CHAPTER  7

 

            “Yeah, I’m headin’ home for bed. It sure will be lonely there without you.”

            The tall, well-muscled man with the overly Brylcreamed hair picked up his coffee cup and sipped from it, trying to look as wistful as possible. The pretty, slightly plump redheaded waitress holding the coffeepot smiled slightly and waited for him to put the cup down. When he did, she refilled it.

            “Well, you’ll just have to make the best of it,” she said placidly.

            “All by myself,” he sighed. “It’s not good for a man to be alone so much.”

            The waitress leaned on the counter and held up her left hand next to her face. On her third finger was a thick gold band.

            “It’d be even worse for you if my husband knew you were talkin’ to me like this.”

            The man smiled cagily at her.

            “I’m sure I’d never tell him.”

            The pretty girl shook her head good-humoredly.

            “Look, don’t you remember me? I was in the bar where you work last Friday with my husband. I’m sure you remember him.”

            The man furrowed his brow in exaggerated thought. The waitress waited patiently.

            “He was the only guy in the place bigger than you,” she added.

            The bartender’s eyes opened in alarm. It was obvious he remembered.

            “Oh … yeah,” he stammered. “Sorry. I didn’t recognize you. You look different in your uniform.”

             The indulgent smile stayed with her.

            “Forget it. It’s nice to be appreciated.” She noticed a used newspaper on the counter by the register and handed it to him. “Maybe you can ease all that loneliness with the funnies or the crossword puzzle.”

            He unfolded the paper. It was this morning’s Kermit Sentinel, and near the top of the front page was a picture of John Wilberforce under the headline MISSING BANKER SOUGHT IN MYSTERY. He began reading.

            A few minutes later the waitress came back.

            “Refill?” she asked holding up the pot.

            The man looked up dazedly.

            “Huh?”

            “More coffee?”

            He looked at the coffeepot as though he saw one only twice a year.

            “Uh, no. What do I owe?”

            Not really waiting for an answer he put a couple bills on the counter and ran out.

            “Wait a minute!” called the waitress. “Don’t you want your change?”

 

            “There,” said Marie with satisfaction. “That ought to keep you nice and snug while I’m gone.”

            She looked down at Copper on the bed. The girl, naked save for her panties, was once again hogtied and gagged. Marie had her facing away from the window, on her side, and lying diagonally on the bed, like a reversed letter ‘L.’ For extra precaution against the girl’s escape attempts, two leashes had been added: one around the girl’s knees secured to one of the lower bed legs and another from her neck to the headboard at the opposite corner.

            Copper looked up at Marie and mewed imploringly into her gag, alarm clearly showing in her eyes at the line around her throat.

            “Take it easy, Copper. I’m not trying to strangle you. It’s not a slipnoose or anything like that, and there’s enough slack so that you can move a little if you get uncomfortable. But if I were you, I wouldn’t try to get off the bed.”

            The little blonde seemed to relax a little.

            “That’s better,” said Marie. “I wouldn’t have gone to the trouble of letting you use the bathroom and giving you some water if I was going to do worse. If you’re a good girl and wait for me, your troubles are almost over. As soon as I get the money I’m getting out of here, and I’ll come back and take that ‘Do Not Disturb’ sign off the door on my way. The maid’ll find you in a couple hours and you can go back to your uncle. Everybody’ll live happily ever after. You can probably even get your friend Sherry off the hook. So just relax for an hour or so. I’ll even bring some food for you when I come back. Ta-ta.”

            The shapely blonde covered Copper with the blanket they had used last night and, after a quick check for anyone outside, left the room. Copper heard her car engine start. She was alone.

            The room was dark, Marie having pulled the curtains completely closed. Copper was warm under the blanket, but the air conditioner, as if on command, came on. It was a noisy unit. Copper realized that it would prevent her from hearing anyone passing by as well as effectively drown out any gagged cries she could make. Her visit to the bathroom and the brief removal of the gag while Marie had given her water had restored the girl’s spirits somewhat. She set to work at her bonds again. If she could free her hands, she could clear Sherry and see that Marie was caught.

 

            “I don’t know, Winch,” Sky Ryder said musingly. “We’ve got this thing figured wrong in some way.”

            The two men were returning to the Sheriff’s Office after a few hours’ rest and a good breakfast prepared by Mrs. Winchell. The Sheriff was driving the patrol car; Sky was thinking hard.

            “What other way could it be, Sky?” asked Winchell. “It looks as if Copper went along with Sherry for a while, drove her around town and to Marie’s apartment. After Sherry tied up Marie’s roommates, they left, maybe also taking Marie with them. They went back to your ranch where Sherry must have turned on Copper, tied her up, and made off with her. Then she attacked the Hall girl to steal her car and went to the Wilberforce’s place to look for the money. I’d like to believe he framed Sherry, but it’s also possible that they were partners in the embezzlement.”

            “So where’s Wilberforce now?”

            Winchell shrugged.

            “Sherry might have got him too. Or he could be in hiding, knowing that she’s after him.”

            Sky nodded.

            “Or he’s got the money and taken off with it and with his friend Marie.”

             Winchell shook his head in confusion.

            “All these things are possible, Sky. But we do we do while we’re waiting to find out which one’s right?”

            Sky Ryder stared thoughtfully ahead.

            “I don’t claim to be any expert on female psychology, but right off the bat two things seem wrong with that explanation: it’s not like Copper to stop helping a friend, and I don’t think Sherry would turn on a friend either. Even if she didn’t want Copper’s help, why would she take her along? She’d have left Copper at home.”

            Winchell glanced at him. “So what happened?”

            “Try this one. Copper and Sherry both figured Marie to be Wilberforce’s partner. That’s why Copper drove her to Marie’s apartment. They didn’t find any evidence there so they went back to the Flying Coronet to get some time to work on a plan. Goodness knows what they decided, but I think Copper may have stayed at the ranch and told Sherry to go on alone. It may have been Marie who took Copper from the ranch.”

            “How’d she know Copper and Sherry were working together?”

            “Because she talked to the same neighbor we did. He told us that Sherry and Copper were together, he may have told Marie the same thing. She may have followed them and somehow captured Copper after Sherry left.”

            Winchell was nodding again. “It adds up. So where are they now?”

            “In hiding somewhere. Wilberforce and Marie may be together or one may have double-crossed the other. They could be getting the money from some hiding place, or they could be on the run, but we’ve got to find them. One of them knows where Copper is.”

            “And Sherry’s out looking for them too?” asked Winchell.

            “Probably. And I don’t think she has any better ideas than we have about where they are.”

            Winchell parked the car in front of the Sheriff’s Office. The two men had barely gotten through the doors when Deputy MacKeever called to Winchell.

            “Sheriff! There’s a guy here with something you ought to hear!”

            MacKeever jerked his thumb over his shoulder, indicating a muscular, oily-haired man in a white shirt sitting on a bench behind him.

 

            Though it was before regular hours, the morning shift bank guard admitted Marie without question. Secretaries often came in early to finish work left undone. Besides, Marie had worn a tight skirt and low-cut blouse this morning, and she knew that viewing her significant assets was enough of an incentive to make most men helpful. Just as the guard started to unlock the door, she pretended to notice a piece of lint on her skirt and leaned over to brush it away. The man stared into her décolletage with such great interest that he dropped his keys. She giggled with sufficient girlishness as he picked them up and opened the door.

            Once inside, Marie headed to Wilberforce’s office. Outside of it was her desk with the usual secretary’s items: typewriter, in and out boxes, blotter, pencil and pen cup, stapler, and so on. Beside the desk near the window was her one personal possession: a small rubber plant in an urn. With a quick look around, Marie grasped the plant in her right hand and lifted. The plant came out of its urn easily. The soil that held it was actually contained in a smaller urn that fitted neatly inside the other. A paper parcel wrapped thoroughly in plastic took up any space that might have been left under the smaller vase. She took up the parcel and replaced the plant. Opening her purse on the desk, Marie removed the plastic wrapping and tossed it into the wastebasket. She tore open the paper and checked the contents.   She was just lifting the packet toward her purse when she was startled by a cheery voice behind her.

            “Well, good morning, Marie. You’re certainly here early this morning!”

            As Marie turned, the packet slipped out of her hand. When it hit the floor part of the contents slid out of the wrapper. Patty Brennan, a pretty twenty-five year old brunette who was secretary to one of the other vice-presidents, looked in astonishment at the trail of fifty- and hundred-dollar bills on the floor. She was unable to speak for a moment. She just pointed.

            “Wh-wh-what---“ was all she could get out.

            Marie reached into her bag.

            “I really need your help here, Patty,” she said calmly, drawing out her pistol and pointing it at the woman. “Most of all, I need you to keep quiet for a minute. Then we’re going to the storeroom.”

 

            Sherry Johnson sipped coffee from a paper cup as she waited in the blue sedan parked at the curb outside. Disguised with a headscarf and sunglasses she had risked getting breakfast at a little diner a few miles from town, but it would have been out of the question to try to walk the streets of Kermit in daylight. She had seen Marie going into the bank. Another woman had been let in a couple minutes later. She would just have to wait and follow Marie when she came out. It wouldn’t be difficult with the red sports car parked not far away.

            Sherry looked at her watch. It was just after seven in the morning. She doubted that Marie intended to do a full day’s work. In fact, she hoped that Marie would be leaving soon, before there was any appreciable foot traffic in the streets. She hunkered down a bit and waited.

 

            Deputy Amy Cole drove slowly down one of the backroads not far from the Flying Coronet ranch. After freeing Jeanne Hall and taking her statement, Amy had had a few hours’ sleep and now she was back on the job. The seething desire to recapture the young woman who had tricked her to escape provided Amy with all the energy she needed.  If she felt fatigue, all she had to do was remember lying in her underwear, hogtied, gagged, and blindfolded on the examining table in the County Nurse’s Office, or the smirks on the faces of the men who came to gawk. The other deputies had tried not to show their amusement, but Amy could read it in their faces.

With the description and license number of Jeanne’s car she felt certain that she could recapture Sherry. The woman was, after all, not an experienced criminal. She would make some mistake or show herself somewhere, and Amy would be ready.

 

“I don’t know what this is all about, Marie,” protested Patty Brennan, “but you’ve no right to do this. And you know that you won’t get away with it.”

Marie dropped the cords on some empty space on one of the storeroom shelves. She still held the gun on Patty, as she had from the moment the girl had seen the fallen money. Marie had forced her co-worker to pick up the bills and put clear tape on the package to prevent any more accidents and put the bundle in Marie’s purse. Then she had Patty pull the cords out of every lamp, adding machine, and telephone nearby before marching her to the basement storage area.

“I’m pretty sure that you know what it’s about, Patty,” replied Marie. “And I’m going to get away with it all right. Now start stripping.”

Patty’s dark eyes grew wide with surprise and alarm.

“Y-You want me to take off my clothes?”

Marie smiled with just her lips.

“Not all of them. Just most of them.”

“No!” asserted Patty. “I won’t.”

Marie’s thumb drew back the hammer of the pistol. Slowly, hesitantly Patty reached for the top button of her blouse.

            “Good girl, Patty. This’ll just be an inconvenience for you if you play along. I’m just greedy, not bloodthirsty.”

            “So you’re the one who took the money,” Patty said sullenly as she removed her blouse, revealing a frilly white slip and a well-filled bra. “It wasn’t Sherry after all.”

            Marie leaned forward and unbuttoned the waist fastening of Patty’s dark blue skirt.

            “Lose it.” She ordered with a wave of her gun at the skirt. “I can’t believe that the rest of the girls here didn’t suspect anything. Poor Sherry! All her old friends turned on her so quickly.”

            Patty leaned over to pull off the skirt. “Well, there were a few who never believed it.” She tossed the skirt onto a large cardboard box.

            “You can leave the heels on,” said Marie. “Now turn around and put your hands behind your back.”

            The slip and stocking clad secretary had no choice. She turned and crossed her wrists just above her shapely behind. Marie laid the pistol on the same carton and took up a length of lampcord. She started tying.

 

“Get every man you can spare after him on the ground, Winch. I’m going after him in the Hummingbird.”

Sky Ryder buckled on the gun belt that MacKeever handed to him. Winchell was checking his own revolver.

“I’ll drop you at the airport, Sky. MacKeever and Norris will take one car. Barnes is going to meet me at the Southend Garage, and Tyler and Rivera will join us as soon as they can. Six of us plus you ought to be able to do the job.”

“Amy Cole’s back on duty too, Sheriff,” added MacKeever. “I know you told her to get some rest, but she called in about half an hour ago and said she was looking for the Hall girl’s car.”

Winchell nodded.

“We’ll need her and the rest of the day watch in town with all of us out on this. Ready, Sky?”

Sky finished loading the revolver he had been given.

“Ready, Winch. Let’s go.”

 

John Wilberforce was careful to obey the speed limit absolutely. He even drove a bit slower than the posted figure as he made his way southwest on the highway. Going through towns, he was especially cautious. There was no sense in giving some State trooper or small town constable any excuse for pulling him over. He had chosen a route that would avoid going through Phoenix. Too many policemen there.  In a few short hours he would be in Mexico and set for a long time.

 

Marie finished tying the second of two long phone cords around Patty’s arms and torso, pinning the woman’s arms against her back and sides. She spotted a secretary’s chair, armless, with only a very thin metal splat supporting a small backrest, and on casters, in one corner. She guided her slip-clad captive to it and forced her to sit. She used the one short cord she had left to bind Patty’s ankles together.

 “Marie, please don’t leave me here like this!” begged the dark-haired secretary. “I won’t tell anyone what I saw. I’ll wait as long as you tell me.”

“You’ll wait a while all right: until somebody comes down here looking for supplies. Sorry, but I can’t take a chance on your word of honor or anything. Not having your clothes makes it easier to make sure you’re well tied, and maybe a little less eager to run out in the hall if you get loose. There.”

She finished Patty’s ankles and stood up. Another look around located some balls of twine for packaging. She used many turns of the string to secure Patty to the seat, first around the body, then at her already bound ankles. The high-heeled shoes Patty wore would make any maneuvering of the chair more difficult. There was some packing tape on shelves near the twine. Marie took a roll of it and approached her prisoner. She put the tape on the shelf while she ripped the sleeves from the woman’s blouse. One sleeve she wadded into a ball, which she put inside the other. A knot around the wad completed a gag.

“You know what this is for, don’t you, Patty?” she asked sweetly.

“No, please, not that! I won’t scream! Please –“

Marie forced the wad into Patty’s mouth and tied the sleeve ends behind her head.

“Now you know that’s not going to do any good. Just try to relax and breathe. This won’t be so bad if you don’t fight it.”

The woman stopped struggling and allowed Marie to finish her work.

“Can you breathe all right?”

Patty inhaled deeply through her nose. She looked up at Marie and nodded.

“Good.” The blonde peeled off a few strips of tape and plastered them over the gag. “Still okay?”

Patty breathed in and out and nodded again.

“Good. Just don’t get hysterical and you’ll be fine.” She looked at her watch. “Everybody’ll be coming in about forty-five minutes. It shouldn’t take them long to find you. And you’ll be the belle of the ball when they do.”

She cocked an eyebrow as she looked over the bound woman, then leaned toward her and pulled the straps of the slip and bra off one shoulder. She nodded.

“Yeah. Especially if they find you like that. Well, it’s been fun, but I have to be going.”

She picked up the rest of Patty’s blouse and her skirt and left the room, locking the door behind her. She made a quick stop in the women’s rest room to drop the clothes in the trashcan, then headed for the door. When the guard met her she explained to him that she had finished catching up on her work and now wanted to have breakfast before the bank opened. As he opened the door, she found another reason to bend over. This time it was something on her shoe. She straightened up and pretended to just notice his eyes on her cleavage. She giggled shyly and turned to repeat the maneuver, this time presenting a look at her shapely behind. The guard dropped his keys again.

 

Sherry Johnson sat up as she saw Marie leave the bank building. The curvaceous blonde walked briskly toward the red sports car parked close by. Sherry turned the key in the ignition of her car.

 

After working so long and hard with so little result, Copper could hardly believe it when she felt her wrists beginning to slide through the loops of cord. She had somehow created enough slack to slip her right hand out. She was free! Well, not exactly free, since there were still more than half a dozen ropes holding her, not counting the gag in her mouth and the leashes that kept her on the bed. But once her hands were free, there was no doubt about the rest.

The girl reached up and peeled the tape from her mouth. When the gag ties were undone she pulled the strip of cloth from between her teeth and spat out the wadding. As she worked on the line around her neck, Copper tried to formulate some plan for getting away.

There was a phone in the room, but it probably connected only to the motel office, and the girl dared not trust whoever was the manager. Marie had probably felt safe here because she paid off the manager. Maybe he would only overlook things and not actually assist in anything illegal, but she could not take the chance. She would have to get away on her own. But what could she use for clothes? On the desk/dresser were Marie’s clothes from yesterday. They would be wrinkled and too long for her, but there was nothing else. After freeing her legs it was still a few minutes before Copper could stand or move easily. Finally the blood was flowing freely again and she went into action

Ten minutes later Copper emerged from the room. She looked more than faintly ridiculous wearing Marie’s slinky and sexy clothes on a much shorter frame, and she had no bra or shoes, but the plucky girl carried on. She looked around the corner of the line of rooms in which she had been detained. The office was at the far end of another block of units facing the same direction as her room. There was no sign of life in the office, and there were no maids around. Copper trotted across the dirt parking and entry area toward the road. She noted the motel’s sign as she passed. It was a simple line drawing in red, with neon lights following the same lines. The picture was a saddle with a cowboy hat draped on the pommel.

“Saddle Tramp Motel,” Copper said aloud, glad to be able to hear her own voice again. “Who’d come to any place called the Saddle Tramp Motel?”

 

Chapter 8

 

 

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