“An experience like this shouldn’t happen to a dog,” muttered Salt. “We’ll find out what’s behind it! Raise the window and in we go.”
Penny tugged at the sill. “Locked,” she reported. “From the inside.”
Disgusted, Salt allowed her to drop lightly to the ground. “Wait until I find a rock,” he instructed. “We’ll get in!”
Penny caught his arm. “No, Salt! We’ve already overstepped our rights. We mustn’t damage the Rhett property.”
“Well, someone is making a monkey of us,” the photographer grumbled. “It burns me up!”
“There’s more to it than meets the eyes, Salt. Even the atmosphere of this place is sinister.”
“You say that, and yet you’re willing to turn your back on an unsolved mystery? How times have changed!”
“Well—” Penny wavered, for it was true she loved mystery and adventure. But she finished in a firm voice: “We were sent here to get a story and picture for the Star! We’ll miss the Green Streak edition if we don’t get back to the office pronto.”
She thrust her wrist watch beneath Salt’s nose. He looked at the moving hands and muttered: “Jeepers! We’ve got just thirty-five minutes to catch our deadline! Let’s go!”
Hurriedly, they went up the path toward the mansion and the road. As they approached the house, the rear door swung open and Lorinda came out on the flagstone terrace.