Show TANGLED WIVES by peggy shane copyright by peggy shane service SYNOPSIS A girl finds herself in si a taxicab in new york with ft a strange man who op tweaks e ake of 0 an awful thock shock he leaves h her r for to a moment and she drives on fo or r she he fears cars him she stops at the ditmore wondering who she Is her memory to Is gone she has a wedding ring at the hotel ii young woman vanishes with the girls 1900 an elderly woman mrs oscar du val cordially greets the nameless girl ad dressing her as doris wife of mrs du vals son rocky rocky to Is abroad and doris Is taken to the home of mrs du val and her sculptor husband oscar doris falls in love with photograph but cannot remember having baying married him visiting a store a saleswoman insists insist she hide from observation rocky returns he demands to know who she Is and why his wife sent her to his home she cannot tell him they agree for the sake of his parents to pretend they are husband fre and wife rocky takes doris oris to his new york apartment to confront his wife he finds the flat empty doris sees the real photograph and recognizes her as the girl who stole her doris tells rocky she has lost her memory CHAPTER VI continued 12 she looked up at him smiling per baas they know me no they act like that more as if they were pointing out a celebrity where are they hey wait a minute heres our cab young lady he scolded hop flop in and dont jump away like that again im a nervous fellah but those women hop tn in ile he lifted her gently off her feet and set her in the cab A minute later he was beside her having told the driver to go to a certain speakeasy but rocky if those people were pointing me out it must mast have been for some reason rocky settled himself beside her and drew out a cigarette well can baby I 1 like their looks it if they were friends of yours youre better off without them and while I 1 dont want to be melodramatic in the gayety gaiety of the evening she khe had forgotten her old conviction that something terrible lay in her past from which memory had mercifully shut her out rocky laid his handover hand over hers bers forgie me he sald said 1 I was foolish nut not to go up to those people but I 1 had a hunch just a reeling feeling not to ta do it the cab had stopped at a red light A small boy was darting between the lined up cars holding out papers oh rocky we forgot about the tabloids lets look in 0 K said rocky feeling in his big kocl ets ive been away so long I 1 dont know what the latest scandals ls are myself the urchin lumped jumped on the running board and sold his papers doris eyes dropped to the headlines KILLER BRIDES GUN FOUND diane father fater identifies gun discovered on ferry boat the papers slid to the floor for a she remembered she knew everything then she collapsed she crumbled into a heap on the taxicab floor mo moaning and clutching li n e es when she came to her senses she was lying across the bed in apartment while he leaned over her with anxious fear stricken eyes you fainted yes it was it was something she ehe could not go on she could not remember nhat ahat it was she closed her eyes sighed now did I 1 pet get here ile he flushed blushed lu shed 1 I carried you you viere tere unconscious you tou were kind she was too exhausted to say more nor could she bring herself to mention the papers just as s slip she had forgotten thi the words over the radio she had bad again for foredt ot ten the hie headlines in the paper tier mind seemed to refuse to go hack back toward them she knew that komp thing too horrible for had bad been revealed to tier her site she have the strength to think about it then she saw that he was very ex ei cited ile HP walled walked around th room picking up things throwing them down ile he seemed beside him elf with some come new strange emotion wrong he sat down in a chair biting his lips ile he hardly noticed her question she repeated rep the matter tie he roe and came to the bedside S seating beside her hp be took her hand nut but there here was something odd and unconscious in the gesture gerture tell me everything again every single thing you she fixed her dark eyes on his and something in his earnest seriousness made her begin again site rehearsed the whole story the man in the cab her hatred her insane desire to get awny from him the man in the cab I 1 the man in the cab rocky was pacing the floor again what did he look like im sure hes a dark horse wonderingly doris described him are you positive you cant remember a thing about your real bus husband his its eyes looked careworn and anxious tier her face reflected his troubled state no not a thing lie ile his hi head fiend its very ter tell me mer 1 I dont know what to do I 1 know knon I 1 oi lit to t 11 lie he resumed ia III rest leLas what ought you to do dol tie ite turned on her grimly well something im not going to do she could stand no more rocky have you found out ou who I 1 am supposing I 1 have hare found out she was silent it must be some gome thing thin pretty awful she said after a pause 1 I dont know what to do she S he pulled a cushion from behind her shoulders wearily better tell me still he walked up and down youe got to trust me ile he had reached that far in his rea boning that he could not tell her what b he e knew and that she would have to do what he thought was best for her she sighed it had been such a long hard day taxing mentally and phyll rally cally she could not dot rouse herself to greater effort slie she dozed slept a little and woke to find him standing with all her luggage in the middle of the floor a paint iru iruh brush h in his hand band she watched him take a knife and begin to whittle her bag on which were the initials D V she spoke sharply what are you doing lie ile kept on working at it better go back to sleep baby youre going to need nil all the rest you can get gel rocky what are you doing wantonly wrecking your property 1 I see that MAIL cut but why im going to paint everything black now look here baby there are a lot of things you dont understand and this bisone isone Is one of them turn over close your pretty eyes and go back to sleep doris swung her feet over the side of the bed youre crary if you think im going to let you spoil my bags like alk that you spoke just too late lady ile he began to apply mack enamel over the outside baby I 1 what it if youre rested better go in the next room and look over the clothes that doris left here pack up in my brown suit case find it lying on the bed this Is the queerest thing happened to we me yet I 1 must be d dreaming ream she put her finger out and touched the wet black paint what are you doing this for just a precaution I 1 ought to destroy it but im not ingenious enough to think of a way at the moment I 1 want to get started tn in about an hour rt well out of new york before dawn I 1 forgot to mention that im taking you on a motor trip to canada so pack up what you need from doris things youre not to be a al lowed anything of your own she looked at him speechlessly he put down his brush you ire fire going to let me take care of youl you she said nothing arent you yes yea well then va cant nt I 1 know anything ue he stood close to her looking down only that im doing it all for your welfare the silence between bet een them was sweet beet they did not look at each other but it was aas as if he had offered her something precious and she had accepted ft ben she said all right girl now listen pack up everything you need with what you can find of doris things take noth ing of your own rocky not ky what nuisance 1 I 1 cant help feeling youre being rather sweet ne lie opened her bags and began rm smearing earing paint over the dainty brushes and mirrors inside Cont nl your feelings then darling and get to work but rocky why must you if youre going to leme leaie it here anyway doris might come back be h I 1 to pay if anyone found this luggage took here how long do you intend to stand there and argue with me you go pack ive sent for A basket of food and the minute it comes we beat it she was bewildered rither hither the she must trust him completely or and hp he was heing being so nice doing it all for her she turned finally and went to look over doris things lings ti she sat on the bod bed for it a minute tier her elbows on knees fists jabbed into her cheeks checks what could this mean there fiut have been something more in the papers rocky want her to know it was sweet of him film ile he thought she was too ill she got up tip suddenly cud denly and be began an to pack wondering in a roli t of romantic thoughts it if shed ever be able to stop thinking about him now that she had begun to see what he was really like there was a rap on the door it if was as a hoy boy with the lunch basket rocky came in ready to start rocky Roc kyl t she started but there was earnestness and gravity in his bis face ue he held something in ID his hand can you be ready tn in a few minutes he asked his bis lips white sit she rose rather shakily 1 I 1 guess so she would have to go with him hut but why she insisted you said take care of me and I 1 11 1 doris he said exasperated cant you trust roe me youve got to trust me ine this Is all ali for your good im no slacker tiny any more that than you are lets give each other a break did you save those newspapers Dews papers she sh asked suddenly lie he his head bead but im well enough to read them now mie lie said urgently 1 I know youve been afraid shock me hut but im all over that silly faintness now wont you get another for or me he n shook hla his head again not now we ought to be going golno doris looked at him ruefully why wont you let me see a P paper per doris anal out of it you ton are going ive made all arrangements its it the only way out sep what I 1 mean later inter come on get your things thing st 1 he stood up with a bright forced smile doris too rose she looked up at him a steady plow glow in her eyes rocky you given me any reason why I 1 should go you wont even answer my question about a paper Is there something that I 1 ought not to see ile he answer because it if you think theres something there that will shock me that just what I 1 need it if I 1 can be shocked bar hard enough ill remember everything dont you understand she saw that he and put her hot bot palms lightly to her temples please rocky get me a paper ile he looked down at her with a conviction that was beyond stubbornness its no use for you to keep repeating that request he said its utterly impossible ile he took out his watch you have five minutes in which to dress for the street and oh ith yes I 1 nearly forgot he held beld out ont a pair of lark dark horn rimmed spectacles 1 I found these for you doris stared at them what for she asked tor for you to wear if you like he said but I 1 dont like doris was definite rocky smiled pleasantly take taka them anyway we might bk be doing some fast driving protect you from the wind doris tossed them onto a chair she was perfectly sure that rocky would pick them up again and force her to take them even wear them it if he chose tie he was getting his way about a lot of things CHAPTER VII As they got I 1 nto into the street doris dori noticed that manner mander was very strange he pushed her into the doorway and looked cautiously up and down the dark street come on he be whispered what Is this said gald doris pettishly hurry flurry up rocky had bad adjusted the top on hla his roadster doris climbed into what was now a glass enclosed coupe arent we going to be rather hot cant have the top down not until we get away from new york anyway the engine was purring 0 once nee more doris fancied that rocky looked about fearfully youre acting like the girl in what Is all tho the excitement what did you say about 9 4 girl in Ta Tang cs doris told the story of the odd frightened girl who pushed her into a closet she recognized you do you think she did oh yes yes of course course and she was a good sport id like to meet that girl and give her a party she probably saved your life altel rocky this Is ridiculous you cant be mysterious like this do you mean to tell me you know what made that girl act that way certainly I 1 do then dont be so aggravating tell me they had skirted central park and were going up lenox avenue rocky pausing at a red light smiled smile I 1 down on her marm warm enough tn ough oh yes ye light me ine a cigarette will you she gave him the lighted cigarette quite the little domestic wife arent you somehow the sting had gone out of all his jibes she could no longer feel any antagonism toward him ills his mockery seemed to contain a secret tenderness dawn broke as they left new york doris sniffed the iridescent mists that rose from the fields oh rocky look clams I 1 A truck was driving up to a 8 garish roadside resort men alen were unloading clams fresh from the sea cant stop oli rocky please they look so delicious I 1 rocky sloped the car it if promise to stay in the car and let me bring you some he be began why are you such a tyrant I 1 think youre just showing off want some clams of course I 1 do under those conditions oh I 1 suppose so atta ata birli ile he got out of the car and slammed the door decisively look here you better put on those dark glasses ile he strode over to the stand dorla doris put on the glasses she knew they made tier her look hideous but the morning air the feel of the fresh new world all about tier her and shore above all the sense of companionship with rocky made her lighthearted light hearted whatever there thera was to worry about was unknown to her cocky rocky came back with a large clam loaded down with horse borge radith it its still alive oh dear I 1 wish you sail said that nonsense they ille being eaten ue ile went hack back for another one dorla doris smiled the hot sauces burned her throat pleasantly she relt felt IH as if she could eat cat a dozen clams A car was vias coming coining toward her ber a pale blue closed victoria garishly trimmed it seemed crowded As it neared her she heard a snatch of song doubtless a i party of all night revelers velem re TO ITO BIC BB CONTINUED |