Part 63 (2/2)

The telephone woke me. I fought my way out of sleep like an underwater swimmer coming up for air. I sat up, blinking and trying to catch my breath. The phone was still ringing and I couldn't figure out what was making that d.a.m.ned sound. Then I caught on and answered it.

It was Chance. 'Just saw the paper,' he said. 'What do you figure? That the same guy as got Kim?'

'Give me a minute,' I said.

'You asleep?'

'I'm awake now.'

'Then you don't know what I'm talkin' about. There was another killing, this time in Queens, some s.e.x-change streetwalker cut to ribbons.'

'I know.'

'How do you know if you been sleeping?'

'I was out there last night.'

'Out there in Queens?'

He sounded impressed. 'Out there on Queens Boulevard,' I told him. 'With a couple of cops. It was the same killer.'

'You sure of that?'

'They didn't have the scientific evidence sorted out when I was there. But yes, I'm sure of it.'

He thought about it. 'Then Kim was just unlucky,' he said. 'Just in the wrong place at the wrong time.'

'Maybe.'

'Just maybe?'

I got my watch from the nightstand. It was almost noon.

'There are elements that don't fit,' I said. 'At least it seems that way to me. A cop last night told me my problem is I'm too stubborn. I've only got the one case and I don't want to let go of it.'

'So?'

'He could be right, but there are still some things that don't fit. What happened to Kim's ring?'

'What ring?'

'She had a ring with a green stone.'

'Ring,' he said, and thought about it. 'Was it Kim had that ring? I guess it was.'

'What happened to it?'

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