Chapter Five: A Close Call

     For several seconds, the three Bob Whites stood rooted to the spot. “Honey!” they shouted in unison and ran for the door. By the time they reached their friend, she was standing with Kyle, Jeff and Mick.
    Jim rushed to his sister, who looked pale and shaken. “Are you ok, Sis?”
    Honey nodded.
    “Are you sure?” Brian pushed past the others, a mixture of personal and professional concern.
    “I just got a fright, that’s all,” Honey explained.
    Trixie turned to the other boys. “Do you know what happened?”
    They looked at one another and Jeff drawled, “The chick got a fright. Some guy in the bushes jumped out. No big deal.”
     Trixie bristled at his casual tone. “Who was in the bushes? Did you get a good look at him? Where did he go?”
     Kyle answered instead. “It was pretty dark and whoever he was, he took off as soon as he saw us.”
     Mick nodded. “We really didn’t get a clear look at him, but it was probably just some kid after her purse.”
    “Honey’s shivering,” Brian noted concernedly. “I’d like to get her inside.”
    “Thanks for coming along.” Honey looked gratefully at her three rescuers. Kyle responded with a quick smile and Mick nodded, but Jeff just rolled his blue eyes and turned away. The Bob-Whites quickly herded Honey indoors.
Brian sat her down on one of the comfortable chairs. “Your hands are so cold.” He warmed one of her slender hands with his strong ones as he spoke.
     “I’ll finish making the tea,” Jim offered and headed for the kitchen.
     Trixie knelt down before her friend regarding her anxiously. “Are you really okay, Honey?”
    Honey smiled wanly. “He just jumped out of the bushes and grabbed me. I screamed and then Mick and Jeff and Kyle came from nowhere, and he just took off and then you all showed up.”
    “So you didn’t really see him?” Trixie tried to sound casual, but Brian caught her eye and frowned warningly.
     Honey shook her head. “Sorry, he grabbed me from behind. I didn’t get a chance.” She smiled ruefully. “Not very good detective work, huh?”
    “That doesn’t matter right now. The only important thing is that you’re safe,” Brian assured her, with another warning glance at his sister.
    Trixie frowned. “I’m just as happy as you are that Honey’s safe. She’s my very best friend. I’d just like to know who grabbed her and why.”
    Honey’s face registered alarm. “You mean you think someone deliberately tried to grab me.” Her hazel eyes were huge and she swung to face Brian.
    “I’m sure it’s just a random attack. It’s an unpleasant fact of our times.” Brian gave her hand a comforting squeeze and turned to meet his sister’s gaze. “I know you mean well, Trix, but this is no time to play detective.”
    “So that’s what you really think.” Her blue eyes filled, and she shook off the hand he placed on her arm. “That being a detective is just a game. Just child’s play!” She stormed off without a backward glance.
    Jim entered carrying a tray of tea and took in Honey’s miserable expression and Brian’s serious one. “Where’s Trix?” he asked.
    “I kind of upset her,” Brian admitted. “I said something she took the wrong way. Something I really didn’t mean. At least…” he sighed heavily. “ I was worried about Honey and I didn’t think before I spoke.”
    “Something your sister is guilty of on a regular basis,” a voice declared behind them. Trixie’s face was both penitent and wry.
    Brian walked over to hug his sister. “I’m sorry, Trix. You know I really respect your ambition and Honey’s to become detectives. I was just being…” he hesitated.
    “Protective,” Trixie finished for him. “And that is exactly what I should have been.”
    Honey smiled at both of them. “Everything’s okay then,” she said hopefully.
    “Everything’s fine,” Trixie replied. “Now, how about that tea?”

      Later, when the two girls lay snugly in their beds, Honey reached over to turn off the bedside lamp. “Do you really think he might have been after me specifically?” she asked, trying but failing to sound casual.
     Trixie hesitated, torn between her desire to keep Honey from being alarmed and her natural sense of honesty.
    “I want you to tell me what you really think,” Honey warned. “There’s no Brian here to stop you now.”
    “Well, I mean Brian’s probably right. More than likely there’s nothing to it but…you really didn’t get a look at him at all?”
     Honey shook her head. “No, like I said it was dark. I just felt someone grab me from behind.” Honey replayed the scene in her mind as she spoke and then suddenly sat bolt upright. “His hand.”
    “What about it?” Trixie demanded excitedly.
    “He had a ring, a big silver ring, on his hand.”
    “Was there anything distinctive about it?” Trixie asked.
    “I’m not sure.” Honey’s reply was uncertain. “There was something. Like a monogram, but I can’t quite see the letters in my mind. I only noticed it ‘cause his hand was on my shoulder pulling against me.”
    “It’s something anyway.” Trixie sounded satisfied. “If it is a random kind of thing, maybe it’s happened to someone else. We can probably check up on it with the local authorities.”
    “I wish I could remember more.” Honey’s tone was apologetic.
     “You’ve done great, Honey,” Trixie put in swiftly. “And now, I think I’d better let you get some rest or Brian will be all over me tomorrow”
    “Okay, Trix, I’ll see you in the morning.” Honey yawned and soon her even breathing confirmed she was asleep.
     Trixie lay, staring into the darkness for quite some time. She knew she had an over active imagination but something deep inside told her that she was right about this.  "Don’t worry, Honey,” she murmured to her sleeping friend. “I will get to the bottom of this. I promise.”

    The following morning dawned fine and, after their excitement the previous night, both girls slept heavily. Stumbling bleary eyed from the bedroom, the girls found their brothers nursing cups of tea and nibbling on toast in the kitchen.
     “Morning.” Jim smiled. “Toast, tea, cereal?” he queried.
    “Mm.” Trixie nodded and sank down in a chair opposite.
     “Yes, please,” Honey added.
    “You feeling okay?” Brian regarded her with concern.
    “Fine,” Honey replied with a slight smile. Jim bustled around fixing tea and toast for the girls, and Brian procured bowls for their cereal. As they ate, the boys poured themselves second cups of tea and exchanged meaningful glances.
     “We’ve been talking things over,” Jim began. “We thought maybe it might be a good idea to just run down to the police station at some stage and report what happened last night.”
    Trixie opened her mouth to speak and Brian held up his hand to forestall her.
     “We still don’t think that this was any more than a mugging, Sis, but that doesn’t mean it shouldn’t be taken seriously.”
    Trixie compressed her lips and waited several moments before speaking. “That’s fair enough,” she said. “I agree we should report it. Honey’s remembered something that might help the police identify the attacker.”
    Jim regarded his sister closely. “What have you thought of?”
     Honey paused, returning a golden triangle of toast to her plate. “It’s not much. I just remembered that he had a big silver ring on his hand.”
    “Which hand?” Brian asked promptly.
     Trixie frowned and slapped her forehead. “Some detective I’d make, I never even thought to ask you that.”
    Honey grinned, too. “I didn’t think of it either, Trix.” She closed her eyes and her brow crinkled as she frowned in concentration. “I’m not sure, but I think it was his left hand. It all happened so fast.”
    “It might give the police something to go on,” Jim said approvingly.
    Trixie looked from one boy to the other. “We thought that even if it was a random thing, it might have happened before.”
    “It’s certainly worth checking out,” Jim agreed. “We’ll pop in to the station later on today.”

    The day was bright and clear with soft white clouds scattered across the blue sky. A slight breeze stirred the air and             Honey tossed her hair over her shoulder, giving a contented sigh as she started down the stairs. “I can’t believe we’re getting such lovely weather,” she said.
    Trixie, just ahead of her, nodded and turned around to face her friend. “I know, and Mr. Maypenny made such dire predictions, too!”
    Both girls laughed and Jim who was behind his sister raised his eyebrows inquiringly. “I thought Mr. Maypenny kept his weather forecasting to the greater Sleepyside area.”
    Honey nodded and Trixie replied with a grin. “Usually, but he wanted us to be prepared for our trip so he did a little investigating.”
    Brian, who was loading their things into the car, raised his dark head as the others approached, still laughing.
“Come on, you lot. Let’s get going,” he called with mock impatience in his voice. “Hey, what’s so funny and why am I out of the loop?” he added.
    Jim grinned at his friend.  “The girls were just telling me that Mr. Maypenny did some long range weather forecasting before they came up here.”
    “Oh, I see. Up to his usual standards?” Brian asked, brown eyes twinkling.
    “That’s not really fair,” Honey protested, and noting the others’ expressions she hastily added, “All right, the storm just after Celia and Tom’s wedding was kind of a big mistake, but most of the time he’s pretty accurate.”
    “True enough,” Jim agreed obligingly. “But he didn’t predict good weather for your visit?”
    Trixie wrinkled her nose slightly. “Nope. He said bad, stormy weather was on the way.” She grinned. “Oh well, I can’t say I mind that he was wrong this time.”
    “You never know,” Brian offered. “There’s still plenty of time for bad weather.”
    Honey shot him a disapproving look. “Don’t tempt fate.”
    Brian laughed. “I’ve never really been all that superstitious, Honey, and I don’t think I’ll start now. Besides, no matter what the weather’s like, whenever there’s two or more Bob-Whites together, a good time is always had, right?”
    “Right,” the other three chorused. 

    It only took them a few minutes to reach the police station, which was located on a side street not far from the centre of town.
    Brian eased the car into a parking space and turned off the ignition. “You know four of us fronting up together may be a bit of a crowd,” he suggested diplomatically.
    “Fine,” Trixie returned. “You and Jim can wait here.”
    Jim reached across to tap her lightly on the shoulder. “Maybe you and I could wait here while Brian takes Honey in.” He held up his hand, anticipating her protest. “I just think it could be easier that way.”
    “How about we ask the police if they’d like to talk to anyone else, you know, provide additional information?” Brian offered.
    “Sure,” Trixie replied with a shrug. “My main concern is that Honey reports it. It doesn’t matter who goes in and who doesn’t.”
     “We’ll meet you at Rhumba’s Café in half an hour.” Brian smiled gratefully at his sister and, grabbing Honey’s hand, headed across to the police station.
    Jim slung an arm around Trixie’s shoulder. “I am really proud of you, Trix. I know how hard it is for you to be left out of this kind of thing.”
    Trixie met his gaze appreciatively. “Thanks. I am learning. The truth is, if Honey and I are going to be real partners, I have to let her do stuff without me.”
    “Very mature attitude, Miss Belden, most impressive.” Jim gave her a hug.
    “Do you think I’m overreacting, wanting Honey to go to the police?” she asked in a small voice.
    Jim took a deep breath before replying. “To be honest, Trix, I do think that last night was just a random mugging, but that doesn’t mean I don’t think it’s serious and it doesn’t mean that I don’t trust your judgment.”
    Trixie nodded satisfied. “Good. I don’t need you all to agree with every one of my theories, but I’m glad that you think they’re worth looking into.”
    “Always.” Jim’s green eyes twinkled. “Come on, I want to walk down to the stationers and pick up a couple of lecture pads.”

    Half an hour later, Brian and Honey walked in to find Jim and Trixie ensconced in a booth at Rhumba’s Café. The friendly eating-place was decorated like an old 50s diner and was a popular hangout for local residents and college students alike. As they made their way towards their friends, Brian paused to greet several of the people the girls had met at lunch the day before. They sat down and made themselves comfortable and Brian handed Honey a menu.
    “So, how did it go?” Trixie asked, unable to contain her curiosity any longer.
    Honey shrugged her slender shoulders. “They were perfectly polite and took down all the details, but I got the impression they didn’t take it all that seriously.”
    Jim raised his eyebrows looking to Brian for confirmation.    
     His friend nodded. “That pretty much sums it up. They heard us out, they filled in a report and they told us to forget about it.”
    Trixie’s blue eyes blazed and her sandy curls did a tell-tale bounce. “Unbelievable,” she said through gritted teeth. “What kind of police officers are they, anyway?”
Jim patted her arm placatingly.  “Just the regular kind, Trix. We didn’t expect a great deal more and at least it is all on file.” He inclined his head slightly. “Did you notice our speed-happy neighbours?” 
    “No, I didn’t,” Brian turned around. “But I might just go and have a word.”
    “Oh, please don’t,” Honey grabbed his arm. “Let’s just have lunch.”
    “We really should say something,” Jim countered.
    “Can’t it wait?” Trixie asked. “Maybe it would be easier at home, you know, less public.”
    The two young men exchanged looks. “Ok, fair enough,” Brian said finally. “You win, for now. We certainly don’t want to create a scene.”
    “Let’s order, shall we?” Jim suggested as the waitress approached. 
    “Well, I don’t know about the rest of you but I’m definitely in the mood for a turkey burger and a mineral water, and maybe some fries,” Honey said.
    Her friends placed their orders, and while they were waiting for their food to arrive, the boys described college life, their enthusiasm even affecting Trixie, who wasn’t really looking forward to higher education.
    As they happily munched on their various burgers, tasty fries and sipped their drinks, Honey glanced around, enjoying the café’s casual ambience. “I’m so glad you two decided to come to college here. I mean you both got such good grades you could have gone just about anywhere.”
    “Jim could have gone to Harvard,” Trixie said, beaming with pride.
    “So could Brian,” Honey added, “and he could have gone to Cambridge. Imagine that, Brian studying in England. After all, he wasn’t able to go with us when we took our trip there.”
    The two young men smiled at their friends’ praise. “I’ve kind of missed all this adulation,” Jim joked.
    “Right,” Brian agreed. “It is nice to have our fan club here again.”
    Trixie and Honey giggled, then Trixie added archly, “Speaking of fan clubs.” The Bob-Whites followed her gaze across the cafe where Ally and Jenna were making their way to a nearby table.
    Brian hooked a disapproving brow in his sister’s direction but she just wrinkled her nose. “You know, she reminds me of someone.”
    The others waited as if expecting their friend to make a crack of some kind. “No, really,” Trixie said, suddenly serious.
Jim took a deep breath, but Brian spoke first, though his dark eyes were twinkling. “Really, oh great detective? Maybe she reminds you of her twin brother, Kyle, whom you’ve met a number of times.”
    Trixie poked her tongue out this time. “I know she looks like her brother.”
    Jim signalled to the waiter for their bill and called a truce between the two Beldens. “Anyone would think you two were trying to win a squabbling trophy.”
    Both Trixie and Brian laughed, and Brian added. “I think I’ll leave that to my esteemed younger brother.”

    As Jim was counting out the money to pay for their food, Trixie consulted a local newspaper she and Jim had picked up at the store. “Jim and I were saying earlier it might be fun to go to a movie today.”
    “Oh, is there a cinema in town?” Honey asked with interest.
    “Not actually here in town,” Jim replied. “But about a half hour drive from here there’s a fair sized shopping mall and they have a twin cinema there.” 
    “Anything good showing?” Brian peered across the table at the newspaper Trixie was studying.
    “Actually, I kind of had another idea,” Honey suggested.
    “What did you have in mind, Sis?” Jim smiled across at her.
    “I thought maybe we could go to your local market and buy some food so that I could cook us a real feast for dinner.”         She looked from one to the other of her friends hesitantly, as if anticipating a not-too-enthusiastic response.
    “I think it sounds terrific,” Brian replied swiftly.
    Trixie fixed a wide smile to her face and nodded. “Yeah, that sounds great, Honey.”
    “I won’t raise any objections,” Jim added
    Honey looked pleased but catching a glimpse of her best friend’s face out of the corner of her eye, she reached across the table to poke Trixie’s arm gently.
    “You do not want to spend the afternoon buying and preparing food,” she said accusingly.
    Trixie flushed. “I don’t mind,” she protested. “If that’s what you want to do, then that’s what I want to do.”
    Brian gave a short laugh. “Look, why don’t we split up for the afternoon? Honey and I will head to the market and pick up all the ingredients for a fabulous meal, then she can prepare to her heart’s content with yours truly as her willing kitchen hand. You two can take the car and go see a movie.”
    “That wouldn’t be fair,” Trixie said and Jim added. “And if we had the car, how would you two get all the shopping home?”
    “I’m happy for Brian and I to take care of dinner,” Honey replied earnestly.
    “Besides,” Brian grinned. “I think between the two of us we can carry whatever we need. There are only the four of us, not seven like we’re used to. Plus, you’ll get your turn to help when you see the mess we’re going to create in the kitchen.”
    Trixie rolled her eyes, and Jim promised to be home by five-thirty. “That way we can set the table and stuff,” he said.

    Brian was just handing the car keys to his friend when Jim clapped a hand to his forehead. “Our assignments. I forgot we have to drop those off before six today, and we didn’t bring them with us.”
    Brian shrugged. “So? I’m pretty sure that Honey’s not such a hard taskmaster that she won’t let me have half an hour off to go and hand them in.”
    Honey pretended to consider for a few moments. “Well, I suppose you could be excused—briefly, of course.”
    All four Bob-Whites laughed and the group parted, ready to enjoy their afternoons.

     As he and Honey were about to enter the supermarket, Brian noticed their errant neighbours approaching their distinctive car a few doors down.
    “Go on in and get started, Honey,” he said. “I’m just going to have a few words about safety first with our friends over there.”
    “Are you sure that’s a good idea?” Honey looked anxious.
    Brian smiled down at her. “I’ll be fine. Go on, I promise I won’t be long.”
     Reluctantly, Honey nodded, entering the supermarket and leaving Brian to deal with the two young men.     
                                                                                                                                                                                NEXT
MBW:MAIN
Author's notes: Continued thanks to Dana for working her wonderful editorial way through my story. Any omissions, errors etc are completely my own.
Word count: 3240
Disclaimer: Trixie et al belong to Random House and not to me. No profit is being made from these scribblings.