There's Just Something About Her

By Laura/MotownGirl

Chapter One

Jim Frayne woke with a start and looked at the alarm clock on the nightstand. 4:44 a.m. He had another hour before he had to get out of bed. He rolled over, his back to the alarm clock, snuggling deeper under the covers. He started thinking about the dream that woke him up. He had dreamt about something that happened long ago, something he hadn’t thought of in years. Why would he have a dream about Laura Ramsey about after all this time?

He grudgingly admitted to himself that he had had a bit of a crush on the beautiful con artist when she came to Sleepyside twelve years ago, and the insecure part of him was flattered that a beautiful, “older” woman acted like she was interested in him. He still didn’t know for sure if that was part of her con or not. She and her partner had been arrested for fraud and transferred to state custody, thanks to Trixie. He had no idea what had happened to her after that, but he assumed she did some serious jail time since she was wanted for previous con jobs as well. He didn’t even know her real name. He and the other Bob-Whites were simply too busy to think about her once the mystery was solved.

He shifted to his other side, resigned to the fact that he was not going to go back to sleep. His youthful naiveté had really gotten him in Dutch with Trixie, who had been upset and jealous of Laura and his behavior towards her. At that time, he had dismissed Trixie’s feelings as unfounded, claiming that he was just being nice to her because that’s who he was, but he soon realized that “The Laura Ramsey Incident”, as Trixie called it, had done irreparable harm. He was no longer the most wonderful boy in the world in Trixie’s eyes, and she stopped wearing the I.D. bracelet with his name on it. She remained friendly, but she no longer had that special sparkle in her eyes when she looked at him. He had left for college a few weeks after Laura’s arrest hoping he might find a way to repair his relationship with Trixie, but his heavy class load prevented him from coming home as often as he’d liked, and in time he knew he’d lost any chance of becoming more than friends. Thank goodness their friendship had survived.

Jim had occasionally dated during college, but between his studies and his family and friends, he had never had time to commit to any kind of romantic relationship. Now he was in his late twenties and his school for boys would soon be a reality. In fact, if he looked out of his bedroom window at Manor House, he could see evidence of the school’s construction at Ten Acres through the trees.

He should feel fulfilled, right? So why didn’t he? Because you’re lonely, a little voice told him. Was that why he had dreamt of Laura? Because she had made him feel special? That seemed ridiculous, since his family and friends always made it clear how special they thought he was and how much he was loved. Jim sighed and threw off the covers. He might as well get up and go for a morning ride before work instead of wasting his time analyzing a random dream.

****************************

The beautiful blonde stepped out of her red, late-model Audi and surveyed the construction scene at Ten Acres. A large building that appeared to be almost complete was set back on the property, but she was looking for the on-site construction office that sat at the front of the construction site. She took a deep breath to calm herself. It had taken a long time and lots of planning to get to this point. Fortunately, the business classes she took while in prison to help her figure out new ways to con the foolish had an unintended result. With her new identity and a false resume, thanks to her former partner, and a little help from her mentor, Lilith, she had secured a position as an administrative assistant with Roark Construction for the Ten Acres project. She only hoped she didn’t have to keep up the pretense of working for long, as she much preferred spending her time on more pleasurable pursuits. Once Jim Frayne was permanently caught in her web, she’d never have to work again.

She carefully made her way to the door of the double wide trailer, her four inch heels and tight skirt not being the best choice for a construction site. She’d be damned if she’d wear flats, though. Her appearance had to be perfect, and her outfit emphasized her figure and her long legs. She had changed her facial features just enough that she would not be recognized by anyone in Sleepyside. Her blonde hair was still curly and she kept her blue eyes; she knew Jim Frayne was partial to both. She entered the trailer and saw two men at a desk in the far corner looking at plans spread out on the desk. A man in his 40’s sat at the desk, while a tall redhead leaned over the desk to look where the first man was pointing on the plans.

Oh my, he did fill out nicely, she thought as she took in every inch of Jim’s solid frame. “Hello,” she said with a smile as she approached the men. “I’m Larisa Randall, the new administrative assistant. I’m looking for Chuck.”

“That’s me,” said the older man, who almost leaped from behind his desk to greet her. “Welcome aboard, Larisa.”

He gestured to Jim. “This is Jim Frayne, the owner of Ten Acres.”

“It’s very nice to meet you both. I’ve heard of you, Mr. Frayne. I must say, it’s so wonderful of you to want to help underprivileged boys. I didn’t realized I’d be lucky enough to meet you in person.” She blushed prettily as she shook his hand, and smiled again as his eyes locked with hers when their hands made contact.

“It’s nice to meet you too, Larisa,” Jim replied. “I hope you enjoy working here.” He turned to Chuck and said, “I’m going to go look at that retaining wall, then I’ve got to head to the city. I’ll see you later.”

As Jim left, Larisa turned to Chuck. “Where would you like me to sit?” she asked, looking at several desks spaced around the interior of the trailer.

“Take that one closest to the door. That way the guys don’t have to track dirt too far inside. You wouldn’t believe how much mud gets tracked in here.” Chuck proceeded to show her where everything was, from the coffee making supplies to the alarm panel. Larisa made accidental contact with him several times, ensuring that he wouldn’t cause her any problems. When he had the temerity to suggest that she might not want to wear high heels for safety reasons, she re-directed his thoughts easily. Now, if Jim responded as quickly, he would be hers in no time.

***

Jim stepped off the train, happy to be back in Sleepyside after spending much of the day in the city. He made a beeline for his car and was soon on Glen Road. As he passed Ten Acres, he saw Larisa, who appeared to be having some difficulty walking to her car. He completed a quick U-turn and doubled back. He could certainly help a lady to her car; it was the gentlemanly thing to do, right?

After assisting a grateful Larisa, he pulled into the driveway at Manor House. He had felt rather scattered all day, probably because he’d awakened so early. He was looking forward to the scheduled Bob-White dinner that evening. Good food, good friends, and a few beers would lift his spirits, and he didn’t even have to drive anywhere. He took a quick shower and stopped off in the large kitchen for a six pack of his favorite brew. He grabbed a jacket and a flashlight for later and began the trek to Dan Mangan’s cabin.

The air smelled fresh and piney and the waning sunlight filtered through the trees onto the path

to the small cabin. He found his thoughts straying to the new administrative assistant. She was beautiful, and he hadn’t seen a ring on her finger. He remembered her smile when they made eye contact, and he had felt a jolt of desire when she shook his hand, and again later when she held onto his arm as he helped her to her car. He had never felt like that upon meeting someone, except for Trixie, and of course that had been much more innocent. Maybe I could ask her out. But she must have a boyfriend, as beautiful as she is. He decided he’d need to spend a bit more time at the construction site so he could get to know the pretty blonde better.

The Bob-Whites sat around the kitchen table of Dan’s cabin after stuffing themselves on Hunters’ stew, salad and rolls. Mr. Maypenny, who had left his cabin to Dan, had taught him how to make the stew, and Dan’s version was every bit as good as the original. Dinnertime conversation had been somewhat limited due to seven hungry stomachs, but now, as everyone sat back with their beverage of choice, it was time to catch up, as it was the first time in several weeks that all of the Bob-Whites were together.

As Trixie lamented that all of Belden Wheeler Investigations’ cases lately were boring, Mart hooted.

“My dear Beatrix, you’ve said the same thing every time we’ve gotten together since the Bob-Whites helped vanquish the Headless Horseman.”

“Well, it’s true!” Trixie countered. “I’d at least like a nice juicy investigation, instead of endless insurance jobs and background checks. Other than some woman swerving over the center line and almost running me off Glen Road today, life has gotten rather dull lately.”

“I know we’re still building a clientele, and I should be glad we have the volume of work considering how new the agency is, but there hasn’t been one interesting thing about any of the people we’ve investigated for months,” said Honey.

“I wish something exciting would happen,” Trixie said with a sigh.

“Speak for yourself,” said Dan. “I hope that nothing else exciting happens anytime soon. I’m thoroughly enjoying the lull.”

Dan had taken a detective’s position with the Sleepy Hollow Police Department several months earlier, moving back home after discovering he didn’t like police work in New York City. His job was more exciting than he let on due to his involvement with the work being done by Lieutenant Abbie Mills and Ichabod Crane, a department consultant. It was nearly impossible to keep the Bob-Whites, especially his girlfriend, Trixie, out of the loop, but it was necessary. If she knew what was happening on a sometimes daily basis, she’d be up to her eyeballs in danger and drag Honey right along with her. He was no fan of the supernatural, and had made it known to the powers that be in the Sleepyside Police Department that he would be more than open to a position should one arise. He liked Abbie and Crane, but their mission was overwhelming, to say the least.

Before Trixie could take the opportunity to start asking questions, he turned to Jim.

“How’s the construction going, Jim?” When I drove by the site the other day it looked like the main building was almost complete.”

“The exterior is just about done,” Jim replied, “and the interior crew is starting inside. The residence hall is next. The foundation’s already poured.”

“That’s great, Jim,” said Brian. “Right on schedule, isn’t it?”

Jim nodded.

“Now you just need to find a nice girl,” Diana spoke. Jim was the only un-attached Bob-White, and he had resisted all of her efforts to set him up with various women. His focus was on his school. Fundraising, building, creating a curriculum, recruiting teachers, it all took time. Whatever time was left was spent with his extended family.

Jim bristled momentarily, obviously not wanting to get into the same old discussion about his lack of a love life. He brightened suddenly.

“Actually, I did meet someone today. She’s the new on-site admin for Roark. I didn’t have a chance to speak with her for very long, but she seemed like a nice person. Pretty, too.”

“Really?” Diana almost squealed. “That’s wonderful! What’s her name? What does she look like?”

“Her name is Larisa. She’s tall, and she has blonde hair and a nice smile,” answered Jim.

“Hey, does she drive a red Audi?” asked Trixie.

“Yes, she does. How did you know that?” queried Jim.

“She may be pretty, but she’s a bad driver. It was a blonde in a red Audi that almost ran me off the road earlier, right near Ten Acres,” Trixie responded.

“She probably isn’t used to the winding roads around here yet,” said Jim. “I got the impression she was from the city, the way she was dressed.”

Trixie’s eyebrows rose. “What do you mean, the way she was dressed?”

“She was wearing kind of a short skirt and really high heels. It would be fine for an office in the city, but not for a construction site. I had to help her get to her car this afternoon. Her heels kept sinking into the ground.”

Brian laughed. “You had to help her, huh? Always the gentleman!”

Jim blushed. “You would have done the same.”

“Of course he would,” Honey chimed in tactfully as she kicked Brian’s shin under the table. “Any of the Bob-Whites would have helped her.”

“Are you going to ask her out?” asked Trixie. “Ouch!” She glared at Honey as she reached down to rub her shin.

“I just met her, Trix. Give me a chance to get to know her, will you?” Jim stood, carrying his beer into the living room.

The others rose from the table, Trixie with a guilty look on her face, and the girls automatically began to clear the table. Dan, Mart and Brian followed Jim into the cozy living room where Dan brought up the Mets’ chances to win the series that season. A lively discussion ensued that didn’t wind down until the girls re-joined them. After another hour of casual conversation that included Mart’s description of several new recipes he was working on for the restaurant where he was a chef, the group wrapped up the evening and said their goodbyes.

***

Later that night, a sleeping Jim began to dream. He was walking near the Wheelers’ lake on a moonlit night when he saw someone swimming. As he got closer, he saw it was a woman – and she was skinny dipping. She saw him and smiled, rising out of the water. As she slowly approached him, her skin gleaming, he was startled to see that it was Larisa Randall. He swallowed and attempted a greeting, but it died in his throat as she stepped close to him and placed her lips on his for a deep kiss.

Jim awoke with a jerk, drenched in sweat and aroused. He rarely had erotic dreams, especially about a woman he hardly knew. Di was right. I really do need to get a girlfriend, he thought. He decided he would definitely ask out Larisa. The worst she could say was no.

***

The next morning Jim was at the construction site waiting by his SUV when Larisa’s Audi pulled in. She smiled knowingly and waved. Her plan was working perfectly.

“Good morning, Mr. Frayne,” she said as she stepped out of the car, making sure she showed a good deal of leg as she did so. While she wore another short, tight skirt, today she had chosen shoes with wedge heels so she wouldn’t sink into the muddy ground.

Jim hurried to assist her. “Call me Jim, please. Everyone here does.” He took her arm as they walked to the trailer. Once inside they made small talk as they each got a cup of coffee and greeted Chuck. After a few minutes, Chuck left and Larisa turned to Jim.

“What brings you here today, Jim? I’m not used to seeing a property owner on site two days in a row.”

Jim grinned sheepishly. “I like to be involved in the process. I also live nearby, so it’s easy to stop by even though I have a busy schedule. I’m always working on raising funds, and I’m also developing the curriculum.”

Larisa smiled, being sure to keep eye contact with Jim. “It sounds like you spend most of your time working on things for the school. Doesn’t your girlfriend mind you working so much?”

Jim shook his head. “I don’t have a girlfriend. I’ve been so focused on the school that I’m afraid I haven’t had much time for a personal life.” He cleared his throat. “Actually, I’m hoping to change that. I was wondering; that is … Do you have a boyfriend?”

Larisa looked away shyly. “No, I don’t. I only moved to the area recently, and I’m afraid I haven’t met many people yet. I was seeing someone in the city, but he moved out of state.”

“Good! I mean, not good for you, but lucky for me. Would you like to have dinner with me?”

“Why, Jim, I’d love to,” she replied, blushing prettily. “When did you have in mind?”

“How about Friday night? Around 7?”

“All right. I’ll look forward to it.”

At that moment, the door opened and Chuck stepped back in. “Jim, can you come look at that retaining wall again? The project manager thinks it’s going to need to need more reinforcement if you want it to last.”

Jim, who had been sitting on the edge of Larisa’s desk, jumped up, his attention back on the project. As he and Chuck left, Larisa sat back in her chair with a satisfied smirk. She would continue to play the proper lady for a bit as she drew him in. It was time to put the next step of her plan in motion.

***

Jim and Larisa’s date went very well, and over the next few weeks they began to see each other more and more often. Jim dreamt of her with increasing frequency, the dreams becoming more erotic each time. Jim felt wonderful when he was with Larisa. He thought she was smart and funny and oh, so sexy. She also showed great interest in his plans for Ten Acres, and she could ride as well as he did. After a couple of weeks she asked him to spend the night, and the reality of being with her was even better than his dreams. He began re-arranging his schedule to spend more time with her. He even skipped out on dinner with the Bob-Whites, leaving a last minute message for Honey that he had to work late. He felt a bit guilty, as he hated to lie about anything, but Larisa had asked him to come over for dinner, and he found he couldn’t say no to her. The following day he received an irate call from his sister.

“What is going on with you, Jim?” she began after he answered his cell phone.

“Hello to you, too, little sister,” he replied, hoping to defuse the situation.

“Don’t hello me. Neither myself, nor any of the Bob-Whites, have seen you in weeks! I know you’re busy with the school, but it’s not even built yet. You’ve never missed a Bob-White dinner before.”

While Jim still resided at Manor House in order to be close to Ten Acres, Honey shared an apartment with Trixie that was located above their agency’s office in a restored Craftsman-style house in town. It was there that the Bob-White dinner had been held the night before.

“I’m really sorry, Honey. I’ve been really busy, and, well, I’ve been seeing someone, so?”

“Really? Is it that new admin? How come we haven’t met her yet?”

“Yes, it’s Larisa. Like I said, I’ve been busy. I also didn’t want to subject her to the craziness of the Bob-Whites until we’d gotten to know each other a bit.” Jim winced inwardly as he spoke; was he lying again? While it was true that he initially wanted to know her better before introducing her to the Bob-Whites, the fact was that Larisa had resisted meeting his family and friends. “In time, Jim. I’m just not ready yet,” she’d say. Then she would touch him and he’d forget what they were talking about.

“Well, I spoke with Mother last night, and she said you’ve been gone before breakfast every day and aren’t home when they go to bed, so she and Dad haven’t seen you either. You will be home for dinner Sunday, won’t you? Mother and Dad will be very upset if you aren’t.”

“Yes, I’ll be there. I’ll try to bring Larisa, too. I agree that it’s time for her to meet the family.”

“Good,” said Honey, somewhat placated. “I can’t wait to meet her. You know you have to introduce her to the Bob-Whites soon, too, or Trixie will hunt you down.”

“I know. One step at a time, okay?”

“Okay,” she responded with a small laugh. “I’ll try to be patient, but you know how Trixie is.”

“Believe me, I know,” said Jim with a grimace.

When the call ended, Honey may have been in a better mood, but Jim wasn’t. He was so damn tired. He was sleeping at night, at least those nights he didn’t spend with Larisa, but he felt a growing fatigue. The erotic dreams had subsided once he began sleeping with Larisa, and he couldn’t actually remember having any dreams at all lately. He also felt a nagging guilt at having fibbed to Honey twice in the last 24 hours. He couldn’t remember ever having lied twice in one day. I’m just protecting my privacy, he rationalized. It’s not like I lied about anything important.

He rose from his desk in the temporary office he had set up in a guest room at Manor House. It was almost noon, and he was taking Larisa to lunch. As he exited the house and approached his SUV, Regan waved from the nearby stables.

“Hey, Jim, hold up!” Regan jogged over. “I haven’t seen hide nor hair of you lately. Jupiter misses you.”

It had been almost a week since Jim last rode, and that was with Larisa. He again felt a twinge of guilt, but it was quickly replaced by annoyance.

“I haven’t had time to ride. I’ve been very busy with the school.”

“And a certain young lady who, although she has ridden one of my horses, I haven’t met yet?” Regan asked with a twinkle in his eye.

Jim reddened. “Not you too! Listen, you’ll meet her when we’re good and ready. And they’re not your horses, they’re Dad’s!” Jim immediately regretted his words as he saw the smile on Regan’s face be replaced by a worried look.

“I’m sorry, Regan. I’m just under a lot of stress right now, everyone is pushing me to introduce them to Larisa, but no one seems to understand how busy I am.”

“No problem, Jim. I understand. You do look kind of tired, and like you’ve lost some weight. Don’t work yourself too hard.”

Jim smiled weakly. “I’ll try not to; I’ve been seeing a lot of Larisa, too.”

“Good. You know what they say about all work and no play. If you don’t have time to ride, at least stop by the stables later to see Jupe. I was serious about him missing you.”

“I’ll do that. I’ve got to run; I have a lunch meeting.” Jim jumped in his vehicle and was headed down the driveway before Regan could say anything else. What’s wrong with me, snapping at Regan like that? It must be because I’m so tired.

***

Larisa waited impatiently for Jim to pick her up for lunch. He was usually very punctual, but she also knew he was starting to feel the effects of her power. She was careful not to take too much of his energy all at once; just enough to gradually increase her hold on him.

Jim apologized profusely for his lateness upon his arrival, but she withheld a kiss, acting cool towards him for a few minutes until she felt he’d been sufficiently reminded of his place. She sensed that he was nervous about something, and that made her nervous as well.

Once they had placed their orders at the small trattoria they’d chosen for lunch, Jim looked across the table at her adoringly. It was almost too easy.

“Larisa,” he began, “I’d really like you to come to dinner Sunday to meet my family. They’re very important to me, and so are you, and I want you to meet them.”

Larisa felt a moment of panic, but realized she couldn’t put off meeting his family any longer. She had no doubt that she’d be forced to tolerate meeting his friends as well sometime in the near future. She’d managed to keep him away from them for over three weeks, which was longer than she’d hoped. She carefully schooled her features to display an equally adoring look.

“Of course, darling. I know how important your family is to you, and I can’t wait to meet them.” She willed her eyes to tear up. “I wish you could have met my parents.”

She had told Jim the sad, but fictional, story of how her parents were killed in a terrible car wreck when she was 12, leaving her an orphan in the care of an elderly great aunt. Being an orphan himself, she knew Jim would see the tale as one more thing they had in common.

“Great!” he replied, relief evident in his voice. Their food arrived then, and as they began to eat, Larisa pondered the best approach to ensure that Jim’s parents and sister found no reason to disapprove of her relationship with Jim.

Jim was saying something about the materials being used in the residence hall – oh, how he went on about that damn school – and she quickly feigned an interested look. She looked closely at Jim. He had dark circles under his eyes, and his healthy tan had faded. His face looked thinner, too. She’d have to be very careful not to take him too quickly, or her plan would fail.

Chapter 2

Honey burst through the door of the cozy apartment she shared with Trixie and tossed her bag on a nearby chair.

Trixie looked up from where she was sitting on the couch surrounded by file folders.

“What’s up, Honey? Didn’t dinner go well?”

“Yes?No, not really, but kind of,” Honey said as she began to pace back and forth in front of the couch.

“Slow down and sit down!” said Trixie as she moved some folders aside to make space for Honey on the couch. “Now, tell me what happened.”

Honey took a deep breath as she sat down.

“Well, you knew that Jim was bringing Larisa to dinner at Manor House tonight, right?”

“Of course. Ooh, is she a witch? Or did she offend your Mother? Was she dressed like a hooker?” Trixie’s imagination was on a roll.

“No, nothing like that. She seems nice, on the surface anyway, and she is very pretty. She was polite and said all of the right things at the right time, and she was dressed nicely.”

“Then what’s the problem?”

Honey frowned. “First off, Jim looks terrible! He must have lost ten pounds since we last saw him, and he doesn’t look like he’s been sleeping at all!”

“Do you think he’s sick, or maybe working too hard?” Trixie asked as she stacked files and piled them on the end table.

“He insisted he’s fine, and that he’s just been very busy lately. Larisa didn’t seem to be concerned, and from what I can tell, they see each other every day. It’s hard to know for sure, because every time I tried to have a real conversation with Jim, she would re-direct his attention. It was almost as if she didn’t want him sharing any details about the last few weeks.”

“Hmm. Why would she do that?” Trixie pondered aloud. “I mean, it’s not like Jim would ever share anything … intimate … about their relationship, especially with your parents in the room. I would think she’d be focused on making a good impression with Jim’s family.”

“Exactly!” Honey exclaimed as she stood and began to pace once again. “I can’t describe the feeling precisely, but I felt like she was doing a balancing act; impress the family, yet keep control of what Jim divulged. She didn’t really talk about herself, either.” She stopped and faced Trixie. “I can tell you this, though. Something just seems off about her. Her eyes are very cold, and she was in almost constant physical contact with Jim the entire evening. As for Jim, I swear his eyes got this funny glazed look every time she touched him.”

“Maybe he’s in love,” Trixie mused as Honey resumed her pacing. “That would explain the dazed look and the lack of sleep. I just hope she isn’t bad news. Jim is such a wonderful person, he deserves someone just as wonderful.” She stuck her leg out to block Honey’s path. “And would you please stop pacing?”

Honey sighed and threw herself onto the couch. “I think we should do a background on her,” she said vehemently.

“Jim would be furious, and you know it. Besides, wouldn’t Roark Construction have done one on her before she was hired?”

“You know that pre-employment checks don’t dig very deeply unless the job calls for a special type of clearance. She’s just an admin assistant, and those checks aren’t thorough unless the employee has to handle money or sensitive information.”

Trixie could see Honey was really bothered. “I suppose we could do a background check on her. What do we tell Jim if we actually find something?”

“The truth, of course! He would be mad at us at first, but if we kept him from being hurt by Larisa, he would understand,” Honey rationalized.

“I want to meet this woman myself so I can form my own opinion,” she said.

“I made Jim promise to come to the next Bob-White dinner and bring Larisa so we can all meet her. Larisa didn’t look too thrilled about it, but she put on one of those fake-polite smiles and said she couldn’t wait to meet ‘darling Jim’s’ friends,” said Honey with a frown.

“I’m starting to not like her already,” said Trixie. “I trust your instincts, Honey. If you think there’s something fishy about her, there probably is. She may have Jim so googly-eyed he can’t think straight. I mean, he hasn’t even dated since he got out of grad school!”

“True,” agreed Honey. “I want to get the rest of the Bob-Whites’ impressions of Larisa, as well as how Jim looks. He’s so pale.” She picked up a pillow off the couch and hugged it. “Oh! I almost forgot to tell you what Regan said!”

Trixie was used to Honey’s sudden tangents in conversation, but she was a bit lost. She looked at Honey quizzically. “Regan was at dinner?”

“No, of course not. But I went over there early so I could have a ride and I chatted with Regan. He said that Jim hasn’t ridden in almost two weeks! The last time I gather he took Larisa riding, but Regan was off so he didn’t meet her.”

“What? Nothing keeps Jim off a horse that long unless he’s out of town!” Trixie sat up straighter.

“I know. Regan also said that he saw Jim the other day as he was leaving. He made a joking comment about Jim not riding and Jim almost bit his head off!”

Trixie frowned. “That’s not like Jim at all. He’s never snapped at Regan. Even if he’s mad at him, he’s never rude.” She yawned suddenly. “Gleeps! It’s getting late.”

The girls agreed that they would start a check on Larisa Randall the next day. When they opened their office the next morning, however, they were inundated with a large number of pre-employment checks from a company expanding its sales force. Then they were contacted by an insurance company’s Special Investigations Unit to do some local surveillance on a party who was suspected of filing a false worker’s compensation claim. As a result, Belden Wheeler Investigations had no time to investigate Larisa that week.

Soon it was Friday night and time for the Bob-White dinner, this time at the home of Mart and Diana. Mart, a chef at a high end restaurant in White Plains, had the night off since he would be working both Saturday and Sunday night that week. Everyone except Jim and Larisa had arrived and were noisily chatting. Dan and Brian set the table while Trixie and Honey chopped the ingredients for the salad. Mart was putting the finishing touches on the evening’s entrée as Di made sure everyone had something to drink.

The doorbell rang and the chatter quieted as Di hurried to answer it. Honey and Trixie exchanged glances. They had agreed to not say anything about Honey’s concerns to the rest of the Bob-Whites, wanting to get their honest impressions of Larisa as well as Jim’s appearance.

Jim and Larisa entered hand in hand, Larisa wearing skin-tight black jeans, tall black high heeled boots and a form-fitting pale blue sweater. Her curly blonde hair cascaded over her shoulders. Next to her, Jim appeared pale and tired.

Trixie almost gasped out loud as she saw the couple. Larisa was gorgeous. She was everything that Trixie had aspired to look like when she was a teen; tall, elegant, curvy yet slim, and perfect hair despite its curls. For a moment, the old insecurities threatened to rise, but Trixie resolutely pushed them down. She pasted a smile on her faced and stepped forward to introduce herself to Larisa.

Although Larisa smiled sweetly as they shook hands, Trixie saw a calculating look in her eyes. She fought the urge to wipe her hand on her jeans after Larisa let go of it. As the other Bob-Whites introduced themselves, Trixie looked at Jim, who stood quietly near Larisa. Honey had been right; Jim looked terrible. She had never seen him look like this, even when he had the flu several years ago.

“Hi Jim,” she said as she gave him a hug. He not only didn’t return the hug, he practically pulled away from her. That’s not like Jim, she thought as she noticed Larisa’s eyes narrow when she saw the brief hug.

“Hi, Trixie. How have you been?” said Jim as his eyes wandered toward Larisa.

“Good. We haven’t seen much of you lately. You look pretty tired. I guess you’ve been working lots of hours on plans for the school, huh?”

“Yes, I have. I’m sorry I haven’t been around more,” he replied as Larisa stepped closer and put her arm through his.

“Jim, darling, would you mind getting me something to drink? I’m terribly thirsty,” she said, smiling.

“Of course,” he said, immediately hurrying toward the kitchen, leaving Trixie standing with Larisa. Boy, she’s got him trained. He didn’t even say “Excuse me” before he practically ran to do her bidding.

Just then Mart, who had returned to the kitchen after a quick greeting, leaned through the swinging door to the kitchen.

“Dinner is served, people!”

Everyone trooped into the dining room, where Larisa sat so closely next to Jim that Trixie wondered how they would eat without bumping into one another. Dishes were passed and everyone dug into the delicious meal. As dinner progressed, the Bob-Whites made multiple attempts to engage Larisa in conversation with limited success.

“Larisa, how did you come to work out here in Sleepyside? It can be quite an adjustment when you’re from the city,” queried Mart.

“I actually asked for a placement outside of the city,” Larisa replied. “There are too many memories for me there,” she added with a sad look.

“Oh, I’m sorry to hear that,” said Diana. “I hope everything is all right now?”

Larisa smiled sadly. “Yes, as well as can be. I’d really rather not talk about it.”

“You couldn’t pay me to move back to the city,” said Dan with a shake of his head. “I thought I wanted to work for the NYPD, but it didn’t take long for me to realize that my heart is here in Sleepyside.” He looked at Trixie and smiled.

“You’re with the police?” asked Larisa, her calm exterior appearing to be briefly shaken.

“He’s a detective with the Sleepy Hollow Police Department,” said Trixie proudly.

“How nice,” Larisa replied with a weak smile. “I suppose Sleepy Hollow is a nice change for you after the city. It seems to be a quiet little village. I’m staying with a friend there.”

“Oh, who is your friend?” asked Honey. “Maybe we know her.”

“I doubt it; she doesn’t get out very often,” Larisa replied.

“True,” said Jim. “I’ve only met her once myself.”

Brian, who had been observing Jim throughout dinner, spoke up.

“Have you been sick, Jim? You look rather peaked and you seem to have lost weight.”

Jim shook his head. “No, Doctor Belden. I’ve just been working a lot of hours on fundraising plans for the school and haven’t been getting enough sleep. I may have missed a few meals, too. I’m sure you can relate to that, having been through medical school.”

“Well, if you don’t look better the next time I see you, I’m going to insist you let me check you out,” said Brian seriously.

“You don’t have to worry about Jim. I’ll take good care of him,” said Larisa as she stared directly into Brian’s eyes.

Brian, looking uncomfortable, broke eye contact with her. “I’m sure you will, but I’ve never known anyone who could make Jim cut back his hours when he’s working on something important.”

Diana, who had sensed the change in mood, asked “Who’s ready for dessert? Homemade chocolate cream pie!”

“You know I’m ready,” answered Mart.

“When are you not ready for dessert?” ribbed Dan.

“Can I help it that I have a healthy appetite? Why do you think I became a chef?” Mart asked as he and Di began gathering plates from the table.

Trixie rose and took the plates from Mart. “Honey and I will clear the table. You can start serving the pie.” Honey, recognizing that Trixie wanted to talk, quickly stood and took the plates Di had been holding.

Once they were in the kitchen, Honey whispered, “So what do you think?”

Trixie scraped a plate and placed it in the dishwasher. “I think we should have made time to do that background check. There is something very off about that woman, but I can’t put my finger on it. It’s like she’s putting on an act of some sort. She seems sort of familiar, but I’m sure I’ve never met her. As for Jim, he acts like he’s under her spell half the time. I see what you mean about his eyes glazing over when she touches him.”

Honey nodded as she placed coffee cups on a tray. She was about to respond when Di came through the swinging door.

“Oh, thanks, Honey. I didn’t have a chance to get those out before dinner. Leave the dishes for now. Jim and Larisa have to leave.”

“What? Why?” asked Trixie.

“Evidently Larisa feels a migraine coming on. I don’t feel like we had a chance to get to know her at all,” she said with a sigh.

“I think that’s her plan,” Trixie responded grimly.

They went back to the dining room to discover that Jim and Larisa were already gone.

“Jim didn’t even say goodbye? That’s not like him,” said Trixie in disbelief.

“They practically ran out of here,” said Dan, who, along with the others, was still seated at the table. “He said to tell you and Honey goodbye, but Larisa was hustling him out of here pretty fast. What’s up with her, anyway? She’s got that possessive, controlling vibe going.”

“That’s what I thought when I met her on Sunday,” said Honey, “but I wanted you all to meet her and hear your opinions.”

“Based on how Jim looks, I don’t think she can be good for him,” said Brian. “And the way she looked at me when she said she’d take good care of him creeped me out. It was like she was trying to hypnotize me into believing her,” he shuddered.

“She didn’t hardly eat any of my magnificent meal, which is definitely a strike against her,” said Mart. I don’t buy that migraine bit either. She just didn’t want to be here. Did you notice she was stuck to Jim like glue?” He turned to Diana. “What was your impression, Di? You are great at reading people.”

Di thought for a moment. “First, I got the impression that she is acting the part of the loving girlfriend. From the way she constantly touches Jim and how he responds, I’d guess she is using sex to try to convince him she is in love with him. I also felt like she dressed to present a wholesome image, as well as to appeal to Jim’s penchant for light blue.” She looked at Trixie meaningfully.

“I agree that she was faking a migraine,” Di continued. “I’ve had enough of them to know the symptoms. She got really uncomfortable when Brian was asking Jim about his health for some reason, and she needed an excuse to leave.”

Trixie looked at Di. “There’s something else you’re not saying, Di. Spill it! We need your input.”

“Well,” Di began hesitantly, “It’s probably just my imagination, considering she’s a tall blue-eyed blonde, but something about her manner and speech reminded me of someone,” she paused.

“Who?” asked Trixie impatiently. “I thought she reminded me of someone too, but I know I’ve never met her before.”

Di looked at Trixie. “Laura Ramsey.”

“She looks nothing like Laura Ramsey, other than being a tall blonde,” scoffed Dan as a shocked Trixie absorbed Di’s answer.

“No, she doesn’t,” agreed Di. “Like I said, it’s more in the way she speaks and moves. Perhaps it’s because she seems phony to me, like Laura was.”

“You could be right, Di,” said Trixie, recovered from her momentary shock. “In fact, Honey and I are going to do a background check on her first thing in the morning. Maybe she’s a con artist who’s after Jim’s money. He’s so honorable he’d never think of running a check on someone he was dating.”

“Don’t get carried away, Trix,” said Mart. “Being attractive and controlling doesn’t make her a con artist. She could just be an old fashioned gold digger.”

“Well, whatever, she is, we’re going to find out,” said Honey emphatically. “I’ve got a bad feeling about her, and I’m not going to sit by and watch Jim just fade away.”

As everyone was concerned about Jim, they all agreed that the plan to run a background check on Larisa was a good idea. The evening ended earlier than usual since no one was in the mood for games or a movie.

***

By 1:00 the next day, both Trixie and Honey’s concern had increased tenfold. They had easily located information on Larisa Randall; too easily. According to information online, she had attended the Ohio Business College in Sandusky Ohio, and had apparently moved to New York shortly after graduating. She had worked for a temporary agency before obtaining a permanent position as an administrative assistant for a small business in Brooklyn. She then went to work for Roark Construction, where she was assigned to the Ten Acres project site. It was all too neat.

They started to dig deeper. They found no record of a Larisa Randall attending Ohio Business College. The Martin Detective Agency, where she worked for in Brooklyn, was no longer in business, and they couldn’t locate contact information for the owner, Mark Martin. They checked Larisa’s city address on Google Earth to find it was an abandoned storefront. They tracked down her social security number, only to discover it had been issued only a year earlier.

“I’ll bet you anything Larisa Randall is a fake identity,” fumed Trixie. “All of the signs are there ? a new SSN, fake address, no record of attendance at college. It’s like she appeared out of nowhere.”

Honey nodded in agreement. “The identity could have been created for her and the information made available online; just enough to pass a cursory pre-employment check.” She frowned. “You’d think a private detective would have done a more in-depth check, unless that part is fake, too. She must be able to do the job at Roark or she would be fired.”

“Anyway, we know now that she’s a fake. She probably is after Jim and his money, and she got the job at Roark in order to meet him,” Trixie said.

“But how would she know she’d meet him that way? Most property owners aren’t on a job site every day like Jim is.”

“She could easily have read about him. Forbes did that article on young philanthropists last year, you know. There was a lot of information about Jim, including his plans for the school and his intention to be involved in every step of the process. She could have been planning this for a while, but she doesn’t strike me as being smart enough to create a new identity on her own. She must have had help.” Trixie had a sudden thought. “Maybe that detective agency was a front. They could have handled the ID and the education stuff, not to mention providing a job reference.”

“You could be right, Trixie. Let’s try again to find Mr. Mark Martin of the late Martin Detective Agency.”

Another couple of hours passed, the girls’ level of alarm rising as they determined that the Martin Detective Agency had closed suddenly 5 months earlier under suspicion of forgery. Then they found a short article dated four months earlier in the Brooklyn Daily. It read:

Police have identified the man found dead in a room at a local rooming house last week as Michael Mansfield, a convicted felon who was in violation of his parole at the time of his death. Mansfield, 45, had most recently been operating an “identity factory” under the guise of a detective agency using the assumed name of Mark Martin.

Mansfield was known to use several aliases including Martin and Mark McGraw. He often used a female partner in his schemes to defraud innocent victims of large amounts of cash, posing as a private detective. He served a seven year sentence following a string of such incidents that ended when he and his accomplice were exposed by suspicious locals in Sleepyside in Westchester County.

Police have declined to release Mansfield’s cause of death, but have confirmed it is suspicious in nature.

“Oh my God. Mark Martin was Mark McGraw. That can’t be a coincidence. That could only mean one thing ? Larisa is Laura Ramsey. That’s why she seemed familiar to me, and why she reminded Di of Laura,” Trixie spoke rapidly.

Honey looked skeptical. “There’s no denying that Mansfield must be the same Mark McGraw, but Larisa isn’t necessarily Laura Ramsey. It could be a coincidence that Larisa, or whoever she is, just happened to go to him for her forged identity.”

“I’m going to find out what happened to Laura Ramsey,” said Trixie stubbornly. “We never even found out if that was her real name. I can’t believe how naïve I was back then!”

Honey couldn’t help but chuckle, despite the seriousness of the situation. “We were only 14, and if you’ll remember, we didn’t keep tabs on any of the criminals we exposed after they were arrested; well, except for Jonesy.” She shivered involuntarily.

A search of arrest records determined that Laura Ramsey’s real name was Lisa Radtke, and that she had spent seven years at Bedford Hills Correctional Institute. Shortly after her release, she had skipped parole and disappeared.

“It is her,” said Trixie, now certain that this was no coincidence. “But how can we prove it? She’s obviously had plastic surgery. We can’t exactly ask for her fingerprints. I wish we’d saved her glass from dinner last night. No wonder she tried to run my car off the road.”

Honey sighed. “With our luck, she had her fingerprints altered, too.”

“Do you think Jim will believe us when we tell him what we found?”

“I don’t know. She’s got him under her spell. We’d need more evidence that Larisa is actually Laura. I’m not even 100 percent sure at this point.”

“I am. Let’s do some surveillance on her. She said she’s staying with a friend in Sleepy Hollow, and that much must be true since Jim said he’d met the friend. We can follow her home on Monday. Maybe she’s working with a new partner,” Trixie theorized.

“Maybe, if she’s really Laura Ramsey. I wonder if she was involved in Mark McGraw’s death. It seems odd that we can’t find any more information about his cause of death after all this time. There’s been plenty of time for an autopsy, so either the police are being hush-hush or the paper didn’t think it was worth printing.”

“I’d bet on the first, but I don’t understand why, unless it was related to some other investigation or something,” said Trixie. “Who knows what Laura is capable of? After all, she and McGraw were going to kidnap and kill us over three thousand dollars. Jim’s worth millions. Maybe she decided she didn’t want to split it with a partner this time.”

“We need to tell the rest of the Bob-Whites what we’ve discovered,” Honey reminded her.

“Yes, but let’s wait until we’ve followed her on Monday. I don’t want Mart and Brian accusing me of exaggerating,” replied Trixie, rolling her eyes.

“We need to rent a car. She knows what both of ours look like,” said Honey. “I’ll reserve one online and pick it up Monday afternoon.”

“We’d better both wear wigs, too, just in case,” said Trixie. “We don’t want her to recognize us.”

***

Late Monday afternoon, the girls sat in a silver Ford Focus parked off of Glen Road where they could see Ten Acres’ driveway. It was almost 5:00, and they were hoping that Larisa would head straight home.

“It’s too bad we couldn’t just ask Jim where she lives,” said Honey. “According to Celia, he hardly ever sleeps at home, and Larisa has never stayed at Manor House.”

“How did you manage to get that information out of Celia?” asked Trixie as she stuck a

finger under her brown wig to scratch her head. “This wig itches like the dickens.”

“It was easy. She’s worried about Jim, too, so I inferred that maybe his girlfriend was keeping him from getting enough sleep, and she agreed. She said his bed has only been slept in once or twice in the past couple of weeks. Look – there she is!”

A red Audi turned onto Glen Road in the direction of Sleepy Hollow. Trixie, who was behind the wheel of the rental, quickly followed at a sensible distance. They had no problem following Larisa, who soon pulled into the driveway of a somewhat shabby looking Victorian house in Sleepy Hollow’s oldest residential area. She was talking on her cellphone as she stepped out of the car and into the house.

“How can she even walk in that outfit?” Trixie wondered aloud as she took in Larisa’s red mini skirt and black four inch heels. She drove past the house, turned around, and parked across the street a couple of houses down where they could observe both the house and yard.

“Don’t ask me,” replied Honey. “I wouldn’t be caught dead dressed like that.” She adjusted her black wig and turned on her iPad to do a search on the address of the Victorian.

“The house is owned by a Lilith Jones,” she said. “There’s no mortgage, and it looks like she inherited it from someone some years ago.”

“Anything on Lilith Jones?” asked Trixie, who had pulled out binoculars and was surveying the windows of the house.

“Give me a couple of minutes,” replied Honey as she typed.

She soon sighed in exasperation. “I can’t find anything on Lilith Jones. It’s like she doesn’t exist!”

“I’m not surprised,” said Trixie. “Maybe there isn’t a Lilith at all. Maybe Larisa lives alone.”

“No, she lives with someone, because Jim mentioned that he had met her,” Honey reminded her. “Perhaps she has a fictitious identity as well.”

At that moment Trixie saw a woman with long, dark hair pass by the large living room window. Several lights went on in the house against the growing darkness outside. Trixie grabbed a set of night vision binoculars. They were quite expensive, but a grateful client had sold them to Belden Wheeler Investigations for cost.

“Here,” she said as she handed Honey a second set of binoculars. “I just saw a woman with dark hair in the living room. We should both watch the house.”

Honey put down her iPad and peered through the binoculars. From where they were parked, they could see the front and side of the house, as well as part of the back yard. Another half hour had passed when a familiar SUV pulled into the drive behind the Audi.

“It’s Jim!” hissed Trixie as she instinctively ducked down before remembering that it was dark out.

Honey laughed weakly. “Of course it’s Jim. I’m beginning to think he’s addicted to her.”

Trixie frowned as Larisa greeted Jim with a deep kiss before leading him inside the house. “You may be right on the money, Hon. He sure acts like he’s on a leash.”

A light went on upstairs, and they could see the couple through the window of what was obviously Larisa’s bedroom. Larisa moved toward the window and closed the curtains, and the light went out a few moments later.

“She certainly doesn’t waste any time with social niceties,” Trixie remarked with a scowl.

“If I didn’t know how much you love Dan, I’d think you were jealous, Trix.”

Trixie snorted. “Of course I’m not jealous! I’m angry that anyone would use Jim this way, especially Laura Ramsey. I know she was a flirt ten years ago, but now I wonder how far she would have gone with him if we hadn’t discovered her scheme.”

Their attention was drawn to movement on the roof. They saw a dark shape on the widow’s walk. Someone was standing by the railing.

“Who is that?” asked Honey. “I can’t see any features, but it looks like a woman.”

“It must be the woman I saw earlier,” said Trixie. “We know that Jim and Larisa are in her room.”

As they watched the figure, large wings suddenly unfolded from its back.

“What the hell?” exclaimed Trixie as Honey stifled a scream.

The figure lifted into the night sky, circling above the house before flying swiftly into the darkness.

Trixie dropped the binoculars into her lap and started the car, heading quickly down the street and out of the neighborhood. She pulled into a well-lit gas station and parked, shaking. She looked at Honey, whose face was pale under the station’s fluorescent lighting.

“Did we really just see a woman sprout wings and fly?” asked Trixie.

“I don’t want to say yes because I don’t want to believe it. But I can’t deny what we both saw. What was that?”

“I have no idea, but I know who will.” Trixie replied as she started the car.

Chapter 3

Five minutes later they pulled into the parking lot of the Sleepy Hollow Police Department. Trixie greeted the desk officer by name as they made their way to the detectives’ bullpen where Dan sat at his desk absorbed in something on his computer screen.

“Hi, Babe,” Trixie greeted him with a peck on the cheek.

“Hey!” He looked up from the screen with a smile. What brings you two here?” He lowered his voice and leaned closer to where the girls stood. “Is it about Larisa? Did you find something?”

Trixie and Honey both nodded emphatically.

“Did we ever!” said Trixie. “We’ll tell you all about it, but I think we are going to need help from Abbie and Mr. Crane. Are they here?”

Dan groaned. “Please don’t tell me that there is something supernatural about Jim’s girlfriend.”

“We don’t know for sure about Larisa, yet,” said Honey, “but as for the friend she lives with – definitely.”

Dan locked his computer with a sigh and stood. “Come on. I’m pretty sure they’ll still be in the archives.” He led them to the back of the building and through a short tunnel that led to the old building next door where the archives were located.

Lieutenant Abbie Mills had met Ichabod Crane some months before, just after the murder of her mentor, the sheriff of Sleepy Hollow, by a Headless Horseman. Crane, who had been a captain in General George Washington’s army and an important member of Washington’s staff during the Revolutionary War, was placed in a deep sleep by his wife, a witch, after he was badly wounded while fighting and beheading a Hessian soldier. He awoke in a cave near Sleepy Hollow over 200 years later when the Horseman was brought forth by a demon intent on causing the end of days.

The Bob-Whites met Abbie and Crane when an old friend became a victim of the Horseman. They had discovered that there was a great deal of evil in the world and that supernatural occurrences were commonplace in Sleepy Hollow and the surrounding area, including the Wheeler’s preserve, which bordered the woods of Sleepy Hollow.

The Bob-Whites had helped Abbie and Crane capture the Horseman, but they were kept away from the larger battle with the demon by Abbie, who refused to endanger them further. She and Crane, as the Witnesses foretold in Leviticus, had to defeat the demon without their help. They had succeeded, but the Bob-Whites, except for Dan, had seen little of them since.

Now, as Dan opened the door to the archives, which was a huge room filled with historical books, maps, and documents of all kinds, they found Crane and Abbie in the midst of a lively discussion having something to do with an ancient curse.

Crane, a tall, thin man with a pony tail, looked up as they entered. “Miss Belden, Miss Wheeler, to what do we owe the pleasure of your presence this evening?” he asked with a British accent as he acknowledged Dan with a nod.

“Hey guys, long time no see,” said Abbie. She looked at Dan with a question in her eyes, and Dan just shrugged.

“Hello Abbie, Mr. Crane,” replied Trixie. “It’s good to see you. We’re sorry to interrupt, but we need your help to figure out what we saw tonight.”

“What do you mean, what you saw?” asked Abbie, her eyes narrowing.

Honey motioned to a nearby table and chairs. “I’m afraid it won’t make sense unless we fill you in on what we’ve been working on.”

“Please, do sit down,” said Crane as Abbie scowled. “We need to take a break anyway.”

After they were seated, Honey told them about the events of the past few weeks and their concern for Jim.

“It sounds to me like Jim’s just in a heavy physical relationship,” stated Abbie. “Spending less time with your friends and family, not getting enough sleep; sounds like young love to me.”

“There’s more,” said Trixie impatiently. “We noticed that Larisa touches him almost constantly, and he seems to get kind of dazed when she does it. Then,” she continued as Abbie started to interrupt, “we did a background investigation on her and discovered that’s she’s not only using a fake identity, she’s likely the same woman we put in jail ten years ago for fraud. Even then she had her eye on Jim.”

“Wait – you think Larisa is Laura Ramsey?” asked Dan.

“Yes, we do. Anyway, we followed her home tonight to find out where she lives. She’s staying in a creepy Victorian on Bellwood near the Sleepy Hollow cemetery. She told us she was staying with a friend, and we saw a woman in the house when Larisa first got home. Then Jim showed up and he and Larisa went straight to her room. After a little bit, we saw something up on the widow’s walk on the roof. We thought it was just a person, but then all of a sudden it had these huge wings! Whatever it was kind of lifted off the roof and circled, then flew away.”

As Trixie finished, she realized how ridiculous her story sounded. Crane looked intrigued, but Abbie shook her head.

“What makes you think it wasn’t just an owl or something? Wasn’t it dark by then? How could you see anything more than a shadow?”

“We have night vision binoculars,” said Honey. “I definitely saw something the size and shape of a person, and when it took off, it looked like a woman with long hair, but it had big wings. We know that Larisa was in her room with Jim, so we think it was her friend.”

Crane stood and went to one of the many bookcases lining the walls, obviously looking for something. He selected a large, somewhat tattered volume and brought it to the table.

“Do you know what they’re talking about?” asked Dan.

Trixie noticed that he looked both irritated and a bit spooked. Poor Dan; he really doesn’t like the paranormal.

“I believe I may,” answered Crane as he paged through the large book to the chapter he was seeking. He found the page and turned the book around to show the girls a drawing of a winged creature with long hair. “Did it look anything like this?”

“Yes!” chorused Trixie and Honey.

“What is it?” asked Trixie, as Abbie looked more closely at the drawing.

“It’s a succubus, a female demon that takes the form of a woman in order to control men through seduction. Many appear only in dreams, but some of the more powerful ones can change their physical form to look human. While they can still enter a man’s dreams, they also can exert their control and drain a man’s life energy through … amorous congress.”

He blushed a bit, and Trixie realized that, for a man from the 18th century, talking about sex in mixed company must be extremely uncomfortable. Crane may have learned how to use an iPhone, but his upbringing and manners were very much colonial.

“That certainly fits with what’s been happening to Jim,” spoke Honey. “I knew something was off about Larisa, and I’m not just talking about the phony identity.”

“You’re getting a little carried away, aren’t you?” asked Abbie. “Even if you think you saw one of these things, you said yourself it wasn’t Jim’s girlfriend.”

“While it may seem to be a leap in logic, Miss Wheeler may be correct,” said Crane. “The symptoms Mr. Frayne is exhibiting are classic when one is being attacked by a succubus.”

“Wouldn’t Jim know if he was being attacked?” asked Dan. “I can’t see him letting some creature sexually assault him repeatedly, and while he looks like hell, it’s easy to see that he really likes Larisa.”

Crane winced and reddened at Dan’s bluntness. “The succubus literally puts a spell on her victim. Those who experience attacks in their dreams sometimes feel like they’ve been attacked, but most often the seduction makes the victim a willing participant. If this woman is a succubus, she has obviously been very successful in her seduction.”

“How do we find out for sure if she is a succubus, and how can we stop her?” asked Trixie. “She’ll kill Jim eventually, won’t she?”

Crane nodded. “It’s highly likely. It depends on why he was chosen. If she has been draining his energy for a few weeks already, she probably isn’t using her full power, or he’d be dead by now. If she is the same … person … the Bob-Whites helped send to prison, revenge may be her motive. She couldn’t have had as much power back then, or the authorities wouldn’t have been able to confine her.”

“Maybe she’s keeping him alive long enough to marry him and get control of his money,” theorized Dan with a frown.

“Is Mr. Frayne very wealthy?” asked Crane. While he knew all of the Bob-Whites, he evidently had not felt the need to read up on them as Abbie had done when she first met them.

“He’s worth about 200 million dollars,” said Abbie.

“Indeed,” said Crane, his eyebrows raised in surprise. “Well, I’d say that would be more than enough motive for a demon with a penchant for the finer things and revenge in its mind.”

“We can’t let her succeed. That’s not an option,” said Honey fiercely.

“Succubus or not, she does have to be stopped,” agreed Trixie. “We know she’s a fraud, and we also know that her former partner was found murdered a few months ago in Brooklyn. I bet she was involved in that as well.”

This statement drew the attention of both Dan and Abbie.

“Who was the murder victim?” asked Dan.

“Michael Mansfield, alias Mark McGraw, Laura Ramsey’s partner in crime,” said Trixie.

“Why do you think she was involved?” asked Abbie.

“We’re not sure, but we think it’s very likely,” Trixie replied. She explained what they had discovered about Martin Detective Agency, its role as an identity factory, and Larisa’s connection to it and its owner.

“We hit a dead end on Mansfield’s cause of death. The last article we found said it was suspicious in nature but the police declined to say more. There was no follow up after that,” Trixie finished.

“I’ll see if I can get any more info on Mansfield’s case,” said Abbie.

“Could you please try to find out something on a Lilith Jones, too?” Honey asked. “She’s the owner of the house on Bellwood, and, I’m assuming, Larisa’s friend. I couldn’t find anything on her other than her name on the deed to the house.”

“Will do,” said Abbie.

“I will do some research and try to obtain a blessed weapon, which will be required in order to banish the succubus. If this woman is not a succubus, she will be unaffected. If she is, she will be banished back to hell, and possibly her friend as well,” said Crane.

Trixie stood. “How long do you need? I have a feeling we don’t have much time.”

Crane shrugged. “I will need a day or so to complete my research. As for securing a blessed weapon, I do not know how difficult that will be. I will contact the Lieutenant’s sister in that regard. If anyone has ready access to such a weapon, it is Miss Jennie.

“Oh, you must also know that Mr. Frayne, as the victim, will have to be the one to banish the succubus. I suggest you speak with him as soon as possible regarding his paramour.”

“Jim’s going to love this,” Dan said sarcastically. “How do we convince him his girlfriend is not only Laura Ramsey, but also a succubus?”

“I don’t know, but succubus or not, we know she’s a fraud, and Jim needs to break it off with her regardless,” said Honey.

Abbie, looking resigned to the fact that she and Crane would be involving the Bob-Whites in a case again, looked at Trixie and Honey. “Be very careful. If Larisa and her friend are succubi, they’re very powerful if they can take a physical form. Don’t let on you suspect anything if you see her; better yet, just avoid her.”

“I’m sure they will use all due caution, Lieutenant,” said Crane with a smile. “I would, however, advise you to carry a crucifix or rosary that has been blessed if you plan to be in her vicinity.”

“I don’t have anything like that,” said Trixie as Honey nodded.

“I do,” said Dan. “I have a couple of rosaries, just in case. Hopefully we can stay out of her way until she can be disposed of.”

The Bob-Whites stood as Honey thanked Abbie and Crane for their help.

“Stay out of trouble, okay?” Abbie called out as they made their way out the door.

*

Honey and Trixie returned to their office to discuss how to tell Jim what they had discovered.

“We need to get him alone,” pointed out Trixie. “Does he even sleep at Manor House at all now?”

“I don’t know, but there’s no way to know which night he might stay there. I do know that he usually comes home after work to shower and change before he heads out to see Larisa.”

“We could ask him to go for a ride. He has to be missing Jupiter.”

Honey nodded. “I’d rather talk to him when he can’t gallop off when he gets mad.”

“You’re right, as usual, Hon,” replied Trixie with a sigh. Jim was a champion at running away from a conflict, and he would likely be angry when they told him they had investigated Larisa. He might flee before they could even tell him what they had found. “How about waiting for him to come home from work and telling him we need to talk about something important?” she proposed.

“I suppose that could work, but we can’t ambush him. I could just ‘happen’ to run into him in the foyer and ask him to come into the library to discuss something,” said Honey. “We’ll have less chance of being interrupted there.”

“I think we should start out by showing him the evidence supporting that Larisa is Laura Ramsey, don’t you?” asked Trixie. “We’ll have to tell him the truth?that we were worried about him and that something seemed odd about her. He won’t be able to ignore the facts, even if he is mad at us.”

“True. What about the other part? He can’t deny the existence of the paranormal after seeing the Horseman for himself, but Mr. Crane said Jim would have to be the one to banish Larisa; if she is a succubus, that is.”

Trixie snorted. “I don’t think there’s much doubt about that considering how fast she put the moves on Jim, how bad he looks, how her appearance has changed, and that she’s living with another succubus.”

“Oh, I know,” Honey fretted, tears in her eyes. “I’m just worried how Jim is going to react to all of this. What if he doesn’t believe us? Larisa will probably get him to elope with her, then she’ll kill him and inherit his money!”

“He just has to believe us!” Trixie said firmly. “We can prove she’s Laura Ramsey, and he certainly won’t want to be with her once he knows who she is.”

“You forget she has a hold over him,” reminded Honey.

“I haven’t forgotten; I just know Jim, and he’s so honorable that there’s no way he’d stay with Laura Ramsey after what she did to Mr. Lytell and all those other people before him.”

They decided to be at Manor House on Wednesday afternoon, figuring that Crane would have sufficient time to finish his research by then. As it was almost midnight, they soon headed upstairs to their apartment, agreeing to finalize their plans the next day.

***

On Tuesday morning, they yawned their way through a quick breakfast of coffee and bagels before heading to the Wheeler stables for a ride before work. Once they had saddled their horses and were on their way, talk turned to their plans for Jim.

“I didn’t see Jim’s SUV,” remarked Trixie. “I suppose he stayed at Larisa’s again. I hope he shows up tomorrow after work.”

“Ms. Trask said he always comes home for a bit after work, so we should be okay,” replied Honey. “When are we going to tell the rest of the Bob-Whites? I’m going to see Brian for lunch today, but Mart and Di need to know what’s happening, too.”

“I agree, but we don’t want the whole gang showing up tomorrow night. I don’t want to make Jim feel ambushed,” said Trixie. “I’ll tell Mart and Di after we talk to Jim. You’ll have to make it clear to Brian that he should stay away tomorrow night.”

“That won’t be a problem, because he’s on the afternoon shift at the hospital this week,” said Honey. “I do think Dan should be there, though. He and Jim are very close, and we may need him to help convince Jim that what we’re saying is true.”

“I’ll talk to him,” said Trixie. “He’s off tomorrow since he worked Sunday. I know he wants to help Jim, so I think he’ll come even though he detests anything supernatural.”

“Well, if anyone can convince him, it’s you,” replied Honey with a grin. “I hope we hear back from Mr. Crane soon with more information on how to get rid of Larisa.”

“I hope so, too. From what Mr. Crane said, just putting her in prison wouldn’t be enough to stop her from killing Jim, even if she couldn’t get to his money.”

*

By 4:00 on Wednesday, Trixie, Honey and Dan were settled in the Manor House library armed with copies of all of the evidence on Larisa, including the drawing Crane had shown them. When Trixie called Crane that morning, he was still researching, but was confident he would have the information for them by that evening. They decided that Honey would wait for Jim in the foyer while Dan and Trixie stayed in the library.

As they waited for Jim to arrive, Dan thought about what Crane had told them. He wasn’t sure if Jim would be willing to participate in some strange ritual. Hell, Jim might not even believe anything they were going to tell him. Or, perhaps Larisa’s hold on him was already too strong to break. He didn’t understand why Larisa couldn’t just be arrested for identity fraud, but Crane seemed sure that, if she was a succubus, that she could still use her powers against Jim from a prison cell by attacking him in his dreams. He shuddered inwardly as he thought of the long claws on the winged figure in the drawing. His thoughts were interrupted by Trixie, who was perched near a window with a view to the driveway.

“He’s here!” she exclaimed as she jumped up. Dan sighed in relief as he fingered the rosary in his pocket. He had worried that Jim might not come home before heading to Larisa’s.

Honey stood and took a deep breath. “Wish me luck,” she said as she stepped out into the foyer. Trixie and Dan moved near the doorway so they could hear the conversation about to take place. They heard the heavy entry door open, closely followed by Honey’s cheerful voice.

“Hi, Jim! I’m so glad you got home before I had to leave. I really need your help with something; could we talk in the library?”

“Uh, sure,” he replied, so quiet they could barely hear him. “Can you give me a few minutes to change? I’m supposed to be at Larisa’s in less than an hour.”

“Of course,” said Honey. “I really appreciate it, Jim.” As Jim climbed the stairs to the second floor, Honey scurried back into the library.

“I’m going to wait for him in the foyer,” she whispered. “I don’t trust him not to sneak out. He looks even worse than the last time we saw him.” She turned and ran back out of the room.

Dan took a seat in a large, comfortable chair and Trixie perched on the arm of said chair, fidgeting as usual. In a few minutes Honey returned, followed by a haggard-looking Jim. Jim, seeing Trixie and Dan, looked at Honey quizzically.

“What is it you need help with? Are Trixie and Dan involved too?” he asked.

“We do need your help Jim, but first we need to tell you something very important. Won’t you please sit down?” Honey sat on the sofa and gestured to the spot next to her.

Jim sat down tiredly. “What is this? Do you need help with a case? I really don’t have time; I’m very busy with the school, you know.”

This isn’t starting out well, thought Dan.

“It’s not about a case; well, not exactly,” said Trixie. “We, all of the Bob-Whites, that is, have been worried about how tired you seem all of the time. We know you’ve been keeping long hours between the school and spending time with Larisa. We also know that you didn’t start looking so tired until the past few weeks.”

Jim looked irritated. He turned to Dan. “Is this true? Is everyone worried about me, or is it just the intrepid sleuths here?”

Dan looked directly at Jim. “It’s true, Jim. All of the Bob-Whites, your parents, even Uncle Bill and Ms. Trask, have noticed that you look like hell. I, for one, find it hard to believe it’s just due to long hours at work. You worked even harder in grad school, but you never looked like this, and you didn’t neglect your friends and family.”

“I assure you, I’m just fine! And I haven’t been neglecting anyone,” said Jim. He began to stand as if to leave, but Honey put her hand on his arm to stop him.

“You’re not leaving until we talk,” she said firmly. He looked at her in surprise, but stayed seated.

“Talk about what? I told you I’m not sick,” he said with a frown as he looked at his watch.

Honey looked at Trixie, unsure how to begin.

Trixie stood and cleared her throat. “When we met Larisa the other night, we hardly had a chance to talk with her since you left so suddenly. We noticed that she seemed to avoid talking about herself.”

Jim snorted. “Not everyone likes to talk about themselves as much as you do, Trixie.”

Trixie’s face reddened as Honey glared at Jim. “Jim Frayne, that’s not fair and you know it! Did it occur to you that the reason Larisa doesn’t talk about herself is because she has something to hide?”

“What the hell are you talking about?” asked Jim angrily. “Just because you didn’t get to grill my girlfriend, you decided she’s a criminal or something?”

“If you’ll just listen, I’ll explain,” said Trixie quietly.

“Okay, spit it out,” said Jim. “I have to leave soon.”

Trixie calmly explained what they had discovered about Larisa’s fake identity and that it appeared that she was actually the woman they knew as Laura Ramsey. Jim’s face grew even paler than it had been as Honey laid copies of everything they had found on Larisa, Laura, and Lisa on the coffee table in front of him as Trixie spoke.

“You investigated my girlfriend,” he said quietly as he picked up one of the documents.

“Yes, we did,” said Honey. “And we’re really sorry she turned out to be phony, Jim. We; I mean me, and Trixie, and Di; we all had a strange feeling about Larisa. We didn’t expect to discover that she’s actually Laura Ramsey, of all people.”

Jim stood and went to stand in front of the window. “What am I going to do? Honestly, it’s hard for me to think straight when it comes to Larisa. I should be angry that you snooped into my private life, but I’m too tired to be mad, considering what you discovered. What’s even worse is that, even knowing she’s Laura Ramsey, part of me wants to go to her right now.”

“There’s a reason you feel that way, Jim; that’s the other thing we need to talk to you about,” said Honey.

“Honey, please just tell me what you’re talking about, because I can’t imagine what else you might tell me. I have a bad headache coming on, and I’m supposed to be at Larisa’s by now. I should call her to cancel, at least, until I figure out what to do.”

“I don’t think you should call her, Jim,” said Dan. “She may be able to affect you over the phone.”

Jim shook his head as he sat back down next to Honey. “You aren’t making any sense, either. What do you mean, affect me over the phone?”

Honey took his hand. “We followed Larisa home on Monday to find out where she lived. We saw a woman with long black hair through the living room window. Is that Larisa’s friend?”

Jim nodded, a confused look on his face. “That’s Lilith. She owns the house. Larisa said she’s an old family friend.”

“On Monday, we saw you arrive at Lilith’s house. It looked like you and Larisa went straight to her bedroom,” said Trixie as Jim reddened. “Did either of you leave the room within, say 45 minutes or so?”

Jim thought. “No, neither of us left the room. What does that have to do with anything?”

“Please, Jim. Was there anyone else in the house besides you, Larisa and Lilith?”

“No; no one else.” He looked at her expectantly.

Trixie took a deep breath and then told him what she and Honey had seen on the roof, and that they believed it to be Lilith.

Honey picked up the story as Jim looked at her incredulously.

“Once we calmed down, we went to talk to Abbie Mills and Mr. Crane to see if they could shed any light on what we saw. Mr. Crane showed us this.” She handed Jim the photocopy of the drawing of the succubus.

There was no sound as Jim stared at the drawing. He set it down on the table. “You’re telling me you saw one of these things on the roof of Lilith’s house?” he asked, a dazed look on his face. “This looks like a succubus.”

“You know what it is?” asked Honey.

“Of course. I took several courses in mythology; the succubus is only a myth.”

“After what we witnessed not that long ago, I’d think you wouldn’t be so quick to dismiss what Trixie and Honey saw,” said Dan. “God knows I would love to pretend there’s no such thing as demons, but we know they exist.”

“So you think Lilith is a succubus. I still don’t understand what that has to do with me. I’m not dating Lilith,” Jim said.

“We think Larisa may also be a succubus,” said Trixie. “You exhibit all the signs of being under attack by one, from not spending time with your family and not doing the things you love any more to gradually weakening physically, looking more and more ill….” she trailed off as she saw a look of realization cross Jim’s face.

“Could it be?” he asked. “For a while I was having dreams about her every night, but those stopped when we?” he stopped, looking embarrassed.

“It’s okay, Jim,” said Dan. “We’re all adults. We had guessed you were sleeping with her before Trixie and Honey saw you at her place. So you dreamed of having sex with her, but the dreams stopped when you started sleeping with her?”

“Yes,” said Jim, looking at the floor. “I didn’t think a succubus could take physical form. Do you really think Larisa is a succubus? I?I’m pretty sure I was falling in love with her.”

“It’s the power of the succubus at work, Jim,” replied Dan. “Crane also told us that very powerful succubi can not only take physical form, but can change their appearance to look however they wish.”

“That would explain why I didn’t recognize her,” said Jim. “From what I remember from my mythology classes, it’s not easy to get rid of a succubus. I don’t suppose just having her arrested would be enough?”

“We don’t think so,” said Honey. “She could still visit you in your dreams and drain your life force.”

“Why choose me?” he asked.

Trixie laughed harshly. “Why, Jim, you can’t be serious! Laura Ramsey had designs on you ten years ago when the Bob-Whites foiled her scheme to bilk Mr. Lytell. It’s obvious she came back to get what she wants – you and your money.”

Jim groaned. “I told you then and I’ll tell you now, I wasn’t interested in Laura. I was just being nice.”

“I believe you, Jim,” Trixie said sadly. “I just don’t think it was all your idea. I may have exaggerated what was happening because I was jealous of her, but I do remember she touched your arm a lot and that you seemed to be not quite yourself. Larisa does the same thing. Your eyes glaze over when she touches you, and I’m not the only one who’s noticed.”

Jim opened his mouth as if to argue when his cell phone rang. He looked at it, saying, “It’s Larisa.”

“Don’t answer!” chorused the other Bob-Whites.

He sent the call to voicemail and looked up. “So what do we do now?”

Trixie looked relieved that Jim wasn’t going to put up more of a fight. “Now we go see Mr. Crane so he can tell us how you’re going to banish a succubus!”

“Wait – I’m going to banish it?” Jim asked, eyes widening.

Trixie nodded. “He said that only the target of a succubus can banish it. But we can help. He was researching the best way to do it.”

Jim’s phone rang again; Larisa wasn’t going to wait for a call back. “I think we should get going, then. I wouldn’t be surprised if she came over here looking for me.”

Trixie made a quick call to Crane, who told them he was ready to see them. They all piled into Jim’s SUV for the trip to Sleepy Hollow. As Jim was still pretty shaken, Dan drove, and it wasn’t long before they pulled into the parking lot of the police station.

They found Crane in the archives, but there was no sign of Abbie. Crane looked closely at Jim as they exchanged greetings. “Mr. Frayne,” he began, “while we weren’t certain that the woman you’ve been seeing is a succubus, after seeing you, I am fairly certain that she is.”

Jim sighed as he sat in the closest chair. “I’m afraid I’m rather overwhelmed right now, Mr. Crane.”

“Understandably so,” Crane replied with a smile. “One of the rituals I found is fairly simple. It does, however, place a strain on the person performing the banishment. Considering your weakened physical state, I think the ritual should be done on consecrated ground. That will strengthen the banishment spell. As for the succubus that Miss Belden and Miss Wheeler saw, it may or may not come when summoned. We do not know the extent to which she has been involved with your seduction.”

“Was Abbie able to find out anything on Lilith Jones, or Mansfield’s cause of death?” asked Trixie.

“The Lieutenant advised me that Lilith Jones does not technically exist. She inherited the Bellwood property but has no government documentation such as a birth certificate or social security number. She is not employed, at least not under that name. Property taxes are paid in cash.

“As for the death of Mr. Mansfield, he died from a heart attack, but there were what appeared to be large claw marks on his body and very high adrenaline levels in his blood. The medical examiner believes that the heart attack was brought on by extreme fear.”

“I’d say the claw marks point to a succubus being the murderer,” said Dan.

“Yes, and a succubus in its natural form could be enough to scare a man to death,” agreed Crane.

“So what do I have to do, and where can we go that has consecrated ground? We can’t just waltz into a church and tell them we’d like to banish a succubus.” Jim rubbed his bloodshot eyes.

“Ah, but churches aren’t the only places that are consecrated,” said Crane. “The cemetery at the Old Dutch Church is consecrated ground and will be deserted at night. You will need to draw a large devil’s trap on the ground.”

“What’s a devil’s trap?” asked Honey.

“It’s more commonly known as a pentagram,” replied Crane as the others nodded in recognition. He again turned his attention to Jim.

“Once you have drawn the devil’s trap, you must hold the blessed weapon while summoning the succubus. Once it has been summoned, you will confront it, then say the banishment prayer, more than once if needed.” He held up a large black gemstone on a silver chain.

“That’s the blessed weapon?” asked Dan. “I thought it would be some type of sword.”

“Blessed weapons can take many forms. Luckily Miss Jennie already had this one in her possession. It is obsidian.” He handed Jim a piece of paper containing the summons and the prayer.

Jim looked at the elaborate writing. “Did you write this?”

“I transcribed it. Is there a problem?”

“No,” Jim shook his head. “I’m just not used to reading old English writing.”

He read the prayer and looked up again. “Is it possible that not one, but two succubi will appear when I say this?”

“Yes,” said Crane. “When a succubus takes a physical form, that form is summoned. That’s why the devil’s trap must be large enough for three.” He picked up a box of black, chunky candles. “These must be lit at each point of the trap.”

“Are you sure this will work?” Jim asked.

“It should,” replied Crane. “If, however, something goes wrong, we will be there to pull you from the trap. The trap will hold the succubus.”

“Okay, then what’s stopping us?” said Trixie. “Let’s go catch a succubus!”

“Wait,” said Jim. “I need time to memorize this.”

“Can’t you just read it off the paper?” asked Trixie impatiently.

“In the dark?” Jim responded sarcastically.

“Oh, well, how much time do you need? I don’t think we want to try to keep her away from you until tomorrow night.”

“Give me an hour,” said Jim.

Crane and Jim remained in the archives while the others went to purchase a can of spray paint and survey the cemetery for a suitable spot to perform the ritual. They found a spot behind some trees and were returning to the car when Honey’s phone rang.

“It’s someone calling from the Manor House,” said Honey as she answered.

Dan could tell that whoever was calling was upset, as Honey was barely able to get in a word. “Yes, I know where he is. He’s safe … it sounds like she’s mentally unbalanced … are you okay? All right. I’m sure the police will find her.” She ended the call and looked at Dan and Trixie.

“That was Ms. Trask. Larisa showed up at Manor House demanding to see Jim. When Ms. Trask told her he wasn’t there, she threw a screaming fit, accusing Ms. Trask of keeping him from her. Then she starting throwing things. Ms. Trask said Larisa threw a vase right at her! She said she knew one of his friends was hiding him. She left when Ms. Trask called the police.”

“I’m glad this will be over tonight,” said Trixie with a shiver. “She, or it, is crazy!”

“She knows where Mart and Di live. You don’t think she’d go there looking for him.…” Honey said uncertainly.

“She might,” said Trixie grimly. She pulled her phone from her pocket as they climbed back in the car. A quick call to Mart confirmed that someone, likely Larisa, had thrown potted plants through the plate glass window and tossed patio furniture off the porch. Luckily, neither he nor Diana were home when the damage occurred, but a neighbor heard a woman yelling and saw a glimpse of a red sports car as it sped away.

“What the heck is going on?” asked Mart. “Has Jim’s girlfriend gone nuts?”

“It’s way worse than that. I promise I’ll tell you everything tomorrow. She trashed the foyer at Manor House, too. The police have already been there.”

“Okay, but tomorrow you tell all,” Mart responded. “The police just pulled up out front, so I have to go.”

Trixie related Mart’s story to Dan and Honey as they arrived back at the police station. They picked up Jim and Crane and headed back to the cemetery.

“We found a perfect spot that’s behind some trees,” said Trixie.

As she updated Jim on Larisa’s antics, Dan saw Crane, sitting in the passenger seat, frown. He decided not to ask any questions about the reason for the frown; he didn’t need any more bad news tonight.

“Where’s your partner?” he asked instead.

Crane sighed. “The Lieutenant has been working on a drug task force, which has unfortunately taken much of her time the last few weeks.”

Dan nodded. “I heard about that. I’m glad I’m not on it.”

“Me, too,” said Trixie from the back seat. “You have enough late nights as it is.”

They parked at the cemetery and made their way towards the chosen spot. A wind had kicked up, and clouds increasingly blotted out the stars. They could hear thunder in the distance.

“I hope the rain holds off until this is over,” said Honey with a shiver.

“I’m more concerned with lightning,” said Jim.

He shook the can of spray paint and, with directions from Crane, sprayed a perfect pentagram on the ground while Dan lit the area with a flashlight. Crane handed Jim the stone and Jim stood nervously in the center of the pentagram while Trixie and Honey lit the candles.

Jim held the stone and recited the summons. “I, James Frayne, summon the demon that has attached itself to me. You must appear before me now. I call you in the name of all that is holy.”

There was a flash of light and suddenly Larisa appeared in the pentagram in front of Jim. Her hair was a mess and she looked as if she had been crying. She looked at Jim, her eyes narrowing. “You summoned me? How did you find out what I am, and how did you know how to summon me?”

“My friends helped me see the truth about you,” said Jim tersely. “You have been using me to get revenge, haven’t you Larisa?”

Larisa looked momentarily startled. “Your friends?” She peered into the surrounding darkness, spotting Trixie.

“Trixie Belden,” she said with a sneer. “I should have killed you on the road when I had the chance. You snoop too much.”

“It would take more than a blonde bimbo who doesn’t know how to drive to kill me,” said Trixie with a toss of her head. “Still like red sports cars, huh, Laura; or should I say Lisa? You have a bad memory if you didn’t think we’d do whatever was necessary to protect Jim.”

Larisa snarled, startling Jim. She tried to step towards Trixie, but was stopped by the devil’s trap. She saw Crane standing in the shadows and actually looked frightened for a moment. “You! You are one of the Witnesses!” She looked more closely at him. “I have seen you before in another time. There is strong magic around you. Why are you here?”

“I, as well as the other Witness, are here to stop your kind from causing harm in this world,” said Crane. “The powers of good shall prevail. Tell your brethren when you return from whence you came.” He turned to Jim.

“Make her answer your question!” he said.

“Tell me, why did you choose me? Was it for revenge?” Jim asked.

Larisa smiled an evil smile. “It was an easy choice. You responded so well to me ten years ago when I had much less power; I could easily have had you then if you and your friends hadn’t spoiled my plans. Of course, the fact that you’re rich helped as well. I do like to maintain a certain lifestyle in this realm. My former partner was sadly deficient in that area. He outlived his usefulness. I’ve been planning this for some time, and I chose this form especially for you. You do like my form, don’t you Jim?” She slid her hands over her hips and looked at him seductively. “Now, you will be mine!”

“I will never belong to you. I detest everything you are, everything you were! You cannot have me!” Jim held up the stone.

Larisa howled and began to pace in a circle around Jim.

“Say the prayer!” ordered Crane.

Jim held up the stone and began to recite the prayer. “In the name of God, I withdraw all permissions to all succubus spirits. And in the name of God, I command all succubus spirits to leave my presence, leave my dwelling place and leave my land; and take your families with you.”

“You think you can banish me?” she said with a hiss. She reached for Jim but was repelled by the stone he held. “Noooo!” She screamed. “You are mine!”

“Keep reciting the prayer!” shouted Crane as the thunder and lightning grew closer.

Jim began to say the prayer again. Dan watched as Larisa circled Jim looking for a way out of the devil’s trap. She looked right at him once, and he saw pure hatred in her eyes. She stopped and hunched over. She began to make a horrible sound as the façade of Larisa disappeared, replaced by a scaly creature with huge wings and large claws. Jim looked terrified, but he continued to repeat the prayer while holding up the stone toward the sky.

The wind grew stronger, blowing out the candles. The thunder grew louder, the lightning flashing directly above them.

A bolt of lightning flashed, striking the creature, which became engulfed in flame. Jim backed away from the flame and the smell of burning flesh and sulfur.

“Don’t leave the trap!” shouted Crane over the screams of the demon.

There was a second flash of light, then silence. Even the thunder had stopped. Everyone looked around, then at Jim, who was still standing in the devil’s trap with a dazed look. There was no sign of Larisa other than a spot of scorched earth and the faint smell of sulfur.

“Is she?I mean it?gone?” asked Honey shakily.

“Yes, it has been banished,” replied Crane. “Are you all right, Mr. Frayne?”

“I think so,” said Jim. Honey ran to give him a hug.

“Your eyebrows are singed,” she said as she led him out of the devil’s trap.

“What about the other one?” Trixie asked. “It didn’t come when he did the summons.”

“Since she did not respond, she probably was not connected to the seduction of Mr. Frayne. However, the banishment prayer did include the families of the succubus, so she still could have been banished. At the very least, she will not be able to bother Mr. Frayne.”

Jim started to shake suddenly and looked like he was about to collapse. Dan and Crane rushed to help him, supporting him on either side as they walked back to Jim’s SUV.

“Is it really over?” Jim asked as he climbed into the back seat, Trixie and Honey on either side of him. “I feel strange, like I’ve been in a trance or something.”

“You have been under an increasing level of control by the succubus for some time. You are feeling the absence of that control,” explained Crane.

Dan started the SUV and pulled out of the cemetery.

“It will take you several weeks to regain your physical strength,” continued Crane. “You should keep the stone with you at all times until you have completely recovered. You are especially vulnerable right now.”

“Look over there!” exclaimed Trixie from the back seat, pointing out the window to an orange glow in the distance. “It looks like something’s on fire! Dan, would you please head towards that? I have a hunch.”

“Can’t it wait, Trix? We’re all exhausted, and we need to get Jim home,” said Dan with a frown.

“It will only take a couple of minutes. Please, Dan?”

“Are you all right with a short detour, Jim?” Dan asked. Jim nodded his assent and Crane looked back at Trixie.

“Miss Belden, I do believe I know what you are thinking. I hope your hunch is correct.”

“What are you thinking, Trixie?” asked Honey.

“Just wait, please. I don’t want to say it out loud if I’m wrong,” said Trixie.

As they got closer, they could smell burning wood, and there was smoke in the air.

“Turn on Bellwood, Dan!” said Trixie. He did as she asked, but their vehicle came to an abrupt stop. A squad car blocked the street, and several fire engines could be seen. Lilith Jones’ Victorian, fully engulfed in flames, was surrounded by firefighters doing their best to keep the fire from spreading to neighboring homes.

“Wait here. I’ll see what I can find out,” said Dan. He exited the vehicle and looked for the owner of the squad car. He recognized the young officer who was watching the firefighters.

“Hey, Stewart! What’s the scoop here?”

“Oh, hey, Detective Mangan.” the officer replied. “It looks like the place was hit by lightning. A neighbor said he heard lightning strike from that direction and when he looked out, the whole house was in flames. He called 911, but all the fire department can do is keep it from spreading.”

“Do they know if anyone was inside?” Dan asked.

“There weren’t any cars in the driveway, but the neighbors don’t know much about the person who owns the house. It wasn’t safe for the firefighters to go inside to check for occupants. I sure hope no one was in that inferno; what a horrible way to die.”

“Yes, it would be,” Dan agreed as the vision of the succubus in flames flashed through his mind. He didn’t think he’d ever be able to forget that sight, or the smell. He thanked the officer and returned to the SUV to relate what he’d been told.

Trixie bounced in her seat as he started the engine. “I’ll bet Lilith was in the house when it got hit.”

“My guess would be that the lightning was meant for Lilith, rather than the house,” noted Crane.

“That means Lilith was banished as well,” said Honey.

“We can’t know for sure, but I can’t believe the fire was a coincidence,” replied Crane.

Dan soon pulled into the driveway of Mrs. Vanderpoel’s cozy yellow brick home. The old lady had insisted that Crane stay with her when she found out he was staying in a motel several months earlier. She loved to cook for him and treated him like a son.

Crane stepped out of the vehicle and looked in at Jim, who was almost asleep against Honey’s shoulder. “Good night, all. While I do find your company exhilarating, I hope the next time we see each other it is under better circumstances.”

Jim sat up, blinking. “I can’t thank you enough for all your help, Mr. Crane. We couldn’t have gotten rid of Larisa without you.”

“I’m happy to be of service,” he said with a bow. He turned and, with a final wave, entered the house.

Jim cleared his throat. “I need to thank all of you, too. I guess I’m lucky you know me so well. If you hadn’t realized something was wrong, I might have ended up married to that thing. It would have killed me, and my dream for a school as well.”

“Honey was the one who first noticed things were off,” said Trixie.

Honey squeezed Jim’s hand. “You know I couldn’t let anything happen to my full-blooded, adopted brother!” she said with a grin.

“None of the Bob-Whites will let anything bad happen to another if they can help it!” said Trixie vehemently.

Dan smiled as he looked at Trixie in the rear-view mirror. Her curls quivered as she shook her head. He was exceedingly glad that this little adventure was over, and he really hoped there would be no more danger to his friends from the evil that had come to Sleepy Hollow.

They had also managed to wrap up the case without Trixie or the rest of the Bob-Whites being any the wiser about the level of his involvement with the work being done by Abbie and Crane. Abbie had treated him like a minor annoyance in front of the Bob-Whites, and Crane gave no hint that he and Dan had become close friends in the months since they met.

As Trixie and Honey quietly chatted, he noticed that Jim’s eyes were closed again. He turned into the Manor House driveway and parked. He lagged behind the others as they walked toward the house. He loved all of the Bob-Whites and their families, and Trixie was the love of his life. He would do anything to keep them safe. They had come too close to losing Jim. He looked up at the night sky, where the moon was peeking through the clouds.

Could he leave his job in Sleepy Hollow in good conscience, knowing what he did about the evil that lurked out there? He wasn’t one of the Witnesses, but they needed all the help they could get, and he worked well with both Crane and Abbie; he was even getting along better with Abbie’s sister Jennie. Maybe he needed to reconsider his decision to move to Sleepyside PD when a position opened up, despite his dislike of the paranormal. He wished he could share what he was doing with Trixie, but he knew she would end up to her neck in situations she wasn’t equipped to handle. That was the hardest part?lying to Trixie, to the Bob-Whites.

He sighed and hurried to catch up to the others, grabbing Trixie’s hand. She looked up at him with a smile. “Everything okay?” she asked.

“Yep. Everything’s just fine,” he replied. He’d think more about it another day.

THE END

- I hope you enjoyed reading about the demise of Laura Ramsey as much as I enjoyed writing it for CWE#12. I made a list of several villains and how I might dispose of them before deciding that I really, really wanted Laura Ramsey to die. Although I didn’t read “Missing Millionaire” until I was an adult, I hated that the villain not only had my name, but that she caused Trixie so much turmoil just by being her evil self.
- Since Jim seemed a bit out of character in that book, I thought that it would make sense that Laura had some power over him at that time, weak though it was. I realized the story needed to be in the Sleepyside/Sleepy Hollow universe I created for my CWE#9 story, and the timing of the CWE#12 deadline was perfect (Happy Halloween!). This was so much fun, I may just need to knock off a couple more villains before I’m done.
- Thanks to my editor, Vivian, whose input and sharp eyes made this a better story. I give her full credit for the phrase “amorous congress,” which is exactly the type of thing Crane would say and much better than what I originally wrote.
- The real Sleepy Hollow is next to Ossining (Sleepyside), which is what gave me the idea for this universe.
- Bellwood is a street in Sleepy Hollow not far from the Old Dutch Church, and it looks to be residential from what I could see on Google Earth.
- The Old Dutch Church is the oldest church in the state of New York. The “Old Burial Grounds” of the church are technically now part of the Sleepy Hollow Cemetery.
- During my research, I discovered that Lilith is the name of the mythological “queen” of the succubi, so I chose it for Larisa’s friend. As for her last name, Jones … well, you know.
- The summons and prayer said by Jim were adapted from actual prayers used in banishment rituals, and have been altered to fit my story. The ritual itself (pentagram, candles, blessed weapon) was also adapted from an actual succubus banishment ritual. Yes, there are standard rituals to ban succubi. Who knew?
- Disclaimer: I don’t own any of the characters in this story (except for Lilith Jones) and am not profiting from it in any way. Trixie Belden and all residents of Sleepyside, as well as Laura Ramsey and Mark McGraw, are property of Random House. Abbie Mills and Ichabod Crane are the property of Fox Studios.

Word Count: 22,011

Disclaimer: Trixie Belden® is a registered trademark of Random House© books. These pages are not for profit. Any images of Trixie Belden and other series characters are copyright by Random House© books and are used respectfully, but without permission.