After the opera was over, we left the seats. Mom needed to talk to Mrs.
White.

Mrs. White is Mom's business partner. She came up to us. "I remember you,"
she said to me. "I'm tempted to call you Charlie Junior. You look so much
like your dad!"

Why does everyone say that?

Ivy laughed. "Did Mother say anything about me?"

"Oh, yes, I remember. Nice to see you Rosemary."

Mom laughed. Ivy turned red.

"Whoops. Mrs. White gave us an embarrassed look. "I'm sorry. I can never get
botanical names straight."

(Rosemary happens to be the middle name of our cousin. Don't ask!)

As we left for home, I thought about our family. We just seemed to drift
apart. I wonder if anyone else has lost a moment of sleep worrying about the
way things might have been.

Don't get me wrong. We've had our share of family vacations. The one where I
left Ivy in a pastry shop in Germany comes to mind.

It seems our family ties had weakened when Ivy and I joined ACME. I remember
the conversation. Dad had simply said, "You're free to do whatever you
decide. Just be careful. Losing even one of you would end my life. You simply
mean that much to me."

Mom had been a little less lenient. But I guess that's expected. She had
given an loud sigh, which I knew was more exasperation than agreement, but
she relented.

Ivy occasionally gives those exasperated sighs. She acts like Mom in a few
ways. Why hadn't I noticed it before?

Bottom line is, Ivy and I became detectives, and Mom and Dad became more
workaholic than ever.

It was almost midnight when we finally got home. Soon I went to bed and fell
asleep.

In the middle of the night, I was jolted awake. Someone, or something was
making noise downstairs.

To be continued.....