The Kentucky Derby Mystery
by Jennifer Harrison

Author's note: You may recognize these characters, who usually appear in a different context.

It had started off fairly routinely, just like any other mystery they had investigated. Fred told them that he had heard about a spate of disappearances - all young women - in the Kentucky area and suggested they should investigate.

"It doesn't sound like one of our usual cases," Daphne said doubtfully, "no ghosts or ghoulies…"

"Maybe we should start to branch out," Shaggy suggested, "after all, there are only so many guys dressing up as ghosts to scare the locals away."

"I think you're right," Velma agreed, "I'd like to see what's happened to these girls."

"Mmmm, me too!" Shaggy said. Daphne noticed the strange look on his face, but thought nothing of it - he always was a bit wacky. So it was agreed, and they set off across country in the mystery machine the next morning.

"All the victims either worked or rode here," Fred explained as they stood in front of the impressive facade of the Van Hugo stables. "My plan is that you two should go undercover as stable girls and find out as much as you can. Shaggy and I will play the role of customers so that we can keep an eye on you and make sure there aren't any hitches."

Daphne and Velma were nervous about the risks, but excited as well - after all, this was what the kids did, putting themselves in harm's way to uncover the truth. So they went into the front office and met with the stable manager, Steve, to see if there were any vacancies.

"You've come at just the right time," Steve told them, "we've recently had several employees quit unexpectedly, and we could certainly do with extra hands. Can you start immediately?" The two girls looked at each other and then nodded their assent. Half an hour later, they were mucking out stalls in the stable block.

They had been working away for a couple of hours, when a tall, rather grand gentleman with a thin face and sharp nose came into the stables, accompanied by four rather hefty looking stable hands.

"Allow me to introduce myself, ladies," he smiled, "my name is Cyrus Van Hugo, the owner of this establishment. I'd like to welcome you into my service, not only that, but also to tell you that I have decided that you should be immediately promoted. Boys, put them in their new uniforms!"

Daphne and Velma suddenly found themselves being grabbed by the owner's henchmen and, struggle and kick as they might, they were unable to break free. The men literally ripped the clothes from their backs and, once they were naked, forced their arms into the severe restriction of the single leather glove. This was quickly followed by corset, body harness, boots, and collar. The 'uniform' was completed by the bit and bridle, leaving them speechless and helpless.

"There, you look perfect!" Van Hugo said, "now you can provide a truly unique service to my customers, and at the same time provide me with a fine income. I know you like a mystery, but this one is pretty clear - my business was in trouble until I realised that renting out ponygirls for rides was so much more profitable than actual ponies! Take them into the other stable block and begin their training."

The two investigators were dragged away and spent virtually every waking hour of the next three days being paraded around a training ring, forced to learn to high-step, canter and gallop in the high-heeled boots. The bits in their mouths were only removed for the brief time when they were fed handfuls of dry oats and given cool, fresh water. Any attempt to protest, beg for release, or speak at all, was swiftly punished by a severe beating with the riding crops each of the trainers carried. They soon learned to keep quiet and obey.

The last few days had been all the same, but today was different. They had been led out of the stables into the main courtyard, where there were two small buggies waiting. Daphne looked over at Velma as they were strapped into the shafts of the single-seater carriages, and she could see that the dumpy little brunette was just as alarmed, fearful and confused as she was. She wondered what was going to happen now, when she saw Fred and Shaggy walking towards them. Her hopes soared - they would get them out! The boys would come up with a rescue plan and everything would be all right!

"Wow, way to go undercover, girls!" Shaggy exclaimed with a broad grin, "I thought you might struggle to gain their trust, but clearly not! It looks like everything is under control."

"Unda cugga?!" Daphne spat in confusion, causing saliva to drool from her lips and down her chin, "Dish isn' shome kin' o' dishguije! Ee're t'apped! You go' to ge' us ou' o' here!"

"Sshhh, Daphne," Fred frowned, walking up to her, "we've been told that we mustn't let you talk. I'm sorry but, in order for us to maintain our cover, I'm going to have to punish you for that."

"Wha'? Aaaaargh!!" It turned out that Fred had a riding crop as well, and he whipped it across Daphne's buttocks with several severe swipes, plus a couple across her breasts for good measure, leaving the petite redhead screaming and with tears running down her cheeks.

Velma watched the beating in horror, hardly able to believe that Fred could be so cruel and vicious. But then her attention quickly refocused on her own plight as she suddenly felt her breasts being groped roughly.

"I never realised you had such a cracking body, Velma," Shaggy said as he pinched and rubbed her nipples until they were stiff and erect. "That corset does wonders for your figure, and I love the way the armbinder makes you thrust your titties out!"

"Neurghh!" she squealed, wary of using actual words after what she'd seen happen to Daphne. She tried to pull away from him but the cart behind her prevented it. Shaggy lowered his hand and forced it between her thighs, forcing his fingers up inside her, causing her even more alarm and discomfort at this invasion of her most private parts. He pulled his hand away and raised it to his nose, sniffing his fingers before licking them.

"You taste good, Velma," he grinned, "I can't believe I've only just found that out after all these years!"

"Hey, Shaggy, let's take these ponies for a ride and find out what they can do," Fred called over as he clambered into the seat of the buggy and took up the reins attached to Daphne's bridle, "I'm sure I saw a racing track back there!"

The girls had no option but to pull the carts wherever they were steered by their drivers. Soon enough, they found themselves standing on the dirt of an oval race track, white rail fencing on one side, and a start/finish post beside them.

"Ladies and gentlemen!" Fred exclaimed, imitating a commentator's delivery, "Welcome to the 2015 running of the Kentucky Derby! On the inside we have Fred Jones with Delectable Daphne, while on the outside it's Shaggy Rogers with Voluptuous Velma! Three, two, one… They're off!"

The two girls strained to get the buggies moving forward at speed, with the urgent encouragement of the boys.

"C'mon! Hyar! Hyar! Giddyup, Velma!" Shaggy shouted from behind her, but her fitter companion soon started to pull out into a slight lead, which she couldn't pull back.

She heard the loud crack a split second before she felt the searing pain between her shoulder blades. She screamed, both in agony and shock, as she realised that she had just been whipped! She stumbled in her surprise, almost falling, but then she felt the leather bite into her buttock. She suddenly lurched forward, desperate to get away somehow from the pain, but the blows continued to rain down on her back and buttocks until she had redoubled her efforts in her desperation. Slowly, she pulled alongside and then overtook the gorgeous redhead.

"And Voluptuous Velma takes the lead!" Fred called out, "but as they take the bend, Delectable Daphne on the rails comes back, and it's neck and neck as they hit the back straight!"

Velma and Daphne fought their way around the circuit, going as fast as they could, not because they wanted to win but because they feared what the boys - seemingly completely out of control - would do to them if they lost. In the end, it was a dead heat, and the two buggies gradually came to a halt, the ponygirls gasping for air as they tried to recover.

"That was fun!" Velma heard Shaggy say enthusiastically, "let's do it again!"

At last, in the late afternoon, they returned to the stables, and the drivers dismounted and went to their ponies, who were exhausted and dripping with sweat.

"That was great, Daphne," Fred said, "you too, Velma, it's great to see that you're really getting into this mystery! We'll come back in a few days, when you had a chance to do more training - I mean investigating - and see how you're getting on."

"Yeah, I can't wait to see what else you've learned!" Shaggy grinned as he slapped Velma's backside playfully. She watched in dismay as the two boys walked away, laughing and high-fiving each other.

Stable hands came to unhook them from the buggies and lead them into the stables, returning them to the stalls in which they had spent every night they had been there. Velma noticed that every one of them was occupied, each containing one of the girls who had mysteriously disappeared. She hadn't had a chance to talk to them, but she could see from the fear and despair in their red-rimmed eyes that they had suffered the same as her and Daphne, maybe worse.

Daphne looked around the dreary, featureless box in which she was confined, and began to sob. The worst thing about all this for her was the squalor. She was naturally a very fastidious girl - her hair always had to be just so, her make-up perfect, her teeth sparkling white. She often showered twice a day to make sure that she was always fresh and fragrant. Going out without perfume would have been like going out without clothes.

But now, here she was, filthy and stinking, and there was nothing she could do about it. She knew her face was streaked with dirt, her hair lank and greasy. Her mouth felt disgusting, and she was acutely aware of her dog breath. But it was nothing in comparison to her body odour, which was becoming increasingly high and ripe with stale sweat.

She couldn't believe that some people not only put up with this, but some guys actually liked it. She shuddered as she remembered, only a few minutes before as she had been pulled to a halt, when Fred had lifted her head and, slowly and deliberately, licked her face from her drool-covered chin to her sweat-soaked forehead.

"Mmmm, salty!" he said, "I love you when you're like this, Daphne. There's so much I could do to a dirty girl like you…" His tone of voice and the look in his eyes had scared her more than anything else.

Meanwhile, in the next stall, Velma was desperately trying to break out. She had hooked her bound arms over the stall door and was trying to manipulate the simple latch which stood between her and freedom. But, try as she might, it was futile, the armbinder rendered her arms and fingers useless. After a good fifteen minutes of frantic effort, she gave up and watched as the doors of the stable were closed and locked, shutting them in the gloom for the night.

Finally defeated, she sank to her knees in despair. She knew they could not escape without help. Her thoughts turned to Fred and Shaggy, wondering why they seemed to be behaving so strangely, wondering why they had not rescued them already. And then, in a flash of inspiration, she knew what was going on. She and Daphne hadn't blundered into this situation and been unluckily caught by the bad guys. They had been set up! That creepy owner had known about them and had been prepared.

She thought back and remembered that, a couple of weeks ago, Fred had disappeared for several days, and had come back looking shifty, giving vague excuses for his absence. He must have come down here, she thought, found out what was going on, and made a deal with them - he would keep their secret and, in return, they would take Daphne and Velma to be trained as ponygirls, so that he and Shaggy could use them for their entertainment and, she feared, sexual gratification!

She felt sick with a sense of betrayal, and realised that this left the two girls with a terrible problem. With Fred and Shaggy on the side of the bad guys, who was going to come to their rescue?

Scooby Doo, where are you?!

The End

Copyright© 2016 by Jennifer Harrison. All rights reserved.