“Can you blame them? You and your mother withheld facts and discouraged them at every turn.”
“I know.”
“Why did you do it?”
“I thought you understood,” Lorinda answered in a low voice. “Mother and my stepfather quarreled violently on that last day at the bank. She didn’t want the truth to get out, so she tried to keep from answering questions.”
“Then your stepfather disappeared as a result of the quarrel?”
“I don’t know. It is a possibility.”
“You believe your stepfather may have stolen the bonds?”
“Oh, no! Never! He may have had them on his person when he went away or was spirited off, but I am sure he is no thief!”
Shutters were flapping in the wind. The porch furniture had not been brought into the house, and through the window, Penny saw that many loose, breakable objects remained in the garden. Abruptly changing the subject, she said:
“Lorinda, the storm is getting worse every minute. Can’t we bring in the porch furniture?”