Horrible Halloween Hijinks

 

Part 1

Twenty-three year old Trixie Belden made her way into the park in the center of her hometown, Sleepyside. She had been running errands for most of the morning. It was now mid-afternoon and she needed a break. She found an empty bench and sat down.

Pulling out a newspaper from White Plains, Trixie started looking at apartments available for rent. The paper listed rentals available there and in surrounding communities.

She was longing to be in a place of her own. The past four months she had been living at Crabapple Farm, her childhood home, with her parents, but felt it was time she was on her own again.

It’s not as if I don’t love my parents, she thought as she flipped through the paper. I do. But I miss the privacy I had with my own apartment when I was in college. Now, I need to find a place in my price range without draining my bank account. I have worked hard to save money, so I can help get the agency started with Honey.

Honey, or Madeleine Wheeler Belden, was her best friend and had more recently become her sister-in-law when Honey married her eldest brother, Brian, five months earlier.

She and Honey had talked about starting a detective agency when they were younger and were finally going to make their dream come true. They had talked it over and decided to officially open the agency on April first of the following year. They agreed to wait that long since Honey was expecting to have a baby.

Trixie was excited for Honey and Brian. She knew they would make great parents.

Honey and her were looking at buildings to see where they could have their office. Trixie knew they wanted the office in Sleepyside and that when she found a place to live, it needed to be within reasonable driving distance of the office.

“Trixie,” a voice yelled, getting her attention.

She looked up and saw Jim Frayne making his way through the park toward her. She had known Jim for about 10 years. They had gone through a rough time with their feelings for one another, but they had worked through it.

Trixie smiled at him, enjoying the sight if his red hair ruffled by the wind. Her heart seemed to beat faster every time she saw him.

“What are you doing here in town?” she asked, as he sat down on the bench beside her.

“I had to take care of some paperwork at the bank,” he said. “What have you been up to?”

“Getting some supplies for the Halloween party this weekend. I was going to drop them off at the school on my way home tonight.”

“Do you have much left to get?”

Trixie shook her head. “Not much. I think the idea for a party is a good one.”

“I thought so too. It’ll give these kids something to look forward to.”

“Have you picked out your costume yet?”

“Weren’t we going to wear costumes that went together?”

“That was the plan. We should decide something soon.”

“Any ideas?” Jim asked.

“Nothing yet.”

Jim looked at his watch. “When do you think you’ll be by the school?”

Trixie looked at her own watch. “Maybe in two hours. I still have a few things to do.”

“All right. I’ll see you at the school then.”

Jim got to his feet and left the park.

*****

Three hours later, Trixie pulled up to Ten Acres Academy. She smiled when she saw some of the students cleaning up the grounds. She knew it was part of their chores to do the work. She parked her Jeep next to Jim’s and slowly climbed out. As she moved to the back, two of the children came running over to her.

“Hi, Miss Trixie.”

She looked at them. “Hello, Matthew. Hi, Rick.”

“Are you here to see Mr. Jim?” Rick asked.

Trixie nodded. “I also brought items for the party. Would you two help me take these bags to his office?”

“Of course,” Matthew said.

Trixie handed each of the 10-year-old boys a couple bags before taking the rest in her hands. She closed the back of the Jeep and followed the boys into the school. As they made their way down the hall, Matthew and Rick talked about how excited they were about the party.

They reached the office and Trixie realized the girl who usually sat out front wasn’t there. She moved to the door that led to Jim’s office and knocked.

“Come in,” a voice said.

She turned the knob and gave the door a shove. Stepping through the doorway, she saw the secretary had one hand on Jim’s shoulder and leaning toward the desk as if she was pointing something out on the papers in front of them. Trixie stopped quickly when they both looked up. Jim’s face went white for a moment as if he was a kid caught with his hand in the cookie jar.

“Jim, I’m sorry to barge in,” Trixie said quickly. “We were just going to drop off some of the items for the party.”

“You can just leave them by the door,” he said.

They quickly set the bags down. As they left the office, Trixie saw Jim staring at her and he didn’t seem happy. She had seen that look several times in the time she’d known him. Jim was angry and she knew it was because she had caught him in a closed office with his secretary when he usually kept the door open.

“I’m sorry for the interruption.”

“I’ll talk to you later,” Jim stated.

Trixie closed the door and made her way down the hall. Matthew and Rick had already taken off to get back to their chores. She went out to her Jeep and stood beside it for a moment. She had a feeling something was going on, but wasn’t sure what it was. She hoped it was just her imagination.

*****

That night, Trixie was sitting on the porch swing at Crabapple Farm. She was taking advantage of the warm weather the area was having. Usually, colder temperatures blanketed the area at this time of year, but summer seemed to be hanging on.

As Trixie kept the swing going, she thought back to walking into Jim’s office earlier that day. Part of her felt guilty for barging in, but another part of her felt she had done something right for interrupting.

But why should I be concerned about Jim? she wondered. He’s a grown man and we’re just friends. I shouldn’t worry. It’s not like has made a commitment to me. He probably won’t make it anyway considering all the bumps in the road for us.

“Trixie.”

She looked at the door and saw Bobby standing in the doorway. “What is it?”

“Jim’s on the phone.” He handed her the phone, then went back inside.

“Hello?” Trixie asked once the phone was by her ear.

“Hi, Trix. It’s Jim.” He didn’t sound happy.

“How was your day?”

“It was all right. Trixie, I need to talk to you. Would it be all right if I came over?”

“It sounds important.”

“It is.”

“Sure, Jim. I don’t plan to go anywhere.”

“I’ll be by shortly.”

“All right.”

Trixie set the phone down. She didn’t feel good about this visit.

*****

As she waited for Jim to arrive, she tried to figure out why it was so important that he see her then. She wondered if there was a problem at the school or with the students. She was really concerned.

Maybe I’m worried about nothing, she thought. Maybe he just wants to talk since we haven’t spent a lot of time together in the past few weeks. He’s been busy with the school and I’ve been spending a lot of time at the station. And when we have been together, it hasn’t been for more than a few minutes.

She looked up to the Manor House and saw a Jeep park. She watched Jim get out and make his way toward the farm. Her heart started to beat faster as he got closer. Her heart seemed to do that each time she looked at him.

“Hey,” Jim said, coming onto the porch.

“Hey, yourself,” she said as Jim sat down on the swing beside her. She could see Jim was sad. She touched his arm. “Jim, what is it? What’s wrong?”

“Trix,” he began. He looked at her before looking down at his own hands intertwined in front of him. “This is hard.”

“Just tell me.”

He took a deep breath. “Trixie, I think we should see other people.”

Trixie stared at Jim, shocked. It felt as if a bomb had been dropped on her. She hadn’t expected Jim to say that. “What did you say?”

Jim kept looking at his hands. “I’ve been giving it a lot of thought these past few days. When we started dating, we just dropped everything in the past without working it out. Those problems haven’t gone away and I don’t think they ever will.”

“Jim, that doesn’t mean we have to break up,” she said quickly, turning to face him and putting a hand on his arm. We can sit down and talk about these problems.”
 

“Even if we talk about them, I don’t think it will change anything.”

“What made you come to this decision now?” Trixie asked, hurt. “I mea, I thought things have been going fine. Why this sudden change?”

“Trixie, this really doesn’t have anything to do with you or me for that matter. I just don’t think it’s right for us to keep going like this as a couple.” Jim got to his feet and leaned forward against the railing.

“Jim, what problem is it exactly that you are so worried about? Is it because of what happened when I left for college?”

Jim remained silent, but Trixie saw his body stiffen. She knew she had hit a nerve.

“So, that’s it,” Trixie stated. “You want to break up with me because of something that happened five years ago that I thought we moved past.” She shook her head. “Why didn’t you think about this before you said you loved me or before we started dating again?”

“I didn’t think about it then!” Jim snapped at her as he turned around to face her. “I was going with my emotions, not my head.”

“What’s wrong with going with your heart?” Trixie snapped back. “Sometimes you have to listen to your heart.”

“If you follow your heart, you’re going to get hurt,” Jim said quietly as he turned back to facing the railing.

“So, that’s what you’re really afraid of.” Trixie stood up. “You’re afraid I will live again and your heart will break.”

Jim straightened up. “I won’t let you do it. We have spent very little time together in the past two weeks with our work schedules. That was a sign to me that this is not going to work. We shouldn’t be dating and it’s better that we end it now.” His gaze shifted to the porch floor, his voice softening. “Trix, you are a very dear friend of mine, but I really think this is for the best. I don’t think we can be anything more than friends.”

Trixie stared at Jim, stunned. She thought they would at least try. Jim turned from her and stepped off the porch, heading for the Manor House.

How could he do this? she thought as she watched him go. He said he loved me. I guess I shouldn’t have believed him when he said that to me. I thought he cared. I guess I was foolish.

*****

It was late in the morning and Trixie was still in bed. She had been up most of the night crying. She was still trying to understand the sudden change in Jim. She pulled her comforter over her head to block out the sun. She had pretended to be asleep when Moms had come to check on her hours earlier. She wasn’t in the mood to talk to anyone.

How could this happen? she thought. We were getting along fine. We had put our differences behind us. Why did he say we couldn’t get past it?

Knock, knock.

Trixie closed her eyes and stayed still. She wanted to be left alone to get through this. She heard the bedroom door open, then close.

“Trixie?” It was Honey. Honey shook her shoulder. “Come on, Trix. Wake up.”

“Leave me alone,” Trixie mumbled.

“Come on,” Honey said, pulling the comforter off her head. “We’re going shopping.”

“I’m not going.”

“How come?” Honey yanked the comforter, uncovering Trixie.

“I’m just not.”

Honey sat down on the bed. “Trixie, come on.”

She knew Honey would keep pestering her until she told her. Trixie rolled onto her back and looked at her sister-in-law.

“Trixie, what is it? What’s wrong?” Honey brushed the hair from Trixie’s face.

She knew she could talk to Honey. As she pulled herself to a sitting position, she said, “Jim broke up with me.”

“What?” Honey looked just as stunned as she felt.

Trixie pulled her knees to her chest. “It’s true.”

“Why?”

She told Honey what Jim had told her the previous evening.

“What has gotten into that brother of mine?” Honey asked when Trixie finished.

“I don’t know. Everything he said was so confusing. I wish I understood, but I don’t.”

“I can’t believe he did this. How could he?”

“Honey, please don’t get involved in this. I don’t want you to start fighting with Jim. You have to think of your baby.”

“Fine, I won’t get involved. But how can you stop Brian from beating him to a pulp?”

“There’s no reason for Brian to beat him to a pulp, because Brian won’t know.” Trixie stared at Honey. “You can’t tell.”

“He’s bound to find out. Your brother isn’t stupid.”

“The only way he’ll find out is if you, Jim or I tell him. And I know it won’t be either of us.”

“Trixie, this isn’t right.”

“But this is how I want it.”

Honey looked at her best friend. “Is there anything I can do for you?”

Trixie shook her head. “I’m all right.”

“I guess you’re not up to going shopping, huh?”

“Not really. Maybe another day.”

“I understand.” Honey got to her feet. “If you need to talk about this, give me a call.”

“Thanks, Honey.”

“You’re welcome. I’ll see myself out.”

“Bye.”

“Talk to you later.” Honey left the room closing the door behind her.

Trixie was glad she had talk with Honey. She felt a little better and knew with time, she would get through this.

*****

The next evening, Trixie made her way to the Manor House. Honey and Brian were having dinner with Mr. and Mrs. Wheeler and they had invited her to join them. She was a little wary about the dinner, but tried to remain calm about it.

Honey opened the door as she approached the house. “I saw you coming.”

Trixie smiled at her friend. “Thanks for inviting me.”

“You’re always welcome here and I’m glad you came. Come on, it’s time to eat,” Honey said, closing the door behind Trixie. “I hope you’re hungry.”

“A little.”

Trixie followed Honey into the dining room. Brian pulled out a chair so Honey could sit next to her mother. Matthew Wheeler pulled a chair out beside him for Trixie. As the food was brought out, talk turned toward the preparations Honey and Brian were making for the baby’s arrival.

“Sorry I’m late,” Jim said breathlessly coming into the dining room. “I lost track of time while grading papers.”

“It’s all right, son,” Matthew said as Jim sat down on Trixie’s other side. “I bet you’re hungry.”

“Starved,” Jim said quickly. He glanced at Trixie, gave her a stiff nod of greeting then look back at his father. “I somehow missed lunch today.”

“You deserved to,” Honey said under her breath, staring at her plate.

Trixie looked at Honey. She did not want to start a fight with Jim at the table. It seemed as if he hadn’t heard.

“Did you say something?” Madeleine Wheeler asked.

“I said I’m looking forward to desert,” Honey said. “I heard Cook made one of her chocolate cakes.”

“I don’t think you’ll be disappointed,” Matthew said. “Let’s eat.”

All through dinner, the conversation stayed around small talk. Trixie and Jim barely said one word to each other, except to have more food passed. Trixie was anxious for dinner to be over so she could get away from there.

Through the meal, Trixie saw Brian giving both of them looks, trying to figure out what was going on. After dessert was served, Trixie said, “I’d like to thank you for dinner this evening. It was delicious.”

“We’re glad you could join us,” Matthew said.

“Thank you,” she said. “I hate to eat and run, but I need to get going. I have an early shift tomorrow.”

“That’s all right,” Madeleine said. “We understand. Jim, why don’t you walk Trixie home?”

“There’s no need,” Trixie said, getting to her feet. “I think I can make it myself. Thank you again for a wonderful evening.”

Trixie turned and left the dining room. She exited the house and started down the path. She was halfway to the farm when she heard a car pull into the driveway at the Manor House. She turned and watched a girl climb out of a convertible and move toward the house. She had a feeling she knew the girl, even though she couldn’t see her clearly.

When the girl stepped on the porch, Trixie recognized her in the porch light. It was Jim’s secretary. The girl was wearing a short red dress. She knew she wasn’t dropping papers off for Jim at this time of night, dressed like she was.

That’s why he broke up with me, she thought. He’s been seeing her all along. Well, I’m not going to let it bother me. As of tomorrow, I’m moving on with my life.

******

Trixie came down to the kitchen the following morning dressed for a run. She wanted to get in a good workout before heading to the station. As she stepped into the kitchen, she saw Brian sitting at the table. She stopped quickly. “What are you doing here? I thought you had to work today.”

“I wanted to make sure you were all right. Honey told me what happened with Jim.”

“I should have known she couldn’t keep quiet about this.”

“She only told me after I asked. It wasn’t that difficult to figure out something happened. You and Jim were ignoring each other.”

“If I had known Jim was going to be there, I would have passed on the invitation.”

“From what Honey said, it doesn’t seem like Jim had a real reason for breaking up.”

Trixie recalled the previous evening with the secretary walking to the Manor House. She said, “I think Jim had his reasons.”

“Trix, is Jim really seeing that girl?”

“I don’t know and I don’t care. Jim has no reason to tell me anything. He made his decision and that’s it.”

“Are you all right with his decision?”

“I didn’t expect it, but there’s no way to change it.” She looked at her brother. “Please don’t get involved in this. I can handle it.”

“All right. But if you need me, let me know.”

Trixie smiled. “Thanks.”

*****

A short while later, Trixie was running along Glen Road. She loved running because it gave her a chance to think without being disturbed. Well, she thought, this turn of events opens a lot more doors for me. I was looking for an apartment here in Sleepyside, but now I can spread out to the surrounding communities. Sleepyside was my first choice so I could be near Jim, but since he broke up with me, that leaves me many more options.

Maybe Honey would consider having the agency in one of the surrounding areas. That would cut down on the chances that the two of us would run into one another. I’ll have to talk to her about it since we are still looking for a place for the office. Trixie turned and started back for Crabapple Farm. As much as I thought Jim really loved me, part of me feels this is right. I moved on once before and I can do it again. I really don’t need anyone looking after me.

Trixie looked up as she made her way up the hill. As she reached the crest, she saw a car coming toward her. She felt she had plenty of room on the shoulder so she was out of harm’s way. The car was almost to her when it suddenly swerved onto the shoulder, right at her. Trixie dove out of the way and rolled into the ditch as the car flew past.

Trixie slowly lifted her head. She was trying to catch her breath. She couldn’t believe she’d almost been run over. Se looked over her shoulder just as the red car sped off. She couldn’t get a good look at the license plate.

After making sure she wasn’t seriously injured, she got to her feet. She made her way out of the ditch and started the walk back to Crabapple Farm.

That was close, she thought. It was a good thing I was watching the traffic coming toward me. If I hadn’t, I could have been seriously injured.

Honk, honk.

Trixie turned as a beat up old truck pulled up along side her. She looked at the driver as he stuck his head out the window. It was her old friend, Dan Mangan.

“Dan!”

“Trixie!” She watched his eyes go wide. “Are you all right? You’re awfully pale.”

“I was almost run over.”

In a second, Dad had put the truck in park and was standing beside her. He touched her arm. “You’re all cut up,” he said. “You need to go to the hospital.”

“No hospital.”

“Fine. We’ll go to Brian then. Where is he?”

Trixie closed her eyes and let out a breath. “At the hospital.”

“That’s where we’re going.”

Dan helped her around to the passenger side and get in. He moved around and got behind the wheel. As he turned the truck around, he said, “Tell me what happened.”

As he drove, Trixie told him what happened. He listened without interrupting. When she finished, she leaned back in the seat and closed her eyes. She knew the adrenaline rush was wearing off.

*****

When they finally arrived at the hospital, Trixie was vaguely aware of being led into the emergency room. She was immediately taken into an examination room and her brother was paged. A few minutes later, she heard Brian said, “Trixie?”

She opened her eyes and looked at him as he moved over to the bed.

“What happened?”

“She was almost run over,” a voice said behind Brian.

Trixie looked and saw Dan standing near the curtain.

“How did you know?” Brian asked.

“I found her on Glen Road.”

“You can fill me in later,” Brian said. “Have a seat in the waiting room while I check her over.”

Dan nodded as he looked at Trixie. “Do you want me to call Jim?”

“No, don’t.”

“All right.” Dan left the curtained room.

Trixie answered Brian’s questions as he checked her over. He cleaned the cuts on her arms and legs before bandaging them. When he was done, he admitted she was going to be fine, but a little sore.

As they entered the waiting room together, Dan got to his feet, sidestepping a Mr. Potato Head a child had been playing with as it rolled in his path and hurried over to them. He asked, “How is she?”

“She’ll be fine in a couple days,” Brian said.

“Good,” Dan said. “I called Chief Molinson and he wants you to come right down to the station.”

“What were you talking to the Chief for?” Trixie asked.

“He had to know what happened. He wants you to come down and give a statement. He also said you don’t have to work today.”

“How nice of him,” Trixie said sarcastically.

“Is she all set?” Dan asked.

Brian nodded. “But she needs to take it easy.”

“I will once I get home.”

“All right. You can go. I’ll swing by the farm later.”

“I’ll take you to the station,” Dan said.

“I’d appreciate it.”

“I’ll see you later,” Brian said, and they headed out to the parking lot.

*****

Trixie leaned her head back against the seat as Dan headed for Crabapple Farm. She had spent the last hour giving her statement to the Chief about what happened. He asked several questions and said the officers would keep an eye out for the car, but wasn’t too optimistic about finding it without a plate number.

She turned her head to the side as she looked at Dan. She thought it was luck that he had come along when he did.

“Dan.”

“Yes?” he asked, looking at her, then back at the road.

“I forgot to ask, but what are you doing here?”

“I got a couple days off and thought I’d come home and see Uncle Bill.”

“How do you like working in New York City?”

“It’s different, but busy. So much more happens there compared to here.”

“But, do you like it?”

“Yeah, I do. It’s what I always wanted to do.”

“Are you happy?”

Dan nodded. “I am.” He looked at her again. His gaze went back to the road. “You can tell me to mind my own business, but is there something going on between you and Jim?”

“There’s nothing going on.”

“Are you two fighting?”

“How can two people fight if they’re not seeing each other?”

“You two broke up?”

“Yeah.”

“How come?” When Trixie remained quiet, Dan said ruefully, “I’m sorry. Forget I asked that.”

“It’s all right. Everyone will find out soon enough.”

“You know, I get the feeling that this break-up wasn’t mutual.”

“It wasn’t,” Trixie said, as Dan pulled into the driveway.

He stopped the truck and turned the engine off.

“Would you like to come in?” Trixie asked.

“No thanks, Trixie. I need to get to Uncle Bill’s. But if you need to talk to someone, I’ll listen.”

“Thanks, Dan. For everything.”

“You’re welcome. Call if you need anything.”

“I’ll remember that.”

Trixie got out of the truck and made her way inside as Dan backed out of the driveway. As she passed the answering machine, she saw the light blinking signaling there was a new message. She pressed the play button.

“That was just a warning, Stay away from him or you’ll never make it to your next birthday.”

 

Continue to Part 2