“It seemed odd she called us just at the moment she did—particularly when your mother had not suffered a relapse.”
Lorinda did not appear to hear Penny’s remark. Half doubting that the paper could be missing, she searched on the floor near the safe, under the window and in every corner of the room.
“I suspect someone deliberately stole that will!” Penny said with conviction. “Wait here! I may be able to learn more about it!”
Hastening outdoors, she gazed about the grounds. No one was in sight. She went directly to the press car. The automobile was deserted.
“Now what became of Jerry?” she asked herself impatiently. “Just when I need him!”
Disappointed, she turned toward the house again. Then she saw the reporter coming up a dark path from the direction of the beach.
“Jerry!” she called softly.
“Hi, Penny!” he returned. “Ready to go?”
“Oh, no! Everything is in a dreadful mess here. Lorinda’s mother is very sick. She made a will, and Lorinda started to put it in the safe. Then we were called out of the room by the housekeeper, and when we returned, the paper was gone!”
“When did that happen, Penny?”