He broke off as the telephone rang. "Hello," he said gruffly into the transmitter, then his face became sober as he silently listened. "Drop into my office tomorrow at nine," he terminated the conversation. "I'll give you my decision then."
"You sound like one of the judges of the Supreme Court," Penny chuckled as her father hung up the receiver. "What's this momentous decision you're to hand down?"
Mr. Nichols sat drumming his fingers against the edge of the desk.
"That was the Reliance Insurance Company. They want me to take the Dillon case."
"You don't mean in regard to Mrs. Dillon's lost necklace?"
"Yes, that's it."
"But Dad, how does the insurance company figure in the case? The pearls weren't insured."
"As it happens, they were. For fifteen thousand dollars."
"But I heard Mrs. Dillon say to you herself that the necklace had never been insured."
"Yes. Apparently, she didn't tell the truth."