Chapter 9: A Gift from Secret Santa

Mrs. Belden watched curiously as her daughter carefully peeled the holiday gift wrap from the white box hiding underneath.

Folding up the red striped paper and setting it aside, Trixie's hands shook as she prepared to open her present.

"Oh, Moms look," she gasped as she lifted the lid and beamed at the silver pendant lying inside on a bed of fluffy cotton. "It's a necklace."

Trixie removed the delicate medallion from its resting place and studied it carefully. On the front was a raised relief of a bearded man wearing a robe and bishop's hat. "There's an engraving on the back too," she told her mother, not quite sure of its symbolism. "It says, 'Saint Nicholas Pray for Us'."

Mrs. Belden took the religious gift, as Trixie held it out to her, and said, "My, it's lovely. It's a Saint Nicholas of Myra Medal. And it looks rather old."

"Do you have any idea who may have sent it?" her daughter asked her hopefully.

"I have no idea," Mrs. Belden replied. "But it's quite special. Saint Nicholas is the patron saint of children. He was born in the third century in what is today known as Turkey. Nicholas was known for secretly giving gifts, which is part of the reason we have a Santa Claus today."

Letting Trixie process the information, Mrs. Belden paused and placed the silver token around her daughter's neck.

Then, clasping it in back, she went on, "The belief is, Nicholas of Myra's parents were wealthy merchants, but they died when he was young. He used his inheritance to help the needy and suffering, and was quite revered for his generosity."

Trixie fingered the silver charm thoughtfully. "Moms, why do people wear medals like this one?" she asked.

"Some, as a reminder to the joy of giving selflessly to others," her mother said. "Others, for protection. It is thought, if you call on St. Nicholas to pray for your children, they will be blessed by God and kept safe. I imagine your Secret Santa is someone that you've helped, and they have invoked Saint Nicholas to ask God to watch over you."

Trixie couldn't help but wonder again who had sent such a touching gift. Giving the generic mailer another inspection, she said, "The postmark says 'White Plains'. So that means someone must have mailed it in this general vicinity. Do you think Miss Rachel Martin might have sent it, Moms? She was very grateful when I returned her golden dragon box from the T'ang Dynasty. Didn't she send us a Christmas card?"

"Why yes, "Mrs. Belden replied, wondering what had brought on the question. "I had Bobby tape it to the back of the front door with the others. It's the one with the depiction of the three wise men. It's near the bottom."

Once Trixie had located the card, she compared Miss Rachel's handwriting to the handwriting on the note with her present. When the two didn't match, Trixie's hopes began to deflate. But there were still other holiday greetings to check. But sadly, not a one had a signature that looked even remotely similar to her Secret Santa's.

"Boy, this has got me stymied," she told her mother, stuffing the folded wrapping paper and gift note into the mailer for safekeeping. "But I'll figure out who sent the medallion somehow. It's not wrong to wear it in the meantime, is it, Moms?"

Mrs. Belden smiled and pushed her daughter's hair back behind her ears. "I think it would be wrong not to wear it," she told her honestly.

In the kitchen, Trixie found her father keeping guard over her ham salad sandwich. Next to him, Bobby was glumly finishing his veggie sticks. While Brian and Mart, who had already finished their lunches, were snacking on a few cookies for dessert.

"Look, Daddy, she said, holding out the Saint Nicholas Medal for her father to see. "It's a gift from Secret Santa. Isn't it pretty?"

Across the table, Mart nearly choked. "Did I hear right?" he asked Brian, after clearing his throat. "Has our simpleton sibling a secret admirer?"

Brian chuckled and downed the last of his frothy milk. "Looks that way," he replied. "Jim will love that. You should have seen the look on his face this morning when Trixie sat down on the bus next to Dan."

As Trixie pursed her lips angrily at the two morons she called brothers, her father gave the boys a shake of his head, indicating "that was enough."

"It's very nice, Kitten," Mr. Belden said.

Trixie tossed her brothers another leer and added, "Moms thinks I've done something nice for someone, and they sent it to show their appreciation. Do you have any idea who it might be, Daddy?"

Mr. Belden wiped his salt and pepper mustache with his napkin and then pushed his chair away from the table. Before getting up, he replied, "I'm afraid I don't. But I'm pretty certain the sender wanted it that way. Sometimes it's more fun not knowing."

Only Trixie wasn't so sure this was true. In her case, the fun was going to be in hunting down the answer. It appealed to her gumshoe nature.

As she pulled out the chair next to Bobby's, the little boy tossed his wadded up napkin on his plate. "How come Santa's bringin' you stuff now?" he demanded testily. "'Specially since yous were bad and leaved clothes in the dryer?"

Mart gurgled in his drink. "Yes, please do elaborate?" he chimed in, after setting down his glass. He was enjoying watching his sister squirm and anxious to hear her answer.

"First off," Trixie replied," I didn't leave the clothes in the dryer. I simply forgot they were there. But to answer your question, Bobby, my Secret Santa isn't the real Santa. He, or she, is someone who sent me a gift, who doesn't want me to know who they are. So they just signed the card Secret Santa."

"Why would somebuddy do somethin' like that?" Bobby asked. "That's dumb."

"Bobby," Brian warned, "we don't say things we don't understand are dumb. What if you thought Miss Elliman needed a new hat because hers was worn out? She couldn't afford to buy a new one herself, so you decide to use all of the money in your piggy bank to get her one for Christmas. Only Miss Elliman, being the nice teacher she is, wouldn't want you to do that, would she?"

"Nah," Bobby replied. "She'd keep wearin' the old one and tell me to keep savin' to go to college."

"That's right," Brian continued. "But you still knew how badly Miss Elliman needed a new one because her old hat let her ears get cold. So you go ahead and buy Miss Elliman a new hat, and then wrap it up all nice and pretty."

"OH!" Bobby cried excitedly, catching on. "And so then I sticks a card on it that says 'Secret Santa' and leaves it on her desk when she's not lookin'. She can't tell me not to spend my money, and her ears get warm."

"That's about it," Brian said with a laugh.

Trixie looked at Brian and grinned. His kids? Yes, Aunt Trixie could definitely visit them at Christmas.

As she reached for a wedge of her sandwich, the hungry girl asked if anyone had heard from Aunt Alicia.

"No," Brian replied, "and Moms' pretty concerned. She's tried calling her. But Aunt Alicia isn't answering her phone. We assume she's on the road."

Mart huffed, thinking it was more likely, given current conditions, that Aunt Alicia had slid off the highway, but he didn't voice his opinion.

"I'm sure your aunt is fine," Mr. Belden replied, trying to sound reassuring. "She isn't due in for another hour. If she runs into any delays, she'll call."

Heading to the door, he motioned for the older boys to join him. "Come on, fellas, it's time to give the driveway another sweep. I shoveled when I got home, but it looks like we've had another three inches since then."

Leaving Trixie and Bobby to finish their lunches, the Belden men departed.

After straightening up the kitchen, Trixie got on the horn to call Honey. She knew she'd have to hang up if Aunt Alicia tried beeping in, but Trixie didn't mind. The teenager was dying to tell her friend about the mysterious gift she'd received in the mail. Plus, Trixie had also promised Jim she'd talk to Honey about her concerns regarding the Murphy family.

After a few rings, Miss Trask answered and put Honey on the line. As Trixie began relating her exciting news, she could tell Honey was becoming more and more intrigued.

"Goodness, it's almost as if the medal was heavenly sent," her friend told her with amazement. "You're going to wear it, aren't you?"

"Oh yes, I have it on now," Trixie replied. "And I don't intend to take it off."

"I don't think I would either," Honey admitted. "Some girls have all the luck," she added with a giggle.

Trixie giggled too. She did seem to have a lot of luck. But there was someone who wasn't so lucky. Mrs. Murphy. And Trixie's giggling came to a stop.

With the moment taking a dark turn, the sobered girl approached the touchy subject of Mr. Murphy's incarceration. Telling Honey what she'd told Jim, Trixie waited for her friend's reply.

Only she didn't have to wait very long.

"I keep trying to put myself in Mrs. Murphy's shoes," Honey said sadly. "She must really love her husband to believe he's innocent like that. I mean, I'm not sure I'd be so unwavering, in light of everything. There must have been some pretty strong evidence against Mr. Murphy for a jury to have convicted him. If all of my friends and family were so sure of his guilt, I can't say it wouldn't sway me some? But I'm with you, Trixie. Something just doesn't feel right about all this."

"And the doll thing?" Trixie asked.

Honey didn't hesitate. "That's definitely weird," she said. "I can't imagine why Mr. Murphy would have stolen it unless it was a boy's action figure of some kind. Did he take any other toys?"

"Moms didn't mention any others," her friend replied.

There was a pause on the other end of the line, and at first, Trixie thought that she and Honey might have gotten disconnected, but then Honey said, "I guess this means Belden-Wheeler Detective Agency is back in business?"

"I don't think I can hide my head in the sand and do nothing," Trixie replied. "But I'm not really sure where to begin. Any ideas, Honey?"

Honey again grew silent, but it wasn't to last. "I think the first thing to do is get more facts," she started slowly. "We need to know as much as we can about the robbery and why the police ultimately arrested Mr. Murphy. It would also help if we heard Mrs. Murphy's side of the story."

"Well, there's only one toy store that I know of in town, "Trixie mused. "I suppose we could talk to the clerk when we go in to get Mikey's Santa gifts?"

"We should also see if Spider Webster can tell us anything," Honey replied. "Tad mentioned to me at school the other day that the police department has Spider on the night shift. During the days, Spider's earning a little extra money working security at Crimper's Department store. I need to run by Crimper's next week to buy the supplies for our 'you-know-whats', so why don't you ride with me, and we'll see if we can't pin him down."

Spider Webster was a member of Sleepyside's finest. He was also a friend of the Bob-Whites and had helped the girls out of a tough spot or two. He and his younger brother Tad lived with another of Trixie and Honey's other neighbors, Mrs. Vanderpool.

Mrs. Vanderpool was a sweet older woman of Dutch descent who was very much loved by all. She'd taken Spider and Tad into her home when Spider was having difficulty juggling his work on the police force with raising his teenage brother. It was true that Mrs. Vanderpool had also been somewhat lonely and vulnerable living alone in the country, so it was an arrangement which benefitted them all.

"Sounds good," Trixie replied. "We'll see if one of the boys is willing to give us a lift. We could take Bobby and Mikey with us too. Mr. Crimper dresses as Santa for the kids this time of year. The store sets up a big display and gives away free candy canes."

"That's a super idea!" Honey replied. "It kills three birds with one stone. Besides, who can pass up a candy cane?"

Trixie laughed and said, "Certainly, not me. So I guess that just leaves talking to Mikey's Mom. We should have plenty of opportunities since she'll be coming here to pick him up each day. But we'll definitely want to do it in the afternoon. I wouldn't want to risk upsetting her before she has to go into work."

Honey wholeheartedly agreed, and as the girl's phone conversation turned to Jim's admission that he and Regan were waiting on parts for their "you-know-what", Mart stuck his head through the front door.

"Here comes Aunt Alicia!" he bellowed out to Trixie and her mother. "And you won't want to miss this! She's driving like a bat out of…"