was a cop outside the room. Officer Boxx, I think his
name was.”
“Woody!” Judith grinned. “That must have been his
doing, thank goodness. But Officer Boxx let you in
when you identified yourself?”
“Not at first,” Mike replied. “I had to prove we were
related, and having different last names didn’t help, so
I—”
Torchy Magee appeared in the doorway. “Mrs.
Jones? I got a crazy question for you.” He glanced at
Judith and Mike. “Sorry to interrupt.”
“What kind of crazy question?” Renie asked.
Torchy laughed. “I know Jones is a real common
name, but all the same . . . This sounds stupid, but . . .”
“But what?” Renie was impatient.
“We’ve been clearing off the cars in the parking lot
this morning,” Torchy explained. “We can’t get into
most of them, so we don’t know who they all belong
to. But this one car, a beige Toyota Camry, had a work
286
Mary Daheim
order from the dealership on the front seat that had the
name Jones, William on it. Any relation?”
Renie was speechless.
After Renie got her keys out of her suitcase, she insisted that Torchy Magee take her to the parking lot.
The security man wasn’t happy with the idea.
“I want to make sure it’s our car,” Renie insisted.
“Too risky,” Torchy argued. “The lot’s real slippery.
You might fall and hurt yourself. Let me take the keys.
I can check the registration.”
“But is Cammy okay?” Renie demanded.
Torchy looked puzzled. “Cammy?”
“That’s what we call our car, dammit,” Renie
barked. “Has Cammy suffered any damage?”
“Not that I can see,” Torchy replied, bemused.
“Come on, let me go check and save you a nasty accident.”
Renie relented. As soon as Torchy had left, she went
to the phone and called Bill. Judith and Mike kept
quiet while Renie spoke with one of her children.
“What do you mean, Anne? Your father went
There was a long silence, then Renie shook her
head. “I don’t believe it. He’ll freeze. He’ll wear
himself out. It must be four or five miles from our
house to the hospital.” She paused, apparently for
Anne to reply. “Okay, I’ll try not to have a nervous
breakdown. Thanks, and let me know if you hear
from your father.”
Replacing the receiver, Renie stared at Judith and
