She Said
“What is it, Honey?” Di demanded breathlessly, as she flew through the clubhouse door. “Why did you call me? What’s wrong?”
“Oh, it’s just the most terrible news,” her friend exclaimed. “But it’s so horribly, terribly awful that I couldn’t possibly bear to tell it more than once, so I’m sorry but you’ll just have to wait until Trixie gets here, too, so I can tell both of you together, at the same time.”
Di’s pretty face took on a look of dismay. “But you can’t make me wait!” she wailed. “I got here so fast and everything!”
Fortunately for the pair of them, Trixie’s pounding footsteps were audible outside, along with the occasional crash of vegetation meeting flesh. In a moment, she threw open the door and asked almost exactly the same question which had heralded Di’s arrival.
“I’ve just gotten a copy of Daddy’s plans,” Honey announced dramatically, pointing to a sheaf of papers on the clubhouse table. “You’ll never guess what he’s doing, not in a million years!”
The three girls had been over the moon a few months before when Mr. Wheeler announced a special project for the summer. The main reason for their enthusiasm had been the fact that he had hired the male contingent of their club for the duration, effectively keeping them in Sleepyside. Honey’s father had been very secretive about the nature of the plans, but the girls had cared little. They each could expect their boyfriend home for the best part of the summer.
Trixie took up the papers and began frowning over them. “He’s building something? Or, is it that he’s making some kind of garden? Oh, I get it: there’s going to be this new building and some gardens and paving and stuff around it. What’s wrong with that?”
“Just look at this one,” Honey suggested, moving one diagram to the top of the pile. “This is a map of where the work will be.”
“Next to the lake?” Trixie turned the map this way and that. Her frown changed to a look of enlightenment, which quickly soured. “Oh, I see! It going to be practically on top of our-” She stopped short, with the words ‘secret clubhouse’ still unspoken.
“You remember the time last winter, when Regan saw a man watching us skate and chased him away? Well, Daddy says that since then, he and Mother are just worried sick by the idea that someone might come creeping around here while the Bob-Whites are swimming and having barbecues, so they thought that they’d make a more private place, where no strangers could get near us. He thinks this is a wonderful surprise!”
Di sank down onto one of the benches. “And we can’t exactly do anything about it, because if we stop your father from doing this, Mart and Brian and Jim and Dan won’t have work here, so they’ll go somewhere else for the summer and it’ll be even worse than last summer, because it won’t be just potential boyfriends that we’re away from, it’ll be actual boyfriends.”
“Even if we did want to stop it, what reason could we give?” Honey added. “Daddy means to start work tomorrow, first thing. That means, we really need to go over there right now and get all of the stuff we’ve been keeping there, before someone finds it.”
Trixie let out a groan. “It took us dozens of trips to get it all over there in the first place. We’re never going to get everything back before we have to go home for dinner!”
“I’m just glad we hadn’t gotten around to doing any pruning since last summer,” Di added. “Maybe they won’t find it after all. Could we just leave everything where it is and hope for the best?”
“I don’t think so – it sounds like a good plan, but knowing our luck, it would backfire on us, so we’d better start moving things right away,” Honey decided, wandering out the door as her friends followed. Trixie locked the clubhouse and the three were soon down by the lake. In gloomy silence, they got out the rowboat and started across the water.
“Where are we going to keep everything?” Di wondered, as they neared the other side. “And what will we say if we meet anyone?”
“We won’t meet anyone,” Trixie muttered, sourly. “They’re all watching some old war movie at Manor House. Let’s just hide the stuff in the boathouse for now and come back for it tomorrow, while the guys are working.”
They reached the far side and pulled the boat up as far as practical. Trixie gazed at it for a moment before speaking. “Do you think it would be quicker if we piled the boat with all of our stuff and just one person rowed it back? Then, after she’d unloaded, she could come back for the other two.”
“And while she’s gone,” Honey added, “whoever’s left can run some threads across the doorway. That way, we’ll know whether anyone’s been inside.”
This being as reasonable a plan as any, the three set about carrying it out. Before long, all of their belongings were stowed in the small boat and Trixie, as elected rower, was settled in with them. “Wish me luck!” she called, as she put hands to oars. Before long, she was out in the middle of the lake, well out of hearing of the others.
“I’ve been meaning to ask you something,” Honey confided, as they set about their task. “It’s not really something we can talk about when Trixie’s around, because of it being her brothers…”
“I know.” Di gave a wry look. “Sometimes I think it’s the worst mistake dating your friend’s brothers. You can’t talk about the things you’d like to talk about without grossing her out.” She unwound an extensive length of thread and proceeded to entangle herself in it. “So, what’s up?”
Honey twirled a long strand of hair around one finger as she waited for her friend to free herself. “You don’t have to answer this if you don’t want to,” she quickly clarified, “I was just wondering, okay? I know you and Mart kind of got off to a rocky start when you first got together last summer, and things haven’t exactly been stable for you since then–”
Di let out an inelegant groan and shoved the spool into Honey’s hand. “You don’t have to be polite. We’ve broken up four times. Sometimes even I can’t tell if we’re on again, or off again!”
“It’s not that bad,” Honey giggled. With the easy handling of long practice, she looped the thread and attached it to the branches on one side of the doorway. “So, you’ve had a few troubles. It wasn’t your fault that you got mauled by that octopus of a footballer and that Mart thought you liked that sort of thing, or that a boy from your English class had a crush on you, or about the little misunderstanding over the Valentine’s Day party, or that other problem with our last fundraiser, or that you had that little problem with Mark Higgins.”
“I still don’t know who died and made him Grand High Poobah,” Di grouched.
“Head of the Prom Committee,” Honey corrected with a giggle. She had always been secretly amused by Di’s grudge, which stemmed from the decision to give Mart’s Senior Prom the theme of ‘80s Grunge Rock’. “At least, I think that’s what it said in Mart’s yearbook. I always thought he was supposed to be the Prom Coordinator, instead.”
“I thought he should have been Head of Investigating the Cleanliness of School Toilet Bowls,” Di continued, narrowing her eyes. “It would have better suited his talents.”
“Anyway,” said Honey, trying to steer the conversation back to its original topic, “my question was, are you and Mart happy together?” She stood back to check the effect of her work and nodded with satisfaction.
“When we’re not breaking up? Yes, I think so. Most of the time, things are pretty good between us – except when we have these disagreements, I mean.” She sighed. “Sometimes, I wish that Mart had a bit more confidence in himself, though. I mean, most of the times we’ve had troubles, it’s because he doesn’t really believe that someone like me could prefer him to an octopus of a footballer, as you so eloquently put it.” She took a sidelong glance at her friend. “So, does this mean that you and Brian aren’t happy?”
Honey’s brow creased as she tried to figure out whether the response she wanted to give was ‘yes,’ or ‘no.’ Finally, she settled for an answer which required neither. “We’re happy. He’s a lot less… demonstrative than Mart, I guess you could say, but I know that he cares.”
A smile spread across Di’s face. “I’d rather have ‘demonstrative’ – it sounds like much more fun.” She turned thoughtful. “Actually, I think I’d really rather have what Jim and Trixie have. They’re stable and demonstrative.”
“If that wasn’t so ickworthy,” Honey replied, “I think I might agree with that. I just don’t want to think about Jim and demonstrative in the same sentence!”
He Said
“So, how are we going to keep the girls from finding out about the real reason we’re in Sleepyside this summer?” Jim wondered, as the end credits of the movie they had been watching rolled. “We still really haven’t gotten ourselves a plan for that.”
“My best suggestion is that we’ll have to keep them busy with something else.” Brian creased his brow in thought. “The main trouble is, what could we come up with that would occupy them for enough time?”
Dan sniggered. “A mystery, my friend.” With one hand, he sketched a scene. “Mysterious objects in every abandoned shack in the whole Preserve; extra-mysterious clues turning up everywhere; more red herrings than you could eat in a year; your secret will be safe. Problem solved.”
Mart cast him a dubious look. “You think you can invent a mystery big enough to fool Trixie for a whole summer? Manage that and I’ll give up between-meal snacks for a month!”
“Leave it to me,” Dan replied, rubbing his hands together. “I’ll have your instructions ready by tomorrow – and you’d better be ready for your diet, Mart. Those girls will not know what hit them.”
She Said
“Trixie! Please, wake up!” Try as she would, Trixie could not block out the pleading tones. “You have to wake up now, Trix. It’s really important!”
“Mmmf-gher,” Trixie muttered, unintelligibly. Her eyes remained tightly closed. “Mm ’wake.”
A hand grabbed her arm and pulled. “Okay, then. Get up! No time to waste!”
Trixie opened a bleary eye and glared at her best friend. “I liked being asleep. I didn’t want to wake up.”
“Yes, yes; fine.” Honey tugged her arm again, though without effect. “It’s a disgustingly-early hour of the morning, and it should be against the law to be awake, but you need to get up and get dressed and come and help us, before all of our efforts last night are completely wasted.”
Both eyes opened wide as Trixie regained full consciousness. “What did you just say?”
“Get dressed,” Honey repeated, before dropping her voice to a whisper. “I just found out that the first thing the guys are doing this morning is cleaning out the boathouse. As in, the place where we hid all of the stuff that they were going to find when they worked on the other side of the lake. We’ve got twenty minutes to get everything out of there before they start work! Come on!”
Groaning loudly, Trixie rose to meet this latest challenge. A scant five minutes later, she was racing along the path to the lake, with Honey following close behind. At the closest approach that the path made to Manor House, she came to an abrupt halt.
“Shh!” she warned, as she ducked behind a convenient bush. “They’re up to something; I just know it!”
Honey looked in the direction that Trixie pointed, and saw three male members of their club standing together. “Well, let’s go and move our things,” she suggested. “You never know how long they might stay there, and there’s no way we could get close enough to hear without them seeing.”
Nodding her agreement, Trixie set off again for the boathouse.
He Said
“So, where’s Dan?” Mart asked, as he joined his brother and Jim at the foot of the Manor House driveway. “I thought I was running late.” Turning all around, he caught sight of his friend as he approached from the direction of the stables.
“Welcome to ‘Operation Overkill’,” Dan declared with a smirk, as he drew near. Under one arm, he carried a plain, brown, cardboard box. “As promised, I have all of your instructions ready and waiting for you.” From the box, he drew a small bundle of white envelopes and he handed one to each of the others.
After greeting his with a look of suspicion, Brian slid out the enclosure and began to read. The others followed suit. “Oh, no,” Brian murmured, as his eyes skimmed down the page. “There’s no way that this will work. And, if you think that I’m going to do some of these things, you are greatly mistaken. Fake counterfeiting? A fake stolen property distribution ring? Miscellaneous clues I can handle, but this, for example,” he prodded the page with an index finger, “is downright dangerous!”
Mart took the sheet from him and read aloud, “‘Plot 4: Set Trixie on the trail of a fake drugs lab. Brian will make fake ecstasy tablets out of headache pills. Jim will leave mysterious powder in a shack in the woods. Mart will let Trixie find the fake tablets.’ Sounds okay to me! So long as we stick to the plan, it will be fine.”
“I thought you were the one who said this wouldn’t work,” Brian objected. “Didn’t you say that if we fooled Trixie for the whole summer, you’d give up between-meal snacks? Am I to understand that you’re reversing your bet?”
His brother gave a negligent shrug. “If you like. Now that I’ve seen the plans, I don’t think there’ll be a problem.”
“Exactly, my friend,” Dan agreed, with a slap on Mart’s back. “It’ll be fine. Here’s your equipment.” He handed over the box to the elder Belden brother.
“Where did you get this stuff?” Brian asked, poking through the contents. He pulled out an old, but functional, tablet press and quickly reburied it in the pile.
Dan simply shook his head and muttered, “You don’t want to know. So, you’re all in, aren’t you?” he asked. “We’re agreed? We just bombard the girls with potential mysteries until they can’t see the forest for the trees.” He paused and looked over at Brian, who still seemed reluctant. “Unless you’d rather that the girls knew that you were really putting your affairs in order before the big trip, while they think you’re working for Mr. Wheeler?”
“No, I wouldn’t,” Brian conceded. “But we stick exactly to the plan. Agreed?”
“Yeah, sure.” Mart waved the matter away.
“Exactly,” Brian insisted. “If – and I really do mean if – I take part in plot number four, we will have to make sure that no one actually takes them. With this equipment, there could be any sort of contamination, not to mention the inexactness of the dose.”
“Trust me,” Dan added, “you really don’t want to take anything that’s been in contact with that equipment.”
Jim looked around the group and judged the mood. “We’re agreed, then?” he asked, and watched as each of the others nodded. “Okay, then. Let’s get to work.”
She Said
“Are they finished, yet?” Di wondered as she peered through the undergrowth towards the boathouse. “I can’t stay out here all day, you know!”
Trixie craned her neck to check. “No, they’re still working.” She sank down onto the leaf litter, caring little whether her aged and faded denim shorts got dirty. “It looks like they’re taking everything out.”
When the three had arrived at the boathouse to retrieve their belongings that morning, it had only been in time to carry the boxes outside and conceal them in the bushes. Before they could leave the scene, the boys had arrived and started work. In the fifteen minutes since, the girls had been unable to get away unseen, and unwilling to betray their presence.
“I’m going to see if there’s another way out of here,” Trixie announced, impatience getting the better of her. “I’ll be back in a couple of minutes.”
The other two watched her creep away. “Do me a favour?” Di whispered to Honey while their friend was out of earshot. At Honey’s nod, she continued, “Get me one of Trixie’s bras – the nicest one she’s got.”
“Why?”
“I ran into Dan just before and he wants it for some joke he’s playing on Jim,” Di explained. “He wouldn’t say what he was going to do with it, but I’m sure we’ll find out, sooner or later.”
Honey gave her a dubious look, but nodded. “Just make sure he’s not going to damage it before you give it to him, okay?”
He Said
“Hey, Mart!” Brian called softly, as his brother was heading out the back door for an evening at the movies with Di. “I need to give these to you. Keep them somewhere safe, okay? And remember: they are not fit for human consumption.” He slipped a small plastic packet into Mart’s hand and noted his nod of agreement, before turning to go back inside.
Mart looked around to check that no one had witnessed the exchange. He resumed his trip out to his car and settled himself behind the wheel, before examining the package further. Inside were about twenty small, white tablets, each marked with an ‘X’. Each was smooth and well-formed; Brian, presumably, had rejected any that had imperfections.
For a long moment, Mart considered his options. If I leave them at home, he thought, Moms might find them, and then would we be in trouble! I’d better just keep them with me. That decided, he set out on his way.
He collected Di from her home and they drove together towards The Cameo, but Mart noticed that his girlfriend was not her usual cheerful self. Conversation lagged as they bought tickets and found somewhere to sit.
Around twenty minutes into the film, the nature of the problem became clear. “I’ve got a headache,” Di whispered. “I think I’m going to have to leave soon.”
No! thought Mart, settling himself further into his seat. Why does she only have headaches in movies that I want to see? He focussed his attention on the screen, willing the unwanted distraction to go away.
Ten minutes later, the situation repeated. “Please, Mart,” Di sighed into his ear. “Can we go home? I have such a terrible headache.”
The fake tablets in his pocket called to Mart. I’m sure that Brian cleaned all that stuff before he used it. They’ll be okay. It’s dark, too, so she won’t know they’re the same as the ones she’ll see later. “I’ve got some headache tablets,” he whispered, pulling a couple out. “Here; take them.”
Di smiled gratefully and took his advice.
“One thing,” he corrected, a moment later. “Promise you won’t mention to anyone that I gave them to you; they’re not exactly mine.”
“Okay,” she agreed, and settled back in her seat to wait for the drugs to take effect.
She Said
On the big screen, the movie was progressing at a rapid pace, but Diana could not concentrate. The headache of which she had complained earlier had increased until her head was pounding, and was made worse by a sick feeling in her stomach. The picture in front of her began to swim and she shut her eyes, forcing herself to stay calm. I have to get out of here, she decided, pushing herself to her feet. I have to get out right now!
“I need to go to the bathroom,” she murmured to Mart, as she stumbled towards the door.
She emerged into the foyer and made a dash for the ladies’ room. The self-closing door was still in mid-swing as she clutched at the edge of the sink and gave in to the urge to vomit. Ruefully, she realised that the headache tablets that Mart had given her would do no good now. Her head still throbbed, though not with as much force as it had, but the sick feeling had subsided. Thanking her lucky stars that there was no one around to see what had just happened, she cleaned up as best she could and tried to think of what she should do next.
Her purse, along with the movie ticket, were with Mart. Even if the notoriously overzealous doorkeeper let her back in, she had no desire to watch the rest of the movie. Sighing with resignation, Di settled herself in one of the uncomfortable chairs dotting the foyer and sat back to wait.
Three-quarters of an hour later, a surge of patrons flowed past her as the session ended. From their midst, her boyfriend appeared, his face creased with concern. “What happened?” he asked, sinking down next to her. “Why didn’t you come back? Are you okay?”
Di nodded to her handbag, which he had been surreptitiously carrying. “I didn’t have my ticket.” She arose gracefully, reclaiming her bag. “Anyway, we both know that you were the one that wanted to see this movie. I didn’t feel like interrupting everyone all over again, especially since I couldn’t really remember what happened at the beginning.”
“But, are you okay?” he repeated.
She smiled. “I guess so. I still have a headache, so I think I’d like to go home, but other than that, I’m fine.”
“I’ll take you home right away,” he promised, “but would it be okay if we didn’t mention this to anyone?”
Di grimaced. “Trust me, Mart, I don’t have any intention of sharing today’s events!”
His face still showing a lingering concern, Mart led her out to the car.
He Said
“So, how are things going?” Jim asked Dan, as the two relaxed in the barn at Ten Acres after a long day at work, clearing the site in preparation for the arrival of the builders. “Is the plan working out?”
“It’s going well,” Dan replied. He stretched his long legs, resting his feet on an old packing case and taking a swig from his can of cola. “I saw Trixie out investigating earlier. She’s been all over the Preserve, I think; even out to the bluffs. She’s looking so hard for clues that she won’t have time to notice that Brian’s acting funny.”
Jim nodded, slowly. “You don’t think we overdid it?”
“Nah.” Dan stretched his arms over his head. “She’s caught all right. Hook, line and sinker.”
She Said
“What are you doing, Trixie?” Honey’s voice held more suspicion than curiosity. “What are all of those things?”
Trixie looked up to see her best friend in the Bob-White clubhouse doorway and grinned. “Oh, I’m just doing a little thinking,” she replied. In front of her, on the clubhouse table, was an assortment of strange objects, many of them enclosed in clear plastic bags. She held several of them up, in turn. “This is a collection of partly-burned colour photocopies of ten-dollar bills. This one is a white powder – I think it’s powdered sugar. Here, I have some old junk jewelry, which I think came out of the attic at home. These cigarette butts and cryptic notes and other odds and ends, I think, are supposed to be clues, too. I found all of these things this morning in the clubhouse, the boathouse, the old school house, the summerhouse and barn at Ten Acres, the little shack where the Midnight Marauder hid the hamburger meat, the tool shed at Manor House and the chicken coop at home.”
“You’ve been all those places today?” Honey’s brow creased in confusion. “What does it mean?”
“Elementary, my dear Honey. It means that the guys have a secret and they’re trying to conceal it from me by making up fake mysteries.” Trixie’s curls bounced as she nodded, once. “So, the thing I need to think of is, how do I make them think that I’m running all over the Preserve – like they obviously want – while I’m actually investigating them somewhere else?”
“With a little help from Di and me?”
Trixie smiled. “That would help heaps! With three of us dividing it up, we could cover a lot more ground in far less time. Oh, and one more thing. Do you think you can distract them enough that I can get into a position to keep them under surveillance? I’d like to do that first thing tomorrow, while they still think I’m out looking for all of this stuff.”
“I can’t see why not,” Honey agreed.
The following morning, the plan was implemented and Trixie settled in for a long and boring wait. A long time passed before the first sign of anything unusual and she began to wonder about the wisdom of her choice, but eventually the gamble paid off. Peeking through the branches which surrounding her hiding place, Trixie began to make out the shape of the rowboat as it neared shore. Its two occupants were undoubtedly Brian and Jim. As the boat bumped against the dock, she heard her boyfriend’s voice.
“How long do you need?”
Brian paused before replying. “At least two hours. I’ve got a few things that I need to get done today.”
Without another word, the redhead pushed the boat back out into the lake, while Brian walked away. Trixie barely breathed as he passed close to her hiding place. His footsteps receded into the distance and she fidgeted, trying to decide exactly when it was safe to move. She did not want to be noticed by either Jim or Brian, but if she stayed still for too long, her brother would be gone and the opportunity lost.
Finally, the time seemed right. Quickly checking that the coast was clear, she emerged onto the path and started her pursuit. Before long, Brian came into view up ahead. He’s going home, she realised, slowing until he was out of sight again. What do I do if he drives somewhere?
She followed along, her heart sinking as she saw that her suspicion was true. Brian got into his car and began to drive away. Rushing to catch up, she opened the door of her own small, second-hand car and slid behind the wheel. Giving her brother time to get out onto the road, she watched and waited. She saw him turn out of the driveway before she began to follow.
Now, where is he off to? she wondered, trying to strike a balance between the risk of being seen and that of losing him. It’s almost like he’s… A moment later, she knew. He’s going to see Dr. Ferris! Pulling over, she began a long and frustrating wait for him to return.
Some time later, Brian came out of the doctor’s office and started off again. This time, he seemed to be headed right for the heart of Sleepyside. There, he made a short visit to the bank, then, to Trixie’s mystification, entered the office of Sleepyside’s most respectable lawyer. Half an hour later, she followed him home once again.
Strange, she thought, as she watched Jim collect him in the rowboat, for a return to the other side of the lake. I don’t know what he’s up to, but I’m sure going to find out.
He Said
“Trixie followed me today,” Brian shared, as the four men were gathered at Ten Acres. “She was pretty subtle about it, but I couldn’t help noticing that her car was always somewhere behind me.” He glanced from one of his companions to another. “If this keeps up, she won’t be able to help but find out what’s going on.”
Jim frowned. “Maybe you should just give in and tell the girls. I think it would be better for Honey to hear it from you, rather than have Trixie discover it and tell her. Think how Honey would feel if she found out that way.”
“I’m doing this to save her feelings,” Brian objected. “She doesn’t need to be worrying about this all summer. It’s enough when I’m actually away, and in danger, without extending it over all this time. I’ve made the right choice; I can’t just go back on it, now. I’ll tell her sometime later.”
“I think it’s time for plan B,” Dan added.
Mart snorted. “We already started plans A through D. How many plans do we need?”
“No, that was plots,” Dan corrected, “not plans. And it was plots 1 to 4. Now, we’ll start plan B, which is where we bring out the big guns: Jim acting suspiciously.”
While Mart hooted with laughter, Jim buried his head in his hands. “Why me?”
“Because there’s no one that Trixie would rather investigate than you!” Mart evidently found the whole situation extremely funny. “So, what will Jim be doing? Running around the Preserve, dressed in a gorilla suit? Writing secret coded messages and leaving them for Trixie to find? Parachuting into enemy territory?”
Dan shook his head. “No, it’s much easier than that. No heroics required. I just have to give this bag to Jim and all our problems will be solved.”
“I seem to recall you saying something like this before we started plan A,” Jim grumbled, eyeing the brown paper bag with suspicion. “Somehow, I have a really bad feeling about this.” He took the offending item from his friend’s outstretched hand and took a peek. His eyebrows shot up towards his hairline and his face reddened. “Whose is this?”
“Trixie’s,” Dan replied, with a wide grin.
“Hell!” Jim exclaimed, crunching the bag closed and looking one way and another. Without another word, he jumped up, rushed downstairs and away.
“Presto! One suspiciously-acting Jim,” Dan announced, with satisfaction. “That’ll keep Trixie off your trail for a day, or two!”
She Said
Trixie tapped a pen against her bottom lip as she sat looking out her bedroom window. All of the pieces of the puzzle were at her fingertips, she felt, yet the solution was not apparent. The doctor, she listed, in her head, the bank, the lawyer… it should make sense. Her brows drew together as she tried to fit it together. Why would he go to those particular places? Why the lawyer, especially?
Throwing the pen down onto her desk, she started to pace the room instead. Why do people go to lawyers? To sue someone? If they’re being sued? Buying a house? Making a will? To get a divorce? To defend them in court? She shook her head. The old gentleman whom Brian had seen did not do criminal defence work, she knew, and neither did he handle lawsuits. It had to be something more ordinary than that.
A will, she decided, though with a shudder. That’s got to be it. Now, why would he make a new will? Her father, with typical prudence, had insisted that each of her brothers go about that duty as soon as they turned eighteen. Her turn would be next, she knew. The idea that Brian would have redone that unpleasant task so soon after undertaking it in the first place made no sense to her at all. There must be a reason – and an important one – but she could not see what it would be.
What about the doctor’s visit, she wondered. Why did he go there? He was not, as far as she knew, sick or injured. He probably did not need a tetanus booster. But what about some other kind of shot? she thought, by association of ideas. Maybe he needed something else… like, if he was going somewhere that you need special ones for…
Suddenly, the ideas began arranging themselves in her brain. What if he’s going somewhere overseas? It must be somewhere like Asia, or Africa… maybe South America? That would explain the doctor’s visit. Knowing Brian, he’d be sure to take precautions against disease. A frown creased her brow. There must be more, though. For one thing, I can’t see any reason why Brian would want to go any of those places for fun; for another, that doesn’t explain the trip to the lawyer.
She rose, slowly, and wandered out of her room. There was one course of action that would settle the matter, she was certain, but she was reluctant to follow it. She came to her older brothers’ bedroom door and stopped. The room was empty; she was fairly sure that both were currently working on the other side of the lake. No one was around to observe her actions.
Taking a deep breath, she crossed the threshold and turned to Brian’s neat side of the room. I need to do this, she told herself, stepping up to the area where he kept his private papers. I’ll just look for the one thing I need, and then I’ll go. Her fingers trembled, slightly, as she flicked the catch on the expanding file. One of the labelled tags caught her attention: ‘Expedition.’
This is it, she told herself, peeking between the dividers. She selected a letter, headed with the name of a well-known charity, and skimmed its contents. It confirmed Brian’s departure date for a trip to Nigeria and outlined various precautions that would need to be taken. Further back in the file, she noticed a photocopy of his original application for the program. Nodding slowly, Trixie returned the letter to the file and replaced everything as it had been.
He Said
Jim raced down the path that led from Ten Acres to Crabapple Farm, brown paper bag clutched in one hand. His one thought was to get rid of the contents at the first possible opportunity, but he feared the consequences if caught doing so. He slowed to a stop and found a hiding place where he could observe the old farmhouse unseen.
Damn, damn, damn, he silently cursed, as he watched his girlfriend’s mother pottering about the kitchen. How will I get inside without her seeing me? His eyes travelled to take in the washing line. For the first time since finding himself in this predicament, he took a closer look at the bag’s contents. Despite his fervent wish to the contrary, the pale blue lace and satin bra was still there.
Another idea occurred to him. Maybe I could just hang it on the line with those other ones, he thought. Would anyone notice one more? He sought a space where this one item could be added to the rest, but was disappointed to find that there were no other bras hanging out to dry. Shaking his head, he went back to the previous occupation of watching.
Ten minutes passed before the next development. Grocery shopping! he thought, in triumph, as he watched Helen Belden walk out to her car with a reluctant Bobby in tow. Perfect! He waited until she was out of sight before heading into the house.
All was silence, as Jim carefully closed the door. He made it up the stairs without mishap, then tiptoed along the corridor to Trixie’s room. A quick glance told him that it was empty. His heart beat painfully as he slipped inside and looked around for an appropriate place to put the article. The chest of drawers seemed the best idea. Top drawer? he wondered, pulling it open just a fraction of an inch. He shut his eyes, pulled it open a little further and shoved the bra inside.
“So, you’re the one who’s been stealing my underwear,” accused a voice, behind him.
Jim jumped, jammed his fingers in the drawer and let out a cry of pain. “No! I didn’t – I was just putting it back. Honest, Trixie, I would never do that! I’m not interested in your underwear – I mean…” Unable to find a dignified exit from the sentence, he turned a look of pleading on his girlfriend only to find that her face was split with a Cheshire Cat grin.
“I know that you didn’t take it,” she replied. “I just thought I’d like to find out what would happen if you thought I thought you did.”
Not trusting his voice, Jim nodded and left the house. Behind him, to his immense embarrassment, he could hear Trixie’s smothered laughter.
She Said
The following day, a Saturday, dawned bright and clear. Trixie scooped up a handful of stones as she walked towards the lake. Now that she was certain of what was going on with Brian, she was left with the dilemma of what to tell her best friend. She walked out to the end of the dock and sat down, her legs dangling over the end.
She should know, she thought, as the first stone landed with a plop. Trixie watched the ripples spread and disappear. He should have told her. I shouldn’t have to make this decision. The second pebble splashed into the water. It’s not fair to Honey for him to just leave, without giving her a chance to prepare for it.
The next stone was smooth and round. She ran her fingers over it, brushing dirt away from its cool surface, before sending it to join the others. I don’t want this to interfere with our friendship. It’s his secret. He’s the one who chose this. A rough and cracked stone was next. Its entry sent up a big splash, which made secondary ripples of its own. The circles crossed and merged. Now that I know, I owe it to her… but what do I owe to Brian?
The last stone was in her hand, and she was absent-mindedly fiddling with it, when Honey approached. “There you are,” she called, sounding rather exasperated. “Di found this packet of funny white tablets with Xs on them, and she says she thinks she’s seen them somewhere before, so I’ve been looking everywhere for you, Trix, and asking everyone and no one knew where you’d gotten to… and what’s wrong?”
Without answering, Trixie rose to her feet and walked towards her friend. The stone dropped to the ground, unheeded. Now that the moment had arrived, she was more confused than ever. “I know the secret,” she revealed, in a small voice. “I’m just not sure that I should tell you what it is.”
Honey’s eyes dropped to the ground. “It’s something to do with Brian, isn’t it?” She sighed. “He’s been so stand-off-ish, all summer, and I just knew that something wasn’t right, only I didn’t want to believe it, especially since it was so hard getting together with him in the first place, but then I thought he really did like me, but maybe it’s really only as a friend, because I know that things between us aren’t as… well, as hot, I guess, as they are, say, between you and Jim, or Mart and Di; especially Mart and Di, since they’re so, uh, close and everything, so maybe it’s all for the best, though I don’t really feel like it should be, if you see what I mean?”
“No, I don’t,” Trixie told her with a rapid shake of the head. “And, puh-leeze don’t talk that way about my brothers in front of me again. It’s most definitely TMI!”
“Sorry.” Honey’s head was still bowed.
Shaking her head again, to try to clear it, Trixie continued. “I might as well tell you, now, seeing as you’re on completely the wrong track.” She drew in a shaky breath. “Brian found out about a program where people can go overseas and work in disadvantaged communities, like in parts of Africa, where there are lots of refugees from the war zones. He applied and got accepted, so he’s leaving at the end of the summer. He’s going to Nigeria – and I kind of get the idea that it’s kind of unstable at the moment, and he might be in danger some of the time. The real reason your Dad offered the guys work was so that Brian could get everything ready and the others could spend some time with him – and he could spend time with us – before he leaves.”
Honey’s bottom lip was trembling, but her voice was remarkably steady when she spoke. “Why didn’t he tell me?”
Trixie let out a humourless laugh. “Misplaced chivalry? I don’t know. It looks like he decided not to let us weak females worry about him, that he’d tell us at the last minute, ‘Oh, by the way, I’m not going back to college at the moment. I’m going to Africa, to rescue children from the militia or something.’”
Tears were shining on Honey’s cheeks. “I’m so proud of him! I just wish he’d told me about it himself.”
He Said
That afternoon, as the sun was lowering in the sky, the Bob-Whites headed to the lake for a barbecue. Brian was particularly looking forward to the event, as it would be one of the last of its kind before his big trip. Despite his assurance to Jim, he was beginning to doubt the wisdom of withholding his plans from the girls.
He set to work readying the cooking area, while a short distance away his girlfriend put out the tablecloth and arranged the condiments. Without seeming to, he kept a watch over her actions. Something in Honey’s attitude towards him seemed to have changed since yesterday, but so far there had not been the opportunity to pinpoint its cause. In the meantime, however, there was another task that he had been putting off and an opportunity to complete it was arising.
“Anything else need doing at the moment?” Jim asked, as he approached.
Brian took a covert look and saw that no one was close enough to overhear them. “Everything’s under control,” he advised, “but I’d like a word, if you have a moment.” At Jim’s nod, he continued, “While I’m away, I’d like your assurance on one thing.”
“If this is about Trixie,” Jim warned, “you’d better stop right there. My relationship with Trixie is none of your business.”
A scowl settled on Brian’s face. “She’s too young.”
It was matched on Jim’s face. “She’s seventeen. In the eyes of the law, that’s old enough for her to make those sorts of decisions for herself. As I said, it’s none of your business.”
“It’s my business whether you’re treating her with respect,” Brian countered. “Her happiness is my business.”
“Then you’d better take this up with her.” At that, Jim turned and stalked away.
Brian was still frowning after him when Honey approached, carrying a tray of meat. “Are you ready for this?” she asked, oblivious to his distraction.
“Pardon? Oh, yes, I can take that,” he replied, quickly recovering himself. She was turning to leave when he called her back. “Honey? Can I ask you something?” He noticed anew the slight wariness in her manner.
“Is something wrong?” she wondered aloud. Behind her concern, a glimmer of hope shone through.
He shook his head. “I was just wanting to know whether you considered the way that Jim treats Trixie to be ‘respectful’.”
Disappointment showed in her eyes. “Yes,” she replied, slowly. “He’s always seemed respectful to me.”
Brian frowned. This was not the answer that he expected. “Even in the way that he looks at her?” he persisted.
Honey thought for a moment. “Yes, that’s respectful, too,” she decided, “I mean, I think that you treat me with respect and look at me in a respectful way, and I’m sure that Jim looks respectfully at Trixie, though the way Jim looks at Trixie isn’t the same way as the way you look at me, but both are equally respectful, even though they’re different, if you see what I mean?”
Dissatisfied, but knowing a losing battle when he saw one, Brian nodded and let the matter go.
She Said
The barbecue was fired up and the four men busy prodding at the meat as it cooked. As they talked and pretended to work, Honey and Di set out the side dishes, cutlery and other requirements. Nearby, Trixie arranged extra chairs.
“I’ve been over to the other side of the lake,” Di whispered, while the male contingent was preoccupied with their task. “The thread is still there. No sign that anyone’s been near the place.”
Honey let out a sigh of relief. “Is the work site really all that close?” she asked.
“Kind of.” Di glanced over to check that they were not being watched. “It’s further into the cove – right near the place we used to go to sunbathe.”
The other girl nodded. “Maybe you were right: they might not find it at all.”
Trixie overheard the last remark and popped her head into the huddle. “If they don’t, I vote we spend a whole week celebrating right after they all go back to college, on account of the fact that we’re so much more observant than the guys are.”
“Two weeks,” Di corrected. “We must be at least twice as observant.”
“Exactly,” Honey agreed. She glanced over at the barbecue, where the food appeared to be almost ready, and dropped her voice to a whisper. “So, is everything ready for the plan?”
With a grin, Trixie nodded and drew out a plastic packet from one pocket. “When I spring this on him, Brian won’t know what hit him!”
“Serves him right,” Di pronounced, with a firm nod. “How dare he think that he can keep such a big secret from everyone, and especially from Honey? If I was in your situation–”
“Food’s on!” Dan called, denying them the chance to discuss the matter further. “Get it while it’s hot!”
In a moment, the whole group had converged on the table. As usual, there was a certain amount of petty squabbling among the Beldens. “I think you will find, dear Beatrix,” Mart announced, in pompous tones, “that you have your hand on my plate.”
“Really?” she replied. “I thought it was a serving platter.”
“You wound me,” he moaned, clutching his side. “My own sibling. How am I supposed to endure such hardships?”
“Well, as Abraham Lincoln said, Et tu, Bruté.” Trixie picked up a banana from the table and handed it to her brother. “A present, from me. You may use it to sustain yourself in this difficult situation.”
Mart shook his head at her application of Shakespeare’s words, not to mention the person to whom they were attributed, but chose not to comment. Conversation lagged, especially near Mart, as the meal got into full swing. A short time later, Di declared herself finished, and began to clear away the leftovers.
“Ah, this is the life,” declared Mart, as he stretched out. “Plenty to eat; dessert still to come and someone else to do the cleaning up.”
Trixie was more than ready to continue the earlier squabble. “If that’s your attitude, maybe there won’t be any dessert – for you.”
“He’ll do his share of the work, won’t you sweetie?” Di defended, coming up beside him. “He’s just teasing, Trixie. There’s no need to get worked up about it.” With a tug on his arm, she brought her boyfriend to his feet. “In fact, I could use your help right now.”
Grumbling good-naturedly, he assented. The work was almost done, and the sweet course set out, when Honey inadvertently set another chain of events in motioned. She noticed a red smear near the neckband of Dan’s T-shirt and picked up a napkin. “You have something here,” she murmured, handing it to him.
“It’s lipstick,” he answered, with a grin.
Suspicious as always, Trixie leaned in for a sniff. “It’s ketchup,” she pronounced.
“It’s Trixie’s lipstick,” Dan disagreed. He lunged for her, but missed as she jumped out of the way.
Sticking her tongue out, she taunted, “That’s all you know: I don’t even wear lipstick.”
“Yes, you do.” Dan reached for her once again, with a smirk. “Ketchup-lipstick. It’s time to admit it; they’ve found out our secret.” As she once again evaded him, he began his best Elvis-impression, which was not especially good. “‘Don’t be cruel to a heart that’s true… I don’t want no other love; baby, it’s just you I’m thinking of!’”
“Idiot,” she laughed, letting her guard down. He swooped towards her and caught her by the waist, pulling her towards him for a hug.
As her friends howled with laughter, Trixie struggled to break free of his encircling arms. While she was doing so, she caught a glimpse of Jim’s angry face. “Stop it!” she hissed, giving Dan a shove. “Let me go!”
Caught up in the joke, he ignored her and began to rain her with pretend kisses. In the background, Jim stalked away. “Stop it!” she repeated, catching him in the ribs with a fist. “Can’t you see what you’re doing?”
Dan’s gaze travelled in the direction of the retreating figure and he hissed a curse.
He Said
“Jim!” Dan called, jogging to try to catch the other man. “Hold it, will you?” Up ahead, Jim kept moving. Dan broke into a run.
“I don’t want to talk to you,” Jim threw at him as they drew even. “Go away.”
“It was just a joke,” Dan stated firmly, as they both came to a stop. “I didn’t really kiss her, and I wasn’t holding her that tight, either. I just had a hold of her arm, so she couldn’t get away.” Beside him, Jim was silent, brooding and still, offering no response. “If it makes you feel any better,” Dan continued, “she hit me hard enough that I think there’ll be a bruise.”
Anger flaring, Jim turned on him. “If you don’t leave me alone, I’ll hit you hard enough to do a hell of a lot more than that.”
Holding out an open hand in defence, the other man took a step backwards. “Easy.” Sizing up the situation, he decided on the best course of action. “I’m sorry, okay? It was a joke, but I can see that you didn’t think it was funny. Can we just leave it at that, please?”
The other man’s breath hissed between his teeth. “I don’t like to see someone else man-handling my girlfriend, okay? Especially while her brothers stand by and think it’s funny.”
Suddenly, Dan understood the problem. “What has Brian done, now?” he wondered, aloud. “Is he still on your case?”
Jim let out a bitter laugh. “We had a little talk earlier, on the topic of ‘Appropriate Conduct While Brian is Away.’ Let’s just say that I think I’m going to strangle someone.”
Dan hooted. “Let me guess: no touching; no looking; keep at arms’ length at all times; no PG- or higher-rated elements to your conversation and definitely no swimsuits.”
A rueful smile crossed Jim’s face. “I didn’t let him get as far as specifics; I just told him he’d have to talk to Trixie about it.” At Dan’s startled look, he added, “The way I’m feeling right now, I’m not sure I want him to survive that encounter.”
“Well, you never know your luck,” Dan replied, with a shrug. “Maybe, after Brian’s talked to her, Trixie might decide to rebel against him and jump you.”
Spluttering with surprise, Jim answered, “I’ll have to keep that in mind.”
She Said
Jim and Dan had returned to the lake after ten long, tense minutes. Neither had said a word about what had happened in the intervening time and none of the others felt inclined towards asking. After a few moments, Honey had brightly suggested that they move on to dessert and so the meal had continued, almost as if nothing had happened.
“That was lovely,” Honey commented, as the last scraps were cleared away. “It’s so nice for all of us to be together like this, sharing everything.”
“I have something that I’d like to share,” Trixie added, drawing out the packet of tablets and throwing them down on the table for all to see. She turned to her eldest brother. “I didn’t know you’d changed your career plans to include pharmaceuticals,” she commented, with a raised eyebrow. “You’ve done quite a nice job on these, I think, but maybe next time you should be a little more careful where you leave them.”
“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” he replied, in a thoroughly unconvincing manner.
His sister shrugged. “If you say so.” She wound a ringlet around her finger, watching him intensely. “Though, that might be a skill that you might need in the near future; you never know.”
With satisfaction, Trixie noted his sharp look and the lingering glances that he threw her over the next few minutes. She let the conversation flow, allowing the hint to do its work. Her satisfaction turned to dismay a few minutes later when the focus changed from Brian to Mart.
The night before, the group had gone out to see a friendly basketball game between a Sleepyside team and one from Croton-on-Hudson. In discussing the game, a few chance remarks set the wheels turning in Di’s head. The big controversy of the game had been a play when one of the home team had taken a particularly long shot and it had come off. As it had right afterwards, the wisdom of the move had divided the group.
“I still think it would have been safer for him to move across the court and try to get a little closer before he made the shot,” Brian insisted, as had been his stance all along. “It would have lost our team the game, if he’d missed.”
Across the court, thought Di, frowning. Across. A cross. Tablets with a cross.
“So? Sometimes, you just have to take a risk,” Mart replied. “It was a calculated risk and I think it paid off.”
A calculated risk. Tablets with a cross. A fire blazed in Di’s eyes, as she suddenly remembered why the tablets were familiar. “You mean, like giving me tablets that have been messed with by Brian?” she asked, in a dangerous voice. “I just knew I’d seen those somewhere before; now, I’m positive!”
“Di! You promised!” Mart looked at her with wild eyes. Behind him, another danger was growing.
“You gave some of them to Di?” Brian demanded, anger blazing in his voice. “You promised that no one would take them!”
“You really shouldn’t have done that.” Dan’s face revealed his horror at the idea. “I got that tablet press from the stables. I don’t know what they used to use it for, but it had a big skull and crossbones sign on it when I found it.”
The group went still. Di took a step towards Mart. The anger that she had earlier displayed was replaced with a deceptive calm. “You risked my life so that you could see the end of a movie?” she asked, in a small, quiet voice.
Mart’s face had turned deathly pale. “I’m sorry.” His voice was so hoarse that she could hardly make out the words. “I didn’t know.”
Several of the group flinched, as the sound of a slap echoed across the water. Di stared for a moment at her hand, which was slightly red, then turned her gaze to Mart’s face. The outline of every finger was clearly defined in the red mark on his cheek.
“We’re finished!” she cried, before turning and running from the scene.
He Said
“Mart, a word,” Brian demanded, catching his brother by the arm and dragging him away. They were barely out of earshot when he began his tirade. “Do you have any idea what you’ve done? What if there had been some residual poison on the equipment, which might have contaminated the whole batch? How could you not realise that there might have been serious repercussions? If Di had gotten sick, we both would have been in a lot of trouble. I trusted you! You promised me that no one would take the tablets, and yet, you deliberately gave them to Di – your own girlfriend, whom you have professed to care for.”
“I guessed that you’d cleaned everything before you started,” Mart muttered. “Look, I’m sorry, okay? I didn’t think things through. I admit that I did the wrong thing.”
Brian was only beginning to warm to his subject. “The wrong thing? I don’t think you’ve fully grasped the implications, here. Yes, it’s true that I cleaned everything, however it’s not always possible to remove all traces of a substance. There are some poisons which it only takes a minute amount to kill a person.”
“Kill?” Mart moaned, covering his face with his hands. “Surely, it’s not that serious?”
“How do you know?” Brian glared at his brother, but the answer was not forthcoming. All of a sudden, he wanted the conversation to be over; he wanted the chance to recover his nerves in private. “I have to go.”
Mart watched him leave, knowing deep inside that things would never be quite the same again.
She Said
“Is that you, Brian?” Helen Belden called, as quiet footsteps passed through the kitchen. She caught sight of her son and instantly knew that something was very wrong. “Are you okay?”
A ghost of a smile crossed his face. “Not really, Moms. I’ve had something of a shock.” When his mother did not respond, he continued, “Mart broke a promise to me, that put someone else’s life at risk. If things had gone differently… Moms, it would have been my fault if she’d died, or become extremely ill.”
The gasp that escaped Helen’s lips did not seem to surprise her son at all. “I was going up to my room, but I think I’ll go out for a while, instead,” he said, carefully, before leaving through the kitchen door.
Helen watched his departure in concern. A few moments later, her husband walked past with a large bottle of tawny liquid under his arm. Her deductive skills were not stretched at all, when she came to the conclusion that he had overheard the exchange.
“Where do you think you’re going with that?” she asked, raising an eyebrow at the bottle in question. “He’s under age.”
“This?” he asked, gazing at the whiskey as if he’d never seen it before. “This is for me. Brian will have to cope with the situation by himself.”
Shaking her head, Helen let him go.
He Said
A gentle breeze was shifting the leaves outside and stirring dust in the loft of the old barn at Ten Acres. Brian gazed out at the landscape, unseeing in his abstraction. His reflection was disturbed by the sound of knocking at the door below. A moment later, he heard his father call his name.
“Dad, what are you doing here?” he asked, after walking downstairs and letting him in. “How did you know I was here?”
“Just a hunch,” he replied. “You didn’t think you could keep this place a secret from everyone, did you?”
Brian shrugged. “I thought we’d done quite well.” He turned toward the stairs. “You’d better come up.”
The two settled on the sofas, opposite each other. Peter placed the bottle he carried on the old, wooden packing case that served as a table. He took two glasses from a nearby shelf and poured a finger’s width into each.
“I told your mother that this was for me – and I surely feel like I could use some right now – but I’m also willing to share.”
“Thanks, Dad,” Brian replied, picking up one of the glasses. “I’ll admit to feeling pretty shocked by everything that’s happened.”
Peter took a slow sip of his drink. “Like to talk about it?”
Brian paused with the glass to his lips, then replaced it on the table. “I feel like I’ve had a narrow escape from terrible consequences.” He picked up the glass and rolled it around, watching the liquid make trails across the surface. “We wanted to keep the girls from finding out about my trip, so Dan came up with a scheme. We made up a lot of false mysteries, to keep them occupied with chasing clues, but they saw through all of them – except that in the meantime, Mart used one of the props, which I had prepared, in a manner which I had strictly forbidden.”
“You feel betrayed?”
The breath hissed out between Brian’s teeth. “Yes! And angry. And guilty. I never should have agreed to the scheme in the first place. It was too dangerous. There was too much risk: potentially, innocent victims, not to mention my future career.” He frowned and put the glass down, again. “I don’t think I’ll be able to trust Mart with something that important, again.”
His father nodded. “A wise decision, I think. Though, I hope your brother has learned his lesson.” There was a pause, while Peter seemed to consider his words. “I hope you’ll reconsider the idea of keeping secrets, too. Trixie knows all about your plans, and I feel sure that she has shared that knowledge with Honey and Diana.”
Brian slammed a fist against his thigh, dropping his head into his hands. “Somehow,” he said, “that makes me feel worse.” A moment later, he brightened. “You know, Dad, there is an up-side to this whole stinking mess: Mart said that if the plan didn’t work, he’d give up between-meal snacks for a month. I guess it’s time to make him keep his word on one thing, at least!”
She Said
Weeks had passed. An Indian-summer sun was sinking in the west as the three girls returned the last of their belongings to their secret clubhouse. Honey looked around in satisfaction and smiled. “Well, that’s finished with, then,” she announced. “I think I’m ready for that celebration, now.”
“Me, too,” Di sighed. She opened a container and began setting out their afternoon snack. “I’m just glad that the guys never found this place.”
Trixie snorted. “The guys couldn’t find their way out of a wet paper bag.” She picked out a piece of apple from the fruit salad that Di had provided. “I’m glad that the Pavilion got finished before they all had to leave for college. That way, it got to have its first party as their send-off.”
“And its second as Brian’s going away party,” Honey added, with a bittersweet smile.
The Pavilion, as it was already being called, was the private entertaining area that the male half of their club had worked on over the summer. Nestled into the hidden cove, it promised to be a wonderful place for the Bob-Whites to hold barbecues and parties in summer, and a handy shelter while they were skating in winter.
“Overall,” Honey mused, “I think it was a pretty good summer – though, I’m not really happy about Brian keeping secrets, or that he’s gone, or that you’ve broken up with Mart, Di, although I did think it was appropriate that Brian made him keep his promise, no matter how many times he complained that he was starving.”
Diana shrugged an elegant shoulder. “I’m not worried about breaking up with Mart,” she replied. “I have other prospects.” Despite her friends’ clamouring for information, all she would do in response was smile.
The End