guess?” She nodded in the direction of the door behind
Judith.
“It’s been interesting,” Judith said, edging around
the corner to the hallway, “but I’m pushing my luck.
I’ve been eavesdropping for over five minutes, and the
waiters are bound to reappear.”
“Care to join us?” Renie asked.
Judith grimaced. “I think I should go home. Mother
must be famished. I’ll call a cab.”
“You don’t have to,” Renie said, piling linen napkins over her arm. “Bill drove your Subaru to Capri’s.
Just get the keys from the valet.”
“Do I need the parking ticket?” Judith asked.
Renie shook her head as they approached the top
of the winding staircase. “Tell them you’re Mrs.
Jones. And by the way,” she said with a quizzical expression, “is there anything I should know about what
you discovered while you were lurking outside that
door?”
“Not now,” Judith said, “but I’ve got quite a bit of
information to sort out. Maybe I’ll have made some
sense of it by the time I talk to you later this evening.”
“Sounds good,” Renie said, heading for the private
dining room. “Time to rejoin the stuffed animals.”
Judith smiled at her cousin. But she was thinking
less about the stuffed animals at the Joneses’ table than
about the wild ones at the Smiths’.
She got as far as a block away from Capri’s when
she had another, possibly impractical idea. Instead of
going up Heraldsgate Hill, she took a left and swung
back onto the main thoroughfare through the city. Just
before reaching downtown, Judith took another left
and pointed the Subaru toward the hospital district. In
less than ten minutes, she was in the parking garage of
Norway General.
Angela La Belle would no doubt be listed under an
assumed name. Judith knew she’d have to think of a
really good fib to tell the person behind the reception
desk. Her role as Angela’s innkeeper probably
wouldn’t cut any ice with the staff.
Inside the main doors, she checked the directory.
Not ICU, Judith figured. Angela had been taken to the
hospital several hours ago and was reportedly on the
mend. She’d be in a private ward, of course. But under
what medical heading? Not yet ready to show her
hand, Judith approached the main desk and asked
where emergency patients were taken after they were
out of danger.
