“Maybe I can induce Dad to go with me!” she thought. “He spends entirely too much time indoors. An outing will do him good!”
At the Star plant in the heart of downtown Riverview, Penny wandered through a nearly deserted editorial room to her father’s office. For a morning paper the hour was early, and few reporters had as yet unhooded their typewriters.
Through the glass door Penny observed that her father had a visitor, a middle-aged, intelligent looking man she had never seen before. She would have slipped away had her father not motioned for her to enter.
“Penny, this is James Ayling, an investigator for the Barnes Mutual Insurance Co.,” he said. “My daughter, Mr. Ayling.”
The visitor arose to grasp the girl’s hand firmly.
“Mr. Ayling is from Boston,” explained the newspaper owner. He turned to the investigator. “Do you mind if I tell my daughter why you are here?”
“Not at all.”
“Mr. Ayling is trying to locate an elderly woman whose family jewels are heavily insured with his company.”
“Mrs. Hawthorne isn’t actually our client,” explained Mr. Ayling. “Originally, old Nathaniel Hawthorne, her late husband, insured a $100,000 star sapphire with us. The policy remains in effect until the gem becomes the possession of a granddaughter, Rhoda.”
“Who has the sapphire now?” asked Penny, slightly puzzled.