“There’s so much you don’t know, that you don’t need
to know . . . Except,” she went on, suddenly looking
panicked, “if Joe’s in real danger. Can you go upstairs
and stay with him?”
Mike was clearly perplexed. “Isn’t that Officer
Boxx’s job?”
“Officer Boxx may have to go to the bathroom, get
some lunch, whatever,” Judith said, still speaking rapidly. “I want you to go up to the fourth floor now and
make sure Joe is okay. Will you do that?”
“Sure.” Mike stood up and gave his mother an offcenter smile. “Why wouldn’t I? After all, he’s—”
Corinne Appleby entered the room, looking harried.
“Sorry about the shower,” she said to Judith, then noticed Mike. “Oh—I didn’t realize you had company.”
“I’m just leaving,” Mike said with a wave for Judith.
“Relax, Mom. I’ve got it under control.”
Corinne’s gaze followed Mike out of the room. “Is
that your son?”
“Yes,” Judith said. “He’s a forest ranger.”
SUTURE SELF
289
“He’s a nice-looking young man,” the nurse remarked. “I admire the color of his hair.” Corinne
twirled one of her own red locks. “He must get it from
his father.”
“Yes,” Judith said in a weak voice.
emphatically the second time. “He gets his red hair
from his father, Joe.” Judith shot a quick, exultant
glance at Renie. “There,” she murmured as Corinne
left the room, “I said it.”
“So you did,” Renie nodded with a smile. “But how
does Corinne know about Joe’s hair?”
Judith sucked in a startled breath. “You’re right—
when did she see Joe? More to the point,
see Joe? There may be a logical explanation, but my
logic seems to have stalled since the surgery.”
“Which means you can’t figure out why Jim Randall
is across the hall,” Renie noted as she got out of bed.
“I’m going to take a peek.”
It was a temptation for Judith to join her cousin, but
she decided it would take too long to get into the
wheelchair by herself. Almost five minutes passed before Renie returned.
“I was getting worried about you,” Judith said.
“What’s up with Jim Randall?”
“That’s what I was finding out,” Renie replied, looking a bit rattled. “That helicopter—it was for Jim,
bringing him new corneas for a transplant.”
“Oh!” Judith was astounded. “But . . . that’s wonderful!”
“For him,” Renie replied, sitting down in the wheelchair. “I guess you don’t have to be stone blind to receive a transplant.”
“What happened to Mr. Mummy?” Judith asked.
“Did they move him to another room?”
290
