Part Four

She Said

“I’ve missed you,” Di murmured between kisses as she and Eric greeted each other just inside the door of his apartment.

Over the past few weeks, he had continued his research trip, while she had kept close to Sleepyside to be near Honey. They had kept in touch, but it was not the same as being together.

“I’ve missed you, too,” he answered. “How much longer until you can leave again?”

“I think I’m ready to leave, now.” She tilted her head as he kissed down her neck. “Well, not exactly now, but as soon as I pack.”

“I have one more trip to make. Come with me? I leave the day after tomorrow.”

Di nodded. “Just try leaving me behind.”

Eric smiled against her collarbone. “That’s something that I don’t want to try.”

He Said

Mart found an opportunity to confront Jim a few days later. He had taken a drive upstate on a rather flimsy excuse, but hoped not to have to use it to justify his presence. As he approached Jim’s residence, he saw his friend standing near the curb, while an unfamiliar red car idled nearby.

Jim was staring at the car with an expression of concern, but there did not appear to be any reason for this to be so. Curious, Mart approached. He parked his own car and got out, walking towards his friend and calling a greeting. The car drove away, but Jim was so focussed upon it that he did not seem to notice his friend’s approach.

“You look like you’ve seen a ghost,” Mart noted, eyeing his friend with suspicion. “Was that someone you know?”

Jim looked confused. “Who?”

“The man in the car back there. Red. Tennessee plates.”

Jim shook his head. “Never seen him before in my life. The car reminded me of something, though.”

“The car? Or were you thinking of Tennessee?” Mart prompted.

“The car, of course. Why would I think of Tennessee?”

Mart watched him for a few moments. “You went there with Trixie, during the Bob-White trip to Kentucky, didn’t you? Maybe you were thinking of that time.”

The blood drained from Jim’s face. “Who said that?” he demanded, in a hoarse whisper.

“No one,” Mart answered. “I deduced it for myself.”

Jim shook his head. “I was thinking of a car with Tennessee plates. That’s all.”

Mart stared at him, but Jim’s expression did not shift. “If you’re sure… It’s just that I’m fairly sure I know, now, what happened back then. If you need anything…”

“I don’t. Please, just leave it alone.”

Mart nodded. “If you’re sure. Just remember that I’m your friend and I want to help you – even if it makes things difficult for my sister. Or my brother, for that matter.”

“I couldn’t ask you to do that,” Jim answered, turning red.

“You’re not asking; I’m offering.” He patted his friend on the back. “I want both you and Trixie to be happy, but if Trixie is the one that needs putting in place, I’m willing to be in on that.”

“Nothing that’s happened has been Trixie’s fault.”

“Ah, so it is Brian’s fault, then.” Mart nodded and turned away. “I was pretty sure it was, but thanks for confirming it.”

“Hey! I didn’t say that,” Jim cried, catching his arm.

Mart turned and watched him for a long moment. “You don’t deny it, though, do you?”

“I – uh, I don’t know what to say.” Jim took a step back.

“You don’t have to say anything,” Mart answered. “You’ve already confirmed everything I thought.”

“You won’t say anything about this to Brian, will you?” There was a note of desperation in Jim’s voice that Mart found hard to understand.

“I won’t say that you told me anything,” he assured the other man. “As for not saying anything at all… well, let’s just say that I have a lot of things to say to my brother. He won’t want to listen to them, but that’s his problem, not mine.”

“I don’t want you to do that,” Jim told him, in a low voice. “You might make things worse.”

Mart stared at his friend for a long moment. “I don’t think anything I could do would make this situation worse. On the other hand, I might be able to make it better. I need to at least try. I couldn’t live with myself if I didn’t.”

As Jim nodded and stared at his shoes, Mart asked, “Is Brian at home now?”

With a jerk, Jim’s gaze returned to his friend’s face. “No. He’s not here at the moment. He’ll be working until two.”

“Well, I’ll just go and write him a note.” Mart turned towards the door of the building. “I’ll be by to see him later.”

Jim’s grimace at the statement did nothing to deter him from following this course of action as far as it would take him.

When he returned later in the day, Mart found his brother in, but his brother-in-law nowhere to be found. This, he considered, was probably for the best. Jim had been opposed to this course of action. Little did Jim know, Mart had already tried yelling at Brian and had given up that idea as futile.

“I need to talk to you,” he told his older brother once they were inside the apartment. “I’m really concerned about this situation and I want your take on it.”

Brian frowned. “What situation?”

Mart pushed down the surge of frustration that he felt and kept his voice calm. “The one with Jim and Trixie. There’s something really worrying about the way it’s developing. I wondered if you’d noticed anything that might help me make sense of it.”

His brother thought for a few moments, then shook his head. “No, I can’t say that I have. I’m sure there’s nothing to worry about. They’ll get over it soon enough.”

“I don’t think that’s the case,” Mart argued, trying hard to hold on to his temper. “There’s something very destructive about this break-up and I think we should be doing some damage control here.”

“I think you’d better keep your nose out of other people’s business,” Brian retorted. “I don’t like the nosy way you’ve been acting, lately.”

“Nosy?” Mart repeated. “You think I’m being nosy? No, this isn’t nosy, this is caring about other people who are hurting too much to help themselves.”

Brian turned away. “I don’t see it that way. I think what’s happening here is that you’re using them as an excuse to get information out of me. It’s not Jim or Trixie that you’re investigating; you’re investigating me and I won’t let you continue.”

“Not everything is about you, Brian.” Mart closed his eyes a moment to try to keep control. “I can see that I’ve wasted my time here today, but I hope that when you come to your senses it won’t be too late.”

As he walked back to his car, Mart reflected on what had just happened. He had hoped that he would have more success in person, where he could read his brother’s body language and see the expression on his face. In truth, it had not helped. The anger and hostility he had seen in Brian’s face was such that Mart knew better than to try again. Whatever had happened between Jim and Brian that had caused this problem, he would get no clue to it from Brian.

She Said

The clock had been sitting on the desk in Trixie’s old room at Crabapple Farm ever since she had picked it up from the repairer. It seemed to taunt her every time she entered the room. One day, as she was packing to leave on another trip away, she could stand it no longer. She simply had to find the meaning behind her receipt of this strange article. She sat down and pulled it towards herself.

For the next few minutes, she examined the outside minutely, turning it first one way and then another, even upside-down. She unfastened the back and began to poke around inside. Neither of these things brought her any closer to knowing. She refastened the back, then huffing in frustration, she dug out the paper that had been inside.

“My value lies not in money, but in what I can tell you,” she repeated, aloud. “But what does it tell me? It doesn’t tell the time. It doesn’t serve any purpose. It’s not real.”

Not real. The words ran through her head until they began to take on a sinister significance. Not so long ago she had been sure of a number of things. Now, she began to run her mind over the events that had occurred since first hearing of Mr. Englefield. The curse, for one thing, had been shown not to be real. The thought of the curse brought to mind the rash decision that she and Jim had made before they had known.

Trixie’s hands began to tremble as she thought about what she had lost. Her vision blurred as tears filled her eyes. She pushed the clock away so hard that it banged against the wall, put her head down on the desk and sobbed.

He Said

While in Sleepyside for a few days, Dan had arranged to meet a few of the other Bob-Whites at the clubhouse with a view to checking it over for repairs needed. He was running a few minutes early and so approached at a gentle stroll. It was a surprise, therefore, to see Jim up ahead, already at the clubhouse and in conversation with a man who seemed vaguely familiar. A few moments’ thought brought the recollection of an incident the year before in a place that Di had been living.

Dan slowed to a halt and stepped off the path. He watched the conversation, seeing his friend’s defensive stance and the other man’s taunting expression. At the end, Jim shook his head and the man made some sort of dismissive gesture.

The man walked away, but Jim stood still, his shoulders rigid with some kind of suppressed emotion. Dan had not been near enough to hear what went on between them, but he was certain that whatever it was could not be good. His friend was so deep in contemplation that he showed no sign of noticing that Dan was beside him.

“What did that man want?” Dan demanded, grabbing Jim by the arm. “What did he say?”

Jim shrugged and tried to pull away. “It was nothing.”

Diana walked up to the pair, glancing over her shoulder in the direction the man had gone. She looked between the two when she reached them, but her gaze rested on Dan’s face.

“Was that… the man that bothered me last summer?” she asked. “It was, wasn’t it?”

Jim stared at her, aghast. “Bothering you? Last summer?”

She nodded. “He kept hanging around the place I was staying in the city. He never really did anything or said anything to me, but he was kind of creepy, you know? Dan scared him away for me, though, and everything went back to normal.”

Jim muttered something under his breath and ran a hand across his face. “This is all my fault. If I’d dealt with him properly the year before, none of this would be happening.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?” Dan’s expression was hard. “What happened then?”

“I told you already; he tried to blackmail me.”

Dan’s eyebrows rose. “That was him?” He frowned. “I wonder what connection there was between that and what happened with Di and what’s happening now?”

Jim shook his head. “I don’t know. It doesn’t seem to make sense.”

“Well, what did Tr–” Di broke off, as Jim’s face paled. “I mean, what can you tell us about the man and about the blackmail attempt?”

Jim took a shaky breath. “We thought that the man had once been employed by Mr. Englefield to spy on… her. It would explain how he’d gotten some of the things that he tried to blackmail me with. There were surveillance-type photographs of things that had happened on our trips, for example. They were things that had nothing to do with… her… but ones that involved me. Also, it seemed that he’d done some more research on the side. There was no reason, as far as I can tell, for Mr. Englefield to want to delve into my past, but the man obviously had. He’d found things about me that dated back to the time I lived with Jonesy.”

Dan frowned and looked down. “Now, I wonder why he’d do that – and whether he’d gone to that trouble about anyone else.”

“He certainly seemed to be narrowing in on me,” Di added. “Only, I don’t really have that many secrets to hide. I wouldn’t have liked my parents finding out about where I was staying, but it would have only been a fight between them and me. It wasn’t really all that important.” She paused, gazing at Jim. “Yours was something really important, wasn’t it?”

He shrugged. “Yes and no. One of the secrets would have been an inconvenience – but I came to the conclusion, in the end, that he didn’t actually know that one. One of them would have hurt… her… terribly, but it wasn’t something we couldn’t have gotten past, if we’d needed to. The other was very important. It’s still something that could hurt me and I don’t want it to be bandied around the place. I called his bluff, though. I told him I wouldn’t pay and pointed out to him that once he showed the things to anyone they lost their value. He didn’t argue; he just went away.”

“To plan for another day,” Dan added. “Okay, so it’s obvious that this guy is out there, working on somehow making us pay. We know he’s got something solid on you, Jim, and that’s he’s tried to get something on Di. I wonder how many of the others have had run-ins with him and failed to mention them?”

“There’s not really any way we can find that out, is there?” Di asked, crinkling her brow in thought. “I don’t know that I could describe him well enough that anyone else would know what I was talking about.”

“Well, at least, I’m going to talk to all the other Bob-Whites and see if they can remember anything that might fit the bill.” Dan glanced between his two friends. “Do either of you have anything else to share? Any incidents in the past few years that might be relevant?”

Di shook her head at once, but Jim thought for a few moments. “I don’t think so,” he finally answered. “If I come up with anything else, I’ll let you know.”

Dan stared at his friend for a long moment before nodding. “You do that.”

Later that day, he put through a call to Brian, in the hope of gathering some further information from him. He timed the call so that he hoped his friend would be at home and was pleased to find that he was correct.

“Brian!” Dan greeted. “I need a word. Is now a good time?”

“I guess so,” the other man answered. “What can I help you with?”

Dan drew a breath and gathered his thoughts. “There’s been a little incident lately, where a man approached one of the other Bob-Whites in a suspicious manner. Jim, Di and I all recognised him, though from a couple of different places. It turns out that he’s been bothering various members of the group for at least two years. I’m just calling to find out whether you might have been troubled by him, too. Brown hair. Twenty-something. Possibly drives a red car. He seems to be on the lookout for secrets.”

“Who says I have any secrets?” Brian demanded, with evident anger.

“Whoa!” Dan answered. “I’m not asking for your secrets, whether they exist or not. All I want to know is whether a man answering that description has bothered you at all, or tried to get information from you, about yourself or other people. I’m not prying into your business, Brian, I promise.”

“Why would I have secrets?” his friend demanded, just as angry as before.

Dan banged his head against the wall. “Are you listening, Brian? I don’t care whether you have secrets. What I want to know is about this man. He might have been trying to find things out about Trixie, for example. Now, she has secrets. There’s no question about that, is there?”

Brian let out a noisy breath. “No, I don’t suppose there is. And, no, I don’t recall anything that might fit the bill. No one has approached me and I haven’t noticed any suspicious activity.”

“Thanks,” Dan answered. “That’s all I needed to know. Let me know if anything comes up.”

“Will do,” Brian agreed and they ended their conversation.

Putting the phone down, Dan reflected that if the conversation had told him anything it was that Brian most certainly did have a secret and that his attitude made him vulnerable to the man’s advances. He only hoped that the strange man did not find this out.

Dan’s next task was to talk to Honey and Mart. He timed his visit for early afternoon on a Saturday, when he hoped that the baby would be asleep and both parents would be able to talk. He was in luck.

“What can we do for you?” Mart asked, looking weary.

“I’m looking for some information,” Dan explained, giving them an outline of what he already knew. “So, have either of you had any encounters with this guy?”

Honey shook her head at once, but Mart considered the matter for a short time.

“I’m not sure,” he answered, at last. “I have an idea that maybe I’ve seen the guy, but I can’t quite remember where. Leave it with me and I’ll see if I can remember.”

“Anything else you want to share?” Dan asked, looking from one to the other.

Honey shook her head once more. “We don’t have any secrets,” she told him, and her husband nodded his agreement. “I don’t think he can do us much harm, since we won’t let him.”

Dan nodded his assent to that logic and breathed a silent sigh of relief. He was glad to have two fewer potential victims to protect.

“Just do me a favour,” he added, before he left. “Keep an eye on the rest of the group, if you can. I think there’s safety in numbers against this guy. We don’t want anyone feeling like they’re alone.”

Both of his friends nodded, but they both looked worried. Dan did not blame them; he felt worried, too.

She Said

“Are you ready to let your friends in on our secret?” Eric asked one evening, as he and Di curled up together in his apartment.

She leant back against him and thought for a moment. “I’m not sure that I am. I’ve enjoyed keeping you to myself.”

He gazed at her for a few seconds. “I like that you want to keep me, but are you sure this is a good idea? They’re going to wonder why we’ve kept it a secret.”

Di nodded. “They will, but they keep secrets from me. I feel like it’s my turn. It won’t be for long, though. I’ll let them in on it soon, I think.” She sighed. “I probably would have shared the secret weeks ago, except that the situation with Trixie and Jim has kind of disturbed everyone. I’m not so sure that the news would be welcome, now.”

Eric frowned. “I kind of remember Trixie as being the ring-leader. I suppose that makes a difference.”

Once more, Di nodded. “And since she’s the one who’s the most antagonistic, I’m afraid that she’ll react in a negative way. So, maybe we should keep it a secret a little longer.”

He nodded. “I’m not sure they’ll remember me, anyway. We might be making too much of this.”

Di shrugged. “I remembered you as soon as I saw you.” She gave him a smile. “I liked what I saw.”

“I’m glad,” he answered. “I liked what I saw when I looked at you, too.”

He Said

For the next part of his plan, Dan needed to confront his friends’ tormentor. Since he did not know how to contact the man, he was left in a situation of being constantly on the look-out. His vigilance paid off one day, when he spotted him on the street in one of Sleepyside’s less-travelled streets.

“Just the man I’ve been wanting to see.” Dan gave him an evil smirk.

“Sorry, pal. Don’t know you,” the other man muttered and tried to walk away.

Dan was in front of him in a trice. “Not so fast. You’ve got some explaining to do. Your old boss is dead, so I know you’re probably not being paid for this any more. So, what’s the story?”

“Don’t know what you’re talking about.” The man tried to dodge past, but was not quick enough.

“Yes, you do. So, spill. Why are you bothering us?”

At last, the man seemed to realise that he was not going to be able to just leave. He seemed to think for a moment, then answered, “With Englefield dead, I need to earn a living somehow.”

“Have you considered getting a job?”

The man laughed. “When I can get money without working? Are you kidding?”

Dan shook his head. “This stops right now. You will not be getting money out of any of these people, no matter what you do. The next time you try something, the evidence I’m holding on you goes to the police.”

“What evidence? You don’t have anything on me.”

“Actually, I do.” Dan held up the print-out of a photograph, one of very few he had gathered to date. “There’s more where that came from. You’re not the only one who can use a camera, buddy. Think about that for a minute.”

Dan dodged the punch the man threw with ease, laughing a little at the look of anger and frustration on his face. The man made another attempt, but once more Dan was too quick for him. Apparently sick of looking a fool, he turned on his heel and strode away. Dan watched him go, deep in thought. He decided that the interview had gone as well as could be expected, but that the matter was not yet settled. Some more work would be needed to ensure the man did not hurt them any more, and this would be a good deal more difficult.

She Said

Diana and Eric were settling down for an evening in front of her television watching a movie when there was a knock at her door.

“Should I answer that?” she wondered. “I wasn’t expecting anyone.”

“It’s obvious that we’re here,” Eric answered. “Do you want me to stay out of sight?”

Di shook her head. “I don’t suppose it matters. I’ll just go and see who it is.”

She went to the door and found Dan there, inviting him inside. He gave Eric a curious look, but asked no questions.

“Dan, this is Eric Johnson. Eric, this is my friend Dan Mangan.”

Eric stood and the two men shook hands.

Dan cleared his throat and came to the point. “I need to talk to you about the man…”

“It’s okay,” she assured him. “I told Eric about him. He knows the whole story.”

Dan nodded. “I need your help to keep an eye on the situation,” he explained. “I’ve threatened him with exposure if he tries anything else, but… I don’t think that’s enough.”

“What do you want me to do?” she asked.

Dan took a breath and released it. “That’s the trouble. I’m not sure what we can do. I don’t think that Mart and Honey are in any danger – they just don’t have anything to hide. He doesn’t scare me and I don’t think he scares you…”

She shook her head. “I didn’t like him looking at me like that, but you’re right: I’m not scared of exposure.”

“And yet, here you are with a big secret,” he teased.

Diana gave him a Cheshire cat grin. “I’m enjoying this secret, but there’s no repercussions if it gets out.”

Dan eyed her for a moment, then nodded. “That leaves Trixie, Jim and Brian.”

Di’s smile winked out and she sighed. “Brian has a secret that he’s desperate to keep that way; I’m sure of it. As for the other two… well, we both know that there’s something wrong about their fight. They’re hiding something, too.”

“So, we both need to keep an eye on them and make sure this guy doesn’t do any further harm,” Dan continued. “Can you help me with this? Because I don’t think I can do it on my own.”

“You’re approaching Mart and Honey, too?” she asked, after giving her assurances that she would.

He nodded. “I already have, for what it’s worth.”

“I just hope it’s enough,” Di answered, frowning.

“I hope so, too,” Dan replied. “Thanks, Di. I’ll leave you two alone, now.”

“Thank you.” She smiled. “I do like you, Dan, but I had other plans for this evening.”

“I bet you did.” He gave her a light punch on the arm. “Have fun, but not too much.”

“Out,” she ordered, grinning.

Dan returned the grin and did as he was told.

He Said

As it had become clear to Jim that Trixie was not about to change her mind, he came to the conclusion that he needed to deal with some matters. He would have preferred to pretend that nothing had changed, but he pushed that urge away and did what he had to do. So it was that he found himself, one late summer afternoon, in his lawyer’s office.

Jim stared at the document in front of him, wishing that circumstances were different, but knowing that he had to deal with reality. He picked up his pen, paused for a moment, then signed in the designated position. It did not really change anything, he tried to tell himself. Everything was still the same, except in a few very small details. He set the pen down again and pushed the document away. He did not watch while others added their signatures, but instead stared out the window at a day that shone with bright sunshine. The lovely weather was in stark contrast to his bitter mood.

“I’m glad you did this, Jim,” his lawyer told him. “I know it’s not pleasant, but it’s best to keep these kinds of things under control. You’ll contact me again if the circumstances change once more, won’t you?”

Still looking away, Jim nodded.

“Good man. I hope it won’t come to it, for your sake, but you know that if you need help with family law matters all you need to do is ask.”

“I hope it won’t come to that, either,” Jim replied. “Thank you for your time.”

As Jim walked away from the office, depressed beyond anything he had felt over the last few tumultuous months, he saw nothing of his surroundings. Someone saw him, however, and watched in concern as he strode away.

She Said

Most of the Bob-Whites made the trek back to Sleepyside for the last weekend of summer. To Trixie’s dismay, one of those other Bob-Whites was Jim. The strain of seeing him around was beginning to wear on her by Saturday afternoon. She left the clubhouse, where Diana, Dan, Honey and Mart were trying – and failing abysmally – to keep up a conversation that had nothing in it that would remind anyone of Jim.

With her emotions in turmoil, she decided that she needed a peaceful place to go and think. The nearest place that came to mind was the Wheelers’ lake, so she started walking in that direction. She was horrified to find, however, that someone else had arrived there first and that it was the person she least wanted to see.

“What are you doing here?” she demanded of Jim, as soon as he was near enough to speak to.

He gave a shrug and tossed a small stone into the water. “Seems to me, my father owns this land. I can be here if I like.”

Trixie stamped a foot in frustration. “I don’t want to speak to you.”

He tossed another stone, watching the ripples it caused. “That’s your choice, I suppose.”

“I don’t want to see you ever again. I told you that already.”

Another stone splashed into the water. Jim did not speak, instead looking away. With a surge of unreasonable anger, Trixie noticed tears on his face. She spun on the spot and ran from the scene, tearing along the path as fast as she could make herself go. She did not stop until she was inside her parents’ farmhouse, up the stairs and behind a closed door.

Alone in her old room, Trixie’s tears fell unheeded and her shoulders shook with silent sobs. While facing Jim, she could conjure up any amount of anger to cover her hurt and fear. When talking about him to others, an image of his face floated in her memory and that was enough. Whenever she was alone the anger drained away and left the other emotions raw and exposed.

She could not imagine what life would be like without Jim in it. He had been a part of her existence since she was thirteen years old, one of her best friends, someone she always had admired and looked up to. What she was feeling now was an enormous betrayal. There was only one interpretation that she could think of for the circumstances and that was that there must be someone else. Jim would never tell her a lie in the ordinary course of events. He would evade questions and manoeuvre himself into situations where she could not ask questions, but he would never be deliberately untruthful. And that left her worst nightmare – that Jim would one day realise that there were other women so much more attractive than her and pick up with one of them.

And how long has it been going on? she wondered, bitterly. He’s been taking these trips. How do I know that he’s been where he said he was – all those times, he was probably with HER.

She did not stop to wonder who this elusive other woman might be, or whether there was any other, kinder interpretation to put on events. All that she could think of was that her dream life was over and that she must put it aside and start again.

The End