Chapter 2

Tuesday, June 9, 1987

Trixie’s alarm went off at six thirty in the morning. She groaned and rolled over to hit the snooze button. Why had she decided to set her alarm for such an ungodly hour? Then she remembered that she had wanted to see Jim off when he picked up Brian to head to the train station. She stretched and pulled on a pair of shorts and a top. Then she slipped on a pair of flip flops. She’d shower and change after the guys were on their way.

She bounced down the stairs and into the kitchen where Moms and Brian were sitting at the kitchen table drinking coffee.

“Yuk,” Trixie said. “I don’t know how anyone could drink such a vile drink.” She shuddered, thinking of the time she had gulped down a scalding cup of black coffee to keep her awake. The coffee had brought tears to her eyes and it hadn’t kept to her awake that night when the Wheelers’ chauffeur, Dick, tried to break into Honey’s room.

Brian chuckled. “You’ll change your tune once you get into college. Coffee is the elixir of the gods for many a student, especially if you stay up all hours of the night and then have an eight o’clock class the next morning.”

“Well, I’m not going to drink coffee. I’ll just switch from strawberry pop to cola,” Trixie declared. “Nick Roberts told me that he drinks pop for breakfast.”

“Trixie Belden!” Moms exclaimed. “You are not going to drink pop for breakfast.”

Trixie didn’t say anything but childishly crossed her fingers behind her back.

“If the thought of Moms’ wrath doesn’t convince you to not drink pop for breakfast, the thought of the freshman ten might,” Brian said.

“The freshman ten?” Trixie asked.

Brian stood up, went over to the sink and rinsed his coffee cup. “The ten pounds of weight freshman tend to gain when they start eating dorm food.”

Trixie groaned. She had worked so hard the last year to tone her body. She would have to make sure she didn’t gain those ten pounds. Fortunately, she had a year to develop a plan.

Before she could say anything else, she heard a car pull up into the driveway.

Brian grabbed his backpack and rushed out of the house. Trixie followed on his heels, letting the screen door slam as she raced out onto the terrace. She skidded to a halt when she thought that Jim might view her eagerness to see him as being clingy.

Jim had opened his door and was standing in front of Trixie within seconds.

“You’re up early,” he said.

Trixie blushed slightly as she whispered, “Well, I just wanted to wish you luck on your first day of classes.”

Jim placed a kiss on her upturned nose and then one gently on her lips. “You’ve made the start of my day.”

Both turned as they heard Brian clear his throat. “If we don’t want to miss the train, we’d better leave.”

Jim and Trixie exchanged one last kiss before he headed back to the car. She stood on the terrace waving until the Mustang turned onto Glen Road and disappeared.

As she turned to go back inside, Moms came out with the egg basket in her hands. “Come on, I’ll help you pick the eggs this morning. Bobby did it yesterday and we ended up with a couple of broken ones.”

Together the two women made quick work of the task. When they returned to the kitchen, Trixie decided to take her shower and get dressed before she sat down and ate breakfast. It didn’t take long before she was back downstairs ready to eat. Mart had left before Brian had gotten up. He was working the breakfast shift at Wimpy’s until he left for Victory Camp. He would be working the grill and Trixie secretly wondered if Mike knew what he was getting himself into. She just knew that Mart would eat up all the profits.

Today, Trixie had decided to ride her bike to work. The weather was supposed to be nice and by biking she would get in some exercise. She hadn’t been able to run for the past few days and she could tell it.

Honey had decided to ride along with her. Trixie was excited because she hadn’t had a chance to talk to Honey yesterday. They met at the bottom of the Manor House driveway. As they rode, Trixie shared with Honey what she had discovered at the library.

“That’s so neat that you found the quote that Jim’s great-uncle gave,” Honey exclaimed. “And that there was a picture was an added bonus. I know it’s always bothered Jim that he didn’t have many pictures of his family.”

Trixie agreed. “It never occurred to me to look at back issues of the Sun to find pictures of Jim’s great-uncle. I think I’ll see if I can find any other articles when I have some free time.”

“I know that Jim would appreciate it,” Honey said. She paused for a minute before she said, “I wonder what happened to Mr. Lytell.”

“I do, too,” said Trixie, “but Dad pretty much told me it wasn’t any of my business.” Her eyes sparked a bit when she continued. “Of course, if I come across any other articles while I’m looking for articles about Jim’s relatives, who’s to know?”

“That sounds logical to me,” Honey agreed.

They rode in silence for several minutes, enjoying the peacefulness of Glen Road in the morning. As they approached the outskirts of town, Trixie asked, “What time are you done today?”

“Well, I’m supposed to teach until noon,” Honey replied. “Then they want me to do a split shift. I’m off from noon until four and then I have to work from four until eight.”

“That kind of ruins the entire day, doesn’t it?” Trixie observed.

“Everyone has to do it once a week. There are eight instructors who also lifeguard as well as another eight lifeguards. It’s only fair that everyone have to work at least one evening. We have to work the weekends as well. “

“Don’t they have to give you a day off?” Trixie asked.

“Well, we only teach Monday through Thursday. They try to give us at least two days off. It just depends on scheduling. Of course, if the weather is bad then we are sent home.”

“I guess the easiest way to keep track is just to ask every day,” Trixie joked.

They were outside the library. “I probably I won’t see you until tomorrow morning,” Honey said, “Although I might stop by after I close. Brian asked me to.”

“Well, if I don’t see you tonight, do you want to ride in together tomorrow morning as well?” Trixie asked. “I want to bike as much as possible since I don’t know if I’ll be able to get my regular runs in during the week.”

“I’ll meet you at the end of the driveway, unless I hear differently,” Honey said. Then she waved as she headed toward the municipal pool.

Trixie was busy all morning. The first thing she did was bar code all of the books that had been dropped off over night. It was the easiest way to ensure that all of the books got coded. When that was completed she headed back to the section she was working on the previous day. Things went well all morning. She was getting more proficient at affixing the bar code and entering the information into the computer.

When she broke for lunch she grabbed her sandwich and headed outside to sit on the benches that were placed in various places around the library. There were gorgeous perennial flower beds that adorned the library property. The Sleepyside Garden Club had taken them on as one of their pet projects. As she sat in the fresh air, with the sun shining down on her, Trixie thought back to the conversation she’d had with Jim the night before. Even though he hadn’t gushed about the article she had found, she knew that he was excited to find any information about his great-uncle.

She decided that she would do a little research after work. She’d limit it to fifteen minutes so she wouldn’t be late for dinner.

Trixie returned to her work area and began the process all over. She was just getting ready to move to another section when the computer software started to act up. Miss Conlin placed a call into the software help desk but had not received any usable information. Miss Conlin suggested Trixie take a break and do some more exploring of the library. It would help her when she would have to work the checkout desk.

Trixie took advantage of the time and decided to do some more investigating on the microfilm. She located the issue she had looked at yesterday, gave it one last look and then moved on to the next issue.

She didn’t find anything of interest in the next few issues. She was surprised as she scanned an issue from early November 1968. The headline read “Construction of A&P Delayed. Man States It is Sacred Indian Land.” Trixie skimmed the article but decided to print it and read through it at home. For a half an hour she continued to search back issues. She didn’t have any luck finding any articles about Jim’s relatives but she did find several more articles about Mr. Lytell.

The articles did not paint Mr. Lytell in a very good light. One article told of John Manydeeds accusing Mr. Lytell of withholding information about the land in question.

Shortly after that accusation, Mr. Manydeeds had reported that his car had been broken into and several important papers had been stolen. He said he had found several of Frank Lytell’s business cards as well as a receipt with his name on it near the car.

Another accused him of trying to buy off the planning commission. Trixie couldn’t believe it. If there was one thing she knew about Mr. Lytell, it was that he was an honest man.

The help desk hadn’t been able to figure out the software problems and so Trixie was sent home for the day. Part of her thought she should stay and do some more research but the thought of getting in a good run won out.

Quickly, Trixie packed up her articles into her backpack and in no time at all she was pedaling back up Glen Road. When she entered the kitchen, her mother was just starting dinner.

“You’re home early,” Moms said, stopping what she was doing and looking up.

“There was an issue with the software program that they couldn’t get resolved so they sent me home early. I thought if you didn’t need my help, I’d go for a run,” Trixie explained.

Moms opened up the refrigerator and realized she needed some butter. “That’s not a problem. I don’t suppose I could convince you to run to Lytell’s store and pick up a pound of butter?”

“Sure, Moms,” Trixie said. “I might even get two pounds so I can do some arm exercises on my way back.”

Trixie bounded up the stairs two at a time. In less than five minutes she had changed into running shorts, a sports bra and her running shoes. She zipped some money into the pocket of her shorts and headed out. After doing some warm-up stretches, she took off running.

It felt good to challenge her muscles. As she ran, she thought about the articles she had skimmed. She had so many questions she wanted to ask Mr. Lytell. While he seemed to know just about everything about anybody along Glen Road and in Sleepyside, he didn’t like to reveal too much about himself. Instinctively, she knew that asking him about the past events would be met with a cold shoulder and nothing more.

When she arrived at the store, she slowed down and paced a while before entering it. She managed to pick up the butter before Mr. Lytell noticed her. She had to admit that while he still was nosy, and it always seemed like he had no patience for her, something had subtly changed after spring break. She wasn’t quite as intimidated and he was a little friendlier.

As she brought her purchase to the checkout she realized she didn’t really have to paste a fake smile on her face. Her simple smile reached all the way to her eyes when she greeted the storekeeper. “How are things with you today, Mr. Lytell?” she asked.

“Well, I guess I shouldn’t complain,” he replied as he rang up her purchases. “What, no strawberry pop today?”

“Not today, I’m running and the best thing for me is water,” she said. She winked at him and continued, “Don’t sell your stock in strawberry pop. I promise I haven’t given it up. I just don’t drink it when I run.”

Mr. Lytell smiled and Trixie realized that when he wasn’t frowning, he looked much more approachable. Something in her told her she needed to find out what had happened twenty years ago.

She stepped out of the store and began the short run back to the farm. As she ran she switched the butter from one hand to the other, trying to add to her workout.

When she returned home she felt rejuvenated. It was only four o’clock and her mother had dinner almost ready. She raced up the stairs and decided to take a shower and freshen up. Finally, she was able to sit down and read the articles she had printed out.

She started in chronological order. The first article didn’t say a lot. It just noted that the groundbreaking ceremony had been canceled, that there was some concern about the property being on sacred grounds.

The next article noted that it was a Mr. John Manydeeds who had made the claim. It said he was representing the Indian nation and trying to protect their lands. He went on and on about how important the parcel of land was to the Indians. The article never said why it was sacred.

There seemed to be a swell of support for the claim the land was sacred land. One article referenced the American Indian Movement that had begun earlier in the year. The articles seemed to be written to gain the sympathies of the public.

There was another article that had been posted in mid-November. The reporter inferred there could have been some questionable dealings in giving the original permit to build the A&P. Fred Murphy insinuated that the original permit had not been properly filled out. It was also suggested that the A&P, through Frank Lytell, had bought off the zoning commissioners.

Trixie gasped at that. Mr. Lytell might be an old gossip but she certainly couldn’t see him as someone who would break the law. When he was in town he never crossed the street unless he was at a crosswalk, never drove one mile over the speed limit and if he noticed a cashier gave him too much change he gave it back even if it meant returning to town to return a penny.

She glanced at the byline on the article. It read David Trent. She had no idea who David Trent was but it wouldn’t surprise her if he was related to Paul Trent.

She re-read the articles. Something didn’t seem right. For one thing the articles never stated which Indian Nation claimed the land was sacred. She had studied about the American Indian Movement in U. S. History last year. The one thing she remembered was that each Nation was a nation onto itself.

Her eye caught a small article that she had missed before. In it, a member of the Iroquois Nation questioned the legitimacy of John Manydeeds’ claim. It recommended the members of the community ask for some sort of proof that it was sacred land.

In an article dated a couple of days after that one, John Manydeeds claimed that his car had been broken into and several important papers were missing, including the claim that several of Frank Lytell’s business cards had been found in his car. He claimed the missing papers were the proof he had regarding the sacred land.

Trixie had a couple of more articles to re-read when her mother called her down to set the table. As she entered the kitchen, Brian walked through the door.

“How was your first day of class, Brian?” Moms asked as she tossed the salad. Hallie was setting the table and Trixie began to help her.

“It was a lot more hectic than I thought. I thought taking a humanities class would be easy, especially since it’s a freshman level course. It might be easy but there will be a lot of reading. Jim’s class wasn’t much better. We decided to spend the afternoon in the library and take a later train home,” Brian explained. “I’m still going to have to squeeze in some studying tomorrow between tutoring sessions.”

He set down his backpack and started to help put the food on the table. Mart walked in just as the food was placed on the table with Bobby following closely behind.

“Moms!” Bobby exclaimed. “You wouldn’t believe what we did today in summer school” Bobby had signed up for a class called Imagineering. They did hands on activities that introduced students to the wonderful world of engineering. “We dropped eggs from the top of a ladder and they didn’t break. It was so cool!”

“That’s wonderful,” Moms replied. “You can show me after dinner. Right now all of you need to wash up for dinner.”

Their dad walked through the door as everyone was sitting down to dinner. “Sorry, I’m late. Something came up right as I was walking out the door.”

He put down his briefcase and walked over to greet his wife with a hug and a kiss. When everyone was seated and grace said, chaos erupted. It seemed like everyone had something to share about their day. The only one who didn’t was Trixie. Part of her wanted to tell everyone what she had read about Mr. Lytell but another part held back. She didn’t want to say anything, even to her family, until she had time to gather more information. She didn’t have any concrete evidence yetbut her intuition told her that Mr. Lytell was not treated fairly. She wondered if he had been set up.

When dinner was done, everyone scattered. Brian went upstairs to study for a while. He wanted to be done studying before Honey was done with work. Mart commandeered the phone and was talking to Diana. Bobby showed Hallie and his parents how he kept the egg from breaking.

Trixie wandered out onto the terrace to think. The more she thought of Mr. Lytell, the more she didn’t know what to do. She paced back and forth and started talking to herself, hoping that by verbalizing her thoughts she would see everything clearer.

“Mr. Lytell came to town almost twenty years ago. He was kind of a bigwig, planning to open a big supermarket. Something happens right before the groundbreaking ceremony and it’s canceled. The paper insinuates that there were some underhanded dealings on the A&P’s and Mr. Lytell’s part and the land they were planning to build on was sacred land.” She stopped pacing and stared out into the orchard.

“So why do I care about this?” she questioned. “Am I just interested because I’m being nosy, just like Mr. Lytell, or do I think that an injustice has occurred and I want to try and right it?”

She resumed her pacing and was so wrapped up in her thoughts she didn’t hear anyone approach until he was practically right on top of her.

“What’s got you all worked up?” Jim asked. Trixie jumped when she heard his voice. She stopped her pacing and looked at him. For once she didn’t automatically step into his embrace.

“I’m trying to make a decision, but I don’t have enough information to make an informed one. However, if I get the additional information and decide one way then I don’t think I’m going to want to know what that information is,” she tried to explain. He looked at her totally confused. “How’s that for Honeyspeak?”

“I would say it is Honeyspeak at its best. I have no idea what you’re talking about,” Jim teased.

She sat down on the glider and Jim joined her. “Well, I’ll try to explain it to you.”

She told Jim about what she had discovered about Mr. Lytell and her gut feelings about the issue. “I really think that Mr. Lytell wasn’t treated fairly. Right now I don’t have any good evidence but I just can’t see him being dishonest. I’d like to try and clear his name.”

“Are you sure it needs to be cleared? You said yourself you’re not sure.”

“I know. Dad said to just let it go and not to dig up things that have been buried for so long. I don’t like to disobey him, but I just can’t seem to let it drop,” she lamented.

Jim reached an arm around her shoulders and pulled her close to him. “Why don’t you see what you can find in the back issues of the Sleepyside Sun? After you’ve read everything, make a list of questions you have and go from there. Just remember the goal of the paper is to sell more papers. They can’t print lies about people but they can put a spin on it to make it more sensational.”

“Yeah, I know. I did find out an interesting thing. One of the reporters who worked for the Sun twenty years ago was someone by the name of David Trent. I can’t believe it’s a coincidence that he shares the same last name as our favorite reporter, Paul Trent,” she commented. “The newspaper is easiest to research right now. Once I have some idea of what happened, and if I decide to pursue it, then I’ll have to check on some other facts as well.”

She sighed and stifled a yawn.

“Remember you don’t have to solve this mystery in two days. It’s been twenty years since Mr. Lytell came to town. If it takes a few more days, so be it.”

The two sat silently on the glider for several minutes. They looked up when Brian came out of the house. They exchanged pleasantries and then he headed up to Manor House to see Honey.

“I love this time of year,” said Trixie. “The sun doesn’t set until after nine o’clock. It’s nice just sitting out here enjoying the fresh air.” She slapped her arm trying to hit a mosquito that had landed.

“Yeah, except for those nasty insects,” Jim teased. He stood up and walked over to the gas grill, picked up the long lighter that sat next to it and proceeded to light the citronella torches that were planted along the periphery of the terrace. “This should help.”

He returned to Trixie and sat back down. They sat there comfortably for several minutes. All of a sudden she yawned, exposing her tonsils. She tried to cover her mouth as she blushed. “I’m so sorry,” she said. “I didn’t realize how tired I was.”

“Do you hear me complaining?” Jim asked. “I was just thinking.”

“Nothing too earth shattering, I hope,” she replied.

Instead of looking Trixie in the eye, he looked up toward where Ten Acres used to sit. “Not really,” he replied. “I was just thinking about how proud I am of you.”

Trixie blushed some more and asked, “What brought that on?”

“Well, I was thinking about this Mr. Lytell thing,” he explained. “Several years ago you would have jumped into this mystery for the sake of the mystery and not thought of how it would affect anyone. Now, even though Mr. Lytell has never been one of your favorite people, you’re worried about his feelings.”

Trixie buried her head in his shoulder and blushed even more. “Thanks for understanding,” she said softly. “And I promise to take this slowly. The last thing I want to do is to stir up a bee’s nest unnecessarily.”

“So how is the job going?” Jim asked, changing the subject.

“Pretty well, I guess,” Trixie said. “There were some issues with the computer program so I left work early. It’s not that I don’t like it but it will get better next week when Julie McNalty starts.”

“You’re not afraid of getting bored, are you?” he asked.

“I keep telling myself that I won’t be. It does take a lot of concentration though. You really need to have an eye for detail and be meticulous so you don’t enter in the wrong number. There are times when I can let my mind wander.” She paused and winked at Jim. “Having this little mystery to think about and ponder makes the day go faster.”

Over the next few days, Trixie had little time to do any more delving into the Sleepyside Sun. She spent most of her days working on the card catalog but had to sit at the check-out desk over lunch. By the time she was done with work, she needed to get some fresh air and didn’t feel like spending any more time indoors. She continued to ride her bike to work most days. Honey usually joined her. She treasured their rides as they were both so busy with work and their boyfriends that they didn’t always get to see one another.

 

 

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