the single page. “No rush.” She formed the words as
emphatically as possible.
Pearson sat down in the visitor’s chair, carefully
reading the questions. He scratched his shaved head
and frowned. Judith handed him a ballpoint pen. With
a quizzical glance, Pearson began to write down his
answers.
1. Were you on duty when any of these persons
died—Joaquin Somosa, Joan Fremont, Bob
Randall?
2. Which ones, if any?
3. If you were, do you recall seeing such items as
a take-out juice cup in Somosa’s room, one or
two plastic Italian soda glasses in Fremont’s
room, and a pint of Wild Turkey in Randall’s
room?
4. If so, what happened to the containers?
SUTURE SELF
297
At the fourth and last question, Pearson looked
flummoxed. He started to give Judith a palms-up signal, but stopped abruptly.
he formed a single word:
Judith wasn’t sure what he meant. “Why do I ask?”
she wrote. Pearson nodded. “Because I’m trying to
help my husband, who has been stabbed.” Pearson
looked bewildered. Judith added another note. “His
stabbing may be connected with the deaths of S, F, and
R.” The orderly grimaced. Judith scribbled another
question.
“What about R’s liquor bottle?”
Pearson shook his head and shrugged.
Judith held up one finger to indicate she had yet another query. “What did Appleby do with the juice and
soda containers?”
Pearson pointed to Judith’s wastebasket, then held up
two fingers.
“Both?” Judith formed the word carefully.
Pearson nodded again.
Judith put out her hand. “Thank you,” she mouthed,
and gave the orderly a grateful smile.
Pearson stood up and smiled back, then nodded at
Renie and left.
“Let’s see those questions,” Renie said, getting out
of bed.
“What do you think?” Judith asked after her cousin
had finished reading.
Renie’s face screwed up in concentration. “Corinne
threw out the containers belonging to Somosa and Fremont. So what?”
