Another One Shoulda Bit The Dust
October 27
“You are my angel! I knew it the moment I saw you. We’re soul mates. Destiny!”
Trixie stared at the dark-haired boy. “Well, that would kinda suck,” she told him with a low chuckle. “Seeing as how you’re dead.”
“Death doesn’t matter! We belong together.”
“Dude. Quit hitting on my sister and tell us what you need. The bell is gonna ring any minute now and I don’t want to risk a detention with Mrs. Jackson. She warned me not to be late again this quarter.” Mart shoved his hand through his hair, knowing it was already sticking up in odd angles. “Big picture here. Sum it up for us.”
“What I need is here with me now… this vision of beauty before me.”
“Oh, good lord,” Trixie grumbled. “Spare me.”
Mart rolled his eyes. The letters he answered for Miss Lonelyhearts were nothing compared to dealing with lovesick ghosts. “Yeah. Consider her spoken for, Conner. So, if you-“
“Spoken for?” Conner’s expression shifted from adoring to thunderous. “Spoken for! Who? Where is he? Where is this… loser who thinks he can come between me and the woman I love?”
“Crap,” Trixie muttered as she felt a breeze pick up. Leaves suddenly lifted from the ground, swirling around like a small tornado. Her math textbook cover flew open and several pages ripped from the binding. She glanced around quickly. So far, none of the other students in the quad were paying any notice, but she knew they only had seconds to prevent another disaster like the Homecoming dance. “Conner! Stop!” She stepped closer to him, eyes wide. “You’re right. He’s… uh, a loser. He’s nothing. How could he possibly compare to you?”
“Sis?”
Trixie turned to her brother. “No. Conner’s right. We belong together. It would be useless to deny what’s in our hearts.”
“Have you finally cracked? For real?”
“Oh, don’t be silly! I’m not cracked,” she said, batting her lashes dramatically at the ghost next to her. “Conner and I are in love, Mart. Can’t you see it? I haven’t felt even a little like this since… since my horrible crush on Ben Riker, and… well, that was nothing to how I feel now.”
Mart’s brow furrowed, but he slowly nodded. He’d understood her message. She wasn’t under some strange spell or possessed by another spirit. This was definitely an act, though he wasn’t sure exactly what her plan was. He could only hope she really did know what she was doing.
The first bell rang and Trixie bent down to scoop up her book, scattered papers, and folder. “Thanks for the homework help, Mart, but it’s time to go. Come on, Conner. Since you don’t have any classes you have to attend, you can come with me to all of mine. We can spend our whole day together.”
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Trixie walked into the cafeteria, wondering how much more she could take of the swooning boy at her side. She forced a smile to her face. It was time to up her game. She spotted the other Bob-Whites at a table near the center of the room, and made her way toward them.
“Sis?” Mart asked, with a significant look in Conner’s direction.
“Yes, brother dear?”
“You’re still… together?”
Honey and Di exchanged glances and remained quiet, but Dan glowered at the hovering ghost. “Look, dude. I don’t care-“
“Dan!” Trixie said sharply. “This is my very own true love! I expect you to treat him with the respect he deserves.”
Dan frowned at her, but fell silent. She sat down and patted the bench. “Right here, Conner. Now, I’m thinking a June wedding.”
“June wedding?” Conner echoed uncertainly.
“Well, yes. Every girl wants to be a June bride. I know we’re still young. Well, I am anyway, but why wait? We know we’re going to be together forever and ever and ever. It’s like Twilight, only with ghosts instead of vampires. I realize that I’m going to grow old and grey and wrinkly before I die, but that doesn’t matter at all. Not when we have a love like ours. Looks are nothing! We’ll be together for as long as I live, and then not even death will separate us. It’s so romantic!”
She had to avoid looking directly at her friends. She heard a low snicker she was fairly certain came from Di, and she knew, it she met any of their gazes, she’d never be able to maintain a straight face. She unfolded her lunch bag and pulled out her turkey sandwich. “So,” she continued. “A June wedding. We’ll play only Katy Perry songs at our reception. Don’t you just love Katy Perry? I’m her like biggest ever fan!”
“I… we could…” Conner trailed off as he seemed to struggle for any kind of coherent response.
“’Cause, baby, you're a firework.
Come on, show 'em what you're worth.
Make 'em go, "Aah, aah, aah,"
As you shoot across the sky-y-y…”
Trixie sang loudly, and very deliberately off-key. She cut herself off and clasped her hands together, beaming at Conner. “We should get a cottage, by the Hudson. It’ll be perfect! Just you and me and Mother-“
“Mother?” Conner’s voice came out in a high-pitched squeak.
“Well, of course. You don’t expect me to leave my poor mother all alone?”
“You have a brother,” he said quickly, pointing at Mart.
“Don’t be a silly goose, Cuddly Umpkins! A mother always goes to live with her daughter, not her son. Surely you know this.”
He looked around the table almost desperately. Dan nodded, smirking. “Always, dude,” he said with a certain amount of relish as he took in Conner’s squeamish expression.
“I.. uh…”
“We’re going to need to figure out how you’ll be able to get a job. As the man of the house, of course it will be your responsibility to support Mother and me. Hmmm. This may be a challenge, since you’re dead, but we’ll think of something. Love will prevail. Oh, Conner! Just imagine. Together. Forever!”
Conner suddenly slid away from the table. He shook his head rapidly as he took several steps back. “I… uh…”
“What is it, Pookie Bear? Are you all right?”
“I think… on reflection, that… No. I am sorry to say this, but I’ve come to realize that you and I will not work out.”
“What?” Trixie cried. She drew in a shaky breath and pushed out her lower lip in an exaggerated pout greater than even her baby brother had ever managed during his worst temper tantrums. “Whatever could you mean? We’re destiny!”
“No. I… I was clearly mistaken about that.”
“But I love you, Honey Smoochems! No one will ever love you as much as I do!”
“I’ll have to take that risk.”
“No! I won’t let you break up with me! I won’t! No one else can even see you! I’ll follow you, no matter where you go or what you do! We’re meant for each other. You said so yourself. You can’t go back on your word! We’ll be together forever. You can’t get away from me… at least, not as long as you’re still on this plane of existence.”
Conner straightened, an arrested look on his face. “As long as I’m still on this plane of existence,” he whispered to himself. With a sharp nod and visibly relieved smile, he faded away.
Trixie slumped down, exhaling heavily. “Holy frankfurters! I was really starting to worry that wasn’t gonna work for a minute there.”
“I don’t know whether to be totally proud of you or absolutely terrified, Freckles,” Dan said with a crooked grin. “That was really some performance.”
“Ha. At least he’s gone now.” She turned her attention to Di. “Are you coming to our meeting tonight with the professor?”
“Yeah. I want to be in on whatever plans you make, plus I still really want to meet this guy.”
“Okay. Good. I saw Lester this morning but I couldn’t ask him anything about this afternoon with Conner lurking at my shoulder. I was afraid he’d get all freaky jealous if I asked Lester to go somewhere with me.”
“I’ve got him in sixth period,” Mart said. “I’ll talk to him then.”
“Thanks, Bro.” Trixie flashed him a brief smile. “Hopefully he’s free and we can go see Mrs. Macy while you guys take office hours. After spending all morning with Conner? I don’t feel remotely guilty about sticking you with ghost duty today.”
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Trixie tapped her phone screen and scrolled down a page. “I really hope Mrs. Macy’s address is publicly listed,” she murmured as she waited for Lester to unlock his car. “Because I don’t know if Philip Macy would be willing to simply tell us where she lives.”
“If you can’t find her through Google, I’ll give my mom a call. She seems to know where everyone in Sleepyside lives. It’s kinda weird actually.”
“Hmm. There’s a Philip Macy living on 5th Street, but I don’t see anyone who could be Mrs. Macy… oh, crap.”
“What?”
“Philip’s mom.”
“Yeah?”
“Mrs. Macy?”
“Uh, yeah?”
“If that’s her married name, then… how could she be Bart Macy’s sister? Crap. Crap. Crap. Did he lie to us? Dangit! There was something about him that was bothering me all last night and today. I just didn’t put it together.”
Lester stopped and leaned up against his open car door. “Well, he may have lied about… anything,” he pointed out, “but there is a possible explanation I can think of, as far as the names go.”
“What?”
“Maybe she’s not married,” he said with a small shrug. “Maybe she never married Philip’s dad. Or maybe she did but kept her family name and passed it to Philip. Maybe she’s Ms. Macy.”
“Like Sarah’s kids,” Trixie muttered thoughtfully. “Being raised as Beldens, not Sligos.”
“Yeah. I guess. Some people take a lot of pride in family names. Especially families like ours that go back as far as they do. My dad’s eldest sister kept her maiden name after she married.”
“It all comes back to that, doesn’t it. Families and family names. Mundys and Beldens and Macys. Do you think Ms. Macy lives with her son? Should we try this address?”
“We can start there. 5th Street is only a few blocks from here. If no one’s home, we’ll call my mom and see what she says.”
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
“Um… Ms. Macy?” Trixie asked hesitantly, studying the skeletal woman through the closed screen door. She wore a brightly patterned skirt, loose-fitting peasant blouse, and her thin, grey hair was partially covered by a dark red scarf. All that was missing, Trixie thought sardonically, was a huge gold hoop in one ear and the Hollywood version of a gypsy would be complete.
“Yes? I am Stella Macy. Are you two looking for a reading?”
Trixie glanced at the hand-painted sign in the front window advertising Tarot and palm readings. “No, ma’am. Not today, thank you.”
“Well, if you’re selling something, we don’t buy-“
“We aren’t selling anything.”
“Then may I ask what you do want?”
“We’d like to talk to you. About your brother. Bart.”
The woman’s eyes narrowed. “Who are you children?”
Trixie glanced questioningly at Lester and he gave a small nod. “I’m Trixie Belden, ma’am. This is my friend. Lester Mundy.”
With a strangled gasp, Stella stepped back and slammed her door.
“Okay. Wasn’t expecting that,” Trixie muttered.
“Mundys and Beldens and Macys,” Lester said quietly. “Apparently the answer to ‘What’s in a name?’ is… everything.”
Just as they were turning to leave, the door unexpectedly opened again. “What game are you children playing?” Stella demanded as she pushed open her screen and stepped out onto the porch. “What is the meaning of coming here and speaking to me about my poor, dead brother?”
“We didn’t mean to offend you, ma’am,” Trixie said sincerely. “We just… we were hoping you could give us some information. How did Bart die?”
“How did he die? How did he die?” Stella turned and spat in the bushes that ran along the front of her house. “Your families! They killed him!” She lifted a hand and pointed one bony finger in their direction. “I curse you!”
Lester stepped back, taking Trixie’s arm and pulling her with him. “Right. We’re leaving. Now.”
Trixie didn’t resist as Lester hurried her to his car. She clambered into the passenger seat and waited for him to get behind the wheel and start the engine. “That was… creepy,” she said with a shudder.
“Did you feel anything?”
“Huh?”
He turned to look at her intently. “Did you feel anything? Trixie, I told you, we Mundys are merely practicing Wiccans. We don’t have near the power you do. I have no idea about the Macys. I’ve always had the impression they’re just charlatans, but… did she really curse us? Can you tell?”
“I… I don’t know. I… no, I didn’t feel anything, beyond being generally wigged out by the crazy eye she was giving us.”
Lester slowly exhaled. “We’re probably okay, then. But it wouldn’t hurt to do a quick counter spell.”
“Do you know one?”
“Yeah. Let’s… get out of here, though. I’d rather not be sitting in front of her house and give her another chance to try again.”
“Head downtown. If we aren’t going to get any information from Bart’s sister, then I want to see if we can find something in the newspaper archives. I already wanted to know what happened, but now I want to know even more, since she just accused our families of murder.”
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Trixie stared at the sign on the door explaining that the Sleepyside Sun offices were closed for the day. “This keeps happening,” she murmured with a heavy frown.
“The newspaper office keeps closing?” Lester asked doubtfully.
“No. I mean, I dunno. Maybe that, too. I just meant… every time we think we’re going to get somewhere, something happens to stop us. We keep making plans that get derailed. At first, I thought it was coincidence, but now I’m not so sure. It’s like… it’s like something is actively working against us, keeping us in the dark. Ugh! Well, this was a bust, too.”
“Now what do you want to do?”
She huffed out an exasperated breath. “The historical society. Let’s head over there. Also, you said your mom knows a lot about people in this town?”
“Well, I don’t know how much she knows about them, but she always does seem to know where they live and work.”
“Would she be able to tell you whether or not you’re right that Stella Macy never married or at least never took her husband’s name?”
“I could ask… She kinda gets a little cagey whenever I ask about stuff like this, though.”
“You were going to ask her where she lives,” Trixie pointed out.
“Yeah, but I was planning on telling her that I got stuck with a journalism assignment to interview her for an article we’re doing next month in time for Founders Day. This is different. I told you. My family refuses to even talk about the pact or anything related to it. If they think I’m nosing around again, they’ll do whatever they can to shut me down. Grounding is not out of the realm of possibility, even if I did turn eighteen a few weeks ago.”
“Okay. Fine. Let’s just go to the historical society and do some research and then we’ll catch up with the others at the meeting.”
He gave her a long, measured look. “I know you’re feeling frustrated, Trixie. Believe me. I’ve felt this way for as long as I can remember. I’ll… I’ll see if I can figure out how to work Ms. Macy into a conversation with my mom tonight, okay?”
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
“Lester. Trixie. You’re early. Please come in.” The professor stepped back and beckoned them through the door, a welcoming smile on his face.
“Yeah. Sorry about showing up before the meeting starts,” Trixie said apologetically. “How are you feeling?”
“Better. Thank you. I cancelled my classes through Wednesday, but I probably didn’t really need that much time off.”
“It’s not a bad idea to take it easy,” she told him seriously. “Dan said you must’ve hit your head pretty hard to be out cold for a long as you were.”
“Yes. Well. I do hate to feel like I’m not meeting my obligations to my students, though I suppose they appreciate the unexpected holiday. Ah, I thought we could assemble in the den tonight? I’ve got a fire going and some sodas in the fridge. Would you like something to drink now?”
“Nothing for me, thanks,” Lester said. “We just grabbed a bite at the Subway near the campus.”
“I’m good, too,” Trixie told him. “Thank you.”
“All right. Well, why don’t we have a seat and we can talk while we wait for the others.”
“We tried to talk to Philip Macy’s mother after school,” Trixie said as they followed the professor down a short hallway.
“Oh?”
“Yeah. Didn’t go very well. How much did Dan tell you when he called about what happened to us last night?”
“He said you’d met a young Macy who claimed to have been killed and you thought perhaps it might have something to do with what happened when your families made their pact. He also told me that Macy was insistent about staying around, though you attempted to convince him otherwise.”
“The whole thing is… off. I can’t explain it. I just-“
“Have a feeling?”
“Yeah. And then I thought there was something hinky about Bart Macy claiming to be Stella Macy’s brother, because Macy would be her married name, only Lester reminded me that I’m way behind on the modern family, because it didn’t even occur to me that she coulda had Philip out of wedlock, or married but kept her family name for herself and her son.” She paused as she saw the odd look on the professor’s face. “Do you know something about that somehow?” she asked after a moment. “Because Stella wouldn’t talk to us.”
“Ah… no. I’m sorry. I don’t know any more about the Macy family than what Lester’s told us. I was only thinking. I… my own mother never married. I don’t actually know anything about my father. Not even his name. Perhaps that’s something I share in common with Philip Macy.”
Trixie sank down on the leather sofa that faced the fireplace. “Families,” she said softly. “It all seems to come down to families.” She raised her head to look at the professor. “I know you’ve probably been wondering how I knew you were in trouble… How I knew to send Dan and the ambulance to help you.”
“Dan said you had a dream.”
“Yes. In my dream, I saw you lying injured at Lisgard House. But that’s not all I saw. I… it’s so hard to explain, but I was Sarah. On her wedding day. And she really didn’t want to marry Luke Sligo. She was scared to death of him. Plus? She was already pregnant with her son. He wasn’t Luke’s. He was John Mundy’s.”
Lester’s head snapped around. “What?”
“Yeah. Apparently we’re distantly related. When Sarah married Luke, John was already dead. I don’t know what exactly happened to him, but I think… I think Luke may have had something to do with that. Sarah was very scared for her baby because of him. She knew Luke wouldn’t tell anyone that her son wasn’t his, because of pride, but she was scared he might try to hurt him.”
“So the first child was Sarah and John’s, but the second, the girl born less than a year after the boy… she must have been Luke’s daughter.”
“They were half-siblings,” Trixie confirmed with a nod. “And we still don’t know what became of that branch of the family. See? Like I said, this all seems to come down to families. We went to the historical society this afternoon to dig through more records. We didn’t find anything really useful. Other than the accounts of the night Sarah died, there doesn’t seem to be much of anything about the Sligos or what became of them, or the baby girl… there are so many missing pieces still!”
Professor Lee eyed her sympathetically. “This is terribly aggravating, I know. Have you considered asking anyone in your own family? I know you’ve been trying to keep everything under wraps, but perhaps it’s time to see what they could tell you?”
“My grandparents on my father’s side are both dead. My grandmother died before I was born and my grandfather died when I was ten. I don’t know what or how much my dad or my uncles know. I guess there’s always Aunt Alicia.”
“Aunt Alicia?”
“She’s my great-aunt. My grandfather’s younger sister. She never married and now she lives in a retirement home in White Plains. I could go see her. Though, well, she’s kinda daft.”
“Alzheimer’s?” The professor suggested. “That does awful things to a person.”
“Huh? Oh, no. She’s not losing her memory or anything. She’s just… batty. Says the nuttiest things. She once told me she was one of President Kennedy’s mistresses. I can ask her about our family history, but who knows if we can count on anything she tells me as being reliable.”
“President Kennedy’s mistress,” Professor Lee murmured. “Goodness.”
“I know, right?” Trixie said with a chuckle. “She also claims that she knows where to find a cave of pirate treasure somewhere along the Hudson. She’s a trip.”
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
“So… we’ve all got our plans for tomorrow at least,” Professor Lee said, looking around the room. “Trixie, you and Honey will visit your aunt after school. Mart and Dan will go to Lisgard House for office hours again, but first make another try at tracking down Vernon.”
“I’m not completely convinced he wasn’t at his cottage this afternoon,” Dan muttered grimly. “And ignoring us when we tried to find him. But we’ll give it another shot. We need to know everything he knows.”
“Lester and I will see what we can learn about the Macy family, and in particular Bart Macy, by visiting the newspaper archives.”
“And that leaves me,” Di said glumly. “I can’t skip cheerleading practice like Honey, since I’m the captain, but I want to help somehow.”
“Would you be willing to do some unusual shopping for us?” Mart asked her.
“What do you mean?”
“I have a list of things I need. Probably most of it you could find at The Crescent Moon, but I think, in light of what happened today with Trixie and Lester and Stella Macy, it might be a good idea if we tried not to call attention to ourselves by going there. There’s no reason for Philip to suspect you of anything, though. If he even asks, you could say it’s for the Halloween bash this weekend.”
“Sure! I could do that.” She smiled widely at him, clearly happy to have the opportunity to contribute in some fashion.
Ten minutes later, they were gathered outside the professor’s small duplex, deciding who would ride in which vehicle. Lester bid them a quick good night, promising to meet the professor downtown the following afternoon. He drove off as Honey used her key fob to unlock her car’s doors. “Di? You want a lift with me?”
Dan slung his arm around Trixie’s shoulders. “C’mon, Freckles. I’ll take you and Mart home,” he offered. “We hardly saw each other today. This’ll at least give us a few minutes to talk… as long as you promise no more singing Katy Perry songs.”
Trixie pushed him back and regarded him with her brows raised in challenge. “Or what?” she demanded. She didn’t bother to wait for a response.
“I got the eye of the tiger, a fighter
Dancing through the fire
'Cause I am the champion, and you're gonna hear me roar,
Louder, louder than a lion
'Cause I am a champion, and you're gonna hear me roar!”
This time, she was perfectly on-key. Laughing, Dan grabbed her for another hug. “I love you,” he said. His laughter grew even heartier at the wide-eyed, speechless look she gave him in return.
“You are my angel! I knew it the moment I saw you. We’re soul mates. Destiny!”
Trixie stared at the dark-haired boy. “Well, that would kinda suck,” she told him with a low chuckle. “Seeing as how you’re dead.”
“Death doesn’t matter! We belong together.”
“Dude. Quit hitting on my sister and tell us what you need. The bell is gonna ring any minute now and I don’t want to risk a detention with Mrs. Jackson. She warned me not to be late again this quarter.” Mart shoved his hand through his hair, knowing it was already sticking up in odd angles. “Big picture here. Sum it up for us.”
“What I need is here with me now… this vision of beauty before me.”
“Oh, good lord,” Trixie grumbled. “Spare me.”
Mart rolled his eyes. The letters he answered for Miss Lonelyhearts were nothing compared to dealing with lovesick ghosts. “Yeah. Consider her spoken for, Conner. So, if you-“
“Spoken for?” Conner’s expression shifted from adoring to thunderous. “Spoken for! Who? Where is he? Where is this… loser who thinks he can come between me and the woman I love?”
“Crap,” Trixie muttered as she felt a breeze pick up. Leaves suddenly lifted from the ground, swirling around like a small tornado. Her math textbook cover flew open and several pages ripped from the binding. She glanced around quickly. So far, none of the other students in the quad were paying any notice, but she knew they only had seconds to prevent another disaster like the Homecoming dance. “Conner! Stop!” She stepped closer to him, eyes wide. “You’re right. He’s… uh, a loser. He’s nothing. How could he possibly compare to you?”
“Sis?”
Trixie turned to her brother. “No. Conner’s right. We belong together. It would be useless to deny what’s in our hearts.”
“Have you finally cracked? For real?”
“Oh, don’t be silly! I’m not cracked,” she said, batting her lashes dramatically at the ghost next to her. “Conner and I are in love, Mart. Can’t you see it? I haven’t felt even a little like this since… since my horrible crush on Ben Riker, and… well, that was nothing to how I feel now.”
Mart’s brow furrowed, but he slowly nodded. He’d understood her message. She wasn’t under some strange spell or possessed by another spirit. This was definitely an act, though he wasn’t sure exactly what her plan was. He could only hope she really did know what she was doing.
The first bell rang and Trixie bent down to scoop up her book, scattered papers, and folder. “Thanks for the homework help, Mart, but it’s time to go. Come on, Conner. Since you don’t have any classes you have to attend, you can come with me to all of mine. We can spend our whole day together.”
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Trixie walked into the cafeteria, wondering how much more she could take of the swooning boy at her side. She forced a smile to her face. It was time to up her game. She spotted the other Bob-Whites at a table near the center of the room, and made her way toward them.
“Sis?” Mart asked, with a significant look in Conner’s direction.
“Yes, brother dear?”
“You’re still… together?”
Honey and Di exchanged glances and remained quiet, but Dan glowered at the hovering ghost. “Look, dude. I don’t care-“
“Dan!” Trixie said sharply. “This is my very own true love! I expect you to treat him with the respect he deserves.”
Dan frowned at her, but fell silent. She sat down and patted the bench. “Right here, Conner. Now, I’m thinking a June wedding.”
“June wedding?” Conner echoed uncertainly.
“Well, yes. Every girl wants to be a June bride. I know we’re still young. Well, I am anyway, but why wait? We know we’re going to be together forever and ever and ever. It’s like Twilight, only with ghosts instead of vampires. I realize that I’m going to grow old and grey and wrinkly before I die, but that doesn’t matter at all. Not when we have a love like ours. Looks are nothing! We’ll be together for as long as I live, and then not even death will separate us. It’s so romantic!”
She had to avoid looking directly at her friends. She heard a low snicker she was fairly certain came from Di, and she knew, it she met any of their gazes, she’d never be able to maintain a straight face. She unfolded her lunch bag and pulled out her turkey sandwich. “So,” she continued. “A June wedding. We’ll play only Katy Perry songs at our reception. Don’t you just love Katy Perry? I’m her like biggest ever fan!”
“I… we could…” Conner trailed off as he seemed to struggle for any kind of coherent response.
“’Cause, baby, you're a firework.
Come on, show 'em what you're worth.
Make 'em go, "Aah, aah, aah,"
As you shoot across the sky-y-y…”
Trixie sang loudly, and very deliberately off-key. She cut herself off and clasped her hands together, beaming at Conner. “We should get a cottage, by the Hudson. It’ll be perfect! Just you and me and Mother-“
“Mother?” Conner’s voice came out in a high-pitched squeak.
“Well, of course. You don’t expect me to leave my poor mother all alone?”
“You have a brother,” he said quickly, pointing at Mart.
“Don’t be a silly goose, Cuddly Umpkins! A mother always goes to live with her daughter, not her son. Surely you know this.”
He looked around the table almost desperately. Dan nodded, smirking. “Always, dude,” he said with a certain amount of relish as he took in Conner’s squeamish expression.
“I.. uh…”
“We’re going to need to figure out how you’ll be able to get a job. As the man of the house, of course it will be your responsibility to support Mother and me. Hmmm. This may be a challenge, since you’re dead, but we’ll think of something. Love will prevail. Oh, Conner! Just imagine. Together. Forever!”
Conner suddenly slid away from the table. He shook his head rapidly as he took several steps back. “I… uh…”
“What is it, Pookie Bear? Are you all right?”
“I think… on reflection, that… No. I am sorry to say this, but I’ve come to realize that you and I will not work out.”
“What?” Trixie cried. She drew in a shaky breath and pushed out her lower lip in an exaggerated pout greater than even her baby brother had ever managed during his worst temper tantrums. “Whatever could you mean? We’re destiny!”
“No. I… I was clearly mistaken about that.”
“But I love you, Honey Smoochems! No one will ever love you as much as I do!”
“I’ll have to take that risk.”
“No! I won’t let you break up with me! I won’t! No one else can even see you! I’ll follow you, no matter where you go or what you do! We’re meant for each other. You said so yourself. You can’t go back on your word! We’ll be together forever. You can’t get away from me… at least, not as long as you’re still on this plane of existence.”
Conner straightened, an arrested look on his face. “As long as I’m still on this plane of existence,” he whispered to himself. With a sharp nod and visibly relieved smile, he faded away.
Trixie slumped down, exhaling heavily. “Holy frankfurters! I was really starting to worry that wasn’t gonna work for a minute there.”
“I don’t know whether to be totally proud of you or absolutely terrified, Freckles,” Dan said with a crooked grin. “That was really some performance.”
“Ha. At least he’s gone now.” She turned her attention to Di. “Are you coming to our meeting tonight with the professor?”
“Yeah. I want to be in on whatever plans you make, plus I still really want to meet this guy.”
“Okay. Good. I saw Lester this morning but I couldn’t ask him anything about this afternoon with Conner lurking at my shoulder. I was afraid he’d get all freaky jealous if I asked Lester to go somewhere with me.”
“I’ve got him in sixth period,” Mart said. “I’ll talk to him then.”
“Thanks, Bro.” Trixie flashed him a brief smile. “Hopefully he’s free and we can go see Mrs. Macy while you guys take office hours. After spending all morning with Conner? I don’t feel remotely guilty about sticking you with ghost duty today.”
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Trixie tapped her phone screen and scrolled down a page. “I really hope Mrs. Macy’s address is publicly listed,” she murmured as she waited for Lester to unlock his car. “Because I don’t know if Philip Macy would be willing to simply tell us where she lives.”
“If you can’t find her through Google, I’ll give my mom a call. She seems to know where everyone in Sleepyside lives. It’s kinda weird actually.”
“Hmm. There’s a Philip Macy living on 5th Street, but I don’t see anyone who could be Mrs. Macy… oh, crap.”
“What?”
“Philip’s mom.”
“Yeah?”
“Mrs. Macy?”
“Uh, yeah?”
“If that’s her married name, then… how could she be Bart Macy’s sister? Crap. Crap. Crap. Did he lie to us? Dangit! There was something about him that was bothering me all last night and today. I just didn’t put it together.”
Lester stopped and leaned up against his open car door. “Well, he may have lied about… anything,” he pointed out, “but there is a possible explanation I can think of, as far as the names go.”
“What?”
“Maybe she’s not married,” he said with a small shrug. “Maybe she never married Philip’s dad. Or maybe she did but kept her family name and passed it to Philip. Maybe she’s Ms. Macy.”
“Like Sarah’s kids,” Trixie muttered thoughtfully. “Being raised as Beldens, not Sligos.”
“Yeah. I guess. Some people take a lot of pride in family names. Especially families like ours that go back as far as they do. My dad’s eldest sister kept her maiden name after she married.”
“It all comes back to that, doesn’t it. Families and family names. Mundys and Beldens and Macys. Do you think Ms. Macy lives with her son? Should we try this address?”
“We can start there. 5th Street is only a few blocks from here. If no one’s home, we’ll call my mom and see what she says.”
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
“Um… Ms. Macy?” Trixie asked hesitantly, studying the skeletal woman through the closed screen door. She wore a brightly patterned skirt, loose-fitting peasant blouse, and her thin, grey hair was partially covered by a dark red scarf. All that was missing, Trixie thought sardonically, was a huge gold hoop in one ear and the Hollywood version of a gypsy would be complete.
“Yes? I am Stella Macy. Are you two looking for a reading?”
Trixie glanced at the hand-painted sign in the front window advertising Tarot and palm readings. “No, ma’am. Not today, thank you.”
“Well, if you’re selling something, we don’t buy-“
“We aren’t selling anything.”
“Then may I ask what you do want?”
“We’d like to talk to you. About your brother. Bart.”
The woman’s eyes narrowed. “Who are you children?”
Trixie glanced questioningly at Lester and he gave a small nod. “I’m Trixie Belden, ma’am. This is my friend. Lester Mundy.”
With a strangled gasp, Stella stepped back and slammed her door.
“Okay. Wasn’t expecting that,” Trixie muttered.
“Mundys and Beldens and Macys,” Lester said quietly. “Apparently the answer to ‘What’s in a name?’ is… everything.”
Just as they were turning to leave, the door unexpectedly opened again. “What game are you children playing?” Stella demanded as she pushed open her screen and stepped out onto the porch. “What is the meaning of coming here and speaking to me about my poor, dead brother?”
“We didn’t mean to offend you, ma’am,” Trixie said sincerely. “We just… we were hoping you could give us some information. How did Bart die?”
“How did he die? How did he die?” Stella turned and spat in the bushes that ran along the front of her house. “Your families! They killed him!” She lifted a hand and pointed one bony finger in their direction. “I curse you!”
Lester stepped back, taking Trixie’s arm and pulling her with him. “Right. We’re leaving. Now.”
Trixie didn’t resist as Lester hurried her to his car. She clambered into the passenger seat and waited for him to get behind the wheel and start the engine. “That was… creepy,” she said with a shudder.
“Did you feel anything?”
“Huh?”
He turned to look at her intently. “Did you feel anything? Trixie, I told you, we Mundys are merely practicing Wiccans. We don’t have near the power you do. I have no idea about the Macys. I’ve always had the impression they’re just charlatans, but… did she really curse us? Can you tell?”
“I… I don’t know. I… no, I didn’t feel anything, beyond being generally wigged out by the crazy eye she was giving us.”
Lester slowly exhaled. “We’re probably okay, then. But it wouldn’t hurt to do a quick counter spell.”
“Do you know one?”
“Yeah. Let’s… get out of here, though. I’d rather not be sitting in front of her house and give her another chance to try again.”
“Head downtown. If we aren’t going to get any information from Bart’s sister, then I want to see if we can find something in the newspaper archives. I already wanted to know what happened, but now I want to know even more, since she just accused our families of murder.”
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Trixie stared at the sign on the door explaining that the Sleepyside Sun offices were closed for the day. “This keeps happening,” she murmured with a heavy frown.
“The newspaper office keeps closing?” Lester asked doubtfully.
“No. I mean, I dunno. Maybe that, too. I just meant… every time we think we’re going to get somewhere, something happens to stop us. We keep making plans that get derailed. At first, I thought it was coincidence, but now I’m not so sure. It’s like… it’s like something is actively working against us, keeping us in the dark. Ugh! Well, this was a bust, too.”
“Now what do you want to do?”
She huffed out an exasperated breath. “The historical society. Let’s head over there. Also, you said your mom knows a lot about people in this town?”
“Well, I don’t know how much she knows about them, but she always does seem to know where they live and work.”
“Would she be able to tell you whether or not you’re right that Stella Macy never married or at least never took her husband’s name?”
“I could ask… She kinda gets a little cagey whenever I ask about stuff like this, though.”
“You were going to ask her where she lives,” Trixie pointed out.
“Yeah, but I was planning on telling her that I got stuck with a journalism assignment to interview her for an article we’re doing next month in time for Founders Day. This is different. I told you. My family refuses to even talk about the pact or anything related to it. If they think I’m nosing around again, they’ll do whatever they can to shut me down. Grounding is not out of the realm of possibility, even if I did turn eighteen a few weeks ago.”
“Okay. Fine. Let’s just go to the historical society and do some research and then we’ll catch up with the others at the meeting.”
He gave her a long, measured look. “I know you’re feeling frustrated, Trixie. Believe me. I’ve felt this way for as long as I can remember. I’ll… I’ll see if I can figure out how to work Ms. Macy into a conversation with my mom tonight, okay?”
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
“Lester. Trixie. You’re early. Please come in.” The professor stepped back and beckoned them through the door, a welcoming smile on his face.
“Yeah. Sorry about showing up before the meeting starts,” Trixie said apologetically. “How are you feeling?”
“Better. Thank you. I cancelled my classes through Wednesday, but I probably didn’t really need that much time off.”
“It’s not a bad idea to take it easy,” she told him seriously. “Dan said you must’ve hit your head pretty hard to be out cold for a long as you were.”
“Yes. Well. I do hate to feel like I’m not meeting my obligations to my students, though I suppose they appreciate the unexpected holiday. Ah, I thought we could assemble in the den tonight? I’ve got a fire going and some sodas in the fridge. Would you like something to drink now?”
“Nothing for me, thanks,” Lester said. “We just grabbed a bite at the Subway near the campus.”
“I’m good, too,” Trixie told him. “Thank you.”
“All right. Well, why don’t we have a seat and we can talk while we wait for the others.”
“We tried to talk to Philip Macy’s mother after school,” Trixie said as they followed the professor down a short hallway.
“Oh?”
“Yeah. Didn’t go very well. How much did Dan tell you when he called about what happened to us last night?”
“He said you’d met a young Macy who claimed to have been killed and you thought perhaps it might have something to do with what happened when your families made their pact. He also told me that Macy was insistent about staying around, though you attempted to convince him otherwise.”
“The whole thing is… off. I can’t explain it. I just-“
“Have a feeling?”
“Yeah. And then I thought there was something hinky about Bart Macy claiming to be Stella Macy’s brother, because Macy would be her married name, only Lester reminded me that I’m way behind on the modern family, because it didn’t even occur to me that she coulda had Philip out of wedlock, or married but kept her family name for herself and her son.” She paused as she saw the odd look on the professor’s face. “Do you know something about that somehow?” she asked after a moment. “Because Stella wouldn’t talk to us.”
“Ah… no. I’m sorry. I don’t know any more about the Macy family than what Lester’s told us. I was only thinking. I… my own mother never married. I don’t actually know anything about my father. Not even his name. Perhaps that’s something I share in common with Philip Macy.”
Trixie sank down on the leather sofa that faced the fireplace. “Families,” she said softly. “It all seems to come down to families.” She raised her head to look at the professor. “I know you’ve probably been wondering how I knew you were in trouble… How I knew to send Dan and the ambulance to help you.”
“Dan said you had a dream.”
“Yes. In my dream, I saw you lying injured at Lisgard House. But that’s not all I saw. I… it’s so hard to explain, but I was Sarah. On her wedding day. And she really didn’t want to marry Luke Sligo. She was scared to death of him. Plus? She was already pregnant with her son. He wasn’t Luke’s. He was John Mundy’s.”
Lester’s head snapped around. “What?”
“Yeah. Apparently we’re distantly related. When Sarah married Luke, John was already dead. I don’t know what exactly happened to him, but I think… I think Luke may have had something to do with that. Sarah was very scared for her baby because of him. She knew Luke wouldn’t tell anyone that her son wasn’t his, because of pride, but she was scared he might try to hurt him.”
“So the first child was Sarah and John’s, but the second, the girl born less than a year after the boy… she must have been Luke’s daughter.”
“They were half-siblings,” Trixie confirmed with a nod. “And we still don’t know what became of that branch of the family. See? Like I said, this all seems to come down to families. We went to the historical society this afternoon to dig through more records. We didn’t find anything really useful. Other than the accounts of the night Sarah died, there doesn’t seem to be much of anything about the Sligos or what became of them, or the baby girl… there are so many missing pieces still!”
Professor Lee eyed her sympathetically. “This is terribly aggravating, I know. Have you considered asking anyone in your own family? I know you’ve been trying to keep everything under wraps, but perhaps it’s time to see what they could tell you?”
“My grandparents on my father’s side are both dead. My grandmother died before I was born and my grandfather died when I was ten. I don’t know what or how much my dad or my uncles know. I guess there’s always Aunt Alicia.”
“Aunt Alicia?”
“She’s my great-aunt. My grandfather’s younger sister. She never married and now she lives in a retirement home in White Plains. I could go see her. Though, well, she’s kinda daft.”
“Alzheimer’s?” The professor suggested. “That does awful things to a person.”
“Huh? Oh, no. She’s not losing her memory or anything. She’s just… batty. Says the nuttiest things. She once told me she was one of President Kennedy’s mistresses. I can ask her about our family history, but who knows if we can count on anything she tells me as being reliable.”
“President Kennedy’s mistress,” Professor Lee murmured. “Goodness.”
“I know, right?” Trixie said with a chuckle. “She also claims that she knows where to find a cave of pirate treasure somewhere along the Hudson. She’s a trip.”
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
“So… we’ve all got our plans for tomorrow at least,” Professor Lee said, looking around the room. “Trixie, you and Honey will visit your aunt after school. Mart and Dan will go to Lisgard House for office hours again, but first make another try at tracking down Vernon.”
“I’m not completely convinced he wasn’t at his cottage this afternoon,” Dan muttered grimly. “And ignoring us when we tried to find him. But we’ll give it another shot. We need to know everything he knows.”
“Lester and I will see what we can learn about the Macy family, and in particular Bart Macy, by visiting the newspaper archives.”
“And that leaves me,” Di said glumly. “I can’t skip cheerleading practice like Honey, since I’m the captain, but I want to help somehow.”
“Would you be willing to do some unusual shopping for us?” Mart asked her.
“What do you mean?”
“I have a list of things I need. Probably most of it you could find at The Crescent Moon, but I think, in light of what happened today with Trixie and Lester and Stella Macy, it might be a good idea if we tried not to call attention to ourselves by going there. There’s no reason for Philip to suspect you of anything, though. If he even asks, you could say it’s for the Halloween bash this weekend.”
“Sure! I could do that.” She smiled widely at him, clearly happy to have the opportunity to contribute in some fashion.
Ten minutes later, they were gathered outside the professor’s small duplex, deciding who would ride in which vehicle. Lester bid them a quick good night, promising to meet the professor downtown the following afternoon. He drove off as Honey used her key fob to unlock her car’s doors. “Di? You want a lift with me?”
Dan slung his arm around Trixie’s shoulders. “C’mon, Freckles. I’ll take you and Mart home,” he offered. “We hardly saw each other today. This’ll at least give us a few minutes to talk… as long as you promise no more singing Katy Perry songs.”
Trixie pushed him back and regarded him with her brows raised in challenge. “Or what?” she demanded. She didn’t bother to wait for a response.
“I got the eye of the tiger, a fighter
Dancing through the fire
'Cause I am the champion, and you're gonna hear me roar,
Louder, louder than a lion
'Cause I am a champion, and you're gonna hear me roar!”
This time, she was perfectly on-key. Laughing, Dan grabbed her for another hug. “I love you,” he said. His laughter grew even heartier at the wide-eyed, speechless look she gave him in return.
