The telephone rang. There’s an extension in the kitchen; I sat down at the table in. the breakfast nook and reached for it.

“Is this Duke Warren?” It was a girl’s voice.

“Yes,” I said. “Who’s this?”

“Never mind. I just thought I’d tell you—you won’t get away with it.”

I frowned. “Get away with what?”

“I suppose you think because you own most of the town they won’t do anything. Well, I’ve got news for you.”

Somebody on a telephone jag, I thought, though she didn’t sound drunk. “I’ll tell you, why don’t you call me in the morning?”

“Don’t try to brush me off. You know what I’m talking about. Dan Roberts.”

I’d started to hang up, but caught myself just in time when I heard the name. “Roberts?” I snapped. “What about him?”

“If you had to kill somebody, why not her? You don’t think he was the only one, do you?”

I slammed the receiver down on the cradle and stood up, shaking with rage. When I tried to light a cigarette, I fumbled and dropped it in my drink. In a few minutes I began to get it under control, realizing it was childish to let a thing like that get under my skin. Nobody paid any attention to psychos and creeps. They crawled out of the woodwork every time something happened, spewed up their anonymous telephone calls, and went back. I washed out the glass and rebuilt the drink, tried the cigarette again, and got one alight this time, regretting now that I’d hung up on her. I should have made some effort to find out who she was. The telephone rang again. I went over and picked it up, very coldly this time. But it was probably somebody else; she wouldn’t have the guts to call back.

She did. “Don’t hang up when I’m talking to you. You’re in no position to.”

“No?” I asked. “Why not?” I knew practically everybody in town; maybe if she kept talking I could identify her. The voice was vaguely familiar.

“Maybe you think Scanlon’s a fool? Or afraid of you?”

She didn’t sound particularly bright; nobody who’d known Scanlon as long as an hour could have any illusions as to his being a fool, or that he’d ever been afraid of anything. “Get to the point,” I said. “What about Scanlon?”

“I think he’ll be interested to learn that she’s been going to Dan’s apartment. Of course, she used to live there, so maybe she just forgets she’s moved.”

“You bet he’ll be interested,” I said. “So I’ll tell you what you do. Go down to the sheriff’s office right now and tell him about it.