paused. “I think.”
“You think?” Now Renie sounded annoyed. “We
could share a room. We could encourage each other’s
recovery. We could make fun of the hospital staff and
the other patients. We could have some laughs.”
“Yes, yes, of course,” Judith said as she closed the
6
Mary Daheim
oven door. “It’s just that . . . Have you seen tonight’s
paper?”
“Ours hasn’t come yet,” Renie replied. “You know
we always have a later delivery on this side of Heraldsgate Hill.”
“Well,” Judith began, then caught Joe’s warning
glance. “It’s nothing, really. You can see for yourself
when the paper comes.”
“Coz.” Renie sounded stern. “Tell me now or I’ll
have to hit you with my good arm. You can’t run away
from me, remember?”
Judith sighed. “There’s been another unexpected
death at Good Cheer Hospital. Joan Fremont, the actress.”
“Joan Fremont!” Renie shrieked. “Oh, no! Wait till I
tell Bill. I think he’s always had a crush on her. What
happened?”
Ignoring Joe’s baleful look, Judith picked up the
front section of the paper and read the story to Renie.
“That’s terrible,” Renie responded in a shocked
voice. “She was so talented. And young. Well—
younger than we are. A little bit, anyway. She’d probably had work done, being an actress.”
“That’s two deaths in three weeks,” Judith noted.
“Joaquin Somosa,” Renie murmured. “Younger still.
Elbow surgery. Supposed to be healed by the All-Star
break.”
“Won’t,” Judith said, suddenly feeling light-headed.
“Dead instead.”
“This is scary,” Renie declared. “Do you suppose we
should ask Dr. Ming and Dr. Alfonso to operate on us
in the privacy of our own automobiles?”
Judith started to respond, but just then the back door
banged open. Gertrude Grover stood in the hallway,
SUTURE SELF
7
leaning on her walker and wearing a very old and
slightly shabby wool coat over her head. Worse yet, Judith saw two of her. Maybe she should have taken only
one Percocet.
“Where’s my supper?” Gertrude demanded, thumping the walker on the floor for emphasis.
Judith spoke into the phone. “Gotta go. Mother’s
here.” She rang off. “I’m heating the rolls,” Judith said
with a feeble smile, trying not to slur her words.
“Mother, you shouldn’t come out in the rain. You’ll
