“Odd.”
“Yes, it was. For just a minute I thought she might be a girl I picked up on the road the other night in my car. The room was shadowy though, so I got no clear impression of her face.”
“I’d like to meet the girl—also the other members of the cult.”
“So would I! Why not visit there again soon?”
“We might try it tomorrow, say about this same time,” proposed Mr. Ayling. “I don’t plan to remain in Riverview longer than another twenty-four hours unless I obtain a clue to Mrs. Hawthorne’s whereabouts.”
“Maybe Winkey won’t let us in,” commented Penny dubiously.
“We’ll worry about that when the time comes. Perhaps if he makes trouble, we can find ways to persuade him.”
“Shall I pick you up at your hotel?” Penny offered.
“All right,” the investigator agreed. “Meanwhile, I’ll wire my office for photographs of Mrs. Hawthorne and her granddaughter which can be published in your father’s paper. Also, I’ll ask our company to check on Father Benedict’s past. He may be operating a quick money racket here.”
“Then you do distrust him!”