books by the bay window.
“These people must never wait on themselves,” Judith groused. “Frankly, I think it’d be awful to live like
that. No wonder they get bored and take drugs. They’d
be better off using a dust mop.”
Renie had replaced the books and was now collecting the tapes and CDs. “Gosh, coz, some of these
recordings are kind of old. Since when do you listen to
heavy metal?”
“I don’t,” Judith responded, brushing crumbs from
the matching sofas. “Half of those tapes and CDs are
Mike’s. He says he’s outgrown most of them, but when
I asked why he doesn’t throw them out or give them
away, he says someday he might want to hear them
again. Of course he doesn’t have room to store them up
at the cabin.” She sounded put-upon.
“He might be able to sell them,” Renie said, glancing at some of the labels. “A few of them are real classics.” She held up a tape. “Remember the Demures?
They had one huge hit, ‘Come Play with Me’—it’s on
this—and then the group fell out of sight.”
“I vaguely remember it,” Judith replied. “Didn’t the
lead singer have an unusual name?”
Renie peered at the tape. “Ramona Pomona. I hope
it wasn’t her real name. The two backup singers
were . . . Hunh.” Her eyes widened.
“What?” Judith inquired, pausing on her way to the
kitchen with an armful of glasses and water bottles.
Renie gave Judith a curious look. “The backups are
Jolene DuBois and Winnie Lou Best. What do you
make of that, coz?”
“I’m not sure,” Judith said slowly. “It may be a coincidence. Is there a picture of the group?”
“Yes,” Renie replied, “but it’s small and not very
good. The girls all have their mouths open—presumably singing—and are waving their arms.”
Judith moved next to Renie and looked over her
cousin’s shoulder. “You’re right. Three dark-skinned
girls with bouffant black hair. Let’s see the liner notes.”
“If you can believe them,” Renie cautioned.
But the information was brief and not very enlightening. “It says,” Judith read after taking the small
folder from Renie, “that Ramona, Jolene, and Winnie
Lou grew up together in Compton, California, and
started singing in their high-school glee club before
forming their own group. They got their first big break
when they were discovered at a high-school dance in
Glendale.
