"She acted dreadfully upset over the loss. What reason would she have for telling you a deliberate falsehood about the insurance?"
"I wonder myself."
"Are the pearls worth fifteen thousand?" Penny asked thoughtfully.
"No more than that certainly. It seems, too, that the policy was taken out from the insurance company only a few weeks ago."
"The company doesn't think that the robbery was planned surely?"
"It was planned all right—but whether by Mrs. Dillon I'm in no position to say."
"But why should she wish to resort to such a trick just to collect insurance?" Penny protested. "The Dillons are wealthy."
"Ostensibly so, at least. However, even to Mrs. Dillon, fifteen thousand might look attractive."
"I don't believe she's as honest as she should be," Penny admitted reluctantly. "At least that stolen picture isn't in her favor. She must have bought it with a full knowledge of what she was doing."
Christopher Nichols nodded thoughtfully.