Ten minutes, in the front room, door open.”

“Not today.

Sundays are hard on her.”

Vera Loomis, who had known me since my days teaching Vacation Bible School, murmured something to her husband and looked over at me with her mouth turned down.

I picked up my purse again.

“You told a church full of people that she’s dying, and she’s got a locked door and no doctor.”

“You’re doing this here?” Julian said, and looked around the parlor, and the parlor looked back at me.