Chapter Nine
THE Corporal looked around, unsure of what to do next. Finally, he got in the Jeep and drove away. He'd better go to the police station immediately. Every second counted!
"Are officers Hansen and Kelly in?" he asked the desk sergeant.
"Yes. Just a minute." The desk sergeant pressed a button. "They'll be here shortly."
In a minute, the two policemen came out of a room down a long hall. "Hello," said the one. "What can we do for you?"
"Well, I'm a friend of PFC Gomer Pyle," Boyle began. "He's the one who saw the two guys fighting in the alley."
"Oh, yes! I remember him!" said the other. "The Jewel Pendant!"
"A little while ago, Sergeant Vincent Carter disappeared," the Corporal continued.
Kelly nodded. "We heard about that. Some of the other officers went looking for him."
"Well, now Gomer Pyle has also vanished. And in a very strange way." Boyle told about the panel opening up. "I tried to get it to open again, but it refused."
"Where was this panel?" Hansen asked.
"On a building in the alley behind the Bluebird Cafe."
"And just what were you and Private Pyle doing in the alley behind the Bluebird Cafe?"
Boyle explained about wanting to find clues to Carter's disappearance. "And we found a couple," he added. "But whether or not they have to do with Sergeant Carter's disappearance is another question." He told about the handkerchief and glove, and also how, when you leave the apartment building where Bunny lives to return to Camp Henderson, you go right past the Bluebird Cafe.
"Very interesting," Hansen remarked. "Do you remember the name of the building with the panel?"
"Not the exact name, but it was a locksmith's shop," Boyle replied.
"Well, maybe we'd all better go have a look," Kelly declared.
Just they were investigating the back of the locksmith's shop, a voice called out. "Hey! What's going on here?"
Everyone turned. Sergeant Carter was standing near the alley's entrance, looking puzzled.
Boyle rushed over. "Vince! Are you alright?"
"Yeah, I'm fine, Boyle! But what's happening here? Where's Pyle?"
"He's disappeared," Boyle sighed. "Just like you did. Whatever happened to you, Vince?"
"Well, to put it briefly, my Jeep took on a life of its own and made me visit the old Crawford mansion. I couldn't stop it. It drove all the way around then fell through the ground."
"It what?" Boyle exclaimed.
"Fell through the ground," Carter repeated. "There was an especially large trap door and it went through. I drove it around under there and it finally came up out by that old abandoned gas station near Highway 55."
"Miss Harper received a message from the criminals saying that they'd got a friend of hers, and that if she would forget the Jewel Pendant, they'd release him," Boyle explained. "Pyle and I thought it was you! So we came here looking for you."
"Why here?" Carter demanded.
Boyle told about Gomer's earlier adventure in the alley.
"The guy actually talked of the Jewel Pendant?" Carter gasped when Boyle got to that part.
"Yeah. So apparently, somehow the incident is connected with our case!"
Carter glanced around. "But where did Pyle disappear to anyway?" he wondered.
"Parts unknown," Boyle remarked, then told Carter about the panel.
"So you're the missing sergeant," a voice said suddenly.
The two Marines whirled. Hansen and Kelly had listened to everything.
"Yeah, I'm the missing sergeant, alright," Carter verified.
Just then a creaking sound could be heard. Everyone turned to stare at the locksmith's shop. The panel opened and Gomer fell out.
Everyone ran over to him.
"Pyle! What's going on?" Carter burst out.
Gomer looked up, startled. "Sergeant Carter! Did the kidnappers release you?"
"I wasn't kidnapped, Pyle," Carter responded. "But I did have a strange experience." He related his misadventures to the Private. "And what happened to you? Boyle tells me you disappeared."
Gomer nodded. "That's right, Sergeant. I did. I was in the back of this strange place. There were locks everywhere. And there was a note on a table that said ‘Forget the Jewel Pendant!' Apparently, someone must be threatening the locksmith too!"
"How'd you get out, Marine?"
Gomer noticed the police officers. "Why, what in the world are you two doin' here?"
"We came to look for you after your buddy here reported you'd vanished," Hansen replied.
"How'd you get out, anyway, Pyle?" Boyle asked, repeating the police officer's question.
"I don't know exactly. I just wandered over to a wall and fell back out, I guess."
"Was anyone there?" Kelly inquired.
"I didn't see anyone."
Hansen and Kelly decided to investigate. They came back reporting that no one was there.
"We dusted the note for fingerprints but found nothing," Hansen said ruefully.
Boyle gave them the handkerchief and glove he and Gomer had found, then the policemen drove away.
Gomer glanced at his watch. "Oh, my goodness! It's almost one A.M.! And Col. Gray was sending men out to look for you, Sergeant! We'd better call and tell him that you've been found and call Bunny and Mary Ann too. Golly, it's amazing how time flies, isn't it, Sergeant?"
Carter gave Gomer an annoyed look and headed for the Jeep. Boyle looked amused. "Well, I guess for the time being, everything's back to normal," he remarked.
Everything definitely went like it usually does. That is, until a ping! sounded and an empty paint can fell off the roof of Company B's duty hut, narrowly missing Lester and Corporal Boyle, who were by the bulletin board.
"Whatever is occurring?" Lester exclaimed, after he and Boyle safely ran around to the side of the building. "I fail to notice any person on the roof. But how could the paint can succumb to the forces of gravity without any assistance from a human being?"
Boyle looked up at the roof, then back down at the paint can. "Maybe it did have help from someone."
"What is going through your mind, Corporal?"
Boyle walked over to the paint can and inspected it. "Oh brother. Here's the answer." He pointed to a large pebble that was lying next to the can. "Someone threw this over at the paint can and it fell down."
"It seems, Corporal, that someone is out to get us," Lester observed.
Boyle nodded, then glanced up thoughtfully at the roof again. "One more question: How did someone get the paint can up there on the roof without us knowing it? I happened to look up there earlier to see if it'd been painted yet, and I know I didn't see any can."
"Why would anyone be stalking us?" Lester wondered.
"I think I know why," Boyle replied. "But it's too confidential to discuss out here."
"Very odd," Lester mused.
"Well, Boyle, that was a day done like it should be," he said to his Corporal, who was going through Private Nelson's personnel file. "No threats, no more missing Marines, no nothing! Maybe the crooks are taking a break."
Boyle took the file over to his desk. "I wouldn't be sure of that, Vince."
Carter was instantly on the alert. "Why? What happened? Was someone kidnapped?" He barreled on. "Boy, now that's really something! Just kidnap someone right here on base! Why didn't you tell me sooner, Boyle?"
Boyle half-smiled. "Nobody was kidnapped, Vince."
"Imagine that! Someone being kidnapped right here . . ." Carter stopped, finally returning to Earth. "Nobody was kidnapped?" he repeated.
"That's right, Vince."
"Well, what, then?"
"An empty paint can rolled off the roof of the duty hut while Private Hummel and I were at the bulletin board. We barely managed to escape in time," Boyle explained. "Someone must have balanced it up there and then thrown a pebble at it to make it fall off. I took the pebble and can over to the MP station to test them for fingerprints," he added.
"Another threat?" Carter started pacing the floor. "What next?"
Boyle sighed. "I guess the crooks aren't fooled by our pretending to back off from the case."
"Well, this is ridiculous!" Carter burst out. "What did they do, plant bugs all over the place so they'd know what we're up to?"
Boyle snapped his fingers. "Hey! You might have something there, Vince! Maybe we'd better conduct a search!"
So they did, but it proved fruitless. Carter threw up his hands in defeat.
"Oh, I give up, Boyle! There's nothing here!"
"Maybe not here, but . . ." Boyle didn't finish. He dashed out of the duty hut and over to the parking lot. When Carter caught up to him, he was looking in the steering wheel of Carter's car.
"What in the world are you doing, Boyle?" the Sergeant exclaimed.
"Checking for homing devices," Boyle responded.
"You mean a crook would actually dare to put one of those things in my car?" Carter cried incredulously.
"They might, if they were desperate enough to find out what was going on," Boyle said, now inspecting the glove compartment.
Eventually, he did find a homing device. It was tucked neatly under the soda glass holder. It was another one shaped like a beetle.
"These must be their trademarks," Boyle remarked, looking the thing over.
"What do you mean, Boyle? That's just a common house beetle!"
"That's what the criminals want you to think, Vince," Boyle pointed out. "This is not a living, breathing insect—it's a new style of homing device. It's actually very clever. Most people wouldn't give the thing a second glance."
Just then Gomer came rushing up, calling to them. They whirled around.
"Oh, Corporal Boyle, Sergeant Carter, are you two alright?" the Private burst out.
Boyle was puzzled. "Yeah, Pyle, I'm fine, and so's Vince. What made you think we're not?"
"Well, Private Miller told me that he had heard that you'd been in the duty hut and a crook came in to search for something—just like a crook did that one time—and hit you and ransacked the duty hut again!"
Boyle and Carter exchanged glances.
"Pyle, I can assure you that nothing of the sort happened," Boyle finally said. "There was some excitement this afternoon, but nothing like that."
"Well, that's a relief." Gomer relaxed. "But I know Private Miller wouldn't knowingly tell me a lie. He must have heard it from someone else."
Carter headed for the barracks, determined. "I think we'd better find Miller."
"Alright, Miller, what's the gag?" he asked, annoyed.
"What gag, Sergeant?"
"That phony story you told Pyle about me and Boyle!"
"Corporal Boyle says nothing like what you told me happened," Gomer added.
"It didn't?" Miller glanced around. "Well, I'm glad about that, but I don't understand! Rudolph distinctly told me it did."
"Rudolph?" Boyle questioned.
"Private Rudolph Alonzo," Miller revised.
"Oh, him," Carter said in a monotone, remembering.
"Why, he's one of the most upright men on the base," Gomer exclaimed. "He must have heard it from someone himself!"
"Where is Private Alonzo?" Boyle queried.
"Oh, he's already got his pass," Miller told him, "and went into town. I think he said he was going to the Congo Club. You know, where Gomer's girlfriend used to sing."
Carter headed for the door. "C'mon, let's find him! Too many weird things are happened around here to let this one go by!"
The others followed. Gomer turned around and called back, "Thanks for the tip, Ray!"***
At the Congo Club, a new girl was singing. She had long, black hair piled on her head, bewitching violet eyes, and was crooning "Night and Day." And she could actually sing, unlike poor Lou-Ann. Boyle wondered if she was the new girl Mary Ann had spoken of.
Private Alonzo was at a table reading a magazine that he suddenly snapped shut and hid under his chair when Gomer, Sgt. Carter, and Cpl. Boyle walked up. Afterwards, Boyle thought he had caught a glimpse of the title, but he couldn't seem to remember it.
"Er, uh, hi, friends!" Alonzo greeted them.
"Hi, Rudolph!" Gomer returned the greeting.
"Why don't you all sit down at my table?" the Private offered, gesturing. "We can all have a nice chat."
Carter tried to launch into the conversation, but kept glancing back up at the enchanting girl singing. Boyle noticed this and was amused. Carter was a Casanova, always trying to date every pretty girl he met. He knew that since Carter was enjoying listening to that girl, he might say some pretty strange things when he opened his mouth to talk about the phony story. So Boyle just decided to start the discussion himself.
"Corporal, are you and the sergeant alright after the incident with the criminals in the duty hut?" Alonzo asked.
"I heard about that, Alonzo. I was wondering if you could explain it, because it never happened to us," Boyle replied.
"It didn't?" Alonzo seemed genuinely shocked. He turned to Gomer. "Maybe they've had a memory loss from the incident," he said in a low voice. "That happens sometimes."
"Oh, no," Gomer said quickly. "It never did happen, Rudolph. Where'd you hear it from, anyway?"
"Hear it from?" He stammered around for a few seconds, and Boyle became slightly suspicious. "Uh . . . Duke Slater told me. He said . . . that he was the one who found Corporal Boyle and Sergeant Carter," he finished, after a moment's hesitation.
"Why, Duke never told me any such thing!" Gomer said indignantly.
Alonzo started nervously twirling his thumbs around each other. "Well, maybe you didn't see him since it happened. Surely you don't think I'd lie to you, do you, Gomer?"
"Well . . . no, but Corporal Boyle and Sergeant Carter wouldn't lie either," Gomer said slowly. "You're all always real honest. And so's Duke. Somethin' funny is happening here . . ."
Private Alonzo suddenly grabbed his magazine out from under his chair and stood up. "I'll be back in a minute," he said, and rushed off.
"Something funny really is going on here," Boyle said suspiciously to Gomer.
"Yes," Gomer agreed. "Really strange. I wonder if Duke knows anything 'bout what's going on? . . ."
They decided to leave. They attempted to get Carter to go with them, but he just waved them off and said, "You guys go ahead and find Slater. I'll just, uh, stay here."
The Private and the Corporal left. Boyle glanced back at Carter, amused.
"Pyle, hasn't Slater heard about that new singer at the Congo Club?" Boyle asked as they walked back there to see if Carter wanted to come yet. Maybe he'd want to walk the girl back home after she finished singing. Boyle grinned, remembering how Carter had been vying for Lou-Ann Poovie's attention when she first moved to town.
Gomer nodded. "Oh, yeah, he's heard about her. In fact, he told me just yesterday that he wanted to come here soon and meet her," he added as they opened the door and walked in.
The brunette was still singing. Carter was staring up at her, dreamily.
"I don't think he's ready to come yet," Boyle remarked, amused.
Carter turned around. "Any luck?" he queried.
"Zero," Boyle replied. "We couldn't find Slater anywhere. Actually, I'm beginning to wonder if he met with foul play. After all, there's been so many strange things happening lately."
Carter nodded slightly, but Boyle could tell he hadn't really heard.
"I met her! I actually met her! Her name's Flo MacArthur and she's got an apartment across the street from Bunny." Carter had suddenly changed the subject. "And there was a chemistry going between us!"
"Chemistry?" Gomer said, puzzled.
"Yeah. She really fell for me. I could tell." Carter looked over at the door. "Why don't you guys go back to the base," he said, waving a hand to stress the point. "I'll catch up with you later. Just go ahead and take the Jeep. I think I'll wait for Flo to finish singing and walk her home."
"Okay, Sergeant," Gomer agreed. "Isn't that nice of you—to walk that Miss Flo home!"
"See you later, Vince," Boyle said as he and Gomer turned to go. "And good luck with your chemistry," he added in a teasing tone.
"Hi!" the little girl exclaimed. "Can you baby-sit us?"
"Baby-sit you?" Boyle repeated.
"Uh huh. See, Mom and Dad left us home alone. They had to rush to a meeting up in San Francisco. They told us to call you to come baby-sit us."
Boyle was appalled. "Your parents actually left you home alone?"
"Yup. They said to call as soon as they shut the front door, and that's exactly what I did," Samantha said proudly. "So can you come? Mom and Dad said that I should call you because you're the most trustworthy of any sitters we've ever had, and we've had a lot."
Boyle was flattered. He glanced at Carter, who was going through papers. "Well, I'll ask Sergeant Carter. Hang on." Placing his hand over the receiver, he said to Carter, "Hey, Vince, it's Samantha. She wonders if we can go baby-sit her and her brother and sister."
"Huh? Boyle, we don't have time for baby-sitting right now!" Carter replied, annoyed, turning back to his papers.
"Yeah, but Vince, their parents have left them all alone!" Boyle persisted.
Carter glanced up again immediately. "All alone?" he repeated, incredulous.
"That's right. She said that they wanted her to call us for baby-sitting because they trusted us the most of any sitters they've ever had."
Carter looked curious. "Really? They said that?"
Boyle nodded.
"Well . . . You and Pyle go tend them. I've still got a million papers to go through, and then I've got a date with Bunny." He paused. "You didn't have anything planned for tonight, did you, Boyle?"
"No, Vince, I didn't, but I don't know about Pyle."
At that minute, the Private in question entered. "Hi, Sergeant Carter and Corporal Boyle!"
"Pyle! Just the man we were talking about!" Carter said smoothly. "Did you have any plans for tonight?"
Gomer shook his head. "No, Sergeant. Why?"
"Well, the Lodge kids are in desperate need of some baby-sitters and I figured that you and Boyle could tend them," Carter explained. "I'd come but I've still got all these papers to finish, and then I've got a date with Bunny," he added apologetically.
Boyle explained about the parents leaving the kids home alone and Gomer's eyes widened in shock. "Well, I never! Imagine that—leaving three little kids all alone! Shame, shame, shame! Of course we'll go!"
Boyle removed his hand from the receiver. "Hello, Samantha?"
"Sam," the girl corrected.
"Sam," Boyle repeated. "Pyle and I will come tend you and Denise and Louis," Boyle told her. "We're leaving right now. We should be there in a few minutes."
"Alright! I'll be waiting for you!" Samantha eagerly hung up the phone to wait.
