Butch reluctantly left the plane and stood at the topmost stair, waving at the fans whole plastering a fake smile on his face. He turned and saw a rather lovely young woman waving at them. She was pretty young, in her mid-twenties, and her pageboy hair was framing her face in nice straight lines. Her dark, almond-shaped eyes brightened at the sight of her visitors. Ordinarily a sight like her would have made Butch raise his eyebrows or pay special attention to her...but not today. Wally and Steffy couldn't help but notice he just merely nodded at her, then stared out into space, looking like the weight of the world was on his shoulders.
Lady Catherine motioned for the Kids to join her and gestured to a huge, burly man beside her to fight off the fans. He nodded and did so. When the Kids left the plane she looked them over and her eyebrows raised up a bit. Butch looked pained cause he knew what was coming..
"Welcome welcome, welcome," Lady Catherine said. "It's so nice to finally met all of you….but…uh, I was under the impression there would be four of you. Isn't there a young lady who plays the tambourine?"
"Where's Merilee?" someone from the crowd suddenly asked.
"Hey, Butch, what happened to Merilee?"
"Where's Merilee? Is she here?" asked several more people. Wally and Steffy exchanged a look that said plainly. 'What do we do now?' Wally cleared his throat and stepped forward.
"What are you doing?" Steffy whispered.
"Trying to stall for time, if you DON'T MIND.." Wally hissed at Steffy.
"YOU stall for time?! Boy, are we in trouble!" Steffy couldn't help but say.
"Quiet, huh?" Butch whispered to them. "Uh, Ladies and gentlemen…Merilee unfortunately couldn't be with us today…for very personal reasons.." he heared the groans of the crowd and sighed to himself. God, if only Merilee could see how much she was loved by everyone!
Especially by him.
"Oh, that is so unfortunate, I am very sorry. Well, I do have faith that you will play a wonderful concert tonight anyway…I do hope to hear from her very soon."
"You're not the only one" Butch thought to himself.
"Well, let's get you into your private rooms," Lady Catherine said happily. "Where's the…Stella? Stella, get here please?" A young dark haired woman joined them. "My assistant, Stella. Stella, please help our guests with their instruments, I'll tell Ron to get the car ready." she left.
"Wow, Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kids!!! Can I have your autographs?!"
"Sure," Butch said with a sad smile on his face. Even Wally was stunned, where were the compliments? He wasn't checking her out?! Man, Merilee picked the wrong week to leave!
"Hey, where's Merilee?" Stella asked.
"Uh...she has some personal family matters to work out," Steffy explained quickly to save Butch from telling the story all over again.
"Oooh, she's my favorite!" Stella pouted. Butch sighed to himself again.
"You're DEFINITELY not alone there," Butch thought again. "Definitely not alone."
The small yellow-and-orange colored dune buggy chugged slowly up the road to the mechanic shop. The young man inside parked near Judy's house and glanced at the topmost window, unable to believe if this was who he thought it was. He honked the horn to get the attention of the lady in the window, who walked over and stuck hr head out.
"Hey, Miss Merilee! Golly, is that really you?!"
Merilee glanced at the owner of the voice and a familiar smile crossed her face. "Tinker! It's great to see you again!"
"Golly, I haven't seen you up unto six months! Back home for a visit?"
"Yes, I guess you could say that."
"Something wrong, Miss Merilee?"
"Oh, nothing that I wanna talk about right now. How are you?"
"I'm fine, Speedy's doing great, won another race just last week!"
"That's wonderful! Congradulations!"
"How long you gonna be in the neighborhood, Miss Merilee?"
"I really don't know, Tinker. I think maybe for a while."
"Well, I hope you can drop in on the mechanic shop soon, Miss Merilee. Debbie and Mark will be right glad to see you again!"
"How are they, Tinker?"
"They're fine. I'll send them your love. Will we see you in Church this Sunday?"
"Yes, I've been asked to sing."
"Well, I hope to see ya then. Gotta get back to the shop right now, Miss Merilee, can't leave Mark and Debbie alone. Maybe we'll come over later, we got some catching up to do!"
"That would be great!"
"You sure nothing is wrong, Miss Merilee?"
"Well, I don't really wanna talk about it right now."
"Well, let us know if ya do, we don't mind."
"Thanks."
"Well, it sure is great to see ya, Miss Merilee. Golly, the sun sure seems to shine even brighter when you're here!"
"Great to see you as well, Tinker!"
When Tinker arrived at the shop, he saw Mark and Debbie hard at work, but he had to tell them his news. "Hey, guys, guess who I just ran into?"
"Hmm….The President of the United Staes!" Debbie playfully teased, making Tinker laugh.
"I wish! No, guys, you know our next door neighbor, Miss Judy?"
"Of course we know Judy!" Mark said.
"Well, her little sister's back in town! You know the one in the band?"
"Merilee?! Merilee's here! Man, I haven't seen her in…how long has it been, five months?"
"At least!"
"Wow, is she coming to Church, Tinker?"
"She said she was! Man, it was nice to talk to her again!"
"Maybe we can drop in and see her after work!"
"Sounds good to me! Wow, remember when we were kids and she was so shy? Now look at her!"
"Yeah, who would have thought?"
Once the Kids were all settled in their hotel room, Butch as usual tried hard to take charge, but it wasn't easy instructing two instead of three. But, taking a deep breath, he put on his best, 'Take-Charge' face. "OK, Kids, let's unpack right now, then go down and see Lady Catherine about her diamonds, who she suspects, when she began to get worried," the Kids nodded.
"Oh, who I suspect, God, you have a few days to spare?" Lady Catherine asked quietly. "There were SO MANY people around who would LOVE to get their hands upon those jewels! The many rivals I have in the fashion world, the many distant family members, many people who call themselves my "friends", well…you get the idea.."
"Yes, Ma'am," Butch said politely. "But, is there anyone you may suspect more so than others?"
"Well…there are a few...like maybe Stella..I don't like the way she looks at me, also I caught her once peeking in the doorway when I was looking over my collection of jewels…but I do hope I'm mistaken, for she's such an wonderful help and is always there when I need her! I would also suspect my cousin, Veince. She was always the wild child of our family. If you saw her….I mean, always scantily clad, telling people she's related to me and basking in this, never even going out to get the job…anyway..oh, I do hope you….OH," she said quickly. "I'm so sorry, please don't think me rude you're all just standing around and me just talking nonstop, can offer you anything, anything at all? Something to drink, or can I offer you some food?"
"Uh, no thank you," Butch said politely.
"Well, anything I can do, please just let me know," Lady Catherine said as the Kids left the room.
"Alright, Kids, now let's split up and case the hotel, if you see or hear anything suspicious, report back to our room," Butch said.
"Hey, Butch how are we gonna do that?" Wally asked quickly.
"Same way we always are," Butch said. "You and Steffy go that way with Elvis, and.."
"And you buy yourself, the other way?!" Steffy asked.
"I don't like that idea, Butch, we shouldn't leave you all alone," Wally said.
"Let's not spilt up this time, let's all stay together," Steffy said.
"No, we can cover more ground if we spilt up," Butch said.
"Then at least take Elvis with you," Wally said. "That way you won't be completely alone."
"Oh, Wally, I couldn't, Elvis is your dog."
"Hey, he belongs to all of us! He likes being with ya. Besides, it's not good to walk around a strange place alone!"
"Yeah, we'll be fine,. You take Elvis," Steffy said.
"You sure?"
"We insist, go on boy, you're going with Butch today!" Elvis wagged his tail and walked over to stand near Butch. Butch sadly petted his fur, a part of him wishing he were stroking Merilee's golden hair instead. Elvis wagged his tail happily, causing Butch to smile sadly.
"Thanks, Wally."
"You're welcome!"
The hallway was lit with hundreds of lamps fixed to the wall, giving off a golden glow all around. Butch walked through the red velvet plush carpets, looking everything over with trained eyes, out of habit looking next to him, ready to comment on the atmosphere, or the décor…but instead facing a curious dog. Butch had to sigh…it wasn't that he disliked Elvis….far from it, Elvis was the best dog ever, but whenever he looked at him, the pain of missing Merilee came right back. Elvis wasn't meant to be with him, he knew that! Sure, he could talk with the dog, but it wasn't like he understood what he was saying, or could even talk back. Suddenly, a sharp movement caught Butch's eye. He positioned himself behind a marble piller. "Come on, Boy," he urged Elvis. "Come on, back here!" But as soon as Elvis picked up the scent, there was no stopping him. Slowly he growled and edged toward the shadow that was creeping out of the corner. Sartled, the shadow began to run. "No, no, Elvis, Elvis, stop!! " Butch cried, chasing the dog. "Perfect" Butch thought to himself. "There goes what might be a suspect!!" "Elvis, COME!" he practically yelled, following the dog. By the time he had caught up to him, the shadow was nowhere to be found. "Thanks, Elvis," he mumbled. Elvis trudged over to him his tail between his legs, he knew he did something bad. Just then he felt the movement again, this time behind him! He turned sharply..but not before Elvis had tackled him to the floor.
"Help, help!" the middle aged man cried out from underneath the huge dog. "I'm B-4, your contact! Will you get this dog off me?!"
"Sorry about that, Sir. Down, Elvis!" Butch scolded as Elvis ran off the burly man. "He's just a bit overprotective, Sir."
"Well, thank God I'm not a real burgler," B-4 said, managing to stand up. "I must meet and speak with you privately. Meet me tonight in the coffiehouse just to the left of this building." Butch nodded as he left.
"OK, Kids, let's try the new number we're performing at the show tomorrow night," Butch instructed.
"Great, but who's gonna perform Merilee's part?" Wally asked.
'Well…uh…" Butch said. "Uh..I guess..well we can try it without her.."
"I don't know if that's gonna go over well, Butch," Wally said. "People are gonna notice something's missing.."
"Wally, they'll KNOW someONE's missing the moment we get out on that stage!" Steffy pointed out angrily.
"So, what are we gonna do, we can't perform with just the three of us!!" Wally said.
"We HAVE to, we're obligated to!" Butch said. "Steffy, maybe YOU can help keep Merilee's part.."
"Oh, sure, and maybe I can grow an extra set of arms!" Steffy said. "Wally…"
"Hey, not ME, alright, playing the drums is hard enough work, I can NOT do two parts, any more than Butch can do three!!"
"Oh, never MIND," Butch said. "Let's just try to do this without her.."
"Ah yes, Butch, everything without her, that's your answer to everything isn't it?!" Steffy said, near tears. "Will you PLEASE face the fact that we're getting nowhere fast without her, we can't even play our music without her, we can't do ANYTHING without her!!" she threw her guitar down on the couch with anger. "We're totally lost, Elvis almost ate our contact, we don't know how we're gonna play our songs without her helping to keep the beat! We have to work harder than we ever have before, and it's all because of you! Would it KILL YOU to show some EMOTIONS EVERY ONCE IN A WHILE!! MAYBE I WOULDN'T HAVE LOST MY BEST FRIEND!!!" she raced into her bedroom and slammed the door in tears.
"This entire BAND has gone off the deep end!" Wally said, throwing up his hands and sitting on the couch. "Well, happy now, Butch?" he asked angrily.
'Please, Wally, not you too," Butch said, sitting down next to him. "Are YOU gonna let me have it, too?"
"Nah, Butch," Wally said. "You're my pal, I wouldn't do that to you. But still, you ARE responsible for this.."
"Don't you THINK I KNOW that?!" Butch said. "Don't you think? I mean, believe me, no one misses her more than I do. I know I've been a total jerk, don't you think I'm ashamed and embarrassed? God, Wally, I'd give anything to have her back, I KNOW we need her."
"I wouldn't kno you WERE ashamed and embarrassed., you certainly know how to hide it well," Wally said. "Really, Butch, THIS is why she left you, Steffy was right, you hardly ever show any emotion!"
"Well, Wally, I'm the leader of this team, Mr. Socrates is depending on me, emotions can't get in our way, this is the U.S.A. we're working for. This is a huge responsibility."
"I know, Butch, and I understand, but you never show emotions even when we're on vacation, or on days off, you're like a rock! I mean, don't get me wrong, you're one of the nicest guys I know, and you're one of my best pals, but you shouldn't keep yourself bottled up…and if we CAN get Merilee back, tell her you love her, tell her in public places! THAT'S what she wants, she wants you to tell the world you love her!!"
"Wally, if we can get her back, I'll shout it from the highest mountain!" he glanced down and saw Wally scribbling in a notebook. "What are you doing?"
"I'm getting it in writing!" Wally teased, relieved to see a small smile cross Butch's face. He stood up. "I'll go talk to Steffy and try to convince her to come back."
Judy woke up and walked down the stairs to find her sister sitting by the window, a coffee cup in her hands and a faraway look in her eyes. "Good morning, Meri," she greeted her.
Merilee looked at her and managed a small smile. "Good morning, Judy."
"You're up early."
"Yeah, well, I woke up early and couldn't get back to sleep."
Judy opened up the freezer. "How about some breakfast? Maybe some frozen waffles? I could pop some in the toaster for you?" She pulled a bag out of the freezer.
Merilee shook her head. "Thanks, Judy, but I'm not too hungry right now, I'll just have the coffee."
After fixing her waffles and her own cup of coffee, she sat down next to her sister. "What if I make some airplane noises for you?" she held up her fork and wiggled it around. That brought a smile, at least.
"No, thanks, Judy. I really don't want to do anything right now." Judy had to sigh, ever since Merilee had come to the house, she had hardly eaten anything and was looking more and more pale every day. She managed to eat a few bites of the chocolate torte before pushing her plate away. If her sister didn't show any signs of making progress soon, she was going to take her by her shoulders and shake her.
Lori came down the stairs just then. "Good morning, girls," she greeted, fixing her own cup of coffee and picking up the paper near Merilee's plate. "Meri, are you finished with this?"
"Yeah, I'm done, you can have it Lori."
"Thanks," Lori said. She drank her coffee and turned the pages of the paper slowly. Judy stared at Lori, and her eyes seemed to say, "Just look at my sister! There's something very wrong!" Lori finally saw Judy's look at last and turned, alarmed to Merilee. She cleared her throat. "Meri?'
Merilee turned her head. "Yeah, Lori?"
"Uh…have you given any thought to what you're gonna sing at Church this Sunday?"
She managed a sad smile. "No, actually, I didn't. I have a few songs in mind, but I haven't decided yet."
"Well, Judy and I have to meet with Frank this morning, but when we get back we'll be happy to help you."
"Of course, Meri. I mean, I know YOU'VE always had the music talent in the family, but I'd be happy to help any way I can."
"I'd like that. Thanks."
"No problem," Judy said. She glanced at her watch and sighed. Lori did as well.
"We better go now, Frank will be waiting for us." Lori said. She stood up and hugged Merilee. "You gonna be OK?"
"Yeah," Merilee said.
"We'll be back soon," Judy promised. She hugged and kissed her sister on the cheek. "I love you."
"I love you, too," Merilee said as they left.
The band managed to play as well as they could without Merilee near them, but it definitely wasn't easy, after all, Butch had no one to switch places with throughout the song, and there was a cheerful 'jingle' missing in the places it should have been heared. When hey had finished, Butch heaved a quiet sigh. "That was good, Kids," he assured tem. He checked his watch. "It's getting late, I'd better go to the coffeehouse to meet our contact, Steffy, Wally, can you disassemble everything while I do?"
"Sure, Butch," Wally said. Steffy nodded her head. Butch walkd out of te room and headed to the coffeehouse.
A little while later Butch was having coffee with B-4 in a quiet area of the cofeehouse while listening carefully.
"Yes, Both Stella and Venice have been seen going in and out of Madam's private chambers recently. Also, Stella has been heared ordering some tight rope."
"Tight rope? What does that have to do with anything?" Butch said.
"I don't know," B-4 answered him. "I also have the list of Madam's diamonds, which she feels are in danger of being stolen." he secretly passed a list to Butch.
'Thanks a lot," he said. Getting up.
"Good luck," B-4 said.
"Ok, Kids," Butch said as they gathered back in the hotel room. "Now we have it down to two suspects, I think one of us should somehow get into the rooms and take a look around."
"The question is…who?" Both men turned to look at Steffy.
A little while later Steffy was dressed in a French Maid's outfit and wearing a bright red wig. "I'll tell you,. I don't know HOW Merilee does this ALL THE TIME," Stefy said to her reflection in the mirror. "This skirt's riding up.."
"You look cute," Wally said next to her. Elvis laughed.
"Thanks..I think.." Steffy said uncertainly, looking in the mirror. "But I can't WAIT until we get Merilee back, she looks better in these wigs anyway."
'Red's your color," Wally teased as Elvis laughed again.
"Well…"Steffy began.
"Wait, wait, disguise your voice, will ya, you're supposed to be French!"
'Oh…uh..oui, Mesur," Steffy tried.
"Well…it's…uh…work on it and bring it back," Wally said.
"No time for that now, take off, Steffy and do the best you can." Butch encouraged.
"Better yet, pray no one is in the room," Wally said. Steffy nodded and walked out the door….stumbling over her high heels in the process. "Oh man, are we in trouble," Wally said.
The door slammed quickly and Josie dashed into the room, startling the other two Pussycats. "Hey, Josie," Valerie said quickly, "What's up?"
"Hey guys, sorry I'm late, but you will not BELIEVE what I just heared!"
"What?" Valerie and Melody said together.
"Well, you guys know the Sundance Kids, right?"
"Of course we know The Sundance Kids!"
"The Sundance Kid? Wasn't he a cowboy? Oh, I LOVE hearing about cowboys!" Melody giggled. Valerie rolled her eyes.
"Melody, we're talking about the Sundance KIDS, the rock group? You've met them at concerts, they were our opening act last year at that summer festival?"
"Oh, right," Melody said.
"What about them, Josie?"
"Well, it turns out there's a bit of trouble in paradise.."
'What, did the band break up already?!"
"Not quite, just that the quartet became a trio…Merliee's left the group!"
"Merilee? The tambourinest?!"
"What about tambourines?" Alexandra asked, coming in and hearing the last few bits of the conversation.
"The Sundance kids broke up!" melody said alarmed.
"Really? Wow, and I thought they were doing so well…wait, ego problems break them up?" Alexandra asked.
"No, they didn't break up, Merilee left the band."
"Oh, really? She wants to go solo or something?"
'Actually, I heard tell she was dating the lead singer and she broke up with him…caught him flirting.."
"THAT jerk?! Huh, Honey, she can do a LOT better than him!"
"Hey, he's not THAT bad looking.."
"Well..he's no Allan," Alexandra said. "Oh by the way, tell Mr. Lead-Singer John Travolta called, and he wants his hair back by eight!" she laughed to herself and went to the fridge. Josie shook her head at her and leaned in close to the Pussycats.
"Guys…this just might work out for all of us!"
"What do you mean?"
"Well, we've always said she was a great singer and musician, right?"
"Great?! God, she's the greatest tambourineist in the world!"
Alexandra snapped her head up. "What do you mean SHE'S the greatest in the world?! Valerie, you're better than her! You can do two at once! "
"Well, yeah, but there isn't much you can do with two except basically bag them together. I mean, with one you can do thumb rolls and bang them at a specific beat..you can keep a whole band going with one! Face it, I can do two..but I'm nowhere as good as Merilee Anderson, I'd tip BOTH my tambourines to her!"
"Exactly!" Josie hesitated. "I bet...she'd sound real good with our band, wouldn't she?" The other girls looked at each other as what Josie was propositioning came to them.
"You mean, have her join us? Oh, Josie, what a great idea! Wow, US be a quartet!"
"Yeah, yeah, and with HER in your group, Paul Newman can eat crow, cause WE have the best!!" Only Valerie didn't seem enthusiastic with the new idea…in fact she looked rather pale. Melody noticed right away.
"What's wrong, Valerie?"
"Well, guys...it's like Alexandra said..I'M your tamborineist…won't you think it's weird to have TWO tamborineists?"
"You mean…you'd think…oh, no," Meoldy said, coming over to Valerie. "No!"
"No?" Valerie asked.
"No, no," Melody said, giving Valerie a huge hug.
"I was JUST getting to that!" Josie said, coming over to Valerie. "Val..it would be an honor for all of us..to have you step in as our lead singer!"
"Lead….lead..me, lead singer?!" Valerie asked amazingly. "Me?!"
"Of course!" Josie said happily. "You're a good tambourineist, and you're a fabulous singer..and with her as our tambourineist, you can become our new lead singer..and I think you'd be great!!"
"Me, too, me too!" Meoldy said happily. "Say yes, say yes, Valerie!!"
"Well, I just..I …me lead singer!! Me?!"
Alexandra snickered. "Well, don't know, personally I can't picture her agreeing to wear your kitty cat uniforms.."
Hey, let's just ask her first!" Josie said. "Just think, the opportunity to have the best tambourineist in the world just fell in our lap!"
"Yeah, guys, here's to our new and improved band!" The girls slapped their hands together.
Steffy walked right to the doorway of Venice's room, stopping only to knock on the door rapidly. "Perdon, Mademoiselle? Perdon, you in there?" se spoke with a horrid accent she was thankful Wally couldn't hear. Hearing nothing, she opened the door and almost stumbled into the room. Standing up quickly, shje reached into her pocket for her tiny camera, and began to carefuly inspect the room. She lifted up the sheet of the unmade bed and checked underneath and even inside of them for any clues. Finding none, she made the bed, finally having to throw off the high heels to do it and took out her feather duster, pretending to merely dust the shelves while she did a throuigh check. She then stumbled over to the dresser, triopping on the heels, nearly breaking her neck while pulling out the drawers and taking out the clothes, pretending to fold them while checking inside them.
Finally in the last one she found what looked like tiny scraps of paper, like someone has torn up a note in millions of pecies and dumped it there. She scooped out the peices and looked around her. She went to the door and shut it. "Why not?" she thoight. "I got dressed up in this outfit and nearly killed myself in the process.." she went to work assembling the peices. It took her quite a while, bu what she finally read made her suck in her breath. There, before her, was a note to Veince...from Stella! It was filled with details about how 'they were going to teach her a lesson' and how much doamonds lie that would sell for! "They're BOTH in on it!' she said to herself, snapping pictures of the letter quickly. Suddenly she heared the door open behind her. Gasping, she quickly scoped up the letter and dumped it back in, pretending to fold more clothes in the process. Venice walked in and promptly stopped at the sight of Steffy.
"Who are you?" she cried.
"Uh...housekeeping," she said, trying her best to make her voice French.
"I never seen you here before," Venice said.
"Uh..I am new...just arrived off the boat," she explained.
"That so?" Venice said. "Well, being that I went to school in France myself, I never heared anyone like YOU before! Tell me, Madimoiselle...or is it Madam?"
"Madimoiselle.."
"Madimoiselle, what?"
"Madimoiselle Stephanie.." she said, than cringed. Oh God, why oh WHY did she just give her her real name?!
"Stephanie….pretty name...we got a few Stephanie's around here...even one of those musicans come to play in the fashion show is named Stephanie....really popular name.."
"Oui, Madimoiselle.."
"You met her? Looks a bit like you, ya know...eeirily like you…only she got brown kind of wavy hair.."
"Oui,oui, met her, nice girl, perdon moi.."
"Oh, wait, wait, Stephainie.." she then began to speak in French, causing Steffy to pale up. "Where is Merilee?" she thought, Merilee could have no trouble understanding her...or at least she knew the art of faking it. "What's the matter, Stephainie? being from France, you DID understand me, didn't ya?"
"Oui, oui...time...I'm in a hurry...must get going...must leave.."
"Hey, aren't you gonna answer me?!'
"Oui, oui, later.." she said, suddenly tripping over the heels again and falling right into the hallway...and right down the stairs. She felt the huge hands of Wally picking her up.
"Stef, you alright?"
"Oh..yeah..yeah, I'm OK, quick, let's get to Butch!" They raced into their room. "Came very close to blowing it...oh Meri, PLEASE come back, I can't do this!!"
"So, both Stella and Venice were behind this?" Butch said, looking at the photos that Steffy snapped.
"Yeah, managed to get that info by the skin of my teeth, Venice almost caught me!" Steffy explained a bit out of breath…but wiggling her toes luxuriously after FINALYY being able to take off this heels. "I have GOT to bone up on my French!"
"Oh no, Steffy, she DIDN'T ask you something in French!" Wally said.
"Yeah she did."
"What'd ya say to her?"
"What COULD I say, I looked at my watch, told her I was running late, and left."
"Oh, boy, that means she might be on to us!"
"Maybe so. I'll contact Mr. Socrates and fill him in on what's what. I the meantime, Wally, I think you and Steffy auight to stay together and try to avoid Veince whenever possible. If she's suspicious of you she MIGHT be getting on to us."
Merilee walked into the town library, hoping maybe something to read might get her mind off the hurt that was dominating her heart. She browsed through the many numbered books in the shelves, maybe she could find something humerous, maybe a biography, she had always liked reading those…when she thought she spotted someone vaguely familiar across the room. She was about the same size as Merilee, and her hair was a bit darker blonde and worn in a flip. It wasn't as long as Merilee's, and her brown eyes met her sea green ones at the same time. The brown eyes suddenly grew wider as the recognition took place. Her lips drew back in a warm smile as she ran up the isle to see her.
"Merilee?" she asked. "Merilee Anderson? April Stewart, from high school, remember me?"
"Of course," Merilee said. "Who could forget you, you sat behind me in history class."
April lowered her eyes a bit. "Yeah," she said. "Well, uh…fancy seeing you back home…wanna maybe sit down a bit," she gestured to the wooden tables in the middle of the building. "If you got time.."
"Sure, sure, I got time," Merilee said as they settled down. "So, how are you? What've YOU been doing since high school?"
"Well, matter of fact I'm taking a geography course in college, along with Auggie and Skip."
"Oh, how are they doing?"
"Oh, fine, no change at all in the two of them, still picking fights, still off-again, on-again pals.."
"Still as crazy about you as ever?" Merilee guessed somewhat sarcastically. Everyone who was in Merilee's class in high school knew April had been among the most popular and best looking girl in the school, and BOTH Auggie and Skip had been battling each other to get her…and completely ignoring Merilee, who was among the unattractive and unpopular geeks.
April looked embarrassed. "Um…well.."
'Oh, you don't have to be soo modest with me," Merilee said again. "As I recall in school modesty was NOT one of your better qualities."
"I know," April said, remembering far too well how she and her "possie", minus Skip, who if he wasn't her friend would BE in Merilee's group, used to pick on Merilee terribly. Her weight, her excellent grades, her shyness, and especially her unusual name. Far too long they had quietly followed her down the halls of the school, surrounded her at lunchtime in the cafeteria, singing softly, 'Merilee, we roll along, roll along, roll along' . Or even 'Take, take , take this geek,, gentily down the stream. Merilee, Merilee, Merilee, Merilee, you are NOT a dream!'. April would even sing this quietly as she sat behind Merilee during history. "We did some really cruel things to you, Merilee."
"No kidding, " Merilee said.
"Well, I mean…look at you then…and you now…and when we see you at the concerts...on TV…and believe me...if we…this isn't helping me, is it?" April studdered. "Look, Merilee, that was a while ago, and we are really very sorry….honest, we've all matured since then. Auggie and Skip especially.."
"How IS Skip?" Merilee asked just then. " From what remember the only one of YOUR group that was NICE to me!"
"Yeah," April said quietly. "Well, he's alright, he's as nice as ever…and Auggie, well, he IS more mature, , honest he is. Believe me, we ARE glad that you're back for a visit…or are you doing a concert?"
"No, no, I'm just back…visiting my sister…catching up on old times."
"How's the band?"
"They're fine," she said quickly, not wanting to bring up the subject of the band right now. "Right now, we're just taking time off, just visiting relatives."
"That's good,…gosh, Merilee, it sure is great to see you again. Honest. Believe me, we all, especially Auggie, if we hear anything about the band he's one to jump up and down and call out, 'I know her, we went to high school with her..'
"Never mentioned he was never my actual FRIEND, though, I cannot help but notice."
"Well…yeah..to tell you the absolute truth, when we first saw you perform we barely recognized you."
"Not the same pudgy shy little nerd, huh?"
"No, that's true….like I said, I'm sorry, I hope we can put it behind us,."
"I think we can," Merilee said. "Really, I mean, I know we weren't the best of friends, but hopefully we can be now."
"Yeah," April said. Just then two huge male voices filled the air, calling ,'April, April.' Both women turned around. Auggie and Skip both raced into the room, stopping in their tracks at the sight of Merilee.
"Merilee?!"
"Oh my God, it's Merilee! Hey, Merilee, how are you?!"
"Hi, Auggie, hey Skip," Merilee said, standing up and shaking Auggie's hand while hugging Skip. "How are you guys, nice to see you again!"
"We're great, don't think we need to ask about YOU!" Skip said. "So, just back for a visit?"
"Yeah, yeah, pretty much."
"I was just telling Merilee how much more mature we are since high scholl," April said.
"Oh yeah, we are," Auggie said, staring at Merilee as though his eyes would fall out. "Let me tell you, Meri, the years have been good to you, and I mean that! I do sincerely apologise for everything I might have did to you in school. Hope you can forgive me," as he was saying this Skip was trying to show April something he found in one of the books. "Hey, bug off, I was here first and I wanted to show April MY passage!"
"You were talking, I'm showing her," Skip said.
"It's MY turn," Auggie said, inching close to Skip, while April just stood back and watched this. Merilee shook her head, watching this scene straight out of high school play all over again before her. Knowing that they were making a lot of noise she headed for the door before any librarians could come over.
"Oh yeah, you've REALLY matured!" she thought amused.
The fashion show was going to be held in the large forum of the hotel. Lady Catherine stood at the base of a long makeshift runway that began at the stage. The models were going to come from two thick red curtains that were closed tightly. A large yellow spotlight was pointing at the front of the curtains signaling good to go. The band was standing behind the curtains a good far enough away so the models could pass by them and not trip over them. The concert was going to be held right after the show. Steffy sighed heavily, their first concert without Merilee. She only hoped they would sound fine. Wally reached out and squeezed his sister's shaking hand, thinking the same thing she was. She smiled nervously at him. Butch just concentrated in the front, obviously hiding his feelings until she show was over.
"Ladies and gentilemen, presenting without further ado…roses, daffodils, and silk pansies from our spring collection," Lady Catherine began from her place at the bottom of the stage, talking into the mike from her notes in her hand. The models slowly came out from the curtains and began their well trained walk, displaying the fashions.
Steffy jumped at the sudden loud voice of Lady Catherine from the mike, she laughed to herself. Imagine, her getting scared out of her wits by something like a mike. But then a huge yelp emerged from the side stage. She gasped, Elvis! He had been terrified by the noise and with a loud bark he began to run out. "Elvis, NO!" Butch cried, lunging at him…but he was too far to reach him. Merilee could have grabbed him easily…if only she was there! Instead Wally tried to grasp his collar, but Elvis, in a panic, dashed between Wally's legs, causing him to fall down behind the drums. Elvis raced out from the curtain and raced, barking like crazy, all around the stage, frightening the models, knocking over some of the scenery.
"What in the…get that dog out of here!" Steffy, Butch, and Wally all raced around, but what four could do easily, three found slightly harder. People from backstage raced out to try to catch him. Butch kept apologizing to Lady Catherine, explaining Elvis was scared of the mike.
"And they're off," Venice whispered teasingly to Stella. "Coming around he first turn, it's a dog by the snout." Both of them laughed. Steffy made sure to keep an eye on them while trying to catch Elvis. Venice looked at Steffy, surprised.
"Stella..that girl looks almost exactly like the maid that was in my room."
"Which one?"
"The brown haired bass player."
"The maid who didn't wanna chat with you?"
"In her native tounge? Yeah, that's her."
"Hmm…."
Venice and Stella continued to watch the massacre of the scenery on the stage. By now Lady Catherine had tossed her papers in frustration. "As my guide and I watched from our places in the bush, we came upon the wild breed of dog as they stalk and attack their pray.." Stella mumbled. Both women then cracked up as Elvis skirted between the skirts of a model. She ducked down and reached down to try to catch him...only to loose her balance and topple down flat on her face! The girls cracked up.
"Forget about the diamonds...THIS is the best revenge we can have for not maing us models in the show!!" Stella said.
"Shhhhhh!!" Venice said, gesturing to Steffy, who was still trying to catch Elvis, but at the same time seemed to be watching them. "Stella...I don't like the way she's looking at me.."
"Who?"
"Who we been talking about, Stella, the bass player. I say it's not that big a coincidence that she looks similar to that maid..."
"Maybe they're related?"
"France?! No, quick, sneak back to my hotel room, grab the diamonds and bring tem to me. Put them in that little leather case at the foot of the bed so no one will be suspicious.." Stella nodded and slowly got up. Steffy noticed this and tried to turn to tell the boys...who were still running after a scared Elvis. She sighed..if Merilee was here she could be SURE that she could tell her...and she would pass it on to the boys. But Merilee was't here...and their chief suspects were getting away! Finally she threw down the guitar and snuck backstage to secretly follow Stella.
Finally it looked like Elvia was tiring out. "Ok, pal, you're mine!" one of the stagehands said as he quickly grabbed Elvis and dragged him backstage, putign him into Wally's hands.
"If Merilee was here she probably could have grabbed Elvis when he started to run, and this wouldn't have happened!" wally pointed out. Butch nodded quickly and sighed.
"All right, I hope you all enjoyed that little bit, it was called....get that dog out of here!!" Lady Catherine said harshly.
"He's out of here, he's out of here, don't worry, he's gone," Butch assured her as Wally tied Evlsi to a pole.
"Whew, OK, now where were we, Stef....Stef..?!" Wally looked around. "Uh....Butch..where's Steffy?!"
Merilee got home, trying to hide her laughter. "Judy? Lori? You home? Boy, do I have something I HAVE to tell you!!" She went into the living room to see her sister and Lori sitting in the living room.
"Hey, Merilee," Judy greeted her happily. "What's up?"
"You'll never guess who I just happened to run into.."
"Who, Meri?"
"April Stewart!"
"No, April..that snob who always made fun of us cause we were poor and had to wear hand-me-downs and didn't have "the newest stuff"?!"
"The one and the same."
Judy couldn't help but crack up at this..this same little snob who made fun of her sister when she was an ugly duckling...now being confronted by the beautiful swan she now became! She listened, amuzed, to the entire story! Judy exchanged a look with Lori, who knew about the abuse the sister's went through. Lori grinned back. "Touche!"
"No kidding!" Merilee laughed. "In fact, when I left the library, those two goons were STILL fighting over April's attention!"
Judy laughed. "God, those two will NEVER change!"
"I know!" They all laughed again.
Judy smiled. "So, Meri, have you decided what songs you're gonna play at Church in a few days?"
"Actually, yes."
"Oh, great! So," Judy began, taking the tambourine from the couch and giving it to Merilee. Merilee's face turned very pale at the sight of it...then threw it across the room as the tears fell down her face. Judy looked truly alarmed. "Merilee?"
'I'm sorry...just...take it away….please, take that away….I really don't want to see it...it...has too many memories.."
"Ok, OK, you don't want to use to right now, you don't HAVE to use it...." Judy quickly put it back in the case and locked it up in the closet. "In fact, as I remember...you can also play the guitar.." Judy reached behind her and pulled out Merilee's guitar case. "Why don't you play the guitar?"
"I didn't know you can play guitar!" Lori said.
"Oh yes, she was a beautiful guitar player. When we were little girls we used to sit on the couch, Meri would play guitar or tambourine and we would all sing...but of course SHE had the most beautiful voice."
"That was a long, LONG time ago.." merilee said.
"I remember, Meri," udy said. "Come on, why don't you play. What did you want to play?"
"Well... I was going to start off with 'Blessed Assurance'."
"I do love that song. Play for us, Merilee!' Justy said, sitting down at her feet.
"Oh yes, do!" Lori smiled.
Merilee smiled wide and began to strum the guitar. The lovely sounds of 'Blessed Assurance' filled the air, generating from Merilee's lovely voice. A reverant silence came from both Lori and Judy as the song was being played. Finally Judy began to sing along with her sister while Lori sat agape. She'd be saying it was just like having an angel in the house to hear Merilee sing Holy Lyrics. When she had finished, they all clapped. but they became aware of a third set of hands. They turned and saw Mrs. Rogers standing in the doorway.
"Hello, dears. Sorry to barge in, but I heared the most lovely music...I knew it was Dear Merilee. You're voice is so lovely Dear. I wish he would have given YOU a chance to sing lead!"
"I wish he would have let HER play guitar! What's wrong with three guitars!"
"Oh, tell me that's the sing we'll hear Sunday!"
"One of them, "Merile said, eager to talk about anything besides the band.
"Well, no doubt in my mind this is going to be the most magical service...because you're home!"
Steffy quietly followed Stella to an imaculate hotel room. She waited quietly until Stella had gone inside, then slowly walked up to the door. Trying it carefully so she couldn't hear, Steffy found it locked. She sighed, Merilee was SO much better at this! But, this was no time to miss her. Quickly she took out the magnetic lock pick Merilee had given to her and succeddded in picking the lock. Opening the door only a quarter inch slowly and quietly, she noticed Stella loading something into a huge black bag. Slowly opening it more, she tiptoed into the room and ducked quickly behind the bed after closing the door. Stella jumped a bit and looked around. Breathing a sigh of relief she returned to her packing. After closing the bag, she began to walk out of the room, but when she reached over to unlock the door, she suceeded in locking her self in. "Huh?" she thought, and looked quickly around her again. Wuth a funny look on her face, she tried again, unlocked the door, and left. Steffy stood up quickly and managed to take a few pictures of the ransacked room before turning to go..to find the door locked! Reaching for her magnetic lock pick, she whipped her head back up as the door flew open, bringing her face to face with...VENICE!
"Hello, STEPHANIE," she greeted, purposely stretching out her name. "Fancy seeing YOU again! What's the matter, did you forget to clean THIS room?!"
Steffy tried to laigh. "Oh..you know what...this is not my dressing room?!"
"No kidding..OK, if you would be so kind, your camera, please?"
"camera?! Oh, huh..wha..I got..I don't know what." she stuttered as Veince began to walk into the room, forcing Steffy to back up. Just then Steffy grabbed a couple of pillows and threw them at Veince, forcign her backward and letting Steffy ran past her into the hallway. But soon she felt a pair of hands at her back whip hr around. Before she knew what was happening she felt herself looking right at Stella.
"Caught you catching us, HUH?!" she said. "You sneaking, little spy..you sneak hiding in a maid's uniform..huh?!" She threw her against the wall and grabbed her. "Where's the camera...where's the damn camera?! You wanted to be an actress..stick with the bass, you stink at it, GIVE ME THE CAMERA!!" She pulled at Steffy's hair, Steffy shoved her back..fortunately she had been trained to fight should the occasion come up. Both women began to tussle and fight. A huge, searing pain hit Steffy as the bag of diamonds came right downm upon her shoulder. She had almost forgoten how strong diamonds are. But to the welcome relief of Steffy she felt two huge pairs of shoes run up the stairs. She could barely see a pair of hands grab Stella, and she saw her briother running after a departing Venice.
"Let go, let GO OF HER!!" Butch said, keeping Stella in an arm lock while Steffy grabbed the bag containing the diamonds. Lady Catherine soon joined them.
"What in the name of GOD is going on here?!" she practially screamed. "I paid you musicains to help me, to play the music, and all you've done so far is wreck my stage, you make enough noise to wake the dead..and..." she stopped in her tracks as she stared. "Stella?! Stella, what on Earth?"
"Lady Catherine, here's one of your diamond robbers..and Wally's got the other one," Butch explained as Wally came back up dragging Venice. Butch grabbed the bag from Stella. Lady caterine opened it in shock.
"Stella....Venice..how..why.." she whispered, neat tears. "Two of the people I trusted the most in the world.."
"All right, all, right...we were still angr at tou for not letting us be models in this show, so we were gona claim the diamonds for ourselves rather than have you give them to the charities..those are OURS and we have a right to them!"
"Well..you're not gonna have a right to ANYTHING where you're going!" Butch said.
Stella looked at him. "Shut up, you! Besides, who's gonna believe you anyway? Yeah, ya took pictures of the hotel, but they're gonna think you're just being rock atrs and trashing rooms yourselves, no one will buy YOU stopped us!"
"Oh, I think they will," Steffy said, rubbing her painful shoulder. "You se, we're not who you think we are," she took out her badge. "CIA, you're under arrest!"
"You sure you can handle this, Steffy?" Wally asked as they took their places.
"Yeah, I'm sure," she assured him. "I mean, it weas just my shoulder. Not even the one I play with, so I think I'm good."
Butch only hoped so, after all tey had to play without one of their team, he hoped they didn't havr to do it without the other. Thanksfunny they managed to play through fine. But Mr. Socrates strongly suggested that they fly home immidiately so Stefy could get her shoulder looked at.
"Thank you so much for all you did,' Lady catherine said as the Kids began to board he plane. "But, no offence, but the next time I need help from the governement, I think I'll ask for someoen more quiet." Butch lowered his head, he knew what she meant.
"We'll be glad to pay for it," he began.
"Thank you so much again, and have a safe trip home."
All throughout the flight they Kids were mostly quiet, each thinking about the even ts of the past few days. Finally Wally spoke as he was putting cream on his sister's shoulder. "You sure you're alright, Stef?"
"Yeah, it stilll hurts, but I'm OK," Steffy sighed. "Butch, I think if this trip's proved us anything is we HAVE to get Merilee back, and we have to do it immidiately!!"
"Yeah, we're a team, we're a mess without her!! WE need her, Butch!"
"I know," Butch said sadly. "Believe me, Wally, I know." he knew all right, from the bottom of his heart.