“Trixie Belden and Diana Lynch,” a voice commanded, “please report to Miss Darcy’s office immediately.” Trixie stood up at once, and her science teacher, Mr Morrison, nodded. She left the classroom, and as she hurried toward the drama club office, she met Di in the hallway.
“Do you think it has something to do with the missing costume?” Di whispered nervously.
“I certainly hope so!” Trixie answered.
“My goodness, why?” Di asked, her face clouding with concern and confusion.
“Oh, Di,” Trixie said quickly, seeing the perplexed look on her friend’s pretty face. “I’m sorry. We’ve really kept you in the dark about this whole thing. You’ve been so busy with the play. Don’t worry,” she reassured her as they neared Miss Darcy’s office. “Leave this to me, and I’ll explain everything later.”
Eileen Darcy was waiting for them. She had the haggard, dark-eyed look of someone who had not slept well for several days.
“Now, girls,” she began calmly, “this is a very serious matter indeed, and I expect that you will be honest with me. We have reason to believe that you had something to do with the disappearance of the costume, and—”
“What?” Trixie cried, wide-eyed with disbelief. “Why—Who—” she stammered as her cheeks flushed crimson. Di began biting her nails nervously.
“Please, Trixie, let me finish!” Miss Darcy said sharply. She drew a deep breath and went on more calmly. “Now, you were here on Friday after school. When I returned to my office after walking you to the front entrance, the costume I had been... working on was gone.“
“But why do you suspect us?” Trixie cried. “If I was with you and Di was out waiting in the car—”
“That is true,” Miss Darcy answered. “However, someone reported that you and—”
“Why would we want the costume?” Di interrupted. “Really, Miss Darcy, I—we had nothing to do with it!”
“Yes,” Trixie demanded angrily. “Why would we take it? And who said that we did? What proof do they have?”
“I—I’m sorry. I am not permitted to say,” Miss Darcy answered. Then suddenly she buried her face in her hands, and her body shook with sobs.
“Miss Darcy?” Trixie ventured quietly. “I know those costumes are very important to you—”
“You—you couldn’t possibly know how important.” The drama teacher squared her shoulders and again drew a deep breath, trying to regain her composure.
Trixie looked directly at Miss Darcy. “If you’ll give me until tomorrow morning, I promise I’ll find that costume for you.”
Eileen Darcy looked away from Trixie’s steady gaze. “I don’t know what to do anymore,” she said despairingly. “If you could help, I wouldn’t know how to thank you. That costume is very important to my—my friend in England.”
“Please, Miss Darcy,” Trixie pleaded, “let me try.”
“Very well,” she answered more hopefully. “I didn’t really believe you two had taken the gown.” She smiled weakly. “Run along, now. I’ll see you both in class. And Trixie, the moment you—”
“I know,” Trixie said as they left the office. “Don’t worry.”
Trixie could hardly contain her excitement. “How can I possibly go back and sit through two more classes before I—” She stopped, seeing the bewildered look on Di’s face. “Oh, Di!” she cried. “There’s so much I have to explain!” Trixie quickly gave her friend a summary of what had happened so far. Di listened quietly, her eyes growing bigger as Trixie related each episode.
“Sometimes I think I must be as blind as a bat,” Di sighed. “All of this was going on right under my nose, and I didn’t suspect a thing! Who do you think told Miss Darcy that we took the costume?”
“Why, Peter Ashbury, of course.”
“But, Trixie,” Di said, thinking hard, “how could he have told Miss Darcy, unless he was here this morning between the first announcement and the one asking for us? I suppose he could have called her, but don’t you think it was probably someone in school?”
“Di! You’re absolutely right!” Trixie cried, giving her friend a quick hug. “What an idiot I am! Mart was right when he said that I have a one-track mind sometimes.”
Di looked confused again. “Don’t you see?” Trixie explained. “It must have been Jane Morgan who told Miss Darcy that we took the costume—” She was interrupted by the sound of the second-hour bell. Students began pouring out of classrooms, filling the hallway. “I’ll tell you the rest later,” Trixie promised as she and Di parted and hurried to their classes.
The next two hours were torture for Trixie, but finally they were over, and she hurried to the auditorium. She stationed herself at the entrance to the wardrobe room and waited for Jane Morgan.
“Jane.” Trixie stopped her in the hallway. “Could I talk to you for a minute?”
“About what?” Jane snapped.
“About the velvet gown,” Trixie answered evenly, reminding herself to keep calm.
Jane shrugged. “What about it?”
“You know what I mean. You have it!”
“How dare you accuse me—”
“The same way you accused me,” Trixie interrupted coldly.
Jane looked away and didn’t answer. Trixie went on, “Listen, I don’t care about you, and you obviously don’t like me, either, but that costume is more important than you think. It could really be a matter of life or death for Miss Darcy!”
Jane eyed her suspiciously. “I always knew you were nosy and got involved where you didn’t belong, Trixie Belden, but I didn’t know you were so melodramatic.”
Trixie was furious. “You’re the actress!” she snapped.
Jane turned on her heel and stalked into the wardrobe room, slamming the door behind her. Trixie stood in the narrow corridor, angrily clenching and unclenching her fists. I’ll find that costume yet! she vowed to herself.
All through drama class, Trixie was seething, and at the lunch table, her anger finally erupted. Sputtering with indignation, she related the morning’s events to the rest of the Bob-Whites.
Jim whistled when she had finished. “It looks as if you have an honest-to-goodness mystery here now.”
“But, Trixie,” Honey asked, “why do you suspect Jane, and not Peter Ashbury, of taking the costume?”
“He could have taken it,” Trixie admitted. “I think they both want it, but for different reasons. I have a feeling that Jane wanted to get Di in trouble so that she would be kicked out of the play.”
“Of course!” Di cried. “You are so smart sometimes!”
“Not always,” Trixie laughed dryly. “In fact, Di, you’re the one who made me suspect Jane instead of Ashbury. Now I’ve got to figure out how to get her to admit it. Do you think I could get a search warrant?”
“How about a polygraph?” Mart suggested teasingly.
“A polly what?” Di asked.
“A lie detector,” Mart explained.
Trixie jumped up. “That’s it!” she cried, gathering up her books.
“You’re going to give Jane a lie-detector test?” Brian asked laughingly.
“No, but I do have an idea that I think will make Jane more than happy to tell me everything she knows about that costume.”
Trixie got up and quickly scanned the lunchroom, searching for Jane and her friends. She finally spotted Patty Morris at a table on the far side of the room. She strolled over casually.
“Patty,” Trixie asked, “do you know where Jane is?”
“She went home.” Patty shrugged. “She said she felt as if she was getting the flu.”
I'll bet she did! Trixie thought. “Okay, thanks,” she said nonchalantly.
“Well?” Honey asked eagerly when Trixie returned.
“Jane went home sick,” she explained. “I think we should go and visit her after school, Honey, don’t you? She only lives a few blocks from here. We’ll just drop by to see how she’s feeling.” She grinned at Honey mischievously. “Brian, will you
please tell Moms that Honey and I had to stay late tonight and that we’ll take a cab home?”
“I don’t know about this, Trixie,” Jim said doubtfully. “Maybe one of us should go with you.”
“Nonsense!” Trixie cried. “I have everything under control.”
Trixie spent the rest of the afternoon planning exactly what she was going to say to Jane, but it turned out to be unnecessary. Jane was waiting for her when she and Honey got out of their last class.
“Jane!” Trixie exclaimed in surprise. “I thought you went home.”
“I did,” the girl said nervously, “but I had to talk to you.”
“Why don’t we get away from this crowd?” Trixie suggested. The three girls turned down a side corridor and found an empty bench to sit on.
“Actually, I am kind of scared,” Jane said nervously. “I supposedly went home sick today. If any of my teachers should see me—”
“Wasn’t your mother suspicious when you wanted to come back to school at three o’clock?” Honey asked.
“My mom isn’t home during the day,” Jane explained. “She works. I just spent the afternoon alone—thinking.” Trixie and Honey waited for her to go on. “You’ll miss your bus if I don’t hurry up and tell you,” she said in a distracted way.
“Don’t worry about that, Jane. We’ll get home later. Now, what is it?” Trixie asked impatiently.
“I-It’s very hard for me to admit,” Jane began hesitantly, lowering her eyes. “You see, I didn’t mean to keep the dress. I—I just... borrowed it for a while.”
“Where is it?” Trixie asked.
“It’s at home, in my closet,” Jane said, her eyes filling with tears. “I don’t know what to
do. I suppose I should go tell Miss Darcy.”
“No,” Trixie said quickly. “Come on, let’s go get the dress, and then we’ll come back and tell her.”
“Trixie!” Honey cried. “You know—”
“I do know,” Trixie said, “finally! But I want to make sure. Come on, let’s go!”
As the three girls walked the five blocks to the Morgan house, Jane desperately tried to explain. “You see, I wanted to play the part of Juliet so much, and Di looked so beautiful in that costume, I just couldn’t stand it anymore. I heard you tell my uncle when you came to pick up Reddy on Friday that you were going back to school, and I thought....”
“If you took the dress and blamed it on us, Di would be out of the play,” Trixie finished for her.
“That’s right.” Jane nodded sadly. “I’m so sorry. I really am ashamed of myself.”
You should be, Trixie thought, but she held her tongue. “Actually, that isn’t important now. You can apologize to Miss Darcy—and to Di—later. Right now, we’ve got to get that costume.”
The three girls arrived at the Morgan house and quickly got the velvet gown from Jane’s closet.
“See—here it is, safe and sound,” Jane sighed. “Now we’ve got to get right back to Miss Darcy’s office,” Trixie urged.
“I hope you know what you’re doing,” Honey said uncertainly. >
“Of course I do,” Trixie answered. “Now, let’s hurry.” Trixie carried the dress as they raced back to school.
“I’m sorry about this whole thing,” Jane apologized again as she knocked on Miss Darcy’s office door. “I guess I got carried away with my own jealousy. I really didn’t mean to hurt anyone or get you in trouble.”
“We know,” Honey said sympathetically. “Miss Darcy must not be here. See if the door is unlocked,” Trixie said impatiently.
Jane turned the knob. “It’s open, but I don’t think we should—”
“Gleeps! You’re as bad as Honey is sometimes!” Trixie wailed. She pushed past Jane into the office. “I think Miss Darcy is in trouble. We’ve got to help her.”
Trixie laid the costume on a chair, and Jane and Honey glanced nervously around the room.
“The catalog first,” Trixie said, her eyes searching the office. “Here it is!” she cried excitedly as she pounced on the catalog. She quickly turned the pages until she found the illustration of the velvet gown. “Now, there’s got to be something about this....” she mused.
“I feel funny being here,” Jane said. “I’m in enough trouble already.”
“So do I,” Honey shuddered. “It’s as if we’re on the verge of getting caught for something that we’re not supposed to be doing, which we aren’t supposed to be... I mean, we aren’t supposed to be in here!”
“Honey, puh-leeze!” Trixie begged. “Whenever you start talking like that, I know you’re nervous. Besides, I’m trying to concentrate on— Omigosh! Look at this!” Honey and Jane hurried to her side.
“See?” Trixie said, almost squealing, and pointing to the illustration of the velvet gown. “This picture is different. All the others are plain black and white, but this one’s colored in. Quick, hand me the dress. So that’s what Miss Darcy was ‘fixing!’ ” Trixie cried as she spread the dress out on the desk and examined it carefully.
Both Jane and Honey looked puzzled. Trixie continued to explain. “See, some of the costume decorations in the picture are colored in blue pencil. Now, look at the dress. Miss Darcy has removed some of the decorations already, but there are a lot more, according to this picture, that she obviously didn’t have time to cut off before Jane took the dress.”
Honey gasped. “Those aren’t just paste decorations, then. They’re—”
“Real jewels,” Trixie affirmed grimly.
Jane turned pale. “You mean—” Trixie nodded. “I think I’m going to faint,” Jane said.
“Oh, for goodness sake, don’t do that,” Trixie said impatiently. “We need your help.”
“Mine?” Jane squeaked.
“Yes.” Trixie’s tone was firm. “I want you to call Miss Darcy at home right now and admit to taking the costume. Ask her to come here immediately, and then—”
“But, Trixie,” Jane interrupted, “I don’t know if I can do it!”
“Of course you can. You were going to have to tell her, anyway,” Trixie said decisively. She picked up the catalog once more, and as she did an envelope slipped out and drifted to the floor.
Trixie picked it up quickly. It was unsealed, and the contents spilled out.
“Here’s that safe-deposit receipt and the pictures of the costumes again. But what’s this?” She unfolded a tissue-thin piece of paper, then gasped as she read it. “Listen!” she cried:
“Miss Darcy: Within the next several days, you will be receiving a catalog from the Shakespearean Costume Company of London. A certain costume will be marked with light blue shading, indicating the placement of valuable gems. Several days after you receive the catalog, the costumes will arrive. You are to remove the gems, as indicated in the catalog, and store them in a safe-deposit box that has been registered in your name at the First National Bank of Sleepyside, New York. You will be contacted and instructed as to where the jewels are to be delivered. If you notify the police or anyone else about this matter, you will never see your father again. Beware. You are being watched carefully.”
Jane leaned heavily against the wall. “You were right, then,” she said shakily. “I didn’t quite believe that those jewels were real. It’s just so hard to imagine—I feel like I’m in a movie or something!”
“You’re not used to Trixie,” Honey said, “although even that isn’t much help now. I’m shocked, too.”
“This must be the letter that Miss Darcy said she received the night of the accident with Reddy,” Trixie mused, “but it certainly isn’t from a ‘friend.’ ” She added slowly, “No wonder she was so upset! And you know, I think the person who intends to pick up those jewels is none other than our old friend Peter Ashbury.”
Trixie picked up the phone and dialed directory assistance. “We’ve got to let her know that we’ve got the dress, before Ashbury finds out it was missing, or else her father—” She broke off abruptly. “The number for Eileen Darcy in Sleep
yside, please.... Thank you,” she said, writing hurriedly. She broke the connection, then dialed Miss Darcy’s number.
“There’s no answer!” Trixie wailed, dropping the receiver back into its cradle. “I wonder if— We’d better call for a cab right away.” She picked up the phone again.
“I think we should call the police,” Jane said nervously. “If there are real jewels involved and a real kidnapping....”
“It’s real enough, all right,” Trixie said, “but we’re not going to call the police. Not yet, anyway. We’ve got to get to your house,-Honey.”
“My house? Why?”
“Whom do you think Miss Darcy would turn to if she were in trouble—especially now, when the only thing that can save her father has been stolen?”
“Miss Trask!” Honey cried. “Of course! You are so smart, Trixie.”
“I’m afraid I’m not smart enough soon enough, sometimes,” she groaned as she dialed the cab service.
The door of the office flew open. “Your cab is already here,” Peter Ashbury snarled. Honey and Jane whirled around. Trixie gulped as her eyes fell on the gun in his hand.
“I know it’s impolite to eavesdrop,” he said, “but I couldn’t help overhearing your interesting conversation. So you think you’ve got the whole thing figured out, do you? Come on, you little snoops,” he said harshly, motioning toward the door. “I’ll be glad to give you a lift. After all, I do owe you a favor. You found the dress, and you’re leading me right to Eileen Darcy.”
The three girls stood paralyzed with fear.
“Come on!” he snapped again, grabbing the catalog and envelope from Trixie’s hands. “That stupid woman—leaving this stuff around for anyone to find!”
He picked up the dress and folded it over the gun. “Now, move! I’ve got the car parked in the back lot. And don’t try anything tricky, or you’ll all be sorry,” he threatened. They filed out of the office and walked slowly down the corridor.
The Final Curtain ● 11
The Mystery of the Velvet Gown Page 11