Entering Tuxedo Park, New York State

2359hrs Friday 18th February 2005

'I need to start at the beginning,' Trixie hesitated, compiling dates and events in her head. Once she came up with a timeline the others would understand, the words fell into place.

'Do you remember the summer I went away to camp for the summer?' Trix asked.

Several nods of confirmation forced Trixie to bit her lower lip at the painful memories which came flooding back. Memories she'd rather not share but now felt compelled to impart. In an attempt to reassure her friends rising emotions and clear her conscious, she started the hardest tale of her life.

'I wanted, I needed some time to come to terms with how things changed, how they were still changing between the Bob Whites,' she explained. 'There weren't any more mysteries to solve after California because I made a promise to myself not to let anyone else get hurt.'

Mart snorted at his sister's sanitised version of events before Honey could make a protest. 'We all realised the argument you had with Jim after that episode formed the real reason for your promise, Trix,' he frowned deeply, glaring first at his sister and then his friend, 'rather than any wish on your part.'

'Mart,' Trixie berated, attempting to draw attention away from Jim's involvement in her story. Especially with the sour looks her eldest brother directed towards them. I know you don't like what I suspect you overheard, Trixie sent a pleading look towards Brian without any affect, but you've got to get over it and realise I've grown up. I live my life, my way now.

'You and Di, Brian and Honey,' watching their current partners for a reaction, Trixie felt safe to continue, 'had been dating for so long, I didn't think you noticed.'

As much as she wanted to keep this explanation emotionless, the sarcasm Trixie held back for years suddenly surfaced. Immediately contrite, the atmosphere in the car changed and damage had been done. Before Honey or Di could fire off an angry retort, Trixie continued in a melancholy tone she hoped would relay her feelings of hurt and abandonment at the time.

'You didn't seem to want or need me anymore,' tears pooled in Trixie's eyes. 'Every time I turned around, you were off doing "stuff" by yourselves. Mart, you were so wrapt up with your computers and being a freshman at Columbia, when you did come home for a weekend, you spent allyour time with Di. Honey had already started dreaming about designing wedding dresses and drawing wonderful sketches, no doubt inspired by her relationship with Brian. When you guys were at college, Di and Honey were learning to become young ladies about to enter into the world of society.' Allowing a heaving sight, Trixie's demeanour changed. Looking down at her feet, she stated, 'I felt like Cinderella, left behind.'

Turning towards the two remaining, original Bob Whites, Trixie attempted to dispel the rest of her pent up feelings. 'Dan, well, you were so determined to pay your own way through college, we hardly ever saw you. If you weren't working for Mr Maypenny or putting in horrendous hours at college to gain any scholarship you could, you spent time with one of your other "causes" and dragged Jim a long with you because you both wanted to aid troubled youth after your own childhood trauma. And finally Jim, I felt like I couldn't be myself around you. I cared about you so much and yet…'

'We both made mistakes, Trix,' he commented gently, hanging his head at the memories her words evoked. His deeply personal thoughts needed to be explained to his friends. They needed to know about the clandestine relationship between himself and Trixie to understand how and why she'd taken this life path as Jim was beginning too. 'As you said, we were all very young and trying to be adults in a changing world. I think one of your psychology professors would call it normal egocentric adolescences. Why don't you tell us about that summer at camp? I know it caused a transformation in you and the relationship between us,' pausing for a moment to let that statement sink in, Jim continued in a quiet, gentle tone, 'all of us. So why don't you tell us what really happened?'

'It appeared to be just like any other ordinary camp,' she confessed, silently thanking Jim for his easy introduction into the hardest explanation of her life. 'Yet it changed my life in so many ways.'

I have always loved you so much, and yet I've never had the courage to tell you, except in actions that one night we spent together. You have always been my strength and I sacrificed you for a career which may well get the both of us killed. Chancing a glance at Jim from under her eyelashes, Trixie suddenly realised, and now you make it easy for me to find the words to explain to my friends how I have closed them out of my life because you're offering me your fortitude and honesty to get through this as best I can. Taking a deep breath, Trixie's conscious reminded her she didn't deserve Jim's continuing friendship. Especially in view of how I have interfered in your life, Trixie reflected. Yet, still you show me a trust that should have died years ago. Is it possible? Could you still care for me Jim, Trixie wondered, attempting to pull the answer from his expression, do we still have a chance?

'I didn't realise how much life would change or how lonely I'd become in the weeks and months following the trip Honey and I took to California,' Trixie confessed. 'Worst of all, I always knew it to be my fault that the Bob Whites paired off and yet disintegrated all at once.'

'Trix,' Honey interrupted, in a solemn tone, 'you weren't the only one to blame.'

'True,' a sad smile coved Trixie's features, 'but my actions in Los Angeles became a major factor which influenced the rest of our lives.'

Changing topic suddenly, Trixie asked, 'do you remember a substitute teacher in our junior year called Mrs Peterson?'

'Yes,' Di glanced at Honey before adding, 'she filled in for Mrs Kingsford when she left to have her baby. Why?' Di added, intrigued.

'Yes, Trix, what does this teacher have to do with that camp before your senior year?' Mart asked, interested by his sisters obvious circling of a topic she didn't really want to talk about.

'Because Mrs Peterson started of all of this,' Trix exclaimed with a sigh. 'She'd been sent to Sleepyside to see if all the fuss about our mysteries were true, find the ringleader and access our future in the investigative industry. Obviously,' Trixie's tone turned sarcastic, 'I passed with flying colours because she befriended me when I felt at my most venerable, told me about the camp and encouraged Moms and Dad to send me.'

'I wanted to go at first. But as so often happens, the reality of being far away from home soon set in,' Trixie confessed. It's lasted all the years in between, she added silently, until this moment when I've finally found the courage to tell the truth.

'You got homesick!' Mart hooted.

Nodding her agreement, Trixie continued. 'Moms and Dad knew how much I missed home and everyone in Sleepyside but they reminded me I had a responsibility to the kids I'd volunteered to look after. I'd chosen to spend my summer without the rest of the Bob White's. I'd pleaded to be given the opportunity to find myself after what happened in California against Moms better judgement so I felt impelled to stay and work. That's when I realised I had to make new friends and Tim befriended me.'

'Tim?' Honey questioned with a rased eyebrow.

'Tim,' Trixie nodded, 'the Camps Kitchen Manager. He could see I felt isolated. Many of the other councillors were older and from other countries, like Australia and Canada. At first I couldn't see why he befriended me. Tim reminded me of Dad, steady, dependable and rational. I began by telling him how much I missed my family and friends at home because he took the time to listen. He encouraged me to talk, so I told him about our adventures together. Now I know he already had a heads up from Mrs Peterson and alerted the CIA to a possible new recruit,' Trixie concluded, unable to look any of her friends in the eye. Yet, now this long held secret came out, she felt slightly cleansed by the telling of it.

'You mean he's CIA,' Mart asked, a note of surprise adding to the deep timber of his voice.

'Yes,' holding on the last syllable elongated the simple word and told the other Bob Whites more about Trixie's frustration at twisted hand of fate she had been dealt. 'I didn't know at the time, but Tim assessed me while on a covert field operation.'

'What operation?' Honey asked as the same moment the answer came to her, 'you got involved with his assignment, didn't you?'

'Sort of tore it wide open,' Trixie sounded embarrassed. 'I felt safe discussing my suspicions with Tim and he treated my concerns with respect.'

'So you didn't give up finding mysteries altogether,' Jim remarked with irony.

'Not entirely,' Trixie agreed, peaking at her friends' expressions, 'although I didn't solve this one. Tim started dropping hints about his real role at the camp and warned me to stay away until I had the training to cope. He kept me in the loop, as much as he could, convinced the government could use a "girl detective" like me. I wanted to hear it. Suddenly I felt vindicated. He insinuated he knew "the right people" and they'd hear about my part in his op. As usual I jumped in and before I knew which way my feet were pointing I had full college scholarship waiting for me and a government job upon graduation. I knew I had to improve my grade point average, but that seemed the least of my problems.' A sigh escaped Trixie and she visibly slumped before her friend's astounded gazes.

'I came home and everything had changed,' for the first time, Trixie's face brightened with a slight smile. 'At the time I didn't realise I'd been the one to change. Some of the changes were good and others…like learning to withhold the truth…weren't so good. Keeping my secret, it became the hardest thing I've ever had to do and I hated every minute of it.'

'Yet, I knew I had to patch up my friendship with Jim,' Trixie confessed. 'Because I finally understood how the undercurrent between us became responsible for the Bob Whites uneasiness and division when ever we got together.'

Taking a deep breath, Trixie found the nerve to continue even though her friends were numb with shock. She needed to tell them so much more, now she had started, Trixie couldn't seem to stop. 'I waited until you were all busy one night at the end of summer and found the courage to beg Jim to spend some time with me,' she stumbled through this part of her explanation, watching Jim for his reaction to her words. He continued to encourage her, persuading Trixie to complete this tale at her own pace when he rested his hand on her knee. She covered his larger hand, squeezing it to thank him for his continuing loyalty. Looking deeply into his eyes, she stated in a clear voice, 'I learnt that anger can make you say things you don't mean and fear can stop you from putting events into perspective. Some how I had to tell Jim I didn't feel angry or hurt any more.'

'We both managed to overcome either our anger or fear on our first real date,' Jim announced with a slight smile, continuing to encourage Trixie to finish her story with his blessing.

'And just how close did you two get "that night"?' Brian broke in heatedly, startling everyone. His anger, on a slow burn as he continued to listen to his sister's tail, finally found an outlet and erupted. Jim's compliance and encouragement only increased his rising ire. His sister's acceptance of it demonstrated to him, they still felt something for each other and sustained his resentment. 'I have seen you in each other arms at least twice tonight and overheard enough at the gallery to…'

'Brian!' Sally berated, seeing her partners temperature escalate. He didn't lose his temper often, but when he did, it could only be termed scorching, leading him to say things he'd later regret. You're furious at your self, Brian Belden, Sally rebuked him silently with a look he completely ignored, because you missed all the warnings before your very eyes. So you're human, learn to live with it. With a weary look in her eye, Sally turned reflective. I thought you'd realised you couldn't save everyone by now and had grown out of that God Complex you had at medical school It almost cost you your career and sanity, so why are you going backwards now? Shaking her head, Sally realised Brian's demons weren't buried as far below the surface as he led others to believe. Maybe you need to tell your friends about your mental health problems during your last year of med school? Is that what you little outburst is really all about-keeping your own dark and vulnerable secrets?

'Haven't you heard a thing you sister said about words spoken in anger,' she finished in a comforting voice, attempting to take his hand and cover it with her own.

'That doesn't give my best friend the right to date my seventeen year old sister behind my back,' he spat at Sally before pulling away from her. Sending a fierce glare towards Jim, Brian's next words shocked even his own temper into compliance. 'Or the entitlement to sleep with her!' The moment the words left Brian's mouth he instantly regretted them.

Castaway's, Tuxedo Park, New York State

0012Hrs Saturday 19th February 2005

The silence within the van became overwhelming. No one dared take a deep breath for fear of setting off another explosion. If a pin dropped on the floor at that precise moment, it would've had the same effect as a nuclear war head detonating in the middle of New York City.

Sally distanced herself physically from Brian, too upset with him to utter a word and too embarrassed to look anyone in the eye. Brian closed his eyes in shame at his rash statement. Just because he'd uncovered Jim and Trixie's dark secret, didn't give him the right to blurt it out like that, especially in the presence of their closest friends and family. Immediately contrite, yet still angry at the undisclosed truths the pair kept.

Had they been my patients, I would have been much more discreet, Brian criticized, but this is my "baby" sister's transition into womanhood. Now I understand why you can not medically treat your family. Realising the level of his emotional involvement, Brian wondered, what must Jim think of me, being such a hypocrite when I did the same thing with his sister not so long afterwards? I know Di and Mart's relationship was well ahead of Honey's and mine, yet I never reacted this way when I found out about them. It has to be because the thought of Jim and Trix being so unexpected.

Trixie had gone as pale as Jim had gone red. In the confusion, Trixie attempted to pull her hand away from Jim's, only he tightened his grip, telling her they had to stick together in this situation or their talk of overcoming fear and anger held little meaning. However, neither one of them could look in the others direction out of humiliation.

Honey lost her power over polite words. Known for her legendary tact, astonishment engulfed her and it became forgotten. She turned to Peter for comfort and found it in his waiting arms.

Linnie, overcome by shock turned to Mart for solace. He took her in a tight embrace, attempting to protect her from the rapidly deteriorating atmosphere in the claustrophobic car. However, he secretly felt overjoyed at this first public display of their commitment to each other.

Linnie's so strong in some ways and yet so weak in others, Mart considered the woman in his arms. I need to make a smart remark about now, but for once I just can't think of anything which would force Brian, Jim or Trix to laugh, Mart frowned and kissed the top of Linnie's head, needing the physical demonstration of his feeling for the woman in his arms. I have to ask her to be my wife sooner rather than later, he suddenly realised, because I want her at my side always. Linnie makes me a better person. I can't believe I didn't see that before.

'Did I just see the turnoff to Castaways, Nick?' Dan asked in as normal a tone as possible a few endless minutes later. His query greeted with silence, he took consolation in his wife's embrace, as she glanced at him. At least Jo appreciates my attempt at normality, he thought, seeing the sentiment shining in her brown eyes. 'I love you!' he whispered, rewarded with one of her million watt smiles.

Striking the indicator, singling his intention to turn, Nick winced at the amount of noise it made echoing through the car. Diana turned to him, a slight lifting of her lips revealing she felt as ill-at-ease as her friends. Reaching out a hand, she rested it on Nick's thigh, taking comfort from the physical contact with her long time lover.

Silence once again descended on the group. No one made eye contact as the van turned down the long drive way to Castaway House. They missed the enchanting road they drove and the moonlight shining off the four levels of the ecologically positioned house built on top of Crows Nest Ridge.

Diana opened the electronic garage doors, allowing Nick to park the vehicle undercover. The silent group trooped out of the minivan, following Di expectantly into the living room on the ground floor. Unsure what to do next, six couples stood around, trying not to look so obviously lost and uneasy with the situation.

'Oh for goodness sake!' Diana finally exploded her voice edgy with suppressed exasperation as she paced the living room floor. Unable to settle into one of the comfortable sofas littered around an open fire place, she ordered, 'Nick, light the fire and let's try and make this situation a little warmer if we can't make it any more bearable. Even though the central heating is on, Dan, Brian and Peter, go and get some extra wood from the pile on the porch. Its already chopped, Dan, so your saved from that job. Honey, take Linnie and Jo into the kitchen with you, I think we all need a around of hot chocolates, and add a dash of liquor. I guess you could call this a special occasion.'

'You think?' Dan commented under his breath loud enough for Jo to hear. In the stillness of the night, Di also caught his words and attempted to hide another anxious smile.

'We could all do with some loosening up after the events of tonight,' her attempt at humour lost on the crowd before her. 'Honey, the hot chocolate,' she hinted in a slightly sharper voice when no one moved.

'Right, come on Linnie, Sally and Jo, I'll take you through to the kitchen and show you the rooms on the mezzanine level. I've placed you and your partners in the suits up there for the weekend,' Honey motioned with her hand to the three doors beyond the central fire place.

'The rest of you sit down,' Diana ordered with so much authority, the remaining Bob Whites instantly followed her command.

Mart chose a love seat closest to the fire and fumed silently. Jim and Trixie sat side by side on a long couch. Synergistic in their proximity, they couldn't be further apart emotionally.

Allowing Jim to take command of her backpack when they exited the van, Trixie noticed he'd carefully placed their travel documents in the side pocked. Now the bag rested against his leg between them as though it could save him from a trip to London with her.

Tonight is turning into a very long night, Trixie concluded silently, and it's not over yet, not by a long shot. Trix still needed to spend time interrogating Di about the virus she'd found in her computer system at Serendipity. Then she should question Mart about his involvement in eradicating it. He may even score a CIA contract out of this, if he can come up with a workable anti-virus.

OH MY GOD, palling at the thought, Trixie remembered Jake's warning about "Gemma's flu". Could this be what he was referring to? Trixie's mind awhirl with new ideas, she considered, not a physical Flu, which is little more than a virus, spread by aerosol contact but a figurative one, spread by computer? Sam words suddenly placed Jake's actions in a new light. Am I being lead to believe Jake is the bad guy when really its…OH MY GOD, that only leaves one suspect.

Suddenly turning to her hibernating laptop, Trixie returned to the data her computer held with fresh ideas rushing though her mind. Trying to find the links, she attempted to see them in a new light. The puzzle pieces she'd recognised earlier took on a new dimension. In a maelstrom, her mind came to new and more accurate conclusions.

I know exactly who's behind this. Now I just have to prove it.