This story is about breast cancer. I know for some it might be difficult if not impossible to read. I understand. I’m not one who likes to give or get spoilers but there are times when they are appropriate. Should you need to know any details before you make the decision to read this please contact me.

Chapter Twenty-nine

Friday, March 3, 2006

As the week progressed, Honey and Trixie’s enthusiasm over asking Dan to join their agency had grown. They knew that Dan was a good detective, but they had never had the opportunity to work directly with him since they were teenagers. Both were impressed with his attention to detail and his stick-to-it attitude. Several times over the past week, when Trixie had come up against a brick wall doing Internet research, Dan had stopped by and within minutes had offered a suggestion to Trixie that had led her down the right path again.

Honey was impressed by the concise, orderly notes he kept and was excited that he was as meticulous about filing was she was. Deep down she hoped that if Dan took them up on their offer, the two of them would be able to convince, bully, or otherwise show Trixie the benefits of good filing.

It was noon and Trixie and Honey had not heard from Captain Molinson since Monday. They had spoken with Dan right away Tuesday morning. He had been relieved to realize that Captain Molinson was not just sitting back and doing nothing because McDaniels was the mayor’s nephew.

Dan had suggested that he would contact Captain Molinson about hiring the Frayne-Wheeler Detective Agency. Tuesday was Dan’s day off, so he dropped by Captain Molinson’s house first thing in the morning to tell him.

At first Molinson was upset that Trixie and Honey had broken his confidence. Once he had calmed down, he wasn’t surprised. He knew that Dan Mangan would not be able to sit back and let things continue as they had been going, no matter what it did to his career. Captain Molinson and Dan agreed that it would work best if Dan was the contact for the Frayne-Wheeler Detective Agency. Dan had a legitimate reason to visit the Agency that didn’t involve the case.

Trixie and Honey were both working independently. Honey was working on the details for tomorrow’s stakeout. Dan suspected that a robbery might take place on Saturday because McDaniels had switched his shift. Their problem was there was no pattern as to which store might be hit next. The only common denominator was they were all located in the downtown area.

Honey was going to enlist Brian’s help and they would go to Wimpy’s for dinner and then act like they were heading to the Cameo to catch the early show. Instead, they would stroll along Main Street and go say hi to Hoppy. The two of them would keep an eye out for McDaniels.

Dan would try to tail McDaniels. He was going to borrow Regan’s pick-up truck. Fortunately, McDaniels wasn’t the brightest bulb in the box so it wouldn’t take much work to keep him from being suspicious.

Meanwhile, Trixie was finishing up her Internet search on McDaniels.

All of a sudden Trixie said, “I think I’ve got it!”

Honey came over to Trixie’s desk and read over her shoulder. “Who is Slim Novarski and what does he have to do with this case?”

“How could you forget Slim? Remember Cobbett’s Island and how Slim tried to fight Jim?”

“Now I remember. Wasn’t he sent to some sort of school because he was under age?” Honey asked. She continued to scan the article that Trixie had been reading.

Trixie clicked the back button on the computer and pulled up another article about Slim. “Apparently the school didn’t work out. Within a year after he graduated from the school he was arrested for petty theft. He’s been in and out of prison ever since. He was released about six months ago and according to my research has not been in touch with his parole officer for about three months.”

Honey finished reading the article but was still confused. “How does that tie him to Officer McDaniels?”

Trixie started to explain. “Well, it’s taken me awhile. We knew that McDaniels had to be working with someone because he wouldn’t risk having the stolen goods on him.” She got up and began to pace as she continued. “I really didn’t have any idea who could be involved and since we haven’t done any recent criminal investigations in Sleepyside, I wasn’t really up on who the big players were since Olyfant was put away on federal charges last year.

“Something told me to start checking out some of the criminals we had dealt with when we were in high school. I can only chalk it up to intuition because it makes no sense to look into the background of someone I haven’t even thought about for at least ten years.”

Honey just nodded. Trixie’s intuition usually was right on the money. When it wasn’t, it still usually led to the criminal.

Trixie sat down on her office chair again. “So I started thinking about who we had been involved in with. The first person I thought of was Dick the Dip. He seemed like a logical person to start given his previous convictions. Get this. He was truly reformed in jail and has been doing mission work in Guatemala for the past eight years.”

“You’ve got to be kidding me,” Honey said. “I figured he’d be one that was a hardened criminal landing himself back in jail as soon as he was released.”

“I know what you mean. I was shocked, too. I knew he wasn’t our connection but I still did a couple hours of research on him just to make sure it was the same man. Apparently People Magazine did a feature on him a few years back. He’s been given several awards but seems to shun the limelight. One look at the picture of him and there was no mistaking it’s the same person.”

“That is surprising. I can’t wait to see Brian and Jim’s reaction to that news.” Honey replied. She moved over to sit back down at her desk. “So what makes you think that Slim Novarski is involved in this case?”

Trixie continued with her story. “When I started to do research on Slim, I found a lot of articles on his antics, as well as his arrest record. There seemed to be a pattern. He would go into an area and commit a rash of robberies over a period of a few months and never seemed to know when to quit because he eventually would get caught. He always managed to find a different partner and the partner was always a crooked cop.”

“Well, that does sound familiar but how do you tie him to McDaniels?”

“The last time he was sent to jail was for a series of robberies that took place in Bedford Hills. That’s where McDaniels worked prior to coming to Sleepyside.” Trixie finished her explanation.

Honey, known for playing devil’s advocate to Trixie, questioned, “That’s pretty circumstantial. You can’t arrest either one of them on that.”

“I know that,” Trixie replied. “But it gives us an angle to work on. I’ve found a recent photo of Slim. Maybe Dan or Captain Molinson has noticed him over on Hawthorne Street.”

Honey paused to think for a few minutes. Then she replied, “Well, it’s not the first time you’ve come up with circumstantial evidence and let your intuition lead you to the criminal.”

Trixie was about to respond but gave a big yawn instead. She was getting very good at reading her body’s messages and knew that it was time to call it a day. She started to save the information she had gathered as she said, “Well, my intuition will have to wait for another day. I’m all in and if I don’t want to be sick and worn down, I’d better head home. I don’t want anything to get in the way of a Bob-White dinner.” The Bob-Whites had planned to have an adult dinner that evening at Brian and Honey’s. It was the first time in several months they had the chance to get together without the kids.

Ed and Carolyn Lynch would be taking Alex, Tommy, Mickey and Matt. They were going to spend the evening watching as many of the Star Wars movies as they could before they fell asleep.

Peter and Helen Belden were going to take Lizzie, Jill and Jody. The evening would be spent making plans for Lizzie’s birthday next Friday and playing games.

Maddie and Matthew Wheeler were going to spend the evening with Stella and Jenny. They looked forward to spending time with their two youngest granddaughters. Maddie was looking forward to playing songs on the piano as the two attempted to sing along. The two girls were excited to ride their favorite horse, “Grandpa”.

Honey looked at Trixie with concern. No matter how hard she tried to not worry, Honey could not conceal it. “Would you like me to pick up Jenny when I get Stella?”

Trixie sighed with relief, “That would be wonderful. I hate to keep asking you to pick her up. I don’t want to become a nuisance.”

Honey rushed over and gently hugged her best friend, “Beatrix Helen Belden Frayne!!! You will never be a nuisance or burden.” She gently guided Trixie to the door, grabbing Trixie’s coat and helping her put it on. “I have to pick up a few last minute things at the grocery store. Why don’t I have Brian pick up both girls and take them over to my parent’s home? Is Jenny going to stay overnight at the Manor House?”

“I’m not quite sure what Jim has planned,” Trixie replied. “That sounds great though. Tell your mom we’ll drop off some extra clothes and Jenny’s pajamas before we head to your house.”

Trixie grabbed her purse and laptop and headed out the door. Chances were that she wouldn’t do any work on her computer this weekend, but she felt more in control if she thought she might. As she climbed into her Expedition, she spotted Captain Molinson walking down the street as if he was heading into Wimpy’s. Casually, he waved at her as he approached.

“Captain Molinson, how are things with you today?” she asked.

Captain Molinson casually took in his surroundings to see who might overhear their conversation. “Well, they’d be much better if we could solve this serial burglar case, but that Mrs. Frayne is none of your concern.” He slyly winked at her as he finished the sentence.

“Captain Molinson! I am ashamed of you,” Trixie said in mock shock. “The Frayne-Wheeler Detective Agency has not stuck its nose in police business in almost twenty years.”

By now he had reached Trixie’s car. She was having a hard time juggling her bags while opening the door. He opened the door and helped her place the bags in the car.

“Is Detective Mangan working today?” she innocently asked, fully aware that he was scheduled to work the day shift and then was going to join the rest of the Bob-Whites for dinner.

“I saw him going into his office as I was leaving. He looked beat.”

Trixie put on her best face as she said, “Well, I hope that there won’t be any trouble tonight. The Bob-Whites are having an adults-only dinner. Dan could use the relaxation.”

The two said their good-byes and Trixie got in the car and headed home.

Trixie had decided to nap in their bed today. Normally she tended to nap in the den so that she could hear the kids when they came home. Since they were all going directly to their different grandparents after school she decided she would be more comfortable in her own bed.

It didn’t take her long and she was sound asleep. After a long nap something skimmed her cheek and she tried to brush it away. She wasn’t quite ready to be awakened from her pleasant dreams. Again something brushed across her cheek. As she tried to swat it away again, someone gently grabbed her hands and she felt light kisses trail down her nose and along her cheeks. Slowly she opened her eyes and looked directly in the emerald green ones of her husband.

She sighed and then snuggled up to him wanting to savor the moment. All of a sudden she realized that Jim was home and that meant it must be getting late. She sat bolt upright in the bed trying to get her bearings.

“Oh my, I must have been more tired than I thought,” she exclaimed. “If I don’t get going we’re going to be late.”

Jim, clearly not wanting the moment to end, gently pulled Trixie back into his arms. “Shh,” he whispered. “I skipped out of work early today. It’s not even three o’clock.” Gently he continued to trail kisses over her face and down her neck. “I thought maybe I could join you before we went to Brian and Honey’s.

Trixie’s response was to reach for the clasp of Jim’s pants. Although they were expected for dinner at six o’clock they were going to be a few minutes late.

The dinner was just what all of the Bob-Whites needed. Talk of investigations and breast cancer were tabled for the evening. Honey had decided to take a page out of Helen Belden’s cookbook and they had hamburgers with all of the typical fixings. Brian had volunteered to grill the burgers outside on their gas grill. For reasons only known to men, it took Mart, Brian, Dan and Jim to make sure the burgers were grilled to perfection.

The men headed out to the patio, discussing the best way to grill burgers. Each of them had their own theory. As soon as the patio door shut the four women burst out laughing. “You’d think they were trying to prove Einstein’s Theory of Relativity,” Diana said.

“Well, I for one am glad they are outside for a few minutes. If Dan doesn’t stop hovering around me I’m going to smack him upside the head,” Hallie said.

The other three women burst out laughing even harder. “Welcome to the world of Bob-White Dads,” Honey said. “When I was pregnant with Mickey, you would have thought that no one had ever had a baby before I did. It got so bad I’d take whatever work I wanted to do into the bathroom and lock the door. I was ready to put a desk in there.”

“You think that’s bad,” said Trixie. “Jim wouldn’t let me lift a thing. I drew the line when he wanted to lay out all of my clothes for the week so I wouldn’t strain myself taking them off the hangers.” Hallie and Honey giggled while Diana tried to keep a straight face.

“I’ve got you all beat,” said Diana. “The minute we got the results of the home pregnancy test with Alex, Mart decided that I was not going to lift a finger. The first day I thought it was cute that he did the dishes, laundry and everything else. When he wanted to install a stool in the shower as if I was an invalid, I lost my temper.” Trixie hadn’t heard this entire story but could see her almost twin brother going a little overboard.

“It doesn’t help that your hormones are raging during all of this either,” said Honey. “One minute I’d be, like ‘I can do this all by myself.’ I’d finally get Brian to let me do something and then I’d do a complete one-eighty and be yelling at him for not helping out.” Honey was the first one to laugh at her antics. All of the Bob-White men helped around the house, but with the exception of when Trixie had been first diagnosed with breast cancer, Brian was the most considerate.

“Well, I have to admit that Dan was really sweet when we went to our first doctor’s appointment this week. He was all nervous about it. I think he thought he was going to have to see things he wasn’t ready to see with the doctor present,” Hallie said with a gleam in her eye. “When it came time for the actual exam, he kept asking if he should leave the room.”

Trixie laughed, “You think that’s bad. I thought Jim was going to either faint or die of embarrassment the first time he saw me put my feet up in the stirrups. You’d think for as much riding as we have done it wouldn’t have bothered him.”

One after the other, the girls shared stories about when their husbands attended their wives’ obstetrics appointments. Some of them were funny, but others, like the first time Mart had heard both twins’ heartbeats brought tears to all of the ladies’ eyes.

The conversation soon turned to child rearing stories and tips. The gals had all burst out laughing just as the guys came in with the burgers.

“What’s so funny?” Mart asked suspiciously.

It took a few seconds for Diana to respond, “We were just commenting on how all three of you dads got a shower the first time you volunteered to change your sons’ diapers.”

Dan started to laugh along with the ladies, while Brian, Mart and Jim blushed. “That must have been a sight to see,” he teased.

Jim sputtered and then said, “You just wait. I had been warned by both Brian and Mart about little boys’ tendencies to squirt. The problem was the first time I changed Matt’s diaper. I was so worried about dropping him or having him roll of the table it was the last thing on my mind.”

The rest of the evening was a pleasant gathering. No one spoke of breast cancer, burglaries, or grant applications. It was a group of friends enjoying each other’s company talking about every day happenings.

 

 

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