CHAPTER 19 _A LOCKED DOOR_
"I was gone a little longer than I meant to be," Jim McCoy apologized ashe came into the room. "Did I keep you waiting?"
"We probably wouldn't have waited if you hadn't locked the door!" Louisesaid sharply.
The keeper's eyebrows lifted and he looked slightly amused. "Locked in?"he echoed.
"Yes, we couldn't get the door open."
"Oh, it sticks sometimes. Been intending to fix it for several days. Ifyou had pushed hard it would have opened."
"We certainly pushed hard enough," Penny said dryly. She was more thanever certain that the lighthouse keeper had unlocked the door only amoment before entering. Clearly, he had meant to prevent Louise and herfrom seeing and hearing what went on in the room above.
"Come along," the keeper invited. "I'll show you the tower."
"No thank you," Penny replied coldly. "We've spent so much time here thatwe'll have to be getting back to the hotel."
"As you like." The keeper shrugged, and looked relieved by the decision.
Jim McCoy stepped away from the door, and the girls hastened down theiron stairway. No one was in sight on the beach. Whoever had visited thelighthouse during the time they were imprisoned, had disappeared.
When they were well down the beach, Louise and Penny slackened theirpace. Glancing back they saw that the keeper of the light still stood onthe tiny iron balcony watching them.
"That man gives me the creeps," Louise remarked. "Did you believe what hesaid about the door sticking?"
"I did not," Penny returned with emphasis. "I think he locked us in onpurpose, probably because he was expecting visitors and didn't want us tosee too much."
"As it turned out we didn't learn a thing."
"We have no proof of anything," Penny admitted slowly. "Nevertheless,we're pretty sure Mrs. Deline visited the tower."
"George Emory too."
"That part is pure guess," Penny said, "so we don't dare consider it tooseriously. Did you ever see Mrs. Deline with George Emory?"
"Why, no. But then, we've not been at the hotel long."
"Let's find Jerry or Dad," Penny said abruptly. "We ought to report tothem."
Returning to the hotel, the girls looked in vain for Mr. Parker. Thepublisher was not in his room nor anywhere in the lobby. Jerry apparentlyhad not returned from Intercept Headquarters.
"There's Mrs. Deline," Louise whispered, jerking her head toward ahigh-backed chair not far from the elevator.
The widow was reading a newspaper. If she saw the girls she paid noattention to them.
"Let's talk to her and see what we can learn," Louise suggested.
Penny had another thought. "No," she vetoed the suggestion. "Mrs. Delinewould be more likely to learn things from us. That woman is clever."
Just then Mrs. Deline arose, picked up her purse, and went out the frontdoor of the hotel. On their way to the elevator. Penny and Louise noticedthat the woman carelessly had left a handkerchief and her room key lyingon the chair.
"I'll turn them in at the desk," Louise said, picking up the articles.
"Wait, Lou!"
Louise glanced at her chum in surprise.
"I have an idea!" Penny revealed, lowering her voice. "Are you game totry something risky?"
"Well, I don't know."
"This chance is tailor-made for us!" Penny went on. "Mrs. Deline simplyhanded her room key over to us. Let's use our opportunity."
"Enter her room?" Louise asked, shocked.
"Why not? FBI agents think nothing of examining the belongings of asuspected person."
"But we're not FBI agents, Penny. I don't want to do it without askingJerry."
"By that time it will be too late. It's now or never."
"Mrs. Deline might catch us in the act."
"That's a chance we'll have to take." Penny, in possession of the roomkey, walked to the front door of the hotel. She was reassured to see thatMrs. Deline had seated herself on a bench some distance from the veranda.
"The coast's clear," Penny reported, coming back to Louise. "What do yousay?"
"Well, I suppose so," Louise consented nervously.
An elevator shot the girls up to the fourth floor. To locate Mrs.Deline's room required but a moment, and the halls fortunately weredeserted. Penny fitted the key into the lock and pushed open the door.
"We'll have to work fast," she said, closing it behind them again.
The room was in perfect order. Only a few toilet articles had been setout on the dresser. Mrs. Deline's suitcase was only half unpacked.
"It looks to me as if the widow is holding herself ready to fly at amoment's notice," Penny commented. "Otherwise, why didn't she unpackeverything?"
"What do you expect to find here?" Louise asked nervously. "Let's get itover with fast, Penny."
"Start with the bureau drawers," Penny instructed. "Search for anypapers, letters or the sort. I'll go through the suitcase."
Carefully the girls began examining Mrs. Deline's personal belongings.Almost at once Louise reported that the bureau contained nothing ofinterest. Penny, however, had more luck. She came upon a pearl-handledrevolver buried beneath a pile of silk underclothing.
"Jeepers!" she whispered, touching the weapon gingerly. "Now will youbelieve me when I say that the widow isn't the sweet little girl she'dhave us believe!"
Louise's eyes had opened wide at sight of the revolver.
"And here's that white suit she wore!" Penny cried, lifting out a foldedgarment from the suitcase. "Look, Lou!"
From the skirt of the suit had been cut a neat, square hole.
"Well, of all things!" Louise exclaimed. "What's the meaning of that?"
"Mrs. Deline wrote something on the skirt--don't you remember? Probablyshe used a pen with invisible ink."
"But why on her skirt, Penny?"
"She'd just been to the lighthouse. Perhaps she learned something thereand she wanted to write it down before she forgot. Possibly she didn'thave any paper. Then when she got back here, she either destroyed themessage, or sent it to someone."
"Well, I don't know," Louise said doubtfully. "It's all so fantastic. Iwouldn't believe a bit of it except for this revolver. Having it doesn'tlook so good."
"And don't forget the green elephant charm," Penny reminded her. "I wishwe could find it here."
"Not a chance. Mrs. Deline always wears it around her neck. She had it ontoday. I noticed."
Time fast was elapsing and the girls were worried lest someone discoverthem in the room. Hastily they replaced everything as they had found it,and relocking the door, stepped out into the hall.
"What's our next move?" Louise asked as they buzzed for a down-goingelevator.
"To tell Jerry and Dad, of course. But before that, there's one thing Iwish we could do, Lou. It would give everything we have to report a moresubstantial basis."
"What's that, Penny?"
"Why don't we get our hands on the jade green elephant? I've a hunch thatit contains something important--perhaps evidence that would crack thecase wide open."
"And just how do you propose that we acquire the charm?" Louise askedsarcastically. "Are we to waylay Mrs. Deline and take it by force?"
"Afraid that wouldn't do."
"There's no other way to get it. Mrs. Deline wears that charm as if itwere her skin. I've never seen her without it."
The elevator was coming down so Penny spoke hurriedly.
"There is a way," she said softly, "if only it will work. Think we couldget Mrs. Deline to go bathing in the surf with us?"
"And ruin that lovely hair-do? Don't be silly."
"All the same, it's worth trying," Penny urged. "Let's go to our room nowand get our bathing suits."
"I don't see any point in it."
"You will," Penny laughed, entering the elevator. "If my little planworks we'll have keen sport and maybe do our country a good turn!"
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