Coming to a small arching door, she tried the knob.
“Locked!” she muttered in disgust. “One would think this place were a jail!”
Half way around the building Penny found another door which evidently opened into the kitchen. It too was locked.
“I’m out of luck!” she decided, losing heart.
As she turned away intending to return to her car, she noticed a window at shoulder level, opening from a kitchen wall. A ventilator screen had been inserted to permit free circulation of outside air.
Penny carefully studied the window. A crack between the screen and window frame encouraged her to hope that the mesh might be removed.
Obviously, the plan had disadvantages. In removing the screen, she might make too much noise and be detected.
Furthermore, a wide patch of snow separated her from the window. She could not reach the wall without leaving a trail of telltale footprints.
Then an idea flashed into Penny’s mind. How easy it would be to make deceptive prints in the snow merely by walking backwards!
“If Father Benedict discovers my shoetracks, he’ll think someone from inside the building crawled out the window!” she chuckled. “At least I hope he will!”