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| Sky and the Woman With A Past |
| Fiction by Frank Knebel |
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| Sky and the Woman With A Past |
| Fiction by Frank Knebel |
Copper Ryder leaned forward from the back seat of the station wagon and folded her arms on top of the front seat.
"Sky," Copper began, "don't you think that Shirley did an especially nice job on Julie's hair today? The least you could have done is tell Julie how beautiful she looks.
Sky looked appraisingly at Julie. His wife turned her head so he could get a complete look at her rich brown hair. It was neatly and smartly waved and curled, giving Julie a decidedly aristocratic look.
"Yes, it's a fine job, but then Julie hasn't changed the style since we've been married. And I'm glad, because I like it this way."
Julie batted her eyelashes at Sky.
"Oh, you flatterer, you."
Sky raised an eyebrow and ogled her. He let his right hand drop from the steering wheel onto her left knee.
"Just you wait until we drop Copper at the library."
Copper ignored Sky's remark.
"You two will come in for a minute, won't you?" asked Copper. "You can be the first people in town to see the rare book exhibit. We worked like crazy on it Saturday."
"Let's do it, Sky" said Julie. "I'd like to be sure Eileen's all right."
"If she really was upset because of the exhibit," Sky said with a nod, "she should be more relaxed now that all the work's done,"
Sky turned into the library lot just behind a Sheriff's patrol car. The Sheriff's car pulled into the space immediately to the left of Eileen's car. They could see Amy Cole and Harry Tyler in the front seat. Sky took the next spot. Copper threw open the back door and bounded out.
"I feel a lot safer now that our security is here!" she teased as Amy and Harry got out.
"And what an attractive couple, too!" added Julie.
"Attractive but tough," said Harry with mock sternness.
Amy laughed. She smiled at him.
"Lee Marvin's got nothing on Harry," she added.
Copper led the way to the front door. Several people were waiting to be admitted. A hand-printed sign behind the glass read: 'OPEN AT 10:00 TODAY.'
Sky checked his watch again.
"It's past ten," he said. "I wonder if anything's wrong."
Copper rang the service bell. Even through the heavy outer and inner doors they could hear it ring. No one answered.
Tyler pulled a ring of keys from his belt.
"We'd better have a look. Julie, you and Copper keep everyone back until we see that it's safe to go in."
"Okay, Harry," said Julie.
Julie and Copper moved between the waiting people and the door. Harry fitted a key in the lock and opened the door. Putting his right hand on the grip of his revolver, he motioned to Amy and Sky to follow.
Eileen Harvey shifted in her seat. No matter how she moved, she was unable to make enough room between the back of the wooden chair in which she was seated and her bound hands to find any way of getting at the knots, nor was there any way for her to slip the loops from her wrists. Bill had tied her well, securely but not painfully. He had also pulled her tied ankles under the chair seat and attached them somehow to the stiles behind her. This made it impossible for her to move the chair by pushing her feet against the floor and getting any help from or giving any to Monica.
Poor Monica! Eileen could hear loud and almost continuous creaking of the chair to which her assistant was bound. And for someone as tiny as Monica, that meant that her struggles had to be considerable. The poor girl must be reaching the point of exhaustion. Almost on cue, the creaking stopped. Now Eileen heard her friend taking deep breaths through her nose.
Through her gag, Eileen tried to ask Monica if she was all right. She could not make out just exactly what the reply was, but it sounded affirmative. Eileen hoped that the younger women in the reference room were doing as well.
Janie Stanley's heartbeat had returned to near normal. After being groped by one of the robbers and then listening while he groped Yvonne, there had been the nearly equally frightening experience of hearing, but being unable to see, some kind of fight between members of the gang. From what she had heard, the man who had initially gagged and tied her, the one who tried to be so reassuring, had stopped the Groping Bandit from doing whatever he intended to do to Yvonne. He had then even apologized to them for what the Groper had done. Since she had heard nothing for several minutes, the girl assumed they were gone, all of them. Janie was more relieved than she had ever been about anything, including the time that her parents had nearly caught her making out while tied up on her living room sofa as Howard Benson unbuttoned her blouse.
It had been a very scary experience, and the Groping Bandit, she thought, was a beast, an animal. But now that she was safe, Janie had the odd thought that, if she had to be bound and robbed again, it wouldn't be so bad to be captured by the Reassuring Robber.
Her thought were interrupted by the bell. She heard the front door open and the sound of steps on the stairs. Both she and Yvonne began making all the noise they could.
Bill Denny got out of the passenger side of the car and shut the door. Burton, carrying a suitcase, exited the back door on the passenger's side. Alban, in the driver's seat of the car next to Campbell's, handed the keys to Burton as he passed on his way to the rear of the car. He and Tiny loaded the two suitcases of loot into the trunk. John March leaned his forearm on the roof of the passenger's side of Campbell's car and stuck his head partway through the open window. Campbell grinned at him from behind the wheel.
"That was as slick a job as I've ever seen!" said Campbell. "We got the goods clean and fast, and those women won't be able to put a finger on any of us!"
"Keep your voice down, kid," said March. "We can pat ourselves on the back later. You know what to do now?"
"Sure. I pick up Lee Anne, we check out of that fleabag and join you here."
March nodded.
"Okay. Make it snappy, but don't break any speed limits."
Campbell put the car in gear and pulled out of the motel parking lot. March turned to Denny, who had remained beside him. March gestured to Alban's car.
"All right, Bill. Get going."
Denny rubbed his chin thoughtfully. He looked at March as though about to speak.
"Come on, Bill," March continued. "You know we have to do it this way."
"I'd rather stay here," said Denny. He waved in the direction of the departed Campbell. "That kid's liable to do something stupid."
March shrugged.
"He's not that bright, but with Lee Anne helping him, he can probably check out of a motel." They both moved away from the car to allow Burton to return the keys to Alban. March lowered his voice. "I can't trust Alban enough to send him with the goods by himself. He might try to cross us. You're the only one I can send with him. With Genie, Burton and Tiny it'll be all right here."
Denny rubbed his chin again.
"Maybe we shouldn't leave now. We could wait until things cool off a little."
March shook his head.
"You've got to go now. Once the Sheriff finds out what's happened, he might try to seal up the town to keep us from getting the stuff out. We've got to move fast."
"They've discovered radio here, you know. They can call the State Police, here and in California and Nevada, too."
"They won't know who to look for, especially if we move fast."
Denny hesitated again. He glanced at the trunk of Alban's car with an uncertain expression. Alban leaned out of his open window.
"Ready, Bill?" he called.
Denny looked around uncertainly again. Finally, he nodded.
"Let's go," he said resignedly.
March put his hand on Denny's shoulder and followed him around the car.
"Have you got the number of this motel?"
Denny pulled a slip of paper from his jacket pocket and showed it to March.
"I'll call you as soon as we make the deal," he said.
The two men, Alban and Denny, settled themselves in their seats. March shut the passenger door for Denny and waved them off. Alban backed out of the parking space and headed for the street. Denny was staring blankly out the window.
"Worried about your wife?" Alban asked.
Denny nodded.
"There's no need," the thin man said. "She's in the clear."
Seeing Alban and Denny departing, the man in the gray suit reached for the ignition key, then hesitated for a moment. He and his partner were now in territory far beyond their original assignment. While he did not know what the March gang had done at the library, it was obvious that it was something illegal, probably robbery. And whatever they had stolen was in the cases they had loaded into the car that had just pulled away. He had to make a fast decision: follow the car that was leaving with the stolen goods or stay and watch the rest of the gang. There was no time to check with his partner; he would have to use the car's two-way radio as he drove.
He turned the key and the engine started. Before he put the car in gear, he patted the pistol in its holster under his left arm, and then pulled from the curb into the road and followed Denny and Alban.
Genie Williams snapped her suitcase closed as March came through the door of their room.
"I got a job for ya, Honey," he said.
She straightened and looked directly at him.
"What is it now?" she asked crossly.
"It's important, Baby," he said soothingly. "I want you to take Burton back to the library and see how long it takes 'em to get wise to what happened."
Genie glanced at her wristwatch.
"The place was supposed to open a few minutes ago. It won't take 'em very long to get in and find those women. And what happens to me if they get curious about strangers hangin' around? We'd be sitting ducks for the sheriff."
March shook his head.
"They won't be suspicious of you," he said. "The library women'll tell the sheriff that a bunch of men held them up. There'll be no reason to connect you with the job."
He paused a moment. Genie seemed to be considering the idea.
"Besides," he continued, "I need somebody with brains for this, and that means you. You might even be able to find out what the Sheriff's going to do."
A smile grew on Genie's face.
"I think I could do that without being noticed," she said, nodding slowly.
March smiled too.
"You and Burton'll look like an ordinary couple passing through," he added. "You two can take your car just in case somebody noticed one of the cars we used this morning."
"All right, John," said Genie. "I'll do it."
March put his arms around her.
"That's my baby," he said as he kissed her.
Deputy Harry Tyler led Deputy Amy Cole and Sky Ryder up the marble stairs. Amy pointed to the empty case on the display table against the wall. Harry nodded and drew his service revolver. Amy did the same.
"Mrs. Harvey? Mrs. Franklin?" called Harry. "Is anyone here?"
They could hear faint and muted noises through the doors to the main adult section. Tyler looked through the glass top half of the doors, then cautiously opened one.
"Mrs. Harvey?" he called out again.
Muffled female voices answered him.
"We know what that means, don't we?" said Amy.
"Slow and careful," warned Harry. "Cover me."
The two deputies took position outside the door. Tyler removed his broad-brimmed Western hat and tossed it on the display table. He and Amy exchanged a nod. He pushed the door open and dashed inside, taking cover behind the check-out desk. Amy took his place at the door, pistol at the ready. Sky moved behind her.
"Sheriff's Department!" called Tyler, as his eyes swept the area. He looked back to Amy and Sky who were also looking around the room. Amy shook her head. After one last look at the upper level, Tyler called again.
"Mrs. Harvey? Are you here?"
Hearing another muffled cry of response, Harry moved so he could look through the partially open door of the office. He could see Eileen and Monica bound to chairs with rope and gagged and blindfolded with adhesive tape.
"Mrs. Harvey, are the men who did this still here?" asked Tyler.
The bound woman shook her head.
Tyler slowly stood up and waved for Amy and Sky to join him. Keeping his revolver at the ready, he headed for the office. Amy and Sky were right behind him when he entered the room. Seeing no one else, the deputies holstered their weapons. Sky went to Eileen and began peeling the adhesive tape from her mouth. Amy did the same for Monica Franklin.
"Don't worry, Eileen," said Sky. "We'll have you free in no time."
He loosened the cloth strip holding her gag and helped her remove the mouth packing. While she coughed and took a few deep breaths, he started work on the tape over her eyes.
"Thank goodness you're here, Sky," she gasped. "They were here waiting for me when I came to work this morning. They wanted the first editions and the manuscripts in the exhibit."
"Well, they have them now," said Sky as he worked. "But as long as you're all right---"
He pulled the tape from her eyes. She looked up at him in alarm.
"Janie and Yvonne!" she cried. "You've got to check on them. They put them in the reference room!"
Tyler drew his weapon again.
"I'll check it out, Sky," he said. "Have Copper radio the office and get the Sheriff out here with some help. We may need an ambulance, too."
Sky clapped Tyler on the shoulder.
"Be careful, Harry."
The two men went back into the main room. Sky continued outside while Tyler advanced cautiously to the door to the reference room.
"Yvonne? Janie? It's Deputy Tyler. Are you all right?"
He was relieved to hear the girls' gagged cries in answer.
Sky Ryder and Sheriff Hardy Winchell stood in the main room of the library as they watched the deputies performing the routine police work necessary in a robbery case. In the foyer outside, Deputy Ben Norris was dusting for fingerprints on the empty case in which the books and papers had been delivered. Janie Stanley and Yvonne Cramer were seated at separate tables finishing their statements to Deputies Amy Cole and Sue Kendall while in the reference room Deputy Al MacKeever collected the cuttings of the ropes that had bound them. In the office, Julie Ryder was listening to Monica Franklin's account of the crime and taking notes in a notebook borrowed from a deputy. Doctor Barton, plump and middle-aged, was attending to the Janie's bruised and chafed wrists while trying to supervise two nurses, one taking Eileen Harvey's blood pressure at another table and the other applying antiseptic to an abrasion on Yvonne's wrists.
"This is ridiculous, Doctor!" Eileen snapped. "I'm quite all right. It's Janie and Yvonne and Monica who need attention, and I'm going to make sure that they get it."
The doctor was unmoved.
"Now Eileen," he said calmly, "if you get yourself all worked up, we'll just have to start over. And when we're done I want to have a look at those rope burns on your wrists, so don't get too eager to start running around."
"And when Doc's done with you, I'm going to need your statement about what happened, Eileen," added Winchell. He held up his own notebook. "I know that you told some of it to Sky and Harry, but I need to hear it for the record."
Eileen opened her mouth as if to reply but stopped herself. She nodded and smiled ruefully at Winchell and Dr. Barton.
"I'm sorry," she said wearily. "It's been a rather bad day."
Winchell nodded. Amy Cole leafed through her notebook and looked from Janie to Yvonne.
"Is there anything more you can tell us?" she asked. The girls shook their heads and replied negatively. "We're done here, Sheriff," she said to Winchell.
"All right," he replied. "Amy, go see if you can help Julie with Monica's statement. Sue, give Al a hand collecting the ropes."
As the two deputies left the room, Deputy Bill Harrison came in from the foyer.
"Steve and I checked outside, Sheriff," he said. "The back door that leads into the basement's been jimmied. There's a paved walkway out there and ground around it's pretty hard, so we didn't find any footprints. Tyler and Rivera are helping Steve go house to house trying to find anyone who saw anything unusual. It'll take a little time."
"Good work, Bill," said Winchell with a nod. "How's the crowd outside?"
"Very curious. Charlie wants you to know that Mayor Holmes is on his way over. He'll be here in a few minutes."
Winchell sighed.
"Tell Charlie that I'll see the mayor when I've heard Eileen's story. In the meantime, go see if you can help control our curious citizens."
"Right, Sheriff."
As Harrison left, Winchell turned to Sky and rolled his eyes.
"What do you think I should tell the mayor, Sky?"
Sky chuckled.
"The same thing you always do, Winch. You have the case practically solved and the suspects will be custody before dinner."
Now Winchell chuckled.
"That's a good one. Stick around, will you, Sky? I'd like for you to listen to Eileen's statement. After we take the girls home, we need to have a little conference here. We got a few answers about the things you and Julie found the other day, pretty interesting answers, too. And those jaspers who stole the books and papers'll probably want to get them out of town pretty quick so, if we get a line on them, I'd like to have you and the Hummingbird standing by. You could come in real handy."
Sky nodded.
"If we know what or who to look for."
Doctor Barton dabbed some cream onto Eileen's right wrist and looked at her already treated left hand. He wiped his own hands with a paper towel and turned to Winchell.
"She's all yours, Sheriff," he said.
Winchell pulled a chair up to the table and turned to a fresh page of his notebook.
"All right, Eileen," he said cordially. "Let's hear everything from the beginning."
Eileen looked uneasily from Sky to Winchell a couple times. She glanced from her bruised wrists, then at floor, then at Dr. Barton and back to Winchell and Sky again.
"Well," she began, "with the books and papers arriving today, I got here quite early this morning, and …."
Genie Willis and Burton strolled casually into the rear of the crowd that had gathered in front of the library.
"What's all the excitement?" Genie asked a short, dark-haired woman on her left.
"Didn't you hear?" the woman replied loudly. "A gang of some kind broke into the library this morning, tied up the staff and stole some books that were on display."
Genie put on her best imitation of a shocked expression.
"You don't say!" she replied. "They must have been very valuable books!"
The woman nodded.
"Worth thousands, they say," she said. "Written by Mark Twain and Zane Grey and somebody else real famous. First editions or something."
"How many people were in there?" Genie asked solicitously. "Is everyone all right?"
"Yeah, from what we hear," put in a taller woman standing next to the first. "Mrs. Harvey, the librarian, her assistant and two girls were at work. The gang tied them up and gagged them, but the deputies found and released them and they're fine now."
"Tied them up and gagged them!" Genie exclaimed. "How horrible!"
The two women craned their necks to look at the comings and goings at the library doors.
"Yeah, it probably was pretty scary," the shorter woman said absently. "But the girls are young. They'll get over it."
"And think of the stories they'll have to tell," added her companion. "They'll be the town stars for the next few weeks."
A large car pulled up near the entrance. A lanky deputy standing by the doors walked briskly over to greet the driver, a stocky man of medium build with graying hair and a mustache. A murmur ran through the crowd.
"This must be important!" declared the taller woman. "The mayor's here!"
Julie Ryder emerged from the library and hurried to the mayor.
"Is that the librarian?" asked Genie.
The women looked closely at Genie and Burton.
"You two are new in town, aren't you?" the short woman asked.
"We're just passing through," said Burton. "We're on our way to Las Vegas to visit my sister."
"Las Vegas?" asked the other woman. Her expression indicated that she did not approve of anyone living in, coming from or headed to that city.
"Is that woman the librarian?" Genie persevered.
"Oh, no," said the short woman. "That's Julie Ryder."
"Who?"
"Julie Ryder! She's the wife of Sky Ryder. You must have heard of him."
"Oh, sure we have!" She turned to Burton. "Haven't we, darling?"
Burton was momentarily confused but recovered quickly.
"Sky Ryder?" he said. "Oh, sure. Sure we've heard of Sky Ryder in Mesa. Quite a guy."
"Sky was one of the ones who discovered the robbery and found the girls," said one of the women. "He helps the Sheriff all the time."
"And you mark my word," said the other, shaking a finger at her friend, Genie and Burton. "They'll bring in this gang in no time at all. No time at all."
Genie looked slyly at Burton then back to the women.
"Well, I certainly hope so," she said.
"And that's about all I can tell you, Sheriff," Eileen finished.
Winchell wrote another line or two in his notebook and looked over the last page. Raising his eyes without lifting his head, he glanced at Sky. After checking to be certain Eileen was not watching him, the tall rancher shook his head slightly. Winchell flipped his notebook closed.
"That should cover it, Eileen," he said. "I don't want to keep you too long."
Eileen ran a hand through her hair then smiled wanly at him.
"I appreciate it, Sheriff," she said wearily. "Being in the middle of two robberies is enough excitement for a lifetime, let alone one week."
"I understand," the sheriff said. "I'd better have someone drive you home."
"I'd be glad to take you, Eileen," said Sky. He glanced at Julie, who was standing with Copper and the library employees across the room.
Eileen looked rather apprehensively at Sky.
"That's all right, Sky," she said. "I have my car here. Monica and the girls are the ones who'll need help getting home."
"It'll be no trouble," Sky said gently. "Julie and Copper can pick me up after they've dropped off the other girls."
Julie nodded.
"Of course we can, Eileen," she said. "You must be terribly shaken. Please let us help you in whatever way we can."
Eileen rose and went into the office to find her purse. Sky crossed to Julie, who stepped away from the others.
"You think she'll tell you anything, Sky?" Julie asked softly.
Sky shrugged.
"From what we know, she's got to be involved in this somehow," he said. "We've got to hope that she'll trust us. I'll try first. If I don't get anything, you and Copper can each take a turn."
Eileen emerged from the office looking unhappy and pulling on a pair of gloves as she crossed to Sky, Julie and the others.
"I'm ready," she said.
Amy Cole led Copper, Monica, Janie and Yvonne into the foyer. Julie reached out to Eileen and laid a hand on her arm.
"Remember, Eileen," she said earnestly, "we'll help in any way we can."
Eileen stared at Julie for a few seconds then hugged her. She seemed both ready to cry and about to speak, but did neither.
"Thanks, Julie," she managed to say.
She led Sky and Julie into the foyer and down the steps.
"Oh, look!" cried the short, dark-haired woman. "There's Mrs. Harvey. And Sky and Julie are with her!"
She pointed for the benefit of Genie and Burton.
"So that's Sky Ryder," said Genie. "He looks like a man who can take care of himself."
Burton was watching Amy Cole leading the others to the Flying Coronet station wagon.
"It might be fun to get a traffic ticket in this town," he said musingly.
The women ignored him. They watched as Sky opened the passenger door of Eileen's car for her. He went around to the driver's side.
"Looks like Sky's taking Mrs. Harvey home!" said the woman's taller friend. She leaned confidentially toward the short woman but spoke in a less than confidential tone. "Those two were very close at one time, you know."
The short woman appeared shocked.
"You don't say!"
The taller woman nodded.
"O' course that was four or five years ago, before Julie came to Kermit. We thought that something might come of them, but" --- she sighed --- "nothing ever did."
As the two local women continued with their gossip, Genie and Burton sidled their way through the crowd and back to their car. When they were in, Burton started the engine and pulled onto the quiet streets.
"You think Ryder'll try to pump the librarian?" asked Burton.
"Probably," Genie said thoughtfully, "especially if she said anything to the Sheriff that made them suspicious." She paused for a few seconds. "We'd better watch her. Take me back to the motel, then you take the first couple hours. Make sure Ryder doesn't spot you. I hear he's no fool."
"Well, neither am I," said Burton, slightly nettled.
"Just watch yourself. We'll let John decide what to do."
Sky waited for Eileen to talk, but she said nothing for a long time. He watched her as she sat very still with her hands in her lap, staring out of the side window. When she raised a hand to rub the side of her face, he noticed the rope marks on her wrists.
"They must've tied you pretty securely," he said. "How are your hands?"
Eileen looked at the bruises.
"Oh, they'll be all right. The ointment Dr. Barton put on them took most of the sting out." She scooted over toward him, turned the rearview mirror so she could look at herself and rubbed her cheek and temple again. "The stickiness left by the tape they put over my mouth and eyes is more aggravating."
"I'll bet," Sky replied. He took a clean white handkerchief from his pocket and offered it to her. "Maybe this'll help."
She took it from him with a faint smile.
"Thanks, Sky." She dabbed and rubbed at the tape residue on her face. "I suppose that the only way to be sure to get it off is to use soap and water."
"So, do you think there's any chance that the men who did this were the same ones who robbed Tuthill's the other day?"
Eileen stopped her cleaning for a second and glanced at Sky before resuming.
"I really don't know," she said slowly. "Of course, both gangs wore masks so we couldn't see their faces. And there were five men in the library and only four at Tuthill's. But from the size of a couple of them, I suppose it's possible. I don't know how they'd know we had valuable books being delivered here for display."
"Well, there have been flyers about it posted all over town," said Sky.
"But wouldn't a gang of thieves after money be more likely to rob a bank or a good-sized department store or a jewelry store instead of a library?"
They stopped for a stop sign. Sky turned and gave her a searching look.
"It's odd that you should mention a jewelry store," he said. "Julie and I were in Page's the other day. As a matter of fact, we were there not long after you were."
Eileen stopped her cleaning for a moment then resumed.
"Mr. Page said that you were trying to sell a bracelet," Sky continued. "One that looked very valuable, something from Van Dorf and Kohl's in Los Angeles."
Eileen said nothing.
"And just after you showed the bracelet to him a man came in with a picture of a stolen bracelet that looked to be the same one you had."
"I imagine that a lot of jewelry looks similar, especially from a picture."
"The man was named Faulkner, and he's a private detective from L.A. on the trail of some of the jewelry that was stolen there more than twelve years ago."
Eileen tried to appear disinterested.
"Well, it certainly is a coincidence that he should come to Kermit the same week that I find myself in the middle of two robberies. Maybe he should be the Sheriff's chief suspect."
Sky's voice was gentle.
"Are you sure there's nothing you want to tell me, Eileen? Julie and I will help in any way we can, and I'm sure that Winch----"
"Really, Sky," Eileen exploded, her face twisted with impatience and anger. "I just went to Mr. Page to sell an old family bracelet I never wear. I need money at the moment, and that's all there is to it. Here."
She thrust the handkerchief back to him as he parked the car in front of her house.
Sky took the handkerchief, touching her fingers tenderly as he did.
"We'll help you in any way we can, Eileen," he repeated quietly.
Eileen gazed at him for a second, looked down, then back to him again. Tears were forming in her eyes.
"When I can tell you something, I will, Sky," she said softly.
She threw open the passenger door and ran to the house.
Sky looked thoughtfully after her.
Copyright © 2011 by Frank Knebel
| Copyright © 2011 by Frank Knebel |