“Maybe this is the pay-off!” thought Penny excitedly.
Pulling the boards into place behind her, she stooped and made her way through the tunnel to the door. It was locked.
“I’ll bet a cent stolen tires are stored in that room!” reasoned Penny. “If only I could get in there!”
Her mind did not dwell long on the problem. A moment later she was alarmed to hear a low murmur of voices. Someone was approaching the storage room from the main part of the garage. Unless she wished to be trapped in the tunnel of boxes, she must abandon the investigation!
Penny started hurriedly toward the opening. Before she could get through the tunnel, the big double doors squeaked open and she heard heavy footsteps in the room. Peering out through a knothole in one of the boxes, she saw Mattie Williams and her partner, Sam. They were arguing and their voices came to her plainly:
“Guess you didn’t look for me back quite so soon, Sam,” Mattie reprimanded her partner. “When I went off in the tow car you figured I’d be gone a long time. Thought it would give you a good chance to tamper with the books!”
“That’s not so, Mattie. I was marking up some expenses like I always do.”
“I’ve been aiming to have a straight talk with you for a long time, Sam,” the woman resumed. “That’s why I asked you to step back here in the storage room. No use having the customers know about our differences.”
“I don’t see what you’ve got to squawk about,” Sam retorted. “Ain’t you made more money since I teamed up with you than you ever did before?”
“Yes.”