  The silence that followed Mr. Blake’s announcement was like the moment after lightning strikes, when a clap of thunder is expected. It would come with the whole explanation. But at first Judy couldn’t believe it. “I don’t understand this at all,” she heard herself saying. “You couldn’t have made a mistake, Irene?” “No, Judy. Irene identified her. There’s no mistake unless Clarence Lawson made it when he snatched the wrong girl. Do you think that could be what happened?” Peter asked the other FBI agent. “It’s worth an investigation,” Mr. Blake replied. “This woman is Francine Dow all right. She was on her way to the theater when she was hurt.” “Do you mean—you can’t mean that she never arrived! Then who was that up there on the stage? Someone played the part of Sleeping Beauty. Did you know it wasn’t the guest star you invited?” Judy asked, turning to Irene in bewilderment. “No, I didn’t,” she admitted. “I did think she’d kept her youth and beauty amazingly. But the right make-up can make a person look very young. I couldn’t see what was going on backstage from where I was standing. Afterwards, when I saw the reviews, I suspected there had been a last-minute substitute. But I still don’t know who she was.” “Doesn’t anybody know?” “The substitute does. Whoever she was, she played the part beautifully except for the last song. I did wonder why she didn’t sing. There was an unscheduled wait when the witch was spinning,” Irene said, “but I never guessed Francine Dow wasn’t there. The show would have been ruined if someone hadn’t stepped in to play the part.” “But who was that someone?” Judy wanted to know. “And how did she know the lines?” “There were cards,” Irene explained. “Cards are often used to prompt busy stars. Francine missed the rehearsals so we had the cards ready for her. The man on the dolly held them up.” “Baby,” little Judy corrected Irene drowsily from Dale’s arms, and promptly fell asleep. “I wish I could sleep like that without dreaming,” Judy said with a sigh. “My dreams are so real I keep thinking things that are actually happening are part of them. If I could only think—” “You did all right when you compiled that list your husband showed me. That shows some pretty clear thinking,” Mr. Blake complimented her. “But this! If I could think back to the exact time—” “That’s it!” exclaimed Peter. “Now you’re on the right track.” “Am I? It doesn’t seem possible. But if the lines Francine had to say were on the cards, and the wig and costume were ready, it could have been played by some other actress. But who was she? Who took the part of Sleeping Beauty?” “We know it wasn’t Francine Dow,” Irene said thoughtfully. “It wasn’t one of the fairies. They were still in costume. I don’t see who it could have been unless—” She paused, and Peter said one word: “Clarissa!” “You’re right, Peter!” This was the clap of thunder Judy had been expecting. Somewhere in the back of her mind she had known it all along. Clarissa, in the golden wig and the princess costume, had shown her real beauty for everyone to see. There could have been no doubt, even in her own mind, that she was a vision of loveliness on TV. “She said she’d do anything to get on television,” Judy remembered. “Could she have planned all this?” “I don’t see how she could,” Irene replied. “Nobody possibly could have known Francine Dow would have an accident. The whole show could have been spoiled!” “But it wasn’t. Clarissa played the part so well that everybody thought she was Francine Dow. But what happened afterwards?” asked Judy. “Francine’s aunt must have known she wasn’t the real Francine—” “If that woman was her aunt,” Peter put in, and suddenly, just as the realization had come that Clarissa had played the part of Sleeping Beauty, a new and more terrifying fact became apparent. “Peter!” cried Judy. “Those plans to hold an actress until her husband gave a ‘donation’ were meant for Francine Dow. But if they’re holding Clarissa—” She stopped, aghast at the thought of what terror the girl, so easily frightened, must be feeling in the hands of Clarence Lawson and his ring of criminals. They had been desperate enough to use bullets to keep their plans from being discovered. Peter was aware of the danger. “We must proceed with caution,” he told Mr. Blake. “It’s our job to see that the girl isn’t hurt—” “And that she’s returned to her own people,” his partner added. “Where can we get hold of them?” That proved to be the big question. A minister somewhere in West Virginia was pretty vague. But it was enough to trigger the field office there into action. An ordained minister by the name of Valentine ought not to be hard to find. Mr. Blake was ready to leave. He said he would get back to the office and set the machinery in motion. Meantime Peter decided to call up Washington, since every case investigated in the field had to be supervised and coordinated from FBI headquarters there. “We’ll get fast action on this,” he promised a short time later, returning from the telephone booth just outside the waiting room. Judy could see how difficult it was for him to move about with the heavy cast on his shoulder, but the urgency of his case seemed to give him new strength. She turned to Irene, who still seemed a little baffled by all that was happening, and said, “Poor Peter! I know how much he wants to get out there in the field, as he calls it, and do the investigating himself, but he can’t. We mustn’t let him try until he’s stronger.” “Is Clarissa in danger? I don’t understand what’s going on at all,” Irene admitted. “None of us do. But we have to find out. There seems to have been a plot to kidnap some actress. It sounds like something out of one of my stories,” Dale said, “but I’m afraid it’s only too real.” He glanced at the sleeping baby he was holding, and Judy knew what he was thinking. Until Clarence Lawson and his ring of criminals were caught, none of them could be sure who his next victim would be. “Peter’s afraid they’ve snatched Clarissa, thinking she was Francine Dow. I don’t know how a thing like that could happen. Why would she have gone with them without a protest? Let’s go back over everything that happened,” Judy suggested. “Mr. Lenz knows something—” “You can’t blame him for anything. He’s the kindest, best man,” Irene began to defend him. “I’m not questioning his character,” Judy told her. “I’m just remembering what he said. Something in that film storage room was dangerous. ‘As dangerous as an atom bomb,’ he said, and I think that something, whatever it is, may be a clue to what happened to Clarissa.” “What about Francine Dow? Why wasn’t she reported missing? Didn’t anybody care about her? She has a husband. She does try to conceal her age. She used to look a lot like Clarissa when she was a movie star. Now, with her hair dyed that weird shade of red and her face—Judy, it was a yellowish color. She looked terrible. I asked the nurse and she said Francine is in bad shape. I guess it’s something pretty serious,” Irene finished. “And worry never helps. I’ve heard Dad say that,” Judy remembered. “I tried to tell her the show wasn’t spoiled. It did quiet her a little,” Irene said. “I suppose, now that they know who she is, the hospital will get in touch with her husband. Everything is out of our hands, Judy. We may as well go home and get a little rest.” Judy hoped she could rest without a whole parade of faceless golden-haired people swarming in to haunt her dreams. Flo had dreamed. So had Pauline. But what of Clarissa? Was there really something in that golden hair wash commercial to make them dream? “You started to tell me something, Peter,” Judy began. “You said there were federal controls to keep advertisers in line—” “There aren’t enough, I’m afraid. The big networks have banned this kind of advertising, but some of the local channels may be using it,” Peter said. “Advertising? But Mr. Lenz said, ‘as dangerous as an atom bomb,’” Judy objected. “I thought he was talking about something that might blow up in our faces.” “Mind control is equally dangerous. Think about it,” Peter advised. “Talk with this projectionist if you have a chance. We want to know exactly what you four girls saw on television.” |
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