“He’d know how to do it,” Renie said.
“True. Still . . . I like Blanche as a suspect. She’s
such a self-serving pain.”
“Why would she sabotage her own husband’s hospital?” asked Renie.
“Maybe she doesn’t like her husband,” Judith suggested.
“Maybe Sister Jacqueline doesn’t like either of
them,” Renie said.
“Are you considering a nun as a suspect?” Judith
asked, aghast.
“Well . . . nuns are human. Maybe it’s for the greater
good. You know, all those moral theology questions. Is
it a sin for a father to steal medicine to save his child’s
life? Et cetera.”
“Don’t go Jesuitical on me,” Judith cautioned.
“Okay, I’ll admit you have a point. We can’t rule anyone out.”
“What about the victims’ nearest and dearest?”
Renie inquired. “Since when have you not considered
them as prime suspects?”
Judith ran a hand through her short salt-and-pepper
hair. “Since nonpersonal motives seem more obvious.
Hospitals are big-bucks institutions. Not to mention
the power involved in running them. Let’s face it,
we’ve got at least four high-profile people involved—
Dr. Garnett, Dr. Van Boeck, Mrs. Van Boeck, and Sister Jacqueline.”
“Agreed,” said Renie. “But you can’t rule out the
lesser players.” She rolled over as far as she could on
her right side. “Look at it from this point of view—
maybe only one of the three victims needed to die. But
SUTURE SELF
141
in order to throw suspicion off, all three get killed so it
looks like a serial kind of thing. What if a rival player
on the Seafarers team wanted to get rid of Joaquin Somosa? Better yet, a rival actress at Le Repertoire who
felt Joan Fremont was standing in her way? Or something even more basic, such as Margie Randall being
sick and tired of Ramblin’ Robert?”
Judith reflected for a few moments. “All of them
could have some kind of enemies, I suppose. That is,
in a personal and professional sense. The trouble is, we
don’t know much about their private lives.”
“Exactly,” Renie said, lying back on the pillows.
“I’d rule out Addison Kirby, though,” Judith mused.
“I can’t help but think that the killer was the one who
ran him down this afternoon.”
“It could have been an accident,” Renie pointed out.
“Do you really think so?” Judith asked with a frown.
“No. That is, I can’t be sure. People drive like such
nuts these days.” Renie plucked at her blankets. “Not
to mention taking cars that don’t belong to them.”
“I figure that Addison’s on to something,” Judith
