Sky vs. Spies

Fiction by Frank Knebel

Chapter 5

Knocking sounded at the motel room door. Deputy Amy Cole was no longer asleep but she was still lying on the cot that had been set up at the feet of and perpendicular to the two beds in the room. She swept off her covers and swung her shapely legs to the floor. Though her hair was tousled and her blue eyes were bleary, Amy was still quite a fetching sight in her short, light blue nightgown.

     “Who is it?” she called as she drew her revolver from its holster on the low dresser beside her.

     “It’s Mrs. Noland, Deputy Cole,” the voice replied. “Estrelita and I have your breakfast.”

     Amy looked to Sergeant Connie Wade, who had just finished zipping up her skirt. Amy pointed to the window. Connie nodded and pulled the edge of the curtain back just enough to look out. She looked back at Amy and nodded again.

     “It’s breakfast all right,” she said.

     Amy put the pistol back in the holster and stepped to the door. It took a few seconds to unfasten the chain and turn the two bolts to open the door. Two women bustled inside.

     “I hope you had a pleasant night again, ladies,” chirped Amzie Noland as she put the tray she was carrying onto the room’s only small table. “I know that I’d sleep a lot better with an armed deputy around, wouldn’t you, Estrelita?”

     “Si, señora, I would, agreed the pretty girl with the raven ponytail and wearing a maids uniform who followed her in.

     There was no more room on the table for her tray, so she looked around for somewhere to put it. Her eyes fell on the dresser top, but Amy’s Colt .38 and holster were there. The girl looked at the weapon anxiously. She wagged her head at it as she said to Amy:

     Would you mind moving that, señorita? she asked diffidently.

     Oh, sure, said Amy. She smiled reassuringly as she took the gunbelt from the dresser.

     The girl put down her tray. Amy began folding up the cot to make movement around the beds easier. Julie Atkins stood in the bathroom doorway putting on her earrings as she watched the activity. Mrs. Noland noticed her.

     “Oh, good morning, Captain. I hope you slept well.”

     Instead of her uniform, Julie was wearing a lightweight dress that fit her figure quite becomingly.

     “Good morning, Amzie,” she said as she struggled with the second earring. “But please remember not to call me ‘captain.’ We’re not in uniform now, and we won’t be until we leave.”

     Amzie Noland put both hands over her mouth in embarrassment over her gaffe. She was a demurely pretty, slender, rather bird-like woman of about forty-five. Though she was by no means a beauty, it was evident that she had been quite attractive when younger. And with her hair unmarked by gray and her figure still shapely she could undoubtedly catch the eyes of Kermit’s middle aged bachelors. Of course, owning a popular motel and its adjacent coffee shop, both bearing her name, made a widow of any face and figure more attractive.

     “Oh, I’m so sorry, Captain, I mean Miss Atkins. It’s just that the Sheriff and Mr. Ryder wanted me to take good care of you.”

     “And you are, Amzie. You certainly are.”

     Sergeant Wade strode purposefully toward the tray on the table.

     “Oh, that smells good!” she said. “What’s for breakfast?”

Thirty-five minutes later, at exactly seven fifteen, Deputy Harry Tyler knocked on the door again.

     “Seven-fifteen, Captain Atkins,” he called.

     “Thanks, Harry,” came the muffled reply.

     Tyler walked across the parking lot to his patrol car. Deputy Rivera sat behind the wheel scanning the area. As Tyler opened the door to the car, the motel room door opened as well. Connie and Julie, both in civilian clothes, left the room and headed for their own car parked nearby. Rivera started the engine of the patrol car. When he was sure that the women’s car had started, Rivera put the patrol car in gear and pulled out of the parking lot. Connie Wade, at the wheel of the women’s car, followed him closely.

     They did not notice the occupants of a sedan across the street watching their every move.

     “Okay, Wilke,” said the innocent-looking blonde in the passenger seat. “Follow them.”

     “But not too close,” added the brunette in the back seat.

     The blonde put her clipboard in her lap with her right hand in order to take a bite out of a chocolate bar in her left. A little fragment of chocolate dropped almost directly into the cleavage displayed by her low-cut blouse. She dabbed the tip of her figure at it. The bit of chocolate stuck to the fingertip. The sharp-nosed, balding driver watched with interest. The blonde noticed him.

     “Keep your eyes on the road, Sugar,” she said sweetly.

“How ‘bout another cup of coffee, Uncle Sky?”

     Sky Ryder was busy making his usual pre-flight checks and had not noticed Copper’s approach.

     “Thanks, Copper,” he called. “As soon as I’m finished.”

     His last check was the new windshield. When he was satisfied with everything, Sky hopped down from the plane and went toward his niece. She held out the cup to him.

     “Thanks, honey,” he said, taking the cup. He sipped from it.

     “How’s the new windshield?” she asked.

     “Excellent work for such a rush job,” her uncle answered. “We got almost a full day’s search in yesterday, and we’ll do even better today.”

     Copper watched him take another sip and raised an eyebrow.

     “It couldn’t be that you’re so pleased just because you get to spend all day up there alone with Julie, could it?”

     Sky made a face at her.

     “If I were half the Romeo you seem to think I am, I’d be too tired to run the ranch let alone do all the other things I do!”

     “Like helping the Air force find secret spy stuff,” Copper began, counting on her fingers as she went. “Helping the Sheriff catch bank robbers, escaped convicts, and counterfeiters, and helping my friends when they’re in trouble.”

     “I’m beginning to think I’m underpaid,” said Sky jokingly. He took another sip of coffee as Copper made a face back at him. “Honestly, for all that I do, you wouldn’t think that a little time alone with a beautiful woman is too much to ask.”

     Copper became suddenly serious.

     “It’s not, Sky, really it’s not,” she said slowly. “Of course I’m prejudiced, but I really think that you’re quite a guy, and I know all the women around here agree with me.”

     She paused for a moment and gulped.

     “And I know that someday one of them is going to land you, and it’s something you’re entitled to. I mean after waiting so long while you were raising me. It’s just that… that…”

     She looked at him earnestly.

     “I just want to be sure that you get the right one. Or the right one gets you.”

     She looked down.

     “I just hope I know her when I see her.”

     Sky put his arm around the little blonde.

     “And I hope I know her too,” he said gently. “And I hope I know the right guy when he comes along for you.”

     She smiled and playfully slapped his chest. Their attention was diverted by the sound of arriving cars. A Sheriff’s car was pulling in by the gate followed by the sedan used by Julie and Connie. Sky and Copper walked back toward the house to meet their guests.

Summer Smithers sat on her horse quietly watching her cattle graze. From the west came the soft buzz of airplane motors some distance away. She shielded her eyes from the sun with one hand and looked. It was a twin engine Cessna Bobcat: Sky. Then she corrected herself: Sky and Julie.

     “Mrs. Smithers!”

     A man’s voice much nearer took her gaze from the plane. Her foreman was riding toward her at a good speed.

     The thought flashed through Summer’s mind that one of her men had found the missing balloon and its precious package. And if that were so, Captain Julie Atkins’ mission would be accomplished and she would return to the Air Force base. And Sky would probably be grateful.

     “What is it, Ken?” she called, trying to remain calm.

     Ken Moore drew up his horse.

     “We’ve got a problem,” the man reported. “It looks like a cat came down out of the hills and killed a couple head last night.”

     Summer sighed.

     “All right. Let’s go have a look.”

Sergeant Connie Wade sighed and turned a few more pages of the magazine she had been reading. It was her third time through this particular issue and the sergeant was finding it increasingly difficult to find anything of interest. She leaned forward on the couch to reach her bottle of coke on the coffee table in Sky’s living room. There was only one swallow left in it. After emptying the bottle, Connie rose and went to the kitchen. Copper Ryder, wearing an apron over her checkered shirt and jeans and wielding a large spoon, was bustling about. There were several large saucepans on the stove, and the kitchen table was simply but attractively set for four.

     “Somethin’ smells good!” said Connie.

     Copper turned.

     “It’s spaghetti, my specialty of the house.”

     “I’ll bet you’re a terrific cook too,” said Connie. She opened the refrigerator and took out an unopened bottle of Coke.

     “I’m not a great cook,” the girl said sheepishly. “We eat a lot better when Sky does the cooking. But I do make pretty good spaghetti.”

     Before the airwoman could reply, they heard the sound of an approaching plane.

     “Sky!” cried Copper.

     She flung the spoon onto the counter and slipped the apron over her head. The girl ran to the back door followed by Sergeant Wade. The Hummingbird was coming in for a landing.

     “I wonder if they found anything!” said Copper.

     “Wouldn’t they have radioed in if they had?” asked Connie.

     “Probably not. Sky learned in the war that anything you say on the radio might be heard by the enemy too. I think he’d rather not broadcast to that gang if he’d found the balloon. It might be dangerous for us if they did.”

     Both women involuntarily put a hand to their throats, remembering the events of two days ago. When they saw each other’s reaction, they both laughed.

     “We’re not spooked very much by that idea, are we?” said Copper. “I’m sure going to be suspicious of any extra cars I see parked here.”

     “And I’m never going to take advantage of the Captain being away to take off my skirt to cool off while I use the bathroom again,” said the sergeant.

     “Well, we should feel a little safer these days.”

     Copper pointed to one of Sky’s men sitting in the shade of a tree nearby. A Winchester rifle stood against the tree next to him. Both women knew that another man was in a chair on the front porch standing guard as well.

     The plane landed and Sky emerged. He helped Julie get down from the wing and spoke to her briefly. Julie began walking toward the house as Sky rolled the plane toward the hangar.

     “Any news?” called Copper as Julie drew near.

     “I’m afraid not,” she answered. “There’s a lot of land out there, and some of it’s pretty rough country. We’re not giving up.”

     Julie had one of Sky’s canteens slung over her shoulder by its strap. She unslung it and handed it to Sergeant Wade.

     “That Coke you’ve got looks pretty good, sergeant. Think you could find a couple more for Mr. Ryder and me?”

     “Sure, Captain,” the noncom said.

     She took the canteen and disappeared into the house. Copper looked at her, smiling widely.

     “So did you two have a nice day up there?” she asked, unable to hide her eagerness. “All alone for hours on end, I hope you found enough things to talk about. Like old times.”

     Julie smiled wryly at the young blonde.

     “We talked about a lot of things, including you,” she said. “One subject that I asked about was your tendency to look jealous every time a woman shows any interest in your uncle.”

     Copper did her best to look innocent.

     “Why whatever do you mean?”

     “Come on now, Copper. Is it every woman or just Summer Smithers and me you don’t approve of?”

     Copper looked at the ground and wrung her hands in embarrassment.

     “You know,” Julie continued more gently, “that your uncle’s a pretty amazing man. And he’s the kind of man that a lot women would find very attractive.”

     “Oh, I know,” said Copper. “A few women around here have set their sights on him.”

     “And not one of them has brought him down yet, have they? I know Sky. He’s not going to tumble until he’s ready and he’s just not ready yet. But when he does, I hope you won’t stand in his way, just as when one day when you tumble for a man you won’t want anyone to stand between you and him, will you?”

     Copper looked up at Julie. It was obvious she had never thought of this possibility.

     “You’re right, Captain. I wouldn’t want that.”

     Julie put her arm around Copper’s shoulder.

     “I thought we’d agreed that you were going to call me Julie. Come on in and talk to me while I wash up.”

     “I made spaghetti for dinner for all of us!” Copper said eagerly.

     They started walking toward the house.

     “That sounds fine. And it sure smells good!”

Joanna Dorrin took a sip from her glass of wine. She did not replace the stemmed glass on the clear glass top of the coffee table before her, but leaned back on the sofa and regarded her two nieces with a little smile.

     “You have a plan?” she asked.

     The sweet looking blonde and the fresh-faced brunette exchanged a look and a giggle before turning back to their imperious aunt. Rowlands stood nearby, hat in hand.

     “We’ve watched them two straight mornings,” said the blonde. “They’re vulnerable at several times in the routines of leaving and returning to the motel.”

     “Yes,” added the brunette. “But Donna and I think that we couldn’t guarantee that there wouldn’t be some kind of fight with the deputies if something went just a bit wrong”

     “And having seen some of Rowlands’ men,” said Donna the blonde, “it’s too likely that something would go wrong.”

     Mrs. Dorrin noticed that Rowlands bristled a little at Donna’s remark, but he said nothing.

     “Myra and I have a little idea we think is foolproof,” continued the blonde.

     “And that idea is?” asked Mrs. Dorrin.

     The brunette looked over at Rowlands.

     “We’ll need some help from Rowlands and his men,” she began. “But the key thing will be surprise.”

     The elegant Joanna Dorrin sipped her wine again.

     “Continue,” she said.

Estrelita Verdugo opened the door of the motel office with her key.

     “Señora Noland! she called. Señora Noland! I am here.

     There was no answer. The girls alarm at thinking that her usually unerring boss had overslept subsided when she saw the two trays of covered dishes sitting on the reception desk. She closed the door behind her and walked further into the room.

     Señora! the girl called again. It is almost six-thirty!

     Behind the registration desk was a doorway leading into Amzies small office. There was also a bathroom attached for the convenience of whoever was on duty. Thinking that Mrs. Noland must be in there, the girl went through the doorway.

     She stopped abruptly. Her eyes widened, and both hands flew up to her face, and she gasped when she saw what was inside. Two women pointed pistols directly at her. Both women had their faces masked by large scarves that had been stretched across their faces and the four ends gathered and tied behind their heads. The scarves covered the women’s hair and hung down almost to their upper lips. Estrelita could see only their eyes peering out through eyeholes that had been cut in the fabric.

     The straight-backed desk chair had been pulled from its place at the kneehole and moved to the center of the room. In it sat her employer, or a woman that Estrelita guessed was her employer Amzie Noland, dressed only in her bra and panties and bound with rope and gagged and blindfolded with strips of white cloth. Her hands had been passed between the outer stiles and the center splat of the chair’s back, then her wrists crossed and tightly tied. More ropes circled her torso and the chair, and several strands passed around her waist and secured where the seat, back, and legs of the chair all met. The woman’s bare legs were tied together at the knees and ankles, and a line ran from her ankle bonds to the stretcher directly under the seat. A band of brilliantly white cloth was bound around her head covering her eyes. Another ran around her head lower, passing between her jaws. Estrelita could see Amzie’s lips on either side of this band, and also some cloth ends between the band and the woman’s lips. There were even little stains of her lipstick on some of the ends. Evidently, the band held a packing wad of more of the same cloth in poor Amzie’s mouth.

     Estrelita looked at the two women in horror.

     “What have you done to Señora Noland? she cried.

     Nothing really, replied one of the women. And nothing much will happen to you if you cooperate.

     The two women were an ill-matched pair, despite being of similar height and build, and Estrelita could not help noticing that their figures were both quite sensational. One was dressed in blue jeans, a low cut top and sandals. The other wore a rather matronly style of lightweight dress with a floral print that looked oddly familiar and a pair of low-heeled shoes. It took a moment for the girl to recognize the dress. It was one of Amzie Noland’s.

     “All right, girl,” said the other woman. “Strip.”

     Estrelita’s eyes widened even more.

     “You want me to take off my clothes? But why?”

     “Never mind that,” said the first woman, the one wearing Amzie’s dress. “Just do it.”

     Teary eyed, Estrelita began unbuttoning her uniform.

     “But I am a good girl,” she began. “Now everyone will think that ---“

     “Don’t worry about that,” said the woman. “They’ll know you had no choice.”

     The woman wearing jeans turned to the desk, the top of which was piled high with rope and more cloths. She took a prepared wad of cloth and a long strip from the pile. As the frightened maid finished undoing the buttons the woman turned back to her. Estrelita was pulling the garment open and off her shoulders when the woman took a couple quick steps to her and forced the cloth wad into her mouth. Estrelita’s muffled mew of alarm brought an answering exclamation from Amzie Noland.

     “Don’t fight it,” the woman said as she pushed the wad firmly into the girl’s mouth.

     Estralita stopped resisting and stood quietly holding her unbuttoned uniform just off her shoulders. Though Estrelita was a small woman, the body revealed was an alluring one. She wore no slip, only a well filled white bra and panties. Her waist was trim, her hips nicely rounded and her legs shapely.

     Once the woman had finished with the gag wad, she took the long strip of cloth and wound it around the girl’s head so that it passed between her teeth and secured the wadding. It was long enough the go around three times. She knotted it just under the base of the ponytail at the back of the girl’s neck, taking the uniform from Estrelita afterward. When her hands were empty, the girl reacted to her undressed state by folding her right arm across her chest and covering her pubic area with her left hand. Her captor noted the action.

     “Pretty demure for such a hot little number, isn’t she?” she asked her partner.

     The woman with the gun picked up a piece of rope from the desk and tossed it to the other.

     “Maybe we should have her get rid of the bra too,” she suggested.

     Both Estrelita and the helpless, unseeing Mrs. Noland responded with gagged protests. The woman in jeans casually reached over and began undoing the hooks of Estrelita’s bra. The girl looked at her with wide, pleading eyes and shook her head. The woman ignored her and continued unhooking. The bra came loose, and Estrelita grabbed for it before it could slip off. The woman pushed her hands away and pulled on the bra, causing it to fall off the girl’s shoulders. Estrelita tried to cover her breasts with her right hand and arm.

     “Yessiree,” the masked woman went on. “This is one hot little tamale here, all right.” She turned to her partner. “What do you think?”

     “How can I tell with her covering herself up like that?”

     “Give me your hands, girl,” ordered the jean-clad woman.

     Estrelita looked at the woman with the gun and meekly lowered her hands placed them behind her back. The woman in jeans crossed them and started to tie.

     “Oh, yeah,” said the woman in the dress, eyeing the bare breasted Estrelita. “That’s one cute little señorita you’ve got there. Let me help you with her.”

     She laid the pistol on the table and picked up a long piece of rope. As her partner bound Estrelita’s wrists, the other lifted her piece of rope over Estrelita’s head and let it drop just below her shoulder blades. She began winding it around the girl’s body and arms just below her breasts. The young maid looked down in alarm.

     “All done,” said the woman in jeans as she stepped back and admired the tying job she had done on the prisoner’s wrists.

     “I’ll finish with her,” said the other, continuing with her windings. “You’ve got to get dressed.”

     The other woman immediately reached to her waist to unbutton her jeans. She quickly slid them off. Estrelita turned to watch her. The woman tying her around the arms and torso noticed and pulled a rope tight. Estrelita looked back with a grunt of protest.

     “Stop being so nosy,” the woman said. She tied a very tight knot between the maid’s breasts. “I’d better keep you from seeing too much anyway.”

     She took a strip of cloth from the desk and wound it into a long band. As Estrelita watched her apprehensively, the woman stepped behind the girl and bound the cloth over her eyes, causing her to emit another mew of protest. Mrs. Noland, hearing her maid’s distress gave a little mew of inquiry and protest into her own gag.

     “Don’t worry, Mrs. Noland,” said the woman soothingly. “Your little Estrelita’s going to be all right. We’re going to have to tie her up good and tight though. After all, she’s a little younger and more agile than you are.”

     The other woman had now finished removing her jeans and low-cut peasant top. She took Estrelita’s uniform from where it had fallen and began putting it on. The already disguised woman was now looping more cords around the maid’s waist, further securing her arms against her body.

     “How’s it fit?” asked her partner.

     “All right. I’m going to need her shoes too.”

     “Let’s get her on the floor.”

     They forced her to kneel then lowered her to the office floor. The woman in the maid’s uniform slipped the no-lace style tennis shoes from Estrelita’s feet. As she tried them on her own feet, her partner took another length of rope and bound the girl’s ankles together.

     “Look at that!” said the new maid. “Even the shoes fit!”

     “Great.” The other woman tossed her a piece of rope. “Do up her legs, then hogtie her while I get myself and the trays ready.”

     Within five minutes she had everything prepared. All the covered plates had been taken off the trays and replaced with their neatly folded clothes and six rolls of two-inch wide white adhesive tape. One pistol was on each tray as well. She took lightweight kitchen towels and covered both trays completely, then turned her attention to herself. She took up the wig from where she had left it hidden behind the reception desk. It was the same color and style of Amzie Noland’s hair. She stepped back into the office and glanced at her partner’s progress with Estrelita. The young maid’s bound legs were bent back, her tied ankles hovering over her plain white cotton panties. The other woman was finishing with the knots holding Estrelita’s ankles in place. The woman in the print dress took the wig and stepped into the small adjoining bathroom. She removed the scarf mask that covered her head. An angelic face surrounded by blond waves looked back from the mirror. The woman wound her hair on top of her head, slipped on the wig, and began tucking any visible blond strands under it. A sultry brunette appeared in the door, her dark hair rubber-banded into a ponytail as Estrelita's had been.

     “All set?” asked Donna.

     “All set,” replied Myra.

     The two stepped back into the office. Donna surveyed the two bound women. With a mischievous wink, she reached around Amzie Noland and took a breast in each hand. The woman protested into her gag.

     “Too bad I can’t reach the hooks on your bra too, Mrs. Noland,” she whispered to the captive. “You’re a pretty hot number yourself. I don’t mind playing you at all, since I can’t play with you.”

     Mrs. Noland whimpered into the cloth stuffing. Donna chuckled. She knelt beside Estrelita and rolled the hogtied girl onto her side. She took a breast in each hand and massaged them for a few moments as the girl writhed and protested feebly. She stood up.

     “Well, it’s been fun ladies. I wish we could have more fun with you, but business calls. Have a nice time and happy struggling.”

     Myra giggled at Donna’s little joke. They returned to the office and each picked up a tray.

Deputy Tom Willard yawned and stretched. It had been another dull night for the young man. He looked at the other man writing on a clipboard in his lap in the front seat of the patrol car. Deputy Bob Falk was in his mid-forties and had a long, melancholy face that reminded Willard of a sad horse.

     “How could it take so long to write up a night as boring as that?” the young man asked jokingly.

     “Mind your manners, Sonny,” Falk replied calmly. “The Sheriff likes his reports to be very complete, and Tyler and Rivera’ll be along any time now. I want to be done when the shift ends. I have to take my daughter to the dentist this morning.”

     Willard rubbed his eyes. He wanted the shift to be over too. Ham and eggs and coffee were calling to him, and he was glad that he had an old hand like Falk to rely on to end the shift on time. The young deputy looked at the door of the room that held the women they were guarding.

     “They sure do have nice lookin’ women in the Air Force,” he mused. “If they’d had women like that where I was stationed, I’d have stayed in the Army.”

     Falk chuckled but did not look up from his writing.

     “You must not have been a hero,” he said as he wrote. “Don’t you go to the movies? Guys like John Wayne always find women like Maureen O’Hara or Donna Reed or Virginia Mayo.”

     Willard chuckled. He was about to reply when a radio call came in asking for an ambulance and an assisting unit to help with one car accident west of town.

     “Wonder who cracked up,” said Willard.

     Falk must have been wondering the same, for he shushed the young deputy as the radio traffic between office and the unit on the scene continued. Willard looked back the room they were watching.

     Two women carrying trays covered with gleaming white towels were headed for the room. This was exactly as things had been done the past two days, though a glance his wristwatch showed Willard that it was almost ten minutes to seven, a few minutes later than before. The women carried the trays high, obscuring their faces, but Willard recognized clothes, hair and general shape of Amzie Noland and Estrelita Verdugo.

     “That Estrelita is one well-stacked little piece,” Willard said idly.

     The women knocked at the door and were admitted.

     “Funny,” said Willard, watching as Mrs. Noland turned sideways as she went in. “I never really noticed that Mrs. Noland has a pretty good set too.”

     “Hush!” said Falk, who had returned to his writing as he listened to the radio. The officer on the scene read a plate number to the dispatcher. “By golly, I think that’s old Elmer Jensen’s car. I hope he’s not hurt bad.”

     Another Sheriff’s car turned from the street into the parking lot.

     “Tyler and Rivera are here, Bob,” said Willard.

     The officer reporting the accident spoke again. The driver of the car had only minor injuries.

     “Thank God,” sighed Falk. He looked sharply at the younger man. “What was that you were saying about Amzie? Nothing disrespectful, was it?”

     Willard looked at him innocently.

     “Oh no, Bob.” He opened the door of the car. “Let’s give Harry the log so you can get some breakfast before you have to take your kid to the dentist.”

Sue Kendall, the new woman dispatcher for the Sheriff’s office, stood with her hands raised. She wore a checkered bathrobe, not having had time to get into her uniform yet. Sergeant Connie Wade, wearing a loose-fitting skirt and blouse, also had her hands up, a sane enough response to the two pistols trained on them. From the closed bathroom door behind Connie came the sound of water running in the shower.

     “The Captain’s running a little late today,” the woman in the floral dress said matter-of-factly. “That’s good. It’ll give us a chance to get a little acquainted.”

     She strolled over to Sue and pulled on the belt of her bathrobe. The robe fell open to reveal a white, baby-doll type nightgown with matching panties.

     “Lose the robe, Deputy.”

     The pretty, dark-haired girl slipped the robe off her arms. She was slender and shapely, her well-sculpted legs and hips making up for an average bust size. She bit her lower lip nervously as the woman surveyed her.

     “Very cute, Deputy.”

     Sue’s face reddened. She lowered her eyes.

     “I’m not a deputy,” she said softly. “I’m just a dispatcher.”

     The woman reached over and fingered the material of her nightie.

     “Oh, yeah? Well let’s see how fast you two can dispatch your clothes onto the dresser.”

     The eyes of both women opened wide.

     The woman in the maid’s uniform spoke up.

     “And let’s not forget anything, ladies. Every stitch.”

     Sue turned to Sergeant Wade. The blonde shrugged.

     “We don’t have any choice,” she said and unbuckled her skirt belt.

     Sue reached for the button that fastened her nightie just above her breasts. She looked uneasily at the maid as she took a couple rolls of adhesive tape from one of the trays.