Free Girl on a Slay Ride by Louis Trimble

bright intelligent blue. Mallory frowned as he saw them and the pain lying deep inside them. Then Blalock lowered his head again.
    Graef said, “It’s unfortunate that Mrs. Lawton feels the same way about you that other women have, Blalock. She’s very beautiful, isn’t she?”
    Graef’s cruelty made Mallory feel sick. He said, “Shut up. Leave the poor devil alone.”
    “I wouldn’t feel sorry for him,” Graef said quietly. “Remember what he did to the Thompson girl. That was just a sample of what he’d like to do to all women, particularly lovely women. Think of how they must have made him feel all his life. Think of how Mrs. Lawton made him feel just now by her remark.”
    Mallory felt Denise stiffen violently beside him. He said again, “Shut up, Graef.”
    Graef said, “Blalock hid one hundred thousand dollars somewhere in these mountains. He was very clever when he picked them. They’re among the most inaccessible in the country. That much he told me so I’d continue to help him escape. Now he thinks he isn’t going to tell me any more. He thinks like you think, Mallory—that he’s going to get away from me somehow.”
    He laughed softly. “You’re both wrong. Neither of you is clever enough. You’re going to help me find the money Blalock hid. You and Mrs. Lawton are both going to help.”
    “You can go to hell,” Mallory said angrily.
    Graef laughed again. “Blalock will tell me exactly where the money is. Then you’re going to guide me to it.”
    Mallory thought he knew what was in Graef’s mind. He said desperately, “Let Mrs. Lawton go. She can’t hurt you without exposing herself. And she can’t help. She’s never been in these mountains before. She’ll just be in the way.”
    It was a lie, but Mallory didn’t think Graef could know that. Denise had spent a number of summers fishing the Olympics with her father. She probably remembered parts of them as well as he himself did.
    Denise said, “Don’t waste your breath, Cliff. Graef wouldn’t risk letting me loose. And I wouldn’t go if he did. I’m safer here than I would be where Rick’s men could find me.”
    “She’s quite right,” Graef said equably to Mallory. “And in addition, I find Mrs. Lawton indispensable to my plans.” He glanced at her. “Now drink your coffee or give it to someone else. I dislike seeing anything wasted.”
    “It’ll be cold,” she said.
    “I can use it if you can’t,” Mallory said.
    He kept his eyes straight ahead, not wanting Graef to glimpse his expression. He felt excitement turn to tension as Denise began to pry the cardboard lid from the carton.
    They had left the heavy timber and were moving through a cut-over area. There was no sign of life and Mallory expected none. The loggers didn’t work on Saturdays. And the public had not yet discovered that the period between Labor Day and hunting season was the best for vacations in this area.
    Denise handed Mallory the carton of coffee. He took a quick swallow. It was barely lukewarm. He had to force himself to take a second gulp.
    The tension made his hand tremble. He realized that he was being overcautious. But at every point so far Graef had blocked his efforts with the ease of a chess champion blocking an amateur’s best moves. And he realized that he could not push Graef too far. The man had killed and, as he had said, he would kill again.
    Mallory said carefully, “Graef, if you’re so damned clever, why weren’t you successful years ago?”
    “Stow that kind of crap,” Thoms growled from the back seat.
    Graef turned so that he faced Mallory. “Forget it, Nick. I didn’t know Mallory had so much spirit.”
    Mallory said, “What’s more, I don’t think you’ll make it this time either. I think you’ll fail as you have all your life.”
    “You’re being childish, Mallory. Words don’t make me angry.”
    Mallory swallowed the quick dryness in his mouth. “If the F.B.I. couldn’t make Blalock talk, why should you be