Jean Cox was rested after extra sleep. “What did you find out about Lucy Rowe?” she asked.
“Don’t ask me yet. I haven’t any answers—only some new questions.”
CHAPTER V
The Girl in the Portrait
From San Francisco to Chicago on Tuesday, and back on Wednesday, left Vicki free by Thursday morning. She at once telephoned the minister. He said she might come over immediately.
Vicki found her way to Russian Hill, an area of steep, far-flung streets crisscrossed with leafy lanes. The church she was seeking was a handsome modern stone building. The minister’s residence next door, in contrast, was one of the old wooden houses with lacelike balconies and ornate cupolas that had survived the San Francisco earthquake and fire. A housekeeper admitted her and led her into Mr. Hall’s study.
Vicki’s first impression of the minister was of a pair of extraordinarily perceptive eyes. He received Vicki simply, without any ceremony, and made her feel at ease. She presented her credentials, wishing she could tell the minister about Lucy’s grandparents, and their wonderful plans for her.
“I’m glad you have come to me, Miss Barr,” he said. “Are you a little worried, too, about Lucy?”
“I don’t know what to think, Mr. Hall. I had been advised by Lucy’s—ah—friends in New York that she was probably on vacation traveling with friends. Now I find that isn’t exactly how it is, unless there’s been some misunderstanding.”
The minister said that was possible. “Let me speak frankly to you, Miss Barr. I wasn’t keen about Lucy’s taking this job, at least not so quickly. I asked her to get a little better acquainted with Mrs. Heath first, before she went off traveling with her. It’s true Mrs. Heath showed Lucy unimpeachable references, and she seems to be a substantial person.”