AN – This piece, originally written in 2005, first appeared on my website. Unfortunately, the site is now defunct and the reason I'm using Fanfiction to host my stories. I've pulled it out, dusted it off and reposted it here. For any Jix members who've already seen this piece, yes I am going to finish it this time.
1453hrs Friday 18th February 2005
Tap-tap, tap-tap-tap-tap, tap, tap-tap. Ring-ring. Ring-ring. Ring-ring. Ring-ring. Ring-ring.
'Hello,' a honey sweet voice spoke in a cultured New York accent. 'Thank you for calling Honey-Girl Designs. Please leave your name and contact number. I will endeavour to return you call by the end of the business day.'
Beep. 'Celina Westwood calling Maddy, darling,' sarcasm laced the thoughts running through the caller's mind. 'I am just dying to meet you, after seeing Helena Roseburg's wedding gown last weekend. It was published in the New York Times society pages you know. I simply couldn't be seen in anything less than a Honey-Girl Design for my own wedding next year! Anyway I'm free tomorrow to catch up, darling. Call me!'
Growling at the uncharitable thoughts setting off the triad of spiteful, silent comments, the caller decided not to leave a message in their current state of mind.
Slam.
1702hrs Friday 18th February 2005
Tap, tap-tap, tap-tap, tap, tap-tap. Ring-ring. Ring-ring. Ring-ring. Ring-ring. Ring-ring
'Hello Brian, Honey and Jim can't take your call at the moment,' the same well cultured voice told her listener two hours later. 'In the case of emergencies, have Dr Belden paged at New York General Hospital. Otherwise please leave a detailed message and the individual will return your call as soon as possible.'
Beep.
This time the caller placed the phone in its cradle with some care. A thoughtful look on their face, they wondered what to do now. Coming to a decision quickly, they once again, picked up the receiver before they lost their nerve.
Tap, tap-tap, tap-tap, tap, tap-tap. Ring-ring. Ring-ring. Ring-ring. Ring-ring. Ring-ring.
'Sorry, Madeleine Wheeler is currently unavailable. Please leave a message and she will get back to you,' the same voice from the previous calls announced.
Beep. Three down, three out. It is just after five on a Friday night. I wonder what they are all doing this evening Stop feeling sorry for your self, Slam.
1755hrs Friday 18th February 2005 Ring-ring. Ring-ring. Ring-ring. Ring-ring. Ring-ring. Please pick up someone. I need to be with people tonight, Ring-ring. Ring-ring. Ring-ring. Ring-ring. Ring-ring.
Tap, tap, tap, tap-tap, tap, tap, tap.
'Hello,' a breathless young woman finally picked up the phone on the tenth ring.
'Di?' Surprise evident in the callers tone, she uttered, 'I expected to get your answering machine.'
'Well you're lucky to have caught me. The phone rang as I'm headed for the door,' Di smiled, twirling the cord around one finger, 'I'd almost decided against answering it up.'
I'm already running late to meet Nick, yet I picked up the phone against my better judgment, Diana thought, vaguely annoyed, yet pleased she had taken the time to answer this particular call. It's been over three weeks since I last spoke to Trixie. Something's up with that girl and I intend to find out what it is!
'I have a few things to do at the gallery before the official opening of the exhibition tonight,' Di continued to explain as her friends silence lengthened.
Glancing over to the fridge, Trixie saw the boldly printed invitation held up by three magnets designed to attract her attention. It'd been there for at least a month. Too late she remembered the request for her company at one of Diana Lynch's soirées this evening. 'Actually, I need to speak with you about tonight,' the words came out before Trixie engaged her brain. Slapping her hand to her head, Trixie almost missed her friend's next words.
'You are not cancelling on me at this late stage Trixie Belden,' Diana's tone became hard, as she remembered all the other nights Trixie had called at the last minute to cancel out of an engagement with her friends. Usually she blamed work or for gave such an effusive excuse the other Bob Whites suspected she had a new boyfriend. 'I haven't seen you in three weeks and I'm looking forward to catching up tonight.'
'I'm going to be a little late. Something's come up at work that requires my urgent attention,' she hedged, biting the inside of her lip, as she did, whenever she lied to one of her closest friends.
Why do I do it when what I really want is to be with my friends tonight more than anything else? Silently berating, Trix rolled her eyes wondering how she would extract herself from this one.
You do it because you feel so distant from your friends at the moment, Trixie's subconscious reminded. You've deliberately disengaged because you have to be distant from them for their own protection even if they are becoming aware of it!
'I don't believe you Beatrix!' Di only used her friend's hated first name when she suspected a blatant lie. The name still riled her to this day. 'Besides, I know you're calling from your home phone number. I have caller ID,' Di made a very unladylike noise deep in her throat. 'Now try talking your way out of coming to my big night without hurting my delicate feelings, Miss Belden.'
'Di…' Trix pleaded, not knowing how to extract her famous foot from her currently wide open mouth. Will I ever learn to engage my brain before opening my mouth, Trixie wondered.
'Not this time sweetheart,' the reply was cold and more than a little calculating. Di never understood why Jim and Trixie hadn't developed a relationship as some of the other Bob White's had. None of their early relationship survived the transition to adulthood. Recently, Diana learnt threatening Trixie with Jim's complete and undivided attention often achieved the results she desired.
'I want you here tonight. All the Bob Whites are coming with their respective partners and this will be the first time in at least a year we have all been in the same place at the same time. So if you don't have your delicate derrière inside my Gallery and a smile on your face by 8pm this evening, I will send Jim over to get you,' Di made it sound like a promise rather than a threat.
'Did anyone ever tell you, you fight dirty, Diana Lynch?' Trix sighed dejectedly, not wanting to continue this conversation. Apart from the emotional blackmail you're trying Di, you and Honey both realize I won't spend time in Jim's company, especially alone. You don't know why and at the moment I'm unable to tell you. I wish you would leave the subject be because it's killing me every time you mention it. 'I'll be there I promise.'
'On time? A smile firmly fixed on that face of yours?' Di parried, wondering if the threat of Jim motivated Trixie. Lately Honey, Sally Wellington, Linnie More, Joanna Darnell and Di had noticed their friend's deepening dissatisfaction with life.
'Yes Diana,' Trixie let out a pent up sigh. Sometimes giving in is easier in the long run, Trix reminded herself, especially when my friends mean well. It's not their fault they don't know what they ask of me. 'I will be there, at 8, with bells on.'
'Bells? That will certainly make a unique spectacle. I'll be sure to have the other Bob Whites and their significant others lined up to witness your entrance.' Satisfied she'd achieved her goal, Di decided to play her trump card. Glancing at the watch on her wrist, she became aware of the passage of time. Calculating deviously, Diana realized Trixie had forgotten yet another promise. Di didn't mind being late meeting Nick Roberts for a quick bite to eat before going to the gallery. 'Have you called Honey today? I know she's been trying to get hold of you all week.'
'I tried her at work, home and called her cell earlier today. I got her answering machine,' Trix lamented. 'Does Honey ever answer her phone these days?'
'Of course not, she's much too busy,' the sarcasm dripped from Diana's words. 'Did you actually leave a message or just hang up like you usually do?'
Without waiting for a reply, she continued. 'Honestly Trixie you are becoming a hopeless recluse! You missed our ladies only monthly breakfast at Tanta's two weeks ago, with some lame excuse about work, which Honey and I decided is becoming increasingly ridiculous by the day. Mart told me you hadn't been home to Crabapple Farm since Christmas. Don't blame me, if you've forgotten Honey and Peter are expecting your company at dinner this evening, prior to arriving for the exhibition. I suppose you managed to miss you elder brother tonight as well?'
For the first time today, Trixie had a phone slammed in her ear.
It's just after six now! Trixie lamented as she glanced at the clock above her microwave. I'm sure Honey said something about Brian and Sally picking me up at five thirty. Gleeps! I must have missed while out on my run.
1803hrs Friday 18th February 2005
Ring-ring. Ring-ring. Ring-ring. Ring-ring. Ring-ring.
Trixie picked up the phone gingerly, expecting an angry voice on the other end. She wasn't disappointed.
'Beatrix Belden,' the quality of Brian's level tone informed Trixie of his fury and disappointment. 'Sally and I came by half an hour ago to pick you up for dinner tonight. We waited as long as we could and tried to call your cell. Where were you?'
'Out running, Brian,' Trix tried to defend her actions. Before she could tell her irate brother she would catch a cab to the restaurant, his angry voice drowned out the excuse forming in her mind.
'You made us late meeting Peter and Honey at the restaurant, Trixie. Honey didn't seem surprised at your behaviour but I'm furious with you. Well, you have exactly ten minutes to get yourself ready before Jim knocks on your door,' Brian fumed in his quiet. It sent a shiver down Trixie back and left her feeling suitably chastised. 'Jim's meeting ran late. He at least called to inform the rest of us of his tardy arrival. Jim also offered to collect you as your apartment is on the way, although I don't know why he bothers sometimes.'
The line suddenly went dead in her hand for the second time in less than ten minutes.
Now you've done it Trixie Alicia Belden. Diana's disappointment, you could cope with. Honey's distain, you could cope with. Even the sting of Brian's anger would eventually wear off. Jim's complete and undivided attentions, can you cope with those without telling him the truth?
The Apartment Directly Across from Trixie's
1809hrs Friday 18th February 2005
'Did you get that Johansson?' The shorter of the two men asked looking up at his partner. Still watching the apartment across the street, he trained his binoculars on the stunned blond slowly replacing her telephone receiver. He continued to watch as she rushed into her bedroom, grabbed underwear from a draw and a dress from the closet before hurrying off to the bathroom. 'It would seem the little lady is going out for the evening.'
'I want details.' Turning his attention to the digital recorder on the desk, Enrich Johansson rewound the last four hours phone calls into and out of Beatrix Alicia Belden's New York apartment. 'What do we know right now?' He asked himself, rubbing his temples. 'We know this Jim is collecting her and she is meeting at least four other people for dinner somewhere in New York. Who are they? What part do they play in her life? Who is Diana Lynch?' Replaying the messages they had recorded directly from Trixie's phone, Enrich started making a list of all the people she had spoken to since they had started surveillance on the woman.
'Tim, you're the information expert. Get on the net and find out which gallery in New York, owned by Diana Lynch is hosting an exhibition tonight. Then see if there is any way we can get an agent inside to do close surveillance,' Johansson moved toward the smaller man, relieving him of the binoculars and his position by the window. Handing Tim the information he had gleaned from her conversations, Enrich continued. 'See what you can make of these names. I want to know how they are connected with Belden and what the relationship is between them, if any.'
Tim whistled under his breath several minutes later. His fingers flew over the laptop's keyboard as he continued to pull facts out of the small machine. 'Enrich, I have some old New York Times articles you might like to take a look at, and a few columns from the Sleepyside Sun with interesting information. Then there seem to be a few regional newspapers detailing Miss Belden's exploits.'
'Synopsis,' the taller man growled, still searching the street and apartment across the road, although the status hadn't changed.
'Belden first came to the notice of Police at the age of thirteen, when she found a runaway. The kid was called James Winthrop Frayne II, aka Jim. He was running from an abusive stepfather. David Frayne, the biological father, died when Jim was 10, leaving his wife and son destitute. His family didn't know they stood to inherit several million from an uncle living in the Sleepyside area. It's said the old coot hid his fortune in a dilapidated house next door to the Belden's. He died suddenly of natural causes in July 1994, before Jimmy could contact him.'
'Jimmy boy was about eleven or twelve when Jonesy, the stepfather, convinced the Frayne widow to marry him in early 1991. The marriage gave him respectability and excluded him from an investigation by the local PD into the real source of his income. When the wife died just over a year later, the police once again became interested and dug up the case. This time the local PD wanted him for his new wife's early demise as well as other legal infractions. Unable to take the pressure, Jonesy used Jimmy boy as a coping mechanism for his curtailed activities. The neighbours were terrified they would be his next victims although they knew the kid took a beating. Convicted with abusing his stepson, the court ordered Jonesy removed as Jim's legal guardian in July 1994. Paroled last year, if you can believe it, with good behaviour.'
'Adopted by Matthew and Madeleine Wheeler, of the New York Wheelers weeks later, their money and influence proved pivotal at Jonesy's trial. It appears there is some connection between Frayne's father and Wheeler, making him feel responsible for the kid. More than one gossip columnist has remarked on the likeness of their looks and temperament without any DNA evidence. Wheeler has never made any public announcement but Jim is a sure bet to take over Wheelers' position as company chairman if he ever retires. Wheeler has publicly stated he is grooming his son for the top job at Bathurst Corporation, lending further fat to the fire.'
'You wouldn't expect a man in Wheeler's position to come right out and say he fathered this kid,' Enrich commented under his breath, lowering his binoculars. 'Old money wouldn't want their dirty washing aired in public. Get someone on it. I want to know if Frayne is actually Wheelers illegitimate son. What about the girl, Honey Wheeler?'
'Wheeler's daughters name is Madeleine but she is known as Honey to her friends. As a kid, she took after Ritchie Rich, the poor little heiress, until she got sick. Wheeler moved the entire family to a country estate just outside Sleepyside to help her recover. They moved in next door to Belden and the girls became fast friends until they went to college in different states. Wheeler started at NYU in 1998 but pulled out after her freshman year due to her business booming. She now owns a boutique bridal company called Honey-Girl Designs. Her gowns fetch at least six figures in the society set. Recently 'Maddy' as she now calls herself took over the clothing arm of her father's company and is enrolled part time at Columbia studying Business Management.'
'There are several articles over a three year period, starting in '94 with the discovery of Jim Frayne. They concern a group of kids, calling themselves Bob Whites. Diana Lynch and Dan Mangan, living on the same road as Belden, joined the gang soon after its inception but only participated in some of the adventures. These kids got themselves mixed up in some local PD and FBI cases. There is a counterfeiting case, stolen gems and even gun running. In their spare time they seem to raise money for charity.'
'Belden has three brothers. Mart aka Martin Andrew Belden is older by eleven months. He lives at home with Mom and Dad. Entech employ him as a systems analyst. He also does some freelance computer programming and teaches the local High School kids. Dr Brian Harold Belden M.D. is the oldest child of Peter Harold and Helen Beatrix Belden nee Johnson. He graduated from Columbia Med School almost three years ago. The Doctor is now a Registrar at New York General with a very promising career. Robert Peter Belden, at eighteen has just got his drivers licence. He's in his senior year at Sleepyside High School and living at home. And that's our happy little family!' Tim concluded, looking proud at his achievement.
'What about the gallery?' Johansson pulled his eyes away from the apartment across the way, beginning to understand a little more about this assignment.
'Diana Lynch owns a Gallery called Serendipity in Soho. It hosts exhibitions of new, up and coming New York local talent. Like Wheeler, she dropped out of full time school after her freshman year to run the gallery. She graduates next year majoring in Art Management. The financing for her business came from her Father. He won a modest amount on the lotteries in 1990. He turned it into millions with shrewd investing on the stock exchange. No hint of insider trading. The family's as clean as a whistle. Tonight is black tie, invitation only due to the patronage her name, good taste and undoubtedly Daddy's money attracts,' Tim summarized.
'I have a car pulling up outside her building now,' Johansson reported, returning the binoculars to his eyes for a better look at the young man behind the wheel. 'It's a gold luxury model Ford license plate, New York.'
'Registered to James Winthrop Frayne II. I have a current midtown address for Frayne. The apartment is owned by none other than Daddy Wheeler. He's generously rented it to his kids and Dr Belden for the last five years,' Tim neatly hacked into the MVA data base, recording all the owners' personal details. 'Want to put a tail on them? West is off duty but his loves this kind of assignment.'
'No, get Robinson on the phone and see what he can do about crashing that black tie do tonight. He's got the connections to get in without making waves. We know where she is going to be and who she's going to be with,' Johansson continued to watch the woman across the street as she came out of her bathroom fully dressed. 'Now tell me about Peter, Sally and Linnie? Who are they and how do they fit?'