Show CARIBBEAN 3 s conspiracy N bit BRENDA CONRAD SIE IE STORY SO 60 fari faill anna neywood daughter of ct a wealthy new 0 rk newspaper publisher goes to 10 a rico on an assignment for or her fathers paper also on the island are pete wil tox cox a reporter on her fathers paper dow BOW a U S army intelligence officer augu huguel e valera a puerto rican educated to in the united states who 1 li st a secret U S agent rich richard a rd taussig le an n engineer ineer ent those hose identa identity ty as ai a german a agent g li is to he be proved and porter 1 young american engineer and his bit wife sue w who h a has hai misguidedly given mr some valuable val plans sue appeals to anne for or help anne goes with taussig to a remote villa outside pete sell mi valera are waiting CHAPTER P the palms of at annes annea hands were idly moist le where are we go ab 1 I am going to brazil mr taussig replied here is some paper please dont try to be either funny or resourceful its quite alte useless I 1 assure you anne sat without moving for an instant what was the use then the thought quickly it would be quite easy to leave some kind of a story she picked nicked up the pen dear pete mr taussig said I 1 believe that is what you call him 1 I have decided to go away with richard taussig anne looked at him atea dlly ay you spare me that humiliation mr taussig lg he wont believe ita it I 1 assure you I 1 must have told him already that I 1 think youre unbelievably repulsive mr Taus sigs face hardened into the mottled oyster gray continue 1 I know it will be a shock hock after everything I 1 have said but thata the way it Is I 1 want you to tell mother and dad or father whichever you say she wrote father pete would know shed never say that tell them they are not to try to find and me because they rm pm tick sick of the kind of sheltered we life ive always had and this is a hance ill never get again were plying ing to costa rica ill write to you some time lots or do you say nay loads of love 11 1 I might as well say gay loads I 1 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 where am I 1 going ehe asked yo you u are going halfway half halt way to sao paolo with me in the plane out there not an all the way mr taussig shook his bis head furthermore ther her more lt it is a nonstop non stop night flight if epure U re int interested c rested t she looked at him calmly you abere liean yi can ean im getting out halfway half way mr Taus sigs mouth tightened to a thin line take this envelope up put the letter in it and sepal seal it I 1 dont want ray own fingerprints on it thank you now take another piece of paper and write to mrs porter dearest ea sue dont be shocked darling but im going aw away a Y with mr taussig I 1 decided it this morning im sorry about Rus russells Eells plans I 1 have taken I 1 them hem I 1 put 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 up clear eyed yes sign it miss heywood she wrote love anne taussig motioned to her to push the letter over to him he bent over reading it slowly his hands shook shoo a little suddenly bis face was distorted and horrible she shrank back instinctively his hand moved toward the gun on the table and topped stopped he got up slowly miss heywood he be said his voice cold and deadly soft you are 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 nor mr taussig lg do I 1 have the plans I 1 got them now nor have I 1 ever had them the whole othin thing g as you will probably remember eer was your own idea he stared at her livid with fury in the darkened inner room migvel miguel valera moved the bolt on the door slowly and silently pete touched his arm wait Wal till he whispered the door to the inner room opened as aa mr taussig was starting slowly toward anne heywood pete wilcox took two quick steps to her side thrust her back across the room lurched for the revolver and as ai miguel valera caught the corner comer of the desk pad and flicked the revolver onto the floor he turned and dashed out onto the gallery diego bongaro was already gone A door slammed med there was the sound bound of running feet in the courtyard r rd pete dashed across the room and anne leaned back against the wall sick with fear tor for miguel valera caught cabiat pete by the arm holding him let them go let them go I 1 tin tell you for an instant pete stood there stunned tu nned the i motors odthe plane roared full speed the propellers were a glancing whirring light so the game pete said not on your life ive got Taus sigs gB charts and im getting him pete tore loose leaped to the gallery rall rail and over anne moved slowly forward all the strength gone out of her miguel caught her in his arms and held her tor for a moment 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 bongaro was climbing in mr taussig lg running doggedly and with surprising pace was fifty yards off tar far ahead of pete wilcox miguels arm tightened ed around her waist he was watching silently his ups 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 it seemed to her and pete wilcox was running down it again and the plane something had happened it was losing what little altitude it had careening heavily swaying back and forth anne felt her heart had bad 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 tor for one 0 ne last time and crashed down 11 let them go wilcott let them go I 1 tell buried almost out of sight in the banana and orange and coffee trees on the slope miguel had riot moved or said a word lie was bent forward rigidly waiting suddenly he relaxed she looked at him miguell Ml guell he turned to her his face haggard and tired it supposed to happen that way anne he said gently it supposed to get off the ground at all anne started un zipping sues sue s frilly blue dress as soon as she closed the door of 0 her room in the gra nada and got goi one of her own out ot of the the closet she came back into the room and locked around it seemed ages since she and sue and mr taussig had been there A note was propped up to in the middle of the bed she picked it up anne ive decided to try to save the pieces like you said call me as soon as you can love sue she went to the telephone senora porter had gone to the airport to meet senor seno r porter she was combing hc her r hair when the phone rang captain wilcox Is here miss the operator said thanks Ili anks tell him ill 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 see aee what was really in it hl hi annie he said 1 I hope you dont mind my coming back this thia way I 1 thought like to have the latest late st dope oh dont pete she said you know I 1 always love to see you he grinned thanks anne I 1 wanted to tell you about sue she was wonderful poor lettle devil she barged into fletchers fletcherr Flet chers office flags flying this morning at nine dine and demanded to be taken to the general and have old iron lungs brought in im fletcher listened toler to her a little and did it and she shot the works oh petel fletcher sold bald she was swell she try to find an out of any sort going to happen Ib eyre pretty human even it if they are tough pete said 1 I guess they figured shed learned her lesson anyway they have to much of at the goods foods on hausle it she shelled out the well known plans then that anne said he grinned at her again that he said not very steadily he stood looking at the ashen tip of his cigarette a moment his face ace sober and intent and theres one other thing id like to say annie I 1 was all wet about valera id heard they might send somebody down like that but I 1 get hep to it until he turned all the papers over to me up at the coffee finca id just like to say bay im sorry hes a swell guy euy he tossed his cigarette over the balustrade into the surf so I 1 take it all back annie I 1 hope be awfully happy because youre a swell guy too oh dont pete she said break my heart 1 I wish I 1 could he said so long I 1 suppose he stopped miguel valera was coming through the arcade he came on over am I 1 1 I was just going pete said you did a swell job valera he held out his hand miguel maguel grasped it neither of them spoke for an instant good luck pete said 1 I hope keep her out ot of trouble so long so long annie don alvaro valeras party tor for his sons homecoming home coming had bad been scheduled tor for sunday he sees no reason tor for postponing it miguel told anne they were lunching at the Mallor quina its a brave face to the world I 1 suppose im reporting tor for duty next week by the way he looked at her anxiously my father wants to talk to you anne have you told him he nodded he thinks youre asplen splendid d id she hesitated tor for a moment miguel she said theres one thing I 1 must ask you who Is the girl I 1 asked you about before he looked at her tor for a long time before he spoke she is nobody anne not true anne said ashes 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 m my y dear he said she is largely responsible tor for both you and wilcox not getting killed yesterday she Is a friend of my uncle diego bongaro Gon garo she has been listening to their talk anne hesitated on the doorstep of 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 I 1 right ight w where here a woman in a heavily beaded blue crepe dress was talking excitedly to another woman this is miss heywood R rosa osa my niece mrs arias they shook hands anne glanced long along the terrace there was nothing out 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 to the voluble stream that mrs arias was pouring out into her ear a bout about poor graciela having to miss the party to be at her lathers fathers side in the hospital don alvaro wasi was gone miguel was the center ot of the group on the other side of the patio anne anna took her place in the ro row w 0 ol 01 I 1 chairs and sipped the cool champagne punch a servant brought her so far as she could see she was the only continental american there alter after a few moments mrs arias brought up an attractive woman in a blue linen sports dress and introduced her she was english Is this your first spanish party she asked with a smile 1 I thought so you look so bewildered 1 I 1 guess I 1 do too anne laughed do we lust just stay here like this what would happen it if we went over on n the other side go alone I 1 got that much courage but look theres a boy talking to a girl but hes 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 talked to her but that was her fault she wanted it public knowledge until her parents came anyway he wits was watching her she across the patio at him at lunch they sat at a long table under the trees in a walled garden anne and miguel and the english woman and her husband it was tun fun then except that still most of the women stayed in the house and the men stayed clustered in their own group the crisp roast pig and the were wonderful but anne felt the way she used to when she was a small child and they had christmas dinner in the middle os ol the day she was glad when don alvaro come came and she could get up and move around they walked across the garden and into the patio shall we go inside senorita h he said 1 I have hav wished several dayi day to talk to you 10 ITO IO BE CONTINUED |