The Secret of the Unseen Treasure Read online

  Charles Hartman grasped her arm. “Don’t give any hint about what else you found.”

  “Never,” Trixie promised.

  Trixie hurried up the back steps and into the cottage. “I found the records,” she called. “They were right where you said—”

  Mrs. Elliot was not in the living room. The front door was slightly ajar, and Trixie could hear Mrs. Elliot’s voice from the front porch.

  “...kind of you,” she was saying, “but it won’t be necessary for me to sell the property now. I’ve just discovered that my late husband developed a new variety of sweet pea that’s very valuable. A seed company is going to buy the rights to them.”

  Trixie wondered who was out there—it obviously wasn’t the man from the seed company. “I’d like to see those sweet peas,” the voice of Al Finlay—known to Mrs. Elliot only as Manton, the owner of a flower shop—said smoothly. “Show them to me.”

  “No!” Trixie screamed. She burst through the doorway and onto the porch. “Don’t do it, Mrs. Elliot! He’ll destroy them. He wants you to have to sell this place—to him. He’s the one who’s been trying to make you sell!”

  Al Finlay stared. “You!” he said. His gaze darted past her. Mr. Hartman and Max were running from the bam in response to her scream.

  Al Finlay grabbed Trixie roughly and yanked her toward him. He pulled a gun. “Keep away!” he shouted to Mr. Hartman and Max. “You, too,” he told Mrs. Elliot, who cowered in fear. He clutched Trixie in front of him with one strong arm.

  “Finlay,” Mr. Hartman called. “It’s all over. Drop the gun!”

  “Forget it, old man!” Finlay growled. “I’ve got the meddlesome girl!” Dragging Trixie along, he stepped backward toward the porch steps. “Don’t anybody try anything,” he warned.

  At that moment, Brian’s old jalopy pulled into the driveway, wheezed once, and shot a loud backfire. Apparently it was running “normally” again. Finlay jumped, releasing Trixie and stumbling backward down the steps. His gun clattered to the walk. Hartman was on him in an instant, holding him in an armlock.

  “Don’t try to squirm out of it,” Brian said knowledgeably.

  “Call the police, Ethel,” Mr. Hartman advised, firmly gripping the angry Finlay.

  Mr. Hartman and Max accompanied Sergeant Molinson when he took the prisoner into town. The Beldens remained briefly to help calm Mrs. Elliot.

  “I don t understand it,” Mrs. Elliot said. “Mr. Manton always seemed like such a nice man.”

  “His name wasn’t Manton,” Trixie told her. “And he won’t be causing any more trouble for you. I know.”

  Just then, a taxi gulled up, and a man in a suit with a carnation in the lapel climbed out. “Mrs. Elliot?” he asked. “I spoke to you this morning about a new variety of yellow sweet peas...

  That night, all of the Bob-Whites were invited to Crabapple Farm for dinner so Trixie could tell them about everything that had happened. She told about finding the papers in the old desk but not, of course, about Sam Elliot’s confession. That would be her secret, forever.

  “The ‘hidden treasure’ was never actually hidden at all. It’s just that no one ever really saw it for what it was. It was right there in front of us the whole time,” Trixie concluded. “Those yellow sweet peas are going to be worth a lot of money for Mrs. Elliot.”

  “Ahem!” Mart sat up straight and stretched his neck, as if expecting to hear something.

  “Thanks to Mart’s photograph,” Trixie acknowledged. “If it wasn’t for that, we might never have known.”

  “Thank you.” Mart bowed grandly. “Well,” he said, glancing around with a twinkle in his eyes, “I guess this wraps up another case for our illustrious sibling sleuth. Right, Trixie?” He winked broadly at his sister.

  Trixie smiled, hoping she’d remember the words he’d told her to say. “That’s right,” she said. “I think I’ll call this one ‘The Case of the Leguminous Legacy.’ ”

  Mart beamed. Everyone else groaned.

  Stranger in the Garden • 1

  Clues—and More Mystery • 2

  “Something Spishy” • 3

  Mr. Hartman’s Secret • 4

  Discovery • 5

  A Series of “Accidents” • 6

  Trixie Finds a Link • 7

  Night Watch ● 8

  A Strange Plant • 9

  A Confession • 10

  The Unseen Treasure • 11

  Table of Contents

  Stranger in the Garden • 1

  Clues—and More Mystery • 2

  “Something Spishy” • 3

  Mr. Hartman’s Secret • 4

  Discovery • 5

  A Series of “Accidents” • 6

  Trixie Finds a Link • 7

  Night Watch ● 8

  A Strange Plant • 9

  A Confession • 10

  The Unseen Treasure • 11