**I know it's been so long, most have probably forgotten the end of the last chapter. Anyway, at the end of the last chapter, after spending the morning picking blueberries, Trixie and Honey were getting ready to break into the Alexander cabin to search for clues.

Chapter 16

The two girls quickly went through the window of the cabin. "How will you even know which room was hers?" Honey whispered, while worriedly looking around.

"Because when I was a kid, I visited Mrs. Alexander with Moms sometimes." Trixie quietly led Honey up the stairs of the rustic cabin.

Honey couldn't wait to get out of there. For one thing, she was hot and sweaty from the blueberry picking and she wanted to change clothes. She pulled her sweaty blouse away from her body as she thought about this. For another, she was starving. And, on top of that, she had to use the bathroom. She had drunk too much ice water from the thermos they had taken along while berry picking. She hoped Trixie would quickly find what she herself knew, that Trixie was going to find, which was absolutely nothing. They quietly entered the last room on the right. Even though the girls knew no one was home, they found themselves whispering and walking on their tiptoes.

The room had beautiful antique furniture, probably from the original owner, who had built the cabin around the same time Trixie's great grandfather built his. "Look!" Trixie said, pointing to three holes in the wall toward the floor, behind the bed's headboard. The gunman must've fired more than one shot!" "And, it doesn't even look like he was trying to hit someone that might've been on the bed."

"Maybe Mrs. Alexander was shot by accident?" Trixie questioned, looking at Honey. Honey wasn't paying much attention to clues. She was looking at the beautiful antique furniture and the family pictures on the dresser.

As they started toward the bedroom door, they heard a car drive up outside and then the sound of a car door closing. "Oh my gosh, we have to get out of here!" Trixie said looking toward the door.

Honey ran back in the bedroom and looked out the window and saw Mr. Alexander exiting his car. "There's no way to get down the stairs and out the door before Mr. Alexander gets in the house," she told Trixie looking around for a place to hide.

Trixie quickly flung open the closet door. It was packed full of boxes and clothes and more stuff than one could imagine. They looked fearfully at one another, as they heard the front door open. They heard Mr. Alexander cross the living room and head upstairs. "Quick, under the bed." They both quickly jumped under the old antique bed.

Mr. Alexander came into the room where Trixie and Honey were and lay down on the bed. The girls' eyes gradually became accustomed to the dark as they waited for a chance to get out.

Honey was very miserable. She was starving, she had to go to the bathroom and the dust was making her want to sneeze. I will never allow Trixie to get me into anything like this again, she promised herself determinedly. After some time, they heard Mr. Alexander's even breathing and then snoring. They knew he had gone to sleep. "Maybe we can sneak out now," Trixie mouthed to Honey. Honey silently nodded her agreement and Trixie quietly and carefully eased her body toward the outside of the bed.

"Daddy!" They heard Aurora call, while at the same time they heard her coming up the stairs.

Trixie quickly scooted back over.

"Yes, baby," her father answered slowly, like one does when first awakened. He sat up on the side of the bed as Aurora came into the room.

"Sean and Cody are with me. If it's okay, they're going to eat lunch here."

"Certainly," he replied.

"Are you going to join us?" she asked. "I'm making ham sandwiches."

"No, sweetie," he told her, laying back down. "I didn't sleep well last night. I think I'm going to finish my nap."

Trixie and Honey looked at each other despairingly. Even if he went back to sleep, they couldn't leave with Sean, Aurora and Cody downstairs. The first floor of the cabin was one big open room. So, there was no way to sneak out the front door or the back.

Mr. Alexander tossed and turned for what seemed like hours. Honey wiggled and squirmed and hoped he wouldn't hear her stomach rumbling. She was so hungry; she had even forgotten her fear of spiders. The girls could hear the three young people downstairs, talking loudly and laughing, so they knew there was no way out for now.

Eventually, they heard front door open and close and as things became quieter, they knew that Aurora, Sean and Cody had left. At least they hoped Aurora had. Mr. Alexander fell into a fitful sleep, but every time they'd think this was their chance, he'd toss and turn restlessly. Finally, after what seemed an eternity, he climbed out of bed and went downstairs. While the girls listened intently, they heard Mr. Alexander moving around downstairs and finally heard his steps as he went out the front door and out to his car. They finally heard the car crank up and drive off.

"Let's get out of here!" Trixie exclaimed as she scrambled out from under the bed, quickly followed by Honey.

 

Chapter 17

"The next time you want to break in someone's house, just count me out," an annoyed Honey said as she and Trixie walked the path through the blueberry patch that led toward home.

"I found clues," Trixie said excitedly. "Mrs. Alexander's death may have been an accident."

"Oh Trixie. Right now, I could not care less. I'm sweaty and dirty from all that dust and dirt under the bed, I have to use the bathroom and I'm starving. Besides, have you decided what you're going to tell your mother? She and Brad and Eric have probably been looking for us."

"Nonsense," said Trixie. "We've only been gone..." She quickly looked at her watch. "Oh my gosh, we were under Mr. Alexander's bed for four hours."

Honey felt aggravated and tired, so she wisely just decided to not say anything. Because she didn't want to risk getting into an argument with Trixie and right now, she knew it would be easy.

As soon as they reached the house, they found a note on the kitchen table from Moms.

Girls, Bobby and I have gone with Ms. Smith to that little market over on the other side of the lake. We're going to have lunch while we're over there, and visit some shops, so it'll probably be awhile before we get back. There are plenty of leftovers in the fridge. Love Moms.

"Thank goodness, I have no explaining to do right now," Trixie said. "Honey, you run upstairs. You can have dibs on the bathroom and the shower. I'll freshen up in the little bath down here and start lunch." Trixie sensed that Honey was more than a little aggravated with her and she hoped to make things right.

Trixie quickly warmed up leftovers from yesterday’s celebration. Pork chops, baked beans, rolls and potato salad out of the fridge. She then made tall glasses of iced tea with lemon for the two of them.

"Oh, I feel better," Honey said, coming downstairs drying her hair with a towel, looking very refreshed in a pair of white shorts and a apricot colored tank top. "I can't wait for lunch even though it's a few hours past time for it." The two girls didn't talk much as they ate hungrily. 

After cleaning up, they both changed into their swimsuits and headed for the lake.

"Where have you two been?" Bradley asked, looking surprised when the two of them walked up.

"Yeah," said Eric, stepping toward Honey. "We've been waiting here for you all day,  after going by your cabin and finding that no one was home."

"It's a long story," said Trixie. "One I don't care to discuss right now. I just want to get into that refreshing cool water."

After hugging Bradley, she walked past him and dove into the lake. Honey and Eric greeted one another and then she dove in. Megan, who had been sitting on the dock also got up and jumped in. With that, the boys dove in too and they swam and played water games and took turns swinging off the swing.

After swimming awhile, they got out and sat on the dock. Trixie put her towel around her shoulders and was thinking about the things they'd discovered today. "I'd like to hang out again tonight," said Bradley, putting his arm around her and disturbing her from her reverie. "But, I have to go somewhere with my parents."

"Oh well, maybe next time," Trixie said, smiling. The truth was, she wanted to be away from everyone this evening so that she could think. She would miss Bradley though.

Not long afterward, the girls said bye to everyone and headed back to the cabin. "I'm really tired," said Honey. "I think after dinner, I'll sit on the couch with that new novel I bought and just have a relaxing evening. And Trixie, you know that at some point, you're going to have to tell your mother everything."

I know," said Trixie. "I have every intention of doing that. It's just that I want to solve this case before I do. Somehow, I have to get Sean away from Aurora and talk to him. I know he knows what happened. I believe he or Aurora accidentally shot her."

"He probably does know what happened," said Honey. "But, how do you get him away from Aurora? She seems to have a sixth sense about Sean. She always knows where to find him."

"I don't know, but there has to be a way," said Trixie, that determined look in her eyes that made Honey sigh because she knew it so well.

 

Chapter 18

The next day dawned warm and sunny. Trixie awakened, but Honey was already up. Trixie could hear her talking to Moms in the kitchen, along with the sounds of breakfast dishes clinking. "I'm going upstairs to take a quick shower," she yelled to them as she headed up the stairs.

While in the shower, she kept thinking over and over. I know Mrs. Alexander was accidentally killed, my guess is that Sean or Aurora did it. But why? She knew   she had to get Sean alone again.

Trixie threw on her bathing suit, a pair of black shorts and a plain white sleeveless blouse. She blow-dried her hair into soft waves as she thought about the case. She went downstairs and sat at the table with Moms and Honey. Moms was reading a newspaper that had been sent to her from Sleepyside as she drank her coffee, so she wasn't making much conversation today. Bobby had already finished eating and gone out the back door to play with his friends. Trixie helped herself to a bowl of cereal and sat down.

She had just started eating when she heard a knock on the door. Moms looked up from her paper.

"I'll get it," said Honey, jumping up from the table. "Hi, come on in."

Trixie looked up from her cereal to see Bradley and Eric coming into the kitchen. "Hi," said Trixie shyly. She felt a little uncomfortable around the guys with Moms there.

"We came to invite you two somewhere," Bradley said as he and Eric joined them at the table.

"Where?" asked Honey.

"Dad is taking all of us to the Drifter," said Bradley, looking at Trixie.

"The Drifter!" Trixie exclaimed. "Oh man, I had forgotten that place. I didn't think it was still open. I'd love to go!" Then she stopped for a moment, looking toward her mother who had looked up from her newspaper.

"What's the drifter?" Honey asked curiously.

"It's a restaurant," said Trixie. "It's on a boat that's anchored in the water."

"Yeah," Bradley interjected. "It used to be an old fishing boat back during the Depression and on up through the fifties. This one man and his son made their living with it, catching lake trout and selling them in the nearby towns. When they retired, someone bought the boat and turned it into a restaurant. You eat on deck, the kitchen is down below."

"Sounds fabulous," Honey said, smiling, her eyes wide at the prospect.

"Their specialty is lake trout. Of course, they have hamburgers and chicken, too, but we used to get the house specialty-- fish fingers," Trixie told her.

"Fish fingers?" Honey asked incredulously.

"Yeah," said Trixie. "They filet the lake trout and cut it up into long strips called fingers. They say they have a special blend of herbs and spices they roll the fish in, then they batter and fry them. You get French fries and these weird little fried chunks of bread to go with them. We used to make at least three or four trips to The Drifter every summer."

"I can't wait," said Honey excitedly.

"Can we go, Moms?" Trixie asked, remembering that her mother hadn't given her permission yet.

"I guess you can," she told them, smiling. "What time will they be home?" she asked Bradley.

"Well, we're leaving soon, so we can get there before the lunch crowd," he told her. "We should be back sometime this afternoon."

 

Chapter 19

Eric and Bradley left to get ready for the trip while Trixie and Honey hurriedly helped Moms clean the kitchen and then prepared to leave. The two girls quickly packed a beach bag with sunscreen, sunglasses, bathing suit cover-ups, and towels. They knew they'd probably go swimming at some time today. Not long after, they walked down to the lake to wait for Mr. O'Rourke.

Mr. O'Rourke pulled the huge boat around to the dock and Honey and Trixie stepped forward to climb in. Bradley and Eric helped them in and helped them get situated with orange life jackets. Trixie noted that Cody and Sean were with the group, but not Aurora. This might be my lucky day, she thought. I can probably find a chance to talk to Sean. Colleen was also conspicuously absent. She must still be mad because Eric's paying attention to Honey, Trixie speculated. Megan and Ryan were also with them.

They had fun as they took the boat ride over to the other side of the lake, where The Drifter was moored. When they arrived, Honey noted that there was a floating dock that led out to The Drifter, and the deck had an awning over part of it, so one could get out of rain if they needed to. The deck was lined with 1950s'  style restaurant booths, with black tables and red vinyl seats.

"Oh, this is great!" Honey exclaimed in awe.

Sean went over first and played some songs on the old fashioned jukebox. The first was a lively Beatles tune and he swung Trixie out onto a little place at the end of the deck reserved for dancing. Eric and Honey, Megan and Ryan joined them. The girls were out of breath when the song ended. They went back to the small booths. Megan and Ryan shared a booth with Sean and Cody. Trixie, Bradley and Eric and Honey sat at the other with Mr. O'Rourke pulling up a chair to the end of their booth.

There was a lot of joking and laughing going on between the two tables and Trixie noted that Sean was laughing and seemed more carefree than she had seen him since she'd been here and she noted, that he didn't seem to be drinking. I wonder if being away from Aurora makes him feel more at ease, she thought.

The food came and it was as awesome as Trixie remembered. Honey tasted the fried lake trout, which was served in a paper carton, and she thought had never tasted anything like it, it was absolutely delicious. After they had finished eating, Sean insisted on one more dance with Trixie. She looked to Bradley to make sure he was okay with that, and his eyes told her he was. Sean played the old song As Time Goes By on the jukebox and came over and pulled Trixie into his arms. Cody and Honey soon joined them.

"Sean," she said, standing on her tip-toes to whisper in his ear. "Why don't you tell me what happened that day with Mrs. Alexander? We can meet somewhere and you can tell me everything."

Sean stared off into space and before he could answer, Cody broke in and Trixie found herself dancing with Cody, while Sean and Honey danced.

"What were you whispering in Sean's ear?" Cody asked, trying to sound like he was joking, but somehow it didn't come off that way.  "I know you like his kid brother, so I know it wasn't sweet nothings."

"Oh, I was just asking him a question," Trixie replied. About that time, Bradley broke in and stole Trixie from Cody's arms and the two of them finished the song together.

On the way back to Blueberry Cove, Mr. O'Rourke docked the boat at Poplar Island, since Honey hadn't seen it yet. "When we were kids, we used to come over here a lot," Trixie said. "The adults actually let Bradley and Brian bring us in the old boats we played pirates on the other day and we used to catch fish and cook them over an open fire."

"We should walk off some of this lunch before we get in the water," Bradley suggested. Everyone took off down a manmade trail that was on the small island.

"This is beautiful," Honey said, looking around at the various flora and fauna that grew on the island.

"We used to have a lot of fun here," Trixie said. "We'd play hide and seek, that's how we started off. And we'd cook and eat and we'd swim and swim. One time we had spent the day down here and were playing hide and seek, and we got ready to leave and when we arrived at Blueberry Cove, we had forgotten Mart. Brian and Bradley had to paddle all the way back to the island to get him. After walking, and reminiscing about the island, they all went back to where the boat was moored. The lake was a beautiful azure blue, everywhere else, but here in front of the little island, there was a white sandy beach, and the water was crystal clear.

"This is where we always swam," Trixie told her. Everyone got in the water and swam out to a large rock. They would take turns diving off the rock and swimming in the cool water.

"The water is colder here than where the cabins are," Honey said.

"I know," Trixie said as she and Honey swam out. "And it's always been like this."

After they got out of the water, Mr. O'Rourke, who had stayed on the boat, served them each an ice cold Pepsi out of a cooler he had brought.

"This has been so much fun," Honey said. After putting on her bathing suit cover up, Trixie went towards the trail again. "Where are you going?" Honey asked.

"I want to see the trail one more time, it's been so long since I’ve been here." She had seen Sean head down the trail earlier and she was hoping to catch him alone.

She found Sean sitting on one of the large rocks that were along the trail and he was drinking a beer. How he had managed to sneak a beer on the trip was beyond Trixie.

"Sean," Trixie began. "I know that what happened that summer, has eaten away at you and has made you unable to go on with your life, at least in the way you would want to." She quietly sat down beside him. "It's time to get it out in the open. That's the only way you're ever going to get any relief from it." Sean just sat quietly brooding as she talked. "I know you can't tell me right now. But this evening, right before dark, I'll go to the blueberry patch. If you want to tell someone, you can tell me there. I can help you figure out who would be the best person to go to with all this." She quickly stood up because she heard Bradley and the others coming down the trail. "I want to get back in the water before we leave," she told them. Sean never said a word. He never even acknowledged that she had said a word to him. She didn't know if he would meet her or not, but she hoped he would.

 

Chapter 20

All of the young people agreed not to meet at the lake once again that night because everyone was a little tired and they had been together all day.

After getting back to the cabin and enjoying a light supper, Honey took a bath and settled in with her book and Moms put Bobby to bed and went over to visit the Smiths. That left Trixie apprehensive about meeting Sean. She was so fearful he wouldn't come and she believed this might be her last chance to find out what really happened that night. She didn't even tell Honey as she prepared to slip out of the house. She hoped this would all turn out all right.

Trixie grabbed a flashlight out of a drawer in the kitchen as she headed out the back door. She quietly made her way to the blueberry patch. After walking the short path, she entered the clearing and leaned against a tree and waited silently. After about thirty minutes, it was growing darker and Trixie questioned whether or not she should head back to the cabin.  She heard someone coming down the trail. She silently waited and after a few minutes, Sean stepped out of the bushes.

"I'm so glad you came," Trixie told him. "Now, will you tell me what happened?"

The two of them sat down on the grass and he began to tell the story. "I was only sixteen and hanging out that summer with Aurora. She began to think of me as her boyfriend, even though to me she was just a friend. We were hanging out with Cody and some of the kids from the other part of the island where his family's vacation home is."

Trixie nodded. She knew that wealthier families owned the homes over there and Cody's family was one of them.

"Aurora had always had a thing for me, but she just didn't appeal to me, she's not my type. And when I started liking this other girl that hung out with us down here, Aurora was doing everything she could to hang onto me. I knew that she was and, being sixteen, it kind of gave me a big ego. Anyway, my hobby was guns. I studied guns, I always wanted a gun collection, and I especially liked antique guns. Well, Aurora's father had, and I'm sure he still has, a gun collection. He owned an old Colt 47, with a pearl handle. I had always wanted to see one of those. Aurora said her parents weren't home and that her father kept some of his older guns down here at their lake cottage. She said she would even let me hold some of the guns.

"Her parents were supposed to have gone boat riding with some friends that afternoon, so we went to their cabin. We went into her parents room and she unlocked the cabinet and we were handling the guns, I was holding the gun and it just went off. One of the kids had slipped us some liquor from his parents' liquor cabinet and we had been drinking and we weren't thinking straight and the room was dark, like all these old cabins are down here, even though it was the afternoon. Well, I shot the gun a couple of more times just to get the feel of it. The first time, the gun just went off by itself, the next two times, I did it on purpose, just not thinking or caring. We were just being kids, you know. It was then that we noticed that Aurora's mother was lying on the bed. We didn't see her when we came in because it was dark in there."

Trixie nodded, remembering how dark it was the other day when she and Honey were in there.

"She was lying on the bed and she was bleeding. She was dead. I never meant to do it. I think she must've been asleep and that's why she didn't say anything to us when we came into the room. Aurora covered for me. She told her father she shot her mother and he hid the gun and lied to the police. Nobody, but the three of us ever knew what happened until this day, when I told you. What I did has eaten away at me like a cancer. I'm so glad to finally have it out in the open."

"I'm glad, too, you scoundrel," someone said while stepping out of the bushes. Trixie looked up and felt dismayed when she saw Mr. Alexander stepping toward them, a gun in his hand. "You're finally going to jail where you belong. In my heart, I knew my daughter couldn't have done that."

"Mr. Alexander," said Trixie. "Sean wants to face up to what he's done. You can put the gun down."

"I'll put the gun down as soon as I deliver him to the police and not a minute before," he told her.

He wouldn't listen to Trixie, nor would he let her go with them. He took Sean to his car and drove to the police station.

 

Chapter 21

Trixie didn't sleep well that night after she went back to the cottage and told her mother and Honey what had happened. "Everyone's going to hate me," she said as she cried and cried. "If Sean goes to jail, his parents, Bradley and Megan will all despise me. I want to go home. I want to forget all this." Trixie's mother and Honey did their best to comfort Trixie and let her know that the outcome hopefully would be okay.

After a sleepless night, Honey rose early the next day and prepared to go down to the lake to see Eric. "Trixie, just come and tell Bradley what happened," Honey coaxed, sitting beside her on the cot. "You didn't know Mr. Alexander was going to handle things like he did. And the truth needed to come out. It was time."

"No, I can't face Bradley and Megan," Trixie said. "I think I'm going to ask Moms if we can just go home."

Honey tried to talk to Trixie some more, but she was getting nowhere, so she left and about thirty minutes later she was back. Trixie had gone upstairs and was lying down. Her mother had tried to get her to eat breakfast, but she had no appetite.

Honey ran up the stairs calling Trixie's name. "Trixie, Bradley wants to see you!" she called excitedly.

"I can't see him right now," Trixie said, sitting up as Honey came into the room. "I'm not up to being told off."

"He's not going to tell you off," Honey said, "Just come and hear what he has to say." Honey went downstairs, where Bradley stood in the living room. Mrs. Belden and Honey went out on the back porch as Trixie slowly came down the stairs and he and Trixie talked.

"First, I need to know, you weren't seeing me just to get to solve a mystery, were you?" Bradley asked.

"Oh no," dhe said. "I would never.... I like you a lot.  I was afraid you would hate me over this. I would've talked Sean into confessing to your parents and letting them handle this. But Mr. Alexander was eavesdropping and heard what Sean said and he just took over. Bradley, I'm so sorry. I wish I'd left well enough alone, I know your parents and Megan hate me for this and I am afraid I've ruined Sean's life."

"No," said Bradley. "They're glad this happened and so am I. Besides, I could never hate you."

"How can your parents be glad?" Trixie asked, tears streaming down her face. "Sean might go to prison."

"Because it's out in the open. If anything, they and Sean are grateful to you. They knew Sean had something to do with Mrs. A's death and they knew it was destroying him inside, but he wouldn't talk to them. His drinking has gotten steadily worse since then. His problems tore our family apart; Mom and Dad were never the same after that summer because they were so worried about Sean. They're glad everything's out in the open now. He's not going to have to do jail time, because it was an accident. Knowing Sean, if he goes to his grave at ninety, he'll still feel guilty, and hate himself, but at least his family knows and we can help him. I'm really grateful to you," he said, kissing her. "And my mom sent over her famous lemonade and her peanut butter and chocolate chip cookies."

"Oh, I just realized how hungry I am," Trixie said. "I haven't had your Moms lemonade and cookies in a long time."

Trixie, Honey, Mrs. Belden and Bradley sat down at the old picnic table on the back porch and enjoyed the tasty lemonade and soft warm cookies straight from the oven. Trixie felt so good!

 

Chapter 22

In the next couple of weeks at Blueberry Cove, Sean's parents entered him into a rehab facility where he could get help with his alcoholism. Aurora hated Trixie because she blamed her for Sean leaving, but at least Aurora stayed away from them, so it didn't affect Trixie that much. Aurora and Cody continued to hang out together. Trixie ran into them once in awhile, but Aurora just glared at her.

The days passed lazily, but happily. There were ice cream socials, watching the sun set, a moonlight swim with Bradley and Eric. Trixie and Honey spent days lying in the sun, swimming and growing closer to Eric and Bradley. A part of Trixie dreaded to leave, but she and Honey realized they missed Jim and Brian and the other Bob-Whites. Something else Trixie had learned this summer: even though she was attracted to other guys and could even like them a lot, the only one for her was Jim Frayne. Even if they weren't officially girlfriend and boyfriend.

The Smiths threw a dress up party one night and Trixie got to wear one of the beautiful new sheath dresses Moms had made her. They had a lot of fun. They also made another trip to The Drifter and one more trip to Poplar Island.

Even with the long, beautiful summer days and the romantic evenings, there was something in the back of Trixie's mind that was ill at ease. Something didn't feel right. "What's wrong with me?" Trixie asked herself one night as she tossed and turned in her cot. "Something doesn't add up."

A few days later, she, Honey, Megan and Colleen were lying on the dock getting some sun. Colleen was being a little friendlier, even though Trixie wasn't sure why. She was thinking about the day she and Honey were in Mr. Alexander's cabin. There were three bullet holes; Sean fired three shots, she thought as she rolled over onto her tummy. There was a bullet lodged in Mrs. Alexander's heart. Something dawned on her. "Sean didn't do it!" she shouted. Since she hadn't shared her thoughts with the others, not even Honey, all of them jumped startled.

"Trixie, what are you talking about?" Honey said.

"Sean didn't do it. He didn't kill Mrs. Alexander. There were three bullet holes in the wall. That was from the gun Sean had! He fired three shots! I know where the other gun, the one that killed Mrs. Alexander, is." As she said all of this, Trixie was throwing on her bathing suit cover-up. She saw Sean and Aurora headed for the lake as she left, but their presence didn't really register with her. She ran down the path, ran inside the Belden cabin, slipped on jeans and tennis shoes and was about to head for the blueberry patch.

Honey of course, was right behind her. "Trixie, what are you talking about?" she said, following Trixie as she quickly slipped a pair of jeans on over her bathing suit and a T-shirt and tennis shoes.

"I know where the gun is. Sean didn't do it."

"But then, who did?" Honey asked incredulously.

"I don't know," said Trixie, "but. hopefully. the police can still find out who the gun is registered to."

She ran out the door and down the trail to the blueberry patch, Honey was right behind her. Trixie quickly found the metal that she had tripped on the first day they were here. She had brought a short gardening spade that she had found on the back porch and she quickly began to dig the piece of metal out. She and Honey stood looking at the gun she had dug out of the sand. "This is the gun that killed Mrs. Alexander," she said. "All they have to do is match the bullet to the gun and see who it was registered to. I doubt they have the bullet anymore, but at least this could open up a new investigation."

"I don't think so," said a male voice as someone parted the thick blueberry bushes and stepped out.

"Cody!" Trixie said, unable to move as Cody had a gun pointed and her and Honey.

"It's a good thing my little friend Colleen doesn't like the two of you," he told them. Trixie saw the cold, calculating look in his eyes and shivered. "She told me you had blathered some nonsense about Sean not killing Mrs. Alexander and came down here to find the gun. I should've gotten rid of you that night at the lake."

"Why did you kill Mrs. Alexander, Cody?" Trixie asked, stalling for time. She was hoping, even though she didn't see how, someone would show up and rescue them. She could see that Honey was about to faint with terror and her only hope was to keep talking.

"I killed her because I wanted to," he said. "I was in love with Aurora, but she loved Sean. I broke into the house that day and went up the stairs. I was going to get rid of Aurora; I knew her parents were gone. I'd been waiting for my chance. I hated Mrs. A. She thought I wasn't good enough for her daughter; she wanted her and Mr. Goody two shoes Sean together. She snubbed me, Aurora snubbed me, and I decided I'd get even with both of them. Mrs. A was sleeping; she looked like an angel lying there. I just shot her. I thought about it a minute. I almost didn't kill her, but she woke up and saw me standing there and I knew I'd have a lot of explaining to do, so I fixed everything. I shot her. I paid her back and Aurora and Sean. But the funny thing about killing, it makes you want to do it again. They probably wouldn't be able to pin this on me, but I want to do it. It'll feel so good to watch you die. The two of you have snubbed me just like Aurora and her mother used to.

"Don't do it, boy," someone said, coming up behind Sean. Trixie felt relieved as she saw Mr. Alexander come out of the bushes once again, the same gun he'd trained on Sean that day was trained on Cody now. Right behind him was a big policeman, his gun also drawn. Thank goodness, Trixie thought.

After being questioned, she and Honey were allowed to go back to the cabin.   "I’m glad that's over," Honey said.

 

Chapter 23

The last day at Blueberry Cove had come. The girls headed to the lake and hugged Megan goodbye and everyone left so they could say good bye to Eric and Bradley. "I'll never forget you, Trixie," Bradley told her.

"I'll never forget you, either," she told him as they kissed goodbye. Honey said a similar goodbye to Eric. They walked toward the cabin to load the remainder of their belongings in the car.

"I like Eric a lot," Honey said. "But this summer has taught me that there is no one for me except Brian."

"I feel the same way about Jim," said Trixie. "If he weren't in the picture, I would like to keep in touch with Bradley, but, well, he is in the picture."

While Moms went over to say goodbye to the Smiths, Trixie and Honey went in to make sure they had gotten all their belongings and to make sure everything in the cabin was tidied up. It was then that Trixie heard a knock on the door. When she went to the door, she was surprised to find Aurora there. "Can I talk to you?" Aurora asked Trixie meekly.

"Sure," she replied, opening the door. "Come on in."

As soon as they were inside the cabin, Aurora started talking. "First of all, I'd really like to thank you for finding out what really happened to my mother. It's like such a relief to know that I wasn't partly responsible for her death. Other than being friends with a psycho like Cody."

"I'm glad, too," Trixie said. "I hope everything that's happened will help you and Sean to get on with your lives."

"The reason I have acted like I have toward you," Aurora explained, "is because Sean was interested in you. All my life, I've had to play second fiddle to someone. All the guys in school had a crush on my beautiful mother. And people used to ask if I was adopted, because I'm not beautiful like she was. Nobody knew how that felt. I had loved Sean since we were kids and that summer, when I was so sure he liked me and he started liking Amy, it just about drove me crazy. I don't know when it crossed over into obsession, but I know that's what it was. I felt like I would do anything to hang onto Sean. I did some crazy things and his family finally had to shut me out of his life. Then, this summer when I found him again, the obsession started over. In the few years since we'd been apart, I had tried over and over to find him. I realize now that what I felt for Sean is not love. I'm going to get on with my life and I'd like to thank you.  In solving the mystery of my mother's murder, it made me stop and think and I realize I don't want to live like this anymore. I'm going to leave Sean alone. And I will seek counseling. I just wanted to apologize to you for my behavior and to tell you how grateful I am for what you've done."

"Oh it was nothing," Trixie said, embarrassed. After exchanging more pleasantries and goodbyes, Aurora was gone.

Shortly after, the girls and Mrs. Belden and Bobby were in the vehicle headed for Crabapple Farm. They were discussing Trixie's punishment. First, for lying. Second, for going into the Alexander cabin that day without permission and also, for going after the gun without getting an adult to go along with them. "It's just not fair," Trixie said.

Her punishment could've been worse, she supposed, but what Moms had decided was that she couldn't go to any evening activities for a month. She could still go over to Manor House during the day and ride the horses. She could go to Bob-White meetings as long as they were in the daytime, but she wouldn't be able to go to any of the football games until after a month. And she couldn't spend the night at Diana's or Honey's, or have company at night. What if Jim takes someone else to the football games? she thought woefully.

"Trixie, I'm sorry," Honey said. "It's not going to be the same going to the football games and Wimpy's and everything without you."

"Honey, what do you mean without Trixie?" Mrs. Belden asked pleasantly, from the front seat of the car. "I told Miss Trask everything, and she said you weren't going, either."

Honey and Trixie were glad to be going home and seeing their guys and the other BWG's, but they were slightly disappointed in their punishment.

"Well, at least we'll be off restriction in time for the homecoming dance," Honey told Trixie.

"And at least it's only for a month," Trixie replied. She smiled. "But anyway, I can't wait to see Jim."