Woman From Another Planet | Episode 10

"I'm sorry, Janice. It just slipped."

"What are you going to do, David? If you really believe it was just a

malicious prank."

"Find him, of course. Find him and take off the mask and flatten his face

out so he won't really need a mask to look like a ghoulish monster. That

way we'll be helping each other."

"You may end up in jail."

"It will be worth it. Finding him may not be easy, but there's a good chance I'll get my hands on him if I work at it hard enough. I'm going over to your apartment right now, alone. I want you to stay here until I get back. I'll question the neighbors. Someone may have seen him coming or going. I'lld escribe him and try to locate someone who knows him well, or has seenh im often enough to recognize the description. Then I'll go through theh alls and your apartment with a fine-tooth comb. He may have left a clue toh is identity somewhere about the apartment."

"That seems unlikely, David."

"You never know. Even professional criminals get careless and he isn't a

professional. It's surprising how often intruders leave traces somewhere.

They get careless and drop something, even a slip of paper with a name ora ddress on it. I know a detective lieutenant who's firmly convinced youh ave at least a forty percent chance of tracing a criminal intruder if you'ret horough enough and explore all of the possibilities."

"All right, David, go ahead. I won't try to stop you. Find out all you can. I

think you're wrong. I don't believe it was a prank. I'm sure it was

something stranger and more terrifying, something we can't even begin tou nderstand. But I don't want you to blame me later. Although I really can't ee what good catching him would do."

"You don't? I should think you'd be the first to understand how I feel."

"I can understand how you feel, David. But what good would knocking himd own do? If you're right about its being a prank he's a very sick man.

Actually, you ought to have compassion and want to help him."

"I'm afraid I can't be that objective about it. It's a matter of male pride."

"Well, go ahead, indulge your pride, David. I'm not stopping you...."

The parting shot rankled a little as David stood outside the apartment

building staring down the long length of MacDougal Street, his eyes alert

for a cruising taxi. Simply being angry with her made no sense at all, het old himself. A woman couldn't understand how a man felt when he wasc aught up in an ugly situation that could only be straightened out in onew ay if he wanted to go on living with himself.

Being angry made no sense, but he should have explained to her exactly

what would happen to his integrity if he shrugged the whole matter off and

forgot about it. Emotionally she would never understand, but he shouldh ave made a serious effort to at least straighten her out intellectually andc orrect the impression he'd left with her that he was scientifically moronica nd still living in the Middle Ages as far as mental illness was concerned.

The prankster was quite possibly psychotic, or, at the very least, a

psychopathic personality. But even so, his integrity demanded that he givethe scoundrel at least one sturdy biff in the jaw. After that, he could affordt o feel generous and enlightened and drag the man by the scruff of his neck to the nearest mental institution.

A taxi swung to the curb at last.