“You mean you want to ask me questions?” inquired the woman.
“Yes, that’s it,” replied Mary Louise. “I’m staying at Dark Cedars now, and there are strange things going on there. Maybe you can explain them.”
“Dark Cedars!” repeated the gypsy. “I know the place.... You don’t live there?”
“No, I don’t live there. I’m just staying there while Miss Grant is in the hospital.”
The black eyes gleamed, and the woman held two thin, dirty hands in front of her face.
“Mattie Grant is evil,” she announced. “Keep away from her!”
Mary Louise wrinkled her brows. “I’m not with her,” she said. “I’m only staying at Dark Cedars while Miss Grant is away.”
“But why is that?”
“That’s just what I want to ask you! Miss Grant’s money has already been stolen, and I thought maybe you could tell me what I’m supposed to be protecting—by sleeping in her bed every night.”
“In the old witch’s bed? Oh-ho!”