CHAPTER 3 A JADE GREEN CHARM
Sitting up in bed, Penny gazed about the room. Mrs. Deline was not there and her clothes were gone from the chair where they had been placed earlier that night.
“Queer,” mused the girl.
Jumping out of bed, she darted to the door. Though it had been carefully locked a few hours before, the latch now was off.
Thoroughly puzzled, Penny switched on a light and glanced carefully about. Mrs. Deline’s suitcase remained in the closet, but coat and hat were missing. And then Penny made an even more disturbing discovery. The car keys were gone from the dresser!
“Why, I know I put those keys on the bureau just before I went to bed!” she told herself in dismay. “Now I wonder if that woman—” Ashamed of her thoughts, she muttered: “Guess I am a suspicious brat!”
Deeply mystified, she moved quickly to the window overlooking the parking lot and filling station. It was reassuring to see the Parker automobile standing where her father had left it earlier that night. But as she stood staring down into the dark, deserted yard, she was startled to observe a shadowy figure rounding a corner of the hotel.
“Mrs. Deline!” she recognized the woman.
Penny waited only long enough to see that the widow was walking straight toward the Parker sedan.
“She intends to steal it!” thought the girl. “Why else would she take the keys?”
Snatching dress and coat from a chair, Penny scrambled into them without taking time to remove her pajamas. She tucked up the unsightly legs of the garment and put on her shoes. Thus clad she ran downstairs through the semi-dark lobby to the side exit of the hotel.
As she reached the outside door, she heard the blast of an automobile engine.
“That’s our car!” Penny thought, recognizing the sound of the running motor. “She’ll get away before I can stop her!”
The engine, evidently cold, sputtered a moment, then died.
Hopeful that she might still get there in time, Penny raced across the parking lot. Reaching the car just as it started to move backwards, she jerked open the door.
“Mrs. Deline!” she cried.
Startled, the woman released the clutch so suddenly that the motor died again.
“Where are you taking our car?” Penny demanded, sliding into the seat beside the widow.
The girl’s unexpected arrival seemed to completely unnerve Mrs. Deline. She lost composure, but only for an instant. Lighting a cigarette, she gazed at Penny with cold disdain.
“I had intended to go for a little ride,” she replied. “Any objections?”
The question placed Penny on the defensive. “You shouldn’t have taken the car without asking Dad,” she said stiffly. “We barely have enough gasoline to reach Sunset Beach.”
“Oh, I had no thought of going far. I’ll just drive a few miles and come back.”
“At this time of night? It must be nearly two o’clock.”
“I always enjoy night driving. Particularly if I am nervous and unable to sleep. Now run back to bed like a good child.”
Penny did not like the widow’s tone of voice. She liked it less that Mrs. Deline ignored her hint that the car was not to be used. More than ever she was convinced that the woman had intended to steal the automobile.
“I’m sorry,” she said firmly. “I must ask you not to take the car without Dad’s permission.”
“Well!” Mrs. Deline exclaimed indignantly. “You expect me to rap on your father’s door at this time of night to ask if I may use the car!”
“I don’t see why you need to use the car at all.”
“Oh, you don’t?” Mrs. Deline’s tone was scornful. “Well, let me tell you this! I’ve already given you as much of an explanation as I intend to! I need the car.”
“I thought you said you only intended to go for a little drive—to quiet your nerves,” Penny reminded her.
“That’s what I meant.” Mrs. Deline tossed her cigarette through the open window and stepped on the car starter. “I intend to go too.”
Penny, equally determined, switched off the ignition.
“Why, how dare you!” Mrs. Deline turned furiously upon the girl. “In all my life I never met such a spoiled child.”
“I don’t mean to be rude, but I can’t allow you to take the car.”
Mrs. Deline swung open the door on Penny’s side of the seat. She reached as if to push the girl out of the car.
Just then a man stepped from one of the hotel garages. Obviously he had been listening to the conversation, for he deliberately approached the car.
“Anything wrong here?” he inquired.
Penny recognized one of the night hotel clerks. She began to tell him of the disagreement between herself and Mrs. Deline.
“This child doesn’t know what she’s talking about!” the widow declared irritably. “Mr. Parker doesn’t mind if I use the car.”
“Then please ask him!” Penny challenged.
“Why not allow me to do it for you,” the hotel clerk offered. “Wait here and I’ll call Mr. Parker. He can settle the entire matter.”
“No, don’t bother him,” Mrs. Deline decided suddenly. “I’ve changed my mind anyhow. After such a commotion I wouldn’t enjoy a ride.”
“In any case, I’d prefer to call Mr. Parker,” said the hotel man.
“Do,” urged Penny in deep satisfaction. “We’ll wait here.”
“I’m going back to bed,” Mrs. Deline announced, getting out of the car.
She followed the hotel clerk into the building. Left in possession of the car, Penny reparked it and locked the doors. Then, feeling a trifle uneasy, she sauntered into the hotel.
The lobby was deserted. Penny climbed the stairs, and in the hallway leading to her room, met her father and the hotel clerk. Summoned from bed, Mr. Parker garbed in dressing gown and slippers, looked more annoyed than alarmed.
“Penny, what is this I hear?” he inquired. “I can’t get the straight of the story.”
Penny drew a deep breath. “Well, it was this way, Dad. I awakened and discovered that Mrs. Deline had disappeared with the car keys.”
“Mrs. Deline!”
“Yes, I think she meant to steal the car. But she explained that she only intended to borrow it for a night ride.”
“Anything wrong about that?”
Penny regarded her father in blank amazement.
“Why, Dad, would you borrow another person’s car without asking?”
“No, but Mrs. Deline probably didn’t stop to consider the matter. No doubt she was too thoughtful to awaken you.”
“Thoughtful, my left eye! Dad, I’m sure Mrs. Deline meant to steal the car. Either that or she had a very important appointment—a meeting with someone she wasn’t willing to tell us about.”
“Nonsense!” Mr. Parker exclaimed impatiently. “Penny, you made a serious mistake in refusing to allow Mrs. Deline to use the car. She is our guest and I’m afraid you were rude.”
“But Dad—”
“You must apologize to her at once.”
Penny did not answer for a moment. She bent to tie her flapping shoe strings and took her time at the task. When she straightened, she said quietly:
“All right, Dad. If you say so, I’ll apologize. But I don’t think I was wrong.”
“We’ll not discuss it now, Penny. Suppose you turn the car keys over to me and go to your room.”
Penny gave up the keys and without another word went down the hall. Tears stung her eyes, but she brushed them away. She knew she had been unpleasant to Mrs. Deline. Nevertheless, she felt that her father had not been entirely just in his attitude.
Entering the bedroom, she hesitated before turning on the light. Mrs. Deline had undressed and was in bed. She ignored the girl.
“I—I guess I made a bad mistake,” Penny began awkwardly. “I shouldn’t have been so rude.”
Mrs. Deline rolled over in bed. Her dark eyes flashed and she made no effort to hide her dislike.
“So you admit it?” she asked. “Well, we will forget the matter. Do not speak of it to me again.”
In silence Penny undressed and hung up her coat and dress. As she prepared to snap out the light, she noticed that Mrs. Deline still wore the jade elephant charm about her neck.
“Aren’t you afraid you’ll break the chain?” she asked before she thought. “You forgot to take it off.”
Mrs. Deline raised herself on an elbow, fairly glaring at Penny.
“Will you kindly worry about your own affairs?” she asked insolently. “I’ve had about all I can take from you in one night.”
“But I didn’t mean anything personal.”
“Good night!” said Mrs. Deline with emphasis.
Penny turned out the light and crept into her own bed. She felt beaten and hurt. It was easy to understand why Mrs. Deline disliked her, but her own attitude was bewildering.
“I distrusted the woman the instant I met her,” she reflected. “Perhaps I had no reason for it at first. Now I’m not so sure.”
Penny rolled over to face the window. Moonlight was flooding into the room. In the diffused light the girl could see Mrs. Deline plainly. The woman had propped herself up in bed and was fingering the jade green elephant charm which hung on its slender chain. Though Penny could not be certain, she thought the lid of the figure lay open and that Mrs. Deline quickly snapped it shut.
“Good night, Mrs. Deline,” she ventured, still trying to make amends.
The widow did not answer. Instead she turned her back and pretended to sleep.
