The Hudson River Mystery

heavy sigh. Perhaps there was a simple answer to the question about Thea’s car, she reasoned. But one problem for which she was sure no simple answers existed was the shark. Thea had asked them to let her do some checking first. In the meantime, however, surely there was something Trixie could do. I wonder....
    Her mind beset by one riddle too many, Trixie fell into a deep, troubled sleep.

    When the alarm jangled her awake the following morning, Trixie was no closer to answers about Thea or the shark. But somehow, in her sleep, she had reached the decision to shove those concerns to the back of her mind and concentrate on helping her brother.
    Riding on the school bus, she was still pondering just what course of action she should take next, when a shout rang in her ear: ”I said,
    ’Good morning!’ Are you still asleep?”
    ”Huh? Oh, hi, Di,” Trixie mumbled.
    Di playfully jabbed Trixie with her elbow. ”What’s with you Beldens this morning? First I wish Brian a happy birthday, and all he does is stare back at me. Then I have to tell you good morning three times, just to get your attention!”
    ”There’s nothing wrong with us,” Trixie snapped. ”It’s a bit early in the morning for long-winded conversation.” She glanced anxiously at Brian, sitting several seats ahead of her and Di.
    ”I was just joking,” Di said plaintively.
    ”Gleeps, I’m sorry, Di. I didn’t mean to bite your head off. It’s just kind of early, you know?”
    Di nodded, then leaned closer to Trixie, her blue-black hair falling against her face. ”Have you noticed Brian acting a little, well, uh, funny lately?”
    Trixie’s heart sank. Don’t tell me even Di has picked up on Brian’s strange behavior , she thought. Oh, well, Brian told Honey and me to keep his secret from the other Bob-Whites for now, but he didn’t say the other Bob-Whites couldn’t talk to us.
    ”What do you mean?” she asked Di.
    ”Just that I’ve always thought of Brian as super smart, even smarter than Mart. That is, Mart is really clever, and smart, too. But Brian’s smartness is so great that it makes up for the fact that he’s not as clever with words as Mart, if you know what—”
    ”Get to the point,” Trixie begged.
    ”I am, I am. The point is, lately Brian seems kind of, well, uh—like he’s not interested in anything. Yesterday, even though I was wearing a new dress, he hardly noticed me, and today he seemed to be looking right through me. I don’t know—maybe I’m wrong, but do you think he could be studying too hard? Why, I hardly see him outside of school anymore, now that he’s always down at the river working on that old chemistry project. I’ll bet Loyola Kevins has been seeing more of him these days than all the Bob-Whites combined—”
    The bus jerked to a stop.
    ”It’s been great chatting with you,” Trixie said quickly as she grabbed her books. ”I’ll see you at lunch!”
    Trixie hoped that she hadn’t hurt Di’s feelings, but Di’s ramblings had given her an idea and she knew she had to hurry if she wanted to follow up on it.
    Trixie tore into the school building ahead of the others on her bus and headed straight for her locker. Sure enough, Loyola had just picked up
    her books and was walking down the corridor toward her homeroom. She turned around as she heard her name echoing through the hall.
    ”Hi,” Trixie said breathlessly, searching for the most direct way of broaching her subject. She suddenly felt that she didn’t really know Loyola all that well. ”Uh, how did you do on Monday’s chemistry test?”
    The black girl broke into a smile. ”I received the highest grade in the class. Why?”
    ”Er, congratulations. I was just wondering— you know, Brian was disappointed in his grade.”
    ”I know,” Loyola said politely.
    ”Well, he’s kind of worried about it, and—”
    ”I don’t blame him. A few more test scores like that, and his chances of getting into a top college could be shot. But if you’re asking me to tutor him, I’m afraid my schedule is too full right now. Maybe—”
    ”No, nothing like that,” said Trixie. ”I’m sure Brian doesn’t need private coaching. It’s just that there seems to be something bothering him, and I thought you might have a clue.”
    Loyola shook her head.
    ”Nothing?” Somehow Trixie had been expecting Loyola to give her all the answers, or at least some educated guesses.
    ”He seems fine to me. Of course, I don’t know him as