“But the others? She says she’s living with her parents in Roulsville. Aren’t these people really her parents? It is odd she didn’t mention her brothers and sisters. Didn’t she say she was one of six children?” Judy asked.
“I didn’t hear her say that. I didn’t hear her say a lot of the queer things you girls said she said when you were on that tour of Radio City,” Irene replied. “I didn’t hear her call herself a changeling, for instance, or say she looked in the mirror and saw no reflection. Maybe she is trying to trick us after all.”
“It isn’t Clarissa. It’s Lawson who’s trying to trick us,” declared Peter, “but this time he won’t get away with it. He’s picked you for a sucker because you lent money to a stranger. I can’t wait to see the look on his face when he finds out who you really are, Angel.”
“You mean when he finds out I’m married to an FBI man,” Judy laughed. “Peter, when can we leave for home?”
They had planned to return to Pennsylvania in a day or two, anyway. The letter made their return more urgent.
“Let’s leave tomorrow morning,” Peter suggested. “Maybe you’d better call your mother and ask her to open up the house. Otherwise it will be pretty cold. And I’m afraid you’ll have to do most of the driving.”
The Beetle had come through the gun battle with one small dent in its fender. That was repaired, and the car now looked like new. A few telephone calls were made and then the packing began. The following morning, Judy and Peter were on their way home.
“I don’t like New York much,” Judy admitted when they were out of the city, “especially Madison Avenue and what Flo calls the rat race to get a monopoly on all the big accounts. I don’t want anything big. I guess I’m just a country girl at heart.”
“My love for you is as big as all outdoors,” declared Peter. “Don’t you want that?”
The car went into a wild skid. Judy righted it and said, “There! Of course I want your love, but from now on I’m paying strict attention to my driving. All outdoors is pretty big this morning. We have three hundred miles of icy roads ahead of us with who knows what at the other end. Peter, take care this time, won’t you? Please don’t be alone when you meet Clarence Lawson.”