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By Root 1142 0

sorts of dark sinister motives for everyone. Larry’s finances are shaky, so are Lila’s. O.K. So are dozens of others I know, it’s a perfectly normal occurrence in Europe today. But to you they have to become white-slavers and call-girls and God knows what. Pull yourself together, Larry’s a director and a damn good one. Lila’s a model and probably a damn lazy one. Some of the others are just bums. Who cares? Let them roam the earth if they want to. Nobody cares except you, who probably never had the guts to do the same thing yourself. It really makes me laugh. When I tried to explain you away to Larry once, I invented all sorts of cloak-and-dagger intrigue about you: rivalry at the Italian Embassy, burned papers, you about to be recalled, the works. But I certainly didn’t kid myself for a minute that I wasn’t making it all up.”

“Sally Jay, you are so naïve.”

“You’re the naïve one! You’ve got so entangled in your cloak you keep stabbing yourself with your own dagger! Next you’ll try to tell me about a gang of spies; big white-slave market operating around the world.”

“That is not impossible.”

“Don’t you know what you really are?” I asked incredulously. “Can’t you see it? You’re a vain, vain man. An insanely jealous man. And you’re getting to be an old one.”

“Very well,” said Teddy stiffly. “It is now impossible to continue this conversation.”

“Oh no it isn’t. There’s one more thing,” I went on. “Why don’t we put your little theory to the test? You get Lila to come over here and tell me all about it. That shouldn’t be too hard, since you’re trying to save her from a fate worse than death, and Larrv’s a killer.”

I forced myself to look around the room. Finally I spotted them. They looked anything but sinister. As a matter of fact Lila was talking her head off to Larry—probably giving him the story of her ruined life with Teddy. Larry looked exhausted and trapped and extremely bored. He caught my eye and winked wanly over at me. It was hardly the reaction of a guilty man.

“Go on. Go over there,” I insisted to Teddy. “When you go around making accusations like that you’ve got to prove them.”

Teddy went over to them. I hid my face in my hands and waited. Finally he came back.

“You win,” he said. “Or rather he has won.”

“You don’t have much luck with your girls, do you?” I rose. “I mean that about the police. If I ever set eyes on you again I’m going to send for them.”

Back at our table all was quiet. In fact it was empty, except for Bax. Missy had gone off in a huff, dragging Mac with her. Bax and I drove back to the villa alone.

On the way home I told him what Teddy had said. He was very quiet.

“Well, say something,” I demanded irritably.

“I don’t know what to say, Sally Jay.”

I exploded. “You don’t believe that junk, do you? What’s got into everyone all of a sudden? All Larry ever does is to try to help people—in his own madly misguided way, granted—but he does try—and all he ever gets for it is a kick in the teeth.”

“Yes, maybe.”

“What do you mean, maybe?”

“I mean partly.…”

“Do you or do you not owe your break in Hollywood entirely to Larry?” Bax nodded. “And you owe our villa to him and all of us corning down here. And you owe me coming down here too. I assure you I wouldn’t have come if he hadn’t begged me to.”

Bax shook his head miserably.

“So what’s eating you?”

“Sally Jay, I can’t explain it. But you’re very different from what I imagined you’d be.”

“Sorry about that,” I said coldly.

“No, it’s just—I don’t know. No, I don’t know. Perhaps I’m not being fair.”

I stopped concentrating on Bax.

So we got back to the villa. And Christ, all hell is breaking loose around here now. Adissy sobbing downstairs in the living room on Mac’s shoulder, saying she won’t stay another minute in the same house with a man who’s allowed her to be insulted like that, and at the same time insisting that Mac stay on here with us to protect her from Larry, Bax pacing up and down in his room like a caged lion, me scribbling away trying to get worn out enough to drop off to sleep.… Boy, oh boy, wait till Larry comes home.