sure. He’s had all sorts of tests. A CAT scan, an MRI,
ultrasounds. Uncle Jim has never been in good health.
He’s just the opposite of my father. They were mirror
twins, you see.”
“Yes,” Judith said. “Your uncle mentioned that. I’d
never heard of it before.”
“It’s fairly unusual,” Nancy said, her eyes drifting
around the room. “Bobby—my brother—and I are
twins, too, but not identical.”
“Yes,” Judith replied, “I can see that.”
“Thank you,” Nancy said, and wandered out of the
room.
“Vague,” Judith thought, “very vague.”
She returned to the family tree, reluctantly omitting
Effie McMonigle. The phone rang as she was trying to
remember Kristin’s mother’s first name.
“Jude-girl,” said Joe, sounding chipper. “We found
Ernest.”
“Ernest?” Judith frowned into the receiver. “Oh! The
snake. Good. Dare I ask where he was?”
“Well . . . Ha-ha!” Joe’s laugh was unnatural. “How
about around your mother’s neck?”
“That’s not funny, Joe,” Judith said in a warning
voice. “Where was this horrible boa constrictor who
should never have been permitted inside the B&B in
the first place?”
Joe’s tone grew serious, if not remorseful. “He was
in the garbage can under the kitchen sink.”
“Oh, dear. Who found him?”
“Arlene,” Joe replied. “This morning, while she was
making French toast for the guests.”
“What . . . did . . . Arlene . . . do?” Judith asked with
trepidation.
SUTURE SELF
163
“She grabbed the snake and turned the clothes basket upside down on him,” Joe explained. “Then she
went back to fixing French toast.”
Judith had a feeling that the story wasn’t over.
“What about Ernest’s owners, the Pettigrews?”
“Well . . . They were worried, of course.” Joe
paused. “But they were waiting for breakfast and I
guess Arlene sort of forgot to tell them about Ernest.
Phyliss Rackley showed up about then, and the first
thing she did was—Hold it.” Joe went away from the
phone, and Judith heard voices in the background. She
could barely make out her husband’s words but she
caught fragments that sounded like “. . . can’t make
it . . . let the medics walk . . . only five blocks . . .
chains? Oh, good.”
“Joe?” Judith called into the phone. “Joe!”
