a/n: Once again I am so sorry I took so long to update; school got a little overwhelming for a while. I now however have all summer, and have organized myself, so I promise that I will update again about once every week. I know I promised this before but this time I really, really mean it... and as always yell at me if you feel as if I'm getting behind.

Disclaimer: I do not own anything Trixie Belden related.

Trixie thought she was going to throw up; deep in the pit, where the pool should have been going, two empty holes stared up at her in a twisted replication of eyes. Trixie almost thought they looked like they were pleading with her, asking for help.

The skull, a dirty yellow colour was half buried in the dust; small pieces of old flesh and sinew were still hanging off it like forgotten pieces of meat; its hair was still there – thin, dead and lanky. All the teeth were glaring up at her in some eerie semblance of a smile.

All her mystery books had lied; in her head, Trixie had glorified finding a body. It was the cue-de-grae of the mystery world – a murder!

But now, now all she could see was the revolting mess a decayed body became and the sad truth that a life had been cruelly cut too short.

"Well," Trixie said unable to look away from the horrifying sight before her, "I guess we know why they wanted the workers to stop."

Although no one answered her she knew they were all thinking what she was – they'd almost rather it had stayed a mystery.

"How long do you think she-he," Ben cleared his throat uncomfortably, "it's been down there?"

Trixie gave a half-hearted shrug; his guess was as good as hers.

"I'd say a year; or there's about anyways," Dan pulled himself away from the gruesome scene and used his assured cop voice.

It made Trixie feel slightly more at easy; it allowed her to get some of her spunk back and started look at it like the mystery it was.

They knew what the notes meant now, but they didn't have any idea who sent them, or who did this, than before.

Murder, that was so much more than a mystery – it was a crime, a horrible heartless crime.

Trixie shivered unconsciously and felt an arm tighten around her waist.

She looked down and realized for the first time that she was leaning on Ben for support. She thought about moving away but she wasn't so sure she was completely good on her feet yet, and oddly enough, she didn't mind his proximity.

Trixie turned back up to the crowd; they all looked as shell-shocked as she felt and more than one of them wanted to look like they wanted to be somewhere else.

Before she had thought it could have been one of them; did she still think that now? Could she be living with a murderer?

She scanned the faces around her, looking for one that looked less shocked than the others – or perhaps more. She looked for anything to give them away.

There was nothing; they were all the perfect picture of innocence.

Desperate for any clue she searched again. There had to be something, some little thing that she was missing.

Her eyes traced everything in the scene.

And then she caught something in the forest behind everyone.

What was that? Trixie strained her neck trying to get a better glimpse.

She thought she saw something move.

She was turning and about to point it out to Dan when –

"What's going on?" Jim's voice boomed over the subdued murmuring, "What seems to be the—"

He stopped at the edge of the pit; his face paling making his red hair brighter and each freckle stand out on its own. It reminded Trixie, for a moment, of the time when they had first met and he had fallen off the ladder at Ten Acres.

Then a very improper word came out of Jim Frayne's mouth.

Before Trixie could express her surprise, more mayhem broke loose.

Brian followed Jim with Honey trailing behind him.

Panic alarms started going off in her head.

"Hey, Jim, what's going –?"

"Honey No!"

Trixie's warning came too late. Honey took one look into the hole and pitched backwards into Brain's arms in a dead faint.

The crowd suddenly rushed forward to her aid but Trixie held back.

She cared about her friend, but Honey was in better hands with Brian than with anyone else. They didn't need her hovering around.

With everyone paying attention to Honey it was the perfect opportunity to do some sleuthing.

She turned back towards the woods, where she last saw movement.

There was nothing there.

Disappointment surged through her, but Trixie was nothing if not persistent.

There had to be –

There!

Further up than last time she thought she saw something – a flash of pants perhaps?

With a sly look over her shoulder she took a step towards the woods. No one noticed. She took another.

She didn't want to attract the boy's attention. She knew what they'd say.

They would tell her she imagined it, or worse – they would think her a helpless girl and tell her to keep out of it. It wasn't safe.

She resented all those comments.

She wasn't crazy; she knew what she saw and just because she wasn't a boy didn't mean she couldn't do anything for herself. She was an adult now. She could take care of herself.

After two more cautious steps went unnoticed, Trixie increased her speed and was in the cover of trees in a few short minutes.

She only got a few step in though before she heard footsteps following her.

"Belden!" Ben all but yelled.

Trixie turned to him with a glare and put her finger to her lips.

"Belden," he hissed, "What the hell are you doing?"

"Following a lead, and if you don't keep it down you're going to make me loose it."

"'Following a lead'? What the heck does that mean?"

"It means I thought I saw someone in the woods."

"Who would be in the woods?"

Trixie turned to him with a Cheshire smile, "That's what I'm going to find out."

They walked on, Trixie trying to carefully avoid the twigs and Ben managing to hit every one.

"You know Belden, I've been thinking," Ben scurried forward so they were side-by-side. They huddled behind a bush, "This might not be such a hot idea – I mean anyone who thinks hiding in the bushes is a great idea, isn't someone I think I wish to meet."

"No one is making you meet them – you can go back anytime you want."

"And leave the fair maiden to face horrible doom alone," Ben gave her a wide-eyed look of hammed-up offended shock, "What kind of man do you take me for? That would be very knight like of me now would it?"

Trixie rolled her eyes but was working very hard to suppress a smile, "Do what you want, just be quiet – I think he's right over there."

They crept forward. Trixie's heart was in her throat. She felt as if she was so close, if only she could just get around –

"Well… you can't get them all," Ben said sympathetically as the stared at the empty clearing.

Trixie felt the sting of disappointment in the back of her throat, but she pushed it down. She wasn't about to give up that easily.

Silently she walked past Ben into the small clearing in front of them.

People could leave, but that didn't mean they didn't –

Ben jumped as Trixie let out a yell of triumph, "What? What is it?"

"Just this," Trixie pointed proudly at the patch of mud by her foot, "I told you I saw someone."

Ben gingerly made his way through the overgrowth to look down at the footprints.

"Well that's great Trix but…" he hesitated a moment, "You have no way of finding who that footprint belongs to. Anyone could have –"

"I don't need to do it. The police—" suddenly her blue eyes lit with uncontained excitement.

Without giving any real thought to it she grabbed Ben's hand and started pulling him back the way they came.

"The police can figure it out. Jim must have called them by now. If I can just –"

Trixie's words died as she came out of the woods.

The police had arrived, but Brian had also taken Honey inside.

Trixie let go of Ben.

Judging from the way the boys were glowering at her, they had figured out where she went, and they were about as happy about it as she thought they would be.

Somehow, even over the age of twenty, Trixie had managed to get herself into hot water, and now all she had left to do was hope that she hadn't dragged Ben into it too.

"In case you didn't notice Trix – that's a body out there; these aren't the little small-time criminals you're use to in Sleepyside!" Jim's voice rang through the almost empty cafeteria.

The energy in the room was mounting every second.

Although Dan, Mart, Diana and Ben were all in the room, the two yelling at each other in the middle were barely aware of it.

Trixie gave him a humorless laugh, "Small time? Do I need to remind you how much hot water I got myself into with those 'small time' crooks?"

"I'm aware of it already," Jim's voice shrunk to a decibel barely above a whisper, "Why do you think I care about this one so much?"

The sudden dissipation of his anger threw Trixie off.

She blinked a couple of times, unsure how to proceed. With the loss of Jim's anger, Trixie's own was slowly draining, being replaced by the usual skittish awkwardness she always had around Jim now-a-days.

"Well I…" she trailed off unsure of what she was going to say next, "I'm sorry."

"It's not a problem, sis – as long as you use your head from now on," Mart came over and ruffled her hair.

Irritated again she swiped at his hand.

"Look, Trix, just stay out of this one," Dan got up to follow Mart out of the room. "I'm not even on this case. Just let the guys in charge deal with it."

Trixie caught him at the door, "What about my clue?"

"They'll look at it, but you know as well as I do that it could be anyone's."

Trixie watched as he left.

Diana shrugged, "I think you're awfully brave Trix. I wish I was more like you sometimes."

Trixie smiled weakly at her as she too left.

Then it was only Trixie, Ben and Jim.

Trixie moved to sit beside Ben, who was flipping a coin in his hands, as Jim started walking back and forth.

He seemed to be mumbling to himself. Trixie wasn't sure if she had ever seen him look so unraveled, but she couldn't look away.

Suddenly, he stopped and turned to her, his green eyes heart-wrenchingly pleading.

"Trix… it's not that – I mean…" he ran a hand through his hair causing it to stand on end, "I just want—"

He cut himself off suddenly with a shake of his head, and walked out of the room with his head down, not giving her another glance.

The display left an odd empty feeling in her stomach.

What had he been going to say? She had to fight the urge to follow him.

No matter how much he had hurt her, she was hardwired to not like seeing him such a mess. Jim Frayne was the capable one of the Bob-Whites, not the one that stalked across the room and left without finishing his sentences.

Funny how things changed.

Trixie leaned against the table with her arms crossed, "I just wish they could believe in me. I'm not a kid anymore. I'm a …"

Trixie wasn't sure what she was.

Ben set the coin down on the table and gave her a long appraising look.

"Maybe its all for the best if you leave this one alone," Ben gave her a sad smile knowing his words were going to hurt, "We wouldn't want anything to happen to that pretty little head of yours."

Trixie knew that Ben meant the last part as a compliment, but it was so close to the phrase that had enraged her at work, that she couldn't help but have some of the similar reaction now.

And suddenly she knew what she was going to do. She wasn't going to give up; she had never given up before – even when she had intended to.

So what if no one wanted her to investigate this? She would do it herself if she had to.

Days passed with no significant news. Trixie couldn't find anything important with her own investigation, and the most the police had turned up was that they had found a female. The still had no idea who it was.

That's why, when Jim announced that Ben and himself were going into the near by town to get some supplies she jumped at the opportunity to join them.

She was convinced that all the secrets to this place were to be found in town.

So with the excuse that she had letters to mail Trixie made her way into the truck cab to spend one awkward ride sandwiched between Ben and Jim.

"So, Trixie – Dan tells me you're working at the Police station," Ben said after a few minutes of awkward silence, "that must be exciting."

Trixie snorted, "Hardly – I spend all day filing and sorting for a bunch of men who think I'm too dumb to know anything."

"They're the ones who don't know anything," Jim muttered making Trixie blush and the cab fall into silence once more.

After about another ten minutes of the silence, only to be interrupted a couple of times for awkward small talk, they finally arrived at the town, and Trixie dived out of the vehicle thankful to be free.

They went to hardware shops and grocery stores, and it was starting to seem like Trixie had been wrong to suspect the town of knowing anything about her mystery until she went into the post office.

It was as she was walking out that a sign tact to the bulletin board caught her eye.

Stopping to take a closer look, her eyes widened in surprise, and her feet started to tap with suppressed excitement.

Pulling it off of the board she raced outside to where the boys were standing.

"How long did Dan say he thought the body was there for?"

"About a year or so," Ben answered promptly, "Why?
Before she could answer Jim spoke up, "I thought you weren't going to get involved in this, Trix?"

Trixie ignored him, "What's the date today?"

"The 21st of September, in the year 1966 – Trixie, what's the point of all this?"

Trixie smiled and turned the flier around.

"I think I may have found our body."

Missing: Jane Waltman

Since: Jun 30th 1965

If you have any knowledge please come forward.

A/N: ok so I was looking at all the publishing dates of Trixie and the first one came out in like the late 40's and the last one I think somewhere in the 80's - So I just sort of picked a year that was sort of in the middle and I felt gave me a good Trixie vibe. And as always, please leave a review - I love to hear what you think. What you like what you didn't - constructive critisim wanted!