The Mystery of the Uninvited Ghost

someone like Di took a backseat, what chance did Trixie have?
    Miss Trask, housekeeper for the Wheelers and friend to the Bob-Whites, was playing cards with Honey’s parents and Mr. Lytell, who owned the grocery store on Glen Road. She welcomed Hallie warmly and drew her forward to meet the Wheelers and Mr. Lytell. Then the young people moved on into an alcove of the large room.
    Trixie had been in charge of planning several large events, such as an antique show and an ice carnival. But a wedding? She was not sure exactly how much help Juliana needed or wanted. She listened to the Dutch girl’s bubbling recital of plans already made. Trixie was to be maid of honor; Honey and Diana, bridesmaids; Brian, Mart, and Dan, ushers; and Bobby, ring bearer. “Di’s twin sisters will be adorable flower girls,” Juliana decided. “Jim—”
    “Won’t you escort the bride down the aisle, Jim?” Brian asked. “You’re Juliana’s only relative.”
    For a moment, Jim looked startled—this was growing up too fast! Then he reached across the space to his cousin’s chair. He held both Juliana’s tiny hands and said, “My dad has that honor. Since he adopted me, he’s like an uncle to Juliana. I’m to be Hans’s best man.”
    Hans smoothed very blond hair at one temple. Ruefully he said, “This wedding is beginning to sound complicated. We were to have had a simple civil ceremony in Amsterdam—no formality.”
    “That’s still the way I want it,” Juliana said. “I know Miss Trask has sent out a lot of invitations, but we can just put on our prettiest summer clothes and all meet here at Jim’s house on the sixth of August. When our friends arrive, we’ll simply take our places for the wedding ceremony. It will be no more trouble than receiving callers on a Sunday afternoon and will serve as a lovely good-bye party before we go home.”
    “If that pleases you, Juliana, then I am happy,” Hans agreed.
    Juliana turned eagerly to Hallie. “The Beldens were so kind to me during my illness that they became my second family. I can’t leave out a Belden. Will you carry my guest book, Hallie?”
    To Trixie’s surprise, Hallie turned to her to ask, “Okay with you, Trix?”
    “Wh-Why, sure,” Trixie stammered. What else could she say? Jim had already shown how he felt about his cousin. That she might feel any less loving toward one of her own was something he simply wouldn’t understand. It was a sobering thought.
    After a short silence, Mart made an amusing story out of the suitcase mix-up. “Trixie tried to turn it into a full-fledged mystery, but that fell through. Now all we have left is that darned wheelchair Bobby says he saw.”
    Jim raised his head alertly and swung around to face Hans. “Say! That could have been a wheelchair we saw.”
    Hans was cautious. “I received only an impression. We were on a curve, meeting a car.”
    Trixie felt the familiar chill that was always her response to mystery. She hugged herself, but goose bumps remained.
    Mart noticed. “Oh, nol” he groaned. “Here we go again. Hans, Juliana, you’ll just have to postpone those wedding plans till Trixie and Honey solve the mystery of the empty wheelchair!”
    “Count me in, too,” Hallie Belden drawled.
    At that moment, Celia, the maid who was Miss Trask’s right hand and also a friend of the Bob-Whites, crossed the large living room. She paused in the arch of the alcove and announced, “There’s a telephone call for you, Diana. Your father.”
    “Dad?” Di was genuinely puzzled. As she followed Celia, she warned, “Don’t talk till I get back. I don’t want to miss a word.”
    The rugs were deep and soft, and no one heard Di return. It was Brian who looked up to find her standing in the archway. His instinctive concern for the mental and bodily welfare of people made him rise from his chair. “What’s wrong? Are you all right?” Di’s hands lifted, then dropped. “I don’t believe it,” she said. “I just don’t believe it.”
    Both Honey and Trixie went to her side.
    “We’ve been robbed,” Di said bleakly.
    “Oh, that’s a relief,” Trixie blurted. “I thought someone was dead!”
    “I—I’m sorry,” Di said. “I didn’t mean to scare you. I just don’t believe it. There’s nothing in our family room. Can you imagine it? Nothing!”
    “You’re kidding,” Mart said flatly.
    “I want to go home,” Di said.
    “I’ll take you,” Jim offered. “We’ll all go.”
    For the moment,