Penny Nichols Finds a Clue

Penny Nichols is a bright fifteen‑year‑old who lives in a big white house on Hilburn Street with her widowed detective father and a kindly housekeeper. When her allowance disappears just as she’s about to meet her friend for tennis, she treats the missing coins as a “mysterious disappearance” and turns the incident into her first personal case. With her father juggling a serious assignment for an insurance company—tracking a gang of auto thieves—Penny’s playful banter masks a growing curiosity about real‑world crime.

After a heated tennis match where her opponent, Susan Altman, throws down her racket in frustration, Penny’s restless energy drives her toward the very streets she races in her beloved, self‑maintained roadster. The encounter with the insurance case sparks her imagination, and she can’t resist slipping a glance at the files her father has left on his desk. As the afternoon heat rises, Penny’s determination to uncover clues hints at a bigger adventure waiting just beyond the tennis court.