“Finally!” Trixie whispered, as she tip-toed out of her three-year-old daughter’s bedroom. “They’re all asleep.”

“And not a minute too soon,” her brother, Mart, noted. “Come on, Trix. We’ll be late if we don’t leave right away.”

She frowned. “Are you sure this is such a good idea? What if they wake up again? Maybe I should stay here.”

Their mother, clad in a fluffy dressing gown, stepped forward and gave Trixie a little push. “We’ll be fine, sweetheart. Go and enjoy the midnight service. Your father and I can deal with any kids who wake – but I’m sure they won’t. Jim did a good job of tiring them out earlier.”

“Thanks, Moms,” she answered, giving her mother a hug. “We’ll see you in the morning, I guess.”

Mart grabbed her arm and started dragging her down the stairs of Jim and Trixie’s rambling, old house. Each tread creaked as they went, announcing their arrival to the group awaiting them at the bottom. The two latecomers put on their coats and the group went outside into the cold night.

“We’re all riding together,” Jim explained, as he unlocked their seven-seater SUV. “Just like old times.”

Trixie glanced around the group. “But aren’t there eight of us?”

Her eldest brother shook his head. “Lisa’s asleep and I didn’t want to wake her. It really is just like old times – just the seven of us together again.”

Lisa was Brian’s wife of nearly five years. They were expecting their first child in the next few weeks, although Trixie had been hoping for her niece or nephew to arrive in time for Christmas. Even without this newest addition, there was no shortage of children. Between Jim and Trixie’s three, Honey and Mart’s two and Diana and Dan’s two there would be plenty of noise the following morning when all of the kids got out of bed, anxious to find out what Santa had left them.

“Nice idea, this, leaving the kids at home and going by ourselves,” Mart commented. “I’m really glad the church here does a separate kids’ service. I could get used to this peace and quiet.”

“You’re just lucky that ours decided to go with the little kids and not to try to come with us,” Dan told him. “I didn’t think we could get away with this.”

“Well, let’s just enjoy it while it lasts,” Di suggested.

As they talked, Jim eased the vehicle down the slope and between the pair of ancient spruces that flanked the driveway. The quiet country road was deserted at that time of night. On the opposite side, almost level with the Fraynes’ driveway, was the entrance to what would soon be Jim’s school. He passed it by with a small smile on his face and headed into town.

Ten minutes after leaving the house, they pulled into the lot of the local church and the seven piled out. People were streaming inside the tall, ornate brick church and lights were shining out through its old stained-glass windows. Diana stopped to crane her neck to look up at the spire.

“Amazing that a small town like this has such a grand church,” she whispered.

Jim heard her and smiled. “It serves a wide area and this was supposedly going to be a much more significant place, once upon a time. It’s cold out here, though, so how about we go inside?”

She nodded and they all entered through the arched front doorway. In spite of its size and the apparent sparsity of local population, the church was already almost two-thirds full. Twin aisles split the pews into three sections. Seeing a pair of empty rows at the left, Jim led the group to them and they sat down. He, Trixie, Dan and Di took the seat behind, leaving the other three to sit in front of them.

The seven talked quietly and looked around themselves as they waited for the service to start. Huge arches soared above them, creating a vaulted ceiling, while smaller ones accented the gleaming, elaborately carved panels of the walls on both sides. Above these were arched windows. From inside, the stained glass appeared dark, except for a few windows that were illuminated by lights shining through them from outside. To the front, the gilded pipes of an organ gleamed, but it was not in use. Instead, a middle-aged woman was playing a piano.

“They’re trying to raise money to restore the organ,” Jim explained, seeing Di glance in that direction. “Though, I don’t mind if they never do – I don’t really like pipe organs.”

“It looks lovely, though,” she answered. “I’m sure it sounds majestic, too. It’s a beautiful church and I can just imagine what it must be like, filled with music.”

He nodded, falling silent as the pastor stood up to address the congregation.

Tiredness began to overtake Jim as the service neared its half-way mark. He was not used to keeping such late hours. The serenity of the old church and the unexpected brilliance of the young woman singing Silent Night combined to lull him into a drowsy state. For a moment, his head dipped and the action startled him into awareness once more, especially since the jolt had caused part of the hard, wooden pew to dig into his back. He made an effort to wake up and that was when he noticed his wife’s strange preoccupation with he knew not what. Trixie’s eyes were raised and her brow furrowed.

“What’s that?” she whispered, in so soft a voice as to be almost inaudible. “Look up there, Jim. Do you see?”

He followed her gaze to a point high above the altar and a little to the left, where something gleamed in mid-air. Every so often, the thread from which the object was suspended shifted and gleamed in the dim light. Jim deduced that whatever he was looking at was held up with fishing line, or something of that kind.

“What is it?” he asked, keeping his voice low.

His wife shrugged. “Something small and metallic. It’s too small to tell from here.”

Jim nodded and turned his attention back to the service, knowing the issue would be revisited as soon as it was over. Trixie did not disappoint him: even as the congregation began to file out, she was making her way closer to see what the object was. She moved in slow semi-circles, glancing up now and again, moving ever closer to the altar. Her husband stood back and watched.

Most of those who had attended the service were hurrying off home, so the church was emptying fast. Trixie must have reached the point where she felt she should stop until the potential audience had gone. She stood still, but could not resist looking up every so often. A faint smile crossed Jim’s face at the dirty look she shot at a pair of old ladies, who were involved in a long-winded discussion and seemed unlikely to move any time soon.

“Now, what has your good wife found this time?” asked a voice at his elbow.

Jim turned and smiled at the church’s pastor, who had left the church door and was making his rounds of the stragglers. “We’re not sure, but it looks like a key. There’s something up there that glints in the light and Trixie’s determined to find out what it is and why it’s dangling there.”

The older man nodded, his eyes twinkling. “As soon as everyone else has gone, she’s welcome to fetch the ladder. I’m sure she remembers where it’s kept from the last time she noticed something strange in here.”

“I’m sure you’re right,” Jim answered, and went to relay this message to Trixie.

While she waited for the building to empty, she prowled around, viewing the object from every conceivable vantage point. As the last members of the congregation walked out the door, she grabbed her eldest brother by the arm and made a dash for the vestry, returning a few moments later with the ladder.

Brian fussed as she set it up, ensuring that all of its feet were even and that there was nothing impeding it in any way. He also insisted that she read the safety warnings attached to it, even though she rolled her eyes.

“Are you finished?” she asked, with more than a little impatience. “Do you want me to do a course on ladder safety before I go up there?”

“It would certainly be a good idea,” he answered, though his eyes belied his serious tone. “You have no idea how many household accidents involve ladders.”

“Well, it’s a good thing I’m in a church and not a house, then, isn’t it?” she asked, and turned her back on him.

She had soon raced up the ladder and reached out to touch the object, which was indeed a key. She gave it a gentle tug. The key moved lower, without any apparent resistance.

“It doesn’t seem to be tied on,” she noted, “so how is it staying up?”

“Maybe there’s something else on the other end of the line,” Dan suggested. “Can you see where it’s suspended from?”

Trixie shook her head. “It’s too dark up there and that light is in the way. When I look up, it shines in my eyes. I guess it’s hanging from somewhere near that join-y part up there, because I can’t really see anywhere else it could hang from, but I can’t really tell.”

“How about if you try pulling it down, then.” Brian produced a small flashlight, which was on his keychain, and played it over the part where she had pointed, but it did not help. The distance was enough to diffuse the beam into indistinctness and the nearby overhead light blinded them as they looked up. “If there is something on the other end, it can’t be all that large, so it probably won’t hurt you if it falls on you.”

“That’s really reassuring,” she grumbled, but did as he had proposed.

After a few pulls, the thread snagged on something and she loosened her grip. The fishing line eased back up an inch or two. She swished it back and forth a few times, before it slipped from her fingers and seemed to disappear. The light swayed on its long chain.

“Where did it go?” she wondered, looking all around.

“It must have been snagged on the light,” Honey suggested, pointing from the still-moving light to the gleam of the key a short distance away. “When you jiggled the line, it came unstuck.”

Trixie climbed down the ladder and moved it several feet, almost directly under the front-most arch, before ascending once more. The key hung a little lower now, making it easier to reach. Just as before, it seemed to slide easily for a short distance, before snagging. She pointed up to the row of windows above the archways that ran on each side of the church.

“I think I can see where it’s hanging from, now. See, up there? There’s a loop sort of thing and you can see the line shining near it when I move it like this.”

She gave the line a few violent waves to demonstrate. When she tried pulling on it again, the line came loose at once and Trixie jerked backwards, almost toppling off the ladder as she did so. Something small and hard hit the top rung and bounced down to the floor. Honey snatched up the thread and held it up for everyone to see. At the end was a medium-sized fishing sinker. A smaller sinker was attached several feet from the end.

“Well, I’m glad that didn’t hit me on the head,” Trixie quipped. “Thanks a lot, Brian.”

“I did say ‘probably,’” he pointed out, suppressing a smile. “And you did have the good sense to get out of the way. It’s good that you read the safety instructions, too, so that you were holding on with both hands. You might have fallen, otherwise.”

Trixie shook her head in exasperation and returned to contemplating the whys and wherefores of the situation. “I don’t suppose it was meant to be hanging down where everyone could see it,” she mused, “so, where was it supposed to be and why did it fall down?”

“Is that blobby thing supposed to be there, do you think?” Di wondered, pointing up into the rafters. She was standing a few paces in front of the others, looking at the opposite side of the church. In the dimness, all that could be seen was a dark, irregular lump on one of the otherwise smooth lines. “It looks a little odd.”

Trixie followed her gaze and frowned. “I don’t know. What do you think, Jim? Can you remember seeing it there before?”

He shook his head. “I’m not even sure what you’re talking about.”

“That bit right up there,” Di explained, waving her hand in the direction of the ceiling. “There’s kind of a bumpy bit on that arch-thing, but the other ones don’t have one and there’s not another one on the other side to match, either.”

“That’s true,” Jim answered, frowning up at it. “But what do you suggest it might mean?”

Trixie started stalking around the church once more, peering up to see the spot from different angles. “What if,” she mused aloud, “the fishing line went from there to there instead of hanging straight down?” She pointed from the place where the key had suspended to the place that Di had noticed. “That way, the key would be hidden by that bumpy bit at the top of the column. You wouldn’t notice the fishing line. Then, just suppose, sometime after they left, it came unstuck somehow–”

“Slipped off, for example,” Brian interrupted and his sister nodded in agreement.

“Or, look!” she cried. “Over there, on the floor. What’s that?” She rushed over and picked up a small, dark blob of something and brought it back to the others.

“Modelling clay?” Honey asked, frowning. She examined the key. “There’s just a little trace here, too. So, the key is encased in the modelling clay and stuck up there somehow, but it doesn’t stay stuck and falls down.”

“That’s exactly what I’m thinking. Then, don’t you think, it would hang exactly how we found it?” Trixie’s eyes were shining with excitement and she glanced from one friend to another, seeking confirmation of her idea.

“But why go to all that trouble, and where would you get a ladder high enough, when there are so many other places you could hide it lower down?” Mart objected.

“You wouldn’t need a ladder.” Jim took a few steps to line up the two points. “Someone told me, once, that those windows used to open. I’d guess that loop belongs to the mechanism that you used to tilt them to ventilate the church. They probably just took it down, but didn’t fix the windows closed. So, if you climbed up onto that part of the side roof to get near that window and got it open, you could get a good sight of the place you were aiming for and you’d just need some kind of device – a slingshot, say – to propel it across and some skill at using it.”

“Only, I’d guess that they missed,” Dan added, eyes narrowed. “What do you think, Jim? Wouldn’t it have been better to aim a little lower and get the key into that crevice? It wouldn’t have fallen from there.”

Jim nodded. “You’re probably right. They probably thought it was close enough, though. Then, after they’ve got that end up there, they slip the other end of the line through that loop. The first sinker holds it against the loop – and, incidentally, is what stopped the key falling all the way to the floor – and the second makes the end of the line hang down so that someone on the floor can retrieve the key. The person at the window could let it down carefully, so that it lay against the curve of the arch, where no one would notice it. It’s quite ingenious, really.”

“And, since we have an idea of how it got up there, we should start working on why it was up there,” Trixie decided. “It must be because whoever put it there didn’t want just anyone to find it, but there must be a specific reason why they went to the trouble.”

“Because they knew you’d be here and they want to drive you insane,” Mart suggested. “It’s the local crime syndicate, with a plot to put you out of action.”

“And I wonder what it’s for,” Trixie continued, ignoring the interruption. “I don’t suppose there are any locks around here that it would fit.”

“You mean like this one over here?” Honey asked from her position behind the altar. She had wandered up there during the discussion on how the key got up there. “There’s a keyhole here. Come and try it!”

Her friend raced up to join her and attempted to insert the key into the lock. To her dismay, it was too large to fit. She stamped her foot to vent the frustration, but was soon distracted by Dan’s voice. He was standing in the front corner of the church, part-hidden by the lower portion of the arch that framed the pipes of the organ.

“There’s a keyhole over here, too,” he told her. “Maybe this is the one.”

Trixie joined him in a few moments, finding that the hole was just the right size but that it did not turn easily. She jiggled the key, trying to make it engage. After a few attempts, it slid into place and she turned over the lock. The door, which was set flat into the wall, swung open with a creak.

“Oh, my! How strange,” murmured the pastor, wandering in from the vestry and seeing what they had discovered. “I can’t think how these things could have come to be here.” He began to poke through the items on the shelves. “The missing tablecloths! We’ve looked everywhere for these. I never knew this closet was even here. I’m sure I’ve never known of it being used in the time I’ve been at this church.”

“It is rather small and awkward and in an inconvenient place,” Honey noted, as she peeked between the others’ shoulders. “I can see why you would overlook it.”

“What’s this?” Trixie asked, snatching up something that jangled as she moved it. “More keys! I wonder what they fit.”

“Oh, they’re probably for other locks around here,” the pastor guessed. “That big one looks rather like the one for the main door.”

“May we try them?” Trixie asked, bouncing on the balls of her feet. “Please? And may we look for other locks to try?”

“Be my guest,” he answered, smiling. “Go wherever you like. I’ll admit to being curious about this, too.”

At once, the group spread out over the building, looking all over for locks in which to try the keys. Trixie moved from one location to another, but without success; none of the keys in the bunch would turn any lock that they could find.

“Very strange,” the pastor noted. “Well, if you’re finished here, perhaps you’ll let me lock up?”

Trixie’s eyes widened. “I’m so sorry. I didn’t mean to keep you here. Of course, we’ll go now. I’ll just close the little closet over there first. Did you want me to put the keys back?”

He considered for a moment. “Why don’t you take them and see if you can figure out where they’re from? I know where you live, after all, and if their proper owner comes along I can always direct them to you.”

“Thanks,” she answered. “I’ll try my best.”

He smiled as they all gathered their things and went out into the night. Trixie shivered as she got into the car. The doors slammed and Jim eased out onto the road, thinking of how nice it would be to get to bed and wondering whether Trixie might surprise him with an early Christmas present. A few weeks ago, he had caught a glimpse of some item of blue lingerie which Trixie had hastily hidden. His pleasant thoughts were interrupted, however, by his wife.

“That was strange,” she noted, frowning at a parked car that they passed on the way out of the lot. “I could’ve sworn there were people sitting in that car, in the dark.”

“Just a trick of the light, I’d guess,” Jim replied, still determined to head for home.

Trixie snapped to attention. “Can we just go and check something on the way?” she asked. “I’ve thought of something that one of these keys might open.”

Jim paused, hoping for someone behind him to object, but it did not happen. “Okay, I guess. Where am I going?”

Trixie smiled. “Turn right here, then take a left and I’ll tell you when to stop.” As they drew near the dark shape of an old barn, she called out, “Stop!”

Jim glanced from his wife to her chosen destination and frowned. He slowed the vehicle, but did not stop, so that she could not get out.

“No, Trixie,” he requested. “I really think it would be better if you didn’t go over there.”

She rolled her eyes. “It will be just fine, Jim. I’m just going to have a little look.” Over her shoulder, she explained to the others, “Jim had a little bit of a disagreement with the man who owns this place and he wants us to keep away from him, wherever possible.”

“What kind of disagreement?” Brian asked, his voice sounding suspicious.

Before Jim could explain, Trixie had jumped in once more. “Nothing much. He’s kind of like a younger version of Mr. Lytell, only worse – can’t seem to get along with anyone, much. He gets annoyed if people smile at him, or tell him to have a nice day. If he finds some important issue he disagrees with people on – you know, like the weather,” she added, with sarcasm, “he doesn’t just get annoyed; he yells. His disagreement with Jim isn’t any worse than the ones with the Post Office, or the church pastor, or the tractor repair man, or the manager of the grocery store, or the woman from the hardware store.” To Jim, she asked, “Please? I’m sure it will be okay.”

He sighed and pulled over. Trixie threw open her door and raced up the path to what had once been a barn but now served as an artist’s studio. Her friends watched as she chose a key and opened the door. After peeking inside for a moment, she closed the door and locked it once more, then jumped back in the car.

“Did you see that?” she asked, the keys jingling together in her excitement. “It’s the right key. It’s kind of a strange one and I knew I’d seen one like it before. He had it hanging on his belt that day that he yelled at you, Jim.”

“He yelled at Jim?” Brian asked. “Why?”

Once more, Trixie answered. “I already told you; he’s a grouch. He yells at everyone.”

“Does this get us anywhere, though?” Honey wondered. “And what sort of person is he? Other than grouchy, I mean.”

“He’s a painter,” Trixie explained. “Kind of surrealist, I guess you’d call it. I’m not sure how he makes his living out of it, because I know I’d never want one of his paintings, but he manages it somehow. The big question, though, is why his key would be in the church. He’s the kind of atheist who likes to try to shove it down your throat.”

“So, I’m guessing he doesn’t celebrate Christmas?” Honey wondered. “I suppose that means he won’t be awake right now for us to return it to him.”

“He doesn’t live here anyway,” Trixie clarified. “He and his brother share a house down the street a little way.”

“Is his brother any more pleasant?” Honey wanted to know.

Trixie shrugged. “He yells less.”

Jim shook his head at the thought of speaking to either man at this time of night and once more turned the vehicle towards home. They were well on their way when his wife asked him to pull over for a moment. She held the keys in her hands and had been examining them in detail.

“You know, another one of these keys looks kind of familiar, too,” Trixie mused, as she fiddled with the bunch. “What do you think, Jim? Isn’t this like the key from that old building on the school site?”

He snagged it from her outstretched fingers and examined it. “It does, rather,” he agreed. “That’s an odd coincidence.”

“But what if it isn’t?” she asked. “A coincidence, I mean. What if it really is the key to that building?”

“It couldn’t be, could it?” Jim shook his head.

“Let’s go and try it,” his wife answered, eyes shining. “Only one way to find out and we’re nearly there anyway.”

“Actually,” Mart interrupted, “you could also find out by comparing it to a known copy of the key in question.”

Trixie huffed in exasperation. “Well, I don’t keep that in my pocket, you know. It would be much quicker to just go down to the school site and check for ourselves. That way, too, we’ll know if there’s been a security breach that we need to deal with.”

“In the early hours of Christmas morning?” Jim queried. “I don’t think it’s all that important, is it?”

“The security breach? No. The fact that we’ve got what’s potentially a key to somewhere for which there should be no stray keys? Yes, absolutely. Let’s go, gang!”

With a minimum of complaint, the group settled down to follow Trixie’s lead. Soon they arrived at the school site and she bounded out of her seat to try the key at once. The headlights illuminated her as she walked the short distance to the door and up a few steps. They watched as she inserted the key, turned it and pushed the door open. She glanced back to the car, a triumphant look on her face.

Seeing that his wife was about to go inside, Jim jumped out of the station wagon and strode after her, calling her name. Over the years, she had grown out of a number of things that had exasperated him as a teenager; impetuousness was not one of them.

“What?” she demanded, as he came level with her.

“You were about to go in there, weren’t you?” he asked, shaking his head. “Alone!”

Trixie grinned. “Maybe.”

Jim took a moment to control his temper. “Is that a sensible thing to do, do you think?”

She peered through the open doorway into blackness. “Probably not. I wouldn’t be able to see anything anyway because there’s no power here at the moment, is there, and I don’t have a flashlight.”

Jim pulled out the small LED flashlight he had slipped into his pocket shortly before he got out of the car and switched it on. Trixie took it from him and played the light over the interior of the building. At length, she sighed.

“I don’t see anything amiss here, but who could tell?”

Her husband took a few steps into the room. He stopped, pointing. “What’s that? Was that here before?”

Trixie walked over to the battered metal cabinet and rattled its handle, finding it to be locked. She flicked through the bunch of keys and found one of about the right size. A moment later, the door opened.

“Strange,” Jim noted. “How did it get here? What’s it being used for? And why should its key be with the others?”

“Someone’s doing something suspicious,” Trixie answered, sounding grim. “And I’m going to find out what it is.”

“Just so long as you don’t add, ‘if it’s the last thing I ever do.’ We do have children to consider, you know.” Jim’s tone was wry and it made Trixie laugh.

“I’m not doing anything dangerous,” she objected. “I’m just pursuing an enquiry.”

“In the middle of the night, when we should be all safe at home. In bed. While all the children are asleep.” He shook his head to clear it. “So, is there anything of interest in there?”

She nodded and pointed to the bottom shelf, which covered almost half of the cabinet. “These things, whatever they are.” She reached out to touch one of the carefully wrapped packages. “It feels like a picture frame and I think it’s got a picture in it.”

Jim let out a surprised whistle. “First the key to the painter’s barn, now pictures? Okay, Trixie, I’ll admit this seems pretty suspicious. I don’t see what we can do about it now, though, so how about if we go home? You can call the police later.”

His wife’s shoulders sagged just a little and she nodded. “Okay. Let’s go home, then.”

With relief, Jim led her back to the car and got in. “Next stop, home!” he announced, to the general approval of his friends. This plan was interrupted again just as they reached the road when Trixie let out an exclamation.

“Drive by the church, please, Jim,” she asked. “I’ve just had a terrible thought.”

Any hope of an encounter involving a blue negligee slipped away. Resigned to staying out a little later, Jim did so. Even from the street, it was plain to see that there was something wrong. The large doors at the front were standing open, but the place was in darkness and the parking lot empty. Without stopping, Jim headed around the corner to the pastor’s house and stopped there instead. He did not have to ask Trixie to go and break the news; she was out of her seat as soon as they came to a halt.

The house was in darkness and they watched as Trixie waited on the doorstep. It took a little while for the doorbell to be answered and then they had to wait while she explained what they had seen. Jim saw the pastor nod and Trixie returned to the car.

“He’s going to call the police,” she explained to the group. “It’s not the first time the church has been broken into this week, either, which I think is a bit suspicious.”

“Well, I think that’s our good deed done for the night,” Jim concluded. “Let’s go home and get some rest.”

Trixie nodded in glum acceptance and several of the others made noises of agreement. Jim turned onto the road that would lead him home with a silent sigh of relief. The respite from excitement did not last long, however.

“I think there’s someone following us,” Di mentioned, with a nervous glance behind them. “Do you see that car? Isn’t it the same one that was parked on the street when we pulled out of the church lot the first time we were there? The one that Trixie said had someone in it?”

“I can’t really see it well enough to tell,” Trixie answered, peering at it. “If it is following us, how did it get here, though? I’m sure it didn’t start following us when we left the church.”

“Could it possibly be that there are only two cars on the road at the moment?” Brian suggested. “It often seems like you’re being followed in this kind of situation, but it’s really only coincidence.”

Jim slowed and took a corner, leaving the other vehicle behind. “We’ll see if it turns up again. In the meantime, I think we might just stop somewhere and wait for a while. If I keep driving, we’ll only end up further from home and that’s one of the last things I want right now.”

He pulled over in the shadow of a large evergreen and turned off the headlights, but kept the engine running to keep the heat on. A few minutes later, the other car appeared again, moving slowly.

“See?” Di breathed. “They’re after us, I just know it.”

“That is suspicious,” Jim agreed. “Let’s just wait and see what they do, though.”

The car passed them and rounded the next corner. A moment later, it had turned around and was approaching from the opposite direction. It stopped right next to them, with the drivers’ doors aligned, and its driver got out. Jim flicked the lock, securing them inside and turned the headlights back on, ready to move.

In the gloom, it was difficult to make out much about the man who leaned over and tapped on the window. His voice was muffled by the glass when he spoke. “I think you have something of mine.”

Jim shook his head and put his foot on the accelerator. The man took a hasty step backwards to avoid having his toes run over. With a glance in the rear vision mirror, Jim saw him jump back into the car and gun the engine. With a screech of rubber on road, he turned around. Jim gritted his teeth and used the small head-start to head for the town’s police station, hoping that their pursuers would be scared off.

“How many police does this town have?” Trixie wondered, as if reading his mind. “Do you think they’ll be at the church now? Is the station even manned at night?”

“I have no idea,” Jim answered. “I’ve never needed to know that before now.”

“Well, whether it is or not, there’s a police car heading this way right now,” Mart pointed out. “Why don’t we follow it and see if it makes the other car go away?”

Without asking anyone else’s opinion, Jim took that course of action, pulling over to the side and then turning the vehicle to go in the opposite direction. They followed the police car all the way to the church, but the car that had been following them seemed to disappear into the night.

“I’ll be back in a minute,” he told his friends as he grabbed the set of keys from Trixie’s lap. “I just want to speak to the police officer for a moment.”

He saw a frown cross his wife’s face, but disregarded it; their safety, he considered, was worth far more than any mystery. Ice crunched underfoot and Jim shivered as he made his way across to the two officers. They had stopped outside the church, seeing that someone was approaching them. Jim called a greeting before he reached them.

“A couple of strange things have happened tonight and I thought you might like to know about them,” he explained, going on to outline the things they had seen and done. “So, I was wondering if you wanted these keys?”

The senior officer of the pair examined them for a moment, before handing them back. “I don’t think so,” he answered, but took a moment to note Jim’s name and address. “If it turns out that they’re related, we know where to find you.”

Feeling a little disgruntled at the cool reaction to his information, Jim went back to the car and climbed into the driver’s seat, tossing the keys back in Trixie’s lap. She gave him a quizzical look.

“They didn’t want them?”

“They don’t think there’s anything to worry about,” he replied, pulling out from the curb. “I don’t know about anyone else, but I’m ready to call it a night.”

Trixie nodded, while some of their friends were more vocal in their approval of his words. They had not gone far when Trixie asked if he could pull over once more.

“I just had another idea,” she explained, hopping out, as behind her rose a chorus of groans.

She raced across the street and up to the front of a workshop that repaired farm machinery. The others watched while she tried the keys in the lock and saw her exaggerated movements as she found the one that fitted. Turning back to them, she waved the keys at them and returned to the vehicle.

“Did you see that?” she asked. “It’s the key!”

“It was a little hard to miss, the way you were carrying on.” Mart’s voice was dry. “However, do please tell us all about it.”

“That only leaves this one key,” she mused, ignoring him. “I wonder what it’s for… or, whether it opens something inside one of the buildings we’ve been at, like this one did at the school site.”

“Well, I don’t think you should go exploring those buildings,” Brian noted. “Perhaps we could just go back to your house, now? It’s really very late – or very early in the morning, if you’d prefer to look at it that way.”

“I just have a couple of other ideas,” his sister wheedled. “None of them are far out of our way and it won’t take all that long. Can I just try a couple? Please?”

“Are you going to let any of us get any rest until you do?” Dan asked, then answered himself. “Of course, you won’t. Get a move on, Jim. The sooner we test all of Trixie’s theories, the sooner we get to bed.”

Sighing in resignation, Jim did as he was told. He followed Trixie’s directions as they travelled all around town, while she tried the last key in various locks. At the fourth stop, the town’s only hardware store, she had success. There was a distinct bounce in her step as she raced back to the vehicle and climbed inside. She jangled the keys and whooped her excitement, startling both Honey and Di, who were starting to drop off on their husbands’ shoulders.

“That’s it! I’ve found it!” she enthused, jangling the keys again.

“Are we finished with the wild goose chase, now?” Di asked, in a plaintive voice. “I’m sleepy.”

“It’s not a wild goose chase at all,” Trixie protested. “We’re really getting somewhere now. I’ve almost got this solved.”

“Well, it seems like a wild goose chase to me,” Di answered. “Or, should that be a Christmas goose chase?”

“I hope it’s not our Christmas goose that we’re chasing,” Mart added. “I, for one, do not wish to go hungry on the morrow – or, more correctly, later today.”

“We’re not having goose, you goose,” his sister chastised. “You know that, Mart. When have we ever eaten goose? Wait! Don’t answer that. It was supposed to be rhetorical.”

“It pains me to say this,” Mart put in, “but, regardless of what we will be eating later, we need to make a judgement on what to do with the knowledge we now have. You have all the clues, as far as I can see. What are you going to do about it, Trixie?”

She frowned. “First, I need to think it through a little.”

Behind her, several of her friends groaned.

“You can think while I drive,” Jim decided. “I’m taking us home, Trixie. If you must continue this tonight, you’ll have to do it on your own.”

He saw her disgruntled expression and the way she opened her mouth to protest, but his sister’s tact came to their rescue, just in time.

“So, what are you thinking it all means, Trixie?” she asked. “The church, the keys, the places they open, the locked cabinet at the school with the paintings inside… how does it all fit together?”

“I’m starting to get an idea of how it works,” Trixie answered. “It’s just a matter of putting it all in order.”

She looked around herself and pointed to one side. “Jim, could you go that way home, please? I just want to look at something on the way past. It won’t take any extra time at all.”

He gritted his teeth and made the turn. As they passed the barn they had visited earlier in the night, she asked him to slow. They saw, as they passed that the door was standing open.

“Look!” Honey cried. “It looks like someone’s broken in!”

Brian’s voice was tense when he added, “And Trixie’s fingerprints are probably on the door.”

She waved the thought away. “Only on the outside. I didn’t go inside at all. There’s no law against touching the outside of someone’s door.”

“Does this make more sense, or less, than before?” Di wondered, pausing part-way through her question to yawn. “I don’t think I’m following any more.”

“More,” Honey told her. “It means that we’re on the right track in thinking there’s something suspicious going on. I’m not quite sure what it’s all about, yet, though.”

“I think I do!” Trixie cried. “Say that you’re someone who has gained access to lots of keys. Say that you want to hand these keys over to someone who shouldn’t have them, without ever meeting them. What would you do?”

“Arrange a safe place to leave them?” Jim suggested.

“Exactly,” his wife replied. “So, say that you don’t legitimately have access to a safe building – say, for example, the church – but you can get in anyway. But you don’t want to just leave the keys lying around the place.”

“So, they hid the keys in the closet, then they hid the key to the closet,” Honey began.

“Only they didn’t get it quite right and it fell down,” Trixie interrupted. “Exactly like we were thinking earlier. The thieves were supposed to go into the church, pick up the keys to everywhere and then just walk away with all of the goods. Then they’d use the key to the school building to get in there and store their ill-gotten gains in the locked cabinet there until it was safe to collect them. They’d probably fake the breaking-in part at each place, but not until after they’d finished. That way, no one would suspect they ever had the keys.”

“Except that we took the keys with us. That’s why they were following us – they wanted those keys – and that’s why, when we started following the police car, they took off.” Honey’s voice showed her excitement. “But what are they doing now? They don’t have the keys, so they can’t go around and just unlock the doors. Since the artist’s barn is broken open, it kind of suggests that they’re following the rest of the plan, but just using force instead. But why, though? Why not wait until they have the keys?”

Trixie frowned. “I think there’s some reason why it all has to happen today and it’s been timed specially, so they can’t just stop, even though things have gone wrong.”

“You mean, like the fact that no one will go to work in the morning?” Dan asked. “Most of the places you identified keys for are open every day, aren’t they?”

“That’s true,” Trixie answered. “Yes, that’s probably it. Not that it applies to the school site, of course. It’s closed until after New Year. Most of the others will be open again the next day.”

“Does it help us tell who is doing this, though?” Honey asked.

Her best friend gave a vigorous nod. “Definitely. In fact, I think I know already who it was who supplied the keys and that his key was one of the ones on the bunch. You should know that, too, since the stolen goods from his place were already in the locked cabinet, even though we had the keys. He probably didn’t want his things damaged, so he would have packed them up himself. It would save the thieves time, too. And, he wouldn’t care if Jim got into trouble for having the stolen goods, either.”

“And why is that, exactly?” Brian persisted.

Jim managed to answer this time, before his wife could. “Because he objects to my opening my school here. He thinks it will bring undesirables into the community.”

“You wouldn’t think that kind of thing would worry him,” Trixie added, “but maybe he wants a monopoly on undesirability for himself.”

“So, if you’re right, and I think you are,” Honey mused, “that just leaves how he got the keys and who the thieves are to find out.”

“Yes,” Trixie answered. “Now, for the keys, I’m kind of thinking he’s been working on this for a while.”

“Which keys would he need, again?” Honey asked. “There was building at the school, the cabinet inside it, the tractor repair place and the hardware store. What am I forgetting?”

“The artist’s barn and the church,” Mart put in. “But he could have supplied his own key and he probably supplied the whole cabinet, as well as its key. That leaves four. Any ideas how he did it?”

Jim watched as his wife narrowed her eyes and thought. He smiled in admiration as the explanation came to her and she snapped her fingers.

“I’ve got it!” she exclaimed. “What’s guaranteed to distract someone from what’s going on around them?”

“Something dramatic?” Brian suggested.

His sister grinned. “Exactly. Like being yelled at by that bad-tempered man. He’s had long arguments with all of the victims in the last few months. What if, while he’s keeping the people occupied, his brother sneaks up and takes the keys? He’d only have to have them for a short time, have a copy made and then return them. The person he took them from might not even miss them.”

Honey shook her head. “I can’t believe that Jim would not even miss his keys for an hour or two.”

“But I did miss them,” Jim answered. “And Trixie is right: it was directly after I’d argued with that man. It happened over at the school site, in the site office. I was sure that I’d put the keys on the table right behind me while I put down the things I was carrying, but after he’d left I went to pick them up and they were gone. They turned up later in a patch of long grass just outside the door.”

“But how would anyone have gotten them, with you right there?” Mart queried.

Jim sighed. “The table was next to the window and the window was open. It would have been easy enough.” He gave a shrug. “This is a small town; we don’t take security as seriously as some.”

“Well, that would explain how he got the keys. How about the thieves?” Honey prompted. “Can we tell who they are?”

“I don’t know who they were, exactly, but we knew that already, since I’m pretty sure that we saw them and I’d never seen them before. They must be from out of town, somewhere.”

“But, surely, if you were a thief and you didn’t want anyone to catch you, you wouldn’t go up to a whole carload of people and demand that they give you back the keys,” Honey considered, frowning. “We all saw that man. If a whole lot of burglaries are discovered the day after tomorrow – or do I mean, tomorrow? Well, whenever they’re discovered, we could describe him and his car. Nobody could be that stupid, could they?”

“Yes, they could be,” Brian answered. “I run across some very stupid people at times. You wouldn’t believe some of the things that they do, even if I could tell you.”

“So, what do we do now?” Di wondered. “Please say something that involves going home to bed.”

Trixie shook her head. “First, we call the police and tell them what we’ve seen this time. Then, we’d better go back to the hardware store and keep an eye on it. The thieves will strike there next, I’d guess.”

“You’re not going to try to stop a robbery,” Jim warned. “There’s no point in going there, if all you’re going to do is put yourself in danger.”

His wife shook her head. “Of course not. We’re just going to watch from a safe distance and see if I’m right.”

“I was really looking forward to going to sleep,” Di grumbled. “I think I hate mysteries.”

Jim cast her a sympathetic smile as he took the cell phone to make the call. He spent a few minutes explaining the things they had found out and giving addresses before the call ended. He handed the phone to Trixie and turned to his passengers.

“They’re taking it seriously, this time.” He broke off and yawned. “I think we’re ready to call it a night, then. What’s say we go home?”

“We’re really giving up, this close to the end?” Honey asked, in a small voice. “We’re just going home, without seeing if we’ve got the right answer?”

Jim took a few deep breaths. “Okay, then. We’ll put it to the vote. Do we want to see this out?”

“I do.” Trixie’s answer came almost before he had finished speaking.

“Me, too,” Honey added.

“Count me in,” was Mart’s reply.

There was a short pause before Dan said, “And me.”

Jim sighed. “That’s carried, then. Sorry, Brian and Di.”

He turned the vehicle and headed back the way he had come. As they neared the store, he started looking around for a vantage point.

“Turn here,” Trixie suggested, directing him away from the business and onto a parallel street. “We should be able to look across that empty lot and see everything that’s happening without being too close.”

Jim pulled into the spot she had chosen, which was well-shaded by some large, shaggy evergreens. He switched off the headlights, beginning what he hoped would be a very short wait. His hopes were answered only two or three minutes later.

“Look!” Trixie breathed, so low that Jim barely heard her. “There they are!”

In the dimness, Jim could just make out the shapes of several men. They were attempting to open the door that Trixie had unlocked half an hour before. It seemed that they were not being successful.

“Where are the police when we need them?” Di asked, her voice fretful. “They’re not going to get here in time, are they?”

Beside her, Dan made a calming noise. The group watched in silence. The door was broken open with a splintering noise. Dark figures entered the building. One of the figures returned, carrying something heavy. He loaded it in the van and went back inside, just as another figure carried out another object. A few moments later, some more shapes emerged from the shadows and lights began to shine. Even from their distant vantage point, they could hear the police officer’s warning to the criminals.

“Well, that’s another case solved,” Trixie noted, with satisfaction. “And it wasn’t a wild goose chase at all.”

“Is it time to go back and get some sleep, now?” Honey asked, after stifling a yawn. “I’m feeling rather weary.”

“I’m afraid not,” Jim answered. “If my calculations are correct, we have just enough time to get home before the kids get up to see what Santa left them.”

Honey and Di both groaned. Mart leaned forward and gave his sister a whack on the arm.

“Ow!” she cried. “What was that for?”

“What do you think?” He rolled his eyes heavenwards. “It’s for keeping us out all night on Christmas Eve at this time in our lives, that’s what.”

“You’ll live,” Brian told his brother, without sympathy.

Mart made to retaliate for that remark by hitting Brian as well, but seemed to think better of it.

“Well, at least let’s go back to your place,” Di suggested. “If there’s not time to sleep before the kids get up, maybe we can have a sleep after they’ve opened their presents.”

“You mean, while we’re supposed to be having breakfast?” Mart wondered, aghast.

Jim, by now, had pulled out onto the road and was heading for home. His friends fell silent as they travelled, all of them weary from their long night. They arrived back at the old farmhouse to find it still in silence. All was dark, peaceful and quiet.

The seven tip-toed inside and settled in the living room on the sofas or on the thick carpet. Honey went over to the tree that she had decorated the day she arrived, having found that the Frayne family’s effort was a riot of pink, orange and violet paper chains. That tree had been relegated to the family room and this one had taken pride of place. She reached out to straighten one of the red velvet bows and then switched on the lights.

Trixie, whose head was snuggled against Jim’s neck, let out a kind of sigh. “You always choose white lights, Honey.”

“I like them,” her friend answered. “They make the tree look… elegant.”

“If you put any more on, you’d be able to see the tree from space,” Dan noted, earning himself a light slap from Honey as she passed.

“I think it looks beautiful, Honey,” Di complemented. “It’s lovely to sit here, with just the light from the tree.”

Honey sighed in contentment and the conversation trailed away. After their adventure, Jim reflected, it was just what he needed to unwind and let go of the tension. Around him, his friends seemed to feel the same way. They stayed in companionable silence for quite some time.

Later, when the children came down to see what Santa had brought them, they found their parents around the tree, fast asleep.

Author’s notes: This story was written for the annual Jix author Secret Santa. The original recipient, who chose the criteria, was Susansuth. Merry Christmas, Susan! I hope you enjoyed the story. Mary N. (Dianafan) very kindly edited. Thank you, Mary! I really appreciate your help and encouragement. Merry Christmas, everyone!

Please note: Trixie Belden is a registered trademark of Random House Publishing. This site is in no way associated with Random House and no profit is being made from these pages.

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