“I’ll learn everything I can about that woman,” she thought. “Tonight I’ll watch the house.”
In making her plans, Penny did not take into account Mrs. Weems’ attitude. Upon reaching home late in the afternoon, she found the housekeeper in a most discouraged mood. No favorable news had been received from any source.
“I’ve been worried about you too, Penny,” Mrs. Weems confessed. “Where did you go after you left the Star office?”
Penny told of her trip to Mattie Williams’ garage and later to the Harrison estate. In particular she described the mysterious woman she had followed by bus.
“I plan to go back there tonight,” she concluded. “For the first time since Dad disappeared, I feel I may have stumbled into a valuable clue!”
Mrs. Weems looked troubled. “But Penny,” she protested, “you can’t go to the estate alone!”
“I thought perhaps Louise would accompany me.”
“Two girls alone at night! I can’t give my consent, Penny. It’s not safe.”
“But I don’t wish to call the police just yet, Mrs. Weems. I’ve no real evidence. Will you come with me?”
The housekeeper hesitated. Naturally a timid woman, she had no desire to stir from her own fireside that night. But she knew where her duty lay.