Monday evening, 23rd December
Diana Belden walked at a slow pace through the small apartment she shared with her husband, setting things straight as she passed them. In a few minutes, the rest of the Bob-Whites would be arriving and she wanted the place to look as attractive as possible. From the bedroom, she could hear Mart making last minute preparations of a different kind.
The doorbell rang and she went to answer it, finding there a laughing, cheerful crowd. All five of their friends had arrived together and she threw the door open, urging them inside.
“Is Mart ready to go?” Brian asked, seeming a little anxious.
“I think so,” she answered, between greeting the other newcomers. “He was almost finished packing his bag when I last looked.”
Honey placed her overnight bag and Trixie’s together in a corner. “You’ve got plenty of time,” she soothed her boyfriend. “Why don’t we sit down for a few minutes. It’ll probably be the last chance we have until after Christmas.”
As Brian nodded a reluctant approval, Di breathed a sigh of relief and eased her pregnant frame into a chair. At almost the same moment, Mart appeared in the doorway of the bedroom, a look of concern on his face as he observed his wife.
“Maybe I shouldn’t be going,” he fretted. “Diana, my love, are you sure you’ll be all right?”
Di smiled at him. “I’ll be fine. I’m not due for three more months, Honey and Trixie will be here with me and you’ll be back tomorrow night.”
“And she doesn’t really need both of us,” Trixie chimed in. “I could go with you and help with the clean-up.”
A little more than an hour earlier, Jim had heard from an old college friend, who had come home from work to find a disaster awaiting him. The friend, Steve, was a recent graduate who was living in his grandparents’ home while they travelled extensively through Europe and Asia. In the time since Steve left for work that morning, their usually neat house had been defaced by some kind of green goo. Jim had at once volunteered to help with the clean-up effort; when the rest of the Bob-Whites heard about it, they offered to join him.
“You know why you’re not coming,” Jim reminded her.
Trixie rolled her eyes. “Yes, I’m being sacrificed to my lame-brained brother’s insecurities.”
“I’ll have you know–” Mart began, in indignant tones.
Jim overrode him. “Your work here is just as important at the work we’ll be doing.”
“In any case, I’ll stay here like a good girl and look after Di.” Trixie gave each of the young men a stern look. “You’d better all be back where you’re supposed to be in time for Christmas, though, or there’ll be trouble.”
“I think Trixie wants something particular for Christmas,” Dan mused, narrowing his eyes. “I wonder what it is.”
“An engagement ring,” Di guessed.
Trixie gasped. “No! I am nineteen years old. I need time to enjoy myself before settling down. Just because other people present thought it would be a good idea to get married doesn’t mean I’m going to follow them.”
Honey turned aside to speak to Di. “I hope Jim got that message. I wouldn’t want him to be disappointed.”
Jim grinned. “Message received, loud and clear. Repeatedly. Ever since Mart and Di announced their engagement. And at least twice a week since they told us they were expecting.”
“Real subtle, Trix,” Dan quipped. “So, what is it you really want?”
“Like I’m going to tell you,” she grumbled.
“She wants what she always wants: a mystery,” Honey suggested.
“I know a mystery,” Dan told Honey. He leaned closer and whispered it into her ear.
Honey’s expression shifted from curiosity to outrage to suppressed laughter. “Uh, I don’t think she wants to solve that one, Dan.”
He shrugged. “Her loss.”
“Being married isn’t all that bad,” Di argued, rather belatedly. “Aside from one or two hiccups, it’s working out really well.”
Trixie’s eyes widened. “Just look at the state you’re in. I don’t call that a hiccup.”
A bashful smile graced Diana’s face as she contemplated the place where her waist used to be. “So, it was a bit of a miscalculation. I do get things mixed up sometimes. You know that.”
Trixie giggled. “A miscalculation? Di, you’re having twins! That’s a lot more serious than just getting your words mixed up.”
“It depends on which words you’re talking about.” Di suppressed a smile. “There are some words that can get you in a lot of trouble if you mix them up. You know, like ‘adulthood’ and ‘adultery.’ Those aren’t interchangeable.”
Brian frowned and looked pointedly at his watch. “I really think we should get on the road.”
Mart at once turned a worried look on his wife. Trixie ignored him, instead throwing her arms around Jim’s neck and kissing him. Diana grabbed Mart’s hand and pulled him towards herself.
“It’ll be okay,” she whispered, as he sat on the arm of her chair. “I’ll be just fine. You go and help.”
He nodded and kissed her. By the time the kiss ended, the others were all watching and waiting for him.
“If you’re quite finished,” Brian softened his words with a smile, “can we leave now?”
Mart considered the matter for a moment, then nodded. “I think so.”
The other three men hurried him outside, telling the three women to stay inside where it was warm. The door closed behind them and Di let out a sigh.
“I’m kind of glad that they’re gone, but I’m worried about Mart. He’s going to spend the whole time worrying about me, isn’t he?”
Trixie snorted. “I don’t know where you got that idea.”
“Maybe he’ll settle down when there’s a little distance between you,” Honey soothed. “He really did seem the worst when he was actually looking at you.”
“Yeah, and seeing how I look, it’s not surprising,” Di answered. “Just look at me! I look like I’m ready to have them any minute.”
Trixie laughed. “Half the town is already convinced that you only got married because your father went after Mart with his shotgun.”
“Don’t be ridiculous,” Di answered, with a glint of laughter in her eyes. “My father doesn’t even have a shotgun. He’d rather go bowling than go hunting.”
Her friend rolled her eyes. “You know what I mean.”
“Well, it wasn’t like that.” Di frowned at her distended belly. “No matter what it looks like, these two were conceived after the wedding and they’re staying in there until full term, let me tell you.”
“I’m not sure you’ll get a choice on that, Di,” Honey told her, in gentle tones. “I’m not sure how much more room there is in there.”
“You mean, I’m huge.” Di let out a dramatic sigh.
“I mean you have a small frame and you have two babies in there,” Honey corrected, giving her arm a gentle pat. “You’re too tiny to carry them much longer, Di.”
Di shrugged. “I’ve seen pictures of my mother, from before I was born, and she was about the same size as me. She carried two sets of twins to full term and I will, too.”
“You mean you’re going to do this again?” Trixie demanded, aghast. “I think if I ever found out I was having twins I’d run away from home.”
“Before they were born?” Honey asked, giggling. “I can see how that would help.”
Di shook her head at the pair of them. “I meant that I was going to carry this set of twins to term, not that I was going to go back and have another set of twins, which I’m not. One set of twins is definitely enough.”
“One set is too many, if you ask me.” Trixie shuddered. “I think, if there were twins in my family, I’d be seriously thinking about whether to have any kids at all.”
“I thought we’d already established that Mart and I didn’t do this on purpose,” Di answered, frowning. “It was a surprise. Well, more of a shock, really. We did take precautions, you know.”
“Please don’t tell me about them,” Trixie moaned.
“I wasn’t going to,” her friend assured her, trying not to laugh. “I just meant that this was just one of those things. You can’t plan for something that’s completely out of the blue.”
As Trixie was trying to think of a counter-argument, Di let out a wide yawn.
“I have a feeling that this isn’t going to be like our sleepovers used to be,” Honey noted, effectively changing the subject. “We’ll have to go to bed nice and early tonight.”
Di looked regretful. “You two can stay up, if you like, so long as you don’t make too much noise. I think I’ll be going to bed in the next half-hour or so. I’m… so… tired.” The last few words were interrupted by another yawn.
Honey smiled. “We’ll be quiet, I promise.”
A couple of hours later, the four men arrived at their destination and Steve showed them to the room where they would be staying. It was set out as a living area, with two sofa beds and one regular sofa.
“I’m sorry it’s not more comfortable,” Steve told them. “I’ve already got the guest room and the spare bedroom filled up with elderly relatives and I can’t ask them to sleep on sofas.”
“It’s fine,” Jim assured him. “We’re the ones who are imposing ourselves on you.”
Steve did not seem comforted, but he left them to their preparations.
Dan glanced at the three sofas. “I think I’ll take that one. Which ones do you want, Brian? Jim?”
Mart looked up from his phone in confusion. “Hey! What about me?”
“You won’t mind sleeping on the floor, will you, Mart?” Dan asked, looking sly.
“I’d rather share with someone than sleep on the floor,” Mart argued.
“Great! A volunteer for sharing,” Dan answered, sitting down on the regular sofa. “Who wants to share with him?”
Jim and Brian shared a glance, then each grabbed Dan by an arm.
“You,” Brian informed him, “are just the man for the job.”
Dan shook his head. “You’ve got to be kidding, right? He’ll probably try to put an arm around me in the night.”
“Maybe you should have thought of that earlier,” Jim suggested. “I think it’s all settled now.”
Dan made one last show of resistance, but then gave in to his fate.
Brian also set to work at once, arranging his things where he could find them. He looked askance at his brother, who instead had gone back to fiddling with his phone.
“Have you considered getting ready for bed?” Brian wondered. “It’s going to be a long day tomorrow and it’s going to start early.”
Mart frowned. “I just need to text Di and let her know we’ve arrived safely. I don’t want her to be worrying about us. And I want to hear from her, to know that she’s okay. She hasn’t replied to any of my last three texts.”
Dan glanced at his watch and shook his head. Both Brian and Jim shrugged and kept at their tasks. By the time Mart was satisfied with the wording of his message and had hit send, the other three had all gone off to clean their teeth. He grumbled a little to himself as he got to work, checking the phone every minute or two in case he had somehow missed the sound of an incoming text. The others returned and teased him a little about being slow.
By the time that Mart was ready for bed, the other three were all settling down for the night. Quiet descended on the room, but still Mart would not let go of his obsession. He checked his phone again, making sure that he still had a strong signal and that there were no missed calls or messages of any kind.
“It’s been nearly fifteen minutes since I sent the text and she hasn’t replied,” he noted. “Maybe I should give her a call.”
“Maybe you should let her rest,” Dan answered. “It’s nearly eleven. She’s probably in bed.”
“I shouldn’t have left her.”
“She’s going to be just fine,” Jim assured him. “Now, how about we get some sleep ourselves? Morning’s going to come soon around here.”
Mart gazed at the phone for a few more moments, then nodded his assent. The four men settled down for the night.
After fifteen minutes of tossing and turning, Mart let out a loud sigh.
“Will you quit moping and get to sleep,” Dan grumbled. “Or at least lie still and be quiet?”
“Some friend you are,” Mart muttered. “No sympathy.”
“You don’t need sympathy,” Dan told him. “You need to go to sleep. Good night.”
Mart grunted a response, but managed to lie still. Sleep was a long time coming.
“Wakey wakey, campers! Rise and shine!” Dan announced, in ringing tones. “There’s work to be done.”
Mart glared at him from under the covers. “You are evil, you know.”
“Thank you. I try my best.” Dan smirked down at the recumbent figure. “And here, I thought you’d appreciate the wake up call so you could check for messages from the lovely Diana.”
In a flash, Mart was sitting up and snatching at the place he had left his phone, but without result.
Dan held it aloft. “Out of bed, Romeo. No telecommunications for you until you’re up and moving.”
“I’ll be up and moving you right out the door if you’d don’t give that back,” Mart threatened.
“Empty words.” Dan shook his head. “Get moving, or you won’t get any breakfast.”
“Okay, I’m up. What time is it, anyway?”
“Quarter past six, which if you ask Mr. Maypenny is positively late,” Dan answered. “Work starts at six-forty-five, so if you’re not fed by then, you miss out.”
Mart let out a stream of bad language.
“You’d better clean up your vocabulary, man,” Dan teased. “Those little ones of yours will pick up on that quick smart.”
“Like you can talk,” Mart grumbled.
Dan shrugged. “I’m not the one that Di can punish for such things.”
“Just try it, Mangan, and you’ll see that Di has ways of punishing you, too.”
His friend only laughed.
After breakfast, they split up to work. Mart and Dan decided to take on the small front porch, while Jim and Brian chose an area around the back porch as both of these were supplied with electric lights. It was still quite dark and bitterly cold, but time was short and the amount of work to do was extensive.
Overnight, the green goo had turned into something resembling green concrete. Some surfaces, like the front railings, released it with little effort, but on others it was difficult to budge. A little trial and error showed them that for most spots the only effective method involved a lot of scrubbing. Even then, some surfaces showed faint green stains.
Within about half an hour, the sun began peeking over the horizon. As the sky lightened, Mart leaned over the railing on which he was working and let out a loud groan.
“Will you look at that?” he asked. “I had no idea how much… whatever this is… there was.”
Dan joined him and they regarded the scene that was being revealed by the light of day.
“And Jim told me that Steve did a couple of hours of cleaning at the front of the house last night,” he commented. “Whoever did this…”
“Has made a real mess,” Mart finished for him. He held up a hand as his friend made to correct him. “I know; it looks like something really vindictive, but it might just have been a joke.”
“Some joke,” Dan muttered. “I’d like to get my hands on whoever they are, and it’s not even my house.”
Mart nodded agreement.
Later, after a break inside to get warmed up, they were once again working at the front of the house. Steve had more family arriving soon and had wanted the place looking as presentable as could be arranged, especially when his mother got there. He had mentioned over breakfast that he was sure she would be horrified if she saw the mess and that he wanted to spare her that, if at all possible.
Jim, Brian and Steve were going over the front yard with shovels, scraping the mess off the light covering of snow. Dan and Mart, meanwhile, had finished the porch and started on the front wall, where the goo had been splattered.
“Need some help?” a voice called from somewhere nearby.
“Are you sure?” Steve asked the newcomers. “I do have some other people due to arrive soon.”
“Ours is finished and yours…p;” The tall young man waved a hand around.
Steve sighed. “And the back is even worse. I don’t know why anyone would do this.”
“Me neither.” He shook his head. “This is Brandon, by the way. I kind of brought him home with me when he couldn’t decide which feuding relative to go to.”
Brandon shuddered visibly, before greeting everyone. Steve took the opportunity to make introductions all around.
“This is Kyle, whose parents live next door, and his sister Sophia. Their place got done, too, but not quite so badly.” He indicated the man who had first spoken, and a teenage girl with glasses. “Guys, this is Jim, who I met in college, and his friends Dan, Mart and Brian. They’ve come up for the day from Sleepyside to help.”
With more helpers, the work was redistributed and Mart and Dan ended up with Brandon. As they cleaned off the front wall, they chatted among themselves.
“So, how did you get roped in to help?” Dan asked Brandon.
The other man rubbed a hand across his goatee beard, wincing. “I was kind of thinking of staying inside, but Kyle’s parents were watching this old movie on television and it had this man… and a school… and a nun, man. And I hate nuns. So, I thought I’d come out here, where the chances of encountering any more nuns was a lot less.”
Dan avoided meeting Mart’s eyes. “Not a lot of nuns around here, no. Do you have a lot of trouble with your… uh, nun aversion?”
“Not usually,” was the answer. “Except I can’t stand stuff like The Sound of Music. Just the idea… she’s a nun and he kisses her. Even if she’s not dressed as a nun, she’s still a nun. Who would kiss a nun?”
“It depends on the nun,” Dan quipped, but apologised when the other man blanched. “Sorry. Bad taste.”
Mart, at that moment, pulled out his phone and frowned at it. “Still nothing. Where is she?”
“Asleep? Having her breakfast? In the shower?” Dan paused a moment. “I’d say something suggestive about that, only under the circumstances…”
Mart muttered something rude under his breath as he sent his wife a text.
“Mart’s suffering from a guilty conscience,” Dan explained to Brandon. “His wife is at home–”
They paused as a stranger came through the door at a rapid pace, apparently talking to someone right behind her.
“I think it’s out here,” she was saying, without watching where she was going. “I’ll just – Oh! I’m so sorry!”
Dan looked down at the girl who had just run into him. Dark blue eyes and fair skin were framed by long, straight, dark hair. Cupid’s bow lips parted slightly, making her look breathless. She had also neglected to step back.
“I don’t mind,” he answered, smiling. “This is kind of nice, actually.”
An attractive blush tinged her cheeks and she broke contact with him.
“I’m Dan.”
“I’m Candy,” she answered. “It’s nice to – uh – meet you.”
“Likewise.”
“There’s still work to do here, Mangan,” Mart grumbled. “You can continue your conversation when it’s done.”
Candy smiled and picked up a bucket of supplies that was tucked next to one of the bushes that lined the front of the house. “I’ll just take this and let you get back to it. Maybe I’ll see you later.”
“I hope so.” Dan smiled and watched her leave.
“We can’t take you anywhere without you getting distracted by a pretty girl,” Mart noted, sounding sour and grumpy. “Can’t you keep your mind on the job?”
“Can’t you keep a civil tongue in your head?” he returned. “Man, you were really rude to her.”
Mart scowled. “Not that she noticed. She was too busy ogling you.”
“What is with you?” Dan asked, while savagely throwing the scraper he held into a bucket. “You’re acting–”
“Like I’m hours away from my wife, who is expecting twins – as in two babies – and who could, conceivably, have them prematurely at any time?” Mart finished. “I’m anxious. So sue me.”
“Wife? Twins?” Brandon murmured, looking horrified. The other two paid him no mind, intent on their argument.
Dan stopped what he was doing and looked at his friend. “She’s going to be okay. The girls will take good care of her, and it’s not all that likely that she’ll have them while we’re here. We’re only here for one day.”
Mart sighed. “I know. I’m sorry. And I’m sorry I was rude.”
Dan nodded and turned back to the work.
“I could do with some coffee,” Brandon announced, some time later. “Anyone want one?”
Dan stretched his arms over his head. “Let’s go in and have a break for a few minutes.”
“Just what we were thinking,” Jim added, as he and Brian came around the side of the house. “Steve went in a little while ago to put the coffee-maker on. It should be done soon.”
As soon as they entered the kitchen, they knew that something was wrong. Steve was standing by the far wall, his jaw clenched and his posture tense. Jim walked over to him, a look of concern on his face. The others followed a few paces behind.
“What’s wrong, Steve?” Jim asked.
The other man shook his head. “What isn’t? There was fresh goo all over the back porch when I was out there just now. It was wet enough that it would come off easily, but still…” He let out a sigh. “I just wish I knew what this was all about. Why would someone do this?”
“Anything we can do to help?” Jim asked.
Steve sighed. “Not that I can think of at the moment. You’re doing plenty already.”
Jim waved the matter away. “Just let us know if there’s anything else, okay?”
Outside a little later, he broached the subject with his friends. Brandon had not rejoined them. “I think we’re going to need to come back here,” he confided. “And, I think we need some help.”
The other three nodded agreement.
“I don’t know about the rest of you, but I have no clue as to why this is happening, or who to point the finger to,” Brian added.
“We need Trixie up here,” Dan agreed. “We shouldn’t have left her at home.”
Mart bristled at this. “She’s looking after my wife. It’s an important job.”
“Well, next time, maybe you should do that yourself,” Dan answered. “Trixie would be more use here than you’ve been, stopping to check your phone every two minutes.”
Brian held up a hand to stem the argument that Mart was about to begin. “Regardless of what we’ll do later, we still have work to do. Let’s get to it and see if we can finish up before it’s time to leave.”
Mart glared at his friend for a long moment, then let out a sigh. He turned away from the others and Dan opened his mouth to comment on the phone in Mart’s hand. Jim shook his head, a clear warning written on his face. Dan replied with a grin, but soon set to work.
On Christmas night, the Bob-Whites held an emergency meeting in Mart and Di’s apartment to discuss the situation. Di had gone for a rest not long before they were due to arrive and had fallen into an exhausted sleep, so they kept the noise down so as not to awaken her.
“We need to make a decision as to how to help,” Jim told the group, after giving an overview of the problem for the benefit of those who had not been there. “I spoke to Steve about an hour ago and he told me that there’ve been several more incidents since we left, including one that he’d just finished cleaning up. I’m going back tomorrow to see what I can do. What does anyone else think?”
Dan spoke up at once, turning to Mart. “No offence, man, but you’re not coming with us this time.”
“What?” Mart looked outraged. “When have we ever excluded members from helping with group projects?”
“Loads of times,” Dan answered. “Whenever some of us couldn’t go on a trip. And even if we’d never done it before, we’re doing it now because you are not coming with us. You’re going to stay here and look after Di.”
Mart looked from one face to another. “Are the rest of you going along with this?”
Brian put on a diplomatic face. “You did spend most of yesterday worrying about her.”
“You did call, text or email her twenty-three times in less than that many hours,” Honey added. “We counted.”
“You spent all day today hovering over her until I thought she was going to scream,” Trixie contributed, “but I don’t know whether that’s an argument for or against.”
“Either way, I think the majority has spoken,” Jim concluded. “Mart, I’m afraid it’s for the best.”
Mart frowned. “I think you’ll find, Jim, that only three people spoke against my going. For a majority, it needs to be four.”
Jim turned to Trixie. “Which way do you vote?”
“He’s not coming with us,” she answered, firmly.
“I had already heard an opinion on this from Di, which means that it’s six votes for Mart staying and one vote for him coming with us. A clear majority.”
Mart’s face took on an expression not unlike that of a kicked puppy, but he voiced no objection.
“So, is everyone else coming?” Trixie asked, ignoring her brother. “I’m in. What about you, Brian? Honey? Dan?”
All three nodded their agreement.
“Yeah, I think the rest of us are in,” Dan answered. “So, what’s the plan?”
“We need a way for Trixie to be free to focus on the investigation,” Honey suggested. “If we can manage it, I could help her with that. You boys can be more help cleaning off any further goo before it freezes, or dries, or whatever it is that it does, but we’d need you to keep your eyes open for anything suspicious or unusual.”
“I think it will help to have so many of us there,” Trixie added. “That way, we can split up and keep an eye on more places at once.”
“Which means it would make more sense for me to go with you,” Mart noted, scowling.
His sister rolled her eyes. “When you went, there were only four of us, whereas without you, there’ll be five. Quit arguing, Mart. It’s your own fault that you’re not coming.”
“I still don’t see…” He broke off, on seeing the circle of frowning faces. “Fine! I’ll stay. I’ll stop arguing. I’ll stop contributing in any way. In which case, you can all leave. Good night.”
Trixie gave him a rather condescending pat on the arm and spoke as if he had not just tried to throw her out. “So, whose car will we go in and where will we meet and what time? Oh! And how long will we stay when we get there?”
“Just the one day,” Dan answered, only addressing the last question. “If you can’t solve it in that time…”
“I’ll go back by myself and finish,” she concluded for him. “I’ll have you know that I have a perfect record and I’m not going to let this case blemish it!”
They soon settled the finer details and went their separate ways, leaving Mart to sulk about his forced exclusion.
In the morning, they arrived at Steve’s place as the sun was rising over the tops of the trees. Jim, in the driver’s seat, groaned when he saw their destination.
“It looks like Steve really needs our help,” he noted. “It’s worse than it was two days ago.”
He pulled up and everyone piled out. For a few moments, they stood and stared at the mess. Large, green splatter marks marred the whole front of the house and speckled the snow on the ground. Where the first time there had been nothing so high that Dan and Mart could not reach it from the ground, this time the green goo went all the way to the eaves. It had remained there long enough already that it was set hard.
“Well, let’s get moving,” Jim suggested. “The sooner we start, the sooner it will be finished.”
The rest of the group followed him to the front door, which was soon answered, but not by Steve.
“You’re here to help?” Candy asked. “That’s great. Steve’s around the back at the moment. Come on through.”
Jim’s face fell at the implication, but he followed her and so did his friends.
“Hey, Steve. I’ve brought fresh reinforcements,” he greeted, in a more cheery voice than his mood warranted. In a few moments, he had introduced the newcomers.
“Thanks for coming, everyone,” Steve answered and introduced them to a few other people working nearby. “I don’t know how I’d do this without help – it would take weeks.”
“So, where should we get to work?” Trixie asked, glancing around at the damage here. If anything, it was even worse than the front.
A few minutes of negotiation followed, at the end of which the Bob-Whites set to work.
Trixie and Honey were given an area in the back yard to manage, while Jim, Brian and Dan went to the front with a tall ladder. After a short time, everyone else seemed to gravitate in that direction as well.
“Are we going to clean this whole side by ourselves?” Trixie poked her head around the corner of the house and saw that they were alone. “It’s not too good in terms of getting to know the suspects, but I guess this gives me a chance to examine the evidence.”
Honey poked at some of the goo with a scraper, which left no visible mark. “What is this stuff anyway?”
“No clue,” her best friend answered. She frowned, deep in thought. “How do you suppose it got up there? Did the person throw handfuls of it? Did they scoop it up with something? Did it start out being runny, or thick?”
Stepping back from the work she had already begun while Trixie was just talking, Honey looked up to observe the patterns.
“I think it looks like they threw it,” she decided. “See how there’s a big splat, with kind of droplet shapes radiating out from it? They’ve kind of oozed down a bit, but I think I can imagine what it must have looked like to start with. There’s another one over there.”
“And another, and another, and another,” Trixie added, pointing. “So, it was runny enough to ooze a bit, but not a whole lot. Ooh! What’s that?”
She bent down at the side of the house and picked up something red and shrivelled.
“A balloon?” Honey frowned, then her face cleared. “Oh! They filled balloons with goo and threw them at the house. I can see a couple more over there. I wonder why no one noticed this before.”
“We’ll have to check with the boys and see if the damage this time looks the same as last time. If not, this might be a new development,” Trixie suggested. “I’ll go do that right now.”
“Oh, no, you won’t,” Honey countermanded, grabbing her by the arm. “We’ve got another kind of work to do here first.”
Trixie’s face showed her dismay, but she acquiesced.
At the front of the house, work was progressing slowly. There being only room for one on the ladder, the others needed to find areas where they would be out of its way. In addition, a certain amount of time was wasted by those on the ground standing and watching Dan as he climbed up, arranged his supplies and tried to figure out how to clean the wall without falling off.
“You need some help up there?” Candy called to him.
He glanced down at her and smiled. “You think there’s room up here for you, too?”
She gave him a flirtatious smile. “I’m willing to try.”
He laughed and shook his head, turning back to the wall.
“Maybe we should follow his example,” Brian suggested, sharing a glance with Jim.
They each found a patch and began removing the green substance. While they worked in companionable silence, they could hear the conversations going on around them.
“Have you any idea at all who’s doing this?” Candy asked Steve, with concern evident in her voice. “Any idea at all?”
“None,” he answered. “I hardly know anyone in town, other than you and the neighbours. I can’t see any reason a stranger would do this and I can’t think of a good reason someone from somewhere else would come here just to do this, especially at this time of year. It just makes no sense.”
“So, you can’t think of anything you might have done to anyone that could have caused them to want to do this?” she prompted.
He sighed. “I’ve thought and thought, but I keep coming up with nothing.”
“Really? You’ve led a completely blameless life, then?”
He laughed. “No, of course not. I just don’t think I’ve done anything that would lead to this.”
“There must be some reason,” she mused. “I’m sure you’ll think of it, if you try hard enough.”
Steve made a meaningless sound. “If you’ll excuse me, I think I’d better check up around the back. I’ll be back in a little while.”
“Is this a private cleaning party, or can anyone join in?” a voice asked Trixie and Honey.
Honey looked up to see a girl not very much younger than them. Her brown hair was pulled back into a messy knot at the nape of her neck and her jacket looked as if she might have stolen it from her brother. She wore square glasses with thick, black frames that looked stark against her pale skin.
“Of course you can join in,” Honey answered and introduced both of them, adding, “My brother knew Steve in college, before he graduated – I mean, before Steve graduated; my brother hasn’t graduated, yet.”
“I’m Sophia,” the girl replied. “I’m from next door.” She stepped back and gave the wall a critical look. “This is kind of different from the first lot – much bigger splotches and a lot more droplets around them.”
Trixie and Honey shared a look. Their earlier question had been answered before they had time to ask it.
Over the next few minutes, the three chatted while they worked, finding that Sophia was a high school senior and that her ambition was to be a dentist. She was devoting almost all of her time to her studies.
“It’s hard, sometimes, when everyone else is out having fun,” she confided, “but I think it will be worth it.”
Honey nodded agreement. “It’s like one of Trixie’s brothers, who is in pre-med. It’s a lot of work, and a lot of sacrifices, but he’s going to be a great doctor.”
“Probably,” Trixie agreed. “I know you’re going to be a great doctor’s wife.”
A tinge of pink filled Honey’s cheeks, but she smiled at the idea. Before anyone could say anything further on the subject, they were joined by Steve.
“How are things around here?” he wanted to know, glancing at the wall they were working on. “Is it coming off?”
Trixie nodded. “It sure is. We’ll be done in no time.”
“I really do appreciate the help,” he told them. “Let me know if there’s anything you need; anything at all.”
“Oh! There you are, Steve,” another voice exclaimed.
His brow creased. “I only saw you about thirty seconds ago, Candy. What’s the problem?”
She walked around until she was between him and the other girls, taking him by the arm and beginning to lead him away.
“There’s a problem at the front that needs your attention. Can you come right now?”
He shrugged, still looking puzzled. “What could have gone wrong in the half-minute I was away?”
“You’ll need to come and see,” she answered, urging him forward.
They disappeared around the side of the house and the three remaining workers shrugged at the interruption.
“That was kind of weird,” Trixie noted. She turned to Sophia. “Do you know Steve well?”
The other girl shook her head. “He’s only lived here a few months and… well, he’s pretty old, really. I don’t have a lot to do with him, and we don’t really have much in common, but he’s made friends with my eldest brother. They’re about the same age, I think.”
“How old is that?” Trixie wondered.
“Twenty-three, I think.”
Trixie and Honey shared a glance.
“Do you know Candy well?” Trixie asked.
Sophia screwed up her nose and began scrubbing harder. “No, and I don’t want to. She’s an airhead and I can’t see what Steve ever saw in her – or what your friend Dan sees.”
“She and Steve dated?” Trixie asked, skipping over the observation about Dan. She, too, had noticed signs of flirtation between them, but had thought nothing of it. Dan liked flirting with girls. It was no big deal.
Sophia nodded. “For a little while. She’s not a nice person. I’m not surprised it didn’t last.”
“She’s been unkind to you?” Honey wondered.
The younger girl grimaced. “I guess you could call it that. She thinks I’m ugly and worthless, just because I don’t put a lot of effort into my appearance. I don’t really care about fashion and that’s all she ever thinks about. If people don’t like me no matter how I look, they’re not worth knowing.”
“I totally agree,” Trixie answered. “Which is lucky for me, because I hardly ever look half-way decent.”
“Oh, stop it, both of you,” Honey urged. “There’s nothing wrong with how either of you look. You’re both beautiful in your own way.”
“Thank you,” Sophia replied, shyly, but Trixie just pulled a silly face.
Honey swatted at her friend and ordered her to get back to work.
When the rear wall was finished, the three girls moved around one side of the house and began working their way towards the front. There was a lot less goo here, so they needed to spread out more, making conversation difficult. Trixie was the furthest to the front and so could hear a few words here and there from those who were out of sight around the corner. For some time she worked away, not paying much attention to her surroundings, but allowing her mind to work on the problem of who was causing the trouble.
After a time, it came to her attention that something had changed. She listened for a moment and, hearing upset voices, hastened to the front of the house.
“There’s been another incident, inside the house this time,” Jim told her, as they met at the corner of the building. “It must have only just happened, too, because Brian and I went inside about ten minutes ago and everything was fine then.”
“What happened?”
He shrugged. “I’m not really sure. Maybe you should go and talk to Steve – though I doubt he’ll want to talk.”
Trixie nodded and continued on her way, this time at a faster pace. Before she had found Steve, she ran into Honey and passed on Jim’s message.
“I’ll start asking around,” Honey offered. “Let’s try to meet up after you’ve spoken to Steve.”
Nodding her agreement, Trixie kept searching. She found him at the scene of the damage, trying to wipe the green goo off the white floor tiles in the hallway without staining the grout. He was not having a great amount of success.
“Do you need some help with that?” she asked, kneeling next to him. With one finger, she swiped a glob of goo that was rolling across its tile, preventing it from doing further damage.
“No, thanks. I’m on it,” he replied. “If you’ll excuse me…”
Trixie heard the implied dismissal, but ignored it. “Well, if you don’t want me to help clean up, at least tell me what you know. I could help you find out who’s doing this.”
“Look, Trixie,” Steve told her, “I appreciate the sentiment, but I don’t think there’s any point. What help is it going to be?”
“You can stop them from doing it again,” she pointed out, feeling angry with the man. “Don’t you care that this is still going on?”
“Of course I care,” he snapped. “Now, if you’ll excuse me, I now have even more to do than before.”
Trixie scowled at him, but said no more. She stalked back outside in search of Honey, in the hope that they could find enough information to stop the destruction, even without Steve’s cooperation. As she walked, she felt the goo between her fingers, still wondering what it could be.
“Have you seen it?” Honey demanded, coming up on her suddenly.
Trixie nodded and held out her hand. “Seen it, touched it, offered to help clean it and been turned down; offered to help investigate and been asked what the point of that would be.”
Her friend gave her a sympathetic look. “I’m sure he’ll appreciate it if we can make it stop. So, what did you find out?”
“Not much.” Trixie frowned, thinking. “It was on the floor in a section of the hallway and it kind of looked like it had been kind of drizzled there. It was in long streams and puddles that kind of flowed around a little.”
Honey looked thoughtful. “It would only take a few seconds to do, I’d guess. What does that tell us?”
“That it’s going to be really hard to prove?” Trixie suggested, grimacing.
Honey shrugged. “Maybe. Let’s go over what we know and maybe something will stand out.”
“Okay. Jim said he and Brian went by about ten minutes before Steve discovered the damage and everything was okay when they passed. Jim went in and out by the front door, which means that the vandal must have either been already inside then or that they were waiting at the back.” Trixie tapped her chin with one finger. “Unless they went around the far side of the house to where we were and in the back door. Then they could go back the way they came afterwards and no one would be any the wiser.”
“But Brian just told me he spent the whole of that time next to the back door,” Honey objected. “He says he was working on the door frame, where he’d found some ooze that had gone in over the top of the door, that whole time – from the time he left Jim in the kitchen until after Steve came past complaining that there was now ooze inside the house. Trixie! He told me that nobody went through that door. He was really sure.”
Trixie thought for a moment. “So, whoever it was must have been inside already. Have they had a chance to get out since?”
Honey shook her head. “Brian locked the back door and Jim told me just now that he isn’t leaving the front door until either you or I tell him he can.”
“Do you think we could search the house?” Trixie wondered. “I guess we can’t, really.”
“Let’s go and see Jim and ask who has come out,” Honey suggested and they hurried to do just that.
When they put the question to him, Jim replied, “Only three people: Candy, Sophia and Brandon. As far as I know, there wasn’t anyone else here, other than the Bob-Whites – and Steve, of course. The crew that were here earlier had already left.”
“That really narrows down the suspect list,” Trixie mused. “If that’s true, and what Brian says is right, there are only a few people who could have done it.”
“Unless there’s a stranger still waiting inside to get out,” Honey corrected, frowning.
Her best friend shook her head. “If they are, all we have to do is wait for them to try to escape. So, since Sophia was with us–”
“With us?” Honey interrupted. “No, she wasn’t. She went around the back maybe fifteen minutes before the alarm was raised.”
Trixie’s surprise showed on her face. “But I didn’t even notice!”
“You were quite a way from us,” Honey soothed.
Trixie shook off the matter. “Well, then, that means we have four suspects: Sophia, or Brandon, or – Dan might not like this – Candy… or…”
Honey frowned. “Who’s the fourth suspect?”
“Well, it’s Steve.” Trixie cringed. “I hate saying that, but he’s got to be a suspect, too. He was the one who found the damage and we already decided that it would only take a few moments to do.”
Honey patted her arm. “It’s okay, Trix. I’m sure he didn’t do it, either, but we have to consider every possible suspect.”
Trixie nodded. “So, how are we going to prove which one it is?”
“Let’s go for a walk around and see how everyone is reacting,” Honey suggested. “We might get another clue or two.”
They began by walking around the front of the house, where Dan and Candy were standing very close together and not actually doing any work. Both girls stared at the couple for a shocked moment, before moving away.
“Did you see that?” Honey whispered. “When Sophia made that comment earlier, I thought she just didn’t know what Dan was like! That actually looked… well, like more than flirting.”
“I know!” Trixie answered, in low tones. “And she’s one of our suspects. What are we supposed to do now?”
“Look for the next one?” Honey waved a hand. “Hey, there’s Brandon. Where’s he going?”
“Around the back. Let’s follow him.”
“Is this suspicious, or not?” Honey wondered, as they did just that.
Trixie shrugged. “I don’t know, yet.”
As they rounded the last corner, they found that Brandon had begun cleaning down a small section of wall that had been missed.
“There’s still more?” Honey asked, with a groan.
Brandon nodded. “Yeah, here and there. We’re almost done, though. I hope.”
“The trouble is that more goo keeps appearing,” Trixie noted. “It’s got me wondering who it could be. Did you see anything when you were inside before, around the time that the goo got spread inside the house?”
He shook his head. “I walked through there and it was clean. Then, I heard Steve swearing and I went and saw what had happened. I didn’t see anyone else at all.”
“The other two girls were in the house, too,” Trixie told him. “You didn’t see either of them?”
“I think one of them was in the bathroom.” He shrugged. “Maybe they went there together. It’s what girls do.”
“Not in someone’s house,” Honey clarified.
“Yeah, whatever,” he answered, turning back to his work.
“I think we’ll leave you to it,” Honey added, as Trixie began dragging her away. “Where are we going?”
“To find Sophia and see what she says.”
Honey allowed herself to be carried along by Trixie’s enthusiasm. They soon located Sophia and asked her what she had seen.
“Nothing,” she answered. “My fingers were so cold that I decided to stay inside for a while, to warm them up. I went and sat in the family room and I didn’t see anyone.”
“So, you weren’t the one in the bathroom?”
The younger girl thought. “Well, I did go to the bathroom, but that wasn’t where I was most of the time. Is it important?”
“I’m not sure,” Trixie answered. “You didn’t see anything, but did you hear anything?”
She shrugged. “I heard a couple of people walking around. Nothing unusual.”
Trixie nodded and wandered away, thinking as she went.
“Let’s get the rest of the Bob-Whites together,” Honey urged. “Maybe, together, we can figure this thing out.”
Trixie glanced at her watch and winced. “Jim wanted to leave around now. I’m almost out of time, Hon, and I’m not sure I’ve got enough to solve this.”
“We’ll solve it; I know it.”
Honey smiled and dashed away to round up their friends. They met a short time later on the front lawn and Honey filled them in on what they had seen, heard and deduced.
“So,” she concluded, “we were kind of wondering if any of you had seen or heard anything that might help us finish this. We’re so close – only four suspects – and we just need that little clue to find the answer.”
“I don’t think it can be Steve,” Jim put in at once. “What does he possibly stand to gain by all this?”
“Attention?” Brian suggested. “I agree, though, that it’s highly unlikely that it’s him. I also don’t think it was Brandon, because he’s a relative stranger. I think there’s some personal feeling here.”
“In that case,” Jim added, “it’s probably not Sophia, either. She doesn’t seem to know Steve very well – although, it could be that he, as a neighbour, has annoyed her or her family in some way.”
“If you’re going to go around eliminating suspects like this, there soon won’t be any left,” Dan snapped. “We need evidence, not speculation.”
“That’s very true. So, what do we know?” Brian asked.
They all began contributing facts and hearsay, one after another, barely waiting for each other to finish speaking.
“Brandon only got here the day after it started.”
“Sophia said she hardly knows Steve – but she really doesn’t like Candy.”
“Steve told me he doesn’t know many people here in town.”
“Sophia has lived here her whole life and she knows Steve’s grandparents.”
“Of the four of them, Candy went inside first. Surely she wouldn’t have waited so long to do something?”
“Sophia’s brother hasn’t been here at all today, but his friend has. Isn’t that a bit strange?”
“The first attack was on both Steve’s house and Sophia’s, but every one since has only been against Steve.”
“Isn’t it kind of weird to be afraid of nuns?”
“Steve has discovered almost every new occurrence of goo.”
“You hardly ever see Candy and Sophia together, and only sometimes Sophia and Steve.”
“The only time I saw Sophia and Steve together, Candy came and led Steve away.”
“But you hardly ever see Brandon and Sophia together, either. And, as far as I know, she is not a nun, nor does she have any nun-like habits.”
“Habits! Ha!”
“Stick to the subject, please! Some of the goo has appeared in the night, so it must be someone close by.”
“Steve told Candy that he had no idea why someone would do this. She really seemed to think he should know.”
“Wait!” Trixie remembered a little scene she had observed earlier and her eyes widened as the pieces of the puzzle clicked into place. “I know who did it and why… but I don’t like the answer.”
The others looked at her with various levels of apprehension visible on their faces.
“You need to tell us, Trixie,” Jim prompted, in soft tones. “No matter who it is.”
She turned to Dan. “I’m sorry.”
He looked down and nodded. “It’s not your fault.”
“You mean, it was Candy?” Brian asked, incredulous. “You can’t be serious.”
“It makes a whole lot of sense, now that I look at it,” Dan told him. “She always seemed a lot more interested when there was a chance that Steve might see us. I was starting to wonder if I was reading her right.”
“But why would she do this?” Brian persisted. “There’s no earthly reason…”
“Except that she dated Steve and he broke it off with her.” Trixie shook her head. “He thought they had nothing in common and it was going nowhere, but she didn’t think so. And she seemed to think that he had something going on with Sophia – but Sophia thought Steve was too old, and she’s too focussed on her studies to even bother at the moment.”
“That’s just what she says,” a venomous voice disagreed and Candy stepped out from behind a large shrub. “They’re just pretending, to keep the secret.”
Several of the group shared guilty looks at allowing themselves to be overheard that way. In hindsight, their conversation had probably been too loud.
Dan stepped towards her, a conciliatory hand outstretched. “Candy–”
“No! Get away from me!” she cried. “Don’t you get it? I only wanted Steve to see what he was missing. It wasn’t ever about you.”
“This has to stop, okay?” Dan took another step forward. “No more green goo, okay?”
“Or what?” she asked.
“Or, next time, I’ll report it to the police,” Steve answered, stepping up to the group from the front of the house. He sighed. “I think it’s time you left, Candy. I’m asking you not to come back, either.”
Furious, she looked him up and down. “You were never worth it. I wish I’d never met you.”
After she had stalked away, with Jim following to make sure she really left, Steve let out another sigh. “I’m wishing I never met her, either.” He shook his head. “Trixie, I owe you an apology. It was worth finding out who was behind it.”
“It’s okay,” she answered. “I like mysteries. I just wish it had ended a little better.”
He smiled. “Thanks for your help – all of you. I think the kindest thing you could say about this Christmas is that it’s been memorable. You’ve helped to make it bearable as well.”
“She’s gone,” Jim announced, rejoining the group. “And, on that note, I think it’s time that we left, too. Steve, I’m sorry about all this. Let me know if you need anything else.”
Steve repeated his thanks and escorted them out to Jim’s large vehicle. They all got inside and waved as they drove away. When the house was out of sight, Trixie slumped down in her seat, shoulders hunched and head down.
“So, you got what you wanted for Christmas, Trixie,” Dan noted. “One mystery, solved.”
She shook her head. “That wasn’t what I wanted. I didn’t get what I wanted. And I’m really annoyed about it, too.”
“It was an engagement ring that you wanted, then,” Honey teased. “Oh! I just knew it!”
Trixie let out a growl. “How many times do I have to say it? I’m nineteen years old; I’m too young to settle down.”
“When you’re a hundred, you’ll still be too young to settle down,” her brother assured her. “So, are you going to tell us what is was you really wanted, or do we have to guess?”
She sighed. “I wanted to make someone happy. Solving this mystery didn’t help anyone be happy. It didn’t have a happy ending at all.”
“Not in the short term,” Jim conceded, “but if you hadn’t solved it, there would have been a lot more short term unhappiness.”
Once more, she sighed, this time in resignation. “I guess so.”
Jim glanced across at her and smiled. “You never know where this might lead. Maybe, years down the track, you’ll be able to see the good you’ve done today.”
Trixie nodded, but did not reply. The others left her to her mood.
Ten years later
Dan smiled at Mart and Di’s almost-ten-year-old twins as they rushed by in excitement. The annual Bob-White Christmas party was just getting under way, with guests arriving one after another. At the bottom of the drive, a car was visible. Dan knew that it held the children’s only cousins to date, Brian and Honey’s seven- and five-year-olds.
As Mart went by, calling for his children to calm down and receiving no benefit from the effort, Dan exchanged a glance with his wife.
“That’ll be us, soon,” he noted, nodding at his friend.
“Mart’s kids are nine,” she argued, in something akin to horror. “We are not stepping straight into that!”
Dan shrugged. “It seemed to go by like a flash when it was happening to them. I don’t see why it should be any different for us.”
“And I’m not carrying twins!” she added, belatedly.
“No, dear,” he responded, patting her distended belly. “Definitely not.”
“There had really better be only one in there,” she mumbled. “I can’t deal with twins!”
“Yeah, Mart and Di thought it wise not to try again,” he agreed. “One set of twins is more than enough. And the worry Mart went through when Di was expecting them…” He turned to her with a reminiscent smile. “You remember that Christmas? The Christmas we met?”
“Of course.” She returned his smile. “I seem to remember you doing a lot of flirting – and Mart doing a lot of fretting – while Brian and Jim kept trying to keep the two of you from each other’s throats.”
Dan gave her a mock-serious look. “We’ve both matured enormously since then.”
“Right,” she answered, drawing the word out to its full potential. “Which is why I saw the pair of you, only this morning, playing pranks on the kids.”
For a few moments, Dan maintained his serious facade. “That wasn’t pranking; it was creative discipline.”
“Of course, dear,” she answered, even while shaking her head. “Sometimes, I wonder…”
“Do you?” he asked, kissing her tenderly. “I don’t.”
“No.” Her tone was dry. “From what I can see, you’ve done precious little in the way of wondering.”
The seriousness in his expression was now real. “I’ve made more than my share of mistakes. And, yes, I admit that I took a lot longer to face my feelings for you than I should have, but I know I’ve made the right choice… even if there are twins in there, which I certainly hope that there aren’t,” he back-tracked, on seeing her reaction to that last idea.
Her soft laughter showed that she had forgiven him his slip. “I’m glad you think this is right. I think it is, too.”
“Good,” he answered, kissing her.
“Get a room, you two,” Trixie grumbled, on her way in the door. “There are children present, you know.”
“None of them belong to you,” Dan noted, giving her a look, “so I don’t see why it should bother you.”
“I might have some, sooner or later,” she answered, still walking. “You need to get in practice for then.”
“I’d be betting on ‘later,’” he quipped. “You’re not anywhere near settled enough for kids, yet.”
“I’m twenty-nine years old,” she answered, in what had become a well-worn formula. “I’m too young to settle down.”
He shook his head at her retreating figure. “I doubt she’ll ever settle down, even if she has a dozen kids.”
“Probably not,” his wife agreed. She laid her head against his chest. “So, are you planning on a dozen, because I have to tell you that I don’t think I like that plan.”
The idea scared a laugh out of him. “No, I think a couple will be fine – though not at the same time,” he added, remembering her earlier horror at the thought of twins.
“Good save,” she answered, laughing at him. “I love you, Dan. I’m so glad you came to help next door that Christmas.”
“So am I.” He leaned down to kiss her. “I love you, too, Sophia.”
The End