Somebody always has to make his play. One of the Patrolmen elbowed the others aside and stepped up his pace until he'd drawn even with her. "Say, doll," he originated, " Are you all on your own out here?"
"Oh, I'm just taking the air," Bonnie tried. "They say that fresh air clears up the infection sooner." This turned out to be too subtle.
"Well, we seem to be going the same way," he said. "I know you, don't I? You look kinda familiar." To his own surprise, this seemed to be true. His step faltered. He's trying to figure it out, she told herself.
"I'm a waitress at the... uh, the Constellation Ballroom. I think I've seen you there."
A whole series of expressions passed over the Patrolman's face. "Yeah... no... that ain't it." He had stopped altogether, which was fine with Bonnie, but he was thinking, and that was not. She started to walk a bit faster.
"Nah," she heard, "It couldn't be." I guess he didn't take in the skull and crossbones, thought Bonnie. She turned a corner and broke into a run.
Sure enough, about five seconds later she heard a shout: "Hey, guys! That's Bonnie Scarlet!" And an awful lot of people were suddenly chasing he
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