The Mystery at Maypenny's

“Is Honey all right?”
    Trixie nodded, then gulped. Honey was all right, but it was no thanks to Trixie. Now that the danger was almost past, Trixie realized, as she always did, what a close escape she’d had.
    The police car, with Sergeant Molinson at the wheel, pulled up behind David Maypenny’s car just as John Score was hauling the culprit out of the woods.
    “Let go of that man!” Sergeant Molinson ordered.
    Trixie ran to the policeman. “No, no!” she shouted. “You don’t understand! It’s the other one! Arrest him!”
    Sergeant Molinson stared at Trixie in amazement. Then he looked back at John Score and David Maypenny. “I don’t know what’s going on here,” he said, “but we’re going to find out back at the station. You’re both under arrest.” Another squad car had pulled up behind Molinson’s, and as the two policemen got out, the sergeant motioned them toward Score and Maypenny.
    “No—” Trixie protested.
    Sergeant Molinson turned on her. “You be at the station at eight o’clock tomorrow morning. I’ll listen to your story then. From past experience, I’d say it will be a very entertaining one. But if you say one more word tonight, I’ll arrest you, too!”
    Trixie could tell Sergeant Molinson was angry enough to carry out his threat. She looked helplessly at John Score. To her surprise, he was grinning broadly. He could take care of himself, she realized. At least he wouldn’t be in real trouble once the whole story came out.
    Then she looked at David Maypenny. He was in real trouble, and he looked as if he knew it. Sergeant Molinson’s men were putting handcuffs on him, and he put up no resistance. He looks almost as if he's going to cry , Trixie thought.
    Honey had run over to the police car, where she was hugged by Jim—and, Trixie saw with surprise, by Mart and Brian. They must have been in the backseat all along , Trixie'thought. In the excitement, she hadn’t even noticed.
    “You have some explaining to do, as usual,” Brian told her sternly.
    Trixie looked at the ground. “I know,” she said. “Daddy will be furious. So will Moms. I don’t think Sergeant Molinson is very happy with me, either.”
    “Oh, Trixie, that isn’t the worst part,” Honey wailed.
    Trixie looked up. Honey’s blond hair was a tangled mess, with twigs and leaves still stuck in it from her race through the woods. Her face was dirtier than Trixie had ever seen it, and tears were coursing down through the dirt, leaving streaks.
    “What is it, Honey?” Trixie asked.
    “S-Somebody has to tell Mr. Maypenny that his nephew is a criminal!” Honey sobbed.

At the Police Station ● 14

    TRIXIE TURNED PALE. “Oh, woe,” she moaned. “I thought everything was taken care of, just because we found out who’s been poisoning the ducks. I didn’t think about Mr. Maypenny. How can we break the news to him?”
    “There’s only one piece of news you’ll be breaking yet tonight,” Sergeant Molinson said. “That’s the news that you’re safe and sound, which your parents are waiting to hear. There’s time enough to deal with the rest of it in the morning.”
    The sergeant herded the Bob-Whites into his car while his men took John Score and David Maypenny off to the police station.
    “How did you find us?” Trixie asked as they started off on the path toward home.
    “You found us, remember?” Jim teased.
    “Oh, Jim, you know what she means,” Honey said, too exhausted to be tactful. “Why were you boys riding down this path with Sergeant Molinson in the first place?”
    “I was in my room studying, and I started thinking about the way you girls had acted at the boathouse when I told you those ducks had been planted,” Jim explained. “I had a feeling you knew more than you were telling. I went to your room, Honey, to ask you about it, and you weren’t there. I looked all over the house, then I called the Beldens—”
    “That’s when we discovered that Trixie was missing, as well,” Brian supplied.
    “Based on your previously exhibited penchant for misadventure, we surmised it was time to phone the constabulary,” Mart added.
    “Since it was your reaction to the news about the ducks that had made me suspicious in the first place, the preserve seemed like the logical place to start looking,” Jim said.
    “I doubt that we’d have got to you in time if you hadn’t come running down the path,” Brian said soberly.
    “What do you suppose—” Trixie stopped short.