“Eric and his mother are very close. They’re all each other has. Other than me, and I’m just an old man stuck out in the woods with his art. I always found that art understood me a lot better than people did.
So I guess I didn’t try to understand people. I thought if Eric found out the truth about his mother, he’d go crazy with worry. But I was wrong. He’s- torn up inside, but he’s acting mature on the outside and doing what has to be done.”
“What is the truth about Ellen?” cried Trixie impatiently.
Carl looked at her, puzzled. “I thought Eric told me you kids were detectives. You mean to tell me you haven’t got that figured out yet?”
“Something awful must have happened to her, but I don’t know what,” Trixie admitted.
“It’s worse than awful.”
“What happened?” urged Honey.
Carl sighed heavily. “About two weeks ago, I was peacefully carving on a wood-block print in my workshop. That’s the back half of my cabin I caught you snooping around.”
Trixie couldn’t stop herself from blushing. “Anyway, I heard a knock at the door. Well, that’s pretty startling way out here. When I came out of the back room, my daughter was coming in the front door with two people wearing ski masks, really ugly masks. The tall one told me this wasn’t a social call: They had kidnapped poor Ellen in New York.”
Honey sucked in her breath.
“She was taking some new prints to an art dealer,” Carl continued. “They followed her and forced her to bring them to see me. Their terms were simple. They hold her hostage until I make them a counterfeit plate and a large number of counterfeit bills. They warned me against calling the police.”
“How terrible!” exclaimed Trixie.
“Is your daughter all right?” Honey asked.
“I don’t know. She said she was okay when she was here. She even told me not to cooperate with their plans, but I have to, of course.”
“Have you heard from her since then?” asked Honey.
Carl shook his head. “They said they were going to stash her away in the woods somewhere. I’ve been searching the woods every free minute, but I haven’t seen a trace of her. The woods are so big, and there’re so many places a person could be....”
He looked so beaten and helpless that Trixie was gradually losing her fear of him. “So that’s what that conversation was about,” she said. “I overheard you telling Eric to search the woods and not to call the police. I’m sorry. I didn’t really mean to be eavesdropping,” she added quickly.
“That must have been the night I told Eric the truth about his mother. He was so concerned about her not telling him where she was going that I figured I owed him the truth.”
“Do you know who the kidnappers are?” Honey queried.
“No, they always wear ski masks. There’s a tall man with a harsh voice, and I can’t recall the short one ever speaking. I couldn’t even say if it’s a man or a woman. At first Eric thought your gang might be the kidnappers, because you asked so many questions,” said Carl, smiling vaguely. “But there’s no doubt that the tall one is a full-grown man, and one who means business, too.”
“Our ‘gang’ is called the Bob-Whites,” Trixie announced, “and we’re going to help you catch those criminals.”
“I don’t want to catch them. I just want to get my daughter back safely,” said Carl.
“You’re not going to let them get off scot-free?” asked Honey incredulously.
“Until Ellen’s back, I want the police out of it. The kidnappers made it very clear that the police weren’t to be involved.”
“Tell us more about the kidnappers,” Trixie requested.
“Well, they’ve come here a couple of times to see how the money plate is coming along. They never stay more than a few minutes and never say anything beyond a few new instructions. The tall one always does that. Once they saw me talking to Eric at the lodge. Probably the same night you overheard us. They figured out that he was Ellen’s son.” Carl sighed unhappily. “They decided that Eric should be the first to pass the money I made, so that if it wasn’t good enough, he’d be the one to get caught. They came here early one morning and told me he was to pass some money as soon as possible. He wouldn’t know who they were, but they’d be watching him. I gather that was the night he bought everyone dinner at the restaurant. Apparently the money worked okay.”
Trixie shook her head. “The bank’s discovered it.”
“Oh, no!” Carl burst out. “I hope the kidnappers
don’t know that.” Then a surprised look came over his face. “How could they have detected the counterfeiting? It was perfect! The United States Mint couldn’t have done a better job.”
“The paper feels different,” said Trixie.
“That explains it,” he said. “The kidnappers brought me the paper.”
“The police are telling merchants to watch out for twenties,” Trixie said. Suddenly she was very glad she hadn’t told Pat yet.
“What’s the next move?” asked Honey.
Carl’s face brightened. “Tonight I give them the plate and the counterfeit money and get my Ellen back.”
“When? Where?” both girls breathed in unison.
“Eight o’clock at Porcupine Pond,” he told them.
“Where’s that?” Trixie asked.
“About five miles southeast of the ski lodge,” Carl replied. “There’s a trail forking off the road from the highway to the lodge that almost goes right there.”
“Are you sure you don’t want to let the police handle this?” asked Honey.
“Absolutely!” Carl insisted.
“Will Eric be there?” asked Trixie.
“No, I don’t want him there in case anything goes wrong. If he knew about the meeting, he’d insist on coming, so I’m not going to even tell him about it.”
“Nothing is going to go wrong, sir,” said Trixie. “The Bob-Whites will see to that. You just be there with your money. After you have Ellen back safely, we’ll take care of the kidnappers.” Trixie wasn’t exactly sure how they were going to accomplish that, but she knew they had to try.
“I don’t want you to get mixed up in this,” cried Carl. “You’ll get hurt.”
“Don’t worry,” Honey assured him. “You don’t know Trixie.”
Carl looked defeated. “Can I really trust you not to say anything to anyone until after the meeting?” he implored. “That’s all I ask. If you give your word, I’ll be happy to let you go.”
“We’ll only tell the other Bob-Whites,” said Trixie. “We really want to help. You can count on us!”
Carl unbolted the door, and the two girls hurried outside. He watched anxiously as they ran to the tree where they’d left their skis. After they’d started back up the gully, they heard him call, “Remember—no police! And the kidnappers have guns!”
Suspects ● 16
THE SKY WAS JUST TURNING purple by the time Trixie and Honey burst into the Bob-Whites’ suite at the lodge. Di was drawing in her sketch pad, and the boys were back working on their notes for Mr. Wheeler.
“Hi! Where’s Miss Trask?” Trixie asked carefully, trying to control her exuberance at all the news she had for them.
“She’s in the kitchen helping Katie make dips for the party tonight,” said Brian sternly. “That was some walk you took. You’ve been gone more than three hours.”
“Is Miss Trask worried?” asked Honey.
Jim shook his head. “She got back just as we were returning from skiing. She asked about you and we said that you would be along shortly. You know Miss Trask—never interferes unless she’s needed.”
“You girls are hopping around like Mexican jumping beans,” Brian said. “What have you been up to?”
“Oh, nothing,” said Honey with an elegant wave of her hand. “It’s just that Trixie has done exactly what she told us she was going to this morning.”
“Corroborated the counterfeiter?” asked Mart. “As with other magic tric
ks, I’ll believe this one when I see it!”
“Don’t kid, Mart,” begged Honey. “She really did find the counterfeiter—that is, the counterfeiter found us, only it’s much more complicated than just that— Oh, you’d better explain, Trixie. I’m too excited!”
The Bob-Whites all listened in silence while Trixie spun her tale. “So you see,” she concluded, “we just have to help Carl get his daughter back and catch the kidnappers.”
“You are so gullible, Trixie!” Mart exploded. “Anyone can tell you a sob story and have you fall for it, no questions asked.”
“What do you mean?” Honey demanded. “Don’t you want to help?”
“Sure, if what Carl says is true. But did you ever stop to look at his story from any other viewpoint?”
“Like what?” asked Trixie.
“Like you’ve caught him red-handed and what else can he do?” suggested Mart. “He knows you’ll go to the police if he lets you go, but he can’t keep you there because he also knows your ‘snoopy brothers’ will come to your rescue. His only chance is to escape with the evidence. But how can he do that with you there? Of course, he could kill you, but that’s messy, and it still wouldn’t stop us from coming to look for you. No, the only answer is to buy time.”
Brian took over then. “And the best way to do that is to hand you a real tearjerker. Get you out of the cabin, so he can pack up and get out of there. Or better still, send you on a wild-goose chase, all the while thinking that you’re helping solve a mystery.” Trixie sank down onto the fireplace hearth. “Are you saying that I might have let the criminals get away?”
“Worse than that,” Mart answered. “You might have helped them get away!”
Honey spoke up firmly. “You didn’t see that poor man, Mart. He looked so sad and broken—not at all like the desperate, cunning criminal you make him out to be.”
“That’s right,” said Trixie, brightening. “Everything he said made sense and fit in with all of our clues. Like that conversation I overheard. And the funny way that Eric acted the night he bought us all dinner. And what Eric said about his mother leaving that first day, and—”
“Hold it,” cut in Mart. “What I want to know is where all the things that keep happening around the lodge fit in?”
“If Carl is so nice,” argued Di, “then why is he trying to play ghost and scare us away?”
Trixie and Honey looked at each other and said nothing.
“You did check Carl’s boot print, didn’t you?” prompted Brian.
“I—I guess we were so excited about everything else that we, uh, forgot,” Trixie answered.
Mart groaned in total exasperation.
Trixie didn’t blame him. “It was kind of dumb of me not to check all the angles,” she said, flopping into a chair. “Some detective I’m going to be.”
“You’re not such a bad detective,” said Jim thoughtfully. “Look, if Carl was just handing you a line to buy getaway time, there’s nothing we can do about it now, except report it to the police. But if his story is true, then we have a responsibility to keep our promise and show up at the pond tonight. And I vote for acting on the assumption that it is true.”
“So do I,” declared Honey.
“The only thing is,” Trixie said, “we can’t all go down there. That would let the kidnappers know that we’re onto them.”
“I don’t get it,” said Di.
“I can tell by the light in Trixie’s eyes that she knows something we don’t,” Brian said to Di.
“Just this,” Trixie explained. “The kidnappers have to be someone here at the lodge. They saw him talking to Eric here at the lodge, and they told Carl they’d be keeping an eye on him. Only someone staying at the lodge could do that.”
“She’s right!” Honey shivered. “To think we’ve been staying with kidnappers!”
“If all the Bob-Whites, who are supposed to be in charge of the party tonight, suddenly disappear,”
Trixie went on, “the kidnappers are going to know something is up.”
“She’s right again,” said Mart. “Will wonders never cease?”
“So, who are our suspects?” asked Di. “Who’s been acting suspicious around here?”
“Who hasn’t?” Brian threw in.
“Pat and Katie do a super job running this place,” began Trixie. “But we’ve found out that something is bothering them for sure.”
“I just can’t believe they could be that nasty,” insisted Jim. “How about Bert and Jack? They’re a tall and short pair, and they certainly are unusual.”
“Jack gets to me with all his talk of ghosts,” agreed Brian. “Trixie, did you ever find out what kind of boots they wore?”
“I haven’t been able to check them yet,” Trixie sighed.
“You know who else is suspicious?” asked Mart. “That honeymoon couple. He’s tall, and she could pass for a short guy. They stick to themselves almost all the time. Hardly anyone ever sees them.”
“You’re not supposed to see a lot of honeymooners, silly,” Di giggled.
“Who’s to know if they’re really honeymooners?” asked Jim.
“It can’t be them,” answered Trixie. “I think it’s got to be either Jack and Bert or Pat and Katie.”
“But there’re all kinds of tall people connected with short people,” Mart objected. “What about Mrs. Fleming? She’s tall, and Linda and Wanda are both short.
They could keep an eye on Eric, and they could use the money to help pay Jenny’s doctor bills.”
Trixie squirmed. “But Carl said the tall kidnapper was a man. Besides, they could never spend a bunch of counterfeit money in a small town. It’s already been spotted, and it’s only been passed once.”
“Okay,” said Mart. “But there are other people here at the lodge, people from out of town.”
“I still don’t think it could be anyone but Bert and Jack or Pat and Katie,” Trixie maintained.
Even Honey was baffled by Trixie’s stubbornness. “I can see that both couples could keep an eye on Eric and that they could spend the money elsewhere, especially Bert and Jack. Or the O’Briens, when they move. But why can’t it be anyone else?”
“Because whoever is forcing Carl to do the counterfeiting wanted to make sure that the money was good,” explained Trixie. “And you can bet that they were there to see Eric pass the money.”
Jim whistled. “And Pat and Katie and Bert and Jack were all at the Purple Turnip that night.”
“Along with a bunch of vegetables,” added Mart. “Oh, this discussion is all beside the point. Carl is obviously counterfeiting on his OWTI and is long gone by now.”
“If that’s the case, we’ll go up to his cabin tomorrow to make sure he’s gone,” said Jim. “Then we’ll tell the police everything we know. But tonight, at least some of us ought to be at Porcupine Pond.”
“I suppose you’re right,” Brian said. “Jim, you and I can accompany our schoolgirl shamuses. It’s a good thing Mr. Wheeler signed you up as the alternate driver. Now you can drive us in the Tan Van.”
“That’s too many people,” Honey objected. “We’re sure to be missed.”
“Brian, why don’t you stay and see who doesn’t show up at the party?” Trixie urged. “Give us an hour or so after you find out who’s missing. If we’re not back then, you can come like the cavalry and rescue us.”
Trixie was glad they’d had time to settle on a plan, because just then the door opened and Miss Trask walked in. It wasn’t that they didn’t want to tell her, but Trixie had given her word that no one but the Bob-Whites would know. And Miss Trask would be sure to call in the police.
Miss Trask was brimming with talk about the party. “Why don’t you have an early dinner tonight?” she suggested. “Then you’ll be free to help put out food and fix up a stage for the show. In fact, we could eat now.”
“Oh, I almost forgot!” exclaimed Honey as they all stood up to leave. “Miss Trask knows some Robert Frost poetry. I’ll bet we
could sweet-talk her into reciting some of it tonight. Won’t you please, Miss Trask?”
Miss Trask looked doubtful, but the others clamored so much that she could hardly say no. “Only for the Bob-Whites would I do this,” she chuckled.
After dinner, Trixie noticed Eric sitting at another table and called, “Will you do something for us in the show? A song, or a ski demonstration, maybe?”
Eric shook his head. “I don’t think I’ll even be at the show,” he called back. “Hate to miss some good moonlight skiing in fresh snow.” On his way out of the restaurant, he stopped by their table and added, “I’m sure your party will be a lot of fun, though. I’ll see you next year.”
Once he was gone, Mart nudged Trixie. “What did I tell you? He and Carl are taking off tonight. We’ll probably never see him again, period!”
Trixie ignored him and concentrated on getting out of the lodge. While Miss Trask and the others were busy with party preparations, Trixie, Honey, and Jim were hiding the Tan Van in the bushes near the Porcupine Pond turnoff. They walked a half mile down the narrow road until they came to a smaller trail that led down the steep hill to the frozen pond.
It was a heavily wooded area. After scouting around, they decided to hide on a small knoll at the top of the hill, where they could observe the entire pond. They each tucked flashlights into their parka pockets and hid their survival kits in the bushes. Once they made sure they themselves were well hidden, they began their long wait.
Their idle whisperings to each other had lasted for what seemed like an eternity, and finally Jim became restless. “It’s eight-thirty, Trixie. I don’t think anyone is coming. Maybe we ought to go back.”
“Can’t we wait just a little longer?” Trixie pleaded. “I just know that Carl was telling the truth.” Trixie felt a little sick to her stomach. It was beginning to look like Mart had been right after all, and she’d actually helped the crooks escape.
Growing more miserable by the minute, she almost didn’t believe it when she heard the faint rumble of a car coming down the heavily rutted road toward them. She could tell that Honey and Jim heard it, too, and she held her breath. In a few minutes, they would know who’d kidnapped Ellen Johnson.
The Mystery at Mead's Mountain Page 13
