Diana just appeared one day and she and Laura seemed to be very close from the outset. Inseparable, I’d say, and as for Edith… Well, Diana was all she could talk about.” “And how was Diana with Edith?” Annie said. Joan Maitland shifted her plump body on the couch, the nylon of her overall squealing on the black leather. “Well that was one of the strangest things. Whenever Diana was here Edith would become quite lucid. They’d be in Edith’s room talking and, from what I overheard, Edith was always calm and rational.” “I don’t suppose you overheard what they were talking about?” Carter said. Joan bridled a little. “I don’t make a habit of eavesdropping on other people’s private conversations.” “I wasn’t suggesting for one moment you do, Joan,” Carter said. “I just wondered if you caught the drift of any of the chats Edith had with Diana. It could be important.” Mollified, Joan Maitland stroked her chin and gave it some thought. “The past mostly,”
