About the Author

“I was born in the thriving metropolis of Oshkosh, Wisconsin,” writes Mabel Maney. “‘I’ll never forget that night,’” she recalls her mother telling her. “‘We had that big lightning storm that knocked out all of Oshkosh and most of nearby Menasha. I always thought Mabel had something to do with it,’” Mabel’s mother chuckled.

After her parents were lost at sea, Mabel took up residence with her Great Aunts Maude and Mavis Maney, who had as young women earned their living as bareback riders in a traveling circus before settling in the farm town of Appleton to write their memoirs, Circus Queens.

Mabel’s life was idyllic until the arrest and conviction of Great Aunt Maude for the murder of her late husband, whose body surfaced from under Maude’s wisteria bush during the summer of the Great Wisconsin Rains.

Mabel spent the next three years dividing her time between Appleton and the State Penitentiary for Women in LaFayette, After her Great Aunt Maude’s release, the trio moved to Bear Lake, where Mabel attended Catholic Girls School, graduating with highest honors in Conversational Skills and Table Manners.

Mabel Maney’s installation art and hand-made books, self-published under the World O’Girls Books imprint, have earned her fellowships from the San Francisco Foundation and San Francisco State University, where she received her MFA in 1991. Her art has been exhibited in numerous galleries throughout the United States. Artspace wrote of the hand-made World O’Girls edition of this book: “In Maney’s refigured narrative, The Case of the Not-So-Nice Nurse, gay heroine Cherry Ames moves unhampered through a world populated by lesbian nuns and adventuresses, even engaging in a one-nighter with Nancy Drew. Entertainment aside, by appropriating and redefining the sexual orientation and cultural limits placed upon her fictional female characters, Maney provides a powerful reminder of the exclusionary nature of the ruling (in this case, straight) culture, with its power to define specific roles and acts as ‘natural’ while denying or marginalizing others.”

A Nancy Clue Mystery
The Case of the Not-So-Nice Nurse

Mabel Maney

www.spice-books.co.uk

MILLS & BOON

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For Tom Metz, the real Cherry Aimless.

Thanks to Gigi Hanna for the title.

Introduction

I WAS BORN IN APPLETON, WISCONSIN, a small town famous for being the birthplace of Harry Houdini, and as producers of high quality cheese. Escape and cheese: two things, I believe, that made this series work. When The Case of The Not-So-Nice Nurse came out, in 1993, a friend said: “Mabel, at your sanity hearing, this book will be used against you.” I agree, and, if the letters I get are any indication, so do my readers.

Appleton is a scenic spot an hour from Oshkosh, where they make fine overalls. The town has a river running through it, with the Appleton elite—cheese factory owners, Cadillac dealers, and the like—on one side, and the descendants of German and Irish immigrants on the other. I was born downwind of a cottage cheese factory, to a salesman and a housewife. I believe the story of my birth, which includes a thunderstorm, a ruined cocktail dress, and a cheese log, was a portent of things to come.

One night, my mother, a slip of a lass (like many women of her time, she believed coffee and cigarettes the fundamental building blocks of nutrition, with an occasional crumb cake thrown in for variety) ventured forth into a rainstorm in her best black cocktail dress, suede pumps, and high school graduation pearls, for a night on the town. After one dance at Appleton’s finest supper club, she felt a contraction, and raced to the nearest Catholic hospital, spoiling her shoes in a puddle. When she informed the Obstetrics Ward head nun that she was having a baby, she was told to go home, put on a few pounds, and come back in six months. Her fear of nuns greater than her fear of giving birth on cold linoleum, she withdrew to the waiting room, to take a load off and have a cigarette. In the middle of a Redbook quiz, The New Boxy Suits, Are They For You?, her water broke, and the dress, an organza A-line with a black sequined net overskirt, copied by her seamstress mother from a Doris Day film, the movie star my mother most resembled, was ruined. My grandmother rushed to the hospital with a silky hostess pajama set, and a cheese log, which the nuns greatly enjoyed.

It was not my mother’s first clothing catastrophe, nor would it be her last. In 1968, an incident with an ironing board scarred her, and soon her fear of ironing and ironing-related appliances began to take an ugly turn. One hundred percent cotton clothing was banished from the house. The kitchen curtains disappeared, followed by the fringed fingertip towels in the guest bath. We felt powerless, as, at this particular time, the American Mental Society had not yet recognized cottonophobia as a treatable disorder. Luckily, the 1970s were right around the corner, and with it, polyester acceptance unheralded in American history, proving, once again, that my mother was ahead of her time, fashion-wise.

Next came a period in my life best left unexamined. All I can say is that it involved reform school, and more polyester clothing. While I was “away, studying in Europe” my Uncle Wesley, who raised Dachshunds, all named Fritzi, was involved in an accident far more serious than my mother’s run-in with the ironing board. My Uncle Wesley had married Aunt Alice because she was a woman who knew her way around a kitchen, pie being her specialty. In the 1960s, my Aunt Alice won the Wisconsin State Fair Bake-Off five years in a row, until an interloper, whose name I’ve since forgotten, snatched away the crown with a prune Brown Betty. My mother had never approved of Alice, who went everywhere in curlers, even to the tavern, and whose undergarments lacked adequate support. One day, Wesley announced that he was leaving, and that he was sick of pie. Alice accidentally shot him, and, after a stay in the same Catholic hospital where my mother mussed her dress, he went home, quietly, with a new appreciation for Alice’s cooking, and minus a limb.

At this point you may be asking yourself, if indeed you are still reading, what does her wholesome Midwestern upbringing have to do with the ruination of a beloved childhood heroine? The answer involves a fire, ruined clothing, and another story about my mother.

In 1991, I decided to reread the Cherry Ames series I so enjoyed as a girl. Beginning with Cherry Ames, Dude Ranch Nurse, I worked my way through the series, a few weeks later, sadly, coming to the last page of Cherry Ames, Boarding School Nurse. For those who haven’t picked up the originals, I recommend doing so. They are a homoerotic, fetishistic cheese fest, escapism of the purest form. Who wouldn’t want to live in an all-girl dorm, giggle late into the night, and wear a starched uniform and jaunty cap? Finally, a girlfriend my mother would approve of!

I wondered what life would be like with Cherry. The uniform fixation I could work with, and her experience with medication would come in handy, but her slavish devotion to righting wrongs, at the expense of her own health (See Cherry Ames, Cruise Ship Nurse) worried me. Could we find a 12-step program that would help her actualize her potential, yet still allow her to iron my sheets? For so many reasons, too embarrassing to list here, that relationship could never work out. I was on the verge of abandoning Cherry, too heartsick to pick up, say, Cherry Ames, Country Doctor Nurse, and read of her adventures with attractive, uniformed women, when my mother suffered yet another tragic mishap, one that gave birth, in a roundabout way, to this series. A fire broke out in the garage of her ranch-style house, and the flames snaking up the side, completely consuming a closet filled with cruise wear, one hundred percent synthetic clothing covered with sparkles and sequins. Her collection, which included tops and bottoms, swimsuits and beach robes, melted into one big toxic blob. Four firefighters carried it from the house, set it on the front lawn, and hosed it down. The house was saved, but the contents had been destroyed by smoke and water. Nothing of our past remained, except for a little wooden bookshelf, tucked in the corner of the basement, containing my complete set of Nancy Drews, which my mother promptly shipped to me. When they arrived, a little smoky, I began reading. I knew I had the Cherry puzzle solved. She would date Nancy, tormenting her with her goodness, medical advice, and cheese puff recipes. And I would get to watch the whole thing.

Mabel Maney

San Francisco

July 2002

Contents

Cover

About the Author

Title Page

Dedication

Acknowledgements

Introduction

1 A Tragic Blunder

2 An Important Assignment

3 The Journey Begins

4 What a Conundrum

5 An Odd Occurrence

6 A Quick Escape

7 An Amazing Coincidence

8 Kidnapped!

9 An Important Clue

10 San Francisco Bound

11 Follow That Car!

12 A New Identity

13 Startling News

14 Missing!

15 A Special Kiss

16 An Unexpected Awakening

17 Held Captive

18 A Confession

19 An Unfortunate Slip

20 The Countdown Begins

21 Just in Time!

22 A Sumptuous Banquet

23 A Shocking Revelation

24 Cornered

25 A Strange Dream?

26 “Cherry, Come Quick!”

27 The Call to Duty

28 A Gay Day

29 Oh, Nancy

Endpages

Copyright

CHAPTER 1
A Tragic Blunder

Cherry Aimless cut an attractive figure as she dashed through the crowded lobby of Seattle General Hospital, her striking royal blue nurse’s cape sailing behind her and her crisp white cap perched precariously on rumpled curls. Her rosy cheeks were even more flushed than usual, for she had run the entire ten blocks from the children’s free clinic so as not to be late for the night shift on the Women’s Psychiatric Ward. On clinic days the head nurse usually forgave a late entrance, but there would be no forgiving smile awaiting her now, for Head Nurse Margaret Marstad, the strictest nurse in the hospital, would be Cherry’s boss tonight.

Cherry was in a cheery mood, for tomorrow morning she would begin a well-deserved vacation. “In just a few days I’ll be in sunny San Francisco!” she murmured happily. While she was certainly looking forward to visiting her family in Pleasantville, Idaho, for a few days first, she had to admit she was more excited about going to San Francisco to see her beloved Aunt Gertrude. Although they had kept up a regular correspondence for the past five years, the two hadn’t seen each other since Cherry was a child. “And I haven’t had a chance to thank her properly for this nifty graduation present,” Cherry thought, looking fondly at the sturdy nurse’s watch Aunt Gert had sent her when she graduated from Stencer Nursing School, class of 1957.

“Jeepers!” she cried, realizing the time. “In another minute, I’ll be late!” Cherry took a shortcut through the hospital newsstand, and in her haste caught the toe of her freshly-polished white nurse’s shoe on a crack in the linoleum floor. She landed face first on a bundle of newspapers.

ATTORNEY CARSON CLUE MURDERED!

Longtime housekeeper admits dastardly deed!

screamed the headline.

“I’ll take a paper!” she cried, searching in the pocket of her white uniform for a dime.

“I’m sorry miss, I have to count the papers before selling any,” the newsstand operator explained. The frantic look on Cherry’s face convinced him to hurry, and soon she was racing toward the elevator grasping a copy of the Seattle Post. For once Cherry was thankful that the creaky old elevator was its usual slow self, for it gave her a chance to read.

River Depths, Illinois—Well-known attorney Carson Clue was found shot through the heart early today in the kitchen of his exclusive River Depths home. Although he was a successful attorney in his own right, Carson Clue was perhaps best known as the father of girl detective Nancy Clue, whose exploits are familiar to newspaper readers everywhere.

In a dramatic call to police, long-time housekeeper Hannah Gruel confessed that she had murdered the popular attorney during a domestic quarrel.

“I told that man time and time again to keep out of my kitchen while I was baking!” Miss Gruel declared as she was led away in handcuffs to the Illinois State Prison for Women.

According to Miss Gruel, at the time of the shooting, Nancy Clue was camping with her closest chums Bess Marvel and George Fey at nearby Lake Merrimen. After making a short statement to the police, the young detective headed west to stay with relatives.

Cherry read the story over and over as the elevator crept to the sixth floor. She could scarcely believe it—Nancy Clue’s father dead at the hands of kindly housekeeper Hannah Gruel! It just couldn’t be!

Why, just last night, while relaxing in the probation nurses’ lounge, Cherry had read an article about the Clues and their beloved housekeeper Hannah. The latest issue of Girls’ Life magazine had arrived that day in a care package from her mother, along with dusting powder, cologne and iced raisin cookies. Her roommate, Nurse Cassie Case, a perky brunette with a winning smile, stopped by the lounge to sample one of Mrs. Aimless’s prize-winning cookies. She kidded Cherry when she caught her carefully tearing a photo of Nancy from the magazine. “Is that for your shrine?” she joked.

Cherry had blushed. It was no secret that she practically worshipped Nancy Clue. More than anything, Cherry wanted to be courageous and forthright, like Nancy. Although they were as different as two girls could be, Nancy with her immaculately groomed titian hair, charm school education and fearless nose for danger, and Cherry, a small-town girl with a hopeless mop of unruly curls and a shy manner, she nonetheless felt that, given the right opportunity, they could become fast friends.

“Nancy’s done so much good for so many; if only there was something I could do to help her!” she cried aloud, forgetting for a moment that she was in a crowded elevator. She clapped a hand over her mouth and blushed a deep crimson. Thankfully, the elevator had arrived at her floor. She tucked the newspaper under her arm and rushed from the crowded elevator—and smack into Head Nurse Margaret Marstad!

“Oh, I’m so sorry!” Cherry cried, reaching out a hand to help the handsome head nurse regain her balance. Nurse Marstad haughtily straightened her cap and got a grip on her armload of medical charts.

“Nurse Aimless, you’re late,” she said curtly as she stepped into the vacancy Cherry had left in the elevator. “And fix your cap; it’s all askew,” she added, as the doors closed in front of her frowning face. Cherry brushed aside hot tears and raced past the main nurse’s station and down the long, brightly-lit corridor that led to the Women’s Psychiatric Ward. She straightened her cap and raced through the oak double-doors opening onto the ward.

Nurse Penny Perkins was waiting for Cherry at the far end of the open thirty-bed ward. She smiled when she saw her frazzled friend.

“Am I ever glad to see you,” said Penny. “I told Marstad that the clinic called and said there was an emergency and you would be late, but you know how strict she is. Why, the way she acts, we might as well be in the army!”

Cherry nodded. It was no secret that Nurse Marstad was a tough taskmaster. She was just about to tell Nurse Perkins about her run-in with Nurse Marstad, but her co-worker wasn’t finished yet.

“It’s been so quiet all day Marstad asked me to go help out in Emergency. Call her at her office if you need help,” she added as she threw a regulation nurse’s sweater over her strong shoulders and began gathering up her things.

Cherry shuddered at the thought of admitting to Nurse Marstad that she needed help. When Cherry had met the capable yet stern head nurse a year ago at her interview for the coveted job of General Hospital nurse, she had resolved to be the best probation nurse ever. More than anything, she wanted Nurse Marstad to like her!

“Now I’m in trouble because I stopped to get the evening paper,” she thought, unfolding the newspaper she had tucked under her arm, intending to show the headline to Nurse Perkins. “Guess what happened!” she cried. But before she could continue, the emergency light flashed twice.

“That’s my call,” Nurse Perkins said gaily, sweeping past Cherry and heading toward the elevator. She waved back at Cherry. “I should be back in a couple of hours. Tell me then.”

While Cherry was most anxious to discuss the murder of Carson Clue, she realized she had a job to do, and got on with the business of nursing. It was almost time for evening medications, and Cherry busied herself preparing the pills and injections that would help her patients get a good night’s sleep. A half hour later her task was completed, and she found her attention wandering back to the newspaper story. Try as she might, she just couldn’t stop thinking about the murder. Something just didn’t seem right.

“Hannah’s been like a mother to me,” Nancy had been quoted in the Girls’ Life article. “How strange,” Cherry mused, “that helpful Hannah, who had given a lifetime of care to Mr. Clue and his motherless daughter, should turn out to be a murderess.” She wished she had time to examine the newspaper article. Perhaps there was something she had missed, something that would explain the odd turn of events.

Like her heroine, Cherry had earned a reputation as a detective. In her first month at General Hospital she had solved the mystery of the vanishing valium. Using cool logic and keen sleuthing, she was able to follow a trail to Dr. Kildare and expose him as a thief who supported a lavish lifestyle by selling dangerous drugs pilfered from the hospital. Now her detective skills were being put to good use on the psychiatric ward, where hospital authorities had twice called upon her to help identify amnesia victims.

The drama of hospital life suited Cherry, who was happiest when she was helping others. The recent nursing school graduate found her work at the big city hospital exciting after a lifetime in the sleepy farm town of Pleasantville, Idaho. And she especially loved a good mystery! She had already helped to identify one amnesia victim, now home and safe with her family. But try as she might, she wasn’t getting any closer to identifying the other amnesiac, tagged Jane Doe #313 by hospital authorities, but nicknamed Lana by the nurses because of her striking resemblance to the beautiful blond movie star Lana Turner.

There certainly weren’t many clues to go on, Cherry thought as she reviewed the case. Lana had appeared at the hospital two days before, carrying a paper sack containing a small black plastic comb, a brand-new tube of red lipstick, and a hardcover book to which she seemed unnaturally attached. No identification papers were found, and her simple, well-made clothes had no labels.

Lovely Lana quickly became the newest attraction on the ward, charming everyone with her delightful manners and sweet disposition. Even gruff Head Nurse Marstad had succumbed to her charms and had been seen at Lana’s bedside with a box of chocolates in her hand.

So far, Cherry had been frustrated in her attempts to draw anything personal out of Lana, who had remained vague during their two late-night conversations. Cherry sighed. Despite all her efforts, she had been unable to find even one piece of the puzzle.

“Tonight I’ll try extra hard to dig up a clue,” she vowed, as she carried the tray of medication through the ward. She smiled as she surveyed the attractive room, painted a cheery salmon and filled with flowers. Many nurses disliked the night shift, and would have let the long hours dampen their spirits, but not Cherry. She loved nursing under any conditions, and she especially liked working at the overcrowded old city hospital, where the patients really seemed to need her.

As a young girl she had often dreamt of a night just like tonight; dreamt of being in charge of a ward of patients, ready to soothe their pain using her gentle bedside manner in combination with the most up-to-date medical equipment available. Cherry patted her little cap and smoothed her hair into place. What a picture she made with her starched white uniform ironed just so and her crisp white cap pinned at a jaunty angle atop shiny black curls.

Suddenly the squeak of rubber-soled nurse’s shoes on shiny linoleum woke Cherry from her daydream.

“Sleeping on the job, Nurse Aimless?” Nurse Marstad asked, her arched eyebrows framing steely gray eyes. Cherry was too afraid to answer. She shook so hard the pills on her tray rattled.

“Well, Nurse?” Nurse Marstad asked, tapping her pencil against the little black book she held in her hand. Everyone knew Nurse Marstad kept a record of every infraction and referred to the book when deciding upon promotions and salary increases. Cherry had worked and prayed all year for a promotion from probation nurse to permanent staff, and so far her record was spotless. But today she had been caught off her guard twice. Surely Nurse Marstad wouldn’t be so cruel as to blemish her record over these slight transgressions? Or would she?

Cherry looked at the stern nurse through teary eyes. Nurse Marstad was scribbling furiously in her book. Hadn’t her mother warned her to get her head out of the clouds before something terrible happened? “Oh, why didn’t I listen to mother?” Cherry groaned to herself. “And on the eve of my big vacation!”

Cherry took a few deep calming breaths and got down to the business of nursing, under the austere gaze of Nurse Marstad. She was relieved to see that her first patient was Miss Lillian Bee, a quiet elderly woman suffering from a strange sleeping sickness. Cherry took a deep breath and began preparing Miss Bee’s injection. She blushed as she readied the syringe. Nurse Marstad’s attention made her nervous, and she clumsily dropped the needle. She hastily prepared a fresh injection, hoping the head nurse hadn’t noticed.

But she had noticed and was making another notation in her black book. Cherry blushed a deep crimson, her red cheeks highlighting her fair coloring and sparkling green eyes. She bit her ruby lips as she prepared a sterile needle. Giving injections was difficult for her, as she hated to cause the slightest bit of pain to any living creature, even if it was for their own good.

Just as she was moistening a cotton pad with antiseptic, a voice called for Nurse Marstad over the intercom. With a brusk “Carry on, nurse,” Nurse Marstad left the ward. Cherry breathed a deep sigh of relief.

With Nurse Marstad gone, Cherry competently injected Miss Bee, plumped her pillow and gave her a relaxing shoulder rub. She was glad the head nurse had been called away. Cherry was an efficient and kind nurse, as her patients would willingly testify, but there was something about Nurse Marstad that always unnerved her!

She finished soothing Miss Bee, and moved to her next patient. It was Lana, the amnesia victim. Although there was nothing physically wrong with Lana, Cherry was sorely tempted to massage her, too. Tonight her patient seemed unusually sad. She was sitting on the edge of her narrow hospital cot, clutching her book, with a faraway look in her eyes. It took her a moment to realize Cherry was at her side.

“I bet she’s upset because it’s been two whole days and we haven’t made any progress on her case,” Cherry guessed, vowing to double her efforts to identify Lana. Perhaps there was something she’d overlooked, she thought, surveying Lana with keen eyes.

“Perhaps there’s a clue in the book?” Cherry wondered. She remembered that Nurse Marstad had admitted Lana to the ward. “She’s so thorough, she surely would have checked,” Cherry realized.

Suddenly an idea came to her. “Lana must be married—she’s wearing a gold band. I wonder if anyone has looked inside her ring. If it’s engraved, it will be our first clue. I must see that ring!”

“Oh, what a pretty ring,” Cherry remarked, trying to keep her tone casual.

“Like it?” Lana asked, polishing it on her hospital-issue cotton smock. Somehow even the cotton gown looked like a couture dress on lovely Lana. “My honey gave it to me,” she said, looking wistful. Much to Cherry’s delight, Lana seemed genuinely interested in showing off her ring.

“Oh, your hands are so tiny! I bet that ring wouldn’t fit on my pinkie!” Cherry exclaimed, hoping to get her hands on it.

It worked. Lana took off her ring and handed it to Cherry. “Try it on; I bet your hands aren’t as big as you think.”

Cherry slipped the ring on her finger, then took it off. She pretended to admire its smooth surface as she looked for an inscription. She found what she was looking for.

“From G.A. to C.M. with love, 5-2-49” read the inscription in tiny cursive writing. For some reason, the thought of Lana being married upset her. What kind of man would this woman marry? She could see why any man would want to marry Lana, for she was not only pretty, she was charming, friendly and witty as well.

“Why, if I were a man, I’d marry her,” Cherry thought, blushing furiously at the idea. She realized Lana was looking at her with a penetrating gaze that made Cherry feel all flustered.

“Why, it’s as if she can read my mind,” Cherry thought, feeling a flush race up her cheeks. She hurriedly handed back the ring and gave Lana a little paper cup containing two pink pills.

“Thank you for showing me your lovely ring,” she said. “Perhaps when I finish dispensing medication we can have a little talk and maybe you’ll remember something about your husband,” Cherry said.

Lana laughed merrily at this suggestion, squeezed Cherry’s hand, and said she’d be delighted to have a nice chat.

“I have a feeling I’ll really get somewhere tonight,” Cherry thought happily as she went about her tasks. “I’m sure in no time at all Lana will be home, safe and sound!”

She hummed happily as she resumed her rounds, and her cheerful mood seemed to lift the spirits of her patients. In addition to giving out pills, Cherry always took a moment at each woman’s bedside to ask about her progress. She became so engrossed in one patient’s tale that it was almost an hour before she finished.

When she returned to Lana’s bedside, she was surprised to see a nun sitting on the edge of the bed.

“Why, Sister, I didn’t see you come in!” Cherry exclaimed. The nun pulled her veil closer around her face and said nothing.

Cherry wasn’t accustomed to seeing nuns visiting during the night shift, and if the truth be known, the quiet creatures in head-to-toe black always made her a little nervous. The nun spoke to Lana in a low, hushed voice; Cherry could tell she wanted privacy. But Lana seemed to welcome the intrusion, and cheerfully called Cherry to her side.

“Nurse Aimless, I have that book you loaned me,” Lana said, reaching under her pillow. She held out the book she had been guarding so carefully the last few days, and smiled. There was a queer animated tone in her voice, one Cherry hadn’t heard before. She seemed like an actress playing a part.

“You were right—it’s a great book! Especially chapter fifteen. Oh, boy, I laughed so hard I cried!” Lana continued merrily.

Cherry stumbled for an answer. She hadn’t loaned this book to Lana. Was she playing a trick, Cherry wondered, or was her amnesia getting worse? Cherry decided the best thing to do was to play along, and took the book from Lana.

“Thank you for returning it so promptly,” Cherry said. “There are others waiting to read it. I’m glad you enjoyed it.”

Something was very queer here. “I’d better contact Dr. Spreck immediately!” Cherry thought.

But before she had a chance to telephone the doctor, she heard a shout.

“Nurse! Nurse!” came a muffled cry from outside the ward. Why, it sounded like someone was calling for help! Cherry raced out of the room and in the direction of the shouts, but by the time she reached the end of the long corridor, all was quiet. Strangely quiet. A priest sat calmly at the duty nurse’s desk, reading a tattered magazine. He smiled at Cherry as she caught her breath.

“Goodness, my child, where’s the fire? You don’t want to break a leg and end up a patient at your own hospital, do you?” he chuckled in an affable manner.

“I though I heard a cry for help!” she exclaimed.

“Nonsense, I didn’t hear a thing,” the priest responded.

“But, but,” Cherry stammered, her rosy cheeks flushed, her heart beating a mile a minute.

“But what, dear?” he asked, squinting at Cherry through thick black-framed glasses.

Cherry looked around the quiet room. Obviously, nothing had happened. Feeling foolish, she blushed some more. “I’ve got to get more sleep; now I’m hearing things!” she said to no one in particular, for the priest had gone back to his magazine, and the corridor was deserted.

Cherry strode briskly back to the ward, knowing she had broken a strict hospital rule against leaving patients unattended. She pushed open the double doors to the ward and looked around. She was relieved to see her patients all tucked quietly in their beds.

Except for Lana, who was nowhere to be seen!

“Where is Lana?” Cherry asked, trying to control the alarm in her voice. But most of her patients were already fast asleep.

She looked at Lana’s bed. The half-eaten pork chop and glass of milk abandoned on the pink cafeteria tray looked so forlorn. What had happened to Lana?

“I’ve failed in my duty as a nurse,” Cherry thought. Nurses were forbidden to leave their wards at the understaffed city hospital, and that went double for the psychiatric ward.

“Where is Lana?” she repeated.

“She left with that nun,” a sleepy patient yawned.

Cherry was relieved to find that Lana hadn’t wandered away on her own. “Maybe they went to chapel,” she mused aloud.

“Who went to chapel?” a stern voice from behind her demanded to know. Cherry whirled around and found herself face to face with Head Nurse Margaret Marstad. And she was not smiling!

“What’s all the commotion in here?” she asked, hands on her shapely hips.

“When Cherry left the ward Lana went away with a nun,” the patient repeated. “Come to think of it, she was an awfully tall nun,” she added helpfully.

As soon as she heard this, Nurse Marstad strode briskly to the telephone at the end of the room and called security.

When she returned, Cherry tried to explain why she had left the ward, but before she could open her mouth, Nurse Marstad spotted the book in Cherry’s hand.

“What’s this, nurse?” she asked, crisply. In all the excitement, Cherry had forgotten about the book. She quickly explained about Lana’s mix-up. “I fear her amnesia is worse, and now she’s disappeared!”

Nurse Marstad glanced furtively at the book, cleared her throat, and looked Cherry straight in the eye. “I loaned her the book, Nurse Aimless. She simply forgot which nurse gave it to her,” she said in a convincing tone. “There’s no need to mention it to security when they arrive; they have enough to deal with. You will report to my office as soon as your replacement gets here.” The head nurse took the book from Cherry and left.

Cherry was so confused. She was sure Lana had arrived with the book. “But Nurse Marstad would never lie about a thing like that. Oh, I must have imagined the book belonged to Lana the same way I imagined hearing a call for help!”

Cherry swallowed hard, fighting back tears. She knew she had made a major blunder which could threaten her chances of joining the staff permanently. “Why, I’ll surely be fired if I admit to Nurse Marstad that I’m hearing things!”

Nurse Mildred Middy arrived a few minutes later to replace the despondent nurse. Cherry was relieved to see someone she knew, and it took all her willpower to keep from breaking down at the sight of her chum. The two had been fast friends since their first day at General Hospital, and they shared the same devotion to nursing and dread of Head Nurse Margaret Marstad.

“Don’t let Marstad scare you, Cherry. Why, everyone knows you’re one of the best nurses here,” comforted Mildred. “We won’t let her fire you. She just can’t!”

Suddenly, the loudspeaker interrupted Nurse Middy’s soothing consolations. “Nurse Aimless, report to my office immediately,” Nurse Marstad’s voice barked over the intercom.

Cherry said good-bye to her chum and to her patients, expressing the hope that she would see them soon. As she waited for the elevator that would take her to the third floor and the head nurse’s office, she thought of the years of dreaming and hard work that had brought her this far. Could it be that it was all about to end?

CHAPTER 2
An Important Assignment

Cherry faced Nurse Marstad with a heavy heart. She tried to explain what had happened, but the harder she tried, the more muddled everything got, until finally she burst into tears.

“Oh, I’m so ashamed!” she cried, covering her face with her hands. Nurse Marstad pulled a lavender handkerchief from her pocket and gave it to the tearful girl.

“Blow your nose, nurse,” Nurse Marstad commanded with a gentleness in her voice that Cherry hadn’t heard before. Cherry hastily wiped her tear-stained face, took out her compact, brushed her shiny nose with a light dusting of powder and put on a hint of pink lipstick.

“Feeling better?” Nurse Marstad wanted to know. Cherry just nodded, too afraid to trust her voice.

Nurse Marstad took a seat behind her stately oak desk, which was piled high with paperwork and medical journals. She motioned for Cherry to take a seat in one of the turquoise naugahyde chairs facing the desk. Cherry squirmed in the slippery chair. Just a year ago, she had sat in this very spot, convincing Nurse Marstad that she was probation nurse material. And now she feared she had made a tragic blunder!

“I feel so awful that Lana is missing!” Cherry cried. “It’s all my fault; I should never have left the ward. It’s just that when I heard a call for help, I ran out without thinking, but no one was there. Well, no one except this priest and, well, I would just hate myself if anything happened to Lana because of me.” Cherry’s voice trailed off.

“I’m worried about Lana, too,” Nurse Marstad admitted. “But I have reason to hope she’ll soon be back where she belongs.”

“I’ll do anything to make this right,” Cherry cried. “I won’t go to San Francisco—I’ll stay here and find Lana myself. I’m a pretty good detective; why, just tonight I found three clues as to her true identity!”

Nurse Marstad looked interested at the revelation of this information. “Really? What did you uncover?” she asked.

“I know that she’s married, and her initials are C.M. And she must be Catholic; why else would she get a visit from a nun?”

“You’re very observant, Cherry. That’s a fine quality in a nurse.” Nurse Marstad pulled her black book from her uniform pocket. Cherry bit her lip. Once she counted all the mistakes Cherry had made that day, she’d surely fire her!

“Let’s see,” Marstad said, flipping through the pages. “A—Aarnes … ah, here you are. Aimless, Cherry. Hired July 5, 1958, with highest recommendations from Nurse Shirley Stern, Stencer Nursing School, Clearwater Falls, Idaho.”

Cherry was surprised to hear a good review from her old teacher. From the way she had always singled her out in class, Cherry had assumed Nurse Stern hadn’t liked her one bit.

Nurse Marstad continued. “My reports indicate you are a thoughtful and efficient nurse. I was pleased tonight to see the nice manner in which you handled Miss Bee. All your patients give you high marks.” Nurse Marstad closed her book. “Now, I hate to see a good nurse lost because of one blunder. You shouldn’t have left the ward, Cherry, and my guess is that you’ll never make that mistake again.”

Cherry shook her head. “Never,” she said solemnly. “I’ll do anything to keep my job,” Cherry added earnestly.

“Of course you’ll keep your job.” Nurse Marstad seemed amused.

“You mean you’re not going to fire me? I can stay?” Cherry squeaked, her voice cracking with emotion.

“The other nurses would have my head if I let our most popular nurse go!” Nurse Marstad replied.

Cherry blushed. She had had no idea she was so well-liked. She just did her best to work hard, be cheerful and keep her uniform clean and starched.

The head nurse looked sternly at Cherry. “I know I’m hard on you nurses, but this is a difficult job. Our patients really need us; this isn’t a fancy private hospital for spoiled rich people.”

“That’s why I’m here,” Cherry said solemnly. Nurse Marstad nodded. Cherry’s dedication was apparent to all who worked with her.

“I meant what I said about canceling vacation plans to stay here and find Lana,” Cherry repeated earnestly. “You saw how many clues I dug up tonight. I know I can do it! First I’ll find Lana and then I’ll find out who she is!”

Nurse Marstad shook her head. “While your dedication is laudable, we here at General Hospital don’t believe in working our nurses to the bone. I really think you should take that vacation, Cherry. Besides, weren’t you also going home to Idaho? Won’t your mother be awfully disappointed?”

Cherry was amazed that Nurse Marstad knew so much about her plans. “I didn’t tell her I was coming. I wanted it to be a surprise,” Cherry said. “I’m sure I can find Lana. I’d feel so much better knowing that I didn’t leave you in a jam.”

Nurse Marstad looked thoughtful. “Actually, Cherry, you could do me a really big favor. I need to get a package to a friend of mine in Oregon—and soon. Are you staying long in Idaho?” When Cherry replied that she intended to visit her family for no more than a day on her way to San Francisco, Nurse Marstad continued.

“Since you’re going in that direction, you could drop it off. It would just be a few miles out of your way. It’s very important, and there aren’t many people I’d trust with it. But I know I can count on you, Cherry.”

“Even though I seem to be imagining things?” Cherry fretted.

Nurse Marstad laughed. “You’re just overworked, Cherry. Why, you’re a splendid probation nurse!”

That was high praise coming from the strict head nurse, Cherry thought. Her bosom swelled with pride. “Why, I’d be honored to deliver a package for you, Nurse Marstad. What is it?”

Nurse Marstad seemed flustered by Cherry’s inquiry. She quickly regained her composure and answered, in a casual manner, “Oh, it’s a special experimental medication, and it’s very fragile. You’d need to watch it along the way; don’t leave it in your car unattended. Take it with you wherever you go. It’s very rare. When you get to Oregon, deliver it right to my friend’s front door; hand it to her personally. I’ll get a map to you before you leave in the morning,” she said. “Are you willing to do it?”

“Of course!” Cherry cried. “You can count on me, Nurse Marstad. I’d never let you down! Why, you’re not nearly as tough as everyone says!” she added.

Nurse Marstad chuckled. “You assumed I was going to fire you because you made one mistake. After all, doesn’t everyone say I’m so tough that I practically eat probation nurses for breakfast?”

Cherry didn’t know what to say. She always tried to be diplomatic. “Everyone knows you have high standards. And there was that one nurse …”

“So that awful rumor about Nurse Rita Rooney is still making the rounds!”

Cherry had indeed heard the rumor. Why, all probies heard it the first day on the job. Legend had it that a beginning nurse made a simple mistake during surgery, and Nurse Marstad reprimanded her so harshly she hung herself that very night. Her ghost haunted the first-year nurses’ quarters during the full moon, the senior nurses said.

“You mean she didn’t hang herself because of you?” Cherry blurted out before she could stop herself.

“Nurse Rooney is very much alive and well and living in Key West with Nurse Greta Green. I should know. I was her roommate until the day Nurse Green showed up.”

Cherry’s jaw dropped. “But why do they tell that terrible story?” she asked indignantly.

Nurse Marstad smiled widely, revealing a darling dimple in her left cheek. “Someone’s idea of a joke, I guess!” she shrugged.

Cherry was astonished. Why, Nurse Marstad wasn’t the big bad wolf everyone thought!

“It would be an honor to deliver your package, Nurse Marstad,” Cherry said proudly.

Nurse Marstad unlocked the bottom drawer of her desk and took out a bundle the size of a clutch purse, wrapped in brown paper and tied securely with white string. Using her fountain pen, she addressed the package in bold handwriting before handing it to Cherry.

She walked Cherry to the door, handed her the precious parcel, and resumed her no-nonsense tone of voice.

“Nurse Aimless, I order you to go and pack!” she said, with a stern tone in her voice but a twinkle in her eye. “And Cherry,” she added in a whisper, “Mum’s the word about Nurse Rooney. That story keeps probies on their toes, and I kind of don’t mind it myself!”

Cherry impulsively hugged the older woman. “I’ll send you a postcard,” she promised. She suddenly felt in high spirits.

Why, Nurse Marstad was human after all! And really quite attractive when she smiled, Cherry thought, as she headed back to her room to begin packing.

She was almost to the nurses’ dorm when she realized she still had Nurse Marstad’s lavender handkerchief clutched in her hand. “I’ll wash and iron it tonight and return it in the morning,” she promised herself. She jammed the handkerchief in her pocket, her thoughts turning to other things.

She hated to leave before Lana was found, but deep in her heart she knew Nurse Marstad was right. She could use a rest. And besides, now she had an important package to deliver!

“Two whole glorious weeks, and they’re all mine!” she thought happily, a little skip in her walk. General Hospital could not have had a happier nurse than vacation-bound Cherry Aimless.

CHAPTER 3
The Journey Begins

The distinctive creak of rubber-soled shoes outside her door woke Cherry from a deep slumber. Being careful not to disturb her roommate, Nurse Cassie Case, Cherry slipped out of bed, donned her pink-flowered chenille robe and fuzzy slippers, and quietly opened her door.

“I must have been dreaming,” she thought when she peeked out and discovered no one in the hallway. “That, or I’m a little jumpy after the events of last night! I may as well get an early start on my trip,” she reasoned, but when she saw the soft glowing dial of her electric alarm clock, she changed her mind.

“Three in the morning and I’m thinking of getting up?” she yawned, jumping back into bed and snuggling under the warm covers.

She slept in fits and starts the rest of the night. Once she thought she heard someone jiggling her doorknob, but decided she was imagining things. Eventually she resumed her slumber, and when she awoke, Nurse Case was gone. On her neatly-made bed was a note for Cherry:

I didn’t want to wake you because you’ll need all your rest for the trip ahead. Have a gay time in San Francisco!

Cherry hopped out of bed, gave her face a good scrubbing in the little corner sink and put on the travel outfit she had selected before going to bed, a cornflower-blue madras skirt, simple white cotton blouse and comfortable flats.

“It’s just the ticket for a comfy car trip,” she declared, surveying herself in the full-length mirror. She double-checked the contents of her stylish white leather suitcase and matching cosmetics bag before latching them securely. Cherry wasn’t sure what the styles were in San Francisco, so she had packed a wide variety of outfits, from play clothes to formal wear. She put Nurse Marstad’s package in her purse and left her room.

After a delicious breakfast of soft-boiled eggs, melba toast and fruit cup in the hospital cafeteria, Cherry had two stops to make. The first was the payroll office, to receive her vacation pay. There was an envelope attached to her pay packet, addressed to her in Nurse Marstad’s unmistakable handwriting. Inside was a map of Oregon, a crisp ten-dollar bill, and a note.

Cherry, I really appreciate this—you are a lifesaver! Use the money for gasoline and a treat. I’ve marked the map so you know where you’re going.

Have a good time—that’s an order.

Peg Marstad

Cherry remembered that Nurse Marstad’s lavender handkerchief lay crumpled in the pocket of last night’s uniform, which she had thrown hastily into her suitcase. Her friends laughed when she packed her uniforms for a vacation trip, but Cherry knew that a nurse could be called into action at any time, and she wanted to be appropriately attired if such an occasion should arise.

Besides, she wanted to show off the uniform to her chums in Pleasantville.

She had forgotten all about the handkerchief the night before during an impromptu party thrown together by her chums. Nurse Dina Darling, an Iowa farm girl with big brown eyes and a fetching smile, had filched some cheese and crackers from the cafeteria, and Nurse Polly Pluck, a tall brunette with an elfin grin and a dancer’s graceful body, had produced a bottle of sparkling apple cider. “For special occasions,” she said when she popped the cork. For these hard-working nurses, a vacation was a special occasion, indeed.

Cherry resolved that she would wash and iron the handkerchief at her mother’s house and promptly mail it back to Nurse Marstad—or Peg, as she had begun calling her in her mind.

Her next stop was Women’s Psychiatric to ask about Lana. Nurse Gerry George reported that Lana was still missing, but they were certain she would be found soon.

“Now, don’t you worry about a thing,” said Nurse George as she escorted an anxious Cherry to the elevator. “Marstad said if you came around to send you on your way,” Nurse George laughed. “I guess she knows you pretty well, Cherry. First to volunteer and last to leave. You’d make a great army nurse! Now, get out of here and have some fun!” She gave Cherry a quick hug and playfully shoved her into the elevator.

Cherry felt drawn to the handsome woman with her warm manner and soft brown eyes. Nurse George was someone she would certainly like to get to know better. “I’ll send her a postcard, too,” she decided.

She walked briskly to the hospital garage where she stored her 1953 dark blue Buick. “It’s not a very glamorous car,” she thought, comparing it to the flashy red convertible with white leather seats parked in the next space.

“But it’s sturdy and dependable, just like me.” She smiled at her reflection in the car window and patted her dancing black curls into place.

She put her suitcase and cosmetics bag in the trunk, checking twice to make sure the lock was secure. “If you must leave home, at least leave in style,” her mother had sighed when she gave her the luggage as a high school graduation present.

Cherry hopped into the car and put her purse containing Nurse Marstad’s package on the passenger seat beside her. Cherry sighed and settled into her seat. The drive home to Idaho would take at least eight hours, and she was eager to be on her way.

She pulled her car into a nearby service station, and while the attendant filled her tank, Cherry checked to make sure she had her maps of Washington and Idaho. Although she knew the route by heart, it comforted her to know they were available if she ran into trouble. Although Cherry had an excellent sense of direction, she refused to go anywhere without a map.

She was engrossed in planning the first leg of her journey when a strange man wearing a fedora pulled low over his face reached into her car and snatched her purse!

Cherry screamed, and the startled man dropped her purse and ran. The attendant raced after him, but to no avail.

“He disappeared around that corner,” she said apologetically, handing Cherry her purse. “Are you all right, miss? Do you want me to call the police?”

Although Cherry was frankly shaken, she didn’t want to lose any time. She wasn’t as worried about her purse as she was about Nurse Marstad’s precious parcel. What if it had been stolen? “I’d have to change my name and move to another town,” she though grimly. “I’d never be able to face Nurse Marstad and admit I let her down.”

She paid for the gasoline, thanked the attendant for her help, rolled up her windows and locked her doors. “No one’s getting this purse away from me again,” Cherry vowed.

She drove with her eyes securely on the road ahead and her thoughts back at the busy hospital, her many nurse chums, and the now even more mysterious Lana. At times she wanted to turn back, and as the miles passed, taking her further and further from Seattle, she felt a sense of apprehension. Had she failed as a nurse? Nurse Marstad didn’t seem to think so. Cherry replayed the hour of Lana’s disappearance again and again in her mind.

If only she hadn’t left the room! “But I thought someone needed me,” she consoled herself.

Still, she had a nagging feeling that somehow there was something she had missed. She mulled over the two lengthy conversations she had had with Lana. Although Lana was friendly, she had a way of turning the conversation away from herself, and both times Cherry was surprised to find herself the focus of the conversation.

It had been Lana who had urged her to fly in the face of family disapproval and visit her Aunt Gertrude in San Francisco. Cherry had wanted to visit her beloved aunt many times, but each time she talked of going, it seemed some family emergency had come up. Or was it that her family just didn’t like Aunt Gertrude? Cherry knew that couldn’t be. Why, everyone loved the attractive, vivacious Miss Aimless!

The thought of seeing her aunt after all these years put Cherry in a better mood. Still, she would have felt even happier had she been able to solve the puzzle of the lovely Lana.

Cherry was proud of her sleuthing abilities. Hadn’t she saved poor Miss Pringle’s farm from being sold out from under her by her unscrupulous nephew? Cherry smiled as she remembered how, working as visiting nurse to Miss Polly Pringle of Pleasantville the summer after getting her R.N., she had uncovered the nephew’s spiteful scheme and stopped the sale just in time.

Her thoughts drifted to her family. She knew her mother would be happy to see her, yet her mother’s habit of scrutinizing her daughter from head to toe, starting with her short hair-do and ending with her ungainly size-nine feet, was a bit unnerving.

But she felt so good after hearing the glowing report from Nurse Marstad, she was determined not to let her mother bother her this time. “I’ll just pretend I don’t hear her,” Cherry decided. “And if she’s upset about my leaving so soon, I’ll just explain that I’m transporting important medicine!”

She checked her watch. It was after noon, and she felt ready for a good stretch and some lunch. She stopped at a tidy roadside café and stepped out of her car for some quick calisthenics, to the amusement of the other travelers. Cherry was aware that her actions looked odd, but she ignored their giggles. As a nurse, she knew that sitting for too long was bad for the circulation, and a good stretch was the best medicine for sleepy limbs.

After a nourishing lunch of an egg salad sandwich, jello and milk, she purchased steaming coffee in a paper cup and took it to her car. She hoped it would revive her for the last leg of the trip.

Cherry balanced the paper cup on the seat, and while she waited for the coffee to cool, she opened her purse, took out her compact, and reapplied her lipstick. She reached for a tissue from her glove compartment and clumsily knocked over the cup of coffee, spilling it inside her purse and all over Nurse Marstad’s important package!

“Oh, dear!” she cried, grabbing the cup before its entire contents could empty into her purse. She used a tissue to wipe the package, but when she did, she erased the name and address right off the brown paper wrapping!

“Jeepers!” she cried. “How am I going to deliver this now? I can’t call Nurse Marstad and admit I dropped hot coffee on her package.” She looked at the map the head nurse had given her, and was relieved that her destination was clearly marked. “At least I know the town I’m going to,” she sighed.

“Now if I can just find the name and address of the person who’s supposed to get this. Maybe their name is on the inside,” she thought brightly.

Cherry carefully untied the string holding the parcel together. Inside the brown-paper wrapper was Lana’s book!

“Why, this isn’t medicine!” Cherry cried. “Nurse Marstad must have goofed and given me the wrong package!” Although it was hard for Cherry to believe that Nurse Marstad ever made a mistake!

While she was loath to call her boss and admit she had opened the parcel, she knew, as a nurse, she was bound to deliver that special experimental medication!

“Even if I have to turn around and drive all the way back to Seattle General Hospital, I’ll do it,” she declared. “For there’s no such thing as a vacation from helping others!” She hopped out of her car and made a bee-line to the nearest public telephone. She fished through her wet purse for the correct change, and a minute later, she was on the line to the main desk at Seattle General Hospital.

“I’d like to speak to Head Nurse Margaret Marstad, please,” she said in a shaky voice.

“I’m sorry, miss,” the operator replied. “Nurse Marstad is on vacation.”

“How queer!” Cherry frowned. Why, she knew Nurse Marstad had just come back from a vacation.

“I’ll transfer you to our replacement head nurse. Hold, please.”

In a minute, Nurse Gerry George was on the phone. “I need to speak to Nurse Marstad,” Cherry said, trying not to sound frantic. “It’s very important.”

“I’m sorry, Cherry, but Nurse Marstad is gone.”

“Did she leave a message for me?” Cherry asked, not wishing to give away the nature of her call. “About a package?”

“She didn’t leave a message for anyone. It was the queerest thing. I got to work at eleven and was told I would be the replacement head nurse for a while. I’ve got to go, Cherry. Golly, I never realized how hard Marstad’s job was. Have a great vacation!”

Cherry went back to her car feeling more confused than ever. “What am I going to do?” she wondered. She glared at the book in her hand, “All this trouble,” she cried, “over a silly little book!” She tossed it on the seat next to her. A piece of paper fluttered to the floor. “Hmmn. Look, there’s a note!” Cherry felt a sense of guilt creeping over her. She was aware she was reading correspondence not meant for her eyes.

Midge—Mother having problems with Father. Holiday plans canceled. Trouble at home. Can you advise?

Pegs

“If Nurse Marstad simply gave me the wrong package, this note wouldn’t be in here,” she reasoned, remembering that the package had been addressed to a Miss Midge Somebody. “I bet Nurse Marstad went away because of her family troubles, only she was too ashamed to tell anyone about it.”

Cherry’s heart went out to the gruff-seeming nurse. “She hides a broken heart under all her brusqueness,” she thought, tears filling her eyes.

Cherry examined the cover of the book. The Lost Secrets of the Sisters of Mercy. Cherry was not a big reader, and religious stories did not appeal to her in the least. Still, the nun on the cover was awfully attractive, she thought.

She opened the book to the inscription page.

“With love from G.A. to C.M.,” it said.

“This proves this is Lana’s book, for these are the same initials I saw engraved on her ring!” Cherry exclaimed. “Why did Nurse Marstad claim this book belonged to her?”

Cherry laughed at herself. “I’m sure there’s a very simple explanation for all this. Why, I’m starting to think everything’s a mystery! I’ll just deliver this parcel as promised, and when I get back to the hospital, I’m sure Nurse Marstad will clear all this up.”

But she still had a kernel of doubt in the back of her mind.

She decided to have a closer look at the book. “As long as I’ve already opened it, I might as well have a peek,” she reasoned.

She skimmed the first chapter. “I can’t quite put my finger on it, but there is something very different about this book!” Cherry mused as she flipped through the pages. Why, except for some men hired to haul heavy furniture in chapter three, all the characters in the book were women! Fascinated, Cherry read on. Before she knew it, more than an hour had passed, and she was a quarter of the way through the book. She was so deeply engrossed she had lost track of the time.

“Oh, dear!” she cried when she finally checked her watch. Cherry prided herself on her promptness, and although she hadn’t called her mother to tell her she was coming, she had a schedule of her own to keep!

She put the book on the passenger seat, turned on her engine and put her car in reverse. But she found her exit was blocked by two men in a red convertible. She politely beeped her horn to let the men know they were blocking her way, but instead of moving, the driver got out of the car.

He threw his cigar butt on the ground, buttoned his black overcoat up to his chin and pulled his hat low over his face. He sauntered menacingly over to Cherry’s car. His companion had slipped behind the wheel of the convertible and was gunning the engine.

Cherry didn’t want to acknowledge the man, but she didn’t want to be rude, either. “Perhaps he wants my parking spot,” she thought.

“I’m leaving right now,” she said in a cheerful tone that belied her true feelings. Frankly, this man gave her the creeps! “There’s something about him that seems awfully familiar,” Cherry shuddered.

He leaned on Cherry’s car in an insolent manner and grinned. He squinted at her through thick black-framed glasses. “What’s the hurry, sister? My buddy and I just pulled in here for a nice cold beer. Care to join us?”

“No thanks,” Cherry gulped. “I simply must be on my way.” The man’s fresh attitude angered her, but she tried never to engage in a quarrel.

“Always turn the other cheek,” her mother counseled, and those were words Cherry lived by.

The man acted like he hadn’t heard her and opened her car door. Cherry gasped indignantly. “How rude,” she cried. “If you don’t quit pestering me, I’ll be forced to call for assistance!” she declared.

Beep! Beep! A large man wearing a loud Hawaiian shirt and driving a wood-paneled station wagon full of noisy children was trying to squeeze past the two cars. “Hey, buddy, you’re blocking the road!” he yelled. “Move it!”

The rude man in the black overcoat scowled, slammed Cherry’s door, and skulked back to his car. Cherry waited a few minutes after they drove off, hoping to put some distance between herself and the rude men. She pulled out of the parking lot and cautiously maneuvered her car through the heavy late-afternoon traffic. It would be dark soon, and although her mother wasn’t expecting her, if she happened to call the hospital and find out Cherry had left many hours ago for Idaho, she would surely worry.

She stopped at a service station and drank a refreshing orange soda while a capable young girl with a darling short haircut checked her oil, brake fluid and tires and cleaned her windows.

“Great story,” the girl said, pointing to the book on the seat next to Cherry. “You’ll love the ending.”

“I can’t wait to finish it,” Cherry enthused, waving good-bye to the friendly girl. She put all thoughts of the two rude men out of her head and concentrated on the miles ahead of her.

So many peculiar things had happened to her in the last few days. “Once I get to San Francisco I can really relax!” she thought happily.

CHAPTER 4
What a Conundrum

When Cherry pulled into the driveway of the tidy split-level house at 17 Badger Avenue, it was just after eight p.m. She knew her mother would be finishing the dinner dishes while her father sat in his easy chair, The Pleasantville Times in one hand and a highball in the other.

She wanted to surprise them, but Lady heard the car pull into the driveway, and her barking drew Mrs. Aimless to the screen door.

“It’s Cherry! Cherry’s come home!” her mother exclaimed as she flew out the front door with Lady at her heels. They raced across the front yard, Mrs. Aimless staying on the tidy brick path but Lady bounding exuberantly through the flower bed. Lady reached Cherry first, and in her enthusiasm muddied Cherry’s skirt.

“Oh, I wish I had known you were coming! Why, the house is such a mess! Oh, dear!” cried Mrs. Aimless, holding her daughter at arms length while looking her up and down. She brushed the mud from Cherry’s outfit. “Oh, I wish I could keep this dog out of my petunias. She’s ruined your skirt. Well, never mind; I never did like that shade of blue on you anyway!” The collie jumped around the two, barking with pleasure.

“And I must look a sight!” she added, taking off her apron to reveal an immaculately-tailored cream-colored shirtwaist with a scoop collar that set off her tan to perfection.

Cherry grinned. Same old mom! She hugged the older woman and assured her that she looked just fine. But Cherry was fibbing, for despite the deep tan and attractive coiffure, Mrs. Aimless looked tired. Cherry hoped her absence wasn’t putting those worry lines across her mother’s forehead.

“Is Father home?” Cherry asked, retrieving her luggage and purse from the car.

Her mother frowned. “He’s had a bad day at work, and he’s in one of his moods,” she warned. “I’d wait until he speaks to you before bothering him. Let’s go in the back way so we don’t disturb him.”

Cherry followed her mother to the back door. Once in the kitchen, they relaxed over some key lime pie and coffee. Cherry began chatting happily about her work in Seattle but was interrupted several times by questions from her mother.

“Do you have to wear those ugly white nurse’s shoes, dear?”

“Do all nurses have such short hair?”

“Have you met any attractive doctors?”

Each time Cherry tried to open her mouth, her mother interrupted with another question. Could it be that her mother didn’t want to hear about her nurse chums and their fascinating patients?

Cherry suddenly felt very tired. It had been a long drive, and her pleasure at being home had dissolved during her mother’s interrogation. A good night’s sleep will cheer me up, she thought, barely stifling a yawn.

Her mother shooed her off to bed. “There’s plenty of time for catching up, dear,” she said, kissing her good-night. “Why, we’ve got almost two whole weeks together!”

Cherry didn’t have the heart to tell her mother she was going to be in Pleasantville for only a day. She was glad she had agreed to deliver Nurse Marstad’s package. She didn’t feel quite as selfish, knowing she was going to do something important for someone else. Somehow she’d make her mother understand.

CHAPTER 5
An Odd Occurrence

Cherry snuggled under the quilt Aunt Gertrude had made for her and yawned. Finally, it felt right to be home, safe and snug in her little attic bedroom with Lady sprawled at her feet. She was just drifting off to sleep when Lady jumped off the bed and raced to the door. “She seems awfully agitated about something,” Cherry thought as she slipped out of her warm bed, donned her pink chenille robe and fuzzy slippers, and quietly crept downstairs with Lady at her heels.

Once downstairs, the collie gave a little yelp and ran to the den, where Mr. Aimless lay fast asleep in his recliner, the pages of the evening paper scattered at his feet.

“It’s freezing in here,” Cherry shuddered, covering her father with a comforter from the davenport.

“Why, the window’s open!” she exclaimed, creeping across the room to close it, taking care not to wake her father. “Mother always closes this before she goes to bed; the wind must have blown it open. Good thing the noise woke Lady; otherwise Father might have caught a terrible cold—or worse!” She latched the window firmly.

But the collie still seemed agitated. She climbed on Mrs. Aimless’s favorite chair—an act which was strictly forbidden in the spotless Aimless house—peered out the window and growled. Cherry looked, too, but saw nothing but a quiet little street lined with majestic maple trees.

“That’s funny,” she thought. “It’s not windy at all.”

“There’s no one out there, girl,” Cherry said, scratching Lady behind the ears. “Hush.” She certainly didn’t want her father awakening in a grumpy mood, especially since tomorrow she would tell him she was going to visit her Aunt Gertrude.

“Let’s go back to bed,” she said, tugging gently on her pet’s collar. Cherry stopped in the living room long enough to find something to read, in case she couldn’t get back to sleep. All she could find stacked in tidy piles on the kidney-shaped coffee table were fashion magazines and several issues of Reader’s Digest. Nothing piqued her interest.

“I haven’t finished Lana’s book yet!” she suddenly remembered, going to the kitchen to get her purse. But it wasn’t on the table where she had left it earlier. “Mother must have moved it,” Cherry reasoned, noticing how tidy the kitchen was. But her purse wasn’t in the front hall closet, nor was it in the deacon’s bench in the entryway, where her mother stored her spare handbags. She found it in the tiny room off the garage that served as her mother’s laundry room. The contents of the purse, including the book, had been placed in a neat row on the ironing board.

“Mother is such a dear,” Cherry smiled. “She must have discovered that I spilled coffee in my handbag and cleaned it after I went to bed.” She took the book and crept back upstairs, pulling a reluctant Lady behind her. Cherry settled in for a good read, but before she could finish even one page, she was fast asleep. But for Lady, there was no such slumber. She maintained her guard all through the night from her station at the foot of Cherry’s bed.

She knew there was something out there in the night, even if her mistress didn’t!

Cherry awoke to brilliant sunlight streaming across her face. Lady was awake and waiting patiently on the rag rug beside the bed. “Rise and shine!” her mother called from the kitchen. From the fragrant smells wafting up the stairs, Cherry could tell her mother was preparing her award-winning strawberry waffles. She jumped out of bed, donned a simple kelly green dress with a sweetheart neckline, and raced down the stairs, taking them two at a time. Why, she hadn’t had a decent waffle for a whole year!

Cherry spent the morning in a whirlwind: chatting on the phone with chums, standing still so her mother could measure her for a new party frock, and making rhubarb tarts for her mother’s bridge club luncheon the next day. Mid-afternoon she slipped into a gingham sundress and soft white moccasins and walked downtown. The heat was stifling, and she ducked into Tilly’s Drugstore for a refreshing vanilla soda. She was just deciding whether or not to have a second, when Miss Molly Mathers, the high school physical education teacher, plopped down onto the stool beside her. She was so full of questions about life in a big city hospital that before Cherry knew it, two hours had slipped away.

“Golly,” she gulped, taking a last sip of her second soda. “I’ve got to get home to help Mother prepare supper. Bye, Miss Mathers.”

Cherry ran all the way back to Badger Avenue and found her mother had everything under control. The dining room table had already been set with the good china, and azaleas from Mrs. Aimless’s garden had been arranged in a festive centerpiece at the center of the table.

Cherry took a quick shower, ran a comb through her disheveled curls and applied fresh lipstick. Resplendent in a dressy mint-green crepe frock and festive gold sandals, she made her way downstairs. “Why, I forgot to eat lunch!” she exclaimed, sniffing appreciatively. Her mother had prepared a special supper of pot roast, baked potatoes and green bean casserole. A strawberry cake sat cooling in the kitchen, awaiting a final frosting of vanilla icing.

Mrs. Aimless sent her daughter into the living room to finish arranging the hors d’oeuvres. Mr. and Mrs. Cleaver, her parent’s closest friends, arrived a few minutes later.

“Why, Cherry, you look splendid!” gushed Mrs. Cleaver, hugging the blushing girl to her cashmere-clad bosom. “And, Doris, your table could win a prize!” Mrs. Cleaver complimented Mrs. Aimless, who beamed with pride.

Mr. Aimless was delayed at the office, so Cherry, her mother and their guests sat patiently in the living room, sampling the yummy treats her mother had spent the afternoon preparing.

“Delicious cheese ball!” Mr. Cleaver exclaimed. Mrs. Aimless confessed that she was testing a new recipe for entry in the upcoming county fair. Her guests assured her she would surely win first prize, and reached for seconds. Half a cheese ball later, Mr. Aimless arrived and dinner was served.

Mrs. Aimless seated Cherry next to her father. “Have a nice chat with your father,” she whispered in Cherry’s ear.

Cherry made several attempts to engage her father in conversation and finally got him talking with a query about his business. A long lecture about the booming real estate market in Idaho followed. Cherry found her mind wandering to the absent Aimless—her twin brother Charles.

How she wished Charley were here! Although the two didn’t look anything alike, Charley being as fair as she was dark, they shared the same sense of fun and good sportsmanship. Charley was so animated and funny that he had saved many family dinners from complete disaster with his quick wit.

“So, Cherry, how’s life in the big city?” asked Mrs. Cleaver, digging into the green bean and potato chip casserole. “Your mother tells me you work with lots of interesting doctors!”

“Single doctors,” her mother added, winking at her friend. Cherry wanted to talk about her hospital experiences, about her friends and the mysterious Lana, but she knew any mention of a mystery would just worry her mother, who had never forgotten the fright she had experienced during the Pringle farm incident.

That adventure had scared Cherry, too, for she had been kidnapped and tied up in a fruit cellar. She still shuddered when she remembered the feeling of spiders crawling over her arms and legs! It was only because of the heroic Lady that the search party had found Cherry. The collie had tunneled her way out of the cellar and run miles through pouring rain for help.

Cherry slipped the courageous collie a nice piece of pot roast. The dog accepted the offering gratefully from her hiding place at Cherry’s feet. Cherry wiped her hands on the embroidered napkin in her lap. As she fingered the linen she fondly remembered the summer twelve years ago when her father’s sister had come to visit. That summer her Aunt Gertrude taught her to sew, and they had made many lovely things together.

For some reason, Father didn’t like his youngest sister and refused to speak of her. But when Mr. Aimless had gone east for the summer to a special real estate school, her mother had invited Aunt Gertrude for a visit.

Gert had never married, but with her vivacious personality and striking good looks, she made friends easily. The first week in Pleasantville she became fast friends with the town librarian, Miss Hathaway. Soon the four of them had become a sort of club, and they spent the summer days swimming, hiking, and picnicking. In the evening, they had often sat on the front porch, sewing and talking.

Her father had arrived home a week early to find Gert and Miss Hathaway napping in the spare bedroom. He forbade them to set foot in his house again, and that was the last Cherry saw of Aunt Gert. Her parents didn’t know they had been writing regularly since Cherry went away to nursing school.

Her mother interrupted her thoughts. Apparently, she had been trying to get Cherry’s attention for some time. “So, Cherry, what are you planning to do with the rest of your vacation? There’s plenty going on here, what with the county fair coming up, and the hay ride, and that nice young Jim Fud has been asking about you.”

“Why, I’m going to visit Aunt Gertrude in San Francisco!” Cherry blurted out before she could stop herself.

Cherry held her breath. The room seemed so still. No one said a word. Finally, her mother broke the silence.

“San Francisco? Isn’t that awfully far away?” her mother asked nervously.

She was interrupted by shouts from a group of Cherry’s chums, five good-natured, if somewhat noisy, girls who had just pulled up in a canary-yellow sedan. The group had spent all their spare time together in high school, leaving no room for the school activities, football games and Saturday night dates that other girls were so interested in.

Many a time Mrs. Aimless had counseled Cherry that no man would want to marry her if she didn’t begin to act more interested in dating, but Cherry had brushed her off with a joking, “So who wants to get married?”

“I suppose marriage isn’t for everyone,” Mrs. Aimless had told herself. “After all, Gertrude seems happy enough.”

Cherry was relieved that her chums had provided her with a polite exit. “Sorry, Mom, but I told the gang to come by after supper. I won’t be out late.” With this, the pretty young nurse threw a white beaded sweater over her shoulders and flew out the door to join her friends.

Over a chocolate sundae, Cherry filled her friends in on the mysterious events of the last few days. “Although I don’t know exactly what’s going on, I still have to deliver this package to Oregon. Why, that’s halfway to San Francisco. I couldn’t change my mind now if I wanted to. Which I don’t,” she added somewhat ruefully. “All I know is, my parents don’t like the idea.”

“Oh, go, Cherry, go,” said Dessa, a darling brown-eyed girl with a snub nose and a smattering of freckles across her face. “You’ve got two weeks’ pay and a place to stay—why, that head nurse practically ordered you to go!”

“And you know how you love to obey orders, Nurse Aimless,” giggled Beth, the athlete of the group, whose strong shoulders attested to her love of swimming. “Cherry, you need a break, and staying here with your family is no vacation,” she continued in a more serious tone.

“They’re right,” broke in Arlene, a raven-haired beauty with a beguiling smile and a forthright manner. “Pleasantville is not exactly the most exciting place on the planet!”

Cherry licked the last bit of chocolate sauce from her spoon, and ordered another sundae. If she was going to stand up to her parents, she’d better get more courage—and quick!

When she arrived home, her mother was sitting at the kitchen table, absent-mindedly looking through a recipe book. Her father was asleep on the davenport, the evening paper spread at his feet. Cherry steeled herself for her mother’s reaction to her trip, but before she could open her mouth, her mother surprised her.

“If you’re going, you’d better get to bed soon, dear,” Mrs. Aimless said, shutting The Joy of Cooking and placing it back on the shelf.

Cherry jumped up and down with glee. “You mean you don’t mind? And Father too?”

“I made a deal with your father. He lets you visit Gert, and I promise not to put arsenic in his coffee!” The twinkle in her eye let Cherry in on the joke, and they had a good laugh.

“Oh,” squealed Cherry. “There’s so much to do! I’ve got dirty clothes to wash, and I promised Aunt Gert I’d call her tonight.”

Her mother interrupted. “While you were out with your friends I did your laundry; it’s all ironed and pressed and on your bed. And I called Gert, but she wasn’t home.”

“That’s funny,” Cherry said. “Tonight was the night we set aside to talk. She wanted to know exactly when I was arriving so she could be home.”

“You know your Aunt Gert, sometimes forgets where she’s supposed to be. She always has her head in the clouds, just like someone else I know.” Mrs. Aimless grinned and shook her head. “You always were like two peas in a pod,” she said. “The older you get, the more you become like Gert. Why, I was just telling her last week that when I look at you, sometimes I swear I see her.”

Cherry was amazed. “You and Aunt Gert keep in touch?”

Mrs. Aimless smiled. “What your father doesn’t know …”

“… won’t hurt him!” Cherry grinned, sweeping her mother up in her arms for a quick waltz around the kitchen table. She deposited a dizzy Mrs. Aimless on the yellow Formica countertop.

Cherry hugged her mother, who was turning out to be more of an ally than she had imagined. She tried to put her thanks into words. “I know it’s hard for you, with Charley and me so faraway …”

Her mother hugged her back, and wiped a little tear from her eye. “I guess we’ve all got to follow our rainbows, dear. Now, off to bed with you!” she said, playfully pushing Cherry toward the stairs. “Oh, and Cherry, I put that lavender handkerchief back in the pocket of your uniform. Who on earth is M.M.?”

But Cherry wasn’t listening. She was too excited to hear anything but the plans buzzing in her head. She didn’t know how she was ever going to sleep! “I’m really, truly going to San Francisco,” she whispered as she raced up the stairs to her attic room. She didn’t know why, but she had a feeling something very special was awaiting her in the city by the bay!

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