Disclaimer: I don't own Trixie or the Bob-whites. Not profit is being made from their use.

Sleeping Beauty

"Trixie is with him," Jim said uneasily, "and he knows we'll find out. I told him about the tapes." Think, you've got to help Trixie now, Jim mentally berated himself. "I can't believe I told him," Jim continued.

"Jim, don't beat yourself up about it," Dan said. "Maybe he just wanted time to prepare for the inevitable and Trixie was a good excuse. I can't believe Kramer would actually harm her."

"He should be back by now," Mr. Wheeler surmised. "I'll have him join us. It would be better that way instead of doing anything around the students."

"What about Trixie?" Jim asked, still concerned for her safety.

"I'll tell the secretary to have her wait for us," Mr. Wheeler informed him. "She can stay in your office for the time being."

Jim nodded his approval. He felt better when Mr. Kramer appeared, looking calm and collected. It seemed he was ready to accept the inevitable.

"Hello, Matt," Mr. Kramer nodded at him, and then nodded at Win Frayne, "Win."

"You do know why you're here, don't you?" Mr. Wheeler questioned him.

"Yes, unfortunately, it's true," Mr. Kramer answered apologetically. Walking over to a chair, he asked, "Do you mind if I sit down?"

"Can you tell me why you did this, Kramer?" Matt Wheeler asked him while indicating for him to sit.

"It wasn't a very good excuse," he admitted. Shrugging, he continued, "I had seen Trixie hanging around Jim and Honey. It just didn't seem right that she should get one of the scholarships. The committee was leaning toward her as one of the finalists. It wouldn't have looked right to the other students."

The words slipped easily off Davis Kramer's tongue, too easily for Jim and Dan. Something felt wrong, but they couldn't put it into words. Both Matt Wheeler and Win Frayne seemed to accept Kramer's explanation. Working at the company for almost twenty years, he had always been a good employee. They still couldn't understand how his loyalty to the company would cause him to make such an error in judgment.

"I know my time at the company is over," Mr. Kramer said sorrowfully. "I've enjoyed working these past few years with the students and I want to thank you for giving me that opportunity."

"Could you step outside for a minute?" Win asked him and watched as he closed the door behind him.

"What are we going to do now?" Win asked Matt. "The CAP doesn't need this kind of publicity."

"I agree," said Matt, "but we can't just ignore it either."

"You know, should you prosecute he probably wouldn't get that much time," Dan advised them. "It might not be worth it in the long run."

"What do you think, Jim?" Win asked his son.

"Honestly, Dad, I could care less what happens to Kramer," Jim answered, his indignation for the man clearly resounding in his voice. "I'm just happy that Trixie is cleared."

Matt looked at Win as they came to a silent agreement, then spoke to the young men, "Early retirement, no bonus, and he goes quietly. I guess that's the best way to handle this."

Dan and Jim left Mr. Kramer alone with Matt and Win. Jim was anxious to see Trixie, his mind still on the scene he had witnessed on tape. Still concerned about Mr. Kramer's true motives, Dan wanted to make sure Trixie was really okay. Both men hurried to Jim's office to check on her.

They exchanged a worried look when Trixie was nowhere to be seen. Jim made a quick call to the secretary who stated that Trixie had not returned as of yet. While Dan paced the floor, Jim called his father and demanded that Kramer tell them where Trixie was.

Calmly, Kramer stated, "Trixie wanted to talk to Missy for some reason. I dropped her off at Missy's apartment building. Let me call Missy." He paused before continuing, "I'd like to speak to Missy alone. I'd like to be the one to explain the situation."

Leaving Mr. Kramer to speak to Missy alone, the two men walked to the outer office to grab a quick bite.

"Missy," he said, "this is Dad. I've got some bad news."

"What is it, Dad?" Missy asked concerned.

"Can you just come over to Mr. Frayne's office?" he asked her. "I need to tell you this in person."

While Mr. Kramer waited for his daughter, Jim paced agitatedly across his office floor while Dan frowned expectantly at the door. Trixie was still gone no matter what action they took.

"If anything happens to her, it will be my fault," Jim lamented. "I should have never said anything to Kramer about the tapes."

Dan didn't reply. He was fighting his own guilt that he shared with his friend, but that didn't help matters now. As he was about to offer a suggestion, Honey walked into Jim's office.

"Have either of you two heard from Trixie?" Honey asked. Realizing that the trap had been sprung, she added, "Did it work? Is that why Trixie isn't here yet?"

"We caught him," Jim said cautiously. "It was Mr. Kramer."

"Mr. Kramer," Honey echoed back, completely taken aback by the news.

"It's a long story," Jim said, reluctant to explain everything with Trixie still missing. "Right now, we need to find Trixie. Kramer said that she went to see Missy."

"Missy?" Honey asked puzzled. "Why in the world would she want to speak to Missy?"

Sensing Jim's unwillingness to talk, Dan continued for him. "It seems that Missy was the cause of Trixie's desire to end things with Jim. She said some wildly outrageous things to her. Kramer said Trixie wanted to confront Missy about them."

"That doesn't sound like Trixie," Honey said, shaking her head. "Missy always intimidated her, although Trixie would deny it, I'm sure."

"I don't think so either," Jim agreed. "She would be too eager to find out what happened. Plus, she knew that Missy was hanging around here waiting for me. She would be the last person Trixie would talk to, especially since we all thought it was Missy doing the dirty work."

"Kramer's lying," Dan stated with a firm voice. "We all know that. Now how are we going to prove it?"

Trixie woke with a blinding headache. The confined space she was in allowed for little movement even if she hadn't been bound. She wanted to scream or cry out but duct tape was covering her mouth. She couldn't even feel her hands and feet. After attempting a few moaning noises in the back of her throat, she gave up as tears of frustration fell down her cheeks. Her ragged cries simply weren't loud enough. She had to find some other way to escape.

When Missy entered Win Frayne's office, she saw her father sitting dejectedly with his eyes closed. They only opened as she approached him. Smiling sadly at his only child, he welcomed her hug.

"Daddy," Missy cried, "what's wrong? You look terrible."

"Thanks, Peanut," he joked weakly, "you know how to cheer a guy up."

"Daddy, please," she admonished him, "tell me what's wrong."

Quietly, he explained his part in trying to make Trixie look guilty. When he finished he gave his daughter a swift hug. "It'll be alright, Missy. You'll have Jim to take care of you."

"What do you mean, Daddy?" Missy asked. "Jim's already half in love with Trixie Belden. Didn't you see their display on the dance floor the other night?"

"Trixie's going away," Mr. Kramer said quietly. "I talked her into it."

"What did you do, Daddy?" Missy asked accusingly. "I'm on that tape Jim has, I'm sure of it. If he sees me talking to Trixie he'll think I had something to do with her leaving."

"Just destroy the tape before he sees it," Mr. Kramer said. "In fact, I'll ask Win and Matt to do just that as part of my agreement. I wouldn't want anyone to use this against me later."

"That sounds reasonable," Missy pursed her lips in thought.

"Jim will need someone to comfort him," her father reminded her. "If you turned on the charm, well, in his weakened state how could he resist you?"

Missy smiled triumphantly at her father. She didn't care how her father had talked Trixie into leaving. She was just glad that Trixie was gone. For good.

Missy immediately went to Jim's office, expecting him to comfort her about her father's actions. She would, of course, sound contrite about what Trixie had been through. Missy decided that she would even offer to apologize to Trixie in person. If she played it right, she could make it look like her father's guilt was responsible for her change in attitude. When, instead of comfort, she found herself on the receiving end of Jim's angry glare, her plan faltered and she quickly began apologizing for her father's actions.

"Save it, Missy," Dan interrupted her speech. "We know what you said to Trixie. Now where is she?"

"I don't know what you mean, Dan," Missy said, truly puzzled that he would ask her that. "The last I knew she was off to lunch with my father while I waited for Jim to take me to lunch." She looked scathingly at Jim. "What happened to you?"

"We were busy," Jim said sarcastically. "Your father said that Trixie went to speak to you. Did she show up at your apartment?"

"I wasn't there, remember," Missy denied waving her hands in the air. "Besides, I don't think she has the courage to confront me." She laughed derisively. "She doesn't even have to the courage to speak to you, Jim. Maybe she ran away."

"Trixie is no coward," Jim responded angrily. "Something has happened and your father is responsible."

"Missy," Honey tried to tactfully get Missy to tell what she knew, "if Trixie's gone, wouldn't it be for the best if Jim knew it? He won't be able to move on until he knows for sure."

"Well," Missy answered slowly while Honey, Jim, and Dan held their breath, "I suppose it doesn't matter now. Daddy talked Trixie into leaving and she's already gone. He didn't say where, just that she was gone for good." Missy gave Jim a sympathetic look. "I am sorry she left, Jim. I really didn't know what Daddy had planned."

"I'm going to talk to Kramer," Jim stood up angrily. "He'll tell me, that's for sure."

"Jim, wait," Dan cautioned him, knowing that his friend's redheaded temper would get him into trouble, "let me call the station. I'll see if we can get a search warrant. He might have a clue in his car or computer as to where Trixie has gone."

Seeing the muscles in Jim's jaw working furiously, Honey intervened, "Jim, if you beat him to a pulp he won't be able to tell you anything."

Jim reluctantly sat back down and ordered, "Do it now, Dan. I don't trust Kramer." He looked up at Missy who was still standing by the door. "Have a seat, Missy. I'd feel much better if you stayed close by."

Her body was beginning to shake violently. Whether it was from being cold or in shock, she had no clue. Trixie only knew that she couldn't stop it, her muscles sore and head aching with each intense shudder. If only she could go back to sleep, maybe the pain would go away. She might even dream of Jim. In the daytime, her thoughts of Jim were exquisite and painful. She would dream of what might be, knowing it could never happen. At night, however, her dreams were wonderful, filled with the happiness of finding her true love. She gratefully let sleep overtake her and welcomed Jim into her dreams.

Acting on Dan's request, Matt and Win asked Kramer to stay while they completed some paperwork necessary for his retirement. Sure of himself, Kramer agreed easily, never suspecting a hidden motive.

After a good hour spent pleading and begging, Dan finally convinced the DA's office to issue a search warrant. They had originally wanted to wait the standard twenty-four hours when a person was missing. However, due to the fact that Kramer was the last person to see her and that evidence in the case might be lost if they delayed, the judge agreed to let them search his computer and car. Jim accompanied Dan after another officer showed up to help in the investigation. Office Webster's expertise was in computer fraud and he immediately began checking out the files on Kramer's computer. Retrieving an extra key from Missy, Dan and Jim headed for the parking garage, hoping to find something that would give them a clue as to Trixie's whereabouts.

"You'll have to let me do the searching, Jim," Dan warned him. "I don't want to do anything to taint the evidence, if there is any."

"There has to be, Dan," Jim said passionately, "there has to be."

Jim watched as Dan searched through the console and in between the seats. Dan expertly went through all the areas inside the car where clues might be hidden or carelessly dropped. He was about to check out the glove compartment when he noticed a strange stain on the dash. Dan had been a cop long enough to identify the stain on sight. It was blood, and it was fresh.

"I need to call forensics," Dan informed Jim, "right away."

Paling, Jim looked to where Dan was pointing. If Dan was calling forensics, it had to be blood, Trixie's blood.

Immediately, a wave of guilt assaulted Jim. The woman he loved had been assaulted because of him. I love her. The thought didn't scare him any longer. Only the thought of never seeing her again or never being able to tell her how he felt did.

"Damn, damn, damn," Dan growled in frustration. "We've got to find her."

Trixie felt herself going in and out of consciousness. She didn't try to fight it anymore. Instead, she welcomed the peacefulness that the darkness brought to her. The quiet nothingness was better than the cold fright that assaulted her as she waited for her captor to return. If only she could see Jim. She would tell him it didn't matter about Missy. She would gladly take any amount of time they had together and cherish it. She would even tell him the truth about everything, Missy, her feelings, her longing to be with him. She fervently vowed that if she ever made it out alive she would never hide her feelings from anyone.

Dan ceased the search until the forensic team arrived. He knew better than to mess up their search for evidence with his own DNA footprint. Jim and Dan watched as they positively identified the stain as blood and began collecting evidence. They combed the inside of the car thoroughly, trying to not to miss any useful evidence that would lead them to Trixie.

Finally, Detective Brennan motioned toward the trunk, "Have you checked the trunk out yet?"

"No," Dan shook his head, "I was waiting for you. I remember getting my ass chewed out on my very first investigation because I screwed up the DNA evidence."

"You learned well," she complimented Dan with a smile. "You now have my permission to open the trunk."

After popping the release switch, Dan and Jim followed the investigators back to the rear of the car. Giving a small tug, Detective Brennan lifted the trunk. Before them lay a black tarp covering something hidden inside. With gloved hands, Detective Brennan slowly lifted away the covering. Lying perfectly still was the body of Trixie Belden.

Dan couldn't speak. He now felt like a complete rookie for not checking the trunk. Jim stood frozen in his tracks. With her blonde hair splayed out against the black interior, she looked stunning. Like Sleeping Beauty, came the unbidden thought to Jim.

Thanks to Karen who made this story possible!