Author’s notes: A big thank you to LoriD, for sorting out my commas and untangling my sentences for me. As usual, if you need help putting this back into chronological order (or sorting out where we’re up to), key dates are on the Reference page. And, remember: ATAS is not suitable for reading at work 
- even if this episode is far tamer than episode 7.
Saturday, August 28, 2004
Bobby’s basketball thumped against the backboard and fell outside of the hoop. For some reason, his siblings had always seemed so much better at shooting hoops than he was. No matter how much practice he got, the ball always seemed to end up in the garden. This time, he had excelled himself: it had bounced so far that he couldn’t even see it anymore.
“I should just leave it there,” he muttered, even as he stomped off after it.
He rounded the corner of the house just in time to see a removalist’s van pass along Glen Road. That’s funny, he thought. I wonder who’s moving? Curious, he jogged around to the front of the house, to see if he could see anything further. The section of road beyond the Belden driveway was hidden from view, but the van reappeared momentarily, climbing the steep Manor House drive.
“Hey, Moms!” he called, running back towards the kitchen door. “Moms! There’s a moving van at the Manor House!”
“Don’t yell, Bobby,” she gently chided. “It’s probably Mr. Wheeler’s new gamekeeper. I think he was supposed to be starting sometime fairly soon.” Another thought seemed to occur to her. “Do you know Todd Fairhurst?”
His eyes widened in surprise. “He told me his dad got a new job and they were moving out here,” he remembered, suddenly. “Is it him? Do you know where they were going to live? Can I go up there now and see? Please, Moms?”
She had barely had time to nod when he tore out of the house and up the hill. He was puffing as he neared the top of the hill, but relieved to see the van parked in the driveway, close to the garage. Another vehicle was nearby and, beside it, his friend Todd.
“Is this where your dad’s working?” Bobby practically yelled, as he arrived at the scene. “Are you going to live here?”
“Oh, hi, Bobby,” said Todd. “Yeah, this is it.” He nodded towards the apartment above the garage. A man appeared in the doorway and Todd called to him. “Dad, this is Bobby Belden. I know him from school. He lives… Where do you live, Bobby?”
“Down there in the hollow,” he replied, with a careless wave over his shoulder. “Nice to meet you, Mr. Fairhurst.” Todd’s father called a greeting, before moving back inside the apartment.
“Dad told me to keep out of the way,” said Todd. “So, what is there to do around here?”
“I’ll show you around,” said Bobby, eagerly.
Soon, the two had made a tour of the grounds immediately surrounding the Manor House, including the stables, the lake and Crabapple Farm, and were on their way to Ten Acres. Bobby kept up a running commentary the whole time.
“Aren’t we a long way from home, now?” Todd asked nervously, as they approached the ruins. “Maybe we should be getting back.”
“There’s just one more place I want to show you, first,” said Bobby, pushing through the old hedge. “This is Jim Frayne’s land. His great-uncle had a house here, but it burned down a long time ago.”
“It’s kind of creepy,” said Todd. “Are you sure we should be here?”
“Of course we can come here. Jim doesn’t mind. Come here and see this.” He pushed his way into the rotting arbour and crawled up to the summerhouse door. “It’s the coolest place.”
Todd followed, looking anything but convinced. They emerged into the dingy, dusty room, its floor seeming even messier than the last time Bobby had been there. He kicked at an empty cola can, making it skid across the room.
“It needs a bit of a clean-up,” he conceded, as his friend looked around. “And it needs more furniture than just that one chair, but don’t you think it would be a great place to hang out?”
“I guess,” said Todd, trying to scrape a sticky wad of gum off his shoe. “Do any of the other guys live near here?”
“There’s Larry and Terry Lynch,” suggested Bobby. “We could invite them over tomorrow if you want.”
“Cool,” said Todd. He looked at his watch. “I’d better get back. The truck should be unloaded by now.”
The next day found the four boys gathered in the summerhouse. From the moment the twins arrived, a lively conversation had been going on. It was clear to Bobby that Larry and Terry were very happy to have a new neighbour, and even happier to be included in Bobby’s plans.
“Hey, we should have a club,” said Larry, suddenly. “The Bob-Whites don’t use their clubhouse anymore. Maybe we could have it.”
“No way!” said Bobby. “They may not use it, but have you seen what it’s like in there? We’d never fit in the door for all the stuff they keep there. It’d be better to clean this place up.”
“This is a dump,” said Terry. “Just look at all this stuff - hamburger wrappers and empty cans and old clothes. Besides, it’s probably haunted.”
“Haunted?” Todd looked skeptical.
“Yeah, by the old miser’s wife. A copperhead bit her right here and she died.” (Bobby reflected that Terry had always had a morbid streak.) “I bet her ghost is here right now, watching our every move.”
“She didn’t die here,” objected his twin, “so she can’t be watching us. I think it’s a great idea. Soon as we get rid of all this junk, it’ll be a great place to meet. We can have a real secret club - not like the Bob-Whites.”
“Only, I think we’d better ask Jim’s permission before we do anything,” Bobby said, slowly. “I kind of remember the Bob-Whites having trouble about that with their clubhouse.”
“Okay,” said Larry, “but don’t tell him about our club. Hey - what are we going to call ourselves, anyway?” There was an awkward silence, as each of the other three kicked at dirt or looked at the ceiling. “Clubs don’t have to have a name, I guess. Maybe we’ll come up with something later.”
It was a few weeks before Bobby had a chance to ask Jim anything. Crabapple Farm had become a flurry of activity as his mother prepared to move to Poughkeepsie. Knut and Gloria had been delayed for a few weeks, so that school had started before they arrived. In the midst of the turmoil, Bobby had no time to even think about their potential clubhouse.
The topic had completely slipped his mind when an unexpected opportunity arose. He had, by this time, moved to the Lynch estate and was comfortably lounging in the family room with Larry and Terry when a call came. After a short argument, Terry was elected to answer the telephone.
“Yeah,” he said. “Oh, hi, Di. What’s up?” As she spoke, Terry sat up straight. “And Bobby? Oh, and Todd?” His broad smile shifted to an expression of slight annoyance. “He’s a friend of ours. His dad works for Mr. Wheeler. Cool. Okay. See you then.”
“Well? What did she want?” Larry demanded, before the receiver had even been replaced.
“Are you guys up for a little weekend entertainment?”
“Just tell us,” said Bobby. “Don’t make us hurt you.”
“Keep your hair on,” said Terry. “Di’s coming to pick up a few things late on Friday afternoon. She’s invited us - and Todd - to stay the weekend, then someone will bring us back on Sunday afternoon.”
“I take it she’s already asked Mom and Dad? And Bobby’s parents?” asked Larry, with a glint in his eye. “We’d better call Todd right away, so he can ask his Dad.” He grinned. “I think this might be an interesting weekend.”
Friday, October 8, 2004
Four excited boys were waiting when Diana’s car pulled into the Lynch driveway. Todd had, eventually, convinced his father to allow him to go on the trip. He was the most quiet of the group, probably (thought Bobby) because he had never met any of the people they were visiting.
“Just give me a minute to collect a few things,” said Di indulgently, after hasty introductions were made. “And wait until I get back before you load any of that luggage. I want my things to fit in, too.” They groaned with impatience, but did as they were told. “And a couple of you come in and help me carry, please!” Her pointed look made her brothers squirm a little, before they obediently followed.
“Tell me again what’s so great about this trip,” asked Todd quietly, as soon as the others were out of sight. “And who, exactly, we’re visiting.”
“No parents!” said Bobby, ignoring the second question. “One whole unsupervised weekend to do whatever we want. I bet we can get away with anything with the Bob-Whites. They’ll be so busy with their own stuff, they won’t have time to notice what we’re doing.”
“Everyone keeps going on about Bob-Whites,” muttered Todd.
“You’ll meet them when we get there,” said his friend, as he noticed the others returning. “It’d just confuse you if I tried to explain who they all are. Now, let’s get going!”
The four had become a little more subdued by the time they arrived. Bobby thought that Di was very relieved that the ride was over. She parked the car close to a door and ordered everyone out. As the door opened to her key, the sounds of an argument in progress greeted them.
“No way am I doing the dusting,” Bobby heard his sister say. “I told you when we moved here, I don’t dust. It can pile up to the ceiling, for all I care.”
“I’m not asking you to dust,” Mart replied, through clenched teeth. “I’m telling you to clean. I took your turn at taking out the garbage. You have to take my turn at cleaning. Besides, it’s not so much dusting as general household cleanliness that’s required.”
“Hi everyone; we’re here,” called Di, putting on a cheerful smile. “Everyone, this is Todd. His dad’s the new gamekeeper.” After a moment, during which the combatants took a step back and their audience refocused their attention, there was a chorus of greetings and introductions.
“You’ll be staying in here,” Di continued, leading them away from the others. Behind them, the argument continued. “This room is for you - leave your bags here - and I’ll show you where everything is.” A few minutes later, they were alone in their room, having been told to unpack.
“I thought we’d never get here,” said Larry, slumping on the floor. “Di’s got to be the most cautious driver on the face of the planet.”
“Better than being smashed against a tree,” said Bobby, unfeelingly. “I don’t care how long it took to get here. We’ve got a whole unsupervised weekend ahead of us.”
“And I’ve got some plans for tonight,” said Terry, producing a huge bag of treats.
After breakfast the next morning, Bobby saw an opportunity to talk to Jim and seized it with both hands. Jim had announced to the general populace that some work was needed in the garden. No one had volunteered. Thinking quickly, he made a sign to the other boys not to follow his lead.
“I’ll help you for a little while,” he said, avoiding his sister’s incredulous look. “The other guys have got some things they want to do, but I want to watch something on TV a bit later.”
“Thanks, Bobby. Let’s go.” They walked out together into the morning sunshine, heading towards an area in which Jim had left some gardening equipment. “What does everyone want to do? There’s raking, and weeding, and pruning, and some dead branches to cut up.”
“I’ll take the dead branches,” said Trixie, before Bobby could respond. “You two can bring the prunings to me when they’re done.”
“In that case,” said Jim, “we must be pruning. We’ll start up the front.” Picking up a saw and some secateurs, he led the way to the front yard.
“I’ve been up to the summerhouse at Ten Acres a few times,” said Bobby, trying to sound casual. “It sure is a mess!”
“It hasn’t been used for a long time,” Jim replied. “Buildings need a lot of maintenance to stay in good condition. I haven’t seen the need to do any work on it, so it’s only going to get worse.”
“So, you wouldn’t mind if the guys and me hung out there sometimes? I mean, we’d need to clean out all the junk, first, and-”
“Junk?”
“Yeah. You know: hamburger wrappers and old clothes and stuff.”
Suddenly, Jim turned and left at a jog. He returned, only a minute later, with Trixie.
“Tell us about the summerhouse,” she said, as they approached. “Exactly, Bobby. It’s important.”
“Well,” he said, slowly. “I found it one day last summer when I was just kind of looking around. I saw a sort of trail through the undergrowth and I followed it. It was real messy inside - though not as messy as the last time we were up there. There was an old chair near one of the windows and when I sat in it, I could see our house. Then, the next time, there was more junk - like old clothes and stuff.”
“How long since you’ve been there?” Her voice was sharp.
“Uh, maybe about a week?”
“Was it different from the last time?”
“Well, yeah. There was more junk, I think.”
“Don’t go there again, until I say it’s all right,” she said, grabbing his arm. “Promise me, Bobby, and don’t let the others go there, either. Okay?”
“I guess so,” he said, bitterly disappointed. “But I don’t see-”
“Promise!”
“Okay, Trixie. I promise. But there’d better be a good reason for this.”
“I’ll explain it all later,” she said, frowning. “Right now, I’m not sure how it fits in.”
That afternoon, the four boys went for a walk together around the neighbourhood. Until then, Bobby had been unable to share his bad news. He thought they had probably guessed, but wanted to be able to complain about it aloud.
“So, did you talk to Jim?” Terry demanded, as soon as the house was out of sight. “Did he say we could use the summerhouse?”
“No,” he replied. “And Trixie made me promise not to go near it again until she said it was okay and not to let any of you go there, either. She acts like there’s some big mystery about the place, or something.”
“Maybe she wants to catch the ghost,” joked Larry. “She must have heard Terry talking about it.”
“Whatever she wants,” Terry replied, “I’m not going to stop going up there.”
“You can leave me out of that,” said Bobby, firmly. “No way am I going there after promising Trixie not to. If you knew half of the places she’s gone, you wouldn’t, either.”
“She just wants to keep the mystery to herself,” said Larry. “Whatever it is.”
“Mystery?” asked Todd.
“My sister is a detective,” Bobby explained. Privately, he thought that Larry and Terry left their new friend out of the conversation far too much. It was hard, though, to do much about it, since they did so much of the talking. “She always sees mysteries, wherever she goes.”
“Like ‘The Mystery of the Old Chair,’” said Terry, in an eerie voice. “Every night, at midnight, the ghost of the miser’s wife sits on the chair and looks out at-”
“My house!” objected Bobby. “I don’t want ghosts looking at my house!”
“You’re not even living there at the moment. Why should you care if she looks at your house?” Larry obviously didn’t believe in ghosts, so the idea didn’t bother him. He stopped walking. “Does anyone know where we are?”
“Yeah,” said Bobby. “We’ve been walking around the block. See, up ahead? That’s Brian’s car.”
“Let’s sneak around the back,” said Larry. “There’s a seat back there that you can’t see from the house. We could stay out there and no one would know where we were.”
It seemed a little unnecessary to sneak towards the seat. The yard was deserted, and no one seemed even remotely interested in what the boys were doing this afternoon. They reached their destination without the slightest hint that anyone noticed them.
“Where are the rest of us going to sit?” asked Bobby, as the twins took up the whole seat.
“On that rocky thing, I guess,” said Terry.
“It’s garden edging,” said Bobby, reproachfully. “Don’t you know anything?” He sat down, carefully selecting a spot that was not too lumpy. He shared a glance with Todd, who sat down next to him. “So what are we going to do back here, with no one knowing we’re here?”
“Bet you a buck you can’t swing that hula hoop around your neck twenty times,” said Terry lazily, pointing to something half-concealed in the garden.
“It’s a piece of plastic tubing,” said Bobby, with scorn. “Hula hoops are hard and round, unlike that, which isn’t.”
“Just as well,” said Terry. “I haven’t got a dollar.”
“We should decide what we’re going to do, seeing as we’ve lost our clubhouse,” said Larry.
“Find another one?” suggested Todd.
“Solve the mystery and exterminate the ghost,” said Terry.
“How do you exterminate a ghost?” asked Bobby. “And what is the mystery? How can we solve something if we don’t know what it is?”
“You’re the one with the detective in the family,” said Todd, with a hint of disbelief. “Shouldn’t you know?”
“Actually,” said Larry, “all the Bob-Whites are detectives, so we’ve got a detective in the family, too.”
“I think Di’s a reluctant detective, though,” added his brother. “It’s mostly Trixie that finds the mysteries. But, seeing as she’s found it already, I can’t see why we couldn’t solve it for her.”
“We wouldn’t know a clue if it bit us,” said Bobby, despondently. “Face it: we’re not going to solve this.”
“Doesn’t mean we can’t try,” said Larry, and with his words, Bobby felt a glimmer of hope.
Friday, December 24, 2004
Bobby sat, uncomfortably, in the Lynch Estate’s formal living room, waiting for the arrival of the bride. Even the dentist is better than this, he thought, wriggling in his suit. Why couldn’t they just run away together, or something? Beside him, both sets of Lynch twins were looking equally uncomfortable. The five of them had already been warned several times for being too noisy.
“What is she doing up there?” groaned Terry, for about the fourth time. “Why can’t she get down here and get this over with?”
“She wants you to s-u-f-f-e-r,” said Larry, putting on a terrible face and making his younger sisters giggle. “We have to sit here all day, waiting for her.”
“And then,” added Terry, “we’ll find out that she’s chosen the wedding music from Jessie and Cassie’s music collection. I’m not a girl,” he sang, in a squeaky voice, and the other boys joined in, “not yet a woman!”
“I should hope not,” whispered Brian, grinning as he leaned over to talk to them. “It won’t be long now, so do you think you could keep it down a little?”
“Sorry,” muttered Bobby, turning red.
“And that song is so totally not in our collection,” objected Jessie, in an angry whisper. “If you’re going to embarrass us-”
“Shh!” said Brian, nodding towards the door. He quickly moved into his place.
A moment later, they were asked to rise and the music started. Honey looks pretty, thought Bobby, as she came into sight. Hey, even Trixie looks kind of okay. Oh, and here’s Di. This is weird. They all look really old. He turned his eyes to the front and watched his brothers. Oh, now this is just too weird. Mart looks like he’s gonna cry. Maybe he doesn’t want to get married after all.
The wedding party assembled at the front of the room and the celebrant began to speak: “Dear friends and loved ones, we have gathered here…”
“Psst,” said Terry into his ear. “Isn’t he supposed to say ‘Dearly beloved’?”
“How am I supposed to know?” demanded Bobby, as quietly as he could manage. “This is the first wedding I ever went to.”
A finger poked into the middle of his back, and he turned sharply to see a stern face. I’ll just keep quiet, he thought, wishing this whole thing was over. That guy at the front has to stop talking soon, doesn’t he? Oh, this is the part where they make their promises. I wonder if Mart’s going to chicken out? No. That sounded like a promise to me. Oh, and now they’re putting on the rings. Does that mean it’s almost over? Damn! (Glad Moms can’t hear that!) Now they’ve got to sign all the stuff and have lots of photos taken. And there’s some woman in a silly dress singing a stupid song. Yuck!
The celebrant announced Mart and Diana to be husband and wife, and Bobby heaved a sigh of relief. He whispered to Terry, “Is it over? When do we eat?”
“Not for an hour,” his friend replied, frowning. “But we can sneak out to the kitchen as soon as Mart and Di have gone to have their pictures taken.”
“I heard that,” said Mart, coming up on them suddenly and thumping his brother on the back, “and it’s not fair at all.”
Sunday, October 24, 2004
“Oh, I just can’t believe this is happening!” said Honey, dropping onto Brian’s bed. “Can you believe they’re actually going to get married? And in exactly two months?”
“They seemed serious about the idea,” he replied, sitting next to her. “Are you okay with that?”
“Okay with it? How could I - I mean, I’m not going to stop them, not that I could, but married? Now? It just seems so soon.” She leant her head against his shoulder. “I don’t want to seem like a spoil sport, but I can’t help wondering if they’re making a terrible mistake.”
Brian put his arm around her, gently rubbing her back. He said, “I think you and I will always have this trouble. We see people we care about making rash decisions and we want to stop them from getting hurt.”
“I know,” she sighed. “I feel selfish, though, thinking that they’ve got it wrong. I’m kind of wondering whether it’s because I don’t feel ready to get married that I don’t want them to. I don’t want to feel this way, Brian. If they’re really going to get married - and I’m sure they are - I want to be able to be happy for them.” She let out another deep sigh. “I always thought that when one of us got married, all three of us - I mean Trixie and Di and me - would have a wonderful time talking about it and making plans and things.”
“And you probably will,” he replied. “You’ll adjust, and then you’ll be able to do all those things.”
“I feel like such a baby,” she said, squeezing her eyes shut. “Everyone’s growing up, except me.”
“Now, that’s just not true,” Brian replied, pulling her closer. “You started out more mature than Trixie, for one. She just did a little catching up. And just because Mart and Di want to get married now doesn’t make them more mature. I’m sure there’s a reason why they’ve made this decision.”
“Your grandfather’s will, you mean?”
Brian felt his mouth start to drop open, but quickly took control of himself. “How- I mean, that’s supposed to be a secret.”
“Di told me a little bit about it a couple of months ago.” She looked away. “What she didn’t tell me was how it affects you.”
What do I tell her? he wondered, feeling more than a little desperate. There’s no way I can admit to her what it really says. “I don’t stand to inherit anything,” he hedged. “There’s a particular clause which excludes me from benefiting from the estate.”
“Then what are you worried about?”
“Who says I’m worried?” he asked, hoping that he didn’t sound defensive. “I have nothing to gain from it, so it’s not really anything to do with me. Mart should meet the conditions in a few years’ time, then the trust will be ended and he’ll get the rest of the assets.”
“I guess so,” she replied, looking distracted. “It’s just that Di said something that made me think…”
“Don’t worry about it,” he whispered, sliding his hand onto the back of her neck, under her hair. “It’s Mart’s problem and he’s dealing with it.”
“Okay,” she said, a soft smile on her face as he leaned in to kiss her.
Saturday, November 20, 2004
“Are we there yet?” called Trixie from the back seat, a teasing note in her voice. “Are we there yet?”
“Hush, child,” chided Mart, from the front passenger seat. “Your elders and betters are engaged in a momentous discussion of tremendous import. Contain your childish impatience.”
Brian shook his head and kept driving. In past years he would have been afraid of flying objects after such a statement, but he knew that his sister could handle that sort of teasing now without resorting to violence.
“Hmm,” she said, obviously pretending to think. “I wonder what sort of treatment that would require?”
“Treatment?” repeated Mart, taking the bait.
“Yes, treatment. It’s quite a serious problem, I think, not being able to tell your brother from your fiancée. Especially considering the significant differences between Di and Brian. True, they both have dark hair, but that’s about the limit of similarities. It’s terribly unfortunate for you that she wasn’t able to come with us, but this reaction is rather unsettling, in my opinion, and probably requires treatment.”
“What are you talking about, diminutive sister mine?” A thought seemed to occur to him and he groaned, loudly. “I said, ‘engaged in conversation,’ not ‘engaged to be married.’”
“Whatever you said,” Brian interrupted, “we’re here. If you can behave yourselves, we might find out why we’re here.” He rolled down the window. “Hi, Dad.”
“You’re all here?” asked his father. “Good. Come on in.”
Brian eased the vehicle through the gates and into the compound, parking in his usual space. Before he had even fully stopped, both of his passengers had deserted him. Despite their friendly bickering - or, perhaps, because of it - Brian was sure that both were being eaten up with curiosity over this trip.
“Hurry up, Brian!” called his sister, from halfway across the yard.
He hid a smile, made sure the car was locked, and jogged to catch up. They entered the house together, meeting their mother at the door. She hugged each of them warmly, seeming very glad to have all of her brood under one roof. Bobby was in the living room already, slouching in a corner of the sofa, but looking pleased to see them, nonetheless.
“I won’t keep you in suspense,” said their father, once the greetings were over. “I’ve called you all here because I’ve had some very good news. A few weeks ago, I had a job interview at the bank and during the week they offered me a position as a supervisor. I’ll be starting back there at the beginning of the new year.”
“The bank?” asked Mart. “The bank? As in, the bank where you used to work?”
“And they’ve given you a higher position?” added Trixie. “Oh, Dad, that’s wonderful! I’m so happy for you. You too, Moms. I guess you’ll be moving back to Crabapple Farm then?”
“As soon as we can,” Helen confirmed, with a smile. “It will be very good to be home.”
The room erupted into a confusion of different voices, with everyone wanting to offer their congratulations at once. Brian could see the happiness in his parents’ faces as they tried to respond to each of their offspring individually, even though the younger three were all talking at once.
“How about if I go get us some refreshments?” he asked, looking at his mother. “You just stay there, Moms, and I’ll bring everything out.”
“I’ll show you where everything is,” said his father, following him into the kitchen. “Your mother was so happy with the news that she tidied all of the kitchen cabinets.”
“So, is everything all right, Dad?”
“Why do you ask that?” His father sounded slightly alarmed.
“I just wondered,” said Brian, quietly, “whether you were keeping up with the mortgage and the bills and everything. I know I asked this before, but I wanted you to know that our offer still stands: Mart and Trixie and I could contribute a little extra, if you need it.”
“Thank you for offering,” said Peter, “but that won’t be necessary. I won’t pretend the last five months have been easy, but we’ve managed. I think your mother would appreciate your time far more than any amount of money. She’s going to be very busy in a couple of months’ time.”
“We’ll do our best,” he replied, arranging the cups on a tray. “I have a feeling that once the baby’s born, we’ll be visiting you so much that you’ll be chasing us all out.”
“Never that,” said his father, smiling. “You’ll always be welcome.”
Friday, December 24, 2004
“I’m here,” said Trixie, throwing the kitchen door open. “You didn’t start without me, did you?”
“Shh!” said Brian. “Moms is still asleep, along with most of the rest of the household. Do you want to share the kitchen with three dozen other people?”
“Oops,” said Trixie, sitting down. “It’s just that I’m so excited! Are you nervous, Mart?”
“He’s just about puked three times,” said Bobby, screwing up his nose. “Does that make him nervous, or is he just gonna be sick?”
“I’m not sick, thank you very much,” said Mart, glaring at his little brother, “and I haven’t ‘just about puked’ at all.” He turned to his sister. “I’m fine, thanks, Trix. I’m feeling impatient, rather than nervous.”
She popped out of her seat to give him a hug, almost knocking over Brian, as he carried a platter piled high with food to the table. On her way back, she hugged Brian, as well.
“Easy,” he said, laughing. “Save a little energy for later. It’s still early, you know.”
“I know,” she sighed, “but this is an exciting day. Things won’t ever be quite the same again. And I’m so happy for Mart and Di. I can’t thank you enough, Mart, for marrying someone that I actually like.”
“A left-handed compliment, if ever I heard one,” he replied, dryly. “Next you’ll be thanking me for being the first to do something out of the ordinary, and thus paving the way for you to do whatever you like.”
“I would’ve done whatever I liked anyway,” she admitted, with a giggle, “but I’ll thank you, if it makes you feel better.”
“By the time they get to me,” grumbled Bobby, “Moms and Dad won’t care what I do. They’ll have had so many tough moments with all of you, they’ll be all worried out.”
“I wouldn’t bet on it,” said Brian, helping himself to extra bacon. “No matter how many children they have, Moms and Dad will always worry about each of us.”
“Don’t say that,” said Bobby. “You’ll give them ideas and they’ll have some more. It’s bad enough now, with Moms just about ready to pop. I don’t need any more siblings.”
Brian met Trixie’s eyes, and noted with satisfaction that they danced with suppressed laughter. His private opinion was that no longer being the youngest would do Bobby a world of good. As difficult as this must be for his parents, he was glad of that one circumstance.
“I don’t think there’s much danger of that,” he said, as seriously as he could.
“There’d better not be,” Bobby muttered, frowning. His eyes strayed to Trixie’s plate and the breakfast she had barely touched. “Do you want that bacon? Brian’s eaten all the rest of it.”
“It’s yours,” she said, pushing the plate towards him, “on the condition that you eat it on the run. Collect your things and let’s get moving.” Grabbing the crispy piece of bacon in one hand and a slice of toast in the other, he left the room at a trot. “And while he’s gone,” she said, in a lowered voice, “you both need to give me proper hugs. Come here, Mart.” She kissed him on the cheek and threw her arms around him. “Happy wedding day.”
“Thanks, Trix,” he said, kissing her in return.
Next she moved on to Brian. “You’d better keep him in line, from now until he’s Di’s responsibility. I don’t want him get lost on the way, or anything.”
Looking in the mirror one last time, Brian decided that he was ready. He turned to Mart, who was nervously fiddling with his tie. In a few minutes, they would get in the car and drive to the Lynch Estate. If he wanted a moment to talk to his brother alone, it would have to be now.
“Ready?” he asked, as way of an opening. Mart’s hands dropped and he nodded. “I know you expected me not to approve-”
“You don’t have to,” said Mart. “We both know this is risky. I haven’t asked your opinion because I didn’t want you to have to say so.”
“Nothing in life is certain,” he replied. “I think you’ve made the right choice, considering the circumstances.”
For once, Mart was speechless. Finally, he managed, “Thanks, Brian. That means a lot to me.”
The wedding was over and the reception in full swing when Brian took a few minutes to talk to Jim. Between finals, Christmas preparations and getting ready for the wedding, the last few weeks had been ridiculously busy.
“I think that all went well,” said Jim, in a low voice. “The happy couple look, well, happy; the guests are drinking their way through more beer, wine and spirits than you could load on a truck and Mrs. Lynch actually smiled a few minutes ago.”
“Wonders will never cease,” he replied, suppressing a laugh. He was about to comment on something he had heard earlier when he noticed that they were about to be interrupted. A solemn figure was hovering at his friend’s elbow.
Harrison’s approach had been so soundless that Jim did not notice him until the butler cleared his throat. He murmured a message so quietly that Brian could not hear it, even though they were standing quite close together.
“Trouble,” he said, as the butler moved away. “Come with me, just in case.”
They walked together to a small reception room off the front entranceway. Harrison opened the door to reveal two uniformed police officers. Both looked up, with solemn expressions, as the door opened.
“Is there something I can help you with?” asked Jim, politely.
“James Winthrop Frayne? If you’ll come with us, please, sir,” said the officer, “you are wanted for questioning over the murder of Andrew Damien King.”
Next episode: What has happened to Jim? What will Trixie find out next? And what will happen to Helen after she’s been pregnant for all this time? Find out in episode 11: No Room in the Inn.
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Elements for CWP2 (of the first cycle of CWPs) are as follows. Numbers indicate the episode number in which the element can be found.