“No. I want you to take me to the station and book me.”
Billie, who had followed the officer, said, “Lora, do as the officer says.”
“Tell him, Billie. Tell him that I’m a blackmailer and a Peeping Tom!”
“Yes, tell me, Miss,” he said, looking at her imploringly. “I would certainly like to hear your version of the story.”
“I will. But first, Lora, you need to get out of the car.”
“All right,” Lora muttered.
“Let’s all go into the apartment and have a talk,” suggested Billie.
Bates was totally relieved that someone with a level head had taken charge.
When they were all inside, Lora said, “Billie, this is Officer Bates and this is Billie Bliss, officer.”
“You, then, are the one Miss Lemmon thinks she blackmailed?”
“Officer Bates, does Lora need to be handcuffed?”
“Oh no, no,” the flustered officer mumbled, quickly unlocking the cuffs.”
She insisted on it and I only did it to keep her quiet—I think,” he added under his breath.
Billie smiled. “Now, let’s all sit down and try to understand one another.”
“Thank you, Miss Bliss, I would like that very much.”
“First of all, Lora Lemmon did not blackmail me.”
“B-but I did.”
“Correct me, officer if I’m wrong, but when someone thinks he has something on another person, in order for it to be called blackmail, that someone has to extort something from the person. Is that right?”
“That is certainly the way the law defines it.”
“What did you ask me for, Lora, in order to keep you from telling Dean Atwood?”
“Well, I . . . don’t know.”
“Think hard, Lora, what did you want from me?”
Lora shook her head, a blank expression on her face. “I must have wanted something, or I wouldn’t have told you what I saw.”
“All right, Lora,” Billie said patiently, “think, what was it?”
“I guess I didn’t get that far in my plans,” she said, her voice quivering.
“All right, then, think about it now. Pretend you’re planning it out thoroughly.”
Lora thought about it, frowning. The seconds ticked by. All of sudden, she gazed at Billie, a look of surprise on her face. “I didn’t want anything!”
“Then why did you spy on Miss Bliss and her professor?” Officer Bates demanded.
Tears threatened again. “Because I saw Dr. Ackerman rent some movies that weren’t proper and—”
Billie quickly took over. “And you were trying to be a loyal student of Fairfield, I think. May I tell the story, Officer Bates?”
He let out a breath of relief. “You certainly may.”
Billie told him, as briefly as possible, about Project Success and how she had a special problem that Dr. Ackerman had been trying to help her with.
She explained that Dr. Ackerman seldom indulged in television entertainment or movies. He much preferred attending the theater or the symphony. He’s a complete novice when it comes to popular entertainment of today. Because of this, when he rented the movies to prove something to her, he mistakenly rented some improper ones.
“Lora was in the video store the day he rented them, and since she is also in Dr. Ackerman’s class, she knew about the project. She was shocked that Dr. Ackerman would rent those kinds of movies, and deduced correctly that maybe they had something to do with me. She felt something was going on that wasn’t right. I think, Officer Bates, Lora is a frustrated detective, and she did only what she thought would prove that things weren’t right. She saw us in what looked like a compromising situation. It, of course, was innocent, as Dr. Ackerman was just trying to keep me from doing something that wouldn’t have been good for me.”
“Is that all it was?” Lora asked.
“Yes.”
“I’m sorry, Billie,” she said softly.
“You’ve already told me you were sorry, Lora, remember?”
“Then tell me, Miss Bliss,” requested Officer Bates.
Billie finished the story, telling him how Lora approached her Sunday night, how miserable she felt all night and all the next day, then how she came to her Monday night.
“She apologized and asked my forgiveness, Officer Bates, and I assure you, she was very remorseful.”
Lora was beginning to feel quite noble as she heard the story from Billie’s lips.
Thoughtfully digesting the information that Miss Bliss had presented, the officer turned and gazed at Lora for some moments. “Can you see, Miss Lemmon, that it was not your business to find out what was going on with Miss Bliss and her professor?”
“Oh, I can, Officer Bates. I’ll never do that again.”
“And, Miss Lemmon, I suggest that in the future, if you get an urge to play detective, you need go to the Police Academy and get some legitimate training.”
Lora shook her head. “I’ve changed my mind, Officer Bates. I’ve decided that I’m definitely not PI material. I’m through with detective work forever.”
Twenty-Nine
Feeling keyed up and excited over his idea to pursue Bliss and the plan he had made for implementing it, Sheldon was surprised to see that it was 3:00 a.m. He decided he better get to bed so he would be clearheaded enough to put his idea into action immediately after the 280 class this morning.
-
Immediately after closing his lecture, Dr. Ackerman requested that Miss Lora Lemmon see him after class. He could see the surprise on her face and then the concern.
“What is it, Dr. Ackerman?” Lora asked nervously, standing first on one foot, then the other.
He noted that she was wearing another outfit that had belonged to Bliss. Lora Lemmon looked nice in it, he thought, but not nearly as nice as the previous owner.
“Could I see you in my office for a few minutes, Miss Lemmon?”
She nodded solemnly and followed him to his office. He closed the door and walked behind his desk.
“Please have a seat, Miss Lemmon.”
“Thank you.”
His eyes aglow with excitement, he proceeded immediately. “Miss Lemmon, do you remember you said that if there was something you could do for me, you would be glad to?”
“I do, Dr. Ackerman, and I meant it.”
“Since you’re used to slinking around in order to avoid detection, I need you to do that very thing for me.”
“Oh, but Dr. Ackerman, I’ve sworn off slinking around.”
He smiled. “I’m very glad to hear that, but this is for a very different purpose, and I think you’ll be quite happy to do it.” He then explained it to her.
-
Billie woke up feeling depressed. Last night, while helping Lora out, she felt happier than she had for some time. She was glad to meet the officer who had been so kind as to lead Lora home in both of her self-created emergencies.
But this morning, she realized the happiness for Lora had not sustained her through the night. She missed Dodds terribly, but what was really bothering her was that he hadn’t tried to contact her since that one time. This told her more than she wanted it to. He must feel relieved to not have to deal with her and her problems any more. Certain, now, that he had no feelings for her, except the affection of a dedicated professor for a student, she wondered what she was going to do. Try as she would, she found it almost impossible to make plans for the future. Making herself get up, she was determined to try and get on with her life.
-
Wednesday night, Lora asked to get off work a little early so she could accomplish the task for Dr. Ackerman. As she entered the driveway of Billie’s apartment, which was now hers, she saw that Dr. Ackerman was already there waiting for her.
“Thank you, Miss Lemmon, I certainly do appreciate this,” he said, handing her one red rose wrapped in white tissue paper and an envelope which she was supposed to deliver to the porch of the Bliss home.
“You’re welcome, Dr. Ackerman. This is so exciting!”
“Good luck, Miss Lemmon. As I said, it’s very important that you aren’t seen. If you were to be caught, you couldn’t explain it since you aren’t a very good liar,” he said, smiling. “I’ll see you here tomorrow night at the same time?”
“I’ll be here, Dr. Ackerman.”
Lora decided that this kind of detective work was much more rewarding.
To prepare for it, she checked out the clothes Billie had given her. She chose a navy blue, cotton pantsuit. “This will be perfect,” she said out loud. “It won’t be so easily seen at night.” It was getting dark a little earlier now, so she was able to park closer to Billie’s house than she had anticipated. She parked a block away on the opposite side of the street.
Warily, she approached the house at an angle so that those inside couldn’t see her. She stood near the corner of the front porch, checking it out carefully, deciding upon the best place to hide.
Stealthily walking up the steps to the front door, she placed the rose and envelope on the porch directly in front of the door and rang the doorbell.
She turned, ran down the steps, and squeezed into the bushes in front of the house, glad for her recent practice at this sort of thing. Moments later, she heard the door open, then silence. Her heart pounded furiously as she heard someone coming down the steps. It was Billie! She looked around, waited a moment, and then went back up the steps and into the house. Lora let out the breath she had been holding, waited a while, then snuck off across the lawn and ran up the block to her car.
-
Billie walked into the house holding the rose and envelope, frowning.
Turning the envelope over, she saw in typed letters, Miss Billie Bliss.
“What have you got there, snooks?” Grandpa asked, coming out of the library.
“I don’t know, Grandpa.”
Matilda, who had scurried out of the kitchen to see who had rung the bell, gasped in delight. “Oh, how lovely, and how romantic, Billie. They’re probably from your professor.”
Billie looked askance at her aunt as she walked into the kitchen, placing the crystal vase and rose upon the table. “Aunt Tilly, Dr. Ackerman calls me Bliss, not Billie, and besides, this wouldn’t be his style. He tried hard but he’s totally clueless about romance, let alone doing something romantic like this.”
Her grandfather, who also had followed her into the kitchen, asked, “Are you going to open the envelope and read it?”
Billie sighed, feeling bored with it. “I guess, Grandpa.” She opened it and read:
She walks in beauty, like the night
of cloudless climes and starry skies;
And all that’s best of dark and bright
Meet in her aspect and her eyes . . .
Lord Byron
“How beautiful, Billie. Who is it from?” asked Matilda eagerly.
“There’s no signature,” Billie said in exasperation. “Someone thinks he’s being very clever by remaining anonymous.” She promptly went over to the wastebasket under the sink and threw the poetry in.
“Oh no!” Aunt Tilly exclaimed. “Don’t throw it away. You never know, you might wish you’d saved it.”
Billie just silently shook her head, walked out of the kitchen, and up the back stairs to her bedroom.
“Our girl is certainly having a hard time of it,” Bill stated to Matilda.
“Well,” she said, digging into the wastebasket, “I’m going to save it for her whether she likes it or not.”
Bill smiled. “Good girl, Matilda.”
Upstairs, Billie got ready for bed, turned out the lights, and lay there thinking. No way was she going to allow herself to be harassed by some would-be Romeo!
-
The next night, around the same time, Lora ran across the Bliss’ lawn to the bushes. Clutched in her hands were three red roses wrapped in green paper and an envelope. She waited, then ran up the porch steps. Setting the items down as before, she rang the bell and again retreated quickly down the steps and into the bushes. Feeling even more nervous than the night before, she wondered if this time someone would look more carefully for the courier. Hearing the door open, then soon close, she was relieved, but puzzled.
Waiting longer this time before venturing out of the bushes, Lora dashed across the lawn to the welcoming darkness afforded by the overhanging limbs of the trees that edged the lot.
Matilda, who had opened the door, quickly and delightedly retrieved the treasure off the door step and hurried into the kitchen, calling Billie.
Removing the previously received single rose from the crystal vase, she replaced it with the three roses. Laying the envelope next to the vase, she went in search of Billie. She found her in the library looking at a map with her father.
“Billie, go into the kitchen and see what you got tonight.”
“Not now, Aunt Tilly—later.”
Billie and her father were going over her options, jobwise and conferring together on where to look for this job.
“I wish you would reconsider getting another job here in Claytonville, Billie.”
“I wish I could, Papa. I hate leaving you and the family, but right now it’s best for me to get away.”
It wasn’t till 10:00 p.m., when Billie entered the kitchen to get a glass of milk, that she remembered she told Aunt Tilly she would look at the latest gift from the anonymous Romeo.
She poured herself a glass of milk, reflecting on how her family was now concerned over her lack of appetite and loss of weight.
She picked up the vase that held the three new arrivals and breathed in deeply the rich, aromatic fragrance. She sat down and sipped her milk, debating whether to even open the envelope—but curiosity got the best of her. She opened it and read:
I ne’r was struck before that hour
with love so sudden and so sweet,
Her face it bloomed like a sweet flower
And stole my heart away complete . . .
I never saw so sweet a face
As that I stood before.
My heart has left its dwelling place
And can return no more.
John Clare
Billie read the poem several times. “How beautiful,” she whispered. “Who could have sent this?” She sighed. All the poem managed to do was oppress her with loneliness for her true love. Leaving it on the table for Aunt Tilly and the rest of the family to read, she went upstairs to bed.
-
Sheldon had never felt such sweet misery as that which filled his soul while typing the next poem for his beloved Bliss. When he was through, anxiousness tormented him. He agonized—wondering how Bliss was reacting to his gifts of love. Could she have possibly guessed who sent them? If so, how did she feel about him? Could such a beautiful, kind and wonderful girl as Billie Bliss learn to care for a man like him?
Nettie, Sharon, and Molly each had called him to see how he was and each had asked what he was doing to win the girl he loved. He assured them that he was working on it and thanked them for their moral support. And how he did appreciate it. He longed to visit with his mother and ask her advice. At least she had left him a legacy of poetry books. Not only did he find them soul satisfying—but very useful.
-
Thursday evening, in the driveway of her apartment, Lora was delighted to take the long, white box Dr. Ackerman handed her.
“Is it a dozen red roses?”
Sheldon smiled. “It is. And the card is inside.”
“Oh, Dr. Ackerman,” she sighed, “this is all so romantic.”
“You really think so, Miss Lemmon?” he asked, feeling pleased over her reaction.
“I do.”
“Good. Well, good luck tonight. I commend you for not getting caught,” he said, smiling at the memory of her bumbled sleuthing while trying to follow him.
-
Lora drove up to her usual parking place against the curb a block away.
She waited awhile,
hoping it would become dark enough that the white box wouldn’t be so visible as she walked down the sidewalk toward the Bliss home.
Her heart beating wildly against her chest, she ran across the lawn to the corner of the house. Once there, she waited, watched, listened, then ran to the steps and up. Quickly placing the box in front of the door, she rang the bell.
She almost stumbled as she ran back down but managed to squeeze into the bushes in record time. The door opened abruptly and she heard a male voice.
“Who’s there? I know you’re there! Show your face before I call the police!”
Lora almost choked, she was so scared. She heard him come down the steps muttering under his breath. He proceeded out onto the walk and looked around.
“All right, you coward, if you don’t show your face, I’ll dump the box into the garbage can and my niece will never see it.”
Lora gasped, almost audibly, at this, but managed to restrain herself.
However, she did notice a little smile on the face of the grumpy old man as he walked back up the steps. Hoping desperately that this was an indication he was only teasing, she waited with bated breath. After the man entered the house with the box, Lora continued to wait an even longer time before exiting, for fear he was waiting to pounce on her the minute she stepped out of the bushes.
Arly Bates cruised slowly down Maple Avenue. There had been a burglary in the area and his assignment was to be on watch tonight. His eyes caught sight of a familiar old, blue Volkswagen parked in an odd place on Maple Avenue between houses. He stopped, got out of his car, and crossed the street to look at the license plate. Sure enough, it belonged to Lora Lemmon! He looked around, shining his flashlight in several directions, but couldn’t see her anywhere. Getting back into his car, he drove very slowly down the block, looking on both sides, hoping she was all right. The foolish girl. She had a penchant for getting into scrapes.
A movement caught his eye. A dark figure was running across a lawn. He pulled over to the side, turned off his lights and watched. The figure turned right, walking rapidly up the sidewalk. Making a U-turn, he slowly followed.
It's Bliss Page 20