Transcript of this chapter:

crystal: So the second message was written on a wall? Hand-written?
annabelle: Exactly, in big block letters. The message was a lot shorter than the first one. I wrote it down for you on that piece of paper.
crystal: That's good, because I'm stuck in here until closing time.
annabelle: I also took a photograph of the code, in case the hand-writing can be used as a clue.
crystal: Well... seeing that there's now two coded messages, I wonder if this shoots down your theory that Elkwood wrote the code.
annabelle: Oh, I'm still pretty sure he wrote it for me. I just know it's going to tell me how to prepare that love potion!
crystal: How would you explain that second message? It obviously wasn't written by Elkwood Sprawling.
annabelle: I don't think it's important. I think someone wrote that on the wall to throw me off the track... someone who doesn't want me and Alex to be a happy couple.
crystal: Someone like... Alex.
annabelle: Yes. Obviously this second message isn't real. It probably doesn't even say anything.
crystal: I don't know... it seems like the same kind of code.
crystal: It suggests that two people knew the code...
crystal: It's in two places, written in different styles, so maybe they're using it to send messages to each other.
annabelle: You would think there's a less conspicuous way to send messages.
crystal: I still thinks it's a warning of some kind, but now I'm wondering if the intended audience is responding back.
crystal: Has anyone decoded the messages yet?
annabelle: Not that I know of. At least nobody has come forward.
crystal: Well, obviously SOMEONE knows the code, but I doubt our code-writer is dumb enough to slip up. I think we'll have better luck trying to break this code.
crystal: Are you going to work on this code with me?
annabelle: Yep. I'm going to sit down right here and solve it. I brought a bucket of brains to snack on, and I'm ready to get to work.
crystal: We can use this blackboard to work with. It'll be easier that using pencil and paper.
crystal: Oh, hold on a second... we're out of chalk. I'll go ask Rebecca where the extra sticks are kept.
crystal: Rebecca, do you have any more chalk?
rebecca: DEMON! Evil creature, your life is forfeit!
crystal: Okay... uh...
sheriff: Rebecca's channeling Barlow's aunt Vedalia, to see if she can shed some light on our little mystery.
crystal: Ah... Well, I'll come back later, then...
rebecca: Eddie! You don't know this demonic monster, do you?!
crystal: Monster?
rebecca: I will not stand idly while creatures of the Darkness roam our streets at will! I will defeat you myself!
crystal: I'm not afraid of you! If you're anything like the current demon-hunter, I'll have nothing to worry about.
rebecca: What have you done to Barlow?! Did you murder my nephew?
crystal: No, nothing like that. We actually get along quite well together.
rebecca: I refuse to believe that Barlow could allow a demon to wander about in Spider Cliff... This goes against everything in Bean family tradition!
crystal: Well, if Barlow ever lifted his nose out of his books, things might be different.
rebecca: Then you really DO know Barlow...
crystal: It's no big deal, really... I do my share of the work around here. Rebecca hired me to work in the diner.
rebecca: NO BIG DEAL?! This goes against EVERYTHING that Spider Cliff stands for! Demons are not welcome here!...
rebecca: You just wait until my nephew finds out about your presence here. He'll make short work of you.
crystal: Actually, Barlow's okay about all of this.
crystal: I can't help it... it's just what I am. I'm a demon, but I don't have to kill everyone. Being a demon doesn't mean I can't live in peace with everyone here.
rebecca: Ha! How long do you think you can keep that up? It might be fun to play "human" now, but sooner or later your demon-nature will take over...
crystal: You... you don't know anything about us. You don't know how hard it is to be a demon in your world.
rebecca: Because you DON'T BELONG in our world! Oh, where's my nephew? If he knew you were here...
crystal: Barlow knows I'm here. He left the diner only about an hour ago.
rebecca: You mean that my nephew KNOWS of your existence?! He allows you to remain in Spider Cliff?!
crystal: Well, he hasn't tried to get rid of me...
rebecca: I won't stand for this! Eddie, summon Barlow immediately, so he can kill this demon once and for all!
rebecca: You are NOT at all welcome here!
crystal: You have no control over the situation. You'll have to leave this to the living members of the community.
rebecca: This is disgraceful! I can't believe that the good citizens would let you live in our town! I kept it unspoiled for so many years.
crystal: Yeah... I guess that's why they were hesitating to tell you about me...
crystal: Well, you have to find out sometime. I guess it's good that I came back here when I did.
crystal: I'm really not a threat. I never killed anyone... here. I actually like living here.
rebecca: That doesn't mean I have to trust you.
rebecca: You managed to get through the security barriers, which means that you're not a threat... or you were helped through with assistance from the inside. In my time as demon-hunter, instances of that were rare indeed.
crystal: It doesn't matter how I got in. I'm here now and I like it here. I've been here for a while.
crystal: Barlow and I work together sometimes. We solve things as a team.
rebecca: Barlow teams up... with a demon?!
crystal: Yes, sometimes. Right now we're trying to find out why the gondola we pulled out of the woods had a corpse in it.
rebecca: Ah... I remember that gondola...
crystal: The body inside it belonged to Elkwood Sprawling...
rebecca: Elkwood?! Then you'll get no help from me!
crystal: Pardon?
rebecca: If there's one thing I hate more than demons, it's Elkwood!
rebecca: No more of this! I can see now that you're a crafty demon indeed, to bring up... THAT man. You're a demon, but none of your tricks will have any effect on me! You are not welcome among the residents here!
crystal: Actually, I live in the Bean family house.
rebecca: What?! The Bean family honor has been tarnished! I would sooner burn the house down than let you despoil it with your foulness!
crystal: ....and we have a zombie housekeeper.
rebecca: This... this... abomination can't be true! I don't believe it! You're just saying those things to make me mad.
crystal: No, it's all true. We have a zombie. She cooks for us, too, but I think she might put a bit too much brain in everything...
: How could this have happened?! How could Barlow have been so thoroughly corrupted in such a short time?
crystal: ....and your bedroom is now my bedroom.
rebecca: Well, at least you have separate bedrooms.
crystal: Hey, It's not like that!
rebecca: You mean to say that you're NOT the reason I was summoned?
crystal: No, it's actually about this thing with the gondola that we pulled out of the woods.
rebecca: Gondola... You have to put it back... It'll bring you nothing but bad luck.
crystal: Believe me, I'd love to, but we're in the middle of a mystery.
sheriff: I'll attest to that, Vedalia. We summoned you to help us with this gondola situation.
rebecca: And yet ignore the demon problem right in your midst?! It's an outrage!
crystal: Do you know anything about secret codes?
rebecca: Secret codes?! Even if I DID know something about codes, I wouldn't be sharing them with you!
rebecca: How dare you try to use me in your evil... schemes...
crystal: Can you communicate with Elkwood?
rebecca: What do you think this is? You think the dead citizens of Spider Cliff sit around in some social club?!
rebecca: I have no contact with Elkwood. Nobody does. If he went to the Smoggy Woods, his soul is gone forever. You might pull out his body, but that's all you'll get... unless you get something else in place of his soul.
crystal: I don't understand...
rebecca: Don't you, demon? I thought your kind knew all about stealing souls.
crystal: That's not a necessarily true of us, Vedalia...
rebecca: Who said you could call me by name, demon?! I should kill you right here... for...
crystal: You killed a demon on the day that the gondola crashed...
rebecca: Yes, another demon who slipped past our barriers. I remember that day very well.
rebecca: I slayed that creature while the gondola was being launched, so I missed the ceremonies. She was trying to sabotage our restraining bar that keeps the town firmly in place.
rebecca: It seemed strange... she wasn't really an assassin. She was a weaker demon, known more as a child-stealer. Too weak to get into Spider Cliff on her own.
rebecca: Someone let her into Spider Cliff, but I never figured out who it was.
rebecca: Ow...
sheriff: It looks like Rebecca's spell is fading. I don't think Vedalia's here any longer.
rebecca: She's gone... but every time she gets angry I end up with a splitting headache afterwards.
rebecca: I hope that this was informative for you. I don't think she'll be willing to talk to me for quite a while.