MAGIC CITY, TEXAS

 (MAY 2, 1979)

 The giant hand that reached under the bed was covered up to the wrist by the sleeve of a black blouse decorated with sequins, around the edge of the wrist, in a curlicue pattern. And the object being held by that hand was some kind of light blue notebook that was carefully inserted in between the supporting slats of the bed's mattress.

 "Charlene!" came an urgent whisper from the look-out at the bedroom door:  "Will you hurry up, please?"

 "Okay, okay!  Give me two more seconds." 

 It proved closer to three or four.  But, the girl called Charlene finally succeeded in hiding the notebook before withdrawing, completely.  Only then, did my dad feel safe enough in peeking out from the left side of the bed leg he had been hiding behind.  And it's from that vantage point that he finally got a good look at the intruders. Two cowgirls (Caucasian, with strawberry-blonde hair) wearing black blouses with matching mini-skirts, go-go boots, and Stetson hats. 

 "Happy, now, Sis?"

 "I'll be happy if we make it to practice on time," replied the look-out (in an ironic near-echo of Brooke Rivera's earlier statement).

 "Then, get out of my way so I can close the door and re-lock it!"

 The second those two were gone Dad got on the radio to Cecilia Finster.

 "Five Points Buck to Agnes, Jr.  Five Points Buck to Agnes, Jr.  Do you copy?  Over."

 "Agnes, Jr. to Five Points Buck.  Copy you.  What's up? Over."

 "Need you to run a background check on two of HRH's sorority sisters.  Identical twins; strawberry blondes; one of them named Charlene.  Apparently fellow Wranglerettes. See if there's some kind of rivalry going on between them that might complicate our mission. Over."

 "I'll get right on it.  Agnes, Jr., over and out."

 Whereupon, Dad began shinnying up the bed leg to the metal slats.  Following which, he began a sloth-crawl over to where the blue notebook had been hidden.   When he got there, he pulled himself upright.  Letting the blood flow back to his feet before doing anything else. When that had been accomplished, he crawled on to the cover of the notebook and read the printing on it.

 "Political Science 301.

 Prof. E. Proctor, Instructor."

 Nodding to himself, Dad immediately began pushing on the notebook.  Slowly maneuvering, this way and that, until it had been shifted diagonally enough to let him drop it to the floor beneath the bed.  He then sloth-crawled back to the bed leg, before sliding down it like he used to slide down the brass pole at his grandfather's fire house!

 "Whew!" he exhaled on reaching the bottom:  "I'm getting too old for this shit."

 Nevertheless, he proceeded to slowly drag the notebook out from beneath Brooke Rivera's bed and across the carpet to Princess Jumana's bed.  There, he proceeded (with great difficulty) to roll it up into a cylindrical shape.  So, he could insert the whole thing inside the center of the princess' prayer rug!

 It was while catching what felt more like his third or fourth wind that he finally got a reply.

 "Boss Man to Five Points Buck.  Boss Man to Five Points Buck. Do you copy? Over."

 "Copy you, Boss Man.  Where's Agnes Junior? Over."

 "In the middle of rehearsal with the Wranglerettes.  So, I'm relaying the info you requested.  Over."

 "Lay it on me, Boss Man."

 Myron Meriwether couldn't help chuckling before continuing.

 "Your hunch paid off better than expected.  Charlene is Charlene Royce.  One of a set of identical triplets attending UTMC!  Her sisters' names are Darlene and Doreen.  Daughters of Mr. and Mrs. Glendon Royce.  Their old man is a collateral descendant of Henry Royce of Rolls-Royce fame.  Plus, he's a stockholder in the Houston branch of Interchem.  So, they're not exactly attending this school as hardship scholarship recipients!  Over."

 "What about their relationship with HRH and her roommate? Over"

 "Strained as you suspected.  Rivera's a straight-A student, which is ruining the grading curve in the poli-sci class she attends with the triplets' boyfriends.  Campus baseball players in danger of flunking off the team!   While Interchem recently lost a bidding war, for oil-drilling rights in Najranistan, to Dehraz Petroleum of Lebanon."  

 "HRH's fiance's company."

 "Roger, that. So it looks like the triplets are trying to frame one or both of them for attempted cheating. Over." 

 "Well, I think I've prevented that, for now.  But, even so..."

  Whatever Dad had been planning to say next was suddenly cut off...by the sound of keys being turned in the bedroom door's lock.

  tbc