Group Writing Project #2
The Mystery of the Bungled Burglary
by Jewels
Friday, September 24th, 11:00 p.m.
Glen Road, Sleepyside-on-the-HudsonA heavy fog covered the small town of Sleepyside, making travel difficult at best. Trixie, Honey, Dan, Jim and Brian were on their way back from the Cameo, where they had caught the 8:00 showing of The Phantom Menace, while Mart and Di had stayed at home to continue working on a joint school project.
The Bob-White station wagon inched slowly down the road, hampered not only by the fog, but also by a sputtering engine. With one last hacking cough it gave out, leaving Brian just enough time to guide it to the side of the road.
"I don’t believe it!" Brian exclaimed, hitting the steering wheel with his fist.
"Figures it would happen on a night like this. Let me get the flashlight and we’ll take a look." Jim reached across Trixie’s lap to grab the flashlight from the dashboard.
"I’ll get it." Trixie retrieved the flashlight and got out of the car, tossing the Mini-Maglite to Brian. She and Honey watched as Jim and Brian peered inside the hood of the car, discussing what might be wrong, while Dan set up flares around the car.
"Where are we at?" Honey asked. "I can’t see a thing."
Trixie fetched another Mini-Maglite from her purse and turned it on. It was little use against the fog. "Not a clue. Hey, doesn’t that kind of look like a building up there?"
Honey squinted her eyes and stared in the direction of Trixie’s finger. "I think you’re right. Hey, maybe that’s the craft store by Mrs. De Keyser. I think we’re near that area."
Trixie thought a moment. "Last I heard, the owner sold it and moved."
"I wonder if someone else has rented it yet?"
Trixie glanced at the boys. Jim and Brian’s discussion now appeared to be an argument. Dan was leaning against the car, watching them fight. "Well, it’s obvious that they’re not going to be done anytime soon. Why don’t we walk over there and see?"
Honey glanced nervously at the dense fog surrounding them. "Are you sure that’s a good idea? We have a hard enough time not getting lost in the daylight. Imagine what we could accomplish on a night like this."
"Surely if we can make out the store from here, we’ll be able to see the car from there. Come on!"
It took several minutes, but they finally made it to their destination. A sign atop the building read "Sleepyside Curio Shop." They climbed the rickety wooden steps and peeked inside the bay window.
"Eww! What kind of store is this?" Honey exclaimed.
Making up the bulk of the display were various weapons: a bow and arrow, spear, several darts, and two swords. There was also a selection of pottery, china, arrowheads and several stuffed dead animals.
"Rather odd selection of items, don’t you think?" Trixie asked.
Honey shuddered. "Why would anyone stick dead animals in a display window? I can feel their beady little eyes watching me."
Through the thick night air, they heard Dan shouting their names. They turned and dashed down the stairs, calling out to the boys as they returned to the car. All three were waiting for them at the car.
"Where in the blazes have you two been?" Brian’s dark eyes shot angry sparks at them.
Honey said, "We figured you guys were taking care of things, and since Trixie and I know nothing about cars, we thought we’d just be in the way. So –"
"Where is the cell phone?" Jim snapped. His green eyes were stormy and his voice several decibels louder than usual. Honey reached into her pocket and pulled out the cell phone. He snatched it from her.
Trixie shot them a disgusted look. "So how were we supposed to know you morons would need the phone? Who are you calling anyway?"
He ignored her and dialed the number from the business card that Brian held.
"The car’s as stubborn as the redheads around here. It refuses to start, so we’re going to have it towed. Where were you two?" Dan asked.
"Just checking out a store nearby. A weird one, too. It has this tribal stuff in the window, like spears, old pots, and these odd objects that look like darts, or something," Honey said. "The spookiest things were the dead animals. They had these icky yellow eyes that just stared right through you."
"Wonder what a store like that is doing here. Doesn’t seem like they’d get much business with that kind of merchandise." Dan replied.
"Funny, isn’t it?" Trixie mused. "Honey, why don’t we check out that store tomorrow when we go shopping?"
Honey groaned. "I am not going back to that gross place, Trixie. Drag someone else with you."
"Aren’t you curious?"
"No!"
"But -- hey, isn’t that a car coming?"
To their surprise, it was Tom Delanoy, the Wheeler’s chauffeur. With his help, they were able to get the car running long enough to make it back to the Wheelers. Trixie and Honey agreed on a meeting time for tomorrow morning before bidding each other good night. Trixie didn’t push the issue, but she had every intention of going back to that store the next day.
Saturday, September 25th, 10:55 a.m.
Crabapple FarmTrixie gave the coffee table one last swipe with the feather duster, then threw it into the downstairs hall closet and raced up to her room to change out of her work clothes. Honey was due in five minutes and she wanted to be ready on time.
She quickly changed into her favorite X Files T-shirt with Scully on it, then pulled on her best pair of jeans. To pass the few minutes before Honey arrived, she slipped her favorite Ani DiFranco CD into her boom box and started groovin’ to the music, while singing along.
"…This is who I am, what I do, what I say,
If you like it, let it be
If you don’t, please do the same
I fight with love
I laugh with rage
You gotta live light enough to see the humor
And long enough to see some change…"Three minutes passed before she caught sight of the golden-haired girl watching her from the doorway.
"What the—" Startled, Trixie almost lost her balance.
"Are you okay?" Honey bit back a smile.
"Yes." Trixie giggled. She turned off the CD player. "We’d better get going before I make a bigger fool of myself. Hey, think the Curio Shop is open today?"
Honey sighed and rolled her hazel eyes. "Yes, Trixie. I read the sign last night and it’s open from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Saturdays."
"Pretty please, with sugar on top and a huge chunk of chocolate, too…"
"Fine! You win. We’ll go visit that creepy shop." She wagged her finger at Trixie. "But you’d better stick right by me. I’m scared one of those animals is gonna get me."
Saturday, September 25th, 11:10 a.m.
Sleepyside Curio ShopA bell rang in the back room when Trixie and Honey entered the store. The inside of the shop resembled an attic gone untouched for decades. A thick layer of dust had settled over the entire room, and the musty odor lingering in the air nearly suffocated them. The only light came from the display window and a smaller window on the other side of the room. There was no rhyme or reason to the arrangement of the merchandise in the dimly lit room. Weaponry was mixed in with the china and knick-knacks were intermingled with old books and costume jewelry.
"Ugh." Trixie whispered, afraid to speak louder and disturb the silence.
"Lead the way," Honey said. "You’re the one who wanted to come here."
Grimacing, Trixie wandered down the right aisle, occasionally stopping to examine an object closer, while a collection of antique bells sidetracked Honey. Trixie turned left at the end of the aisle and came across an antique wooden hutch. Inside the hutch, the owner had placed several vases, and miscellaneous glassware. Trixie stared at the cabinet on the left. She could make out something furry-like stuffed in the corner of the shelf.
Curiosity, as usual, got the best of her. She opened the little cabinet door and withdrew the object, careful not to knock over any glassware. Having peeked at the price tags, she knew that it would take several months to save up enough money to pay for just one of them.
Her stomach heaved when she saw what she held. It looked strangely like a human’s head, but it was slightly larger than a softball. The eyes and mouth were crudely sewn shut with some type of fiber, and the skin felt like toughened leather. It couldn’t be… but this sure feels like real human hair. Surely this isn’t real?
The little hairs on the back of her neck stood up and she felt a sudden sensation of someone watching her. She spun around to find a man staring at her. He appeared to be as old as Methuselah, but from the agile way he held himself, she knew he wasn’t as old as he looked. His unblinking eyes were steadily trained on her. Now she knew how Honey felt when she saw the animals in the window. She wanted to run as far from the store as possible, but before she could escape, the wrinkled old man clamped his gnarled hand on her shoulder. It felt like an hour had passed before he spoke.
"Who are you?" He rasped, his dark eyes glaring at her through narrow slits.
"T… Tr… Trixie Belden." She stuttered, fighting the impulse to bolt.
"You interested in that?" He asked, pointing at the shrunken head still in her hand.
"No--"
"Then give it to me!" He snarled, baring his yellow teeth like a growling dog. Trixie shoved the shrunken head into his other hand. He tightened his grip, then fiercely let go, sending her stumbling backwards.
"Snoopy little girls shouldn’t be fooling around with cursed objects. They might get hurt. Now get out!" He barked.
Trixie bolted past Methuselah, and ran straight into a small table beside the counter, sending the books and camera on top of it tumbling to the floor.
"Dang it!" As Trixie tried to stop the table from falling, she dropped her purse, spilling her wallet, mini notebook, camera, tape recorder, and two pens in the process. Why do I have to be so darn clumsy!
When she knelt down to gather up the debris, she found to her surprise that the two cameras were almost identical. She picked one up.
"Give me that!" Old Methuselah snatched the camera from her hands, not noticing the other one lying on the floor, partially covered by a book. Grumbling under his breath, he stomped into the back room, slamming the door behind him. Trixie managed to catch a glimpse of the room before the door shut, and saw that part of the room was set up as a darkroom.
She picked up the remaining camera and studied it. Well, it looks like my camera. The film is used up just like mine was, so it must be. She shoved it in her purse along with the other items.
Honey came up from behind her. "You okay, Trix?"
"Yeah."
"Who was that, Rip Van Winkle?"
"You don’t want to know."
They set the table upright and piled the books on top of it again. Trixie broke the silence. "Come on, let’s get out of here, before Old Methuselah tries to shrink my head and curse it, too."
Honey looked puzzled. "What are you talking about?"
"I’ll explain it to you as soon as we get out of this nasty place." Then she remembered the camera in her purse. "By the way, remind me to drop off my film at Film Express before we hit the boutique."
"Oh, are those our pictures from last weekend?"
"Nope. Those were taken with Brian’s camera. These are the pictures from our visit to Aunt Alicia."
"Boring."
"Tell me about it." The two girls left the shop to continue on their shopping trip.
Saturday, September 25th, 1:55 p.m.
Sandra’s BoutiqueTrixie slumped against the wall of the dressing room, legs akimbo, while Honey tried on what must have been her two hundredth outfit that day. Trixie had given up an hour ago out of sheer exhaustion, but Honey seemed to possess super-human endurance when it came to clothes shopping.
Trixie’s stomach rumbled. I’d kill for a Wimpy burger, she thought. And fries. Gotta have fries. And a chocolate milk shake to dunk them in. Mmm, that sounds so good!
As if she could read her mind, Honey tossed Trixie the mint green dress she had just taken off and said, "Hang this up while I get dressed and then I promise we’ll go eat lunch."
Trixie breathed a sigh of relief. "Your wish is my command."
15 minutes later…
As they were biking along Main Street, Trixie stopped suddenly. "Honey, wait!" Trixie clambered off her bike and pressed her face against the window of the S.P.C.A. "Oh, isn’t she the sweetest little cat you’ve ever seen?"
The cat in question was a smoky black Maine Coon, with a face, chest and paws the color of new fallen snow. She had been sitting in the corner, calmly licking her right paw, until she saw Trixie at the window. Then she pranced over to the window and batted her paw against the window, trying to hit Trixie’s nose.
"Let’s go inside!" Before Honey could answer, Trixie was inside. Honey found her holding the cat, which was purring as she rubbed herself against Trixie’s neck.
"Do you have your cell phone on you?" Trixie asked.
"Yeah."
"Can I borrow it?"
Honey handed her the cell phone and Trixie gave her the cat in return. "Hold her for a minute, will you?" Then she stepped several feet away, and dialed the phone. After several minutes of animated conversation, she hung up the phone. When she turned towards Honey again, her face was covered with a smile bigger and brighter than the sun.
She took the cat and held it up. "Honey, I’d like you to meet my new cat, Peabody. Peabody, this is my best friend, Honey. Shake hands, you two."
Honey started giggling and reached for the cat’s paw and shook it. "Well, nice to meet you, Peabody." The cat meowed in return. "I assume that the phone call you just made was to your mother?"
Trixie nodded happily then buried her face in the cat’s silky hair. "I’ve been buttering Moms up for a cat for the past month and this gorgeous girl is ‘The One.’ I just know it."
"How are you going to get her home?"
"Just so happens that Moms has to pick up a few groceries, so she’s going to meet us at Wimpy’s and give us a ride home. Now, come on. I have to go pay for her." Trixie started for the cash register.
Honey stopped her. "One more question: Why did you pick Peabody for her name?"
"It’s the nickname for the main character in one of my favorite mystery series. You know, the Egyptian archeologist who fights off criminals with her parasol? I thought it would be appropriate to name my cat after a detective."
Honey just shook her head and groaned.
Saturday, September 25th, 6:15 p.m.
Crabapple FarmPreparations for dinner were in full swing. Mrs. Belden was busy draining the spaghetti and stirring the sauce, while Trixie was cutting up veggies for the salad. Peabody sat on top of the fridge supervising the whole production.
The older males in the family had been directed to the garage thirty minutes earlier, where a ton of boxes waited to be stacked on the shelves. Bobby remained in his room, comforting Reddy, who was quite upset to find that another animal would be sharing his domain. Of course, it hadn’t helped that the newest member of the Belden family had taken a swipe at his nose when Reddy had gotten a little too hyper for Peabody’s taste.
Trixie wiped her hands on a towel and went to let everyone know that dinner would be ready soon. As she passed the fridge, she was glad to see that Peabody was adjusting quite nicely to the chaotic Belden household. For some odd reason, the cat had gravitated to her current spot on the fridge almost immediately and seemed to prefer it there. But if it made Peabody happy, Trixie didn’t mind. As she walked through the living room, the phone rang.
"Hello."
She could hear someone breathing at the other end, but no one spoke.
Hmmm, maybe they didn’t hear me. "Hello."
Only the sound of heavy breathing continued.
"Who are you?" Trixie demanded.
A click sounded as the person at the other end hung up.
Trixie hung up the phone. A small shiver ran up her spine, but she shook it off. I’m sure it was just a wrong number.
Sunday, September 26th, 1:20 a.m.
Crabapple FarmA loud bang woke Trixie up. She listened for a moment, but the only sound she could hear was the steady patter of rain on the roof. She got out of bed and poked her head out her bedroom door. Probably just Peabody. I’d better go get her before she destroys the entire house. As she stepped into the hall, she remembered the phone call earlier that day. What if it’s a burglar?
She bit her lip, unsure of what to do. It was most likely just the cat, but what if it wasn’t? She admitted that the phone call had spooked her, but everyone was always accusing her of jumping to conclusions and making mysteries where there were none. Of course, didn’t she prove them wrong most of the time?
Through the crack in Bobby’s door, Trixie spotted a stick in his room. It was the one he used in his last attempt to teach Reddy how to fetch. She slipped inside his room and grabbed it. It’s not a parasol, but it’ll do, she thought.
Slowly she inched down the stairs, keeping an eye out for intruders. After ensuring that no one was in the living room, she crept to the kitchen. When she was a few feet away, she heard a drawer being opened.
Maybe it’s one of the boys. Of course, their door was closed, but maybe one of them couldn’t sleep and came down here. Or it could be Moms or Dad.
"Here it is!" The whispered exclamation startled her. A chill shot through her as she realized that it wasn’t the voice of her brothers or parents. Who was that? What did he find? Oh God, what should I do?
She decided to make a run for her parent’s room. As she turned to sneak away, she heard a click.
"Stop right there."
Trixie froze.
"Turn around."
She obeyed.
Standing in front of her was a man dressed in black, a ski mask disguising his face. Only the gun pointing at her stood out. He grasped her arm with his gloved hand.
Before he could do anything else, Trixie saw a flash of white sail through the air and pounce on the intruder. Loud hissing and violent cussing ensued. Surprised by Peabody’s attack, the robber let go of Trixie, and dropped his gun, then tried to pry the cat off of his neck. Trixie kicked the gun out of his reach. Suddenly aware that she was still holding the stick, she began whomping the prowler on the head, careful not to hit the cat.
The commotion woke up the rest of the household. Trixie heard someone call her name. The intruder ripped Peabody from his neck, threw her on the ground and shoved Trixie out of his way. He darted out the door just as everyone made it to the kitchen.
"Trixie, are you okay?" It was her father, his voice full of concern.
She nodded, unable to speak. Then she felt a tiny paw pat her leg. Trixie picked up Peabody, holding the cat tightly with her trembling arms.
Sunday, September 26th, 12:10 p.m.
Manor House"How terrifying, Trixie! Are you sure you’re okay?"
"Yeah, thanks to Peabody. I told you she was the one, Honey!"
"Well, okay. Just as long as she doesn’t take my place as your partner," Honey teased.
"Never, Honey Wheeler!"
Honey wrapped her arms tightly around her best friend. "Thank God you’re all right."
Trixie frowned. "I just wish I knew why that man broke in."
"Wasn’t it just a robbery?"
"That’s what the police think."
"But you think otherwise."
"Yep." Trixie wound a curl around her finger. "If it was just a random break-in, then why was he looking for a specific item? Why didn’t he take anything else?"
"True." Honey thought for a moment. "Were the police able to find any evidence?"
"Yeah. There was the gun. Since it was raining, there was a deep mud puddle right outside our door. When the guy ran out the door, he must have gotten his boot stuck in the mud. Rather than stopping to pull it out, he just slipped his foot out of the boot and took off. There were footprints in the yard, but the rain pretty much did a number on those. They did find one they were able to make a cast of."
"That all?"
"They think Peabody bit through his skin when she attacked him, because they found traces of blood on the floor and on her fur. There was also some stuff on my pajamas that they took samples of for testing. Looked kind of orange or gold colored. No fingerprints because he was wearing gloves."
"Too bad."
"What’s really strange is that we couldn’t find anything missing. We checked everywhere. I know he found something, but there was nothing that stood out…" Trixie paused.
"What is it?"
"Oh my God, that’s it!" Trixie flew to the phone and dialed her number. "Mart, it’s me. Listen, I need you to check the hutch. Is my camera there?"
After Mart confirmed her suspicions that the camera was not where she had placed it the night before, Trixie turned to Honey. "Come on, we have to go to town."
Sunday, September 26th, 12:40 p.m.
Film Express, Sleepyside-on-the-HudsonTrixie exited the store and walked over to Honey. She held the packet of photos in her hands. "Time to see if my theory is correct." She ripped open the package. Both girls stared as Trixie flipped through stack of photos.
The pictures were of the animals in the store’s display window, each with a different piece of jewelry next to it. Trixie and Honey both gasped as they looked at the last photo in the pile.
"Trixie! That’s Mrs. Boyer’s diamond necklace!"
"I know. They had a picture of it in the newspaper the other day when they reported it stolen. They must be putting the jewelry in the animals, then shipping them off to a fence or someone, who pretends to buy the animal. These pictures are probably for their records."
"But that doesn’t make sense. It’s too risky. Someone from Film Express might recognize the necklace or, at the very least, get suspicious."
"No they wouldn’t, because they would never see the pictures. Methuselah has a darkroom set up in the back room. Obviously he’s developing his own pictures."
"We’d better take this to Sergeant Molinson right away."
"Let’s go." Trixie stuffed the packet into her purse. The two girls hopped on their bikes, and sped to the police station only a mile down the road.
Sunday, September 26th, 8:16 p.m.
Bob-White Clubhouse"So it was the Curio Shop owner." Dan shook his head in amazement. The other Bob-Whites were just as surprised at the turn of events that weekend.
"Yep. You see, after we took the pictures to Molinson and explained to him about the camera mix-up yesterday, he went to investigate. Sure enough, they found my camera in the darkroom at the store, along with copies of my photos that he had developed, thinking that the film was his."
Honey chimed in. "They identified the substance they found on Trixie as Cheez-its, believe it or not. Turns out old Methuselah had been munching on some while driving to Trixie’s house. They found them in the back seat of his car, next to a muddy boot that perfectly matched the one left behind at the house."
"To top it all off, the footprints were a match, as was the blood sample. Good old Peabody bit him right in the neck. I may have to change her name to Dracula!" Trixie said.
"Another mystery expertly solved by the Schoolgirl Shamuses. Great job, you two!" Dan said proudly, his sentiments echoed by the other boys.
"I don’t know how you guys manage to stumble across these mysteries all the time," Di said. "Maybe that should be your next case!"
Trixie smiled. That was one mystery she hoped she never solved.
The End