As Penny watched, the young man suddenly straightened. Apparently he had heard footsteps in the vestibule for he moved away from the bell tower door.
A middle-aged woman with dyed hair and a skin of unusual pallor entered the Temple. She stopped short as she saw the young man.
“You here, Slippery?” she commented, gazing at him with distrust. “Where’s Pete?”
“Hello, Sade. I was wonderin’ about Pete myself. Just got here a minute ago.”
The woman’s gaze fastened upon the key which had been left in the bell tower door.
“Say, what’s coming off here?” she demanded. “You were trying to get inside!”
“Now don’t ruffle your feathers, Sade,” the man said soothingly. “I was only testing the door to make sure it was locked.”
“I’ll bet! You were aiming to break in! Slippery, they sure named you right. Why, you’d double-cross your own mother!”
“Oh, quiet down,” the man retorted angrily. “I only came here to make sure Pete was on the job. The lazy loafer has skipped out and left the place unguarded.”
The woman deliberately seated herself in a chair beside the bell tower door.