"Yes, and it would have succeeded, save for one thing. Cron copied the statue of Amy Coulter's Black Imp. We thought he intended to put it to some commercial use, and took it from him."
"He permitted you to take it away?" the officer asked in surprise.
"It happened that a policeman came into the studio. I think he must have been afraid to make a fuss."
"Undoubtedly. Then what happened?"
"I took the statue to my father's office. Max Lynch came to talk with Dad and saw it. He hurried out of the office as if he had seen a ghost."
"Of course he knew the pearls were hidden inside the statue," the officer smiled. "He probably thought Mr. Nichols had discovered them and suspected the plot."
"That's the way I figured it out," Penny nodded.
"Our house was watched. Then one day the Black Imp mysteriously disappeared. I never saw it again until I entered this room."
"Either Cron or Lynch stole it."
"Cron I think, for the Black Imp was in his possession."