A/N: Well hello...it's been quite awhile. Cookie, anyone?
I'd just like to say thank you to everyone who has stuck with this story (and my terrible updating skills) thus far. Please enjoy the story as it hits its climax.
Claudia
Chapter Twelve
Friday, 9 AM Sleepyside Police Station
On Friday morning, Bobby went to the Police Station, escorted by Trixie and Dan. Captain Molinson was waiting for them, and greeted the group with a serious look on his face. Bobby turned a bit pale as he looked at the police officer. He had been dreading this.
"Well, young man, I don't think I have to tell you that you and Sally Darnell did something extremely stupid, do I?" Molinson grabbed the arms of the chair Bobby was sitting in and leaned towards him.
Bobby gulped, and before he could think of an answer, his sister came to his rescue, knowing too well what facing Molinson was like. "Come on, Captain, we've put him through that already. Give him a break," she pleaded.
Molinson slowly turned to her. "I should have known that getting you kids into this would mean trouble! I guess you just don't learn!" Seeing that Trixie was about to answer, her temper having the better of her, Molinson motioned to her and held his finger in front of her nose. And suddenly, Trixie thought she was seeing things, because she could swear Molinson had winked at her. "Miss Belden," he said. "This is my police station, and in it I'll repeat things as many times as it takes until I get them through your or your brother's thick skull!"
Glancing at Dan, she noticed his amused expression. He had seen it too. She wondered if Molinson had only been acting angry every time he had scolded her in the past. Boy, this guy should get an Oscar, she thought, trying hard not to laugh.
Going back to Bobby, who was fidgeting on the chair, feeling uncomfortable, the police officer said, "You are aware that we could charge you with breaking and entering, aren't you?" As Bobby nodded, and mumbled something about being aware of it, Molinson went on, "With your assault on Dick, he could have sued you, if he was smart enough! And then everything would have been lost!"
"But he was going to kill Sally!" Bobby defended himself. "What was I supposed to do? Just stand there?"
"He is right, Captain," Dan said. "He saved Sally."
Molinson sighed as he got back to his chair behind the desk. "I know. You don't lack bravery. It runs fast and abundant in your family." Casting a glance at Trixie, he had the pleasure to see her blush. "And if it wasn't for Sally, you would be in trouble. Despite what you told us, she said you two had entered the house together. And since she had a key, given to her by Dick himself, we can't charge her with anything. Only for that bump in your head, but I'm sure you won't be pressing charges."
"He won't!" Trixie and Dan spoke in unison and then laughed as they stared at each other.
"Has Dick said anything?" Bobby asked, hesitatingly. He really wasn't sure if he was off the hook or not. He soon regretted having spoken.
Molinson gazed at him menacingly, and the boy slid on the chair, wishing the ground would open and swallow him. "I can't discuss that with you, kid!"
Trixie sighed and rolled her eyes. Approaching Molinson's desk, she leaned over it and said, "Come on, Captain. We're in this together. You have to tell us what we're up against."
He looked up at her with a frown, seemingly considering what he should do. Then he gave in. "All right, but only because there are quite a few loose ends in this story, and I still need your help to tie them up, as hard as that is to admit." Rubbing his temples, he went on. "Dick didn't say much. He didn't deny the dealing, but he wouldn't say who was in it with him. All we have on the kid and Janet Martin are Bobby and Annie's words. It won't do in court. We need more."
"That's strange!" Trixie crossed her arms across her chest. "I always thought Dick wouldn't want to go down alone. Last time, it took you guys five minutes to make him talk."
Molinson nodded. "I know. But this time Dick was scared. Trixie, I think this time he's not the mastermind. There is someone else behind this, and Dick is very much afraid."
"Captain," Bobby said, shyly. "I know of a way to catch Janet. That is, if she hasn't run off yet."
Gravely, Molinson turned to the boy and said, "Actually, she hasn't. I have people watching her and Darryl. They're both in the school, as we speak. Apparently, they haven't heard what's happened last night. We did everything to keep the media off this. Besides, there's no reason for them to think last night is related to the school events."
"Great," Bobby was getting excited. Apparently, Molinson's scolding hadn't done much good. "After all this, she told me she would give me something that would make me really have fun tonight, at the dance. It only takes half a brain to realise what she's talking about. If she knows nothing about Dick's arrest, then chances are she will act according to her previous plans."
Molinson groaned. "Well, I hate to say this, but that probably is our only chance. If we let more time go by, she might suspect something." Then staring down at Bobby, he added, "I'll have people two steps behind you the whole time. One agent to watch her, and two others to watch you, mister!"
As the three Bob-Whites left the Captain's office, they noticed there was some commotion within the precinct. Then they realised two officers were practically dragging a man downstairs. Trixie's blood chilled in her veins when she recognised Dick.
"If you take me outside, he'll get me!" The man yelled, as he squirmed in their grips.
"Oh, shut up, you chicken!" One of the officers snorted. "You weren't so scared when it came to selling drugs to kids, were you? Besides you'll be much safer at the White Plains precinct."
Despite her throbbing heart, Trixie moved towards the staircase, somehow wanting to stare Dick in the eyes. At that precise moment, Dick looked up and their eyes met. His fear seemed to disappear and he grinned, sarcastically.
"He's going to get you too," he said, with a short laugh, before the officers dragged him out of her sight.
10 AM Hudson River Rehabilitation Centre
Sally looked up when her sister walked over to her, accompanied by another young woman that looked familiar to her. Then she remembered: it was Diana Lynch. The girl smiled shyly at them, and noticed Joeanne seemed surprised at her welcome. No wonder, she thought sadly.
"Hi, Jo, Diana," she greeted.
"Sally?" Joeanne sat by her side on the bench, and gazed at her, as if she didn't quite believe she was actually talking to her. "Are you okay?"
"Yeah, I'm fine." Sally avoided her sister's eyes. She really didn't know how to act around her now. "How's Bobby's head?"
Diana chuckled. "Oh, he's okay. Thick skulls run in the Belden family. And it serves him right! I would like to whack him over the head myself for pulling that stunt."
"I hope he'll be fine. I guess I overdid it a bit." Sally shrugged.
"Well, I just came here to say hi." Diana gently caressed the girl's face. "I'll wait in the car. I think you and your sister need to talk." Looking encouragingly at Joeanne, Diana walked away.
A heavy silence set between the two girls. After so many years of misunderstandings and wrong words, neither of them knew where to start. Finally, Sally found the courage to speak out.
"I'm sorry, Jo," she said, keeping her eyes on the ground. "I really don't know… what else to say. But I'll never forgive myself for hurting you and Dad the way I did."
Joeanne breathed in deeply, trying to fight back tears. "Don't blame yourself. I guess we all hurt each other, without noticing. It wasn't easy for any of us." Glancing sideways at Sally, Joeanne risked softly touching her hair, brushing it back from her face.
Sally looked at her, her eyes filling with tears as she felt her sister's caress.
"I wish I could…I wish I could go back and make up for the things I've done." The girl's voice was strangled. "Yesterday, that's what I was trying to do. If he disappeared, then those kids would be safe and you would be able to forgive me."
"Oh, Sally," Joeanne wanted to hold her, but she thought maybe it was too soon. So she just kept on caressing her hair. "What were you thinking planning to do? Kill him?"
The girl groaned. "I don't know. I just wanted… to do something! Ever since I came here, I've been feeling so damned helpless. I guess I felt like that all of my life!"
"But why? We always tried to look out for you, me and Dad. We were there for you. But that never seemed to be enough…"
"That's just it, Jo. You looked out for me, and Dave, and Kenny, and Dad! And I always felt like there was something I should do too!" Sally hesitated before taking Joeanne's hand, but then she finally found the courage to do it. "Remember after mum died, when I used to hang around you all day, wanting to help you set the table or take care of the babies? You always told me to go play…"
"You were too young! You shouldn't have to worry about those things!" Joeanne said, still amazed by the way Sally was opening up to her.
Sally stared at her, looking deep into her eyes. "And you should? For crying out loud, Jo, you were 13!"
Swallowing hard, Joeanne had to admit she was right. But still, had Sally resented the fact she had taken over? "Sally, sweetie, what are you trying to tell me?"
Sighing, Sally hid her face in her hands, as if trying to organize her thoughts. Finally, she answered, "What I'm trying to say is that I always felt so beneath you. Useless! You managed to take care of everything, of everyone. Up to a point I looked up to you, I tried to be like you. But then, when I discovered I couldn't match you, I started hating you for setting the standards so high! And I tried to convince myself you had prevented me from being like you, on purpose, because you wanted to take all the credit. It was easier than believing I really wasn't as good as you."
"But why should you want to be… me?" Joeanne was astounded. She had never imagined these to be Sally's reasons. Besides why would anyone want to be her?
"You're kidding me, right? Have you ever noticed the way Dad looks at you? He admires you, he looks up to you. Me he always regarded as the baby, even if Kenny and Davy were younger. He would forgive me for just about anything, saying I was just a child even when I was already old enough to face the consequences of my actions! I guess I ended up wondering if he did that because he really didn't care…"
Joeanne interrupted her, unable to stop the tears anymore. "And I always wished Dad would love me the way he did you!"
Sally stared at her, her mouth hanging open. Slowly, she closed her eyes and rested her head on her sister's lap, catching her breath as she gave in to the yearning for human touch. The yearning for her sister's love.
Joeanne closed her eyes as well, as she felt her sister cuddling up against her, and realized she needed this very much. She needed Sally to forgive her for not seeing the truth. "Sally, I'm so sorry you had to go through all this! All I wanted was to take care of you as best as I could. And in the end I overlooked the most important thing of all: that I was your big sister. That you probably needed me to hold you and tell everything would be okay more than you needed me to check if you had done your homework."
"Please, don't apologize, Jo. It's not your fault. You did your best. But I…I was a brat! I started hanging out with those guys because I wanted to challenge you, to show you I could take care of my own life. And look where it got me." Sally curled up on the bench and held on to Joeanne's hand.
Taking a deep breath, Joeanne realized Sally had just relieved her of a weight she had been carrying around for years, the weight of not knowing where she had gone wrong. Now she did, and she also knew it hadn't been entirely her fault. Or Sally's. Or her father's. It simply had gone wrong, because they had misunderstood each other.
But now life was giving them a second chance and this time Joeanne decided she wouldn't screw up.
"Are you up for starting over?" She asked, softly, as she helped Sally up. "Are you ready to discover your sister isn't all that perfect, that she's wanted your friendship all her life?"
Sally smiled and wrapped her arms around Joeanne's neck. "I love you, Jo. But I always thought you saw me as a burden!"
"Oh, no, Sally. I wished things would be different, that none of this had ever happened, but I never considered you as a burden!" Joeanne hugged her sister tightly, feeling happier than she had in years. "Let's just forget about all this, let's start over!"
Sally pulled away from her and nodded. "Ok, I'd like that too. But I still have a long way to go."
"And I'll be with you all the way, honey." Joeanne brushed back her sister's dishevelled hair.
"So, if we're going to be friends," Sally wiped her eyes and smiled naughtily. "I really want to know the story with you and Dan…"
Joeanne blushed. "Well, I promise to tell you when I figure it out." Then she smiled. It was a nice feeling, to be able to talk to her sister that way.
Sally must have thought the same thing too, because her smile widened and she leaned back on the bench. After a few moments of comfortable silence, she said, "I would like you to tell him I appreciate what he did. He gave me a chance to change things. And I want him to know I'm ready to testify."
"Are you sure?" Joeanne sounded apprehensive, but she fought against sounding overly protective.
Sally nodded. "It's time I face it. There's no use in just sitting here feeling sorry for myself. I'd rather do something to stop Dick from fooling other kids like me."
Despite her concern for Sally's emotional vulnerability and of what the pressure of a courtroom might do to her, Joeanne felt proud of her sister's courage. She reached out and caressed her black hair. "I'll tell him, Sally. Don't worry."
The girl returned the smile and leaned her head on her sister's shoulder. And the two girls sat there for a long time, in silence, just enjoying the new chance destiny had given them.
Over an hour later, Joeanne joined Diana in the car.
"I'm sorry to keep you waiting. But time flew."
Di dismissed her worries with a gesture and a smile. "Oh, that's nonsense. I understand. Time has a habit of flying away when you're happy. And you do look happy."
"I am," Joeanne said as she started the car. "I'm still dizzy at how fast everything's changed, but I couldn't be happier."
Biting her lip, Diana considered if this was the time to bring up the subject, but after a few moments she decided she had to do it. There was no way on Earth she was letting opportunity run by her again. Taking a deep breath, she asked, "What about Dan, Joeanne? Have you decided what to do?"
Joeanne's smiled faded and Di feared she had gone too far. But then the other girl took a deep breath and answered, "I guess I have forgiven him. I've thought about it and I know maybe I overreacted last night. He did apologize, and I know he never meant to hurt Sally. But still, it hurts that he went behind my back. I… I didn't expect that from him, you see."
Diana nodded. "Yes, I understand. But there is something I can tell you about Dan, and that is he doesn't meddle in anyone's life. He never even gives his opinion, unless it's asked for. He stands aside, he watches, he thinks about things, but he won't say a word unless he's asked to. So, if he did this, if he went ahead without your consent, he either thought it was too urgent to wait or…" Di hesitated, but then went on. "Or he thought he had already proven you could trust him."
As Diana's words sank in, Joeanne realized how true they were. Whatever he had thought, he had been right. It was too urgent, and he had given enough proof that he would never do anything to hurt her or Sally. He was a true friend, and she had said pretty awful things to him.
"I just hope he'll understand why I reacted that way," Joeanne's voice was no more than a whisper, and Diana realized how upset she was. To reassure her, she reached out and patted her shoulder.
"I'm sure he does. But maybe you should tell him yourself. Just in case."
Joeanne smiled. "I will. Now that I have his friendship, I'd hate to lose it."
Di giggled. "Oh, I'm sure you have a little more than his friendship."
"Don't be silly, Di. He just felt sorry for me and tried to help me out." Joeanne tried to sound convinced of her own theory but she failed miserably. She knew there was more to it than pity or compassion.
"Sorry for you? I never heard it being called that!" Diana laughed again, and her violet eyes sparkled mischievously. "It's not pity I see in his eyes, when he looks at you!"
"Yeah, right!" Joeanne glanced at Diana and blushed. "As if he had nothing better to do with his life than hang around with some emotionally crippled girl who had never even…" She stopped herself before saying the words. She wasn't ready to share that yet, and Diana must have understood because she didn't force her to go on. "Besides, he has Hallie Belden."
"Hallie? What are you talking about?" Diana sounded confused.
Joeanne's hands clutched tightly at the wheel. She hated to use Diana this way, but this was something she needed to know.
"I remember seeing them together and the way he looked at her. He doesn't look at me that way."
Diana did the last thing Joeanne expected her too. She laughed. Heartily, till there were tears in her eyes. Joeanne stared at her, trying to figure out what was so funny.
Finally, she managed to control herself enough to make a straight face and say, "Joeanne Darnell, I dare say you're jealous."
She gulped. "Jealous? Why should I be jealous?"
"That's right. You needn't be." Diana wiped her eyes with the back of her hand and smiled tenderly at her newfound friend. "Jo, Hallie's been out of his life for years. They both realized they wanted to follow different paths and their feelings weren't strong enough to make them consider bending their dreams. They parted as friends. I guess there never was anything between them but wishful thinking."
"What do you mean, wishful thinking?"
"Dan always felt lonely. We were all paired up from the beginning, so to speak, even if we were too young to take it seriously. But Dan never had anyone, so when Hallie came along I guess he tried to imagine she was someone different. Of course it was hard for him to realize he had been fooling himself for such a long time, but he knew he had never loved her. They weren't right for each other. They're still friends, but the only contact they have is the occasional email."
"All right, but Dan can have just about any girl. He would never want me."
Di's smile widened as she sank on the passenger's seat, feeling her job as her friend was accomplished. "That's just it, honey. He never wanted any of the girls he could have had. It was as if he was waiting for someone else."
4 PM Crabapple Farm
Later that day, Trixie got back to Crabapple Farm, after leaving Bobby with Brian at the hospital for some more tests. Her own head was hurting. Once more she had that feeling in the pit of her stomach. What was she overlooking?
With a sigh, she kicked off her shoes and threw herself on the sofa. She lay there, staring at the ceiling for a while, trying to put the pieces of this crazy puzzle together.
Now they knew for sure Janet and Darryl were the ones to blame for the dealing in school and that Dick was their supplier. But who was the man that Dick feared? And why had they tried to frame Annie? Had this something to do with the girl's life in New York? But that made no sense. Annie had never met Janet or Dick before. And Janet's words in the teacher's lounge kept coming back to her. Mart had been right about Janet challenging them to sort out everything. As if she wanted to prove they couldn't.
The ring of her cell phone interrupted the course of her thoughts. Startled, Trixie fumbled in her purse to find it. As she picked it up, she saw Jim's name flashing on the screen and smiled.
"Hi, baby," she said, answering the phone.
"Hi yourself. I saw you drive by from Ten Acres and I wondered if something was wrong," he said with a note of concern in his voice. "Shouldn't you still be in school?"
"I had a headache," Trixie explained. "Besides, everyone is getting things ready for the dance, so I don't think I'll be missed. Mart's over there, ordering everyone around. The way I'm feeling, if I stayed, I would have to shove some balloons down his throat, so I decided to come home."
Jim chuckled on the other side of line. "I'd like to see that."
"Yeah, I bet you would. What about you? What have you been up to all day?" She asked, cuddling up on the sofa, loving to hear the sound of his voice in her ears.
"Well, the usual. I've been discussing some details of the building with the architects, boring stuff. Oh, and remember my uncle's bible? I finally got a call from the book restorer. He said it looks as good as new. He even managed to remove the dirt stains, from the time I hid in the woods. We'll have to find a special place for it, next to my christening cup, when we move into our house. It should have a plaque saying something like 'This was the beginning'…"
As Jim talked on, Trixie started feeling goose bumps all over. Janet's words came back to her: turning little silver cups into mattresses stuffed with dollars! The words had bothered her then, but she had thought it had been because of her tone. Now she knew. The fact Jim had been carrying his christening cup when he first came to Sleepyside certainly wasn't common knowledge and it had never been mentioned in the papers. Apart from the BWGs and their families, there was only one person in the world who could have known that. Someone that had located Jim 9 years before because that same cup had been innocently photographed by a reporter who didn't even know it wasn't merely a part of the clutter inside the Frayne mansion.
"Jim," Trixie could hardly speak, as the meaning of it all finally sank. "Jim!"
He stopped what he was saying. "What? What's wrong?"
"Jim, we really need to talk. I figured it out!" Trixie's head was spinning. Everything made sense now! "I'm coming up there." Saying that, Trixie hang up and put her shoes back on.
She only had time to scribble a note to Mart, who would be getting home soon so he could get dressed to chaperon the dance, and darted out the door, uphill towards Manor House.
Jonesy! He is the mastermind! He's the one Dick fears! They were in it together after all!
Thoughts were running wild in her head as she ran to meet Jim. She kept stumbling on stones, such was her hurry, but she wouldn't stop. She had to tell Jim, fast!
But Trixie was so oblivious to everything around her that she never noticed she was being followed, until someone grabbed her from behind and pulled her into the woods.
Jim sat there, staring at the phone, still wondering what had happened. They had been talking, and suddenly she hung up on him, after saying something about going up to Manor House. But that had been over twenty minutes ago. Something was wrong.
"What's the matter, Jim. Are you waiting for a call?" Miss Trask, the Wheeler's housekeeper, asked, as she noticed him staring at the phone with a frown.
"I'm not sure…" Jim looked up at her, looking confused. "Trixie sounded in a hurry. She said she would meet me up here, but that was a while ago. I've called her cell phone and Crabapple Farm, but I get no answer from either one."
"Maybe she said she would me you at the clubhouse. Why don't you go check?" Miss Trask smiled and walked away.
Well, I could have heard it wrong. Everything happened so fast!
Jim thought. He then decided to check it out. If she were on her way over, they would probably meet anyway.
The red headed young man walked down the road towards the old gatehouse that had been turned into a cosy meeting place for the Bob-Whites. But as he got there, he knew, even before he opened the door, that no one was there. Trixie would have opened the curtains, he thought. Still, he opened the door. The clubhouse was as empty as he'd thought. Jim was getting really worried now and decided to go down to Crabapple farm, to see if she was there. But as soon as he walked out the door, someone hit him over the head and he blacked out.
Mart found it strange that all the lights were still out at Crabapple farm. At five o'clock, it was getting dark, so Trixie should have at least a few lights on. But she hadn't even turned the porch light on.
"Didn't you say Trixie would be home?" Brian said as he got off his own car. He and Bobby had just arrived too.
Mart nodded. "I'll kill her if she forgot that she promised to cook dinner! I have to get ready for the dance, and so does Bobby!"
Brian laughed and nudged his brother's shoulder. "Yeah, you do take more time to get dressed than Di does."
Overlooking his brother's comment, Mart reached for the doorknob and turned it. It wasn't locked. Instantly he knew this wasn't right. Glancing at his brothers, he could see they were thinking the same thing.
They found Trixie's note on the kitchen table, and it didn't comfort them. It read,
Mart, I've got it! Jonesy's behind it all. I'm off to Manor House. TrixieThe three Belden young men stared at each other.
"I guess we should be heading to Manor House," Bobby said shyly.
"The only place you're heading is upstairs, to get ready for the dance. We'll see what's up," Brian stated, leaving no space for an argument.
Bobby knew better than to protest when Brian used that tone. So he climbed the stairs in silence and headed for the shower.
"I'm calling Manor House this minute," Mart said as he rushed to the phone. When he came back, he was pale. "We've got trouble, Bri."
"What? Come on, spill it!" Brian felt his stomach in knots.
"There's no one there but Miss Trask and Celia. Honey's in town with Mrs. Wheeler and Jim got a call earlier from Trixie, saying she was headed up there. But she never showed up, so Jim thought he might have misunderstood what she said and went out to see if she was at the clubhouse."
"And…?"
"He hasn't come back since."
"Why do I have the feeling they aren't just somewhere making out?" Brian asked, turning as pale as his brother.
"Because we have a note from Trixie with Jonesy's name on it. I'm calling Molinson." Mart disappeared out of the kitchen once more.
The ropes around her wrists and ankles were burning her skin, cutting into it. He meant to hurt them when he tied them up. And now the vengeful little man was sitting right in front of her and Jim, enjoying seeing them helpless and defenseless.
Trixie would never forget the terror she had experienced when she'd seen that horrid creature drag Jim's limp body into the school building. Until then she'd only been mad at herself for being careless and getting caught, but then she'd truly feared for Jim's life. The minutes before he wokeup had been the most horrifying of her life. And now they were both tied up back to back, forced to just sit there, while Jonesy stared at them.
Finally, the man got up and walked around them, an ironic grin in his face. "I hope you are feeling comfortable," he said, his voice even more hoarse than Trixie remembered. "This isn't exactly what I planned, but it will do. The result will be the same. Only, you both die!"
"You'll never get away with this," Jim said, his voice strangled by hate.
Trixie searched for his fingers behind her back and squeezed them, trying to reassure him somehow. She hoped Mart had got home by then and found her note. Maybe he would figure it out.
"Oh, won't I?" Jonesy crouched in front of him, the stale stench of cigarettes filling both Trixie's and Jim's nostrils. "And who exactly is going to stop me? I'll be long gone when they see this place go up in smoke!"
Trixie's heart almost stopped. He was planning to burn this place down, like he'd done with the Frayne mansion, although accidentally. Would anyone ever get to them in time? She had to find a way to stall him, to keep him talking, and buy themselves some time. Oh, my dear almost twin, please prove you're as smart as you say you are!
"They know you're in this. It won't take them long to figure out where you've taken us!" Trixie said, trying to sound a lot more confident than she really was.
"Oh, do they? Aren't you smart, little miss busybody?" Jonesy turned his attention to her. "Let's see who's smarter! After all, if it wasn't for that fool getting greedy, I would have taken all of you down and you wouldn't ever know what hit you! One by one, starting with the Dugan kid!"
She felt Jim's back straighten up, as the truth dawned on them finally. Jonesy's plan was to destroy the BWGs one by one, starting with Annie. That's why they had tried to frame her! And next in line was Bobby. Trixie felt shivers down her back.
"So he got greedy, hum?" she said, managing to sound sarcastic and keep away the fear from her voice. "I take it you mean Dick!"
"Yes, smarty pants, I do! I met him in jail and we ended up discovering we had some common acquaintances. I decided to have him help me with my plans. But he and that sister of his decided to do some business on the side and attracted attention. So we had to speed up the plans a bit."
"Oh, and I take it you still don't know we caught Dick last night!" Trixie announced triumphantly. She was pleased to see the confused look on his face. She had played her cards right. "He's been talking, you know? The police are probably on your tail as we speak," she lied.
Jonesy's face turned red with anger and he punched the wall violently. "That fool! I should have taken care of him when I had the chance!"
"Guess you lose again, hum?" Jim's voice was defiant. He knew what Trixie was trying to do and decided to play along. This wasn't about their safety anymore. It was about the safety of all of the Bob-Whites. They had to stop him from hurting their friends, even if it meant taking on his rage.
Enraged, Jonesy turned to Jim again and violently slapped him across the face. Trixie felt the slap as if it had been on her own face and tears started streaming down her cheeks. Jim didn't utter a sound, but squeezed her hand so tightly she almost screamed. Still she left her hand in his until the pressure lightened. She knew this was like a return to his dreadful past with his stepfather and she wanted him to know this time he wasn't alone.
"Still stubborn, hum? But I bet I can make you scream before this is through!"
Jonesy's yellowed teeth showed in his wicked grin. "What if I start by having a little fun with your girl here? Wouldn't it be nice to scar her pretty face?" Jonesy pulled a knife from his pocket and started playing with it.
"Don't you dare touch her!" There was so much anger and fear in Jim's voice, Trixie hardly recognized it.
"Oh, just do it!" Trixie exclaimed. "You're going to kill us anyway! Just do it! I don't even care. But I'll die happy knowing you're going back to jail!"
"I won't get caught!" He snorted.
"Oh really? Well, Janet is about to be put behind bars too! The dance is a set-up to catch her! I bet she doesn't know Dick is in jail either! Do you think you'll ever be able to leave town? Molinson probably has barricades in every exit! There's nowhere to go!"
Jonesy seemed to consider her words. "I might go down, but you two are dying." The man picked up a large can and started pouring its contents all over the place. From the strong smell, Trixie had no doubt what it was. Gasoline! He was really going to burn down the place. With them inside!
When he'd emptied it, Jonesy threw the can aside. Moving towards them again, he strongly kicked Jim's shoulder, causing them both to fall over. Trixie saw stars, when her head hit the side of a nearby counter, and felt dizzy.
"Now, fry!" Jonesy said, with that disgusting grin of his plastered to his face, leaving them to die.