Now Playing: Save the Girl!
Episode Nineteen concluded with:
The woman suddenly appeared horrified. “Maybe
Phil didn’t love me. How could he love me, he--”
Rance placed a finger on her lips. “Love can be
a very strange thing,” he said softly. “And remember, all men are fools.”
Jerri Mae gave a wistful smile. She lifted one
hand and stroked Dehner’s face. “Not all men,” she said. The hand went down and
her eyes closed.
Rance Dehner slowly stood up. He felt empty and
unable to handle the tasks that were in front of him. He made his way onto the
porch of the cabin and sat there for a couple of hours as the sun came up. The
morning turned warm but he still felt cold and empty inside.
Episode Twenty:
***
Getting
Maria Martino and the other five girls back to Dallas was a headache. All of
the girls were upset over losing their opportunity to become the next Carrie
Whiting. They cried when told of the death of Philip Richardson. Dehner tried
to explain that Richardson had not brought them to Alcott for “good” purposes,
but his words were wasted.
Richardson
had owned Alcott and his death threw the town into turmoil. In the midst of the
confusion, Dehner piled the girls into his newly purchased buckboard and began
the trip to Dallas. The girls complained all the way. A few threatened to run
off and return to Alcott, though none actually tried it.
Arriving
in Dallas, things got better. Anna was overjoyed at having her daughter
returned. Maria cried and seemed genuinely remorseful at causing so much
anguish.
Three other scenes were similar to that of
Maria Martino. But the situation with the remaining two girls troubled Rance.
One family seemed angry with their daughter for running off. They expressed no
joy that she was back. The other family seemed only vaguely aware they had a
daughter who had been missing. In those last two cases, Dehner was certain that
the girls would run off again. He hoped they wouldn’t find another Philip
Richardson.
The
detective wrote up his report and, as promised, took it to the office of the
McLeod Talent Agency. A secretary accepted the report and informed Rance that
Carrie Whiting would soon be in New York. “I have instructions not to give Miss
Whiting’s address to anyone. Yes, I can send a telegram informing Miss Whiting
that this… ah… Maria Martino is safely home with her family.”
Six
weeks later, returning to the offices of the Lowrie Detective Agency in Dallas
after a long, exhausting assignment, Dehner was greeted by his boss, Bertram
Lowrie. “This arrived while you were gone,” he handed Rance an envelope, then
stood by obviously hoping his employee would open the letter right there.
A
quick glance at the envelope provided the reason why. The first line of the
return address was the name Carrie Whiting. Dehner placed the envelope in the
pocket of his jacket. “I’m going home to get some rest, it that’s okay. I’ll be
back first thing in the morning.”
“Yes,
of course.” Lowrie was obviously disappointed, but to ask Rance Dehner to open
the letter and read it aloud would be a violation of propriety. Besides, Lowrie
would never confess to being interested in a letter written by a popular
singer.
Tomorrow:
Episode Twenty-One, the conclusion of Save the Girl!
