Penny was dumbfounded. “You mean—” she stammered, “You mean that Dad’s been acting a part? Pretending to admire Mrs. Deline while actually he didn’t?”
“Something like that. You see, your Dad became interested in the outlaw radio station and the men who operate it. By making inquiries before he left Riverview, he obtained information that made him think Mrs. Deline might be involved in some way. He knew she never had been in China but spent many years in Japan. He learned also that instead of being a newspaper correspondent, she had carried on secret work for various governments.”
“Dad knew all that! And he never let on to me!”
“He couldn’t very well, Penny. If you had guessed the truth, you’d have given it away by your manner—no matter how much you tried to act natural.”
“What a little nit-wit I’ve been!”
“You have not,” Jerry denied warmly. “Anyone else would have acted the same. Without knowing it, you helped your father a lot. You turned up evidence he never could have obtained alone.”
“Where do you fit into the picture, Jerry? Did Dad send for you?”
“You don’t send for anyone in the Army,” Jerry explained, grinning. “By pure luck I was assigned here on a special mission. Your father learned I was coming, so we united forces.”
“Then you’ve both known from the first about Mrs. Deline?”
“We’ve had a dark brown suspicion, Penny. But no proof until tonight.”