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Trixie Belden and the Anthrocon Mystery

Chapter 2- Questions are raised


"Madeleine, dear, that’s not funny," Mrs. Wheeler said, the unshed tears evident in her voice.

"Madeleine. Is that my name?" she asked slowly. Concern wrinkled her pretty brow. "I really can’t remember anything. I don’t know who you are, or even who I am. Is that normal? Is there something wrong with me?"

Dennis jumped in before anything else could be said. "You were in an auto accident, Madeleine. You hit your head on the passenger side window hard enough to crack the glass through a side air bag. I’d say that your memory loss is due to that." The Wheelers nodded. "Tell you what, I’ll leave you with your parents, to get reacquainted, if nothing else, and let your friends know that you’re awake." He turned his wheelchair, and once she couldn’t see him anymore, the cheerful look on his face disappeared.

The first words from Trixie’s mouth when she saw him exit the room were, "What’s wrong with her?"

Dennis breathed deeply before saying, "Total amnesia. No memory of anything; not even her parents. I told her it was probably due to the impact of her head on the window. She’s already shaken up over not remembering anything." He slumped in the wheelchair. "I’ll admit that it’s a bit disheartening to have your girlfriend wake up and ask you ‘Who are you?’ and mean it."

Both her doctor and his arrived, and were quickly filled in. Her doctor shook his head. "I can’t say I’m entirely surprised by her amnesia, but I am surprised by its scope. Did anything else happen that you can remember?"

"No. I just remember the crunch, her scream stopping suddenly, and noticing that the car that had shoved us off the road had left as if, well, it was obvious that they really didn’t want to be there."

"Well," her doctor said, "I’d better head in and check her out. I’ll probably schedule a CT scan, just to ensure that the memory loss isn’t due to something we haven’t dealt with yet." He walked into her room, and they heard, "Hello, Miss Wheeler, I’m your doctor. Let’s have..." before the door closed.

Before conversation could start, Dennis’ doctor spoke up. "You know, son, I don’t know whether to be amazed or infuriated, concerning you."

"Try both," Dennis quipped without humor. "It’ll save time."

Ignoring him, the man continued. "I mean, the same day as a major auto accident in which you broke your left leg to the point where we placed that heavy cast on you, you get up on crutches and go down to the lobby! On the other hand, you’re showing none of the signs that we usually see with a concussion. To be honest, the EMTs said that it was almost as if someone had already treated you before they got there, with how fast you seemed to recover." He shook his head. "Just to verify - you’re not feeling nausea, dizziness, lightheaded, or experiencing double vision?"

"None of the above. My leg hurts like a real sonovagun, but I’m not surprised by that, and my stomach is starting to ask if my throat has been cut, but beyond that, I’m fine to the best of my knowledge."’

The doctor looked to Mr. Wheeler as he left Honey’s room. "I understand you’re friends of his. With no family, can I release him into your care?" He looked back to Dennis. "I know that, legally, you can check yourself out of the hospital, but I’d prefer someone be around to catch you if you fall."

"I understand completely, doctor. I’m not quite as stupid as I was yesterday. Your little, um, conversation with me when I got back to my room actually managed to make it through my thick skull. I have no problems with being released into the care of the Wheeler family, if they don’t have a problem with it."

"It’s fine with me," Mr. Wheeler answered.

"I’d prefer you stay here, but we have a bed shortage, like all the hospitals, and you’re well enough to handle things, as long as they’re around to keep an eye on you," his doctor said. "Bring him back here immediately if he shows any signs of distress, other than the pain of the broken leg." Mr. Wheeler nodded solemnly.

Dennis frowned. "Has anyone checked with the police about the remnants of my car?"

Mr. Wheeler replied. "I did. For anyone other than you to get anything out of the car, we’d need a signed statement from you. I took the liberty of writing one up, just in case you needed something from there immediately."

"Well, our suitcases might be nice. Nothing else in the car I was worried about, other than the girl in that room over there."

"What about that costume you built?" Dan asked. "I remember Brian going on about the workmanship you were putting into that thing. You’d said you were bringing it down for the convention."

"Shipped it separately. It needed its own case. There’s a lot of parts to that thing, remember."

"I took the liberty of getting us all rooms at the Adams Mark hotel," Mr. Wheeler said. "It’s close enough to the hospital, and on the off chance that you still feel like attending, Dennis, you’ll be able to."

Dennis narrowed his eyes slightly. "Actually, I think I need to go to the convention. There are some people there I’ve needed to see for several months." He frowned. "Whether I want to or not." He shook his head, and nearly fell over in his chair. "I think I need to get to the cafeteria, like, yesterday," he muttered, and began rolling himself away.

"I’ll join you," Jim said. "Let me push you, if you’re that hungry. I can get us there faster." He headed off with Dennis. Mr. Wheeler, on the other hand, headed to fill out paperwork, both for Dennis, and for his own daughter.

Trixie was frowning, and Mart chuckled. "It seems my dear sister has sniffed out yet another mystery with what our chair-bound friend calls ‘her unerring sense that something is amiss’."

"Whatever," she murmured, not really paying any attention to him, which made Dan’s eyebrows rise. Unaware of this, she began to speak. "First, who shoved him off the road? Second, why? Third, what is so important that he’s actually considering going to that convention? Fourth, and last one I can think of right now, what is so important that he’s more worried about the convention than he is about his own girlfriend? Are three and four the same thing?" She looked up at Mart and Dan. "Actually, fifth, why do I have a feeling that this connects with the odd vandalisms that have been occurring around the old Frayne...I mean, around his property?"

"I think you do Dennis an injustice," Mart said. "Note, for example, the frown upon his countenance as he contemplated said convention. Dyspeptic, at the very least."

"I agree with Mart, I think," Dan laughed, "assuming he was saying that Dennis may not have ulterior motives. Remember, he’s said a few times that there are people he simply doesn’t like who are going to be there."

Mr. Wheeler walked back into the room. "I’ve got the paperwork dealt with. I also received a call from the Lynches. When I informed them of Madeleine’s condition, they agreed to cut their vacation short."

"I’m glad she’ll be here," Trixie said, "but I wish they hadn’t had to end the vacation sooner than they wanted to."

"To be honest," Mr. Wheeler said, "they were getting a little sick of France. Attitudes toward Americans have never really been all that good. Nothing violent; just condescending. That gets tiresome after a while."

"I couldn’t say," Trixie said with a wry grin. "I’ve never been there."

Mr. Wheeler laughed. "Point taken, Trixie. Anyway, they’ll be flying directly into Philadelphia, and I’ll send a limousine for them." He pulled out his cell phone. "Perhaps I’ll see if the Adams Mark has any more rooms available." He pulled out his cell phone.

Trixie was lost in thought again, and said slowly, "Mr. Wheeler, make it one single room for them. I think Di and I will share Dennis’ room." When everyone looked at her in shock, she answered, "What? He’s trustworthy, as far as the bed is concerned. People are expecting him to have someone there with him, too. He’s grumbled about someone who keeps making jokes about his fictional girlfriend, so Di and I can have a little fun there. And, to be honest, who do you think will be on the couch? Certainly not Di or me!" she laughed. "And can you imagine him chasing either one of us around the room with that leg of his right now? Really, though, it gives me a chance to see what the heck he’s up to. Maybe he’ll drop his guard enough to let something slip."

"Now that’s my sister," Mart laughed. "Always for the mystery. No matter what it does to her reputation," he finished melodramatically. He didn’t catch the amused look that Dan and Trixie shot each other momentarily.

A slight commotion caught everyone’s attention, and Trixie squealed happily. "Brian! What the heck are you doing here?"

The handsome dark haired man ran up, talking a mile a minute. "You think I could concentrate on the hospitals when I know two of my best friends are in the hospital? How are they? Where’s Honey? Where’s Dennis? I stopped by his room, and he wasn’t there!"

Mart laughed. "Brian, calm down! You’re starting to sound like Trixie!"

Brian took a deep breath as Trixie shot Mart a dirty look. "You’re right; I need to calm down. Okay. First question, I’ll answer. I explained the situation to the hospitals I was going to see, and I’ll reschedule as soon as I know everything is all right. They were quite understanding. The rest of my questions, though, are in your court. How are they doing?"

Trixie frowned. "Well, do you want the good news or the bad news first?" Brian’s eyes widened, then narrowed as he frowned slightly. Grimacing, she said, "Good news is that Dennis is bruised and battered, and has a broken right leg, but he’s mostly okay. Bad news is in there - Honey was on the side of the car that hit the tree. Her right arm and leg were broken, the leg badly enough that they had to pin it. They dealt with some internal bleeding too. Worst of it is that she’s got no memory right now."

"Well, that’s normal after a major shock..."

"No, Brian, she has no memory right now. She looked up at Dennis and her parents and asked who they were, apparently."

"Oof. I’d imagine Dennis wasn’t terribly happy about that."

"No, I wasn’t," came a voice from down the hall. "But, it was a major accident, with a concussion at the very least, so I’m not terribly surprised by it." He popped the tiny remains of his hamburger in his mouth, which he then wiped clean. After swallowing, he said, "As of tomorrow, the Bob-Whites will all be here. The Lynches are coming back, too." He chuckled, a wry noise. "The Wheelers have gotten everyone hotel space at the hotel where the convention Mad and I were going to is being held. Be prepared for some major weirdness, people, if you hang around it at all."

Trixie frowned for a second. "Maybe we ought to attend. It might make it easier to talk with some of the people we’ll need to talk to."

Dennis was smiling with a raised eyebrow. "I’ve learned not to argue with you on this sort of thing. Can I ask you to tread very carefully, though? If the accident and the convention are linked, which I doubt, then you may very well be dealing with someone who really doesn’t value human life."

"Actually," Trixie said, "I’m almost certain that they’re connected. I have serious doubts that it was someone who randomly chooses to drive people off the road. That only happens in bad horror films. That means that it was someone who knows you and your car, and knew you’d be on that road. That means that they were lying in wait, probably with a stolen car, until you passed. Therefore, they knew you were going to that convention, and may very well be there themselves." She cocked her head at him, smiling. "As for the other thought, have you ever known me to intentionally put myself in danger?" she asked. Dennis was saved the burden of answering that when the other Bob-Whites snickered and snorted their amusement. She spun on them, cheeks flaming.

Honey’s doctor came out of the room at that moment with a look that was hard to categorize. "I think we’ll need to do a CT scan, Mrs. Wheeler," he said after the door closed, "but I don’t think that it’s going to show any problems. I only want to do it to verify that."

"Why did she lose her memory, then, if nothing’s wrong with her?" she asked.

"I’m betting it’s simply the massive shock she took. I expect that those memories will start filtering back in any time now." He looked up at the rest of the group. "You can go in and visit, but not all at once, please. And please, remember that she is likely not to remember who you are just yet. It’s unlikely that they’ll all come crashing back in on her"

"Doctor, may I talk to you for a moment?" Brian asked. "I’m studying to be a doctor, and I’m just wondering if I can ask you what you thought of, so that I can match it against my own thoughts. I already heard you mention the CT scan."

"Certainly! Which field? Neurology? General practitioner? I understand that there’s always a need for..." as they walked off to the side. The others were smiling.

"Now there’s a dedicated young man," Mrs. Wheeler exclaimed with a smile. She looked to the Bob-Whites and said, "According to the doctor, he truly believes that it’s purely a temporary thing due purely to the accident. I’m just sorry Dennis found out the way he did."

Dennis smiled sadly. "Life happens, Mrs. Wheeler. I’d rather this than the alternative. It’s a bit harder to come back from dead." He grimaced. "Sorry - thoughts taking a dark turn again." He shook his head to clear it. "So, the Lynches arrive on Friday, and so does the convention. Any of you guys willing to share the room with me?" He looked at Jim and Dan, then over to Brian. "Well, I ought to ask him as well."

Trixie was blushing as Mart laughed. "Trixie made the decision for us. She and Diana will take your bed, and you get the couch."

"Um," was all he managed for a few moments. "Not that I’m complaining about having two pretty girls in my room, but why?"

"Apparently you’ve muttered imprecations about the guy who keeps accusing you of having a virtual girlfriend? Well, Trixie figures that you walking the convention with two pretty girls on your arms might shut him or her up." He laughed. "I’m also pretty sure you’re not interested in Diana, especially after that incident we rehashed, so I’m not worried..."

"...and either Jim or Dan could and would tear my arms off if I touched Trixie inappropriately. That assumes, of course, that you or Brian let it get to them."

Trixie grinned a feral grin. "And that assumes that I left them anything. A pretty good sensei moved into town a while back, remember."

Dennis smiled. "Trust me, gentlemen - you do not want to learn to touch your nose with your elbow. Any of the ladies would teach me how to if I did something ... inappropriate." Dan looked thoughtful for a moment, and then simply finished Dennis’ statement with a sympathetic "Ow."

"I think it’s time we headed in to say hi to Honey," Trixie said as Brian was walking back over with a smile. Honey’s doctor smiled and continued on his way.

"Not that I’m a doctor yet, but it’s nice to know that I pegged just about everything. There were a couple things I didn’t, but we haven’t gotten that far in my studies, and they were minor in any case. He recommended no more than three at a time, and that might even be too many. Why don’t Jim and Trixie go in first? Of the entire group, those two have known her longest." He looked over to Dennis. "That may very well be why she didn’t recognize you when she woke up. You’re the newest to our little group."

"What about her parents, though?" Dennis asked.

Mrs. Wheeler blushed as she answered it. "We weren’t as involved with Madeleine’s youth as we should have been. Rather than being there for her, I handed her off to a succession of governesses, and never really started to know my own daughter until we moved to Sleepyside. So the Bob-Whites might very well know my child better than I do."

"Well, she’s here, so you can change that, Mrs. Wheeler," Trixie said.

"Let’s head on in, Trixie," Jim said. The two of them stepped into Honey’s room and the door closed behind them. When they came back out a few minutes later, Trixie had an odd look on her face, almost as if she wanted to laugh and cry at the same time. Jim was shaking his head, too. "She almost seemed to recognize us. She thought we looked familiar, but no names, yet."

"It was almost funny, and I’m sure we’ll laugh about it someday. But I think I understand how Dennis feels right now. It’s odd to look at your best friend and not have her know you."

"Yeah," Dennis replied. "Not fun, is it?" Mart and Brian headed in next. They came out a few minutes later, very excited.

"She recognized Brian!" Mart exclaimed. "We walked in and she focused on us with some trouble, and then she smiled. ‘Brian, right?’ she asked, and he..."

"I noted you’re leaving out your part, ‘Marvin’," Brian laughed. "Honestly, it’s a good sign. For whatever reason, Mart and I triggered a memory or a series of memories. We talked with her for a while, and she even started to remember the name of the town we live in." He shrugged. "Well, she was remembering that it ended in ‘-side’. It’s a good start, considering she was in horrible condition yesterday. I took a look at her charts," he ended in explanation.

"I guess I’ll go in now," Dan said.

"I’ll join you," Dennis said. "Maybe she’ll start to recognize me now."

When they left the room, Dennis was looking extremely bewildered, and Dan was looking puzzled and angry. "Why?" was all Dennis would say as he headed over for a corner.

"What happened?" Trixie asked. "Why are you so angry?"

"She was scared of him!" Dan growled softly. "She recognized me, not by name, though, and smiled. She recognized him as the guy who’d been there when she woke up. As we talked, she kept stealing glances back at him, and finally her eyes widened, and she started to whimper. When we asked what was wrong, she asked us to go. She was crying as we left the room." He was scowling. "What the hell did he do that’s got her so scared of him?"

"Good question," Trixie said, staring at Dennis, who was sitting in the corner of the room with his eyes closed and his forehead wrinkled with some obviously unpleasant thoughts, based on his scowl. She continued. "Definitely something to find out."id="Layer 1">


Beatrix "Trixie" Belden, Mart Belden, Brian Belden, Dan Mangan, Diana Lynch, Mr. and Mrs. Lynch, Matthew and Madeleine E. Wheeler, Mr. and Mrs. Belden, and Madeleine G. Wheeler copyright Random House

David "Galadrion" Adrian, Shirh Khan (Kaye), Clint "Concolor" McInnes, Evan "Cateagle" Mayerle, Mike "Old Gray Raccoon" Regan, Dorothy "Catspaw" McComb, Keith "FawkesFyre" McComb, MeJeep are used with permission, and are copyright and trademark their parents.

Any others not so mentioned are copyright 2003-2004 Keith E. McComb

Any resemblence to other people, living or dead, or situations is purely coincidental, and no harm is intended.


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