Part II
Chapter 5
"Wow!" Trixie said to herself, as she sat watching the trickling mountain stream. "I haven't even thought about Tonio during the time I've been here. Maybe it is time for my heart to let go and to say goodbye. Oh, Tonio," she said staring at the water as if she could see him reflected there, instead of herself. "I don't know if I can let go of you."
Sometimes she felt that he was so close, especially since she had came here to the mountains. "I don't know if I'm ready to let go of the memories yet. But, I'm ready to remember happy things about you, instead of just thinking about the fact that you're gone. I will always love you, but I'm ready to move on now, to feel alive again, and to be happy. But, it will be awhile before I'm ready to go on with someone else. But at least, finally.... I’m ready to enjoy living again."
Trixie didn't see the lone dark-haired man standing in the stand of pine trees over to the right of the stream. He heard every word she said and with a smile he turned back toward the direction from which he had came.
Later, Trixie surprised Diana and Honey when she went inside the cabin and said, "I think we should drive into Ashville and check out the night life."
"Well," said Honey, surprised that her friend actually wanted to go out. "That would be great."
The three girls had fun putting on makeup and experimenting with their hair. They each wore summery sheath dresses. Diana wore a red sleeveless short dress, with matching red high-heeled sandals, Honey wore a dark green and Trixie wore a royal blue. Diana and Honey were so happy. This was the first time in months they had seen Trixie actually wanting to go out and enjoy life again. The three girls had dinner at a small restaurant, which sat on the side of a mountain. The food was delicious and afterward Diana purchased one of the miniature lighthouses sold there to add to her collection.
After asking around, they ended up going to a local club called the lookout, where they were told that people their age might hang out. The three found a table, and since they really didn't care for alcohol, they each ordered a virgin daiquiri. The band playing was very good and played a lot of their favorites. As they sat sipping their drinks and listening to the music, they heard a familiar voice behind them. "Well, as I live and breathe, Trixie Belden, Honey Wheeler and Diana Lynch, is this my lucky night or what?"
Trixie turned to look and there was Nick Roberts.
"Nick!" Trixie screamed and jumped out of her seat, where the two of them enveloped each other in a hug.
"Nick" Honey and Diana said simultaneously, and also stood up to hug him. After pleasantries were exchanged, he wanted to know what they were doing in North Carolina and after the girls explained (leaving out the part about Trixie mourning for Tonio), Nick said, "Come on over and meet my friends." He gestured toward two nice-looking, clean-cut college guys.
Nick introduced the girls to his friends Joey and Mark and the six young people danced the night away on a big open-air balcony. Trixie actually found herself laughing uproariously at the antics of Nick's two friends and the evening passed quickly. Before she knew it, it was very late and the place was closing. After giving directions to the guys where they were staying, (they were coming for a visit) the girls drove back to the cottage in the mountain moonlight.
"Oh," Trixie sighed from the back seat. "I haven't had this much fun in a long time."
"I know," said Honey. "I had a really good time, too."
"Yeah," said Diana. "It was great seeing Nick again and his friends were so funny, I don't think I've ever laughed so hard."
Chapter 6
"This is the plan," said Bandit to his two partners. "Tomorrow night, we'll make our move. We've been watching the place since yesterday and I don’t think those three little rich girls are expecting anyone. After they've gone to bed tomorrow night, we'll break in when they're least expecting it."
His accomplices Luth and Rusty agreed, but they were impatient. They were ready now.
"After spending a little "quality" time with them," Bandit continued, "we'll find out who their daddys are and maybe get a nice chunk of ransom."
"What are we going to do today?" asked Trixie, after she had bounced out of bed and awakened both of her friends.
"I'm not awake yet," said Diana grumpily, rolling over and fluffing her pillow. "So don't ask me that."
"Me neither," said Honey, pulling the covers up over her head as a barrier against the cool, crisp mountain air.
"Well, pardon me for not wanting to lie in bed all day," Trixie said, her hands on her hips. "I'm going to take that fishing pole that's in the kitchen closet and see if I can catch a fish for breakfast." She just could not believe how much energy she had here.
"Good," said Honey. "Now, let me sleep."
Trixie pulled on a pair of blue jeans, and a thin white long sleeve shirt. She retrieved the fishing equipment from the closet and trudged down to the stream. "What a beautiful morning," Trixie said, breathing the clean mountain air and listening to the birds singing.
A butterfly flitted among the lovely pastel flowers that grew in profusion on the banks of the stream, Trixie felt very serene as she watched it. She didn't wait long, before she hung a huge rainbow trout on the fishing pole. Well, here's breakfast, she thought. Carefully, she took the big fish off the hook and carried it and the fishing equipment back to the cabin. She remembered how to clean fish and filet them, because she had helped her brothers do this after going fishing with Tom Delanoy hundreds of times. After scaling and de-boning the fish, Trixie washed it and prepared to cook.
Rummaging through the small kitchen cabinet, she selected garlic salt from the shelf of spices and lemon juice out of the fridge and chopped up an onion. After rubbing the garlic salt in and marinating the fish with the lemon juice and covering it with onions, she put it in the oven to bake. Then she took out the potatoes and began to cut them up to make French fries. After setting the potatoes in a pan of water, and turning the oven on very low, she decided to walk over to Emma's to see if she could maybe get some salad vegetables from her garden.
Bandit and Luth knelt in the bushes watching Trixie as she walked down the trail and through the short "holler" to Emma's house, they were unaware of the tall dark-haired man that also knelt in the bushes nearby and watched them. "Now ain't she pretty?" said Luth with a low whistle. "Shh!" said Bandit, shoving Luth so that he fell sprawling. "She might here you and run tell someone and then our plans would be ruined."
Trixie enjoyed her walk. Something about these mountains, for some reason unbeknownst to her, made her feel that she was very close to Tonio. Even though she knew that wasn't possible, she found the idea very comforting. She ran up the steps to the small, neat little cabin where Emma lived. Emma had seen her coming and opened the door. "Come in, come in child," Emma said hospitably
"How are you?" Trixie asked as she hugged her. "We really enjoyed the biscuits and jam and ham and stuff you gave us the other night. We ate every bit of it, there wasn't even a crumb left."
"Well, I am so glad, child," Emma said. "You three girls need to put some meat on your bones."
"Oh, my two friends might," said Trixie laughing, and patting her tummy. "But not me."
"Why, nonsense, child," said Emma, shaking her head at Trixie's petite frame. "You're skinny as can be."
After a brief visit, Trixie left with her arms laden with a bag of salad vegetables and a container of sourdough starter mix. "It's already been fed this morning," Emma told her, referring to the sourdough mix. If Trixie had not grown up around people like Mrs. Vanderpoel and Mr. Maypenny, she would not know what that meant, but she knew that sourdough had to be fed every day with something like mashed potatoes and sugar.
After she had gotten back to the cabin, Trixie prepared a salad and some sourdough rolls after taking the well-done fish out of the oven and then she fried the potatoes.
"Oh my," said Diana yawning and stretching as she stepped out of the bedroom. "Something smells so good and I'm so hungry."
"Oh," said Trixie. "I caught a fish this morning and I'm making potatoes, tossed salad and real sourdough bread that I got from Emma."
"Fish for breakfast?" asked Diana incredulously.
"Uh, it's lunch time, Diana," Honey said while also yawning widely and stretching as she came out of the bedroom behind Diana buttoning up the front of her sleeveless white blouse.
"Gosh, we slept that long?" Diana said.
The three girls sat down to enjoy the delicious meal Trixie had prepared. While they were eating they heard a sound of a car driving up in the yard.
"Oh gosh!" said Diana, peering out the window, "It's Nick with Mark and Joey, I didn't know they'd be here this early, I haven't even had my shower!" Quickly, she jumped up from the table and ran to the small bathroom.
"I haven't put on makeup or done my hair!" said Honey, running into the bedroom.
Trixie, laughing at the two girls, went to the door to welcome Nick and his two friends.
"Ah man!" said Luth watching the house. Bandit used some more choice words.
"Well, them boys are just kids y'all," Rusty said. "So, if they decide to stay the night, we can take them."
"Well, we're not," said Bandit firmly. "We're going to wait awhile and see if they leave." Then Bandit turned away from his friends cursing angrily; this was the day he had planned to move in on them.
Trixie, Honey and Diana had a great time with Nick, Joey and Mark. They went sightseeing and visited Chimney rock, went to another place and climbed a mountain and then swam at Sliding Rock Park. Afterward, they finished out the day at an amusement park.
"Whoa!" said Trixie, riding on the gigantic roller coaster at the park. Beside her she had the giant teddy bear the Nick had won for her. After riding everything at the amusement park and playing video games in the arcades, they all went out for hamburgers and went dancing. It was in the wee hours of the morning when the guys dropped them off. Trixie didn't ever remember having so much fun.
"I'm beat," said Trixie, as she stepped in the door of the little cabin, kicking off her sandals.
"But it is so wonderful to see you laugh again," Honey said. "I know. I'm glad to be able to laugh again."
"Even though it's 2:00 in the morning, I am so not sleepy," said Diana. I think I'm going to take a shower."
Trixie and Honey lay on the little twin beds talking and giggling and soon fell asleep. Diana was still wound up from the day's events and so she took her time with her shower and gave herself a facial afterward.
As she sat in front of a small, handcarved vanity with cream on her face and her hair wrapped in a towel, she thought she heard a noise outside. "Bears!" Diana thought. "I wonder if we're safe in here?" She shivered as she wrapped her pretty lavender bathrobe tighter around herself and questioned whether she should awaken Honey and Trixie. "Maybe I'm just imagining things," she finally said. She washed the cream off her face and prepared for bed. Then, she heard a noise on the porch; it sounded like someone walking across it. "Should I look outside?" she asked herself feeling frightened. She looked out the window and didn't see anything and felt satisfied that nothing was out there. "Oh, it must be my imagination."
She climbed into the bed.
Chapter 7
At the breakfast table, Trixie finally talked to Diana and Honey about Tonio. This was the first time in a while that she could discuss Tonio without breaking down into tears. "And," said Trixie as she finished,"I think I'm probably going to be ready to go back to Sleepyside toward the end of the week. I need to go and spend some time with my family before we return to New York for fall semester."
Honey and Diana agreed with Trixie. Quietly, they began to clear off the table and plan what they were going to do that day.
"I think I'd like to go into the city," said Honey. "I saw some little gifts that I want to buy for everyone at home."
"So did I," said Diana.
"If you don't mind," Trixie told them, "I think I'll just stay here. I'd like to stay home and sort of say goodbye to the place, if you know what I mean."
"Oh, that's fine with us," agreed Diana as Honey nodded. "But you really should go, they have some great shopping there."
"I don't want to go," said Trixie. "But, if you don't mind, would you choose a couple of small gifts, one for Bobby and for Moms? Moms would love one of those handmade baskets and just get Bobby whatever you get your brothers."
"Sure thing," said Diana. "But we wish you would come with us."
After Honey and Diana left, Trixie decided to walk the short distance down the mountain to see Emma. After arriving, she and Emma had a delightful visit. Somehow, the talk turned toward the person staying in the other cabin, the one that Emma had first told her about.
"The young man really stays to himself," said Emma thoughtfully, as she rocked back and forth in her old wooden rocker. "I heard a rumor that he is in the witness protection plan, but I don't know... all kinds of stories go around these hills."
"Have you ever saw him?" asked Trixie instantly intrigued. A mystery, she thought.
"Yes, I have," said Emma. "He's a good-looking man, if you like that type. He wears his hair long and in a ponytail. He's very tall and dark and well, he's what we used to call tall, dark and handsome."
Just like Tonio was Trixie thought, but not sadly.
After having a light lunch with Emma and her husband. Trixie walked back to the cabin. She was mentally making plans for the coming year, going shopping for school clothes and what classes she was taking, all that stuff. She heard a noise and chose that moment to look around her. When she did, she saw someone in the distance watching her. He was tall and dark and had on dark-colored clothes. "Tonio!" she said excitedly. But, then he disappeared into the forest. She ran toward the place where she had seen him.
That was either totally my imagination or the guy who is on the witness protection plan that Emma was telling me about, she reflected. Maybe it is time for me to go home.
Trixie was still dazed from the experience when Honey and Diana drove up in the yard their arms laden with packages. The three girls spent the afternoon, playing and wading in the ice-y mountain stream. Afterward, they picked up a few of the flat rocks to take home to Bobby and Larry and Terry to paint pictures on.
Luth, Bandit and Rusty watched the girls with the pair of stolen binoculars they had acquired. "Tonight's the night," said Bandit. "After they go to bed, we'll move in on them." Bandit asked Luth, "When you went up to the cabin last night, what did you find out about the layout of the house?"
"Well," said Luth. "It was so dark, but there is only a living room and kitchen combined, one bedroom and a bathroom."
"Well, at least there want be a lot of rooms for them to scatter into," said Bandit. "We have to make sure not one of the three get away from us."
For some reason, for the first time since Trixie came to the mountains, she found herself feeling apprehensive. As the sun set over the mountains and the fireflies came out, instead of enjoying the peacefulness and beauty of the evening, she kept having this feeling of unease, like something was wrong. She just couldn't identify to herself, what she was feeling. She wondered if it had something to do with seeing that man that she thought was Tonio today. After a light dinner and playing board games with Honey and Diana, both girls were yawning.
"Gosh," said Diana, "I can't believe how tired I am. We've been so busy since we came here. I thought we were coming here for a quiet, peaceful vacation, but it hasn't been like that."
Honey yawned. "I know. I think we need to start packing our things for home, tomorrow. For now, though, I'm ready to hit the sack. Trixie, you coming?" said Honey, already heading for the small bedroom.
"No," said Trixie staring off into the distance. "I'm just not sleepy. I was thinking I may take a moonlight stroll."
"Oh, Trixie, don't," said Diana, her eyes wide with fright. "I think I heard a bear outside last night."
"Really?" asked Honey still sleepy, but curious. "You didn't tell us about that."
"Well," said Diana, "I had forgotten about it. But I was scared for a little while, last night. I didn't know whether to awaken you or not."
"You're right anyway," said Trixie. "It probably wouldn't be a good idea to go walking in the dark. I believe I saw some books in the closet, maybe I'll just get one of those and read for awhile." Trixie chose a mystery book and settled down in a big comfortable chair to do some reading. It wasn't long before she was nodding off to sleep.
Trixie jumped when she was awakened by the sound of the front door being kicked open.
Chapter 8
At first, Trixie thought she was having a really bad nightmare, as an oily looking man stepped in the doorway, brandishing a knife. Trixie was too stunned to even move even when she saw the other two men behind him. Instinctively, she knew that she and her friends were in danger. "What was that noise?" Honey asked sleepily, looking into the living room.
"Honey, go back in and lock the door," Trixie said shakily, as Honey then saw the three strangers standing in the living room of the cabin. She could tell by Trixie's voice that something was wrong.
The guy named Luth said, "Well, what have we here?" and started to walk toward her. Honey swayed and fainted.
Trixie was wracking her brain to try and figure a way out of this, when at that very moment, the back door was kicked open. "Throw the knife down and put your hands in the air now!"
Trixie sighed with relief and ran to where a now-awake Diana stood with a woozy Honey, as about four local sheriff's deputies and a couple of FBI men came bursting into the room quickly taking the three convicts into custody.
After the FBI and two local deputies had taken the prisoners away, in handcuffs of course, one of the deputies stayed behind to make certain the girls had come to no harm and to answer their questions.
Of course the first question out of Trixie's mouth was "Who were they?" When the deputy explained it to them, All three girls’ eyes widened. To think that scary criminals like these guys were so close by, and the danger the girls had actually been in, without even knowing, was almost too much to even fathom...
"The FBI men had been keeping tabs on them," said the young deputy. "They knew these three clowns were in the area someplace and one of their own agents was even staying in a cabin near here. He's the one who alerted us and they as to the criminal's whereabouts."
"Well, why weren't they caught before now?" asked Diana shivering at the thought of the horrible men.
"Because," said the deputy, "we waited until we could catch them in a situation where they weren't as likely to run, because once a man escapes in this wilderness...well needless to say, he's hard to find.
The girls made small talk and asked a few more questions before the man rose to leave. "Oh," he said. "Is one of you girls named Trixie?"
"Yeah, that's me," she replied, puzzled that he would know her name.
"The FBI man who was staying over there in the cabin is gone now, but he asked me to give you this." He handed Trixie a small package.
After he had left, and Honey and Di had gone to bed, Trixie tore the small white package open. Inside of it was a fake tattoo of a butterfly. Memories of last summer, when she and Tonio had first met, came flooding into Trixie's thoughts. Trixie smiled to herself. Tonio, she thought.
There was an incident last summer, when she had first met Tonio at Haight's Island, when she had tattooed a fake butterfly on herself. That seemed like a lifetime ago now. Then it became clear to her why she felt so close to him here. Because he had been staying in a cabin right nearby! And it was Tonio she had seen yesterday.
Trixie didn't understand why he hadn't contacted her, why he had not let her know that he hadn't died. But, for now, it was enough just to know he was alive.
The End
These characters thought greatly beloved are not mine and I'm making no money off them, I'm just borrowing them.
Sorry, this has taken so long to finish.