“Why shouldn’t I be?” he retorted. “After all, I am Mr. Winters’ heir.”
“That remains to be seen, Mr. Laponi. You appear to be very handy at opening safes, I notice.” Penny crossed the room and after turning the handle to make certain that Laponi had not succeeded in his purpose, closed the panel and returned the oil painting to its former position.
“I suppose you think I was trying to steal,” Laponi began after a minute of dead silence. “Nothing was further from my intention.”
“No?”
“Ever since I caught Caleb Eckert trying to break into this safe I’ve been worried. Last night I saw him prowling around the house after dark and it made me uneasy. I was afraid he would make another attempt to steal Mr. Winters’ valuables.”
“So you thought you would just beat him to it!” Penny retorted sarcastically.
“Certainly not. When you entered the room I was merely inspecting the safe to make certain that it was securely locked.”
Penny could not refrain from smiling. She did not believe a word of what Max Laponi was telling her.
“That safe seems to be the real attraction of this house,” she remarked. “I’ve suspected for some time that it contains Mr. Winters’ ivory collection.”
If Max Laponi were taken aback he did not disclose it. But he eyed Penny shrewdly.