The Broken Anchor by Carolyn Keene

Author:Carolyn Keene [Keene, Carolyn]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 0101-01-01T00:00:00+00:00

12. An Unexplained Break-in

“Dad,” she called softly, suddenly aware that she might not be alone in the dim room.

“Find something, Nancy?” her father asked, coming to lean on the desk.

She pointed to the safe, not speaking. He looked at it for a moment, then went to check the main door of the office, which was securely locked. Nancy looked in the small lavatory and the closet that opened off the office, then made a more thorough search of the lobby and dining room before going on to the kitchen.

“What took you so long?” George asked. “Penny and I have breakfast almost under control.”

“Is everything all right out here?” Nancy asked, indicating with her glance that she was talking about the necklace in the freezer.

George caught the warning in Nancy’s gaze. “Everything is fine, why?”

“The safe is open and the desk has been searched,” Nancy answered, her gaze on Penny, hoping that the girl wouldn’t give away the hiding place they’d chosen for the golden medallion. “We don’t know if the people are still in the building or not,” she declared.

“But how could anyone get in?” Penny asked. “The back door was securely locked and so was the front. I checked them this morning.” “Dad is trying to find out now,” Nancy answered. “The doors lock with keys, don’t they? I mean, you can’t just push a button to lock them from the inside.”

Penny patted her shorts pocket. “I’ve got the resort set right here.”

“How did you get in when you got here?” George asked.

Penny looked startled for a moment, then shook her head. “I was so upset, I didn’t even think about it,” she began. “It was unlocked. The keys were hanging on the nail over there.” She indicated the small key board which held several other keys with tags saying that they unlocked the generator building and the cabins that were scattered in the trees and bushes.

“You mean your grandparents just went off and left the place unlocked?” Nancy asked.

“Well, at the time I just thought maybe they had gone out fishing. With no one else on the island, locking up doesn’t seem too important.”

“But if the doors were locked last night and neither one was forced, how did anyone open the safe?” George asked.

“They forced it,” Carson Drew answered from the doorway. “As Penny said, it wasn’t too difficult, though I’m surprised they were able to do it without waking any of us. They must have had keys. The windows and glass doors are all still locked and there’s no sign of anyone having forced the door locks that I can see.” He moved to inspect the outside of the kitchen door.

“But how could they have keys?” George asked.

“Who does have keys to this building, Penny?” Nancy asked. “Besides your grandparents, I mean.”

Penny shrugged. “I have no idea,” she admitted. “I suppose some of the staff have their own keys, but I wouldn’t know which ones.”

Nancy sighed. “Well, let’s get breakfast. Then we can go out and search the village.

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