“There’s so much to tell. I can’t think of it all at once. Irene invited Francine Dow to be her guest star. Did I tell you she didn’t arrive until the last minute?” asked Judy. “Then she left hurriedly with her aunt before we had a chance to meet her.”
“Did you meet the aunt?” Peter questioned. “A phony aunt would fit in very nicely with what we already know.”
“What do you know? I can see you’re not free to tell me,” Judy added when Peter was silent. “But that doesn’t mean I’m not free to think about it. These thieves of the mind may invent machines to make me dream, but when I’m awake I intend to do my own thinking, and right now I think Francine Dow may be in danger. She didn’t sing. Irene thought she had a cold. But maybe something else was wrong. I didn’t tell you, but there was an argument in the film storage room. The projectionist was very angry. I heard him say something might be as dangerous as an atom bomb. I had no idea what the danger was, but if Francine Dow is missing—”
Judy stopped. It wasn’t Francine Dow, it was Clarissa Valentine who was missing. The two girls, as she remembered them, were somewhat alike. The absurd idea came to her that one of them could have been real and the other a changeling. But Peter didn’t want fairy tales. He wanted facts.
CHAPTER XIX
Uncovering the Facts
“Peter,” Judy said after a little silence, “you’re looking for facts, and I do have something that may help you uncover them. It’s—right here.”
She handed him the slip of paper she had been saving and told him what it was.
“Lawson’s post office box number!” exclaimed Peter. “I can’t believe it. You should be working for us—”
“For you, Peter,” she interrupted quietly.