A door slammed, telling Penny that the hook-nosed man had left. She was somewhat stunned by what she had overheard, believing that the Henley who had been mentioned must be her father’s chief advertiser.
Nervously she waited inside the cabinet, wishing that she might take her information to the police. To her intense annoyance, Al Gepper did not leave the room even for a moment.
Instead he threw himself on the bed and read a tabloid newspaper. After an hour, he arose and began to prepare his supper on an electric grill.
Penny shifted from one position to another, growing more impatient. Every time the man came toward the cabinet her heart beat a trifle faster. She was quite sure the Hodges had not yet returned home, and should Al Gepper discover her, he would not treat her kindly.
The medium finished his supper and stacked the dishes in the closet without washing them. Then he started to get ready for the night’s séance.
Peeping from between the cracks of the curtain, Penny saw him seat himself before the easel. With painstaking care he painted a picture of a woman, using a photograph as a model. After a coating of varnish had been applied, he allowed it to dry and afterwards covered the entire picture with zinc white. The original painting was entirely hidden.
Penny knew that hours had elapsed. The room gradually darkened, and Al Gepper turned on the lights.
“Oh, dear, I must get out of here soon!” the girl thought desperately. “But if I make a break for it he’ll be sure to see me. That will ruin all my plans.”
Eight o’clock came. Al Gepper put on his coat, combed his hair and was alertly waiting when the doorbell rang. However, instead of descending the stairs he shouted an invitation for the visitors to come up.
Two women in their early forties were ushered into the séance chamber, to be followed almost immediately by an elderly man.