It's Bliss (27 page)

Officer Bates, feeling thoroughly frustrated, asked again, “If what, Miss Lemmon?”

“
I don’t know.”

Arly Bates wished fervently that he hadn’t followed his impulse to check on this ridiculous girl. He sucked in a deep breath and began, slowly and articulately, “Let me get this straight, Miss Lemmon. You purposely sat on this anthill to peek into the window across from here. Is that right?”

“
No, I didn’t
purposely
sit on the anthill,” she replied, incensed. “It was dark and I didn’t know it was there. I got tired of standing so I sat down, but it wasn’t long before I found out what I was sitting on. However, I couldn’t move or he would see me as he was leaving.”

“
Who is
he
?, Miss Lemmon.” Totally confused, Arly waited for the rest of the story, but all he saw were more hysterics about to erupt. “Stop. Please, calm yourself, Miss Lemmon. May I ask you then, why did you sit on the anthill a
second
time when you knew it was there?”

“
My legs got tired, it was nighttime, and I thought if I sat down very carefully and didn’t move, the ants wouldn’t come out. Then I became so intrigued at what I was seeing, I forgot what I was sitting on, and wiggled.”

“
What did you say you saw?”

“
I saw them hugging.”

“
Is that all?”

“
But Dr. Ackerman is a professor and Billie is his student.”

Arly Bates heaved a sigh, shaking his head. “Okay, what did you do with this information?”

“
I blackmailed Billie,” she insisted, holding out her wrists again.

“
Handcuff me and take me down to the station!”

Officer Arly Bates, flustered and confused, pulled the cuffs from his belt and snapped them on her wrists. They walked over to the Claytonville police car. She waited until he opened the door for her on the passenger side. She sat down in the front seat, bawling. The rattled young officer got in the car, backed out, and began to drive, bewildered as to why he had this hysterical young woman handcuffed and in his car in the first place. He was now desperately trying to figure out what in all billy-heck he was going to do with her!

Mrs. Griffen, the landlady, hearing all the commotion, looked out her window just in time to see a policeman carry off Lora Lemmon. Running to the phone, she called Billie Bliss.

“
Billie, come quick—a policeman just drove off with your friend, Lora Lemmon.”

Billie gasped. “Oh no! I’ll be right there.” Telling her mother she would be back soon, she grabbed her purse and ran out of the kitchen to her car. This has to be a mistake, she told herself.

At the apartment, she saw that Lora’s car was still there. She got out just as Mrs. Griffen came running down the driveway to her.

“
Oh, I’m glad you’re here, Billie.”

“
Maybe the policeman was a friend of Lora’s, Mrs. Griffen.”

She shook her head. “I don’t think so. Lora was blubbering at the top of her lungs as he drove out.”

“
Oh dear. What in the world could be the problem?” No sooner had she asked this question, than the policeman, with Lora in the front seat, drove back into the driveway. “Excuse me, Mrs. Griffen, I’ll find out what’s wrong then come and talk to you later.”

“
All right, Billie, but I need to know what’s going on.” Reluctantly, Mrs. Griffen went back into the house.

The policeman got out of the car looking nervous and very upset.

“
What is the matter, officer?” Billie asked, walking up to him.

He just shook his head while walking around and opening the door for Lora—who promptly refused to budge. “Come on, Miss Lemmon, get out of the car—now!”

“
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.”

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.