“I hardly know where to start to make you understand why I’ve been so secret about it.”
“The place to start is at the beginning. I suppose all this has happened since you came home from college.”
“Yes, of course. In fact the very day I decided to go into Canteen work.” Then she told him of her experience in the launch when she had introduced Hazel and Lieutenant Cary. “That was the first hint I had that something was wrong somewhere. Brad was with me, and in on it from the very beginning.”
“So you’ve been suspicious of Lieutenant Cary since then. Has anything else occurred to justify such suspicions?” asked Mr. Carter, viewing his daughter’s confession more seriously now.
“Oh, lots of things—that is with people also closely associated with him.” Then she told about Punaro and her belief that he was connected with the cannery fire, and later their coming unexpectedly upon him at the dock. “It looked to both Brad and me that he was hiding a tightly nailed box with the rubbish on the barge.”
“Um-m,” grunted her father significantly.
“Dad, that’s why I wanted to go out to the dump pile and see what the situation was for myself.”
Her father had risen and was now pacing the floor. He turned toward her sharply and said, “Surely you didn’t go ashore there?”
“Oh, no, we only rode by it.”
“Then Billy didn’t get the germ from that dump—or there was no greater chance of his getting it there than anywhere else. But the foolish thing, Kitty, was you two going alone. You might have taken Brad with you as long as you had discussed these things with him.”