Chase: Roman

silent a moment, and when he did speak he sounded strained, on the verge of a scream. ‘I knew him so well that I didn't need to do any research. He's deserved to die for years.’
        ‘But especially since he discovered what you've been up to.’
        ‘I didn't kill him for personal reasons,’ Judge said. ‘You've got to understand that. He was a sinner, he deserved to die, I did the world a service by it.’ His voice had deteriorated into an emotional garble. He hung up.
        Chase said, ‘Let's try those numbers again.’
        ‘You think he called from home?’
        ‘I think he's beyond taking precautions now.’ He dialled Monroe Cullins’ number. No one answered. Hesitantly, he dialled the number of Richard Linski and listened while it rang six times before it was answered. Chase let the man on the other end say hello half a dozen times, but he did not respond. When Linski broke the connection, Chase hung up.
        ‘Well?’ Glenda asked.
        He said, ‘It's him. Judge's real name is Richard Linski, the well-known physics tutor. We have him.’
        

    Fourteen
        
        Chase carried Glenda's overnight bag into the motel room and placed it at the foot of the double bed. He went back and closed the door, checked to see if the lock worked properly, slid the chain latch in place. The room was small, but clean and comfortable. There was no window in the bathroom, and the only window in the main room was filled by an air-conditioning unit.
        ‘You're safe enough if you stay here,’ he said.
        ‘If I don't?’
        ‘Glenda-’
        She stood by the bathroom door, her hands fisted at her sides, very attractive in her anger. She had been very attractive for more than an hour, because she had been angry at him for that long. ‘I know Linski's address as well as you, and I could get there right on your heels if I called a taxi as soon as you've gone.’
        He went to her and put his hands on her shoulders. She did not resist, though she did not encourage him either. ‘Glenda, you know he's dangerous, that he killed two people and that he threatened to kill us. I've been trained in self-defence, while you haven't. I've had field experience, while you haven't. It's as simple as that.’
        ‘It's even simpler,’ she said. ‘Go to the police.’
        ‘I told you I didn't want to yet.’
        ‘ But why?’
        ‘I have to be sure this is Judge, that I'm not making a mistake somewhere. I wouldn't want to be laughed at again.’
        She seemed to shrink, curling against him in defeat, but she continued to argue in a less strident tone of voice. ‘Ben, you could call him on the telephone and confront him at a distance, couldn't you? You'd know soon enough that way.’
        ‘I have to do this,’ he said.
        Although he was doing his best to try to convince her that his reasoning was sound, he was as unsure of his motives as she was. Everything she had said was true, but none of it helped to alleviate the intense need he felt to see Judge in person and to make the climax of this affair as sharp and sudden as possible.
        ‘If Linski is guilty, his prints would match those on the knife that was used on Michael Karnes. An anonymous tip to the police…’
        ‘I have to do this,’ he repeated when she had run down like an old-time phonograph.
        She leaned all her weight against him then, tired. ‘Okay, okay. But I wish that I could have a least stayed home in my own apartment. Waiting here, in a strange place, makes it all the worse.’
        ‘I've already explained why it has to be this way,’ Chase said, gently massaging the back of her slim neck as he held her against him. ‘He may have been lying when he said he was taking time off for supper and sleep. He may have been hoping to get me out of the apartment long enough to move in on you.’
        ‘But he didn't bother us when we came out, and no one followed us here.’
        ‘Still, I'm not taking chances with you. There's no way for him to know where you are now.’ He kissed her once, only lightly, and broke the embrace. ‘I have to get going if I want to catch him before he leaves home.’
        ‘I'll wait for you,’ she said reluctantly, having finally given in to him.
        ‘You better, or I'll let the Press-Dispatch know you really haven't been sick the past two days.’
        She did not smile at the joke, and he supposed that was