The Mystery at Mead's Mountain

on her head, and her features were delicate and finely chiseled. Whispering and flashing smiles to each other, they stopped at the door next to the Bob-Whites’ suite.
    “Good morning,” Trixie greeted them and introduced herself. “We’re staying in the suite next to you. If we make too much noise, just bang on the wall.” They smiled and introduced themselves as Mr. and Mrs. Allessi. “Welcome,” said the woman. “Don’t worry about bothering us.”
    “Have a good day on the slopes,” said the man as they disappeared into their room.
    Honeymooners are lovely people, thought Trixie as she walked down the hall. Once she got outside in the courtyard, she took a deep breath of mountain air and gazed at the beautiful scenery around her.
    The lodge was situated in a hollow at the base of a string of mountains, and it was much larger than it had looked the previous night. The way its Alpine styling was silhouetted against the mountains almost convinced Trixie that she must be in a mountain meadow in Switzerland. She guessed that the largest peak in the chain of mountains must be Mead’s Mountain. Except for the mountains, most of the land Trixie could see around the lodge was gently sloping, forested hills.
    The main lobby and restaurant faced the mountains, showing off the spectacular view. Connected to the main building, and housing the guest rooms, was a rectangular building with the open courtyard in the center, where the swimming pool was located. A breezeway passed through the center of the courtyard, and Trixie followed it, marveling at how the sun made everything snow-covered shine like diamonds. Coming around to the front of the main lodge, she could see a bunny tow and a more advanced rope tow meet the start of the chair lift. She was looking forward to learning how to cross-country ski.
    Tromping through snowdrifts and breathing the invigorating air was making her hungry, so Trixie headed for the restaurant. None of the others were there yet, and she decided to wait outside the front entrance. She brushed the snow off a small bench in the sunshine and sat down. Soon engrossed in scribbling down her impressions of the lodge area into her notebook, she was startled when Jim sat down next to her.
    “Good morning,” he said. “And what a morning —just smell that air!” He took an extremely deep breath and started to slowly let it out.
    Sounds of crashing glass and a small child’s shrill scream cut short his exhale. Jim leaped up and went inside, Trixie close at his heels. He came to a halt just inside the door, and Trixie, unable to stop, bumped right into him. It had been so bright outside that at first she couldn’t see a thing except spots. When her eyes adjusted, she was horrified to see a small, barefoot girl about five years old, standing amid the debris of a broken peanut butter jar.
    “Don’t move,” Jim ordered, slowly approaching the girl. The little girl, taken by surprise, stood perfectly still and quit crying.
    “I broke my peanut butter,” she sniffed. “That’s my most favorite thing of all.”
    Jim gingerly stepped into the mess, picked up the girl, and carried her to a table. Trixie watched him examine the girl’s feet for cuts and thought, Jim is so good and tender with small children. In a few minutes, Jim had the curly-haired girl laughing.
    “You won’t tell my mama, will you? I’m supposed to be in bed,” she pleaded, pointing to her pajamas.
    Just then a lovely woman with thick black braids and wearing a floor-length skirt came rushing into the room. Behind her was Miss Trask.
    “Rosie, I told you to stay in bed. What are you doing in here?” the woman scolded, gathering the girl into her arms.
    Rosie burst into tears again and wailed, “I broke the peanut butter. I got hungry and I broke the peanut butter.”
    “Oh, Rosie, how many times have I told you not to take things that don’t belong to you? You know you’re not supposed to get into the pantry.”
    This additional scolding only brought more tears.
    “You’re very lucky, honey, because I just happen to have another jar of peanut butter in the pantry,” the woman said soothingly. “Now, let’s see if you’re okay.”
    “That man said I was okay. He saved me,” Rosie sniffed solemnly. She pointed to Jim, causing Jim’s face to turn the same shade of red as his hair.
    The woman stepped forward, extending her hand to Jim. “I’m Katie O’Brien,” she said warmly. “I’m grateful to you