Darkness Descends

by kayloveswriting

This was formerly "Into the Darkness" I have now completed the story and just changed the title since I had so much trouble trying to download chapters into FanFic. It is book length, so I hope you enjoy, as Trixie is knee deep into a mystery, but doesn't realize it.

Darkness Descends

Formerly known as Into the Darkness

Prologue:

He watched from the darkness, knowing and anticipating her every move. He knew everything about her, her likes, her dislikes, her routines, even her favorite color. "Soon." He said aloud, yet quietly, almost wishing she could hear him.
She was in her cozy apartment, thinking and believing she was safe. She would not hear him, even if she was standing right in front of him. She was oblivious, to everything except her own little world, too busy going about her day to day life, ever the detective and ever in love with the rich, young heir to the Frayne fortune.
Sometimes, he believed he loved her, at least there were things he loved about her, her desire to right all the wrongs in the world, the way she cared about those she loved and other little things. He loved the vulnerability he saw in her, no one could see it except him, not even those closest to her.
Other times, he hated her and wanted revenge for what she had cost him and for the way she went on in her happy, privileged little life, not caring that her past actions had destroyed someone.
"Which one will it be, Trixie?" He once again spoke to the air. Even he wasn't sure. Would he fall in love with her, or would he come after her with a vengeance, like he had gone after the others? Only time would tell.
He lit a cigarette and walked away, whistling silently as he headed back to where he had hidden his car. He savored the crisp, cool, autumn air and the moonlight shining through the trees, what a beautiful night it was, it was the kind of night that he liked to go on the hunt.
He turned for one last look toward the place where she stayed, the place she thought she was alone. The light was on in her bedroom, he knew it was late and she was probably doing her exercise routine before bedtime, since it was one of the things she did every night. He knew this, because he had watched her many times, unbeknownst to her.
"Only time will tell." He repeated his mantra. For her fate was in his hands.

Chapter 1 Secrets

Trixie sighed with frustration as she painstakingly typed investigative reports into her computer. "Why did Sergeant Molinson have to make this stupid rule anyway?" She spoke aloud to herself, referring to his rule that the detective's of the Sleepyside Police Department had to have all paperwork for each week in the computer by Friday, before leaving for the weekend.

"Talking to yourself again?" Honey Wheeler Belden, Trixie's sister-in-law of exactly one year and four months, asked, while poking her head into Trixie's small cubicle. Ah! Trixie yelled, she had believed she was alone in the building and nearly turned her chair over backwards. .

"Of course" Trixie laughed, clutching her chest dramatically, as she righted her chair. "Don't I always talk to myself when I'm frustrated to the max?"
"Yep." Honey smiled at her friend. "I just had to stop before heading home and remind you to call me tonight after your date with Jim!"

"You know I will, but Honey, everything that could go wrong today, has gone wrong." Trixie complained, as she tossed a crumpled paper into the wastebasket. "I had everything all planned, I was going to spend this morning getting these reports in, but I had to investigate that robbery on Hawthorne and since Dan was out sick, I had to do everything alone and I'm just finishing up. I'm not even going to have enough time to go home and take a shower before meeting Jim at the restaurant."
Tonight was not just any date with Jim. The way things were going between the two of them, along with a few subtle hints from Jim the last few times they had gone out, coupled with the place he was taking her tonight, made her feel that a long awaited marriage proposal was in the making.

Jim was taking her to a fancy, romantic restaurant on the outskirts of town, with lots of history, loads of ambiance and very expensive and exclusive. It was called the Butterfly Room and many a marriage proposal had occurred there.

"Oh Trixie, I'm sorry." Honey said sympathetically, as she sat down on the edge of the spare chair inside the cubicle. "But, it'll all work out for the best, you'll see. I wish we had more time to talk, but Brian's probably waiting out front for me." Honey looked at her watch. "I just stopped by to remind you about dinner at our house tomorrow evening, I have some wonderful news. Actually, two different, exciting things I have to tell you. But, as for tonight, I want to hear every detail of the proposal, I just know he is going to pop the question! Even if it's late when you get home, call me tonight!"
"I'll call you soon as I get back to my apartment, I hope Jim is going to propose." Trixie said emphatically. "I'll be very disappointed and embarrassed if he doesn't."

"I know my brother, he's in love with you, by the end of this evening, you'll have a diamond on your finger." With that, statement, Honey jumped up, said goodbye and hurried out, while Trixie turned back to her computer and completed the last bit of paperwork.
Finally, shutting her computer down, Trixie ran to her locker, located in the back of the rectangular building where she worked. She kept some spare clothes there, just in case she needed to do something here in town after work, since she lived 20 minutes away.

After looking over her very limited selection, she chose a short black skirt, a pair of black dress shoes with kitten heels and reached for the periwinkle blue thin sweater which had cost her way more than she needed to spend. She'd chosen it on a shopping trip with Honey and Diana into the city, because she loved the way the color enhanced her best features, causing her eyes to look azure and bringing out the highlights in her reddish blonde hair and the added advantage of causing her skin to look like porcelain.
Trixie carried the clothes into the small ladies restroom and laid them on the vanity. After changing out of her pantsuit and taking her shoulder length blonde hair out of the severe pulled back style she chose for work, she pulled her skirt on.

Holding up the lovely blouse, she noticed something which had not been apparent when she pulled it out of the locker moments ago. The whole front of it had been splattered with something red. She grimly decided this had been done earlier in the week, because the red paint, ink, catsup or whatever it was, was dry to the touch.
"Son of a ..." She didn't bother finishing the sentence, sighing with anger and frustration.
This was one of several incidents of harassment which had occurred regularly since she had become a detective in August, which was just two months ago.

Trixie believed the incidents stemmed from within the department. In Sleepyside, for many reason's, a detective's position was coveted and most people worked at least five years as a rookie before they could even think to attain it. But Trixie had been given a major break when she had only been on the force for a year and Sergeant Molinson offered her the position, partly because of her solving a missing person's case in May, when she was just a rookie police officer and partly because the powers that be were on the department's case because there were no female detective's in the police department.
Up to now, Trixie had taken all this harassment nonsense in stride.

Now, she was angry. The other incidents which had occurred were just goofy, like one night last month she and Jim had gone to a movie at the Cameo Movie Theater and then they had walked down to Wimpy's for coffee. After finishing their coffee, they just walked around town enjoying the evening. The following morning, on the windshield of Trixie's car, there had been a blonde haired Barbie doll wearing an outfit similar to the one she had been wearing the night before, with a knife stuck in it's chest.
Then, there had been a few nights over the last couple of months, when she was driving through the remote, wooded area that led to her apartment, a dark colored 70's muscle car had followed her down the road. Of course, that only confirmed that it was just a couple of the guys in the department, who had made it known that they resented her presence in the detective squad.
All the detective's had a hobby of restoring old cars and each of them owned at least one, even the sergeant and the lieutenant. Dan Mangan was her partner and even he was restoring a 68 Ford Mustang. Of course, she knew it was not Dan, or anyone in upper management, simply because they wouldn't do that. The car, from what she could tell in the darkness, was possibly a seventies Camaro or Firebird.
"I have to put this out of my mind, or tonight will surely be ruined." Trixie determined, even though she was literally seething with anger. She threw her jacket on and stepped out to the locker room and grabbed a white lace blouse and headed back to the bathroom.

Finally, after she finished dressing and combing her hair till it shone, then adding a little powder to cover the freckles and a touch of very light pink lipstick, she was presentable.
She stopped back by her desk, grabbed her purse and headed out, already at least ten minutes late. Her personal cell phone rang. Grabbing it out of her purse, she saw it was Jim. "He's probably standing outside the restaurant waiting for me."

"Hey!" She said breathlessly, trying to modulate her tone of voice, willing him not to realize that something was wrong.

. "Hi baby." He answered, sounding tired. "I'm really sorry, Trixie, but I have to postpone our date tonight, I hope you aren't going to be too mad at me."
At that moment, Trixie experienced a brief roller coaster ride of emotions that went from terrible disappointment, yet tremendous relief at the very same time. The relief of course, because of the little incident with the blouse, which would be on her mind for awhile, despite her best intentions to forget. That, along with the hectic day she had had, caused the timing for such a special occasion to be way off.
"Of course I'm not mad, but what's going on?"
"I have to meet one of Dad's friend's in the city, Dad called and set up this one time meeting, the guy's going out of the country for awhile and this evening is the only opportunity. Dad feels certain he will invest in the school. I'll be back sometime tomorrow afternoon and I'll see you at Honey and Brian's for dinner."
After light small talk, they hung up and Trixie continued into the now dark parking lot, located behind the building.

She was very watchful these days. Of course, part of it was about what happened last Summer, when she discovered the brutal murder of a very dear friend. The other part, even though she was not afraid, the little incidents and occurrences, like the one earlier with her blouse, were unnerving, to say the least.
She climbed into her white 90's model Subaru and prepared for the 20 minute drive home. Trixie felt bone tired and even though it was only mildly chilly on this Indian Summer October evening, she felt cold.

Chapter 2 The dream

The 20 minute drive through the woods to the isolated area where she lived, which was a heavily wooded area between Sleepyside and the next town, seemed to take forever, but finally, Trixie pulled her car into the short driveway.

Trixie warily looked around after exiting her car, assuring herself no one was lurking about, not that anyone would be of course, at least that's what she told herself. Key's in hand, she headed up the stairs to her second story apartment.

Every time she entered her apartment, she marveled to herself about how much she loved this place. It had been a haven for her to grieve her friend's death and also to deal with the crazy things going on regarding her job, because these were things she could not share with her family and closest friend's, or even Jim, none of which, had approved when she moved out here, but she had stood her ground, it was something she knew she had to do.

Her apartment was the second story of an old Mom and Pop store which sat in the middle of the woods. The store had been a successful business since the early sixties, because many tourists drove through this area at the season's peak time, which was Autumn in order to see the leaves in full Autumn array.

Though this was the peak season, the store was closed, because Mr. and Mrs. Elliott, who were now in their seventies, had gone to spend the Autumn and Winter in their condo in South Florida. The store now only opened in Summer.

Mr. Elliott had built the 2 story building with an apartment on the second floor, way back in 1962 when he and Mrs. Elliott were young and starting a family.

Trixie ran up the stairs, unlocked and quickly locked the door of her apartment behind her and stood in the short entrance hall, looking around at her little place.

The apartment was rectangular shaped, the front door opened at one of the short ends of the rectangle. hardwood floors were the floor cover of every room, except for the bath and kitchen.

After entering the small entrance hall, a doorway to the left was a tiny kitchen, the front of which opened to the large, open combination dining and living room.

In the living room, which dominated most of the small apartment, was a blue couch and chair, which Trixie had found for a steal at a yard sale. There were shaker style coffee and end tables Mart had crafted for her, along with blue ginger jar lamps.

When she had moved in a few months ago, Trixie, along with Honey and Diana had decorated, placing various blue and cream rugs around the room, with thin light blue curtains on the sliding glass doors on the left side of the room. The finished effect looked a little late 80's or early 90's, which was not her goal, but it suited her and gave the place a very homelike and warm atmosphere.

Trixie passed through the living room and headed down the hall to her bedroom, dropping her keys beside the blue silk floral arrangement, one of Diana's many art projects, currently displayed on the occasional table.

After lighting her scented candles and filling the tub with her favorite bubble bath, she took a long soak in the big old claw footed tub. Feeling refreshed afterward, she pulled on a big white t shirt that was actually Jim's and was her favorite nightgown.

At that moment, her stomach growled, realizing she hadn't eaten since breakfast, she plodded out to the kitchen in her bare feet. After perusing the fridge, Trixie promised herself she was going to start buying groceries, she had a very slim selection.

She discovered one egg, a fresh tomato from Moms' Fall garden, a bagel and a lone slice of bacon. The bacon, eggs and bagel were compliments of Mark and Diana last weekend when they had driven out to have breakfast with her.

After preparing a one egg omelet and toasted bagel, Trixie took her food, along with a glass of water, since there was nothing else to drink in the house, she headed out to the living room.

She ate ravenously. She had been saving her appetite for a couple of days, thinking she would be going to the restaurant with Jim tonight. After cleaning her plate, Trixie rinsed it in the sink, headed back to the living room and lay down on the couch. Trixie liked to watch the late news, but since it was still early in the evening, she turned the TV off and settled on her couch for a short nap.

Unfortunately, the dream came. Trixie hated the dream. It was part of post-traumatic stress from finding her friend brutally murdered last Summer, at least, that's what Daren, her counselor said.

The dream used to come every night, at least for the first two months after finding her friend. Now, it happened only after a very stressful day, as today had been.

The dream began; transporting her back to last May. It was about an hour before lunch time, Trixie was a rookie cop then, not supposed to be solving cases, but she was off duty that day and she was driving her own vehicle. Her friend Jill Wilmington had been missing for a week.

The idea of Jill being at this place had been gnawing at her since the night before. She had awakened from sleep, remembering the day Jill had visited her for the last time. Jill had been excited about buying a house, she was going to be meeting the Realtor at the house the following day.

Trixie pulled up to the old abandoned farmhouse with the for sale sign posted out front. The house was a big two story, with clapboard siding and a big front porch. It was surrounded by huge trees and with some cleaning, painting and repairs, it could have resembled Crabapple Farm. But right now, it was in a sad state of disrepair. The grass was knee high and what were once flower gardens, had been overtaken by weeds and grass.

Trixie experienced a deep sense of foreboding from the moment she drove up.

It was so hot and humid outside, that she began perspiring almost immediately after leaving the air conditioned comfort of her car.

There was a terrible smell in the air, she could almost smell death here, but convinced herself that her vivid imagination was working over time. Maybe a stray animal had died under the porch or something.

As she gingerly walked through the tall grass to the porch, a lone fly hovered around the torn screen door, droning irritatingly.

Trixie crossed the porch and reached for the door, dreading what she might see inside, yet hoping she wouldn't see anything, all the while that fly droned...

Thud! A loud noise awakened Trixie, who sat straight up on her couch and screamed in terror.

After shaking with fear for a few moments, which was the norm after this particular dream, she began to fully awaken and come to her senses, finally remembering she was in her own apartment and she was okay.

But what was that noise that had awakened her? Trixie slowly got to her feet and tiptoed to the front door, unlocked it and slowly opened it. She stood sideways leaning against the doorpost. Being a cop, she knew not to stand silhouetted in the doorway. She stared out into the darkness of the thick woods across the road and scanned the trees and bushes which dotted the yard of the apartment.

While visually scanning the darkness, something soft touched her leg and she jumped a foot into the air and nearly came emotionally unglued until she glanced down and saw what it was. "Oh Wendell, you scared me half to death!" She yelled, as she bent down and picked him up.

Wendell was her big yellow Tom cat, who had not been home for days. She had been worried about him, because he had never stayed gone this long before.

He was named after Sergeant Molinson, who had found him a year ago outside the police department one day and insisted Trixie take him with her. She had not wanted a cat, but took Wendell anyway and he was now her beloved pet. Looking around, she saw that her plant had been knocked off the porch railing and was dumped upside down at her feet.

"So that's what that noise was that awakened me!" She playfully scolded the cat, feeling ridiculous, for thinking someone could possibly be out here.

"Wendell, you're a bad cat, you knocked my plant off again." Holding the cat with one arm, Trixie bent down and picked up what was left of her plant and the seashell shaped planter which miraculously had escaped breakage and precariously carried the plant, planter and Wendell inside, put her cat on the floor and nudged the door closed with her other arm and then locked it.

After feeding Wendell, and re-potting her plant, Trixie turned off her lights and headed to her bedroom.

As she turned down the quilt on her bed, Trixie shrugged off a pervading feeling that someone had been out there in the darkness watching her. She had long since accepted that she was bound to be paranoid after her experience last Summer with finding Jill in the manner she did.

Chapter 3

The following Evening, Saturday: Dinner at Honey and Brian's

Arriving at Honey and Brian's big country farmhouse, Trixie saw that Dan's truck was parked in the circular drive. She assumed Hallie would be with him, since they were dating. She also recognized Mart's SUV parked behind Dan, so she knew he and Diana were there.

She felt a twinge of disappointment as she noticed Jim's truck wasn't there. "Maybe he'll be here shortly." She told herself, pulling her car in behind Mart's.

Everyone was gathered in the living room as she stepped inside. After Trixie greeted her family and friends, Honey pulled her into the cheerful kitchen, with the country oak cabinets and yellow and white accents. The delicious aroma of lasagna and homemade rolls wafted from the oven.

"I waited and waited for you to call me last night." Honey told her, grabbing her hands and looking at her fingers to see if she wore an engagement ring.

"I'm sorry Honey, I forgot all about it. Jim had to cancel our date, so there was really nothing to tell." Trixie hoped her tone nonchalant tone conveyed to Honey that she really did not want to talk about it.

"What happened?" Honey asked, as she laid fresh vegetables on the counter and she and Trixie began chopping them for salad.

Trixie quickly explained Jim's cancellation of the night before.

"I was wondering why my brother hadn't arrived yet, I guess he hasn't made it back from the city. Are you okay?"

"I'm fine, Honey. There'll be another time. Hopefully next time, I won't be swamped with work, yesterday was stressful beyond belief."

Their talk was cut short as Brian stuck his head into the doorway.

"Mart says he's starving."

"So, what else is new?" Honey laughed. "Tell him dinner will be ready in about ten minutes."

Hallie and Diana joined them in the kitchen then and Trixie forgot all about her troubles as she and her best friends joked around, and caught up on the events of the past week.

It was a cheerful group that gathered around the large country oak table, even though Jim's absence was conspicuous, Trixie's mind was temporarily taken off of all the every day concerns since the talk centered around funny stories. Mart told of some of his experiences with the students of his agricultural class at Sleepyside High School, Brian shared some humorous tales of some things that befell him while working in a large hospital emergency room in New York City.

Afterward, everyone carried desert and decaf into the living room.

Trixie sat quietly, amusedly observing her friends and family while they discussed various subjects and enjoyed their Italian Creme cake.

She found herself silently defining the qualities which characterized the strength of the relationships between her brothers and their wives, along with Dan and Hallie.

Mart and Diana's relationship seemed to be based on good humor. They joked about everything and never took life too seriously. Yet, they were very much in love.

Honey and Brian's relationship was very romantic, solid and quiet. Trixie watched as their eyes met and they shared a secretive smile.

Then, there was Dan and Hallie. Hallie sat in Dan's lap in a big overstuffed chair. This week, at least, they were actually getting along. They were engaged to be married, but Trixie hoped they waited a long time. She decided their relationship was defined by passion. Unfortunately, it was not always a good passion. They often had some pretty serious arguments, since both had some baggage from their childhood and both were strong willed and stubborn.

Trixie hoped that before they married, they would seriously work toward resolving some issues, or she had no doubt a marriage between the two of them would end up in divorce.

She also hoped that she and Jim, once they married would have a relationship defined by all those strengths. Not the kind of passion that made them fight like Dan and Hallie, of course, but the passion that tended to be a good thing, at least when Dan and Hallie were getting along, which unfortunately, wasn't often.

Hallie, who was a loan officer at the bank where Trixie's father was president, was in the middle of telling a funny story about someone who had came in the bank, when Trixie's cell phone rang. She pulled it out of her purse and was happy to see it was Jim.

Excusing herself, she stepped out onto the front porch.

"Hi sweetheart." Jim said.

"How'd everything go?" Trixie asked, referring to his meeting in the city.

"Well, I got another investor for the school, it's looking good. I'm not going to make it to Honey's, but I'll try to make it to Crabapple Farm tomorrow for lunch."

"Well, the night's still young, I could come over to Manor House."

"I wouldn't be any fun Trixie, I'm beat. I'm still on the road, soon as I get home, I'm going straight to bed. We'll get together tomorrow. No matter what, I'm taking tomorrow off, I want to see all our friend's and family, but I especially want to see you." Trixie felt warm inside when he said that, she acknowledged to herself that she was absolutely, positively crazy over Jim Frayne.

They talked a little more and said their goodbye's, then Trixie went back into the living room. She conveyed the news that Jim would not be joining them tonight and everyone, especially Honey, was disappointed. But, everyone's good humor quickly returned.

"Now, that Trixie's back inside, we have two announcements to make." Brian said, as Trixie reclaimed her seat beside Diana and Mart.

"Let me tell them the first news, please!" Honey begged. "Of course, my love." Brian told her, throwing his hand to the side with mock formality. "The floor is yours." "Thank you." Honey said, smiling at Brian. She stood to her feet.

"Well, as you all know" Honey said, looking at each of them. "Brian is very tired of working in New York City and being away from home so much." Everyone nodded affirmatively. Brian stayed at the Wheeler apartment in the city and spent Monday through Thursday working long shifts in a large emergency room in a major hospital, therefore only able to be at home on weekends.

Since they were now married, this situation though necessary because of the lack of employment nearer to home, had begun to wear on he and Honey.

"So, last weekend, Doctor Ferris and his wife had us come over for dinner." Honey continued. "Doctor Ferris is finally going to retire and he's selling his office building and all his equipment to Brian at a price you would not believe. Brian will be taking over his practice here in Sleepyside sometime next Spring!"

"Wow!" Diana said. "I'm so happy for you!"

"Congratulations Bro!" Mart told him, jumping up and grabbing his brother in a bear hug, then hugging Honey. "It's going to be so good to have you back here full time." Hallie, Trixie and Dan also voiced how glad they were. Everyone began talking and asking questions at once.

"Wait, there's more." Honey held up one hand and laughed, while waiting for everyone to quiet down.

"As you know, Doctor Ferris has that two story building off of Main and Fifth, we've all gone there to the doctor. He doesn't even use the second story, its only for storage. We've been talking and thinking that maybe that would be the ideal place for the "Belden-Mangan Detective Agency."

Everyone was even more excited and happy then, once again, everyone began asking questions at once.

Trixie, Honey and Dan had been saving since graduating from college toward their goal of owning their own detective agency. Their target date for that was still about four years away, but, this was good news, since having an inexpensive place to operate out of could move the date up somewhat sooner.

Brian shushed everyone at that point. "I have some more news." He told them, standing beside Honey and taking her hand. They looked into each others eyes and smiled. As Honey turned back to the others, she looked as if she were about to say something. "Let me tell them this one." Brian implored. "Okay, go ahead." Honey said indulgently.

"Well, it's like this. Honey's knocked up." Brian said jokingly. Honey playfully punched him in the arm for saying it like that.

Everyone sat in stunned silence. "Did you not get it?" Brian asked finally. "We're going to have a baby!"

Everyone in the room really went wild then. Mart was so excited, he jumped up and hugged Brian, Dan and everyone else. There were hugs and congratulations all around.

After a time, though she was enjoying herself, the restless night she experienced last night was catching up to Trixie. Stifling a yawn, she carried her coffee cup and desert plate back into the kitchen.

"Trixie, can I talk to you a minute?" Dan asked, following her into the kitchen. "Sure, what's up?" She dreaded this conversation, knowing full well what he wanted to talk about.

"Are you ready for court this week?" Trixie didn't look at Dan, as she scraped food off her plate into the garbage disposal. She of course, knew exactly what he was referring to. This was the week she would testify in court what she had found, when the trial began for the man everyone believed had murdered their friend, Jill Wilmington.

"I'm ready." She stated convincingly, still busily cleaning.

"I am your partner." He emphasized, reaching out and taking her by the shoulders, turning her toward him. "Of course, you are." She answered annoyedly. For awhile now, she and Dan shared some variation of this conversation every time they were around one another, which was quite often, since they were partners at Sleepyside Police Department.

"We need to talk about this, Trixie, I don't know if you realize this, court tomorrow, is going to be like living what happened to Jill, all over again."

"I've already told you, I will not talk about it. Enough said."

Dan sighed in frustration, as Trixie moved back from him, causing his hands to fall away from her shoulders.

"For the record, Dan, just because we're partners on the job, does not mean you have to know everything about my personal business."

"I don't want to know about Jill just because we're partner's, nor am I trying to pry into your personal life. He told her, running his fingers through his hair, frustratedly. "We're friends too, Trix. Being partners is just more of a reason why you should talk to me. I'm not your enemy here, I just want to help you get through this"

"I talk to Daren." She told him, referring to her Molinson appointed professional counselor. "As I've told you before, I'm fine, I'm dealing with this my own way. This subject is closed Dan. Not just for now, but forever. I've tried for a long time to be nice about it and not hurt your feelings, but don't bring it up again." Trixie tossed the dishtowel on the counter and after glaring at him, she left the room.

Trixie hugged everyone again, except Dan, who had followed her back to the living room. She then happily congratulated her brother and Honey a second time, told all the others goodbye and pulled her sweater on.

She felt bad about being short with Dan, but they had been having this conversation for the past few months, ever since she had found Jill's body. He was constantly trying to get her to discuss her feelings on the subject and she was not about to.

Chapter 4

Troubled

Trixie could not confide in anyone. She reminded herself of this fact, as she steered her car out of Honey and Brian's driveway and began the long drive to her apartment.

She really did talk to Daren about Jill, which had helped her tremendously, that much she had been honest about. He had told her some things to expect emotionally after having such a horrendous experience and had given her some helpful suggestions on how to handle the different incidences like nightmares, fear and feelings of paranoia.

As Trixie drove through the dark October evening, she remembered her friend, Jill. In the short time they had known her, Jill had become like an older sister to Trixie and the rest of the former BWG's. When Jill was murdered, they had all mourned her like family.

During Trixie's teen years, she had gotten into some sticky situations, some were life threatening. But, because she had been so young and also her belonging to such a loving and strong family where she knew she would always be safe, with the exception of a few nightmares, she had fared really well emotionally and had moved past those occurrences rather quickly, ready for the next mystery.

Because of that, Trixie had believed she could handle virtually anything. She was totally unprepared for what finding a dear friend in that situation, would do to her emotionally. She would not confide in any of her loved ones, not even Jim, because she feared that it would taint what she had with him and the others. Her group of family and friend's and especially Jim, didn't realize it, but just being with them and the joy of that, was what had help her to cope with what had happened.

Sure, they all knew what had happened to Jill, it was in the newspapers and word of it was all over town. It was such a horrendous crime, it had literally rocked Sleepyside, shocking the small community to it's very core.

Then of course, Jill was not the only subject Trixie was being closemouthed about. The subject with Jill provided a smoke screen for her with Dan and anyone else who sensed that she was not exactly herself these days.

She could tell no one what she was going through at the police department. Since being promoted to detective, Trixie had been harassed every kind of way on the job. She had endured cruel practical jokes that were sometimes unnerving, causing her to feel as if she were walking a tight rope. This, more than Jill, was something her friends and family could never know about. She was determined to go through this alone, because she knew she had to earn the respect of her male coworkers and because bringing it out in the open could cause a majority of problems, not just for her, but for others on the job.

Another reason everything had to remain a secret was Jim. If he knew some of the things she was experiencing and had already experienced on her job as detective for the Sleepyside Police Department with two certain co-worker's, he would become insistent that she resign right away. He had already broached the subject of her coming to work with him, when his school opened at the end of next Summer.

Trixie could not confide in Honey, her best friend, because Honey might feel the need to tell Brian and Brian would probably tell Jim, since the two of them were best friend's.

She couldn't talk to Diana or Mart, because Mart and Dan were best friend's and Mart might tell him and Dan was liable to punch someone out on the job. If he did, it could adversely affect his career in law enforcement and even his future as a private detective when the time came for them to get their PI licensing in order to open their own business.

The guys she worked with respected Dan, even though he was a newcomer and because he was male. There were never any incidences, or ugly remarks made on her behalf, or to her, or about her, when he was around, so thankfully, he was clueless and she planned for it to stay that way.

Trixie could not talk to her counselor, Daren about issues at the department, because he would consider it his duty to tell internal affairs and it would be all brought out in the open and if that happened, it could reverberate to the point that the Sergeant and the Lieutenant could be called on the carpet, which could adversely affect their jobs, all because of a couple of immature idiot guys that were working as detective's.

So, as difficult as it was, Trixie determined to deal with it herself. She accepted this particular fact with grim determination. But Dan, being her partner, sensed she was keeping things from him. As long as he believed all of her quietness and secrecy had to do with Jill, that was a good thing. He could never know the truth.

Trixie tried not to worry, but the incident last evening with ruining her blouse had really crossed the line.

As she left the evening lights of Sleepyside behind and cruised down the winding road through the heavily wooded area to her apartment, she was apprehensive and watchful.

Tonight, she was not followed. Trixie was relieved when her ride home was uneventful.

Chapter 5

So it begins

Trixie was startled awake by the alarm. She couldn't believe it was Monday already. She had slept like a baby last night, no nightmares, which probably stemmed from her being so tired. She cursed Sergeant Molinson again as she picked out her wardrobe for court today. Another rule of his, the guys had to wear a dress shirt and tie for court, she, being female, had to wear a suit and the suit had to be a skirt, not a nice pantsuit.

Trixie chose a navy skirt, which came to an inch above her knees, along with a very plain white blouse and completed her outfit with low heeled navy dress shoes. She then painstakingly twisted her hair into a tight knot in back of her head. Standing in front of the mirror, Trixie decided she was presentable. She headed out.

Court lasted most of the day. It seemed as if the horror of Jill's untimely death was relived over and over. Trixie saw Jill's parents and several friends of hers break down in many times.

The man suspected of killing Jill, was Oliver Sternhauser, a short, mildly overweight balding guy in his mid forties. He owned the building Jill and her friend Dana worked out of. The problem with the case against him was that the evidence was circumstantial and Mr. Sternhauser had an excellent defense lawyer. Trixie thought Sternhauser was slimey, and there was no other suspect, but she was not sure he was guilty. On the other hand, she was not certain he was not guilty.

The case was declared a mistrial and to the sound of Jill's parents, siblings and friend's sobbing, everyone began to file out.

Dan had joined Trixie in court during the afternoon hours, so after court ended, they were silently mulling through the crowded, loud courtroom.

As Oliver Sternhauser, was being formally released, Trixie and Dan both noticed someone heading toward Sternhauser. It was Jill's Father, with a gun in his hand. She and Dan wordlessly made eye contact both realizing at the same time, what was about to happen. They turned and quickly pushed through the crowd. Dan grabbed Mr. Wilmington's arm and tried to point the gun upward, while wrenching it out of his hand at the same time. Dan was unsuccessful in his attempt.

Trixie, at five foot two and 115 pounds was not able to shove Mr. Sternhauser to the floor to protect him from being shot, so she grabbed him and pulled him down using all of her weight of 115 pounds, as the gun went off. Sternhauser landed on top of her as the two of them skidded a short way across the shiny floor.

Dan and the bailiff took a moment to find out if anyone had been hurt, luckily no one had. An officer who had also testified today, stepped forward to arrest Mr. Wilmington, as Dan came and wordlessly pulled Oliver off her and helped her up. "Are you okay?"

"Well, my best pair of hose is ruined." Trixie could feel her hair had come down and her skirt had probably gave anyone who was interested a free show, since it had ridden up past her waist as she slid across the floor. Trixie didn't think she had ever been so humiliated.

Quickly composing herself, straightening her skirt and blazer, she pulled her hair back into place. Ignoring Sternhauser's impassioned attempt at thanking her, she and Dan continued outside.

Trixie had hurt her ankle when she fell, but not bad, just enough to cause her to walk with a slight limp. "Are you hurt?" Dan asked concernedly, taking her arm. "Just a little." She winced.

"Wait here and let me bring the car around to the front." Normally, she would have argued, but it was a long way to the courthouse parking lot and Trixie didn't know if her ankle could take it.

"Ms. Belden!" Someone called from behind her. Trxie stood at the bottom of the courthouse steps, waiting for Dan. She looked behind her to see who called, but the crowd was too thick. She turned back around. Out front, were several news vans, reporters were busy interviewing Jill's family and friends about the trial, thankfully, they hadn't noticed her yet.

"Ms. Belden!" repeated the somewhat familiar male voice. She turned and Oliver Sternhauser was hurrying down the steps toward her.

"You saved my life!" He said breathlessly, sweating profusely as he came to stand in front of her. "I did my job." She answered firmly.

"Ever since this happened to Jill, no one has cared what happened to me, I've had death threats, scary things have happened to me and my mother, we call the cops, they act like it's no big deal. You're the only one that cares." He pulled a handkerchief out of his pocket and wiped the sweat from his face.

Trixie didn't know how to deal with this awkward encounter and was relieved when she saw the big black department issued Lincoln, driven by Dan, easing through traffic to the front of the courthouse.

She ignored Sternhauser and stepped forward, wincing as her ankle gave a painful twinge.

"Ms. Belden, please let me tell you something." She turned toward him. He moved into her personal space, way too close for her comfort. His mouth was close to her ear, where no one except Trixie could hear him, he whispered; "I didn't kill Jill, I loved her. You have to believe me."

"It's not about what I believe, Mr. Sternhauser. The judge made the determination that there was not enough evidence to convict you."

She moved away from him and climbed into the car. She and Dan drove away leaving him standing there.

Chapter 6

The night has a thousand eyes

"What a day" Trixie thought, stepping out of the shower. Soon as she had gotten to her apartment, she had soaked her ankle in some warm water and taken some aspirin, which had helped relieve her ankle soreness and the pounding headache she had had earlier. She felt like a new woman.

Her land-line rang. Grabbing her blue bathrobe, she hurried into the living room to answer.

"Hello beautiful" Jim said, as soon as she picked up. "Hey yourself." She answered smiling. For the first time in awhile, he sounded relaxed.

"I was wondering if you could come over. I've got some porterhouse steaks ready to throw on the fireplace grill and the cook has made some of her famous stuffed potatoes and salad." "That sounds great." She said. After talking some more and Trixie agreeing on what time to be there, they hung up.

Trixie pulled on a pair of faded levis that fit her perfectly, they had been washed so much they were soft and comfortable, she completed the outfit with a very light shell pink sweater. She wore her hair down, which was the way Jim liked it, if not for him, she would cut her hair short.

The twenty minute drive into Sleepyside went by quickly, since Trixie would not allow herself to think of the troubling day she had had in court, she willed her thoughts toward Jim and anticipated her evening with him.

Jim and Honey's parents were now living in England, since Mr. Wheeler's huge corporation had took an economic tumble after the economy had gone sour. Of course the Wheeler's were not broke by most people's standards. When Mr. Wheeler's business failed, he had promptly moved to London and begun an international company, Wheeler Enterprises.

The Wheeler's had kept the Manor house and the house on Cobbett's Island, along with the apartment in New York City, as tax write offs.

Ms. Trask still worked and lived at Manor House, she paid all the bills and had power of attorney for Mr. Wheeler. Regan had bought a house on Glen Road, but he still maintained all the horses and the stable, because Jim wanted them for his school. So until the school was up and running, the former Bobwhite's had to take time out of their busy schedules to ride the horses.

The only other employee's were a part time cook and Celia. A chauffeur was no longer needed, so Tom Delanoy had opened up a mechanic shop in Sleepyside. He and Celia now had two children and lived in a small house outside of town.

Jim, when he wasn't busy traveling and promoting the concept of his school and rounding up investors to get the school up and running, currently lived at Manor House. He and Ms. Trask had closed most of the huge rooms of the house, only utilizing their own bedrooms and the small cozy study with the fireplace. Of course the kitchen was open when the cook was there.

Jim opened the door as soon as Trixie stepped onto the porch. He enveloped her in a hug and they kissed passionately.

Hand in hand, they made their way into the study. Jim had lined the fireplace mantel with candles and soft music played in the background.

. "I thought we could eat in here, if that's okay."

"That's great" She replied, appreciating the trouble he had gone to for her.

"I've got some things to tell you. I couldn't wait to see you tonight."

After enjoying the delicious food, and making light conversation, they piled the dishes on a cart, which Jim wheeled out to the kitchen. He returned with a large rolled up sheet of paper.

"Here's what I wanted to show you."

He and Trixie sat side by side on the couch, both leaned forward as he spread out a set of house plans. "What a nice house!" She said enthusiastically, looking them over.

"I had this specially designed."

"I like it." She looked into his eyes. "But I thought we...I mean, you were going to live at the school."

"No, I'll enjoy the work at the school, but I want a life away from there too. This house is modest, but it would meet our needs. We can entertain guest's in this room." Jim pointed at a large living room.

"And there's also a formal dining room for that same purpose. For us as a family, the house has a family room right here, along with a breakfast room." He pointed at the paper. "This particular floor plan has everything we need. The question is, do you like it Trixie?"

"I do." She replied truthfully. The plan was a two story, kind of like a modern version of a farmhouse, with a porch all the way around.

"Where will it be built?" She asked.

"Well, since I built the school on the game preserve, I thought I might build the house on the land at Ten Acres, where Uncle James's house used to be."

"I would love to see a house there again." Trixie stated, mentally picturing the property.

"Trixie, I don't want to ask you here, because I want it to be more memorable than this, but you know, why I was taking you to the Inn the other night." She nodded affirmatively. "I want to ask you in a more romantic setting, so I'm not going to ask right now. But, I want our future to be together, so unless you have other plans, this will be your house too. That being said, you might want to begin picking out things, like carpet, cabinets, floor covering."

"Oh Jim, I'd love to!" She said, hugging him, they shared a kiss. "I want our future to be together too." This was the next best thing to a proposal, Trixie thought happily. He is going to ask me to marry him!

"I also have other great news for you." rolled the plans up and put them on an end table, beside the couch. He then lay down on the couch, while pulling her down with him.

"I know this past year or so has been rough for both of us, because I'm on the road so much trying to line up investors for the school and all. Then, when I'm here, I have to answer correspondence, read emails, make calls, it's never ending. Well, I'll still have to travel, but I'm going to hire someone to do the secretarial type work. That means when I get to be home, we'll have more time together. So Ms. Belden, get ready to see a lot more of me." He said, tickling her. They wrestled on the couch a little, laughingly, then settled down. Both were tired and it wasn't long before they were sound asleep.

Trixie jumped up about an hour later. "Trix, what are you doing?" Jim asked sleepily, sitting up on the couch. "I have to get home." She said, grabbing her purse and pulling on her jacket.

"Trixie, it's nearly 11 pm." Jim looked at his watch. "Instead of taking that long ride, I know it wouldn't look right to your parents for you to spend the night here, why don't you just go next door to their place and spend the night?"

"No, I have to get home. My clothes are at my apartment, my handcuffs and other equipment I'm required to have with me on my job and I have to feed my cat..."

"Well, let me drive you." He said, pulling his car keys out of his jean's pocket.

No, Jim. I can't leave my car here, I won't have a way to work tomorrow if I do." She pushed past him and rushed out into the chilly night.

He followed her outside and stood on the porch watching unhappily as she drove away.

Trixie hated the worried look on his face, knowing that she was responsible for it.
She also felt certain she would have the dream tonight, since she had relived finding Jill all over again today in court.

Feeling terribly alone after leaving Manor House, she drove through the moonlit woods. There was seldom any traffic on this road, especially later at night. Trixie was apprehensive as a car pulled out from a side road and followed her.

The car followed her closely all the way to her driveway, revving its engine, then it passed by, heading down the road past her drive. Trixie watched it pass in her car's mirror, as she pulled in and parked in front of her apartment.

She quickly exited her car, which she had to lock the old fashioned way, by clicking a switch inside the door. Since her car was older, it didn't have a key fob like many of the newer vehicles.

Trixie felt as if she were being watched, as she hurried up the long flight of steps to the door of her apartment. Her cat, Wendell was waiting for her on the porch.

To her, it seemed as if the beautiful, starlit night had a thousand eyes.

Chapter 7

Everyone's angry

The following day, was nasty, gray and rainy, but in spite of that, Trixie felt wonderful. Even being followed last night, could not dampen her enthusiasm. Jim was going to ask her to marry him!

A couple of mornings a week, Trixie stopped by Crabapple Farm and had coffee with her parents on the way into work.. Today, would be one of those times.

As usual, her parents were at the breakfast table. Her teenage brother Bobby had already left for school.

"Hi Dad" she said, stopping to plant a kiss on his head, while he read the newspaper. "Hey." he said gruffly, pulling away from her, which was not normal. Trixie was shocked, when her Father tossed the paper down, glared at her and left the room.

"What's wrong with Dad?" Trixie asked her mother, puzzled. "This." Her Mother said, picking up the Sleepyside Sun Newspaper and holding it in front of her. In shock, Trixie looked at the picture on the front page.

The large picture showed Trixie and Oliver Sternhauser in front of the courthouse. Underneath it was a bold headline, which read; "Detective sympathizes with the man accused of Wilmington's murder." Trixie gasped aloud, as she took the newspaper out of her mother's hands.

The picture was taken when Oliver Sternhauser had stepped up close to her and was whispering in her ear yesterday in front of the courthouse. Trixie didn't realize till now, but to her consternation, she had inadvertently inclined her ear toward him.

"I'll sue!" She yelled, sitting down at the kitchen table, her eyes still glued to the picture and article. "Mom, this did not happen the way it looks, or sounds!" Trixie read the article, which detailed how she had saved Sternhauser from being shot by the murder victim's father, when she pulled him to the floor inside the courthouse yesterday, then the article made it appear as if she had engaged in a private conversation with him, as the two had afterward stood out front of the courthouse.

"I know, dear." Her mother replied, as she poured Trixie a cup of coffee, then sat down at the table with her. "But your Father is very upset. We've already gotten several calls this morning because of this article. We've heard from Jill's mother, friends of ours, even people that do their banking, at the bank where your father works, everyone is irate about the role they believe you played in all this. I finally took our phone off the hook, because we received call after call, starting early this morning."

Later, when Trixie arrived at the office, the mood was not much better. The only positive note, was that Dan had arrived ahead of her and had already explained the situation. Of course, Trixie was called into Molinson's office for a meeting with he and Lieutenant Briton. The Sergeant and Lieutenant even laughed about the situation a little. Trixie, however, did not think it was humorous in the least.

After ending her meeting with the two of them, things could only get worse. Luckily, she hadn't seen the other detective's yet. When she stepped back into her cubicle, her personal cell was ringing off the hook.

Seeing Jim's number on the screen, Trixie answered, thinking how good it would be to hear his voice, especially after the morning she had had.

"Hi Jim." She answered, trying to sound cheerful.

"Well, Detective Belden, I hope you're happy!" Yelled Jim Frayne, sarcastically. "What?" She asked, dreading the conversation that was sure to follow.

"Well, thanks to you trying to be so nice to this scumbag criminal and getting your picture out there for the whole world to see, and since most of the town knows we're dating, two of my local investors have canceled on me this morning, with possibly more to come. Not to mention, you saved Sternhauser's life yesterday and now Mr. Wilmington is in jail. Why didn't you stay out of it? " He yelled.

"I can't talk about this right now, Jim" Trixie was fuming at this point. "We'll talk later." She slammed the phone down before Jim could reply.

Chapter 8

Hostile Work Environment

"Way to go Belden, you single handedly made the whole department look bad." Eric Kelson stated. Trixie noticed out of the corner of her eye, that he was casually leaning against the entrance of her cubicle, his arms crossed.

"Stuff it Kelson." Busy entering case information into her computer, Trixie didn't even dignify him with a glance.

Kelson was one of her fellow detective's. He was good looking and tall, with broad shoulders, blonde hair and a perpetual tan. He looked like someone you might see surfing on the beach. .

"Go away." She spoke, finally looking up. Eric watched her, a contemptuous smile slowly spreading across his face.

In the hallway behind him, she noticed his partner, Loricelli, leaning against the wall, smirking at her. Trixie glared at both of them.

Loricelli was handsome also, tall, muscular and wiry, with dark hair and brown eyes, a regular Italian Stallion. These two were her nemesis's here at the department. She suspected they were behind all the things going on, from the practical jokes, to following her home. They, along with some of the rookie cops, had been the most vocal and vindictive about her getting the job as detective, as friend's of theirs had some years in the department under their belts and were, to their way of thinking, more qualified.

The two of them were Molinson's pet's. He saved the few good cases that came in for them. In fact, they had worked Jill's missing person's case before she was discovered dead, then her murder case afterward. Trixie felt they should not have been given the case, since it represented a conflict of interest, because they had both gone to school with Jill and had known her since Elementary School.

Both guys had been married and divorced a few years ago. Nowadays, when not working, according to the gossip mill in the police department, they lived like swinging bachelor's.

Trixie had been harassed by them, especially Eric Kelson. Many young women threw themselves at their feet. Of course, Trixie was already dating Jim when she started at the department and even if she wasn't, she would not have been interested in either of them. They were what is commonly known as "players."

Loricelli and Kelson had been best buddies since their glory days at Sleepyside Junior-Senior high, where they had been star athletes and had gone on to play professional football in college. Both had grown up in Sleepyside, but were a few years older than the former Bobwhite's of the Glen.

Trixie's first incident of getting on their bad side, was when she refused to date either one of them.

Her second, was when she solved the missing person's case and found Jill, which had made the two of them look bad, since she had been a lowly rookie police officer and they were the detectives assigned to the case. Her third, was when Molinson hired her on as detective.

"Hey Belden, I can't believe you protected a looser like Sternhauser in the courtroom yesterday, then played patty cake with him outside the courthouse. Did you ever stop and think of how Jill's family and friend's feel?"

"I'm not in the mood for it this morning, Kelson. Go away." She yelled, he continued to grin at her, his eyes twinkling with some sort of amusement.

"Was it as good for you, as it was for him when the two of you rolled across the courtroom floor?" He waited for a reaction from her, she refused to give him the satisfaction. He finally swaggered off, when he saw she wasn't going to take the bait. His partner Loricelli rewarded her with a taunting smile, before following Kelson, which made her feel nervous, she never knew what these two might be up to.
The other detectives on Sleepyside Police Department, consisted of; Don Goodloe and Larry Monson, both were in the age range of her father. Trixie had never felt any sort of threat from either of them . She knew they were just biding their time till retirement and were always polite to her. If they had a problem with her getting this job, or anything else, they had never shown it.

But later in the morning, when Trixie stepped out of her cubicle to grab something from the printer, she had spoken to Monson, to her surprise, even he reacted a little coolly toward her. She knew he was probably friend's with the Wilmington's.
Returning to her cubicle, Dan Mangan walked in behind her. "I can't believe the Sun would try to make you look so bad." Dan had a grim look on his face, as he sprawled in the one empty chair inside her cubicle.

"At least, you don't think I'm in cahoots with Sternhauser." Trixie said, rolling her eyes at Dan.

"I was there, remember? Besides, Trix, I know you." He picked up the copy of the paper, she had brought from her parent's and stared at the picture. "The angle they caught you, makes it look as if you had tilted your head up and he was kissing you on the cheek. "

"Don't say that." Trixie moaned. "Would you like some coffee?" She offered standing and pouring herself a cup.

"I already had my coffee this morning. I guess I'd better get busy, I'm going to call that guy that said he witnessed the robbery case we investigated last week."

He stood and stretched. "Don't worry Trixie, this will all blow over."

"I hope so. " She said doubtfully. "I sure hope it does."

Chapter 8

All is right with the world, at least for now

It was a long day. Sometimes being a detective on the force was extremely boring, especially in a small town like Sleepyside. It was interesting to get a new case, but that didn't happen often.

Unsolved cases were ongoing, until every resource pertaining to it was exhausted. So when you had nothing else to do, you updated. Updating consisted of researching, sending out requests for paperwork which pertained to the case, and interviewing suspects, and/or witnesses. Interviews were conducted either by phone, or in person. After receiving case related information of any kind, the officer entered the information into the system.

Trixie's day consisted of updating her casework . She hoped it would help take her mind off the situation at hand, especially with Jim. Burying herself in casework didn't help much though, her mind kept drifting, she was very concerned about how that newspaper article could affect her family.

As the day wore on, Dan left early in the afternoon, he and Hallie had plans together. The other detective's gradually drifted away from the office. Trixie expected more trouble from Kelson and Loricelli, but earlier, Molinson had assigned them a new case and they probably wouldn't return to the office till tomorrow.

Department policy dictated, that someone had to be here at the detective's office until 5:00 p.m. Trixie usually got stuck with this particular duty. Usually she minded, but not today, she dreaded going home, there was too much time to worry and think about the situation at hand.

Finally, she stretched, yawned, closed out her computer and stood. Grabbing her jacket and slipping it on, she headed out to the parking lot. It was a moment of deja vu, when her phone rang, reminding her of last Friday when she was headed out the door for a date with Jim.

Trixie looked at her phone. Strangely enough, the caller ID showed it was Jim. "Hello" She spoke, unable to keep the hurt out of her voice.

"Hello Trix, listen I'm sorry about this morning. I want to see you. I'm leaving tonight for Texas to meet with another potential investor. Could you meet me for dinner?"

"Sure." She said, still hurt, but her heart was already beginning to forgive.

"I don't want to go to Sleepyside right now, though." Trixie knew if she went any where here in town, she was liable to run into some harassment, thanks to the news article.

"How about that little out of the way restaurant in White Plains?" He asked. "You know the one I'm talking about, the one we went to with Dan and Hallie."

"Oh, I love that little place." She remembered, "I'm heading out right now."

Trixie ran back inside and quickly shook her hair out of it's pulled back style, combed it, and put on a little lipstick and silently wished she had something to change into. She was wearing a brown pantsuit and boots, part of her neutral colored wardrobe she wore to the office. "It'll have to do."

Chapter 9

Missing Jim

Trixie parked her car in front of the small, old fashioned diner in White Plains. She could see Jim through the big windows in front.

"He looks so handsome."

She loved him so much. He was sitting in a booth in front of one of the big glass windows, studying the menu. He hadn't seen her yet.

Jim stood when she walked in and wrapped her in his usual bear hug and they kissed, oblivious to the few patrons around them,who watched them bemusedly. "I thought you were getting ready to break up with me after our phone conversation this morning." Trixie stated tearfully, looking into his eyes.

They sat down on opposite sides of the booth. "Never." He took both her hands in his. "It's just that picture and the way that article sounded..." He didn't finish the sentence.

"I know Jim. But please know, it didn't happen the way it sounded. Please, let me explain."

"Sweetie, I don't want to talk about it. I won't be back till the weekend, let's just enjoy our time while I'm here, I don't even care to think about that murdering looser.." He referred to Oliver Sternhauser. "I especially don't want to think of him within spitting distance of you. Oh and good news, one of the local investors called me back and apologized."

"Oh Jim, I'm so glad!" Trixie smiled at him.

When the waitress took their order, Jim ordered a cheeseburger, fries and a chocolate shake, Trixie ordered a big salad.

"I wanted to tell you..." Jim looked into her eyes. "I've finally hired an assistant and after we get all the correspondence and paperwork caught up, you and I can maybe spend a lot more time together, we can maybe date like a regular couple, instead of just meeting for a little while here and there, like we're doing now."

"I'm glad. That'll make such a difference for us." Trixie told him, relieved. "Is it anyone I know?"

"No, I don't think so. Her name is Shannon, she has a lot of secretarial and clerical experience. She's new in town, coming from a small town in Indiana."

After dinner was over, Trixie said a regretful goodbye in the parking lot. She hated to see him leave, even though it was only for a few days. .

Chapter 9

Danger on the road

Driving away from the restaurant, Trixie's mind turned to Jill, as it so often did. An idea had been hovering at the back of her mind for days, but up until now, she had kind of ignored it. Trixie decided she had to know for certain if Oliver Sternhauser killed Jill. Even though no one else in town had any doubt Sternhauser killed her, Trixie acknowledged that she did have doubts. Something about the situation just didn't fit. Besides, working on that, would keep her from thinking about how desperately she missed Jim.
She drove back into Sleepyside, stopping at one of the new cheaper stores that seemed to be springing up everywhere. Inside the store, Trixie purchased a bulletin board, small note cards and colored markers. She planned to hang the board on the wall at her apartment and create a possible time line of Jill's murder case.
Tomorrow, after work, she would pull Jill's case file and take it home with her.

As she left the evening lights of Sleepyside behind, the dark colored car pulled out from a side road and began following her.

"Dang." She thought. "Kelson and Loricelli at it again." This particular evening, she was feeling a little reckless and fed up with those two goons.

While cruising along, when Trixie sped up, the car behind her sped up, then it would slow down when she slowed down. Trixie was temped to pull over and see if they would stop, then she would confront Loricelli or Kelson, or both of them, whichever the case may be.

The road to her home had many curves and a steep cliff on one side, so, under the right circumstances, it could be dangerous. The darkness of the night and the cliff, together, constituted the right circumstances.

Trixie slowed down to negotiate a curb, when something happened. There was a loud noise and she felt her car lunge forward, almost as if it had a mind of its own. It dawned on her, when she lost control of her vehicle, that her car had been hit.

Trixie struggled with the steering wheel, trying to gain control of her car as it headed toward the side of the road, toward the steep cliff. She didn't know how to keep from plunging over the cliff, but she righted the car at the last minute and quickly turned the car sideways and ended up parallel to a guardrail, where she coasted to a stop.

The dark colored car honked the horn a couple of times and just kept on going.

Trixie sat for a few moments, slowly regaining her composure. "This little game of theirs is getting too dangerous. Maybe it's time to confront those two jokers head on."
She considered following them to obtain their license plate, but they were now long gone and Trixie knew she had to get her nerves in check before she could even consider driving.

Sitting in her dark car, she thought and considered what to do, finally concluding she would confront Loricelli and Kelson and threaten that if they didn't back off, she would go to Molinson and Briton with everything.
It took awhile, but her nerves began to subside. Trixie grabbed her flashlight out of the glove box, exited her car and went behind it to assess the damage. Shining her light on the back of the car, she was relieved to see that her car had only a small scratch on the rubber bumper. Thankfully, there were no dents.

Chapter 10

Making contact

The following day had gone much better than yesterday. Her parents were still upset over the newspaper article and were concerned about the townspeople's reaction to it, but no longer upset with Trixie. Her brothers had fielded some negative remarks about her at their respective jobs and even Bobby had gone through some issues at school, but her brothers and sister-in-law's had stood by her and had taken up for her, 100 percent.

When work ended, she was going to have dinner with Mart and Diana, which she looked forward to. Trixie was still a little freaked out about the incident on the road last night, but decided to wait before confronting Kelson and Loricelli, who had gone into the city to interview a witness in a shooting from a couple of months ago, so they were not in the office today.

After talking to Jim on the phone, right before leaving the office, and hearing how much he missed her, her day was happily complete. She left work, planning to enjoy the remainder of the evening.

Mart and Diana lived in an apartment complex, that belonged to Diana's father. It was built near a wooded sloping cliff , which overlooked the Hudson River.

The apartments were built like small houses, one story, each connected to the other. There was five on one side, and the same amount on the other side, with the paved parking lot between, Hallie lived in one of the apartments across the parking lot from Mart and Diana.

As Trixie pulled into the parking space, she noticed that Hallie's vehicle was gone, she knew that she was probably with Dan, who had bought Mr. Maypenny's old place, when Maypenny had moved away.

The wonderful aroma of beef stew and rolls greeted Trixie as Mart opened the door. "Dinner smells delicious." She said, taking a deep breath. "Yeah, it does." Agreed Mart. "I'm so glad I married a girl that's not only beautiful, but a great cook."

"Oh we all know you only married me for my culinary skills." Diana said from the kitchen, which was to the left as you walked into the small entrance hall. The three of them joked around some more.

They enjoyed a wonderful dinner. Spending time with the lighthearted Diana and Mart, was needed therapy for Trixie.

They were just finishing up and planning to have desert, when Trixie's work cell rang. She grabbed it out of her purse, not recognizing the number.

"Hello, Belden here."

"Trixie?" Spoke an unfamiliar male voice, which sounded almost effeminate.

"Who's calling?" She asked.

"This is Oliver Sternhauser." Trixie noticed he sounded frantic.

Having no desire to talk to him, especially considering all the problems the courthouse incidents and newspaper article had caused her. She started to just hang up, but her curiosity got the better of her. "Hang on just a minute." She told Oliver.

"I have to take this." She said to Mart and Diana, who looked curious. Trixie headed into the spare bedroom and shut the door.

"Why are you calling me?" She asked, as soon as she was out of earshot of Mart and Diana.

"Ms. Belden, someone shot at me, here at my home!" He almost shouted. "I was outside on my front porch and there was a gun shot. Someone actually shot at me, they're trying to kill me! My mother and I are so frightened, could you please come over?"

"Listen, Mr. Sternhauser." She said firmly. "You need to call 9-11 and someone from the department will dispatch an officer to the scene."

"No Trixie, I want you to come. The police in Sleepyside hate me, I don't trust them, they all believe I killed Jill and would probably say something like, too bad the bullet didn't hit its mark. Any officer that came would just gloat. I only trust you. You're the only one who cares about me."

Trixie considered the situation she found herself in. She knew she was pondering something that could cost her her job and could cause serious problems between her and all the people she cared about.

"Okay, Mr. Sternhauser. I'll come unofficially and check it out. But you must understand there's not a whole lot I can do about it, you really need an officer to come out."

She went back inside and apologized for having to leave before desert. Mart and Diana looked concerned as they said their goodbyes. Trixie, of course, didn't tell them where she was going.

Chapter 11 Investigating

Oliver Sternhauser lived in a huge, stately mansion built around the turn of the century and like Mart and Diana's apartment, it also overlooked the Hudson. It was not too far from Glen Road where Trixie's parents lived.

Every light was on in the huge two story building, when Trixie pulled into the massive round driveway. Oliver opened the door as soon as she stepped onto the large front porch.

"Oh Trixie, I'm so glad you came. Come in." He opened the door wider, as she stepped inside. "Can I take your jacket?" He offered, as he reached toward her.

"No thank you. " She politely answered, pulling away from him. " I won't be here that long."

Oliver seemed taken aback by that, but he recovered quickly.

"Come." he said, putting his hand on the back of her arm, which she, by reflex shrugged off and again pulled away from him. Trixie could tell that it bothered him. He wavered for a moment and finally said, "Mother is back here, follow me." He led her to the back of the first floor, where there was a sun room. Trixie stepped into a lovely room, decorated with white wicker furniture and many indoor plants.

A woman Trixie assumed was Oliver's mother was seated on the couch. She was not beautiful in the classic sense, but she was attractive with white hair, cut into a style that framed her face and showed off her large, brown eyes. Trixie perceived her to be probably in her mid sixties. She also seemed to have impeccable taste in clothing.

She was ringing her hands, but other than that, Trixie could detect no emotion from her, whatsoever.

"It was terrible." She said, in a fake dramatic tone. "We are decent, law abiding citizens."
As Trixie watched her, she noted that the woman gave off an aura of being cold and domineering.

"So tell me what happened." Trixie spoke, taking a seat in the only chair in the large room and pulling a pad and ink pen out of her purse. Oliver, looked momentarily uncomfortable, then sat beside his mother on the couch.

Oliver began speaking. "It was near dark. I was going back to the office to finish up some paper work. I stepped outside on the front porch, when I remembered I had forgotten my wallet. Well, of course, I had locked the door behind me. Ever since all this happened with Jill, we keep this place locked up like Fort Knox. You would not believe the death threats I've received. So, I was fishing in my pocket for my keys, so I could get back inside the house, when I heard the loud firing of a gun, I don't know what kind, just that it was ear splitting loud and the bullet whizzed right by my left ear. I think someone is trying to kill me, Trixie."

"Trying to scare you is more like it." She said without looking up, as she concentrated on her notes.

Oliver's mother decided to give her opinion at that point.

"We don't deserve this. It is so wrong. I can't even go to the beauty parlor in this town anymore, we are decent people, I just don't understand. But I want you to know one thing, Ms. Belden, Oliver didn't kill that little tart, Jill Wilmington. He fancied himself as being in love with her, he wouldn't have harmed her for anything. But he was much too good for the likes of her."

"Mother, don't speak of Jill that way." Oliver said defensively.

Trixie glanced up from her notes. She was unnerved at the way both Oliver and his Mother were looking at her. His mother looked at her with undisguised, unbridled contempt. Oliver, on the other hand, was looking at her with the expression on his face of a lovesick puppy.

Trixie asked a few more questions. "All I can do is look into this." She told them, as she arose to leave. "I need to go on the porch and see if I can find the bullet."

"Oh, no need for you to rush, Trixie." Oliver said, standing also. "Could I offer you a mixed drink, or if you'd like, I have soda's or some wonderful apple cider."

"No thank you." Trixie said, politely, but firmly. "Also, Mr. Sternhauser, you can address me as Officer Belden."

The porch light wasn't very bright, but Trixie saw a small indention the bullet had made, it had only grazed it, there was no damage. She searched for a bullet, but couldn't find it.

Oliver walked her to her car and insisted on opening the door for her in a gentlemanly fashion. She climbed in and reached out to close the door, when he held onto it for a second.

"Thanks so much for coming, Trixie." He stared down at her, totally ignoring that she had told him not to address her that way. The intimate way he spoke her name made her want to bathe. "It;s nice to know someone cares."

"I'm just doing my job, Mr. Sternhauser." She firmly reminded him again.

Chapter 12

Oliver's new love

Oliver felt good, for the first time since Jill's death. He had found a new love.

"Who would've thought?" He smiled to himself. Tomorrow, he would begin his courtship with Trixie.

Jill had been beautiful, he mused fondly. He remembered Jill's dark hair, which he felt that she wore much too short. That was going to be one of the first things he planned to change about her. Jill had been slender and boyish, with a beautiful face. His Trixie was blonde and she would be curvy, if she didn't keep herself much too thin and if she didn't wear those awful, neutral colored pantsuits.

He personally thought, that in some ways, Trixie was prettier than Jill. Trixie was tomboyish, but cute. She was very short, only around 5-2, to his 5-9. "What a cutie." He thought.

Oliver knew Trixie had a boyfriend, everyone in town knew about the rich, handsome, successful Jim Frayne. But, he, Oliver, would take her away from all that. He would take her away from this town, so they could begin their life together fresh.

He mentally began planning a life for the two of them. He would buy Trixie new clothes, clothes he would choose for her. He imagined himself burning those drab clothes she wore on her job.

The only time he hadn't seen her dressed in a pantsuit, was in the courthouse at his trial. He personally thought the skirt she had worn that day was too short. Earlier, at his home, she had been dressed in a drab olive green pantsuit with a beige colored shirt underneath. Her hair was pulled back in a severe knot. He didn't like that, not at all.

When she became his, he would buy Trixie lovely, expensive dresses. They would be in colors of pink, lavender and light blue, he imagined how blue would cause her lovely eyes to stand out.

She would wear her hair loose and allow it to grow all the way to her waist, with a few curls framing her face. Oliver reasoned that he would have to keep her prisoner for awhile, until he broke her, then she would be only his. Oliver knew she wanted him and was in love with him, she just didn't realize it yet.

"But soon you will, my lovely, soon you will." He vowed.

Oliver opened the door and entered the home he shared with his mother. Tonight, he had to say his final goodbye to Jill. As he headed for the stairs, his mother came out of the kitchen, a drink in her hand.

"She's not good enough for you." She informed him. "You need to stop chasing after the harlots in this town."

"Leave me alone!" He yelled angrily, punching the wall and hurting his hand.

His mother flinched, as if he had struck her instead of the wall. After all, one rarely saw Oliver angry.

Oliver headed upstairs, the pain in his hand slowly subsiding. He unlocked the door to his special room and moved the rug and pulled the carefully concealed trap door open. When the police had searched his house, they hadn't found the trap door, if they had of, he would probably have been convicted of murdering Jill.

He opened the special cedar box, which he stored underneath the floor and carefully and lovingly pulled out his pictures of Jill. Some were photos of her, which unbeknownst to her, he had taken. Others, he had painted from memory.

He took out his favorite. Because of Jill's coloring, he had imagined her dresses consisting of red and royal blue type colors, maybe once in awhile plain white. His favorite picture was the one he had painted of her in a red dress, he had mentally designed. "Goodbye sweetheart." He said, kissing the picture. He built a big fire in his fireplace and one by one burned Jill's pictures.

He imagined her being happy for him that he had found someone and wasn't still mourning her.

After burning the pictures, he took out a blank canvas and set up his easel and paints. He carefully painted a picture of Trixie. On the canvas, he painted her wearing a lovely pink sheath, with her blonde hair long, which he imagined it would be, if she ever took it out of the knot. Then, he painted her exquisite blue eyes with an expression of love, meant only for him.

Chapter 13

Sleepless nights

After arriving home from Oliver Sternhauser's house, Trixie was so tired, she pretty much went straight to bed. She slept fitfully. It was in the early morning hours, she had the dream again.

Up till now, when she had the dream, she never made it inside the old house. She would awaken when she started to open the ragged screen door, with the droning fly.

This time, Trixie opened the door and went inside the house, much like she had last Summer when she had discovered Jill. In the dream, she saw blood everywhere, but no body. Oliver Sternhauser stepped out of the shadows of the house with a huge knife in his hand. "So, you've come to me at last." He told her. "I've been waiting for you."

Trixie awakened and sat straight up in bed, breaking into a cold sweat. She knew sleep would come no more for that particular night, so she climbed out of bed, went into the kitchen and made coffee.

She had called Spider Webster last evening and made arrangements to go running at the track at the local Junior-senior High school. They tried to run together a couple of times a week and would always meet around four o'clock in the morning.

By going in the very early morning hours, Trixie had plenty of time afterward to drive home, shower and change, before work.

Trixie drank coffee and watched old comedy's until it was time to go meet Spider.

She pulled on a pair of navy blue jogging pants and a white oversized sweatshirt and a jacket, knowing it would be cold.

Trixie looked forward to jogging with Spider, they talked about a lot of things and he gave good advice. Over the years, he had become a trusted confidant and friend.

A short time later, as she pulled her car up to the parking area at the track, her cell rang. She saw on the caller ID that it was Spider. "Hey. I'm waiting for you" She told him.

"Hey yourself. Listen, Trixie, I'm sick, I think I've got a cold. I'm not gonna make it."

"You sound really bad. Just go back to bed." She told him. "We'll talk later."

"So you're already at the track?"

"Yep."
"Go back home, Trixie. Spider said impatiently. "Don't run alone, that track is much too isolated this time of morning for you to go alone."

"I'll be okay." She laughed. "This early in the morning., all the evil people are in their beds asleep."

"Just go back home, Trixie." He sounded agitated.

"I'll talk to you later, Spider." She said indulgently, before tossing her phone into the passenger seat.

Chapter 14

Alone in the dark

Trixie climbed out of the vehicle, locked it and did a few stretches under the street light. Spider had unnerved her a little, by his being so adamant that she should go home, but she wasn't afraid out here. She had police training and besides, no one was ever out here at this time of morning.

Afterward, she took off running around the large track. The air was crisp and cold and the stars were out. She loved running, but acknowledged that it was more enjoyable when Spider was with her.

There were no homes really close by and certain areas of the track were dark. The side of it, furthest from the parking lot was heavily wooded. Trixie experienced a small twinge of fear at the sense of isolation she felt this morning, but she reminded herself, this was Sleepyside, despite what happened to Jill, it was normally a very safe town.

When she reached the part of the track, that was totally opposite of her car, right in front of the wooded area, she began sensing a subtle uneasiness, a feeling that she was being watched.

As she always did these days, she chalked it up to what happened with Jill, which could make anyone paranoid.

Trixie stopped running and casually looked around her, refusing to allow herself to be afraid. She half expected some scary individual to step out of the shadows.

A question came up in her mind, unbidden. "Did Oliver Sternhauser murder Jill? Was he capable of that kind of violence?" She acknowledged that he had certainly given her some bad vibes yesterday evening. "But when does being creepy, turn murder?"

Trixie looked toward her car, thinking she might cut the run short and head back home. Did she see something move over there, or was it her imagination? Everything was so shadowy, she wasn't certain. She gasped alound, as an individual came out of the shadows and sat on a park bench, which was directly in front of where her car was parked. For a moment, she was nearly overcome with fear.

Trixie's gun and cell phone were locked in her car. She wondered if the person now seated on the bench meant her harm. Trixie tried to decide whether to ignore this person, or head over and confront him, or go the opposite way, into the woods and hide.

While frantically pondering her options, she stepped into the shadows, hoping that this person wouldn't be able to see her, at least not as well. She knew instinctively that he was aware of her presence.

Trixie could tell very little about his size and shape, because of the distance between them and because he was seated under one of the dim streetlights. From what she could ascertain, he was wearing a dark colored hoodie and his face was nearly covered. After a few moments, he stood and began to slowly walk away.

Trixie decided it was time to get out of here. She debated on going into the woods, because she didn't want to get to her car and this person come out of the shadows. Who knows if he wasn't hiding close by?

It was really cold and she was ready to go home. After considering her limited options, she decided to take her chances and get to her car. She headed across the track, every instinct on high alert, her keys in her hand.

She opened her car door, jumped inside, locked the doors, cranked the car and left the track in record timing, saying a prayer of thanks, that she was safe.

Chapter 15

The Halloween Party

The next day at work and the remainder of the week passed without incident. She and Dan updated casework, Kelson and Loricelli were out quite a bit, so she didn't have to deal with them.

Finally, Friday arrived and Lieutenant Briton was throwing a Halloween party. Trixie really didn't care to go, but that was another thing Molinson was pretty strict about, he felt it was important for the small group of detective's to socialize together, which meant that she would have to at least make an appearance.

Trixie dressed casually for the party in jeans and a sweater, pulling her hair into a pony tail.

As she drove into Sleepyside from her apartment, she felt guilty, since she had no desire to attend this event. She also knew that Dan and Hallie really didn't care for it either, so at least she wasn't alone in her thinking.

Her social life was a busy one with her family and friends, she really didn't have time for anything else. She also hated hanging with Kelson and Loricelli, but Trixie felt certain she didn't hate it any less than they hated hanging with her.

But Trixie really did like Lieutenant Briton. Everyone in their small department jokingly referred to him as "Lieutenant Dan" like the Forest Gump movie. She and Dan Mangan had often reflected on how privileged they felt to be able to work with an officer of his caliber. He was probably somewhere in his early thirties, but he had gone into law enforcement straight out of high school. He hailed from somewhere out west, but had moved to Boston in his early twenties and then, had transferred to Sleepyside Police Department.

Trixie and Dan and the other investigators liked to bounce ideas about cases and leads to him, he always had valuable insight and instinct and input where detective work was concerned.

Trixie arrived, glad this wasn't a costume party like last year. She found costume party's fun, but not with this crowd. Lt. Briton lived in one of those little cookie cutter subdivisions with vastly overpriced newer homes.

When she arrived, the party was already in full swing in the Lieutenant's backyard. On a ceramic tray, Trixie brought her contribution. Earlier in the day, she had baked cupcakes, frosted them in Halloween colors of chocolate and orange , then decorated them with little candy pumpkins and candy corn. She was the last of the squad to arrive and planned on being the first to leave.

She mentally took note of her surroundings. The Lieutenant and Sergeant Molinson were standing in front of the fire drinking a beer. Dan, the only one who had brought someone with him, was sitting on a lawn chair, with Hallie seated beside him, also near the fire. Officers' Goodloe and Monson were standing away from the others, talking between themselves. They both smiled and lifted their beer in salute, Trixie smiled back. Loricelli and Kelson stood apart from the others, also drinking alcohol. Both looked her up and down in the manner in which they knew she hated. They smiled tauntingly at her.

Ignoring them, Trixie went straight to the cooler and grabbed a coca cola. "Why don't you have a beer, Trixie?" Lt. Briton offered. "No thanks, I'm driving." She smiled.

"We grilled some burgers, help yourself." Molinson told her gesturing toward the picnic table.

She wasn't all that hungry, but for lack of anything else to do, she made herself a burger and joined Dan and Hallie. "The problem with these parties." She whispered, as she sat in the lawn chair next to Hallie. "Is they're boring as heck."

"You said it." Hallie said with good natured sarcasm.

"What are you two whispering about." Dan asked. "Just girl talk." Hallie told him, smiling and leaning over to kiss him.

Not long afterward, Trixie had finished her hamburger and found herself bored to distraction. Dan and Hallie were in private conversation. Goodloe, Monson, Molinson and the Lieutenant had moved toward one another and were now discussing the attributes of different sixties and seventies model cars.

Kelson and Loricelli, every now and then, would glance over at Trixie with a smug smile. She refused to let them see how much that unnerved her. The two of them engaged in private conversation, looking at her while they talked. Trixie knew them well enough to know this was meant to intimidate her. She refused to be intimidated though.

Finally, they meandered over to the other guys and started talking cars, Dan Mangan, left his seat beside Hallie and joined them as well. "Will this party ever be over?" Trixie, rolled her eyes at Hallie. Hallie just smiled back.

Finally, Lt. Dan broke away from the others and went and turned up the music. He came over and held his hand out to Trixie. Dancing, especially in front of the two jerks, Kelson and Loricelli, was the last thing she wanted to do, but she would not hurt the Lieutenant's feelings for anything.

He swung her up from her chair, Dan and Hallie danced also. Then, the music turned slow. "I didn't know you could dance like this, Lieutenant." Trixie told him laughingly, as they slow danced to some romantic "oldies" tune.

"I wouldn't have believed you could either, Belden."

Finally, after the dancing ended, Trixie felt it would be polite to take her leave. "I got things to do and a long ride home." She told the Lieutenant and the others, as she noticed Dan and Hallie were gathering up their things and preparing to leave, also.

Lieutenant Briton insisted on walking her around to the front of his house, where her car was parked on the street.

Lieutenant Briton was an attractive man. He was kind of slight built, not real tall and Trixie knew he was into Martial arts. He was tan and muscular and had dark auburn colored hair and green eyes, with a pleasant smile. For an awkward moment, they stood at her car door and looked into each other's eyes in the moonlight.

"Here, let me open the door for you." The Lieutenant finally said.

Trixie moved away from the door, as he opened it. "Nice party, Lieutenant." She lied. "Thanks Trixie, I'm glad you came. If you hadn't showed up, I would've had no one to dance with. See you Monday at work."

Chapter 16 A gift

Trixie had a pleasant ride home in the darkness. Of course, she was watchful after the near miss the other night, thankfully, tonight was uneventful.

A short while later, she pulled into her driveway, looked around in the darkness and ran up the flight of steps to her apartment.

She experienced a moment's apprehension when she noticed a beautiful, expensive looking gift bag hanging on the doorknob.

She gingerly pulled it off the door knob. Inside was a box from Seltzen's, which was Sleepyside's only jewelry store. Trixie pulled the box out and opened it up. Upon opening the tiny box, she discovered a lovely blue sapphire oval surrounded by tiny diamonds on a delicate gold chain.

Looking into the bag, she retrieved a small card which simply read; "To match your eyes." The card had no signature, but she knew it was from Jim. It wasn't his handwriting, but he probably had someone write for him when he purchased it.

"James Frayne." Trixie thought. "You never fail to surprise me. She didn't even remember telling him that sapphires were her favorite.."

Trixie adamantly wished she had left the party sooner, she had missed seeing Jim. He must've came back into town early, since he wasn't due to be back until tomorrow.

Trixie was tempted to drive back into town just to see him.

"It's late." She finally acknowledged. "He's probably tired and already gone to bed. I guess I can wait till tomorrow.".

As Trixie let herself into her apartment, she experienced a moment of gratitude for what she had, a man that she was in love with, plans for a life together, people that loved her. She was fortunate, fortunate indeed.

Chapter 17 Jim's new friend

Trixie slept better than she had in awhile. The next morning, which was Saturday, her phone began ringing before she even had time to get out of bed.

She rolled over and grabbed her phone from her bedside table. "Hello." She said sleepily, not bothering to look at the caller ID.

"Hey sweetie."

"Jim!" She said, excited.

"Did I wake you?"

"No, I'm still in bed, but I'm awake."

"Listen, I've hired an assistant and I can already tell she's going to work out great. I got home earlier yesterday, than I planned and she'd left a message for me. I met her and hired her on the spot and she and I stayed at the school and worked until late last night. I didn't realize I was behind on so much paperwork. For the first time in over a year, I'm getting caught up."

"Gosh Jim, I am so glad." She replied.

"Soon, I'll be all yours, Ms. Belden and I have plans for you." He joked.

"Is that right, Mr. Frayne? I have plans for you too. If you'd have called me last night, I would've come by the school and seen you."

"We were extremely busy, Trixie. It wouldn't have been a good time."

Trixie told him about the boring Halloween party. He told her about his trip into the city. Then talk turned again to his new assistant.

"You'll like her, Trixie, she's great. But I've got to get off the phone now, we're going out to the school and work some more. Her name is Shannon and she's living in one of the apartments where Mart and Diana live."

Trixie was happy to hear about the new assistant. She pictured someone probably in her forties.

"I can't wait to meet her Jim. Of course, you know, I'd like anyone that would make it possible for us to spend more time together."

"Trix, before I forget, she's invited us for dinner tonight, can you meet me at the house around six?"

"Sure, I'll be there."

"As much as I hate to end this call with you my love, I've got to get off the phone, Shannon's making breakfast for the two of us, then we're going to get busy on unanswered emails out at my school. See you tonight"

Much later, Trixie got ready for her date with Jim. She chose to wear a short jean skirt, with her shoulder length hair down and a light blue t shirt. She considered wearing the beautiful sapphire necklace Jim had gotten her, but decided it was too dressy to wear with that outfit.

Later in Jim's vehicle, he held her hand and complimented her on how beautiful she looked. That was one of the things she loved about him, he thought she was beautiful.

Trixie had never felt beautiful, or believed she was. As a teen, she often felt in Honey and Diana's shadow, since she was short, with a small amount of baby fat, which refused to go away and her curly hair and freckles, whereas, in contrast, Honey was five-five, with her slender figure and beautiful Honey blonde hair.

Diana was five-four, which wasn't very tall, but she was voluptuous with beautiful dark hair and lavender colored eyes. Trixie had always secretly thought the two of them looked like movie stars. Trixie had lost her weight in college when she road a bike around the large campus of NYU and lived on primarily peanut butter and ramen noodles. She now worked like crazy to keep the weight off.

The ride was quiet on the way to Shannon's. Trixie sensed Jim was tired, as he often was these days, she believed he suffered from a terminal case of jet lag.

Shannon's apartment was two doors down from Hallie's.

When an attractive woman answered the doorbell, Trixie was shocked. The way Jim described her, she pictured her older. Trixie noted that Shannon was more slender than herself and of average height, she wore her straight blonde hair long and had beautiful blue eyes, she had to be in Trixie's age range, or younger.

In spite of the fact that she trusted Jim implicitly, Trixie felt a wave of jealousy wash over her. This occurred, even though Shannon greeted her warmly as Jim introduced the two of them. "Hi, you must be Trixie, it's so nice to finally meet you." She extended her hand to Trixie and smiled. "Come on in." Trixie and Jim stepped inside her apartment.

Trixie looked around. The apartment looked very homey with plants and pictures and nice, if not expensive furniture.

Trixie felt frumpy in her jean skirt, since to her consternation, Shannon, looked great in just a pair of faded jeans and a plain white t shirt, which showed off a great shape.

"I hope you like baked chicken." Shannon told them.

"I bet you could make a boiled owl taste good." Jim replied, smiling.

Trixie repeated that phrase silently and sarcastically..

"She's an awesome cook, Trixie."

"I am not." Shannon told him playfully, fake punching Jim in the arm.

Jim had not dated Trixie seriously, until after they had both completed college and moved back to Sleepyside. But once they started dating, Trixie was confident he only had eyes for her. She couldn't understand why she felt so instinctively jealous of Shannon. This jealousy contributed to resentment and obvious and immediate dislike. She knew it was really going to be a struggle to keep her feelings hidden.

Things worsened for her as the evening wore on. Trixie felt like a third wheel, when Jim and Shannon engaged in conversation. They joked like old friends, along with arguing and debating a wide range of topics. Occasionally, she was included in their conversation, but mostly she felt left out. To her chagrin, Shannon was already way more familiar with Jim's work and that part of his life than Trixie was.

After a delicious desert of caramel cheese cake, which Shannon totally made from scratch, she and Jim said goodbye to her.

Trixie could think of nothing to say, on the ride back to the Manor house.

"So, how'd you like her?" Jim looked over at Trixie as he drove and reached for her hand.

"She's great." Trixie answered, wanting to bite her own tongue for lying.

"I feel so much better about things, sweetie. She's taken a load off my shoulders."

"I'm glad Jim." They pulled into the driveway behind Manor house, parking right behind Trixie's little car.

They held hands and looked into each other's eyes for a moment.

"Listen Trix, I know you get tired of hearing this, but I wish you'd stay at your Mom's, I really hate for you to take that long drive to that apartment, you drive down a long, deserted road and live in such an isolated area."

"I know Jim, but I haven't seen my cat in days and I want to be there, in case he comes home."

"You're the most stubborn female I've ever known. After what happened to Jill last Summer, don't you know that I am worried sick about you? Don't you know your parents are worried? But, either way, I'm beat, I'm too tired to argue with you tonight, so I'll see you tomorrow at Crabapple Farm for Sunday dinner. Call me when you get home and let me know you're safe."

"I will Jim." She told him, as they got out of his vehicle. With a quick hug and kiss, she climbed into her car and left for her apartment.

He waited and watched. He knew she was on a date with Frayne tonight. He stood in the darkened forest in the woods around her apartment, with her beloved pet, in a crate. He knew so much about her, he even knew the cat's name. "I wonder how she'll feel when she finds your body and knows what a tortured death you died?" He asked the cat. He had caught him about three days ago. He had started with a wire around the cat's neck, tightening it just enough. He had other plans and then, he'd leave the cat where she could find him. He opened the crate to get the cat out, but the stupid thing did an acrobatic jump into the air before he could catch him and was gone. The cat had escaped for now, but he'd catch him later. Trixie would have to be punished for the time she'd been spending with Frayne. After all, Trixie was not Jim's, she was his.

Trixie got out of her car, locked it and headed for the stairs. Her cat, Wendall ran out of the bushes, and ran jumping into her arms, nearly knocking her down.

"Wendell!" she scolded lovingly. "I've been so worried about you."

She carried him inside, locking the door and checking the apartment as usual. She grabbed a can of cat food and was getting ready to feed her cat, when she saw dried blood around his neck. It looked like someone had tried to choke him.

Aghast, she had to ask herself, "Would Loricelli and Kelson go that far? Maybe they hated her more than she knew.

"Wendell, it's time for you to go live with Grandma Belden. She has a nice barn, with a few mice she needs to get rid of."

As Trixie lay in bed that night, it dawned on her that she forgot to thank Jim for the necklace.

She sat up in bed and pulled the box out of the drawer of her bedside table and took the necklace out, just enjoying how beautiful it was.

I don't know why I was so jealous tonight of Shannon. Jim loves me.

Chapter 18 Investigating

Trixie had a wonderful time with family and friends and especially Jim, the following Sunday. They all enjoyed a delicious dinner at Crabapple Farm. Afterward, she and Jim had taken a long walk through the game preserve, enjoying the beautiful Autumn leaves.

Jim already had begun to look more relaxed, since the part of his work here in Sleepyside was nearly caught up, thanks to Shannon.

Monday, it was back to work. To her dismay, Jim had called her this morning, he was preparing to fly out as usual. This morning, she felt like asking him, "How many investors do you have to have?"

Trixie acknowledged that wouldn't be right though, she had to make some sacrifices for his career, just as he had to make sacrifices for her's. At least with Shannon taking care of the office details, she and Jim would have more time when he returned.

Today, unbeknownst to anyone, she was going to begin her investigation into Jill's death. Trixie was going to make it her mission to find out once and for all, if Oliver Sternhauser murdered Jill and if not, who did?

On the door of her locker that morning at work, there was a gross, disgusting caricature of her. "That's real cute, Kelson." She yelled.

"You accusing me of something, Belden?" He came to the door of the locker room and leaned against it.

"Go away.." She told him, snatching the picture down and tossing it in the garbage.

"Someone's artwork, just tossed away like it's nothing. I guess some people just aren't' sophisticated enough to appreciate art." He joked, sarcastically. She refused to dignify his taunts, so he finally swaggered away.

To her joy and happiness, Kelson and Loricelli left. They were headed out of town to interview one of their case suspect's. It was another boring day, no cases came in for her and Dan. Dan left early, as did the sergeant and Lieutenant.

She stayed as usual, till five. Today, she didn't really mind. After she was sure everyone had gone, Trixie went to the file room and checked out the box which contained the details of Jill's case. She carried it out to her car. There was no way she would go through it here, Kelson and Loricelli would probably go ten kinds of crazy if they found out about it. As far as they were concerned, the case was closed. Oliver Sternhauser had murdered Jill, the judge set him free.

When the day ended, she stopped to visit Honey, who was eagerly making plans for her nursery, using a teddy bear theme. Honey was excited about the baby, along with happily anticipating the early Spring, when Brian would come home for good and begin his own practice. Over homemade lemonade, she asked Trixie, "So how are things coming along with my brother?"

"It couldn't be better." Laughed Trixie. She told Honey about the necklace and what he had written.

"I didn't know that man had a romantic bone in his body." Honey joked. "But that is romantic. A necklace with sapphire, your favorite stone and what he wrote. I can't wait till you and Jim get married. I hope you wait till after the baby's born though, or get married really soon, before I start showing."

"I'll keep that in mind." Trixie laughed. "I'd better get home, I have a lot to do this evening." Trixie stood and carried her drinking glass into the kitchen.

Later, at home, after Trixie had taken a shower, eaten a quick salad and taken Wendell outside to do his business and brought him back inside where she had left him all day, planning to take him to her mother's tomorrow, Trixie lugged the box, with Jill's case file into the spare bedroom where she had hung her bulletin board. The room wasn't much bigger than a walk in closet, so Trixie had set it up as an office.

She painstakingly went through each and every folder. Even though she thought Loricelli and Kelson were dirtbags, the reports they wrote were concisely and informatively written. There were no viable suspects, other than Sternhauser.

Sternhauser was a stalker, he seemed to be the delusional type, that believed that whatever woman who became the object of his affections, was in love with him, but he didn't believe the woman knew it, so he had to prove it to her. One woman from his past, had left town with no return address to get away from him, another had been seriously injured when someone had cut the brake line on her car.

He had a case history, with two other women, when he resided in another town New York. He also had certain patterns to his stalking. Sternhauser had adamantly declared in the interview with the detective's that Jill and he had loved each other.

The situation begun when, Jill moved to Sleepyside around two and a half years ago, this past June. Sternhauser, who was independently wealthy, was a realtor, had purchased a building off Second Street, near the bank where Trixie's father and now Hallie worked. He chose for whatever reason to have his office on the second floor and put the first floor up for rent. He had moved here about a year before Jill.

Jill had divorced her college sweetheart, returned to Sleepyside, where she had grown up and renewed her friendship's with many old friends whom she had grown up with here. She and her two young daughter's had moved in with her parents.

Trixie thought of George and Sara Wilmington, Jill's parent's. Mr. Wilmington was from the older Sleepyside families as her Father was. In fact, Trixie's parents had been acquainted with them for many years. Trixie felt sad thinking of Jill's little girls, Caroline and Courtney, ages five and three, they would never see their mother again.

Trixie continued reading, much of the information she already knew. Jill had met Oliver when she had rented the first floor of the building he owned and worked out of. She and her best friend Dana Freewell, whom Jill had known since high school, and who was a licensed florist, had opened a business, which served as a catering and florist service.

Trixie remembered that one of their first job's had been providing the catering service and flowers for Mart and Diana's wedding. Trixie took a moment to stop and remember that day. It was sweet to remember a happy occasion while she was surrounded by all this darkness.

Their's had been a Spring wedding. Diana was beautiful in a white satin and lace gown, the bridesmaids had worn lavender and the flowers were gorgeous. They had married in the Lynch's rose garden. There was such a camaraderie between the families and Diana and Mart were so much in love.

The Lynch, Wheeler and Belden families had gotten to know Jill through that occasion and had remained friends with her. The Wheeler's and Lynch's had sent a lot of work her way, so her business was booming.

Trixie forced her mind back to the time line she was establishing. She began to read and note certain things. Jill had felt compassion for Oliver, whom she saw as a lonely person, devoid of any close friends. Their friendship began, when she accepted a lunch invitation from him, then things seemed to snowball from there. Jill had always been firm with Oliver that the two of them were just friends, according to her best friend and co/owner of the business they shared, Dana.

The situation had progressed into the patterns, which were the same as the other two women. Oliver had began to send Jill gifts, starting with expensive jewelry. The first was an emerald necklace, she tried to return it, but he insisted it was only for his thankfulness for their friendship. He had persuaded Jill to keep it.

There was a couple of other gifts of jewelry. Which Jill returned. Oliver began to show up wherever she was, pretty much butting in to anything she was involved in. He began attending the church that she and her parents attended. He started following her everywhere. He started leaving messages on her phone. Not necessarily bad messages, just things like; "Where were you today? I hope you weren't sick."

Then, he began to buy clothes for her and try to surprise her with them.

Things had gotten so bad, that Jill had finally lost her temper with him. Trixie was surprised at that, Jill had been the most easy going, mild mannered and kind person she had ever met. Jill had yelled at him, to leave her alone, stop following her and she did not want anything from him. She had broken off the "friendship." This had been witnessed by Dana and a couple of customers in their shop. Jill and Dana were even looking for somewhere to move their business.

"When does it go from Sternhauser being really invasive into a person's life, to brutal murder?" Trixie asked herself. Growing tired, Trixie stood, stretched and looked out the window into the darkness of her yard. Wendell jumped off the twin sized bed and wrapped himself around her legs. Trixie was unaware, that as she stared out the window into the darkness, there was someone staring back.

He chuckled as he watched her. She still didn't know he knew her every move. He stood in the shadows and observed her apartment every night. Soon, I'll reveal myself to you, Trixie.

Trixie was exhausted. She hadn't really found any information that was surprising about Jill, nor had she found any that pointed to any other suspect, except Oliver Sternhauser. Trixie stretched, yawned and decided it was time for bed. Since Wendell, her cat was going to his new home tomorrow, of course, he was staying inside. "I'm going to miss him so much." She thought sadly. But, it was necessary.

Chapter 19 Remembering

After the intense reading of Jill's case, sleep eluded Trixie. She tossed and turned in her bed, thinking of Jill, of Sternhauser. Why could she not reconcile in her mind, that he killed Jill?

She recalled the last time she saw Jill. Trixie was living with Honey and Brian, which was welcomed by Honey, since her farmhouse, where she and Brian lived, was kind of in an isolated area and Brian was gone Monday through Thursday, working long hours in the City of New York. Trixie was a rookie cop at the time. It was a week past her birthday, which made it the second week of May.

Jim had been out of town, as usual, on her birthday, so that afternoon, when Jill dropped by, She and Jim had planned a date into the city, where they would see a play and go to their favorite french restaurant.

Trixie had just arrived at Honey's from work, planning in her mind what she would wear, when Jill showed up.

"Trixie, I'm so sorry I forgot your birthday." Jill had apologized, when Trixie had opened the door. "That's okay, don't worry about it." Trixie laughed. "Come on in."

"I made you something, this is your birthday present." Jill said, stepping in and holding out an attractive gift basket.

"Oh wow, thanks Jill, but you didn't have to."

"I wanted to"

The basket was wrapped in blue cellophane. Trixie opened it up to show Honey, who had come into the living room and greeted Jill.

Trixie remembered the basket contained chocolate covered strawberry's, some handmade scented candles and handmade soap, all made by Jill.

After thanking Jill and she and Honey both sampling one of the delicious strawberry's, she and Jill and Honey had sat on the couch in the living room, just catching up, since they didn't talk to Jill often.

After a few minutes, Honey excused herself, told them goodbye and left, she was meeting Brian at Crabapple Farm for dinner.

After Honey left, Jill had confided in Trixie, that she had met someone special. "He hasn't met my kids yet, or my parents." Jill told her. "But he's a really great guy, so I believe they'll like him. I just can't believe how everything in my life is working out so well."

Jill seemed very happy about her new guy, along with being excited about the house she was going to look at. The realtor for the house was not Oliver, but another realtor in Sleepyside. Trixie remembered that Jill had briefly brought up Oliver Sternhauser.

"I wouldn't buy a penny piece of candy from Oliver Sternhauser." Jill had told her, looking a little troubled.

Before they could talk anymore, the phone rang.

When Trixie answered, it was Jim. "Hi babe, I'm on the way, I should be there in about ten minutes."

"I'll be ready."

Trixie quickly hung up and jumped up from off the couch.

"I've got to get ready, Jim's on the way." Trixie said.

"I need to go too, I'm taking the girls to a movie tonight." Jill smiled. "Come over to the shop and we'll have lunch next week."

Trixie promised she would. Jill had left and Trixie had ran upstairs to get ready for her date with Jim. If she'd only known that was the last time she would see Jill.

By the following Monday, Jill was listed as a missing person.

In all the upset of Jill's disappearance, a week had passed before it dawned on Trixie about the house Jill had been going to look at.

Before going to sleep, Trixie had to get out of bed and look at the report. The realtor, a lady named Vera Jensen, had been interviewed. She said she had shown Jill the house the evening before she and her husband were leaving for a week long vacation in Hawaii. That's why Vera had not seen the missing persons report. "Jill was fine when I left her." Vera Jensen had reported. "She was going to stay at the house and look around, which I said was fine by me. The last thing I told her was to lock up when she left."

Chapter 20 Surprise

The following day at work, Kelson and Loricelli left, as usual to do investigative work. Trixie wished she and Dan could have the case they were currently working on, but the upside to them having it was, Kelson and Loricelli would probably be out all day.

As usual, most everyone was gone by early afternoon. Lieutenant Briton was still in the office, since he had to attend a meeting that morning, he had returned to the office afterward to finish up some paperwork.

Trixie's cubicle was about three cubicles from his doorway.

She was working on a case report, since she had nothing else to do, when her phone rang.

"Detective Belden speaking."

"Oh Trixie." Trixie sighed wearily, as she recognized the frantic soft male voice of Oliver Sternhauser.

"You have to come over and come right away." He said despairingly.

"What's going on, Mr. Sternhauser?" She asked patiently.

"Trixie, I was too afraid to go to work this morning." He told her, almost sounding like he was about to burst into tears. "I was working late yesterday evening, when I left my building and two huge men, wearing ski masks stepped out of the shadows. I was beaten and robbed. Before they left, one of them kicked me and said; "This one's for Jill. I debated whether or not to call you, I know you're busy, what with your job and your boyfriend and all..."

"Mr. Sternhauser." She said firmly, thinking it odd that he mentioned Jim. "You should not call me when you have a problem. In a situation like this, they will have a police officer come out and interview you and then the case will be assigned to a detective, which may or may not be myself and my partner. But you begin by calling the police, not me."

"I don't' trust anyone there, except you, Trixie. You cared enough about me to save my life in the courtroom that day."

"Once again, I was doing my job." She said it slowly and emphatically, almost like spelling it out.

He was so insistent that she come over and take his report, that she finally told him, she would talk it over with the Lieutenant of her squad. "But Mr. Sternhauser, if he says I cannot come there, then I can't. I could lose my job by not following the protocol that's in place."

Trixie decided to talk things over with Lt. Briton. She also made up her mind to tell him about the other night, when someone had shot at Sternhauser. She walked down to his office.

Lt. Briton invited her in and without taking a seat, she began to explain everything to the Lieutenant, but left out the part about how she had pulled the case file and taken it home and was creating a time line and unofficially looking into the case, all because she wasn't sure that Oliver Sternhauser had murdered Jill.

Trixie told him about going to Sternhauser's home the other night and ended her verbal narrative with the phone call she had just received from him within the last few minutes.

While Trixie had spoken, Lt. Briton leaned back in his chair, crossed his hands against his belly and with a serious, but unreadable expression on his face, listened.

When she finished her spiel, hoping against hope that she wasn't about to get a serious reprimand and possibly written up, Lt. Briton leaned forward in his chair.

"Detective Belden, what you have done is highly unorthodox and against the protocol established by this agency." He said, sternly.

She winced inwardly, as she dreaded what he might say next. Then, he surprised her with a question.

"Let me ask you something. Do you believe Sternhauser murdered Jill Wilmington? "

"I have to be honest with you, Lieutenant. For me, even though all the evidence points to him, it doesn't add up. I think we need to be sure. I also believe we're missing something."

"I understand what you're saying, Belden." He told her, looking at her intently. He then gazed at something across the room, as he seemed to be trying to make a decision.

"I'll tell you what." He said finally, looking back toward her. "We could both get in trouble for this, but it seems like Sternhauser is beginning to attach himself to you, as he did Ms. Wilmington. Maybe you could unofficially find out some information. From what you've told me, Jill Wilmington was somewhat of a personal friend of yours and you need to set your mind at ease. I'm going to permit you to look into this unofficially, Detective. But, I want you to promise me one thing."

"Anything, Lieutenant Briton." She said eagerly.

"You are not to do anything to put yourself in danger. If he killed Wilmington, he's a dangerous, psychopath."

The Lieutenant once again gazed intently into her eyes. He had a way of looking at her, that made her feel that he was trying to read her mind. He leaned forward and emphasized. "You go over there tonight and then, report back to me as soon as you leave his house. I also want you to keep me abreast of anything new you happen to learn about him and about this case, from this day forward. No more going over there like you did the other night and not letting me know."

"Will do, Lieutenant." She promised. She left and headed over to Oliver's.

Chapter 21 More about the gift

Trixie "unofficially" took Sternhauser's statement, under his adoring gaze and his mother's hating glare.

Sternhauser looked terrible, both eyes were black, and he had one of his front teeth knocked loose, he had an appointment tomorrow with a dentist, he had assured her, as if she were a concerned close friend.

Later at home, she worked on the time line and decided she was going to pay a little visit to Ms. Dana Freewell, Jill's friend and partner in their business.

Nothing was mentioned in any of the notes in the case file about Jill having a significant boyfriend. Trixie knew she did, because she had told Trixie about him the last time they'd talked.

The following day, another boring day at the office, Trixie used her lunch hour to pay a visit to Ms. Freewell. She hadn't been in the shop since Jill had worked there, so it was a initially a bit emotional to walk in there for the first time since Jill's untimely death.

"What can I do for you?" Dana, who sat behind a counter, doing something with a bouquet of white flowers, asked, without looking up. Trixie momentarily observed her. She was an attractive, thirty something year old woman, just as Jill had been. She was dressed casually, jeans and a buttoned long sleeve shirt, with short, stylishly cut blonde hair. Trixie of course, had met her before, because she had stopped into see Jill sometimes and also, Dana Freewell had done the flowers for both Mart and Brian's weddings.

"Ms. Freewell." Trixie said, Dana looked up then and noticed who she was. "Why are you here?" She asked narrowing her eyes at Trixie. Trixie flinched at the venom in the woman's voice.

"I know you saw that newspaper article." Trixie acknowledged. "But nothing occurred the way the article made it sound, nor was anything the way that picture looked. I was only doing my job, which is to uphold the law. I don't like Oliver Sternhauser any better than anyone else in this town does."

"You were supposed to be her friend." Stated Dana resentfully and looked away from Trixie as if she were holding back tears.

"I was her friend and always will be." Trixie told her sincerely. "Listen Ms. Freewell, I'm here unofficially investigating Jill's death. The reason is, I want to be positive that Oliver Sternhauser killed her and not someone else. I just have some questions of my own."

Dana Freewell turned back toward Trixie, her eyes widening.

"I'm not saying, he didn't." Trixie emphasized, holding her hands up in a defensive manner, before Dana had a chance to tell her off, which, judging from the look on her face, she was getting ready to do.

"All I'm saying, is we need to be sure. Please Ms. Freewell, don't look at me as an enemy here."

Dana seemed to visibly soften and relax a little.

"So, what do you want to know?" She put her flowers in a clear glass vase and looked at Trixie.

"Well first of all, do you believe Sternhauser killed her?"

"Yes. And I don't see any reason why you would believe he didn't, Ms. Belden."

Trixie asked a few more questions about what she had observed about the situation as it had been between Oliver and Jill, she learned nothing new. Then, she got to the question she had really wanted to ask.

"Do you know if Jill had met, or had been dating anyone special, like maybe starting to become seriously involved with somebody?" Trixie asked, watching Ms. Freewell's reaction.

"You were her friend too, Officer Belden. Jill and I were close, but as you know, I'm married and she had her own responsibilities and obligations. Here in the shop, both of us were always so busy. So we didn't have much time or opportunity to talk very much about our personal lives. I do know that she dated Eric Kelson a few times, but they were old friends, had been since high school. In fact, she and Eric had dated steadily during high school. But whether they were seriously involved in recent times, I. couldn't say. He is the only person I knew of that she went out with since she came back to town."

Trixie thanked her and left. "I wonder why Kelson didn't disclose this during the investigation, because this was certainly the first she had heard of it. Even though she was trying to keep the fact that she was investigating this on the down low, Trixie was going to have to ask Kelson about it.

Of course Kelson was gone when Trixie got back to the office.

When she arrived home later, her land line was ringing, before she could open the door. She almost expected to have Wendell the cat wrap himself around her legs, but he had been safely deposited at her mother's this morning. She didn't' realize till then, how much she missed her cat.

Trixie had puzzled all day about Jill.

Jill had been dating someone and she had talked to Trixie before she died, that it was getting serious. The only person Jill's best friend knew about was Eric Kelson. Kelson was such a playboy type, Trixie couldn't imagine that Jill, who knew him, had known him since high school would see him as "serious relationship" material.

Trixie kicked her shoes off and grabbed the phone. "Hello, Trixie Belden here." "Trixie?" Trixie sighed, as she recognized that soft voice, she knew to be Sternhauser's.

"Mr. Sternhauser, how can I help you?" She wondered if that was the right thing to say.

"In all the upset last night, and being in tremendous pain from my injuries, there was something I forgot to ask you."

"What?" Trixie asked impatiently. She was too tired to fool with this.

"Did you like the necklace I left you? The minute I saw it at the jeweler's, I was reminded of the color of your eyes."

"Mr. Sternhauser!" Trixie exploded. "I saw it, however, I would not have kept it if I had known it was from you. I thought my boyfriend left it for me. If I had known it was from you, I would have promptly returned it, as now I will do! You could cost me my job, I'm not allowed to accept gifts, nor do I want any gifts from you."

"Now Trixie." He said indulgently, almost as if he were talking to a child. "I can do whatever I want on my own time. If I had left it at your office, that would be a different thing, but I left it at your house. That made it personal, not business. After all, you did save my life. If you had been like the others you work with, you wouldn't have done that. You care."

He sounded so calm and so smug and so sure of himself, that it made Trixie furious. She was so upset, that she was momentarily speechless. "Nevertheless, I'll be returning the necklace." She said coldly and slammed the phone down.

"She's in love with me." Oliver sang. What she didn't know now, she would learn later, when he took her away from here, far, far away, where it would be just the two of them. She was his and his alone.

Chapter 22 A Crazy Encounter

Trixie had a sleepless night, which was not unusual for her these days.

Finding out that Jill had dated Kelson and he had conveniently kept that quiet, made her deeply suspicious.

Was Kelson and Loricelli's practical jokes, all about them trying to scare her into quitting her job, or was there something more sinister and dark involved? One or the other of them, had tried to run her off the road, thus endangering her life.

Her cat had came home looking as if someone had tried to cut his throat, after being missing for way longer than he should have been. She had learned a long time ago, that when a psychopath goes after someone's pet, that the individual who owned the pet was in serious danger. Could it have been one of the two of them, or perhaps Loricelli wasn't even involved. Trixie had had a lot more trouble from Kelson than she had Loricelli. Loricelli was more of a follower.

The following day at work, she caught Kelson in the locker room alone. She walked in, as he was taking his equipment out of his locker; handcuffs, flashlight, etc. He looked up as Trixie slammed the outside door shut, so no one outside would hear their conversation.. "I have something I want to ask you." She told him firmly.

"No, I wouldn't touch you with a ten foot pole." He answered sarcastically. "I like my women a little more feminine."

Trixie ignored that and got right to the point.

"Were you dating Jill Wilmington when she was murdered?" She asked, while observing his reaction.

"What?" He nearly yelled, stepping toward her threateningly. The menacing look in his eyes, made her question whether or not being shut in here alone with him was a good idea

"Are you crazy? Jill's been gone for nearly six months, Belden. What does this have to do anything? Sternhauser killed her. The judge set him free. Case closed."

"Just answer my question."

"I don't have to answer anything." He yelled and leaned into her and put his face close to hers, so they were almost touching. She found herself up against the lockers, so she couldn't back away. He put his hands on each side of her head. His voice then became softer and quieter, but in the way a person trying to contain their fury might do. Trixie felt trapped.

"Jill and I were friends, that's all. I don't have to tell you anything about my personal life. But, yes, Ms. Nosy, we went out a few times!" Trixie ducked under Eric's arms and stepped around him.

His face had reddened with anger and he looked like he wanted to crush her with his bare hands. He was a big muscular guy and she wouldn't doubt that he possibly could. She climbed over a bench, which created a barrier between Kelson and her. He turned to face her.

"Why wasn't the fact that you and she were dating disclosed during the investigation?"

He didn't answer. He looked down at the floor for a moment, then straightened up to his full six foot two and said; "If you know what's good for you, you'll stay out of my path, Belden." He elbowed her forcefully, as he walked toward the door. She fell on the hard office tile floor, hip first.

Trixie pulled herself up on the bench and sat down gingerly. She grabbed her hip and rocked for a few moments. It was sore and she knew she would have a major bruise.

Chapter 23 Irritation

Trixie had a gift when she arrived home that afternoon, and walked painstakingly up the steps to her apartment, her hip smarting painfully with every step. At the top of her steps, was a gift wrapped box and she didn't have to guess who it was from.

She was trying to figure out a way to give Oliver back the necklace, she was certain this gift was from him also. It was beautifully gift wrapped and she opened it delicately, careful not to tear the wrapping, because she had every intention of giving it back, along with the necklace. Inside was a beautiful ice blue negligee. "You've got to be kidding." She said aloud to herself.

Of course, this was part of the same progression Oliver had with Jill, only he seemed to be moving in on Trixie much quicker. Trixie wasn't about to tell the Lieutenant about her conversation, or suspicions regarding Kelson, but she did call and tell him about the necklace and the other gift. "Trixie, I'm kind of tired tonight, but tomorrow, maybe after work, you and I will return them. That way, you'll be covered if any sort of allegations are made about excepting gifts."

The phone rang after she had let herself into her apartment and changed into something comfortable, Trixie saw by way of the caller ID, that it was Jim.

"Hey" She said, glad to hear from him.

"Hey yourself. How are you?"

"I'm great. Even better since hearing from you."

"I'm on my way home sweetie." He told her. "I hope we can get together tomorrow. You remember the house plans we looked at a week or so ago?"

"Yeah. I've looked at carpet and furniture and I've got some ideas I think you'll like." She replied. Even though that had not been on her mind lately.

"Trix, I have good news. I know you're busy and the house that will be our home, has to be a little luxurious, because we will sometimes have to entertain investors and all there, Shannon used to work for an interior decorator and she has some good ideas. She's looking at carpet, cabinets and all that for us." "She's what?" Trixie thought, aggrievedly.

She and Jim were going to have to discuss this, but she wasn't going to do it over the phone, Trixie decided to not get into a discussion about that this evening.

"So, you want me to come over, it's still early." She asked, glancing at the clock and longing to see him. Trixie felt so safe and loved when she was in Jim's arms.

"No, I'm tired. But tomorrow, we'll get together."

"Okay Jim, good night."

The nerve of him and that...that Shannon! Trixie thought, after hanging up the phone. She was tempted to give both of them a piece of her mind. Trixie knew to be careful, jealousy could destroy a relationship, and she didn't want to lose Jim. He was certainly taken by Shannon, the wonder girl.

Chapter 24 Unlikely Occurrence

After work, the following day, she and Lieutenant Briton drove out to Oliver Sternhauser's place, she had the necklace and the box containing the negligee with her.

Oliver answered the door and Trixie and the Lieutenant were invited into his living room, Trixie had both gifts still in their original wrappings in her arms. She was thankful that she had Lieutenant Briton there for support, because after reading of what happened with Jill, Oliver Sternhauser gave her the creeps.

"What can I do for you?" Oliver asked them politely, but with a cold, menacing note to his voice, he looked at Trixie with a glare that was chilling. Trixie glanced at the Lieutenant, he had a no nonsense expression on his face.

"I'm a police officer and I cannot accept gifts. Mr. Sternhauser." Trxie spoke first.

"I wasn't giving them to you as to you being a police officer, Ms. Belden." Oliver replied. "I gave them to you as a friend." Trixie noticed he called her "Ms. Belden" in lieu of "Trixie" when the LT was there.

The Lieutenant took over from there. "Mr. Sternhauser." He addressed Oliver, directly and firmly. "Detective Belden has made it clear to you on more than one occasion, that any attention she had paid you, is attributable to her doing her job. Your attentions are neither acceptable, nor warranted. If you continue to harass her in any way, since these gifts do constitute a form of harassment, you could be arrested for stalking."

"It isn't stalking when you're giving gifts to a friend." Oliver mumbled resentfully. "What?" Lieutenant Briton asked. "Not important." Oliver shurgged him off.

Trixie opened the door to leave first, with the Lieutenant right behind her.

"Hopefully he'll leave you alone." Lieutenant Briton told her. "Maybe." She said. "I sure hope he does."

As Lieutenant Briton was driving her back to the precinct, her personal cell rang. She saw on her ID that it was Jim, she missed him so much and sometimes she ached to see him. She was so glad he was home early.

"Hey." She answered. "Hi Trixie, I can't get together with you tonight. Mr. Burnette is flying in and he wants to see the school and I have to make some kind of presentation. He has a lot of money to contribute, so this is pretty mandatory."

Trixie said, trying to hide her disappointment. "I understand. I can't talk right now, Jim." She told him dejectedly, then closed her phone.

"Everything okay?" Lieutenant Briton asked.

"Yeah, I don't get to see my boyfriend much and he just broke our date for tonight."

"Sorry, Belden." He looked over at her. I make pretty good omelet's, why don't you come over to the house, I've got a new movie and we could have a quick dinner and discuss our next move in regard to Sternhauser. I don't believe he's gonna leave you alone, now that he's got you in his sights."

Trixie knew the Lieutenant thought no more of inviting her over, than if he had invited Sergeant Molinson or Dan, or one of the other guys over. He was strictly professional. Trixie was tired of being away from Jim so much and dreaded going home to an empty house.

The loneliness she felt sometimes was more pronounced since she had taken Wendell to her mother's. So after silently weighing the pros and cons for a moment, she decided there would be no harm in going to the Lieutenant's house.

Lieutenant Briton made a great Denver omelet and they ate. He was really kind of fun, he told her funny stories about his time at Boston PD. She told him some stories about solving mysteries when she was a teenager. It was nice to just talk and be relaxed.

Sometimes lately, Trixie felt that her and Jim's relationship was strained.. She was keeping secrets and often felt as if she were walking a tightrope. His school took up so much of his time.

This evening with the Lieutenant, she was just herself and she found that she felt more relaxed than she had in a long time.

Looking at her watch, she stood to her feet. "I better get home." She told him, they had spent five hours together at this point and it was getting late.

"Let me walk you to your car." Trixie had parked on the curb in front of his house, behind his detective car. A beautiful night." she said, glancing up at the stars. It was clear and cold and she pulled her jacket tighter around her, as they walked. "It is. Trixie, I'm going to give you some gentlemanly advice, I hope you don't mind."

"Sure" She answered, smiling at him.

"Don't put up with too much from your boyfriend. You don't deserve to be stood up like you were tonight." This surprised her, coming from the Lieutenant.

"Jim is great, Lieutenant." She told him. For a moment, she found, just like the other night at his Halloween party, this was quite an awkward moment. Then something happened that caught Trixie totally off guard. It just seemed so natural for the moment, but Lieutenant Briton took her in his arms and they shared a kiss. She struggled a little at first, but then, she gave in. It was he, who broke it off. "I'm sorry, Belden." He told her. "I've been wanting to do that for a long time." He said. "But I am way out of line. Please forget it ever happened." Nothing else was said, as she jumped into her car and headed home.

Trixie analyzed herself and her situation all the way home. She felt so guilty that she had allowed this to happen. What bothered her most, is she had enjoyed his company this evening. She wished the kiss had been repulsive, after all, she had never wanted another man in any kind of way, except Jim. The problem was, kissing Lieutenant Briton was not bad, nor unenjoyable.

Finally, she came to a conclusion. She and Jim were growing apart. That was all tonight and the kiss was about. Trixie examined her heart, she loved Jim as much or more than ever, and she wanted to spend the rest of her life with him.

She affirmed to herself, that she and Jim had to talk soon. She had to tell him everything she had gone through about Jill. Trixie had never shared her deepest feelings and emotions about that with anybody.

Chapter 25 Somebody's Angry

Oliver Sternhauser was furious. "How dare she think she can just waltz in here with another man!" He paced his living room floor and silently raged.

Oliver was humiliated by that Lieutenant and jealous that he was with his Trixie. "She will pay for this!" He declared, hitting the wall. "When I take her away, she will pay. And he decided, he would not woo her anymore. He was just going to take her away from this town and that was that.

Sternhauser got into his car and headed out. He turned down the long, deserted road that led to Trixie's hid his car and positioned himself outside of her apartment. He observed her as she pulled into her driveway.

"So, she's been with that Lieutenant Briton all this time." He told himself angrily. "I wonder if Frayne knows about this." Oliver was tired of Frayne and her being together and now this Lieutenant was in the picture, he was tempted to deal with both of them, himself and his way.

Chapter 26

The situation is snowballing

The next few weeks were some of the best Trixie had had for a long time. Kelson and Loricelli avoided her like the plague, after the little incident in the locker room. She and the Lieutenant also avoided each other and tried their best to maintain a professional relationship, even though the situation was quite awkward.

Jim was home more. Some of the time he was distracted, but to Trixie's happiness, the two of them had found time to be together a lot more, driving into the city one night for a movie and dinner, family dinners at Crabapple Farm, getting together with Diana and Mart and Honey and Brian, sometimes, Dan and Hallie.

The evening she and Jim had gone into the city, she thought she saw Oliver Sternhauser following her as they walked down the street, but when she turned to look, he was gone. She attributed this to a wild imagination. Trixie wasn't having the dreams as much anymore and she and Jim hadn't talked yet, but she felt like the time was coming soon to get some things out into the open.

Thanksgiving was coming up and Jim was going to be home the whole week, she couldn't wait.

Trixie had not confronted Jim about Shannon decorating their home, but she was getting to that. It wasn't long though, before everything came to a head in away no one in their circle of friends and family, nor people Trixie worked with expected.

Chapter 27 Surprise!

It's strange how things can unravel so quickly and nothing will ever be the same again. Trixie never would have imagined it would happen to her. One beautiful November evening, she decided to surprise Jim.

He was working late at his school and she decided to make a picnic supper and go out and have dinner with him. It was a beautiful, cold, moonlit night and she carried her picnic basket out to her car and the ride over was filled with happy thoughts of weddings and her future home and the upcoming holiday festivities.

She pulled up at the school. Trixie was so proud of what Jim had accomplished. The school had two dorms, a cafeteria, a huge auditorium and classrooms. She pulled up to the administration building, knowing that's where he would be.

Trixie grabbed her picnic basket and headed inside. The door had a code on it for security purposes, but Trixie knew the code, it was Jim's birthday, then a zero and a one.

It was very quiet, as she walked down the carpeted hallway to his office door. She saw the light was on before she got there and saw his office door was open. Trixie stepped to the door, a casual greeting on her lips. It was then, that her eyes were tormented with a sight so shocking, she almost thought she was having a terrible hallucination. Jim was leaning back against the outside edge of his desk and Shannon, his assistant, was pressed up against him and they were kissing passionately. Trixie gasped aloud in anguish, before she could stop herself.

Jim and Shannon both turned to look. Trixie heard him call her name, as she dropped her picnic basket and ran, not stopping till she reached her car, getting in and driving away as quickly as she could. The tears were flowing freely as she sped out of the parking lot.

Not able to face going home, she wasn't sure what to do. Trixie drove around for awhile, then, she decided she was going to do something that there was no way would end well for her. But, what did she care? The love of her life was gone for her. Trixie felt as if she had lost everything she had ever known or believed in. So, she headed to Lieutenant Briton's house.

It was growing late, when she parked at the curb. She sat there, while trying to reason with herself. This was a really bad idea and Trixie knew it. She exited her car and began walking toward the house.

Lieutenant Briton's garage light was on, as she headed that way. She could hear someone working inside there.

"I guess this is what he does when he can't sleep." She thought.

Trixie walked to the garage window and looked inside. She decided he must've gone inside before she got to the window, because everything had suddenly became silent.

What she saw, made her do a double take, she felt like her heart had dropped into her stomach. The car he had been working on was a dark colored Camaro, or a Firebird, and she hoped against hope, that it wasn't the one that had followed her home so many nights.

"Hello Trixie." Said a voice from behind her. Someone grabbed her around the neck, and placed a rag over her face. She tried to hold her breath, but after a short time, it felt as if her lungs would burst. She tried to kick backwards, or even throw her head back and hit him in the face, but he had her pressed tightly against the wall, where she couldn't move.

Finally, she had to breathe, taking in a major whiff of chloroform. Everything went black.

Chapter 28 Bad News!

An old friend from high school, Dana Freewell, sat down at the bar where Loricelli and Kelson were having a drink. "Hey guys."

"How's it going, Dana?" answered Loricelli.

"Just great. I wanted to talk to you guys. I had an interesting visit the other day. I thought I should tell you." She began telling them about her visit from Trixie. Of course, neither of them were happy. Then, she told them something she had forgotten, until that visit with Trixie had jogged her memory.

"Trixie wanted to know if Jill was dating someone. Well, she was, but I had forgotten. She had told me his name, seemed quite taken with him."

Eric Kelson murmured an expletive when she told him. He and Loricelli locked eyes, alarmed. All of a sudden, many things they had heard and overlooked came together, as they both knew Sternhauser had not killed Jill.

Of course, when they got to the Lieutenant's house, he wasn't there. They looked through the window, into the garage and his muscle car was gone, in it's place was the ugly 80's Subaru that Belden drove.

"He's got Belden." Kelson yelled. He and Loricelli stood for a minute. Neither of them liked Trixie, but they didn't want to see her, or any other woman go through what Jill had.

Kelson would never forget that particular crime scene. Someone had driven four short stakes into the floor and bound Jill to them hands and feet and stabbed her multiple times.

Chapter 29 Unlikely Heroes

Trixie's hands were cuffed and she was in the trunk of what she assumed was Lieutenant Briton's Camaro. She was painfully bounced around, as she realized he was driving on a dirt road, then he came to a stop.

He came around to the back of the car, popped open the hood and dragged her out. In the moonlight, she recognized the house where Jill died.

"Why are you doing this?" She said imploringly. "You're my lieutenant, we're friend's."

"You're no friend of mine." He said matter of factly. "You ruined my life."

"How?" She begged. "I didn't' even know you, till I started working for the department."

"Do you remember Tilney Briton, the man you helped send to prison?"

Of course, she did. He was Diana's phony uncle, that had nearly made away with the Lynch's camper and quite a bit of their money, nearly kidnapping Trixie and her brother, Mart in the process. All this had happened, back when Trixie was about fourteen years old.

"You were his son?" She asked incredulously.

"Yep, he adopted me. When he went away to prison, my mother didn't live long. If he'd gotten away with the Lynch's dough, we would have bought a home and everything would have been good, but you fixed that. My mother, who was all I had in this world, died because of all that, you cost me her. Tonight, you'll pay. I had a hard time deciding whether I was going to keep you, or kill you, because after getting to know you, I'm in love with you. But I've decided, you deserve to die. "

"This guy is psychotic" Trixie thought. She tried to shake off the effect of the chloroform, along with the complete shock of what was happening to her, so that she could try to formulate a plan that would get her out of this. She was momentarily hopeful, as she observed a car slowly heading down the dirt road toward them.

Briton hadn't noticed yet. He was facing her and the car wasn't close enough to hear or notice the lights. Trixie was encouraged when she saw the car turn it's lights off and coast to a stop, a long way before getting to where she and Briton were. Hopefully, help was on the way.

Briton was pacing back and forth muttering to himself, Trixie presumed he was in his own sick and delusional little world. Trixie was surprised as she saw who her unlikely heroes were. They were sneaking through the woods, heading her way, it was none other than Detective's Kelson and Loricelli.

They crept up on the Lieutenant, Kelson tackled him and wrestled him to the ground before he could react. Loricelli unbound Trixie's hands and feet.

"I never thought I'd be glad to see you two." She couldn't resist saying.

"I never thought I'd be doing this." Kelson told her, hauling the Lieutenant to his feet and handcuffing him and reading him his rights as Loricelli went to get the car.

Chapter 30

What a night it had been, Trixie knew it had to be the worse thing she had ever gone through.

Kelson and Loricelli had insisted on driving Trixie to her apartment, they did not feel she was in any shape emotionally to drive herself. Kelson drove her in her car, with Loricelli following. Neither had much to say. Trixie was unsure what her future would hold after the events of tonight.

When they arrived at her apartment, Oliver Sternhauser was sitting in his car in her drive.

Seconds later, Kelson saw through the window of Oliver's car, that he had ropes, duct tape and a menacing looking knife. Seeing as he had no other choice, Oliver Sternhauser admitted to stalking both Jill and more recently, Trixie. He had planned to kidnap Trixie tonight. Sternhauser was arrested and would face charges for stalking and premeditated kidnapping.

In the days following, Briton admitted to all that he had done, Trixie was allowed to listen to his taped statement. It was he that had left the doll on Trixie's windshield, followed her home, one time almost running her off the road. He also had planned to kill her cat, Wendell and had poured red food coloring on her sweater. It was chilling to Trixie when he told of how he had often hidden near her house at night when she was inside, either going about her normal routine, or, outside at night while she slept. She had been totally oblivious to the danger she was in.

Briton also admitted to murdering Jill, as well as a few other women from his past. He was a violent individual, who had a pattern of charming women, dating them for a short time, then he would lure them somewhere and murder them. Trixie was the only one that he seemed to have a motive for murdering.

Kelson and Loricelli had worked the case against Sternhauser, he was a good suspect, because he had been stalking Jill. Briton had pointed them in the direction of trying to get Sternhauser convicted.

Briton also admitted to following Trixie to the track early that morning and had planned to kidnap her from there, but for whatever reason, known to no one but him, he had decided the time wasn't right.

Loricelli and Kelson had both apologized to her for their behavior and she felt that she would have a much better working relationship with them from now on. Trixie wished the ending had been more happy, but for now, she was grateful to be alive.

Jim wanted to talk to her, Trixie never wanted to see him again.

Molinson put her on administrative leave. She didn't want that, but he insisted. "I should have made you take some time off when you found Jill like you did. This time, you're going to take some time to recover."

Preview of my next story

In retrospect, it had been a rough year. Trixie felt as if her whole world had been shaken, when she found out that Lieutenant Briton, whom she trusted explicitly, thought was a great guy and a great boss, had been stalking her. Before that, finding a good friend of her's murdered. Then, Oliver Sternhauser's plan to take her away and keep her prisoner. She was currently on leave from the Police Department, on orders of Sergeant Molinson. So, in conclusion, Trixie felt as if a rug had been pulled out from under her feet.

To Trixie's way of thinking, all the issues aforementioned, were horrible, but nothing was as bad as losing her soul mate and the love of her life, Jim Frayne. She felt as if a part of her was gone, a part of her, that she could never have back.

In light of all that, Trixie had asked the Elliott's to break her lease on her apartment. She then, moved back home to Crabapple Farm, bag and baggage, into the loving arms of her parents, in order to try and figure out what she was going to do with the rest of her life. She didn't think she had ever been more confused.

Normally, Trixie looked forward to this time of year, Thanksgiving, then Christmas and all the fun and festivities that would bring, but not this year.

Jim had tried to call and tried to get messages to her, but she refused to talk to him. She also refused to discuss him with any of her family and friends.

A few days before Thanksgiving, Uncle Andrew flew into Sleepyside in his personal jet airplane.

When he left the following day, Trixie was with him.

She spent Thanksgiving at his lodge in the Ozarks with Linnie and her new husband, and her parents, Mr. and Mrs. Moore. Then she and Uncle Andrew headed to Happy Valley Farm to spend Christmas.

Afterward, her Uncle Andrew had taken her on a tour of Europe. Trixie experienced camping in below zero weather in the beautiful Swiss Alps.

Then, they had gone to Paris and Rome, stayed in the finest hotels, eaten in the best restaurants. Uncle Andrew allowed her to choose a country to end their vacation with, she chose Ireland.

During the time with her Uncle, she confided everything to him, beginning with finding Jill, to the things that had happened at the department, ending with what happened with Jim. Her Uncle was there when she needed him, but gave her space when she needed to be alone.

The biggest concern she had, was that she had lost her edge. After all, she had worked with Lieutenant Briton and never realized, that she was in the daily company of a dangerous psychopath. Trixie now doubted her ability to be a detective. How could she not have known? Her Uncle assured her she hadn't lost her ability, anyone that had been walking the emotional and mental tight rope, she had been walking would not be on their toes, as one should be. He also assured her in respect to Jim, that she would love again, but she doubted both.

Trixie returned to Sleepyside at the end of February. One morning, she had awakened, gone into the kitchen at Crabapple Farm and was pouring a cup of coffee, when her cell phone rang. Trixie saw that it was Honey on the line.

"Trixie, please come over." She begged. "I have the most horrible news."

Trixie of course knew that Honey could possibly be just hormonal, which came with pregnancy. Her baby was due in September, so she was still relatively early in the pregnancy. But she heard something in her voice, that made her believe Honey was genuinely upset.

It was confirmed that something was really wrong when Honey said; "I called in today, I'm not going to work, so come to the house."

Honey never missed work.

"Oh Honey, please tell me nothing's happened with the baby?" Trixie asked alarmed.

"No, it's not that. Nothing as bad as that." Honey blubbered. "But Trixie, just come over, I need to talk to you.

"I'll be right there." Trixie told her. "No matter what it is, it'll be alright."