“Who?”
“Remember Fred? He had the bed next to you.”
Mr. Bell frowned. “Jack?”
“No, sweetie. Before Jack. Fred. Fred Mitchiner.”
Silence, then unexpected laughter shook the frail
body. “My cousin.”
“That’s right.” Mrs. Franks beamed. “That was Fred.”
“Where’d he go, anyhow? I ain’t seen him lately.”
Raeford McLamb leaned in close. “When did you last
see him, Mr. Bell? Your cousin Fred?”
“He ain’t really my cousin, you know. Crazy ol’ man.
He’s blacker’n you are.” He paused and looked up at
Mrs. Franks. “Idn’t anybody else gonna eat today?”
Mrs. Franks sighed. “It’s only nine-thirty, sweetie.
Dinner won’t be ready till twelve.”
McLamb sat back in frustration and Dalton pulled his
chair around so that his face was level with Mr. Bell’s.
“Mr. Bell? Tom?”
“Thomas,” Mrs. Franks murmured.
“Thomas? Tell us about the last time you saw Fred.”
The old man stared at him, then reached out with
a shaky hand to cup Dalton’s smooth cheek. Sudden
tears filled his eyes. “Jimmy?” His voice cracked with
199
MARGARET MARON
remembered grief. “Jimmy, boy! They told me you was
dead.”
In the end, Sam Dalton had to help Mr. Bell to his room.
The confused nonagenarian would not let go of his arm
until they persuaded him to lie down on the bed and rest.
Eventually, he calmed down enough to close his eyes and
release his unexpectedly strong grip on Dalton’s arm.
“Who’s Jimmy?” Dalton asked as he walked back
down the hall with Mrs. Franks to rejoin McLamb.
“His son. He got killed in a car wreck when he was
thirty-one. I don’t think Mr. Bell ever got over it.”
Back in the lobby, at the central desk, McLamb was
interviewing Mary Rowe, the LPN who oversaw the
medication schedules. A brisk, middle-aged blonde who
was going gray naturally, Rowe wore a white lab coat
over black slacks and sweater. She shook her head when
told that Mitchiner’s death might not have been as ac-
cidental as they first thought, but she was no more help
than Mr. Bell.
“I’m sorry, Officers, but like I said back when he
walked away, I gave him his meds right after breakfast
and I think I saw him in the lounge a little later, but
there was nothing new on his chart so I didn’t take any
special notice of him.”
