Part 1
Staring at her reflection, she had a hard time believing the person looking back at her was herself. Twenty-four-year-old Trixie Belden-Frayne ran her hands through her silky smooth hair, awed at the transformation.
She was amazed the hair stylist had been able to tame her naturally curly hair. She didn’t think Moms would recognize her.
“You look amazing.” Honey Wheeler-Belden stepped up beside her, looking into the mirror. “Jim would flip out.”
“This would shock him,” Trixie admitted, turning her head to the side. “And I’m not sure he would approve. He likes my curls.”
“He sure does,” Honey said with a grin. “Are you ready to go?”
“Yeah.”
“Then let’s go get something to eat.”
“All right.” Trixie looked at her reflection one last time and got to her feet.”
Honey and Trixie left the salon where they had gotten a makeover as a surprise from Honey’s mother and Trixie’s mother-in-law, Madeleine Wheeler, as a treat to go and pamper themselves.
They arrived at the restaurant and were immediately led to a table. After placing their order, Trixie sighed and looked out the window.
“Trixie, this case will be fine for you to handle,” Honey said. “You’ve done the research and you know what needs to be found.”
Trixie looked at Honey. “I know, but I’m still not too sure about this. I shouldn’t be the one on the inside with this case. This is more up your alley.”
“You heard what Melanie said when she came to see us. She needs someone in the office with her while we’re trying to figure out who is stealing her designs. She thinks someone in the office is behind it all. That’s why one of us has to go in as an assistant.”
“I am so wrong for this. I don’t know anything about fashion. I’m a jeans and T-shirt type of person.”
“You don’t need to know fashion to find the culprit. Just use your natural skills and this will be wrapped up in no time.”
Trixie sighed again. She really wasn’t looking forward to this case. She just hoped she could pull it off.
“Come on, Trixie,” Honey said getting her sister-in-law to look her in the eye. “This will give you something to occupy your time while Jim is away.”
Her husband, Jim Frayne, had left for California the previous evening to meet with several of his father’s contacts to see if he could secure some additional funding for the school. He was supposed to be gone a week and Trixie was already missing him.
Trixie gazed down at her wedding band. “I guess.”
“Trix, I don’t want to pry, but are you feeling all right? You look tired.”
“I’ve been having trouble sleeping.” Trixie didn’t want to admit that she’d been feeling lousy the past couple days. She figured it was a flu bug and just had to let it run its course.
“Are you ready for this?” Honey asked.
“I guess I have to be. I just want this case wrapped up before Jim returns.”
“When will that be?”
“Friday. Late.” Trixie sighed again. She couldn’t believe they were apart.
“This will be the longest you’ve been apart, isn’t it?”
Trixie nodded. “He only left last night and I already miss him.”
“The time will go by quickly.”
“I hope so.”
* * * * *
The next day, Trixie was at the studio where the fashion designer created her clothing line and worked on the samples for the runway show. As she sat outside Melanie’s office, she examined the papers Melanie had given her.
Melanie Nelson was 30 years old and had been designing clothes for several years. She had started out sketching when she was in high school and then went to college. She had spent a few years working with other designers and got a feel for how the industry worked. She had then branched out on her own to show the world her creativity. And now her designs were known worldwide. With that being the case, her designs were now appearing at the shows of other designers. That was what Honey and Trixie had been called in to find out. The designs Melanie had created were just in the finishing stages when they appeared elsewhere. They needed to find out how they were leaving Melanie’s studio and getting them to the other designers.
“Trixie, could you come in here please?” Melanie asked.
“Sure.”
She got to her feet and stepped into Melanie’s office. There were bolts of fabric strewn about on chairs and on the floor along with tons of papers that appeared to have incomplete sketches on them.
“Yes, Melanie?”
“Close the door.”
Trixie closed the door and turned to face the designer. “Was there something you needed?”
Melanie looked up as she pulled her long, black hair into a ponytail and quickly secured it away from her face. “I just finished a new designed and wanted to show it to you.”
Trixie moved around to the other side of the drawing board and looked at the sketch. It was an evening dress that had been sketched out with blue colored pencils.”
“That’s wonderful,” Trixie said.
“It’s the latest and I want it to be for the show.”
“Do you think someone will take this design?” Trixie asked, not taking her eyes off the drawing to memorize each detail in case it did happen.
“I don’t know,” Melanie sighed. “But I’m not going to take any chances. This is going under wraps and I will work on it myself.”
“Melanie, do you really think one of your workers would steal your designs?”
“After three of them appeared at other shows, I wouldn’t put it past some of them.”
Trixie leaned against the desk that was beside the drawing table. “Who do you think could be responsible?”
Melanie leaned back and stared at her work. “I’m not sure. I’ve worked with these people for several years. They are like family. I just find it hard to believe that one of them would do this to me. But my designs are turning up at others shows and I want to find out who and why.”
“Tell me about the first instance,” Trixie said.
“I was about six months ago,” Melanie began. “I was working on a series of work suits for women. There were also a few dresses that went along with the series. Somehow, one of the dresses came out on Aaron’s show two weeks before mine.”
“Did you confront him?”
“I did, but he denied stealing the design.”
“What other incidents have there been?”
“Three months ago I was designing another line when two outfits appeared with another designer. He also denied stealing the work.”
Before Trixie could ask any more questions, the door to Melanie’s office swung open.
“Melanie, the new material has arrived.”
“Excellent,” Melanie said, rising to her feet. “Thanks for letting me know, Eva.”
Eva nodded her head and left the office.
Trixie watched Melanie pull the design off the board and roll it up. She opened the safe behind the desk and slid it inside. After locking the safe, Melanie said, “Come check out the material.”
Trixie followed Melanie out of the office to the piles of fabric. When they reached the piles, Trixie watched the other employees Melanie had hired as seamstresses. She wasn’t sure if any of them were responsible for leaking the designs to the competition.
“This is great,” Melanie said. “This is just what we need for the new line.”
As Melanie started putting bolts of fabric together, Trixie observed the workers. She had been introduced to all of them and wondered why someone would sell out their employer. It didn’t make sense.
“All right,” Melanie said, getting everyone’s attention. “With this fabric, we should be able to finish the outfits for the show. And once the show is over, everyone will be getting a well deserved break.”
“Yeah!” the employees cheered and clapped.
“All right,” Melanie said. “Let’s get to work. The show is only six days away.”
Trixie watched as the seamstresses spread out and resumed working on the outfits.
“Trixie,” Melanie said, “Why don’t you come work with me so I can see what talent you have?”
She smiled at the designer. She knew she wouldn’t really be doing any work.
Going back into Melanie’s office, the designer turned to face her. “You have free rein to look around and try to figure out who is stealing my designs. If anyone asks, just say you’re getting something for me.”
Trixie nodded. “I’ll see what I can find out.”
“I really appreciate this.”
“We’ll try to solve this,” Trixie said.
“Thanks.”
* * * * *
That night, Trixie returned to Ten Acres along and discouraged. While at Melanie’s design studio, she had talked with several of the workers trying to get some information to help the case, but kept coming up empty.
Closing the door, Trixie listened to the silence. She couldn’t believe she was at the house alone. It had only been two days and she already missed Jim.
Going to the refrigerator, Trixie started to pull some food out to make a sandwich, but stopped when she felt she was going to be ill. Closing the door, she leaned her head against the refrigerator until the sensation passed.
Once it was gone, she poured herself some juice and moved toward the living room. She stopped quickly when she saw the lights blinking on the answering machine.
Pressing play, she immediately heard Jim’s voice. “Hey, sweetheart. I guess you’re working on a case or something. I just wanted to call to say that I love and miss you. I’ll try to catch you tomorrow between my meetings. I love you, Trix. I’ll talk to you later.”
Trixie let out a breath. She wished she had been there to take the call. She knew she would have to make it a point the next day to be home when he called.
She went into the living room and settled on the couch with the papers and videos Melanie had given her. She was looking at a bunch of sketches that Melanie had been working on. There were also sketches of the clothing that had been duplicated by other artists.
Putting the videos in the tape player, she forwarded the picture to shots of the clothing that had been stolen. Freezing the first video, she looked at the paper and realized it was a duplicate.
Why would someone want to steal another designer’s work? It doesn’t make sense. It may not be the designer, but someone who is working for both.
Leaning back on the couch, she realized there was no lead there. She wondered if Honey had started talking to the other designers to find out if they knew anything. Grabbing the phone, she quickly dialed and got the answering machine. She left a brief message and hung up.
“Just great,” Trixie grumbled.
Realizing how tired she was, Trixie decided to tackled the case the following day. She hoped she would have a new perspective and an idea as to how the designs were being stolen.
* * * * *
The next morning, Trixie pulled up in front of the studio. As she got out of her jeep, she saw Melanie coming toward her with a cup of coffee in her hand.
“Morning, Melanie.”
“Good morning, Trixie,” Melanie said, stopping beside her. “Should I ask or…?”
“Not yet,” Trixie said. “Give us some time to figure this out.”
“I trust you.” Melanie let out a breath. “I just want to find out how my competition is getting my designs.”
As they started inside, Trixie asked, “Do you think the other designers could have snuck into your studio and copied your designs?”
Melanie shook her head. “I don’t think so. But it is possible.”
“How much do you trust your workers?”
Melanie stopped and looked at her. “Do you really think one of them is involved?”
“We need to look at all possibilities.”
Melanie continued up the stairs. “I really don’t see anyone on my staff taking my designs. I trust these people. They are like family.”
Trixie had a feeling Melanie wouldn’t know who it was. She knew she had to watch the employees even closer than before.
When they stepped into the studio, Trixie followed Melanie to her office. Setting her things down behind the door, Trixie said, “I’m going to see what I can find out.”
“If you need help with anything, let me know.”
“All right.”
Trixie left the office and saw Eva was already hard at work on one of the outfits for the show. She figured she might as well try to get as much information from her as she could. “Good morning, Eva.”
“Morning,” Eva said without taking her eyes off her work.
“You know, I’m amazed at how dedicated all of you are toward this show.”
“We all take pride in our work.”
Trixie fingered the silk fabric. “How did you get involved in this line of work?”
“I’ve always enjoyed sewing and creating clothing designs,” Eva said, picking up a pair of scissors and cutting the thread. “My own designs never got any recognition, but that doesn’t bother me. I’m helping Melanie make her dream come true.”
“I bet your work is just as good as Melanie’s.”
Eva looked at her and shook her head. “My work will never be that good.”
“You have a lot of talent.”
“It seems that way because I’ve been doing it for so long.”
“It shows you care about your work.”
“Thanks.” Eva set the garment back on the table.
“You know,” Trixie said, “I’ve heard some rumors about the fashion industry.”
“What kind of rumors?”
“There are some designers who have been having their work stolen from them and its been turning up at other designers shows.”
“I’ve heard those rumors too.”
“Are they true?”
Eva looked up at her. “Why are you so concerned about the rumors?”
“Shouldn’t I be?” Trixie asked. “I think I should know what’s going on before I get in too deep.”
Eva got to her feet and stood nose-to-nose with Trixie. “I would mind my own business instead of sticking my nose where it doesn’t belong. You may not be right for this business.”
Trixie stared at Eva. She had a feeling she had been threatened and didn’t act surprised.
“From the way you’re talking, I have a feeling that you know something about the designs turning up at other shows.”
“If you’re insinuating that I’m giving these designs to the competition, you’re off your rocker. I wouldn’t do that.”
“I wasn’t insinuating anything,” Trixie said. “I just wanted to get to know the people I’m working with. Sometimes there are people you just can’t trust and I make it a point to find them first.”
“You won’t find anyone like that here,” Eva said. “Now, if you’ll excuse me, I have work to do.”
Eva took the garment and walked away.
Trixie watched her go. She had a feeling Eva knew more than she was letting on. She figured she’d have Honey do a background check on Melanie’s employees.
“Hey,” a voice said behind her.
Turning, Trixie saw another of Melanie’s employees, someone she couldn’t remember her name.
“It’s Heidi,” the girl, who appeared to be about 20, said. “I saw you talking with Eva.”
“I was,” Trixie admitted. “I was just trying to get a feel for why so many people go into this line of work.”
“For some, it’s the feeling of creating something that people will enjoy wearing. For others, its an ego trip.”
“What do you mean?”
“Some designers just do this to out do others. They don’t care about the product, but the rush of creating something that will be remembered.”
“Heidi!”
Turning, they saw Melanie leaning out of her office. “Heidi, run down to the café and get some coffee for everyone. The machine just broke.” Melanie started to go back into the office, but stopped. “Also, see if there are any bagels and stuff.”
“Got it,” Heidi said. She looked at Trixie. “Want to come along?”
“Sure,” Trixie said, figuring she would get some useful information from Heidi.
As they walked down the street, Trixie asked, “Heidi, what do you do at the studio?”
“I do various tasks, helping out wherever I’m needed.”
“Does that include being a gofer?”
“Sometimes. I don’t mind it, though. I like helping Melanie make her dream come true.”
Trixie looked closely at Heidi. “Are you related to Melanie?”
Heidi smiled. “She’s my sister.”
They stepped into the café and Trixie immediately felt her stomach turn. Quickly, she said, “I’ll wait for you outside.”
Stepping back out the door, Trixie took a deep breath and started to feel better.
Why do I keep feeling sick? Why does my stomach continue to flop? If it doesn’t stop, I might have to go to the doctor. It figures I would get sick in the middle of a case. Hopefully this can be solved soon.
When Heidi exited the café, they started back to the studio. “Heidi, has Melanie talked about her designs appearing at other shows?”
“She’s talked about it, but doesn’t know how it’s happening.”
“Have you seen anything?”
Heidi shook her head. “I haven’t seen a thing. Come on. We need to get back before Melanie sends out search party.”
Trixie watched Heidi out of the corner of her eye. She had a feeling Heidi knew more than she was telling. She had to figure out what was going on.
Back at the studio, Trixie spent time trying to get any leads that she could, but no one seemed to know anything about the designs disappearing. She wondered if she was looking at the wrong angle.
“Trixie, could you come here for a moment?” Melanie asked.
“Sure,” Trixie said, moving toward her. “What’s going on?”
“Could you go get the blue bolt of satin fabric from the storage area?” Melanie asked. “I need it for this outfit.”
“Sure,” Trixie said.
As she made he way to the storage area on the first floor, she wondered if
Honey had come up with any leads. She didn’t think that anyone who worked for
Melanie was involved.
Reaching the storage area, she pushed the door open and stepped inside. Bolts of fabric lined the shelves. As she moved further into the room, she tried to spot the bolt Melanie wanted.
She stopped quickly when she saw some papers sticking out from underneath the fabric. Reaching the papers, she pulled them out and was surprised to see they were sketches of clothing.
Flipping through the designs, she wondered what they were doing in the storage area. She also wondered how the papers got there and who was responsible. As Trixie turned to leave the storage area, she heard movement behind her by one of the shelves. Turning to see what it was, she was greeted with bolts of fabric falling toward her.
She had just enough time to put her arms up to protect her head, but it didn’t stop the fabric from falling. Trixie hit the floor and the fabric and shelf hit her.
Trixie blacked out.