Chapter 2
Mary stiffened as she heard the loud and insistent banging on the front door. Her pleasure was gone as suddenly as it had come, replaced now by a fear of whoever it was that seemed to be trying to break the door down. She heard muffled voices calling out but could not understand what they were saying.
Ralph had heard the noises now too, and he quickly left the bed and almost ran to the window. Carefully he pulled the drapes aside just a fraction of an inch and looked out. There was a black and white Palm Springs Police Car sitting just outside the building. A uniformed police officer stood by the car's open door. He turned back to the bed in time to see that Mary had crawled under the covers and only her frightened face was showing.
"Who is it, Ralph?" she asked in a terrified voice.
The pounding and the voices were louder now and Ralph crossed the room quickly and started to pull on his pants and shirt.
"It's the cops, honey! They've come for me!"
A cold shiver ran through Mary's body as she struggled to comprehend the words her husband was saying.
"But why would they want you?" she asked incredulously.
"I got into a little trouble awhile back, honey," Ralph answered quickly as he took his wallet out of his pants and shoved it between the mattress and box-springs. "They're going to arrest me, kid! They won't bother you but I'll need some help to get me out on bail. My lawyer's name is on a card in the wallet.. . and there's about four thousand dollars there too. Find out where I'm at and then call the guy . .. he'll get me out!"
Before the terrified young girl could reply or ask anymore questions, the front door burst open and the bedroom was filled with policemen with drawn guns. Ralph put up his hands immediately as they advanced on him.
"For Chrissake, don't shoot! I give up!" Ralph pleaded.
Two of the policemen holstered their revolvers while a third kept his pointed at Ralph's midsection. The first two grabbed his upraised hands and brought them roughly behind his back as one pulled a pair of handcuffs from his belt and snapped them on Ralph's wrists. Quickly they ran their hands over his body in a search for concealed weapons. Only then did one of the policemen notice Mary cowering under the covers.
"Don't move a muscle, lady, or by God I'll shoot!" He advanced slowly on the bed, his pistol held firmly in front of him. "Bring your hands out from under those covers slowly ... and I mean slowly!"
Mary's whole body was shaking but she managed to get her bare arms out from under the blanket. Her near hysteria increased as the policeman reached down and yanked the covers off of her, exposing her naked body to the three uniformed men.
"Don't, please ... I don't have any clothes on," Mary cried out in alarm as she tried to cover her body with her hands. "I haven't done anything!"
One of the policemen pushed Ralph from the room while the other two stood over the cowering naked young girl and stared intently at her nude body.
"Jesus," one said to the other, "our Ralphie boy sure can pick 'em."
The other man, older and with a more compassionate face, picked up the discarded blanket from the floor and motioned for Mary to get off the bed and cover herself. Gratefully, she quickly jumped up and wrapped the blanket around her terrified body. She could feel the tears of shame and humiliation welling up in her eyes.
"Where are you taking my husband?" she asked in a quivering voice.
"Husband? Come on girlie, Ralphie is too smart to marry some pig like you," the younger man said sarcastically as he pushed her toward the front room. "Come on, get in the other room!"
The room was empty but through the front door Mary could see her husband sitting in the back seat of the police car. The policeman who had taken him out was speaking into the microphone of the car's radio. A large crowd of people stood around the police car and by the front door, trying to look into the house. The older police officer went to the door quickly and told them to leave. He shut the door as he turned back to face Mary.
"Are you and Ralph really married?" he asked in a firm voice.
Mary shook her head up and down, and she opened her mouth to try and speak but no words came out. The tears were pouring down her cheeks, stinging her face.
"Cut out the shit, sister! Where did Ralphie pick you up -- on Sunset Strip or Hollywood Boulevard?" The younger policeman said gruffly.
"That's enough Patton," the older man said sternly, "If she says she's married to the guy we'll act like it's true until we find out otherwise. Tell O'Brien to call in and get another car and a matron down here."
The younger policeman shook his head in disgust but left the cabana. The older man continued to stand by Mary, almost as if he were waiting for her to make an attempt to escape.
Mary fought to get the tears under control. She was sure that the man would tell her what this was all about and why they had arrested Ralph.
"Please, tell me why you've arrested my husband," Mary pleaded, "What did he do? You've got to tell me . .. please?"
Suddenly the man smiled at her and told her to sit down.
"Take it easy, kid. Your husband ... if that's what he is ... is wanted for armed robbery in Los Angeles. One of our men spotted his car about a half-hour ago. We're taking him down for booking. You'll have to come along too!" His voice was not unkind but it was firm.
Mary couldn't believe her ears. Ralph, her loving husband a wanted criminal? Her whole world was crumbling around her and she had a sudden vision of Ralph in a prison uniform. It just couldn't be true. There must be some mistake. There had to be!
"How old are you, Mrs. Stewart?" the policeman said.
"Nine ... nineteen," she managed to blurt out.
The policeman was shaking his head sadly.
"And I suppose you're from some small town somewhere?"
"How did you know that?" Mary asked incredulously.
"Kid, I see your kind every day," he said in a patient voice. "Do you want some good advice?"
Mary nodded, wanting to hear what he was going to say but afraid at the same time.
"Ralph is going to prison," he paused as Mary started to protest, "Don't interrupt me! Ralph is going to be put away for a good long time. The best thing for you is to go home ... wherever that is, and forget your ... your husband."
Mary began to cry again. She was still sitting there when the police matron arrived and took her into the bedroom to dress for the drive to the police station.
As Mary dressed, the matron stood in the doorway and watched her. The woman's eyes seemed to follow every move she made and Mary wondered if she dared try and retrieve the wallet under the bed. It was the only way she could help to get Ralph released. She had to have the money and the card with the lawyer's name on it. Just when Mary thought there would be no opportunity to get the wallet, the matron turned her back on Mary and began to talk to one of the policemen in the front room. Mary quickly went to the bed and pulled the wallet from its hiding place. She stuffed the money into her handbag and searched frantically for the lawyer's card. When she found it, it also went into her bag. She dropped the wallet to the floor and kicked it under the bed with her foot just before the matron turned around.
"Come on," the woman said gruffly, "we haven't got all day."
Mary suspected that they might search her handbag more thoroughly at the police station and she wanted to hide the money in a better place.
"Ma'am, can I go to the bathroom ... I think my period is starting," Mary lied.
"Oh, Christ, what next," the woman said. She walked to the small bathroom and looked in to insure there was no means of escape. Then, she motioned Mary inside. "And don't take all day!"
Mary quickly transferred the hundred dollar bills to her bra. The card with the lawyer's name quickly joined the money next to her rapidly beating heart. The mission accomplished, Mary flushed the toilet and went back into the bedroom to join the impatient policewoman.
The next few hours were a nightmare that Mary would never forget. The crowd outside the cabana had increased by the time that Mary and the policewoman went outside and got into the car. The strange faces surged forward in an attempt to get a glimpse of the lovely young girl who was being hustled off to jail so unceremoniously. Once inside the drab police station she was locked into a small holding cell while the police checked her identification and tried to find out if she was wanted by the authorities anywhere. Luckily, she had the marriage certificate and her California driver's license in her handbag. Everyone refused to answer the questions she put to them as to what would happen to Ralph and herself. Finally, two detectives and a uniformed policewoman came into the small cell and questioned her sharply about Ralph. By that time she was so frightened and exhausted that she told them everything she knew. Both of the detectives were skeptical that she could be married to a man and know so little of his background or activities. Everyone seemed indifferent to her suffering. Mary had given up hope of ever being released when suddenly, in the early evening, the detectives returned and told her that she was free to go. When she begged to be told where Ralph was and what was going to happen to him, the two men met her questions with a stony silence. The two detectives escorted her out of the cell and into the squad room where the older policeman from the cabana waited. He told Mary that he was going to drive her back to pick up her clothing and personal effects. He gave her the keys to Ralph's car and told her that it was not being impounded and that she could use it until Ralph's case was decided. His whole attitude of sympathy and understanding made Mary want to cry again.
On the drive back to the motel the policeman told Mary that Ralph had been taken back to Los Angeles for his preliminary hearing. As they drove along the darkening streets lined with expensive shops and restaurants, the policeman repeated his advice from that morning. Mary wanted to tell the man that she would follow his suggestion and go home but she could not. He stood by while Mary gathered her things and packed them in the suitcases, and then he loaded them into the car for her. They stood there for a moment looking at each other, both of them wanting to say so much to the other.
"Thank you for your help," said Mary quietly, "and for your advice."
"But you won't take it, will you?" the man asked sadly.
Mary shook her head slowly before getting into the car and starting the powerful engine. As she drove away from the motel she felt completely alone and friendless.
It was after midnight when Mary arrived in Los Angeles. She went directly to Ralph's apartment in Hollywood, the apartment that would have been their home after the Palm Springs vacation. Now it was just a cruel reminder that they were separated after only a few days of complete happiness. She let herself into the locked building quietly, hoping that the building manager would not see her. Ralph had introduced Mary to the man just before they left on their honeymoon and their was no mistaking the lewd way he ran his eyes up and down her young body. She couldn't bear to face the man tonight after what had happened. She knew she would have to make up some lie to explain Ralph's absence but she would have to worry about that later.
Inside the apartment she locked the door and went to the phone to call the lawyer. There was no answer at the home phone number that was penciled in on the card under his office number. Finally, after six attempts, she gave up and went into the bedroom to unpack her suitcases. Ralph's presence was everywhere in the small apartment -- the clothing strewn around the bedroom, his record collection and the personal odds-and-ends scattered around the living room, even the few dirty dishes in the sink and the half-filled bottle of the expensive Irish whiskey that he drank. She straightened up the apartment slowly, hoping against hope to hear his footsteps on the stairs outside and his key opening the door. She knew it was a fantasy but she couldn't help jumping up and running to the door every time a noise sounded in the hallway. It was after three o'clock when she finally dozed off, an old sweater of Ralph's clutched tightly to her breasts.