Chapter Fifteen: Plans
This story is rated blue star and suitable for all ages.
On Wednesday, the Bob-Whites were gathered at the entrance to the cafeteria when Trixie grabbed Honey’s arm and pulled her away from the others. “I have something to show you,” she hissed.
“Don’t you think I might eventually need both of my arms to look at it?” Honey asked, with a pointed look at her friend’s hand.
Trixie flushed and released her. “Sorry, I keep forgetting how delicate you are.”
“Very funny.” Honey wrinkled her nose. “I’ll show you delicate if you don’t watch out.” Honey had been pale and delicate when she moved to Sleepyside, but now although she was still slimmer than either sturdy Trixie or slender Di, she was as healthy as any of her friends.
Trixie chuckled and reached into her bag and withdrew a plain black folder. “It’s the plans of the original bank building, or at least reduced photocopies of the plans. Mr. Saunders dropped them off to Dad yesterday and he gave them to me this morning.”
“Oh, good, let’s take a look.” Honey led the way to a table and took a seat.
The day was fine and the weather warm, a complete contrast to the previous day.
“May is such an unpredictable, changeable month,” Trixie grumbled as she sat down next to her friend.
“It’s probably why you were born in it,” Honey observed with an affectionate grin.
The plans were soon spread out before them, and the two girls examined them with interest.
“Aren’t you going to lecture me about leaving out the others?” Trixie asked, her expression a little guarded.
Honey studied her closely. “That’s not really fair, Trix. I know I wanted to talk to them about what happened, but Mitch Taylor really bothers me. That’s why I think we should tell them about you seeing him with his uncle. I can’t help it if I like it when I know Brian and Jim are looking out for me.”
“There are worse things than overprotective brothers, I guess,” Trixie admitted, grudgingly, “and I would have told them about the other, but I still like to discuss things with my partner first, and we just didn’t get a chance until this morning.”
“So, we fill them in on the car park, and if, and I say if, we find anything of interest here, then I say we bring them in on this too,” Honey said doing her best to sound businesslike.
“Sounds like a plan,” Trixie agreed. “Detectives do need to consult others once they’ve formed their theories and gathered their evidence.”
For several minutes they were silent as they turned each page around and around.
“Plans are like maps,” Honey said, pulling on her ear. “They never make any sense at all until you’ve got them facing the same way that you’re facing, and I can’t exactly work out which way that’s meant to be.”
Trixie nodded, dropping the pen she was holding onto the table. “At the rate we’re going I won’t be making any notes for us to go over.” She squinted slightly in the sunlight. “I mean we’ve worked out all the main areas— we’re not that challenged, but as to some of these little cupboards and storage areas, I’m stumped.”
“I can’t even figure out where the vault was,” Honey said
“I think that’s it there.” Trixie indicated a particular place on one of the sheets and, after studying it for a moment Honey nodded her agreement.
“So, does that make this bit here the safe deposit boxes?” Honey pointed with one of her slender fingers.
Trixie raised her sandy brows and shrugged her shoulders. “Maybe. Why don’t we just try again at the theatre? It will probably make more sense to us then.”
A Bob-White vote saw them head straight home after school, with Trixie and Honey the only members who opted for a trip to the theatre. “With the teachers’ conference, we can spend as much of tomorrow there as we need to,” Jim reminded them.
“What do you think about Gavin Parkes and Mitch Taylor?” Trixie asked, after she’d explained seeing them together at the centre.
“Parkes works there, and it sounds like Mitch has been in there with his uncle. It probably doesn’t mean anything,” Dan said, a little reluctantly.
“And he must have a key,” Jim added. “Otherwise, how would he have got in? I’m fairly sure you lot locked up when you left.”
“I guess we can check it out tomorrow,” Trixie mused.
“Well don’t even think about going in alone to find your mysterious anti-us conversationalist,” Brian added, shaking his finger at them. “The paint crew will be there in the morning, and you two can chat with them to your heart’s content, with one of us around if you need us.”
Trixie rolled her eyes, but Honey smiled gratefully at him.
“I could try to talk to them if you like?” Di offered, though her expression made it clear that she wasn’t too keen on the idea.
“No way!” Mart said swiftly, grabbing her arm. “Leave that kind of thing to the schoolgirl shamuses, thanks very much.”
Trixie glared at him. “It’s really sweet of you Di, but maybe the fact that Honey and I aren’t very skilful at that sort of stuff is a good thing. I think they find us kind of funny.”
Honey nodded. “You’re probably too pretty anyway, they might just get all distracted and clam up. Men so rarely look beyond the surface.”
They all laughed at this, though Di blushed and smiled and Mart huffed a little.
Trixie grinned. Honey always knew what to say to make people feel important or special. Privately she thought Honey was just as beautiful as Di, maybe not as pretty but definitely as beautiful. But Honey often said that people often focused on Di’s prettiness, ignoring her other abilities and that probably made her feel uncomfortable. People were complicated.
“Fine, now that all you Mata Haris have sorted yourself out, can we work out what we need to do tomorrow?” Mart demanded, as Jim swung the station wagon into the Lynches’ driveway.
“I thought I’d get up early and work in the preserve, that way I should be free by eleven,” Dan said. “If that helps to get your scheduling ball rolling, Mart.”
“And one of the reasons I’m babysitting tonight is so that I’ll be free to help out for most of tomorrow,” Di added, and she slid out of the car with a smile and a wave of her hand.
Jim headed to Crabapple Farm and once inside, over milk and freshly baked cookies, Jim and Trixie assigned each of them tasks for the following day while Mart took notes.
“That’s sorted then,” Trixie said briskly as they finished the task. “Now, what are we going to do this evening?”
“How about we take a night off, slavedriver?” Mart grimaced at his sister.
“There are only a couple of days to go,” Trixie retorted. “We can’t afford to take a night off.”
“I know I’ll probably get shouted down, but we should pay some attention to our chores,” Brian noted, pretending to hide behind Dan as he spoke.
“That makes sense. I know Moms needs me to pull some weeds. I didn’t get around to the garden on Sunday,” Trixie agreed immediately, though she wrinkled her nose at her brother.
“Okay, well some of us need to ride,” Jim said, “or Regan’s patience is going to come to an abrupt end. I know he’s taken care of Starlight and Susie the last couple of days, but he had to run into the city this afternoon, so that leaves…”
“Jupiter for you, Lady for me and, Mart, will you ride Strawberry?” Honey finished.
Mart nodded. “If Brian can get through whatever else needs to be done around here without me?”
Brian shrugged and nodded. “Dad asked me to take a look at a couple of loose shingles. I guess I can handle that alone.”
“If I’m on the preserve tomorrow, I could probably give you a hand,” Dan offered.
“Unless you’d rather ride?” Mart said.
Dan shook his dark head. “I’ll get to do that on Spartan in the morning. Go ahead, knock yourself out.”
“Moms told me this morning that she was going to make a couple of huge casseroles today, so you’re all welcome to stay for dinner,” Trixie said with a grin.
Jim laughed. “Dad said the other day the he should start paying your mother instead of our cook, considering the amount of time we spend eating here.”
“It all changes in the summer,” Brian said, raising his dark brows with a smile. “Then, as I recall, we Beldens lie in and around your lake, eat you out of house and home, and take advantage of your now fully air-conditioned abode.”
Honey giggled. “Well, Daddy said he didn’t want to have to travel all summer every summer so he had no choice but to have it installed.”
“You guys make sure you’re back by six-thirty so we can eat fairly early and go over some more Benefit stuff after dinner.” Trixie got up from the table, and they all set about their tasks.
“That’s a dozen half-page ads sold.” Trixie beamed at Brian and Dan. “You two are fantastic.”
The two young men had divided up Sleepyside and gone from one business to the other securing advertising commitments.
“We also sold around forty tickets,” Dan added. “So how many is that all up?”
Trixie consulted the folder Jim had on the table. “Two hundred and ninety-eight, that only leaves…”
“Sixty-seven,” the others answered in unison.
Trixie wrinkled her nose. “Even you, Honey,” she said, shaking her head in mock disappointment.
Honey giggled. “Sorry, partner, but you said yourself I don’t have problem with most math anymore just that wacky algebra.”
“Some things are definitely wacky around here,” Mart observed, “but they both have two legs and hair that isn’t red or black.”
“I hope you realise you’ve just described yourself,” Brian said.
Mart’s face fell. “Betrayed by my own tongue. Life is cruel.”
“Boo hoo,” said Trixie, stifling a giggle.
“Back to business,” Jim chided with a grin. “Dad’s business friends have committed to another six half- and two full-page ads, that, plus Mr. Saunders, and I think we’ll put that on our back cover, accounts for pretty much all our advertising space.”
“That’s fantastic.” Trixie’s blue eyes sparkled. “That’s hundreds of dollars already.”
“A couple of thousand actually,” Jim said with a grin. “Things are shaping up.”
“I’ve also talked to the local bakery and Wimpy’s, and they are both happy to provide food,” Brian said. “The liquor store have offered wine and beer, but I have to check to see if the centre has a licence, and obviously they need to talk to someone who’s of age.”
“What were you doing in the liquor store?” Mart asked. “Is the family fair-haired brunette boy’s halo fading?”
“I should ignore that solely based on your sloppy sentence structure and mixed metaphors,” Brian replied. “I ran into the owner when I was at Dr. Samet’s surgery.”
“I could ask Miss Trask to check it out,” Honey offered. “She’s been wanting to do something, and she met Mr. Saunders when we were in Sleepyside the other day.”
“Thanks, Honey, that would be great,” Brian said with a smile.
“Okay, food: check, beverages: question mark.” Jim looked up and asked, “Next?”
Mart pushed back his chair. “Back in a second,” he said. A minute later he handed copies of the mock-up program to the other Bob-Whites and settled back in his chair, a grin on his freckled face.
“It’s amazing.”
“How beautiful.”
“Fantastic.”
“Wow.”
The praise continued, causing Mart’s proud grin to widen even further. “So, I gather this meets with your approval then?”
“Mart, it’s absolutely perfect.” Trixie beamed at her brother, while the others nodded their agreement.
“I’ll talk to the guys at the paper about getting them run off, once you make sure that all the acts are confirmed,” Mart said. “By the way, I’ll need to work on that advertising. I’ve put the spaces in for them, but who’s doing the graphics?”
“The people we spoke to agreed to email their ads to us,” Brian said. “I’ve got the details here. They should actually be in our inbox as we speak.”
“I’m pretty sure Dad mentioned that as well, so that’s a major thing to cross off our master list then,” Jim said, reaching into the folder, pulling out a paper and marking the line with a flourish.
“Now, maybe we should turn our attention to something slightly less exciting, at least for some of us,” Honey said.
Jim smiled at her. “What did you have in mind, Sis?”
“We already know what Mart and Di are going to be wearing for the show, but I think it’s time the rest of us gave it some thought,” Honey replied, shooting Trixie a quick look of apology.
Trixie gave an exaggerated shudder in response. “If we must, but you work it out, it’s more your sort of thing,” she said, but she grinned as she spoke and Honey nodded approvingly.
“I do kind of have an idea for you and Jim,” she said.
“His and her clown suits? That should keep the mood light,” Mart suggested.
Both girls poked their tongues out at him and Trixie added, “You be careful Mart Belden, or Honey might turn that cape of yours into something really special.”
“Mm,” Honey mused. “I have some sequined lilac flowers that I was going to use on Di’s cloak, I could add some to Mart’s so they’ll match. Or maybe some fake pink fur as a trim.”
“I take it back,” Mart said. “I’m sure you’ll come up with a better idea than I could ever hope to.”
“It’s really not an idea at all,” Honey said. “I know that you both want to keep it simple, so I thought maybe, just plain black trousers and really nice white shirts.”
“Trousers?” Trixie sounded relieved. “That’s almost as good as jeans, and I have those ones your mother picked up when you and I helped out at one of her charity functions a couple of months ago.”
“It works for me, too. Thanks to Mother, I have both of those things in my wardrobe these days,” Jim said.
“Good,” Honey said pleased. “Tomorrow, before we go to the theatre, we can pop in a pick up a shirt for you, Trix.”
Trixie was relieved to get off that lightly and instantly agreed. “I confess I was worried you might have made me dress like one of those award show hosts,” she admitted.
They all laughed, trying to picture Trixie in a super formal fancy full-length gown.
“You might not be comfortable dressed like that, but you’d still look great,” Jim said loyally.
“So what did you have in mind for us, madam costumer?” Dan asked, “Should we do the same thing?”
Honey frowned for a moment, and then shook her golden head. “No, I don’t think so. I mean we’re actually performing, so I think we should dress up a little.”
“No ties,” Brian and Dan said in unison, and they all laughed again.
Honey raised her finely shaped brows. “Fine, no ties, but our colours should co-ordinate, not necessarily be all the same, but just look right together.”
Brian smiled at her. “How about you open my closet and tell me what to wear? I’d be perfectly happy to trust your judgement.”
“Ditto,” Dan said.
Honey looked from one to the other. “Okay, if you’re both sure. I’ll take care of it.”
“That’s one more thing off the list then,” Jim said, green eyes twinkling. “Now does anyone else have anything to report?”
Honey shot Trixie a questioning look and Trixie gave her sandy head the smallest of shakes. She knew her friend was still in two minds about their intention of examining the plans at the theatre alone. I don’t mind sharing things with the others, she thought, but the boys would totally hijack this. They’d be sure to say they were better plan readers or something annoying like that. Once we’ve taken a look in the morning, I’ll tell them—not that they’ll agree with us.
She glanced up to find Jim studying her closely. Flushing, she smiled across at him and though he smiled back, she knew that he’d be watching her carefully from now on.
BSM:MAIN NEXT
My continued thanks go to Dana, editor, friend, improver of all things. Trixie Belden et al remain the property of Random House. No profit is being made from these scribblings.
