"the Frame-Up" by Frank Knebel

[esercito sconfitto]

THE FRAME-UP

A SKY RYDER ADVENTURE

By

Frank Knebel


INTRODUCTION

Here’s another outing with Sky, Copper, Sheriff Winchell, and the gang from Kermit, Arizona in the West of the not-so-long-ago. I had not intended to do another Sky Ryder story so soon, if ever again. But when an author’s Muse blows gently in his ear he has little choice.

When we were kids maybe half our interest in tuning in was to watch Sky duke it out with villains, outsmart the forces of evil, and perform those wonderful aerial tricks with his plane, though it was actually stunt pilot Paul Mantz who did most of the flying. But the other half of the interest (even at that young age) was to watch the REAL heroine of the show court danger and peril every week. There were too many weeks when only half our goals were met.

Thank God we’re older now and have our priorities straightened out. These little tales are meant to satisfy the half that was often disappointed. I hope that I don’t fail you. Feel free to let me know how I’m doing, or tell me if you had the same experience with another show, by dropping a line to [email protected].

Thanks for reading.


CHAPTER 1

Judge Launer unfolded the sheet of paper the bailiff had handed him and looked at it for a long moment, as though reading through it twice. His gaze shifted to the jury foreman then swept along the two rows of faces, eight women and four men. He cleared his throat.
“Ladies and gentlemen of the jury, is this your verdict?” he asked.
The jury foreman rose.
“It is, your honor.”
With no expression, the judge handed the open sheet back to the bailiff who returned it to the still standing foreman.
“The defendant will please rise,” said Launer.
The defense attorney, a tall, bespectacled, fair-haired young man put his hand gently on the arm of Sherry Johnson, and they rose from their seats at the defense table. They presented a stark contrast in physical appearance together, though they were not far apart in age. Though not ugly, he was gangly and rather awkward looking, his long limbs seemingly ill at ease at being attached to his body. On the streets of Kermit, he would have been noticed, if at all, as an egg-headed young man who needed to get more sun and exercise.
On the other hand, every man on those same streets would have immediately taken note of Sherry Johnson. Her perfectly proportioned face, with her dark eyes and hair, pert nose, full lips, and creamy complexion, would have brought a smile to any male she passed. And even had they not been able to see her face clearly, there was plenty to enjoy in the rest of the package of her luscious figure. Even though the plain navy blue suit she wore in the courtroom had been chosen to de-emphasize any sensuality, it could not hide the trim waist, full breasts, beautifully rounded hips, and shapely legs of its occupant.
As she stood she reached one hand behind her, as though searching for something. Copper Ryder reached forward from her seat in the first row and took the hand. Sherry held on tightly. Sky Ryder, sitting next to Copper, noted the almost child-like appeal of the attractive young defendant standing there, a full head shorter that her lawyer and holding the hand of her friend.
“The foreman will read the verdict,” intoned Judge Launer.
“We, the jury, find the defendant, Sherry Johnson, guilty.”
Sherry Johnson sagged slightly against her lawyer and gripped Copper’s hand even harder. Sky Ryder looked around the courtroom. Many of the women spectators, and even one of the female jurors, were smiling. The men sat stonily, though Sherry’s former boss, John Wilberforce of the Ranchers Trust and Savings Bank of Kermit, mopped his brow under the vigilant eye of his wife beside him. As the judge thanked the jury for their time and efforts, Sky laid one hand one on the arm of his agonized niece. Copper turned to him and seemed about to make some comment out loud, but he silenced her with a shake of his head.
The jury filed out of the room.
“Your Honor, the Defense intends to appeal the verdict,” said the tall young man.
Judge Launer nodded while writing something a yellow pad.
“So noted, Mr. Paulson.” The judge looked at Sherry for a moment then scanned the faces in the room.
“The jury has returned a verdict of guilty in this case, a verdict that, on the surface at least, seems justified under the law. But I’m troubled by some of the evidence presented here, so I’m going to delay sentencing for one week. This will allow some time for further investigation by the Sheriff and additional evidence to be developed. The clerk will notify both parties as to a time for a sentencing hearing on say—“
The judge flipped a few pages in his calendar book.
“—next Wednesday, the 23rd.”
The prosecutor stood.
“Your Honor, because of the defendant’s lack of ties to the community at this time, we request that she be held in custody of the Sheriff.”
The judge looked again at Sherry. He looked thoughtful then nodded.
“Though it is regrettable, I feel that under the circumstances Mr. Hazen’s point is valid. Defendant is remanded to custody of the Sheriff. Court is adjourned.”
The clerk called for the room to rise as the judge left the bench through the door to the judges’ chambers.
Sherry looked up at Paulson.
“What does it mean, Bill?”
Paulson looked a bit sick. He tried to be comforting by awkwardly putting one of his long arms part way around her.
“It means you’ll be held in jail for now,” he said softly.
Sherry looked horrified.
“But I didn’t do it, Bill! I didn’t!” she protested. “How can they lock me up for something I didn’t do?”
Deputy Amy Cole stepped forward. Except for having blue eyes, Amy was very similar to Sherry in height, build, and abundant good looks. In her right hand, Deputy Cole held a pair of handcuffs. Sherry gasped when she saw them.
“Oh, no!” she cried. “Not now! Not in front of everybody like this!”
Sky Ryder looked earnestly at the deputy.
“Are those really necessary, Amy?” he asked.
Deputy Cole looked a bit sheepish.
“I’m afraid so, Sky. Some of the prominent … uh, people in town have been accusing the Department of going easy on Miss Johnson because she’s so … young.”
Sky understood that by ‘people’ Amy meant ‘women’ and ‘young’ meant ‘attractive.’ What he had seen in the faces of the women in the courtroom testified to that.
“We’ll stick by you, Sherry!” said Copper earnestly. “We’ll do everything we can to prove that you’re innocent, won’t we, Uncle Sky?”
Sky nodded.
“We sure will,” he said. “And from what Judge Launer said, I think that he thinks the same way. Try to be brave, and give us some time.”
Sherry looked about to cry, but she nodded bravely. She turned to Deputy Cole and held out her hands for the cuffs.
“I’m sorry, Miss Johnson,” Amy said gently. “I have to cuff them behind your back.”
Sherry turned her tear-welling eyes first to Paulson then to Sky. He gave a slight smile and nod. She nodded back to him and blinked back her tears. Turning her back, she presented her hands to Deputy Cole who snapped the cuffs on her wrists.
The crowd was filing down the rows of spectator seats toward the aisle. From somewhere toward the back a female voice snapped:
“Make sure those cuffs are good and tight on her!”
Everyone looked but no one seemed to know who had spoken. After a momentary pause, the movement began again.
Sky and Copper looked back to Sherry, wondering if the mocking remark would totally break the woman’s show of bravery. But Sherry seemed to be strengthened by the taunt rather than broken. She held her head high.
“Let’s go, Deputy,” she said calmly.
Amy Cole took her by one elbow and helped her to the prisoner’s door that led back to the waiting area.

Sky Ryder was still shaking his head when they emerged from the courtroom and paused on the steps of the Kermit County Courthouse in the bright, pleasant October sunshine. Copper was fuming.
“Have you ever heard anything so spiteful, Uncle Sky? That woman gloating about having Sherry handcuffed, I mean. Just because she’s young and pretty and unattached doesn’t mean she’s some criminal!”
Sky took the cowboy hat he had been holding and put it on. It looked a bit out of place with his neat dark suit. And those who were used to seeing Copper in checkered shirts and jeans might have wondered who was the attractive young lady in the lightweight yellow dress and high-heeled shoes.
“Unfortunately, Copper, there are some people who think that anyone who’s good-looking gets used to having an easy way of things. And you can’t blame women who are a little older for suspecting their husbands of looking a little too long at such a pretty girl.”
“Well, I don’t see why they think they’re threatened,” Copper retorted. “Everybody knows that a few married men have been after her, but she’s never given any of them the time of day. The wives of Kermit don’t have any complaint with her.”
Sky smiled at the passionate defense his niece was making for her friend.
“Sherry’s lucky to have a friend like you.”
Copper frowned.
“No. I’m the one who’s lucky to have a friend like her. Even though she was the most beautiful girl in school and two years ahead of my class, she was always nice to me. And she’s the only one who didn’t tease me to death when she found out my real name was—“
Copper dropped her voice.
“—Coppelia.”
In spite of the seriousness of the moment, Sky laughed.
“Your parents had quite a gift for names,” he said.
Copper smiled in spite of herself.
“Dad was your brother! Did you inherit that same gift?”
Sky looked at her dubiously.
“We won’t mention what I suggested for your name.”
Copper was about to keep up the banter when she suddenly stopped. Her expression turned darker.
“Sherry’s had such a tough time with both her parents dying within the last five years. Is that why the District Attorney said what he did about ‘ties to the community’?”
Sky nodded. Copper crossed her arms and looked ferocious.
“That’s so awful!” she exclaimed. “To be punished and humiliated for being unlucky!”
Sky kept nodding.
“But it also gives some folks more reason for believing that something might have snapped in her, and made her want some easy money. Out west we take it personally when someone steals from a bank. It probably comes from the days when embezzlements or robberies could cause banks and even towns to fail.”
Sky saw that his niece needed some reason for hope.
“We’re supposed to pick up the Hummingbird from the airport shop in a couple hours. That should give us some time to get a bite at Jeb’s Café and have a talk with Winch to see what we can do for Sherry. What do you say?”
Copper tried to stay gloomy but failed. She smiled and nodded.
“Okay, Uncle Sky. I know we can find out the truth!”

Something had indeed snapped in Sherry Johnson. The hateful taunting in the courtroom and the sea of jealous female faces had convinced her that most of the town was against her and even rejoiced in seeing her railroaded. A desperate plan, quite unlike anything she had ever done, had taken form. As Deputy Cole walked her along the quiet corridor to the cells, Sherry slowed and let her head fall forward.
“Are you all right, Miss Johnson?” asked the deputy.
“S-something in my stomach,” Sherry replied dazedly. “It hurts.”
Real concern showed in Amy’s face.
“Come on. The County Nurse’s Office is just down the hall.”
Sherry nodded. She was breathing in short gasps, her eyes almost closed. They walked on a few more steps when she almost doubled over and groaned.
“Just a few more steps!” urged Amy. “You can make it!”
Sherry nodded and took a few more wobbly steps. She groaned again and fell against the deputy. Amy tried to lift and pull her into the office, calling for the nurse as she struggled on.
A pretty, cheerful-faced, sandy-haired woman in her late twenties wearing a white nurse’s uniform appeared at the door. Ruth Leeson was a former dancer who had taken up nursing when a knee injury ended her career.
“What’s wrong?” she asked the deputy.
“I don’t know,” Amy replied. “She got a pain in the stomach and started to collapse.”
Sherry groaned again and doubled over more. Her knees buckled so that she was almost sitting on her haunches.
“Let’s get her up on the exam table,” Ruth directed. “You’d better take the cuffs off so we can lift her.”
Deputy Cole nodded and stooped to unlock the cuffs. As she and the nurse tried to lift Sherry, Amy had the fleeting glimpse of the holster strap that ran over the hammer of her revolver hanging loose. Before she could interpret this fact, Sherry doubled over again, slipping out of her grasp. When she and Ruth lifted the prisoner again, Sherry came up quickly. In her hand was Deputy Cole’s service revolver. She moved it from side to side, alternately pointing it at both of them.
“All right, nurse,” she said, breathing hard. “Close the door.”
Ruth Leeson obeyed as Amy Cole raised her hands.
“Now don’t do anything you’ll regret,” Amy cautioned. “Nobody’s hurt so far and we can all just forget this if you’ll give me the pistol.”
“I’m not giving you the gun, so just forget it,” said Sherry. She appeared agitated but in control of herself. “The only thing I regret is staying in this town to be accused of taking money I never saw, and thinking that this trial would clear me. I’m not going to prison for somebody else’s crime.”
“But this won’t do you any good!” said Ruth, her hands also raised now. “You can’t possibly get out of this building.”
“You’re right. I can’t. But you can.”
Sherry swallowed hard, as though steeling herself.
“Take off your clothes.” She ordered.
Amy Cole reached for the top button of her uniform shirt. Ruth glanced at the deputy and did the same. As the two women undressed Sherry pulled Ruth’s desk chair into the center of the room, then grabbed a first aid kit from the wall.
“Are there bandages here?” Sherry asked the nurse.
“In there,” Ruth answered, pointing to a metal cabinet.
Sherry opened it and removed some rolls of cloth bandages. Finally she picked up the handcuffs from the exam table where Amy had laid them. Her two prisoners were now reduced to their panties and bras.
“That’s enough,” said Sherry. She handed the cuffs to Ruth. “Cuff the deputy’s hands behind her back.”
Amy turned and gave Ruth her hands. The nurse cuffed her wrists and, directed by Sherry, tightened them a couple more clicks.
“I’m sorry to have to do this to you, deputy,” Sherry apologized. “You’ve been good to me, and I used that to trick you. And now I have to be sure that those cuffs are tight. Your wrists are dainty and I can’t have you getting away.”
She handed a roll of bandages to Ruth.
“Put those in her mouth, then cover her mouth with tape.”
Ruth had no choice but to obey. When the entire wad would not go in, Sherry allowed her to reduce the size of the roll and cut off the excess. Then Ruth cut several pieces of adhesive tape from roll and sealed the deputy’s mouth. Handing her another roll of bandages, Sherry ordered her to loop the cloth around Amy’s body and arms just below her breasts and just above her waist.
“Now help her up on the table.”
Ruth helped the bound woman onto the exam table and, ordered by Sherry, bound her legs at the knees and ankles with more bandages. Amy Cole sat helplessly on the table as Sherry turned her attention to the nurse.
“Sit in the chair,” she said pointing with her free hand.
Ruth sat.
“Don’t you think that---“ she began.
“Quiet!” snapped Sherry. “Put your hands around the back of the chair.”
The back of the chair was narrow enough that Ruth’s hands met without straining. Sherry crossed the nurse’s wrists and began looping them with tape.
“If you were going to try to tell me that this plan is crazy, you don’t need to,” said Sherry. “It’s the craziest thing I’ve ever done in my life. But I’m started now, and there’s no turning back. I’m just glad I didn’t have to hurt either of you.”
She finished tying Ruth’s hands, laid the pistol on the desk, and began binding her ankles with more tape. The young nurse watched her without anxiety, but more with sympathy.
“What’re you going to do?” she asked.
“I’m not quite sure. As you said, I may not make it out of the building. But I think I have an idea who took that money and, if I can, I’m going to prove it was him. Or them.”
Finished with Ruth’s ankles, Sherry unrolled more bandages and used them to tie Ruth to the chair. She did a thorough job, looping the woman’s body at the waist, bottom of the ribs, below and above the breasts, and finally over her lap, around her thighs and the chair seat. She wadded part of one of the bandages.
“Sorry,” she said to Ruth, “but I have to gag you too.”
Ruth nodded. Before she opened her mouth for the wad she said softly:
“Good luck.”
Sherry stuffed the wadding in Ruth’s mouth, sealed the gag with tape, and then used more to cover her eyes. She then rolled Amy Cole over on her tummy and used one more strip of bandage to connect the deputy’s bound ankles to her handcuffed wrists. She also blindfolded her with tape.
“This is to make sure you stay on the table,” she explained. “Please don’t hurt yourself trying anything heroic.”
The unseeing Amy nodded.
Her prisoners secured, Sherry quickly stripped off her own clothes and put on the deputy’s uniform. There was a mirror on the closet door and in it Sherry noted that the resemblance between her and Amy was striking. The only thing wrong was her shoulder length hair. She crossed to the helpless deputy and removed the rubber band that held her hair in a bun. Putting up her hair completed the transformation. A quick search of Ruth’s purse produced a pair of sunglasses, which would help to hide any differences.
Sherry replaced the pistol in the holster she now wore and went to the door. She turned back to the two bound women.
“I’m really sorry for all this. Don’t worry. I’ll call the courthouse this afternoon and make sure you’re found.”
She glanced into the hallway. It was empty. She slipped out and walked in the opposite direction of the courtroom. At the end of the hall she opened the door and went from the building into the bright sunlight.


Chapter Two
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CHAPTER 2

Copper Ryder bit eagerly into her cheeseburger. A little ketchup and a bit of lettuce dribbled onto her chin. After putting the sandwich down, she wiped them off with her finger.
“Jeb makes the greatest burgers in the world!” the girl exclaimed picking up a French fry. “Don’t you think so, Uncle Sky?”
Sky Ryder sipped his coffee. He could not help but smile at Copper’s enthusiasm.
“Well, the best in this part of the State, anyway,” he replied. Turning toward the tall man at the counter he called:
“Copper sends her compliments to the chef, Jeb!”
Jeb waved.
“Just like they make ‘em in Paris,” he called back.
Copper grinned at her uncle.
“Do you think Jeb’s ever been to Paris?”
“Except for the time he spent with the Marines during the war, I don’t think Jeb’s ever been fifty miles from Kermit. But it doesn’t keep him from being a good cook.”
Copper took her burger in both hands and raised it for another bite. Sky was lifting his coffee cup again when the door opened and a familiar figure entered. It was John Wilberforce. The tall, beefy, and balding banker nodded to Jeb, who seemed surprised to see him. He sat at the counter and ordered coffee.
Copper noticed that Sky was watching something intently. She put down the burger and swallowed most of what she was chewing on to ask:
“What is it, Uncle Sky?”
“John Wilberforce just came in.”
The girl raised an eyebrow.
“What’s so strange about that? It’s lunchtime, and Jeb’s has good food.”
Sky sipped his coffee thoughtfully.
“A prosperous banker like Wilberforce usually doesn’t have lunch in a place like Jeb’s. Breakfast, maybe, but not lunch. He’s more the type to go to a place like Anthony’s or the country club. It might not mean anything, but let’s see what happens.”
Despite her interest, Copper continued to munch on her burger and fries as they watched. Wilberforce looked at his watch several times as he sat, asking Jeb to refill his cup. Every time the door opened, the banker could be seen watching to see who entered, though he tried to be inconspicuous. After a few minutes an attractive blonde came in. Wilberforce slid off his stool and greeted her. In a voice loud enough to carry he told her how lucky it was that he had run into her, and that there were a few things they needed to go over for the afternoon. The executive picked up his coffee cup and accompanied her to a booth.
“Isn’t that Mr. Wilberforce’s new secretary, Sky?” asked Copper.
“It sure is. She worked at the bank as a teller until all the trouble started. When Sherry was arrested, this girl took over her job. Marie Sanders is her name. Do you know her?”
Copper looked at the blonde whose low-cut blouse and crossed legs in her tight skirt were giving Jeb and several of the male patrons a good show.
“No,” said the girl knowingly, turning back. “But the type is familiar.”
Sky chuckled. Copper turned again to watch them.
“And they certainly seem to be having a very private talk,” she added.
“It could be business,” Sky said with mock innocence.
Copper looked at him and raised an eyebrow.

“You’re late,” said Wilberforce tightly, trying to keep his expression from betraying anything but a concern for bank business.
“And you’re married, if we’re going to start counting faults,” she replied insolently. “Why didn’t you bring her along?”
He ignored the crack.
“Is everything all right?”
She nodded.
“With the Fosters coming back to town, I moved the money to another box, just to be safe.”
“Who this time?”
“An eighty year old guy who’s now in the Veteran’s Hospital in Tuscon. I don’t think he’ll be too likely to come and want to have a look at his medals from San Juan Hill.”
She looked at him craftily.
“I gotta hand it to you, Johnny. This is one great idea!”
He smiled broadly.
“The last place anybody’d look for missing bank money is in the bank.”
“All except the few bucks we planted on your little secretary.”
His smile faded. He mopped his brow with a handkerchief.
“I’m not proud of that,” he mumbled. “She was a good secretary, and the poor kid’s had a lot of bad luck.”
“But in the end she wouldn’t take your…. dictation, shall we say,” the blonde drawled. “In fact she was offended that you’d want to do dictation with anyone but your dear wife.”
He regarded her with something like disgust.
“But you don’t mind it, do you?”
She smiled with mock sweetness.
“I’m on your side, remember darling? You want to be free of Dora and I’m helping make it possible. Just be patient and very soon you’ll be free of her, the bank, and this whole crummy town. Then you’ll have me.”
He looked at her narrowly.
“Just be sure I do have you, Marie. Be very sure.”

In the County Nurse’s Office, Nurse Ruth Leeson was struggling mightily, but uselessly. Her wrists were taped behind the back of the chair to which she was bound with several yards of cloth bandages. She could not rise from it and, with her ankles tightly bound together with more tape, she was unable to scoot the chair any closer to the door to kick against it. The tape covering her eyes kept her from trying to get the help of any objects in the room, and the tight gag of cloth bandage wadding sealed in her mouth with tape prevented any attempted screaming from being heard any distance away. Clad in her panties and bra only, at least she was cool, but her struggling had caused he right breast to slide almost out of the cup.
Nevertheless, her predicament was easier than that of Deputy Amy Cole. Also stripped to her underwear, Amy was face down, hogtied on the nurse’s examining table. She could only tug at the strip of cloth bandage that kept her bound ankles drawn close to her handcuffed wrists, and had to exercise caution in that for fear of falling off the table. Because of the tape blindfold, she knew where the edges of the table were only by feel. Even if she could free the hogtie line it would be difficult for her to get off the table.
The only strategy that had much promise was for both prisoners to listen closely for someone to come close enough to hear their gagged cries for help. They had tried several times, but every time the would-be rescuer did not get near enough to hear them. They waited again, the silence broken only by an occasional grunt from one of the women as she tugged at her bonds.
Then it came! The unmistakable sound of a man’s shoes on the hall tiles. When the sounds came near, both women began mewing and groaning into their gags. The steps stopped. Then a man’s voice called out:
“Who’s there? Is something wrong?”
There was a crescendo in the gagged duet. The doorknob turned.
“Oh, my God!”

Sky and Copper continued to watch John Wilberforce and Marie Sanders in their booth at the café, but the work was not revealing. Copper was especially impatient with this low-key style of work.
“What do you expect to learn, Uncle Sky?” Copper asked softly.
“I don’t really know, Copper. But if Sherry was framed, and that’s what it looks like, John Wilberforce would certainly be the man most able to do the framing.”
The idea filled Copper with excitement.
“You mean he did it so he could run off with that blonde, Marie? You know, she shares an apartment with a cocktail waitress and a dancer at that new club out on the highway.”
“And anybody who rooms with a couple of girls who work at night must be a shady character, eh? Sometimes people steal just for the money.”
Copper glanced around, wary of eavesdroppers.
“I don’t know if you know this, but Sherry told me a few months ago that Mr. Wilberforce had been making romantic advances to her. It wasn’t anything she couldn’t handle, but she said he made hints about leaving his wife for her.”
Sky nodded thoughtfully.
“And that was just before the money disappeared from the bank.”
Wilberforce rose from his seat and headed for the register, Marie staying behind. After paying the check, Wilberforce opened the door. He paused to let two more customers enter, then stepped aside again when Sheriff Winchell appeared. With a polite nod, Winchell entered while the banker left.
“Are you going to follow him, Sky?” Copper asked excitedly. “He might lead us to the money!”
Sky smiled.
“It would be nice if it were that simple.”
Winchell, compact and wiry, strode across the room toward them.
“Hello, Sky, Copper,” he greeted them. “I got a message that you wanted to talk to me. I haven’t had lunch yet, so I thought I’d come on over.”
“Thanks for coming, Winch. I wanted to talk to you about Sherry Johnson.”
“I thought you might, seeing how she’s such a friend of Copper’s, and that the case has all the marks of a frame.”
A waitress appeared to take Winchell’s order, and then Sky and the sheriff began discussing strategies for further investigations. Copper lost interest in the slow-paced discussion of the two. Instead, she concentrated her attention on Marie across the room. The blonde was calmly smoking a cigarette. Copper watched her as though she might spring to her feet at any moment and confess her part in the embezzlement. Finally she rose to go. The waitress had reappeared with Winchell’s order. With the two men were still engrossed in their discussion and the waitress blocking the view of the booths, Sky did not notice Marie’s departure. Certain that she could get quicker results than her uncle, Copper decided to act on her own.
“Would you excuse me for a moment?” she asked.
Near the ladies’ room was another exit door. Copper slipped out and tried to spot Marie. She saw the blonde get into a sporty car parked on the street nearby. Though she knew that the Flying Coronet’s station wagon would be no match for the speedy little car in a chase, Copper trotted over to it and climbed in. She had just turned the key to start it when a figure appeared next to her window. Copper turned to see a womanly figure in a pair of khaki uniform slacks. The girl groaned.
“I never even noticed I was overparked, deputy,” Copper protested.
“Hello, Coppelia,” said a female voice.
Copper started. Deputy Cole had never used her real name. She looked up quickly. The uniformed woman lowered her sunglasses.
“Sherry!” cried Copper. “What are you doing out here in that uniform?”
Sherry reached down and put her hand over Copper’s lips.
“I’m escaping.”
“Well, get in quick. We’ve got to follow that blonde!”
Sherry ran behind the car to the passenger door. She got in, dropping a white bundle on the seat between them. Copper glanced at it questioningly.
“My alternate ID. I hope we’re following the blonde I’m looking for.”

Rita Everett reached a well-manicured hand to the folding table beside her reclining patio chair and flicked the switch on the radio. A hot big band was in full swing, and for a moment the redhead let the music blare. But after deciding that the neighbors would complain again, she turned the volume down. There was a glass of iced tea next to the radio and she now took it down to get a sip. She had to sit up to drink and she used the opportunity slide the sunglasses onto her head to check her suntan.
All the skin not covered by her brief polka dot bikini was doing well. She had already had a good swim in the apartment pool and a long session of exercises today. This was the last item on the agenda for keeping fit to dance at the club. Being tanned was a rather new trend, but the men at the club seemed to like her that way and tipped accordingly. Even though her bikini was very brief, she tried to tug the top of the bra lower to keep from having a strip of fair skin that would show over her costume. The fullness of her breasts in the tiny cups made it a hard tug. She’d have liked to take the bra off completely. Undoubtedly, old Mr. Higgins across the court would have liked that too. She raised a well-sculpted leg and ran her hands along it to see if there was any need to shave it. There wasn’t.
A noise in the apartment drew her attention. It was her roommate, Liz Martin. Barely awake, the brown-haired waitress was padding about the apartment in her baby–doll nightie. After tripping over some furniture, she ambled into the kitchen and opened the refrigerator.
“Any coffee?” she called to Rita.
“In the pot, but it’s almost two hours old now.”
There was no answer, but within a minute Liz appeared at the patio door with a glass of juice in one hand and a mug of coffee in the other. Her ripe figure was barely concealed by the sheer nightie.
“I’m the one in show business, dear,” said Rita, putting her sunglasses back on and settling herself on the lounge chair.
“I just wanted to say hi to Mr. Higgins,” said Liz, taking a sip of juice.
“Get inside before the neighborhood wives have us arrested.”
“I’m hungry,” Liz pronounced. “I wonder if we have any Oreos.”
She disappeared into the apartment leaving the sun to Rita.

Copper and Sherry tried to keep Marie’s car in sight as Sherry quickly related the details of her escape to her friend.
“And you left them bound and gagged in the nurse’s office?” asked Copper.
“I had to do something to get a head start. They should be all right. They’ve probably been found by now.”
“But, Sherry, this is crazy! Running away makes you look guilty. Why not give yourself up? Sky and the Sheriff and I will help you. Sky seems to think that Mr. Wilberforce and his new secretary might be involved.”
Sherry nodded.
“You know, I keep coming back to him, too. But I had no proof of it, so I never even mentioned it to my lawyer.”
“Why don’t you give up and let us handle it?” persisted Copper.
Sherry shook her head.
“Even though I know it’s crazy, I’ve started it and I’m going to finish. But I don’t want to get you in hot water.”
Copper considered this.
“Well, for now let’s just say I’ve been taken hostage by an escaped prisoner. Oh, darn. We’re going to lose her!”
Two pick-up trucks pulling horse trailers turned in front of them, getting between the station wagon and Marie’s car and traveling in the same direction. The girls were not only slowed to a crawl, but were also unable to see ahead. The sports car might turn anywhere without them seeing it. Sure enough, when the trailers changed lanes to turn left a couple blocks later, their quarry was nowhere to be seen.
“Now what?” asked Copper.
“Turn right here. If she’s going to the bank there’s no way we can stay close to her for the rest of the afternoon. But if she’s going home we can surprise her there.”
“What’re you going to do?” asked Copper as she turned the car.
Sherry looked determined.
“Make her talk.”


Sky Ryder had begun to wonder where Copper was. He had even asked one of the waitresses to look in the rest room, fearing his niece might have become ill. She was now returning.
“She’s not in the ladies’ room, Sky,” said the waitress.
“Thanks anyway, Joanne,” said Sky. He muttered: “Now where can she have gotten to?”
“She can’t be too far away,” said Winchell.
Sky was about to reply when he looked up and saw an elderly couple in the booth where Marie Sanders had been sitting.
“Oh, that girl!” He turned to Winchell. “I think she could be headed for real trouble. Can you help me, Winch?”
“Sure, Sky, be glad to if—“
He was interrupted by the door being flung open. Tall, lanky Deputy Charlie Barnes, who rarely moved fast, almost sprinted across the café.
“Sheriff! Sheriff, come quick!” he shouted. “The Johnson girl’s escaped.”
Winchell turned to Sky.
“Looks like I need your help now, Sky.”
“Right behind you, Winch,” he replied, picking up his hat.
The three men hurried from the diner.

Sherry and Copper looked across the apartment parking lot at Rita sunning herself on the patio of the ground floor apartment.
“That’s her place,” said Sherry.
“Who’s that in the bikini?” Copper asked.
“One of her roommates; the dancer I think.”
Sherry reached for the door handle.
“You stay here. I’m going to pay them a visit.”
“But what’ll you do? I don’t see Marie’s car. She’s probably not home.”
Sherry smiled dangerously.
“Then I’ll make her very nervous.”
She crossed the lot and went up to the reclining figure on the lounge chair. Copper could not hear them talk, but presently they went into the apartment.

“Like I say,” Rita was protesting, “I’ve told Liz about going outside in that nightie. But you’ve got to understand that she had just gotten up. She wasn’t thinking too clearly.”
Liz, still in her nightgown, looked up from her seat at the kitchen counter. A half-eaten Oreo was in one hand.
“What’s up?” she asked.
“You two are roommates of Miss Marie Sanders?” the ‘officer’ asked.
They both nodded.
“Is she home now?”
“Well, no. She’s probably at the bank, working,” said Rita. “What’s this all about?”
“I’m sorry, but I have to serve you two with this,” Sherry said, reaching for her pocket.
Instead, she drew the pistol from its holster and pointed it at them.
“Not a sound from either of you. You with the cookie: put it down and find me some rope.”

Twenty minutes later both Rita and Liz sat on Liz’s bed. Their hands were tied behind their backs and their arms were secured to their bodies with several loops. Rita’s legs were already tied just above her knees and at the ankles. Sherry was finishing the binding of Liz’s ankles.
“I’d understand this better if a man was doing this,” said Rita.
“You don’t have to understand,” Sherry said. “This is in the way of a message to your roommate.”
“You want to tie up Marie?” asked Liz.
Sherry chuckled.
“After what she’s put me through that’d be a small price to pay,” Sherry said grimly. “No, it’ll be a lot worse than this if she doesn’t come through with the truth about that bank business.”
Rita gasped in recognition.
“You’re the one on trial, aren’t you? How’d you get out?”
“The important thing is that I am out. And I think she either has the missing money or knows who does. And if she doesn’t talk on her own, I’ll make her talk.”
She went to the dresser. The women tested their bonds.
“This is crazy,” protested Rita. “We didn’t do anything to you and we don’t know anything about any money. Why tie us up?”
Sherry returned with a couple pairs of panties and some scarves. She balled up one of the sets of panties and held it up to Rita’s face.
“When you’re crazy, you sometimes do crazy things. I’m doing them to you and I’ll do worse to her. Now open up.”
Reluctantly, Rita opened her mouth. Sherry jammed the panties in, then secured them with a scarf around the woman’s head and between her teeth. Liz began to whimper when Sherry wadded up the other panties.
“No,” she begged. “Please don’t---“
Sherry grabbed a handful of Liz’s hair and forced her head back. She forced the panties into the woman’s mouth and secured the wadding as she had Rita’s. The gagged roommates looked helplessly at one another. With two more scarves, Sherry blindfolded both women.
“Now let’s get comfortable,” she said.
Sherry lifted the legs of both captives onto the bed. She rolled Rita onto her belly and folded her legs back so that her ankles came close to her bound wrists. As her prisoner protested into the gag, Sherry took a short rope and secured her into a hogtie. The same fate befell Liz. After rolling both women onto their sides she looked at them with satisfaction for a minute.
“Now for the crazy part.”
She reached down to Liz and ripped the baby doll nightie wide open, exposing the woman’s breasts. With Rita, she had to reach back and unhook the bikini bra and slide it out of the wraps about her torso.
“When Marie finds you two like this, I want her to think about what I’ll do to her if she doesn’t tell the truth.”
Sherry gave both women a pat on their barely covered behinds before leaving the room. She went into Marie’s room and searched, pulling out drawers, tearing off the bedclothes, and throwing things out of the closet.
She heard a noise behind her. Someone was in the apartment. Drawing the pistol, Sherry flattened herself against the wall near the door.
Copper Ryder was cautiously walking down the hall. Putting away the pistol, Sherry stepped out behind the girl.
“What’re y—“ Copper began only to have Sherry clap a hand over her mouth.
She pointed to the bedroom where Rita and Liz lay. Keeping her hand over Copper’s mouth, Sherry led her friend to the doorway. When she saw the two helpless women, Copper exclaimed into Sherry’s hand, only to have her friend tighten her grip. Wide-eyed, Copper pointed to them. Sherry nodded and indicated with a wag of her head that they should go. Copper nodded. They backed out of the room. On the trip back down the hall Copper saw Marie’s ransacked room. In the living room, Sherry finally released her friend’s mouth after cautioning her to keep silent. The two left by the patio doors and returned to the station wagon.
“What did you do to those two?” cried Copper when they were back in the car.
“I didn’t do anything except tie them up. No torture or third degree. They don’t know anything about the money.”
“And it wasn’t in Marie’s room?”
“I didn’t expect to find it there. She’s too smart for that.”
Copper was puzzled.
“But why do anything at all to them? They’re innocent.”
“For one thing, we needed a head start again and couldn’t leave them running around loose.”
She paused for a moment, then turned to Copper with that dangerous little smile.
“And for another, I hope it’ll make Marie very afraid. Let’s go.”
Copper started the car. She drove out of the lot and onto the highway.

[esercito sconfitto]

Chapter Three

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CHAPTER 3

“… and she must have popped the strap on my holster when she fell against me that first time,” Deputy Amy Cole was saying. “Because when she came up after the second time she had my weapon in her hand.”
Even the glum expression could not change the delicate beauty of Amy’s face as she sat at the desk in the nurse’s small office. And despite being wrapped in a man’s raincoat several sizes too large for her, she still drew most of the stares of the curious male courthouse employees who gathered in the hallway outside the office. Deputies Barnes and Tyler tried to keep them away when they weren’t ogling her themselves. It might have been the fact that the raincoat kept falling open as Nurse Ruth Leeson applied first aid ointment to the handcuff bruises on Amy’s wrists. Ruth, though slender and attractive, was less endowed than the deputy was. She was also better covered by the spare uniform she kept in the office than Amy was by her panties and bra.
“Once she had that gun there wasn’t much we could do,” added Ruth, as she dabbed more cream onto the red mark on Amy’s wrist. “She made us undress and had us tied and gagged in no time.”
Deputy Harry Tyler turned his face to Charlie Barnes and raised his eyebrows. A civilian employee standing behind them nudged his neighbor and whistled almost soundlessly. If Sheriff Winchell noticed the reaction, he ignored it as his eyes swept the room.
“Both uniforms are gone. And you don’t know which one she was wearing when she left,” he said.
Amy shook her head as she pulled the raincoat closed again.
“She blindfolded us before she changed clothes.”
Sky Ryder had been looking intently around the room also.
“If that’s Ruth’s purse beside the desk,” he said, pointing, “then the only car she’d have had the keys for would be Amy’s. If that car is still here, she’ll have to be on foot and not too far from the courthouse.”
Winchell turned to Tyler.
“Harry, go see if Amy’s car is in the lot.”
Tyler picked his way through the crowd. Winchell turned to Sky.
“The only reason Amy’s working over here is because the county’s only female bailiff’s on vacation. The Johnson girl will be the only other woman in the county in a deputy’s uniform. We should be able to find her.”
“Unless she’s stolen a car, and maybe has the driver for a hostage,” noted Sky grimly.
“Where would she go?” asked Winchell.
Ruth Leeson looked up from her work.
“To get the person who really took that money,” she said.
Sky Ryder put a hand to his chin. His eyes narrowed in thought. And he didn’t like the thought that had just occurred to him.

John Wilberforce edged away from the door of the nurse’s office. On his way back to the bank he had been drawn to the courthouse by the stream of the curious. Now he went upstairs to the main level to the pay phones.

Marie Sanders sat at her desk in Wilberforce’s office. Her long, shapely legs were crossed as she worked on a small snag in her nylons. The phone rang. She reached for it on the fifth ring.
“Mr. Wilberforce’s office.”
“Marie, it’s me. Listen. The Johnson girl’s escaped from jail. Somehow she tied up that female deputy and a nurse and escaped. And she told them that she’s going to get the person who took the money.”
Marie was stunned for a moment.
“You think she knows it was you? Or us?”
“She’s got to suspect I had something to do with it. I want you to get out of there. She might get in the bank somehow and come after us. But be careful going home. She took their uniforms and could be disguised.”
“All right, Honey. Come over after the girls go to work.”
“I don’t know if I can.” Marie could imagine him mopping his brow again. “I’ll have to come up with something to tell Dora.”
Marie’s voice dripped with sarcasm.
“You’re very good at that, Johnny. I’m sure you’ll think of something. But thanks for the warning.”
Marie hung up the phone. Yes, she would get out of there. But there were a couple little things to do first.

Though she had no destination in mind, Copper decided to put plenty of distance between them and Marie’s apartment. She took the quickest way to the main highway and headed away from town.
“What now?” she asked Sherry.
The woman did not answer for a moment. She was resting her elbow on the edge of the open window, her forehead in her hand. For all the daring and outward toughness she had shown in the past couple hours, Sherry looked very tired and uncertain now.
“I don’t really know, Copper,” she said wearily. “But I just know that I have to make Mr. Wilberforce or Marie talk if I’m ever going to clear myself. But I don’t even know how to find them right now.”
Copper looked closely at her friend.
“I think you could use some rest and some food. It’ll probably be easier to think after that.”
Sherry nodded.
“And the only place we can safely go is the Flying Coronet.”
Sherry looked at Copper.
“But if anybody sees you with me, you’ll be in big trouble! We don’t even know if anyone’s seen us together already. I don’t want you to be arrested for helping me.”
Copper laid a hand on Sherry’s.
“You’re my friend, and I’m going to help you,” she said firmly. Then she laughed. “You can always leave me tied up and gagged to convince everybody you’re a dangerous criminal.”
Sherry laughed too.
“I guess I might have to.”
Copper reached for the radio knob and tuned to the local station.
“Let’s see if you’re the biggest news in town.”

Marie Sanders drove warily through the parking lot of her apartment building. She saw no sign of anything amiss. The patio doors were standing open, as Rita always left them when she was sunbathing and going in and out. Old Mr. Higgins across the way was on his patio, attending to his wife’s flowerpots with a watering can. He looked up and broke into a wide smile as she pulled the car into a space right in front of him.
“Howdy, neighbor!” he called.
Marie was in no mood for being eyed wistfully or engaging in a long chat with the old man. What he said next surprised her.
“I hope you and the girls aren’t in too much trouble!”
Though startled and slightly alarmed, she fell easily into the coyly flirtatious manner she used with him.
“What trouble could we be in with you keeping such a good eye on us, Mr. Higgins?”
He set down the can and wiped his forehead with the back of his bare arm.
“I don’t rightly know what it was, but that lady deputy went into your place an hour or so ago, and your friends haven’t been out since.”
Marie looked at her own patio. No one had come out yet.
“And the funny thing is,” continued Higgins, “the lady deputy didn’t seem to have a police car. I didn’t see one out here when she went in, and when she came out she and a cute little blonde got into the station wagon that belongs to that feller that flies all the time. You know, Sky Ryder.”
It certainly was interesting news. However it did not seem interesting enough for Higgins to take his eyes from Marie’s cleavage.
“Well, I’m sure it’s not serious trouble, Mr. Higgins. I’ll have a talk with Rita and Liz, and if they’ve been bad maybe you can come over and scold us all for being such naughty girls. I’ll even have Liz wear that outfit you like so much. How ‘bout it, Mr. Higgins?”
Higgins appeared to be on the verge of a stroke.
“You can call me Clarence.”
She smiled and wrinkled up her nose at him.
“Okay, Clarence. Bye now.”
Once she turned around, the ‘come hither’ look and attitude were gone. She strode purposefully and watchfully to the patio. When she reached it, she turned back to Higgins. He was still watching her. She gave him a little wave. He started to raise his hand to wave back when Mrs. Higgins stepped out onto their patio. He quickly resumed his watering.
“Almost got caught, you old letch,” she thought, turning back to her own apartment.
Taking a step inside she stopped, looked, and listened.

Rita Everett stopped to rest for a moment. After a half-hour’s fruitless struggles trying to free herself, she had put a new plan into action. The woman in the uniform had left both her and Liz lying on their right sides on the bed. Rita had rolled herself over onto her left now. She had also managed to work her way back to her roommate until she was able to reach Liz’s bound hands, despite the difficulty in getting Liz to understand that they had to draw up their hog-tied feet to get their hands close enough to touch. Rita had seen television and movie depictions of gagged women unable to make the smallest sounds because of handkerchiefs bound across their mouths and had seen them for the fakes they were. But the gags the woman had applied to her and Liz were no fakes. Having one’s mouth packed with underpants made communication very difficult, especially to a fellow prisoner no brighter than Liz.
But now even Liz seemed to realize what Rita was up to. The redhead inched back. Her fingers felt for the bands around Liz’s wrists and searched for the knots. She found them! Now, with a little luck and effort, they would be free in a few minutes, even if Rita broke a nail or two.

Marie looked down at the two women on the bed. She had followed the sounds of muffled female exertion very quietly and had found her helpless roommates. Instead of the fear Sherry had hoped to instill in her, Marie was highly amused to see the two nearly naked and tightly trussed beauties. She was sick of Rita’s airs about being the most popular dancer at the club. Her body was no better than Marie’s, her breasts were less impressive than Liz’s were, and her dancing was amateurish. And Liz was just an attractive, shapely though slightly fleshy waitress who counted on a skimpy costume to attract someone to pay the bills. The bimbos deserved it! But Rita was working at getting them free and might, in time, succeed. Marie had an idea.
She slipped out of the room to return a moment later with a roll of wide silver tape. She playfully reached down and slapped Rita’s probing fingers away from the knots on Liz’s wrist bindings. Rita squealed in surprise and protest, and both women began to mew into their gags, demanding to be freed. Marie peeled off some tape and wound up Rita’s fingers to keep her from working on the bonds. The dancer moaned and shook her head. Despite their feeble struggles, Marie immobilized their fingers, then plastered more tape over their gags. As a parting shot, she rolled the bikini bottom off Rita’s firm buttocks and gave her three hard smacks with the flat of her hand, then did the same to Liz’s more padded behind. Smiling wickedly, she left the writhing and protesting captives.
She made a quick stop in her own room. From a hollowed out place in a large book, she took a gleaming .25 caliber automatic pistol and stuffed it in her handbag. Without a backward look she left the apartment through the patio doors.

Sky Ryder, a passenger in the Sheriff’s car, noted a blonde woman in a sporty car going in the opposite direction as they approached the apartments. He tried to see if it was Marie at the wheel, but there was a truck loaded with hay bales stopped in the outer lane on her side of the road and it blocked his view at the critical moment. Winchell, at the wheel, had not noticed, and Sky was not sure it was Marie.
“This is the place,” said Winchell, pointing to the apartment entrance. He swung the patrol car into the parking lot. “I sure hope you’re wrong about Copper being with the Johnson girl.”
Sky looked worried.
“With no other cars gone and Copper missing at the same time, it seems a logical deduction.”
“Well, if it’s true, we’ll go on the official theory that Copper’s a hostage, not an accessory. I’m sorry that it took so much time to get Marie Sanders’ address.”
Sky was watching the building numbers intently. He pointed.
“Down there, Winch!”
Winchell pulled the patrol car into a parking space near Marie’s unit. A second Sheriff’s car parked a few spaces away, and Deputies Barnes and Tyler got out. Winchell ordered them to check with the neighboring units while he and Sky went to the front door and rang the buzzer. They waited for a minute or so then rang again. No one answered. Sky noticed the open patio door.
“I don’t think they’d go off and leave the patio open.”
“There might be trouble here,” Winchell said, loosening his holster strap.
The two men cautiously entered the apartment through the patio.

John Wilberforce drained his drink and beckoned the bartender to pour another. Though a veteran of many cocktail parties, the banker seldom touched alcohol during business hours. The events of this day had him edge. It had been difficult enough to sit through the trial and watch his former secretary be convicted of embezzlement. What a lovely girl she was. It was too bad that she had rejected him, since he really would have left Dora for her had she been agreeable. And in a fit of anger he had let that minx Marie talk him into planting money on her instead of one of the other bank officers.
He sipped from his new drink. Now Sherry had escaped, hoping to get the real thieves to talk, and there was little doubt about whom she’d suspect. He reached for some nuts in the bowl on the bar. He chuckled as he chewed. Yes, he’d like to see Sherry get her hands on Marie. But, no, that wouldn’t work. Sherry was no match for Marie. Still, she’s shown a lot of strength to get that woman deputy’s gun and tie her up to get away from the courthouse.
He took another sip and checked his watch. Dora would be coming home from her bridge game. He didn’t want to see her. This whole business was coming apart somehow, and he knew there was only one way out. Leaving the rest of his drink on the bar, he left a good tip and headed out to the parking lot.

Sky Ryder and Sheriff Winchell stood outside the apartment of Marie and the others. A doctor, a nurse, and the two ambulance attendants had taken over inside. A crowd had gathered, including a reporter for the Kermit paper. A couple more of Winchell’s deputies were busy keeping everyone back.
“Well, Sky, your hunch about where Sherry’d go first was a good one. I hope you can look into your crystal ball and tell me what she’ll do now.”
Sky smiled ruefully and shrugged.
“I don’t think she’s fool enough to into town and try to search the bank for Marie, so we’ll just have to wait and see.”
Deputy Tyler called to the sheriff. He and Sky walked across the parking lot to where Tyler stood with one of the neighbors.
“Sheriff,” said Tyler, “I think you ought to hear what this fellow saw.”
The neighbor was Clarence Higgins.

“More, Sherry?”
Sherry Johnson had changed from the stolen deputy’s uniform to a pair of Copper’s jeans and a plain light blue shirt. She looked down at her nearly empty plate and set down her fork.
“I couldn’t eat another bite, Copper.”
Copper crossed from the stove to the table. She carried a pot of spaghetti noodles and a large serving spoon.
“There’s plenty of sauce left too. It’s been a long day, and you didn’t have any lunch.”
Sherry held up a hand. Copper smiled sheepishly.
“I’m sorry that spaghetti’s about the only thing I make real well.”
Sherry smiled back.
“It was a lot better than the food in jail.”
Copper returned with the coffeepot and poured some into Sherry’s cup.
“You just relax while I get things cleaned up. Then we can decide what to do next.”
Copper turned on the radio on the counter and busied herself storing leftovers and rinsing pans. As she worked, they discussed how to proceed now that Marie was aware of Sherry’s suspicions. They had not gotten very far when they heard the news flash. They had heard the reports of Sherry’s escape on the drive out to the ranch, but this bulletin contained a new detail.
“…Miss Johnson was seen getting into a car driven by a local resident. The Sheriff’s Department is working under the assumption that the resident has been taken hostage by Miss Johnson.”
The two young women looked at one another as the report droned on.
“Somebody saw you!” groaned Sherry. “I just knew you’d be in trouble if you helped me!”
Copper tried to keep her head.
“And what’s worse, they may come out here to search! We’ve got to act fast.”
She opened a closet and grabbed several items.
“What’re you doing?” asked Sherry.
“Don’t ask questions! Just go to my room and wait for me there.”
Sherry went back to Copper’s room. Amy Cole’s uniform lay on the bed. The young brunette paced the room a few times until Copper bustled in. In the blonde’s arms were a large amount of rope and a roll of tape, and in one hand she held a sharp knife. She ordered Sherry to move the deputy’s uniform from the bed to the back of the chair of Copper’s kneehole vanity. As Sherry draped the uniform over the chair back, Copper dropped the rope onto the bed. She took up a piece, measured it, and used the knife to cut it into several pieces.
“What’re you doing?” asked Sherry.
“You remember what we talked about?” said Copper, picking up and cutting another length. “About you leaving me tied up and gagged? Well that’s what you’re going to do.”
Sherry stared at her, uncomprehending.
“That way, you keep the reputation of being a dangerous fugitive and I can help you by looking for Marie out in the open. I’ll be able to go places that you can’t. You can keep in touch with me and I can tell you what I’ve found out.”
Sherry thought a minute.
“That’s not bad, Copper. It might work. They must have seen your station wagon, so I’ll have to get another car.”
“Of course it’ll work,” Copper said triumphantly. “You just stay out of sight tonight. I’ll find out where Marie is. Call me here at the ranch tomorrow around noon and I’ll let you know. But first---”
The girl took the knife she had been using and put it in Sherry’s hand, pressing her friend’s fingers around the handle.
“What’s that for?” asked Sherry.
“You’ve got to be the one who used the knife to cut these ropes.”
Sherry looked at Copper dubiously.
“You really think I should tie you up?”
“Yeah, and you’d better do a really good job. Sky’s got some kind of radar about spotting something phony, and he’ll be the one to find me. Wait a second.”
The girl unbuttoned her dress, slipped it off her shoulders, then stepped out of it. She took it over to the vanity chair, lifted the uniform, and carefully slipped the dress under it. Sherry was watching her quizzically.
“You got dressed after undressing me. That’s one of the things Sky’d spot.”
Copper took off her shoes. She stood before Sherry in bra, panties, garters and stockings. Turning her back to Sherry, Copper crossed her wrists behind her.
“Okay, I’m ready.”
Sherry took one of the short cords and went to work binding Copper’s wrists. Copper turned to look over her shoulder. She gave a coquettish look.
“You’ll never get away with this, you know.”
Sherry had to laugh.
“I’d almost think you liked this.”
“Well, after being bound and gagged by bank robbers, enemy spies, escaped prisoners, and crooks of all kinds, it’ll be nice to be tied up knowing I’m safe.”
Sherry finished with Copper’s hands.
“Oh. It’ll have to be tighter than that, Sherry! Sky’ll know in a minute.”

Though the dusk was coming on fast, Marie Sanders did not turn on her car lights. The Ryder ranch house was in open country where lights could be seen for a long distance. Not too far from the front gate was a stand of trees at the edge of the road. Marie pulled the car there and shut off the engine. She could see the station wagon parked at the front gate. It would just be a matter of watching.

Sherry finished binding Copper’s ankles together by making a seize, a couple loops between the girl’s feet at right angles to the main ropes.
“How’s that?” she asked.
Copper, seated on her bed, looked down at her feet and wiggled experimentally.
“Very good. Now do my knees the same way.”
“I forget,” said Sherry passing a rope around Copper’s legs just above the knee. “Why did I have you undress before I tied you?”
Copper wrinkled an eyebrow in thought.
“Well, when I pleaded with you to give up and reminded you we were friends, you got mad and did it to show me that you have no friends anymore. Or something like that. Make sure that knot is tight.”
Sherry made sure the knot was secure. She took some long lengths of cord and circled them around her friend’s body above and below her breasts and at the waist. The girl’s bound wrists were now pressed against her bottom.
“Ooh, that’s good!” said Copper with a grin. “I look and feel like I’ve really been tied up by a desperate character. Now help me onto the bed.”
“I hope Sky believes this,” said Sherry. “Otherwise that woman deputy might put the cuffs on you and haul you off to jail.”
Sherry picked up Copper’s feet and, as the blonde fell onto her back, swung them up to the surface of the bed. Copper rolled over onto her belly while Sherry picked up another length of rope. By the time Sherry had stood up again, Copper’s legs were bent back awaiting connection of bound feet to the body loops. Sherry obliged by completing the hogtie.
“Comfy?” Sherry asked, still somewhat nonplussed by the enthusiastic cooperation of her “victim.”
“Great! This ought to fool everybody. But you really should gag and blindfold me too. That way nobody can blame me for not trying to get to the phone or the radio. There are some scarves in the top drawer you can use. And put some tape over my mouth after the scarves.”
Sherry wadded one scarf into a ball and knotted the wad in the center of a band she made from the other. As she worked, Copper gave her final instructions.
“The keys to the station wagon are on the kitchen table. Take it, but remember that they’ll be looking for it. You’ll have to get yourself another car as soon as you can. Remember; call the ranch at noon tomorrow. I’ll try to find Marie for you, and we’ll set a trap for her.”
Sherry held up the gag wad.
“All ready.” She smiled as she regarded her bound friend and added: “There aren’t many people who’d do this for a friend, Copper. I really appreciate all your help.”
Copper grinned.
“Just gag me, you brute. And good luck.”
Sherry grinned as Copper opened her mouth to take the gag. Sherry gently tucked the wad inside, then tied the scarf ends behind the girl’s head. A few strips of tape over the packing completed the effect. After checking her friend’s breathing, Sherry used another scarf to blindfold the girl.
“You look like you’ve had a run in with every outlaw in the old West!” Sherry exclaimed, as she looked Copper over. “You sure you’ll be all right?”
Copper nodded then wagged her head toward the front door. She said something into her gag, obviously urging her friend to leave. Sherry bent down and kissed Copper on the cheek before she left.

In the gathering darkness, Marie saw the figure in jeans come out the front door and get into the station wagon.
“Well, Miss Ryder, I wonder where you’re off to?” she said to herself as the car drove away. “I think I’ll pay a visit to your little friend. Maybe I’ll even get a reward for bringing her in.”

Chapter Four
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CHAPTER 4

The sun was just going down as Sherry Johnson drove back toward Kermit. Even in the gathering darkness the logo of the Flying Coronet ranch on both of the station wagon’s front doors made the vehicle too recognizable for her to keep using it for long. She knew that she had to find another car and quickly. Just ahead she spotted something.
Barely visible through a screen of small trees, a woman was unloading an armload of books of some kind from the back seat of a medium sized blue sedan parked near a small house. The house was set fifty yards or so back from a dusty lane running at right angles from the highway. There were no lights showing in the house into which the woman went with her burden. Apparently there was one inside, as Sherry doubted that a woman who had a man at home would be doing all that lifting. The door of the car was still open, indicating there was more to unload. It was too late to turn down the lane leading directly to the house, but there was another road ahead that Sherry knew led to a road that connected with the one she had passed. She turned off the highway. If she approached from the other direction and her headlights off, she doubted that the woman would even know she was coming.

Marie Sanders got out of her little red sports car and closed the door quietly. She had cut out the engine a couple hundred yards from the gate of the Flying Coronet and coasted the rest of the way in. The ranch house was dark and quiet. With Copper gone, Sherry must be hiding in the house. Marie gripped her little automatic pistol firmly. She had to find out how much Sherry knew.
Marie smiled to herself. The thought of receiving a reward for the capture of the convicted embezzler appealed to her ironic sense of humor. Not only would Marie make a lot of money for framing Sherry, she would get even more for bringing her in.
Slipping off her shoes to reduce the noise she would make on the wooden stairs, Marie stepped up on the porch.

Copper Ryder was beginning to get bored. At first it had seemed like a great joke for her to supervise her own binding and gagging to maintain Sherry’s pose as a desperate and dangerous character, but now it was becoming merely uncomfortable. Patience was not among the girl’s virtues, and she was eager to be found and get on to the next phase of her plan.
Since Copper had been bound often enough by real criminals, she had not missed a trick. The ropes were certainly secure. She could not escape without help, or at least access to something to cut her bonds. Besides, it was always more fun to be rescued. She always got so much attention from everyone, including Sky. When she told her harrowing tales to the girls in town, they would always seem to look at her enviously. The local boys also looked at her differently, though Copper was not at all sure what they were thinking.
Right now she just wanted Sky to hurry home. She was supposed to have given him a ride to the airport to pick up the Hummingbird that afternoon, but surely Sheriff Winchell or someone would have done it. All she had to do was wait.
The front door opened. A startled Copper told herself to concentrate. So deeply had she drifted off into her own thoughts, she must not have heard the engines of the landing plane. Now there would be no time to rehearse again the convincing story she had invented.
Copper began ‘mmmphing’ into her gag, trying to make enough noise to draw her uncle’s attention. He had not called out to her as he entered, but maybe the unlighted landing strip and house had caused him to think that there was no one there. She heard no footfalls, but suddenly there was the click of the room light switch and a female voice came from the doorway:
“Well, well, what have we got here?”

Marie stepped into the room and surveyed the struggling blonde on the bed. This was certainly not what she had expected. Though she had never spoken to Copper Ryder, she certainly recognized the girl. Either Sherry had turned on her friend and left her bound and helpless after accepting or forcing Copper’s cooperation or this was some kind of clever set-up to achieve some end Marie could not yet guess. She decided to play along, for a while anyway.
“What happened to you?” she asked, trying to sound deeply concerned, as she began peeling the tape from over the gag wadding in the girl’s mouth.
Copper, not knowing it was Marie who had found her, went into her act as soon as her rescuer had untied the gag ends behind her head, allowing the girl to push the wad out of her mouth.
“It was Sherry Johnson, the woman escaped from jail this morning!” gasped Copper. “I’ve been her hostage all afternoon!”
When Marie untied the blindfold and Copper saw who it was, she could not keep the look of astonishment from her face. Despite her initial look of recognition, Copper managed to stammer:
“W-w-who are you?”
Marie regarded her coolly.
“You mean to say you don’t know me, Miss Ryder?”
Copper gulped and tried to think fast.
“Well,…. I guess I have seen you in town before. Aren’t you Marie Sanders who works at the bank?”
Marie nodded. Copper did not like the hint of a smile on her face.
“I’m flattered that you know me, Miss Ryder. You seemed to be very interested in me in Jeb’s Café at lunchtime.”
Marie sat on the bed next to the bound girl. Copper had to crane her neck to look back and up at her.
“And wasn’t that your uncle sitting with you? And later on, didn’t the Sheriff come in and join you, too?”
“Well, it was kinda hard not to notice you, Miss Sanders. I mean, Mr. Wilberforce jumped up and made a big deal about you coming in and having to talk to you and all.”
“Oh, of course!” Marie lightly responded. “Johnny! That’s it.”
They looked at one another for a silent moment.
“Aren’t you going to untie me?” Copper asked with a wag of her head and a tug at her hogtie rope.
“Why what am I thinking of?” laughed Marie. She reached for the cords around Copper’s wrists. “And your old friend Sherry made you drive her out here then turned on you, tied you up like this and stole your car?”
“She even made me cook dinner for her,” added Copper. “Then she had me get all the spare rope we have, brought me back here, and forced me to undress. She said that she didn’t have any friends in this town anymore, including me. Then she tied me up and gagged and blindfolded me. I sure am glad you came along.”
It was then that Copper noticed that Marie had made no progress in untying her.
“Can you hurry up a little? My arms and legs are starting to hurt.”
Marie gave an alarmed look.
“Oh, of course.” She fiddled with the knots for a few seconds then put a hand to her chin as she regarded Copper thoughtfully. “You know Sherry’s taking an awful risk with all this fugitive stuff. She took that woman deputy’s gun, so the police have to consider her armed and dangerous. What’s she trying to do?”
“Well, she said that she’d been framed for the embezzlement, but I guess everybody who’s ever been arrested says that. I didn’t believe her.”
Copper hoped that she sounded convincing. Marie was looking at her thoughtfully. The woman reached over and picked up the gag wadding that Copper had ejected from her mouth. Marie re-wadded the cloth.
“And you know something, Miss Ryder…I don’t believe you!”
With a quick move, Marie jammed the cloth back into Copper’s mouth. The girl sputtered and protested to no avail. The cloth band was forced between Copper’s teeth and the ends tied behind her head. The tape that Marie had pulled from over the girl’s mouth was now hopelessly stuck together, but with the roll lying handy on the nightstand Marie was able to reseal the gag in a few seconds.
“I know a set-up when I smell one,” Marie said with a little smirk. “I don’t know exactly what you and my old friend Sherry have got planned, but whatever it is will be a lot tougher to pull if I’ve got you.”
She took the knife from the night table and sawed through the hogtie rope. After untying Copper’s ankle bonds, Marie helped the girl to stand.
“Let’s get to my car. We’ve got a little trip ahead, and we wouldn’t want your uncle to object to your being on a sleepover, would we?”
Though Copper’s legs were still bound just above the knees, Marie prodded her ahead. Able to take only tiny steps, Copper shuffled along, Marie holding her by the arm.

Sherry quietly pushed a branch out of the way and looked through the trees at the house only a few yards away. One of the back doors of the blue sedan was standing open, and the woman was leaning in gathering what appeared to be notebooks from the back seat. It was not yet dark enough to keep Sherry from seeing her well. She was young, dark-haired and short. Though not fat, she was certainly voluptuous. Her short waisted figure suggested roundness: large breasts, womanly hips, and well-sculpted legs. She was wearing sandals, a pair of khaki shorts, and a short sleeve, button-type blouse. Her simple clothes and minimal make-up created the impression of the demurely pretty girl next door, though Sherry noted that the blouse was unbuttoned just enough to give a hint of invitingly generous cleavage.
The woman shifted her load of notebooks to one arm and laid her chin on them to help hold things as she shut the door with the other hand. Sherry looked down at Deputy Cole’s revolver in her hand. She had removed the cartridges from the chamber on which the hammer was now resting and the next as well to be sure that it would not discharge accidentally. Another car was a necessity, and there was only one way to get it. Letting her arm hang down and slightly behind her to conceal the pistol, she stepped from the trees.
The woman had nearly dropped the books she held with her chin and had had to grab at them. Once the books were steadied, she reached out and slammed the door, quickly returning her right hand to the pile of books. As she turned toward the house, Sherry stepped out. Her sudden appearance caused the woman to give a little jump of alarm.
“Oh!” the woman said, with visible relief at the sight of a woman. “You startled me. I didn’t know there was anybody out here. I’m Jeanne Hall. I’m sorry I haven’t met many of my new neighbors yet.”
The shy smile on the girl’s pretty face made Sherry feel even worse about what she had to do.
“And I’m sorry too, Jeanne,” she said raising the pistol.
For a moment the woman looked dumbly at the gun, as though not comprehending its function or purpose. Then her eyes widened.
“You must be the one I heard about on the radio,” she said slowly. “The one who escaped from jail this morning.”
Sherry nodded.
“I’m the one all right. If you know that, then you know that I’m not going to shoot anyone if you do what I say. What I need is your car. Let’s go inside. I’m going to cut your telephone line and I’m afraid I’m going to have to tie you up to keep you from going to the sheriff, but that’s all. I’m not going to hurt you.”
The woman kept shifting her eyes from the revolver to Sherry’s face but said nothing. Finally she licked her lips and nodded, adding softly:
“I believe you.”
“Okay. Let’s go.”
Sherry waved the gun toward the house and they started walking, pausing just long enough for Sherry to pull down the clothesline from a pole in the yard and a hook on one corner of the house.

“Calling Flying Coronet, calling Flying Coronet; this is the Hummingbird, come in, please. Are you there, Copper? Over.”
Sky Ryder released the transmitting button on the handset and waited for a reply. There was no response now, as there had been none when he tried from the ground at the Kermit airport a few minutes ago. His ranch was still a few minutes away, but the veteran pilot could see that there were no lights on in the house or along the paved landing strip behind it. The headlamps of a few cars on the road could be seen, but nothing at the Flying Coronet.
The tall rancher shook his head. When he had learned that Copper was accompanying Sherry Johnson, he knew that his niece’s loyalty and love of adventure had won out over her good judgment, and that she was a willing accomplice of her old friend rather than a hostage. But Sky had hoped that Copper would do something obvious, such as take her home for some food and a change of clothes. He had expected to find them, or Copper at least, here. Where she was now was anyone’s guess.
There was still a little light. Sky was less worried about landing unaided by the field lights than he was by the possibility that Copper was out somewhere looking for more danger.
The veteran flyer began his descent to land.

“Comfy back there, Miss Ryder?”
Squeezed on the floor between the back of the driver’s seat and the tiny back seat of Marie’s car, Copper grunted into her gag. When they had reached the car, her captor had rebound her ankles and dumped her unceremoniously into the back seat, then rolled her off onto the floor. Copper had tried awkwardly to get back onto the seat, but Marie had gotten in and adjusted the front seat as far back as it would go, trapping the helpless girl. The car had shot away to an unknown destination at a high rate of speed.
“I’m glad to hear it,” Marie shouted over the rushing air. “We’re going to a little hideaway of mine. If Sherry tries anything, I’ll be the only one who knows where you are. That ought to keep her in line.”
Copper worked her hands uselessly. There was no way out of all these ropes, especially confined as she was by the seats. What would she do now?

“Turn around and put your hands behind your back,” ordered Sherry.
Dark-haired Jeanne Hall looked pleadingly at Sherry. She had been allowed to use the bathroom and get water. Now she stood facing her gun-wielding captor in her kitchen. On the table lay the clothesline, which Sherry had cut into several different lengths.
“Look, you don’t have to tie me up. If you cut the phone cord, there’s no way I can call the police.”
Sherry shook her head.
“You’ve got neighbors only a mile or so down the road, and the highway’s not even that far in the other direction. I need time to get away and I don’t want to hit you over the head with something and possibly hurt you. There’s no other way.”
Though she said nothing, Jeanne’s dark eyes continued to beg for a few seconds. Finally she sighed and turned around, crossing her wrists in the small of her back.
“Good girl,” said Sherry, glad that Jeanne could not see her relief. Had the woman resisted, Sherry had no idea what she would have done. She picked up a piece of rope she had cut from the clothesline and began to tie Jeanne’s wrists. “I’ll try not to make it too tight. I just don’t want you getting free in a few minutes.”
She looped the woman’s wrists five or six times, then fashioned a seize at right angles to the main loops. As she tied the knot, Jeanne grunted softly.
“That seems plenty tight to me.”
Sherry took her prisoner by the arm and had her sit in one of the narrow-backed wooden kitchen chairs. Though Jeanne’s arms were fairly short, they were able to easily go around the chair back. Sherry picked up a long length of cord and passed it around the woman’s body, just under her sizable breasts. She wound it several times around Jeanne’s torso and the chair back. Seeing the worried look on the girl’s face Sherry searched for something innocent to say.
“What’re all the books for?”
Jeanne looked her, obviously surprised at the question.
“They’re mostly notebooks we use in our work.”
As Sherry worked, they struck up a conversation about Jeanne’s work with the local office of the Department of Agriculture. The books were records of tests done on area farms and cattle ranches, certifying the quality of feed and water given to animals and several other things that Sherry could not quite understand. Jeanne was a tear older than Sherry and a brand new Ph.D. from one of the agricultural colleges in the State. Even though Sherry had further bound her to the chair with more loops around her waist and then bound her ankles and knees together, Jeanne brightened a little when Sherry expressed admiration for anyone who could earn such an advanced degree.
“Oh, it’s not that big a thing,” Jeanne said modestly, though pleased by Sherry’s remark. As Sherry took a short cord and connected Jeanne’s bound ankles to one of the chair legs, Jeanne looked at her with more interest.
“My boss thinks that you’re innocent,” she said quietly. When Sherry looked up, Jeanne continued: “He says that one of the bank officers probably took the money, and that you were framed. Is that true?”
Stunned, Sherry looked at the woman she had just made helpless. Sherry’s youthful and beautiful face briefly showed her weariness.
“I know that all crooks probably claim they’re innocent, but yes, it is true. The problem is getting someone to believe me. And nobody’s going to believe me until I can get some proof that I was framed. I hope that’s not too tight.”
Jeanne tested the ropes experimentally.
“You did a real good job. My brothers used to tie me up when we were kids, so I’m kind of used to it. It is pretty tight, but I think I’ll be able to get loose. It’ll take some time though, maybe even three or four hours. By then it’ll be so late that I’ll have to wait until dawn to walk to the McCovey’s place.”
Sherry looked at her prisoner in wonder and smiled.
“I’m sorry I had to do this to you.”
“And I’m sorry you had to go through what you did. If you can find something against your bosses, I think there are folks around here who’ll believe you’re innocent.”
Sherry laid a hand on Jeanne’s knee.
“Thanks.”
She stood up.
“Hadn’t you better gag me, too?” asked Jeanne.
“You want me to?”
Jeanne looked shyly at her.
“Maybe it’s not very likely, but if anybody comes calling tonight I want to have a good reason for not calling for help. At least until daylight. You’ll find some dish towels in the drawer by the sink.”
The towels were the inexpensive type made from flour sacking. Sherry tore a wide strip from one and tied a couple knots in the middle. She bent over to put the gag into Jeanne’s mouth, giving the girl a press of the hand on her shoulder before she did. When the gag ends were tied behind Jeanne’s head, Sherry checked the woman’s breathing. She also made sure there were no appliances running, open flames, or leaking gas.
“Would you like me to leave some lights on? I don’t think anyone’s likely to see you from the road, and you might feel better if you’re not tied up in the dark.”
Jeanne nodded.
“Are your car keys in your purse?”
The bound woman nodded again. Sherry fished the keys from Jeanne’s purse, removed the car keys from the ring, and returned for one last check on her captive. Aside from being thoroughly trussed up, Jeanne was fine.
“Thanks,” was all Sherry could say before leaving. She left the house and stopped just short of Jeanne’s car before she came near to breaking down from combined weariness, strain, and relief at finding there were people in town who believed her innocence. Very possibly she had misjudged the town of Kermit. It had been a woman who had wanted to see her handcuffed and taken away in the courtroom. Now here was another woman with a very different opinion.
But it made no difference what opinions were if there were no proofs. And she would have to provide them.
Sherry got into Jeanne’s car and started the engine. She would start with the place most likely to get results tonight.


Chapter Five

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[esercito sconfitto]

CHAPTER 5

John Wilberforce nodded slightly in response to the wave of the night bank guard as he let himself into the building. The tall banker walked quickly to his office and unlocked the door. After turning on the lights and closing the door, he immediately turned them off again and opened the door a crack to check on the guard. The man checked the door Wilberforce had used then strolled out of sight. Removing his shoes to lessen the noise he would make on the highly polished tile floor, Wilberforce slipped out of the office and made his noiseless way to the safety deposit box area.
Once inside the vault that held the boxes, he pulled a pocket flashlight and a small piece of paper from his suitcoat and scanned the names and numbers written there. Finding the one he wanted, the banker located the box and used two flat keys to open the box. Inside were some ancient Army decorations, a few papers and deeds, a handsome though ancient pocket watch, and a parcel wrapped in brown paper. He split the paper on the top open and looked inside. He saw a fifty-dollar bill on top. There were more underneath. He smiled.
He put the packet into his coat pocket and returned the deposit box to its place. Again, he checked for the guard before he left the vault and returned to his office. There was a briefcase beside the desk. Into it went the money packet. He slipped his feet into his shoes, took a deep breath and went back to the door. Trying his level best to appear nonchalant, Wilberforce opened the door, switched off the light, and closed the door behind him. The sounds of his own footfalls seemed deafening to him as he crossed the foyer. The guard appeared again.
“Evening, Mr. Wilberforce,” said the guard, in a noticeable East Coast accent. “Are my Yankees going to take care of your Dodgers in the Series again?”
The banker forced a slight smile at the guard but did not stop walking.
“You’re the baseball expert here, George.”
“Oh, I know your boys won it last year,” continued the guard, stepping lively to keep up with Wilberforce. “That lucky catch Amoros made on Berra was the whole thing. But this year it’ll be more like usual.”
“If you say so, George.”
Wilberforce reached for the doorknob, but George’s hand was there first. The banker took in a sharp breath, as the guard cagily looked him over.
“You want to make a bet on it?” asked the guard.
Wilberforce let out the breath and broke into a wide smile. He reached into his pocket.
“Sure, George, sure. Ten?” He pressed the bill into the guard’s hand. “And to show you I trust you, I’ll let you hold it.”
The surprised George regarded the bill as the banker opened the door.
“Well, that’s mighty sporting of you, Mr. Wilberforce.” He grabbed the doorknob to keep it from closing. “Oh, did you find what you needed?”
Wilberforce grinned again. He lifted the briefcase slightly.
“Oh, yes, George. I found just what I needed.”
As he walked away from the bank, Wilberforce found that, despite his amusement at the guard’s question, his heart was racing. He had left a drink practically untouched on the bar. Maybe one more for the road was what he needed.

Copper Ryder struggled desperately. She could not see where Marie had stopped the car, but when the woman had gotten out Copper had realized that this might be her best and only chance to get free. She had tried to slip the ropes around her wrists in both directions, but failed. Though she could not reach very far, the girl tried to feel around for anything that she might be able to use to cut her bonds. But the tiny back seat was too low to reach under and there was nothing on the floor.
They had passed some lights, which Copper guessed was a lighted sign, just before Marie had stopped. The illumination seemed to be blocked by something but was they were obviously still quite close. Despite the gag in her mouth and the thorough taping job over her lips, Copper tried screaming for help. There was no response. The came a kind of crunching sound, slow and careful like a woman in high-heeled shoes walking on gravel. The door of the car opened and Marie peered in.
“Have a nice ride?” she smirked. “Come on. Let’s get you inside.”
She moved the front seat forward, reached in, grasped Copper by the legs, and pulled her none too gently toward the door. The girl mewed in alarm and pain as she scraped along the car floor, but it was a short trip. Marie raised her to her bare feet, and Copper felt a cool wind over her mostly bare skin.
They were at a motel of some kind. The sign, lights, and office were on the other side of a row of rooms. There were no cars in front of any of the rooms on this side of the motel, and all the room windows were dark. As far as Copper could see, this row of units faced nothing but sand and sagebrush.
“It’s a nice private place, isn’t it?” asked Marie, noting Copper’s scrutiny of the situation. “This is where Johnny and I go when we want to get away from his adoring wife. Can’t be seen from the highway, and for ten bucks, the desk clerk has never seen or heard of you. Let’s go inside, Miss Ryder.”
She grabbed the girl by the arm and some of the ropes around her upper torso and forced her to hop toward the door. On the first two hops the prisoner’s feet landed on bare dirt with a few painful stones, but after that there was a skirt of paving in front of the door. Marie opened the door with her key and guided the helpless girl inside. When the door was closed, she turned on the lights to reveal a cheaply furnished room: two small beds, a chair, a television set, and a window air conditioner. The room curtains were drawn. Copper was pushed near to one of the beds. Marie gave her a shove and laughed as the girl fell onto the bed with a gagged shriek. The curvaceous blonde stood over her.
“You might as well get comfortable, kid. You’re going to be here for a while. At least until I get the money and decide what to do with you.”
Copper turned away. Marie regarded her captive with amusement.
“You’re quite a sight right now. Maybe I should clean you up a little.”
The tying of her legs and being dragged out of the car had ruined Copper’s nylons. Her bra straps had fallen off her shoulders, and there was a smudge of dirt on her face. Marie went to the bathroom and returned with dampened a washcloth. With surprising tenderness, Marie carefully wiped Copper’s face.
“This ought to make things a little better.”
When the girl’s face was cleaned, Marie set down the cloth and looked her over again.
“Those stockings have got to go,” she murmured. “And without them, you won’t need the garterbelt. And that bra….”
She rolled Copper over and unfastened the hooks at the back. From her purse, Marie took a tiny pair of nail scissors and snipped through the shoulder straps of the girl’s bra. Though it was caught under the loops of rope that circled Copper’s body, Marie managed to get it off. Copper looked down wide-eyed as her breasts were freed.
“Nice set you got there,” Marie noted with a little smile. “Those are the kind that Johnny likes.” She put her hands under her own breasts. “A lot like mine.”
Copper’s eyes grew even wider. She shook her head and mewed a protest into the gag.
“Oh, don’t worry. I’m not doing this because Johnny’s coming to play with us. If I know Johnny, he’s double-crossing me right now, and heading out with the money.”
She smiled a little wider.
“He’s really going to be surprised.”
As Copper pondered the meaning of her last remark, Marie unhooked the girl’s stockings and reached for the garterbelt. She slid it down the captive’s legs.

Sherry Johnson drove past the Wilberforce home and parked the stolen blue sedan a few houses down the street. She had only been to the house a couple times with her boss for business reasons. His car was not parked there but another car, which looked like Dora Wilberforce’s, was in the driveway. She checked up and down the street. A man was walking his dog in the next block, but he was more than a hundred yards distant and headed away from her. There was no one else about. The street was not well lighted around her, and Sherry was thankful that the Kermit City Council’s plan to put in more streetlights had not started yet. She tucked her pistol into her belt and got out of the car.

Dora Wilberforce emerged from the shower and began drying herself with a towel. She was a rather tall woman, though she appeared less so beside her husband, with an excellent figure for a woman just over forty. The face was still attractive, despite features that were a bit on the sharp side and suggested watchfulness or even suspicion. After almost twenty years of marriage to John Wilberforce it was impossible to say whether this expression was a natural one or had been acquired in constant vigilance over her husband’s roving eye. Her hair, which was of one of those indeterminate shades between dark blond and light brown and with no traces of gray, had not been washed on this occasion. It hung, neatly cut, about half way down her neck, a small concession to age. When she put her feet in turn on the tub rail to dry her legs with the towel, the display of shapely limb would have been thoroughly enjoyed by most men.
Yet she was the unhappy wife of a successful banker, doomed to spend mornings in the beauty shop, afternoons at club meetings or bridge games, and too many evenings wondering where her husband was. She knew that John had been smitten with Sherry Johnson, but her relief at Sherry’s arrest was short-lived when she sensed the same feelings for his new secretary, Marie. On her way home from bridge this afternoon she had noticed some kind of commotion in the apartments where Marie lived. There had been police cars and an ambulance there. She was barely able to stifle the fantasy that Marie had been murdered. She had seen Sherry convicted this morning, and with Marie out of the way as well….
Dora shook her head, bringing herself back to reality. She wrapped the towel around her sarong-style and headed toward their bedroom.
She had just reached the bedroom doorway when there was a noise behind her. A cold feeling ran through her, and before she could turn she heard a familiar female voice.
“Just relax, Mrs. Wilberforce. I’ve got a gun, but I’m not here to hurt you in any way. Just turn around slowly.”
Dora held tightly to the towel and turned. Sherry Johnson stood in the hall pointing a large revolver at her. She started to put her hands up but when the towel started to fall off she had to grab for it. She fumbled with the towel and backed up as Sherry came into the bedroom and closed the door.
“You don’t have to put your hands up, under the circumstances, but don’t try anything foolish. I gather that your husband isn’t home.”
Dora shook her head.
“I don’t know where John is right now, but he might be headed home. He’s probably under police protection since everyone knows that you’ve escaped. So maybe you should-“
“Don’t bother with all that!” Sherry said testily. “I didn’t steal any money from the bank, and we both know who probably did.”
“Are you saying that John—“
“Stop it! I suppose the loyal wife is supposed to defend her husband, but down deep you must he did it. Or at least that he’s capable of it.”
Dora could not protest or even look into the girl’s eyes any longer.
“Well,” continued Sherry, “I don’t think he told you anything about stealing the money or where it’s hidden. I’ve got to search your house to make sure it isn’t here. So I’m afraid I’ll have to tie you up and gag you while I look.”
“You’re going to do what?” Dora cried.
Sherry smiled grimly.
“Are you more outraged about being tied up in a towel than you are at the suggestion your husband’s a thief?”
Dora made no reply, staring wide eyed at her youthful captor. Finally she relaxed a bit.
“Well, at least let me put my clothes on.”
“I’m sorry. There isn’t time. Though I doubt it, your husband may be coming home at this very moment. I’m not taking the chance.”
She stepped over to the chest of drawers. While keeping a watchful eye on Dora, she used one hand to search through the top drawer. She pulled out a pair of panties and tossed them to the woman.
“Here. Put those on.”
While Dora slipped on the panties, Sherry continued looking through the drawer. She soon had a handful of nylon stockings and another pair of underpants. Dora had the panties on and had tucked the towel as securely as possible to cover her torso. Sherry tossed all the stockings but one on the bed.
“Turn around and put your hands behind your back.”
Dora obeyed. Sherry laid the revolver on the bed and circled Dora’s wrists with the stocking several times. She stretched the fabric enough to make a seize in the bonds.
“I heard on the radio that you did this to that pretty deputy and the county nurse as well,” said Dora.
Sherry tied a secure knot.
“I’ve had to tie up six women today. So don’t feel that I’m being any nastier to you than anyone else. An escaped criminal gets desperate.”
“Six, you say. One might think you’re a career criminal with all this expertise in tying up women.”
The towel fell off exposing Dora’s youthfully firm, though not exceptionally large, breasts. Dora leaned over.
“Leave it.” commanded Sherry. “I don’t want to be nasty, but that last crack irritated me just enough to make me think that the little humility you might feel at being found with your breasts showing will be good for you.”
She took up another stocking.
“Sit down on the bed.”
Dora gave Sherry a withering glance as she sat.
“You’ll be back in handcuffs again soon enough, young lady.”
Sherry knelt and started winding the stocking around Dora’s ankles. Suddenly, the woman kicked out, her foot hitting Sherry in the shoulder and sending her sprawling. Dora leaped to her feet and ran for the door. She turned her back to the knob and tried to open it with her bound hands. She began to scream, no words on the first, then:
“Help! Someone help me!”
In a flash, Sherry was on her feet again. Dora managed to get the door open and take a step down the hallway before Sherry caught and tackled her. The younger woman got her hand over Dora’s mouth, stifling her screams. Sherry dragged Dora back to the bedroom as the woman alternated attempts to bite the girl’s hand with muffled cries for help. Holding her prisoner with one arm around the mouth and one leg wrapped around Dora’s, Sherry reached up onto the bed and found the panties she had dropped there. When she held them in front of Dora’s face, the woman realized what they were for and clamped her mouth shut, still struggling with her legs, body, and bound hands. Sherry let her hand slide to Dora’s nose and pinched her nostrils closed. The woman mewed in alarm and tried to hold out. But when her struggles ran her out of breath she had to open her mouth to breathe. Sherry let go of her nose and popped the wadded panties in. Finding another stocking, Sherry secured the gag by wrapping it twice around her head and between her jaws, trapping the wad in Dora’s mouth.
“Why did you have to do that?” muttered Sherry as she tied the ends of the stocking behind Dora’s head. She took another stocking and bound the woman’s ankles together, then pulled her up and sat her on the bed. “You know, I could have saved myself a lot of trouble if I’d just gone along and played hanky-panky with your husband when he asked me, like his new secretary does. We wouldn’t have had to go through with all this now.”
Dora stopped struggling and stared more daggers at the attractive young brunette. Sherry used another stocking to tie Dora’s legs just above the knees. Tying a couple stockings together, she used the longer bond to tie Dora’s arms securely to her torso. Then she rolled the woman face down on the bed and hogtied her with the last stocking.
Sherry stopped for a few slow breaths. Dora continued protesting into her gag, glaring at Sherry all the while.
“I’d better go and see if it looks like anyone heard those screams of yours.”
She strode quickly down the hallway and peered between the curtains on the front windows.

Jeanne Hall looked at the kitchen clock. It was nearing nine o’clock. She had given Sherry a two-hour start, so now it was time to see what she could do with the ropes binding her. Before she started, she took a last look at her reflection in the glass of one of the windows nearby. She looked just like one of the heroines on one of the TV detective shows she had seen: cute and appealing in her helplessness. It would be very romantic if that guy Bob from the office happened to come by and find her. Though he already had a girlfriend, she might be forgotten if he rescued Jeanne. It would be only natural for her to be grateful to anyone who saved her from such a dangerous predicament.
She stole a look down at herself, and noticed that the pull on her arms behind her had caused another button on her blouse to pop open. Her cleavage showed quite clearly. Maybe it would give him ideas. She looked into the glass and tried out a few helpless looks. The eyes and eyebrows were the key to doing them well: they would probably melt Bob’s heart at once. If only….
But she knew it was not going to be. Neither Bob nor any of the other eligible guys from town would be out here to see her. She had to get free herself.
She set to work.

John Wilberforce put down his empty glass. He was calmer now. The money was in the briefcase on the stool beside him. Though he had not packed a bag, there was certainly enough money to take care of all his needs. Especially in Mexico. One could live very cheaply there. And be free. Free of Dora, free of Marie, free of that dreadful bank, free of everything.
He motioned to the bartender. There was time for another drink.

As soon as Sky Ryder turned on some lights, he began the search. In the kitchen he found dishes, some washed and put in the drainer, others soaking in the sink. There was a pan with a couple of dried spaghetti noodles in it on the cool stove. In the refrigerator was a new bowl of leftovers: spaghetti and sauce mixed together as Copper always did. The first thing he had done was call out Copper’s name. Either she was not here or she could not answer. He went quickly to her bedroom.
Over the back of the chair of her kneehole vanity were Deputy Amy Cole’s stolen uniform and the pale yellow dress Copper had worn to court that morning. Both Copper’s matching high heels and the deputy’s shoes and socks were on the floor nearby. Sky opened a drawer of Copper’s dresser. There seemed to be clothes gone, but how many and which ones would be impossible to tell.
The covers on the bed were disordered though it looked as though no one had actually slept in it. His eyes strayed to the night table beside the bed. A sharp knife from the kitchen was on it. He knelt and pulled up the edge of the bedspread. On the floor were a short piece of rope that had been cut with the knife and three joined strips of tape. The tape had been used, and when removed had inadvertently stuck to itself. On the sticky side of the tape was a trace of lipstick.
The tall rancher was on his feet in a second. He went to the radio set in the front room, switched it on, and picked up the microphone.
“Calling Kermit Sheriff’s Office, this is the Flying Coronet. I need your help, Winch. Come in please.”


Chapter Six

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CHAPTER 6

“Hey, mister! Wake up, sir.”
The voice penetrated the alcoholic fog that shrouded John Wilberforce’s numbed brain. He lifted his head. A tall, muscular, rather oily-haired bartender in a white short-sleeved shirt stood in front of him, pouring steaming coffee into a cup on the bar.
“Closin’ time comin’ right up, sir,” the man said affably. “I didn’t know those drinks were goin’ t’ hit ya so hard.”
Wilberforce blinked several times, trying to clear his vision but the problem was not in his eyes.
“Wha….” he mumbled, but no more words would come out.
Despite his formidable physical presence, the bartender looked sheepish.
“You didn’t drink that much here. Ya musta had a couple somewhere else ‘fore ya came in. I’ll try to get ya back in shape t’ drive. You jest sit there and have a cup or two ‘fore ya try to move much.”
Wilberforce struggled to remember.
“Yeah, I did have a couple drinks earlier,” he managed to say.
The bartender was nodding.
“Thought so. Ya gotta watch that stuff. How’m I supposed t’ know?”
The banker’s hand struggled toward the cup and saucer in front of him. He had nearly reached it when he remembered the briefcase. He practically jumped in his haste to look at the stool next to him. The briefcase was there. The bartender was chuckling.
“A sign o’ life. That’s good. There’s no need to worry about your briefcase, Mac. I been keepin’ an eye on it while you were asleep. Nobody bothered it.”
Wilberforce sighed with relief. Now all he had to do was clear his head and get started. He reached for the cup and sipped. He looked up at the clock behind the bar. It was nearly two o’clock.

Dora Wilberforce was looking at the clock on the table between their beds. After Sherry’s search had failed to turn up any money, the girl had left. She had at least come back, rolled Dora on her side, and covered her with blankets. After an hour or so of periods of vigorous struggling, the banker’s wife had become exhausted. Since then, she had been dozing from time to time, waking to struggle again with the nylon stockings that bound and gagged her, then repeating the cycle. Now she was awake and furious.
Where was that good-for-nothing husband? It was bad enough that he had made advances to that little tramp Sherry, but it was even worse that he was not there to stop the girl from attacking her and leaving her bound and gagged and nearly naked. ‘A lesson in humility’ she had called it. Well Dora would see that Sherry got an even better lesson. John had made advances to other women too, but only those who had invited it. Sherry must have too. Dora was sure of that.
And she had accused him of stealing the money and framing her. Dora herself had been in the courtroom when the verdict was returned. The jury couldn’t be wrong, no matter what that fool of a judge said. He was under the spell of that girl, too. Most of the men in town were, the fools.
The cord for phone on the table had been pulled out of the wall. Dora wondered if Sherry had done the same to the living room phone. It would not be easy to get there, but she had to try. Just to get out from under the bedclothes would be no simple job. She started by gathering up the sheet in her tied hands and pulling inch by inch.

Sky Ryder sat across the desk from Sheriff Winchell.
“I just don’t know what more we can do, Sky,” said Winchell, running a finger over his graying mustache. “I’m concerned that Copper’s missing, but we don’t have any idea where to look. I’ve got Cooley and Harris watching Marie Sanders’ apartment, Tyler and Rivera at the Wilberforce place, and everybody else out patrolling the roads in the area near your ranch, including Amy Cole who I couldn’t keep from going. The State police even loaned me a team to watch Sherry’s old apartment.”
Sky stood up and began pacing.
“We’ve got to do more, Winch. I just know that Copper needs help.”
Winchell looked wearily at his friend.
“And it won’t be long before we’ll have to do less.”
Sky stopped pacing and looked at the sheriff.
“Some of those I just named have worked more than a double shift today. They’re going to need some rest soon, if they’re going to be any good in the future. I was just about to send Tyler and Rivera home.”
Sky nodded.
“And that’s the right thing to do, Winch. I’ve been through enough of these things to know that, too. When someone you love is involved, it’s easy to lose sight of things.”
Winchell rose and walked toward the door. He stopped and put a hand on Sky’s shoulder as he passed.
“I know that. We’ll get her back, Sky.”
Sky followed Winchell into the outer office. It was a quiet night. Deputy Charlie Barnes was still there manning the radio.
“Where’s Al?” asked Winchell, referring to Deputy MacKeever who would normally be at that post.
“I sent him out for more coffee,” said Barnes. “It could be a long night.”
Winchell nodded.
“Get a report from Tyler and Rivera. If there’s nothing going on there send them home. As soon as Al’s back I want you to go home and get some rest, too.”
Barnes nodded sleepily. He put out the call. Deputy Tyler reported that there was still one car in the driveway, no lights on in the house, and John Wilberforce had not returned. Barnes acknowledged and told the team to go home.
“No sign of Wilberforce or his wife either,” mused Winchell. He turned to Sky. “You think that Sherry’s got both of them?”
Sky shrugged.
“Could be. She might have-“
He stopped abruptly and turned to Barnes.
“Did Tyler say that there was one of their cars in the driveway?”
Barnes nodded.
“Mrs. Tyler’s car. But she’s not there. First thing they did was to ring the doorbell.”
Sky turned quickly back to Winchell.
“Maybe she’s there but can’t answer the door.”
Winchell nodded,
“It’s worth a try. Let’s go, Charlie.”
The three men hurried to a patrol car.

Deputy Amy Cole was getting too weary to think very straight any more. She had been searching the back roads near the Flying Coronet for five or six hours now. After a brief rest, the comely deputy had insisted on returning to duty. Having been attacked, bound and gagged, and her uniform and weapon taken for the second time in a few months was too much for her. She wanted to bring Sherry in. But the long hours and the strain of the day had taken their toll on the young brunette. The highway was just ahead, and Amy had decided to take it back to town and go off duty.
Just as she rounded a slight bend in the road, her headlights flashed on something large and metallic, possibly a car, hidden in a grove of trees. She quickly pulled off the road and shut her lights off. With a flashlight in one hand and her revolver in the other, she got out of the car and cautiously approached the vehicle. It was Sky Ryder’s station wagon.
All traces of weariness temporarily gone, she turned back to her patrol car, intending to radio the Sheriff with the news. She had taken a step back when she saw the lights on in a nearby house. A check of her wristwatch showed after two in the morning. It was very unlike people out here to be up so late. Amy gripped her pistol and headed for the house.
As quietly as possible, the deputy went from window to window, trying to get some idea of what was going on inside. At the back door was a most alarming sight: a buxom and attractive young woman was bound to a kitchen chair with rope. A white cloth was tied over her mouth, evidently holding a gag inside. The woman’s eyes were closed and her head was drooped over to one side. Amy did not know whether she was dead or alive. She put her hand quietly on the doorknob and threw it open. The woman’s head jerked up, eyes wide open.
Deputy Cole had found Jeanne Hall.

Copper Ryder awoke from troubled dreams to find consciousness no better. Still was still bound and gagged, lying on her side on the motel bed with Marie Sanders. Marie had untied Copper’s legs long enough to remove her shredded nylons and use the bathroom, then had tied them securely again and laid her on the bed. The blonde had then taken the extra blanket from the closet, removed her own clothing, and laid in the bed beside her and gone to sleep. She was still there, facing Copper with one arm draped over the bound girl. At first Copper had worked at her wrist bonds in the hope she could release herself and overpower her captor, but she had had no success and eventually drifted off to sleep. She tried another tug but the result was the same again. There was no way out of her ropes.
Marie stirred and pulled herself closer to Copper. Their bare breasts touched. Copper was surprised to find her nipples growing harder. The girl told herself it was just the cool of the night and a little fear. It was odd, thought Copper, that fear should do the same things to the body that other, more pleasurable kinds of excitement did.
The blanket did not quite cover all of her and she was a little cold, so she inched a bit closer to Marie. The woman seemed to radiate heat. Copper snuggled closer, savoring the touch of her breasts against Marie’s. In a situation like this, she had to take whatever comfort there was where she could find it.

Sheriff Winchell pressed the doorbell for the third time. He took a step back and waited. Deputy Barnes, arms folded across his chest, leaned against a porch support, while Sky Ryder, barely able to contain his nervous energy, paced a few feet behind them. Sky finally stepped off the porch and looked along one side of the house.
“I’m going to look down here,” he said. “Charlie, you try the other side.”
Sky trotted off to his side while Barnes shuffled wearily to the opposite side.
Though it was pitch dark, Sky closely examined the ground and looked in every window. At the rear of the home was a patio with heavily curtained glass doors and screens in the center, a kitchen window on Sky’s side of the house, and another window on the other. Sky tried the patio door, and was amazed to find it unlocked. Carefully stepping through the curtains, the tall flyer paused to allow his eyes time to adjust to the even blacker inside of the room. In a moment, he could see that this was the dining room. He slowly advanced, every sense alert.
Then he heard it. There was some kind of intermittent sliding or hissing sound coming from the rear of the house. He made his way to the front door and quietly opened the door for Winchell, holding his index finger to his lips to caution the Sheriff to silence. The lawman nodded, pulling his revolver from his holster as he entered. Sky looked behind Winchell questioningly. Winchell put his lips close to Sky’s ear and whispered:
“A call came over the radio. He’s answering it.”
Sky nodded and pointed toward the rear of the house. The two men crept down the hallway. Behind the partially closed bedroom door the sound continued: a slow swish and a pause, then another swish. Now some sort of muffled grunts of exertion could be heard. Sky did a short pantomime to Winchell. He pointed to himself and made the motion of a door opening. Then he pointed to the overhead light, stuck out his index finger, and made a couple rapid motions upward, as one would flipping a switch. The Sheriff nodded and readied his pistol. Like a well-drilled team, in one smooth, rapid move, Sky threw open the door and turned on the light as Winchell blocked the doorway with his drawn weapon.
Dora Wilberforce lay helpless on the bed. She was still gagged and hogtied with nylon stockings. She had succeeded in pulling most of the bedclothes off her, and lay panty clad before her rescuers, her bare breasts and wide eyes facing them. The surprise of the opening door and the flood of light had caused her to shriek into the gag in her mouth. When she realized whom it was she stopped but, in an agony of embarrassment, tried to draw her knees up to hide her breasts.
Sky reacted quickly, opening his pocketknife he stepped to the bed.
“Don’t worry, Mrs. Wilberforce. We’ll have you out of this in no time.”
Winchell put his pistol back in its holster, and took a step forward to help Sky when he heard Barnes calling him from behind. The lanky deputy appeared at the front door and came down the hall toward them.
“Sheriff, Amy just called in from out near Sky’s ranch. Jeanne Hall, that new gal who works for the Department of Agriculture, had a run-in with the Johnson girl. She surprised Jeanne, tied her up, and stole her car.”
Barnes stopped dead when he saw Sky cutting Dora free. The rancher reached up to untie the stocking holding in the woman’s gag.
“She’s been here too, Charlie,” Winchell said dryly.

Copper opened an eye. Early morning light was coming through the open door and window of the motel room. She looked around as best she could. There was no sign of Marie. This might be he chance to escape. She was trying to decide how a hogtied woman could best fall off a bed, when she heard a car trunk closing outside and bare feet on the walk outside the door. Marie, wearing only panties and carrying an overnight case, came back to the room and locked the door behind her.
“Didn’t get your hopes up too much there did you, Miss Ryder?” She put the case on the other, unused bed and walked up to Copper. She reached out and stroked one of Copper’s breasts. “Or should I say, ‘Copper?’ I guess I should seeing as how close we got last night.”
The girl mewed in protest and tried to pull away. Marie sat down on the bed and continued her fondling of the helpless captive.
“Yeah, I hear that you’re kind of a prude with the local boys. Maybe I should tell them my secret for getting you to warm up.”
Copper protested indignantly, trying to say ‘I was just cold’ and having it come out as a string of unintelligible vowels.
“Oh, don’t spoil it,” continued Marie. “It was more fun than most nights with Johnny.”
The woman stood up and stretched. Taking in the sight of Marie’s truly breathtaking figure, Copper decided that she also might have a tale to tell the local boys. Her eyes fell on the overnight case. Marie noticed.
“When you have fun with a married man, you’ve got to have a change of clothes to take to a place like this, Hon,” Marie informed her. “I don’t want to go to my place, ‘cause the cops may be watching it, and I’ve got to go into work for a few minutes today.” Noting Copper’s surprise, she added. “It’s not that I love my job; I’ve got to pick up the money.”
She shook her head. “Poor Johnny! If he’s done what I think he did, he’ll be in for a very nasty surprise sometime today.”
She brightened, and picked up her case.
“Well, you just be a good girl and wait for me. After I’m done in the shower, I’ll let you use the bathroom and, if you promise not to yell or anything, I’ll take out the gag and let you have some water. Don’t go away now.”

When the rays of the sun hit his face, John Wilberforce woke with a start. He was in the front seat his car in the parking lot of the bar he had been in last night. The steering wheel was in front of him. His head was leaned back on the top of the seat, and it not only hurt mightily but also still seemed befogged. On top of that, his awkward sleeping position had put such a crick in his neck that he doubted he could raise it. Only one thought could have moved him to sudden voluntary movement and that occurred to him at this moment. The briefcase!
He sat bolt upright and looked around. There it was on the seat beside him. He remembered. The bartender had wanted to close, had given him coffee, and tried to wake him up. Finally he and another man had helped the banker to his car and dumped him in the front seat. He vaguely recalled one of them saying something about ‘sleeping it off.’ They had placed the briefcase in beside him.
He was struck by panic. Had they looked in it? Had they found the money? He looked around to make sure no one was watching and opened the case. He fumbled with the paper wrapping of the bundle of bills, but found fifty-dollar bills under the paper. The paper seemed to be just as he had left it last night.
Wilberforce breathed a sigh of relief. He found his keys in his pants pocket and started the car. A cup of coffee and a couple aspirin were all he needed before getting on the road. The whole night had been wasted, but it didn’t matter. No one suspected him of anything. And Marie couldn’t squeal on him without implicating herself. It was going to work out fine.

Dressed in a nightgown, Dora Wilberforce sat at her kitchen table nursing a cup of coffee. After she had been untied last night, that fool Sheriff had kept her up another hour asking questions about the Johnson girl. Dora had told him only what she needed to and refused his offer to get one of the neighbors to come and stay with her. He had insisted on leaving two deputies outside on guard, and had warned her that the men could only be spared for the night. As the banker’s wife much accustomed to business social affairs, Dora knew well the art of maintaining a mask of politeness. That fool Sheriff! And the condescending concern of that man Sky Ryder. He and his niece had sat right behind that girl in court yesterday and promised to help her all they could.
Somehow it was all Sherry Johnson’s doing. First John was after her, and then he went after that blonde, Marie. And Dora knew deep down that he had stolen all that money. Why had he done it? To run away with one of them.
She took another sip. And where was he now? More importantly, where was the money? With that money she could have her own life for a change. That would be sweet! But first she had a score to settle with those girls. Both of them.
She went to the living room and looked out the front window. The Sheriff’s Department car was still there with two men inside. But they would be leaving soon. Then Dora would be free to act.
She went to the bedroom. From a shoebox in the closet she pulled the .32 caliber revolver John had bought ‘for protection.’ She hefted it thoughtfully. Yes, she would need it, but she would not use it on Sherry or Marie unless she had to. They would get something more humiliating: ‘a lesson in humility.’
On top of the chest of drawers was her jewelry box. She opened it and took out the one piece of evidence her husband had been foolish enough to leave behind: a matchbook. It was cheap plain white cardboard with a simple line drawing in red ink of a saddle with a cowboy hat draped over the pommel. In block letters it read: SADDLE TRAMP MOTEL – KERMIT, ARIZONA.
She didn’t know if she would find Sherry Johnson there, but she might find Marie and John there. And that would be a start.

[esercito sconfitto]

Chapter Seven

Back to Chapter Five

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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?”

[esercito sconfitto]

CHAPTER 8
The altimeter of the Cessna Bobcat T-50 read almost a thousand feet as Sky Ryder followed the highway south of Kermit. As the road began to turn gently to the southeast, Sky spotted a Sheriff’s car on the road below. He took up the radio microphone.
“Calling Sheriff’s Car One, this is Hummingbird. Do you read me, Winch? Over.”
Winchell looked out the passenger window of the patrol car and took up his radio handset. Deputy Charlie Barnes was driving.
“This is Winchell in Car One, Sky. We see you above us. Anything to report? Over.”
“Not yet, Winch. Have you heard from your other cars yet? Over.”
Before Winchell could respond, another voice answered.
“Sheriff. This is MacKeever in Car Two. Norris and I are about fifteen miles out of town, heading south on Route Ninety-Three. No sign of the subject yet. Over.”
Harry Tyler’s voice came on next.
“This is Tyler in Car Five. We’re about a mile from town and will do our best to catch up to you. Over.”
“This is Hummingbird. I’m going on ahead to see if I can spot our subject. I hope you fellows won’t do anything to spook him. Over.”
“You heard him men,” said Winchell. “No sirens and use your lights only if you have to. Over.”
The other cars acknowledged the call.
“Hummingbird out.”
Sky moved pushed the throttle forward. He quickly left Winchell’s car behind and overtook the leading car. He checked his wristwatch: almost eight o’clock. If the bartender’s story was accurate, Wilberforce had just over an hour’s start on them. If he was driving at the speed limit and trying not to attract attention, Sky could catch him in half an hour or so. The cars would take longer. If he found John Wilberforce, he would also have to avoid spooking him.
Sky set his jaw and added more speed. He had to find Copper.

Marie Sanders did not notice the blue car behind her until she had passed the buildings on the east edge of town. The car was well behind her and took the same turn she did onto a county road that headed south. It might not mean anything, since there were a number of ranches and other roads out this way. But She decided that she would keep checking behind her.

Sherry Johnson was wary of being spotted. In town following another car was more difficult because of other traffic, but it was easier to keep from being spotted. Now in more open country she would be more obvious. She would have to be careful.

“…And did you see that new hairdo of hers?”
The shorter of the two tellers covered her mouth with her hand a little too late to keep an audible peal of laughter from coming out as she and her friend made a visit to the ladies’ room in the bank. The taller girl suppressed her laughter also.
“The hairdo was more stylish than the dress she was wearing,” the tall girl replied. “It looked like something my mother would have made from an old couch cover during the war shortages. It was positively hideous.”
The two joined in laughter again. The shorter girl stopped and held up her hand. She seemed to be listening to the noise of the building’s air conditioning.
“Do you hear something funny, Connie?”
The tall girl listened. There was a faint but distinct sound, a peculiar kind of mewling that was either part of the machinery sound or almost covered by it. The tall girl cocked an eyebrow.
“The air conditioner sounds like it’s on its last legs, doesn’t it?”
The petite girl nodded.
“We’d better tell Bert about it.”
Returning to their gossip, the two women went into the washroom.

Copper Ryder knew most of the roads in the Kermit area, but this one was new to her. She had never heard of the Saddle Tramp Motel, and there was no identifying sign on the road that ran past it. Since she had been stuffed down on the floor of the backseat on the ride here, she did not even know which direction she had come from the Flying Coronet. The ranch was east of Kermit, but that was little help to her since she did not know which way or how far it was to town.
“I guess I’ll just have to pick a direction,” she said aloud.
Marie’s dress was low cut, and since it was too long for Copper, who had no bra since Marie had taken it, the girl had to keep pulling it up to cover her breasts. The short skirt was less a problem on someone four inches shorter, but Copper wished that Marie had left some shoes behind. Copper was not used to going barefoot. Fortunately it was not an asphalt road, just hard-packed dirt, but there were a few hard-to-see stones also.
Pulling up her top once again and picking her way carefully, the girl used the sun to figure out which way was north and set out in that direction.

Marie passed the Flying Coronet ranch heading south. Just a few more miles on this road would bring her to the road that led east. A couple miles on that road and then south again would bring her to the motel. She would keep her promise to Copper and take the sign off the door of her room so the maids would find her. After all, she bore no malice to a girl who had only been trying to help a friend.
She reached down to the seat beside her and hefted her purse. It was heavy with money. The bundle that John had taken was heavy too. Marie wondered if he had discovered it yet. No. John Wilberforce had so little nerve that he probably had picked up the bundle and fled with it. It would be an unpleasant surprise for him, but he deserved it. It was odd, she thought, that Sherry and Copper were better friends than she and Johnny.
She looked in the rearview mirror. The blue car was still there.

Deputy Amy Cole drew close to the intersection of the dirt road she had been searching and one of the paved county roads that ran north and south. There had once been a gas station and a general store on the corner but both had been long abandoned. She was still a couple hundred yards from the junction when a red sports car flashed by her going south. Amy’s patrol car had just come up beside the empty buildings when a blue sedan passed by in the same direction. The comely deputy was able to get only a fleeting look at the license plate, but it looked right. It was Jeanne Hall’s car. Amy had found Sherry Johnson.
She was about to turn on the light and siren, when it occurred to her that Sherry had probably not seen the patrol car because of the buildings at the corner. She decided to follow at a discreet distance and see where Sherry was headed.

Sky Ryder looked down at the large gray sedan on the road below him. John Wilberforce had a car like that. Though it was probably his quarry, Sky could not afford to close in too soon. The first Sheriff’s car, with MacKeever and Norris, was still a few miles behind, and Winchell’s perhaps five miles away from them. It was a delicate situation, but Sky wanted to be sure that it was the banker he was following. He pushed the yoke forward and began his descent.
John Wilberforce looked at his watch. A little after nine o’clock. That meant it was eleven o’clock in New York. Only a couple more hours until the World Series game started. He would enjoy listening to it. With a chuckle he thought of his ten dollar bet with George, the guard. No matter who won, George was going to get the ten. It was worth it.
The rush of air through the open windows kept him from noticing any sounds, but his attention was suddenly drawn to the movement of something dark in the sand to his left. It was the shadow of a plane.
He looked in the mirrors, then attempted to crane his neck to look. Finally he saw it. A small twin engine plane was closing on him and getting lower as it approached. It passed over him and banked off to the right. The thought flashed through Wilberforce’s mind: Sky Ryder! And wherever Sky Ryder was, his friend the Sheriff wouldn’t be far behind.
The beefy banker stepped on the accelerator, but the plane overtook him easily on a second pass.

“All Sheriff’s cars, this is Hummingbird calling. He’s seen me and is making a run for it. Car Two, I have you in sight. Keep coming. I’ll try to slow him down a little. Hummingbird out.”

Wilberforce jammed on the brakes as the plane swooped down in front of him passing from his left to right, then banking off behind him. He stepped on the gas again and turned to his left to watch for the next pass, only to have the plane come from the right this time. Startled, Wilberforce again jammed on the brakes. After the plane had gone behind him, he pressed the accelerator to the floor. The car shot ahead. Now the banker divided his attention between both sides, trying to anticipate Ryder’s move. But this time the wily flyer came in from the left rear at a very shallow angle, again causing his quarry to hit the brakes again.
Now truly rattled, Wilberforce accelerated again. His head swung and turned wildly from side to side, looking front and rear trying to see where the plane was. So busy was he looking in all directions, that he failed to notice a pickup truck pulling a small trailer of hay bales turning from the oncoming lane into a rancher’s drive ahead of him. By the time he looked forward again it was too late.
The banker hit the brakes and turned the wheel violently to the left. The car went off the road, narrowly missing the truck and trailer and a telephone/ utility pole as well. Luckily for Wilberforce, there was no steep incline or ditch off the side of the road, but the ground was very rough. His right wheel got onto ground higher than the left, causing the car to tip to the driver’s side, then hit a rock of some kind. The right wheels lifted off the ground. Now the left wheel hit an obstruction that slowed the car. The driver’s door flew open just before the front end ran flush into a pile of earth. Wilberforce was thrown into the steering wheel and struck his head on the windshield. The pursuit was over.

Marie Sanders could hardly believe her eyes when she arrived at the motel room. The bed was empty and all the ropes that had bound Copper Ryder lay on the bed or on the floor. She pondered what to do. Should she try to find and recapture the girl? Or should she make all haste in getting out of here?
She thought again of the blue sedan. She had not seen it for the last part of the trip, but the road was not quite so straight or the country quite so open there. It would be a good idea to be cautious.
She went to the window and looked out. No one there.
Marie took the pistol from her purse.

Sherry Johnson approached the motel cautiously. She had left the car a hundred yards or so down the road where it was hidden from view of the office by trees. The parking area was very quiet. There were only a couple of cars there. She did not see Marie’s red car, but she noticed that there might be more units behind the block facing the office. Keeping undercover as much as she could, Sherry made her way toward the units in the rear.
Using a wooden fence at the end of the lot and a maintenance shed of some kind, Sherry managed to get to the back row of rooms. There was only one car parked there, Marie’s little sports car. Sherry drew the pistol from her belt and was about to go around the corner when a cold female voice stopped her.
“Stop right there. You’re covered. Drop the gun and raise your hands.”
Sherry dropped the pistol and put her hands above her head.
“Now lean against the wall with your hands spread wide.”
The woman did as ordered. She heard shoes or boots crossing the dirt and gravel toward her.
“Any sudden moves and I’ll have to shoot,” the woman said from behind her.
“I’m not going to try anything. Just keep your voice down. She may hear us.”
A handcuff went over Sherry’s right wrist. Her arm was pulled behind her and her left hand brought down to join the right. The cuffs were tightened an extra click.
Deputy Amy Cole holstered her revolver and turned her prisoner to face her.
“You caused me a lot of trouble, Sherry,” Amy said dryly. She added with quiet satisfaction: “But catching you today almost makes up for the embarrassment of losing you yesterday.”
“I’m sorry about having to do that, deputy. But I know who really took the money from the bank. It’s Marie Sanders, Mr. Wilberforce’s new secretary and she’s in a room around the corner.”
Amy peeked around the corner and saw Marie’s car.
“Is that her car?”
“Yes, and I think that she’s even got the money with her.”
Amy looked at the recaptured fugitive thoughtfully.
“Look, Amy,” Sherry pleaded, “I know you’ve got to take me in, and Lord knows I deserve these handcuffs. But please take her in too. Use any excuse you can, but you’ve got to stop her before she gets away.”
For a half-minute or so, Amy mulled over the decision. After taking one more look at the red car, she reached her decision. But instead of saying anything, she reached for Sherry’s belt and unbuckled it. She pulled the belt from the loops, unbuttoned Sherry’s pants and pulled them down.
“Step out of them.”
Sherry was puzzled, but took her feet from the fallen jeans.
“Sit down.” Amy ordered.
The brunette sat on the concrete walk. Amy pulled off the girl’s shoes and socks and used the belt to bind her ankles together. She tossed the jeans away.
“I’m going to do it, but I’m making sure you stay put first,” Amy said. “And just in case you try to make any noise…”
She took a scarf from her pocket and wadded it.
“I guess I deserve this,” sighed Sherry.
“You sure do,” the deputy said emphatically, forcing the wad into her prisoner’s mouth. Amy used the lanyard of her whistle to secure the gag in place. She stepped back to admire her work. Her back was to the corner where the red car waited.
“Not anywhere near the job you did on me, but it’ll do.”
As shapely deputy reached for her own pistol, Sherry’s eyes grew wide. Something hard was pushed into Amy’s back.
“Keep away from it, deputy,” warned Marie.
With a sigh, Amy dropped her hand. Marie removed the pistol from the holster and spun Amy around. She grinned at the two beauties.
“Well, there seems to be a party going on out here. Bring her in, deputy. We’ll play too.”

Dora Wilberforce was lost. She had used the map in the phonebook to try to place the Saddle Tramp Motel, but in a car the roads seemed to be different. She had stopped at a gas station and asked about the motel. The attendant had grinned in a familiar way and said something to a male customer about the ‘no-tell motel.’ He then gave her a good looking over, with obvious approval, and asked about the large brown paper shopping bag beside her in the front seat. When she told him that the bag’s contents were none of his business, he had laughed again and given her directions.
But again, the roads did not seem to have the right names or lead to the roads that they should have. She had become hopelessly turned around and was about to give up when she saw a landmark the station attendant had mentioned. The road had led to another, which had the name of one she had written. In another few minutes she saw a sign indicating that the motel was ahead.
Dora reached down on the seat beside her and pulled her purse, containing the .32 police-style revolver, closer to her. There might be use for it soon. And should she encounter Marie or Sherry the shopping bag had the most essential equipment.

Copper Ryder trudged wearily down the road. She had been careful during the first part of her escape, knowing that Marie was going to return to the motel. When the girl had seen the dust of an approaching car, she had taken cover a hundred or so yards from the road. Sure enough, the first car to pass was Marie’s little red one. When she saw more dust, Copper remained under cover on the chance that the next vehicle was John Wilberforce or another ally of Marie’s. Copper had not recognized the blue car that had followed Marie down the road and then, before she could get back where she could be seen, another car passed. This one Copper had no trouble identifying as a Kermit County sheriff’s car. The stiff and weakened girl had run to the road, calling and waving in a vain attempt to get help, but the driver had not seen her. The plucky blonde pushed on. Sooner or later she knew that she would find a ride.
Another car appeared in front of her. Though it was headed toward her, Copper stepped to the middle of the road and began to wave. With Marie having passed by, the girl figured that there was little danger of meeting someone in league with Marie.
The car, a light colored, good-sized luxury-type, stopped a few feet away. Copper ran to the door and opened it.
“Please, can you help me! I’ve been kid—“
She stopped abruptly. The woman driving was Dora Wilberforce.
“Why, Miss Ryder!” she exclaimed. “You’re quite a sight! What’s happened to you?”
Copper was taken aback. For a moment she was unable to speak.
“Is something wrong, dear?”
“Uh,… why no Mrs. Wilberforce. I’m just surprised to see you out here, that’s all.”
“You were expecting your friend Sherry, maybe?”
The icy way she spoke Sherry’s name made Copper very uneasy.
“Look, Mrs. Wilberforce, I know what you and some of the other women in town think about Sherry and your husbands, but you’re wrong! And even if I’m Sherry’s friend, I need help right now.”
Dora looked sympathetic.
“Of course, dear. Get in.”
Copper slid in the front seat. The bag was in the way so the girl pushed it to make room. Some of the contents slipped out onto the floor of the car. Copper bent over to pick them up. She found several hundred-foot coils of rope, 3/16-inch sashcord or clothesline–type, and two coils thick enough to moor a sizable yacht. There were also a several new washcloths, a couple rolls of wide adhesive tape, and a pair of dressmaker’s scissors. Copper stared in wonder as she put the items back in the bag.
“What an odd assortment of things,” she said bending down to pick up the last of them. “What’re they for?”
She straightened up and found herself looking into the muzzle of Dora Wilberforce’s pistol. The woman smiled malevolently.
“Why they’re for you and your friends, dear.”

John Wilberforce opened his eyes. His head hurt again, but this time not from alcohol. He put his hand to his forehead and drew away bloody fingers. Looking back to the road he saw a couple cars pulling over to the shoulder of the lane that had been oncoming to his. Gingerly turning to look in the other direction, he could see the truck he had almost hit completely pulled into a rancher’s drive across the road. The driver was running toward him. And now there was a flashing red light. A police car that had come from the same direction he had was pulling over. In the distance he could see another flashing light in the distance.
Gradually he began to realize that despite the pain in his head and other places that he was not hurt too seriously. He tested all his limbs. There was feeling and movement in all of them. But no. Maybe he was hurt badly. He seemed to be hallucinating a plane rolling up on the flat ground a short distance away. It was a dandy hallucination. He could even imagine the roar of the plane’s engines and the feel of sand and dirt raised by the plane’s propellers blowing into his face and around him.
He had another hallucination as a fifty-dollar bill danced in front of his eyes. Then came the realization. The money! The package had split open and the wind from the plane’s propellers was scattering the money. Reflexively he grabbed at the seat beside him. In his bloodstained fingers were two fifty-dollar bills and some paper. Paper? He looked down. Flying all around him were dollar bill sized cuttings from newspapers and magazines.
That witch Marie! She had double-crossed him. He had nearly killed himself for a few hundred dollars and a bundle of waste paper. And now he was going to jail.
Not knowing whether to laugh or cry, he tried both, more or less simultaneously.

Chapter 9
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[esercito sconfitto]

CHAPTER 9

“…So I say to her, ‘Well, it isn’t my fault that a couple of the girls didn’t come in today, so don’t take it out on me.’ I mean, really, we should have an office boy or somethin’ to go after supplies. Could I help it if Mr. Bell wanted to dictate three letters plus have me get the refreshments for the Department Heads meeting? I mean, I got my own work to do too. I can’t just run off to the supply room every two seconds because she decides she needs more staples, can I?”
The cute young secretary had been giving an earful to the maintenance man as he slowly walked down the hall listening to the strange sounds of the air conditioning. She was petite and blonde. He was in his mid-fifties, dressed in matching gray workshirt and pants. The name patch above the right breast pocket of his shirt read ‘Bert.’ In one hand he held a red metal toolbox. Though he seemed to be paying no attention as the girl rambled on, when she finally stopped for breath he asked mildly:
“So that’s what you’re going for now?”
“Yeah. Can you believe it? At the top of my class in secretarial school, and I have to go fetch staples and typewriter ribbons.”
Bert took a few more slow steps and leaned toward the wall where the sounds could be heard. He listened so intently that the girl forgot her outrage and listened too.
“How many in your class?” asked Bert.
“Well, only five, but I still think that –“
She looked at him. He glanced back, a little twinkle in his eyes. She smiled and slapped him gently on the elbow. Another sound was heard.
“What’s that, Bert?” the girl asked, wrinkling her brows.
“I don’t rightly know. But it’s not coming from the air conditioning vent. I wonder if a cat somehow got himself shut in the storeroom.”
He tried the knob, but the door was locked.
“Strange,” he said, setting down his tools.
He took a big ring of keys from his belt and opened the door. The girl grabbed him by the arm apprehensively and followed him in. When he flicked on the light, she screamed. A slip-clad Patty Brennan sat tied into an office chair on wheels. Her dark eyes were wide over the tape gag that covered her mouth. She moaned a plea to them.

“The ambulance is on its way, Sheriff,” said Deputy Ben Norris as Winchell and Deputy Barnes walked up to the wreck of John Wilberforce’s car two hundred or so yards from Highway 93. Sky Ryder and Deputy MacKeever stood outside the open door of the car watching as a pudgy, shirt-sleeved man with a black bag treated Wilberforce.
“We were lucky that Doctor Barton happened to be passing, Winch,” said Sky.
“How is he, Doc?” asked Winchell.
The Doctor looked back at Winchell, squinting in the autumn sunlight as he held a gauze pad to the gash on Wilberforce’s forehead.
“Oh, I don’t think he’s hurt too bad,” he replied. “Those bruises and cuts will cause some pretty good aches and pains. Also got a nasty knock on the head. He seemed a little delirious when I first got here, laughing and crying and yelling about somebody named Marie.” He turned to MacKeever. “Would you hold this, Deputy?” he asked, indicating the gauze.
As MacKeever held the pad and the doctor reached into his bag, Sky motioned with his head to Winchell. The two stepped a few yards away.
“Look at these, Winch.”
Sky held up his hand. Opening it, the flyer revealed a fifty-dollar bill and several newspaper cuttings. Winchell took one of the pieces of newspaper and compared it to the note.
“Cut to be the same size as money.” He looked around. There were perhaps a hundred pieces scattered about. “He thought he had quite a haul didn’t he?”
Sky nodded.
“And that means that someone double-crossed him and took the real money. If I were a betting man I’d say it was---“
Winchell was now nodding. He finished:
“--his secretary, Marie.”
The two men returned to the car.
“Is he well enough to talk, Doc?” asked the Sheriff.
Doctor Barton was dabbing antiseptic on the banker’s cut.
“As long as you don’t use a rubber hose on him,” he replied laconically.
Sky Ryder took the lead.
“Look, Wilberforce, we know that it was you who was behind the embezzlement at the bank. We need to know where Marie is.”
The banker grimaced as the doctor applied antiseptic on a long cotton-tipped swab to his wound.
“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” he said lamely.
“You might as well come clean, Wilberforce,” said Winchell sternly. “She’s double-crossed you, and you know it. Why cover for her any longer?”
Wilberforce gave a short, mirthless laugh.
“Marie!” he spat. “That witch! Full of big plans and dreams. All we needed was a little money to make them come true! You can have her for all I care. But I don’t know where she is.”
Sky Ryder made a move as though to grab the injured man by his lapels, but he restrained himself.
“Look, we don’t have time for all that. Wherever she is, she’s got my niece!”
The banker looked up quickly.
“I’m sorry about that, Ryder,” he said earnestly. “But I really don’t know where she is. I haven’t seen her since yesterday at Jeb’s Café. You were there too. I talked to her on the phone later, warning her that Sherry was out and looking for her. But I never saw her after lunch.”
The man was obviously telling the truth. Sky relaxed from his threatening posture and thought for a moment.
“But you two must have had some place you’d use for a hideout if you needed it.”
“Well, sure. The Saddle Tramp Motel, a little way southeast of town. We used to meet there, if you know what I mean.”
“Yeah,” said Winchell. “We know what you mean.”
“One thing I am sorry for is letting Marie talk me into framing Sherry Johnson. She’s a nice girl. I never should have done it. You’ll be able to get the conviction overturned if I talk, won’t you?”
Sky nodded. He turned to Winchell.
“I’m on my way, Winch. Get there as fast as you can with everybody you can.”
“I already sent Tyler and Rivera back when the accident happened.” He turned to MacKeever. “You and Ben stay here and wait for the ambulance. One of you will have to ride to the hospital with Wilberforce.”
Back to Sky he said: “Charlie and I will be along as fast as we can make it.”
Sky looked at Winchell. The Sheriff was not a young man anymore, and he was showing the signs of strain. Barnes had put on a clean, pressed uniform this morning but looked badly in need of starch himself. The rancher knew that he would have to carry much of the load.
Wilberforce looked at Sky again.
“One more thing, Ryder. If it is Marie who has your niece, nothing will happen to her. Marie’s greedy, but she’s not a killer.
“I hope you’re right,” Sky said grimly.
He ran to the Hummingbird.

“Move, girl!”
Dora Wilberforce used her left hand and arm to push Copper into a grove of trees just off the road. The paper shopping bag was tucked under Dora’s right arm, the menacing gun in her right hand.
“Mrs. Wilberforce,” pleaded Copper, “I haven’t done anything. What’re you going to do?”
“I’m going to fix you up good, like your friend did to me last night. Then we’re going to find Marie. I’ve got a little score to settle with her. Maybe the Johnson girl’s found her already. That would make it a lot easier for me.”
“Sherry wants to send her to jail. They’ll put her away for a long time.”
Dora’s face twisted with rage.
“Jail! What good is that to me? She’s taken my husband and made him ruin his life, everything he ever worked for, and me too. What satisfaction do I get from seeing her go to jail?”
Her eyes narrowed.
“And I’ve got another score to settle with your little friend Sherry too. She’s the cause of all of this. If it hadn’t been for her none of this would have happened.”
“Oh, but it’s not Sherry’s fault. Your husband—“
Dora cut her off with a slap across the face.
“Don’t tell me it’s mine!” the woman shrieked. “That’s what every woman in town is going to say! Dora Wilberforce couldn’t keep her man! If only she’d made him happy! Well, they’re not going to get that chance.”
Copper would have disagreed with her, but she realized that the woman was not rational at present. She would only get another slap.
“Okay, Miss Ryder. Take off your clothes. And be quick about it.”
The crazed light in the woman’s eyes told Copper that she had no choice. As she peeled off the low cut top, Dora took one coil of the standard size rope and the shears from the bag. She dropped bag and the rest of its contents on the ground, and used the blade of the scissors like a knife to cut three pieces from the rope. Copper had removed the skirt and had just slid her fingers into the waistband of her panties when Dora stopped her.
“You can leave the underpants on.”
Copper stood and waited crossing her arms over her breasts as Dora finished cutting.
“Turn around and put your hands behind you.” she ordered.
The young blonde did as commanded.
“Look, Mrs. Wilberforce, I spent all last night bound and gagged by Marie. I’m not ---“
“Then it won’t bother you so much to be tied up again today, will it?” snapped Dora. “If you try anything funny I’ll have this gun close enough to shoot you right through the heart.”
Copper stood helplessly as Dora lashed her wrists tightly behind her back. The woman used a long rope to loop her arms and body several times, pinning her arms. One of the brand-new washcloths was stuffed into the girl’s mouth and sealed inside with several strips of the wide adhesive tape.
“There,” said Dora. “Almost like Sherry had me last night. But I hope that rope is a lot less comfortable than the stockings she used on me. Now let’s get back to the car.”
She picked up the bag and the two unused shorter lengths of rope and prodded the helpless girl back toward the road. While Copper waited at the rear of the car, Dora took the keys from the ignition. She opened the trunk and pointed to the bumper.
“Sit.”
Uneasily, Copper sat on the edge of the trunk. She had a sinking feeling about what was next. Dora used the two remaining pieces of rope to bind the girl’s legs at the ankles and just above the knees. Smiling grimly, the woman put a few more strips of tape over Copper’s eyes.
“You know what happens now don’t you, Miss Ryder?” the woman sneered.
The almost nude, bound blonde nodded unhappily. Dora helped lower her into the trunk and slammed the lid.
“I hope you have a nice ride, dear.”
Copper tested her bonds. Dora had taken gleeful pleasure in making them cruelly tight. Weakened by hunger, fatigue, and soreness from her ordeal of yesterday, there was no way Copper could free herself from this.
The car started. She hoped that Sky was out there looking for her.

Marie watched with amusement as Deputy Cole helped the handcuffed, gagged, and pants-less and shoeless Sherry Johnson hop into the motel room.
“Sit her on the bed,” ordered Marie, scooping up some of the ropes lying there with her free hand. When the young deputy had obeyed, Marie continued. “That’s better. I want everybody to be comfortable. And seeing as it’s just us girls here, go ahead and strip, deputy.”
Amy looked at the pistol in Marie’s hand, and the two tucked into the waistband of her tight skirt and briefly contemplated trying to talk Marie into surrendering now before the crime escalated. Her hunch was that any talk was useless, so she unhooked her gun belt and dropped it to the floor then reached for the top button of her uniform shirt.
“You know that you can’t get away with this,” she could not help but warn. “Every deputy in the county and Sky Ryder are out looking for Sherry.”
“So when they see me they won’t do a thing,” Marie said flatly. “They’ll just keep looking for her, and you later on when they find you’re missing. And the two of you’ll eventually be found right here, fit as fiddles but tied up and gagged. No, Honey, no one’s looking for me right now, and by the time that they do, I’ll be long gone.”
Amy had removed her shirt. She tossed it on the desk/dresser.
“Now the pants, deputy. Shoes and socks too.” A thin smile crept over her face. “And also the bra.”
With a defiant look at her tormentor, Amy unbuckled her pants and dropped them, then slipped off shoes and socks. She reached behind her for the hooks of her bra.
“How generous!” she said sarcastically. “I get to keep my panties.”
“I’m taking all the other clothes with me.” She waved the pistol in Sherry’s direction. “Hers too. Old Artie down at the motel office may not be Jack the Ripper, but if I were you I wouldn’t hop out there bound and gagged with my boobs flopping around. Just some friendly advice.”
Amy tossed her bra with her other clothes. To keep from giving Marie any satisfaction in her near nakedness, she tried to look defiant and made no attempt to cover her breasts. Marie gave her a good look.
“Proud of them, eh?” the thief noted. “They’re standing tall and looking good, ought to be in Hollywood. Okay. Face down on the bed, hands behind you.”
Slowly, Amy did as Marie had ordered, crossing her wrists. The blonde took a piece of rope and began tying the deputy’s hands.
“If this is your first time, I’ll try to be gentle,” she said with mock concern.
“I’ve been tied up before,” the deputy retorted. “And by women who could eat you for breakfast.”
Marie made a seize in the bonds and tied a good, tight knot.
“What an interesting choice of words, deputy. Is that an invitation?”
She patted Amy’s fanny and took up another rope.

Sky Ryder was having trouble reaching Deputy Tyler’s car by radio, but he finally got through.
“We’ll be back in town in ten minutes or so Mr. Ryder,” the stocky Deputy reported. “What do you want us to do? Over.”
“There’s a motel east of town called the Saddle Tramp. Marie Sanders is probably there. She may have the missing money and my niece as a prisoner with her. I think I’ll probably get there first, but go slow and easy, Harry. No sirens or anything to cause a panic. Over.”
“Right, Mr. Ryder. We’re on our way. See you there. Car Five out.”
Tyler looked at Andy Ramirez behind the wheel. The young deputy bore a strong resemblance to a youthful, sleep-deprived Cesar Romero.
“You better keep talkin’ to me, amigo,” said Rivera. “Otherwise I’m gonna fall asleep and probably drive right up a tree.”
“Hang in there, Andy. We gotta stay awake long enough to find out what this is all about.”

Marie used most of the rope that had bound Copper to secure Deputy Amy Cole. The beautiful brunette was now quite helpless, bound hands, feet, arms, and legs. Marie had torn up a towel from the motel bathroom to make a gag wadding. She was now securing the gag with another strip of towel passed between the woman’s teeth and tied behind her head. When this was done, she surveyed her two prisoners.
“This ought to do it,” she declared. “I suppose I ought to hogtie both of you, but I’m feeling generous today. Even if you could crawl or hop, neither of you’ll go very far without clothes in daylight. The deputy here must have a police car around somewhere. You’ll be able to get to it sooner or later, but I’ll be in Mexico by then.”
There were three pistols on the desk/dresser. Marie loaded all of them into her purse, opening it wide enough that Sherry was able to see the money packet. The girl protested unintelligibly into her gag.
“I know, Sherry. It isn’t fair, is it? But look on the bright side: you’ve got more clothes on than the deputy here.” Marie looked at her as she pondered her own remark. “Yeah, that’s not fair either.”
She reached down, unbuttoned the light blue blouse Copper had given her, and pulled it back off her shoulders. Then she pulled the shoulder straps of her bra down her arms and peeled down the cups. Sherry shrieked into her gag as her firm and generous breasts were bared. Marie then used a last long rope to wrap her arms and body right under the girl’s prominent bust.
“There. Now you’re more even. Yeah, about the same size too.”
The curvaceous blonde gathered up Amy’s uniform and Sherry’s pants. She backed toward the door, took the knob in her hand and twisted. The door opened a bit, and the beautiful embezzler turned back for a last farewell.
“Well, this is where I leave you two ladies. It’s been fun, but I really must be—“
The door was swung open very hard, striking Marie in the left shoulder and back, sending her sprawling on the bed beside her two captives. The purse fell off her shoulder and dropped to the floor. Marie rolled over and looked back in astonishment as the figure in the doorway stepped into the room and closed the door by leaning her back on it. It was Dora Wilberforce. The banker’s wife had a revolver leveled at Marie.
“Well, this is much better than I expected,” Dora said with quiet glee. “Both of my friends waiting in the same place with one of you already fixed up for me.” She looked at Marie. “Going somewhere, Marie? Maybe my husband wants you to take some letters or do some filing or sharpen his pencil. Is this the place you used?”
Marie held up a hand in a ‘stop’ gesture.
“All right, Mrs. Wilberforce, you got me. The money’s in my bag.”
While watching Marie closely, Dora picked up the bag and opened it. She laid the pistols one at a time on the dresser and took out the paper wrapped parcel. When she saw the bills inside she breathed in sharply. Sherry and Deputy Cole began making sounds through their gags to her.
Marie started to get up. “You want me to untie the deputy?”
Dora dropped the money packet on the dresser and pointed the pistol at Marie’s ample chest, pulling back the hammer as she did. He voice was soft and tight.
“Why no, dear, that won’t be necessary. I just need you to take off your clothes.”
The blonde was dumbfounded.
“Take off of my clothes?”
“Yes, Marie. I’m here to give some lessons in humility. That will be your first. Get started.”
The mention of ‘lessons in humility’ had brought a look of alarm to Sherry’s eyes. She looked at Dora and shook her head.
“Yes, Sherry. I learned my lesson. Now we’ll see if you can learn yours.”

Chapter 10


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[esercito sconfitto]

CHAPTER 10


The door of the motel room opened slowly and Dora Wilberforce peeked out cautiously. When she was sure there was no one about, she stepped out onto the cement walk that ran along the line of rooms and walked to her car, now pulled up just behind Marie’s. In her hands she held her brown paper shopping bag, now much less loaded and her purse which was obviously more full. She tossed the bag and the purse into the front seat and, after taking the keys from the ignition, went to the rear of the vehicle. She opened the trunk and smirked at its occupant.
“Have a nice nap, Miss Ryder?”
Despite wearing only her panties, Copper’s flushed skin and the sheen of perspiration on her body bore witness to the heat of the trunk of a car, even a light colored one like Dora’s, left in the sun of a fairly warm October morning. The blindfolded girl turned her head in the direction of Dora’s voice and mewed a spirited retort at the woman.
“Oh, you haven’t been in there that long,” said Dora, reaching in and pulling the girl to the rear of the trunk. Though she did not appear to be an especially strong woman, Dora helped Copper to kneel at the edge of the trunk and, using her shoulder, lifted her out without much trouble. The protesting girl was carried back into the motel room.
Once inside, Copper was plopped unceremoniously onto the room’s one armchair and the tape pulled from her eyes. The first sight the girl saw was Deputy Amy Cole, also wearing only panties sitting in the smaller chair that had been pulled from the kneehole space in the combination desk/dresser. Though not bound to the chair, the young deputy was obviously quite helpless being bound and gagged in a very similar fashion to Copper. The deputy’s blue eyes looked sympathetically at Copper over her gag of wide adhesive tape covering what appeared to be a strip of white terrycloth running between her teeth. Amy shifted her gaze to the bed and Copper turned that way.
On the bed sat two completely nude and thoroughly trussed women. Both of them were bound with enough rope to secure several people. Their hands were behind their backs, and the set of their shoulders indicated that their hands were tightly tied. Both women’s legs were tied together at the ankles, calves, knees (both above and below), and thighs. Though little of their arms could be seen from the front, there were multiple loops of cord about their arms and torsos at their waists and above and below their breasts. Both women also wore a set of cords that played no role in, but emphasized their helplessness: a double strand of rope around the waist that supported a double line through their crotches. The mouths of both had been stuffed so full of gag packing that their jaws were distended. The gags had been well sealed with wide white tape and their eyes covered by more. One of the women was blond, and Copper could tell from the spectacular figure that it was Marie Sanders. It took her a moment to identify the smaller brunette as her friend Sherry Johnson.
“Well, ladies, we’re quite a cozy little group, aren’t we?” Dora asked with gleeful malice. “And I’ve got something in mind for you all that’s much more entertaining than bridge. But we can’t have our fun here, so let’s find a couple of nice, quiet spots, Shall we? I think that the guests of honor should go first.”
She grabbed Marie by the hair and pulled her up, Marie howled into her gag as she struggled to stand. Dora took her by the arm and, with a slap on the rump for emphasis, forced her to hop to the door and outside. As they passed, Copper saw the reason for the strained appearance of their shoulders: Marie’s elbows had been tied within six or so inches each other. A minute or so later, Dora reappeared to repeat the performance with Sherry, whose elbows had also been tied back. Deputy Cole and Copper struggled with their bonds while Dora was out of the room, but it was no use. They were too well and thoroughly bound.
When Dora returned she was much less brutal with Copper, taking her by the arm and helping her up. She guided the helpless girl out to the car and put her face down on the back seat, hogtying her with a short rope before she went back for Amy. The shapely deputy was put on the floor of the back seat and hogtied as well. After a short pause while she retrieved a few more items from the room, Dora got in the driver’s seat and started the car.
“Your friends are in the trunk,” Dora informed Copper and Amy. “You’re going to have a shorter and much more pleasant ride than they will.”
She pulled the car out of the motel drive and onto the road, and added unpleasantly.
“But they shouldn’t mind it too much. After all, it’s their last ride.”

Sky Ryder looked at the landscape below. Though the Saddle Tramp Motel was within thirty miles of his ranch, he was not too familiar with the area immediately around the place. He kept in radio contact with Deputy Tyler, and was heartened to discover that they would not be too far behind him when he arrived there. Finally he spotted it: a white painted cinderblock building in the shape of the bottom half of the letter H. There was a waste area of scrub sage and sand to the east of it. Hoping that the sand was firm there, Sky set the Hummingbird down.
The tall rancher spotted Marie’s red car parked in front of one of the rooms facing him and raced from the plane to the room. The door was locked, and there was no way to see in the covered window. Looking for the office, Sky followed the walk around the corner at the bottom end of one of the H’s uprights and was surprised to find a pair of women’s flat-heeled shoes on the ground. They appeared to be one of Copper’s, but he could not be sure. Clutching the shoes in one hand, he ran the rest of the way to the office.
Sky threw open the office door. A tall, unshaven, pot-bellied man wearing black slacks and a sleeveless undershirt sat behind the reception desk, his feet propped up on an open desk drawer, reading a girly magazine. Mozart’s Great C Major Symphony poured incongruously from a hi-fi behind him. The man looked up.
“Yes, sir, may I help you?” he asked, making no attempt to put the magazine away.
“I want to know which room Marie Sanders is in!”
“Marie Sanders, sir?”
“Yes!” thundered the rancher. He stepped nimbly around the desk, knocked the man’s feet from the drawer and pulled him to his feet by the straps of his undershirt. “And I’m not going to be patient about it. The Sheriff is on his way here, and I’ll see this place torn down if I have to.”
The man peered curiously at Sky’s hand on the shoulder straps of his undershirt.
“No need to get rough, sir. I may not look like much now, but I still love Mozart and I know how to pronounce Goethe properly.”
He had used the correct German pronunciation for Goethe. Sky relaxed his grip a bit.
“Perhaps you’d better describe her, sir,” the man continued, unruffled. “People don’t always use their right names at a place like this.”
“Marie Sanders. Twenty-five or –six, five foot seven, and a good figure.”
“The blonde with the body like Monroe? Drives that little red number in the back?”
Sky nodded.
“She comes here a lot. Got something going with some important guy or other. She pays me twenty to look the other way when she’s here. Room 42.”
He took some keys from his belt and picked one out.
“Here’s the master key.”
Sky released his hold on the man, who followed him as he went to look at the room.

Dora Wilberforce did not even release Copper from the hogtie. She pulled the helpless girl to the end of the back seat and bent low enough to get her shoulder under the girl, then hoisted her up and carried her a few feet from the car. She had parked the vehicle in a small grove of trees about fifty yards off the road. Dora turned and looked back at the road.
“They’ll never see you from a car here,” she noted.
Though Copper feared being dropped, Dora lowered her gently to the ground and left her there face down. The woman returned to the car and, though she had a more difficult time, brought Amy Cole back and laid her beside the petite blonde. They both looked up anxiously at their captor.
Dora laughed. “Oh, don’t worry, girls. I really don’t have any grudge against either of you. The deputy here did me a favor by capturing Sherry and putting her in handcuffs. And Miss Ryder, I appreciate loyalty in a friend, even if the friend is nothing but a little man–stealing tramp. Besides, your uncle’s a busybody who helps the Sheriff all the time with that plane of his. So I’m going to make it easy to find you from the air.”
As the two girls puzzled over this, Dora went back to her car and took a bundle of clothes from the front seat. She walked past the girls out into a nearby clearing and tossed the clothes on the ground. As Copper and Amy watched in astonishment, Dora studied the look of the clothes on the ground. She bent over and rearranged them, even going so far as to take their discarded brassieres and put them in a bush that still had green leaves to provide a contrasting background for the bright white undergarments.
“There,” said Dora, stopping briefly on her way back to the car. “That ought to be easy for your uncle to spot from his plane. While he’s busy rescuing you, I’ll be having a little fun with the other girls. Enjoy yourselves, ladies.”
The two bound women watched as Dora paused to brush some sand off her skirt and arrange her hair before getting into her car and driving back onto the road. As soon as she was gone, Amy began to inch her way toward Copper in the hope that they could somehow work together to untie their wrists. But the ropes immobilizing their arms and the tight hogties made it impossible to get their hands close enough. Amy groaned into her gag in frustration. Copper was more worried about what the crazed Dora had in mind for her friend Sherry.

“You say she came in last night?” asked Sky.
The manager nodded.
“And I’m sorry about your niece, Mr. Ryder, but if Marie had anyone with her, I couldn’t see, and not because she paid me not to, either. It was dark by the time she got here and she parked back here before she checked in. Said she wanted a nice quiet, private room on this side.”
“What about the maids? Could they have seen anyone?”
“This time of the year we only use two with business so slack. They work another job early and don’t even get here for another hour.”
The man’s eyes narrowed.
“But I had an idea that something was up. She went out this morning and told me that if the maid came early, she was to leave the room as it was. Then there were other woman sneaking around after she came back.”
“Other women?”
“First there was a zaftig little brunette, a real knockout, then another who could have been her twin sister except for the deputy’s uniform, both of them on foot. Then another woman, a little older but still a good looker, drove back here. Her car’s gone now.”
Sky looked around the room. There were a few small articles of clothing, socks, shoes, and some underwear, torn motel towels, and a few strands of rope left behind, but that was all. For all his unsavory appearance, the manager spoke concisely and intelligently, not even dropping his g’s, and Sky felt that the story was truthful.
“And how long have they been gone?”
The man scratched his head through his salt and pepper hair.
“That I couldn’t say. The woman drove in just over an hour ago, I’d say. They can’t have been gone too long.”
The sound of an approaching car drew them to the door. It was a County Sheriff’s car. Deputy Harry Tyler, stocky and fair, and Deputy Andy Rivera, tall and dark, got out.
“Glad to see you, Harry,” said Sky. “Marie was here all right, maybe hiding Copper with her, and it sounds like Sherry Johnson and Amy Cole might have run into her too. They’ve all gone in the car of another woman who’s possibly a prisoner as well.” He turned to the manager. “What did that car look like?”
The manager described the car. Now Tyler scratched his head.
“That sounds like the car that was in the Wilberforce’s driveway last night.”
Sky was caught off guard.
“Are you sure?”
“It was right in front of us for almost eight hours, Mr. Ryder.”
Rivera nodded as Tyler spoke.
“Well, I don’t know exactly what it means,” said Sky, after a moment’s thought, “but that’s the car we’re looking for now. Which way did she go?” he asked the manager.
“South on the County Road.”
Sky turned to Tyler.
“I’ll get back in the air and see if I can find it. You keep your eyes open along the road. How close is the Sheriff?”
“A half hour, maybe less.”
“Good. Let’s get started.”
As Sky trotted back to his plane, Rivera paused while opening the driver’s door and looked questioningly at Tyler. Harry Tyler shrugged and got back in the patrol car.

Dora Wilberforce’s excitement was growing. It wouldn’t be long now. On the seat beside her were Marie’s bag, containing the money package and three pistols taken from the women, her own purse with her pistol, and her shopping bag. She had to put a few more miles between herself and the two girls she had left behind before she could stop again, but she could hardly wait.
As if to reassure herself that it was still there, Dora reached into the shopping bag. She felt it. Not satisfied with only the touch and no view of it, Dora pulled her hand out to look. The very thick rope was there. Dora laughed as she drove.

Copper and Amy had no success in freeing themselves. Though they had not been bound with quite the gleefully savage thoroughness as Marie and Sherry had been, the job that Dora had done binding Copper and refining Amy’s bondage was sufficient keep the two secure. They had tried several times to work on each other’s bonds to no avail. Their wrists had been crossed and well tied, and Dora had wrapped and cinched their bodies and forearms in such a way that they could hardly get their hands away from their backs. And hogtied as they were, they could not get close enough to one another to reach one another’s wrist bonds. Copper was very anxious about what Dora had in mind for Sherry and Marie. It was something that Dora needed time to do, and was important enough that she had arranged for Sky to rescue her and Amy with comparative ease. Not only that, but she had left them in the shade so they would not even risk sunburn to rarely exposed areas of skin. What could she have in mind for Marie and Sherry? Dora’s crazed expression and naked hatred when she had talked about them led the girl to even think that Dora planned to do away with them. But how?
Copper looked over at Amy struggling against the thin cord that bound her almost naked form. And then it struck her. When she had replaced the items that had fallen out of the bag in Dora’s car, she had found a couple coils of very thick rope. None of that rope had been used to bind any of them.
Struck by the horrible thought, Copper burst into a frenzy of struggling. It was then she heard the plane.

Though he had seen many strange things in his aerial searches for the Sheriff, Sky had never seen anything quite like this.
The east side of the north-south county road he was following was arid waste, but along the west side was a meandering stream that supported a band of vegetation, including some hardy grass, some bushes, and a few stands of cottonwood trees. In a clearing not too far from the road, were two sets of clothes on the ground, one a pair of blue jeans and a light blue shirt the other a small sized khaki deputy’s uniform. The clothes were laid out almost as one would to display in a store window lacking a mannequin on which to put them. And on a bush nearby was a patch of white. Reaching for the radio microphone, Sky descended for a closer look. When he saw what the white items were, he almost dropped the mike.

“Hummingbird to Sheriff’s Car Five. Are you there, Harry? Over.”
Deputy Tyler took up the handset.
“We’re a couple miles behind you, Mr. Ryder. I can see you circling west of the road. Have you found something? Over.”
“I sure have. I’m not sure what. It could be a sign to find the women, or it could be a decoy or a trap, but there’s something in them trees up here. I’ll keep circling until you come up. Over.”
Sheriff Winchell’s voice broke in.
“I’m almost there, Sky. We can see you too. We’re not more than ten minutes away. Over.”
“Good work, Winch. I don’t know who are the prisoners or the fugitives anymore, but somebody’s going to need our help. Over.”
“Whoever it is, we’ll be there,” replied Winchell. “Step on it Harry. Sheriff out.”
Tyler hung the handset on its hook and looked wearily at Rivera.
“You see, Andy? Nobody knows what this is about.”

Sherry Johnson was grateful that the car had stopped. A ride in a car trunk while naked, bound and gagged was not a very comfortable experience. The blindfolded woman guessed that the car was parked in the shade, judging from the sudden relief from the heat. To keep from thinking about the pull on her tied elbows behind her and what Dora planned for her and Marie, Sherry tried to concentrate on pleasant thoughts of eventual rescue. But she kept coming back to the events that had brought her here.
It was difficult to believe that it was now almost exactly twenty-four hours since her decision to try to escape from custody and clear herself. She remembered Copper’s advice to go back to jail and let Sky and the authorities do the investigating. It had seemed intolerable advice at the time, but compared to being inescapably tied up in a hot car trunk jail did not look too bad.
A gagged groan came from Marie next to her. Watching Marie being forced to strip completely and be so cruelly tied by Dora had almost made Sherry feel sorry for her. Marie had wanted only money, but the crazed light in Dora’s eyes as she bound the younger woman made Sherry afraid for her. And for herself as well, for it seemed that Dora was only too eager to blame other women for her husband’s philandering. The fact that Sherry had wanted nothing to do with her boss while Marie had helped him steal and put the blame on her had no effect on Dora’s rage.
She tried not to think about what Dora had planned for them. All Sherry could do was hope that help would come soon.
The jingle of keys in the lock and a sudden rush of fresh air told her that the trunk was now open.
“I hope you both had a very pleasant ride.” It was Dora’s voice, though her tone was anything but pleasant. “Now you’ve reached the end of the line.”
Before Sherry could wonder what that phrase meant, she felt Dora’s hands on her, pulling her to a sitting position and, surprisingly, lifting her from the trunk. Her bare feet were in grass, and Dora leaned her against the rear of the car. The helpless, still blindfolded beauty waited, breathing the cooler air gratefully through her nose. Someone’s skin touched her shoulder. She guessed that Marie had been placed beside her. She felt fingers pulling on the tape over her eyes. When it fell away, the girl blinked while her eyes adjusted to the noticeably slanting sunlight of the early October noon. Dora was removing the tape from Marie’s eyes. Sherry looked sympathetically at her fellow prisoner as she blinked her eyes clear.
A smiling Dora watched them, arms folded across her chest.
“I had to take off those blindfolds for a few minutes,” she said with relish. “After all, I wouldn’t want you to be in suspense about what’s coming to you.”
The woman stepped aside and swept her arm like a magician presenting the scene for his greatest trick. Both women screamed into their gags.
From a nearby tree limb hung two thick ropes. At the end of each rope was a noose.


CHAPTER 11

Deputy Harry Tyler checked his revolver to be sure it was loaded. There were five rounds in the cylinder arranged so that the hammer would rest on an empty chamber. Tyler looked at Deputy Andy Rivera behind the wheel of the squad car. Rivera had checked his weapon while Tyler was making the radio call to the Sheriff about their location and intention to search the area just west of the road. Now the young deputy sat clenching the steering wheel of the stopped car and staring at the wooded area to their right. He licked his lips.
“You think it might be a trap, Harry?” he asked quietly.
Tyler sighed.
“I don’t know. If it is going to be a trap, I wish I had a clue about who might be springing it on us. Police work usually isn’t like this, Andy. Generally you know who it is you’re chasing, who you’re trying to save, and what it’s all about.”
Rivera nodded, not taking his eyes from the trees. He was only twenty-four and had been on the force for a little more than a year. Tyler was almost ten years older, and had never seen a case quite like this. He didn’t blame the young man for being nervous.
“You ready?” asked Tyler.
Rivera licked his dry lips again and nodded. His eyes never strayed from the cottonwoods.
Tyler opened his door and stepped out. He held his pistol pointed skyward for safety. Rivera followed his lead. They headed for the trees.

Sky Ryder kept circling. He saw the two deputies make their way cautiously toward the trees and disappear into them. His eye was caught by something on the road far to the north. Peering into the distance, he could make out the flashing red light of a police car. It had to be Winchell and Barnes. He would feel much better with an old hand like Winch on the job.
When Sky looked below him again, he saw one of the deputies running at top speed from the trees toward the car. In an instant his radio barked at him.
“Hummingbird, this is Car Five. Do you read me? Over.”
It was the younger deputy, Rivera, Sky noted. He grabbed his microphone up.
“This is Hummingbird, Car Five. What have you found? Over.”
“It’s your niece, Mr. Ryder. She and Amy were in there. They’re all tied up and have hardly any clothes, but they’re all right.”
Sky let out a long breath of relief.
“Mr. Ryder, your niece says to go on ahead and look for the Wilberforce car. The Johnson girl and Marie Sanders are with Mrs. Wilberforce, her prisoners, and they need help. Over.”
“Okay, Rivera. Get Copper on the radio to fill me in as quickly as you can. Over.”
“Roger, Mr. Ryder. She’s putting on some clothes now. She’ll be with you in a couple minutes. Car Five out.”
Sky hung the mike on its hook and headed on south. He had to find that car.

Sherry and Marie stared in disbelief at the two nooses Dora had hung over a sturdy cottonwood limb twenty or thirty yards away. The banker’s wife burst into a bone-chilling laugh worthy of a mad scientist in a melodrama.
“Sixty or seventy years ago you’d be hanged for stealing cattle in these parts,” said Dora cheerfully. “And my husband’s on about the same level as cattle, so it’s a fitting punishment for your crimes.”
She stepped between the two women and with either hand took hold of the double strands of rope that she had strung through their pubic areas. She pulled, drawing gagged shrieks from both women.
“Your worst crime is being led around by these too much,” she said, tugging on the ropes again. “John can be a louse, but he wouldn’t go after a woman unless she egged him on.”
Both women shook their heads violently only to have Dora pull on the ropes again. She let them moan into their gags for a full minute before letting up.
“Well, enough sermonizing,” Dora announced. “Let’s get to it.”
She bent over and hoisted Sherry to her right shoulder. After making a military style about face, she began marching stiffly to the tree. Like a demented child she sang the Chopin Funeral March as she carried her helpless victim back to the nooses.
Sherry squirmed and struggled but it was useless. Tied as she was, she would have needed hours to get free, if she could even then. She mewed protests into her gag, but Dora was beyond listening. It was not until they reached the nooses that Sherry saw that the ropes hung less than three feet off the ground. Her hopes that Dora’s madness had affected her judgment were dashed when Dora began lowering her from her shoulder.
“On your knees, girl.”
Dora took a short piece of rope from her pocket and made another hogtie-style connection from Sherry’s ankle bonds to the line around her waist. She took hold of the noose.
“Now here’s your lesson in humility, Miss Johnson. I hope you can take it as well as I took mine.”
She put the noose around the girl’s neck and tightened it. There was still enough slack that a couple inches of the thick rope lay on her shoulder. Dora walked to the tree trunk where she had tied off the other end of the rope. She released the knot and pulled the slack out. With a muffled cry, Sherry straightened up as the rope tightened around her throat.
“Just keep your head up and you have nothing to worry about,” she said as she retied the rope. “For a while.”
Dora sidled back to Sherry, enjoying the view. She folded her arms across her breasts and stood in front of her captive. There were tears in Sherry’s eyes as the naked, helpless girl shook her head and made muffled pleas to Dora.
“Oh, how pretty!” said Dora mockingly. She reached down and took Sherry’s nipples in her hands and squeezed them. “Humility, my girl. You have to learn it. With that lovely face and body, it’s easy for a girl to get a big ego. I’ll bet that it was easy for you to get my John to fall for you. Well, soon there won’t be anyone falling for you ever again.”
She might have said or done more to torment her helpless victim, but her attention was drawn to Marie. Seeing what the woman had done to Sherry was too much for Marie. The bound, nude blonde began hopping in a desperate, hopeless attempt to get to the highway.
Dora laughed.
“Going somewhere, Marie?”
Toying with her prey, Dora started walking very slowly after her.

“Calling Hummingbird, calling Hummingbird, this is Copper in Car Five. Do you read me, Uncle Sky? Over.”
Sky Ryder quickly took up the handset.
“Is that you, Copper? Thank God you’re safe.”
Copper stood at the open door of Tyler’s patrol car. She had put on the blue jeans and light blue shirt she had given to Sherry the afternoon before. Deputy Cole was back in uniform, though, like Copper, she had no shoes. Tyler and Rivera stood close by, and Sheriff Winchell and Deputy Barnes were getting out of their car not many yards away.
“Yeah, I’m fine, Uncle Sky, and so’s Amy, I mean Deputy Cole. But you’ve got to help Sherry and Marie. Something’s happened to Mrs. Wilberforce. I think she went crazy. She’s got them and I think she’s going to hang them.”
“Hang them?” cried Sky. “That’s not possible.”
“Oh, it’s possible all right,” the girl retorted. “When she captured me I saw that she had a couple really thick ropes. She didn’t use that rope to tie us. And she was just ranting and raving about them as she tied me up. We’ve got to help them.”
Sheriff Winchell took the microphone from the girl.
“You think there’s anything to this, Sky? Over”
“If Copper saw the ropes, we can’t afford not to take it seriously,” the flyer said gravely. “I’ll go on ahead and see if I can spot her. Come as fast as you can. Over.”
“Roger, Sky. Winchell out.”
He looked at the circle of faces around him.
“Let’s get started. Amy, you come with us. Harry, you and Andy take Copper with you. Keep your eyes open and your ear to the radio.”
They piled into the two cars. The Sheriff took the lead.

Marie did not even consider that hers was a hopeless race. She hopped as fast as she was able, knowing that if she fell her infinitesimally small chance of escape or finding help would disappear completely. She could hear Dora’s laughter behind her and turned a couple of times to see how close her pursuer was. Dora was just strolling, but she gained so quickly on Marie that there was obviously only one outcome of the mismatch. Every few seconds Dora would call out ‘I’m gaining’ or ‘Better go faster’ or some other mocking comment. Finally, as Dora came within five yards or so, Marie lost her balance and fell with an agonizing cry into her gag.
Dora stooped over and pulled Marie to a sitting position.
“No broken bones, eh?” Dora asked. “Well, even if there were, there wouldn’t have been time for them to heal. Come on. Let’s join your friend for the party.”
She tried to hoist Marie on her shoulder as she had Sherry, but the panic-stricken blonde fought her with everything she had, kicking out with her bound legs and twisting and turning her body as Dora tried to get a grip on her. She was like a fish out of water trying to avoid the hands of the fisherman, and for a minute or two she was successful. Dora was able to reach the crotchrope and give a firm pull. Marie stopped, as much from exhaustion as from the shock of the rope against her private parts.
“That’s better, dear,” said Dora with unnatural calm. “You’ll mess my hair.”
She smoothed the sides of her coif and took Marie on her shoulder. Repeating her vocal performance of the funeral march, she almost goose-stepped her prisoner to the execution tree and put her on her knees next to Sherry. A hogtie connection was made to Marie’s bonds as well. The blonde was sobbing.
“Don’t worry, dear. This shouldn’t take too long.” She placed the noose around Marie’s neck. “I’m sorry we don’t have a chaplain here, but you two know all too well what your sins are, don’t you?”
The noose was tightened and Dora took the slack out as she had with Sherry. Marie struggled to stay upright. Dora tied off the rope and walked in front of the two again. Sherry was already tiring of keeping herself up so straight. Dora took a nipple of each girl in her hand and squeezed. She seemed not to hear their gagged pleas and cries.
“You do understand that this isn’t vengeance but justice, don’t you? You’ve ruined a man’s life and mine too, so you must be made to pay.”
The bound women both looked across the road. Dora looked too.
“Ah, yes, a beautiful bird. Or is it the angel of death come to take you? Well, you’ll soon find out. Would you care for blindfolds?”
Stretched out as they were it was difficult to tell if either woman nodded.
“Since I don’t care to watch your faces, you shall have them.”
She returned to the car and brought back a cheap white dishtowel. She tore two long strips from it and bound both girls’ eyes.
“Now we’re ready,” she pronounced.
Dora took a step to the tree and reached for the knots. A voice rang out.
“Dora Wilberforce! Give it up!”
It was the voice of Sky Ryder. He was within fifty yards of the tree, pistol ready in his hand.
She looked back at him, uncomprehending, then turned back to reach for the rope. A shot rang out. Bark flew from the tree a foot or so from her hand. She looked at him again, puzzled, and reached again. Sky fired again, hitting the tree even closer to the knot she had reached for. She looked at him a third time.
“Don’t you want me to do this, John?” she asked.
The two Sheriff’s cars pulled up at the edge of the road and their occupants were quickly out and heading for them.
“No, Dora, don’t.” Sky realized at once that he was dealing with a person who had lost her senses. “Please don’t, Dora. It’s not right.”
Dora sighed deeply then smiled rather shyly at him.
“Can we go home now, John?”
“Yes. Let’s do that.”
She took a step toward him, but was distracted by Winchell, and Tyler who were removing the nooses from Sherry’s and Marie’s necks. Amy Cole and Copper started to untie the women. Dora looked curiously at the activity. The crazed expression in her eyes faded momentarily.
“Oh, my God!” she screamed, and began to cry.
As Dora collapsed in a sobbing heap, Amy Cole and Deputy Barnes went to her assistance. Deputy Rivera replaced Cole working on Marie’s bonds. Winchell stared sadly at the hysterical woman as he joined Sky.
“A simple little open and shut case, wasn’t it, Sky?”
Sky Ryder chuckled grimly.
“All this over money!” He shook his head. “What a waste!”

A handcuffed Dora Wilberforce was asleep in the back of the Sheriff’s car watched by Deputy Barnes. Marie, dressed in some old clothes Sky kept in his plane for emergencies, was also handcuffed sitting on the edge of the back seat of Tyler’s car guarded by him. Deputy Rivera was on the radio, calling for ambulances. Sky, Copper, Winchell, Deputy Cole, and Sherry, wearing one of the Sheriff’s spare uniforms, stood between the cars. Sherry was apologizing to Winchell and Amy.
“I really don’t know what came over me in that courtroom,” she said. “I’ve never done anything like that before and I certainly never will again, Sheriff.”
She turned to Amy.
“I especially owe you an apology, Deputy. You were very good to me all the time I had you to watch me, and I betrayed you. I need to apologize to the nurse, too.”
“And to Jeanne Hall,” added Amy, “for tying her up and stealing her car.”
Sherry nodded. “It seems I’ve got quite a lot to answer for. So you’d better take me in.”
She turned her back to Deputy Cole and put her hands behind her back.
“Put on the cuffs, Deputy. I deserve it.”
Amy hesitated, looking at Winchell.
“Well, I don’t know if we have to do that.”
Sherry looked back over her shoulder, keeping her hands presented to Amy.
“I insist,” she urged. “Yesterday I thought that being handcuffed and taken to jail was the worst thing that could happen to me. But just a little while ago, I wished I could have gone back to jail.”
Amy looked at Winchell again.
“Sheriff?”
“Well, we will have to take her in. Technically, she’s still a fugitive until that verdict is vacated.”
Amy reached to her belt only to find her handcuff case empty. Winchell gave her his cuffs. She secured Sherry’s wrists behind her back. The girl laughed.
“There. Now I know I’m safe.”
“What’ll happen to Mrs. Wilberforce, Sheriff?” asked Copper.
“I don’t know, Copper,” Winchell replied. “It’s a pretty sad case. The doctors will have to examine her to determine her sanity.”
“I guess the shock of having a husband abandon her and ruin their lives was just too much for her,” Copper said sadly.
“We’re all sorry for her, Copper,” put in Sky. “But she came fairly close to committing murder. Sherry certainly learned something about taking the law into her own hands and so will Dora Wilberforce.”
Sherry looked at all of them.
“I just want to say thanks to all of you for what you’ve done for me the last two days,” she said earnestly. “And especially to Copper and Sky for always believing that I was innocent.”
Copper hugged her handcuffed friend.
“You can always count on your real friends,” she said with a smile.

On the following Monday they were all in court again. Sherry’s conviction was thrown out in light of the new evidence obtained and the confessions of Marie Sanders and John Wilberforce. Though Sherry had a new list of offenses against her, none of the women involved decided to press charges against her, Ruth Leeson and Jeanne Hall even speaking in her behalf. Sherry Johnson walked out of the courtroom a free woman.
Sky, Copper, and Winchell paused on the courthouse steps watching as Sherry spoke briefly with a couple reporters then walked away arm in arm with her attorney. Other reporters and small crowds of spectators were clustered around Ruth Leeson, Patty Brennan, Rita Everett, and Liz Martin. Jeanne Hall managed to avoid the prying of the press with the help of a big, good-looking young fellow from her office.
The three strolled across the street to Jeb’s Café. Inside Sky noticed George, the night bank guard, sitting by Jeb’s radio listening to the start of the World Series game. George looked miserable.
“What’s wrong George?” asked Sky. “You upset about Wilberforce being under arrest?”
“Oh, no,” said George hastily. “He deserved it. It’s just…”
“What?”
“Well, I made a bet with him on the Series. I took the Yanks for ten bucks and now all the Dodgers have to do is win today and the Series is over. Even if he’s in jail, I’ve got to pay him.”
“You have to have faith in your team, George,” Copper said cheerfully.
George shook his head glumly.
“They’ve got Maglie going today and the Yankees are starting that bum Larsen. I don’t think that—“
He stopped to hear Red Barber call Larsen’s first pitch to Gilliam. It was outside for a ball.
“This is going to be something,” muttered George.
Sky, Copper, and the Sheriff seated themselves at a table.
“Everything’s ended very well,” pronounced Copper with satisfaction. “There’s only one more thing I need to make it perfect.”
“What’s that?” asked her uncle.
Copper smiled knowingly at Sky.
“What was the name you suggested to my mother and father that was so bad they decided on Coppelia instead?”
“Yeah, Sky,” put in Winchell. “I’d like to know too.”
Sky looked flustered.
“I think it’s a beautiful name,” he said unconvincingly. “It’s just a little unusual, that’s all.”
Copper folded her arms over her chest and cocked her head to one side.
“What was it?” she insisted.
Sky hesitated, his expression hinting that he’d rather be somewhere else. He picked up a menu and fussed with it
“It was…”
They looked at him expectantly.
“Gwendoline,” he mumbled.
Winchell laughed. Copper groaned.
“That’s terrible, Uncle Sky.”
She started to laugh along with Winchell.
Sky pretended to be absorbed in the menu.
“Let’s just order, shall we?”
They just kept laughing.

THE END