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Maybe we've been worrying about the wrong things.

What if Thelma didn't really do well in the contest, and was pretending for Tuck's benefit?

Or did they just fly all of the contestants off to some exotic location? (In which case previous concerns are even more likely to become issues.)

TGIF

[...unWARP!!!]

Good evening.


Oh dear, this doesn't sound good.

Either Thelma got mixed up..........

....or she just fell into the hands of some VERY nasty people....

She may have gotten "mixed up," but I don't think that this is the case. I doubt that she would get both the location of the shoot and her hotel and room number wrong. If she had lied to Tuck to save his feelings, while concievable and possible, does bring up a seperate set of problems, such as "where did she go," and "Would this really warrent such measures (I mean, going into hiding just to save a lover's feelings, especially when he was concerned about her self-esteem in the first place)." She is obviosly not at home, as Hortense would have surely noticed that her room number coincided with her home number. Also Tuck saw her off on her trip as well. So she is most certainly out of Malarky county. As much as it pains me to contemplate, my intuition is telling me that she was decieved and is now in undesirable company. Whether she is being held without her consent, and whether she is unharmed or even aware of this deception is beyond me, though her evasivness with Hortense suggests that she knows that all is not as it seems. Thelma is no helpless "damsel in distress" (otherwise Hortense would have a coronary ), but anyone can find themselves in a position that requires outside help, and Tuck has no idea of her current whereabouts. I pray that my intuition is wrong, but I fear it is not.

The JAM wrote:[...unWARP!!!]

Good evening.


Oh dear, this doesn't sound good.

Either Thelma got mixed up..........

....or she just fell into the hands of some VERY nasty people....[WARP!!!]

Possibly very nasty indeed....anyone here besides me thinking along the lines of kidnapping for forced prostitution or slavery?

Please, no one jump down my throat.......some of the jobs I've worked in the past force me to think of the darkest possible answers to questions of missing loved ones. Especially with circumstances such as these.

And, I think Thelma actually believed that she'd placed in the "top 20". Her enthusiasm and joy seemed too natural for her to be faking it. Remember, she went into this thing expecting to get dumped as "not pretty enough" so losing out wouldn't have come as that much of a blow. She would have just come out to Tuck and said "See, I told you so." She was WAY too happy not to have been "picked".

Hence, my proclivity for thinking the worst in cases like these.


Shaaruuk

OR...

She may have lied about there being a runway show because she discovered the modeling involved rather skimpy swimwear or other revealing clothing, and she didn't want to admit it to Tuck for fear that he'd show up at the shoot. Remember - if it is a photo shoot instead of a runway show, most photo shoots of that nature would frown severely on having unsupervised friends or relatives present. They may track her down and come charging to her rescue, only to have themselves (and possibly Thelma, as well) thrown off the set.

On the other hand, if it is a runway show, she may feel highly embarrassed walking around in a bikini, and she felt that having friends there would make it even worse. Rather than admit it to Tuck and company, she simply misdirected them.

Let's not have her thrown into slavery just yet, folks - give RH the benefit of the doubt.

Maybe she is doing something else. Something innocent but was just to embarrassed or shy to tell anyone. Don

Solidus, Mike....

Thanks both of you for viable alternatives....and yes, let's give RH the benefit of the doubt that it's actually something reasonably innocent.

As I said, in the past I've worked at jobs that have shown me the darkest and most twisted sides of "humanity" and this particular scenerio just struck a bit close to a couple of those experiences.

'nuff said.

Shaaruuk

Indeed, I also am thankful for the alternatives. It's not that I enjoy thinking such senarios up, it just that I possess a rather suspicious mind coupled with a permenant expectation of the worst case. Here's hoping it's an innocent situation.

If I were in their position, what is the first thing I'd do? Hortense has been calling her, and Tuck almost certainly has as well, so I'd try the phone number.

I was thinking the same thing Sharuuk... I know too much of twisted side of man's nature... Then again, I'd be pretty...macabre if a loved one fell into such hands... A decent ammount of disembowling and strangling with one's own intestines sounds like a decent antidoge, as well as seperating the nails from the digits. Teeth removal without anethesic, or a old fashion california curb... But I digress, let's hope it's just a misunderstanding

Ezekiel Sweetsir wrote:I was thinking the same thing Sharuuk... I know too much of twisted side of man's nature... Then again, I'd be pretty...macabre if a loved one fell into such hands... A decent ammount of disembowling and strangling with one's own intestines sounds like a decent antidoge, as well as seperating the nails from the digits. Teeth removal without anethesic, or a old fashion california curb... But I digress, let's hope it's just a misunderstanding

A man after my own heart.

Anyway, I think we are being a wee bit too dark here. This isn't "Jack" after all. So far I think the "embarrassing outfit" theory is the most accurate. Of course I've also found myself wondering if Thelma's being so cagey because there are no clothes involved at all, but somehow, I doubt that. Doesn't sound like Thelma, she's probably too young, and there's no way in the world she could ever keep Tuck from finding out.

At any rate, I'm on pins and needles worried about the girl. The suspense is KILLING me!

Wouldn't it be much simpler, and much easier that if she WAS doing a big show, and wanted the two boys as far away as possible... instead of telling them not to come, (which would just bring them faster) she'd give them another address?

It would leave them tied up for a while at least....

See, that's the sort of harmless, innocent, and above all, simple senario that would never enter my mind, because I would be certain that it would be too good, too simple to be true. As a result, I genrerally take the clues presented to me and create some horrifying tale of gerbil slavery on a large scale, just to have my fears proved unfounded, much to the delight of those watching.

Knowing these guys maybe they went to the wrong city. I don't recall any specific city mentioned. Maybe it is in Charleston, SC and they went to Charleston WV; or Lexington, VA vs KY; etc.

Dragoncry wrote:Wouldn't it be much simpler, and much easier that if she WAS doing a big show, and wanted the two boys as far away as possible... instead of telling them not to come, (which would just bring them faster) she'd give them another address?

It would leave them tied up for a while at least....

And just how worried sick are they rapidly becoming right now thanks to this little "misdirection"?

Shaaruuk

Besides, I don't think deceit is in her character.

Hmmm... If it was me instead of Tuck, I'd give the information and the telephone number to the local police, sheriff, and FBI ASAP... And then maybe do a reverse lookup to see if the telephone number was listed. If it does, and the address is correct, hilarity ensues...

What they'd do, only Ralph knows. Congratulations! This is real cliff-hanger material!

Squeaky Bunny wrote:Besides, I don't think deceit is in her character.

And THAT is why you fail.

Well Let'a analyze the clues we have.

1. Hortense has the number. My knowledge of Hotel's is little, but usually it's the hotel's number, then an extension. Therefore, we can assume that they CAN call the hotel to see if it's the right one.

2. It seems they knew where they were going, and were given an address. But by whom? Thelma? The orginizers of the showcase?

3. Thelma has been at a single place for a while. The phone numbers did not switch, unless she's using a cell phone.

4. Thelma got there by bus. This is relevant to the 1st and 3rd clue because it means she arrived at the intended place without the aid of a stranger on a personal basis.

5. Thelma was being evaisive about the area of the showcase. This is likely just due to shyness. But it raises the question, has she been speaking with Tuck?

6. Hortense has the information about the Hotel obviously, given to her by Thelma.

1st plausible conclusion: They have been turned around and mislead somewhere, taken a wrong turn.

2nd plausible conclusion: Thelma intentionally mislead them to avoid the embarassment if she's sporting something less than modest, hoping they'll understand.

Squeaky Bunny wrote:Besides, I don't think deceit is in her character.

Not deceit, but desperation.

Tuck forced her into this contest, with a very dire threat. If Thelma made it to the next stage and realized that things weren't going to be up to her levels of modesty, she would be caught in a horrible quandary.

On the one hand, she wouldn't want to continue in the contest. On the other, Tuck threated to break up with her if she didn't sign up for the contest, and might invoke this treat if she quit mid-stream.

So she may feel forced to continue because of Tuck's threat, yet be equally terrified of anyone finding out what she is thereby forced into doing. Misleading people as to the contests whereabouts would therefor be an act of desperation and not deceit.

TGIF