Texas Gal
by C. Sprite
© 1999

 

Chapter Sixteen     Conspiracy ?

A week later, I received my copy of 'Log Views'. I went to my bedroom and anxiously opened it to see what, if anything, Rick Landis, had written following the interview.

I found his column and read, 'This reporter is pleased to announce to all of my readers that I have finally succeeded in interviewing DD (for new readers, that's how we in the industry refer to Darla Anne Drake, 12-year-old Vice-President of Ameri-Moore). I spent several delightful hours with this lovely young woman at her family's ranch in Texas recently. My faithful readers know that I have been attempting to interview her since I first learned that she was working for Ameri-Moore. She captivated my interest almost a year ago, and last week she captured my heart as well. DD is now a senior at the prestigious Hillock Academy for Girls. She is five grades beyond where most girls her age are. DD has not yet decided which college she would like to attend next year, or even which field of studies that she would like to concentrate in. She has said that things have moved very fast this past year, and she has been very busy, but she expects to make a decision within the next two months.

Mrs. Doris Milner, School Administrator at Hillock, said in an interview, "Miss Drake has earned her place as a senior at Hillock Academy. Last year she completed academic requirements equivalent to 2 years of study. Her three sisters have also each skipped a grade this past year. All four young ladies have achieved straight A's in every test and homework assignment given to them. At Hillock Academy, we pride ourselves on our high academic standing among educational institutions, and the Drake sisters, who are among the finest young ladies ever to attend our school, have earned their assigned grades through their diligent efforts."

On the day that I visited DD, I had an opportunity to ask her about her job at Ameri-Moore. She downplayed her part in the fantastic successes that have surrounded her short career; her humble attitude towards her role as a deal maker and company re-shaper is most refreshing. I was very impressed with her intelligence and bearing. Outwardly, she appears like your average, young teenager, but I sensed that lying just below the very pretty surface, was a young woman of amazing abilities. A small part of our conversation follows: 

"So tell me DD, how does it feel to be the youngest Vice-President of a major American company."

"I'm happy to make whatever contribution to Ameri-Moore that I can. My age has not been the barrier to gaining acceptance at Ameri-Moore that I had originally feared it might be."

"DD, Richard Wilcox has accused you of taking credit for production increases that resulted from his, and Ed Gilford's, efforts. How do you feel about that?"

"I haven't taken credit for anything Mr. Landis. This is the first interview that I've ever agreed to. I've never met either Mr. Wilcox or Mr. Gilford, but I can understand their embarrassment over having production increases occurring after responsibility for the mills was taken from them."

"So you deny that you're taking credit for something that they did?"

"I never take credit for the work of others."

"What are your plans for the future of Ameri-Moore?"

"That's not in my purview."

"Your duties do encompass examination and survey of possible new acquisitions. Right?"

"Yes, that's correct. But I don't select the potential acquisitions."

"I doubt if it will be long before that is added to your job duties."

"For the immediate future, I have to concentrate on my education. That has my top priority."

DD admitted to having a part in all of the accounts that I have reported to you previously, but she consistently stated that she had done nothing remarkable. It has been my observation over the years that remarkable people, who do remarkable things, often don't view them that way. I expect that DD will continue to make news in the future, and you can be assured that Rick Landis will be there to bring it to you.'

Included on the same page were two pictures of me. One showed me riding Emily in the corral, and the other showed me leaning against the corral fence, and laughing at a witticism that the reporter had made. I cut out the article and pictures and put them into my scrapbook so that I could show them to my family at dinner tonight. I knew that everyone would enjoy seeing them. I lay back down on the bed to think about the interview and the resulting article. Grandma had wanted me to remain non-committal, and a little mysterious, and I had done my best. I chuckled to myself at the way that I had been portrayed in the press during the past year. I hadn't really done anything special. I merely observed what was happening at various logging sites or mills and reported it to Grandma. She then took that information, and after verifying it, directed the remedies that she felt necessary. She was such a skillful and dynamic woman, and I wondered why she wanted it to appear that 'I' was doing all of these wonderful things. There had to be an underlying reason for her wanting me to have so much credit for shaping the destiny of her company. Grandma never does anything without a good reason.

Susan came into our bedroom and interrupted my reverie. "Sis, we're all going for an afternoon ride, do you want to come?"

"Love to, Suz. I'm ready to go."

We walked out to the stable. Since it was Saturday, Auntie was at home and had saddled Henry, her Appaloosa. Mother, Judy, and Mary had also already saddled their horses, and were waiting for Susan and myself. When we had saddled Emily and Mae (Susan's Palomino), we led them from the stable, and our little group left for our afternoon ride. My sisters had packed some drinks and snacks for our stop later at the small brook where we frequently stopped to rest and water the horses. During the ride, we talked about the upcoming school year. Last year had been grueling, and we had spent almost all our time studying, from September to May. This year would be more of the same. Since my sisters would be carrying heavy workloads resulting from each having skipped a grade, we would have very little time for extra-curricular activities. My own coursework would be lessened since I would only be handling the regular classes for 12^th grade. While calculus and physics would be difficult, I anticipated being able to help my sisters with their coursework as well. In any event, we intended to enjoy the last week of our summer vacation.

Soon after we had returned from our ride, Grandma stopped by to visit with us. She had two boxes of mail for me. The secretary that I shared with one of the other executives at Ameri-Moore, screened most of my mail, but one box contained mail that was marked 'personal' so she hadn't opened it. The other box was mail that required a reply, while all of the junk mail had been dealt with already. Susan and I carried the boxes to the office, where I would look through them later, and then we returned to the front porch where Grandma was conversing with Judy and Mary.

Grandma said to me, "Sweetheart, I know that you only have one week left before school begins, but I was wondering if you could do me a favor and inspect the factories that we acquired in the Briarwik Wood Products acquisition. Production appears to be falling off. In your initial report, you indicated that people were not receptive to your attempts to engage them in conversation. You said that in one of our factories, a manager told you that your position and young age probably intimidated the employees and that you felt that that might be the same situation at the Briarwik factory. Could you re-visit them and see if you can find any problems? Nothing obvious shows up on the production reports, and the managers all report that everything appears to be running fine. I'd really like to get your evaluation. You do have an uncanny knack for spotting difficulties."

"Of course, Grandma. I'd be happy to."

"I'd like to go also, if you want some company?" Susan said.

"Love some. When do you want us to leave, Grandma?"

"The company plane will pick you up late on Monday afternoon. That will give us some time to do some shopping in the morning. You've grown so much this past year that you must have outgrown all of the clothes that you got last year. I'd like to take you all for some new clothes. We can go to Xavier's early Monday, and have you back in plenty of time to pack and leave on your trip."

"You won't be traveling with us to Portland then?" I asked.

"No, I have some business to take care of here with my cattle and ranching operations. I can't get away right now." 

"Okay, Grandma. Can you stay for dinner?"

"Yes, my dears. I'd love to."

Judy and Mary went inside to check on dinner preparations while Susan and I stayed with Grandma to discuss the inspections. At 6 o'clock, Judy called us to dinner, and we walked upstairs to the eat-in kitchen that we used for family meals.

On Monday, Grandma picked us up at 8 am in the limousine. Charles was driving and greeted us as we approached the car. He was, by now, comfortable in our presence and smiled warmly as he held the door open for us. Nancy, the manager, greeted us when we arrived at Xavier's and she escorted us to the rear of the store where we were measured from head to foot. I had worn a panty girdle and, with my little secret tucked away, submitted to the extensive measuring by the two women, as had my sisters. Grandma was such an important person, and such a good customer of Xavier's, that the entire staff dropped whatever they were doing and flocked around us to participate in the wardrobe fittings. People were running every which way, bringing dresses, skirts, suits, blouses, sweaters, shoes, boots, gloves, hats and accessories. And then taking them away again, after we had tried them on and modeled them for Grandma. We were giddy with excitement, and we were practically falling over each other as we all tried to get dressed in the too-small changing room.

By noon, we were exhausted from the hectic pace. We didn't even know what grandma had selected, but it was time to go because Susan and I had to be ready for our flight to Portland. Xavier's had wrapped several outfits for Susan and myself to take with us. The remainder of whatever Grandma had ordered would be delivered to the ranch. Since I was now the same size as Mary, and Judy was not much different, we would be able to share most of our clothes. Susan was only a little smaller than us, and was catching up.

When we arrived back home, Grandma wished Susan and myself a safe trip, and left to make her afternoon appointment. We had spent the entire trip home thanking her for the wonderful morning, and for all of the clothes that she had purchased for us. At 3 o'clock, the plane landed on our airport runway. Knowing Captain O'Toole's punctuality, we were ready and waiting. Mother, Judy, and Mary had walked us to the hanger ramp. We hugged, and kissed them good-bye, and then boarded the plane when the co-pilot lowered the stairway/door. In minutes we were airborne. After we had achieved altitude, Captain O'Toole came aft to welcome us aboard, as was his custom. We chatted for ten minutes, and then discussed the flying schedule for the remainder of the week, as we had tentatively planned it. Because this was not just a simple inspection tour, but rather a fact finding mission, the schedule would have to remain fluid. Captain O'Toole said that he was entirely at our disposal for the remainder of the week. He returned to his duties in the cockpit, as Susan and I settled down to study the production reports, and Grandma's notes.

We worked until the plane was on final approach. A car and driver were there to meet us and take us to the apartment, where we dropped off our bags. The driver waited until we came back down, and then took us to a restaurant that we had frequented with Grandma when we were in town. We told him that he could go home and we would grab a cab when we were done, but he said that he had specific orders to stay with us until we were back in the apartment for the night. He would take us anywhere we wished to go, but if he left us before we were done, he'd get the sack. He told us to take our time, and he would be here waiting when we were ready to depart.

Upon entering the restaurant, we learned that there would be a fifteen-minute wait for a table. While we were waiting, several industry acquaintances came in and invited us to share their table. We had dined together before and we were happy to join their party. After we had ordered and made small talk, the conversation naturally turned to the lumber business. When they inquired as to our reason for being in town, I told them that we were just doing a final inspection tour, before school started and took us away from the business for several months. We listened with interest to the industry gossip that was making the rounds. One member of our party mentioned that neither Wilcox nor Gilford had been able to find employment since resigning from Ameri-Moore. He said that both men blamed me for their inability to find employment. I responded by saying that they had voluntarily resigned from well paying non-managerial positions at Ameri-Moore, so I didn't feel responsible for their unemployment problems. He said that I should watch my back, just the same. A number of other tidbits sounded interesting, and I made a mental note to pass them on to Grandma when we got home. The time passed quickly with the lively discussions and before we knew it, it was 11 o'clock and time for us to leave. When I tried to pay our bill, the man who had invited us to join them would not hear of it. So we thanked him and then left after saying our good-byes. As we exited the restaurant, several photographers snapped our picture and I wondered to myself if these people ever went home. Our driver saw us exit the restaurant and drove over to pick us up, and then took us to the apartment.

We were exhausted when we got to bed, and were asleep in minutes. Six o'clock came before we were ready for it, but we got up and started our day. After having breakfast at Tony's diner, we met our driver and went to the Ameri-Moore headquarters building. I checked in with my secretary and gave her the correspondence that I needed typed, and then we left for the airport. The plane was waiting to take us to our first destination, and within minutes of arriving at the airport we were airborne. When we had landed and the plane had come to a stop, a car drove up which would take us to the first factory. It was one that had formerly been part of the Briarwik Wood Products Company.

Going to the administrative offices, we met with Mr. Peck, the factory manager that I had met with during my initial examination prior to Ameri-Moore acquiring the company. We made small talk for a short time as we enjoyed a cup of tea before reviewing his records. I said that I remembered that he had told me that he was planning on leaving the company, and wondered when he was scheduled to leave us. He said that his plans were on hold for the time being, and he would be around for awhile; at least until the spring.

Having learned nothing about the cause for the drop in production from the manager, or his records, we decided to tour the factory floor. Mr. Gaines, the shift supervisor, was assigned to show us around. At several places, I stopped and tried to engage an employee in conversation. I was given a polite, but very cold shoulder from each employee. There definitely appeared to be a problem here, but we were unable to learn what it might be. I thanked Mr. Gaines for his time and asked him to excuse us, as I wished to just wander around and observe.

"The factory floor can be a dangerous place. I've been assigned to stay with you for your entire tour."

"Mr. Gaines, I appreciate your concern for our safety, but we'll be fine. I'm sure that you must have other things to attend to."

"No. I don't have anything more pressing than your safety. I'll just tag along if you don't mind."

"But I do mind. Production is poor enough now and I don't want to be responsible for your work suffering. I insist that you take care of it and leave us to just wander around."

"I can't do that Miss Drake. I've been ordered to stay by your side, and I must do it or I risk losing my job."

"And who gave you such a ridiculous order."

He hesitated for a second, then said, "Mr. Peck."

"Mr. Peck told you to stay with us or you would lose your job?"

He hesitated again, then said, "Not exactly. He said not to let you get more than five feet from me while you were in his factory, or else."

"Or else what?"

"He didn't say, but I think that the meaning was clear."

"Does he often talk with such innuendo?"

"In-u what?"

"Does he often make veiled threats such as that?"

He just stood and looked at me.

"Mr. Gaines, read what it says on my hard-hat. I am a Vice-President of Ameri-Moore. Do not let my appearance fool you. I expect to receive direct answers to my direct questions."

"Miss Drake, I have a family and can't afford to lose this job."

"Then I would suggest that you answer me. Unless you feel that an implied threat from a mere factory manager outweighs the authority of a company officer who has the authority to dismiss any Ameri-Moore manager in the eighteen countries where we do business."

Mr. Gaines was visibly shaken. I doubt if he expected a 12-year-old girl to be taking such a position. I knew that he was trying to decide between the rock and the hard place. In the end, my superior company rank won out. "Peck will skin me alive if he finds out that I spoke with you," he said. He stopped and looked nervously around. We were well out of anybody's hearing range due to the constant noise emanating from the heavy machinery all around us. "Okay, look. Peck has passed the order down the line that nobody talks with you, if they want to keep their job. He was hoping that the merger with Ameri-Moore would fall through. After the papers were signed, he had a fit. He had formed a consortium and was about to make an offer on Briarwik himself. He had gotten the managers of all of the other factories to join him in the intended buyout. They've all been slowing production over the past two years in an effort to get Briarwik to sell out. When Ameri-Moore stepped in, it upset all his plans. He thought that the low production numbers would cause Ameri-Moore to back out of the deal. Now he's hoping that Ameri-Moore will decide that it bought a white elephant and look to divest itself of the factories, as a group. Look, I don't like any of this, but I have to go along. This is a mill town. You either work here, or you're lucky to find work that allows you to make a living."

"What percentage of the consortium do you own, Mr. Gaines?"

He looked shocked. "I don't have any stock in it."

I stared at him, hard.

"I couldn't come up with any money to buy in," he mumbled, then added in an agitated voice, "but I swear that I never thought that he would sabotage production. I originally believed that they were just going to buy the company. Like big companies do all the time. Look," he said as he nervously glanced around, "we've been standing here in the same place for a long time, we had better start walking a little or it's going to look suspicious."

We started to walk again. "I'll verify what you've told me, Mr. Gaines. If you've been 100 per cent honest with me, then you have nothing to fear from Mr. Peck. I'll protect your job. Is there anything else that I should know? I will find out, you know, even if you don't tell me. It would be better coming from you."

"The only other thing that I've heard is just a rumor."

"You have my complete attention, Mr. Gaines."

"I heard that Richard Wilcox bought into the consortium after you fired him from Ameri-Moore. He's hoping to use this to bring you down."

"I didn't fire him. He resigned in protest after being assigned to a non-managerial position."

"That's not the way that he sees it, according to what I heard. That's all that I know about this deal."

"Thank you, Mr. Gaines. As I promised, I'll protect your job if you've been honest. If you have been dishonest, I will know that also. If you hear anything more, I expect you to call my office as soon as you can do so discreetly. When you identify yourself, you will be put through to someone familiar with the facts that you have told me, if I am unavailable. You can speak freely to them. Do you understand?"

"Yes ma'am. You have my word that I'll call if I learn anything new."

"Very well. Thank you for the enlightenment, Mr. Gaines. I will not say anything about this to Mr. Peck. I am going to say good-bye to him and tell him that everything appears to be running smoothly, then I'll leave. For now!"

He smiled nervously and said, "Good bye, Miss Drake. And thank you."

Susan and I returned to Mr. Peck's office and told him exactly what I had told Mr. Gaines that I would say. Then we left and returned to the plane. Susan started to speak in the car, and I put my finger to my lips. She got the hint.

Upon returning to the plane, we found that Captain O'Toole had arranged a lunch. We sat at a portable table in the shade of the plane and enjoyed a simple meal. Once again, I cautioned Susan not to talk about what we had learned, by putting my finger to my lips when she started to talk about the inspection. Instead we talked about the weather and the scenery in this part of the country. Once we were airborne, and on our way to the airport closest to the next factory, I opened the conversation about what we had learned.

"Susan, be very careful whom you speak in front of. We have no idea yet who is in on this conspiracy, and whom we can trust up here."

"Darla, surely Captain O'Toole is trustworthy?"

"I would think so. But until we have made our report to Grandma, trust nobody. And I mean NOBODY. Okay, sis?"

"Okay. Darla, I was very impressed with the way that you got that man to tell you that story. I wouldn't have had the nerve to do that."

"You will. I've just spent a lot more time with Grandma and watched her handle people more than you have. In time, you'll learn to swing your weight a little. As an Inspector, you have to right to ask questions and expect honest answers, just as I do. When you throw your weight around, you just have to make sure that you do it judiciously."

We arrived at the next airport and waited on the plane until the car arrived. We were a bit earlier than we had expected to be. At the factory, we again talked with the manager and had a cup of tea. After our talk, and a review of his records, we toured the factory floor. Again, no one would respond to our inquiries with any useful information. When I ordered the shift supervisor away, he reluctantly went, but he followed us from a distance and was never out of sight. Unable to learn anything with him watching us, I led the way to the ladies room. About one-fifth of the factory employees were women. With Susan outside to keep a discreet eye on the shift supervisor, I went inside where the shift supervisor couldn't follow. I told Susan to watch him and to let me know if he sent any women in.

I freshened my makeup as I waited inside the restroom. Several women walked in and, upon seeing me, turned around and went right back out. With Susan standing right outside, they couldn't easily pass the word not to go in. When the fourth woman turned to leave immediately, I stopped her and asked her name. When she told me, I wrote it in my notebook. I asked her several questions and made a point of writing each answer down, very slowly. The silence, as I wrote, helped to make her more nervous and intimidated. I was wearing my hard-hat, with my name and title on it, so she didn't dare refuse to talk with me. I asked her if she had been ordered not to talk with me.

"No," she answered.

"Are you sure? A number of other workers have already told me that they were told not to talk with anybody. I wonder how they missed you. Are you sure that nobody told you to keep quiet? Really sure, Miss Dwyer? This is for the record now."

She looked at me with frightened eyes. "Please, Miss Drake. Let me leave. I'll lose my job."

"I promise you, Miss Dwyer, you won't lose your job for talking with me, but you WILL lose it for refusing to talk with me."

She started to cry. "Please Miss Drake, I have a baby, and no husband. I need this job. It's the first one that I've had that allows me to support myself and my daughter."

"Just tell me who ordered you to keep quiet and you can leave. And I won't say a word about your talking to me. I promise."

"Mr. Berkley, the shift supervisor. He told everybody to keep his or her mouth shut if anybody from corporate comes around. Anybody who talks is out on their ear and won't be able to find a job in this entire town. Now do you see why I can't talk to you?"

"Yes. I do. Now wash your face and wait until after I leave. I won't say a thing about your talking to me. If they ask you, tell them that I just made small talk about the town and the factory. That will be my story. Okay?"

"Yes. Miss. Thank you Miss." She even managed a nervous little smile.

I smiled back and left. Susan fell in line with me and we walked back to the manager's office. I complimented him on a smooth operation and we took our leave.

Over the next two days we visited the other three factories and encountered the same reticence to speaking about plant operations. On Thursday afternoon we headed for home. For the first time, I was genuinely glad to be leaving the Northwest. I had become increasingly paranoid about our situation, and hadn't been sleeping well. I felt that once I had made my report to Grandma, I would be able to sleep again without fear, because I would then not be one of the very few who knew about the conspiracy. The more people who knew about it, the safer that I would feel. I breathed a genuine sigh of relief when the plane touched down on our ranch's runway. We thanked the Captain and the co-pilot, and left the plane. Judy and Mary had run out to greet us and we embraced as the plane taxied out and took off.

It was 6 PM but I called Grandma immediately and told her that she should come over as soon as possible. When I told her that my news was not good, she said that she would be over in an hour. Susan and I went upstairs to sit down and have dinner with the family. It was wonderful to be home again, and my fears started to recede as we talked and laughed while having dinner.

At 7 o'clock, we had finished cleaning the kitchen, and had all sat back down to enjoy a cup of tea, when the doorbell rang. I hurried down and let Grandma in, and we walked back upstairs together. She wanted to know what the pressing problem was but I asked her to wait until we sat down, and Susan was present. As she fixed her tea, I related what we had learned. She was visibly distressed.

"So, the factory managers are conspiring to force production down in the hopes that they can buy the five factories at a bargain price. And Richard Wilcox is in on it in hopes of damaging your reputation. This conspiracy is illegal, as well as amoral. Well done, Darla. You too Susan. This was not something that I had even considered. You're very sure of your facts?"

"We're only sure that what we told you, is what we were told. We know that people wouldn't talk to us without coercion. I didn't want to continue doing that for fear of tipping somebody off. I assume that professional investigators would be better at handling it from here on out."

"Most certainly. We will need solid evidence before we bring this out into the open. I'll start working on it tomorrow morning. Well done, girls. Very well done. Drat, I won't be able to sleep properly until I have a team working on this. I'm not going to wait until tomorrow. I'm going to start making some calls tonight. Ladies, I must take my leave. Darla, Susan, well done and thank you.

After Grandma had left, we continued to sit at the table and talk about our trip. Susan again expressed her admiration of how strong I had been with Mr. Gaines.

"You should have seen him. He was shaking in his boots. Darla totally cowered him. I would not have had the courage to do that."

"Oh, Susan. He wasn't afraid of me. He was only afraid of losing his job."

"I know. But you made him afraid, by using your position to get him to talk. I thought that it was wonderful, even though I was a little scared at the time."

"Well. I'm glad that it's over. I didn't enjoy doing that. I'm really tired because I haven't been sleeping very well this week. I'm going to turn in early. Goodnight everybody."

Susan came with me and we both went to bed. The tension of the past three days had really drained both of us. It was wonderful to be back in our own bed, and I slept really well.

I woke up feeling rested and refreshed. After breakfast, we all went for a long ride around the ranch. Returning in early afternoon, we joked and laughed as we walked to the house from the stable. Mary had slipped and fallen into the brook when we had stopped to eat our lunch at our favorite watering hole. Covered in mud, she had pulled Judy into the stirred-up muddy water when Judy had extended her hand to help her out. Susan and I were overcome with hysterics at seeing them standing there and made easy prey for them to grab us and pull us in as well. Once the four of us were covered in mud, only mother was clean. But not for long. She had been laughing at us as we screamed and laughed in the shallow water, until we ran up to where she was sitting and picked her up. She hollered at us to release her, so we did. But not until we were standing in the water once again. As we climbed up onto the bank, we must have looked a sight. By the time that we arrived back at the house, we had dried off, but we were still filthy. Since it was Friday, Auntie had missed the fun. 

We stripped out of our clothes, and did some basic cleaning up in the downstairs kitchen. Then after dropping our dirty clothes in the laundry chute, the five of us walked naked to Auntie's bathroom and filled the big tub with hot soapy water. A long soak continued a perfect day, and I had temporarily forgotten all about our trip, and the conspiracy. After getting out of the tub, Susan and I went to our bedroom to dress.

For most of the remainder of the afternoon, Susan and I tried on the clothes that Grandma had bought for us. Judy and Mary had joined us, and we put on a mini fashion show, trying different looks with various outfit combinations. Mini-skirts and go-go boots were the hottest fashion item in September 1967, and most of our new clothes reflected that. At one point we all lined up in front of the mirror to compare how our legs looked when we were dressed in the briefest of minis. Mother had purchased new school uniforms for us while we were away, and we tried them on also, to see if any alterations were required. My uniforms were the same size as Mary's, just one size smaller than Judy's was, and one size larger than Susan's was.

We took all of the clothes that would no longer fit either Susan, or myself, and moved them to the furthest part of my clothes room until we decided what to do with them. Then we arranged the new things in their place. We stored the new shoes, and boots, that Grandma had purchased for us, and then put away our new lingerie.

When we were done, we went to Judy's bedroom to look at, and try on, her new clothes; and then on to Mary's bedroom to do the same with hers. Grandma had excellent taste, and everything was wonderful. Normally, an older person would select clothes that were suitable to their age and tastes, but Grandma's selections were the type of things that we would selected for ourselves. She must have based her selections on our reactions when we were trying them on, because I couldn't think of anything that I had loved, when we were at Xavier's, that wasn't among my new wardrobe items.

After dinner, we sat at the table and discussed the start of school on Monday. Our class schedules had arrived and my sisters were dreading the new school year. They were each taking extra math and science courses to make up for the class grade that each had skipped. Last year we had put aside virtually all extra-curricular activities in order to excel at school. We hadn't accomplished anything that anybody else who did school work 14 hours a day, 7 days a week, could not have accomplished. I knew that it would be another year of competition with my sisters. Not to see who could do best, but to see whom would be the first not to ace every test, homework assignment, and subject. The competition was the friendly sort though, and we would do everything we could to help one another. Mother and Grandma had already made arrangements with most of the same tutors that we had had last year. A new tutor would be replacing one that had moved away over the summer.

On Monday, the van picked us up for our first day of school. We were happy to see that Patty, Sally, and Jennifer were all returning to Hillock. Patty had been in Judy's classes last year, but since we had all skipped a grade, she would be in Mary's classes this year. Sally, now in 8^th, and Jennifer, now in 6^th, would be behind us. There were only a few new students at Hillock this year, and it was great to renew our friendships with our classmates. My sisters had lost their New Jersey accents over the course of the past year, and it was now almost impossible to distinguish them from the other students that were raised in Texas. I could still hear traces of New Jersey occasionally, but I doubted if most other people would notice it unless they knew that we were from the East Coast, and were listening for the accent.

As I went into each new classroom, the teachers welcomed me back and said how much they had enjoyed reading about me over the summer. They all congratulated me on my new position as Vice-President. I thanked them and downplayed my role at Ameri-Moore. I discovered that virtually all of the teachers at Hillock had subscribed to 'Log Views' this past year. The attention that I was receiving from my teachers was causing some small friction with my fellow students. A few venomous looks were thrown my way, along with a few jealous looks from some others. I hoped that things would settle down in a few days as we started to concentrate on schoolwork. I bumped into Julia in the hallway in between classes. Because my special 'vitamins' had caused me to spurt upward, as well as outward, over the past year, she no longer towered over me. I apologized for bumping into her and tried to engage her in a conversation, but she gave me a weak sort of smile before moving quickly away. She remained the only student that would not socialize with me. I guess that my sisters had really frightened her last year after she had threatened me in the hallway.

That evening we began our eight months of intense effort. As was my habit, I completed my assignments, then began to read ahead in each subject. I had always found it easier, in class, when I had already covered the new material on my own, and then let the teacher reinforce my knowledge, and clear up any misconceptions. My sisters had started to emulate my practice last year, and had now fully adopted the practice. By the weekend, we were all several chapters ahead of our fellow students. The tutors came on Saturday morning and we began to work on reviewing what we had studied during the week, and then to push ahead with new work. Sundays were always our day to relax, but we knew that most of the day would be devoted to study.

Grandma joined us for lunch on Sunday, and filled us in on her efforts to investigate the conspiracy that Susan and I had uncovered. She had, by now, placed at least three investigators, as workers, in each factory. Additionally, a small army of investigators were tailing the people that we knew about and making note of all their contacts. Only a couple of people at Ameri-Moore had been briefed since we still didn't know how far this conspiracy extended into our corporate structure. Specialists in financial matters had been assigned to investigate the consortium, and the financial records of all of the parties either involved, or, contacted by those involved. I knew that Grandma would leave no stone unturned in her investigation. She was too thorough for anybody to slip through her net. She had to leave right after lunch, but we knew that she would keep us appraised of any new developments.

Over the next few weeks, I spent whatever spare time I could pouring through college catalogs. By Mid-October I had made my decision. After dinner that evening I announced that I would like to apply to the University of Texas at Austin.

Auntie said, "Does that mean that you've decided on a course of study?"

"Yes. I'd like to pursue a Bachelor of Science degree in Geophysics."

"Wonderful. The school in Austin has a superb Department of Geological Sciences."

"The rest of the arrangements I shall have to leave to you and Mother. The college is about 160 miles from here. That's too far for a daily commute."

Mother said, "Which means that you will need to live on campus or nearby, and at thirteen, you certainly can't live off campus by yourself. Well, we shall have to think about how best to handle this. In the meantime, submit your application to see if they'll accept a thirteen year old."

"They will. I've already received a letter from them proposing that I consider attending their school. I suppose that it was the result of all that publicity at the beginning of the summer. A lot of schools have sent me letters asking me to consider attending their schools for the Fall 68 semester, and I never even sent for their catalogs."

Auntie said, "Have you decided that you want to come into the oil business with me?"

"I felt that Geophysics will have relevance to both the Petroleum business and the Logging business."

"Covering all bets, eh?"

"I guess. I have an interest in both."

"Well, I support your choice," Auntie said.

A chorus of voices agreed with her. I was happy that everyone approved with my decision.

Later that evening I composed, and typed, a letter requesting that I be considered for enrollment at the school for the Fall 1968 semester. With that posted the next day, I filed all of the college catalogs away and returned to my high school studies.

Several weeks later I received a letter welcoming me to the University for the fall semester, pending the satisfactory completion of my high school courses, and graduation. That did not appear to be a problem. So far, my sisters and myself had maintained top grades in all subjects. I notified everybody at dinner that night that I had been accepted at Austin. Everybody congratulated me and I determined to put the matter out of my head until the spring. I had plenty of other things to occupy my mind.

That night, as Susan and I climbed into bed, she said, "Darla, we're going to miss you next year at Hillock. It won't be the same without my big, little sister."

"I know, Suz. I feel the same way. Every time I think about going to Austin, I feel sad instead of happy. Hopefully, I'll be able to come home most weekends. I was glad that there was a college so close that offered the curriculum that I wanted even though I know that I won't fit in there. Almost everybody else will be at least five years older than I will. I don't expect that I'll have many friends. I'll probably just continue on as we do here, and study 14 hours a day. Maybe I can finish early if I really apply myself. And we'll have our summers together, even if we're working with Grandma. It won't be too bad. At least you'll still have Mary with you for another 2 years, and Judy for another year, unless some of you skip some more grades. That's possible if we continue to work as hard as we have been, and ace every test and homework assignment." We fell asleep holding hands and thinking about our futures.

Two weeks later, Mrs. Milner, the school administrator, came to visit Mother. That evening, after we had eaten dinner and cleaned up, Mother told us what they had discussed. The school was proposing that Judy be advanced to 12^th grade at mid-semester break since she had aced every test and homework assignment. It would be contingent upon her passing final tests for all her subjects. Judy was a little nervous about taking final exams next month, but even more nervous about trying to catch up with the 12^th grade students in time to graduate this school year. I knew exactly what she was feeling. I had been there myself a year ago. I told her that if she wanted to do it, I would give her all the help that I could to prepare her for the tests and the new semester. Since we had already finished reading our textbooks, thanks to our read-ahead efforts, I knew she would pass the finals without a problem. In the end she decided to attempt it.

Mother notified Mrs. Milner the next day, regarding Judy's decision and we started preparing her for her final exams. Every night, after her homework assignments were completed, I studied with her in review of the 11^th grade subjects. By the testing dates in December, she was prepared and confident. Over several days, she took final exams in all her subjects. When the scores were announced, she learned that she had aced every test. So in January she would join me in the 12^th grade. Over the mid semester break, we worked hard every day to catch her up. Christmas had always been a joyous season when we were in New Jersey, but since coming to Texas we had been working so hard that the holidays came and went without much fanfare. Still, we maintained our religious ideology, and found some time for the social nature of the holidays as well.

In January, Judy submitted an application to the University of Texas at Austin. We would be graduating at the same time, and it would be wonderful if we could both attend the same school. After several weeks she received a reply that she had been accepted. She wished to pursue a Bachelor of Science degree in Textiles & Apparel. She had worked at Grandma's cotton farms and mills over the summer and had decided on a career in textile industry management. With my help, and the help from the tutors, she caught up fairly quickly. We had studied so long and so hard that by the middle of April we could coast along. We were able to enjoy our Sundays without doing schoolwork. At least until final exams approached.

During Easter vacation, Grandma informed us that her investigation had concluded. Near the end, the FBI had been brought in. All the information collected by Grandma's investigators had been turned over to them, and they had spent several weeks confirming it and collecting some of their own. The five managers of the factories, plus Richard Wilcox, Ed Gilford, and a dozen others, had been arrested on charges of Conspiracy with Intent to Defraud, as well as numerous other charges including Theft, and Blackmail. Grandma had been happy to confirm that only one of her longtime employees, and managers, had been involved. It was the manager of the first Ameri-Moore factory that I had inspected. The one where the manager had told me that he was almost ready to retire, and whose people had not responded when I tried to engage them in conversation. Except for that one factory, only personnel acquired through the buyouts of Briarwik, and Trumbell, had allowed themselves to get caught up in the plan. With the culmination of the investigation, and removal of the people responsible for the reduced output, production had risen to new highs at each of the factories, even though it had only been a week. Grandma told me that Mr. Gaines had been instrumental in providing proof for the Government's case. As a reward, he had been placed as a temporary factory manager. His factory had showed the biggest improvement of the five. Whether it was because of his management ability, or the fact that Mr. Peck had been more successful in slowing operations there, remained to be seen.

In any event, Grandma said that all of the credit must go to Susan and me. Susan spoke up and said that I was fully responsible. She only assisted in a small capacity. I said that there was plenty of credit to go around for everybody involved. Grandma said that I deserved a reward and that I only needed to name it. Without hesitation I asked if we could go to the Riviera house for two weeks after school was over. She said that she would love to. We all needed a break and a rest.

The following week, the conspiracy and subsequent arrests made the national news. Once again we encountered the press everywhere that we went. I was so grateful that we were so isolated on our ranch. The press could not come onto the property without permission, but they camped at our front gate for several days while the story initially ran. In that week's issue of 'Logs Views', half of the paper was devoted to the story.

Rick Landis, the reporter who loved to write about me, had this time written, 'DD has done it again. This reporter has learned that it was she who uncovered the conspiracy at the former Briarwik factories. William Gaines, new factory manager at the Westerville complex, confirmed this. He admitted that DD had discovered links to the fraud, and had unmasked the conspirators before turning over her evidence to investigators and subsequently to the FBI. DD had been investigating a drop in production at the factories involved. Her inability to find any reasonable explanation for the drop in production was responsible for her probe into other possible reasons. Once she unearthed evidence of a cover-up at one of the factories, she quickly deepened her investigation to encompass the entire Ameri-Moore Company. She discovered that Richard Wilcox had become involved, in the plot, in an effort to destroy her corporate reputation. His motive was revenge for her having discovered that he was the reason for Trumbell's problems. Another round of investigations has now been started to determine if he was attempting the same kind of slowdown at Trumbell, or, if his problems were simple incompetence. If it is determined that he and Ed Gilford had conspired to ruin Trumbell, then additional charges will be brought against them. DD continues to be a force to be reckoned with. While she appears to be sweet and unpretentious to the casual observer, this young woman is a no-nonsense professional with the ability to see things clearly, that others have missed. People who think that they can slip something past this young lady had better rethink their position. I applaud DD's contributions to our industry. Any hints that her position was attained solely through nepotism should now be put firmly aside forever. No one who knows this young lady has ever espoused such a view. She has earned her position of Vice-President at Ameri-Moore.

As an additional note, the University of Texas at Austin has just issued a press release which announces that the 12-year-old, and her 16-year-old sister Judy, will enter as freshmen there, for the Fall semester.'

I cut out all of the articles, both from 'Log Views' and all the other newspapers, which talked about the conspiracy, and put them in my scrapbook. I was named at least once in every article as being the originator of the investigation. I had groaned as I read each article because I knew that I would be plagued with reporters for a while.

We celebrated my 13^th birthday on May 4^th. It was Saturday, and Judy and Mary had made a cake for me. We held the small party between study sessions. Susan gave me a pair of earrings and a matching bracelet, while Mary gave me a beautiful silver and turquoise necklace. Judy's present was a pair of pink pumps with 4-inch heels. They were my first pair of 4-inch heels. I hadn't worn shoes with heels so high since Auntie and I had pretended to be sisters, because Mother didn't approve of such heels on pre-teens. Mother gave me a hot pink mini-dress, several mini-skirts, and two new blouses. Auntie gave me 2 beautiful sleepwear sets. It had always been our custom to immediately try on new clothes and model them, so I hurried to my bedroom and changed. I returned to the kitchen as I donned each new clothing item, finishing up with the hot pink mini-dress. I wore the heels with each outfit. Everything fit perfectly. Judy, Mary, and I were all about the same size now and we regularly shared our clothes with one another. Susan was close behind and would come closer to catching up over the next two years as the rest of us saw our growth slowed. Although I was chronologically only 13, my special 'vitamins' had advanced my body so that I looked just like Mary, who was now 15. With the proper makeup, I could possibly pass for 18 or 19. Wearing my new heels, I felt very grown-up and very sexy, like any other normal 15-year-old girl.

Over the next weeks, my sisters and I started our review work in preparation for final exams. When exam week rolled around we were as ready as we would ever be. We breezed through the examinations full of confidence from our intense study. When exams were over, we started to relax a little. The eight months of seemingly constant schoolwork had worn us down and we were looking forward to summer vacation. One form of relaxation surprised Mother. At our request, she had procured a set of French language records and books. Because we could not just turn off our work-study habits after exams were finished, we started to spend evenings studying French in my bedroom. It was fun working together to try to learn the language. Since we were not doing it as part of schoolwork, we could relax and enjoy the study. We hoped to be able to carry on a very basic conversation by the time that we arrived at the Riviera.

Mrs. Milner came by in the week following exams and informed Mother that both Mary and Susan were being advanced an extra grade. That meant that Susan would be in 11^th grade, and Mary would be in 12^th for the next school year. I also learned that I would be required to make a speech at the Commencement ceremony. I had been designated as the class valedictorian. Judy would also give a speech, in her role as class salutatorian.

After we had picked up our cap & gowns for the graduation ceremony, Mother spent a great deal of time, and film, taking our photos in a number of poses. By the third roll, Judy and I started to get playful in our poses and tried to outdo each other with our 'come hither' looks. Mother laughed and continued to snap away until she had shot half a dozen rolls. Towards the end of the last roll, we had progressed to the point of showing our legs through the opening in the front of the gown. We had pulled our skirts up to our waists in the front to make it look as if we were naked except for our stockings. Mother said, "Okay, that's enough girls." I think she was afraid that we would carry it further. Judy and I laughed and hugged each other.

Commencement was held the next day. I was so nervous when it came time for me to speak that I don't even remember hearing myself give the speech. But I had memorized it so well that, like an actor with stage fright, I went into automatic mode and delivered it without problem. When I was done, my fellow graduates, and the other attendees applauded. I was so very glad to sit down. Judy gave a wonderful speech, and everyone applauded her as well. I was amazed that she didn't look the slightest bit nervous, but she confided later on that she was trembling on the inside.

When the ceremony was over, we walked around and hugged all our departing classmates. We vowed to keep in touch, but I doubted if many of us would, as we went our separate ways in life. Except for the closest of friends, we would probably only see each other at class reunions. We also said good-bye to all of our teachers and thanked them all for working so hard prepare us for life. The surprise of the afternoon was when Julia came to me and wished me good luck. She said that regardless of past encounters, she was sincere. I thanked her, and wished her good luck as well.

Two days later we were on our way to Europe. Auntie had made arrangements for the care of the horses and the house. Grandma had made arrangements for the house on the Riviera to be cleaned and opened, and everything was ready when we arrived. For the first several days after arriving we couldn't sit still and relax, so we found ourselves sightseeing and shopping, when not swimming or walking along the beach. As we slowly wound down, we were able to spend some time sunbathing. The more liberal laws allowed topless sunbathing, and on some beaches, bottomless as well. As a result, we didn't develop any tan lines above our stomachs. Although almost all of the other women on the beach were topless as well, we had a few admirers who never strayed too far from us when we were there.

The time passed much too quickly. We had loved trying to use our new French skills, and the conversational interaction at every opportunity quickly honed our proficiency with basic speech. It's one thing to study a language, it's quite another to live with it and use it exclusively. Except when talking with Mother and Auntie, we only spoke in French for the entire two weeks, although sometimes haltingly. Grandma was quite fluent in French. Auntie was able to follow us a little because she spoke Spanish, and Mother encouraged us to use the language, even in her presence. By the end of the two weeks, she was struggling to learn it also.

The time to leave arrived before we were ready. We had really unwound by now, and while not anxious to leave, we did look forward to being home. On the return trip we stopped at New Jersey. We had prearranged with Dr. Clark to have full examinations, and she had kept the entire afternoon open for us. Judy and I needed physical examination reports as part of our college admission requirements. But we were all due for an annual exam anyway. Following our checkups, we sat and talked until it was time to return to the plane. Dr. Clark again congratulated Judy and myself on our graduation from high school and promised to visit us all in Texas for a full week during the summer. She had wanted to come out last year but other, more pressing matters had prevented it. Gina and Maria were unable to see us on this trip because they had gone away with their parents, but they were planning on coming to Texas in August.

We returned to the plane after saying goodbye to Dr. Clark, and several hours later we were home. Grandma had occupied her time while we were in New Jersey, by making phone calls, and catching up on business. We were all very tired after the long trip and Grandma declined our offer to come inside for a cup of tea and a snack when we arrived at the ranch.

I spent the next day catching up on my mail. My copy of 'Log Views' had come, and I read through it. I hadn't expected to see anything about myself, but it was there anyway. Rick Landis wrote, "DD's correction of the work slowdown caused by the conspirators has resulted in substantial production increases in all of Ameri-Moore's factories. Even those factories not involved in the conspiracy have shown increases. The return to full output has caused a competition among all of the factory managers, and they are spurring their employees on to record production numbers. It seems that everything DD touches turns to gold. I have come to think of her as the girl with the Midas touch." I giggled as I cut out the article and put it in my scrapbook.

The following week, Susan and I would leave for Portland, while Judy and Mary left for their jobs, so we made the most of this week. We started every day with a communal bath. After breakfast, we would clean the stable and then go for a long ride. Afternoons were devoted to whatever struck our fancy. Some days Mother would drive us into the city and we would spend the afternoon shopping, and other days we would drive to some point of interest and act like typical tourists.

We still shopped for groceries every Saturday, and I always passed the time of day with Scott when it came time to checkout. He was always pleasant and clearly wanted to ask me out, but I never gave him an opening. This week he finally got up the nerve to ask me. I thanked him for his invitation but explained that I didn't date yet since I was only 13. He was clearly shocked. He apologized and said that he thought that I was at least 16. I told him that I looked a lot older than I was and that he was not the first to make the error. He said that it was okay, he was willing to wait until I was old enough. I chuckled to myself as I left with my sisters. Outside, my sisters started to tease me until Mother made them stop. Since we had attended an all girls' school, and spent all our time studying, we had had little interaction with boys. That would probably change for Judy and me in September when we started college. But for the time being, we were concentrating on preparing for our summer jobs. We hoped that at least two of us would be home each week in August, when Gina & Maria came to visit.

On Sunday afternoon, Susan and I left for Portland. Judy and Mary both worked in Texas, so they traveled by car rather than plane. They would be leaving tomorrow for their jobs, and would return home each weekend. Arriving in Portland, Susan and I went to the company's apartment for the evening. We had worked out a schedule for the inspections, and Susan would leave on her own tomorrow morning. She would inspect logging sites and mills that were near enough so that she could return each evening. Since she was still getting her feet wet, I assigned locations that I thought would not give her any real difficulty. Mr. Sloan would transport her around in his small plane, and act as bodyguard, although I felt that the need for a bodyguard was very remote. Once she was comfortable in the job, I would give her more difficult sites. I had kept all of the factories for myself. I didn't know how much resentment, if any, we would encounter there. My position as a company Vice-President would place me in a more secure position. Factory town employees would be much less likely to assault a company officer, than they would a company inspector.

The following morning, we went to Tony's for breakfast. Afterwards Susan left for the airport while I went to headquarters. I worked with my secretary to answer mail and attend to some simple scheduling arrangements, and then I left for the airport as soon as I was finished. My first stop was to be the factory that the now incarcerated Mr. Peck had managed. Mr. Gaines had been placed into temporary command, and his performance would dictate whether or not he continued in the job.

Upon my arrival at the factory, he rushed to greet me and escorted me back to his office. He had arranged for a pot of tea and a pot of coffee. I accepted a cup of tea and we sat and talked for a while.

"So, Mr. Gaines, how are things going up here?" I asked.

"Great, Miss Drake. Production is at record levels, but I'm sure that you know that already."

"Yes, I've been quite pleased with the turnaround. I'm very interested in the moral of our employees. How have they responded to the changes in the company, and the news of the conspiracy?"

"Everybody knew that something was going on, but they were afraid to rock the boat, for fear that they would lose their jobs. With the arrest of Peck and his chief aide, morale picked up immediately. When I was named to this position, I removed a couple of people who had taken too much delight in carrying out his strong-arm policies, even though they weren't directly involved in the conspiracy."

"That sounds wonderful, Mr. Gaines. Let's take a look at the records, shall we?"

He handed me the current production records and I made notes as I reviewed them. When we were done, we went to the factory for a tour. As we stood on a platform, which overlooked the floor of the main building, people turned to look up at us. Then they took me quite by surprise as they stopped what they were doing and started to applaud. They kept it up until I waved to them, then they returned to work. I wondered if the display had been spontaneous, or orchestrated. The change on the floor was dramatic. As I walked around and talked with people, they responded in an open and friendly manner. I smiled as I remembered that I had feared the possible reaction at this plant. When we completed the tour, I thanked Mr. Gaines for his time and asked him if there were any problems that I could help him with. He said that I had already done that, and there was nothing else that he needed right now. I complimented the efficiency of his factory, told him to keep up the good work, and left for the airport.

My next stop was the second factory that I had visited last September. The reaction that I experienced was similar to the one at Mr. Gaines operation. The production numbers were excellent, and the attitudes of the employees matched. The tension under the previous managers must have been incredible. I knew that these attitudes would not last at this level, but they were nice to see for a while. On my tour of the factory floor, I spotted the woman that I had cornered in the ladies room. I walked over to her and addressed her.

"Hello, Miss Dwyer, how are you doing today?"

"Fine, Miss Drake."

"And how is your daughter?"

"She's wonderful. Thank you for asking."

"Is your job going well?"

"Much better since you made the changes, Miss Drake. Thank you for your help. Everybody is feeling so much better these days."

"I'm very glad to hear that. Please let me know if you ever have any problems like that in the future. Goodbye."

"I will, Miss Drake. Goodbye."

As I flew back to Portland, I felt good. The tension that I had been feeling about this round of inspections had dissipated. I met Susan at the apartment and we sat down so that she could give me her report. Afterwards we decided on a restaurant, and called a taxi. When we arrived at the restaurant, a place popular with lumber industry professionals, we were told that there would be a 45-minute wait for a table since we hadn't made a reservation. As we stood there and talked, trying to decide if we should go to another restaurant, a man, who had just come in, approached us. He was nattily dressed in a tux and identified himself as 'Mr. Fevrier', the owner of this restaurant.

"DD, I'm honored to have you dine at my establishment. I hope that you enjoyed your meal?"

"Well, thank you, Monsieur Fevrier, but we haven't eaten yet. But in the past I have enjoyed your food and service immensely."

"Are you waiting for more members of your party to arrive? Please, take your seats and wait at your table."

"Actually, we were just told that there would be a 45 minute wait. My sister and I were just trying to decide where else we could go for dinner."

A look of surprise and dismay appeared on his face. "DD, I'm very sorry for the confusion. My maitre de maison is fairly new and obviously didn't recognize you. I'll have a table ready for you in just a few minutes. Please don't leave, I shall be right back."

In less than a minute he was back with the maitre d' and they escorted us to a table in the center of the main dining room. We had walked past the people who had been waiting when we arrived, and received a few funny looks. After seating us, the maitre d' begged our forgiveness. He said that he had not recognized us, and it would never happen again. I told him that we were happy that a table had opened up, and that we were not upset. Mr. Fevrier signaled to a waiter, who came running over. After speaking quickly to the waiter, in a voice too low for us to hear, Mr. Fevrier then wished us a wonderful dining experience, and excused himself.

We placed our order, and then Susan & I talked about the gossip that we had heard today in our inspections. Just before our food arrived, Susan leaned over to me and said, "Darla, have you noticed that everyone keeps looking at us?"

"No. I guess that I've gotten used to it. Every since Rick Landis decided to make me the favorite subject for his column, people stare at me like I'm a movie star or something. It does seem to have some advantages though. This table that we're sitting at is has always been reserved when I've been here before. I think that they save it for special guests who may happen to drop by unexpectedly."

Our meal began to arrive at that point and we turned our attention to that. Everything was cooked to perfection. As we enjoyed a cup of tea after eating, Mr. Fevrier stopped by to ask if we had enjoyed our meal.

Speaking in French, I told him that everything had been excellent, as always. I asked him to convey our appreciation to his chef and kitchen staff.

He beamed with pride at the compliment. Also changing to French, he said that he was very sorry for the confusion earlier, and that we were welcome at his restaurant anytime. He said that they could always find a table for two such lovely and charming young ladies. It was our turn to thank him for the compliment.

I told him that we had to be getting back to our hotel, and asked if he could have the waiter bring us the bill. He said that there would be no bill tonight. The meal was with his compliments for having kept us waiting in the hallway. I protested but he would not relent, and in the end we had to give in and thank him. When we were finished with our tea, he escorted us to the door where several taxis were waiting. Mr. Fevrier said that he hoped that we would come back often.

As we left, we were followed out by another party that had been dining near us. As soon as we were outside, flashes of light started to bombard us as photographers snapped our picture. Susan became a little unnerved, and disoriented. I guided her into the first taxi, and pulled the door closed. The photographers continued to take our picture until the cab pulled away from the curb.

I gave the driver our address. He kept looking at us in the rear view mirror. He finally spoke up.

"I'm sorry to bother you, but can I ask you to answer a question?"

"I will if I can," I said.

"I've been trying to place you, but I can't. Those press hounds were sure anxious to snap your picture. Are you movie stars or sometin?"

"No. We're not anybody."

"Aw come on. Those guys don't throw themselves at ordinary people. Who are you?"

"Nobody. We just work for Ameri-Moore."

"Then why were those guys falling over each other to get your picture? I was outside for five minutes. I saw them angling to beat out each other for your picture. I expected to see somebody like Grace Kelly come out. Hey, don't get me wrong. I didn't mean to insult you or nutin. you're two beautiful young dames."

"Sorry to disappoint you. Maybe they were trying to take pictures of that other group of people and just got us confused in the frenzy?"

"Yeah, that must be it. Well, here's your stop."

We paid the driver and walked into the apartment building. After we had settled ourselves in bed, Susan said, "Darla, do you think that those photographers were there for us?"

"Yes, I do. Perhaps Monsieur Fevrier got paid for his meal with some free publicity."

"You think that he called the press and told them that we were there?"

"Well, maybe not him, but surely someone who works for him. Those press guys pay for leads. Some waiter may have picked up an additional 5 bucks tonight just for making a phone call. Well, this should die down shortly. They'll get tired of it pretty soon."

Over the next several weeks we completed inspections of all of the North American operations. Everywhere that we went, photographers hounded us. The conspiracy trial dragged on, and we would be in the limelight until it was over. We didn't let that prevent us from doing our job though. By mid-July we had wrapped up our inspections and returned to Portland. My secretary typed all of my reports in time for the weekly executive meeting. Grandma had flown in that morning and would preside over the meeting. When Susan and I arrived, we found that the other executives had arrived early and were standing in back of their chairs. As we walked in, they began to applaud.

After about a minute, while Susan and I stood awkwardly just inside the door, Grandma said, "Okay, that's enough. Let's take our seats. Darla, Susan, we just wanted to show you how much we appreciate what you've done for this company. The conspiracy trial concluded today, and the jury has been sent out for deliberations. It looks like it might finally be over. The production numbers from the factories have continued to set new records. Thanks in large part to you, this is going to be a banner year for Ameri-Moore. I see that you have your inspection reports ready, we'll handle them first."

I gave my report and sat back to listen to the others. On this trip I had found nothing other than minor problems. At the conclusion of the meeting, Susan and I walked back to Grandma's office to give her a more detailed briefing of our tour. When we were through, we went to the executive dining room for lunch. It was during lunch that someone asked me if the rumors about a buyout of Alliance Paper International had any merit. I said that I hadn't heard the rumors so I couldn't comment about such a buyout. It was then that I learned that pictures of Susan & I leaving a restaurant in the company of the CEO from Alliance had appeared in papers across the northwest. I told the other executives that we hadn't dined together; we had just happened to leave the restaurant at the same time.

Traveling back to Texas later that afternoon, Grandma told me that one of the penalties of celebrity status was that people were always looking for scandals or big business deals. If reporters couldn't find any news, they sometimes invented something to satisfy editors who were pushing them to find news.

It was wonderful to be home again. Mary and Judy had arrived home for the weekend and we looked forward to catching up on each other's news. At dinner, and afterwards, Susan and I enlightened everybody on what we had been doing for the past several weeks. Then Mary and Judy each recounted what they had been involved with over the past month. Auntie filled us in on what she had been doing while we were gone, and Mother, who was our lifeline to our world at the ranch, told us what had been happening at home. By the time that we had all dispensed our news, it was getting quite late, so mother told us that we should get ready for bed. Susan and I walked to our bedroom and changed into our sleepwear. We had slept in so many hotel suites over the past month that we had forgotten how comfortable we could feel in our own bed. With the conspiracy trial now concluded, we allowed the tensions of the past months to dissipate. We let all other thoughts of Ameri-Moore difficulties fade into the backgrounds of our minds, and we permitted the warm black blanket of sleep to overtake us.

 

(continued in part 17)

 

 

 

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