Part 2

After leaving Ten Acres, Trixie returned to Crabapple Farm to change clothes. She got into her Jeep and headed into Sleepyside. She was going to see Chief Molinson before heading to White Plains to do some errands.

When she arrived at the station, the desk sergeant immediately called the Chief and a moment later, she was on her way to his office.

“Trixie Belden,” the Chief said as she walked in. “In a few days, I won’t be saying that anymore.”

“I know. I can’t believe I will no longer be Trixie Belden.”

“I think you’ll always be Trixie Belden, no matter what your name is.”

Trixie smiled as she sat down. She decided to get right to the point. “Chief, there’s a reason I stopped by.”

“I didn’t think it was a social visit,” he said. “What’s going on?”

“Jim received another harassing phone call.”

“When?”

“This morning. Whoever it was called Ten Acres. But that wasn’t the only call.”

“There was another one?”

Trixie nodded. “About a half-hour before I found out Jim had been in an accident.”

“Does this person say the same thing each time they call?”

“Pretty much. They keep telling us how we won’t make it to the altar.”

“Do you or Jim have any idea who this could be?”

“None.” Trixie looked at Chief Molinson. “We really need you to figure out who this person is. We can’t have anything ruin our wedding.”

“Trixie...”

“Don’t give me any lines about there being nothing you can do. That’s bull and you know it.”

“Trixie, listen to me. You told me that, after the first phone call, you reversed the call and got the pizza place. I have a feeling that whoever it is may be moving around making the calls so as not to be found.”

“There has to be something that can be done.”

“What if we put taps on the phone at the farm and on the one at Ten Acres?” Chief Molinson suggested. “We can monitor the calls and try to pinpoint the caller’s location. But there isn’t much we can do if the person keeps leaving messages. The charges wouldn’t be that severe except for a fine, maybe.”

“We just need to catch the person before Saturday.”

“We’ll do our best.”

“Thanks, Chief,” Trixie said, even though she didn’t feel too relieved.

“Is there anything else you need today?”

“No, that takes care of it.” She got to her feet. “Chief, thanks for listening.”

“No problem,” Chief Molinson said, standing up. “If you get anymore calls, let me know.”

“I will. Thanks again.”

The Chief nodded and she left the station. She quickly climbed into the Jeep and started toward White Plains. As she drove, she wondered who would be harassing them.

This is the worst time for someone to be doing this, she thought. But if they want us concerned about the wedding, they’re doing a good job. With each phone call, I wonder if the person responsible is trying to make us doubt our love for one another. But I know Jim loves me and I love him. Nothing is ever going to change that. No matter what this person says, even if it’s only to worry us, we won’t call off the wedding. This is something we both plan to make sure happens. No one is going to stop us.

* * * * *

An hour later, Trixie was standing in the dress shop on a stool in front of a mirror. She was wearing her mother’s wedding dress as the seamstress made sure the alterations were correct, and the dress fit Trixie perfectly. Trixie knew she would have another fitting the day of the rehearsal, and that the seamstress would be there the day of the wedding to make sure everything was perfect with the dress.

As she looked at her reflection, she realized she made a beautiful bride and hoped Jim would think so too.

The dress had a low neckline. The bodice and body were made of silk. The sleeves went below her shoulders. The dress went down to her ankles.

“Miss Belden,” the seamstress said, interrupting Trixie’s thoughts.

“Yes?” Trixie asked, looking at her.

“I’m all finished. If you would like to change, I will get everything ready for your final fitting.”

“All right.”

Trixie slowly stepped down and let the seamstress unzip the back before she headed into the changing room. Once changed, Trixie turned her wedding dress over to the seamstress. She looked at her watch and realized she needed to hurry to the hairdresser’s, under Mrs. Wheeler’s orders, to have her hair done for the family dinner. That was the first of a few more errands she had to run before getting home and changing for dinner.

After spending two hours at the hairdresser, getting her hair straightened, with just a bit of curl on the ends, Trixie was ready to scream. She had a lot to do and was afraid it wouldn’t get done on top of having her hair pulled in what seemed to be every direction.

She hurried to the store to pick up the last of the “thank you” gifts she and Jim had decided on giving at the dinner following the rehearsal. She had to pick up the gifts for Mrs. Wheeler, Honey and Di. Jim had already picked up the rest when they had finally decided what to give everyone.

They had decided on glass vases for all three of them, because the vases were as priceless as the people they were being given to. It took another hour to locate the vases and purchase them, but according to her watch, it was only 15 minutes.

As Trixie got into the Jeep, she glanced at her watch. She figured she had enough time to pick up the special gift she had ordered for Jim. She drove to the jewelers and ended up parking in the lot across the street.

As soon as the jeweler saw her enter, he went into the back room and came right back out with a small box in his hands.

He approached her and said, “I have the item you were waiting for.”

Trixie took the box from him and opened it, revealing a set of gold cuff links. She fingered the cuff links which had JWF2 engraved on them. She looked back at the jeweler. “Thank you so much for taking care of this gift.”

“It was my pleasure.”

Trixie made the final payment on the gift and started for the door. She hoped Jim liked the gift. As she reached the door, she heard the rumble of thunder. Looking up, she saw it had started to sleet.

I’m going to have to make a run for it, she thought.

Trixie slipped the box into her inside coat pocket. She pushed the door open and started running toward the Jeep. She cut through the field hoping to make up time and to keep from getting soaked. She was almost to the Jeep when her feet slipped out from underneath her. She landed on her back, knocking the breath out of her.

As the rain-snow mix continued to fall, Trixie struggled to her knees and tried to catch her breath. The cold rain bothered her, and she knew she needed to get to the Jeep. Her breath finally came back and she got to her feet. When she reached the Jeep, she took off her coat and climbed in so she couldn’t get mud and snow all over the seats.

After closing the door, Trixie glanced at rearview mirror to get a look at her reflection. She closed her eyes and groaned. Her hair was hanging down and she was covered in mud.

“Could this day get any worse?” Trixie mumbled. At that moment, her phone rang. “Hello?”

“Trixie? It’s Jim. Where are you?”

“Hi, Jim. I’m on my way back to the farm. Where are you?”

“I’m at the farm waiting for you. I was to pick you up 10 minutes ago.”

Trixie looked at her watch. She still had an hour. “Jim, I’ve got time. It’s only four.”

“Trix, its quarter to six. Your watch battery must be dying.”

“Oh, no,” Trixie groaned.

“Just get here. Your dress is all ready for you.”

“I’m on my way.”

“I’ll see you soon.”

“Okay, bye.”

“Bye,” Jim said.

“This day is getting worse as each minutes passes,” she grumbled as she started the engine and headed for Crabapple Farm.

* * * * *

A short while later, Trixie arrived at Crabapple Farm. Quickly shutting off the engine, she climbed out and hurried toward the house. As she stepped across the threshold, her foot got caught on the mat, and she fell on the kitchen floor.

“Trixie!”

“Just leave me here until this day is over,” Trixie grumbled.

“Are you all right?”

“I will be in the morning.” She could hear Jim trying not to chuckle out loud.

“If you’re okay, why don’t you get up?”

Trixie lifted her head to see Jim’s outstretched hands in front of her. She took his hands and slowly got to her feet. He touched her face. “Are you sure you’re not hurt?”

“I’m okay. Just dirty.”

“Why don’t you get cleaned up? I’ll call the restaurant and tell them we’re running behind schedule and that they should go ahead and order.”

“Thank you.” Trixie gave him a quick kiss before hurrying up the stairs.

Twenty minutes later, she hurried back down the stairs, showered and changed. As she stepped into the kitchen, she stumbled, missing the last step and started to fall. Before she could fall to the floor, she was caught and knew Jim had saved her.

“Thanks,” Trixie said, straightening up.

“No problem. Are you ready to go?”

“Yeah. Everyone’s probably wondering where we are.”

“We’ll just say we were unavoidably detained.”

“Do you think they’ll believe it?”

“Who cares? Come on, let’s get going.”

Trixie nodded. “Let’s go have a wonderful family dinner.”

“Whose Jeep should we take?”

“Yours. Mine is covered with mud on the inside.”

“I’m not going to ask,” Jim said as he helped her get her coat on.

They left the house with Trixie locking the door behind them. Jim took her arm so she wouldn’t slip.

Once in Jim’s Jeep, he started the engine and they were on their way. After a few minutes, Jim looked at her.

“Do you want to tell me what happened today?”

“Let’s just say that if something could go wrong, it did.”

“You’re kidding.”

“No. First, I got nowhere with Molinson. He wasn’t really helpful in trying to figure out who the person is.”

“Did he have any suggestions? Because it’s getting a bit annoying.”

“He suggested putting taps on the phone lines to try and catch the person, but he believes whoever it is may be changing locations with each call.”

“Wait a second. You said ‘phone lines.’ Are you getting calls too?”

“I did get one.”

“When?”

“A little while before your mother called about the accident.”

“Why didn’t you say something?”

“I didn’t think it was important at the time. I was more worried about you because of the accident.”

“That’s no excuse!” Jim said angrily. “We can’t keep things from each other, Trixie.”

“I wasn’t keeping anything from you,” Trixie snapped. “A lot was going on and it slipped my mind.”

“But you kept it a secret.”

“I did not.”

“How is our marriage supposed to last if we keep things from one another?” Jim asked and Trixie bit her tongue. “We can’t keep things a secret. It’ll only hurt the marriage. You have to understand that.”

“I do understand. And I wasn’t keeping anything from you.”

“You should have told me sooner.”

Trixie had enough. She wasn’t in the mood for a lecture and she didn’t want to fight.

“Stop the Jeep,” she said evenly.

“What?”

“I said, stop the Jeep.”

“I’m not stopping. We’re already late for dinner.”

“Stop the Jeep or I will jump.”

Jim glanced at her. “You’re kidding, right?”

She glared at Jim. He used the signal and pulled onto the shoulder. As he put the Jeep in park, Trixie unfastened her seatbelt.

“Where are you going?”
 

“Away from here.”

“Trixie.”

“What?” Trixie raised her voice. “What else do you have to say to me? You might as well get it out of your system now!”

“Or what?”

Trixie had enough. She opened the door and got out, slamming the door behind her. She was tired of the fighting. She wrapped her coat around herself and started walking down the road.

“Trixie, come on. You can’t walk to the restaurant.”

“I never said I was going to walk there.”

She heard the car door slam and knew Jim was hurrying after her. He stepped in her way. “Trixie.”

She looked him in the eye. “Jim, I’ve had enough. I’m tired of you not believing me. And if you can’t believe that I’m being honest, there’s no way our marriage will work. You’ll forever be thinking that each comment I make is a lie and I can’t live like that.”

“I don’t think that.”

“But it sounds that way.” She stood face to face with him. “If we do get married, is this how you’re going to act when Honey and I get a case and can’t tell you all the details?”

“Trixie, what do you mean, ‘if?’” Jim asked, his face pale. “The ceremony is in three days.

“Anything can change in three days.”

Jim stared at her, and she realized he knew she was close to calling it off. He rubbed his face with both his hands. He lowered his gloved hands and looked at her, remorse in his eyes.

“Trixie, I’m sorry. I am the biggest idiot in the world.” Trixie kept watching him. He looked at her, and she could see the regret for what he had said. He reached over and touched her face, gently caressing her cheek. He spoke softly, “Trixie, I do trust you and know you would never lie to me. I was just scared that the person was going to hurt you. Now that you’re back in my life, I don’t want to lose you. I love you.”

Trixie smiled as her anger melted away. She knew Jim meant every word. “I love you, too.”

Jim gave her a kiss. “Do you forgive me for my stupidity?”

“If you’ll forgive me for not telling you sooner?”

“I think we forgive each other.”

“I think so.”

Jim kissed her again. “Come on. We need to get to the restaurant. If we’re any later, a search party might be sent out.”

“All right.”

They got back into the Jeep and continued to the restaurant. Trixie reached over and took Jim’s hand in hers.

“Why do our fights seem to be so loud?”

“Maybe because our tempers are the same, and once we get angry, it takes a lot to get us to calm down.”

“We can’t keep fighting.”

“I know. We’ll just have to try to talk and not yell.” Jim glanced at her. “And we can do it. We love each other, and that’s something we can work on.”

“I love you.”

“I love you, too.”

Trixie closed her eyes as Jim drove. She felt that everything was going to be fine for them. If they had any problems, they would have to find a way to resolve them together. They couldn’t keep arguing like they’d done in the past. That was not the way to solve anything.

“Trix.”

“Yeah?”

“Do you have your seatbelt on?”

“Of course,” she said, opening her eyes. “Why?”

“Make sure it’s tight,” he said, ignoring her question.

With her hand checking the belt, she asked, “What’s going on?”

She saw Jim kept glancing in his mirrors at something behind them. She lowered the visor and looked at it seeing a car coming close to the Jeep. She had an uneasy feeling because she couldn’t see into the vehicle since it was so dirty. Putting the visor back up, she saw Jim tightening his hold on the steering wheel.

“You’re doing fine,” she said softly. “Just concentrate on driving. I’ll watch the car.”

“See if you can get a license plate number. This may be the person leaving the phone calls.”

“And if it isn’t?”

“Then the police can charge the driver for tailgating. Either way, they can check the plate.”

Trixie looked out the window as the green car came closer. The front bumper of the car was right there. The car suddenly put on a burst of speed.

“Hang on!” Trixie said, but it was too late.

The car hit the Jeep, and Jim tried to keep it on the road. As Trixie turned to the windshield, the Jeep was hit again. The Jeep started to go off the road, and Trixie screamed as they got closer to the snow bank on the side of the road.

Trixie closed her eyes tightly as she held onto Jim’s arm with a death grip. She hadn’t felt the impact of the crash. She wondered if they had crashed and were dead, or they had made it through unscathed.

“Trixie?” a voice asked, hesitantly.

She opened her eyes and looked at Jim. His face was as white as the snow, and he still had a tight grip on the steering wheel. She squeezed his arm to let him know she seemed to be relatively all right.

Turning in his seat, he released his hold on the steering wheel, wrapped his arms around her and pulled her close. He asked softly, a tremor in his voice, “Are you all right? Are you hurt?”

“I’m okay.” She was surprised at how shaky her voice was. “What about you?”

“I’m all right.”

Trixie held onto Jim as he rubbed her back. She knew they had come close to being seriously hurt or even killed. She felt herself start to tremble and Jim tightened his hold.

“You’re okay,” Jim mumbled in her ear.

“We came so close to...”

“Shh,” Jim said, interrupting her sentence. “Don’t think about it. We’re all right, and that’s all that matters.”

Trixie nodded her head, keeping a hold of Jim. She didn’t want to let go.

He stroked her hair. “We should get out of here in case the car comes back.”

“Okay,” she said, but didn’t let go.

“Trixie, I can’t drive with you holding onto me this way,” Jim said softly.

“All right,” Trixie said with a small laugh.

As she leaned back, Jim gave her a kiss, holding her face. “Everything is all right.”

Jim started the engine and pulled the Jeep back onto the road. He reached over and took her hand in his. Trixie held it tight. She wondered why this happened. She didn’t think it was just an accident. She felt that whoever was at the wheel of the green car was purposely trying to hurt them. And part of her felt that the driver had some connection to the harassing phone calls. She just had to figure out what it was all about.

* * * * *

A half hour later, they finally arrived at the restaurant. Jim offered Trixie his arm as they made their way inside.

“I don’t think they’re going to be happy we are so late,” Trixie said.

“It couldn’t be helped,” Jim said. “Let’s not worry about it.”

Trixie took a breath and saw their family was in the room across from the entrance.

“Come on,” Jim said, putting his hand on her back, guiding her toward the room.

As they stepped into the room, everyone stopped their conversations and looked at them.

“Sorry, we’re late,” Jim said.

“Is everything all right?” Helen asked.

Trixie nodded. “We were having some trouble with my Jeep, so we ended up taking Jim’s.”

“Hopefully, it’s not too serious,” Brian said as they made their way to the two open chairs and sat down.

Trixie was about to ask if they had ordered their meals when four waiters came out each carrying a tray of food.

Matthew said, “Our last two arrivals have finally made it.”

After handing out the entrees and taking Jim and Trixie’s orders, the waiters left the room.

Peter got to his feet and raised his glass. Everyone followed suit.

“In just a few days, Trixie and Jim will be starting a life of their own,” he said. “For some, it was wondering if this day would ever come, and for others, wondering when they would get together.” He took a breath. “I can still hear Trixie say, ‘Jim is the most wonderful boy’ so many years ago. I knew that she had taken a fancy to you even if she had a hard time admitting it.”

Jim took her hand and gave it a squeeze as Peter continued, “I have seen the two of you together and can tell how much you love each other. I wish you a future filled with happiness.”

“Hear, hear,” several people said before taking a drink.

Jim leaned over and gave Trixie a kiss.

* * * * *

As dinner continued, talk turned once again to the wedding. Trixie tried to concentrate on the conversations, but her mind was elsewhere.

Why are we targets? she thought, focusing on her water glass. Who would want to ruin our wedding? It doesn’t make sense. Whoever it is has to have some idea of our lives to call when they do. Someone could possibly be watching every move we make and be making the calls to distract us.

But why would the person try to purposely run us off the road? Those bumps were not accidents. Someone is trying to hurt us, not only physically, but emotionally, too. The one responsible may be trying to convince us that we’re not supposed to be together, but who would want to do that? All our family and friends have supported us. It doesn’t make sense.

Unless it’s someone we know or have met in the past that have crossed out paths. This is so frustrating. We have all these incidents, but we have no clue as to why they are doing this or who is responsible. If the only reason is to stop the wedding, they are in for a big surprise, because I am more determined than ever to marry Jim.

“Trixie,” Jim said into her ear, making her jump. She looked at him and he said, “Let’s dance.”

She heard the music and nodded her head. She took Jim’s hand and they moved away from the table. Jim wrapped one arm around her waist and held her other hand in his as he pulled her close.

“You know,” Jim said as they swayed to the music, “if you keep zoning out, everyone is going to know something is going on.”

“Something is.”

“Do you want to tell them about the phone calls and our near accident today?”

Trixie looked at Jim’s chest and closed her eyes. She thought that if they told their families, they would insist the wedding be called off. She didn’t want that. She looked at Jim. “We can’t tell them.”

Jim pulled her close once again, and she wrapped her arms around his neck as she placed her head on his chest. She closed her eyes.

“But we have to figure out who is doing this to us.”

“Any ideas?” Jim asked. “Did you get the license plate number?”

“Part of it.” She felt Jim tightening his hold on her. “When this dinner is over, I’m going to call my contact at the Bureau and see if he can find something out.”

“Do you think he’ll help?”

Trixie nodded her head and smiled as she looked up at Jim. “He’ll do whatever he can to help.”

Jim reached for her forehead and brushed a stray curl from her face. “Hopefully, we’ll get this figured out soon. I want our wedding day to be perfect for us.”

“It will be.”

Jim’s hand rested on her cheek. “I love you.”

“I love you.”

Jim leaned in and gave her a kiss. After a couple minutes, they broke apart. Leaning back, Trixie said, “This is the perfect evening.”

“Even after the day you’ve had?”

“Even so.”

“You know, we should return to the table.”

“Do we have to? I like it right here with just the two of us.”

“We do. Besides, this night and the night of the wedding rehearsal will be the only time just our families will be together before the wedding.”

Trixie sighed. “I guess you’re right.”

“I know.” Jim kissed her again. “Come on.”

Jim took her hand in his and they returned to the table. As they sat down, they saw dessert had been placed at their seats.

* * * * *

The next morning, Trixie slowly lifted her head. Her eyes were blinded by the brightness. She lowered her eyes and looked down. She set her head back on her arms. Her neck and back were sore, and she was cold. She wondered why she was sleeping with her head on her arms.

Knowing she had to figure out what was going on, she forced herself to sit up and opened her eyes. She rubbed her eyes and looked around.

I’m in the living room at Ten Acres, she thought, looking at the computer in front of her. But why?

“Good morning.”

Trixie turned and saw Jim coming into the room. He was carrying two mugs. He handed one to Trixie as he sat down beside her. She took a sip and enjoyed the warmth.

She asked in a sleep-filled voice, “Did I sleep here all night?”

Jim nodded. “I think you crashed about two this morning.”

She focused back on the computer screen and started checking her messages, remembering what she had been doing when they had returned to Ten Acres the previous evening.

Jim took a sip from his mug and asked, “Do you think your contact got the information we need?”

“Maybe,” she said slowly, noticing one of her messages.

“What do you have?” Jim asked, leaning forward to look at the screen.

“He sent me a list of possibilities that the car could belong to.”

“That was fast.”

“Well, with narrowing the list down to only vehicles with New York plates, that cuts down the number of possibilities.”

“Well, in this county, there are about 100, but there are six nearby. Do any of these names seem familiar to you?”

Trixie leaned back and turned the screen so Jim could check out the names. She sipped her tea as Jim scrolled down the screen.

“Maybe the car was stolen,” Jim said. “None of these names seem familiar to me.”

“Nothing sets off an alarm in your head?”

Jim shook his head. “Not even a small dinner bell.”

Trixie leaned forward and pressed the print button. Once the printer was done, she took the page and stared at it. She knew they had to find the car that hit them. She figured that once they found the car, they would find the person responsible for the phone calls.

“What are you thinking?” Jim asked.

Trixie looked at Jim a moment before getting to her feet and starting to pace. “I know you’re not going to like this, but we need to check out these addresses as to where the cars are.”

“When do you want to go?”

Trixie looked at Jim not sure she heard him correctly. Jim put his hand in the air. “I know it’s a shock, but I’m not going to let you do this on your own. This person is bothering both of us, and we’re going to solve this together.”

Trixie gave Jim a kiss. “I love you so much.”

“I love you, too.”

“Uncle Jim!” a small voice yelled as footsteps entered the room.

They looked up and saw Betje coming toward them. Betje ran to Jim, throwing her arms around his neck.

“Good morning,” Jim said, settling Betje on his lap. “Did you sleep well?”

Betje nodded. “I’m hungry.”

“Would you like breakfast?” Trixie asked, kneeling down, and Betje nodded her head. “Why don’t you go wake your brothers while we get it ready?”

“Okay.” Betje jumped off Jim’s lap and hurried upstairs.

Trixie straightened up as Jim got to his feet. Jim wrapped his arms around her from behind. “You are going to be a wonderful mother someday.”

“You’ll make a terrific father.” Trixie turned in Jim’s arms to look at him. “Come on. Let’s get breakfast going. I have a feeling in a few minutes there will be several feet running down the stairs.”

“And they’ll be hungry.”

“You’re right.”

“We’d better get cooking then.”

* * * * *

After breakfast, Hans and Juliana took their children on a tour of Sleepyside with Juliana pointing out places of special memories of her time there. While they were exploring, Trixie and Jim knew they could go search for the car. They made their way into White Plains. Jim drove as Trixie navigated. They both wanted to solve this mystery before anything else happened.

As Jim turned down one street, Trixie spotted the car sitting by the curb. She said, “Go past it and I’ll check to see if there’s any damage to the front bumper.”

“All right.”

As he drove past, she looked at the bumper and was disappointed. There was no damage.

“It’s not this one.”

“All right. What’s the next address?”

They went from house to house on their list, searching for the green car. At each home, the cars were undamaged. As they headed for the last address, Trixie wondered if they had gone the wrong way.

Maybe we should’ve devised a different plan, she thought. We keep driving around, but it’s not getting us anywhere. This is more frustrating than the phone calls. But we haven’t gotten any phone calls in two days. Maybe the person harassing us has realized that nothing will stop our wedding.

“Trixie.”

“What?” She looked at Jim.

“Directions?”

“Sorry. Take a left at the second light.”

“Got it.” Jim glanced at her, then back at the road. “Where’s your mind?”

“Just thinking.”

“About what?”

“I’m trying to figure out if the person leaving the calls is someone we know.”

“Who could it be?”

“I’m not sure. Part of me feels that it’s true, though. I just don’t know who is responsible.”

Jim reached over and squeezed her hand. “Don’t worry. We’ll figure it out.”

Trixie hoped Jim was right.

They finally pulled to the curb at the last address. There was no vehicle in the driveway. The house looked like no one was at home. Jim turned off the engine and they got out. As they approached the house, an elderly woman, walking with a cane, exited the house next door and asked, “Can I help you?”

“We’re looking for my cousin,” Jim said. “We were told this was her house.”

“You’re related to Laura?”

Trixie grabbed Jim’s hand and gave it a squeeze. That was a name they did recognize.

“Yes, I am. Do you know if she’s home?”

“She left about an hour ago in her beat-up green car.” The woman smiled at them. “Would you like me to let her know you stopped by?”

“Oh, no,” Trixie said quickly. “We want to surprise her with this visit.”

“So, please don’t say anything,” Jim added.

“I won’t,” the woman said.

“Do you have any idea when Laura will be back?”

“Her schedule varies. You may just have to catch her.”

“Thank you,” Jim said, and they made their way back to the Jeep.

Once inside, Jim started the engine and then pulled away from the curb. When they were a few blocks away, Jim asked, “Do you think Laura is the same one who was impersonating Juliana?”

“It’s possible. It would also stand to reason that she is the one making the phone calls.”

“But we don’t have proof.”

“We’ll have to get it,” Trixie said with determination.

“Any ideas how?”

“Not yet, but I will think of something.”

“Why don’t we stop and get something to eat?” Jim suggested. “It’s almost lunchtime.”

Trixie looked at Jim. “We just had breakfast.”

“That was several hours ago.”

“Have you been taking lessons from Mart on eating habits?”

“No,” Jim laughed. “I’m just hungry.”

“Let’s stop then.”

“Any suggestions?”

“Wherever you want is fine with me.”

* * * * *

A half hour later, they were seated in a diner eating freshly-made sandwiches. As they ate, Trixie looked out the window watching people pass by. As she sat there, she wondered why Laura, if she was the one responsible, would try to stop their wedding. The last time they had seen Laura was 10 years earlier when she was impersonating Juliana.

Laura had gone to jail but they never heard about her being released. Trixie wondered if Laura was trying to disrupt the wedding to get her hands on Jim’s money.

Trixie let out a sigh and stared out the window as a woman passed by. She looked like Laura, even though 10 years had passed. It was one face she would never forget.

Dropping her sandwich onto her plate, she quickly slid out of the booth and hurried out of the diner without a word to Jim. She spotted Laura walking down the street from her. Walking in the same direction without drawing attention to herself, Trixie slowly closed the gap. Laura turned the corner quickly, making Trixie pick up her pace.

As Trixie turned the corner, she stopped quickly. Laura was gone.

Continue to Part 3