Penny let herself into the house again and made her way through the dark living room to the library where a light burned.
“Lorinda—” she began, only to stop short.
For it was not Lorinda who stood with her back toward the door, awkwardly turning the dials of the wall safe. Instead, Celeste whirled around, plainly dismayed by the girl’s unexpected appearance in the doorway.
“Celeste!” Penny said sharply. “What are you doing?”
“Nothing,” the woman muttered, her mouth sullen.
“You were trying to get into that safe! Is it the will you want, or are you after the Zudi drum?”
Penny’s words, shot blindly, struck the target. Celeste’s eyes flashed and she advanced a step toward the girl.
“You go away from here! Never come back!” she ordered harshly.
“Sorry, I’m not taking orders from you, Celeste. Why do you hate Lorinda and Mrs. Rhett? What is your little game?”
Celeste glared at Penny. She drew in her breath and expelled it with a hissing sound through her yellow, crooked teeth. Her hand clutched at an object hidden beneath her uniform and worn around her neck on a dirty cord.