Judging Time by Leslie Glass Page A

would she even pull it off?" Emma shuddered.
    "Maybe she had help," April said softly. "And Liberty knew where they were. Either could have—"
    "No!" Emma said explosively. "I know Rick couldn't hurt anybody."
    "What kind of marriage did Liberty and his wife have?"
    "Devoted," Emma said firmly.
    "There must have been stresses."
    "Every marriage has stresses," Emma said vaguely.
    "Merrill was a beautiful woman. She must have had admirers. Was her husband jealous?"
    "Rick?" Emma took another bite of nail, ripped it, and winced. A spot of blood appeared at the quick. She dabbed the blood on her handkerchief, staining it. "I don't think so."
    April glanced at Jason. His mask was still on. He wasn't saying. "Are you thinking about it?" she asked Emma.
    "Yes! I'm thinking about it. I just don't think he's the jealous type," Emma said firmly.
    "Not an Othello," April murmured.
    "You've read Shakespeare?" Emma seemed surprised.
    "I saw the movie. How did he seem that night?"
    "Tor?"
    "No, Liberty."
    Emma looked confused. "I didn't see Rick that night. He was in Chicago."
    "What about the phone call?"
    "What phone call?" "He called the restaurant. What was Petersen like?"
    Emma started on the other thumb. "We were drinking a bit. Tor was excited—" She stopped short.
    April guessed the man had come on to Emma that night, not to his date, Merrill, and that might have been the real reason Emma had left the restaurant before dinner was over and missed hearing the phone call. Maybe she kept looking at Jason now because she didn't want him to know something. April wondered what it was.
    "Were Tor and Merrill involved romantically?"
    Emma sighed. "Jason asked me that. I—really don't know. I guess they'd spent more time together recently. I know Merrill held his hand whenever he had marital problems." Emma shook her head.
    And maybe Liberty was tired of the hand-holding. April changed the subject again. "What time did you leave the restaurant?"
    "I don't know. Maybe around midnight. Maybe before." Another check with the watchdog husband.
    Jason shook his head. Al those clocks everywhere, and he didn't know either.
    "Why didn't Petersen send you home in his car?"
    "I don't know. The car wasn't there. I think he sent the driver on some other errand."
    "An errand? What kind of errand?"
    "I don't know. I just know the car wasn't there. Tor mentioned something, but I forgot."
    "How did you get home?"
    "I took a cab. A woman was getting out a few doors down, so I got lucky, I took her cab."
    A surge of dizziness swept over April. "Could I have a glass of water?" she asked faintly.
    Jason got to his feet. "When did you eat last?" he asked.
    "I'm fine," she said. "I just need a little water."
    "I'll get you some juice." He left the room.
    "It's nice to have a doctor around," April murmured. Then she put down her notebook and asked Emma what she really wanted to know.

11
    M el Auschauer glanced at the figure retreating through the kitchen door of Liberty's apartment, then attempted to lean forward in a conspiratorial manner. His anxious eyes darted around the room as if to make sure no one was listening who shouldn't be listening. Then he tried again to sit up and bend in closer to his host. Mel's midlife belly, fed for many years with the very best of Manhattan restaurant offerings both at business lunches and social dinners, had a different plan. It listed to the left, pinning his bulk to the soft down cushions and giving him the distinct appearance of a beached whale. Still, his message was chilling.
    "Rick, have you thought about getting a lawyer?" Mel said softly, darting more glances at each of his other partners.
    Mel and Daniel Rothhaus, the two men with most authority at James Dixon, the brokerage house, sat on the section of white sofa in front of the windows overlooking the Park. Rick Liberty and a third partner, Christopher Richardson, sat on the section that curved into the room. Beside them was a huge Dogon mask with a raffia