Though Your Enemies Prowl

But on you will go
Though the weather be foul.
On you will go
Though your enemies prowl.

 

“Welcome, welcome!” Mr. Maypenny gestured to Trixie, Mart, and Diana to come inside his warm cabin. The three of them greeted him warmly, and Mart gathered their coats, taking them back to the bedroom where Mr. Maypenny pointed him.

“Mr. Maypenny, I know we just arrived, but I need to use your bathroom.” Diana told him, a slight flush on her face.

“Of course, Diana. You know where it is, right?” he said with a tilt of his head.

“Yes, thanks!” she replied, making a beeline for the tiny room.

“Mr. Maypenny, I can’t tell you how much I appreciate you letting us have our meeting here,” Trixie told him with a broad smile.

“Bout time your gang showed back up here,” he replied gruffly. “Besides it’s the least I can do since I didn’t keep that scallywag from hurting you.”

“Mr. Maypenny,” she repeated softly. “There was nothing you could have done that you didn’t do. You did find us,” she reminded him.

“Not that you needed my help,” he declared with a nod. “You’re a smart girl, Trixie Belden. You can use the cabin here for meetings as long as you need to, but don’t let that scoundrel run your gang out of your clubhouse, understand?”

“It’s not what he did that’s keeping me from going back,” Trixie demurred. “It’s what I did.”

“Hmmm…” he studied her judiciously. “You’ve been a cop. You know that you did what you had to do.”

“Mr. Maypenny, Trixie was never a cop!” Dan Mangan had arrived just in time to catch the last few words. “I can’t believe you would besmirch the fine reputation of law enforcement by calling this former Fed a cop!”

Mr. Maypenny frowned. “Cops, feds, detectives… all the same if you ask me.” He turned and gave Dan a look. “Mind your P’s and Q’s, young man, or I’ll be talking to you later!” he warned.

The old gamekeeper turned to Trixie, “Don’t fret over it, young lady. You did the right thing when you shot him. No matter how hard it is to deal with taking a life, it was the only thing you could do.”

“Trixie isn’t worried about that,” Dan interjected immediately, turning to look at Trixie. His jaw dropped at the expression on her face.

“Trixie!” he protested. “You can’t possibly…”

“Later, Dan,” she said, keeping her voice low. “Jim’s walking up and he doesn’t remember that.”

“Good morning, Mr. Maypenny,” Jim greeted their host. He was arm in arm with a petite, well-wrapped female. “Do you remember Trixie’s former roommate, Liz Wilson?”

“Liz – Mr. Maypenny is a long-time friend of the Bob-Whites.” Jim completed the introduction.

“What are you doing here?” Dan Mangan demanded.

“Daniel!” Mr. Maypenny reproved. “What kind of tone is that to use with a guest?”

“Liz is here because I invited her,” Trixie explained, placing her hand on Dan’s arm. “I know she’s not a Bob-White, but I need her right now to help us with this case. I was hoping we could at least accept her as an honorary member of the group, for now.”

“Excuse me, Elizabeth,” Dan answered after a long, hard look at Trixie. “It was just that you caught me by surprise. I didn’t expect to see you back in Sleepyside so soon.”

“Hmmm, I’m not sure why not,” Liz answered, handing her muffler to Mr. Maypenny with an appreciative smile. “After all, I’m officially an employee and stockholder of the Belden-Wheeler Detective Agency. What did you decide my title was going to be, Trixie?” she asked sweetly.

“Vice-President of something!” Trixie giggled. “You and Honey can decide that later. Come on in, you’re in for a real treat. Mr. Maypenny made us a huge pot of his hunter’s stew.

The two girls walked off, leaving Jim and Dan in no doubt that they were the cause of the laughter that wafted back to them.

“Is it time to call the meeting to order?” Jim asked, looking around.

“No, we’re still waiting on Honey and Brian,” Mart answered. “We could go ahead and eat while we wait,” he suggested hopefully.

“Let’s eat afterwards. Honey and Brian aren’t late yet.” Trixie didn’t want to delay the meeting.

“They’re not late at all,” Diana declared. “They’re walking up right now.”

Once the last arrivals were welcomed, the gang settled around the cabin, draping themselves over furniture, sitting on the floor and lounging just as they had when they were teens. Trixie looked at Jim, who nodded in response.

“Okay, I hereby call this meeting of the Bob-Whites of the Glen to order,” she announced. “This meeting is being held at a different location because the business we need to discuss is something we have to be very careful with. We shouldn’t even talk about it over the phone with each other. First, let me tell you about a meeting I didn’t have with Captain Molinson.”

Trixie launched into a description of the breakfast she had with Molinson. When she finished, she directed her attention to Honey. “Will you tell them what you discovered?”

“Trixie wouldn’t talk with me about this at our office. We have a new employee and while we’re fairly certain that he is trustworthy, she didn’t want to take any chances. We’re going to complete a more thorough background check on Jack. In the meantime, we’ve had our office swept for bugs. It was clean, but there’s a chance some of us may be followed, or our phone calls monitored. Jonesy seemed to know quite a bit about Trixie and Jim’s schedule, enough that he moved them from her apartment. We can’t take any chances that others may still be watching one or both of them.” Honey paused before continuing. “After talking to Trixie, I called Liz from a pay phone and got her to work on running down Jonesy’s employer.” Honey turned to look at Liz. “Do you want to tell all of us what you found?”

“Wait a minute!” Mart held up a hand. “I want to make sure I understand this. Molinson thinks that Jonesy had a motive other than revenge?”

“Yes,” Trixie answered quietly. “So do I.”

“She has a strong theory, Mart. Give her a chance.” Jim offered his support, squeezing Trixie’s uninjured hand as he spoke.

“Right, Jim. Like you’re going to disagree with her!” Mart muttered.

“Mart, Jim’s right.” Brian defended his sister. “Trixie knows her stuff, give her a chance.”

“Look y’all, if you’ll just give me a chance to tell you what I’ve discovered, we can stop all this speculation.” Liz’s voice was tinged with impatience.

“Go ahead, Liz. What did you find?” Diana leaned forward in anticipation.

“Molinson’s hunch about the parole officer was correct. Jonesy did have a job, but it wasn’t associated with a truck farm. It was associated with trucks. He was driving a tow-truck.”

“Wow, a tow-truck!” Dan whistled as he sat back. “He would have had plenty of opportunity to get around the county doing that. Who did he work for, or was he an independent?”

“He worked for an auto repair shop, White Plains Automotive,” Liz replied, glancing at her notes.

“Oh!” Trixie’s hand flew to her mouth and she looked at Jim in surprise.

Jim nodded, and Honey said, “But that’s where Trixie went to investigate for Tom’s cousin, Tim.”

“He must have seen me,” Trixie’s voice was almost a whisper. “He knew I wasn’t who I said I was. What do you want to bet he clued the manager in?

“But Trixie, if you didn’t see him, would he care?” Dan asked, his brow furrowed in thought.

“Because she didn’t use her own name, did you, Trix?” Jim turned to look at her, remembering her reassurance on that point.

“No, I used the name Teresa Johnson.” Trixie shook her head to emphasize her statement. “No wonder that car manager couldn’t get rid of me fast enough. Maybe it’s time to head back to the bowling alley and see if we can run into Darryl, Buddy or Seth.”

“I’m always willing to go bowling with you, Trix,” Jim offered helpfully, recapturing her hand and squeezing it again, as he gave her a fond look.

“We’ll get back to that later.” She tried to repress a return smile, but failed miserably.

Brian leaned forward and scrutinized Jim’s face. “Since when are you so interested in bowling, Frayne?”

Jim shrugged, giving Trixie a guilty look. “It’s good exercise. Trixie and I had a lot of fun.”

“Liz, is that everything you found on Jonesy?” Trixie wanted to divert Brian’s attention away from Jim’s newfound interest in bowling.

“Everything that either Honey or I can confirm. There are a few leads on Jonesy’s niece, but they all point to her being out west. I’ll keep chasing those down until we get it confirmed. It seems that the police are a couple of steps behind me, but since she’s Jonesy’s next of kin, they are trying to locate her.” Liz glanced covertly at Jim as she finished speaking.

“Did you get the communication issue worked out?” Trixie quickly asked, also glancing at Jim.

“Yes, I have one for everyone here.”

“One what?” Mart was curious.

“Encrypted cell phones.” Liz beamed at the group as she pulled the shopping bag in front of her.

“Wow!” She had Dan’s full attention, as he moved to get a closer look. He gave a low, appreciative whistle. “Where did you get those?”

“Daddy’s company supplies them to various agencies. These are older models that he can’t sell any longer, so we got them out of the warehouse at no cost. Daddy had his accountants write them off his books, and gave me his entire stock of this particular model.”

She pulled out a list and consulted it. “The numbers are in sequential order. I’ve already programmed everyone’s phone with all the numbers. Hang on while I make sure you get the right phone.”

The guys’ eyes glazed over as they began to drool at the high-tech cellular phones Liz was handing out. Mart grinned like a school boy, and began pushing buttons and playing with his phone as soon as Liz gave it to him.

“Wow!” Mart was amazed at the complex phone. “You’re giving us real spy phones!”

“Any tips on how to remember who is what number?” Honey asked, as Liz handed her a phone.

“I assigned them oldest to youngest. There were too many nicknames to go alphabetical.” Liz studied the number on a phone before handing it to Diana.

“So I have the first number?” Brian asked.

“Yes, and I have the last one,” she answered, handing the last phone to Jim.

“You’re younger than Honey?” Honey had always been the youngest Bob-White.

“Oh, yes, I’m a few years younger than Trixie.” Liz directed her attention to her own phone, checking to make sure it was turned on.

“What?” Dan was incredulous.

“Didn’t you know? I started school early, skipped a grade and did two years of high school in one, the same thing as Brian and Jim.” Liz stared at him, surprised that he was surprised. “My birthday’s on New Year’s Eve, a little last minute tax deduction for Daddy. Didn’t Trixie ever tell you about how we hooked up?”

“No,” he said slowly. “I never heard that story.”

“Hmmm, maybe she’ll tell you sometime,” Liz replied. “Okay, did everyone turn their phone on?”

Everyone nodded and murmured assent.

“Okay, well… call someone and test them out,” she said. “All the names and numbers are programmed into the phone.”

Phones began chirping as the group keyed in numbers. Some received busy signals; others laughed as they used the worn-out phrase, Can you hear me now?

Liz, familiar with the shortcuts, called Honey first, and the two women smiled at each other when Brian frowned because he got a busy signal on Honey’s phone.

Only Trixie and Jim were silent. Jim was staring at his phone and Trixie was staring at Jim.

“What’s the matter?” she asked quietly, placing her hand on his arm.

“Jonesy took my cell phone,” he said, in a low tone that only she could hear. “Regan was calling to find out why we were late and he took it out of my pocket. Dan called too. He… took pictures with it.”

“Yes, he did,” Trixie acknowledged. “You remember all of that?”

Jim nodded mutely, his eyes dark with angst. “Trixie, I---” he choked and stood. “I can’t stay here right now.”

“I’ll go with you,” she told him.

“No, I – this is your meeting. You need to stay.” Jim was trembling, but he was still speaking so quietly that only Trixie could hear him.

“I need to go with you!” she hissed. “Honey can handle it. Get our coats.”

Trixie flashed a message to Honey with a tilt of her head towards Jim’s back and the raising of an eyebrow. Honey was talking to someone on her phone and nodded in understanding. Trixie walked into the kitchen, dialing Liz. “Hey, I need to leave. Can you and Honey keep it going?”

“What’s wrong?” Liz asked immediately.

“We have a memory breakthrough,” Trixie replied softly. “Jim needs to get out of here for a bit.”

“Got it. Do you think you’ll be back?” Liz asked her.

“If not, I’ll call and let you know.”

 

 

“It’s snowing,” Jim informed her, helping her with her coat.

“How hard?” Trixie pulled her muffler around.

“Not bad.” He grabbed her hand. “Let’s go.”

They two slipped out of the cabin, largely unnoticed.

They walked until they were out of sight of the cabin, Jim leading the way. He had parked his vehicle down the road a piece, knowing Mr. Maypenny had little use for automobiles. He opened the door for Trixie and both of them buckled up in silence. It was a minute before Trixie realized he was heading to the clubhouse.

Jim pulled up in front of the clubhouse and parked. No words were exchanged as Jim inspected the outside of the snug building. He made no move to turn off the engine.

The silence between them grew tense and finally Trixie couldn’t stand it. She turned in her seat to face Jim, a concerned look on her face. “What did you remember?”

“I’m not sure… maybe all of it,” he admitted.

“Are you going to go in?”

“I don’t know. Do you want to?”

“No, not really.” She shuddered inside at the very thought, but tried to keep her expression neutral.

Jim unbuckled his seatbelt. “Are you okay? It’s not too cold, is it?” Jim pushed the console out of the way and unbuckled her seat belt before pulling her closer to him, his arms encircling her.

“No, this is fine.” She sighed. Jim’s arms provided the solace she needed. “Are you going to tell me what you remembered?”

“He beat you. He told me to sit and I refused. He beat you because I wouldn’t do what he asked me to do. It’s my fault you were hurt.”

Trixie shook her head. Her instincts and training had enabled her to figure this part out long ago. She pushed back slightly so she could look at Jim’s face when she delivered her conclusion about Jonesy’s behavior that day. “No, he was always going to beat me. That was just another way he manipulated you, Jim. He knew from the beginning he could hurt you more by hurting me.”

“He was right about that. My cell phone rang… I think it was Regan… I know it was Regan. He took the phone out of my pocket, but he didn’t answer the call. He played with the phone, and then he beat you again. Trixie, how can you stand to be around me?” Jim’s eyes were dark with pain. “I know how much it hurt, the beatings. My stepfather did that to you.”

Trixie shrugged. “You did everything you could to keep him from touching me, and you tried to protect me. He beat you just as much as he did me. Besides, if he was abusing me, then he was leaving you alone.”

“Dan called, and you stood up to Jonesy. He knocked you around and he…” Jim gulped as the memories flooded back, his eyes filling with tears, he gently stroked her cheek. “You weren’t wearing very much.”

Trixie nodded. “I had just gotten out of the shower. We… Honey, Ben and I… had been up in the attic at Manor House helping your mother with her Christmas decorations. I thought you were a few minutes early.”

Jim fought down a wave of nausea. “He touched you, squeezed you… your breasts… so hard I could see his fingerprints on your body, and then he beat the hell out of you. But you never backed down, never gave him any satisfaction.”

“Because of you,” she said hoarsely. “Jim, you never stopped looking at me. I know how much it hurt to watch -- because I felt the same way when he was beating you, but you never stopped looking at me. That’s why he couldn’t hurt me.”

“He took pictures with the phone. I wanted to kill him. He was going to rape you. He wanted me to see it. He knew there was nothing worse he could do to me.” Jim paused and picked up her hand. “This scared me, when he stabbed you. There was so much blood. But you, oh God, Trixie! You were something else. You took him out. He looked away for a second and you nailed him, right where it counted.”

“You helped me. You slowed him down so I could get to the gun. It got you stabbed.” For reasons she couldn’t understand, she was whispering now.

“You saved us.”

She shrugged, “Maybe. You know he was going to kill us… don’t you?”

“Why do you think that?”

“We could identify him. The minute he took off the mask and spoke to you, I knew he was going to kill us.”

“Of course.” He nodded. “I understand – the other was just his sick revenge.”

They were content then to sit in the vehicle, holding each other. Time passed and the light changed, unnoticed by the two, each preoccupied with his or her own thoughts.

“Do you have nightmares?” Trixie broke the silence.

“Yes, do you?”

“Yes – he’s always there, he’s always trying to kill you,” she told him, biting her trembling lip.

“He can’t hurt us, now. I’ll make sure he never hurts us again,” Jim swore.

Trixie’s eyes filled as she realized he still didn’t know all of it. “He can’t hurt us again, Jim.”

 

 

“Where’s Trixie?” Dan was the first to notice she hadn’t returned to the room.

“She had to go with Jim for a while,” Liz told him.

“Where did Jim have to go?” he challenged. “Look, did they take off for White Plains? Because if they did, then we need to stop them. She’s the last person who needs to go back--”

Liz held up her hand, her eyes flashing. She was still angry with Dan over the way he had treated her at the hospital after the attack on Trixie and Jim. “Would you just stop? It’s nothing like that. They needed to leave for a while.”

“Then what is it?” he demanded.

“Jim remembered about his phone. Maybe more. She said she needed to go with him,” Liz retorted.

“I hope they didn’t think they needed to go back to the clubhouse,” Brian’s voice was shaky. “Neither one of them needs that.”

“Why shouldn’t they go back?” Mart asked. “Hasn’t it been cleaned up yet?”

“Daddy had it cleaned up as soon as the crime scene tape came down,” Honey offered.

“So you haven’t been back either, then?” Dan said, leaning back and surveying the group.

“No, Honey and I were going to check it after the cleaning… but Celia and Tom checked everything, made sure it was clean and locked up,” Brian explained.

Diana shook her head. “I don’t think I can ever go back there.”

They were quiet as the realization sunk in that all of their lives were changed forever by the events of one afternoon.

“Let’s talk about White Plains Automotive,” Liz suggested, changing the subject. “It’s too risky for Trixie to go back there, but someone else could go.”

“I can go,” Honey offered.

“I was thinking of one of the guys,” Liz admitted. “Three of us girls can go bowling. Trixie told us there were three guys, and we’d probably have the best chance of hooking up with them.”

“Absolutely not!” Mart declared, coming to attention.

“Not without me,” Brian insisted at the same time.

Liz grinned. “It would make more sense.”

“Brian Belden!” Honey glared at her husband. “Do I insist on accompanying you on your rounds? This is my career and if I believe it is necessary to complete an investigation, then you do not need to be there.” Her arms crossed in front of her, and her hazel eyes were stormy.

“Why don’t you want me to go?” Diana asked Mart, scooting around so she could look at her husband when he answered.

“Because it sounds like fun and I want in on it,” Mart explained. There was no way he was going to make the same mistake Brian had.

“Bowling sounds like fun?” Dan scowled. “Look, two couples bowling makes a lot more sense than three hot babes. If girls that look like you three hung out at bowling alleys, every single man in town would be in a bowling league.”

“Well, it sounds like both Mart and Di are in,” Liz spoke up.

“Nope, they can’t do it.” Dan answered.

“Why not?” Diana demanded, her violet eyes snapping.

“Because Mart looks too much like Trixie. There’s a chance those three could put it together. Brian, Honey, Liz and I will go,” he shot back. “Look we don’t need to make stupid mistakes. Honey, what night did they go bowling?”

“It was a Thursday,” she answered. “They’re in some kind of auto mechanics’ league.”

“Then it’s settled. It just so happens that I’m off on Thursday,” Brian put in. “Honey, I didn’t mean it like it sounded.”

“Hmmm, we’ll talk about it later.” Honey’s voice sounded unconvinced.

“Great, just great,” Brian muttered, “so much for my one night of getting to be the boss. I’ll be lucky to get to sleep in our bed after this.”

“But I wanted to go!” Di wailed.

“Don’t worry about it,” Liz assured her. “We’ll have other things that need to be checked out. Besides, don’t you need a tune-up? Why can’t you just take your car down to White Plains Automotive before Thursday and see if you can learn anything that will help them out?”

“Now wait just a minute!” Mart spoke up again. “I don’t think Di needs to be going down there alone.”

“No, you wait just a minute!” Diana snapped. “What is it with you all of a sudden? Just because I’m pregnant, you want to protect me from everything. Since when is it dangerous for someone like me to take their car in for a tune-up?”

“What did you say?” Honey cried.

To everyone’s surprise, Diana burst into tears. “I wasn’t supposed to tell you yet!” she sobbed.

 

 

“Trixie,” Jim murmured. “I have to go inside.”

“Oh, Jim!” Trixie’s hand flew to her mouth, her eyes wide with disbelief at his words. Jim’s face reflected the pain caused by his newfound memories, and his attempt to deal with them

“You don’t have to go with me,” he said, taking a deep breath and squeezing her hand. “It’s just something I have to do.”

Trixie closed her eyes and nodded. “Give me a second, I’ll go with you.”

“No, stay here,” he urged.

“I’m not letting you go in without me,” she declared.

“Trix, just let me go in. I think this is something I need to face by myself, okay? It’s not just about what happened last month; it’s also about what happened when my mother died.”

Trixie bit her trembling lip and nodded reluctantly. “Okay.”

“Do you mind if I turn the engine off?” Jim needed his keys to unlock the clubhouse door.

Trixie shook her head and watched as Jim slid out of the vehicle and strode to the door with apparent confidence. He opened the door. Stopping to look back at her, he gave a reassuring thumb up, before taking a deep breath and going inside.

 

 

Jim looked around, noting that nothing really looked different. There was no sign of the struggle that had taken place. All blood had been thoroughly cleaned away. The table, the sofa, and even the sturdy chair to which he had been tied, were all sitting where they were supposed to be. Some of the best memories of his life involved this cozy clubhouse and now -- thanks to his stepfather -- it was also a reminder of the very worst.

Mom, how could you have ever married him? Did you have any idea what he was really like, what he was capable of? I know he loved you, because he never touched me while you were alive. Why did he hate me so much? Jim walked slowly around the room, remembering the belt, the blows, and the utter sense of helplessness he had felt that day. It was draining.

“Jim,” Trixie’s tentative voice came from the direction of the door frame.

He looked up and was nearly overwhelmed by his reaction to the sight of his special girl. She stood there, framed in the open doorway, her bare head glowing from the reflected sunlight. For one split second, Jim thought it was his mother.

“I’m fine, Trixie.” He strode back to the door. “Let’s go. I found out what I needed to know.”

 

 

“What did you find out?” she asked, once they were back in Jim’s SUV and he turned the engine over.

“That sometimes there isn’t an answer to why.” Jim’s hands gripped the steering wheel as he stared at the dashboard. “It wasn’t me. It was never me. It was always him,” Jim said quietly. “If my mother had lived, I think that Jonesy and I might have found a way to be civil to each other. But once he lost her, we didn’t have a chance. I was a reminder of what he lost.”

“Didn’t you figure that out years ago?” She was perplexed at Jim’s revelation.

“Yes, that part. But I realized more today. Trixie, I love you, but if something happened and I lost you, I wouldn’t become like him. I’m not sure I could ever reach my full potential… but I would never lose my faith, or the hope of tomorrow.”

“Me too, Jim,” she answered softly.

“Trixie,” he spoke after a long pause. “Jonesy… he’s dead… isn’t he?”

“Yes.” She forced herself to say the word.

“When?”

“In surgery. Brian kept him alive until they got to the hospital, but he died shortly after.”

“Trixie!” Jim pulled her close. “Why did you worry about me knowing that? You honestly believed I would hate you when I found out you killed him?”

She nodded again, biting her lip.

He gathered her tightly in his arms, “Never!” he vowed.

“Jim…” She blinked back tears. “It’s been so hard with you not remembering. I couldn’t talk about it to anyone else, not even Dan or Spider. He’s been through it -- and he still couldn’t tell me when the nightmares will stop. There have been questions and police inquiries and…”

Jim’s hands smoothed her hair before moving to caress her cheek, brushing away the lone tear that had escaped. “I’m sorry you have to deal with that on top of everything else. Is this why you haven’t gone back to work?”

Trixie nodded. “My license is suspended until the state board finishes their investigation to make sure the shooting was legitimate. Molinson’s team already provided their report, but there’s no telling how long the board will take to do their own independent review. Molinson tried to go easy on me, but I told him that I didn’t want any favoritism.”

“You’re not worried about the outcome, are you?” he asked anxiously.

“Not really,” she said. “I mean, I know I had to do it… or he was going to kill us… but that doesn’t make it easy to live with. Dr. Sinclair has been pretty good.”

“Yeah, now I can understand why you’re seeing him,” Jim admitted. “Trix, I’m really sorry you had to go through all of this,” he repeated. “My stepfather--”

“Jim,” she warned. “You just told me that you realized you couldn’t help who your stepfather was.”

“I know.” He ran a hand through his hair.

“Trixie, can I take you back to the cabin? I need some time to take care of a few things.”

He wants me to understand that he needs to be alone right now. “You know I’ll go with you, anywhere you need me to,” she offered.

“Yes, I know. But I need to do this by myself. I’ll call you later tonight, okay?”

Trixie nodded, and Jim settled back in his seat before starting the car and backing out.

 

 

Trixie was at odds with herself. She had been on edge ever since leaving the cabin with her friends earlier that day.

Why did we go back to the clubhouse? She moaned inwardly, knowing she’d never fend off the nightmares if she tried to sleep. She had declined an invitation to the movies with Bobby and his friends. Liz had just left for Trixie’s empty apartment, desiring solitude for a while, instead of the overflowing Crabapple Farm.

Trixie started to pace, remembering everything that had happened that fateful day, retracing the sequence of events once more.

Apartment – two thugs, no beatings. Jim is conked on the head.

Clubhouse – two thugs. No beatings until the amateur thug leaves. Now why would Jonesy wait for him to leave? What am I missing?

She sighed and picked up an envelope of photographs her mother had left on the side table. They were the pictures Diana had taken the night of the Frayler Christmas Program. Diana’s going to be a mother! I’m going to be an Aunt! Aunt Trixie? Hmmm… definitely not Aunt Bea. I wonder if Jim knows yet? She shuffled through the pictures, catching her breath at the sight of one shot. Then she froze, staring as a memory clicked into place. She remembered that image; she had seen the two men clearly from her seat next to Jim. They stood side-by-side, watching the boys perform, but one had his arms crossed. He drummed his fingers the whole time… It can’t be! It was him! Of course Jonesy waited until he left.

She pulled that the picture and looked at the clock. There’s no point in calling Molinson tonight; I can let him know first thing in the morning. But gleeps, isn’t Jim going to call? He needs to know most of all.

She jumped when the phone rang, and grabbed the receiver.

“Hello.”

“Hi, Trixie.” Jim’s voice was ragged. “Is it too late to stop by and see you?”

“Of course not,” she answered immediately. “You won’t believe--”

“Trix… exactly how many people will be around?” he interrupted.

Trixie frowned, realizing he wanted to talk to her alone. “Bobby and his friends are at the movies, Liz decided she wanted to stay at my apartment and Moms and Dad just went upstairs. So for a little while it will be just us.”

“I’ll be there in less than five minutes.” He ended the connection.

Trixie was waiting for him when he drove up, peering anxiously out the door. Jim immediately enveloped her in a hug, kissing her as if he hadn’t seen her in weeks instead of hours. When he finally released her, Trixie looked up at him. “That’s quite a hello, buddy.”

“You’re quite a girl,” he responded, kissing her again.

“Jim, what’s gotten into you?” she wondered aloud.

“Nothing. Trixie, you are the most important person in the world to me. I needed to see you tonight. I knew a telephone conversation wouldn’t be enough for me to make it until tomorrow.”

Trixie looked at him. Exactly what has he been doing since he dropped me off at the cabin with the rest of the Bob-Whites? He didn’t keep her in suspense. As soon as they had settled on the comfortable sofa in the den, he shared his experience with her. “Trixie, I went to the police station and gave them my statement,” Jim told her.

“Oh!” She was surprised by that, having suspected he was going someplace different.

“I pushed Molinson about your license, about making sure you were cleared,” he admitted.

“Jim! I told you that I wanted it by the book!” she admonished.

“Hanging around you has taught me a few things, Trixie. I’m pretty sure I know who Jonesy’s assistant was.”

“Jim! That’s what I was going to tell you!” she exclaimed, pushing back and staring wide-eyed at him. “The pictures from the Christmas program are here, and I realized as I was looking through them… who it was.”

“I’m not surprised! It hit me while I was driving to Albany,” he replied, taking a deep breath.

“You drove to Albany?”

“Yes,” he nodded. “But just as I was almost there, I realized all the answers were in Sleepyside -- so I turned around and came home. I called Dad, and he met me at the police station. I gave Molinson my statement and he – Molinson -- caught it right away.”

“Caught what?”

“Someone who does this--” Jim crossed his arms and drummed the fingers of his left hand on his right arm.”

Her hand flew to her mouth. ‘You figured it out, too!”

“Yes,” he declared. “I can’t tell you how many times I’ve seen Brad Thomas stand around like that. How did he manage to fool Dr. Carlos?”

“But, Jim -- What are we going to do? He’s at the school -- with the boys. We can’t leave him there. What if he loses it and hurts one of them?”

Jim shook his head, and gave a feeling a ridiculously unexplainable pleasure at Trixie’s use of the “we” pronoun. “Brad’s leaving tomorrow for the holidays. He won’t be alone with them between now and then.”

“Are you positive? We can’t risk any of the students getting hurt. Jim, let’s go confront him right now!” She stood up, but he pulled her back down on the sofa with a grin.

“Molinson’s going to follow him when he leaves tomorrow,” Jim told her.

“What?” she cried. “How?”

“Molinson’s supposed to be starting his vacation tomorrow. He won’t be back until after Christmas. I promised Marge some time off as well. Molinson’s going to follow Brad, and no one will be the wiser -- because everyone at the precinct will think he’s just on vacation. Marge plans to catch up with Molinson in a day or two.” Jim sat back, hoping Trixie was pleased with the plan.

“Are you sure you’re comfortable with Brad being up there right now?” she asked, chewing her lip.

“Not really, but remember -- he doesn’t stay in the student quarters. He doesn’t have a clue we’re on to him. Trixie, this could be the breakthrough you and Molinson wanted.”

“Okay, if you’re sure.” Trixie still didn’t like the idea of Brad being so close to Frayler Academy.

“Trixie, I promise you that Brad’s not going to be anywhere close to the students before he leaves tomorrow. Marge and I will make sure of that!” Jim’s green eyes flashed. “Dad promised to work with Honey to get the security system installed at the school immediately. He’ll move mountains if necessary. He even hired a security firm to patrol the grounds until the final installation is completed.”

Trixie nodded. Jim didn’t just agree to allow Brad to stay. He worked with Molinson on a plan to protect the school. “Okay, for now, we’ll follow Molinson’s lead. But you… you had no business bringing up my license!” she reprimanded with a sidelong glance.

“Actually, I really didn’t.” Jim grinned at her. “Molinson came up with that. It’s our cover story to explain my being there. He doesn’t want anyone to know I remembered what happened, and gave him a statement. He thinks he can trap more people by keeping it quiet.”

She punched him then. “Jim Frayne! What am I going to do with you? First you are putting me to shame with your detective skills and then there’s this entire Marge thing.” Trixie grinned at him cheekily. “Do Captain Molinson and I need to be concerned about your newfound closeness with Miss Trask?”

“Yes, you should be very concerned,” he said wickedly, grabbing her hands to keep her from punching him again.

She squirmed then, wrestling to escape his grasp as the two of them finally collapsed in a heated clinch. Jim kissed her again. “Trixie,” he murmured when he finally stopped for air.

“Hmmm,” she replied, her eyes half-closed.

“We’re going to be okay. I remembered what happened and we’re going to be just fine.” He assured her.

Her eyes opened fully as she gazed at him. His honest eyes stared back at her. “Yeah, Frayne. We’re going to be just fine, but you, my friend, are going down!” She managed to flip him so they landed on the floor, with Trixie on top.

“Okay, that’s fine with me!” He pulled her face down to meet his, capturing her lips. “As long as I go down with you.”