Penny drew a deep breath. Before she could ask another question, her father came hurrying down the hotel corridor.
“Mrs. Deline’s not in her room!” he reported. “She doesn’t answer.”
“She went upstairs only a few minutes ago,” Penny recalled.
“Yes, she did, but she’s not there now.”
“Maybe she’s asleep,” Jerry said, “and failed to hear the ’phone. We’ll have to check.”
Without explaining why the matter was urgent, Mr. Parker arranged with the desk clerk to have one of the hotel maids go to Mrs. Deline’s room. While the trio waited in the upstairs corridor, the woman rapped several times on the bedroom door, and failing to get a response, unlocked it with her master key.
“Mrs. Deline!” she called, softly at first, then in a louder voice.
There was no answer.
The maid then snapped on the light. “Why, there’s no one here!” she cried. “The bed’s not been slept in!”
“That’s what I was afraid of,” muttered Mr. Parker.