“I never saw such a hopeless muddle,” Rosanna added. “Everyone is so eager for the property no one gives the slightest thought to the tragedy which befell poor Mr. Winters.”
“Perhaps he isn’t dead,” Penny suggested.
Rosanna stared. “What makes you think that? Didn’t Mr. Laponi have proof of it?”
“He seemed to have proof of everything,” Penny admitted with a rueful laugh. “That’s what makes me suspicious. There’s something strange about this entire affair.”
“I agree with you there.”
“I’m convinced of one thing, Rosanna. Either Mrs. Leeds or this man Laponi is an impostor. At first I thought Laponi was the same person who stole the ring. Now I can’t be sure.”
Rosanna did not believe that the two were identical although she admitted there was a close resemblance. However, she was quite willing to agree that the man seemed like an impostor despite his credentials.
“He may have picked up that letter and key you lost,” Penny went on, thinking aloud. “And there was something rather sinister in the way he mentioned the collection of ivories.”
“I noticed that. Caleb seemed disturbed.”
“It wouldn’t surprise me if he knows where Mr. Winters kept the collection,” Penny continued. “At any rate, he’s wise to pretend ignorance. With such a mad lot of people in the house, anything might happen.”