“Trixie, are you all right?”

She barely heard him. She was trying to figure out who was threatening her and why. It didn’t make sense. She felt a hand on her shoulder. She turned and saw Jim standing there. He was staring at her.

He took her hands and led her to the kitchen table. She sat down and looked at him.

“Who was on the phone?” Jim asked, crouching in front of her. “And don’t lie to me. I know something was said.”

Trixie looked at Jim. He seemed genuinely concerned. She took a deep breath and told him about the call. He listened as she told him that it hadn’t been the first and filled him in on the other messages.

When she finished, Jim asked, “What did the Chief say when you told him?” Trixie looked at the table. “You didn’t tell him? Geez, Trixie!” Jim got to his feet and started pacing. “Haven’t you learned anything from your past cases?”

She couldn’t believe Jim’s tone. “Where do you get off telling me how to do my job?”

“You shouldn’t keep this a secret.”

“I haven’t.” Trixie got to her feet and looked at Jim.

Jim spun to look at her. “Who have you told?”

“Honey.”

“You told my pregnant sister about the threatening messages? Have you lost your mind? She should be taking it easy, preparing for the baby, not trying to figure out who is threatening you.”

“Get a grip, Jim. Honey is my partner. We work together. This is something we need to solve.”

“Honey isn’t in any condition to be doing this.”

“Who says?”

Jim stared at her. “I have every right to watch out for my sister.”

“You’re not watching out for her. You’re trying to control her.”

Jim looked as if he had been slapped. He moved so he was inches from her face. “You are purposely trying to put yourself in danger. I’m surprised you haven’t been killed.”

Trixie stared at Jim. Killed. That’s what he said, she thought. What if the accident wasn’t just from the wet pavement?

She dropped into the chair unaware that Jim was still ranting. Her thoughts went back to the drive home. She remembered making her way down the hill then the Jeep hitting the water and sliding off the road into the tree.

“Trixie?”

She looked at Jim. He was crouched down beside her. Concern was written all over his face.

“Please say something, Trix.”

“Someone was there,” she said softly.

“What?”

Trixie swallowed. “When I crashed, I remember coming to for a moment and someone came to the jeep.”

“It was probably help,” Jim said.

Trixie shook her head. “I don’t think so. I know who it is, but I can’t remember.”

“It will probably come to you in a little while,” Jim said soothingly, touching her arm.

“You’re probably right.”

Trixie got to her feet and started collecting the tapes. She was determined to find out who kept leaving her messages.

“What are you doing?”

“I’m going to listen to the messages and see if there was something I missed.”

Before Jim could say anything, his phone rang. “Hello? Hey, Amy. What’s up?” He paused. “Just leave them on my desk. You don’t have to bring them over. Just leave the papers on my desk. I’ll be back to the school later. All right. Bye.”

Trixie continued fiddling with the tape player as if she hadn’t been listening to his conversation. She pressed play and listened to the first message she had gotten days earlier. The message came over the machine.

“No,” Jim said. “It couldn’t be.”

Trixie turned to look at him. His face was pale and he was staring at the tape player.

“Jim, what is it? What’s wrong?”

“It can’t be,” he said softly.

“What?”

“I know that voice.”

“Really? Who is it?”

“Amy,” he said softly.

Trixie stared at Jim. She wasn’t sure she heard him right. He sat down in one of the chairs still focusing on the tape player.

“What did you say?” Trixie asked.

“That’s Amy. She’s the one threatening you.”

“Why would she do that? She barely even knows me.”

“I don’t know.”

Trixie got to her feet. She felt Amy didn’t have a reason to do this. They had just met a few days earlier when Jim introduced them. She went to the phone and quickly dialed a number.

“Who are you calling?” Jim asked.

“Honey, it’s Trixie. Are you busy?”

“Not really,” Honey said.

“Could you come to the farm? I have a lead on who is threatening me.”

“Who?”

“I’ll tell you when you get here.”

“I’ll be there soon,” Honey said.

“Bye.”

Trixie set the phone down and let her hand linger there. She couldn’t believe Jim’s secretary was involved. She was shocked.

“What are you planning?” Jim asked.

“I’m going to get the proof that she is the one involved.”

“Is there any way I can help?”

Trixie remained quiet. Part of her was flattered that Jim wanted to help, but another part of her felt he was offering because he felt guilty for his tone earlier in the day.

Jim’s phone rang again, and Trixie let out a breath knowing she didn’t have to answer his question.

“Hello? What is it, Amy?”

Trixie listened and stared at him. She hoped he wouldn’t give it away that they knew she was responsible.

“Amy, listen. I’ll be back to the school later. Like I said before, leave the papers on my desk and I’ll get them when I get there.” He paused and looked at Trixie. “Yes, I’ve seen Trixie. I was able to convince her to help with the party on Saturday.” He paused. “Why is she helping? Because the kids love having her around, and she will help make this party a special memory for them.” He looked at the table. “I wish we could meet up tonight, but I have a few more things to do. I’ll see you tomorrow. Bye.”

As Jim set his phone down, Trixie said, “Thanks.”

“It’s nothing.” Jim got to his feet and started pacing.

Trixie pulled out a notebook and started coming up with some kind of plan to get Amy to confess. She wasn’t going to get hurt again.

*****

A while later, Honey arrived at the farm, but she wasn’t alone. Brian was with her.

“Honey told me what’s going on. I thought I could help.”

“I’m glad you’re here,” Trixie said. “Have a seat.”

“I see Jim’s here,” Honey said.

“Yeah,” Trixie said.

“So,” Honey said sitting down next to her. “Who is it that is threatening you?”

“Amy, my secretary,” Jim said, sitting down on the other side of his sister.

“What?” Brian and Honey asked.

“Jim confirmed the voice on the message is Amy’s.”

“But why is she threatening you?” Brian asked. “It doesn’t make sense.”

“Because I was dating Trixie,” Jim said with his head in his hands.

“You want to explain that?” Honey asked.

Jim rubbed his face before looking at all of them. “This is all my fault.”

“What is?” Honey asked.

Jim got to his feet and resumed pacing. “I hired Amy last month to answer the phone and input information into the computer. The two of us started talking and going out to lunch.” Jim looked at Trixie. “I should have realized something was wrong when you stopped calling me during the day.”

“But I was calling. Each time, she said you were in a meeting, and you would call me back,” Trixie said.

“Apparently, she was lying to both of us.”

“But why would she be threatening Trixie?” Honey asked.

“Because she wanted Jim for herself,” Brian said.

Trixie looked at her brother. She knew he was right. That was the only reason.

“And I was dumb enough to fall for it,” Jim grumbled as he turned to look out the window.

Trixie looked at Honey. “We need to get to your computer.”

“I thought you might, so I brought my laptop. It’s in the car.”

“Good. We’ll need it.”

“I’ll get it.” Honey left the house with Brian following her.

Trixie knew the two of them left to give her and Jim a few minutes alone. She felt awkward being with Jim, so she focused on the notebook.

“Trixie...”

She looked at Jim. He was still staring out the window. “Yes?”

“I’m sorry for all this. I should’ve seen what she was doing, but I didn‘t. If I had, you might not have been in that accident.”

“You didn’t know.” Trixie looked back at the notebook.

“But I should have. I’ve been with you and Honey so many times. It should be basic instinct for me to know when someone is evil.”

Trixie looked at Jim. His head was slumped to his chest. She could tell this incident had really bothered him. Her heart seemed to twist in her chest. She hated seeing Jim like that. Dropping her pen, Trixie got up from the table and moved over to him. She placed her hand on his arm.

“Jim, you are the type of person who believes everyone is good. This wasn’t your fault. You need to believe that. You had nothing to do with Amy threatening me.”

He finally looked at her. “She made me think you didn’t have time for me. She made me think that you didn’t love me.”

“Jim, what does your heart say? Does your heart say that I don’t love you?”

Jim turned and looked at her. He reached up and cupped her face in his hand. “It says you love me.”

He leaned in to give her a kiss, but stopped.

Trixie was confused about why he didn’t kiss her. She saw him look past her and take his hand away. She knew they weren’t alone.

“We’ll talk later.” She turned to Honey. “Let’s get started.”

*****

Trixie and Honey spent several hours trying to find as much information as they could. They searched for any police records Amy might have, but kept coming up empty. They also searched for any references to Amy that had been published in newspapers. But there was nothing there.

“There’s nothing on her,” Honey said, leaning back from the computer.

“This is so frustrating,” Trixie said, getting to her feet and pacing. She wanted something but it seemed as if Amy had been the perfect citizen.

“What’s the next step?” Honey asked.

Trixie looked at her. She didn’t have any ideas. “I don‘t know.”

“Maybe you need to take a break from this and get some sleep,” Brian said. “You’ll probably come up with something in the morning.”

“You’re probably right,” Honey said. She covered her mouth as she tried to stifle a yawn. “Sorry.”

“It’s okay,” Trixie said. “Why don’t you guys go home? We’ll come up with a game plan in the morning.”

“If you’re sure?” Honey asked.

Trixie nodded. “Thanks for your help.”

“All right. We’ll see you tomorrow.”

A few minutes after saying goodbye, Brian and Honey were gone, leaving Trixie alone with Jim. Trixie started to gather the cups and put them in the sink.

“Trix,” Jim said. “Could we talk?”

She turned to look at him. He had been quiet the whole time they were working. She knew they had to talk. They sat at the table in silence.

“Trix,” Jim said, breaking the silence. “I’m really sorry about all this.”

“There’s no need to apologize.”

“I have to. I have been so dumb. I had been blind to see what was going on. I was feeling a little neglected, but I know that wasn’t your fault.” He reached over and took her hand in his. “I should have never broken up with you. I wanted some attention and I turned to the wrong person. I need to know that you forgive me for being the fool I am.”

Trixie squeezed Jim’s hand. “I can only forgive you on one condition.”

Jim looked at her. “What condition is that?”

“I know you can’t promise this, but I want you to talk to me if you feel like I’m not spending enough time with you.” She squeezed his hand again. “I have always loved you and you need to realize that I always will.”

“I love you, too.” Jim reached up, touched her face and gave her a kiss.

When they broke apart, Trixie smiled at Jim. “I guess we’re back together.”

“I guess we are,” Jim said, rubbing the top of her hand with his thumb.

“But what are you going to tell Amy?”

“I’ll think of something. Don’t worry about it.”

Trixie changed the subject. “About what time should we be at the school tomorrow to start decorating?”

“Any time. The kids will be getting out of classes in the afternoon to help out. That way, if there’s some work that needs to be done on Saturday, they can finish it up before the party.”

“I’m glad you’re doing this for them.”

“I want them to have fun like we did. This is just the start.”

“I’m glad.”

Jim covered his mouth as he tried to stifle a yawn. “Sorry.”

“It’s all right. We did a lot of research today.”

“Is there anything else I can do?” Jim asked.

Trixie shook her head. “Thank you, but not tonight. I need to come up with some kind of plan.”

“If you need my help with anything, call.”

“I will.”

“All right.” Jim got to his feet. He leaned over and gave her a kiss. “I’ll talk to you tomorrow.”

“Bye, Jim.”

“Bye, Trixie.” He turned and left the house.

As Trixie gathered the papers, she wondered how she was going to deal with Amy. She thought it was childish to withhold messages from Jim.

I remember people doing that in high school, she thought. They turned on others to get that they wanted. But Amy barely knows anything about me. Why would she decide to hurt me this way? It really doesn’t make sense. I wish I knew more about her, but we didn‘t find anything. I think we were looking in the wrong place. Trixie stopped and looked at the papers. Jim more than likely has files on the employees. But I couldn’t ask him for the file because it is confidential. Jim would probably blow a gasket if I did ask. But I need to see that information, one way or another.

*****

Early the next morning, before the sun came up, Trixie was making her way to the Academy. She was going through the woods, hoping no one would see her. She had been up most of the night and she knew this would be the only way to get the information she needed. She had talked to Jim late the previous evening about her plan and he had given her permission to look at Amy’s file.

When she reached the school, she made her way inside to Jim’s office, grateful he had left the office door unlocked when she asked for a key. The early morning sunlight gave her enough light for her to search the file cabinets. After a few minutes of searching, she found the employee files. She scanned the labels and immediately found Amy’s. She tapped her fingers for a moment, wondering if she was doing the right thing. She pulled the file folder out and opened it.

Okay, let’s see, she thought to herself as she scanned the paperwork. Amy is living in an apartment in town. She is originally from Springville, New York where she worked as a secretary for a business for a couple of months. The reason she left says because of personal reasons.

She quickly wrote down the business name to call and check later. There was nothing else in the file except for references. Trixie added the information to her list to check.

All of a sudden, Trixie heard movement outside Jim’s office. She quickly shoved the file back in the drawer and quickly closed it. She moved toward the door, passing the supplies for the Halloween party. As the office door opened, she kneeled down as if she was sorting through the bags.

“What are you doing in here?” Amy asked.

Trixie turned and looked at her. Amy was wearing a short black skirt with an orange shirt.

“I came by early to get started on decorating,” Trixie said. “There’s a lot to be done before the party.”

“You shouldn’t be here.”

“I came in here to get the supplies.”

“I think you should leave before Jim gets here. He won’t be happy to know you were in here unsupervised.” Amy took a step toward her. “You know, Jim doesn’t like having you around. Maybe it would be best if you left the premises and let the children do the decorating since it is their party.”

“I’m not here to get involved with Jim. The children want me here.”

“I think you should leave the office.”

“I need to take the supplies to the gymnasium.”

“The bags will be waiting by my desk, so you don’t have to come back in here.”

Trixie took a couple bags and made her way to the gymnasium. Once inside, she let out a breath. It had been close. She just hoped Amy believed her story.

*****

After retrieving a few more bags, Trixie pulled out her phone and called Honey. She asked Honey to call the places she found in Amy’s file and then fill her in when she and Brian came to help set up. Once the call was completed, Trixie starting blowing up balloons. She knew that would be a time consuming job.

She was sitting on the floor a couple hours later finishing the last of the balloons when the slamming of a door caught her attention. She turned and saw Amy standing there.

“Jim wants to see you in his office.”

Trixie took a breath as she got to her feet. She had a feeling this was coming. She returned to Jim’s office and stepped inside. He was standing behind the desk, staring at the painting on the wall.

He must have heard her come in because he said, “Close the door.”

Trixie pushed the door closed. She turned and looked at Jim and saw he was now staring at her. She relaxed when she saw a smile on his face.

“Play along,” he mouthed.

She nodded. “What did you want to see me about?”

“What were you doing in my office?” he asked.

“I came to get the supplies to decorate for the party.”

“You shouldn’t have been in here,” he said. “I could have you arrested for trespassing.”

“I wasn’t trespassing. You invited me over here to help with the party, which includes decorating.”

“You should have waited until someone was here. At least until Amy arrived.”

“You know, Jim. I have really noticed a change in you. You don’t seem to care about the friends who have been by your side since you came to Sleepyside. Go right ahead and hook up with Amy. I don‘t really care. I‘d rather be with someone who trusts me and treats me as an equal.”

“I’m sorry I even asked you to be here for the party.”

“Like I told your girlfriend, I’m here for the children and that‘s all. I don’t want to disappoint them.”

“Fine,” Jim said. He mouthed, “I’ll be down shortly.”

“Fine,” Trixie said. “I’m going to go finish what I started.”

“Good. Get out of my office.”

Trixie smiled at Jim before turning around. She stormed out of the office, slamming the door behind her. She went past Amy without looking at her. She hoped Amy was listening to their show.

A half hour later, Jim entered the gymnasium, but he wasn’t alone. Di and Mart were with him.

Mart and Di took the streamers and started to put them up. Jim moved over and stood beside her as he tied some of the balloons together.

“Thank you for going along with that,” Jim said softly.

“So you think she was listening?”

“She was. Moments after you left, she came in.” Jim let out a breath. “How long do you think we’ll have to keep this up?”

“Hopefully not long.”

“Why do you say that?”

“You just have to trust me.” Trixie took some of the wall decorations and moved away from Jim. She thought to herself, I just hope Honey comes up with something.

*****

“Food’s here!” Brian called out as he entered the room with Honey.

“Good, I’m starving,” Mart said.

“You shouldn’t be,” Di said. “You had two breakfasts this morning.”

“I have to keep up my strength because of the twins,” Mart explained.

“I think you eat like that to show your children you’re the human garbage disposal,” Brian said.

“Knock it off, guys,” Honey said. “The food will get cold if you keep arguing.”

“Let’s eat.”

They sat down on the floor and dug into the pizzas. As they ate, they talked about how much fun the party would be for the students. They also hinted about their costumes, but didn’t say exactly what they were. As they started on the second pizza, Trixie could see Honey wanted to tell her something, but didn’t want to discuss it in front of the others. When they were finished eating, Honey and Trixie decided to go outside for some fresh air. Trixie knew this would be their opportunity to talk.

The two of them made their way along one of the trails that went into the woods behind the Academy. When Trixie felt they were far enough away from the buildings, she said, “I think you found something.”

“More than you realize.”

“What?” Trixie asked.

“Well, I called her references first and told them I was looking to find out about her. All of them were surprised to be put down as references since she had left.”

“Really? Did they say anything about why she left?”

“No one would really say anything,” Honey said.

“Did anyone give you any leads?” Trixie asked, hopefully.

“One person gave me a scenario without going into specifics.”

“What was said?”

“Well, the scenario that was given was that person X was hired to do a job by person Y. Within a couple weeks time, person Y noticed some changes such as calls from person Y’s spouse. Person Y talked to the spouse and realized calls had been made and that the messages were not being forwarded.”

“Which is what has been happening here,” Trixie stated.

“But that still doesn’t explain why she’s going this.”

“To get what I want,” a voice said behind them.

Honey and Trixie turned quickly to see Amy standing there with a knife. Amy was angry. She asked, “How dare you invade my privacy? You had no right.”

“But you should be allowed to threaten people?” Trixie asked.

“You wouldn’t be in this mess now if you had listened to the warnings.”

“And let you get away with it?”

“Amy, how could you do this?” Honey asked.

“Stay out of this. What’s going on is between me and her, so mind your own business.”

“Honey, let me handle this,” Trixie said.

“But, Trixie.”

“Honey, please,” Trixie begged. “I don’t want anything to happen to you or the baby.”

“If something did happen, at least I will be around to comfort Jim,” Amy said.

“Why, you...” Honey began.

“How dare you?” Trixie asked, at the same time.

“You shouldn’t care. Jim dumped you because he doesn’t love you. And when I’m done with you, he won’t want to think about you.”

“You can’t do this,” Honey said.

“I’m tired of people telling me what to do,” Amy said. “My plan only involved taking care of Trixie. But I can’t leave you here. I guess you’ll have to come along.”

Trixie stared at Amy. She didn’t like the way Amy was talking. She knew that if she took off, Amy would go after Honey since Honey couldn’t run real fast in her condition. She knew she couldn’t do that to Honey. Even though she knew they were in danger, she couldn’t think of a way to get them out of there.

“Let’s go and don’t try anything you will regret.” Amy pushed them along the trail staying far enough back in case one of them tried something. They made their way to the river and were told to stop when they reached the water’s edge.

Trixie and Honey turned to look at Amy. Trixie asked, “What are you planning to do to us?”

“I’m going to get rid of you. Both of you.”

“Miss Trixie!”

Trixie looked up and saw Matthew and Rick. “Run!” Trixie yelled. “Go back to the school! Now!”

Matthew and Rick took off running without looking back. Trixie moved so she was between Amy and Honey. She wasn’t going to let anything happen to her sister-in-law. She hoped the boys heard the urgency in her voice and were going for help. She had to just buy them some time.

Trixie focused on Amy. “What do you plan to do to us?”

“I’m going to get rid of you.”

“If you do anything to us, Jim won’t come to you.”

“He won’t know it’s me. He will never know.”

“He already knows you’re involved,” Honey said.

“He doesn’t know anything. If he was smart, he would’ve realized what was going on a lot sooner, but he didn’t.”

“Jim did know. He was the one who recognized your voice with the threatening messages. He’s the one who made me realize you were doing this. But still, I don‘t understand why.”

“You really don’t know?” Amy laughed. “You really are thick. Jim needs someone who will fit his image. He needs someone he can count on to be there when he needs support. And that’s not you.”

“How do you know what Jim’s image needs?” Trixie asked, keeping Amy’s attention. “You don’t know him or me.”

“I know enough.” Amy stepped up to Trixie. “I’ve seen how you treat Jim. You don’t even think of him. You are always first in your eyes. You never think of anyone else.”

“Whenever I do something, I think of the others it will affect,” Trixie said, trying to control her temper. “Growing up, we, my brothers and I, Honey and Jim and a couple others always did what we could to help others. We felt that was important.”

“You won’t be helping people anymore.”

Without warning, Amy pushed Trixie backward. Her arms flailing, Trixie tried to regain her balance, but didn’t. She fell into the water.

Continue to Part 4