Blood Pact

Vicki so intense that he could almost feel its impact. Making a quick decision, given that the police were already involved, he pulled out as much of the truth as he thought Fergusson could swallow. "Ms.
    Nelson thought she saw her mother outside the apartment window, two nights ago.”

    "Her dead mother?”

    "That's right.”

    "Walking around?”

    "Yes.”

    "Next thing you're going to tell me," Fergusson growled, "is that her dead mother offed my teenie bopper.”

    "No, but . . .”

    "No buts, Sergeant." His voice clipped off the words. "And I've listened to as much of this crap as I'm going to. Go back to Toronto. Get a life. Both of you.”

    Celluci got the receiver away from his ear just barely fast enough to save his hearing from the force of Fergusson's disconnection.
    He hung up the phone with an equal emphasis. "I knew I shouldn't have let you talk to him.”

    Behind her lenses, Vicki's eyes narrowed. "And you did so much better? What the hell made you tell him about my mother?
    About Dr. Burke?”

    Celluci pushed his way out of the phone booth. She stepped back, giving him just enough room to get by. "This is science, Vicki, not one of the weird supernatural situations your undead buddy has pulled us into over the last year. I thought he could handle it. I thought he should know.”

    "You didn't think we should discuss it first?”

    "You brought it up. 'The cases are connected.' Jesus H. Christ, Vicki, you knew you couldn't support a statement like that.”

    "I didn't notice you supporting your statements with much, Celluci." With an effort, she unclenched her teeth. "I assume he's not going to make the call?”

    Celluci's scowl answered the question. And then some.

    "All right." She hoisted her bag off the sidewalk and threw it onto her shoulder. "I guess we do it the hard way.”

    "You're a lot more philosophical about this than I expected you'd be.”

    "Mike, my recently dead mother has been turned into some kind of grade B movie monster, my…” what word to use? “…friend who also happens to be a vampire is missing, in the daylight, and possibly captured. When I sleep, I have nightmares. When I eat, the food turns to rock and just sits there." She turned to face him and her expression closed around his heart and squeezed. "I find it difficult to give a shit that local police don't see things exactly my way.”

    “You've still got me." It was the best he could offer.

    Her lower lip began to tremble and she caught it savagely between her teeth. Unable to trust her voice, she reached up and pushed the long curl of dark brown hair back off his forehead then turned and strode away from the Administration buildings, heels hitting pavement with such force that they should have imprinted crescent moons into the concrete.

    Celluci watched her for a moment. "You're welcome," he said quietly, his own voice not entirely steady. With a dozen long strides, he caught up and fell into step by her side.

    * * *
    "All right, Catherine, I'm here." Dr. Burke pushed the lab door shut behind her and walked purposefully across the room. "What is it you've found that's so important I had to see it immediately?”

    Catherine came out from behind the computer console and offered a page of printout. "It's not that it's important, precisely, it's more that I don't understand what I've found. If you could just take a look at the results of this blood work.”

    Dr. Burke frowned down at the piece of paper. "Formed elements sixty percent of whole blood, that's high. Plasma proteins, twelve percent, high as well. Organic nutrients . . ." She looked up. "Catherine, what is this?”

    Catherine shook her head. "Read the rest.”

    Although inclined to demand an immediate explanation, respect for the grad student's abilities, manipulating the younger woman's genius had, after all, been a main component of the plan from the beginning, dropped Dr. Burke's gaze back down to the printout. "Ten million red blood cells per cubic millimeter of blood? That's twice human norm." Her brows drew in as she continued. ”If this data on the hemoglobin is correct . . .”

    "It is.”

    "Then just what is this?" Dr. Burke punctuated her questions by shoving the paper back into Catherine's hands. "A replacement for the nutrient solution?”

    "No, although . . ." Her eyes glazed and two spots of color began to come up on pale cheeks.

    Dr. Burke recognized the signs, but she didn't have the time to allow genius to percolate.