really Mumford Needles?”
“No,” Woody replied, looking faintly amused. “That
was his working alias. Blanche Van Boeck hired him to
316
Mary Daheim
try to solve the murders before Restoration Heartware
changed its mind and decided to withdraw its takeover
attempt.”
“But,” Renie put in, “I thought Blanche actually
sounded sincere when she expressed regret about the
takeover.”
“She probably was,” Woody responded. “But it was
the only way Good Cheer could survive. It was either
that, or turn the place into condominiums. Dr. Garnett
blamed Dr. Van Boeck for the hospital’s problems. That
was probably professional jealousy. Sister Jacqueline
and Van Boeck were fighting an uphill battle, like so
many other chiefs of staff and administrators.”
“So,” Renie murmured, “that’s why Mr. Mummy—
I mean, Harold Abernethy—checked out last night.
The takeover had happened, his job was ended. No
wonder he was so snoopy. But why was he interested
in us?”
“Harold was interested in everybody,” Woody said.
“He probably went through your things to make sure
you were what you appeared to be. Of course we knew
about his investigation, which was why we agreed,
along with county law enforcement, to keep the lid on
everything, including the media. Blanche, Dr. Van
Boeck, Sister Jacqueline, even Dr. Garnett all agreed
that it was the best way to handle the situation. Given
that Good Cheer is the only orthopedic hospital inside
the city, they felt that publicity should be kept to a
minimum. The main fear, aside from the damage to
Good Cheer’s reputation, was that people who really
needed surgery would be put off and possibly cause
themselves serious harm.”
“But,” Judith asked, “did Harold ever learn the
killer’s identity?”
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317
Woody shook his head. “No. He felt like a big failure. He’s been a private detective for over thirty years,
and he insisted that he’d never come across such a baffling crime.”
Joe shot Judith a rueful look. “The cunning killer
never dreamed he’d come across my dear wife.”
“Now, Joe . . .” Judith began, then turned to Woody.
“What are you going to do about Jim Randall? I know
he’s probably not in any condition to be arrested right
now, but later when he . . .”
Woody was looking remorseful. “Judith, I’m sorry.
