“It was boastful of me to show her my ticket,” she thought. “But I couldn’t resist doing it. Francine is so conceited.”
Making her way to the unmarked door of the wing, Penny paused there a moment, listening. Hearing no sound she pushed open the door and went down the narrow hall. The guard sat at his usual post before the Green Door.
“Good morning,” said Penny pleasantly. “I have my card now.”
The man examined it and handed it back. “Go right in,” he told her.
Before Penny could obey, the door at the end of the corridor swung open. Harvey Maxwell, his face convulsed with rage, came hurrying toward the startled girl.
“I’ve just learned who you are,” he said angrily. “Kindly leave this hotel at once, and don’t come back!”
CHAPTER
14
A BROKEN ROD
“You must have mistaken me for some other person,” Penny stammered, backing a step away from the hotel man. “Who do you think I am?”
The question was a mistake, for it only served to intensify Harvey Maxwell’s anger.
“You’re the daughter of Anthony Parker who runs the yellowest paper in Riverview! I know why he sent you here. Now get out and don’t let me catch you in the hotel ever again.”