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Since that time, the papers had run a version of the sa would break Other kidnap victi the possibility that soether with other facts previously unknown If Mary Claire was lost, her plight ht provoke a confession in another case For the child herself, the prospects were bleak and had been once the first twenty-four hours had passed without word At least I understood nohy Michael Sutton had been so anxious to unravel the significance of what he’d seen For h to make me ill

6

DEBORAH UNRUH

July 1963

For the next three ained fewer than fifteen pounds Her diet consisted largely of beans and rice--a perfect protein, she proclai her unborn baby’s need for proper nutrition She didn’t believe in prenatal vita of tied to conceive and bear children without the interference of the phar, but there was no arguing the point She interpreted any opposition or rebuttal as an assault on her autono the room the minute she walked in

Most of the time, she kept a sullen distance, but there were , thus fostering Deborah’s hopes that a bond could be forged, however liht be Her optimism was always short-lived Shelly’s mood would darken The unstable ele off the inevitable explosion Once she blew up, Greg stepped into the role ofback and forth between the bus and the house Hefirst Shelly and then his parents Deborah al’s pathetic atte dinner with friends on Friday nights at the Horton Ravine Country Club According to the gossip,the saht up in "alternative lifestyles," which lect of personal hygiene The nights out were their only relief from the tensions at home and their only opportunity to blow off steam

They’d known Kip and Annabelle Sutton since they’d joined the country club, shortly afterto Santa Teresa from Boulder, Colorado The Unruhs were in their forties, while Kip and Annabelle were ten years younger, with school-age children who took up a y For the Suttons, the Friday-night get-together was a welcome respite from parental responsibilities

Kip was an architect who specialized in cos, banks, department stores Annabelle was a stay-at-home mom, just as Deborah had been in her day The Suttons’ four children were two, six, eight, and ten, the oldest a girl na the first round ofand Shelly cahts

Patrick said, "Take a lesson fro for a fight Our accomplishments are worthless as far as they’re concerned You two have the saets worse"

Annabelle said, "Don’t say that I havewith the terrible twos Michael was a doll until his second birthday and now here we are, turning to drink" She plucked an olive frolass

Kip said, "I don’t see this business with Greg and Shelly as anything new Kids have always been rebellious at that age, haven’t they?"

Patrick shook his head "Not like this"

"Shelly’s a beatnik," Deborah said "She told me she lived for months in a crash pad in North Beach, where all the ‘cool cats’ hung out"

"A beatnik? That’s passé, isn’t it?"

"Not to hear her tell it She claihetti in the same six-day period"

Annabelle looked askance "She actually told you?"

"Oh, sure Proud as Punch I could see she was hoping I’d recoil in horror so she could accuse ht and out of it I just sat there and blinked and then asked if she’d ever had the clap"

Annabelle cracked up "What’d she say?"

"She said that wasn’t the point She was experiencing life to the fullest, which was more than I could say"