Sven, confined by tubes and monitors, managed a slight nod.
'All right. Now tell me this word you've been saying over and over,' Hilda said in firm voice. 'Rabbit.'
The nurses, the doctor, and everyone else in the crowded room clearly understood it this time.
'Rabbit?' Hilda asked. 'What does that mean?'
'Rabbit!' he repeated loudly, then closed his eyes again and took a deep breath after this effort.
'Sven, take a nice nap,' his sister said, pressing a freshly ironed handkerchief to her eyes. 'I'll be back soon. You
She looked up at Officer Jones, and he turned her wheelchair around gingerly so as to not run over anybody's feet or some tubing or pull the plug out of some important bit of medical equipment. Mel held the door open and followed them.
'You're a courageous woman, Miss Turner,' Mel said. 'And I suspect you, and only you, can make him recover.'
'Would you like to go down to the lunchroom and have a cup of coffee or tea?' Officer Jones asked Miss Turner.
Her voice was now a bit shaky as she said, 'That would be very kind of you. He looked so awful with all those tubes and beeping machines. But he sat with me in this same hospital when I lost my lower legs. He must have been as worried then about me as I am about him now.'
Officer Jones got her settled and went to fetch flavored but unsweetened tea for Miss Turner and coffee for himself and Mel.
Hilda Turner was getting a better grip on herself and confided in Mel, 'I can hardly believe that I forgot something important. There's a corridor between this hospital and some small apartments for the families of seriously ill patients.
That's where Sven stayed when I was in here. Do you think I could stay there and save Officer Jones the trouble of hauling me here and back home every day?'
Mel said, 'I'll find out.'
'It's not that I can't afford it,' she said with a faint smile.
Mel thought this was a good time to ask what they intended to do with all their money, but couldn't bring himself to do so when she was so worried.
Instead he asked, 'What do you think 'rabbit' means to him? He said it so clearly.'
'I have no idea. There's something tickling the back of my mind, but I can't quite grasp it.'
'You'll let me know when you do, won't you?'
'It's probably something really trivial. I will tell you, if I can figure out why he'd say it. And, Detective, when you contact the manager of those apartments, would you explain I need one with bars to hold on to in the bathroom?'
When Officer Jones returned, carefully carrying their drinks on a flimsy tray, Mel explained what they'd been talking about while he was gone.
'Apartments for families? Who would have guessed? But I don't mind driving you every day, Miss Turner, if Detective VanDyne approves it. And my aunt, as I told you, never wants to drive it again.'
'I can't put you to all that trouble,' she said, once more becoming the big sister and bossy. 'But I will have to be taken home and ask my neighbor to pack my clothing and medicines — if Detective VanDyne can get me an apartment.'
'I'll use whatever clout it takes to see that you have one,' Mel said.
'I could do your packing,' Officer Jones said. She said, almost sounding girlish, 'You? Pack?
ing up my underwear? I don't think so.' Officer Jones turned slightly pink. 'Oh.'
After Mel had reserved an apartment adjoining the hospital that met Miss Turner's needs and Officer Jones had her on her way home to be helped to pack by her neighbor, Mel returned to his office to start over with his stacks of paperwork that both the death of Denny and the attack on Sven had generated. He'd already put what he'd gone through in three piles on the counter behind his desk.
The first pile was papers that were entirely irrelevant. This was the smallest pile. The second consisted of documents and copies of interviews that he suspected might not be worthwhile, but which he'd go through again. Papers that he believed might contain the key to either or both of the crimes made up the largest pile. And he still had a big mass of folders and loose papers remaining that would end up in one of the piles.
When he'd made significant headway, he went around the corner and bought a sandwich, chips, and a soda to eat a late lunch at his desk. Then he called Jane.
'Did you learn any more about anything useful at your needlepoint class this morning?'
'Tazz didn't show up, thank goodness. I think I really scared her away.'
'She deserved being scared away.'
'I just wish I could scare Elizabeth away.' 'Who is Elizabeth?'
'One of the other people in the needlepointing class. She's such a snoop. She mentioned to Ms. Bunting that she's seen Ms. Bunting's husband drop her off and wanted to know what he did while she was in class. As if it were any of her business. Ms. Bunting said he was going to the country club where he'd played golf earlier. He'd lost his driver.'
'What driver? He has somebody who drives him around?'
'No, it's an old-fashioned name for a golf club, Ms. Bunting said. Like mashies, wedgies, spoons, lofters, niblicks, and something called deck, that might have been a club or a brand of club. Ms. Bunting wasn't sure which,' Jane said.
'Elizabeth tried to correct her,' Jane went on, 'and tell her that golf clubs had numbers, not names. Ms. Bunting did a royal 'putting down,' saying that the clubs were her husband's father's.
Antiques. Very valuable, and designated by the names they were called when they were made.'
'Sounds like this Elizabeth needs to take a few lessons in etiquette,' Mel said.
'She's Junior League. She's expected to be polite. I guess nobody told her that when she signed up.'
Mel shifted the subject, not much caring about Elizabeth's manners. 'I have a little news for you. Officer Jones took Miss Turner to see her brother, and the visit really perked him up. She did the firm 'big sister' act, telling him to pull himself together. And it started to work.'
'He's fully conscious, then?'
'No, but he opened his eyes for a brief moment and clearly said 'rabbit' so that it was understandable to everyone in the room. Not that it's revealed anything useful. His sister didn't know what he meant by it either. If anyone can bring him out of it, it's his sister. She's a much firmer, more determined woman than I imagined. Does 'rabbit' suggest anything to you?'
'I've never met or even seen the man. How would I know? My only guess, off the top of my head, is that he caught a glimpse of his attacker and only remembered that he had big yellowish teeth.'
Mel laughed. 'That's a big stretch of your imagination, Janey.'
'Well, you asked and it could be true. Are you
certain that these two crimes were done by the same person?'
'Not certain. But my gut instinct tells me they probably were. I just wanted to check in with you. Now I have to wade through the rest of my eighteen pounds of paperwork.'
'Did you really weigh it?' Jane asked with a laugh.
