“Did you ever hear her talk about Dotty?”

“Dotty?”

“Yesterday someone named Dotty called her house.”

“Dotty…could you mean Dody?”

“Could be. Who’s Dody?”

“Secretary from Sun Valley Pres’s pension-plan department. Business. Every so often she used to call me to verify wages and deductions and stuff like that. She’s a fixture at Sun Valley.”

“Was she a friend of Marie’s?”

“Not that I know.”

“So you don’t know anyone Marie might be friendly with outside the hospital other than her mom?”

“She’s nice to the incoming nurses. Really sweet. Maybe she had another special friend. Someone she took under her wing. Like me. I really don’t know.”

“Anybody specific you have in mind?”

“No. No one.”

“Did Marie ever offer to take care of your baby after it arrived?”

Paula scrunched up her eyes in concentration. “Well, she did say I could stay with her. Like I said, she was nice. But she didn’t get any more specific than that.”

“Did you ever have the feeling that she wanted to raise your baby as her own?”

“No, Detective. She just really wanted to help me. Helping people. That was Marie’s thing. She cared.”

“You’re describing her as such a giving person. Yet you can’t remember any other friends she had.”

“I know it sounds crazy, but I can’t.”

“Never got a picture postcard from someone on vacation?”

“Wait, wait, wait!” Paula’s eyes lit up. “She received a Christmas card. She stood it up on her coffee table, half-open. I noticed it because it was the only Christmas card she had on display. She said it was from an old friend but never said more than that. Gosh, amazing what suddenly hits you. When you said postcard, I remembered Christmas card.”

“Do you know who sent the card?”

“You mean the name? Gosh, I’m just terrible at names.”

“Was it a man or a woman?”

“A woman. I just can’t remember….”

“Think, Paula. Think!”

“It wasn’t a weird name.” She closed her eyes. “I’m sorry. It was a while ago.”

“The card was signed with a first and last name?”

“Yes, it was…I think.”

“And no names come to mind.”

“No. Just that it wasn’t an unusual name.”

“Thanks for your time.” Marge folded her notebook, wondering if Decker’d come across any Christmas cards. “If you think of that name or anything else—”

“I’ll call. Do you have a card?”

Marge handed her a business card. “You can ring me or my partner, Detective Sergeant Peter Decker. I wrote his name next to mine. You can ask for either one.”

“Good thing you wrote it down.” Paula pocketed the card. “Like I told you, I’m terrible with names.”

“We should all be named John Doe, huh?”

“It would help. Or at least Bob—”

Paula stopped talking. Marge asked, “What is it?”