Show C 7 DEAN lV I 1 CON JJ IIII I CONSPIRACY VIII iI I I bt BRENDA CONRAD C J II THE TIIE STORY SO FAR Anne ne Heywood wood beautiful daughter of a wealthy New NewYork NewYork NewYork York newspaper publisher roes goes oes to Puerto to Rico on an assignment for her hel fathers father's paper Also on the Island are Pete Wll Wll- cor cox a reporter on her fathers father's paper now a U. U S. S Army Intelligence officer Miguel Valera a Puerto Rican educated In the United States who Is a secret U. U S. S agent Richard Taussig an engineer whose Identity as a German agent is about to be proved and Russell Porter a young American engineer and his wife Sue who has bas misguidedly given lIrI Mr l I Taussig some valuable plans Sue appeals appeals ap ap- peals to Anne for help Anne Anno goes with to tc a remote villa Outside Pete and and Valera art are waiting CHAPTER The palms of Annes Anne's hands were coldly moist Where are we going going going go go- ing I am going to Brazil Mr Taussig Taussig Taussig Taus- Taus sig replied Here is some paper Please dont don't try to be either funny or resourceful Its It's quite useless I assure you Anne sat without moving for an instant What was the use Then she thought quickly It would be I quite easy to leave some kind of a I story She picked up the pen I said Dear Pete Mr Taussig I I believe that is what you call him him I I have decided to go away with Richard Taussig Anne looked at him steadily you spare me that humiliation humiliation humiliation Mr Taussig He wont won't believe believe believe be be- lieve it I assure you I must have told him already that I think youre you're unbelievably repulsive Mr Taussig's face hardened into the mottled oyster gray Continue I know it will be a shock after everything I have said but that's the way it is I want you to tell Mother and Dad or Father whichever you say She wrote Father Pete would know shed she'd never say that H Tell them they are not to try to find me because they Im I'm sick of the kind of sheltered life Ive I've always had and this is a chance Ill I'll never get again Were We're flying to Costa Rica Ill I'll write to you some time Lots' Lots or do you say loads of love I might as well say loads I Iguess Iguess Iguess guess she said She tried to keep her hand on the pen from shaking All she ever said really was Yours or All the best angel It seemed funny writing to him Everything inside her had gone a little numb all of a sudden She pulled herself sharply together er Where am I going she asked You are going way half-way to Sao Paolo with me in the plane out there Not all the way Mr Taussig shook his head Furthermore Furthermore Fur it is a stop non-stop flight if youre you're interested She looked at him calmly You mean Im I'm getting out way half-way there Mr Taussig's mouth tightened to toa toa toa a thin line I Take this envelope up put the letter in it and seal it I dont don't want my own fingerprints on it Thank you Now take another piece of paper and write to Mrs Porter Dearest Sue Sue Sue-Don't Don't Dont be shocked darling but Im I'm going away with Mr Taussig I decided it this morn morn- ing Im I'm sorry about Russells Russell's plans I shouldn't have taken them I put them them- He stopped Write wherever you did put them Anne wrote quickly inside the skirt of my blue jersey dinner dress in the closet She looked Yes up clear eyed Sign it Miss Heywood She wrote Love Love Anne Taussig motioned to her to push the letter over to him He bent over reading it slowly His hands shook a little suddenly his face was distorted distorted distorted dis dis- dis- dis and horrible She shrank back instinctively His hand moved toward the gun on the table and stopped He got up slowly Miss Heywood he said his voice cold and deadly soft You Youre are re lying Those plans are not in your room Nor do you have a blue jersey dinner dress in your closet Her voice was so steady and cool that she hardly recognized it it Nor Mr Taussig do I have the plans I haven't got them now nor have I ever had them The whole thing as you will probably remember remember remember ber was your own idea He stared at her livid with fury In the darkened inner room Miguel Miguel Miguel Mig Mig- uel Valera moved the bolt on the thedoor thedoor thedoor door slowly and silently Pete touched his arm Wait Vait he whis whis- Whis-I Whis The door to the inner room opened i as Mr Taussig was starting slowly toward Anne Heywood Pete Wilcox Wilcox Wil- Wil cox took two quick steps to her side thrust her back across the room Taussig lurched for the revolver and as Miguel Valera caught the corner of the desk pad and flicked the revolver onto the floor he turned and dashed out onto the gallery Diego was already gone A door slammed there was the sound of running feet in the court court- yard Pete dashed across the room and Anne leaned back against the wall waIl sick with fear for Miguel Valera Valera Valera Va Va- lera caught Pete by the arm holding him Let them go Wilcox Let them go I tell teJI you I IFor For an instant Pete stood there stunned The motors of the plane roared full speed the prope propellers were a glancing whirring light So that's the game Pete said Not on your life Valera Ive I've got Taussig's charts and Im I'm getting him Pete tore loose leaped to the he gallery gallery gallery gal gal- lery rail and over Anne m moved ved slowly forward all the strength gone out of her Miguel caught her in his arms and held her for a moment mo mo- ment He kept his arm around her steadying her as they went to the gallery The great motors of the black and yellow plane roared Diego Diego Diego Di Di- ego was climbing in Mr Taussig running doggedly and with surprising pace was fifty yards off far ahead of Pete Wilcox Miguels Miguel's arm tightened around her waist He was watching silently his lips compressed and his face grave Then suddenly she felt the violent forward lurch of his body Her eyes flashed open The field was alive with soldiers coming from everywhere everywhere everywhere every every- where it seemed to her and Pete Wilcox was running down it again And the plane Something Something Some Some- thing had happened It was losing what little altitude it had careening careening careening careen careen- ing heavily swaying back and forth Anne felt her heart had stopped beating altogether It leveled off dangerously close to the hillside the roar of the motors dying out Anne closed her eyes as it nosed up for forone forone forone one last time and crashed down I a I I. I it 3 x Let them go Wilcox Let them themI go I tell you your ou b buried almost out of sight in the banana and orange and coffee trees on the slope Miguel had not moved or said a a word He was bent forward rigidly waiting Suddenly he relaxed She looked at him Miguel He turned to her his face haggard and tired It wasn't supposed to happen that way Anne he said gently It uIt wasn't supposed to get off the ground at all Anne started unzipping Sues Sue's frilly blue dress as soon as she closed the door of her room in in inthe the Granada Granada Granada Gra Gra- nada and got one of her own out of the closet She came back into the room and looked around It seemed ages since she and Sue and Mr Taussig had been there A note was propped up in the middle of the bed She picked it up Anne Anne Ive Ive I've decided to try to save the pieces like you said Call me meas meas meas as soon as you can Love can Love Sue She went to the telephone Senora Porter had gone to the Airport to meet Senor Porter She was combing her hair when the phone rang Captain Wilcox is here miss the operator said Thanks Tell TeIl him Ill I'll be down She crossed the terrace Pete was standing against the marble balustrade looking out over the ocean When he turned she had the impression that he was sorting his face out so she wouldn't see what was really in n it Hi Annie he said I hope you dont don't mind my coming back this way I thought you'd like to have havethe havethe havethe the latest dope Oh dont don't Pete she said You know I always love to see you He grinned Thanks Anne I wanted to tell you about Sue She was wonderful poor little devil She barged into Fletchers Fletcher's office flags flying this morning at aty nine o'clock and demanded to be taken to the thc General and have Old Iron Lungs brought in Fletcher listened to her hera a little and did it and she shot the works Oh Pete 1 Fletcher said she was swell She didn't try to find an out of any sort going to happen pretty human even if they are tough Pete said I Iguess Iguess Iguess guess they figured shed she'd learned her lesson Anyway they wouldn't have so 50 much of the goods on Taussig if she hadn't shelled out the well well- known plans Then that's that Anne said He Hc grinned at her again that he said not ve very verj steadily He stood looking at the ashen tit tip of his cigarette a moment his face sober and intent And theres there's one other thing I Id I'd like to say Annie I was all wet wei about Valera Id I'd heard they might send somebody down like that but bul butI bulI I didn't get hep to it until he all the papers over to me up at the coffee finca Id I'd Id I'd just like to sa sad Im I'm sorry Hes He's a swell guy He tossed his cigarette over the balustrade into to the surf So I take it all back Annie 1 I hope you'll be awfully happy Because Be cause youre you're a swell guy too Oh dont don't Pete she said break my heart I wish I could he said So long I suppose suppose- suppose He stopped Miguel Valera was wa coming through the arcade He came on over Am I II I- I I was just going Pete said You did a swell job Valera He held out his hand Miguel Migue grasped it t. t Neither of them spoke for an instant Good luck Pete said I hope you'll keep her out of trouble So Sa long So long Annie Don Alvaro Valeras Valera's party for his hisson's hisson's hisson's sons son's home-coming home had been scheduled scheduled sched sched- for Sunday He sees no reason for postponing postpone ing it Miguel told Anne They were lunching at the the Its a brave face to the world 1 suppose Im I'm reporting for duty next week by the way He looked at her anxiously My Iy 1 father wants to talk to you Anne Have you told him He nodded He thinks youre you're splendid She hesitated for a moment Miguel Miguel Mig uel she said Theres one thing I must ask you Who is the girl 1 I asked you about before He looked at her for a long time before he spoke She is nobody nobody no no- body Anne not true Anne said somebody She followed me around and she wrote me a note He looked down at his glass Then he pushed his chair back and leaned forward Look my dear he said She is largely responsible for both you and Wilcox not getting killed yester yester- day She is a friend of my uncle Diego She has been listening to their talk Anne hesitated on the doorstep ol oj the Valera home Miguel took her arm reassuringly They went through a tiled passage In the broad lovely patio Don Alvaro came forward bowing as he took her hand It is a great pleasure Senorita he said He led her around to the right where a woman in a heavily beaded bead ed blue crepe dress was talking excitedly excitedly ex to another woman This is Miss Heywood Rosa My ty niece Mrs Arias They shook hands Anne glanced along the terrace There was nothing nothing noth ing but women all sitting in a long row chattering and laughing She looked across to the other side Over there there was nothing but men She listened with bewildered attention attention atten tion to the voluble stream that Mrs Arias was pouring out into her ear about poor Graciela having to miss mis the party to be at her fathers father's side in the hospital Don Alvaro was wa gone Miguel was the center of the group on the other side of the patio Anne took her place in the row oJ of chairs and sipped the cool champagne cham sham punch a servant brought her So far as she could see she was wa the only Continental American thereAfter there After a v fe moments Mrs Arias Aria brought up an attractive woman in ina ina ina a blue linen sports dress and introduced introduced intro intro- her She was English Is this your first Spanish party she asked with a smile I I thought so You look so bewildered I guess I do too Anne laughed Do we just stay here herc like this What would happen if we went over on the other side go alone I haven't got that much courage But look look theres there's theres a boy talking to a girl But hes he's engaged to her Oh Anne said And there he goes back to the men She and Miguel were engaged too and he could have come and to her But that was her fault She Sh hadn't wanted it public knowledge until her parents came Anyway he was watching her She smiles smile across the patio at him I At lunch they sat at a n long table under the trees in a walled garden Anne and Miguel and the Englishwoman Englishwoman English Englishwoman woman and her husband It was fur then them except that still most of the th women stayed in the house and the th themen themen men stayed clustered in their owr group The crisp roast pig and th the were wonderful but Anne Ann felt the way she used to when sh she was a small child and they hac hat Christmas dinner in n the middle o 0 othe the day She was glad when Doi DOl Alvaro came and she could get uland ur ul and move around They walked across the gardei garder and into the patio Shall we go inside Senorita h ht said I have wished several day to talk to you TO BE BC CONTINUED |