rated a mild *

 

Thanks to my editor for all her time with this story, your help has been greatly appreciated.

 

A Summer Before College

By Elaine

 

Chapter 1                    

She twisted around when a noise beyond her drew her attention. She put away her latest Lucy Radcliffe book and  rose from the porch swing in the yard, investigating the sound of twigs snapping to locate what was coming out of the pathway behind the house.

Dan had made that pathway as a short cut to their property with his horse some time ago. She expected to see Dan arrive, as he maneuvered his horse around the boxwood hedge that her mother planted to mark the outer property line to create a natural fence some time ago. This time the form of the man on foot came into full view, she recognized him as Mr. Maypenny. He was dressed in bib overalls with a plaid flannel shirt and wearing that new pair of hunting boots Dan gave him for a birthday present previously. On his head was the New York Yankees baseball cap that she gave him as a birthday present.

On his head was the New York Yankees baseball cap. Trixie remembered giving that gift to him previously.

He certainly looked different than he did the first day she met him. She was happy that the surgery cured his degenerative disk disorder, making his ability to get around so much better than before. He appeared years younger lately.

“Hello Mr. Maypenny,” she said cheerfully as she grasped her unruly blond curls whipping precariously in the wind.

“Hello Trixie.” The handsome older gentleman greeted her with a poised bow and a good- natured grin.

“Don’t you look handsome?” Trixie giggled.

“Nah, just more Americanized I am too old to be considered handsome,” he laughed. “I guess it is time to retire the old Mounties Uniform that I wore when I was a forester on the Northern shores. Is your mother home? I would like to ask her if I might buy a little bit of telephone time.”

“She isn’t home right now but she won’t mind. Is your call long distance?”  Trixie scrambled out of the swing so she could stand up and lead him into the house through the back door. They crossed her mother’s new patio deck designed for entertaining and family barbeques.

“Yes, Ma’am, err... I mean Miss. My brother has contacted me by the US postal service,” he explained as she opened the new glass style French doors that were installed during the new remodel.

“You have a brother?” Trixie asked, surprised. She grimaced sheepishly and hit her head. “Oh, I forgot you have…”

“I had more than one brother, dear child. This one is my youngest brother nearly 16 years younger than me. He’s an attorney of some sort in Albany now. I haven’t heard from him since he left home perture. Oh! He writes once in a while, but I mean seen him face to face you understand.” He clarified himself.

“Of course,” Trixie nodded.

“He wrote me a letter inviting me for fishing on his lake.  It’s supposed to be somewhere up north. He says the fish are so huge, that he can’t pull them into the boat on a regular pole. He had to buy one of those deep-sea rigs or something. What in tarnation that is I don’t know.”

Trixie smiled it was always amusing to her the way Mr. Maypenny spoke like an old timer. 

“May I use the phone, dear?” he asked politely as he made eye contact with her.

“Yes, you may.” Trixie knew Mr. Maypenny was an educated man even if sometimes he sounded like he wasn’t. She sometimes wondered if he just spoke like that to entertain them. Especially since when she first met him, she had the impression that he was a mountain man that lived off the land his entire life and never knew anything about life outside of the game preserve. She had been very wrong. For more than 20 years Mr. Maypenny just used his old family homestead as a vacation property, he returned to check on several times a year. During those years young Peter Belden kept an eye on his place for him. That was when he was working in The National Forest, located close to the farthest New York boarder in the Adirondack Mountain Range between New York and Canada.

Trixie tried not to eavesdrop but she couldn’t help but overhear, she began to feel a surge of excitement.

He mentioned having a two-week vacation from work coming and that he also had some young friends. They were friends with his ward Dan that he would like to treat to a nice vacation.

Trixie instantly started wondering either if she could take a two- week vacation from her work at the Marine Institute or if she could convince the Doctor to allow her to consider it a field assignment. She got a field assignment to identify the species of aquatic life in the lake that belonged to the Wheelers once.

She held her thoughts and waited to hear what Mr. Maypenny would say once he was off the phone. Trixie tried to act casual as if she wasn’t hearing his conversation as she sat at the kitchen table with a cup of coffee in her hand since

She messed around the kitchen while he was on the phone, making a fresh pot of coffee and bringing out fresh baked cookies. She wanted to offer coffee and cookies to Mr. Maypenny before he left.

“Hi Trixie,” After he completed the call Mr. Maypenny located her, effortlessly in the kitchen.

“Oh, are you finished with your call?” She asked casually as she sat the cookie that she just took a bite of back on her plate, chewing quickly so she could swallow.

“Yes, I am.” Mr Maypenny still held his Yankees hat in his hands politely. His expression looked pleased. He appeared as if he was trying to hold his urge to smile back as he stretched out his hands that were calloused and scarred from his exposure to life as a survivalist. He held a five -dollar bill. “Please let your mother know that I borrowed her phone and that I paid her for the call. The operator was kind enough to tell me that the call would be four dollars and 10 cents.”

“Oh, you didn’t have to call to ask. They charge a dollar for that service. I’ll get you 90 cents.”  She assured him.

“No, that is your mother’s tip, dear. She should profit from allowing her phone to be used by a customer.” He smiled.

Trixie’s cheeks flushed some. “But Mr. Maypenny, mother doesn’t charge to lend the phone.”

He laughed loudly. The way she said that so innocently shy, amused him.

“I know that,” he answered. “Just the same I always leave money.” He laid it on the table. “Polite Neighbours pay for their favours. This time I am fresh out of a nice batch of hunters stew. Dan is bringing home a nice big pizza tonight for dinner so I didn’t bother to cook. I like that store bought pizza.”

“I do, too.” Trixie giggled  

“Now, I am sure you probably heard some of that phone call so I am going to ask you not to mention that I might be inviting everyone on a nice trip soon because I don’t know for sure if Mr. Wheeler will allow me time off immediately. You have a job, don’t you?”

“Yes, but if you are going to a New York Lake that hasn’t been already studied at work then I might be able to take a working vacation. Doctor Grady would allow me the time off then. We document the different types of aquatic life for a scientific study.”

“Are you going to be a Marine biologist when you grow up?” He asked as he reached over for one of those large oatmeal raisin cookies and took a bite. Helen’s cookies were always delicious and wholesome. Since he always offered her cookies when she visited him, he didn’t feel impolite taking one without her offering it first.

“I have you a cup for coffee.” Trixie pointed to the empty cup turned upside down on its saucer on the table.

“I still want to be a detective.” Trixie flashed her deep dimples in a sweet smile that revealed her straight white teeth. She was sitting with her feet firmly planted on the floor perfectly poised with her hands crossed on her lap. Remembering the time, she spent at his cabin while he was teaching her proper manners just before she had to make an appearance at a formal dinner party as Jim’s date. This was to be held at Hamilton’s, an exclusive country club for the super rich. She had been so worried that she would embarrass herself. Mr. Maypenny lent a sympathetic ear and assured her that he learned all about manners from his mother. He and Miss Trask assisted with her lessons far enough away from the others so she wouldn’t have to be embarrassed.

“But I find marine biology especially fascinating,” Trixie went on to explain. “Plus I love to swim and outdoors so my job is perfectly perfect. It is more enjoyable than a chore.”

“Precisely why I was always a forester,” Mr. Maypenny laughed while looking down at the china cup that he was pouring the black coffee into so he wouldn’t risk pouring it onto the freshly clean shining new marble countertop of her mother’s freshly remodelled kitchen. “My mother never could understand why I wasted my college education conservation.”

“Oh, I can understand why, the woods are more interesting than the city by far.” Trixie nodded.   

Mr. Maypenny dropped a teaspoon of cream into his coffee, then lifted the cup for a sip, tasting that hot mocha flavoured liquid. He swallowed before responding.

“I’ll let you know if this trip is possible. In the meantime would you check and see if the rest of you pigeons…” He winked knowing he wasn’t getting the club name correct, his grey eyes twinkling with good nature. “…if you all could make a trip this summer. I know you girls miss Brian and Jim since they left for college. I would like them join us. Especially Jim, he loves the outdoors and camping.”

“How can I see if they can come, without explaining your plans?” She shrugged her shoulders asking logically. She resisted the urge to correct him about the club name. She was acutely aware that he was simply teasing her.

Mr. Maypenny always reminded her of her grandfather before he died, not at least due to her lack of grandfather and his apparent need for a grandchild. They seemed to get along splendidly.

“Just ask if a camping trip might interest them.” He laughed.

“I am unsure if Brian can attend, he has a job.”

“Well you can ask, can’t you?” He coaxed.

“I can, don’t worry about that,” Trixie giggled. “What is this lake’s name so I’ll know what to call it when I tell Doctor Grady about it?”

“It is Chocho something or another, Chochobe.” He thought a minute. “It is a privately owned one near Lake Ontario, about twenty miles southeast from there or so he told me. It is just 20 acres across, but it is deep and cold in the middle so he figures that it probably gets its water source from either Ontario or maybe from the springs running off the mountains.”

“Okay, cool, Doc Grady is interested in spring fed lakes. He would give me the time to take samples enough to determine if it is spring fed, I am sure of it.”

“I better hurry home now or my pizza will be in Daniel’s belly before I get there.” Mr. Maypenny winked.

“Okay, you just take a couple more of those cookies with you just in case dinner isn’t as large as you hope.” Trixie handed him a stack of cookies before he excused himself.

Mr. Maypenny left the house strolling back through the woods along the pathway with a happy smile and a cheerful whistle. Once again, Trixie noticed that his whistling often sounded like a full song, as if he was whistling at the beginning of an old television sitcom. Trixie smiled as she listened to him until it faded so low she couldn’t hear him anymore he reminded her of her grandfather before he passed on.

If he had a granddaughter, he felt sure he would want her to be exactly like Trixie. Sometimes he wished he could play matchmaker and convince her to take an interest in his young ward Dan. She and Danny had so much in common with their love for mysteries and their adoration for the outdoors, but still she always seemed so interested in Jim. That match didn’t seem probable in his opinion.

He could see the way she and Dan interacted together. They were both denying the attraction to each other, yet he was experienced enough to be certain about that.

Mr. Maypenny just strolled along the pathway, sidestepping a recently fallen tree in his path where Dan had been using a chainsaw to clear it away from the horse path. He wasn’t there now, his 4x4 wheeler with the garden tractor attached to its hitch was not there, either, this likely meant Dan was delivering a full load of wood either to the cabin’s log pile or the Manor’s log pile, depending on which pile he was closest to. The tracks on the soft soil indicated he headed toward the cabin.

Mr. Maypenny wondered if he purchased that nice large pizza, yet. The rumble in his stomach hoped that he did. He pulled the Ziploc bag of cookies out of his pocket and bit into another one. It was soft and moist. He could taste the grains of whole wheat and oatmeal and chopped walnuts, just a hint of cinnamon. Helen’s cookies were quite healthy. Sven Maypenny thought of his cholesterol that was elevated and smiled as he took another bite. Helen once told him that she only cooked with the egg whites because of Peter’s cholesterol counts being high lately. This meant this cookie should be cholesterol free, or close enough to it to be safe to eat.

 

Chapter 2

Trixie hurried to the phone, calling Brian and Jim first, seeing if they were interested in the camping trip, right after Mr. Maypenny left the house.

“I can’t, I have to work. Walmart doesn’t give vacations until you have worked there for at least a year,” Brian said soberly. “I’ll ask Jim, he just returned.” She could hear him speaking to someone else and the faint voice of the other party in answer. “Trixie is trying to organize a camping trip up to some lake that she plans to research for the institute. She wonders if you have two weeks to spare.”

“Now?” Jim frowned as he sat his laptop computer onto the sofa, turning to grasp the house phone, pulling it away from Brian and placing it to his ear.

“No, once school lets out of course.” Trixie rolled her eyes hearing him ask, ‘now’ with astonishment.

“I don’t know,” Jim said undecided. “I was planning to look for a summer job like usual,” he started to explain as he thought. The camping trip sounded like an opportunity for a little romance with his girlfriend though, he wasn’t ready to dismiss this idea.

“Hold the job hunting for two weeks this is for a good cause. I have something planned.” Trixie felt her stomach churn. Why was she holding on to this lost cause? She thought to herself inwardly.

“What?” Jim felt an instant sense of mystery developing. Trixie always was a very mysterious girl.

“Okay, will you make it worth my while?” He flirted.

“It will be worth your while, come on, Jim. I might need some assistance. I have never worked in a 20-acre lake alone before. Don’t you want to help me?”

“Oh, in that case, sure I’ll hold off on the job hunting a couple weeks.” Jim answered. “I can always get work from dad if I am too late for the college summer work up here.”

“Please do. Aren’t you ever going to spend a summer at home or with me?” She said crossly.

Jim didn’t say anything for a minute, sensing her annoyed attitude.

“Just call me once you decide where your priorities lie. Maybe I’ll be available plan something with you then, long distance bites.” Trixie said soberly before she said goodbye and hung up the phone rather abruptly.

“That’s not good.” Jim stared at his buzzing phone, gasping.

“What isn’t good?” Brian stopped pouring himself a glass of soda, directing his attention at his roommate. Staring at the phone in such astonishment, it drew Brian’s interest immediately.

“She hung up on me.” Jim’s eyebrows arched up into a worried frown. “I didn’t even get to say goodbye.”

“Why did she do that?” Brian stared at his friend before his eyes reflected the problem with an expression change. He opened his mouth to speak. “Maybe she is fed up with long distance?” Brian said thoughtfully as he put his soda on the table. “You should investigate what is up. Take the two- week trip. Otherwise you might discover you stalled too long. She just turned eighteen, remember.”

“Oh, that was two weeks ago. I forgot her birthday, Brian Belden. How could you let me forget your sister’s birthday?” Jim gasped as he grabbed his red hair and pulled it into the air. When he looked back at him, his red hair stood on end dishevelled.

“I wasn’t aware of your forgetfulness. Didn’t you see the box that I had ready to mail her?”

“Come on Brian, it’s not like you don’t mail stuff home regularly for your family,” Jim answered as he fished around in his jacket pocket, locating his cell phone, quickly finding Trixie’s number so he could call her.

Trixie didn’t answer so he left a message. “Please call me when you receive this message. I’ll be there for that trip absolutely and yes. I am returning this summer. Trix, I love you. Don’t be angry,” he added before closing his phone.

“She didn’t answer?” Brian asked casually as he watched his best friend’s heartbroken expression. “Maybe she didn’t stay home?”

Jim looked kicked in the gut miserable for two hours he paced the floor. He couldn’t get his mind on his schoolwork. He couldn’t concentrate on the movie Brian was watching on the TV. His stomach was churning badly. The emptiness inside made him, feel sick. His only thought was of Trixie. How much she healed his heart after his parents died. He was just an orphan grieving their loss with no other family to claim him. Trixie was the one that sat with him for hours, talking to him about that unbelievably horrible time in his life. She promised him that she would always be his family, his friend. She promised that she would always claim him. She was special. She represented family, love and security.

Trixie finally returned his phone call.

“Sorry, I wasn’t there to pick up,” Trixie said quickly. “I left right after that call to discuss this trip with Honey and Diana. They were on the trails with the horses. I hurried outside to catch them before they headed the other direction.”

“Are you mad at me?” Jim asked. “I feel awful. I just noticed what month this is and that I forgot your birthday.”

“Oh, well, a birthday is just another day, anyway.” Trixie had been angry. It upset her to realize that he had been so distant lately, but it didn’t seem worth it nagging about missing her birthday. It wasn’t the birthday that bothered her, it was the lack of attention from her boyfriend. Absence didn’t make the heart grow fonder. “I am sure you were extremely busy studying for finals this year,” she said quietly.

“I was, but that is no excuse.” Jim could hear the quiet sound of her voice. He knew he had been awful forgetting her special day.

“I just got my graduation gown and cap.” Trixie tried to change the subject before tears emerged. “I can’t believe we graduate high school in less than three days. Will you be at my graduation?” she asked.

“Of course, I wouldn’t miss that. I miss you a lot,” Jim said quickly. “I am bringing an extra special present hopefully to compensate for the lack of birthday present.”

“Really, it is okay. I said I understood.” She wiped away a tear that ran down her cheek her voice had a distinct catch to it.

“No, I don’t understand me. It isn’t like me being forgetful I feel badly. You never forget my birthday, not even once since I have known you.”

“I could forget your birthday this year if it makes you feel better.” She giggled loudly, feeling better for his apology.

“I am being silly, I know.” Jim finally felt a sense of relief. Trixie hadn’t changed even if she did get annoyed and hang up abruptly. Maybe it was because she spotted the girls on the trail and didn’t want to miss speaking with them and it wasn’t about being annoyed with him. He was sure it probably was both.

“Jim, what kind of extra special present will you be bringing?” She asked suddenly. “I could use something completely frivolous.”

“Like what?” He asked.

“You figure it out,” she laughed. “You said extra special. Maybe this little gift could contain something I could accessorize with. Your sister has been dragging me along with her to that country club every weekend lately.”

“I don’t know what it might contain,” he answered as he grinned. He never heard her ask for something to accessorize with, that could mean anything from jewelry to a fancy new cell phone. He liked the new cell phone idea. His cell phone contract was nearly complete, that meant he could get in on the family plan, including Trixie as a family member, making her cell phone bill drastically reduced. But was that extra special?

“What would you like?” he asked when he realized that might not be what she had in mind.

Trixie just giggled flirting a little with her best friend. “I want a hint, what did you get me for a present, silly. I’ll bet you already know what you think is extra special.”

“Why should I tell you now? I might want to be mysterious?” He laughed.

“Oops! Dad’s home, he sounds uptight over something. I see if I am needed,” Trixie gasped.

“Okay, I’ll see you later then,” Jim promised.

They ended the call. Trixie hurried downstairs, listening to her parents’ argument.

“What is going on?” Trixie asked her mom when she rushed through the kitchen.

“I forgot the charity Benefit tonight,” Helen explained. “I don’t have time to finish dinner. I have to get dressed. Would you finish dinner and keep an eye on Bobby tonight?”

“I suppose I can.” Trixie looked at her panicking mother as she rushed to get cleaned up for this dinner that she and Peter had to attend in less than an hour.

Bobby was nearly eleven years old. He wasn’t exactly in need of a babysitter anymore, but he still needed someone to keep him company at night. They would play his video games together.

 

Chapter 3

Trixie located Mr. Maypenny the next day once she was sure she could take her working vacation for two weeks.

“This is good, I have my two weeks starting next week,” Mr. Maypenny said. ”Mr. Wheeler said that Honey could come along if she wanted. Dan is already ready. We synchronized our vacations since his college is out for the summer.”

Dan was attending the community college in town, allowing him to stay with Mr. Maypenny, keeping his job. Since he was taking the time off with Mr. Maypenny, Regan promised them, he would stock the feed stations in their absence. Mr. Maypenny would offer the trip as a graduation present for the girls since they would graduate together.

“Have you asked Honey and Diana if the trip interested them?” he asked.

“Yes, they think the camping trip idea is cool, but they think we are camping in the game preserve. I haven’t explained about your brother’s lake yet.”

“Mart, Brian and Jim, will they come?” he wanted to know.

“Brian can’t, but Mart can come at least part of the trip. Mr. Wheeler is allowing him time off because you explained about this trip being planned.”

Mart worked as the Manor estates gardener and landscape artist. He and Dan created a landscaping business. It was quite successful. Mr Wheeler hired them both to create the Wheeler Enterprises company landscape.

Trixie said goodbye to Mr. Maypenny and headed to school for graduation rehearsals.  Excitement filled the air.

 

The rehearsals were completed. It was time to hurry to work. That would last four hours before she could return home. She was hoping Jim returned by then. She was anxious to know if he arrived and hoping he had because it would be nice to visit in person finally.

Two years had seemed like an eternity in their long distance friendship.

Her heart skipped a beat when she pulled into the driveway, recognizing his car parked alongside her father’s.  She noticed his familiar face peek out the front door and then he stepped out onto the porch. A broad grin spread across his face while making eye contact with her.

He had only gotten more handsome since she saw him last. He looked bigger more muscular. She decided he was still working out regularly.

Trixie unbelted her seatbelt, turning the headlights off and grasping her laptop computer her left hand began to grasp the door handle when he reached the door, opening it for her, extending his hand outstretched to assist her. She didn’t require his assistance but she accepted his gentleman’s gesture, gracefully emerging from the car. The things previously in her hands were resting in her front seat.

Jim pulled her to his chest for a hug instantly. “Oh, I missed you,” he said loudly, lifting her up, causing her feet to lose contact with the ground while twirling her in circles.

“I missed you more, you big lug.” Trixie looked down at his handsome face as she towered above his head, feeling the spin of the earth below. Trixie knew how to poise for a spinning dance and it showed as he held her with arms stretched high. Jim taught her how to dance for a country club contest once, when she was trying so hard to learn the dance steps for the contest and needed assistance. Since then he normally always greeted her in the same exuberant way. Jim let her back down gently and grabbed a passionate kiss as he cupped his hands around her cheeks.

“You returned in time,” he pulled back to say. “If we hurry we can see the late movie, want to?”

“Yes, sure, just allow me to put my things in the house.” Trixie nodded.

During their drive through town, Jim handed her a brightly wrapped present.

“There are two, but the first one is extra special and frivolous. The second is because you need, It.” he explained.

Trixie opened the box and gasped at the diamond- studded tennis bracelet.

“My name isn’t on this one, but this one isn’t inexpensive, so don’t lose it.” He smiled at her reaction.

“Oh, Jim I love this!” Trixie’s blue eyes lit up. She unbelted her seatbelt and jumped across the seat to grab a hug and a big kiss. “I love this, it is beautiful.” 

Since the train had stopped them in the road before he presented her with the first gift it allowed him time to lean over for another kiss while he waited for the train to pass and the gates to rise so he could continue on their trip. It had passed before they noticed the cop directly behind them. He hit his siren and gestured for them to move along when they looked back.

Trixie grabbed the seatbelt and reattached it quickly as Jim crossed the railroad tracks.

“Spider was back there.” Trixie cringed.

“So what,” Jim laughed. “He’s not going to care if you kissed me while we waited for that train.” Her blush made him stifle the urge to laugh more.

“This is the second present.” He pulled it out of his jacket pocket. “It is something I thought you were overdue for, so I bought it.”

Trixie opened the package and gasped. “It is a cell phone?” She turned her big blue eyes his direction.

“You are on my friends and family plan. I’ll pay your bill during the contract. We’ll be sharing one thousand minutes a month plus unlimited weekend calling. I wanted to keep in touch with you and I wanted you to have a phone when you might need it for emergencies.”

“Oh, thank you.” She looked blown away shocked.

“I should have given you one long ago,” Jim said soberly as he noticed that she teared up.

“I thought you would rather just share that plan with Brian, Mart and Dan only.”

“That wasn’t my plan. Brian was in charge of the bill. He picked his friends and family recipients. I wasn’t there to have any input for the contract period. I was in charge of our electric bill and cable bill. I figured since you would be starting college in the fall you would need that phone. I am sorry, (comma) Trix.” Jim felt badly for not thinking of how badly she was left out of the loop without the uplink to her friends. She had been the only one without the cell phone.

But now she seemed happy. Satisfied, Jim branched off, heading towards the cinema, looking forward to spend the evening with his girlfriend.

Two days passed like lightening speed. Mr. Maypenny sprung the camping trips location on everyone after graduation, explaining that the vacation would be on his expense account if anyone were interested.

The girls were instantly excited. “You already knew about this plan?” Jim asked Trixie as the Bob-Whites had a meeting at the Belden’s house, along with Mr. Maypenny and with Di’s twin brothers who were paying a visit to Bobby.

“Yes, I helped organize this event. We are going to meet his brother John at the lake, then we are going to have a tour of Albany a couple days later and have a days visit at the water park outside of Albany. Mr. Maypenny said that his brother purchased an abandoned summer camp, so there is plenty of sleeping choices and a huge cafeteria in the lodge. He is considering renting the camp every year if he can insure the grounds.”

“Cool.” Jim’s eyes lit up. “I always wanted to enjoy a summer camp without having to work the entire time.”

“Same here,” Mart agreed.

“We want to go.” Bobby chorused Larry and Jerry Lynch.

“Hold your horses, sons,” Mr. Maypenny laughed. “You would have to get your parents’ permission. Maybe you could get someone to drive you to us on the second week?”

“I am going to ask.” Bobby took off running to find his parents.

 

Chapter 4

The past two days were a blur for Trixie and her best friends, Honey and Diana.  High school graduation was fun, so were all their graduation parties and gifts from friends and family.

Plans had been made to leave the day after graduation on vacation with Mr. Maypenny to Lake Chochobe, a privately owned lake.  His brother, John Maypenny had recently purchased the lake, and invited them all to visit with him that summer.  Less then 24 hours later, they were exploring the grounds and his beautiful new cabin, happily visiting with John and taking pictures of his beautiful lake.

Right away, Trixie noticed that across the lake sat an old three- story dilapidated house.  Its paint had nearly completely peeled off leaving behind the wooden shingles.  The shutters, that appeared as if they had once been functional, were swinging in the wind, and some were hanging sideways.  Most of the first floor’s windows were boarded up with plywood, but the second and third floors had the windows broken out in several places. 

Trixie felt a shiver go up her spine.  Immediately she wondered if the house was haunted.  As she turned her binoculars to investigate the house further, she could have sworn she saw a man with a pair of binoculars staring back at her.

She shivered again thinking to herself.  I better not talk to Diana or Honey about the infamous Hollywood camp murderer, Jason in his hockey mask this trip.  They would probably freak out!  She wasn’t sure what she saw, if it was a man or if it was her overactive imagination playing tricks on her.  Trixie just put her things back into her bag, and found her bathing suit.  Now that the sun was higher in the sky, she felt it time to swim in the water that she had spent most of the morning studying.

She was alone for the moment.  Jim Frayne, her steady boyfriend, had left nearly as soon as they got there the night before to deal with a business emergency for his father.

Trixie pulled off her t-shirt and shorts then dove into that inviting body of water from the end of the dock.  The cool refreshing lake water surrounded her body with a flash of cold stimuli, but she kept cutting across the water with strong strokes, her swimming technique had been developed in high school, especially during her time on the swim team.

Trixie focused her attention on that strange disturbance that she had noticed in the deepest side of the lake earlier.  She had been walking around it checking for swirling circles of water and possible undertows that might be crosscurrents just under the surface.  All of these things might be a sign of a spring fed lake or a lake draining through a natural springs possibly downriver in an underground channel.  So far, nothing was visible on the surface, but this area in the deep side of the lake had her attention.  When Trixie looked down, from the hill above it, into the clear lake water below it appeared as an underground rock formation. She, and Mr. Maypenny and his brother John had investigated the ground for possible sinkholes earlier that day since she had mentioned the area appeared to be rocky and possibly cavernous underground.

She was planning to discover if there were a springs in there since she already had diving equipment located on John’s bass boat.

“Are you ready?” John called out from his boat. He, his brother Mr. Maypenny and Dan were already in the water fishing when they noticed Trixie swimming toward the boat.

“Yes, do you have my equipment ready?”  She asked after she climbed onboard the boat using the small ladder onto the boat.

“We do, but I am diving with you,”  Dan Mangan said firmly as he stared at his brave friend.

“Then I’ll use the oxygen twice as fast,” she groaned.

“To bad, if you can’t use the buddy system, you shouldn’t go,” Dan argued as he put on a mask, while she began dressing in a diving suit.  

“I’ll accept the help,” Trixie answered sweetly as she returned. “Diving alone is stupid I know that, especially in water that hasn’t been explored before.”

“Good, because I would rather run into town and buy you more oxygen for your tanks then worry about you getting in trouble down there,” Mr. Maypenny commented. 

“This water doesn’t appear to have a current on the surface,” Trixie assured them

“I know the water is fine by the campgrounds, but we have haven’t swam in this area before,” John said soberly as he watched her connecting the oxygen line to her mouthpiece. “I would like to have a go at diving with you in a few minutes but since we only have two suits, I’ll wait my turn.”

John Maypenny was a handsome man in his mid-to late 30’s. Trixie decided that although she could see the resemblance between Mr. Maypenny, and his youngest brother, they really didn’t look that much alike. John appeared as if he worked out regularly at a health club and his dark hair was thick and wavy.  Whereas Mr. Maypenny shaved, his completely either off or had a deeply receding hairline under his cap.

In Trixie’s opinion, it was hard to picture John in a courtroom prosecuting criminals.  To her, he looked like he would have been more at home with nature.

However, she was aware that he was a district attorney. She admired his accomplishments for those were goals that, she someday wanted to accomplish for herself if she could ever get through law school. Her dream of being a detective eventually revised.  

As she grew older law school became more of an interest, especially after she sat in court as a witness after one of her cases went to trial.  Watching the district attorney win his case had been a source of inspiration back then.

Trixie was happy that Dan chose to swim with her. This would make the excursion more interesting.  The current, where they were diving, wasn’t strong but the chill of the water indicated that this area was incredibly deep.

Trixie motioned to Dan with hand gestures as she pointed downward. Then she reminded him to snap pictures of the fish, if he saw any.

Dan already had his instructions. He was in charge of the underwater camera while Trixie was holding the underwater light.  He acknowledged her and nodded giving her the thumbs up signal. He would remember to take pictures.

The area was full of large rock shelves, some were large holes that lead to dead ends quickly and still others were much deeper.  The fish swimming that they paused to take pictures of were plentiful, but most were bass and sunfish with the occasional appearance of lake trout.  They were most likely stockfish brought in by the previous owner so he could have something to catch.

Suddenly Trixie spotted a cavern. This was different then the natural shelves of stone. She could tell it was a cavern entry by its size.  She shined her light in there and smiled as she nudged Dan and gestured in sign language that she wanted to explore that cavern.

Dan followed her inside.

Less then a minute after she began swimming upward, Trixie came out of the water into an underground room that wasn’t full of water.  She took out her mouthpiece and turned off her oxygen tank, so she could speak to Dan. 

“Oh wow.” Dan flashed his camera around, with its light aimed at the cavern walls.

“It is beautiful,” Trixie said breathlessly.

“No kidding,” Dan agreed as he helped her climb up to the shelf that would get her completely out of the water so she could take algae samples. Her weight took an effortless boost from Dan’s strong arms to get her up there.

“Thanks.” Trixie turned to lend him a hand so he could climb up beside her.

“This is beautiful,” Trixie commented again as she opened the pouch on her utility belt strapped to her waist.  As Dan watched, she got her instruments for samples ready and picked green algae out of the crevices.

“Biology is a mystery to me.” Dan looked at her face as he spoke.

“I have no clue what kinds of tests that they are actually running on this stuff my self. I am just the sample collector,” Trixie giggled. “This way the older doctors don’t have to exert themselves with the manual labor of getting to his spot right here. I love my new job working for the institute, I am glad that this lake was one that they wanted to do a field study on, this way I could make this trip a working vacation.”

Dan grinned as Trixie started crawling on the shelf towards the caverns interior. Inwardly feeling glad that she started moving first, his view from that vantage point was more interesting that way. Dan caught himself wishing that his best friend didn’t carry such deep feelings for the girl crawling along in front of him.

His absence from Hallie Belden, his long distance girlfriend hadn’t exactly made his heart grow fonder.  Trixie, on the other hand was such a close friend and he had the opportunity to see her practically everyday as he attended the community college in town where he was getting all his secondary requirements out of the way before he transferred to law school to get his law degree. This was the cheapest way to accomplish this goal and since he wasn’t born rich, he was doing it the only way he could.  Scholarships and student loans weren’t available to persons with felony charges attached to their record.  He had been a minor when he was arrested, they said his records would be sealed but he always felt sure that had to be what held him back from getting the breaks that Jim and Brian got. He knew his probation restrictions that would last another 5 years definitely didn’t help him get government loans either. Inwardly he sighed, “Well, at least they didn’t try him as an adult for his crimes that would have been much worse.”

“Hey, I see daylight,” Trixie said after a few minutes of exploring this cave they had ran out of rope, but Trixie wanted to see where the cave entry was so they tied off the rope to a rock and pressed ahead until they found the light source. Dan had to pry on the rock for a few minutes with his pocketknife until it broke loose enough too gently move it to the ground beneath them. He hoisted Trixie up enough to grasp the ground above her and lift herself out of the hole.

“Hey, it’s by the old summer house by the dilapidated old mansion,” Trixie said as she looked in the hole at Dan still standing beneath her looking up at her pretty   face peering down at him.

“Okay, but our low oxygen warning alarm just went off. Run down to the water and see if you can yell at the guys in the boat,” Dan shouted back. “I’ll run back and get our equipment and come out in the water, in case you can’t get their attention.”

“Wise plan,” Trixie flashed a big grin. “We can explore where the rest of the cavern leads another time. I get the feeling that it is a lot bigger just ahead of us.”

“So do, I,” Dan agreed. “The tunnel is nearly large enough to stand in now.”

“Talk to you on the other side, be careful,” she paused thinking quickly, “oh, and, leave the rope there we’ll find something to attach it to topside in a bit. I want to mark the cave that rope will due.”

“Got it,” Dan hurried back towards the water after that.

Trixie made her way toward the lake above ground, being careful not to slip and fall or to step on snakes.  One slithered past her feet, and she paused until it had passed.  At one time, she would have shrieked and wanted to find a stone to smash it with, but since she began working for the Institute, she didn’t have the previous fear of creatures like that, because she knew they were a vital part of our ecosystem.

Trixie whistled with her fingers in her mouth a high-pitched very loud Bob-White sound. She waved wildly as Mr. Maypenny started looking for the source of the Bob-White distress signal and attention call.

“Are you okay?” Sven shouted with his hands to his mouth.

“We are fine, but we found an underwater cave, it opens up right up there,” Trixie shouted back.  “Dan’s bringing the diving equipment out through the water so stay there.”

“Okay,”  John shouted back, he heard what she said clearly enough, since she was sitting on the top of the overhanging rock formation, and it wasn’t that far from the boat, maybe 100 yards out.

Just then, Dan resurfaced and grabbed the bottom of the rope ladder.

“That was awesome,” Dan exclaimed loudly as he laid the tanks on the floor of the boat then he turned to wave at Trixie before climbing into the boat.

“Connect more of that rope to the end of that one, then tie it to the end of a rock or something and toss it over here,” Trixie instructed loudly.

“I’ll use a life preserver,” Dan shouted back as he held one up.

“That works.” Trixie nodded.

“What are you doing?” John asked as Dan quickly attached the next section of rope to the other line.

“She wants to temporarily mark the entry to that cave the rope should do nicely,” Dan explained.

“Okay, I get the concept.” Mr. Maypenny watched as Dan coiled up the rope then reared back like a baseball pitcher, lifting his leg as he pitched the life preserver towards Trixie.

It fluttered through the air uncoiling the rope as it made distance traveling towards her hands. The oblong shaped buoyant device soared much like a football to its destination. Trixie had it in sights. Her eyes focused on that orange device coming directly at her hand. She reached out and grabbed the handle pulling it toward her.

“Nice catch,” John shouted as he gave her a, thumbs up gesture.

Trixie quickly tied off the rope to a small tree and then took a running leap off the ledge directly into the water. Her dive was beautifully done. She even had time to somersault twice before her hands cut through the water.

“That’s one way of getting off that ledge.” John smiled as he helped her back in the boat.

“Oh man that is, a great swimming spot, if the water wasn’t so cold, it would be perfect,” Trixie commented. “If I wasn’t wearing the dive suit, it would be way to cold.  The temperature of the water there is frigid.”

“That is because it is most likely bottomless,” Mr. Maypenny laughed.

“We didn’t get to the point of seeing how far we could dive down just yet,” Dan said as he unzipped his wet suit taking it back off.

“We’ll do that another day. I do want to get some work done on my new Jacuzzi.” John motioned with his eyes to see if Dan was willing to assist him.

“No problem, I am ready to get out of the water for a while.” Trixie smiled. “I need to send these samples to the lab and call the Doctors, that half of my job isn’t over yet and it requires me to be in the house for that part.”

“I suppose it does.” Mr. Maypenny winked. John started his boat and it cruised quickly back to the shoreline where the cabins were located.

 

Chapter 5

Trixie took a quick shower cleaning off the lake water smell.  Then she changed into a pair of shorts and a T-shirt. She could hear Diana and Honey, who had returned from shopping in town, down in the kitchen but she had to fax her findings to work so she concentrated on that first.  It would only take a couple minutes getting the pictures to the doctor but the samples would take a day or so to get to the lab by parcel post.  After she finished packaging the samples, so they, wouldn’t break during transit, she hurried for the stairs.

“We were just about to, come find you.”  Honey was on the steps.

“I have to get these samples to the lab. I mean I have to drive into town to get them shipped,” he clarified.

“Dan said the diving expedition was fun,” Diana said nicely.

“It was but I think I put in more then 4 hours today already,” Trixie sighed.

“Let’s just get that so we can have fun the rest of the day,” Honey suggested.

“I agree.” Trixie nodded.

“Mr. Maypenny, I am using the BWG van I’ll be back in a few,” Trixie said to Mr. Maypenny as they passed him.

“Be careful, don’t get lost.” Mr. Maypenny waved at the girls.

Sounding like typical young teens, the girls were giggling and laughing all the way to the nearest town. Trixie was driving while Honey searched for a radio station, but being so far in the hills, the only stations the old radio would tune in, was an oldies station.  The reason for their giggles was the type of music their parents listened to as kids. 

“Some of it isn’t that bad,” Trixie, pointed out seriously.  “I can just picture my dad driving up the road bobbing his head to that one about another one biting the dust.”

The girls laughed loudly at the visualization of Peter Belden in his three- piece suit that he always wore to the bank.  None of them could picture him young enough to appreciate music like that.

“Wait, picture my dad. Singing, I want a new drug, one that won’t make you sick!” Diana’s laughed.

They giggled Diana’s father was not comprehendible either.

“My dad used to own a Harley,” Honey said suddenly.

“You have got to be kidding me?” Trixie giggled.

“Mr. Proper gentleman on a Harley, I don’t believe it!” Diana sounded astonished.

“I am not kidding,” Honey, giggled because she knew they would react like that. “He used to drive out to pick my mother up on that motorcycle when they were dating. Grandpa hated Daddy. He said he would never amount to anything.”

“He was wrong,” Diana laughed.

“Mother said, he was more like Ben Riker back in those days,” Honey laughed. “He was a practical joking wild boy.”

“Not your dad?” Trixie looked shocked.

“Aunt Buffy agreed with mother, and she is his sister so go figure.” Honey nodded vigorously.

“Okay, maybe the old farts could have been young at some point in their lives,” Trixie snorted into laughter.

She located the UPS office and quickly steered into the parking lot a few minutes later.

She mailed the package quickly enough. Then the girls found a local restaurant for dinner, and made friends with some girls that were by the arcade games for a while.

Trixie motioned for them to go after a few minutes though, because she got a phone call from work and needed to have more quiet so she could speak to the Doctor.

He sounded excited about the cave they located, and wanted to talk to her about the area. This would be done better if she were actually looking at the lake.

Trixie explained to her friends once they were back in the car headed back toward the lake.

“He wants more study, they even authorized me to work overtime if I want to since it is summer, and I did just graduate,” Trixie said after she got off the phone.

“I don’t get it, are you going to be a Marine Biologist or a Lawyer?” Honey asked.

“Hey, this is a stepping stone job,” Trixie pointed out. “It will get me into college on a scholarship. I can study what I like once I get there,” Trixie pointed out.

“I know,” Honey let out a pent up breath. “A part of me is jealous, because they didn’t have two job openings when you took that job,” Honey sighed.

“You can still help me you all can, because I am authorized to hire an assistant out here,” Trixie said quickly.

“Eow I’ll pass touching slimy fish isn’t my idea of a good job.” Diana shuddered. “I am here for the late night barbeques, the scary campground stories, kayaking in the lake and swimming, and maybe a passing cute guy?”

“You mean if Brian happens to pass by,” Honey laughed.

It had been no secret to the girls that Diana held a deep fondness for Brian Belden. She hoped they could develop something once she got into college. Finally, at long last she was an adult and ready to enter college in the fall. Trixie had known her dark haired friend for nearly as long as she could remember. Her father had earned his first million a few years ago.  This moved Diana and her family out to a mansion on Glen Road near Crabapple Farm, Trixie’s family’s home and the Manor where Honey Wheeler’s family had their country estate. It was shortly after Diana’s family moved nearby that they became closer friends when Trixie and Honey made an effort to include her in their everyday activities.

Honey Wheeler was nicknamed for her sweet personality and honey colored golden brown hair during her young years. She had her attention focused on Trixie’s eleven months older brother Mart, if there was any guy for her, it would be Mart Belden. He was such a sweet guy. His tutoring her when she needed the help in English badly won her interests. The two of them were dating steadily now. 

“Do you know what I heard the other day?” Diana said suddenly.

“What?” Trixie asked as she turned her attention away from the landscape passing her by.

Since Diana chose to drive back Trixie was able to enjoy the scenery her thoughts were interrupted by Diana’s comment she was instantly interested in what she heard the other day.

“Someone other then Jim has a crush on you,”  Diana giggled.  Her pretty violet colored eyes glanced through the rear view mirror at Trixie as she broke the news.

“No way, who is he?” Trixie gasped. Her expression changed as she absorbed this new information.

“He’s rethinking his long distance relationship, or he was, rather, when he knew you were so upset with a certain forgetful redhead for lack of interest.”

“Huh?” Trixie blinked. The only one she knew of in a long distance relationship besides her was her other best friend Dan Mangan, her stomach churned. She had noticed his signals lately, but thought she was imagining them.  She had confided in him when she became upset with the lack of attention in her own long-distance relationship.

Dan felt exactly like that with Hallie. This gave the two of them common ground anyway. Still Hallie was her cousin, Dan was seeing her and it was wrong for her to consider seeing Dan. It would cause hard feelings with her cousin.

“Why so quiet?” Honey asked Trixie curiously.

“It’s not really funny,” Trixie said soberly as she looked at her friends. “It isn’t the kind of Ew, gross, he’s a skank kind of gossip.”

“I don’t suppose he is.” Diana smiled.

“You like him, don’t you?” Honey asked Trixie as she studied her reaction.

“What’s not to like?” Trixie shrugged her shoulders while answering. “That issue is taboo though, I mean, Hallie is my cousin. Plus, I think Jim really did just have so much on his mind that he forgot the time,” he added loyally.

“Ah one that is dirt poor,” Honey said slowly. “On the other hand, the other one has that huge inheritance.”

“Honey Wheeler, did you just accuse me of panning for Jim’s gold?” Trixie gasped, as she stared at her best friend in the passenger seat, so shocked she was open mouthed.

“No, I didn’t mean it like that,” Honey gasped.

Diana didn’t say a word. Her eyes bugged, she gripped the steering wheel bracing for Trixie’s angry reply. Diana would have shouted at Honey for a remark like that to her face had she said that to her.

It didn’t come.

“I am sorry Trixie. I didn’t mean it like that,” Honey apologized instantly. “I just meant the decision it would be--”

“That decision to marry rich, has no relevance,” Trixie interrupted. “I am marrying for love, not for money. I will never marry if I have to base the reason why on how much money he has.” Trixie said nothing else their trip into town was a bust.

At first Trixie just walked away from the van upset. Her feelings were confused. It was time to evaluate her feelings.  What was she basing her long distance relationship on anyway?  Oh, she wanted Jim to notice her, where was he now? When was he returning? His father’s business emergency? What does a psychology major have to do with a business emergency? She thought to herself.

“If that were me, I would need time alone to calm down.” Diana grabbed Honey’s arm, as Honey went to follow Trixie.  “You know as well as I do, she needs time to think. I don’t think she is that angry at you anyway.”

“I know that.”  Honey looked over at her dark haired friend and nodded.  “Trixie really isn’t the sensitive one, you are, no offence, but if I said that to you. I would be so worried that you would be somewhere bawling over it.”

“I deserve that,” Diana giggled. “I don’t need to be a gold digger though, so that would have just made me laugh.”

“I am aware,” Honey cracked a nervous smile. “In spite of what Trixie thinks, they aren’t poor either. Pete Belden just doesn’t like flash.”

“Daddy got his first loan from that bank, I know.” Diana giggled. “Daddy called her father old money, the kind that has had it for so long, that they don’t need to flash it around looking like big shots.”

The girls stopped talking about it when Dan approached, still wearing his carpenters belt filled with nails and screws, his measuring tape and a large framing square dangling from his side.

“Where is Trixie?” Dan asked curiously.

“She’s supposed to walk the whole lake and measure it for the doctors. They want to know what size it is precisely.” Honey pointed at her at the lakes shore rolling a measuring tape along the ground.

“Oh,” Dan shielded his eyes from the sun so he could focus on what Trixie was doing. “Why didn’t you go with her?” Dan frowned at them both. Something was up. He hadn’t quite figured it out yet.

“She’s not too happy with us, right now. We decided to let her calm down.”

Dan shifted his carpenter’s belt to a more comfortable spot on his hip as he hesitated to ask for a moment finally he said. “Did you have a fight?”

“I accidentally said something I didn’t mean.” Honey looked at him with tears in her eyes.

“What did you say?” Dan asked.

Diana explained.

“You called her a gold digger?” Dan raised one eyebrow.

“I didn’t mean it like that. I just kind of wondered if that was why she kept putting up with Jim. It is confusing because I wouldn’t have kept putting up with it,” Honey clarified her self.

“Hell, no, if I thought that I would break that up, in a millisecond,” Dan said soberly. “She loves him. The dumb cluck is just to self absorbed to come out of his study phase to notice.” Dan just shook his head. “He really needs to start noticing her soon because it breaks my heart to see her so upset like that.”

 

Chapter 6

Trixie called Brian after a few minutes, needing someone to speak too.  What Honey had said really upset her. Her oldest brother always was the one she turned to when she was upset, because he was the level- headed one. His study courses in psychology had gone a long way in helping her with emotional issues.

After she explained to Brian, what happened, and why she was upset she asked, “Why did Jim leave like that? Does he think I am some gold digger like Honey does or what?”

“No.  Listen, don’t be so upset,” Brian sympathized instantly. “I know why Jim left, but he was too embarrassed to tell anyone. I was sworn to secrecy.”

“What, is it another girl?” Trixie started to cry.

“No, Trix look, I am going to tell you, but you have to swear you won’t tell him. You have to swear you don’t think less of him because he did this promise me.”

“What did he do?” he asked.

“He hasn’t been doing anything but studying up here. There hasn’t been another girl. When we got here, he was only just turning 17. Most of the students up here are 21 or over, and able to go to bars and party, but he wasn’t. Neither was I, but let’s keep it short and simple, this is about Jim, and what Jim did.” Brian started walking toward the graduation ceremony that was gathering in the campus front lawn presently.  “Since we didn’t really fit in up here at the frat houses unless we wanted to sell papers to the dumb jocks, which honorable to a fault nearly Jim would never do, we had to think of other things to occupy our time. I got the job out of necessity, but Jim decided to focus on his academics. He took day courses and night courses. The accelerated plan would get him out of here faster.

“Normally, everyone has problems as freshmen,” Trixie said soberly.

“It is ten times worse for the really young ones, like Jim,” Brian answered. “He went from high school jock where everyone loved him to, who the heck is the kid down there? Shouldn’t he still be pulling on mommy’s shirttails?” Brian explained. “You can’t tease an orphan like Jim about pulling on mommy’s shirttails.”

“Okay, so did he drop out of college? Is this why he’s embarrassed?” Trixie asked.

“He didn’t drop out,” Brian sighed as he explained further, “it is just that he graduated.”

“You mean he got his masters and his teaching degree, already?” Trixie asked.

“No, he got his masters like a year and a half ago, this time it’s his first Ph.D, they needed him to be at graduation because he tied with the regular senior class valedictorian.”

“Huh?” Trixie gasped. “Is that even possible?”

“If you take every course imaginable, study full time, even during your summers. Graduating that early really can be accomplished. I never could have kept up with the study routine had it been me.” He added, “Jim’s very smart. He has a plan for a change now. He is considering transferring out of Harvard, because he hates it here. He hopes to go to Brown University in White Plains instead and cross study for something else, only this time, he wants to attend a school as a freshman where no one knows him so he can have fun. Join a sports team, be a normal person on campus, get into a fraternity. He doesn’t think you would go for a study geek. He thinks you would rather him be a jock instead.”

“Oh that is so untrue!  He needs to just be himself,” Trixie gasped.

“Trixie, he really is upset over this. If he wasn’t he would have invited the whole gang to his graduation,” Brian pointed out. “I know you have been upset over what he thought of you before, so you have to understand his feelings on this subject now. You need to listen to his issues and help me out here.”

“Is it over now?” She wiped tears.

“No, it starts in 20 minutes, after that he’s flying back. He’ll get his car and be back there by 6 p.m.”

“Oh geez, I want to be there. I would never have the time to get there in 20 minutes though.” Trixie sighed. “Brian, how did things get so messed up?”

“I’ll take a video of it,” Brian promised. “Just don’t tell him that I told you. What is going on is Jim’s problem sis, just find, some way to make him realize that you aren’t almost gone or something, I don’t know.” Brian hit his side with his empty hand as he spoke in a gesture that she couldn’t see that would have animated his frustration.

“I am not going to embarrass him. You have to help me to make him understand that I don’t need for him to rearrange his life to suit me.” Trixie answered.

“Maybe if he enrolled at another college, he could at least have a fun experience in college now that he is older?” Brian said quickly. “Trix, I want him to lighten up to enjoy his life again, he’s been too depressed lately.”

“I think a transfer might be for the best then,” Trixie said suddenly.

“I agree,” Brian, answered. “I am considering transferring myself. I don’t know if I can swing all the bills without a roommate.”

“Diana was just accepted to Harvard, I am sure she would fill the roommate slot for you.” Trixie smiled.

“No kidding, when did that happen?” Brian gasped.

“She got her acceptance letter a week ago. If you are going to transfer let her know fast before her dad sends a tuition check.”

Trixie spent the rest of the afternoon thinking about Jim and why he would feel so strongly about his accomplishment and how she would react to who he really was.

She didn’t know how to feel about that.  Once after he annoyed her, she remembered saying something about cutting her a break because she wasn’t as smart as he was, but that was a long time ago. She barely even remembered it. That was when she told him that she would rather be a dumb jock than study her life away. That didn’t mean that his studying was a problem. Hollywood stereotyped the categories between studiers and jocks to often, she thought to herself.

I always considered Jim a mixture between the two types. He was always so good at football in high school. He loved sports then, how could someone that knock out handsome be such a study freak now? She answered her own question. “Because that is just a Hollywood stereotype and not reality I am sure there are a lot of very smart people that are knock out gorgeous out there too.”

 

Chapter 7

 

Her mind focused on another strange occurrence in the lake startling her out of her thoughts of Jim. She noticed sudden, strange bubbles and ripples in the lake. From where she was standing, she caught sight of a shadow of something swimming. It appeared large enough to focus on, but when she got closer, and raised her binoculars. She saw something dark dip below the surface of the water and dive deep.

 

“Hey, did you see that?” Trixie asked as she turned to notice Dan and Mr. Maypenny approaching her from behind.

 

“See what?” Dan looked over the water curiously.

 

“I saw something in there and it looked huge.” She pointed to where she saw the movement under a large group of overhanging trees.

 

“Are you feeling okay?” Dan reached out to feel her forehead playfully.

 

“Dan, I saw something,” Trixie argued.

 

“I don’t see anything now. Was it a floating log?” Mr. Maypenny asked.

 

“No, it ducked under the surface when it noticed me,” Trixie answered.

 

“This isn’t Loch Ness,” Dan laughed.

 

“Stop! I am not joking,” Trixie protested.

 

“Really,” Dan got serious. “What did it look like?”

 

“It was big, kind of hairy, with huge eyes and a big flat nose,” she explained seriously.

 

“Okay, that describes my last blind date.” Dan joked.

 

“We are headed back to the house to help get that deck finished before the Jacuzzi gets here in a couple hours,” Mr. Maypenny informed her.

 

“Okay, I am going to stick around here to watch for that thing to reappear so I can get proof,” Trixie said soberly.

 

“Knock yourself out, babe.” Dan winked.

 

Trixie watched him leave with a mildly interested stare. Dan was so adorably cute so comfortable and genuine.  She didn’t suspect that he ever had an emotional issue like the ones she suspected Jim of having, and she was glad of that.

 

 She didn’t even comment about his calling her babe like that it, felt kind of nice being considered a babe.  She thought about that a moment. It wasn’t that long ago that she would have taken offence to someone calling her babe or baby because it would have made her feel belittled. Now it made her feel special.

 

Jim just needs a little tender loving care as he did when we first met. That is okay I got him through all his grief over losing his entire family once by being his friend. I can do that again.

 

She began swimming leisurely, taking various pictures of local aquatic life. Small turtles swam past her camera swiftly, instinctively retreating from the large object foreign to their world. Several small schools of lake trout came into view, feeding on insects and small worms that found their way into the water. When she began to experience a bit of muscle fatigue in her arms and legs, it prompted her to make her way to the nearest body of dry land in the middle of the lake, where the elaborate swim platform was placed. It took an effortless minute to climb the ladder, and sprawl out for a few minutes to relax, and observe the serenity of nature from the middle instead of the lakeshore.

 

The ducks flying in and quacking loudly, flapping their large wings as they settled in the water created a tranquil scene so peaceful and beautiful.  

 

A Canadian goose swam directly behind her, a line of little fuzzy yellowish gray young ones trailed behind her. It was cute enough to get the waterproof digital camera out and snap a few pictures.

 

Out on the shoreline where the brush was at its thickest, a small deer stepped into the open making its way to the waters edge for a drink of cool water.

 

The hint of a low pressure system approaching had the wind blowing. A fragrance tickled her nose with its pungent floral aroma that was appealing. For a second her thoughts wandered to the possibility of bottling that fragrance and selling it.  That thought didn’t last for more then a second, for now the serenity of the afternoon seemed to enjoyable for wasting time considering profiting off of nature. With her head tilted toward the sky, she watched those white clouds, swirling around taking new shapes as they drifted along and out of her view. Her dripping limp ringlets started to drip dry, leaving behind a mess of frizzy musky smelling curls, tangled in a disheveled mess. Conscious of the lake’s pungent smell on her flesh, Trixie made the effort to get up preparing herself to swim for the shore.

 

The sound of a sports car engine made her shift her eyes to the gravel road that allowed cars to gain entry to the property. A sports car pulled into the drive and stopped near the lake, distracting her from previous plans. She stood up to get a better look at the driver, realizing that Jim returned from his trip earlier then anticipated, all thoughts faded.

 

Her pulse quickened, and her stomach churned with shock. It was definitely Jim. The loping sound of that supped up engine rattled a slight cackling sound as the red car with its top completely down, paused. The engine stopped when he turned the ignition off and set the parking brake. She saw him open the driver’s door, and stand up to begin his walk towards the lake from where he parked.

 

Realizing instantly that she was standing on the swim platform, in the middle of the lake that he insisted no one swim in alone, due to safety issues. He was bound to have a problem with where she was. She pulled her pair of goggles over her eyes considering it time to dive out of sight. With any luck he hadn’t recognized her.

 

Jim noticed her standing with no one else around her. He wondered where the others were as he began strolling toward the dock. One quick survey indicated no friends bobbing around in the water. His other friends weren’t jumping on the water trampoline that was near that boat dock. No visible evidence of anyone appeared on the platform itself. He felt a surge of anger rush through him.

 

Unnecessary risks always annoyed him. What if she got caught in a cross current, she could drown. Jim suppressed his annoyance taking a deep breath. He wouldn’t say something, he would regret. After all, he planned to spark something this trip, not push her away.

 

“Trixie,” his voice grew louder with every shout. Mild alarm began to give way to panic. He started pulling off his shoes, and shirt, preparing to dive into that water to begin swimming toward where he seen her last.

 

She heard him shout her name frantically, and then the loud splash as she surfaced inside the cavern. Trixie instinctively knew that she better resurface out there or something might happen to Jim out there searching for her in a panic.

 

He was drawing nearer to the area where she went under when she resurfaced.

 

“What the heck,” Trixie said loudly.

 

“What are you doing on this side of the lake alone?” Jim gasped.

 

“I was taking pictures of fish in here, why?” She held up the marine camera that was connected to a strap around her neck to illustrate her reason for being out there.

 

“I saw you dive off the dock way over there and start swimming this direction but when you dove and didn’t resurface, I thought you were in trouble.” He ran his fingers through his red hair as he spoke. “Where is everyone?”

 

“They rode to Albany with Mr. Maypenny a while ago for groceries. Dan and John are still working on that Jacuzzi in the yard over there. I could have gone with them, but I have those water samples, and the fish to document. Doc Grady called me a couple hours ago, anxious to hear about my impression of this lake.”

 

“Oh I suppose we have been ignoring your job requirements,” Jim agreed. “I am here now, so let’s get some of those fish pictures.”

 

“Oh.” Trixie sighed as relief flooded through her; he wasn’t going to be angry.

 

“I really worried that you were in trouble.” Jim sounded more concerned than angry.

 

“I wasn’t in trouble, there is an underground cave opening down there, and it has a large enough air pocket to breathe in. I stopped worrying about scuba gear, because it is awesome to dive, and explore without the heavy tanks.”

 

She swam away from his hands quickly, and then turned to look back at him nervously. “Do you want to see it?” she asked.

 

“How far is it down there?” he asked.

 

“It is just ten foot or so.” She brushed her hair out of her eyes with her left hand tossing it out of her face.

 

“And there is air down there?” He looked worried as he tried to touch her again.

 

“Don’t you trust me?” she asked.

 

“I don’t know. I still can, can’t I?” he asked soberly

 

“What?” She looked shocked that he even said something like that. Jim finally got close enough to grab her arm pulling her close.

 

“I was wondering about that.” Jim made eye contact with her shocked blue eyes. She struggled with his hands grabbing them with hers and holding them.

 

“You wondered about what?” she asked.

 

“That tan colored bathing suit makes you look naked from a distance,” he commented.

 

“How often do you swim in this lake alone?” He asked with one carrot- colored eyebrow elevated curiously. Those freckles were standing out on his nose against his light complexioned skin as the sun reflected down onto the lake water. It looked as if he was deciding if he was going to get angry at this or not, as he waited for her answer.

 

“Only when one is around to notice, are you coming down or not?” he asked as she handed him an underwater flashlight.

 

“That current,” Jim asked.

 

“It will take us down just fine, and there is another exit out of the water. It is why I don’t bother with the tanks. I can get out easily enough, besides there isn’t much current anyway, I think this lake floods. I don’t think it drains. This is a good thing for swimming.”

 

Jim couldn’t say anything else, because she ducked under the water swimming away.

 

“Darn it.” Jim grabbed a breath and went under himself after clicking that light on, so he could see where she was going. She was wearing diving flippers on her feet, which were helping her cut through the water.

 

Just as Jim was about to panic and swim for the surface requiring a breath of air. He saw the cavern that she had pointed to and disappeared into the darkness. If she could so could he. After all, he had larger lungs than she did. With an extra effort and a burst of swimming speed, he began swimming about twenty more feet before he came upward into a narrow passage that really wasn’t filled with water.

He broke the surface and gasped for breath. His heart was racing with adrenaline. That was scary taking a swim like that for the first time, trusting that your partner isn’t lying about finding air pockets under the water’s surface.

 

“Oh awesome,” Jim had a quick look around at the awesome cavern.

 

“This water goes on for about a thousand yards or so before the tunnel goes upward enough to come out of the water level, and then there is a pretty big cavern system behind that. I found a small cave entrance, near the dilapidated mansion of John’s. It is hidden behind the summer house,” she explained.

 

“Did you find this when I was gone in the past 24 hours?” Jim looked impressed.

 

“I had some assistance with Dan and Mr. Maypenny. I called Doc Grady with my findings and Doctor Grady said the entire area was at one time underwater. I am going to search the entire tunnel system and see where it leads, but Doc Grady wants proof of its existence to show to the board first. That is why I am here with the camera. He didn’t believe that it existed, because he didn’t see any evidence on the surface of the water. I tried to tell him that it appears as if the water level dropped lately, look at the cave walls wouldn’t you say that is a four foot drop or more.”

 

“I have no idea is this significant?” Jim asked.

 

“It is just things that I am supposed to be on the watch for while I am researching any lake this data must be calculated scientifically. I asked what we needed to know about this for myself once, and he said that it is part of the data, that they sift through at the lab. See how it etched into the stone- wall that water table would have had to sit at that level for hundreds of years to etch a line that distinct.” Her fingers ran along the line that was very rigid. Now observe the lines below that one.” She felt for more ridges, “It receded rapidly because the next lines aren’t as distinct. By measuring these lines on the stones, we can determine the age of the lake, it’s rate of decent and its condition, if he is correct about this whole area being underwater in its past. I would guess that it was attached to Lake Ontario at one point in geological history, perhaps 100 million years ago. Once doctor Grady gets here, he will teach me how to figure all this information out accurately,” Trixie explained.

 

“I saw something out here while you were helping your father with that emergency, and I am being laughed at, so I wanted proof,” she changed the subject.

 

He started to laugh himself.

 

“I did not just see a floating log. I know it! That thing ducked under the surface too quickly to be a floating log. I could have sworn that I heard a noise.” Trixie protested his reaction.

 

“Was it foggy and misting rain two?” Jim laughed. “This isn’t Scotland and it certainly isn’t the locks.”

 

“No, but don’t you dare tease me too.” She stuck her bottom lip out pouting.

 

“I am sorry.” Jim laughed.

 

“Why don’t you have a shirt I can borrow?” She shivered.

 

“I didn’t want to get it wet.” Jim observed her with the light aimed directly at her. “Come on, Popsicle. Climb up to the ledge.” 

 

As he assisted Trixie to the ledge her bathing suit strap snapped in half.

 

“Ug,” Trixie groaned.

 

“Whoa.” Jim let out an amused gasp.

 

“This is just great, you don’t happen to have a safety pin?” she asked.

 

“Not exactly,” Jim hoisted himself to the ledge behind her. He leaned over to help her fix the strap but ended up only being able to tie it to the other strap behind her neck it wasn’t much of a fix.

 

“We should get out of here.” Jim shivered.

 

“Let’s go out through the cave entrance.” Trixie agreed.

 

“Wow.” Jim had a fast look around at the grounds once they walked to the rock ledge above ground.

 

“This sort of reminds me of Ten Acres before the house burnt to the ground.” Jim commented.

 

“I thought so myself,” Trixie said. “John owns the house but so far no one has explored inside. He told me that the locals considered it haunted.”

 

“That sounds cool, so are we going to explore it before we leave?” Jim asked rather loudly as they walked near the back door on their way towards the driveway. It was getting very dark now so hurrying for the cabins sounded better for them both especially since they were both already so cold.

 

“If we can get permission from John, I would love to, but not tonight while a thunderstorm is approaching.”

 

“I agree,” Jim, answered, as he opened his car door so she could get inside. “I’ll be right back with my clothing and keys. Jim searched under his seat for a moment bringing up a spare set of keys to start the car with since she was shivering so badly.

 

“Oh you have another set of keys, I think I love you Jim.” Trixie gasped.

 

“You mean all I have to do is start my car for you to fall in love?” Jim winked.

 

“Nope, just be yourself Jimmy, comfortable handsome sweetheart, James Frayne.”

 

“Oh,” Jim made a funny face before he leaned in for a fast kiss. “I’ll be right back with my things.”              

 

Trixie waited patiently while watching that old house behind her a light inside caught her eye when she stretched to the backseat to grab Jim’s Bobwhite jacket off the floor.

 

She thought she saw something move inside the house.

 

Jim opened the door. At first, he was prepared to defend himself. He thought she found his hidden diploma folded up with his jacket.

 

“What is the matter?” Jim asked when he noticed her staring through the back window at the house.

 

“I thought I saw something move in the upstairs windows.” Trixie looked over at him just in time to notice that he was trying to slip that folder that said Harvard across its front without her noticing it was there.

 

“So Jim, why didn’t you tell me you got your Masters degree.”

 

“Huh?” Jim looked guilty of something.

 

“I already knew you got your Masters and your teacher’s license last year right?” She approached the subject slowly.

 

“Oh that,” Jim relaxed, “I didn’t bother to invite you girls, because I knew the ceremonies would conflict with that trip to Paris when the school was taking for those of you in journalism class.”

 

“I would have liked to have at least known about your accomplishment.” Trixie said soberly. “I am proud, that you could accomplish that so quickly. It is a rare thing to be able to do something like that. At the pace you have set for yourself, you will likely burn out, if you aren’t careful.”

 

“I know, I am burning out,” Jim nodded. “I am slowing way down. I figured that I would transfer to an easier college, one that won’t demand such intensive focus to keep my scholarship. This way, I could go out for some sports activities. I miss that, plus I was figuring on joining a fraternity, and making some new friends.”

 

“What are you going to study now?” Trixie asked.

 

“Medicine interests me, I was thinking along the lines of becoming a pediatrician. Does that sound like a realistic goal?” Jim searched her eyes for her opinion.

 

“Yes,” Trixie nodded. “You would make a great pediatrician. Say Brown College has a great medical school department.”

 

“Brown,” Jim looked over at her quickly.

 

“Yes, I chose Brown in White Plains, because it has a great law department as well, plus it is close enough to home that I can go back, and visit whenever I want, and I can still work at the Institute for as long as that job lasts. I know this probably wouldn’t interest you, but they do have another assistant’s job available. I tried to convince Honey or Diana to apply for it, but they both decided against it. Dan can’t do it fulltime, but he has been helping me when he can during this vacation, but he has enough work back home to deal with already. Perhaps a job might interest you?”

 

“It does, I don’t want to see you working alone.” Jim answered.

 

“Wow, that storm is getting close.” Trixie jumped at the sound of lightening snapping nearby.

 

“I better get us to the cabin.” Jim started his car, and put it in gear, just as he released the parking brake his eyes caught sight of a huge creature twisting around in the lake. He stopped to stare.

 

Trixie jumped out of the car, and lifted her camera, snapping several pictures even as the cloudburst dropped torrential down pouring rain around her. Suddenly what she was filming dunked beneath the surface of the water disappearing.

 

“Oh man, I wanted to get closer,” Trixie said excitedly.

 

“I don’t.” Jim jumped when lightening hit the top of a tree, close to the lake and burst it into a ball of flames.

 

“Wow,” Trixie snapped a picture at the precise moment the lightening struck she was dazed by its blinding light.

 

“Let’s get out of here.” Jim grabbed her arm.

 

 

Chapter 8

Once Dan, Honey and Trixie were alone to explore the woods around the lake a little, later that afternoon Honey said.

“Speaking of my practical joking cousin, guess who is returning to the Manor?” Honey giggled.

“He isn’t due back, is he?” Trixie turned her eyes toward her best friend as she tossed the rock the size of a baseball that she held in her hand to the ground. She was searching currently for fossils. That rock didn’t appear to contain one so she discarded it to search for another as the hot wind blew wildly around.

“I hope he isn’t visiting once we get home. There will be molasses poured all over the feed stations bird feeders again.” Dan rolled his brown eyes as he stood up from a pile of rocks that he had been sifting through while assisting Trixie in her search for fossils.

“He called last night when we were in the middle of that tornado alert. His grandfather died yesterday. The funeral is in four days, and after that, he is supposedly going to return home. He asked how you were, Trixie!” Honey explained.

“He did not!” Trixie looked astonished. She turned toward the west to look at Honey shielding her eyes from the setting sun with her left hand as she squinted.

“Yes, he did, he wondered how you were,” Honey teased.

“What did you say?” Trixie’s stomach churned. Ben had tried to convince her to break up with Jim for the past couple months. She nearly did agree when Jim forgot her birthday but Ben was still dangerous. His practical jokes could be so annoying sometimes that she hesitated to go out with him seriously.

Ben Riker always was a touchy subject around Jim because since she pretended to have a crush on him to get at her expensive diamond ring. Jim felt a little threatened when he was around with good reason. He worried that Trixie’s story about that crush being fake was only because she outgrew that crush and one day she might change her mind. It was safe to say Ben Riker brought out a slight jealous bone in Jim. Especially now that they were adults and he knew Ben carried his own crush on his girlfriend.

“I just said that you were in the middle of this huge fight with Jim and I thought you were breaking up!” Honey teased.

“You didn’t tell him that!” She gasped in shock.

“He told me that you thought you were breaking up two months ago, when he was here last. I had no idea that you thought Jim was seeing someone else in college! I just told him you were fighting to see if I could get a reaction. I got a reaction alright, it shocked me.”

“Jim is Brian roommate, come on, don’t be naïve. Brian wanted an ongoing relationship with someone on campus. Jim usually follows his friends in whatever they want to do. I was annoyed by this thought. Jim finally assured me that he wasn’t seeing anyone and Brian broke up with the campus girlfriend and started seeing Diana again so that is old news now.”

“Is it?” Honey knew her best friend better than she thought she did. She sensed a wedge still existed between them. She was trying to figure out why.

Jim asked her to figure out why if she could for him because it was bothering him to realize that his girlfriend seemed distant even when they were alone.

“I could have spoken to him about that, why didn’t you say something?” Honey asked.

“I don’t know. I suppose it was a sensitive subject back then,” Trixie admitted. “I wasn’t sure what was going on with Jim. I guess I assumed the worst.”

“I am sorry!” Honey said sincerely. “So, you confided in my cousin. I thought you couldn’t stand him after that Cheerleader incident when he was still attending high school in Sleepyside.”

“He swore that was exaggerated by Jim himself, to convince me that I didn’t need to date him!” Trixie explained to her friend confidentially. “I was too young for anything serious at the time anyway, but according to Ben, my dad put those girls up to pretending they were all interested in dating him, because he was sure it would turn me off enough not to be serious about any guy for a good long time. They made him some kind of player in my eyes. Now I don’t know what to think.”

“Do you believe that?” Dan asked soberly. He started skipping rocks into the lake casually as he listened to their conversation.

“Ben didn’t give me any evidence of his explanations, but they do sort of make sense. I mean after all, he's two years older than I am, and he wanted a girl for immediate relationship, and I was, too young for consideration. He said it was why he just backed off. He said he could tell that I wasn’t ready for anything immediate.”

“Yeah right,” Honey laughed. “My cousin has never had a serious moment in his entire life. Don’t let him feed you lines.”

“Now, you’re not really being fair, Honey,” Dan spoke up quickly. “Guys aren’t really handing you girls lines just for only one thing like you think. We just aren’t as serious as you girls are. It takes us longer to grow up and consider settling down. When a guy does start getting serious about that, he does have to find the girl that interests him and convince her that he is serious. You just have to be smart enough to figure out what is just lines for that moment, and what is lines laid down for future conquests? As in, she might be the girl that I have my eyes on for future marriage type things, but not just this moment so it has to stay on a less serious level. I’ll be nice tell her nice things make her feel special, but after that I’ll keep enough distance not to rock the boat with complications. It is how I handle it with Hallie.”

“Man, it must really suck to be a guy without any clue at all.” Trixie guffawed loudly.

“Was he speaking English?” Honey asked Trixie. “I didn’t understand a word of that.”

“We don’t need lines, we just need someone to connect with personally first. We aren’t asking for instant marriage either. Honest communication would be much better. We just need someone with enough in common with us to make it interesting enough to want to see more. For your information, Danny, not all girls are ready for instant settle down relationships either. Talk like that scares me, plus leading a girl on with making them feel special is just not cool.

“I want to fall in love at my own pace. I don’t want it thrust at me like a freight train, and I don’t appreciate any guy that lays down empty lines for possible future ideas. Either he has plans for the immediate moment or he doesn’t. Just don’t lead me on that is not cool.”

“How, pray tell, do we make it interesting enough to convince you to want to see more, without lines?” Stanley laughed.

“Communication, duh,” Honey giggled. “Give me a guy with a good honest I am in trouble big time. Would you help me out just this once? I did something really stupid, and you just hooked me, hook line, and sinker.”

“That is still a line,” Dan laughed loudly.

“No it’s honest, and sincere, and he is vulnerable, and it shows that he is sensitive enough to need help, hiding his vulnerability from someone that he cared enough about for it to matter now that is just to interesting to pass up!”

“She’s going for it with my ditzy brother Mart because he fed her that, help me she can’t know she broke my heart line last month when Mart broke up with his old girlfriend from college.” Trixie giggled.

“Hey, Speaking of his vulnerable majesty, look who just pulled in the drive over there.” Dan pointed at Mart driving the clubs old minivan up the driveway.

Honey’s eyes lit up. “He’s finally finished with college for the summer. Trixie, I don’t look too skinny do I?” Honey’s stomach churned with healthy anticipation she really missed Mart. He had only gotten more handsome since she saw him last.

“No, you’re fine, come on, don’t get paranoid.” Trixie laughed.

“I am going over there to see Mart,” Honey said suddenly.

“Trix!” Jim shouted from the boat in the middle of the river where he Mr. Maypenny and John were fishing. She hadn’t noticed how close they had gotten to the shoreline by using that silent trolling motor instead of the outboard motor. Jim heard most of that conversation personally.

“What?” She shielded her eyes so she could see him.

“We caught something Mr. Maypenny hasn’t seen before. He doesn’t know what it is. Want to have a look?” Jim asked

“Yes, don’t toss it back in.” Trixie answered. They maneuvered the boat closer to the shoreline and Trixie grabbed the rope ladder and climbed onboard.

“How are the samples coming?” Jim asked as she climbed into the boat and found a place to sit.

“I found a few good fossils in my bag up there.” She gestured towards it. “I am mostly finding cretaceous rock.”

“What is that?”

“It is from the cretaceous period that began 135 million years ago and ended 63 million yes ago. It tells us what is indigenous from that period in this area but what I am after is much younger evidence.”

“You mean younger rocks?” Jim laughed. “Is there a, such thing as and old and young rock?”

Trixie rolled her eyes. “Not all rocks come from the cretaceous era. I actually know next to nothing about rocks. I am not a geologist.” She added with a smile. “I was just told how to identify fossils of marine life if I happen to be lucky enough to find what the doctor is looking for.”

“When will your doctor arrive?” Mr. Maypenny asked.

“In a couple days, he was called out of town on business.” Trixie answered.

“Guys, I just noticed that someone has been up there messing around in that old mansion, don’t you own that Mr. Maypenny?”

“Yes, I do own the old house. No one has lived in it for years. It is considered haunted by the locals of the area. The locals refuse to get near there.”

“That will send teenagers out to explore on high school dares.” Trixie laughed.

“I am aware of that, it is why I covered my liability with fences around it and no trespassing sighs posted. The local legend claims that the old man that used to live up there robbed travelers of their money. He buried their bodies in the lake by weighting them with rocks and sinking them to the bottom. There is supposedly some huge cash cow of treasure hidden out there. None of this is true. It was just stories invented by the local kids angry because he didn’t like them horsing around on the lake and in his yard. One day he took an axe after a couple kids threatening them with it if they didn’t leave so after that he became the infamous axe murderer.”

“I might have grabbed something and gone after a bunch of kids causing trouble myself.” Mr. Maypenny sympathized.

“Most of us property owners feel exactly like that.” John agreed.

“So is it possible that someone is trying to locate his buried treasure because they believe the story?” Dan asked as he climbed onboard the docked boat himself and found a place to sit after grabbing a cold soda out of the cooler.

“Yes, I practically need a security guard over there half the time.” John sighed.

“I know of a couple places in the game preserve that we have to patrol because of the local legends around our place.

“You mean about the witches coven?” John laughed. “I remember searching for the witches coven when I was a kid out there visiting grandpa remember that Sven?”

“I do remember you went through that I want to be a warlock, faze that grandmother promptly sat out to pray off you.”

“Like you can pray that off someone,” John laughed. “I was just curious about that alleged legend.”

“I never found a witches coven, where is this?” Trixie asked.

“We knew better than to tell you about it.” Mr. Maypenny gave her a fast hug. “We didn’t want you lost in the woods on a wild goose chase. It doesn’t exist anymore,” Mr. Maypenny explained.

“I know the difference between an urban legend and a real story. I could make up a convincing enough story to make you all wonder if it were actually real myself. That doesn’t make it real.” Trixie giggled.

“Did you ever become a warlock?” Trixie asked John.

“I am actually an elder at my local church. Oh no, definitely not. Mother taught us the right path as a young boy, it was amusing to annoy mother.” John laughed.

“Shew very good,” Maypenny teased his brother. “I did wonder about you back then.”

Trixie turned her attention to the fish in the bucket. That intake of breath drew everyone’s attention.

“What is the matter?” Dan asked.

“I think I found the fish Doc Grady is searching for.” She grabbed her notebook that she had always carried around with her and flipped through the pages. Until she found a picture that looked amazingly like the spotted fish with the oversized gills and distinct looking fins that were actually shaped like feet.

“That is a cave dweller from a spring system that exists north in Canada,” Trixie explained. “It has been our assignment to see how far south this spring system travels. The EPA has a study that is working in partnership with Canada tracking pollutants that are traveling along the spring system.”

“What kind of pollutants?” John gasped.

“Relax, it isn’t about industrial waste contaminants. It is more like tracking the spring’s system and how large it is and studying the ecosystem of that environment.”

“You scared me. I thought you meant industrial wastes contaminants.” John gasped.

“I hope I never have to mean industrial contaminants.” Trixie agreed.

“I am going to call Doctor Grady.” She hushed everyone so she could make the phone call.

After explaining that she thought, she discovered the fish he was searching for up here in this private lake, she sent him a picture through the camera phone waiting for his response.

“He’s excited,” she told the others who could hear him through the phone.

“I’ll be down there first thing in the morning, don’t let that CD go!” he said.

Trixie suddenly shouted. “Oh my god, there is that thing. I just saw that thing stick its head out of the water.”

“Take a picture, what thing? Take a picture,” Doctor Grady reminded her.

Trixie fumbled with her camera then scanning the lake. Jim had his camera phone aimed to take a picture if he saw something.

Suddenly, something hit the undercarriage of the boat so hard. Trixie fell into the water. She felt the water surround her body. Instinctively she held her breath opening her eyes to observe her surroundings. That body appeared to have long hair flowing around it. She could definitely see two distinct arms and two massively muscular legs as it turned to face her, she could see his male genitalia distinctly showing and his hairy face. If she could have described him, she would have used the word Neanderthal. His broad brow over his rather sunken eyes was distinct. His large flat nose looked like it moved bubbles lifted upward covering his eyes but they didn’t look like he blew them out of his nostrils they came from what appeared to be gills on either side of his nose.

She couldn’t hold her breath much longer. Her lungs tightened holding for as long as she could. That creature turned and looked back at that red boat bottom. She snapped several pictures with the camera that she remembered still dangling around her neck. Then the sounds of splashing in the water made him swim like a fish hard away from them.

“Oh my god,” Jim shouted. He jumped overboard in an instant to save her. He was the second splash in the water driven with a blind determination to die protecting his best friend. Nothing else mattered for Jim. He wouldn’t watch another person that he loved depart this world leaving him behind without trying to save her life.

Trixie still underwater holding perfectly still with her camera raised inwardly thankful for the waterproof camera as she snapped several close up shots of what she saw before it turned from staring directly at her and swam away. Jim swam up to her grabbing her arm and motioning for her to resurface immediately.

“What?” She asked she gasped for breath as she resurfaced staring into Jim’s scared green eyes.

“Are you nuts, get back in the boat.” Jim herded her back up the rope ladder into the boat as he hurried up behind her.

“Did anyone else get pictures?” She asked after a moment of heavy breathing to catch her breath.

“I took what I could with the camera phone,” John said.

“You scared me.” Dan climbed back in the boat behind Jim. He dove over himself but he searched the opposite direction that Jim did.

“That thing is definitely large. I still think it looks like a swimming Sasquatch,” Trixie said quickly as they started the boat and hurried for the shoreline where Honey and Mart were walking along with Diana. They had heard the commotion in the middle of the lake and were understandably upset.

“Your doctor friend wants to speak with you.” Mr. Maypenny handed her the cell phone.

“Doctor, I was less than 5 feet from that large creature in the lake. I know it is definitely a man-like creature, possibly Neanderthal in origin. Get down here,” Trixie said loudly. “I have better pictures this time. He hit the boat and lifted it at least two foot out of the water. I fell in but did as you ordered instead of thrashing and panicking. I dove deep enough to watch. I don’t think it seen me. A couple of my friends jumped in after me and their thrashing scared him away. He didn’t appear to be aggressive because he didn’t attack more than just the boat.”

“What color is your boat, describe the boat?” The doctor asked.

“It is a bright red cabin cruiser, 20 feet in length, with an outboard on the back.”

“It must have either not liked the sound of the engine or maybe the color of the boat. Get out of the water. I’ll be there in the morning. I want you to set up cameras so we can try to get more of a look at this thing but set up cameras from the shoreline not from in the water.”

“I didn’t bring more than one underwater camera with me and it is a still print camera.” She said.

“That is fine, I am coming myself. Are there nearby accommodations?”

“I think Mr. Maypenny would allow you a place to stay,” Trixie answered.

“Good, tell him, we will pay for hotel stay if he is willing to let us study this creature.”

Trixie asked John if he would mind.

John assured him that was acceptable provided the delicate ecosystem of the lake wasn’t destroyed.

To Be Continued

Thanks to my generous and kind editors for their suggestions and editing assistance.

 

TBH Main