Neither Max Laponi nor Caleb Eckert were in the living room when the girls returned to the house. Alicia was reading a book by the fireplace but at sight of Penny and Rosanna she coldly withdrew.
“I’m glad she’s gone,” Penny smiled. “It clears the atmosphere.”
“Must we stay here tonight?” Rosanna asked. “Couldn’t we go to a hotel and come back in the morning? Since I know that Max Laponi——”
She broke off as Penny shot her a warning glance.
“Even the walls seem to have ears in this house, Rosanna. Come outside and we’ll do our planning there.”
They went out into the yard and sat down on a stone bench.
“I know I’m a dreadful coward,” Rosanna acknowledged. “Only I’m so afraid something terrible is about to happen.”
“Now don’t let your nerves get the best of you,” Penny advised kindly. “I shouldn’t have shown you that revolver I found in Laponi’s room. You haven’t been the same since.”
“It wasn’t just the revolver. It’s everything.”
Penny was silent for a moment. Then she said quietly: