Averybody Writes

An Averyverse Mystery

The moon hung high in the sky over Stillwater Bay as Avery stepped out of her apartment building. She smiled and waved to two deputy sheriffs sitting in a parked patrol car. Avery knew they were there to provide protection, so she felt safe being home alone.

It had been one month since Laura had escaped from the Turnstone Asylum for Criminally Outrageous Scoundrels (or TACOS) and was on the loose. Avery knew something was coming, but she didn’t know what, and she didn’t know when. 

Avery turned and headed towards Brackish Bar.

As she walked through the door, she saw Salty Pete sitting at the bar, and sat on the stool next to him. The first thing she noticed was the smell of campfire.

“Hey Pete!” she said. “Anything exciting happen tonight?”

“I don’t know. I just got back from a bird watching camping trip”, Pete replied.

Avery had been spending every night since Laura’s escape at Brackish. She was watching over the townspeople, looking for any clues or signs of Laura, and hiding in plain sight. She did her best not to be alone at any time, knowing Laura could strike at any moment.

After a few hours, Ramsey D! was finishing her set with her signature song, “Strawberry Popcorn Parade”, and Avery was getting ready to head home. She nodded to Pete as she got off her stool and headed towards the door.

“Goodnight Avery”, Pete called out.

Avery walked back to her apartment, said goodnight to the deputy sheriffs, and went inside to go to bed.

The next morning, Avery left her apartment early so she would have time to make a stop before she had to go to work. First she turned towards the cafe for coffee.

As Avery walked into the cafe, she bumped into a woman on her way out.

“I’m sorry”, Avery said, recognizing who it was. “Dr. Lawrie, how are you?”

“Oh great, Avery. I just got back from a weekend camping trip to see the Champions League Final”, Dr. Lawrie replied. “But I’ve gotta run…new student”.

As she left, Avery could smell campfire in the air. Through the window, Avery could see her cross the street, heading towards her music shop, Dr. Lawrie’s Lutes and Lyres, where Salty Pete was waiting with a new guitar.

Avery got her coffee, and left the cafe.

Avery walked down Main Street, past the deputy sheriffs’ patrol car. She listened to hear the patrol car’s engine start, and the small squeak as the wheels started to move, and watched it drive by and park up the road closer to Scribe Noir.

She passed the car, and headed towards Mesmerizing Mods.

Avery entered the shop to find…

the Canadian Conundrum Committee

…unpacking boxes. They had just taken over the storefront to set up their new headquarters in Stillwater Bay.

“Good morning everyone”, Avery exclaimed. “I’m so glad you’re all finally here. Things have been a little crazy”.

Aaron put down a box, and turned to Avery, “We heard about Sheriff Deirdre”.

Avery nodded. It had only been a few days since Deirdre had decided she no longer felt safe living in Stillwater Bay, after everything that’s happened. She quit the Sheriff’s department, and moved out of town.

“The new sheriff should be arriving in town any day now”, Avery responded.

Suddenly, the phone rang.

“Hello, you’ve reached the Canadian Conundrum Committee! If you’ve got a conundrum, we’ve got a solution”, Myles said into the phone, and then listened. “We’ll be there!” he said before hanging up.

“Who was it?” Dani asked.

“The mayor”, Myles replied. “He wants us to meet him this afternoon, in front of the cafe. He says he has something he wants us to look into”.

“This afternoon?!” April gasped. “I can’t meet the mayor empty-handed. Time to bake”.

Avery told the CCC she’d meet them this afternoon, and left them to their unpacking and baking, while she headed to work.

Hours later, the CCC and Avery headed down Main Street towards The Coral Cafe. April had her baked goods in hand. Ahead, they saw a man in a blue suit, waiting for them.

“Good afternoon CCC, and Avery. I’m Stillwater Bay’s Mayor, Charles Sottish. I also own these two establishments”, indicating The Coral Cafe and Brackish Bar. “I’ve called you all here because I have a problem on my hands, and I hope you can fix it. Let’s grab a coffee”.

Once inside, while everyone was ordering their coffees, the mayor told them the story of when he designed the sign outside the cafe. He explained that it was actually a second design, because when the first design came out, the town’s feedback was that the coffee cup “looked sad”, so he changed it.

Everyone laughed, and April presented her gift of baked goods.

“What is it?” the mayor asked.

“Everyone’s favorite”, April replied. “A meatloaf, and some raisin cookies!”

The mayor’s smile faded as he accepted the gift basket, but said “thank you” anyway. “Maybe we should get to why I called you here”.

“There was a fire at the mayor’s mansion”, Mayor Sottish explained. “Luckily, my special security system prevented any damage, but it seems to have been set on purpose. Somebody could be after me”.

“What’s special about your security system, Mr. Mayor?” Aaron asked.

“It’s an AI powered android that patrols the grounds of the mayor’s mansion”, the mayor explained. “I call it Borg Security. Anyone who enters the mansion grounds is analyzed by the android and assigned a threat level. Borg Security put out the fire, but lost who set it”.

“So we’ve got a firestarter on our hands?” Kubey-Doo asked incredulously.

“A twisted firestarter”, the mayor agreed.

“All right team”, Myles started as he stood up from his chair, “no need to give in to the fear addicted, now that we’ve seen the danger illustrated”.

Everyone nodded in agreement.

“We should start by investigating the fire. Maybe we’ll find a clue” Dani said dubiously. “My fear is…if Laura is involved, she would be too smart to leave clues”.

“We can’t lose hope, gang!” Aaron exclaimed. “Let’s solve this conundrum”.

Determined, they all followed the mayor to his home.

When they arrived, Aaron stepped forward, straightened his orange ascot, and put one finger in the air. “Time to split up!”

Aaron and Dani headed over to the android, April and Myles went to investigate the fire, and Avery and Mark followed the mayor into his home.

As they walked through the mayor’s mansion, Kubey asked “Why would anyone be after you, Mayor Sottish?”

“I’m not sure. I hope the citizens of Stillwater Bay enjoy living here”, the mayor responded.

“What about the new sheriff…when are they supposed to arrive?” Avery asked.

“The new sheriff isn’t quite ready to start yet, but will be very soon”, Mayor Sottish says in an almost teasing fashion.

The mayor didn’t seem to have any more info, so Avery and Kubey headed back to meet up with everyone else.

Dani and Aaron are the first pair they find. 

“According to the android, the person who set the fire was only rated as a Threat Level 3 (Disruptive)”, Aaron explained.

“That means it couldn’t have been someone as dangerous as Laura”, added Dani. “She’d be rated Threat Level 4 (Problematic)”.

Next they went to find April and Myles. April is snacking on raisins as she ponders.

“Most of the clue burned in the fire, but there was a scrap left”, Myles told them.

“It seems whoever started this fire used a piece of sheet music”, April continued.

Avery’s face lit up. “I think I actually know where to start this time. I know two people who would have access to sheet music, and they both smelled like fire recently. Let’s go”.

“It’s trappin time!” Aaron exclaimed, getting fidgety.

The CCC and Avery started to head back up Main Street.

It didn’t take long for the group to see the smoke rising in the sky ahead. They ran into the center of town, and saw the music shop engulfed in flames. Most townspeople were scattered in the street, staring. Kubey-Doo was trying to note who was missing, but saw someone run out of the burning shop.

“Someone’s getting away!” Mark yelled.

The CCC ran off into the smoke, but not Avery. Avery stared down the street in shock, gazing at Scribe Noir, also engulfed in flames. Standing in the street in front of the burning building was Laura, staring back at Avery.

Gaining focus, Avery started searching the crowd for the deputy sheriffs, but couldn’t find them. She started pushing through towards Laura, but Laura took off down the street. Avery ran, but by the time she reached the corner, Laura had vanished. Avery shook her head in defeat.

As the Stillwater Bay Fire Dept arrived, and started fighting the fires, the CCC returned to Avery.

“Whoever it was, they got away”, Dani said, frustrated.

“Laura was here, but she got away too”, Avery responded.

“Can we set a trap now?” Aaron asked, growing impatient.

“Where would we set it?” Avery asked. “How can we know where the next fire will be? And who are we trapping, Salty Pete or Dr. Lawrie?”

“I have a hunch about that”, Myles said, stroking his beard in thought. He led the group to Brackish Bar, and they set to work on their trap.

The CCC cleared everyone out of the bar, but placed mannequins everywhere, and turned on the music, so the bar looked busy as usual. After the trap was finished being set, all that was left to do was wait. So they waited.

Hours went by, and the group was growing tired.

“Maybe I was wrong about my hunch”, Myles said. “I must have picked the wrong place”.

But before Myles could even finish his sentence, he saw the smoke coming into the bar from under the kitchen door.

“It’s time, get ready!” Myles said quietly.

Everyone scattered to their positions. Suddenly, there was a loud crash from the kitchen, then a bang, and a scream. The kitchen door opened quickly, a giant rubber band flung something through the air. Then the click of a switch, the grinding of a gear…

…the squeak of a pulley, then silence.

The group emerged from their hiding spots, looking at a huge net, mouths open in shock.

“I knew it”, Myles said, as he moved towards the net, holding both Salty Pete AND Dr. Lawrie. “You two were working together”.

Mark quickly put out the fire in the back.

“How could you have known?” Pete asked angrily.

“The first clue was that you both smelled like fire”, Myles explained. “But that could have been a coincidence. Then, at the music shop fire, neither of you were on the street. Where were you Dr. Lawrie? Burning down your own shop?”

“Yes, I burned it down so you wouldn’t suspect me”, Dr. Lawrie explained. “I’m going to get revenge on you interfering maple muppets, and you, Avery, and all of Stillwater Bay. You’ll all pay for what you did to Laura!”

“Why, Dr. Lawrie?” Dani asked.

“Why?! Don’t you know what my name is?!” Dr. Lawrie responded. “I’m Dr. Laura Lawrie. I belong to a secret society of Lauras, and we protect each other. You won’t hold me for long”.

Avery shook her head. There was so much going on in this town that she didn’t know about.

“What about you Pete?” April asked. “Where were you during the fires?”

An evil smirk spread across Pete’s face. “I was burning something else at that time, but I’m sure you’ll find out about that later”. Pete laughed maniacally. “Next time, maybe you won’t wrongfully accuse me of murder!”

“Let’s call the sheriffs to come get these two”, Dani said, but before she could reach the phone, the sound of three bells rang loudly…and darkness…

…

After an indeterminate amount of time, the CCC and Avery woke up on the floor of Brackish Bar. Salty Pete and Dr. Lawrie were gone.

“What happened?” Avery asked, confused. “Where did they go?”

The group rose to their feet, trying to piece together what had just happened, but were at a loss.

“We failed. They’ve gotten away” Kubey-Doo said sadly. “Laura must have helped them”.

The group called the mayor, and explained, and apologized for not catching the arsonists. They knew Stillwater Bay was in even more danger than before, and they knew it was their responsibility to save the town. The mayor asked them to meet him again, and they agreed.

Avery and the CCC arrive at the Sheriff’s Office to meet the mayor.

“Hello detectives, thank you for meeting me here”, Mayor Sottish said. “I have good news and very bad news, which would you like first?”

“I guess the bad news”, replied April, anxiously raisin snacking.

“The mayor of Turnstone called me today”, the mayor said solemnly. “There was a fire at the TACOS earlier today, and the evil hypnotist, Ed, has been broken out”.

“That explains the blackout at Brackish. Ed must have hypnotized us so they could escape”, Avery said, irate. “What’s the good news?”

The mayor pulls a remote out of his pocket and presses the button. Suddenly the front door of the Sheriff’s Office swings open, and an android wearing a sheriff’s uniform comes down the stairs.

“Meet Borg Sheriff, designed to protect all of Stillwater Bay” Mayor Sottish said proudly.

“Hello detectives. You have all been analyzed, and rated Threat Level One (Normal)”, the android said. Borg Sheriff then tipped his hat to the detectives, then tipped it to the mayor, and then walked off down the street, on patrol.

“Goodnight detectives”, the mayor said before leaving.

The group walked to Avery’s apartment.

“We need to be more alert than ever now”, Avery said. “Laura has a team that could strike at any time”.

“We’ll catch them, gang!” Aaron said hopefully.

The Canadian Conundrum Committee headed back to their headquarters, and Avery walked up to her apartment.

Everyone felt a little defeated. This was the first time they hadn’t caught the criminal and closed the case. Now they just had to keep the hope that everything would be alright when this is all over, and stay safe in the meantime.

THE END