Bidding Horney good-bye, she hurried home for her automobile. However, as she drove toward the river cottage she kept thinking about what the old pressman had told her.
“It’s barely possible his theory is right,” she mused. “But why should Mr. Judson submit to blackmail even for his daughter’s sake? Somehow the pieces of the puzzle refuse to fit.”
CHAPTER
14
AN EMPTY BEDROOM
Darkness was inking the sky as Penny drew up at the end of the road. Parking her car between scraggly box-elders, she walked swiftly along the river trail, soon approaching within view of the Parker cottage.
The fallen tree had been sawed into cord wood, the yard cleaned of sticks and debris, and only the damaged porch remained to remind one of the severe storm.
As Penny opened the screen door, Mrs. Weems came from the kitchen.
“Joe is asleep,” she warned in a whisper. “Perhaps we should talk outside.”
Penny nodded and followed the housekeeper to the porch swing.
“How is he doing?” she inquired.
“Oh, much better,” replied Mrs. Weems. “The doctor was here an hour ago. Joe is out of danger but must remain in bed for at least another day.”