Red Velvet Cupcake Murder (Hannah Swensen, #16)(79)

“Nothing. A nurse will come in to check on her every hour or so. She’s off most of her pain meds and those are delivered by the IV drip anyway.”

“So nobody will be replacing any bags of medication or anything while I’m here?”

“Not until six in the morning. That’s when her day nurse comes on. Do you want me to leave instructions for her to wake you?”

“Yes. That’ll give me time to drive home, catch a quick shower, and go to work.”

“If you can sleep on that cot. It’s not the most comfortable bed in the world.”

“If I don’t, I’ll give Michelle my truck and sleep when I get home. I’ll be fine, Jenny. Don’t waste time worrying about me. I do have a question, though. What do I do if Barbara can’t sleep?”

“If you can’t sleep either, you can play the name game with her. She loves to play that.”

“What is it?”

“It’s a game Dr. Schmidt taught me. She’s testing it with patients who have brain injuries and also with Alzheimer’s patients. The object is to alleviate the anxiety of attempting to remember and simply have fun with silly rhymes and amusing mental pictures.”

“And this game is Dr. Love’s . . . uh . . .” Hannah stopped speaking and mentally kicked herself for using Dr. Schmidt’s radio name. It wasn’t public knowledge that Dr. Schmidt, head of the psychology department at the community college, was the voice behind the Dr. Love advice to the lovelorn show on KCOW radio.

“That’s all right, Hannah. I know she’s Dr. Love. She’s my college advisor and she told me.”

“That’s a relief! I knew I was going to slip up sometime, and I’m glad it happened with someone who already knew. What I meant to ask you was whether Dr. Schmidt’s name game is a kind of mnemonic device.”

“Yes. That’s exactly what it is. And it’s certainly worked well with Barbara. She remembers your name by rhyming it with your banana cookies. When I say, What is the Cookie Lady’s name? She pictures you with a plate of your banana cookies and says, Banana Hannah.”

“How about my mother? Does she remember that her name is Delores?”

“Yes, and we had a terrible time thinking of a rhyme or a mental picture for her. Barbara came up with it herself. She imagines your mother singing with a chorus and says Delores .”

Hannah laughed. “I’m willing to bet that Barbara’s never heard my mother sing! What does she do for her dad?”

“His name is Patrick, but that was a little too difficult. I found out from your mother that all his friends called him Paddy. Barbara takes that literally and imagines him eating a patty melt at the café. Patty sounds like Paddy and she remembers that his full name was Patrick. That seems to be her most difficult name. Sometimes she remembers it, but at other times she tells me she can’t remember her father’s name. There seems to be some sort of mental block. I haven’t figured out what it is yet.”

“Are there any other names I can ask?”

“Yes. Her mother’s name, the sheriff’s name, the detective’s name, and her dentist’s name.”

“She doesn’t call Norman my dentist any longer?”

Jenny shook her head. “She calls him Norman or Dr. Rhodes. She has an image for both names.”

“Hannah? Are you coming back?”

It was Barbara’s voice and Hannah realized she’d been gone long enough to make Barbara nervous. “I’d better go. I’ll let you know how everything goes if we play the name game.”

When Hannah walked into the room, Barbara’s face lit up in a huge smile. “You’re back!” she said. “I’m glad, Hannah. Moishe and I were getting worried.”

“You didn’t have to worry,” Hannah told her. “Jenny was just teaching me how to play the name game with you.”

“Can we play it now? I think Moishe is asleep. He’s snoring.”

Hannah listened for a moment and then she laughed. “He certainly is! He sounds like a buzz saw. Do you remember your dentist’s name?”

“I see him with an umbrella in a rainstorm! Storm! That’s it! Stormin’ Norman!”

“Very good!”

“I just learned that one today. Why did you want to talk about Norman?”

“Because he has a cat named Cuddles.”

“That’s a cute name. Does Moishe know Cuddles?”

“Moishe went to play with Cuddles while Norman and I went out to dinner with Doc Knight and my mother.”

“You mother is in a chorus. That means your mother is Delores!”

“That’s right. Norman and I left Moishe at his house with Cuddles. They played chase.”

“Moishe chases Cuddles? Or Cuddles chases Moishe?”

“Cuddles always initiates the chase, but it goes both ways. It’s a good thing Norman has a big house. They get a lot of exercise.”

“And that’s why Moishe is so tired.” Barbara reached out to stroke Moishe’s back as if in sympathy. “Cuddles is younger, isn’t she?”

“Yes, quite a bit younger.”

“It must be difficult to chase a younger female,” Barbara said, laughing a little. “Those are words to live by, Hannah . . . especially if you’re our mayor.”