*First of all, I'd like to apologize about my story about the evil Jonesy. I had written that story and saved it on a disk and I've lost the disk. As soon as I find it, I'll send the remainder of the story. What you read was not the end!

* Second, this is a new story, Jonesy isn't in this one.

* Third, the Bob-Whites are not mine and I'm making no money off of them. However, Blueberry Cove (even though there may be other places with the same name) and it's characters are mine, and they are fictional.

The Mystery at Blueberry Cove

by Kay Lynn

 

Chapter 1

"It's not fair!" Fifteen-year-old Trixie Belden angrily huffed at her parents, in a manner that was, for her, totally out of character. She jumped up from the dinner table.

"It's not about fair, young lady. Now, you go up to your room until you can act better than this," her father told her sternly.

Trixie had rarely ever spoken to her parents like that, but her father had given her some news just a few minutes ago that made her feel as if her life was over. Now, I feel as if I know what it's like to be in prison, Trixie thought, tears forming in her eyes, as she trudged up the stairs. Trixie stepped into her room, plopped down on her bed and began to cry, which was something else she rarely did.

Her father had just given her the verdict. She was going with Moms and Bobby to spend the whole month of July at Blueberry Cove, a vacation place by a lake that had been in the Belden family for several generations. Brian and Mart would not have to go, as they would be staying behind to see to the day to day operations of the farm and both had part time jobs. Brian and Jim Frayne were in a program this summer for high school students at Sleepyside General Hospital and Mart and Dan were working part time at Wimpy's.

Trixie thought back to just a few weeks ago, when the Bob-White's were discussing the upcoming summer while riding the school bus home. There were no exciting trips planned like the last couple of summers, and even if there were, the boys were not going to quit their jobs to go. But, even so, they had made some plans. Honey was going to ask Ms. Trask to take the girls into the city for a few days or maybe for a weekend and she would also ask her father to take them to Cobbett's Island, if he had time. And, the BWG's had also planned a big Fourth of July party down at the Wheelers' lake. They were going to invite some of their friends from school and have music and had planned decorations for the boathouse and everyone would spend the afternoon and evening dancing, swimming, lying in the sun and would end the evening with fireworks. Brian and Jim were going to cook hamburgers on the grill. Trixie just couldn't wait for the fourth. She had diligently saved her allowance and bought a new bathing suit and a few summer outfits, as she wanted to change from her usual cutoffs and T-shirts. Moms had even made her a couple of pretty sheath type dresses for summer parties. She stood and walked over to her closet and flung the door open and stared wistfully at the two beautiful sheaths on hangers that she hadn't even had a chance to wear. One was very pale blue linen, so pale it was almost white and the other one was a deep red color. She could just see Jim Frayne looking at her with new appreciation in his eyes when he saw her in one of these dresses or in her new bathing suit.

"I guess I won't be needing these now," Trixie said angrily, as she shut the closet door on the dresses and flung herself face down across her bed.

She was so miserable, she didn't even feel like calling Honey and telling her the bad news, she decided to break the news to the others tomorrow at the weekly BWG meeting.

 

Chapter 2

Trixie worked around the house the next day, methodically helping her mother with the dusting and other chores she had to do. Her mother was finishing up the last of the canning this week, so there was plenty to keep her busy. Trixie almost dreaded the upcoming Bob-White meeting for this afternoon. She felt a wave of self-pity, thinking about the others here in Sleepyside having fun all month long and she'd be stuck at a boring place in the middle of nowhere.

She had loved Blueberry Cove when she was younger; she and her brothers had gone there and spent every July from the time she was a baby till she was ten years old and at the end of July every year, the Belden kids didn't want to leave. For a moment, Trixie stopped sweeping and reminisced. She smiled as she thought of the old cabin, which her great-grandfather had built. It was old-fashioned and shabby, but they all loved it. Her father and his brothers had spent their summers running and playing along the lake's shores when they were children, as had her grandfather and his family. Her great-grandfather had acquired the land back during the Great Depression and built this old two-story log cabin with a porch all the way around it. It sat back in the woods with a trail running down to the lake.

She and her brothers had all learned to swim in the lake at Blueberry Cove. The last week of July every year, Uncle Harold would come and bring his family for a week and Uncle Andrew would visit, for a Belden family reunion. Trixie and Hallie used to tag along behind the boys, much to their annoyance. It was a time filled with swimming, blueberry picking, eating delicious food, playing pirates and water games. The adults had given the children two old wooden fishing boats and they would have fun with those too. The kids would sometimes paddle out to tiny Poplar Island for picnics. At night, Trixie and her brothers always slept on camp cots on the big old porch where they could feel the cool breeze of the lake. In her mind, she saw herself and her brothers running and catching fireflies at night, along with the other kids whose parents owned cabins on the lake. She saw the fireworks over the lake on the night of the fourth of July, and she fondly remembered the other families that visited down there, kids whose parents had grown up spending summers in Blueberry Cove just like Trixie's father.

Trixie smiled as she remembered the big Irish family from Boston, the O'Rourkes, and the fun they all had. Sean was the oldest and he didn't hang out with Trixie and her brothers and the others much, he was already a teenager when Trixie and her brothers were down there the last time. But, there was dark-haired, blue-eyed Bradley who was Brian's age, and his sister Megan, with the long copper-colored red hair, who was a tomboy like Trixie, and their prissy younger sister Colleen. There were the Singletons who came from another part of New York with their sons Ryan, who was Mart's age, and Eric, who was Trixie's age. There were the Smiths, an elderly couple whose cabin was over in the woods on the left of the Belden cabin. They came up from Georgia during the summer and would sometimes bring their grandchildren.

If I weren't older and didn't have a lot of plans and best friends and an almost boyfriend here, I'd probably love to go,  Trixie thought mournfully, still feeling angry with her parents for making her go. Don't they realize what they're doing to me? She moaned.

"Trixie, lunch is ready," Moms told her, jarring her out of her daydreaming.

"I'm not hungry," she muttered as she started sweeping again, with out looking at Moms. She was still angry with her parents and probably would be for awhile.

"Trixie, I need you to come and sit with me. We have to talk," Moms said firmly, as she took the broom out of Trixie's hands.

Trixie dutifully headed to the kitchen, fixed herself a peanut butter and crabapple jam sandwich and poured herself a glass of milk. Today, Bobby was visiting the Lynch twins and her brothers were at work, so she and Moms were alone. She sat her food on the table and plopped down in one of the old kitchen chairs, not even looking at Moms.

"Trixie, I know that we are asking you to give up a lot this summer, and I know that you're angry and I understand why," she said, reaching over to put her hand on Trixie's shoulder.

"Why are you and Dad making me go then?" Trixie said, tears in her eyes.

"Because I need for you to go Trixie. It's for me."

Trixie, ashamed of herself at that point, raised her head and looked into her mother's eyes. "I'm so sorry Moms!" she cried, jumping up and walking over to the end of the table to throw her arms around her mother. "Will you please forgive me?"

"Of course, sweetie."

"Moms, I had forgotten what happened, the reason we never went back after that summer I turned ten."

"I know, Trixie, it marred the wonderful memories of Blueberry Cove for all of us up until now. But, I have to go back, I have to face the memories I ran away from and I need you to help me face them."

After she and Moms had talked and cried and relived some old, but happy memories of Blueberry Cove, Trixie trudged up the hill toward the clubhouse. She felt a lot more accepting and she was no longer plotting ways to get out of going. I still dread having to go, she thought. But, I will not burden Moms anymore with my feelings. Trixie knew Moms needed her, and she loved her mother too much to let her down. But, that didn't make being away from her home and her friends and brothers for a whole month any more pleasant.

After the BWG meeting, Trixie felt somewhat better. First of all, she found out that the party they had planned for the fourth was off because the guys all had to work and Diana's parents had announced that the whole Lynch clan was driving to Arizona to have a family vacation and they'd be gone for a month.

"I'm the one who'll be left here with nothing to do. I feel abandoned," Honey wailed.

"Maybe you should look into a part time job," suggested Jim, who even though he would be working quite a bit, felt very disappointed in the news that Trixie would be leaving.

Trixie stared at her cookie, which she had taken from the platter that Diana had brought. She would give anything if Honey could go with her and Moms and Bobby, but she was sure her parents wouldn't go for it. This was going to probably be an emotional time for Moms and she felt sure Moms didn't want company along.

 

Chapter 3

Two days later, Trixie rose early to finish packing. She put the last of her clothes into her suitcase and headed down the stairs to breakfast. She had said goodbye to her father and brothers last night, and to Honey, Jim and Dan yesterday at the lake. She lugged her heavy suitcase down the stairs, left it in front of the living room door, and then headed for the kitchen.

"Honey, what are you doing here?" Trixie asked puzzled, when she walked in and saw Honey seated at the old oak table. She and Honey had said goodbye yesterday and Honey usually wasn't up quite this early.

"I'm going with you!" she announced excitedly.

"I can't believe it!" Trixie yelled, jumping up and down. "Did you know this yesterday, and you just wanted to surprise me?" Trixie smiled in delight.

"No," Moms said as she entered the room.

"We just found out this morning," Honey replied. "Ms. Trask's sister is sick and in the hospital again, and she asked if I wanted to go into the city with her and I didn't, so she called your mom and your mom said she'd be glad to have me go with you guys and here I am!"

Later, they loaded up the car and soon Moms, Honey, Trixie and Bobby were on the road. The girls sat in the back and Bobby rode in front with Moms.

"Now, I want to hear all about this Blueberry Cove," said Honey, settling down in her seat. "Why haven't you ever told me about it?"

So, Trixie told her about the lake, the cabin, the people, and the fun that they had every summer.

"Why did you stop going?" Honey asked, incredulous that anyone would suddenly stop going to such a wonderful place.

"Because something happened," Trixie said, glancing nervously toward Moms, who was driving. Trixie didn't want to discuss it right then, because she was afraid it might upset her mother. "I'll tell you later."

"So, when was the last time you were there?" Honey asked.

"The summer I was ten years old. After that, we started swimming in your lake and spending summers at home and as Uncle Harold's and Uncle Andrew's businesses were in full swing, and they were so busy, the whole Belden family just gradually stopped going. But, earlier this year, Uncle Andrew had some repairs done to the cabin. I just hope he didn't change it too much."

"Do you think we might find a mystery there, like you always do?" Honey teased.

Trixie laughed. "Dream on. Maybe the mystery of why Trixie Belden and Honey Wheeler are so bored," she joked.

"Oh, it's not going to be that bad." Honey laughed.

"Don't count on it," replied Trixie. "It was an awesome and cool place when I was a kid, but it's going to be the most boring place on earth for a teenager. Especially, if you compare it to the last couple of summers we've had."

After five hours of driving, Moms turned off the road that led into the small town on the way to the cove. When she drove through the wooded area to the old house, Trixie almost cried as wonderful memories came flooding back to her. The old weathered-looking cabin looked just as it always had.

"Well, girls," said Moms, "let's get the car unloaded and maybe after lunch, you could go and pick some blueberries.

"I guess that's one thing that I could look forward to," said Trixie. "We haven't had any delicious blueberry jam since we came here last, five years ago, or those yummy blueberry desserts you used to make."

After a quick sandwich lunch, Bobby took a nap while Trixie and Honey went blueberry picking. They wore their old ragged jeans, because the woods were a little dense. They gingerly made their way through them, in back of the cabin to the wild blueberry patch.

"Wow," said Honey, as she saw the giant bushes loaded with deep purplish/blue berries. "Is this why it's called Blueberry Cove?"

"Yeah," said Trixie. "That's what I've heard. But, I've also heard that the lake is considered to be shaped and colored like a blueberry, so maybe that's the reason."

They quietly picked berries till it got too hot. "It's time to take these to Moms." Trixie said wiping sweat off her forehead with her arm.

"I agree," said Honey.

As they started to head back to the cabin, Trixie tripped over something and fell sprawling in the sand. Luckily, she only spilled a few of the berries she had worked so hard on. She got up on her knees and looked down to see an old piece of metal, buried in the sand. "Trixie, are you alright?" Honey asked, concerned

"Yeah," she answered. "Nothing injured except my dignity." She got up. "I can't believe I tripped over that little piece of metal."

"Let's take these berries to your mom and go for a swim," Honey suggested.

The girls took the two buckets of berries to Moms and went upstairs to change into bathing suits.

"Wow! Trixie, is that your new suit?" Honey asked as Trixie came out dressed in the turquoise blue tankini.

"Yep. This is it," Trixie replied. "I had planned on wearing this for Jim, but Moms and Dad dashed those plans to the rocks."

"Well, we'll still have the whole month of August when we get back," Honey told her indulgently. "Maybe you can impress Jim then."

Giggling, the two girls quietly left the house and headed down the path to the lake. They walked out to the end of the dock, which was shared by three families, and took turns diving off the end. After a refreshing swim, in the cool, blue water, they climbed up on the dock to dry off.

Two handsome young men in swimming trunks, one blonde and one dark-haired, walked onto the dock from the path. Trixie thought they looked vaguely familiar, but she couldn't place them.

"Hello," the girls said politely as the guys spoke to them.

"Trixie! Trixie Belden?" said the blonde guy.

Trixie looked up at him from her position on the dock.  "Ryan!" Trixie said, standing quickly to give him a hug. "I didn't expect to see you down here."

"How's Brian and Mart?" The other boy asked after also giving Trixie a hug.

"Eric!" Trixie said. "Oh, they're doing great." She turned to introduce Honey, who had also gotten to her feet. "I'd like to introduce you to a friend of mine, this is my best pal back in Sleepyside, Honey Wheeler. Honey, these are two of the regulars that Brian, Mart,  and I used to hang out with down here. This is Eric and Ryan Singleton."

"Where have you been hiding all my life?" the handsome blond-haired Eric asked, taking Honey's hand and kissing it in a gentlemanly fashion.

Honey giggled and pulled her hand away. They exchanged small talk for awhile and Trixie found out that all the old timers were down for the summer. "I can't wait to see everyone," said Trixie. After a little more small talk, the girls excused themselves and headed back up the path to the cabin, where Moms waited on them.

 

Chapter 4

When Trixie and Honey opened the old screen door and stepped onto the huge wooden porch, they found Moms cleaning an old ice cream freezer.

"Moms! I had forgotten we had this!" Trixie said excitedly.

"What is it?" Honey asked, looking curiously at what looked like a plastic bucket to her, with a crank on the side.

"This is the Belden family ice cream maker, Dad's parents bought it when he and his brothers were children. We used to make ice cream several times every summer and Brian and Mart and I would argue over who was going to turn the handle."

"I hope you still want to," Moms said, smiling. "Because, I don't want to do this myself."

"What's the occasion?" Trixie asked.

"The Smiths have invited us and the other families over for an ice cream social. It'll be a chance to see everyone."

"Oh, that'll be neat. What kind of ice cream are we making, Moms?"

"I thought we would try our hand at rocky road."

"Yummy!" said Honey, rubbing her belly.

As they headed to the kitchen with Moms and watched her mix the ingredients for ice cream, Trixie told her mother about seeing Eric and Ryan Singleton down at the lake.

"Oh, I guess they've grown up," said Moms, as she poured sugar into a measuring cup, holding the cup up to the light. "You know Trixie, the O'Rourkes are here, and Aurora and her father..." Moms said, her voice fading.

"Aurora is here? I didn't think she'd ever want to come back after what happened to her mother."

"This is their first time since then according to Mrs. Smith."

Later, Trixie, Honey and Bobby sat on the porch and took turns, turning the old-fashioned hand crank as the ice cream became thicker and thicker. "I'm tired and my arm hurts." Bobby finally complained.

"Okay, squirt," said Trixie. "Honey and I'll finish up here. You go in and get ready for the party tonight."

Trixie and Honey sat on the porch finishing the ice cream.

"Trixie, you've got to tell me what happened that was so awful, that you stopped coming to this wonderful place and you and your family even pretended it no longer existed from what I can tell," Honey said insistently.

"Well, it was like this," said Trixie, looking toward the door to make sure Moms was not nearby. She lowered her voice and said, "Aurora's mother was Moms' friend.  Her name was Anastasia Alexander. Mrs. Alexander was very beautiful; she looked just like a movie star. She looked more like Aurora's older sister than her mother. Anyway, while all of us kids had fun together, down here, Moms and she became the best of friends. The Alexanders lived in Westchester New York, so Moms and she would even see each other some during the winter and fall and spring months. Everyone else, from down here, we only saw during the summer.

"Anyway, Aurora, Mrs. Alexander's daughter, was older than all of us kids as was the O'Rourkes' oldest son, Sean.  They hung out with some of the wealthy teenagers on the other side of the lake. Anyway, there was a guy named Cody--he, Sean and Aurora were always together. But, I heard that Aurora had dated both of them, but she was in love with Sean.

"Well, one afternoon, the last summer we came down to the cove, Mrs. Alexander's husband found her lying on her bed and she had been shot. She died instantly from a bullet wound to the heart. Nobody knew who done it, so no one was ever arrested, but rumors abounded. Someone said it was a jealous wife, because Anastasia was so beautiful, others said some man was in love with her and he killed her because he couldn't have her.   Some thought her husband had killed her, because she was allegedly leaving him for another man. Still, some claimed Aurora killed her mother because she was jealous of her, because all of Aurora's boyfriends thought Mrs. Alexander was so beautiful. Some people even thought the O'Rourkes' oldest son Sean may have done it, for reasons of his own, which I believe was ludicrous. Anyway, Moms never wanted to come back here after that. We went home early that year, and we really didn't even ever speak of Blueberry Cove afterward."

"My goodness." Said Honey, her eyes wide. "Did they ever figure out who killed her?"

"No," said Trixie, as she stopped turning the ice cream handle, "they never did."

To Be Continued