The Mystery of the Missing Heiress

Honey asked quickly.
    “No. She had intended to go with them. She changed her mind when she saw an article in a New York newspaper which mentioned her mother’s name. It seems there’s some land involved, in a little village north of here.”
    “Sleepyside,” Trixie said. “That’s where we all live. Where is Juliana now? Nobody answers the doorbell over there.” She gestured toward the De Jong home.
    “No. Juliana left this morning. She has her own car, a blue Volkswagen. She was going to take care of the business in Westchester County, then join the De Jong family in Pennsylvania. I’m awfully sorry you missed her. Won’t you come in for a cold drink before you go back home?”
    Trixie shook her head, then looked around at the others.
    “We aren’t tired, and we haven’t far to go,” she said. “It’s just over the Bronx River Parkway, then the Cross Country to Saw Mill River Road and the Glen Road exit. It won t take us more than an hour, at the most.”
    “Girls don’t get as thirsty as boys do,” Mrs. Hendricks said. “I have two of each myself. Do come in and have a Coke.”
    “Yes, ma’am!” Mart spoke up before Trixie could shake her head again.
    Mrs. Hendricks led the way, laughing. “What is it? What did you say?” she asked as her little boy pulled at her skirt.
    “Shall we ask their father to come in, too?” he said in a loud whisper.
    Mrs. Hendricks looked up inquiringly.
    Trixie shook her head. “No one is with us.”
    Mrs. Hendricks opened the screen door to a pleasant living room, where the television set was turned on.
    “I won t be a minute. Watch the program if you wish. Tommy was watching it. It’s the launching of the new spaceship.”
    “It’s just about to blast off,” Tommy told them. “See? There’s the last of the countdown. Ten, nine, eight, seven, six, five, four, three, two... wowiel There she goes into orbit—and here’s Mom with the Cokes.”
    They watched till the spaceship became a pinpoint of light in the sky and they heard the heroic report from the capsule that everything was “Go!” For a while they sat and sipped, discussing the takeoff and—more important to them—Juliana. Mrs. Hendricks seemed very fond of her, and Tommy adored her.
    “She gave me some wooden shoes,” he said, running upstairs to get them; then he clumped back down wearing them. “Juliana used to live in Holland. I hope she never goes back.”
    “She’s very likely to when she marries,” his mother said. “She is engaged, you know.”
    “A letter from their old neighbor in The Hague, Mrs. Schimmel, told us that,” Jim said. “I just hope she won’t be married very soon. We want a chance to know her.” He put down his glass. “Thanks for everything, Mrs. Hendricks, but we’d better be shoving off. We don’t know where to look for Juliana in Sleepyside,” he explained to their hostess. “Won’t she go right to your home?”
    “Not unless she, too, had a letter from Mrs. Schimmel before she left,” Jim said. “I doubt that she did.”
    Honey shook her head positively. “I’m sure she didn’t. If she’d had a letter, I’m sure she would have telephoned you, Jim.”
    “It’s all kind of mixed up, you see,” Trixie said to Mrs. Hendricks and Tommy, who walked with her to the station wagon.
    Inside the car, Brian turned the ignition key. There was no response.
    “Now what’s wrong?” He tried again.
    He and Mart and Jim got out and opened the hood.
    “Jeepers!” said Mart.
    Brian and Jim just stared. What they saw was nothing but sheer vandalism—a tangle of wires!
    “Someone put this car out of business on purpose!” Jim said when he found his voice. “Who could it have been, Mrs. Hendricks? Some smart-aleck kid in the neighborhood?”
    “There aren’t any smart-aleck kids in this neighborhood,” said Mrs. Hendricks with spirit. “There isn’t a child older than Tommy for blocks. Anyway, nice people live around here. I should know; I’ve lived here for ten years. I don’t know who would tamper with your car. Can you fix it, do you think?”
    “Nobody but a first-rate mechanic could fix that mess,” Jim answered, his face red with outrage over the damage.
    Honey, disturbed lest Jim offend the neighbor who had been so kind to them, nudged him with her elbow, so he quickly added, “Some wise guy must have gone past while we were inside. He just reached in and grabbed all the wires in sight, just for kicks.”
    Trixie peered