Free Elaine Orr - Jolie Gentil 03 - When the Carny Comes to Town by Elaine Orr Page A

shake.  The dogs were at her feet as she rinsed the breakfast dishes.  She never lets them be in the way.  I wondered who was getting the most comfort from the deal.
    “I forgot to tell you, Sgt. Morehouse has warned the hospital staff about Penny,” I said.
    All she said was, “Good to know,” so I blew her a kiss and headed out.
    The air was crisp for a morning in May, and I breathed in deeply, catching the scent of the ocean for a couple of seconds.  As I unlocked the car door I glanced back at the house.  Penny was in an upstairs window, staring down at me.
    “Creepy woman,” I muttered, starting the car. 
    It was just a little after seven-thirty, not quite what passes for morning rush hour in Ocean Alley.  As I turned onto D street to head to the hospital I saw a dark blue Ford Taurus sitting on a side street, one block down from the Cozy Corner.  As I got closer, the window came down and a hand waved.  Instead of continuing on down D Street I turned and pulled up next to it.
    “Hey Jolie,” Dana said.
    I put down my window.  “I heard you were a Good Samaritan yesterday,” I said.
    “Hardly.  Listen,” she paused as if thinking, “I’m supposed to let Lt. Tortino or Sgt. Morehouse know when his mother leaves, so Morehouse can go talk to Madge.”
    “Can’t he just call?”
    “Doesn’t want Penny to know he’s filling you guys in.  We found out what part of “upstate New York” Penny was in for the last couple years.”
    “Uh, okay…”
    “A medium correctional facility in Bedford Hills.  She was serving a five-year sentence for home burglaries, a boatload of check kiting, and other variations of identity theft.  Got out early because there’s so much overcrowding.”
    “Damn it!”  I hit the steering wheel with both hands.  “Scoobie doesn’t need this.”
    “No,” she said in a very matter-of-fact tone, “he doesn’t.  If she’s just here to see him and move on we’ll leave her alone, as long as she behaves.  Doubt she will.”
    My shoulders relaxed.  “This might be the first time Scoobie’ll be happy about police activity.”
    “She drinking yet today?” Dana asked.
    “Not that I know of.  And Aunt Madge gave her coffee.”
    “Great.  A wide-awake drunk.”  Dana raised her car window.
     
    AS I PULLED INTO the hospital parking lot I thought about how to deal with Penny if she made it to the hospital.  She did come when she heard Scoobie was hurt.  I decided to tell the nurses we should only do only five or ten-minute visits.  I was pretty sure I’d heard somewhere that people in comas later say they were aware of people talking.  I didn’t want Scoobie to have to listen to Penny very much. 
    The nursing staff sympathized, but said they couldn’t treat her differently than they treated Ramona and me.
    “But he hasn’t seen her in years, for good reasons,” I said.
    Nurse Ratched was having none of it.  I glanced at her name badge.  I’d thought of her only as the rigid bitch.  “Listen, Susan, I heard Sgt. Morehouse talked to you guys about Penny.  She, uh, has a lot of problems.”
    We were standing at the nurses’ station just outside of Scoobie’s small room.  She was on the opposite side of the counter and I felt like a kid looking across the teacher’s desk. 
    “I am aware of her issues…”
    There was a remarkably loud belch behind us.  Nurse Ratched froze mid-sentence, staring behind me.  I turned. 
    Today Penny had on skin-tight white pants that left no doubts about her panty lines.  There’s a reason people shouldn’t wear white until after Memorial Day.  I shouldn’t have to look at this for another two weeks.
    “Penny,” I said, “this is Nurse Ra.. . Susan.  She’s been with Scoobie a lot.”
    “Hmm.”  Penny looked at both of us for a couple seconds.  “Well, where the hell is he?”
    “I’ve got this,” I said to Susan and a couple other staff who were busily doing something and listening to every