The Captain laughed shortly, without shifting his gaze from Cary. “We scarcely dared hope to catch him in the act.”
“I expect we’ll have to give credit for the catching to my daughter,” replied Chief Carter, glancing proudly at Kitty.
“How did you manage it, young lady?” asked the severe-looking Captain.
Kitty thought how terrified she would be to face him at a trial. He had the look of a man whose dealings with law-breakers had soured him on the world.
“I must confess I didn’t do any managing,” Kitty admitted ruefully. “I was sitting here waiting for Dad when in came Lieutenant Cary.”
“Waiting in the dark?” her father asked.
“I turned off the light to watch the storm—see what I could see outside,” Kitty floundered.
“So—he didn’t realize anyone was in here?” asked the officer.
Kitty’s excited breath caught in her throat a moment before she could explain, “He went straight to Dad’s desk with a flashlight, and picked up those order sheets.” She pointed to the papers strewn over the floor. “He stuffed them under his coat.”
“We must have come just as he did that,” surmised her father.