Chapter 8

Wednesday, June 24, 1987

Trixie was up, dressed and eating breakfast by eight o’clock the next day. After Jim had dropped her home the night before, she lay awake for quite some time. First, she thought about what Jim had told her. She was so proud of him for taking action to try to deal with some of his fears. Now she understood better where he was coming from. It would give her a better idea how to approach him should he get all protective with her.

When she still couldn’t fall asleep, her mind went back to what she now called her Mr. Lytell Mystery. She had some good information but she needed something else. She’d looked through a lot of the back issues of the Sleepyside Sun from October 1968 through December 1969. One thing she hadn’t looked at was the police reports. She wasn’t sure who she would be looking for. She knew Mr. Lytell hadn’t been arrested but there was some sort of hanky-panky that took place. Without some sort of help she wasn’t sure she’d be able to solve this mystery.

She hadn’t had much time to discuss the case with Honey. Between her accident and Honey’s work schedule they had barely seen each other since the concert the week before. She glanced at the clock and then quickly dialed Manor House, hoping she hadn’t missed Honey.

The phone was answered on the third ring.“Wheeler residence.” As luck would have it, Honey had answered the phone.

“Hi, Honey,” Trixie said. “I was just wondering if you were free tonight. I’m getting stir crazy and I’ve been racking my brain about this Mr. Lytell mystery. I wondered if we could get together and discuss it.”

“I’m so glad you caught me,” Honey replied. “I’ve wanted to get with you to compare notes but wasn’t sure how you were feeling. Brian hasn’t said much either way about how you’re doing. I’m kind of surprised. I thought he might go all doctor on you.”

Trixie chuckled. “I know what you mean, but he’s been the perfect big brother. He’s asked about how I was doing but nothing more than what Mart has asked. I think if I had some sort of complications he would have stepped in, but that’s all.”

“Well, he told me a while back that he would never treat any of his family. He would be glad to help interpret what a doctor would tell you but he just didn’t think it was good practice to treat family. He didn’t want his nieces and nephews to be afraid of him.”

Trixie glanced at the clock. “We better get back to the question at hand or you’re going to be late for work,” she said.

“Well, it just so happens I only have to teach today and then I have the afternoon and evening off. Do you want me to pick you up and we can go to Wimpy’s for lunch?”

“That’s the best idea I’ve heard in a long time. Except for going up to your house last night, I haven’t left the house since Saturday. I haven’t been cleared to drive yet and I’m not sure I’d feel up to it anyway if I was.”

“Well, it will have to be a late lunch. I get done at noon. I’ll shower at the pool and pick you up around a quarter to one. The lunch crowd should be done by then.”

“That sounds great,” Trixie said. “If Hallie doesn’t have plans I’ll ask her to join us.”

“See you then,” Honey replied.

Trixie spent the rest of the morning helping Hallie with the household chores. She was able to dust most of the living room with her good arm. By the time she had completed that task her ankle was bothering her and her shoulder had started to ache. She took an over-the-counter pain pill and went into the kitchen where her mother was cleaning spinach and leaf lettuce from the garden.

Moms looked up from her task when she heard her daughter walk into the kitchen. “You look tired, honey. I hope you didn’t over do it.”

“I probably should have only dusted half of the living room,” Trixie said. “Don’t let Mart hear me say I actually enjoyed dusting today. He’d say that bump on my head was worse than they thought. I think I’m just going stir crazy.”

“Would you like some lemonade or iced tea?” her mother asked. “I just brewed some fresh this morning.”

“Lemonade sounds good. Did Mart eat all of the peanut butter cookies you made yesterday?”

Moms chuckled. “No, he didn’t and Hallie made some snickerdoodles yesterday as well. She somehow managed to hide them from Mart. She made a double batch and was going to send some to Cap and Knut.” She placed a plate of cookies on the table and then returned with two tall glasses of lemonade. She joined Trixie at the table.

“That’s right,” Trixie said. “Hallie mentioned something about even though they were old enough to take care of themselves, and could live off the land, they weren’t bakers and they loved cookies.”

Hallie joined them carrying a load of folded laundry. “Did I hear someone say my name?” she asked as she set the basket on the floor out of the way and accepted the glass of lemonade her aunt handed her. For several minutes they discussed chores that needed to be done and plans everyone had for the weekend.

Trixie finished her lemonade and carried her dirty glass over to the sink. “Honey’s picking me up after she’s done teaching today and we’re going to Wimpy’s for lunch. Would you like to join us, Hallie?” she asked.

The two girls headed up the stairs together, finalizing their plans for lunch. When they were out of earshot of Moms, Trixie explained to Hallie about all of the research she had been doing. She gave Hallie the articles she had copied so that she could read them before lunch and be a little more up to date on what she had found.

By the time she had made it to her room, Trixie could barely keep her eyes open. The next thing she knew Hallie was gently shaking her awake. “It’s twelve fifteen,” Hallie said. “Didn’t you say Honey would be here in a half hour?”

Trixie slowly woke up. She’d been dreaming about Jim. She couldn’t remember what it was about except that his supple chest had been bare and she hadn’t wanted it to end. “Boy, you sure have bad timing,” she commented. “I was having the most wonderful dream.” She sighed.

“Is it safe to assume it involved the ‘most wonderful boy in the world’?” Hallie teased.

By now Trixie was fully awake and making her way to the bathroom. “No,” she said matter-of-factly. “It involved the most wonderful man in the world.”

Honey was right on time. She had been glad that Trixie had thought to include Hallie. She knew how it felt when her parents’ work took them away for long periods of time and suspected that Hallie had always envied Trixie and her adventures. As they drove into town, Trixie outlined what she knew so far. Hallie and Honey asked questions and offered suggestions about theories based on the way they had interpreted in the articles.

Mart was behind the counter when the three girls walked in to Wimpy’s. “What brings the three of you into this fine establishment?”

“I was bored and Honey had the afternoon off. She took pity on me and we decided to go out for lunch,” Trixie explained.

The three girls made their way to the back of the diner and chose a booth that was surrounded by empty tables. Shortly after, a man sat down in the booth next to theirs. Trixie tried not to stare at him but he looked familiar. It frustrated her that she couldn’t place the face.

Mart stopped by their table with drinks. “I assumed you all wanted your regular drink,” he said.

Trixie was tempted to order something different just to confuse her brother but in the end the chocolate malt won out. “I’m going to have my old standby, California burger and fries,” she said.

Honey ordered a chicken salad and Hallie ordered a Rueben sandwich and fries.

“Maybe we should have gone someplace else,” Hallie commented. “We’re not going to get much done if Mart is hovering around us.”

“I happen to know that he has an afternoon date with Diana today. I heard him mention something about going over to White Plains,” Trixie said.“They want to go to Liberty Plaza and check out the sculptures there then take a leisurely hike along one of the trails. Their schedules have been out of sync and they want to get as much time together as they can before the guys leave for camp.”

“Diana mentioned that to me this morning,” Honey said. “I called her to see if she wanted to join us. She’s always missing out on our adventures. With the guys gone for almost six weeks, I thought this mystery might be a good girl power adventure.”

While they ate their lunch the three friends discussed their jobs, boyfriends, and made plans to help pass the time while the guys were gone next month. As soon as they saw Mart leave the diner, they literally put their heads together and began a serious discussion about the mystery at hand. Trixie glanced up when the mysterious man left the diner.

Suddenly, she remembered who the man was. “Isn’t that Jake Welty?” she asked.

The other two girls turned to the door but only saw the back of his head as he exited.

“Who’s Jake Welty?” Hallie asked.

“He’s the manager at the bowling alley,” Trixie explained. She looked over at the booth he’d just vacated and noticed that he hadn’t stayed long enough to eat. “You remember him from the other night, don’t you?”

The other girls nodded their heads and then they went back to discussing the subject at hand. Trixie glanced out the window to see a brown car passing by. She pushed her way out of the booth and ran to the door to see if she could get a better look at it. By the time she made it to the door, the car was nowhere to be seen.

Slowly she made her way back to their booth.

“What was that all about?” Honey asked.

“I thought I saw a brown car driving by the diner. It kind of looked like the one that hit me,” Trixie explained.

“Are you sure?” Hallie asked. “Maybe you should tell Spider.”

Trixie shook her head. “I didn’t get more than a glance of the car,” she explained. “If I reportevery brown car I seeto the police, they’ll lock me up and throw away the key.”

She sat back down and drank down the last of her shake. She sighed, “As much as I hate to admit this, I think we need to make a decision here.”

Honey and Hallie looked at her puzzled.

“Well, we need to get some additional information but I’m not sure what it is or how to find it without spending hours looking at back issues of the Sleepyside Sun or police reports. I know that’s all part of being a detective but I think we need to take Mr. Lytell’s feelings into account.”

Honey did a double take. “I can’t believe I’m hearing this,” she said.

“I’m not totally insensitive,” Trixie shot back.

“Don’t take me wrong, Trix,” Honey defended. “I think you’re right about considering Mr. Lytell. I just wonder what brought it on.”

Hallie sat back and just watched the two friends hash things out.

“On Saturday, I stopped by Mr. Lytell’s store before my accident. I asked him a little about how he came to Sleepyside. He didn’t seem to want to open up that can of worms again. Of course when I left I thought that he was wrong and that if I could clear his name even if he had told me to leave it alone he’d appreciate it. Now I think I’m wrong.”

“Wow, Trixie,” Honey replied. “You’ve really given this some thought. I’m proud of you. So what do you think we should do?”

“I think we should pay a visit to Mr. Lytell. Explain what we have found and ask him if he’d like us to pursue this. If he doesn’t want us to, we walk away, no matter how hard it is. I realize we’re talking about a person’s livelihood here. Proving Mr. Lytell did nothing wrong might just stir up some bad memories for people who are not willing to listen to the truth even if it hits them in the head.”

“Let’s go,” said Hallie. “Although from what you’ve said about Mr. Lytell, I don’t know if he’s going to want anything to do with you.”

As they headed out the door, Trixie said, “You’d be surprised. Ever since this spring when I was dealing with Todd Roberts, Mr. Lytell has taken a positive interest in me. He’s almost been encouraging on occasions. A couple of weeks ago I got caught in a rainstorm. I thought he was going to chew my head off because I dripped water all over the floor. He found me a towel to dry off until Jim could come and pick me up.”

They climbed into the BWG station wagon and headed out to Glen Road. When they arrived at the little store, they got out of the car and collectively took a deep breath. They had decided that Trixie would be the spokesperson.

As they opened the door the bells above the door jingled. With purpose, they made their way to the cash register as Mr. Lytell came out from the back room.

“What can I do for you today?” he asked. “It’s good to see you up and around, Trixie. I was worried after your little mishap on Saturday.”

“To be honest,” Trixie began, “I was a little worried myself for a while. My ankle is healing and I start physical therapy on my shoulder tomorrow. Hopefully, I’ll be cleared to go back to work on Monday.” She picked up a pen that was sitting on the counter top and began to fiddle with it.

“I’m sure you didn’t come here to just visit,” he said. “What’s on your mind?”

“Well,” Trixie started, not quite sure how to approach the subject. “Remember the conversation we had just before my accident?” Mr. Lytell nodded his head and started to say something. Trixie stopped him and then rushed on. “Well, I got thinking about it. You had asked me to not dig any further into it. I’ve looked at my notes and know there is a missing piece somewhere. I’m not sure where. I also realized that I could unintentionally be opening a can of worms and you would be the one who would suffer the most from it. It’s up to you if we continue looking into this.”

Mr. Lytell sat speechless for a few minutes. It was the last thing he had expected. “Well,” he said. “I’ve been thinking about this a lot since Saturday as well. For almost twenty years I’ve lived with a dark cloud over my head. I’ve been grateful that the residents of Glen Road have not paid attention to the gossip, but there are still people who will cross to the other side of the street because they think I did something wrong. I will probably never be able to convince everyone that I was innocent of any wrong doing, but for peace of mind I wouldn’t mind someone trying to clear my name.”

All three girls’ mouths dropped. “Are you sure?” Honey asked.

He paused in thought for a second. “Yes, I’m sure. I know that I didn’t do anything wrong and I have my suspicions about who did what. Someone has been running around Sleepyside for the last twenty years with everyone thinking he did wonderful things for this community when he really was underhanded. The statute of limitations has expired for any laws that had been broken so criminal charges couldn’t be brought against him but at least I might know the truth.”

With that Mr. Lytell turned and went into his back room. Trixie looked at Honey and mouthed “What do we do now?”

Honey shrugged her shoulders. She went over to the cooler. She grabbed a diet cola for herself, a lemon-lime soda for Hallie and a strawberry soda for Trixie. “If we buy something, Mr. Lytell will at least have to come back out and face us,” she said. As she approached the counter again, Mr. Lytell returned with a small cardboard box in his hands.

“Here are some notes and other things that might help in your research. Please be careful with them as they do have some sentimental value,” he said.

Trixie couldn’t believe what she was hearing. “Are you sure?”

“Yes, I don’t have the police reports or the minutes from the zoning committee but I do have dates. That should help you narrow down your search,” he replied.

“We’ll take good care of this, Mr. Lytell. We promise,” Honey said. “In fact, we’ll take this back to my house. Dad has a copier in his office at home. We’ll make copies of everything and then I’ll put it in our wall safe until we can return it to you. That will allow us to take notes without destroying your journals and notes.”

“That’s a perfectly perfect idea,” Hallie said. She had been around the Bob-Whites long enough to have mastered Honey-speak just like the rest of them.

Shortly after, they left the store. Honey had the drinks and Trixie had the box of documents. Trixie felt honored to have Mr. Lytell trust her with the information.

When they got to Manor House, Trixie called her mother to let her know where she was. Moms reminded her to take it easy but deep down was glad she had found something to keep her busy.

Honey let Miss Trask know they would be using her father’s copier. Before they got started they made a plan.

“Let’s just copy everything and then worry about content later. It’s going to take some time to get everything done,” Honey said.

“We could try to sort things as we go. The journal won’t be too hard as it’s in chronological order,” Trixie said. Hallie started to giggle. “What’s so funny?” Trixie asked.

Hallie continued to laugh. “You almost sounded like Mart with those big words.”

“Gee, thanks a lot,” Trixie replied sarcastically.

“Come on, you two,” Honey said. “We need to get at this. Why don’t we start with all of the loose papers. Someone can make the copies and the other two can put them in order. If we don’t get everything done, I can do the journal by myself later tonight.”

Hallie and Honey took turns copying while Trixie sat at the table sorting the documents. When her shoulder started to ache, she went over to the couch andrested for a few minutes after taking another pain pill. Hallie and Honey continued to work.

“Are you sure you’re okay?”Honey asked. “I don’t want you to overdo it.”

“Well,” Trixie admitted. “I am getting a little tired and my shoulder and ankle have started to ache. I just hate to leave you with all of the work.”

“And miss out on being the first one to find a clue?” Honey teased.

Trixie laughed. “You know me all too well, Honey.”

“We’re almost done,” Hallie said. “There about twenty or so loose sheets and the journal. Why don’t you just rest there for a few minutes.”

Honey glanced at her watch. “No wonder you’re tired, it’s after four o’clock. We’ve been at this for over two hours.”

“We’d better go,” Hallie said. “I promised Aunt Helen I’d help with dinner. She has an evening garden club meeting tonight.”

“Why don’t you take the BWG wagon? That way I can finish up here. We’re not eating until late tonight. Daddy had to go into the city today but wanted to have dinner as a family tonight,” Honey said. She handed the keys to Hallie. “I’ll drop the copies off tomorrow morning before I head to the pool.”

“You’re going to trust me with the wagon?” Hallie asked. “I’ve only driven a couple of times all summer. Mother didn’t want me to drive at all. She’s afraid I’ll wreck a car, even though she’s never even seen me drive.”

“I trust you,” Trixie said. “Moms was commenting the other day on what a good driver you were, especially since you haven’t had much practice. She said you were even better than Brian was after he got his license.”

Hallie blushed with pleasure. “Really?” she asked. “That’s about the nicest compliment anyone’s ever paid me.”

“You’re kidding, right?” Honey asked.

Hallie looked down at her feet in embarrassment and quietly answered, “Unfortunately, no. My mother is only interested in what makes her look good. She’s the ultimate social climber. Dad’s so into the mine half the time I wonder if he even remembers he has three kids. If they didn’t look so much alike you’d never suspect that he, Uncle Peter and Uncle Andrew are brothers.”

Trixie and Honey stole knowing glances. Trixie had suspected something like this but this was the first time Hallie had opened up to them.

As Hallie and Trixie pulled into the driveway, Mart got out of his car. His shoulders were stooped.

“Hey, what happened?” Trixie asked. “You didn’t have a fight with Diana did you?”

Mart turned and gave both girls a weak smile then resumed his trudge into the house. “No, we didn’t have a fight. Something weird happened though.”

When Mart didn’t stop to explain himself, Trixie started to run after him but her ankle gave out and she had to grab Hallie for support. “Ouch,” she said as she shifted her weight to her good leg and tried not to use her injured shoulder.

Mart turned around, concern replacing the frustration in his eyes. “Are you okay?” he asked, heading back to give Trixie a hand.

“I think so,” Trixie said through gritted teeth. “My brain sometimes forgets that my ankle isn’t completely healed. I hope I didn’t do any more harm to my shoulder when I grabbed Hallie.”

Mart started to wrap his arm around Trixie’s waist to offer her support. She stopped him.

“I think I’m okay now,” she explained. “It’s less painful on my shoulder if you don’t do that.” Mart looked a little put out and Trixie picked up on it. “I would appreciate it if you stayed close by in case this ankle decides to fail me again.”

Hallie went ahead to see if Moms needed help getting dinner on the table. As Mart and Trixie entered the house, she said, “So what was the weird thing that happened today?”

The two sat down on lawn chairs. “Well, you saw me leave Wimpy’s after I finished with your orders. I ran home to get a picnic lunch Moms had helped me put together and then went to pick up Diana. When we got on the road to White Plains I had this strange feeling like someone was following us. Diana did too but it didn’t seem like there was anyone unusual tailing us. I checked the rear view mirror several times. At one point I noticed an old white van behind us and wondered if it was tailing us. The driver was right on my back. If I had to stop he would have been in the back end of the car. I slowed down to see if he would pass but he didn’t. Right as we got into White Plains he turned off onto a side street. I didn’t see the van again.”

Trixie nodded, not making any comments.

“So we got to Liberty Plaza. I was hungry,” Mart continued.

“Why does that not surprise me?” Trixie interjected.

“Hey, I’m a growing boy,” Mart replied.

“Somehow I think that you will be using that excuse when you are eighty,” she teased. “Now back to the story.”

“So we laid out the blanket and sat down to eat our lunch. I suppose we could have sat at a picnic table but we thought the blanket was more...” Mart stopped in midsentence and blushed.

“TMI,” Trixie said. “So you were on this blanket eating your lunch.”

“Yeah, and once again we both started to feel like someone was watching us. We both scanned the area and nothing seemed out of the ordinary. After we finished eating, we picked everything up and took it back to the car. Then we went and looked at the sculptures. They have some really neat ones. Diana had done some research on them and was telling me all about it. She really knows her art.”

“I’ve driven by Liberty Plaza several times but have never stopped to look at the sculptures. I’ll have to do that sometime,” Trixie said.

“I’m sure you won’t have any trouble convincing a certain woodsman to go with you,” Mart teased.

“I think Dan would prefer going with Hallie rather than me,” Trixie said innocently.

Mart didn’t comment but said, “So anyway, we were standing in front of this one sculpture. I had my arm wrapped around Diana when all of a sudden someone pushed us from behind. Luckily Diana fell toward me and I was able to keep us from tumbling to the ground.”

“Wow, that was rather rude. Did the person who ran into you stop and apologize?” she asked.

“No,” he replied. “When I turned around I saw this guy running away. I got a glimpse of his face.”

“Did you recognize him? She asked.

“Yeah,” he said. “He looked like the assistant manager of the bowling alley.”

“Jake Welty?That’s strange,” Trixie said. “I saw him in Wimpy’s this afternoon. He sat near our booth and I recognized him from our night bowling.”

“Not Mr. Welty,” Mart said. “He’s the manager. I only know the assistant manager as Moose. From what I’ve seen of him, he’s got more brawn the brains.”

The two sat quietly for a few minutes. “That’s too much of coincidence,” Trixie finally said. “Fred Murphy heard Honey and me talking last week at the concert and I think I said something when we went bowling.”

“Are you and Honey on another one of your cases?”

Trixie didn’t want to lie but she really didn’t want a lecture either. She thought for a moment and then said honestly, “Yes, you remember when I found that article about Mr. Lytell. I started doing some more research to find out what happened. Things didn’t add up but I kind of hit a brick wall. Saturday I had stopped by to see Mr. Lytell right before I was run off the road. He told me to just drop it and pretty much let sleeping dogs lie.”

Mart couldn’t help but start to lecture Trixie. “And you just couldn’t let it go could you? Maybe Mr. Lytell doesn’t want to rehash old news.”

“Well, smarty pants, you’re wrong. Yesterday, I realized that I would have to do some major research if I was going to solve this mystery. It would take a lot of busy work because I wasn’t sure what I was looking for. I thought it over and decided that I should respect Mr. Lytell’s wishes. This afternoon, Honey, Hallie and I went over to see him. We asked him what he thought. He decided that he wanted us to try and clear his name and even gave us some great notes and papers from then.”

“Well, I’m glad that you at least asked him. I just hope you haven’t angered the wrong people.”

“The statute of limitations has run out if anything illegal was done, but Mr. Lytell would just like someone else to believe what he’s said all along.”

Hallie poked her head out the door, “Dinner is ready,” she said. “I guess you two will be on clean up tonight.”

The almost twins gave a good natured groan as they headed into the house.

Thursday, June 25, 1987

Trixie glanced up from what she was reading. She was shocked to see it was almost noon. She hadn’t stopped since Honey had dropped the copies of Mr. Lytell’s notes off early this morning. She was surprised at how meticulous he had been with his notes. Not only did he have newspaper articles and minutes from zoning commission meetings he had handwritten notes about what had happened, including suspicions he had back then of Fred Murphy and John Manydeeds.

His notes didn’t stop when the A&P pulled out of the project. They included an article from an Albany Times Unionnewspaper that reported John Manydeeds had been arrested for falsifying documents and misleading public officials in a case similar to the one in Sleepyside. Trixie made a note to see if the library had issues of that newspaper on microfilm.

“This is interesting,” she said as she read through some of Mr. Lytell’s personal notes. “The newspaper articles make it sound like Mr. Lytell was an arrogant, snob from California who thought he could run roughshod over the city of Sleepyside.”

His personal notes summarized his fear that the research the A&P had done on the grounds had been inaccurate. If John Manydeeds’ claims were correct, he was relieved he found out when he did and not after they had destroyed the sacred ground.He also expressed his frustration with how he was being portrayed. He had never given anyone reason to doubt his integrity, yet they were quick to question his ethics.

There weresummaries of meetings he had with the zoning commission, his superiors, and Fred Murphy. Apparently, Fred Murphy had been livid when he found out that building permits had been issued without his vote. Mr. Lytell had even made notes about a phone conversation he’d had with Fred Murphy where he was just short of threatening Mr. Lytell if he didn’t withdraw the proposal.

She had a lot more questions. They would have to wait. She had her first physical therapy appointment at one thirty so she needed to clean up and eat some lunch. Jim had wanted to take her but he and Brian had gone into the city to make some adjustments to their fall schedule. It could have waited until August but being the responsible people they were, they decided they would take care of it today. In the end, Moms said she’d drive her into town.

Her therapy session went well. The therapist did an evaluation on her injury and then showed her some exercises she should do every day to strengthen her shoulder. When she was done she asked Moms if they could stop by the police station. “I never heard if they had any leads on the person who ran me off the road,” she explained.

“Well, it can’t be too long,” Moms said. “I went grocery shopping and I don’t want the milk to spoil.”

“I won’t be long,” Trixie said, “I promise.”

Trixie hurried as fast as her ankle would let her into the station. She was greeted by Sergeant Molinson. “How’s Sleepyside’s famous sleuth doing?” he said.

Trixie didn’t know how to take his comment. She looked at the ground and mumbled, “I guess I’ll survive. I just stopped in to see if there was any news on the guy who ran me off the road.”

“Spider just came in. He said something about having a mound of paperwork to finish up before his shift is over. Let me get him. He knows where we are in the investigation.”

A few minutes later, Spider came out. “Trixie, it’s good to see you up and about. You gave us a scare last week.”

“You’re not the only one. It happened so fast I was lucky I was able to give you the information I did,” she replied. “Do you have anything that you can share with me?”

“Well, despite the fact that you only got a partial license plate number and the make and color of the car we were able to narrow it down to a few people. We’ve got about three potential cars that could have been involved in the accident. So far everyone has some sort of alibi.”

“I hope you can find something. I know hit and runs can be difficult to track down,especially since there probably wasn’t much damage done to the car.”

“We’ll keep on it and let you know if anything comes up. You’ll let us know if you remember anything won’t you?”

“Of course,” Trixie said. “And you’ll be happy to know I’m going to let the police try to solve this mystery.”

Spider laughed and then yelled over to Sergeant Molinson, “Did you hear that? Trixie is going to let the police try and solve the mystery of who tried to run her off the road.”

“Well, may wonders never cease,” the sergeant said.

Trixie said her goodbyes and then headed back to the car.

As she and her mom drove past the train station, she noticed that Brian and Jim were standing next to Jim’s Mustang looking it over. Both guys looked angry.

“Something doesn’t look good over there,” Trixie pointed out. “Let’s stop and see if they need any help.”

As they got closer to the car they noticed that two of the tires were flat. Before Moms had stopped the car, Trixie was reaching for the door handle and was pushing it open.

“Hey,” she said. “What happened?”

Jim looked up and tried to smile at his special girl. “It’s not good. Someone slashed my tires.”

“That’s awful,” she said, “And to do it in broad daylight. That’s rotten.”

“Well, since we only have one spare and the tires are both irreparable, we’ve called a tow truck. I’m so glad Dad insisted I get AAA. They should be here soon.”

“Did you call the police?” Trixie asked. “I just left the station. I was checking on my hit and run.”

“We’re two steps ahead of you,” Jim replied. “They were the first people we called. Since it’s not an emergency, they said they would send someone over as soon as they were free.”

Brian glanced at his watch. “I hope it’s not too long,” he said. “I was going to meet Honey at the pool. We were going to spend some time together before dinner.”

“I can stay here with Jim until the police and the tow truck arrive. Moms needs to get the groceries home. Maybe she could drop you off at the pool,” she suggested.

“Are you sure?” Brian said. “You won’t mind.”

“No, I won’t mind. I was going to rest when I got home and I can do that just as well here. You know Jim won’t let me exert myself.”

“It’s only because I care,” Jim defended.

“I know,” Trixie said softly. “And I’m so glad you do. Let me go clear this with Moms and then I’ll be back.”

After Moms and Brian had left, Jim suggested they sit on the bench outside of the station instead of sitting in the hot car. He gently put his arm around her shoulder and she rested her head on his.

“Are you okay?” he asked.

“Just a little tired. It’s amazing how quickly your muscles turn to rubber,” she replied.

“Well, just don’t overdo it. I don’t want to get a call at camp saying you are in the hospital or something like that,” he cautioned.

“Well, I don’t want that either. How are things going with you?” she asked.

“I’m doing well. I think I did well in my class. It’s amazing how a class that you take as a freshman would seem overwhelming but when you take it as a senior it’s not too bad. I think it’s because you learn to read your professors and figure out what the important points are,” Jim said. “I’m looking forward to camp but I’m going to miss you.”

“We’ve done this before,” Trixie reminded him. “And we’ll survive.”

“I know,” Jim replied. “But this year it seems to be different. Maybe it’s because I’m still nervous about our relationship.”

They sat in silence for a few minutes. The train station was rather quiet as it would be some time before the next train arrived. One of the attendants came up to them to check to see if they needed anything.

“We’re just waiting for the police to come to file a report and the tow truck to arrive so we can get new tires,” Jim said. “Have you been on duty long?”

The attendant replied, “I just started my shift about two hours ago. When I pulled into the parking lot I noticed this really old white van parked next to your car. I noticed it because it seemed odd to me that there was this fancy sport car next to the junker. The van was really rusty. They must have just pulled in to pick someone up on the one o’clock train because the driver was still in the car.”

Trixie’s eyes lit up as she listened to the attendant. She wanted to ask all sorts of questions about the driver and the van but bit her tongue. She had promised Spider she wasn’t going to investigate her hit and run and she would leave this incident up to the police as well.

She was trying to figure out a way to stall the attendant until the police came when she spotted Spider Webster’s police cruiser. As he got out of the car he said, “Didn’t I just see you at the police station and you were saying something about leaving the investigations to the police?” He winked at her as he said it.

“I’m just keeping Jim company as he waits for the men in blue and the tow truck arrive,” Trixie replied. “Then I’m going to go home and take it easy. It’s been a long day.” To prove a point she sat down on the bench while Jim gave Spider the information for his report. She wasn’t upset with Spider and knew he was teasing. She hoped the attendant wouldn’t be scared off when Spider started to question him.

Spider took down the needed information and then questioned the attendant. With practiced skills, he was able to ask the right questions and prod the attendant’s memory. By the time he left, he had a good idea on the make of the van as well as the first two numbers in the license plate.

The tow truck came and picked up the car. Jim had decided to call Tom to pick them up so they wouldn’t have to wait for the tires to be repaired.

Despite being tired from her physical therapy, Trixie could barely contain her excitement. “Jim, yesterday Diana and Mart went to White Plains. On their way over they thought someone was tailing them. The vehicle turned off on a side street when they got to town. Want to take a guess on what kind of car it was?”

“An old white van?” Jim replied.

“Bingo, and to make it even more interesting, while they were looking at the sculptures someone passed them and tried to push them to the ground. Mart thought it looked like assistant manager of the bowling alley,” she explained.

“Boy, the plot just keeps on thickening,” Jim said. “I wonder what it is that they don’t want anyone to find out. From what you’ve said so far there really isn’t anything that would make Fred Murphy look that bad.”

“I know. It makes me wonder what Fred Murphy could be up to,” Trixie said. They had pulled up to Crabapple Farm. She gave Jim a quick kiss and then made her way to the house.

 

 

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