the corner again, she slipped inside.”
“Hunh. That
awake.
Renie sat down on the end of Judith’s bed, where
she could keep an eye on the hall. “I think there’s
something peculiar about Mr. Mummy.”
“I agree,” Judith said. “He’s very vague about his
family and where he lives. I can’t think of any reason
why, with a broken leg, his doctor would send him all
the way into the city to recuperate. It seems downright
fishy.”
After offering the leftovers to Judith, who insisted
she was still full, Renie was gnawing on a chicken
wing when the workman returned.
“So Clarabelle’s acting up tonight, is she?” The
workman chuckled. “Temperamental, that’s our Clarabelle. But then so’s Jo-Jo and Winnie and Dino.”
“Those would be radiators?” Renie asked. “You
name them?”
“Yep.” The workman, who Judith had noticed bore
the name of Curly embroidered on his overalls, chuckled some more. “After almost twenty years, you get to
know these things pretty well. Every radiator has its
own personality. Come on, Clarabelle, settle down.”
Curly whacked the radiator with a wrench. “Take RinTin-Tin next door. Last night, Rinty acted up something terrible. That football player, Bob Randall,
thought it was funny. He said it sounded like his old
Sea Auks coach on a bad Sunday. Too bad he passed
SUTURE SELF
147
on this morning.” Using the wrench, Curly turned
something on Clarabelle that let out a big stream of
vapor.
“Mr. Randall seemed all right last night, I take it,”
Judith said.
“What? Oh—yep, he seemed real chipper.” Curly
gave the radiator another whack. “That oughtta do it.”
He grinned at the cousins. “ ’Course, I’d be chipper,
too, if I had a pint of Wild Turkey under the covers.”
“He had booze stashed away?” Renie said in mild
surprise.
“Sure,” Curly replied, adjusting the radiator one last
time. “You’d be surprised what people smuggle in
here.” Renie’s overflowing wastebasket with its telltale
Bubba’s chicken boxes caught his eye. “Then again,
maybe you wouldn’t.”
“Do the patients bring these illicit items in,” Judith
inquired, “or do other people sneak them past the front
door?”
“Both,” Curly answered, moving toward the door.
“A couple of months ago, one guy brought in his barbecue grill. Damned near set the place on fire. Smoke
