dumping items onto the bed.
“I’m looking for something bigger than my little
notebook to start putting together the family tree. I
don’t suppose—you being an artist and all—you’d
have any drawing paper with you?”
“I do, actually,” Renie replied, going to the coat
closet. “I’ve got a pad tucked away in the side of my
suitcase. Hang on.”
A moment later, Renie produced the drawing pad,
but wore a puzzled expression. “That’s odd. I could
have sworn I closed this suitcase. I mean, I know I did,
or the lid would have opened and everything would’ve
fallen out.”
“Has somebody been snooping?” Judith asked in apprehension.
Renie was going through the small suitcase. “I guess
so. My makeup bag’s unzipped. I always close it when
I’m finished.” She turned around to stare at Judith.
“Who? When? Why?”
Judith gave a faint shake of her head. “While we
were asleep, I suppose. That’s when. But who and why
are blanks I can’t fill in.”
“Nothing’s been taken,” Renie said, going through
the few belongings she’d brought along. “Of course
there’s always the problem of thievery in a hospital.
None of them are sacred.”
SUTURE SELF
155
Judith agreed. “Some people, especially borderline
poverty types, can’t resist temptation.”
“How about just plain crooks?” Renie said, now
angry. She slammed the lid shut and closed the clasps
with a sharp snap. “I suppose that’s who it was. It’s a
damned good thing I didn’t have anything valuable in
there except for a twenty-five-dollar lipstick that the
would-be thief probably figured was from Woolworth’s. Let me check your train case.”
“I locked it,” Judith said. “It’s just a habit. I used to
hide any extra money I earned from tips at the Meat &
Mingle in there. If I hadn’t, Dan would have spent it on
Twinkies and booze.”
Renie checked the train case to make sure. “It looks
okay.” She stood up and handed over the drawing pad.
Judith offered her cousin a grateful smile and then
sighed. “I feel as if I’m about to sign my life away.”
“Put it down on paper and see how it looks,” Renie
suggested, glancing up from the newspaper. “That’s
what I do with my work. If it seems okay, then it’s
right, then it’s Truth.”
“Uh-huh,” Judith responded without enthusiasm.
She started with Mac and a question mark for the baby
to come, then put in Mike and Kristin. Next, she wrote
