The question caught Judith off guard. “What? No,
I . . . ah . . . I guess I was too focused on my husband’s condition to think of it.”
“You can hardly be blamed for the oversight,” Mr.
Mummy allowed. “You mustn’t fret too much and
make yourself ill. I’m sure Mr. Flynn is getting the best
of care.”
“It’s very kind of you to look in on us,” Judith said,
trying to smile. “We hope you have a good night, too.”
The obvious, if tactful, dismissal seemed to hurt Mr.
Mummy’s feelings. “Really, I didn’t mean to intrude.
Or to upset you. I had no idea that the Mr. Flynn who
was—”
“Forget it,” Renie said with a wave of her hand. “See
you in the morning.”
Mr. Mummy, with a rueful expression on his round
face, nodded and left. Judith turned to Renie. “He was
right about contacting the police. I should have done
that right away. But I’ve been too worried about Joe to
think logically.”
“You probably won’t learn much even if you call,”
Renie pointed out. “Unless, of course, you could talk
to Woody.”
“Woody.” Judith pressed her palms together, as if in
prayer. “Of course. I’ll call him at home.” She reached
for the phone.
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235
Sondra Price answered right away. “Judith?” she
said in surprise. “How are you? How’s Joe? I’ve been
afraid to call the hospital.”
“You know?” Judith asked, giving Renie a high sign.
“Yes,” Sondra replied. “When Woody heard what
happened, he demanded to be assigned to the case. Do
you want to talk to him?”
“Of course,” Judith said. “I’m so relieved that
Woody’s involved.”
“How are you? ” Sondra inquired. “I tried to send
flowers yesterday, but nobody’s delivering until the
streets are clear.”
Judith informed Sondra that she was doing all right.
Sondra, sensing Judith’s urgency, put Woody on the
line.
“I don’t know much,” Joe’s former partner admitted
in his mellow baritone. “Joe had talked to me about
the previous homicides involving homeless people,
but there wasn’t much I could tell him. I hadn’t
worked either of those cases, so all I could do was
look over the reports the other detectives had filed.”
He paused, then his voice turned apologetic. “Joe may
have mentioned that, as a rule, indigent murders don’t
get a high priority. It’s a terrible shame, but with such
a shortage of personnel these days, that’s the way it
is.”
“Were there any leads at all?” Judith asked.
“Not really,” Woody answered. “When the first one
occurred a month or so ago, one of the other homeless
persons told the detectives that he’d seen a guy in a
raincoat hanging around late that evening. Two of the
killings took place at night, you see, when everybody
was asleep. Have you heard anything new on Joe?”
“No,” Judith admitted. “I keep waiting for word. To
236
Mary Daheim
be honest, I’m scared. Someone meant to kill Joe, I’m
convinced. What if they try again? Plus, Renie and I
think someone searched our room last night. It’s occurred to me that we might be in danger, too.”
Woody didn’t answer at once. “Well,” he finally
said, “maybe I can get a patrol officer to watch out for
you folks. Though if Joe was stabbed in a homeless
camp, I doubt very much that his assailant would show
up at the hospital. Whoever it was probably wouldn’t
know where he’d been taken. Not to mention that the
attacker may assume Joe is already . . . ah . . . dead.”
Judith winced at the word, but Woody continued:
“As for you and Serena, I wouldn’t worry too much.
Was anything stolen?”
“No,” Judith admitted.
“Then,” Woody said, “whoever searched your
room—and he or she might have been just a compulsive snoop—did you no harm. It’s doubtful that this
person would come back.”
“You may be right,” Judith allowed, though her concern ebbed only a jot. “I guess it’s just that my anxiety
over Joe makes me more sensitive to potential peril.
The uncertainty about whether Joe will recover may
have addled my brain.”
“Joe’ll be fine,” Woody said, and Judith hoped that
he had a good reason for the confidence in his voice.
“When he comes to, he may be able to give some sort
of description.”
“They said he was stabbed in the back,” Judith said,
having difficulty getting the words out. “I have a feeling he never saw his assailant.”
“That’s possible,” Woody said. “But Joe might have
seen someone suspicious before the attack. I imagine
that the members of FOPP will be very concerned
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237
about this. They wouldn’t have hired Joe if they
weren’t serious about making the homeless camps
safer.”
“It’s a worthy cause,” Judith said, though when it
came to Joe’s welfare, FOPP’s anxieties couldn’t possibly be as serious as her own. “Who are these people,
anyway?”
Woody chuckled faintly. “Are you thinking of suing
them?”
“It crossed my mind,” Judith confessed. “But Joe
took on the job, and thus assumed the liability. I doubt
that we’d have a case.”
“That I can’t say,” Woody responded, his tone
solemn. “But FOPP’s members mean well. And they’re
building political momentum.”
“How is that?” Judith asked, not particularly interested. She suddenly felt as if she should get off the
phone, just in case she was tying up the line and making it impossible for Joe’s caregivers to contact her.
“FOPP’s president is one of the city’s biggest
movers and shakers,” Woody replied. “In fact, you may
know who she is. Does the name Blanche Van Boeck
ring a bell?”
FIFTEEN
“SO,” RENIE SAID after Judith had finished speaking
to Woody Price, “Blanche hired Joe?”
“Blanche or one of her minions,” Judith replied.
“She certainly does have a finger in every pie
around this town.”
“And now she’s going to try to run it,” Renie
mused. “As mayor, I mean.”
“Yes,” Judith said absently, then after a pause
turned to face Renie. “What if some political rival is
trying to discredit Blanche because she’s on the hospital board and her husband is chief of staff?”
“That’s a stretch,” Renie said, still thoughtful.
“On the other hand, if the current administration and
the board are so good at running this place, why
does Good Cheer have to be absorbed by Restoration Heartware?”
“Good point,” Judith responded. “Except that so
many hospitals can’t go it alone these days. Good
Cheer is owned by a religious order. If Dr. Van
Boeck has been ineffective, why not just fire him?”
“Maybe the Sisters of Good Cheer are too kindhearted,” Renie said.
“The Sisters of Good Cheer are very sensible
businesswomen,” Judith asserted. “If they weren’t,
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239
they wouldn’t have been around for so long. It’s not
their fault that medical care in this country has gone
down the drain.”
Dr. Garnett entered the room so quietly that the
cousins didn’t notice him until he was at Judith’s bedside. “Mrs. Flynn?” he said as Judith gave a start. “I’ve