Sky and the Hijackers

Fiction by Frank Knebel

Chapter 12

Deputy Bill Harrison put the telephone handset back on the cradle and looked up at a pensive Sheriff Winchell.

     “No answer at Martha’s store again, Sheriff.”

     Winchell stroked his mustache and glanced at Sky Ryder who was standing a few feet away looking intently at the large wall map of the area.

     “Get Charlie on the phone, Bill,” Winchell said decisively. “We have to have Bonnie back here at the radio to free up everybody else for the field. Then I want you to radio Sergeant Boyer. We need at least six men from him. They’ll be coming on the right road to bring in Ben and Al as they come.” He turned to Deputy Steve Cooley at the desk. “Start calling the men on the second shift and have as many as you can find get in here.”

     “Right, Sheriff,” said Cooley, picking up his phone.

     As the two deputies made their calls, Winchell stepped over to Sky. The rancher was scanning the area north of town.

     “What’s the best way to help those women, Sky?”

     “Since he mentioned the Grand Canyon, they must be headed either northwest or west-northwest,” said Sky, sweeping his hand over part of the map. “Do we have anyone who can get close enough to spot them in the next half hour?”

     Winchell turned back to Harrison.

     “Where were Harry and Andy at last report?” Winchell asked.

     “They were coming up on the Mason place about fifteen minutes ago.”

     Winchell looked back to the map and stabbed a finger at a spot in the general area.

     “There. If you’re right about their course, they should be able to spot the plane pretty soon.”

     “Alert Harry then. Have him watch for signs of a parachute.”

     “A parachute?” Winchell asked.

     Sky nodded.

     “You heard him say that he was going to be leaving Copper and Mrs. Vinson on their own. How else could he do that except by bailing out?”

     Winchell nodded slowly.

     “I guess you’re right, Sky. But what can we do to help those women if he does bail out. He must have tied them up or done something so they can’t fly the plane. Do you figure on doing some wing-walking to get in there?”

     Sky gave his old friend an odd look.

     “I have a feeling we may not have to do anything.”

Laughton looked out the plane’s window, craning his neck to give him a good view of the ground below. With a friendly smile at his two helpless passengers, he leaned forward and flipped the switch to engage the automatic pilot.

     “Well, ladies, it’s been a lot of fun, but I’m afraid that this is my stop. You’ve got plenty of fuel, so by my calculations you should have about four or five hours of flying time, depending on the winds. If you don’t run into a mountain you might reach Kansas. Of course, you might just be able to wiggle out of those ropes.” He paused and smiled wider. “But I wouldn’t count on it. Have a pleasant flight.”

     He released his seatbelt and opened the door enough to slide out. Then he was gone.

     Immediately, Copper began working at the ropes that bound her. She knew, however, that their best chance at freedom was May Vinson cutting herself free with the knife Laughton had dropped. With difficulty, she turned her head to see if May still had the knife. The slender woman saw Copper looking expectantly at her and turned as best she could. Copper saw the glint of the blade in May’s fingers. She nodded to May, who began to saw at the ropes around her wrists.

“There it is, Harry!” Deputy Andy Rivera said excitedly as he pointed at the white parachute drifting down to the northwest. “Do you think that there’s someone waiting for the guy who’s jumping?”

     Deputy Harry Tyler nodded as he drove.

     “This is pretty rough and dry country to be stranded. I wouldn’t jump around here if there weren’t anyone close to the spot I was going to come down.”

     Despite what Tyler had said, he did not turn the car to the north at the next road junction, but continued west.

     “How come we’re not heading for them?” asked Rivera.

     “We’re too far away to catch them with the parachute open. If my guess is right, after the jumper’s picked up, they’re going to head back for town. If we wait behind that little hill near the Watson place, we’ll be able to see them pass without them seeing us. Maybe we can follow them to their hideout.”

     Rivera let out a breath and shook his head.

     “Kind of a long shot there, isn’t it? How will we know them when they pass?”

     “Between the two of us, we know all the families that live out this way. We follow the car we don’t recognize.”

     “Kind of a long shot,” Rivera repeated.

     “Piece o’ cake,” said Tyler.

     But secretly, he agreed with his partner.

Ritchie shaded his eyes with his hand as he watched the chute descend. He was surprised at how much faster the white canopy seemed to move as it got closer. The chute’s fall had appeared so slow and graceful at first. Now it was moving with alarming speed, especially since Ritchie now realized that the wind was carrying it north of him. He moved the car a half mile or so and waited. Finally, with a tucking in of his knees, the figure at the end of the lines touched down and rolled a couple times. Instantly, he was on his feet again, gathering up the lines of the chute. Ritchie got out of the car and trotted off to help.

     Laughton handed the chute and its traces to Ritchie while he unbuckled the harness.

     “How’d everything go?” asked Ritchie.

     Laughton looked skyward at the plane, now a small spot in the sky to the northwest. He looked at his partner with an amiable smile.

     “It went just fine.”

When Deputy Sue Kendall heard the pounding on the door of Martha Winthrop’s store and the voices calling, she did her best to cry out to whoever was there. She had little hope of being heard, since customers had tried to raise anyone in the store several times that way, and the prisoners’ cries had gone unheeded. But this time Sue was startled and relieved to hear the breaking of glass.

     “Sue! Mrs. Ryder! Are you in here? It’s Deputy Barnes!”

     Sue squealed into her gag at maximum volume. Charlie Barnes and a woman were coming through the store calling to her. Sue thumped her bound feet on the floor and cried into the gag again. This time she heard Martha doing the same.

     “They must be in theauh!” said a woman’s voice. Sue recognized Bonnie Johnson’s drawl.

     The helpless deputy saw the door swing toward her. Barnes stood there, his pistol drawn. Bonnie was behind him holding Sue’s gunbelt.

Deputy Harry Tyler raised himself on his elbows and trained his field glasses on the approaching vehicle. A few feet below him Andy Rivera, now in the driver’s seat of the car peered up at his partner.

     “Anything?” he asked.

     Tyler continued to study to vehicle for a few moments.

     “Nope. It’s that old DeSoto that Elmer Jensen’s wife drives when she comes into town to do her shopping.”

     Rivera watched the car pass on the highway ahead. The low hill they had chosen gave them excellent cover from anyone on the road but, in order to get a good look at the oncoming cars, it had been necessary for one of them to climb to the crest. The ridge sloped down toward the road at the end, so Tyler was only a few feet from the car and well hidden by scrub brush.

     “What happens if they’ve headed away from town?” asked Rivera.

     “If we don’t see anything in half an hour or so, we’ll head west and see if they’re trying to get back to town that way.” He raised the glasses again. “Here comes another one.”

     Rivera watched him studying the car. When Harry spoke again his voice was urgent.

     “Get ready, Andy,” Tyler said. “It’s a car I don’t recognize, and there are two men in it.”

     Rivera started the engine as Tyler scrambled down the slope and into the car. A dark sedan appeared on the highway ahead.

     “Not too close now,” Tyler cautioned. “We don’t want ‘em to spot the car.”

     Rivera grinned at his partner.

     “You can count on me, Cisco. Let’s went.”

     He put the car in gear and started in pursuit of the sedan.

Bonnie Johnson unlocked Sue’s right wrist from its cuff. The slender, dark-haired deputy swung her left hand around in front of her and, with the cuff still dangling, began to massage her right wrist. The ropes that had bound her and the cloth and tape that had gagged her lay on the floor all around her. Deputy Charlie Barnes was cutting the ropes from Martha Winthrop’s wrists.

     “... And then they made Mrs. Ryder take off all her clothes,” Sue said, gesturing to the pile of Julie’s clothes near the door between the rooms. “They tied Martha and me together while she undressed, then they tied and gagged her and carried her out the back way.”

     Sue raised her left wrist and unlocked the cuff with her right hand.

     “We’d better tell the Sheriff right away,” said Barnes as he finished freeing Martha.

     “I’ll do it, Charlie,” said Bonnie. “And I’ll use the phone to keep those varmints from heauhn' anuhthing on the radio.”

     Martha brought her hands around in front and gently rubbed her marked wrists.

     “Thank you, Deputy,” she said gratefully.

     Sue looked at Martha with narrowed eyes.

     “I don’t think you’ll thank me for this though, Martha.”

     With a quick and deft move, the deputy stepped forward and snapped the cuff she had just unlocked from her own wrist onto Martha’s right hand.

     “What are you doing, Sue?” cried Martha, in evident alarm and astonishment.

     Sue pulled Martha’s arm behind her and raised it in a partial hammerlock.

     “If I’m wrong about this, I’ll apologize later, Martha,” said Sue, grabbing the storekeeper’s other wrist and twisting it back to join the right. “But Julie told me about someone giving away inside information to the gang, and said that Sky thought it might be you. So I’m not taking any chances.”

     Barnes pushed his hat back on his head and looked at Sue wonderingly.

     “Are you sure about this, Sue?”

     “It’s one of the last things we talked about before they grabbed us this morning.”

     “But you’re wrong, Sue! I wouldn’t help anyone try to hurt Karen and Jill. They’re my friends. And you know yourself that the gang’s attacked me three times now.”

     “And that could all be for show,” said Sue. “Until I’m sure, you’re going in the office.”

     Barnes smiled slightly and patted Martha on the shoulder.

     “Better come along, Martha. If it turns out we’re wrong, I’ll let you use my cuffs on Sue.”

     He winked at her. Despite her indignation, Martha could not keep from smiling.

No matter how Copper Ryder tried, she could not pull her wrists from the loops of rope that bound them together. Laughton had cinched the cords securely and, with her arms pressed to her sides and her hands trapped between her own back and the seat of the plane, the girl could not find enough leverage to free herself. A glance at the controls told her that the autopilot was working perfectly, but that meant only that the plane would continue to fly until it ran out of fuel and crashed, killing its helpless occupants in a few hours instead of immediately. The knife that the kidnapper had dropped and May Vinson had found was their only hope.

     Copper struggled to look back. The loops that ran from the seat braces around her throat kept her from leaning forward or turning easily, but May had slid to the right side of the rear seat and Copper could see her fairly well from the left-hand seat in front. May was leaning far forward and facing down, apparently concentrating intently on the work going on behind her back. Suddenly she straightened up and gave a little shriek of triumph into the cloth packing and tape of her gag. As Copper watched in growing excitement, the woman struggled to slide her arms out from behind her back. Though her hands were free, the loops around her arms and body allowed her arms a minimum of mobility. But by bending her arms at the elbow, May was able to get her hands in front of her. In her right hand she held the small but gleaming knife. Not even waiting to remove that gag from her mouth, May started sawing the ropes holding Copper to her seat.

“Excuse me, Sheriff,” said Deputy Harrison. “But there’s a man on the phone who insists on speaking to you.”

     Sky and Winchell had been discussing the possible meanings of Julie’s disappearance from Martha Winthrop’s store as they awaited the return of Barnes and Dispatcher Johnson.

     “Did you explain to him that this is a very busy day for us?” Winchell asked.

     The bespectacled deputy shrugged.

     “He won’t take ‘no’ for an answer.”

     Sky put his hand on Winchell’s shoulder.

     “Maybe you’d better talk to him, Winch.”

     The two men exchanged a brief but significant glance.

     “Yeah, maybe I’d better.” He took the phone from Harrison. “Sheriff Winchell here. What can I do for you?”

     “Oh, you might do many things for us, Sheriff,” said the cultured voice on the other end. “But the first thing on the list might be more a favor for the daughters of an old friend of yours, the Irons sisters.”

     “What’s this got to do with them?” the Sheriff demanded.

     Paul Watling looked through the glass partition that separated one of the old factory offices from the other. He could see the Irons sisters and Julie Ryder lying on mattresses on the floor. All three women were helplessly bound, gagged and blindfolded. Julie was nude; the two sisters wore only their panties.

     “Only to note that they’re remarkably beautiful women, my dear fellow,” Watling said suavely. “Both of them have excellent bodies, I would say, and I’m a very good judge when I can see so much of a woman displayed. The ropes do add a certain appeal that even the most revealing and alluring clothing could not.”

     “All right,” Winchell said coolly. “We’ve established that no matter how well spoken you are that you’re a animal. What are you going to do with them?”

     “Why nothing, nothing at all. They’re quite safe right now, though probably a bit uncomfortable. They’ll remain unharmed as long as you and Mr. Ryder do nothing more to hinder my men. You’ll notice that I’ve added you and your office to my demand today. You were very clever last week in having Ryder avoid using his plane but aiding in other ways. Today you must all stay out of our way if you want to see them returned.”

     “And what about Julie Ryder and Deputy Cole? What happens to them?”

     Watling paused and looked curiously at the three bound women.

     “Mrs. Ryder will be returned as well. As for the lovely deputy I’ve heard so much about, I know nothing of her whereabouts.”

     “You expect us to believe that?” Winchell demanded. “And you expect us to just stand by while you kill Sky’s niece and another woman? You’re not only a perverse animal, you’re a stupid one, too.”

     “You’re trying my patience and my good nature, Sheriff.” His voice had lost some of its easy affability. “I’ll consider what can be done for the women in the plane, but you and Mr. Ryder must stay out of our affairs.”

     He hung up the phone. Rowlands, Bradford and Healy were standing just outside the office. Rowlands took a step forward.

     “Well, are they going to cooperate?” Rowlands asked.

     “The Sheriff is not a fool, as you’ve often told me,” Watling replied. “They have no choice but to go along with us.”

     Watling looked at Rowlands’ car parked inside the large truck door, then at the room around him. It was large, but much of it was cluttered with old machinery and boxes.

     “You there, Bradford,” said Watling. “We must make room for the cars of the other two parties we have still out. Take this car outside and park it on the street. I’ll have a job for you and Rowlands in a few minutes.”

     Bradford looked at Rowlands. Rowlands nodded. As the big man got in the car and started it, Reeves went to open the door. Rowlands hoped that neither Watling nor Healy saw him unbutton his suitcoat for faster access to his pistol. He suddenly felt uneasy again.

     “Come, Rowlands,” said Watling. “I want you to separate Mrs. Ryder from the other prisoners. My wife has some different plans for our two young trucker ladies.”

     Before Rowlands could take a step toward the office where the prisoners were being kept, Mary La Rocque stepped out of it.

     “What was that I heard about other plans for the two sisters?” she asked.

     “Merely that my wife has something in mind for them,” he replied.

     Rowlands stopped in surprise. He had always assumed that Mary was Watling’s wife. He looked directly at Mary, but she had her eyes on her boss.

     “I was going to take a short break,” she said, “but changes in plans make me nervous.”

     “Relax, my dear. It’s nothing that will concern you. I assume you need directions to the ladies room. Healy can show you where it is.”

     Healy sauntered forward. A grin spread over his handsome face.

     “I’d be glad to ma’am.”

     Mary surveyed him coolly.

     “Never mind,” she said flatly. “Just tell me where it is. I’m a big girl.”

     “And in all the right places too,” Healy said.

     Watling bristled slightly and opened his mouth, but Mary cut him off.

     “Too bad we don’t all have it in the right places.”

     She strode off toward the small washroom visible through its open door across the room. Healy watched her pass, his smile now a bit pained. Watling beckoned Rowlands to his side and spoke in a low voice.

     “I want you to take Mrs. Ryder into the shop area on the other side of the wall.” He pointed to a door in the wall that divided the building into two almost equal spaces. “There are some offices on that side too. You can find a place for her there.”

     “What’s up?” Rowlands asked.

     “It’s a private matter,” he said. He still maintained his affable front, but Rowlands could tell from the tightness in his voice that he was agitated and angry about something.

     “You’re the boss,” was all he said.

     He went into the office and lifted Julie Ryder onto his shoulder and carried her through the room to the indicated door. He stopped briefly when a horn sounded outside. Reeves ran the sliding door open for a car to enter. It was the sedan driven by Monroe. He and Strothers were in the front seat. In the back, Rowlands could see Jean and Lisa. The two women were almost giddy with self-satisfaction. He took Julie through the door as the car’s occupants spilled out.

     “I take it that there’s good news?” asked Watling, rubbing his hands.

The ropes holding Copper’s wrists together parted. With a cry of delight, greatly muffled by her gag, the girl pulled her hands from behind her back and took the knife from May Vinson. She sawed at the loops of cord around her arms and body just below her bust. The ropes separated and Copper pulled them off. She severed the loops around her neck then laid the knife on the right-hand front seat for a moment as she peeled the tape from her mouth then untied the gag and removed the wadding.

     “Thanks, Mrs. Vinson,” she gasped. “I hate to make you wait, but I’d better get the plane under control and radio in before I finish untying you.”

     The slender matron nodded and made a gagged affirmative. She tried to reach up to pull the tape from her own gag, but the ropes still securing her arms would not allow her to reach far enough. She leaned over and just managed to touch the tape. As Copper cut her own legs free, May continued to work on the corner of the tape. Finally Copper was free. She switched off the autopilot, took the yoke in both hands and turned the Hummingbird one hundred and eighty degrees about and headed back for Kermit. Noticing that her shirt was almost completely unbuttoned, she delayed taking up the radio until her modesty was restored.

     “This is the Hummingbird calling Kermit Sheriff’s office,” she said into the radio handset. “Come in please. Over.”

Rowlands carried Julie Ryder through a large, dark open area toward the small rooms on the other side of the gang’s hideout. The building they had taken over had been a small factory of wartime goods. This area had been the main shop. The side where Watling and the rest of the gang were assembling had been the packing and shipping area. There were three small supervisory offices ahead of Rowlands. He decided, for no clear reason, to put Julie in the one farthest to his left. His captive gave a little mew of discomfort.

     “Not much farther, Captain,” he said, giving her a slight pat on her bare bottom.

     He stopped dead in the doorway of the office. Though the narrow, high windows were shaded and partially painted over there was still enough light in the room for Rowlands to see that the room was already occupied. A small figure lay covered by a sheet on an old mattress in the center of the otherwise empty room. He gently laid Julie down beside the present occupant.

     “Well, well. Who do we have here?”

     He swept the sheet back from the figure’s head and upper body. Despite the tape covering her eyes and mouth, he easily recognized Amy Cole.

     “This is a pleasant surprise, Deputy,” he said, reaching for the corner of one of the blindfolding tapes. “What brings you here so early in the morning?”

     He peeled the strips of tape from her eyes. She tried to look steadily at him, but was obviously unnerved by being naked and helpless alone with him. He pulled the edge of the sheet back a bit farther and peeked under it.

     “You seem to have forgotten a few things, Deputy. It makes for a mighty nice view, but I can’t believe that you’ve gone to all this trouble for my benefit.”

     Amy breathed indignantly through her nose and averted her eyes. Rowlands stroked his chin thoughtfully.

     “I’ll just bet that our mutual blond friend did this to you, maybe to make sure that we wouldn’t run into each other today and I wouldn’t do anything foolish.”

     Amy looked back at him and nodded. He slowly lowered his hand to her breast and played lightly with her left nipple. She closed her eyes.

     “She thinks that I’ve really got it bad for you. And she’s right.” He continued to stroke her breast. “You’re not only the most beautiful woman I’ve ever seen, but you’ve got more guts than most of the men I have to work with.”

     She opened her eyes and looked directly at him.

     “I’ve dreamed about you for most of the last year, Amy. Dreamed about having you just about like this. What it’d be like. It would be a real pleasure to spend the next couple hours here alone with you.”

     He swept the sheet entirely off, revealing her nude helplessness. He let his hand slide down to her hip. He massaged it for a moment then gently moved down her outer thigh almost to her knee before starting back along the inner thigh. Amy gasped as he neared her pubic mound. He stopped and looked her in the eyes and sighed.

     “But I can’t do it. I know I’m not a very admirable man: I’ve robbed and stolen and smuggled, but I’ve never killed and I’ve never forced myself on a woman. I’m not going to start now on one who’s all tied up.”

     He took a small knife from his coat pocket and sawed at the rope connecting Amy’s hands and feet.

     “I’m gonna leave your blindfold off and cut this rope so you can move around. Then I’m gonna put the knife on the other end of the offices here. A spunky gal like you won’t have too much trouble finding it. You can cut yourself and the Captain loose and get outta here.”

     He eyed the two naked beauties with obvious appreciation.

     “It might not be easy going around the streets like that, but I think you’ll manage somehow. Bradford and I are getting out.”

     The hogtie rope separated. Amy let out a sigh of relief as she straightened her legs. Rowlands stood and showed the knife to Amy.

     “It won’t be too far away.”

     He turned to leave but stopped as though remembering something. Kneeling beside Amy, he took her in his arms and kissed her tenderly on her taped mouth. The he rose again and quickly walked from the room. Amy heard the soft clink of the knife hitting the floor as Rowlands passed the last office door.

“You say you freed yourselves with a knife that the man dropped? Over.”

     Sky Ryder released the transmit button on the radio handset.

     “That’s right, Sky,” Copper answered. “Mrs. Vinson cut me loose and I’ve got control of the plane again. I’ve just turned around and we’re headed back to the Kermit airport. Over.”

     “Good work, Copper. What did you find on your errand? Over.”

     “Your hunch was right on, Sky, though I don’t see how. Do you want his name? Over.”

     “Not right now. But I want you to take precautions. Do you understand? Over.”

     “I understand, Sky, and it should be fairly easy to do. We should be back at the airport in about twenty minutes. Over.”

     “Roger. We’ll send someone to pick you up. Sheriff’s office out.”

     “Hummingbird out.”

     Sky handed the microphone back to Bonnie Johnson, who had resumed her station at the radio. Winchell looked at Sky.

     “You called it again, Sky. Good work.”

     “We’re not home yet, Winch. We have to find out where the gang’s holed up. Do you have anyone to spare to pick up Copper and Mrs. Vinson?”

     “I’ll send Phillips and Hansen. They’ll have to take a Jeep though. We’re running out of cars.”

     “Speed won’t be too important for them. Let’s just hope that we know where to bring them by the time they reach the airport.”

By leaning down as far as possible and struggling to raise her hands despite the constricting ropes just above her waist, May Vinson had finally peeled the tape from over her gag. She pulled down the cloth tie and forced the wadding out with her tongue. For a few moments she alternately breathed and coughed.

     “Thank goodness that’s out of my mouth!” she gasped. “That’s twice in a week!”

     Copper flipped the autopilot back on and climbed awkwardly out of the seat.

     “Sorry,” she said to May. “The circulation to my legs isn’t back quite yet.”

     “That’s all right, dear,” said May. “You left the knife in the other seat. See if you can find it and cut these ropes off me.”

     Copper picked up the knife and studied the ropes around the woman’s arms and body.

     “It’s no good this way, Mrs. Vinson,” said Copper. “Your arms are so close to you that I’m afraid I’ll cut you. I’ll bet that the knot’s right in the middle of your back. If you can turn around, all I’ll have to do is cut through it and these ropes will just fall off!”

     “Do you think so?” May asked dubiously. “All right. Let’s try it.”

     The shapely matron turned. Copper tugged at the ropes experimentally.

     “I just need to move the knot a little bit. When you pulled your arms around in front, you tightened the loops a bit. See if you can move them back again so I can get some slack.”

     “Well, I don’t understand it but...”

     Copper folded the knife blade into the handle as May slid her arms back behind her. Quick as a flash, Copper leaned over and picked up a piece of the cut rope that had held her to her seat. She looped it around May’s wrists and began tying them together.

     “What are you doing, girl!” May shrieked. “Are you insane?”

     “Just taking precautions,” said Copper as she finished a knot and cinched the loops.

Paul Watling’s instructions were brief.

     “I want you and Bradford to watch what goes on at the Sheriff’s office. If there seems to be undue activity, especially headed in this direction, get back here and warn us.”

     “They don’t know about this place, do they?” asked Rowlands.

     “I don’t see how they would. But it’s been demonstrated time and again that we can’t underestimate them.”

     “Okay.”

     With the distinct feeling that he was being sent on a fool’s errand, Rowlands started for the door to the street. Mary La Rocque stood just outside the door where the bound Irons sisters lay. Rowlands slowed as he passed her.

     “Watch yourself, baby,” he said softly.

     “I can handle it,” she answered.

     Rowlands left by the pedestrian door. Jean and Lisa were recounting their wrecking of the deputies’ car for Reeves and Healy while Monroe and Strothers stood by grinning with delight. When Jean finished the part about pushing the patrol car diagonally into the telephone pole, she and Lisa went into gales of laughter.

     “It was beautiful, guys,” added Monroe. “You shoulda seen it!”

     As they continued their gaiety, Mary crossed the room to where Watling stood a little apart from the storytellers and their audience.

     “Now what are these new plans for the two blondes in there?” she asked quietly, glancing back to the room where Karen and Jill lay.

     “It’s nothing for you to worry about, my dear,” Watling said smoothly.

     She examined his expression. There was more than the usual suggestion of the affable mask to it.

     “What are you going to do with them?” she persisted, raising her voice a bit.

     He smiled.

     “You’re worrying yourself quite unnecessarily, Mary my love. You won’t be asked to do anything.”

     She raised her voice more.

     “What are you going to do, Paul?”

     The shrillness of her tone stopped the laughter of the others. They were now watching Mary and Watling.

     “All right,” he said with a glance at the others. “My wife has decided that we need to be rid of them once and for all. The bomb that I gave Egan to frighten them last week was a fake. This time we'll use a real one on this place while they’re securely bound and gagged here.”

     “You know that I told you I wouldn’t do any killing!” she shouted. “And you agreed.”

     Watling looked at the four men and two women across the room. Monroe looked uneasy, rubbing the side of his jaw then hitching up his pants. The others stared at him stonily.

     “We’ve been somewhat overtaken by events, my sweet. It’s very regrettable, but the beautiful sisters must go.”

     Mary folded her arms across her chest and planted her feet firmly.

     “Well, I won’t do it. And I won’t let you to do it either.”

     Watling looked at her for a moment, then nodded resignedly.

     “Well even the best-laid plans must be altered at times,” he said with a shrug. “In this case we’ll have to ---“ He drew a pistol from his coat pocket and pointed it at Mary. --- “have you join our little friends.”

     He gestured to Jean and Lisa.

     “Will you two see that Miss La Rocque gets settled with our other guests?”

     Both brunettes grinned broadly.

     “I hope that means you want her just like the others,” said Jean.

     He raised an eyebrow at Mary and smiled slightly.

     “Yes. That would be most pleasing.”

     The two brunettes pounced on Mary, grabbing her by the arms and hustling her into the room where the Irons sisters lay.

     Healy took two steps forward.

     “I’ll be glad to help ‘em,” he said.

     “I doubt that they’ll need much help,” said Watling. “I’ll hold the pistol for as long as they need it.”

     A horn sounded outside the vehicle door.

     “That must be Laughton.” Watling gestured to Monroe and Strothers. “Please admit him, gentlemen. This shouldn’t take long.”

     As Monroe began sliding the door back on its overhead tracks, Healy took a furtive look around and backed toward the door into the shop room. Reeves noticed and walked over to him.

     “Where d’ y’ think you’re goin’?” he asked softly.

     “The Boss gets to have his fun with these women. I thought that Mrs. Ryder might like some company for a while.” He scanned the big man’s face. “There’s probably enough for two.”

     Reeves grinned.

     “Let’s go.”

     The two men slipped away as the others admitted Laughton and Ritchie.

“That looks like it,” said Deputy Rivera.

     The two men watched as the door was raised in answer to the car’s horn. The car and its occupants disappeared inside and the door was lowered again. Harry Tyler picked up the radio handset.

     “Time to call home,” he said laconically.

     “Car Five calling Sheriff’s office. We have located the possible hideout of the hijackers’ gang. Over.”

Jean and Lisa held Mary La Rocque’s arms. Even though Watling still held the pistol, Mary was struggling mightily against her two former underlings. Jean tried to reach for the top button of Mary’s dress, but the blonde nearly broke away.

     “Please allow me, ladies,” said Watling.

     He stepped behind Mary and undid the buttons. The blonde’s struggles continued but were weakening. Jean and Lisa were more than a match for her. When Watling finished with Mary’s dress buttons, he unhooked her bra as well.

     “That should make things a bit easier for you ladies,” Watling said as though he had just politely opened a door for them.

     The dapper man had to help a bit more, holding Mary’s arms as they peeled the dress from her upper body. When they had slipped it down to her waist and thrown her bra on the floor, they began tying her hands behind her back.

     “It’s very decent of you not to scream or beg for mercy,” Watling said appreciatively.

     “What would be the use?” Mary asked between breaths.

     “Quite right, my dear. I would be quite unmoved by your pleas, and screaming would only irritate me, I’m afraid. There’s no one around to hear you.” He answered a questioning look from Jean. “Yes, my dear. I think we’ll have everything off her.”

     “You bastard!” Mary said quietly.

     Jean threw a loop of rope around Mary’s arms and body and drew it tight enough to elicit a gasp of surprise and discomfort from her prey. Jean smiled at the blonde.

     “And I know just the thing we can use for a gag.”

“How many men will we have around the place, Winch?” asked Sky Ryder as Deputy Barnes drove the two toward the factory.

     “Harry and Andy are on the north side,” said Winchell, “and I’m sending Cooley and Harrison to help them. There’s a vehicle door on that side of the building so we’ll need some extra men there. Falk and Willard will watch the east side. There’s a door there too, but since there’ll be only two of them on that side, they’ll just make sure no one escapes that way. We’ll have the south, helped by MacKeever, Norris, Sue and Bonnie. Sergeant Boyer and three other state troopers will be on the west where there’s one door.”

     “That should do it, Winch. I just hope we can nab then without any shooting.”

     “Afraid you couldn’t hit anything with that .38 you borrowed from the Department?”

     Sky shook his head.

     “I’m more afraid that somebody’ll end up shooting someone we’re not aiming at.”

     “It’ll be a tough one if they have all four of the women as prisoners,” the Sheriff said grimly. “The boys know to shoot only if someone shoots at them first.”

     Barnes pointed to a large one-story building ahead.

     “There it is, Sheriff.”

     “Another of those old plants for producing war goods,” Sky observed as Barnes turned the car to block the street and stopped the engine.

     Winchell chuckled.

     “They used to make mess kits and canteens there.”

     They all got out of the car. Deputy Kendall and Dispatcher Johnson, looking very self- conscious with her gunbelt and pistol, were close behind. Winchell turned to Barnes.

     “Get on the radio, Charlie. Make sure everyone’s in position.”

When Healy’s eyes were fully adjusted to the much darker shop area, he was surprised to see a bound dark-haired woman inching her way along the row of offices on the opposite wall.

     “Well, you’re quite a spunky gal, Mrs. Ryder,” he said striding quickly to her and bending down. “Beats me how you got that blindfold off, but---“

     The woman looked up. It was definitely not Julie Ryder. This woman was shorter and even more voluptuous than well-built Julie.

     Healy whistled.

     “Well, just who the hell are you, baby?” he asked. “Not that I mind seeing a hot little number like you waiting here all tied up for me. But I am kinda curious.”

     He turned to Reeves. The big man looked almost sheepish.

     “She’s one of the woman deputies in town. Rowlands has kind of a thing for her, so the blonde wanted her out of the way while we finished the job. But the boss sent Rowlands in here with Mrs. Ryder and he must’ve found her.”

     Amy looked away. Healy followed her gaze and spotted something shiny a few feet to his right. He picked it up and examined it, then held it so Reeves could see it too.

     “He sure did. And he left her a little present, too. It’s a good thing we came in here, in more ways than one.” He closed the blade and tucked the knife into his pocket. “Well Reeves, which one do you want?”

     Reeves looked back and forth like a child in a store full of shiny toys. Healy drew his hand from his pocket and showed him a coin.

     “Tell you what: let’s toss for first pick.”

     Reeves licked his lips. Healy flipped the coin into the air.

     “Heads,” he said as it spun back toward his waiting hand.

Jean and Lisa lowered Mary La Rocque to the floor of the office on the other side of the building. The naked blonde was completely bound: hands behind her back, arms and body roped, and legs tied at the ankles and both above and below the knees. Jean had also insisted on a rope that ran through the blonde’s crotch and connected her tied hands in back with the loops around her waist in front. Jean picked up Mary’s panties and squeezed them into a ball. She looked up at Watling.

     “The perfect gag, don’t you think?” she asked with another grin.

     “Absolutely poetic,” said Watling. He looked at Mary. “What? No tender goodbye from you, my pet?”

     Mary gave him a venomous look but said nothing. Jean jammed the panties into her mouth, then reached for some tape to seal the gag.

     A gagged mew from Jill Irons drew Watling’s attention. Lisa had fashioned a double line noose and placed it around Jill’s neck, then run the free ends to her sister’s ankle bonds and looped them over the seize between Karen’s ankles. Jill’s stifled cry of alarm was answered by an interrogative mew from Karen. Lisa looked up at Watling.

     “We’ll do all three of them like this,” she said. “The neck of one girl to the feet of the next. It’ll keep them from trying to get themselves loose.”

     Watling beamed at her then at Jean.

     “It seems that I have now two worthy females to take Miss La Rocque’s place. From every occasion of sadness there emerges some joy.”

     When Jean finished securing Mary’s gag, she and Lisa rolled her so that her feet were near Karen Irons’ head. Lisa quickly fashioned an identical noose arrangement from Mary’s feet to Karen’s neck, then moved on to do the same with Jill’s feet and Mary’s neck.

     Laughton strolled up the office door and studied the work in progress. If he were surprised to see Mary La Rocque among the captives, he did not show it.

     “Sorry about this, my boy,” said Watling, patting him on the back. “Miss La Rocque is a woman of considerable charms, but it can’t be avoided.”

     Laughton looked at the three. Lisa was connecting the double line noose around Mary’s throat to Jill Irons’ bound ankles.

     “What a waste!” Laughton said quietly.

     “You’re young, Laughton,” said Watling. “There’ll be many more fish in your sea. Now if you’d be so good as to set up the device.”

     Laughton raised an eyebrow.

     “Device? You mean bomb, don’t you?”

     Watling shuddered.

     “Such a crude word. It’s in the next office. Just set it up, if you will.”

     Laughton stepped through the doorway to find the bomb on the table in the small room next door. He sat down and began working.

     The other men, Ritchie, Monroe and Strothers had all gathered at the door to watch the three captives. Karen and Jill still wore their panties and were blindfolded. Mary was nude but her eyes were unbound and she glared at the three men as they ogled her.

     “All right, you men,” announced Watling. “We’ll be leaving here in half an hour, so we must remove all traces of ourselves from this place. Gather up all your property and put it in the cars.”

     The three men moved to collect their gear.

     “What happened to Healy and Reeves?” Monroe asked.

     “I saw ‘em just a minute ago,” said Strothers. “They were standin’ right over---“

     Before he could finish there was a terrific crash. The wooden door covering the vehicle exit broke apart as a police car smashed through it. Noise came from every direction. Doors flew open and men in khaki uniforms appeared at all of the exits.

     “Cops!” yelled Strothers.

     He reached for the pistol under his jacket but had not even reached it when shouted demands for surrender came from the deputies. Strothers had just drawn his weapon when shots began to reverberate through the building. Strothers grabbed at his side and fell.

     Harry Tyler moved his aim from Strothers to Monroe. The younger man quickly put up his hands.

     “I give up!” he cried. “Don’t shoot!”

     Ritchie was faster with his weapon. He got off two shots. One struck the wood of the broken door behind Tyler and the other hit the wall near the smaller door where Deputies Cooley and Harrison were entering. Both men ducked behind cover and returned fire. Ritchie ran for the cover of the offices behind him. Sergeant Boyer drew a bead and fired. Ritchie fell heavily grabbing his upper thigh.

     “I’m hit!” he yelled, then lay groaning in pain.

     Sky Ryder and Sheriff Winchell sprinted toward the offices where Watling, appearing uncertain and confused, stood. He started to draw a pistol from his coat pocket, but Winchell easily disarmed him.

     “I’ll take that!” said the Sheriff.

     The two women were grappling for their handbags when Barnes and Sue Kendall appeared in the door with their pistols ready.

     “Don’t try it, gals,” warned Barnes.

     Laughton tried to run from the room where he was working but Sky grabbed him by the arm. Laughton took a well-aimed punch at the rancher’s head, but Sky ducked and landed a solid right of his own. Laughton rebounded off the doorframe behind him and tried another right hand to the side of Sky’s head. Sky parried the blow with his left and landed another right to Laughton’s midsection. As Laughton bent over, Sky finished him with a short left to the jaw. Laughton fell heavily. He rubbed his jaw with one hand while holding up the other in sign of surrender.

     “All right,” he said. “You win.”

     “Now where’s my wife?” demanded Sky.

     “And Amy!” added Harry Tyler as he ran up to the office door.

     “Who’s Amy?” asked Laughton.

     “One of the deputies,” said Sky. “Come on. Where are they?”

     Laughton pointed to the door leading to the shop area.

     “Your wife’s in there. I really don’t know where the deputy is.”

     Rivera and Winchell joined them. All four men headed for the door to the shop.

“All hell’s breaking loose,” said Bradford as he watched the patrol car break through the door.

     They could hear shots being fired inside.

     “Come on,” said Rowlands. “Drive around to the east side of the place.”

     Bradford put the car in gear and pulled up to the next corner. There was a patrol car in the street. Two uniformed deputies stood behind it watching the door but making no move to enter. Rowlands opened the door and put one foot on the pavement.

     “See if you can draw those two off, Brad. I’m going back in to make sure she’s okay.”

     “Which one: the blonde or the cute deputy?”

     Rowlands smiled grimly.

     “The blonde’s a bad girl. She can take care of herself. Come back by here in three minutes. If I’m not out by then, head for L. A.”

     “Every man for himself, eh? Okay. Watch yourself.”

     Rowlands swung the door shut and watched as Bradford turned the corner. He gunned the engine and flew past the deputies firing a couple shots in the air as he passed. The two men scrambled into their car and gave chase. Rowlands ran to the door and slipped in the building.

Reeves was reaching for his belt buckle when the commotion started.

     “What’s that?” he asked.

     Healy picked up the suitcoat he had just removed.

     “Sounds like the jig is up. We’d better clear out without dessert.”

     “What about them?” Reeves asked nodding toward Amy and Julie.

     Healy took the pistol from his belt.

     “Better to eliminate the witnesses, I say.”

     Reeves eyes widened.

     “Shoot ‘em?” he cried.

     Healy nodded.

     “It’s a waste, but better waste than do a stretch in the pen.”

     Reeves seemed ready to protest, but was distracted by gunfire in the next room.

     “We’d better get out of here,” he said.

     Healy broke open the cylinder of his revolver. He calmly checked it and snapped it closed again.

     “I’ll do both of ‘em if you can’t do it,” he told Reeves.

     Before the big man could reply, the door from the shipping area swing open and two men entered the room while two more stood in the doorway behind them. Because the shop was dark the intruders had to wait for their eyes to adjust. But there was nothing wrong with their voices.

     “Sheriff’s Department. Throw down our guns and surrender!” one of them called.

     Healy took aim and fired. Reeves followed his example. The bullet Healy fired hit something on the wall behind the first two men with a metallic clang. Reeves shot did better. One of the deputies, the taller one, cried out in pain. He did not fall, but he staggered to the cover of a wooden crate. The shorter deputy fired back, breaking glass in the office windows between the two men. Reeves and Healy fired again without effect.

     Now the other two Sheriff’s men, one taller than the other, began shooting. They had taken cover behind the sides the doorframe. Until their eyes were fully adjusted, Healy and Reeves had the advantage, but it would not last long. They both fired again.

     “We’ve got to get out of here!” yelled Reeves.

     “Maybe you’re right,” said Healy as he squeezed off another round. “I’ll cover you.”

     Healy and Amy were between Reeves and the door. The big man fired again and ran toward the door. The shorter deputy fired again. Reeves fell, his revolver clattering to the floor.

     “I’m hit, Healy,” he groaned. “It’s a bad one too. Help me.”

     “That’s too bad, Reeves,” said Healy as he reloaded. “But it’s every man for himself now.”

     The shorter deputy tried to advance from his cover by the door to a heavy workbench several yards ahead of him. But in coming forward, he was forced to stay in the open too long. Healy fired and the man fell. Healy looked at Amy.

     “Got two of your friends, darlin’,” he said. “They really made a good effort to save you but...”

     He raised his pistol and pointed it at Amy. She shook her head and tried to shrink away but it was hopeless.

     Suddenly a form leaped from the darkness behind Healy, knocking his gun arm from his target. The weapon discharged into the floor then fell a few feet from the two men. They grappled in a fierce struggle. The new man landed a punch that staggered Healy, but he counter punched hard enough to push his opponent a few feet back, then lunged into him with a shoulder, knocking him to the ground. Healy reached for his pistol only to be attacked from the other side by the shorter deputy. The struggle was unequal though. The deputy was wounded and Healy was able to knock him back off balance without much trouble.

     Suddenly the room became much lighter. Shades that covered the several long windows were rolled noisily up. From the south wall Sky Ryder could see Healy picking up his revolver. A few feet away, on his feet but unarmed and with his right arm bloody near the shoulder stood Harry Tyler. Healy aimed at Harry.

     “Drop it!” yelled Sky.

     Healy turned and looked at Sky for a few seconds before going back to Tyler. A shot sounded. The three men stood very still for a moment, Sky trying to figure out what had happened, knowing only that he had not fired. Tyler remained on his feet. Healy dropped his arm then fell to the floor. Aided by the light from the window, Tyler picked up his revolver with his left hand. Sky ran forward. The two men found Healy moaning.

     Against the wall of one of the supervisory offices was Amy Cole, nude bound and gagged, aiming Reeves’ pistol from behind her back with her tied hands. A few feet away was the slightly dazed, crouching figure of Rowlands. He looked at Amy. She shook her head and motioned toward the door with the pistol. He smiled slightly and touched a finger to his forehead in salute before dashing out of the door. Neither Sky nor Tyler made a move to stop him.

     The Sheriff joined them, supporting Andy Rivera. The young deputy had a patch of blood on the left side of his uniform shirt, but seemed fairly hale. Both Reeves and Healy were groaning in pain.

     “Looks like we’d better get some ambulances over here,” said Winchell dryly. “I’m glad to see that they’re hurt a lot worse than we are.”

     Rivera pressed a handkerchief against his bloody side.

     “What do you mean ‘we’, Sheriff?” he asked.

     Winchell smiled at Andy.

     “You’re barely even hit, son. A wound like that may bleed a bit at first, but you’ll find you can’t get any more than a couple weeks off duty for it.”

     “Winch, you’d better look after that big fellow over there,” said Sky. “I’ll help this one. Andy, if you’re well enough, see if you can get those ambulances out here.”

     The deputy was pale, but he grinned.

     “I can do it, Sky.”

     He walked only slightly unsteadily through the door into the other room.

     Harry Tyler knelt beside Amy. He tried to use his right hand to help untie her, but raising it brought a grimace of pain to his face. Using his left hand, he peeled the tape away from Amy’s mouth.

     “I’ll have you loose in a second, Amy. Pretty good shooting for being tied up and in the dark. I wonder if there’s a marksmanship event for that.” He finished with the tape and pulled down the tie holding the gag in her mouth. “And I especially wonder what the proper way is to thank a fellow officer for saving your life.”

     Amy spat out the gag wadding. She ran her tongue over her lips and took a few deep breaths.

     “I think you know what to do,” she said looking up at him.

     He leaned down and kissed her. When they slowly leaned away from one another they both smiled.

     “I’m forgetting my manners,” he said reaching down to untie a knot.

     “And you’re forgetting your manners too, Sky,” said Amy. “I think Julie’s waiting for you.”

     Sky had torn a piece from Healy’s shirttail to use as a bandage. He put the wounded man’s hand on it, covering the wound in his side.

     “Hold that,” he ordered.

     Sky stood up and moved to the end office. Though Amy and Tyler could not see him, they could hear his one-sided conversation with Julie.

     “Well hello, Julie! What an unusual and romantic place to meet. Have you had an interesting day so far?”

     Julie made indignant noises into her gag.

     “Yes,” said Harry. “I’m really getting used to untying you and giving you your clothes.”

     “There’s no hurry about untying me,” she said softly, lowering her eyes a bit. “What woman doesn’t want a little good old-fashioned ravishing now and then, as long as she gets to choose the ravisher?”

     Harry leaned down and kissed her again.

“I refuse to say anything until my lawyer gets here,” said Paul Watling.

     Though his gray suit was as tidy as ever, Watling did not radiate the same dapper and jaunty air as before. Some kind of inner deflation had taken place that his defiant words could not hide. Now in handcuffs with Deputy Steve Cooley holding one arm and his accusers all around him, he appeared crestfallen and smaller than before.

     “That’s your privilege, Mr. Watling,” said Winchell. “But keeping your mouth shut won’t help you too much, considering all we’ve heard so far from this young lady.”

     He nodded toward Mary La Rocque. The hastily dressed blonde’s hands were cuffed behind her, and Deputy Sue Kendall stood between her and her former accomplices. When the brunettes glanced sullenly at Mary, she stared daggers back at them.

     “You can count on me for all the help you need, Sheriff,” Mary said staunchly.

     All of the other gang members, wounded and otherwise, had been removed by Sergeant Boyer’s men and the sheriff’s men under Deputies Falk and MacKeever. Andy Rivera had been sent to the hospital, though Harry Tyler remained, his shoulder bandaged and his arm in a sling. The women captives of the gang were present and all dressed. Bonnie Johnson had brought Amy’s unused uniform from her apartment, Julie’s clothes from Martha’s store, and some extra Irons Transport uniforms from their office. The women were regarding the captured female gang members with satisfaction and the newly revealed mastermind with some curiosity.

     “I don’t understand, Sky,” said Karen Irons with obvious perplexity. “I’ve never seen this man in my life.”

     “Neither have I,” added Jill. “Why did he want to ruin our business?”

     “The answer may surprise you,” said Sky. “He didn’t.”

     Both girls looked at him in astonishment.

     “What do you mean?” asked Karen

     Sky hooked his thumbs in his belt.

     “Mr. Watling here is quite an investor in real estate and something of a speculator. What he really wanted was mineral rights to the lands where the University’s archaeological teams were working. They hadn’t found much in the first two years of their contracts and this year was the last one they had for rights to whatever they found at their digs. Just in case this year’s excavations looked more promising, Mr. Watling decided to cause difficulties in keeping the sites supplied and maintained. He hoped that if there were enough trouble with logistics the University would be more eager to let their contracts run out.”

     “But,” put in Amy, “wouldn’t it have been faster and simpler to threaten the dig sites directly?”

     “That might have tipped off what he really wanted,” Winchell answered. “By making it look like someone had a grudge against Karen and Jill, he disguised his true intention.”

     “And it worked very well, too,” added Julie. “Until a few days ago, no one had any idea what the gang was really after.”

     “What was it, Mr. Watling?” asked Sky. “It probably wasn’t gold, but maybe silver? Uranium?”

     “I refuse to say anything without my lawyer,” the man said mechanically.

     The little conference was interrupted by some commotion at the nearest pedestrian door.

     “This is insane!” a woman was yelling. “I’ll have you all arrested! I’ll sue you!”

     The group all turned to see Copper and Deputy Lew Hansen leading May Vinson into the building. May’s hands were obviously tied or cuffed behind her back and a couple coils of rope still held her arms against her back and sides.

     “Aunt May!” cried Jill.

     “What’s this about?” Karen asked Sky.

     “There were two things I wondered about,” said Sky. “The first was the matter of the danger you girls were in. It looked like someone was trying to kill you, but for the most part they did a terrible job of it.”

     The Irons sisters looked at the rancher curiously.

     “If they really wanted you two dead, the members of the gang could have achieved that several times over. But what happened instead? They left you tied up with a non-working bomb or impersonated you and just kept you out of the way.”

     “But what about Geary’s garage?” asked Karen. “That was a real attempt on our lives.”

     “Yes it was. But it seemed ridiculous that the gang would go to all that trouble to take you and the trucks out to that spot just to kill you with carbon monoxide. And the members of the gang all swore that they knew nothing of any plot to kill you.”

     “That’s right,” said Mary La Rocque. “We didn’t.”

     “And just as the person who started the truck engine was leaving the garage Copper managed to catch sight of someone.”

     Sky turned to Copper.

     “It was a woman who tried to kill us,” the girl said definitely.

     “A woman who wanted Karen and Jill to sell out or be killed without affecting the assets of the business,” Sky went on. “I noticed that no one ever planted a bomb in one of the trucks. The second thing I wondered about was how the gang seemed to know so much about our strategy for protecting the shipments.”

     “Which made you suspect Martha Winthrop as well,” said Sue with a nod of comprehension.

     “Right,” said Sky. “But then the other day, Mrs. Vinson dropped a hint about having an ex-husband. I didn’t know anything about any divorce, so I sent Copper to Lake Havasu City, where Mrs. Vinson lived, and had her check the records.”

     He turned to his niece.

     “I found that Mrs. Vinson divorced Norbert Vinson nearly two years ago,” Copper announced. “And a few months later she married a man named Paul Watling.”

     “And Paul Watling was the name of the man who was trying to buy land and mineral rights on the property where the University had its archaeological parties,” said Sky.

     “She’s your wife?” cried Mary La Rocque. “Then she’s the one who wanted to kill them today. And you were going to kill me too!”

     Paul Watling said nothing.

     Karen shook her head wonderingly.

     “And she let herself be kidnapped a couple times just so no one would suspect her?”

     “Yeah,” said Copper. “Including today. It was pretty obvious that the man in the plane dropped that knife on purpose so we could get ourselves untied.”

     Sky nodded.

     “When I heard that May was with Copper in the Hummingbird, I guessed that there wasn’t any danger. She was making it look good after she’d stopped trying to convince you two to sell and stick it out. She’d decided to get rid of you then. That way her husband would get his mineral rights and she’d sell the transport business for a tidy profit. I don’t think that anyone in the gang knew that she was married to Paul Watling, not even the man who was told to drop the knife. ”

     May Vinson glared at Watling.

     “Aren’t you going to do anything about this, Paul?” she shrieked.

     “Say nothing, my dear,” he said quietly.

     “Okay,” said Winchell. “Take them away.”

     The deputies escorted their prisoners out of the building. Harry Tyler put his good arm around Amy Cole’s waist and kissed her lightly. Sky did the same to Julie. Winchell put out his hand to his old friend.

     “Another job well done, Sky,” he said as they shook hands.

     “And we’d like to thank you too, Sky,” said Karen looking up at him with shining eyes.

     He leaned over as she stood on her toes and kissed him on the cheek. Even when he leaned over farther, tiny Jill Irons had all she could do to reach him.

     “You’re the hero of the hour again, Sky,” said Julie. She wrinkled her nose at him. “Just don’t let it go to your head.”

     They all laughed.

     “The only blot on the record,” said Winchell, “is that car that got away from Bob Falk and young Willard. I guess that must have been Rowlands and his pal Bradford.”

     “Don’t worry about him, Winch,” said Sky. He glanced at Amy and Tyler. “We owed him one.”

     Harry gave Amy a squeeze.

     “We sure did,” said Amy.

“No sign of anybody following, is there?” asked Bradford, peering into the rearview mirror.

     “Not a trace,” replied Rowlands turning back to face to the front. “If we haven’t seen ‘em by now, there’s nobody there.”

     Bradford eased some pressure off the accelerator.

     “Too bad about the women,” Bradford said. “I mean, you lost both the cute little deputy and the blonde at the same time.”

     “Yeah, but I think they’ll both come out pretty well.”

     It was another hot day. Waves of heat rose from the pavement in front of them.

     “At least it wasn’t a total loss,” Bradford continued. “I’ve got a week’s pay in my pocket.”

     Rowlands grinned at his partner.

     “I made the little rat give me two weeks up front.”

     “Then dinner’s on you. I know a pretty good place in Needles. Air-conditioned, too.”

     They drove in silence for a few minutes.

     “You know, Hal,” said Bradford, “my kid sister just married a guy who runs his own trucking outfit. He offered me a job. I think I might take it.”

     “You got a license to drive trucks?”

     “Had one. I can get it renewed. He might have room for you, too.”

     Rowlands reached into his inside pocket and drew out two cigars. He handed one to Bradford and pushed on the car lighter to warm it. As they waited, Rowlands turned on the radio. The Everly Brothers were singing bye-bye to love. Since that did not suit his mood, he turned the dial. Doris Day was waxing philosophically: ‘Whatever will be, will be.’ On the next station Nat King Cole was singing wistfully to Mona Lisa. Finally he found Frank Sinatra recalling his careers as pauper, puppet, pirate and poet.

     “Yeah, Frank,” said Rowlands, leaning back in the seat. “That’s life, all right.”