly Laura emerged from a shadow, startling Avery.
“Well hello Avery”, Laura said calmly.
Avery was surprised to witness Laura in this environment…seemed so odd to think her friend had gone insane.
“What brings you to my lavish quarters?” Laura asked snidely.
Avery sat in the chair and straightened herself up, saying “I received a blackmail letter, and came to see if you know anything”.
Avery ran her eyes over everything in the small room that housed Laura. A table, a bed, and a toilet were basically all there was, but Laura had done dozens of drawings of her cat. Each drawing was of her cat starring in a different musical. The Producers, The Sound of Music, etc.
“You drew all these from memory?” Avery asked about the drawings.
Laura smirked before replying “I don’t have a cat in here, Avery. Memory is all I have left”.
Avery shook her head. “That’s on you. Are you going to help with the letter or not?” she said, frustrated.
“Quid pro quo, Avery, quid pro quo” Laura said in a sing-song. “You want my help, you need to help me”.
“What can I help you with?” Avery asked, confused. “You’re incarcerated. There’s only so much I’d be able to do for you”.
Laura started gesturing her hands displaying the walls of her room. “I have nothing here, and the air in Turnstone always smells like a gross, terrible musk”, she said matter-of-factly before continuing, “I want to move somewhere closer to Stillwater Bay, where I can smell the ocean again”.
“Fine, I’ll talk to Sheriff Deirdre, and we’ll find somewhere to have you housed from now on”, Avery said, reaching into her purse to pull out the letter. “Look at this”, she said, pressing the letter against the glass wall.
Laura scanned the letter with her eyes intently, nodding her head.
“The person you’re looking for doesn’t want to be the star of the show”, Laura said, considering the blackmail letter, and continued “The cut-out letters indicate this person would rather stay hidden in the shadows. That’s all for now”.
“What?!” Avery asked.
“Before I say anything else, it’s time for you to show me you’re going to hold up your end of the bargain” Laura answered Avery.
“Fine, I’ll be back”, Avery said, begrudgingly. Avery turned and started walking up the hallway, towards the large door, then back through the maze of hallways.
Avery was trying to think positively. At least Laura had given her something to go on, but she wished it had been more. She decided she might need more help than she thought, and she knew what she had to do.
Avery stopped at the front desk in the lobby of the TACOS building.
“Do you have a phone I can use?” Avery asked the guard at the front desk.
He gave Avery the phone, and she punched the numbers and listened to the rings. A familiar voice answers the phone…
“Hello, you’ve reached the Canadian Conundrum Committee! If you’ve got conundrum, we’ve got a solution”.
After some time…back in Stillwater Bay, Avery stepped off the bus, returning from Turnstone. She had asked the CCC to meet her at The Coral Cafe, next door to Brackish Bar, because it had grown quite late and she was in desperate need of a coffee.
Avery greeted everyone and ordered her coffee. She sat down and explained everything that had happened since they were here last. Everyone in the CCC looked shocked.
“Jinkies!” Dani exclaimed.
“Huh?” Avery asked, “What does that mean?”
“Actually, I’m not sure. This girl I used to work with said it all the time.” Dani replied, while Aaron rolled his eyes, straightening his orange ascot.
“Alright, it’s late. Maybe we should regroup in the morning”, Avery suggested, and the CCC agreed.
The next morning, they returned to The Coral and met up at the same table as the night before.
Once everyone was there, Aaron stood up from the table, puffing out his chest. “Well gang, I think you know what time it is…”
The rest of the CCC answered in unison, exasperated, “Time to split up”.
“Right, it’s time to split up!” Aaron reiterated excitedly.
Aaron and Dani decided they were going to head over to Scribe Noir and talk to some of the other shopkeepers, and see if anybody had seen anything. They took off down the sidewalk in one direction.
Myles and April decided to take the letter to a forensic lab to see if they could pull any clues off of it, and they took off down the sidewalk in another direction.
Kubey-Doo, or Mark, decided to hang out and talk to people around The Coral Cafe and Brackish Bar.
Avery headed off to talk to Sheriff Deirdre.
On one end of Main Street, Aaron and Dani were emerging from the old-timey malt shop, Classic Fountain Spouts, but hadn’t learned anything valuable yet. There was only one shop left on the street to check out, Mesmerizing Mods.
Aaron and Dani entered the shop and were promptly greeted by Ed. The Canadian detectives explained why they were there, inquiring if Ed could give them any information that would help, but there didn’t seem to be any leads here.
Ed shook his head, saying “That’s awful, I know Avery has been having a hard time after everything that happened with Laura. We talk from time to time”. Looking at his pocket watch, Ed apologized “Sorry, I wish I could help more, but if you’ll excuse me, I have an appointment arriving in a moment”.
Aaron and Dani left the hypnotist’s shop feeling defeated, and started to head back to the cafe, empty-handed.
Meanwhile, at the sheriff’s office, Avery was explaining everything about visiting Laura at the TACOS, and the deal she made.
“Avery, I don’t know why you would make this deal”, Sheriff Deirdre yelled. “We don’t have anywhere around Stillwater Bay to house such a dangerous criminal”.
Avery responded sheepishly, “I didn’t know what else to do. I needed her help”. She paused, then continued “What can we do?”
“I think I have a plan”, Sheriff Deirdre said with a glint in her eye. She then proceeded to explain a clever ruse to make Laura believe she’s being moved, so she’ll help with the investigation, but after the move, Laura will discover she’s back in the same cell where she started.
Avery wasn’t sure deception was the best option, but decided there was nothing else that could be done. With this part of the plan settled, Avery left the sheriff’s office and headed back to meet up with the CCC.
On the other end of Main Street, in the midst of all these different investigations, Myles and April had arrived at the lab and donned their lab coats. The blackmail letter was hanging on a string over the lab table, while Myles was swirling a beaker creating pink smoke under the letter.
April looked on, while snacking on a petri dish full of raisins. She popped one last raisin in her mouth before pointing to the letter. The paper had started to change color from white to electric periwinkle, which only means one thing…
..the presence of oil made from puffin penguins.
“A clue!” April exclaimed in glee. “Penguin oil is a strange item, I think”.
“Yes, which means we need to find out WHY someone would prefer penguin oil”, Myles replied, stroking his beard in ponderment.
“Why, indeed” April reiterated.
And finally, the last part of the investigation, back in the center of town, Kubey-doo had wandered into Brackish Bar. He had been drawn in by the sound of a song. Up on the stage, wearing a long blue gown was Ramsey D! singing a melancholy ballad.
Mark watched until Stillwater Bay’s famed chanteuse finished her set, and decided to ask if she had seen anything that would help with the case. He briefly explained the situation, but unfortunately, she couldn’t help.
“Thank you for your time”, Mark said, tipping his hat like a gentleman.
“Your welcome, detective. Now, if you’ll excuse me” Ramsey started. She explained that she’s recently broken her bad habit of smoking, but she missed stepping out for the fresh air, so that’s what she did, exiting through the bar’s back door.
Barely a minute had gone by, when Ramsey screamed.
Kubey-Doo ran out the back door, into the alley, looking both ways. He turned to start looking in one direction when suddenly…
*WHACK*
Mark fell to the ground. A hazy figure stood over him until everything went dark.
When Mark regained consciousness, a large group was standing over him. Avery, Sheriff Deirdre, and the rest of the Canadian Conundrum Committee.
“What happened, Kubey-Doo?” the sheriff asked.
“I ron’t rnow…..ahem, I don’t know” Mark answered, confused, rubbing the back of his head.
The group relocated to the sheriff’s office so she could get the first aid kit for Mark. They discussed the penguin oil, and the plan to trick Laura, and Mark’s attack, but they couldn’t see how everything came together.
Frustrated, Aaron shouted, “Ugh, it’s supposed to be time for the trap!”
However, they still didn’t know who they were trying to trap.
“We need to find out who attacked Kubey-Doo”, April stated, reaching into her purse for more raisins.
“I have a weird suggestion, don’t think I’m crazy”, Sheriff Deirdre said coyly.
“I used to have this terrible habit of referring to myself as #ColdGarbage “ Sheriff Deirdre continued, “Until I saw the hypnotist in town and now I only refer to myself as #HotGarbage”.
Avery, looking confused, asked “Sheriff, what does this have to do with anything?!”
“I think a hypnotist might know how to help Kubey remember who attacked him”, the sheriff concluded.
Everybody decided it was worth a try. The CCC went to see Ed, the hypnotist, to ask for help, while Avery and Sheriff Deirdre returned to the Turnstone Asylum for Criminally Outrageous Scoundrels.
At Mesmerizing Mods, Ed was begrudgingly agreeing to help the CCC.
“You folks know I make appointments, right? I thought Canadians were supposed to be overly polite, but ok”, the hypnotist acquiesced. He led Mark into his office, while directing the others to stay here in the waiting room.
Mark sat in a large chair across from Ed, in a matching chair. Ed took out his pocket watch and started swaying it in front of Mark’s face. Mark watched the watch sway back and forth, back and forth. Mark’s eyelids grew heavy, and then he was asleep.
When Mark’s eyes opened again, he was standing in a field of four-leaf clovers, stretched out as far as the eye could see. He felt compelled to start walking.
He followed the clovers until he was standing in the alley behind Brackish again, and he wasn’t alone.
Standing in front of Mark was the hazy figure he saw before passing out. The figure seemed to be holding a small cake that appeared to be mug-based. As the figure raised the mug over their head, suddenly Mark could see it was Ramsey D!
Just as she came into focus, she brought the mug down hard.
*WHACK*
Mark woke up. “I’ve got it!” he said. He ran into the waiting room to tell the CCC, and they all scurried out the door to search the town for Ramsey.
Meanwhile, Avery and Deirdre have arrived at the TACOS, and made their way to Laura’s cell.
“Have you found your shadowy figure?” Laura taunted.
“No, not yet”, Avery answered, feeling defeated. “We’ve come to ask you about another clue.”
“And what about my new living arrangements?” Laura inquired menacingly.
Deirdre prepared herself to lie. “I’m here to transport you to a facility that is just outside Stillwater Bay, but run by our Sheriff’s department, so I will personally be overseeing you”.
“Excellent! Tell me about this other clue” Laura prodded, feeling very superior.
“It’s penguin oil, puffin specifically”, Avery answered.
“Hmmm…penguin oil is especially good for complicated mechanics” Laura pondered out loud. “Gears and such. Hope that helps. Now let’s go”.
Deirdre led Laura to a transport van and put her inside, with the plan being to ultimately just drive around in circles until they knew the case was solved. Then Avery and Deirdre left to head back to Stillwater Bay.
By the time Deirdre and Avery arrived, the CCC had set a trap for Ramsey, and she was now suspended from a streetlamp in a giant fishing net, screaming for help. Aaron was standing by, looking very proud of himself.
“I didn’t think we were going to do traps again”, Avery said, disapprovingly.
“Well that’s silly! We always do traps”, Dani retorted.
“Wait, the hypnotism revealed that Ramsey attacked Mark?” Avery asked, skeptical.
The CCC all nod in unison.
“That doesn’t make sense”, Avery stated. “Laura said the letter indicated someone who wanted to stay out of the spotlight. But Ramsey and her voice love and deserve the spotlight, plus we learned that the penguin oil is for complicated mechanics. Singing isn’t very mechanical last time I checked”.
Looking around at each other, the detectives seemed to agree with Avery’s logic, but still needed more info. Myles started stroking his beard, and it was obvious the cogs in his detective brain were turning.
Sheriff Deirdre asked Avery and Mark to go with her to the sheriff’s office.
She wanted to find something to cut Ramsey out of the trap, so they could ask her about Mark’s attack.
As they walked, Avery heard a faint sound, maybe the ring of a bell. When she turned around to see, she found Mark and Sheriff Deirdre lurching towards her with blank faces.
Avery screamed. She ducked under both of their arms and ran back towards the CCC. When she got close enough, she could see that Aaron and Dani had released Ramsey from their elaborate trap, but April and Myles were missing. Avery worried that they had gone mad like Kubey and the sheriff.
She ran up to Aaron and Dani, explaining frantically what had just happened. While Avery was talking, she heard another faint ringing. At that moment, Ramsey suddenly lurched at Avery. Avery screamed again, but Dani and Aaron were already moving in to provide protection.
At the same time, Myles and April step out of the shadows restraining a tall hooded figure holding a small bell.
“I want to do it this time”, Avery exclaimed, as she ripped the hood off. Shocked by the person revealed, Avery shrieks. “ED?!?!”
Myles stepped forward and explained how he realized the penguin oil was being used in Ed’s pocket watch, the gears in the same pocket watch he used to hypnotize Ramsey, Mark and Sheriff Deirdre.
“That’s right!” Ed replied angrily. “Valerie B was my step-sister. She died in that store that you still profit off of on a daily basis. You deserve to be in prison just like Laura. If I had to hypnotize half of Stillwater Bay, I was going to get you Avery!”
“I can’t believe this Ed”, Avery said, shaking her head.
“Well I would have gotten away with it too, if it wasn’t for you and your group of gumshoe geese, Avery!” Ed yelled as Myles and April led him away.
The following morning, Avery met the Canadian Conundrum Committee for coffee to say goodbye again. She thanked them for all their help in solving yet another case. As they were getting up from the table to leave The Coral Cafe, Sheriff Deirdre came rushing in the door.
“Avery!” the sheriff started in a panic. “The transport vehicle…there was an accident…”, the sheriff choking out words between gasping breaths,…
“Laura has escaped!”
Averybody Writes 
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