Sky and the Starlets

Fiction by Frank Knebel

Chapter 7

Copper Ryder removed her sunglasses and dabbed her eyes with a clean white handkerchief. As she was about to resume looking from the right rear window of the Hummingbird, the knot holding one of the shoulder straps of her swimsuit came undone. The girl muttered under her breath as she reached up to retie it.
        "What's the problem back there?" asked Sky.
        "This is impossible," Copper said irritably. "Not only are we looking for a needle in a haystack, but I have to keep tying up this suit to keep my breasts from falling out."
        "Well, I can help you with your suit," said Julie, turning around in the right front seat. "Just lean forward and open your robe a bit."
        "Okay. Now you just keep your eyes on your flying, Sky."
        "I saw everything there was to see a hundred times over when you were younger," Sky said matter-of-factly.
        "Come on now, Sky," Julie said with a faint smile. "You behave yourself. Copper's not a little girl anymore."
        "I'm too busy looking for that truck to be interested in any woman's breasts right now," said Sky. "Even Marilyn Monroe's. Of course there is one woman…" He solemnly winked at Julie.
        Julie slapped his arm good-humoredly then went back to helping Copper.
        "And it's not quite as bad as looking for a needle in a haystack," he added. "Winch's men found eight witnesses who saw that truck headed east. Unless they went across country that means they're on this road, so we have a good chance of finding them."  
        "There you go, Copper," said Julie. "That ought to hold you."
        "Please, Julie. I've heard enough expressions like that over the last few years."
        Julie made a rueful expression.
        "Yeah. I know what you mean."
        She took up the binoculars and returned to the search.

*     *     *     *     *

        "So you see, Bonnie," said Deputy Sue Kendall, "it's happened to both of us more than once. You can't let it get to you. You get up, put your uniform back on and make sure you put 'em in jail before it's all over."
        Amy Cole, at the wheel of the patrol car, nodded.
        "There just seems to be something about a bad guy having a woman deputy in his power that makes him want to have her undress before he handcuffs her or ties her up. You can't take it personally."
        "Well, I might've unduhstood if'n it was a man who had us strip nekkid," declared Bonnie. "But I was plumb flabbuhgasted to have a woman tell us to do it."
        Sue waved a hand.
        "Bad girls are even worse. Women gave the orders in most of those stories we just told you."    
        Bonnie shook her head wonderingly.
        "I declayuh, I jus' don't know how y'all can stand it! It makes me want t'go back to my ol' job at the bus station in Memphis. This heyuh job might be too dangerous fo'me!"
        "We're all right," said Amy. "Right now, it's Joan and Diana I'm worried about. And we're going to keep looking until we find them."
        The other women agreed. Amy looked up in an effort to spot the plane.
        "See if you can raise Sky, Sue. Maybe he's spotted something."

*     *     *     *     *

        "You know, you did that really well."
        Jarvis glanced at Patricia Perry beside him in the front seat of the car. She was using the rearview mirror to check her makeup and was totally absorbed in applying more lipstick. When she was finished she replaced the cap and checked her work once again before dropping the stick in her purse. She settled back in the seat.
        "What did I do well? Put on lipstick?"
        Jarvis reached over and readjusted the mirror.
        "Not that. That Dragon Lady act you just did with those two back there. It was really good."
        Patricia chuckled slightly.
        "It's just a character part. It's easy enough to throw yourself into something like that, threatening a couple of sweet, dewy-eyed ingenue types like them." She chuckled again. "If they stay in the business past thirty-five or so, it's the kind of part they'll find themselves playing somewhere, sometime."
        A loud slapping noise came from the back seat. They both looked into the mirror. Arlene was sitting calmly on the passenger's side. Jones was rubbing his face.
        "Anything wrong back there?" asked Patricia.
        "I was reminding Mr. Jones about where he should keep his hands."
        "Do you have that straight now, Mr. Jones?" asked Patricia.
        Jones nodded sheepishly.

*     *     *     *     *

        Joan struggled again for a few seconds. She was very tired now. The exertion of fighting against the unyielding ropes had drained most of her energy. It was hopeless. She looked back at Diana. Her friend was sagging with weariness in her bonds, though the ropes kept her so closely against the post that the sag was most evident in the drooping of her head to one side or the other. The girl was no longer struggling. She had given up.
        Joan looked over at the glass at the windowsill. The sunlight was coming through the window more directly all the time. It could not be long until the magnifier would focus the rays on the crumpled newspapers and ignite them. The woman had said ninety minutes, but there was no way Joan could make any clear estimate of the time that had passed since the gang had left.
        The bound actress looked down to either side, hoping to spot some weakness she could exploit in the arrangement of ropes around her and the chair. She could see nothing. When she looked straight down in front of her, all she could see were her own bare breasts. While her bust size was definitely generous, the backward pull of the ropes on her upper arms forced her to thrust her breasts forward, making them look almost obscenely large. A glance at Diana told her that she had been tied the same way. The woman had made remarks about the two actresses showing their cleavage in advertisements for the movie. Was being tied in this manner supposed to be some kind of fitting punishment? Joan had had offers to do sexy exploitation films involving partial nudity when she first arrived in Hollywood, but had turned them down, fearing the harm that such work might do to her career later. Now she was showing a good deal more skin than she had ever imagined and the end of her career seemed to be in sight.
        She looked once again at the fire starting apparatus. Through the haze of weariness and discomfort that was enveloping her, she was suddenly struck by the thought that the setup, almost a Rube Goldberg contraption. Something welled up inside her. She could not let her dreams and her life end this way. From some unexpected well of reserve, strength returned to her and she began struggling with her ropes again.

*     *     *     *     *
            
        Sheriff Winchell took up his radio handset.
        "Car One calling Hummingbird. Car One to Hummingbird. Do you read me, Sky? Over."
        Sky Ryder nodded to Julie to reply. She took the handset from its hook.
        "This is Hummingbird, Sheriff. We read you loud and clear. Over."
        The Sheriff looked out the passenger window of his patrol car. The Cessna 310B was visible some miles away.
        "Julie, we have you in sight to the south. Charlie and I are on a parallel course headed east. We also have a car to the north of us, another on the same road you're following and one to the south. Lieutenant Conway has State Police units on the roads both north and south of town in case they try to double back and a couple more on roads to the east heading our way. Unless they repaint that truck we should be able to find them pretty quickly. Over."
        Sky held out his hand to Julie. She passed the microphone to him.
        "Whose cars are closest to us, Winch? Over."
        A female voice interrupted them.
        "Sky, this is Sue in Car Four. Amy and Bonnie and I are on the road directly below you and not far behind. We'll be ready when you call. Over."
        "Sky, this is Harry. Andy and I are headed east on Rock Canyon Road. We'll be just a few miles south of the girls if you need us. Over."
        "Thanks everybody. As soon as we see anything we'll let you---"
        He stopped as Julie sat up to attention and put the binoculars to her eyes.
        "Sky! I think I see something." She adjusted the focus of the glasses. "About two o'clock. There's a house with something parked outside!"
        "Wait one, Winch. I think we've got something."
        Sky and Copper looked ahead and to the right.
        "That's it, Sky! A white truck with a few black letters on the side! It's parked in front of that ranch house. It looks abandoned."
        "I think we've found it, Winch," said Sky. "About ten miles east of the junction with Route 93, and a mile or so south of the main road. Over."
        "We've got it, Sky. Sheriff to all units. Converge on that spot. Make note of any cars heading in the opposite direction. We'll have the other units and the State boys check anything that looks suspicious. Over."
        The other units acknowledged.
        "Gosh, Sky," said Copper. "It looks pretty quiet down there. What do you think we'll find?"       
        "I don't know, Copper," he replied evenly. He turned to Julie. "You'd better get my pistol out of the map compartment. Then we'll have to look for a place to put her down."

*     *     *     *     *

        "I don't see anything moving, do you?"
        Amy Cole leaned around the tree and took another look. She turned to Sue, who was sharing the cover of a rock formation with Bonnie, and shook her head.
        "It looks very quiet," she said in a low voice.
        Bonnie glanced uneasily over both shoulders in turn.
        "How long do you think it'll be befoauh Sky gets heyuh?"
        "He couldn't land too close to the house," said Amy continuing to watch the place closely. "That would've warned anyone still there that they'd been spotted."
        "And he had to wait for us to get here so we could block the lane," continued Sue. "That way, even if the kidnappers heard him land and tried to run, they'll still be trapped."
        "Very clevuh," said Bonnie with a nod. "Very clevuh, indeed." She looked behind them again. "Heyuh come Harry and Andy."
        The other two women turned. A patrol car was coming slowly along the drive toward them. The women's own car had been left as a roadblock across the lane, so the men placed their car to extend the block and continued the rest of the way on foot.
        "What do you see up there?" asked Tyler, taking cover behind the tree with Amy.
        "Nothing's moved in the fifteen minutes we've been here," she said. "If we're going to find out what's inside, we'll have to go up there and take a look."
        Tyler removed his hat and looked around the tree.
        "Not much cover except for that barn and the shed off to the right."
        "And it's a long way to them. Sky and Julie should be coming from that way."
        As if in response to Amy's remark, Sky, Julie and Copper appeared in that direction. Brush entangled on an old fence line provided some concealment for them and, keeping by low, they tried to remain unseen as they approached the house.
        Tyler sized up the situation.
        "All right, here's what we're going to do. Andy, I want you and Bonnie to stay here. If anyone runs from the house and tries to come this way, it'll be your job to stop them."
        "You can count on us, compadre," said Rivera.
        "Amy and Sue, come with me. We've got to help Sky and the girls over there. Keep as low as you can and stay behind anything that's available."
        The two women nodded. Rivera drew his service revolver. Bonnie hesitated a moment then drew hers.
        "Let's go," said Tyler.
        He led Amy and Sue off to the right. Rivera took over the spot behind the tree and waited at the ready.
        Harry, Amy and Sue dashed and ducked between any trees and rocks that offered cover on the route from the roadblock at the end of the lane to the barn some forty yards from the run-down house. Sky, Julie and Copper were just arriving from their right. They all paused a few moments to catch their breath.
        "It sure is good to have you and the Hummingbird around, Sky," said Tyler. "It made finding that truck a lot easier."     
        "Yeah, maybe a little too easy," replied Sky.
        "You think it might be a decoy?" asked Amy.
        "Or a trap?" added Julie.
        "I don't know," the rancher said warily. He drew his revolver. "But we'd better be on our toes."
        Tyler looked at Julie and Copper.
        "Are either of you armed?"
        They shook their heads.
        "We'd better leave Sue with them in case anyone dangerous comes out this way."
        Sky nodded.
        "I assume that Andy and Bonnie are watching the drive?"
        Tyler nodded.
        "Okay," said Sky. "Let's get ready."
        "You mean you're not going to tell me to stay behind?" Amy asked Tyler.
        The stocky deputy drew his pistol and smiled grimly.
        "Don't you have a score to settle with this bunch?"
        "You bet I do!" said Amy, drawing her weapon.
        "Then let's go."
        Tyler sprinted toward the house followed by Sky and Amy. They rushed the porch and flattened themselves against the front walls, taking care to avoid the windows. When nothing happened, Harry quietly took hold of the front door knob and threw it open. Pointing his pistol ahead he cautiously entered. Sky came next. Amy waited near the door.
        "Kermit Sheriff's Police," called Tyler. "Come out with your hands up."
        A chorus of muffled cries came from the room on the right. Harry looked at Sky and pointed to the left. Sky nodded and headed that way. Harry raised his hand as a signal for Amy to wait, then quietly moved toward the muted sounds.
        Two bare breasted, bound and gagged blond women greeted him with wide-eyed looks and urgent muffled pleas. Tyler looked around the room and immediately crossed to the window and removed the magnifier from the sill. The two women sighed with relief.
        "Amy!" called Tyler. "We need you!" When the brunette deputy appeared he added: "Take care of them while we check the rest of the house."
        Amy holstered her pistol and hurried to Joan.
        "Oh, Joan! What have they done to you?"

*     *     *     *     *

        "More water, Joan?" asked Copper offering a canteen to the actress.
        "Thanks, Copper," said Joan. She took a deep drink and wiped her lips. "After what's happened the last few days, I'll never take plain water for granted again."
        Copper handed a second canteen to Diana.
        "The only thing I appreciate nearly as much as water is having a bathrobe to put on," added Diana as she took a drink. "Thanks for bringing them along."
        Julie smiled at them.
        "We figured that you'd need something to wear when we found you."
        "Compared to what we've been through, we dressed like nuns while working on that beach monster movie," said Diana. "And being eaten by broccoli doesn't seem nearly as bad as being burned alive."
        "How awful!" Copper said with a shudder. "You must have been terrified."
        "It's strange," Joan said thoughtfully. "It is a terrible way to kill someone, but they went about it in such an odd way."
        "Odd but effective," insisted Diana. "We would've been the toast of the town if these guys hadn't come along."
        Sky was silent, watching Ben Norris using fingerprint dust on the magnifying glass that Tyler had taken from the windowsill.
        "Anything, Ben?" he asked.
        "Nope," said the young deputy shaking his head. "They must've wiped it after they set it up. You want to take a look?"
        He handed it to Sky. The tall rancher examined the big lens for a moment, running his fingers over the apparently homemade handle then peering through the glass. With a puzzled expression, he looked at various objects in the room trying several different distances from his eye. With a frown, he felt the lens with his fingertips. Finally, he handed it back to Norris. He gestured to the cans lined up among the crumpled newspapers.
        "Thanks, Ben. What about those cans? What's in them?"
        "Turpentine and gasoline like it says. It smells like cheap gas, but it's real."
        Sky nodded. Sheriff Winchell was watching him.
        "Something wrong, Sky?"
        "A few interesting things, Winch. What did you find?"
        The gray-haired Sheriff indicated Bonnie, Sue, and Rivera gathering up the ropes, cloths and tape from the floor and placing them in brown paper bags.
        "We'll send all the things used to tie and gag the girls to the State Police lab, but I doubt that we'll find anything that'll break the case. The gang didn't leave anything behind we can use. They made tracks in the sand on the floor in here but they walked over them so many times there's nothing really identifiable."
        "What about the truck?"
        "Stolen from a dairy near Flagstaff. It was mostly white to begin with, so all they had to do was paint over the dairy name and use cheap, Army-type stenciling to put 'Laundry' on the sides. We'll have the State Police lab boys go over it for prints."       
        Winchell glanced at the two recovering actresses and took Sky by the arm and led him out of their earshot into the hall near the front door.
        "I don't get it, Sky," the lawman said earnestly. "These people went to a lot of trouble to set this up and they were very careful about not leaving any evidence. But if they wanted to kill these two girls, why did they go about it in such a roundabout way? Why didn't they just shoot them? I mean, they seemed to be very serious about killing them."
         Sky stroked his chin thoughtfully.
        "They certainly do seem serious," said Sky. "Can't you guess why they did it like this?"
        Deputy MacKeever knocked on the front door and opened it.
        "Sheriff, Lieutenant Conway and the State lab boys are here."
        "Okay, Al. Give Sky and Julie and Copper a lift down the road to the Hummingbird. You and Ben will stay here with Charlie and me until the lab men are finished. I'll have Amy and the girls take Miss O'Connor and Miss Malloy back to town, and Harry and Andy will go along as escort."
        MacKeever touched the brim of his hat in salute and went back outside. Harry Tyler had heard and stepped up to the pair.
        "You think they'll try again, Sheriff?" he asked.
        Winchell let out a long breath. He looked at Sky inquiringly.
        "I'm sure they will, Harry," Sky said grimly. "I'm sure they will."

*     *     *     *     *

        Deputy Bob Falk opened the passenger door of his patrol car and climbed out. He looked across the dark parking lot of Amzie's Motel and waved to Deputies MacKeever and Norris in their car on the other side. He leaned over into the open car door.
        "It looks like Hansen and Willard aren't here yet," he told Deputy Dave Keller sitting at the wheel. "Get on the radio and see if you can find what's keeping them."
        "Right, Bob," said Keller. The pudgy, forty-ish deputy reached for the handset.
        When Falk straightened up he saw Al MacKeever striding toward him. He could hear Bonnie Johnson's unmistakable voice on the car's radio speaker as he closed the car door and waited. MacKeever touched the brim of his hat in salute to the senior deputy.
        "Evenin', Bob" he drawled. As usual, MacKeever moved quickly but spoke slowly. "Hi, Al. Everything quiet here?"
        MacKeever nodded. He did that slowly too.
        "Not a thing goin' on."
        Falk inclined his head toward the curtained window of Joan and Diana's room.
        "Anybody in there with 'em?"
        "Amy and Sue right now. Sky and the Sheriff talked to 'em for a while, but they've gone to Sky's place now."
        "Harry too?"
        MacKeever nodded slowly again. He chuckled.
        "Poor Harry won't be worth a damn this week with Amy over here."
        Falk rubbed his chin. A hint of a smile appeared on his long, sad face.
        "Can you blame him?"
        They both chuckled. MacKeever glanced at the parking lot entrance.
        "Where are Hansen and Willard?"
        Falk shrugged.
        "Late. Dave's trying to get 'em on the horn."
        "They're on the way, Bob," called Keller. "Should be here any second."
        Falk waved in acknowledgement. MacKeever shook his head.
        "You'd think that those young fellas'd jump at the chance to be around a couple o' beautiful blondes like these two."
        "Maybe we'd better use the old married guys like you and me and Dave for this duty," said Falk.
        MacKeever grinned.
        "I should turn in my badge for a couple o' thoughts I've had the last few days."
        Falk actually grinned.
        "Even if we're married, we can still look, can't we?" he said.
        Both men turned at the sound of a car at the entrance to the motel lot. It was another Sheriff's Department car with two men in the front seat.
        "They're here," said Falk. "You and Ben can log out."
        "Okay. G'night, Bob."
MacKeever touched his hat brim again and walked quickly back to his car. Norris started the engine as the two new arrivals pulled up next to Falk. He leaned over and spoke through the open passenger window where Hansen sat.
        "What kept you two?"
        The two young men shrugged and mumbled.
        "Well, come on out, both of you," Falk continued. "Since this is your first night on this duty I want the girls to meet you so they know you by sight. We don't want them fooled by any phonies."
They both got out of the car and stood nervously in front of the senior deputy.
        "Now it's most important that you two…"
        Falk trailed off. He frowned and sniffed the air uncertainly.
        "What is that?"
        The tall deputy sniffed again. He followed the scent, leaning over Willard then Hansen.
"Well, well," he said leaning back and surveying the pair with a raised eyebrow. "I can see that you two came prepared."
Lew Hansen blushed and looked at the ground. Tom Willard opened his eyes wide and spread his hands and arms as if astonished.
        "What is it, Bob?" he asked. "Are you saying a man can't put on a little after shave?"
        Falk shook his head wearily.
        "I hope the girls are up for this."
        He stepped over to the motel room door and knocked. Uniformed Sue Kendall answered.
        "Hi, Bob." She smiled at Falk who responded with a slight movement of his head toward the two young men behind him. Sue nodded. As Falk stepped aside, Sue wrinkled up her nose and looked at him quizzically. "Something sure smells good out here. Did you bring some Frenchmen with you?"
        "It's either Hansen and Willard or two of the Three Musketeers," Falk deadpanned.
         Sue smiled at the two.
        "Well, bonjour gentlemen." She turned back into the room. "It's all right girls. Our protection for the night is here."
        A bathrobed Amy Cole, pistol in hand, appeared behind Sue followed by Joan and Diana. They also wore bathrobes, though the edges of lacy nightgowns showed at the necklines of their robes. Amy returned her pistol to the holster of her gunbelt on the dresser, then sat on the foot end of one of the beds. The two actresses crowded into the doorway beside Sue. Hansen respectfully removed his hat. After ogling the two blondes for a moment, Willard noticed what Hansen had done and snatched off his own hat.
Joan and Diana exchanged a curious glance and began sniffing the air. When they traced the scent to the two deputies they smiled widely at the young men.
        "Well, well!" said Diana. "If these two handsome young fellows are supposed to protect us, who's going to protect them from us?"
        She reached out and ran her fingers around the edge of Tom Willard's deputy's star. They all laughed.  
   "Ladies," said Falk, "this is Deputy Hansen and Deputy Willard. I wanted you to meet them just in case the people who're after you put someone in uniform to try to fool you."
        "Thanks, Bob," said Joan. "I remember both of these guys from high school and, from what I know about Tom, I'd say that the town must be pretty desperate to make deputies out of them."
        They all laughed again.
        "I have to get back on patrol," said Falk. "With Amy and Sue with you, these brave young men outside and two cars on patrol in the area you should be absolutely safe tonight." He turned to Hansen. "Call in at the first sign of anything suspicious, Lew. Dave and I will be close all night, Barlow and Ames are across town and there are four reserve deputies at the station if you need us. Don't try to handle anything risky by yourselves."
        "Right, Bob," said Hansen with a nod.
        Falk smiled at the two actresses, grabbing the brim of his hat in salute.
        "Goodnight, ladies," he said.
        The two blondes replied in chorus. The tall deputy climbed into his car and waved as Keller pulled away.
        The little conversational group remained in the doorway for a while. The two actresses seemed happy enough to spend some time chatting and flirting with two good-looking young men in safety, while the deputies were eager not to miss a chance to do the same with Sue and the starlets. After a few minutes, Diana ducked back inside the room and opened her purse. Amy Cole looked up from the magazine she had been reading.
        "What's going on?" she asked.
        "Oh, I just thought I'd go to the machine and get a Coke."
        Amy laid the magazine on the dresser and reached for her gunbelt.
        "I'd better go with you."
        Diana made a face.
        "Oh, you needn't bother, Amy. It's only fifty feet away at the corner. I'll be in sight of Sue and the two other deputies the whole time. I don't see how anyone could possibly make off with me."
        Amy thought for a moment then picked up her magazine again.
        "I guess you're right. Just be careful. And give a holler if you see anything strange."
        Diana laughed.
        "All I've done for the last month was scream while making that movie. I'm in top form for it right now."
        Amy laughed and resumed her reading.
        Diana trotted down the walk to the soft drink machine, her bare feet flopping softly on the pavement.  None of the four young people in the doorway made a comment as she hurried past them, though Lew Hansen glanced at her a couple times. When he saw her stop at the machine and put a coin in the slot, he turned back to the others. Diana pulled out a bottle, pried off the cap in the built-in opener and took a sip as she watched the group.
It appeared that the banter was heavily laced with low-level flirting. Diana noted the tone of voice, expressions, and posture as Sue Kendall and Lew Hansen talked. There was obviously some developing chemistry between those two. From the way Tom Willard looked at Sue, it was evident that he was interested in her too, though Joan's beauty had cast a spell on him as well. He looked like an awkward schoolboy at his first dance as he stood between the two women.
"Quite a happy little group, don't you think?" asked a female voice from the shadows on the other side of the soft drink machine.
The machine was positioned at the end of the row of motel rooms. Just beyond it, the wall turned at a right angle away from the parking lot. There were doors to a storage room, a laundry room and the maintenance shed between the corner and a large garbage bin near the other entrance to the parking lot. A small but curvaceous woman stepped quietly from the laundry room door and stood in the shadows a few feet from Diana. Even with only a quick glance in the darkness Diana could see that the woman was immaculately dressed, coifed and accessorized. Diana kept her eyes on the four people in doorway and took another sip of her cola.
"And why not?" asked Diana softly. "We've had a narrow escape from a vicious gang of kidnappers. A little celebration is in order." She folded her arms on her chest, holding the Coke bottle in her right hand so it hid her mouth from Joan and the others.
Patricia Perry raised a well-shaped and pencilled eyebrow.
"Even if that vicious gang might have another evil plan up its sleeve?" she asked in a coy, singsong tone.
"And I hope their next little plan won't be quite so hard on me." Diana flexed her left wrist. "All this being captured is pretty rough on my hands and feet. And I don't particularly like showing my boobs to the entire Kermit Sheriff's Department."
Patricia smiled with painful insincerity.
"You know that we have to make it look good, Miss Malloy. Suppose that the lovely local star was stripped and bound and endangered while her costar and best friend was spared the same horrors? Don't you think that everyone would be a little bit suspicious?"
Diana took another sip of cola.
"I guess they would at that," she sighed. "So what's next on the agenda? Tomorrow we're going to visit patients at the hospital and tour the new construction there, spend a few hours at the kissing booth at the rodeo and be judges at the Miss Kermit contest. That is, if all the contestants haven't dropped out over what happened today."
"They won't have," Patricia said coolly. "Even with the juiciest details withheld, they'll be bigger celebrities this way. A pretty girl who's nearly naked, bound and gagged and in danger is a lot bigger story than just a pretty girl. But you'll be in the middle of too many people for us to do anything tomorrow. We're going to wait for the stagecoach robbery re-enactment."
"I'll be ready."
Patricia chuckled.
"Well, be ready to bare all, dear."
Diana looked at her for a moment. Realizing that one of the deputies might see her, she turned back and drank from the bottle again. She wiped her lips.
"Is that really necessary?" Diana asked.
"Of course, dear," said Patricia. "It's the big finale."

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