Sky and the Woman With A Past

Fiction by Frank Knebel

Chapter Five

After midnight, the town of Kermit was very dark and quiet. There were no cars moving on the streets and most businesses did not leave their neon lights on all night. Alban was satisfied that they would have no trouble getting through town without anyone detecting that Eileen Harvey was a bound and gagged prisoner in the back seat. A traffic light ahead changed from green to amber. He slowed and stopped as it went red. The headlights of a car appeared as someone pulled from a side street on the other side of the road.

Burton, in the passenger seat, leaned forward for a better look.

"Watch it!" he warned softly. "Cops."

Though the area was lighted by just a single lamp suspended over the intersection, they could make out the rotating beacon on the car's roof. The patrol car pulled to the curb on the opposite side of the street across from them, and a tall deputy in a khaki uniform and wide-brimmed Western hat got out. He said something through the open door to a second deputy at the wheel, then closed the door after him. The tall man walked to the closest shop door and tried the knob. He then moved to the next store and tried the door there. Finding that one locked as well, he went on to a third door. The deputy driving slowly rolled the patrol car along the street to keep pace with his partner.

Alban looked up to check the stoplight.

"Take it easy," he said calmly. "It's just a routine patrol checking doors."

Burton leaned back and let out a breath.

"Yeah," he said. "But I'll be glad to move on when that light turns. What's taking it so long?"

The light glowed green. Alban eased the car forward, not too slowly and not too quickly.

"You've got nothin' to worry about, Burton," said Campbell from the back seat. "Our little friend is as quiet as a mouse."

Eileen Harvey lay across the back seat, her feet in Genie Willis' lap and her head on Campbell's. She was still wrapped in the quilt, though Campbell had opened the folds around her head and upper body. The brilliantly white tape that covered Eileen's eyes and mouth was plainly visible. Campbell pulled the edges of the quilt back a little more to expose the top of her low-cut nightgown.

"And she's just as happy as she can be. Ain't you, honey?"

He put his hand inside her gown and stroked her breasts. She shook her head and hummed a protest, squirming a little as he pawed her.

"That's no way to keep a woman quiet," Alban said dryly.

Burton chuckled.

"And you'd better keep your hands off her in front of Bill Denny," he added. "He'll bust you up good if he sees any of that."

Campbell laughed.

"What makes you think I'm afraid of him? I could take that old man any time, any day."

Burton shook his head.

"You're a fool if you underestimate Denny, boy. Just watch yourself. Besides, you've got a girl, and she's a pretty hot number, too. And what about that little blonde you were paying so much attention to the other day?"

Campbell laughed.

"A guy can't always have the woman he wants with him, Burton." He continued his massage of Eileen's breasts, adding his other hand. The helpless woman's muffled protests grew louder. "In cases like that, you just have to do the best you can." He looked down at the struggling woman. "And Eileen, here, is a pretty good substitute."

Genie patted Eileen's quilt-wrapped feet.

"You don't mind being Campbell's temporary girl, do you, Eileen? You should be honored he picked you from all the good-looking girls there are in this town."

She unwrapped Eileen's feet.

"Such pretty feet you have!" she mocked. She played with Eileen's toes in turn. "And such pretty painted toenails." She let her hand slide down to the ropes around Eileen's ankles. "But so cruelly tied! No little piggies going to market all tied up like this! What a shame!"

Campbell laughed again. He pulled down the shoulder straps of her nightgown so he could lower her top and completely expose both breasts. He redoubled his massaging.

"Don't worry, Eileen," he said. "I'll make you feel better about your poor feet."

"We'll be there in about five minutes," Alban said. "Don't get carried away."

Eileen hoped they would take his advice.

Denny stopped pacing the room and checked his watch.

"It's half-past twelve. They ought to be here by now."

March, seated on the side of one of the beds, looked up from his cards.

"Take it easy, Bill," he said. "They'll be here."

He took a card from his hand and put it on the discard pile in the center of the bed. Lee Anne picked it up.

"Gin," she announced, laying down her cards and discarding one.

"Too bad, boss," said Coates who was across the room in a chair by the window.

March sighed and laid his hand on the bed.

"I knew I should have knocked."

"You still would've lost," Lee Anne said sweetly. She began counting March's points.

"I don't know why you didn't let me go get her," Denny said irritably. "Genie never liked her and Campbell ----"

He stopped as Lee Anne looked up at him.

"--- doesn't know her," Denny finished. "I should've been the one to get her here. It would have been easy for me."

March picked up the cards and shuffled as Lee Anne wrote the points on a pad.

"You can't be sure of that, Bill," said March, looking at the cards. "Twelve years is a long time."

"Well, I saw all the rope and tape they took with them," said Denny. "There's no reason for any rough stuff. I could have----"

The headlights of a car shone on the curtains. Coates lifted the edge and looked outside.

"Somebody's comin', boss." After a short pause, he added: "It's them."

March laid the pack of cards on the nightstand.

"Game's over, Lee Anne," he said.

The shapely blonde added up numbers on the pad, the tip of her tongue protruding from the corner of her mouth as she wrote. She looked up.

"You owe me a dollar thirty-five," she said.

March dug into his pockets for the money. The engine and lights of the car were turned off. Denny was no longer pacing. He stood staring at the door and rubbing his hand over his chin as they waited.

Tiny opened the door. Genie was standing a few feet outside looking alternately from side to side.

"Okay," she said. "Bring her in."

Car doors opened and closed. Burton appeared behind Genie. He was carrying a quilt-wrapped figure over one shoulder. Genie led him into the room. She pulled one of the armchairs from its place near the window closer to the bed. Burton carefully lowered his bundle into the chair. Campbell and Alban followed. Alban took one last look behind them to be sure they had not been seen. He closed the door. Genie and Burton pulled the blanket flaps away to reveal Eileen's tape gagged and blindfolded face.

For a moment Denny stared at Eileen's tape covered features. Then he shifted his gaze to the faces of Alban, Burton, Campbell and Genie in turn. His features were stern and set, but he said nothing. Alban looked back evenly. Burton dropped his chin and looked at the floor. Campbell wore his usual smirk. Genie regarded Denny coolly.

Eileen mewed into the cloth and tape.

"See, Bill," said Genie. "We got her here all right."

Campbell reached over and raised Eileen's chin with a finger.

"And she's good as new, too," he said.

Denny glared at the younger man then spoke quietly.

"Get your hands off her, Campbell."

Campbell did not move his hand. He turned Eileen's face more directly at Denny.

"Just as pretty as a picture, too," he added.

With the sudden, compact step and lunge of a boxer, Denny grabbed Campbell's hand and swung it away from Eileen. He took another step and seized Campbell by the lapels of his suit jacket. His voice was now even softer but more menacing.

"Don't ever put your filthy hands on her again. Understand?"

Campbell's eyes were wide with surprise and fear. He gulped and nodded.

"Sure thing, Bill. I didn't mean anything."

Burton laid a hand on one of Denny's arms, Alban on the other. Denny kept his eyes on Campbell. He spoke again with quiet heat.

"I'm sure that Genie enjoyed tying up Eileen like this, but what's your story?"

"We had to be sure that she didn't see where we were taking her or try to give us away," Alban said calmly. "It was nothing personal."

Burton said nothing, but patted Denny twice on the arm. Denny relaxed his grip.

"Take it easy, Bill" said March. "You two, get the tape off her eyes and mouth."

Alban and Burton released Denny and went to work carefully peeling the adhesive from Eileen's eyes and mouth. Burton untied the knots holding the gag tie and Alban helped Eileen expel the sodden wad of cloth from her mouth. When Burton removed the cloth blindfold, Eileen blinked a few times and looked around without surprise. When she saw Denny, she stared at him for a few seconds. Before she could say anything March spoke.

"It's nice to see you again, Eileen," said March. "You did a nice job of trying to avoid us the other day, but I was pretty sure that you recognized us, or at least me."

"I wish I could say it was nice to see you all again," said Eileen. "But these days I'm a lot less social with people who like to rob and tie me up."

Denny reached down and opened the wrapping quilt a bit more, as though to begin untying her. He stopped when he saw how much rope they had used.

"Quite a job you had the boys do, Genie."

"Leave her like that," said March. "We won't keep her very long."

"What do you want with me?" Eileen asked. "You won't get much from robbing the library."

"Well, Mrs. Harvey," said Alban, "it all depends on the value you put on reading."

He reached in the pocket of his suitcoat, took out and unfolded one of the flyers and showed it to her. Eileen looked around the circle of faces.

"You want those books?" she asked, her voice rising in alarm. "But why? And how am I supposed to help?"

March smiled.

"You just let us worry about why. After you've told us the plan for delivering them, then we'll tell you how."

"I won't!" Eileen said defiantly. "I stopped doing things like that ten years ago. I don't want to live that way anymore."

"Oh, you probably have it nice here," said Genie. "You're the honest and devoted little librarian who's a pillar of the community. What would happen if word got out that twelve years ago you were in on one of the biggest jewel robberies in L. A.?"

"And some of the jewels taken in that job were never recovered," added March. "So it's still pretty big news."

"So we're sure you'd do anything you could to avoid any undue publicity about your past," said Genie. "Rumors about you could be started so easily."

Eileen looked around the circle again.

"I won't help if you intend to hurt anyone," she said with quiet defiance. "What do you want me to do?"

March seemed to relax a bit. He sat on the bed. All the other gang members except Denny took seats as well.

"Nobody's going to get hurt," said March. "Just tell us what the plan is for Monday. We'll figure out what to do."

"Well," Eileen began. "They're going to deliver the books by armored car at nine-thirty in the morning. We're supposed to…."

"That should work fine," concluded March. "We'll go over it enough that nobody should have any questions about what to do."

Alban looked at Eileen. The corners of his mouth rose slightly.

"And the best part is that you'll overpowered with the others," he added. "No one will have any reason to connect you to us."

March looked at his wristwatch.

"It's time to take her back," he announced.

Campbell rose. Lee Anne had fallen asleep beside him on the bed. The smirk had returned to the young man's face.

"I'll be glad to escort the lady home," he said.

Denny stepped between Campbell and Eileen.

"I'll take her back."

March regarded Eileen, Denny and Campbell for a moment.

"All right, Bill," he said. "You take her."

"But she goes back the same way she came," Genie said flatly. She looked at Eileen with amusement. "Gagged and blindfolded."

"There's no need for that," said Denny.

March looked from Genie to Eileen. His eyes narrowed.

"It'll be better that way, Bill. Just in case she has second thoughts."

Denny looked down at Eileen. She gave a slight shrug and nodded. Denny relaxed.

Genie stood up and extended her hand toward Alban. The slender man took the gag wad from the top of the dresser and started to hand it to her. Denny stopped him. He opened one of the drawers and searched until he found a folded white handkerchief.

"This is cleaner," he said as he shook it out and began to wad it.

He squatted next to Eileen and gently packed the cloth into her mouth. Burton handed him the gag tie and let him put it in place. Denny handed the ends to Burton to be tied at the back of Eileen's neck. Burton then covered Eileen's eyes with the other cloth strip.

Genie handed the tape roll to Denny. They all waited as he carefully pressed strips of adhesive over the gag and blindfold.

"Satisfied?" he asked, tossing the roll none too gently back to Genie.

"Okay," said March. "Burton, help Denny put Eileen in the car. Then take Alban, Campbell and Lee Anne back to their motel and come back here. Denny'll drive his car to the other motel when he's done."

"Right," said Burton. After closing the quilt around Eileen, he leaned over and reached down for her feet. "Ready?" he asked Denny.

Denny nodded and took Eileen by the upper arms. Alban opened the door, checked outside and nodded. The two men lifted Eileen and carried her from the room. Alban shut the door after them. March looked at the others.

"What do you think?" he asked.

"I think they won't go a mile before he takes off the gag and blindfold," said Genie. "He'll probably untie her, too."

Alban nodded. He stuck his hands into his trouser pockets and rocked slightly on the balls of his feet.

"But will she go through with it?" asked March.

"Search me," said Campbell.

He ran his fingers through the sleeping Lee Anne's blond hair, then slid his hand down to rub one of her breasts. She stirred slightly.

"Sure she will," said Alban. "We've arranged it so she'll be in the clear after the job. She can be a respected small town librarian for the rest of her life."

Coates looked blankly at March.

"I think so too, boss," he said.

"I don't trust her," said Genie.

"Come on, Campbell," said March. "Wake up Lee Anne so Burton can take you back."

As Campbell roused Lee Anne, March looked thoughtfully at the closed door, as though trying to see through it. He ran his tongue over his lips

A mile or so from the motel, Denny pulled the car into a closed service station and shut off the engine and lights. He and Burton had put Eileen in the front seat, laying her head and shoulders down so she could not be seen. When Denny was sure that there was no traffic, he leaned over and began removing the tape from Eileen's mouth.

"I'll have this off you in no time, Eileen," he said as he worked.

In a few minutes he had pulled the tape from her eyes and mouth. He helped her to sit up and untied the handkerchief holding the gag. He reached up and took the wadding as she pushed it from her mouth with her tongue. She wiped her lips and took a deep breath.

"Thanks, Bill," she said.

She gingerly worked her jaws as he untied the knots in the blindfold cloth.

"Genie really had them do a job on me," Eileen said. "She must think I'm a real dangerous woman."

Bill released the knot and pulled the strip of cloth from her eyes. She looked at him.

"I just hope that Campbell didn't take too many liberties with you," said Denny. "I should've decked him."

Eileen looked down for a moment.

"Nothing too serious," she replied. "He felt up my boobs a little. I doubt that Genie had them tie me like this just for him."

"Genie never liked you," Denny said simply. "She doesn't like you because you've always been better looking than she is." He paused. "And, in a way, that does make you dangerous to her. She thinks that all the men have an eye for you, including March."

She looked back at him. Even in the darkness, the surprise on her face was plain.

"Oh, that can't be true!" she protested. When he did not reply, she went on.

"Even if it was true years ago, I'm older now, and something like that can't matter, to her or anyone."

"It's still true," he said. "I can see it in John's face when he looks at you."

There was a short pause. Eileen softly asked.

"And what do you see when you look at me?"

"When I saw you from behind the other day, I hoped that it wasn't you, that it wasn't the woman who was supposed to wait for me." His voice rose. "Because I knew that even all those years hadn't made me feel any differently about you."

"And I don't feel any differently about you either," she said. "It wasn't anything about you that made me leave town and start a new life. I just didn't want to live the way we had been: all the stealing and lying and running and hiding. I couldn't take it anymore."

Denny looked down.

"The sentence they gave you was so long, that I had to find some way to live while you were in prison. So when one of my old friends offered me a job in a small town library, I took it. After a few years, I got to like it, but I didn't know if you'd want anyone who did. I moved around some and ended up here. I couldn't visit you in prison without the police getting suspicious, so Wesley's girlfriend Thelma was going to let me know when you were all up for parole. But then I stopped hearing from her."

Denny nodded.

"They finally caught him, I guess. I think Thelma found someone else and forgot all about him and the rest of us."

"I thought it must've been something like that," she said. "How did you end up here?"

"Some of the jewelry from the Powell robbery was never recovered. When we got out, we found that there were detectives on our trail. We've been moving around making scores to live and trying to stay ahead of them."

"You mean the police?"

He shook his head.

"No. These are private detectives from L.A. I guess they think we'll lead them to the rest of the loot. We also heard rumors abut some friends of Wesley's knowing about the missing goods. Since we don't have anything stashed away, the joke's going to be on all of them. "

"Have they followed you to Kermit?"

"We haven't seen them but, if they're good at their business, they could show up any time."

"You've got to get out of here, Bill," she pleaded. "Forget this job with the books. There's no way you can sell them. They'll catch you for sure."

"Alban's got that all figured out. He's found a guy who'll pay us to get them. Whether he just keeps them in his safe or tries to get a fee from the insurance company for returning them makes no difference to us. We need the money. Even if I decide to go straight, I'll need something to get started."

She looked entreatingly up at him.

"You can start again here with me, Bill. That way you won't need any money."

He pulled her close to him.

"There's nothing I'd like more, Eileen. But March and the others wouldn't let us do it. They need money even if we don't."

"I know how to get it for them," she said urgently. "I still have Mrs. Powell's bracelet. We can give it to them and let them sell it. That ought to get them out of here without trying to steal those first editions."

Denny shook his head slowly.

"I don't think it'll work. Remember those detectives? If they, or the cops, found out John had tried to sell a piece of hot jewelry, it would be over for all of us, including you."

"I suppose you're right." She furrowed her brow. "I've got to think about this."

A car passed them on their side of the road. They watched closely as it went by. Denny let out a breath.

"Not a cop," he said. "But I'd better get you loose and take you home."

He took a folding knife from his pocket, bent down and sawed through the loops of rope around her ankles. As he started on the ropes above her knees, another car approached from the opposite side.

"My hands and arms can wait," she whispered. "Let's get out of here before someone sees us."

Denny started the car and pulled onto the road. They had not gone far when a Sheriff's patrol car passed on the other side. They drove back to her house in silence. The first streaks of morning were in the east as they parked a little way down the street.

"Turn around so I can get your hands loose," said Denny.

"Just wrap the quilt around me and let's get inside," she said. "It'll be daylight soon."

He used the quilt to cover the bonds around her arms and hands and helped her from the car. They walked to the house with him supporting her on one side and mounted the porch. He opened the door for her. Inside, he again reached for his knife.

"Let me at those ropes," he said.

"You don't have to, Bill." She was smiling shyly now. "It's lighter in here, so you can see me better. Do you still see the same woman you saw the other day?"

He took her in his arms. They kissed for a long time. When they broke the kiss, her eyes remained closed for a few more seconds.

"Don't you want to be untied?" he asked softly.

She smiled again.

"You did the important part when you untied my legs," she said. "Let's do the rest gradually. We have more important things first."

Eileen half turned away from him. Looking back over her shoulder, she reached back with her bound hands, took hold of the first two fingers of his right hand and led him toward the bedroom.

Janie Stanley leaned over the book return cart and turned to the last page of Chapter 21 of Clementine Sharp's The Mystery at Oceanside College.

Strong hands grabbed Polly from behind and held her fast. She turned her head and saw the swarthy, grinning face of Connors.

"Well look what we have here, Biddle," he said. "We caught ourselves a little snooper!"

"You let me go this instant!" cried Polly, struggling uselessly in the man's grasp.

Biddle grinned at her as well. He sauntered over close enough to reach out and stroke Polly's cheek with his fingers.

"And she's a mighty cute one in that swimsuit," he gloated.

Polly vainly tried to twist away from his touch.

"You'd better let me go," warned Polly. "My friends know that I was coming here, and if I'm not back in half an hour they'll have the police and half the students at the college down here looking for me."

Biddle cocked an eyebrow at her.

"Is that so?" He looked at Connors, still smiling. "Should we tell her?"

"We can do better than that," he answered. "Let's show her."

"That's a great idea! We can even have a little swimsuit competition while we're at it."

Polly looked at them desperately. She did not know what they were going to do, but she did not like their attitudes.

She opened her mouth to scream, but Biddle was prepared for her. He had taken a clean handkerchief from his pocket and wadded it into a ball. Before Polly could make a sound, he popped it into her open mouth.

"Let's go, Miss Booth," hissed Connors as he struggled to hold her. "Into that shed just below the pier."

Biddle kept watch and led the way as Connors dragged Polly toward the shed.

Janie looked around to be certain that she was unobserved. Mrs. Harvey had come to the library barely on time today and had spent most of the morning in her office, leaving Mrs. Franklin to handle the desk. It had been a fairly busy day as far as checkouts and returns went, so the short, voluptuous Mrs. Franklin had had little time for watching the Janie or Yvonne.

Janie took another look, trying to find out what had become of Yvonne. The last she had seen, Yvonne was reshelving non-fiction on the first floor. She had not heard anyone come up the metal circular stairs to the fiction section, but the young woman was concerned that the searching for Polly's present plight might have made her oblivious to possible prying eyes. When she was sure that she was still alone, Janie turned the page.

Though Polly fought as hard as she could, Connors was able to push and drag her into the little cabin. Biddle closed the door behind them.

"I'd better make sure she stays quiet," he said, grabbing a rag from a pile on just inside the door.

He wound the rag into a long strip, wrapped it around Polly's head and tied the ends at the back of her neck, securing the gag. He put his hands on his hips and regarded the coed gloatingly.

"I know it's going to be hard now, but don't you think you ought to say hello to your friends, Miss Booth?"

He extended a hand toward the back of the shed. Polly looked in that direction. To her horror, she saw the gagged faces of Beth and Mike looking back at her. Both girls wore the swimsuits they had been wearing when Polly last saw them. Now they were bound securely to high-backed wooden chairs, their hands held behind their backs, many turns of rope holding them against the chair backs and their legs and ankles bound and leashed to the front chair legs. They both cried into their gags in alarm when they saw Polly.

"Come on and make yourself useful, Biddle," groused Connors. "I'm getting' tired of fighting with this little wildcat. Get some rope and let's get her tied."

Biddle picked up a length of cord.

"Okay," he said. "You take her right hand, I'll get her left. When we get them behind her back, I'll tie her."

Polly knew that she had been unable to fight one man and that it would be even more hopeless to resist two of them. Realizing that she might possibly be injured if she continued, Polly stopped struggling. Biddle looped the ropes around her wrists several times and tied off the ends.

"There," he said. "That ought to make the job easier."

He took a longer rope and looped Polly's arms to her body near the elbows. Connors circled her just above the waist, pinning her forearms to her back. He grinned at her evilly.

"What a shame we don't have another chair," he said.

"She'll just have to use the ground," said Biddle. He ordered Polly. "All right, sweetie. Sit down right here."

There was no floor to the shack, but there was a canvas groundsheet covering the sand. Polly sat awkwardly. The two men bound her legs together just above the knees and at the ankles. Not content with this, they forced her on her stomach.

"And now, somethin' really special for you, darlin'," said Connors.

He looped another rope around the seize in her ankle bonds and ran the free ends to the loops around her upper body. He took out the slack, forcing Polly to bend her legs backward. When her bound feet were only inches from her tied wrists, he made a secure knot.

"That'll keep even the nosiest snooper out of mischief," he said as he wiped his hands.

Polly glared up at him and tried to say something.

"Of course, this isn't the worst," said Biddle. He looked at all three prisoners in turn. "When it gets dark we'll take all of you down to the end of the pier and tie you to the pilings. We won't have to get rid of you, because the tide will do it for us."

The three coeds raised a chorus of protest.

"It's a shame for such pretty girls to come to such a bad end," he added. "But we tried to keep you from sticking your noses into our business. Come on, Jack."

Biddle opened the door and waited. Connors squatted down next to Polly and tweaked her nose.

"And such pretty little noses they were," he said wistfully.

The two men left. Polly, Mike and Beth struggled desperately to get free.

Janie heard footsteps on the stairs. She hurriedly closed the book, picked some others off the cart and began reshelving them. As casually as she could, she turned to see who it was. Yvonne Cramer had a book tucked against her side. Janie could not see the title of the volume, but she noticed that Yvonne's nipples were poking noticeably against her bra and tight-fitting blouse. Janie tried to sound breezy and incurious.

"Hi Yvonne," Janie said. "I thought you were working non-fiction."

Alarm showed in Yvonne's face.

"Oh, a fiction book got put on my cart by mistake," she said. She held up the book with the back toward Janie.

"Yeah? What is it?" Janie asked.

Yvonne tried to sidestep the blonde.

"Oh, just a mystery," she said hurriedly.

"But which one?" persisted Janie.

She reached for the book and managed to turn it enough to see the cover. It was The Mystery at the Big Game, the Polly Booth story that Yvonne had caught her reading a few days before.

Janie giggled. After a few moments of embarrassment, Yvonne began to giggle as well. She looked around furtively.

"Okay," she whispered. "So we both like Polly Booth mysteries."

"And for the same reason," said Janie. "A reason that neither of us would like to get out."

"It's perfect!" Yvonne exclaimed, still whispering. "Neither of us can tell on the other without both of us being ruined."

"Did you like yours?" Janie asked excitedly.

"It was good," Yvonne replied without great enthusiasm. She frowned. "It's a good scene where they tie her up, but then Beth and Mike find her without getting captured too."

Janie held up her book.

"You've got to read this one! All three of them get gagged and tied and ----" she paused for dramatic effect --- "while they're in their bathing suits!"

Yvonne was dumbstruck.

"You can't be serious! I've got to read it. Tonight!"

They were interrupted by the opening of the office door below. They peered over the rail to see Eileen Harvey, with purse and gloves, cross to the checkout desk.

"Monica, I have an errand to do. I'll be gone about a half hour or so. Can you wait until I get back to take your lunch?"

"Of course, Eileen," Mrs. Franklin answered. "Do you want to take another half hour for your lunch after you do your errand?"

Eileen smiled.

"You know, I think I'll do that. It's very kind of you."

Yvonne nudged Janie with her elbow.

"Look at Mrs. Harvey's hand."

Janie looked. Eileen had laid her hand on the checkout counter and her long sleeve had ridden a little way up her forearm. There was a faint but definite red mark at her wrist. She quickly pulled her sleeve down to cover it and glanced around. The two girls busied themselves at the shelves. Monica turned back to Eileen and they said goodbye. Eileen left.

"What did that look like to you?" Yvonne demanded in a whisper.

"It just couldn't be!" Janie protested in the same whisper. "We've just got it on the brain from baby sitting and Polly Booth."

"Janie," Yvonne said earnestly. "That was a rope mark!"

Next

Copyright © 2011 by Frank Knebel