A blonde girl about twenty-seven with deep-blue eyes, smiling lips, and a slightly upturned nose, sat in a chair the window. She was attired in a silk negligee. Her ankles were crossed on a pillow placed on another chair in front her. She was reading a book with every evidence of enjoyment, but looked up with a start as Bertha entered the room, letting Bertha have the benefit of the large, deep-blue eyes.
“You startled me.”
“I knocked,” Bertha explained.
“I was interested in this detective story. Do you ever read them?”
“Once in a while,” Bertha said.
“I never have until I came to the hospital. I didn’t think I’d ever have the time, but now I’m going to become an ardent fan. I think the detection of crime is the most absorbing, the most interesting thing in the world, don’t you?”
Bertha said, “It’s all in the way you look at it, I guess.”
“Well, do sit down. Tell me what I can do for you.”
Bertha Cool dropped wearily into the cushioned chair over in the corner. “You’re Josephine Dell?”
“Yes.”