Chapter Eleven: A Possible Motive
“How could they?” Di breathed, horrified at the thought.
“What exactly are you suggesting, Trix?” Mart studied his sister carefully.
Trixie left her position on the sofa and paced restlessly around the living room. “I’m suggesting that they, the kidnappers, whoever they were, probably knew that Jim and I were at the movies. And when we were due home.”
“I don’t know.” Jim was reluctant to disagree with his favourite Bob-White. “That would mean that they’d have to had someone watching us or following us. It seems a little far-fetched.”
“And it’s bringing our kidnappers up to gang-sized numbers,” Mart added.
“But you admit that their timing had to be spot on,” Trixie said accusingly.
“They may just been lucky,” Jim said.
“I agree with Trixie,” Dan said suddenly, and was rewarded with a quick look of gratitude from the sandy-haired sleuth. “This doesn’t appear to be some kind of random snatch job. I’m willing to bet that it has been quite carefully planned. Opportunistic maybe, but planned nonetheless.”
“Okay,” said Mart. “So what do you think happened?”
Dan shrugged his shoulders “I think that whoever’s responsible had to have been familiar with Jim and Brian’s living situation. Agreed?”
There was a general murmur of assent.
“Both the attempt and the actual kidnapping took place at a time when Honey was most isolated from the rest of the group. And they both took place here,” Dan continued.
The Bob-Whites nodded.
“If someone was watching the apartment, they’d have certainly seen Honey and Brian return without the car. Now maybe they just waited until Brian left with your assignments, and then something went wrong, but what if this crime is exactly what I said earlier: Planned and then taking advantage of an opportunity. The opportunity being that you two were not just down the road running a couple of errands, but gone for a specific amount of time.”
“You could be right,” Mart conceded. “But I still don’t see that as proof that someone was keeping an eye on Trix and Jim.”
“Maybe they weren’t deliberately watching us,” Trixie mused. “Maybe it’s what Dan says: opportune..tun… nistic.” she stumbled a little over the unfamiliar word.
“Maybe someone saw Jim and I going to the movie. They could have let the kidnappers know that the coast was clear.”
“I think that kind of makes sense,” Di offered tentatively.
“Or maybe they overheard our plans to go to the movie,” Jim said
“Right,” Trixie nodded, curls bouncing “We made those plans in Rhumba’s.”
“Which leads us back to the mysterious phone call. A couple of the staff remembered the pay phone ringing around five-fifteen, five-thirty, but they don’t remember whether someone answered it, or who it was if they did,” Dan paused. “Did I make any sense at all then?”
“Yes,” Trixie said. “And when we were there that place was filled with everyone, from those brothers...”
“Whedon brothers,” Dan offered helpfully.
“Whedon brothers,” Trixie continued, “to most of Jim and Brian’s classmates, even that horrible Ally.”
“Ally?” Di queried the unfamiliar name
“An awful girl who can’t keep her hands off Brian,” Trixie said, eyes flashing.
Mart held his hand up. “I sense we’re getting a little off topic, unless you’re suggesting that some girl with a passion for our older brother has kidnapped him so that she can have her way with him.” He raised a sandy brow. “‘Cause I’m guessing taking Honey would not have been part of that plan.”
Trixie poked her tongue at him and wrinkled her nose. “I didn’t say that, but she sure was mean to Honey, and I just don’t like her.”
“Let’s try and stay on track,” Dan said. “The upshot is, whether seen or heard, you believe the kidnappers or someone connected to them got wind of your plans and were able to use it to their advantage.”
“I’m not entirely convinced,” Mart said. “But it’s not the craziest idea I’ve heard today.”
“I guess we have to consider as many theories as possible,” Jim noted. “So let’s hear how Dan got on with our speed-happy neighbours.”
Dan outlined the trouble he’d had raising the Whedon brothers. “Once I got inside, they were actually pretty friendly.” He said. “They weren’t very forthcoming with the information and they said they were in and out yesterday afternoon, but I did notice a couple of interesting points.”
Di picked up the larger notebook she had been using earlier that morning. “Okay. Whedon brothers: speed freaks. Ready.”
“First of all, when I first spoke to Tim, he’s the younger brother as far as I can work out, he asked if I was a cop.”
Mart raised an eyebrow. “That’s kind of weird.”
“Like they have something to hide.” Trixie leaned forward excitedly.
“Maybe.” Dan rubbed his chin thoughtfully. “But you know, Trix, there’s an awful lot of reasons someone might be wary of or even expecting the police.”
Trixie sank back, slightly deflated. “I guess so.”
“Anyway, it was a little odd, plus I don’t think I really look like your regular police officer so…”
“So, Tim’s not the smartest resident in the block,” Jim finished.
“They know they’re not too popular with some of the other residents, but I can’t say it seems to bother them. In fact, they sort of hinted that fast driving was a bit of a family tradition.”
“Which might make them bad neighbours, but doesn’t necessarily make them kidnappers,” Jim said. “What about yesterday afternoon?”
“According to Joe, he’s the older brother, I’d guess he’s in his late twenties, though it’s not easy to be sure— he was wearing a baseball cap and sunglasses, even though we were inside the apartment.” Dan frowned at the memory.
“He’s always wearing those,” Jim said. “I think he thinks it makes him cool or mysterious.”
“Anyway,” Dan continued, “he was home until around four-thirty, then,” he paused significantly, “he went to pick up Tim, who’d been to see a movie.”
“Let me guess,” Jim said swiftly. “At our friendly local Pinehurst shopping centre.”
Dan nodded. “It may not mean anything.”
“But if he was out at that time he couldn’t have been kidnapping Honey and Brian,” Di reasoned.
“That depends,” Trixie countered. “For a start, at the moment we’ve only got his word on where he was. Secondly, even if he did leave at four-thirty, he could have got to the centre, picked up Tim and been back here by about five past five. Giving them enough time to be involved in the kidnapping.”
“Tight scheduling,” Jim noted.
Trixie reached for another cookie. “Anything else, Dan?”
“Only that they were a little evasive about why they were here and where they come from.”
“Why?” Trixie demanded. “There’s no reason to be like that unless they have something to hide.”
“Granted,” Dan said. “But again, Trix, I have to say that could be any number of things.”
Di frowned. “It’s so hard to know who to believe.”
Dan nodded. “That’s one of the most difficult things for the police when they’re trying to solve a crime. Remember what Sergeant Molinson told us, Trix?”
“You mean aside from ‘stay out of trouble, stay out of the way, stop interfering’?’’ Trixie grimaced, recalling the number of times the Sleepyside police officer had admonished her “detectiving.”
Dan reached over to pat Trixie’s hand. “Career day, last year, he was actually pretty complimentary about you.”
“Oh, now I remember; maybe it was a leap year ’cause that’s about how often he does that,” Trixie said.
The Bob-Whites grinned and Dan continued, “He was saying that the problem with solving any crime, especially serious crime, is that witnesses lie.”
“Why would they do that?” asked honest Di.
“Because they’re scared,” Trixie said, remembering the sergeant’s words. “Sometimes, because they’re not used to being questioned by the police and sometimes because they’ve done something wrong, but unrelated.”
“That’s why it’s important that we talk to as many people as possible,” Mart said. “Then we can start to check stories.”
“Maybe it’s time we fired up the computer,” Jim said. “We can start checking to see if local newspapers are online. Maybe have a look at the family Sergeant Ryder mentioned.”
“Good idea,” Mart said. “If we don’t have any luck, we can try the local library.”
“And the college library,” Jim added. “It’s pretty comprehensive.”
“So, what about you two?” Mart asked.
Jim and Trixie exchanged looks, and Trixie explained their discovery of the tire tracks and the subsequent police visit.
“Hang on a minute,” Mart was puzzled. “If the police have been here, how come we didn’t notice?”
Jim shrugged. “Officer Hamilton came in an unmarked car, and the other vehicle went directly to the dead end street where we found the tracks.”
Di sighed. “It says something though, doesn’t it? About how easy it is for people to come and go. If you’re inside and preoccupied, you don’t pay much attention.”
“Di’s right,” Trixie said glumly. “We may never get the information we need.”
“Hey,” Jim said, giving her shoulders a sudden squeeze. “We can’t give up this quickly. We’ve only just got started and we already have a couple of pieces of information.”
“Sorry.” Trixie managed a weak grin. “We still have heaps of leads to follow up, including your friends who foiled the attack the other night.”
“I think that should be our next step,” Mart said
“And I’d like to check out that café,” Dan added.
“Should we get started now?” Di asked
“I’d like to wait until Dad arrives,” Jim said. “He should be here anytime, and I really want to see him. In the meantime, I can make a couple of calls about those assignments.”
The Bob-Whites were an uncommonly quiet group when they greeted Mr. Wheeler upon his arrival. Jim and Honey’s father looked tired and strained and had none of the confidence the teenagers were used to seeing. Matthew Wheeler had immediately contacted the police to let them know he was in town, but it was obvious from the conversation that took place that he had already spoken to them. He had also made calls to the Manor House and Mrs. Wheeler, who was in Paris, and the teenagers waited anxiously for him to finish.
Finally, he sat down with them his expression full of concern. “Regan’s tracked down your parents’ latest hotel,” he explained to Trixie and Mart. “They’re out at the moment, but he has left a message. We should hear from them soon.”
The two Beldens nodded gratefully, but didn’t speak.
“What about Mother?” Jim asked
“I’ve asked her to remain in France for the moment,” his father replied. “She’s obviously very upset and wanted to fly here, but I felt under the circumstances it was better to wait a day or so. Her sister is with her, so she has support.”
The Bob-Whites exchanged knowing looks. Mrs. Wheeler was beautiful, accomplished and graceful, but she was also fragile and decidedly impractical. Mr. Wheeler knew, as did they, that her presence might detract from their ability to deal with the situation.
Jim nodded and his green eyes, so like those of his adopted father’s, were serious. “So, what now?”
Mr. Wheeler pushed a hand through his short red curls. “I’ll meet with Sergeant Ryder, go over all the details. He seems to think we should be hearing from the kidnappers shortly. We will call in the FBI, but the sergeant is former FBI himself, so we caught a break that he was called in.”
Trixie wondered why a former FBI agent was working for a small town police department, but realized it really didn’t matter at present.
“Does he have any theories as to why they didn’t leave a note at the time?” Dan asked. “Surely, that’s what would normally happen.”
Matthew Wheeler picked up the mug of tea Mart had prepared for him. “I’m not sure that there is a normal, under these circumstances, Dan,” he said. “However, the police seem to think that there’s a distinct possibility that it’s some kind of ploy to extend our worry.”
“That’s terrible,” Di said. “Why would anyone want to do that? I mean I understand the kidnapping for money idea, at least sort of, but how does making the family even more upset help them?”
“The police seem to feel that this is someone with a very specific grudge against me,” Mr. Wheeler admitted.
Trixie spoke hesitantly. “You don’t seem all that surprised by that, sir.”
“No,” Jim said and his voice held a strange cold quality. “You really don’t.”
“I suppose I should tell you everything.” Mr. Wheeler faced his son squarely. “There has been some trouble recently. Some threats. More than usual.”
“Usual?” squeaked Trixie.
Mr. Wheeler nodded. “A man in my position is accustomed to threats of one kind or another. More often than not they don’t mean anything.”
“But this time it was different?” Mart said.
“Yes. There were specific threats against Honey. That’s one of the reasons I wanted to get her out of Sleepyside.” He shook his head. “I see now how foolish I’ve been.”
“But you didn’t see fit to warn me that someone was threatening my sister?” The quiet, steady tone that Jim had adopted did nothing to hide his mounting anger.
“I didn’t think it was necessary,” his father responded. “Obviously, I was wrong.”
The other Bob-Whites looked as if they’d rather be anywhere other than where they were.
“I guess so, considering the outcome,” Jim said darkly.
“Jim.” Trixie placed a hand on his arm. “Please.”
“Sorry, Trix,” he said, gently removing her hand. “But I would really like a detailed explanation. When threats were made, what they were.”
Mr. Wheeler stood up and began to pace around the living room. “You remember when I called you asking you how you felt about the girls coming to stay with you?”
“Yes, I do.” Jim forced himself to speak calmly.
“I suppose you realise that neither Honey nor Trixie had been harassing me at all.” He shot Trixie a look of apology. “I said that because frankly it was the first thing I could think of.”
“And entirely credible,” Mart observed.
The group relaxed slightly at this remark.
“Trixie, you remember that day after you and Honey had been to the movies a few weeks ago? She was nearly knocked down by a speeding car.”
“Sure,” Trixie said. “But we figured that was just a careless driver.”
At the mention of a speeding car, Di, Dan and Mart exchanged interested looks.
“Yes, well…” Mr. Wheeler moved over to the desk where he had deposited his briefcase. He opened it and took out something in a plastic envelope. He crossed the room and handed it to Jim. “Two days later I received this.”
Jim examined the document carefully and then raised his head to face the group. “‘Tell your daughter to look both ways when she crosses the road.’
“You could have told me,” he said, passing it back to his father.
Matthew Wheeler took a seat beside him. “I realise that I should have trusted you and Brian. But honestly, I thought Honey would be safe here. The day after I got that message I received a phone call; the caller asked where Honey was and hung up. I still didn’t want to read more into it than it was, but that was when I asked Honey to spend more time at home.”
Trixie shook her blond curls. “Of course! It didn’t make sense to me that you would say Honey had been neglecting her duties at home. I mean,” she hastily said as she flashed a look of sympathy at her friend’s father before continuing, “Mrs. Wheeler wasn’t even at home, so Miss Trask was taking care of all the important mail. Honey only ever deals with requests for donations, things like that, and her mother had told her not to worry about it while she was away.”
Matthew Wheeler nodded. “It was a pretty feeble excuse, Trixie. I’m just lucky I have a daughter who is both responsible and respectful toward her parents.” He took a deep breath. “Anyway, a couple of days later I got another letter.” He pulled out a second item from the briefcase and passed it to his son.
Jim looked at for a moment then held it up for the others to see. Large cut-out letters read: HOME IS WHERE THE HEART (AND HONEY) IS.
Beneath the letters was a crudely drawn red heart, with a jagged arrow through it.
“That’s when I made my call to you.” He put his hand on his son’s shoulder. “I’d spoken to my security advisor and he, well we, really, were inclined to think that this trouble was connected to a deal I’d been working on recently. There was vocal opposition, but we were virtually sure it was just noise designed to rattle me. Just to be on the safe side, I thought it was a good idea to get Honey away from Sleepyside. I felt her identity would be pretty much unknown here. You don’t use my name, and I didn’t think for a moment that anyone would follow her here.”
“I don’t think anyone did,” Dan observed quietly.
“What are you talking about?” Matthew Wheeler regarded the teenager curiously.
“It’s too well planned. Too well executed.” Dan inclined his head in Trixie’s direction.
“He’s saying that it seems as if they were trying to get you to send Honey here. Because here is significant to them and because it was probably easier to grab her here than in Sleepyside where she has so many friends.” Trixie spoke simply, and her blue eyes met Matthew Wheeler’s green ones without blinking.
He shook his head and eyed the teenager ruefully. “I should have known that no matter how little information you had to go on, the Bob-Whites would be able to get a handle on what was happening.”
The group exchanged faint smiles at the praise, and Jim reached for his father’s shoulder, his anger gone. “We’re ready to do whatever we can. But don’t tell us this is something we have to leave entirely to the police. We won’t do anything rash or foolish, but we have to be a part of this.”
His father nodded. “As long as you’re willing to be guided by the police and share all the information you have.” He paused. “I know you all too well to think that you would stay out of it, even if I did ask you to.”
“Do you know who might be responsible?” Trixie asked voicing the thoughts of the others.
“I certainly know what’s behind it,” Mr. Wheeler said slowly. “I don’t know that it helps us much. The who is a much harder part of the equation to answer.”
“Have you heard from the kidnappers?” Jim demanded
“Possibly,” his father replied enigmatically.
“What does that mean?” Trixie couldn’t keep the edge of impatience out of her tone.
“When I spoke to Regan he informed me I’d received an unusual communication. Naturally, in the light of what’s happened he opened all of my remaining mail.” He held out a third piece of paper. “He faxed this through to me at the airport.”
The Bob-Whites now crowded around his outstretched arm. A faded reproduction of a newspaper article took up most of the page. The headline seemed to scream at them: BANKRUPT MILLIONAIRE KILLED IN AUTO ACCIDENT: Family Distraught. Superimposed at the bottom of the page was a picture of Honey. Underneath the headline someone had scrawled, NOW IT’S YOUR TURN.
MBW:MAIN NEXT
Author's notes: Thanks to Dana for editing so much in one hit—you're awesome. Whatever is still wrong or out of place is my fault alone. Word count: 3270
Disclaimer: Trixie et al belong to Random House and not to me. No profit is being made from these scribblings.
