* Adult themes
The Haunting of Freer Manor
by Angela
Chapter 1: Homecoming
"Hey, isn’t that Jim and Brian!" Honey Wheeler jumped off the bed to run to the bedroom window.
Trixie Belden turned to looked as well, eliciting a mumbled "Hold still, Trix!" from Aimée, trying to talk around a mouth full of pins. Aimée, a talented amateur designer currently boarding in the Belden household, was making the final alterations on Trixie’s costume for the Hallowe’en Dance that was being held at Freer Manor.
Straining to see out the window, while at the same time trying not to move, Trixie Belden asked, "Are you sure? They’re not supposed to be home until tomorrow night." Jim Frayne and Brian Belden were freshmen at a college some miles from their home in Sleepyside-on-the Hudson. Because of this distance the two young men had decided to rent an apartment near the college, coming home every second weekend rather than commuting on a regular basis.
"Ouch! That hurt! Aimée, are you almost done?" Trixie cried out in exasperation as the girl accidentally stuck her with a pin. "I want to find out what the guys are doing home so early," she said, her eyes sparkling with curiosity.
Taking the pins from her mouth, Aimée teased, "No, you don’t, you just miss seeing Jim since he hasn’t been home in a couple of weeks." Trixie blushed. "Now just hold still and let me get in this last pin." Aimée slipped the small straight-pin into the hem of the doublet before standing and stretching to get the kinks out of her back. "There, I’m finished now, let’s get you out of these before you pull all the pins out and I have to start all over."
With Honey’s help Trixie was soon free of the offending garment and back into her own jeans and school sweatshirt. Looking into the oval mirror above Aimée’s dresser she ran her hands through her short blonde curls. What a mess, she thought. I wish I was as pretty as Honey, Aimée and Di! Despite the reassurances of her three closest friends Trixie couldn’t or wouldn’t believe that she was anything other than a tomboy. While other people saw a small, curvaceous, beautiful young woman with huge blue eyes, Trixie saw a short, stocky figure with unruly hair and freckles.
Looking at her two friends, sixteen-year-old Trixie saw what she thought of as the kind of woman all young men wanted. Honey’s slender figure was dressed in jeans and a dark green twin-set that set off her beautiful hazel eyes. Her honey-blonde hair was pulled back from her face with a matching hairband. Aimée was about the same height but more curvaceous. Curly strawberry-blonde hair hung unhindered to her waist, and her warm green eyes sparkled with life. Like Honey, she wore a twin-set in a rich russet color but preferred the freedom of a long flowing skirt to the confinement of tight jeans.
Male voices could be heard in the kitchen as the college students greeted the rest of the Belden family, so the three girls quickly made their way to that part of the house. Helen Belden stood at the kitchen sink skinning beets for the beet pickle preserves she was making. Despite the fact that she was the mother of four children ranging in age from nine to nineteen, she looked as young and pretty as her curly-haired daughter.
At the table sat Peter Belden and his second son Mart. Like his almost twin sister, Mart had blue eyes and blonde hair which he wore as a crew-cut to tame his curls. Because of their closeness in age Mart loved to annoy his sister with his use of long words and pedantic learning.
Bobby, the youngest of the Belden children, was currently entertaining the others with the tricks he had managed to teach their Irish setter Reddy. Like Trixie and Mart, he took after their mother in looks.
Brian was the eldest and the only one to take after their father. With dark wavy hair, warm brown eyes, and a handsome face combined with a sensitive caring nature he had quickly become the love of Honey’s life.
Entering the kitchen, Trixie’s eyes where immediately drawn to the tall, muscular figure of Honey’s red-headed, adopted brother Jim Frayne. He stood beside Brian, laughing in amusement as he watched Bobby put Reddy through his paces. His green eyes were the first to meet Trixie’s as the three girls took seats around the big kitchen table. "Hi, Trix, staying out of trouble while I’m gone?" he asked with a slow smile. "Sis, Aimée. What have the three of you been up to?"
"Getting ready for Hallowe’en!" all three chimed at once then burst into giggles at their timing.
"Their costumes have been one big secret," Mart said conspiratorially. "You know our sisters, if they can’t find a mystery, they make one of their own."
"Oh, Mart, you’re just put out because we won’t tell you what we’re going as, and neither will Di," Trixie commented. Diana Lynch was Mart’s special interest, and even though he didn’t want it generally known it hurt his feelings when she kept secrets from him.
"Well, I know one thing," Jim stated, "if Aimée is designing the costumes, they’re going to be something to see. Maybe Mart’s jealous because she’s not doing his."
"Naw ... I’ve already finished mine. It’s the best I ever had."
Honey decided to ask the question that was on everyone’s mind. "So why are you guys home so early?"
"They had a major gas leak in the building where most of our classes are held so they canceled classes and closed the building until they can find it and repair it," Brian explained.
"That’s great, now you can help us decorate the Freer place for the Hallowe’en party Saturday night!" Trixie exclaimed. "We can even start tonight."
"Dan and Mart have come up with some great special effects to put in the haunted house display on the second floor. Honey and I have been making costumes for ghosts, witches and other assorted horrors for the last two weeks," Aimée added. "I guess that leaves all the manual labor for you guys."
"No way, girl," Jim said shaking his head. "You’re not pawning all the work off on us."
"Aw shucks, that’s too bad. I thought the guilt trip might work," she laughed.
"Since this is a Bob-White charity function, it's only fair that all the Bob-Whites work on it together. Besides, decorating is the fun part after all the planning’s done," Honey commented.
The Bob-Whites of the Glen was a semi-secret club originally established by the Beldens, Honey and Jim because they were unable to participate in extra-curricular activities after school. Diana Lynch had joined the group that same autumn and Dan Mangan the following winter. Aimée Monet was the latest member, and this was her first Bob-White event. The group enjoyed raising funds for organizations such as UNICEF and other charities. With Hallowe’en approaching they had decided to organize and plan a Hallowe’en dance and haunted house to raise funds for the local battered women’s shelter. Donations of clothing, and toys as well as money were being accepted as an entrance fee.
"I guess we should gather at the clubhouse after supper before heading out to the old house to start decorating," Brian suggested.
Chapter 2: Freer Manor
The Bob-Whites gathered around the conference table in the clubhouse waiting for the arrival of Mart and Dan who were fetching some of the materials they would need for the haunted house exhibit. Conversation revolved around who would do what task, and who outside their immediate group would be able to help with the decorating.
"I can’t wait to see it when it's all finished, it sounds fantastic!" Diana exclaimed her violet eyes alive with anticipation. "So who’s going to be carving pumpkins?"
"Not me, I’m dressing dummies all day tomorrow," Aimée replied.
"Aaa .... you must be talking about my adorable little sister," Mart commented drolly as he walked in the door carrying an armful of plans.
"Don’t start with me, Martin Belden," Trixie sputtered, "we’ve too much work to do."
"If you’re willing Di, you and I can work on them together," Honey suggested.
"Great idea, Honey, now where’s Dan?" Brian inquired.
"Right here! Your oaf of a brother left me to carry all this stuff by myself." Dan backed his way through the clubhouse door carrying a huge box of what looked like coat hangers and other paraphernalia including the rims off of a couple of bicycle wheels. "Whew, that’s heavy! Thanks a lot for your help, Mart," he said sarcastically as he dropped into a seat beside Aimée.
"Don’t be an old grouch, Dan," she teased as she reached over to kiss him on the cheek.
He tried to glare at her, but in light of the laughter in her eyes he couldn’t manage to. "So guys, anyone come up with a great costume idea?"
"I was thinking of dressing up as the Mummy, it's one way of hiding all of this red hair," Jim answered.
"I was thinking of Zorro," Dan said with a teasing look in his eyes. "Women seem to like the macho hero type and I like the idea of cracking the whip a few times."
"What about you, Aimée?" Jim asked.
With a mischievous side-long glance at Dan, she answered, "Well, I guess I’m going to have to talk to Regan about borrowing one of the horses for my costume..."
"Why, you going as Calamity Jane or something?" Mart queried.
"No ... with this long hair of mine I’ve decided to go as Lady Godiva," she managed to get out with a straight face.
Four male jaws dropped. Di and Honey giggled in embarrassment. Dan jumped up from the table his eyes just sparking with indignation. "Lady Godiva! No woman of mine is going to ride around naked in front of all of Sleepyside."
"Dad and Moms will never let you do something stupid like that," Mart sputtered turning red at the thought.
Aimée’s eyes met Trixie’s and the two girls burst out laughing. "Gotcha!" they shouted out together. They were soon joined by the others, and the laughing Bob-Whites poured out of the clubhouse into the new Bob-White minivan. Aimée decided to ride with Dan and Mart in the truck they had borrowed from Regan in order to transport the decorations. She curled up on the seat beside Dan, laying her head on his shoulder as he pulled out of the Wheelers' driveway. "Forgive me?"
"Sure," he whispered. "You can play Lady Godiva anytime you want, as long as we’re alone," he said lasciviously.
"You’d like that, wouldn’t you?"
"Sure would."
Mart groaned. "Enough, you two. What are you trying to do with me? Just the picture of it ..."
"You’d better not be picturing my girl like that or else ..." Dan threatened playfully. Mart cringed away in mock fear, and Aimée giggled at their antics.
"Well, here we are." Dan pulled into the long sweeping driveway, and started up the hill to the house. They could see the tail lights of the minivan ahead of them, but otherwise everything was as black as pitch, the canopy of trees overhead blocking out the light of the almost full moon.
Aimée slid closer to Dan, "This place really gives me the creeps, even in broad daylight, and right now it's as if icy fingers are running up and down my spine."
Dan reached over and squeezed her hand. "I’ll protect you from the ghoulies and ghosties, fair maiden."
In the other car Trixie, Honey, and Di leaned forward to catch a better glimpse of the house in the clearing. Jim grumbled from the driver’s seat, "If one of you wants to drive, let me know, otherwise quit breathing down my neck."
"It sure looks haunted, doesn’t it, Trix?" Di shivered.
"Don’t be a goose, Diana Lynch," Trixie scolded, "there’s no such thing as ghosts."
The vehicles pulled to a stop in front of the brooding old manor house. It was a rambling old Victorian mansion complete with a corner tower, and widow’s walk. Abandoned for years, the house had recently came into the possession of the Sleepyside Historical Society who had begun renovations over a year before.
The Bob-Whites gathered together on the front lawn, none of them wanting to make the first move toward the darkened house. "Have you heard the story of Freer Manor?" Mart asked the group. Other than the Beldens and Diana, none of them had.
"What’s the legend say, Mart?" Jim asked, interestedly.
"Well," Mart began, "back around the turn of the century this house belonged to a wealthy man named Hezekiah Freer. He owned a lot of property in this area, and in the town of Sleepyside as well. According to legend he was a very cruel landlord, who thought nothing of turning his tenants out on the street if they failed to pay their rent. During the early years of the Depression, one of his tenants was a Mr. Van Loon who had a very beautiful young daughter named Annatje. Hezekiah was very taken with young Annatje, but because of his reputation for cruelty and the fact that he was already married, no one would take his suit seriously. Well, soon after becoming obsessed with Annatje, Hezekiah was widowed when his wife Marytje was supposedly killed in a riding accident. However, some people believe that he pushed her down the front stairs. When Annatje’s father was late with his rent, Hezekiah struck a bargain. He would allow the Van Loons to continue to live in the house rent free if Annatje consented to be his wife. Not wanting to see her family homeless, Annatje married Hezekiah Freer even though she was in love with a young man who lived out on Telegraph Road. Anyway, Hezekiah treated Annatje badly because of her love for the young man. At some point he caught wind of her plan to run away with her lover, so he locked her in the tower room. Devastated at losing her freedom, and unable to see her lover Annatje threw herself from the tower window. Some say that Hezekiah had her lover killed and others say that overcome with grief he hopped a train to go west and never returned. Hezekiah lived as a recluse well into the 1960s when the house passed to his only child, a son from his first marriage. It’s the son who willed the house to the Historical Society when he died. Apparently the house is haunted by four ghosts: that of Annatje, who paces the Tower room, Marytje, who is often seen on the main staircase, Hezekiah, who still counts his money in the old study, and the young suitor, who appears at the foot of the Tower calling for Annatje."
"Oh, what a sad story," Aimée said quietly.
"Well, guys, I don’t know about the rest of you, but I’ve got school tomorrow. Anyone want to get to work on decorating this place?" Mart asked, destroying the mood he had just created.
Chapter 3: Raising the Dead
Traipsing back and forth between the vehicles and the house the Bob-Whites managed to drag all of their materials inside. Looking at all the boxes and bags filled with supplies, Trixie groaned, "Now we’ve got it all in here, what do we do with it?"
"Why don’t you girls work on decorating the entrance hall, the reception room and the ballroom, while we guys get started on the haunted house upstairs," Dan suggested.
"Sounds good to me," Trixie agreed. "Ladies, the dance floor awaits."
"That would be great if I didn’t have to dance with a broom," Aimée complained.
"I thought red-headed witches loved to dance with their brooms," Dan teased, ducking just in time to avoid the sponge she shot at him.
"My hair IS NOT RED," she shouted with emphasis, "and if I were a witch, you’d now be croaking like a frog." Tossing her strawberry-blonde curls over her shoulder with disdain she sashayed toward the ballroom hips swaying seductively and broom in hand. "Well, yes, Mr. Broom," she chimed out clearly, "I’d love to dance with you. You’re a far more useful suitor than my other one."
Dan chuckled. "I think I’m in trouble now."
"You can say that again. I’m glad I’m not in your shoes. No sugar for you tonight," Brian joshed, earning a glare from his sister as she, Diana, and Honey followed Aimée’s lead.
"Oh gosh, I’m tired." Honey put down the bucket she was carrying before dropping to the floor. "We’ll have to get one of the guys to take down the curtains and hang them outside to beat the dust out tomorrow."
"You’re sure they won’t fall apart," Aimée said disgustedly.
"I’m sure they’ll whine about it a little, but they’ll do it anyway," Di chirped. The four girls erupted into a fit of laughter.
"Well, I hope the guys have all the wires hung, so that I can put the ghosts in place after I dress them. Having heard the story, I understand why Mart requested they be clothed in a certain way." Aimée struggled to control a yawn. "Trix, you want to come with me to find out if the guys are ready to go? I don’t want to be alone in this house if I can help it. With my luck I’ll have Hezekiah chasing me up and down the corridors."
"No, just Dan trying to lure you into the nearest bedroom," Trixie suggested slyly.
"As if," Aimée snorted.
The two girls made their way out of the ballroom and up the main staircase. "Did you feel that, Trixie?" Aimée shivered.
"What?"
"It felt like a cold draft."
"No, must be your imagination working overtime, or maybe its Marytje’s ghost," she teased.
"Don’t say that, you’re giving me the heebie-jeebies."
Tap ... tap ... tap ... tap.
"Okay ... that must be the guys right?"
"It’s probably just my bonehead brother trying to scare us."
"I sure hope so. Hey guys, where are you? Are you almost ready to go?" No one answered. Tap ... tap ... tap ... tap. "Dan is that you?" Tap ... tap ... tap ... tap. "Okay guys that’s enough. I don’t appreciate the sound effects. Come on out here." Aimée and Trixie exchanged glances. "Trix, I don’t like this. I’m outta here." She headed for the stairs at a run.
"Aimée, wait for me."
"Only if you run fast, and run now!" she screamed. A dark, bent figure was coming up the hallway behind Trixie. "Look out behind you, Trixie. Run!"
Looking back over her shoulder Trixie saw the figure and turned to confront it. "Oh, cut it out, Mart, enough’s enough already." The dark figure raised his cane and pointed toward the stairs. An eerie voice wavered out of the dark, "Get out of my house, get out now."
Aimée grabbed Trixie’s arm. "Trixie, let’s go, it's not one of the guys, I hear them talking to Honey and Di down in the entrance hall." The two girls backed away from the strange figure who was waving his cane through the air in front of him. Just before they turned to run it raised its head, the white face and yellow teeth of a vicious old man turned toward them red eyes glared out from under hoary brows.
Trixie and Aimée went barreling down the stairs, into the waiting arms of friends and family. "Whoa there, girls, where’s the fire?" Jim asked as he grabbed Trixie by the arm.
"There’s something up there," Trixie pointed a trembling finger toward the stairs.
"Trix, there’s nothing there. All we did is string the wires and set up the sound system. We didn’t even put up any of the figures since Aimée hadn’t quite finished with them," Jim tried to explain.
"We saw something, an evil old man," Aimée cried trying to pull away from Dan and get out of the house.
"Okay, Angelface, I’ll go see." Dan turned and walked toward the stairs.
"Not alone, Dan," she turned pleading eyes on him. He nodded toward Mart, and the two of them headed up stairs. Five minutes later they were back.
"Find anything?" Jim asked.
Dan shook his head, wrapping his arm around Aimée’s shoulders. "Let’s go home guys. Mart I think you’d better drive," he said, indicating his need to soothe Aimée.
"Jim, there was something there. We both saw it. It looked like an ugly old man," Trixie tried to defend their position.
"We’ll look around tomorrow when it's daylight."
"We believe you, Trixie," whispered Honey and Di as they climbed in the back seat with her. "Do you think it was Hezekiah’s ghost?"
"I think it was someone who wanted us to think he was Hezekiah’s ghost," she answered. "I wonder why?" she muttered under her breath.
Chapter 4: Thieves
"Ooo ... I hate math," Trixie declared as she threw her books down on the lunch table. "Mr. Metz actually gave us homework on Hallowe’en weekend, as if anyone wants to do homework."
"Don’t worry, Trix, I’ll help you if you have any trouble," Aimée said calmly.
"That’s not the problem. I just have to get over to that house in the daytime so I can see to investigate. Moms might decide not to let me go before I finish this stuff."
"Trixie, she won’t forbid you to go to Freer Manor. She knows that we have much more to do to get ready for the party tomorrow night," Aimée reminded. "But what is there to investigate, Hezekiah’s ghost?"
"Aimée, how can you be so logical one minute, and believe you actually saw a ghost the next?" Trixie asked, exasperated.
"I admit the old man may have been a real person, but that draft I felt on the stairs wasn’t."
"For pity’s sake, Aimée, it's an old house--there are bound to be drafts. You’re just too much of a romantic."
"Fine, you believe what you wish, and I’ll believe what I wish. Only time will prove which is right," Aimée responded.
"Come on, you two, someone would think that you are actually sisters," Honey said.
"The two of you argue as much as Mart and Trixie use to," added Di.
"Did I hear my name taken in vain?" asked Mart sitting down beside Di.
"Oh, never mind," both Trixie and Aimée snapped at the same time.
"Sounds like PMS to me," inserted Dan, giving a lock of Aimée’s hair a tug as he joined them. Aimée gave him a quick jab with her elbow. "Whoa there, woman, if you want kids someday, you’d better watch where you’re aiming," he grinned.
"As if I would have kids with an imbécile like you," she glared.
"Now, now children, be nice. Maybe you should kiss and make up," Mart chided.
Giving him a saccharine sweet smile, Aimée said, "Maybe you should go take a long leap off a short cliff."
Ever the peacemaker and noticing things getting out of hand, Honey interrupted, "Did anyone hear about last night’s break-in?"
Five heads turned in her direction. "Where?" "What was taken?" "Any suspects?" "Was anybody caught?"
"From what I’ve heard, the Computer Lab was broken into, and several of the new Pentium machines were taken, along with a scanner, and the new printer. So far there aren’t any suspects, but I expect that they’re going to crackdown on clubs and gangs again like they did last time."
"Oh boy! I hope we don’t get dragged up on the carpet again," Mart groaned.
"Surely, we’ve proven ourselves these past few years. We’ve done so much for the community, they wouldn’t think of shutting us down again." Di looked at the other members. "Would they?"
"Maybe we should pay a visit to the Principal’s office before we get called down just to find out what’s going down," Dan suggested.
Aimée reached for Dan’s hand, and he gave hers a small squeeze in reassurance.
As one the Bob-Whites rose from the table, their lunch forgotten, and headed for the main office. "Who do we ask to speak to," Aimée whispered to Dan. "We’ll see when we get there," he responded.
Reaching the reception area they encountered none other that Sergeant Molinson who groaned at the sight of them. "If it isn’t the Belden-Wheeler Detective Agency and their cronies. Don’t you kids have enough to do with planning the Hallowe’en Dance? Do you have to stick your noses in police business yet again?"
"Then we still have permission to hold the event, Sir?" Mart asked.
"Why wouldn’t you? The Bob-Whites have a proven track record now. Besides we’re not considering forcing the various informal clubs to disband quite yet," Molinson answered. "Now get out of my hair, and get to class before I arrest you for truancy."
"That’s a relief," Honey sighed as they left the office.
Chapter 5: Decorating Detail
After school the Bob-Whites assembled at the clubhouse for the journey to Freer Manor. Dressed in their oldest clothes, prepared for hard work, and carrying a picnic supper, they piled into the vehicles.
Jim grinned back at the girls sitting in the back seat. "We’ve a surprise waiting for you when we reach the Manor," he said secretively.
"What have you and Brian been up to?" Honey asked.
"It’s not our surprise," Brian teased.
"Oh, come on, give," pleaded Trixie.
"No way," the boys laughed.
They arrived at Freer Manor. The old dilapidated building didn’t look as frightening in the daylight, just a bit lost and sad because its people had abandoned it long ago. Piling out of the car the Bob-Whites grouped together, and the girls gasped in pure delight. The pathway leading up to the front porch was now bordered by dozens of carved jack-o-lanterns. The porch itself was draped with streamers and cobwebs, and one of the mechanical witches stood at one end waving them up the path.
"But who ...?" Honey gasped.
"Our mothers and Miss Trask," Jim grinned. "Sorry we had to invade your inner sanctum without permission, Aimée, but it wouldn’t have had the same impact without the witch. We brought over the rest of the figures as well, but you’ll have the pleasure of ordering their erection."
Aimée cocked an eyebrow. "It’s a good thing they were all dressed, and ready to go. At this rate I should be able to concentrate on the costumes tomorrow."
"Those mysterious costumes. Did you guys happen to get a peek, Jim?" Dan teased.
"No way, she locked them in that old trunk she bought at the rummage sale last month. We did happen to find the most interesting little book beside the bed though," Jim insinuated.
"You didn’t ...," Aimée sputtered. "You didn’t look at my journal." She tore after him like an avenging angel.
Jim put up his hands in surrender. "No way, Aimée, just kidding. Your secrets are safe. Though I would sure love to find out what you really think of our man Dan."
Aimée stalked toward him with a threatening stance, and Jim backed away seeking shelter behind Brian. "How can you stand the little shrew, Dan?"
"Oh, I like my dames with a little fire," he answered cockily.
"You think you’re funny, don’t you? Well, just wait and we’ll see whose funny," she threatened.
"Gee, thanks, guys, we’re working for her this afternoon if you remember correctly," Mart groaned.
"Don’t worry, Mart, I’ll save you," Di promised. "You can work for me in the ballroom hanging spiders and streamers. I really don’t want to climb that tall ladder."
"Why is it they seem so gentle and compassionate one minute and turn into slave drivers the next?" he asked miserably.
"Because we can, big brother, because we can." Trixie smiled in amusement.
"Now where’s my whip? Let’s go have some fun, boys?" Aimée snapped her imaginary whip in the air and they made their way inside.
Half-way up the main staircase Aimée paused. Dan stopped and turned to see what was happening. "I was sure I felt something about here last night," she murmured. "I still do."
"What is it, Aimée?" he asked.
"A cold spot." She looked up at him seemingly puzzled. "Don’t they say haunted houses always have cold spots?" Dan shrugged and continued up the steps with Aimée on his heels.
The Bob-Whites spent the next three hours arranging a series of automated tableaus throughout the second story. Dan saved his pièce de résistance until last. In the Tower room he set up a set of hologram projectors, controlled by a computer program he had written himself. When in operation they projected the image of a wild-haired young woman pacing back and forth between the bed and one of the tower windows. He had brought Annatje Van Loon Freer back to life in a ghostly form.
Downstairs, Trixie, Honey, Di, and Mart had decorated the ballroom and reception hall. Jack-o-lanterns were interspersed with cutouts of black cats, plastic cauldrons, and autumn leaves, with the occasional shadowy figure hiding in a corner or peering in a window from outside. In the entrance hall, a front desk had been set up complete with a skeletal hat-check girl.
As they walked through the house the Bob-Whites checked to make certain everything was in order. The caterers would come tomorrow and lay out the refreshments, and a band of teenage zombies would provide the music. Earlier in the day parents would be able to bring their younger children through the haunted house, but the night was for the teenagers of Sleepyside.
Walking through the upper corridor with Honey, Trixie stopped to pick up something that caught her eye. "What is it, Trix?" Honey asked.
"It looks like a piece of putty. I wonder what its doing here?" she answered.
"Here, let me see. It’s probably something off one of the mannequins." Honey examined the small piece of putty. "Why, this is the same kind of stuff that actors use to change their faces?"
"You’re sure?"
Honey nodded.
"I guess that means that last night’s ghost was a fake. The only reason someone would fake a ghost is to scare us away from here. So what do they want to hide?" she pondered the possibilities.
"Hey guys, you want to eat here or go back to the clubhouse?" Mart shouted up the stairs.
"Clubhouse," they chorused running for the stairs.
Chapter 6: The Talk
The farmhouse was quiet. Everyone had gone to bed hours ago, but Aimée couldn’t sleep. She was thinking about the Hallowe’en party, her special costume, the cold spot on the stairs, and, as usual, Dan. Turning on her bedside light, she reached for her journal and began to write. Maybe if she worked some of it out, she’d be able to sleep. After all, tomorrow would be a busy day, filled with last minute things to do for the party.
She’d been writing for about fifteen minutes when she heard a quiet rap on her door. "Come in," she called out softly.
Trixie entered, two glasses of warm milk in her hands. "I saw your light and thought you might want something to help you sleep as well. Do you have time to talk?" she asked, noticing that Aimée was writing.
"Sure, Trix," she answered, putting aside the journal and making room on the bed for her friend. She really liked the younger girl. Trixie was like the little sister she’d never had. "So what do you want to talk about?"
"It’s kind of personal ..."
"Okay." Aimée looked at the other girl growing slightly concerned.
"It's about Jim!" Trixie blurted out. Aimée nodded encouragingly. "How do I know when the time is right?" She squirmed slightly as she asked.
"Shouldn’t you be talking to your mom about this?"
"Oh, we already had the Talk, it's just that I’m kind of confused about whether I’m ready for the next step ... with Jim that is."
"Well, that depends on a few things. How you feel about Jim. How he feels about you. Whether the two of you have talked about it and considered the consequences. Has he been pressuring you about sex?"
"No," Trixie blushed vividly. "I just love him so much. Sometimes I’m afraid he’ll find someone older at school."
"Trixie, if Jim loves you, he won’t really want someone else. He might think about it, that’s natural, but if he really loves you, he’ll wait."
"Have you and Dan ... you know?"
It was Aimée’s turn to blush. She’d been thinking about that very thing earlier, and now Trixie was bringing it up. "Trixie, Dan and I haven’t even known each other for two months. I’ve thought about it, and I’m sure he has too but we haven’t discussed it let alone acted on the feelings."
"What about with Tony?"
A sad look crossed Aimée’s face as she thought about her former boyfriend. He’d been dead for over a year now. Looking at Trixie, Aimée felt it important to answer this question. "Tony and I were together about six months before we slept together. I wasn’t ready for it. It really scared me, and it changed our relationship. For almost a month afterward I was terrified that I might be pregnant even though we’d used protection."
Trixie looked at her wide-eyed. Coming from Aimée, who was only two years older than her, the story had more impact than it would have coming from Moms. Aimée had been her age when she had made the choice to be sexually active. "Do you ever regret being with Tony?"
"Now that I’ve met Dan, I wish I had waited," Aimée confided quietly. "This time I intend to make sure it's right before I act on my feelings. I won’t be pressured into doing something I’m not ready for."
"Thanks, Aimée," Trixie reached over and hugged her. "I’m glad you came to live with us."
"Trix, remember if you make the choice to be with Jim, use protection. But just as important, make sure it's the right thing for you not just a way of holding on to him."
Trixie nodded. "Goodnight, Aimée." She left the room lost in concentration.
Chapter 7: Hallowe’en
The four girls gathered in Aimée’s room, giggling and sometimes shrieking with laughter as they prepared for the Hallowe’en festivities. Hair, nails, makeup, and finally the beautiful costumes that Aimée had designed and made. She had dressed Trixie as Shakespeare’s Viola from the play "Twelfth Night." The costume consisted of a man’s doublet, with slashed sleeves, pantaloons, and tights, with a small feathered cap perched on her blonde curls. Diana was exotically dressed as Cleopatra in an outfit similar to one worn by Elizabeth Taylor when she played the role. Honey was garbed as Maid Marian, of Robin Hood fame, in a green gown with tight bodice and flowing skirts. Finally Aimée donned her own costume: that of Kate from "Taming of the Shrew." She wore an over gown of sapphire blue over a cream coloured under skirt. A tight fitting, off the shoulder bodice showed off her beautiful figure. Looped at her waist, she carried a bull-whip.
Dressed in their finest the four beautiful young women strolled into the living room to meet their dates for the evening. The young men stood gaping as the girls appeared at their sides. Mart was dressed as Charlie Chaplin, every detail perfect down to the trademark mustache. Jim made a dashing pirate, while Brian had matched his date’s costume by coming as Robin Hood. Dan, as promised, came as Zorro dressed in black, white and silver, with a whip that matched Aimée’s. Seeing the latter detail the small group broke into laughter and headed out the door after wishing Peter and Helen Belden, as well as the exhausted Bobby, a goodnight.
Each of the couples chose to take separate vehicles, but all arrived at the party at the same time. The place was like a warped fairy-land with grinning jack-o-lanterns lighting the path, eerie ghosts waving from the windows, and red eyes gleaming from the shrubbery. They were met at the door by their volunteer chaperones: Regan, Miss Trask, Tom, and Celia who proceeded to compliment them on all of their hard work.
As the guests began to arrive, the Bob-Whites either mingled or conducted tours. After the first hour Trixie and Aimée stopped at the desk to talk with Tom. "So far everything’s going really well. People have been really generous with donations of clothing, food, and toys. A hairdresser from town even donated about twenty gift certificates so that any of the women wishing to look for work can get their hair and makeup done before their interview."
Later that evening Trixie stood with Jim in the far corner of the ballroom watching the dancers as they danced to the slow seductive music. "You look really pretty tonight, Trixie," he ran his eyes down her body in a slow caress. "Would you like to dance?"
Trixie nodded, suddenly shy, her late-night conversation with Aimée playing at the edge of her mind. Dancing with Jim was heavenly. They moved so well together. They’d been friends for so long, and knew each other so well. Was she ready to do something that might change the way they related to each other? She glanced over at Aimée dancing with Dan, her head cradled on his shoulder, their bodies moving as one. Aimée met her glance and smiled her soft warm smile, then lifted her face to meet Dan’s kiss. Had Aimée made her decision?
In another part of the room she saw Brian and Honey sitting and talking to friends. Brian’s arm was around her, and Honey’s hand rested on his knee. Every once in a while he’d bend over and whisper something in her ear and she’d smile back at him with love in her eyes.
Finally there was Mart and Di. They were standing in the doorway of the reception hall, and Mart was teasingly trying to feed Diana a piece of cake. She’d take a bite, chew, then swallow, and then Mart would reach over and kiss her.
They were all growing up, all facing the same questions. The big one on Trixie’s mind was "Do I take the next step?" Jim caressed the back of her neck then ran his fingers down her spine until his hand rested just below the small of her back. He pulled her closer, then kissed her. The whole night was beautiful, totally magical.
"Let’s go somewhere more private," Jim whispered in her ear.
"I’m not sure, Jim," she responded shyly.
He looked at her gently. "It's okay, Trixie. I care too much about you to rush you into something you’re not ready for. I just want to kiss you without Regan and Miss Trask watching my every move. They’re very protective of you girls, you know."
"I know," she smiled. "I do love you, Jim."
"I love you, too, Trix."
Across the floor Dan and Aimée slipped from the room. He met Tom’s raised eyebrow with a cocky smile, daring him to say something as he pulled Aimée toward the stairs. It wasn’t as if they could do much with so many people around, but later maybe something would happen. Either way they needed to talk about it. He cared too much about Aimée, and after all she had been through he didn’t want to do anything to frighten her. He watched her shiver as she walked through what she had earlier referred to as a cold spot. Did she sense something no one else could? Was there something else in this house with them?
He pulled her toward the Tower Room, but as they went to enter she suddenly bulked. "Dan, there’s someone here, I can feel it."
"It’s just the hologram, Aimée, I’ll turn it off if you like." He moved toward the computer but stopped as he felt someone brush past him. "Who’s there? Aimée, flick on the light." With a single click, light flooded the room.
"What’s going on here?" Jim asked as he and Trixie appeared in the doorway.
"I don’t know, but I swear there was someone in the room with me just now. Something touched me, there was a patch of darkness a bit darker than the rest."
"What’s that over there?" Trixie pointed toward the wall on the left-hand side of the room. Walking over she knelt to pick it up. "It’s a scrap of fabric." She looked at the others. "Maybe there was someone in the room with you, Dan." Trixie started to tap on the wall above where she had found the scrap of fabric.
"It sounds hollow," Jim said striding toward her. He started to push gently on the paneling, suddenly there was a click and a section of the wall swung away from him.
Chapter 8: A Secret in the Wall
"A secret passage," Aimée gasped as she moved up behind Jim and Trixie to see into the hole.
"Actually, it looks like a staircase," Trixie corrected. "Does anyone have a flashlight?"
"Trixie Belden, you’re not going in there in the middle of the night!" Aimée said firmly.
"Aren’t I?" she asked as she grabbed a flashlight from the desk on which Dan’s computer sat. "Anyone else coming?" She stepped through the hole and started to make her way down the spiraling steps. The others followed her deeper and deeper into the bowels of the old house. They must have been below basement level when they finally reached the foot of the stairs. There was a huge wooden door in front of them. Trixie tried the handle. It turned easily in her hand. Pushing open the door, she shone her light around the room searching for a switch. Finding it and flicking it on, Trixie illuminated the room.
Dan whistled in amazement as they looked around the room. An entire computer lab had been set up deep beneath Freer Manor. "Wow! This looks like some of the equipment that was taken from the school."
Walking around the room Aimée peered around a screen at the far end. "It looks like someone’s been sleeping back here. There’s a small bedroom set up." The young people looked around at the small room. In the center was a huge round bed covered in red satin and lace. Attached to the headboard were a pair of leather thongs.
"Looks like the set for a kinky home movie," Jim commented.
"And how would you know that?" Trixie asked.
The two guys blushed. Looking at their faces Aimée shook her head. "Not the best question to ask, Trix, unless you really want to hear the answer."
His face still red, Dan moved back to the computer, and started to tap on the keys. "If I can just find the right file and get into it, we might just find what their up to. Wait a minute, I think I found something! Some sort of numbers list."
The others crowded around behind him looking over his shoulder. Aimée commented, "They look like credit card numbers. There must be a thousand of them."
"Why would someone need that many credit cards?" Trixie asked.
Dan and Jim glanced at each other. "I’m not sure," Jim replied, "but I think maybe we should look around some more."
The Bob-Whites spread out around the room looking for other evidence. It was Trixie who found the door hidden in the bedroom. Opening the doo,r she called out, "Hey, guys, I think you’d better see this." She found the switch illuminating the rooms contents.
Jim whistled, "Look at all this computer equipment."
"I see stereo equipment too," Dan pointed out.
"Ooo ... Trixie look at all these jewels," Aimée called out, holding up a diamond tennis bracelet.
"This stuff all looks brand new. Some of it isn’t even out of the box yet," Jim said, puzzled.
Suddenly Dan turned and walked quickly back to the computer. "I think I know what’s going on here." Tapping away he found several other files. "Here’s an inventory of materials, and this is a record of transactions. Each of those items in there was purchased using a credit card."
"Are they the numbers from the list you found earlier?" Aimée questioned.
"Some of them definitely are," Jim said looking over Dan’s shoulder.
"Gleeps, then someone is stealing credit card numbers, probably on-line, using them to purchase expensive equipment, and jewels, then reselling the goods, all at someone else’s expensive," Trixie calculated.
"I think somebody better go call Sergeant Molinson," Dan said, looking at the screen and then looking around at the others.
"That’s funny, I don’t think so," commented the skinny man who came around the corner with the gun in his hand. He wasn’t much taller than Aimée, but the two brutes who followed him into the room were definitely much bigger. He was the kind of young man no one took notice of, a stereotypical computer geek, dingy brown hair, wire frame glasses, not much personality but lots of brains.
"I tried to scare you away by dressing up as Uncle Hezekiah. You should have left when you saw the ghost, but you just wouldn’t leave. Instead you had to keep snooping. Stupid kids. Show our guests to the bedroom, boys, while I figure out what to do with them."
"Wait, you’re related to Hezekiah Freer?"
"He was my great-grandfather’s younger brother. He cheated him out of this house and property. It should have all been mine, but instead it ended up as a playground for a bunch of kids," he sneered. His eyes moved insolently down Aimée’s and Trixie’s bodies. "Pity we don’t have time for a little fun but I have to run. Don’t forget to tie them up."
Chapter 9: Flight to Freedom
The four Bob-Whites soon found themselves trussed up like the traditional Thanksgiving turkey, then engulfed in total darkness. They listened to the men’s footsteps echoing in the next room. Aimée could feel Dan’s fingers working away at the bonds even before the men departed down a passage located somewhere in the storeroom. By all rights she should be terrified, but somehow Dan’s presence made her feel safe. She felt the bonds loosen and fall away. Quickly she moved to untie Dan, Trixie and Jim.
"Okay, now that we’re loose how do we get out of here?" Dan asked.
"Feel along the wall until we find a light switch," Trixie suggested.
It took quite a while but eventually they found it. The light was blinding at first after the total darkness. As they made their way to the door, they noticed that the computers and cameras were gone. "They took all the evidence," Trixie moaned. Her eyes widened, "They were going to leave us here in the dark to die."
"Come onm let's get out of here," Jim called out making his way toward the door. "God, I hope i'ts not locked!" The knob turned in his hand, and they started the long trek up the steps.
"Oh, great! How do we open the panel from this side?"
"We’ve been gone a long time. The others are bound to be looking for us," Trixie commented.
"Unless they think we went somewhere to make out," Dan muttered.
"Just pound on the panel, maybe someone will hear us," Aimée hissed with frustration.
The boys started to pound and yell. Suddenly they heard Brian calling out to them. "Brian," Trixie shouted, "we’re behind the wall." They could hear him moving around one the other side. "Press on the panel to get it open." They backed away as the door suddenly swung toward them, then stumbled out of the hidden passage into the arms of the waiting Bob-Whites.
Regan looked at them in disgust. "You four should know better than to take off without telling anybody, not that I don’t know why you didn’t." Dan blushed as his uncle looked toward him. "And, of course, Trixie would have to explore a secret passage, but don’t the rest of you have the sense to stop her?" Suddenly he noticed Aimée rubbing her wrist, and he grabbed her arm examining the rope burn. "What’s going on here?"
The story that poured out sent Tom Delanoy running for the cell phone in his car to call the police.
"Oh joy! The last person I want to see tonight is Sergeant Molinson," Trixie mumbled.
"I don’t know, I sure would have been glad to see him a little while ago," Aimée stated.
The small group started for the stairs to wait for the police in the reception area. Reaching the foot of the stairs Aimée paused while the others entered the ballroom. A sensation of cold blew across the back of her neck. She turned slowly, looking up at the stairs. There, half-way up, stood a beautiful dark-haired woman dressed in a tailored gray suit from the early 1930’s. She had such a sad look on her face as she turned and walked up the steps only to vanish when she reached the top. Aimée smiled to herself. She’d never tell the others about this experience. They’d never believe her, but now she knew that Freer Manor was haunted.
Aimée joined the others where she sat beside Trixie, wrapped in blankets waiting for the police to arrive, so they could give their statements and go home to bed. Dan and Jim were off somewhere being lectured by Regan about responsibility.
Trixie glanced at Aimée, "So were you going to do it?"
"Maybe." She smiled secretly.
Chapter 10: Conclusions
"Gleeps, the girls must sure be in trouble with Moms," Mart muttered as the rest of the Bob-Whites sat waiting around the table in the clubhouse. "When I left the house I could hear her reading them the riot act. She was yelling, and Moms seldom yells at any of us. The last thing I heard was her telling Aimée that she had hoped that she would be a better example for Trixie."
Dan and Jim looked at each other and gulped.
"You don’t think your parents are going to ask Aimée to leave, do you, Brian?" Honey asked tentatively.
He shook his head. "I don’t think so. After all, she only followed Trixie because there was no way she would let her go down there alone."
"I don’t think that’s where the comment about being a poor example came from, Brian," Dan looked up guiltily.
"Then what would she be talking about?" Brian’s eyes narrowed as he looked first at Dan, and then at Jim. "Just why were you taking my baby sister upstairs to the Tower Room, Jim?"
"So we could talk," he answered.
"About what?"
"Probably about the same thing you’ve been thinking about talking with my sister about?"
Honey flushed, and Brian squirmed in his seat, letting the subject drop.
Trixie raced into the clubhouse with Aimée on her heels. "You’ll never guess what. Molinson caught those men. The cops have been going through the computers and they’ve found enough information to put them away for a long time."
Aimée chimed in, "It seems like it was a nation-wide scam and even now the FBI fraud units are closing in on their other locations."
"So what about Moms, Trix? Are you grounded?"
"Not this time! She said it wouldn’t be fair because she couldn’t punish Aimée in the same way."
"Instead she’s making us scrub down the whole downstairs, and then paint it all by ourselves." Aimée giggled, "I wonder if your Mom would like her living room sponge painted."
Mart and Brian groaned.
On that note, the Bob-Whites left the clubhouse and broke up into their respective couples. Dan and Aimée headed for the Wheelers' lake where Aimée found a seat on a fallen tree. Dan stood at the lakeshore skipping stones across the water both enjoying the silence. "Aimée ...," he hesitated, "I’m sure glad you don’t have to leave because of me. I shouldn’t of taken you up there, and maybe Jim and Trixie wouldn’t have followed."
"No, and then Trixie would have gone up there all by herself. Then what would have happened?" Aimée pointed out.
"I guess so."
"Dan, I went because I wanted to be with you. I’ve fallen in love with you." She got up from the log and, walking over to him, she wrapped her arms around his waist and laid her head on his chest.
He lifted her chin with his strong fingers, and found her lips with his own. Finally lifting his mouth from hers he whispered, "I love you, too."
"After Mrs. Belden’s talk with Trixie and me, she asked me up to her bedroom. I thought she was going to ask me to leave, but instead she gave me these." Reaching into her roomy bag Aimée pulled out a small box of condoms. "She asked me to promise that if we reach the point in our relationship where we wanted to take the next step, we’d use them."
"When’s that going to be, Aimée?" He took the box from her hand and put it back in her bag, before kissing her again.
"I’m not ready yet, Dan."
He nodded. "I can wait."
Trixie and Jim had headed for Ten Acres. It was the place they had met and the place that Jim would one day build his residential school for orphaned boys, so it was a special for them.
They walked across the clearing hand in hand. Jim suddenly stopped and pulled her into his arms. His kiss was so sweet.
"Trixie, I hope you realize that I intend to wait for you. There’s no need to rush into something you’re not ready for."
"I know, Jim. I use to be afraid that you would find someone else because I couldn’t give you what you wanted, but talking to Aimée made me look at things differently. She pointed out that if you truly loved me, you wouldn’t mind waiting, and I know that you love me. I think I always known that someday we’d be together."
He cradled her against his body. "We will as long as you don’t go and get yourself, or me, killed," he laughed. "Last night was close, Trix, we could have died down in that hole."
"I try to be carefu,l Jim. Things just happen."
"Things like that happen to you too often."
"I agree." She giggled. "Now let's enjoy ourselves for a while before I have to go home and scrub down walls."
The End