She gave him a warm smile. "That's all right." There was a wistful look on her face. He had seen that look before. Loneliness seeking to break through the barrier that he had unconsciously set up.
If Judd knew that he had a quality that was attractive to women, it was deep in his subconscious. He had never analyzed why. It was more of a handicap than an asset to have his female patients falling in love with him. It sometimes made life very difficult.
He moved past the girl with a friendly nod. He sensed her standing there in the rain, watching as he got into his car and drove away.
He turned the car onto the East River Drive and headed for the Merritt Parkway. An hour and a half later he was on the Connecticut Turnpike. The snow in New York was dirty and slushy, but the same storm had magically transformed the Connecticut landscape into a Currier and Ives picture postcard.
He drove past Westport and Danbury, deliberately forcing his mind to concentrate on the ribbon of road that flashed beneath his wheels and the wintry wonderland that surrounded him. Each time his thoughts reached out to John Hanson, he made himself think of other things. He drove on through the darkness of the Connecticut countryside and hours later, emotionally worn out, finally turned the car around and headed for home.
Mike, the red-faced doorman who usually greeted him with a smile, was preoccupied and distant. Family difficulties, Judd supposed. Usually Judd would chat with him about Mike's teen-age son and married daughters, but Judd did not feel like talking this evening. He asked Mike to have the car sent down to the garage.
"Right, Dr. Stevens." Mike seemed about to add something, then thought better of it.
Judd walked into the building. Ben Katz, the manager, was crossing the lobby. He saw Judd, gave a nervous wave, and hurriedly disappeared into his apartment.
What's the matter with everyone tonight? thought Judd. Or is it just my nerves? He stepped into the elevator.
Eddie, the elevator operator, nodded. "Evening, Dr. Stevens."
"Good evening, Eddie."
Eddie swallowed and looked away self-consciously.
"Is anything wrong?" Judd asked.
Eddie quickly shook his head and kept his eyes averted.
My God, thought Judd. Another candidate for my couch. The building was suddenly full of them.
Eddie opened the elevator door and Judd got out. He started toward his apartment. He didn't hear the elevator door close, so he turned around. Eddie was staring at him. As Judd started to speak, Eddie quickly closed the elevator door. Judd went to his apartment, unlocked the door, and entered.
Every light in the apartment was on. Lieutenant McGreavy was opening a drawer in the living room. Angeli was coming out of the bedroom. Judd felt anger flare in him. "What are you doing in my apartment?"
"Waitin' for you, Dr. Stevens," McGreavy said.
Judd walked over and slammed the drawer shut, narrowly missing McGreavy's fingers. "How did you get in here?"
"We have a search warrant," said Angeli.
Judd stared at him incredulously. "A search warrant? For my apartment?"
"Suppose we ask the questions, Doctor," McGreavy said.
"You don't have to answer them," interjected Angeli, "without benefit of legal counsel. Also, you should know that anything you say can be used as evidence against you."
"Do you want to call a lawyer?" McGreavy asked.
"I don't need a lawyer. I told you that I loaned the raincoat to John Hanson this morning and I didn't see it again until you brought it to my office this afternoon. I couldn't have killed him. I was with patients all day. Miss Roberts can verify that."
McGreavy and Angeli exchanged a silent signal.
"Where did you go after you left your office this afternoon?" Angeli asked.
"To see Mrs. Hanson."
"We know that," McGreavy said. "Afterward."
Judd hesitated. "I drove around."
"Where?"
"I drove up to Connecticut."
"Where did you stop for dinner?" McGreavy asked.
"I didn't. I wasn't hungry."
"So no one saw you?"
Judd thought a moment. "I suppose not."
"Perhaps you stopped for gas somewhere," suggested Angeli.
"No," Judd said. "I didn't. What difference does it make where I went tonight? Hanson was killed this morning."
"Did you go back to your office any time after you left it this afternoon?" McGreavy's voice was casual.
"No," Judd said. "Why?"
"It was broken into."
"What? By whom?"
"We don't know," said McGreavy. "I want you to come down and take a look around. You can tell us if anything is missing."
"Of course," Judd replied. "Who reported it?"
"The night watchman," said Angeli. "Do you keep anything of value in the office, Doctor? Cash? Drugs? Anything like that?"
"Petty cash," Judd said. "No addictive drugs. There was nothing there to steal. It doesn't make any sense."
"Right," McGreavy said. "Let's go."
In the elevator Eddie gave Judd an apologetic look. Judd met his eyes and nodded that he understood.
Surely, Judd thought, the police couldn't suspect him of breaking into his own office. It was as though McGreavy was determined to pin something on him because of his dead partner. But that had been five years ago. Could McGreavy have been brooding all these years, blaming it on the doctor? Waiting for a chance to get him?
There was an unmarked police car a few feet from the entrance. They got in and rode to the office in silence.