Blood Pact

effort it took to keep from shrieking accusations. "My mother's death had to occur during the four weeks Donald was at the funeral home. Preferably near the end of those four weeks when the Hutchinsons had come to trust him.”

    "Donald was very charming," Dr. Burke agreed, her left hand continuing to work in the jacket.

    "That kind of timing can't be left to chance," Vicki continued, a muscle jumping in her jaw. "You were with her just before she died! You killed her!”

    "You forget that Mrs. Shaw was with her when she died. But, never mind." Dr. Burke held up her hand. "Why don't I just tell you what happened. I gave your mother vitamin shots every morning. You must have read that in Dr. Friedman's records?”

    Vicki nodded, gaze locked on the other woman's face.

    "These shots, they couldn't actually do anything to help, but they made your mother feel like she was doing something, so she felt better, was under less stress, and the last thing she needed in her condition was stress." She frowned and shrugged. "You'll have to bear with me if I'm less than usually coherent. As you pointed out earlier, I'm drunk. Anyway, I had a lovely talk with Dr. Friedman about stress. That last morning your mother didn't get a vitamin shot; she got lots of pure adrenaline. Her heart slammed into action and the strain was too much for it.”

    "An autopsy would find that much adrenaline," Celluci pointed out quietly. "And there's be little difficulty in tracing it back to you.”

    Dr. Burke snorted. "Why the hell would anyone do an autopsy? Everyone was waiting for Marjory to die." She shot a smug look at Vicki. "Well, everyone but you.”

    "Shut up.”

    "She kept saying she was going to tell you. I guess she never got around to it.”

    "SHUT UP!”

    Dr. Burke watched half the items from the top of her desk crash to the floor and turned to Celluci. "What are the chances of me getting that bottle back if I told you I needed it for medical reasons.”

    Celluci smiled unpleasantly. "Shut up," he said.

    "You two have a decidedly limited vocabulary." Dr. Burke shook her head. "Don't you even want to know why I did it?”

    "Oh, yes," Vicki snarled. "I'd love to know why you did it. My mother thought you were her friend! ”

    "It's a good thing I'm not a melancholy drunk, or you'd have me in tears. Your mother was dying, no way out. I saw to it she died for a reason. No, don't bother." Again Dr. Burke raised her hand. "I know what you're going to ask. If she was dying anyway, why not wait and have her leave you her body in her will or something. Well, it doesn't work that way. We had tissue cultures, brain wave patterns, everything to go to the next experimental step and this was our only way to get the body.”

    "So she was just a body to you?”

    Dr. Burke leaned forward. "Well, she was after she died, yes.”

    "She didn't die . You killed her.”

    "I expedited the inevitable. You're just angry because you seem to be the only person she didn't confide in.”

    "Vicki! No!" Celluci threw himself forward and managed to prevent Vicki's hands from going around the doctor's throat. He pushed her back and held her until blind rage faded enough for reason to return, then released her. When he was certain she had herself under control, he turned to Dr. Burke and said with quiet passion. "The next time you make a crack like that, I won't stop her and you'll get exactly what you deserve.”

    "What I deserve?" The smile was humorless, the tone bitter. "Detective-Sergeant, you have no idea.”

    Celluci frowned. His gaze dropped down to the jacket, then slowly lifted back to Dr. Burke's face. "You said, Donald was charming. Why was? Why past tense? What's happened to Donald?”

    Dr. Burke picked up the bottle from where Celluci had dropped it in order to restrain Vicki's charge and refilled her mug. ”I expect that Catherine killed him.”

    "Catherine's your second graduate student? . . .”

    "Go to the head of the glass." She took a long swallow and sighed in relief; the world had been threatening to return. "Perhaps I'd better start at the beginning.”

    "No." Vicki slapped both palms down on the desk. "First, we get Henry back.”

    Dr. Burke met Vicki's gaze and sighed again. "You need to save him because you couldn't save your mother.” Her voice held so much sympathy that Vicki lost her reaction in it. "I think you'd better know about Catherine.”

    Celluci swiveled his attention from one woman to the other but held