She was gone.
Really gone, for certain, not simply walking off in a huff.
Two weeks later, Johnny got the letter—unofficial—from the Enemy.
The F.B.I. was sympathetic, but the Chief said, "You can understand, Mr. Sloman, how our hands are tied. It is not an official letter. We can't prove anything. We don't doubt it for a minute, of course. The cold war enemy has kidnapped your fiancee and taken her to their motherland. But—we can't prove it. Not being able to prove it, we can't do a thing about it. You're aware, of course, of how readily the rest of the world condemns our actions. Not that they wouldn't be on our side if we could prove that this kidnap letter was the real thing, but you realize we won't be able to prove it at all."
"Oh," said Johnny. He went home. He saw Harry Bettis, who said he was shocked. The note read:
Mr. Johnny Sloman:
We have Miss Jo-Anne Davis here in the motherland. The only way she can live a normal life here is if you join her and work for us. We believe you know what the other kind of life is like here.
Bettis said, "It stumps the hell out of me, Johnny."
"I'm just waking up," said Johnny slowly. "In a way, it's your fault."