The Hudson River Mystery

about Dracula inside the clubhouse.”
    ”That’s not the same—” Trixie began hotly. She chewed her lip. Her strongest impulse was to jerk Susie around and take off into the woods in a huff. On the other hand, a temper tantrum wasn’t going to solve anything. These were her close friends, and surely they meant well.
    Jim saw her turmoil. ”Maybe you could report what you saw to the authorities,” he said doubtfully. ”Sergeant Molinson might have something helpful to say.”
    ”The sergeant would laugh at me if I said, ’The sun is shining today,’ ” Trixie grumbled. ”I can just imagine what he’d do if I told him about the shark.”
    ”But the sun isn’t shining today,” said Honey, unable to stop a broad smile from spreading across her face.
    Trixie glared at her. ”You know perfectly well what I mean, Honey Wheeler. And anyway, I’ve already thought of reporting what I saw to the authorities. I just think I should see it one more time—”
    Abruptly she sat up in her saddle. ”There’s Killifish Road right up there. We can take that down to the river and see if we spot anything mysterious. Come on, let’s go!”
    Jim stopped her with a shake of his head. ”Your ears do need checking. Didn’t you hear Honey? The sun isn’t shining. You won’t be able to see a thing, the way this fog is rolling in.”
    ”You’re right,” Trixie said glumly. ”As my brilliant brother would say, it’s getting to be as thick as sea poup. Anyway, speaking of authorities—and I don’t mean Mart—the person I’d really like to talk to is Thea. She’s supposed to be the Hudson expert. I was dying to talk to her last night, but I didn’t get the chance.”
    ”She’s an interesting person, isn’t she?” remarked Honey. ”Not at all what we pictured! I like her, except she seems to be a little moody.”
    ”Mysterious,” Trixie agreed.
    Jim and Honey shared a chuckle. ”What do you mean—mysterious?” they chorused.
    Trixie flushed again. ”Well, the fact that she has an expensive car but claims to be underpaid.” At Honey’s warning look, she added quickly, ”I know, I know—we’ve sort of got that question under control. But then there’s what Brian told me this morning—that Thea’s always been simply crazy about sharks. Plus I found out that Thea feels uncomfortable around children! How do you explain that in a children’s book writer?”
    Jim thought for a moment. ”Maybe that’s why she’s a writer.”
    ”What?”
    ”Instead of a teacher or librarian or mother,” he went on. ”This way, she doesn’t have to be around kids that much, but she can still be working with them, so to speak.”
    ”And Loyola said that Thea was interested in Hudson River fish,” Honey said. ”And sharks are fish, aren’t they?”
    ”Not in the-Hudson, they’re not, apparently,” grumbled Trixie. ”Oh, well, I still would like to get to know Thea better. She just strikes me as a little mys—”
    ”Please don’t use that word again,” Jim said. ”Please,” Honey repeated. ”Pretty soon you’re bound to start applying it to Jim and me!”
    ”You’re going to be a wonderful detective,” said Jim, leaning over to tap Trixie’s hand, ”so don’t go around putting yourself down. Only— try to remember that not everything holds a mystery, the way you sometimes think.” Embarrassed at Jim’s compliment, Trixie sought for a means of getting the spotlight off herself. ”Aren’t you guys freezing?” she asked hastily. ”Well, I’ll bet the horses are. Poor Susie’s going to wish I’d stuck to vegetables.”
    ”We’d better get back,” Jim agreed, ”before this fog gets any soupier.”
    The three riders wound their way carefully back to the Wheeler stable. Trixie was silent, not just because she was concentrating on not getting herself lost in the mist. She was still brooding over Jim’s frankness in telling her she was becoming a laughingstock.
    Well, they can laugh all they want, she fumed silently. And much as I hate to admit it, there probably is no mystery involved. But if there is something weird going on around here, I’m going to get to the bottom of it... somehow.

Unexpected Clues • 12

    A SQUABBLE WITH MART that night led Trixie to plot her next move.
    ”I trust my equestrienne sibling had a felicitous outing,” he said over dinner. ”Although leave it to you to select such a vaporous day for it.”
    Trixie mentally counted to ten while she helped