Much to the relief of Jayne and the rest of the Club's personnel, the Crime Scene Investigation team was not overly nosey or intrusive. They were mainly interested in Room Two and the kitchenette. They also investigated the locker room briefly, taking Suzy's clothing. When they found the rooms devoted to special settings locked, they accepted Jayne's word that the rooms had been locked all day; however, Mavis noticed that Lieutenant Christopho gave a subtle nod before CSI team decided not to pursue the matter.

With the lieutenant's approval, Rick was allowed to stand outside the entrance to the Club, a.k.a. the "meditation center," to inform any arriving "meditators" that the center was closed due to an emergency. Those who had appointments would be given full refunds and a fifty percent discount on their next visit.

While the CSI team went about their work, Lieutenant Christopho gathered Jayne, Mavis, Katie, Sarah, and Jimmy together and asked if a room was available where they could all talk for a while without being in the way of the team. Jayne decided that since Room One was too small, the "morgue" would be the room with the easiest-to-explain appearance: meditators could lie on the three slabs and be pushed into the drawers for maximum isolation.

Once Katie and Sarah were perched on one of the retractable slabs and the rest of the group were seated in chairs brought in from the lobby, Christopho began to explain why he was now convinced that the pizza delivery truck had been hit on purpose.

The hit and run driver, reeking of alcohol, was found in the emergency room of a local hospital -- Jayne's hospital, as a matter of fact. He had banged his knee and developed a swelling that turned out to be nothing more than a pocket of blood under the skin.

"A subcutaneous hematoma," said Jayne. "They can look horrible, they aren't that serious all by themselves. Usually just draining the blood can solve most of the problem."

"Exactly what they told me at the hospital, ma'am. Anyway," Christopho went on, "the driver told the emergency room people how he had hurt himself and he had no objection at all to the police being called. As soon as an officer arrived, this guy just blurted out his story, including the fact that he was drunk, and he almost insisted on a breath test, which was given to him and, sure enough, it showed he was well over the legal limit.

"When I got there, the officer was waiting for the ER doctor to give permission to take the suspect into custody. The officer, a nice young lady, very new to the force, was impressed with how remorseful the driver was. She said it was like he was almost anxious to be punished. Well, when I saw this fellow, he just didn't look all that remorseful to me. In my experience, when somebody is that anxious to confess to something, it can be to keep the police from looking at things very closely.

"Well, when I found out the nature of the injury..."

"Let me guess," interrupted Mavis."You asked to have the blood from that sub-what's-it's-face tested and there wasn't hardly any alcohol in it to be found. Right?"

The lieutenant laughed. "Ma'am, you must be psychic!"

"No," Mavis said modestly. "I've just seen a lot of old mystery movies."

"Well, the point of this is that the driver got drunk after the collision, not before," said Christopho, "meaning that he wanted to be able to take careful aim, not hurt or kill anybody, but definitely disable the vehicle and then he wanted to make it look like a case of drunk driving, something for which he will have to pay a huge fine and be stuck with sky-high insurance for years. He could lose his driver's license for up to a year and might even have to go to jail.

"Now, I ask you, would someone set himself up for something like that deliberately, unless it was part of a much larger plan?"

Everybody exchanged puzzled looks. Finally, Katie decided to make a small joke: "Maybe he really hated pizza?"

After a few chuckles, Christopho went on. "And what kind of person would let himself be used that way?"

"Someone with a real sense of loyalty or who really owed someone," Jimmy suggested, "and someone who could be counted on to take a fall."

"Right," Christopho agreed. "And that's what puts the thought of organized crime into my mind. I'm sure our drunk driver will turn out to be some low level mob flunky, just one step above a wannabe. I'm also sure that he will be very, very closed-mouthed about who put him up to this and why. If my hunch is right, though, this will turn out to be big enough to make a second attempt on Katie worthwhile to whoever is behind this."

Katie gulped. "Do you have any idea who that might be?"

"Yeah, who's this wants to hurt Katie?" Jimmy was clenching his fists.

"Yes. Who?" from Jayne, Mavis, and Sarah almost in unison.

"No. I'm sorry to say, I don't have any ideas at the moment. But I think it's very important that we get some kind of working hypothesis." Christopho looked at Sarah in a way that was difficult for anybody noticing to interpret, then said to Katie, "I did ask you to try to think why someone might want to kill you. Have you come up with anything?"

"I thought about it, but I just can't think of anything," Katie admitted. "I don't know why anybody would want to kill me."

"You didn't recognize their voices, or even think they sounded familiar?" Christopho asked.

"Well, the younger man could have been the same one who came to the door with the pizza, but I can't be sure." Katie was trying her best.

"Do you think you could recognize their voices if you heard them again?" This came from Jayne.

"Oh, yes. Especially if I heard them say some of the same exact words -- or nearly the same exact words." Katie seemed very confident about that.

"Ma'am, can you remember anything the men said that might give a clue as to why they would want you dead?" Christopho opened his notebook at this point.

"Well, I don't know about clues," said Katie, "but I can remember everything they said almost word for word."

"Almost word for word?" Christopho was incredulous.

Knowing that Katie's assertion needed support, Mavis quickly said, "Yes. In the, uh, meditative state, although the eyes may be closed, an initiate's mind is very alert to every detail presented by the remaining senses."

"Yes," said Katie. "Also, I've always been a 'quick study.'"

"Katie was in the drama club when she was in high school," Jayne said, causing Katie to beam with some pride.

Christopho seemed satisfied with the support. "Well, all right, ma'am. Why don't you go ahead and tell us what the two men said, from the time that they entered your room?"

Out of the corner of her eye, Jayne noticed that Mavis had taken out her own notepad and pen. Oh, well, it can't hurt, thought Jayne.

Katie stood, cleared her throat, and began to repeat the conversation of the two men, at first identifying them as older and younger, but she was so good at vocalizing in two distinct pitches and cadences that, after a few lines, she did not need to identify the speakers.

Feeling the performer coming out in herself, Katie motioned for Sarah to lie down on the slab and then began to add gestures to the voices, brushing Sarah's cheek, fondling her breast, taking her pulse. Wanting to add just a bit of levity to what had been a grim night so far, Katie scratched her crotch when she said, "I do figure she owes me a piece of ass." Even Christopho could not fully suppress a laugh when Katie mounted Sarah and began a simulated sex act complete with teeth-bearing grimaces of exaggerated male effort.

At the end of the show, Katie actually got some applause and bravos.

"That was very entertaining, ma'am," Christopho said, "however, it would have helped if they had called each other by name or mentioned a specific time or location or event. I'm afraid this doesn't tell us very much."

"Well, their conversation may not have told us everything we would like to know, but I'm sure it gives us enough to make a good start on figuring out who they are and what they're up to." Mavis seemed rather sure of herself.

Christopho looked at Mavis, not with amusement or condescension, but he was not prepared to entirely agree with her. "Ma'am, I'll agree that some of what they said would seem to point in certain directions, like, for example, when the young guy said that the older fellow had had plenty of chances to, uh, fool around with corpses. Now, that's very suggestive."

"Yes," said Mavis. "Now, that can only apply to a limited number of people. The older man could have been a mortician or funeral director."

"Or a morgue attendant," said Sarah, trying to resist the temptation to look around at the decor of the room.

"Or a serial killer," Jimmy suggested.

"Or a doctor or a nurse or anybody working in a hospital or medical school," said Jayne.

"Well, he did know how to take a pulse," Katie reminded them. "And it felt very professional."

"That could also explain his knowledge of and access to drugs," Jayne observed.

"Yes, what about those drugs?" Mavis asked. "Other than using the heart-stopping drug to kill Katie, they had no further use for it. But they do plan to use the drug that causes sleep and the drug that paralyzes a person again. What they plan to use the drugs for may have nothing to do with why they wanted to kill Katie, but I get the feeling it does."

"Maybe they're going to give the drugs to someone and then kidnap that person," Sarah offered.

"I don't think so," said Jimmy. "If you want to put the grab on someone, there are a lot of easier things you can do, like just putting a rag doused with chloroform over his or her face." When Jimmy saw that Christopho was giving him an inquisitive look, he added, "Uh, I've seen a lot of old movies, too -- just like Mavis."

Mavis looked at her notes. "Also, the young man said, 'You aren't the one who is going to have to go without any pussy for six months.' Now, that's a statement that cries out for attention. I mean, under how many circumstances would a man know that he will be going without, uh, female companionship for six months?"

"Maybe he's going to go to jail," said Jimmy, "but I don't know how he could be so sure about the six months, unless he's already been sentenced. And if he's been sentenced, I don't think he would be running loose enough to go around snuffing women."

"Maybe he's an astronaut and he's going on a long mission." The looks Sarah got made her sorry she had said that almost as soon as the words were out of her mouth.

"Well, he could be in the military," Mavis suggested. "He might be going on submarine duty or something."

"Or he could be going into a convent -- I mean, a monastery." Again, Sarah's suggestion was not enthusiastically received.

Katie shook her head. "There was something about the way he said it that made it sound like he was saying, 'We may be in this together, but I'm the one making the big sacrifice.' I think the fact that he was going to go without had something to do with why they were trying to kill me."

There was a moment of quiet, after which Mavis said, "Well, what other possible circumstances could put someone into a forced state of celibacy?"

With some sarcasm, Jayne said, "Well, Mavis, in case you don't remember, last year I was ordered not to have sex for three months after my heart surgery. I realize that may have been such a trivial matter to you, that it escaped your mind."

Mavis did flush with embarrassment, but quickly recovered and said, "Well, okay. A person might have to abstain from sex for medical reasons. And, if the older man were a doctor, well, there could be some tie-in there."

"What about that when the younger guy said, 'We waited until practically the last minute'?" Katie asked. "The idea that I was being murdered according to a schedule really would have sent shivers through me, if I would have been able to shiver."

"Yes, that does make it sound like something important is going to happen tonight or tomorrow," said Jayne.

"It might already have happened," Sarah suggested.

"It could have, but I don't think so," said Mavis. "It might be a small thing, but they did say 'practically the last minute,' not 'the VERY last minute.' Also, I don't think these fellows would have cut it quite that thin. I think we're probably looking at a twenty-four hour period, maybe even more."

"It's like they wanted to eliminate Katie as a witness," Jimmy said. "But how could she already be a witness something that might not happen until tomorrow? That don't make no sense."

"Well, probably Katie saw or heard something that she won't be able to attach any importance to until something else happens -- and that something else is about to happen." Mavis turned to Christopho. "Doesn't that make sense to you, Lieutenant?"

"Yes, ma'am. It certainly does. Katie has seen or heard something that doesn't mean anything to her now, but might mean something after tonight or tomorrow." Christopho clapped his hands lightly and then held his palms up and looked around the room. "Now, all we have to do is figure out what it is we should expect to happen. But the problem is, we don't even know what direction to look. Does anybody have any ideas about that?"

"Are there any important politicians or world figures coming to town?" Sarah asked the group in general.

Nobody seemed to know of any.

"Now, ma'am, I don't think we should jump to the conclusion that this is going to be something that happens locally," Christopho cautioned, "although the fact that two of the men who will be involved in whatever it is were in town today does seem to point that direction."

"Well, tomorrow is Saturday. Banks will be closed except for drive-up windows, so it probably isn't a matter of a bank robbery," Jimmy observed. "Maybe there's a big shipment of something that might be hijacked."

Mavis shook her head. "Somehow, I don't think it's that kind of thing, not something that is an obvious crime like a robbery or hijacking or kidnapping or assassination. I mean, first of all, if Katie would have heard people talking about something like that, she would remember it. And then they mentioned that the little gizmo that kept Katie's door from locking came from an 'associate.' That sounds like these two men have a connection with a criminal, but they may not be essentially criminals themselves. No, I think this will be something that doesn't even look like a crime."

Katie drew a comparison. "You mean like my death wasn't supposed to look like a murder."

"I think that's exactly right, ma'am," Christopho agreed. "And what's more, I think you might be the only person who could recognize whatever it is as a crime. It's a reasonable guess that this is something that is either going to happen close to you or something that will be so high profile that you're almost sure to hear it. These men spoke of you as a 'loose end' that needed to be tied up. That suggests eliminating you was like an important step that could help assure smooth sailing ahead for them. But whatever it is that they're planning, unless we can make some real good guesses, we probably won't know what it is until after it's happened."

Jayne tried to be philosophical. "I think we have to accept the possibility that we may never know why they wanted to kill Katie. If this is something that isn't even meant to look like a crime, we might not recognize it when it happens."

"Well, ma'am, I certainly hope that isn't the case." There was a grave tone in Christopho's voice.

"I hope it isn't either," said Jayne. "I don't want Katie to have to look over her shoulder for the rest of her life."

"I'm afraid that there's even more to it than that." Christopho looked at Sarah intently.

"What?" Sarah was alarmed. "Do you think I'm in danger too?"

"No, ma'am. At least not in the way that Katie was in danger from the men who were in her apartment." Somehow the lieutenant's words were hardly reassuring.

"Well, I don't get it," Jayne confessed. "Are you saying that, besides Katie, we're all in danger or just Sarah? And if it's just Sarah, why her and not the rest of us? And where else could the danger come from if not the men who were Katie's apartment? Do you mean these mob types?"

Christopho laid his hands on his knees and sighed. "No. That's not what I mean at all. Look, all of this stuff about someone trying to kill Katie may be very real, especially to us, but it is still just a story unsupported by really hard, concrete evidence."

Jayne was so angry she started get to her feet, but controlled herself and only raised her voice. "What will it take to convince you? I mean, we have a dead girl here! I don't know how much more hard and concrete evidence can be! There is, after all, a point at which skepticism becomes counter-productive!"

Christopho made a "settle down" gesture with his hand. "Ma'am, please let me explain myself. What happened to that poor girl in there could actually take things in a whole different direction if we don't figure out why somebody was after Katie.

"Look at it this way. Katie isn't dead and we don't have any idea who the men in her apartment were. So, in Katie's case, we don't have a murder victim and we don't have any suspects. However, Suzy is dead -- we do have a victim there. And we know exactly who brought the murder weapon into this building."

Sarah's eyes widened with realization and she began to tremble.

Katie put an arm around Sarah to steady her.

The jaws of Jayne and Mavis dropped in unison.

Jimmy could barely restrain himself from reacting violently. In almost a growl, he said, "You ain't saying Sarah killed Suzy on purpose, are you? Sarah wouldn't hurt nobody!"

"I agree," said Christopho, "but Monday morning, somebody in the County Prosecutor's office is going to look at the hard facts of the case, which will be a matter of the murder of Suzy, and take note of the fact that Sarah admitted that she brought the pizza here and also note that Sarah's fingerprints are all over the pizza box and wonder why Sarah hasn't been brought in for questioning as a suspect in Suzy's death."

"Well, my fingerprints are on that box, too," said Mavis.

Jimmy sprang to his feet, saying, "Lemme go put my fingerprints on that box, too!" A gentle touch from Jayne, however, got him to sit back down, although he muttered, "Well, he hadn't ought to say that about Sarah."

Tears in her eyes, sobs in her voice, Sarah asked, "I'm not going to jail, am I? I never wanted to hurt Suzy! I never wanted to hurt anybody. Please, I don't want to go to jail. If I'm arrested and all this is in the newspapers, then my parents might find out that I'm a . . . a. . . ."

Sarah's hesitation was obviously due to the presence of the lieutenant. Whatever she had started out to say, she didn't feel comfortable saying it in front of him. All the rest wondered anxiously what word Sarah would choose to end her sentence with.

Would she say, "Prostitute"?

"Lesbian"?

"Necrobabe"?

Maybe all three?

Sarah ended the suspense by covering her face with her hands and saying, "meditator."

Jayne, Katie, Mavis, and Jimmy hoped that their sighs of relief were not audible.

"Sarah comes from a very traditional family," Jayne explained.

"Sarah, let me assure you," Christopho declared, "you will never be charged in Suzy's death. But it is hard for a prosecutor to ignore the fact that you delivered the pizza that killed her. I'm sure that you could convince them that you had no motive for wanting to hurt Suzy, but that can't be assumed without at least asking a few questions.

"Now, if possible, I would like to spare you that personal embarrassment, Sarah." Christopho looked around at all present, and added, "I can also understand that all of you want to avoid having to go public with your meditative practices until what you consider the proper time, but that will be unavoidable unless we can get some idea of what we are looking for so that when it happens, we'll be able to recognize it and make the connection.

"Otherwise, it will be practically impossible to keep the County Prosecutor from pursuing the investigation of Suzy's death as a deliberate murder committed by Sarah with perhaps any or all of you as accomplices before or after the fact. Now, that investigation won't produce anything worthwhile and will cause us all -- and I include myself -- needless headaches and will tie up resources that could be put to use finding the real culprits."

The lieutenant looked around the room, making eye contact with everyone at least once as he said, "So, it really would be very nice if we could figure out where we should put our attention so that, when something does happen, we will be able to see it and recognize it."

There were a few moments of quiet thoughtfulness. Everybody wanted to see the men who had killed Suzy and who had tried to kill Katie brought to justice and perhaps prevented from accomplishing whatever other dark purpose they had in mind. Nobody wanted to see Sarah considered as a murder suspect. And nobody wanted to see the Club become the focus of attention for either the media or the County Prosecutor.

Mavis drew a deep breath, looked at her notes and began to speak. "Okay. When we add up all of our best guesses based on what Katie heard the men say, this is what we come up with:

"We have two men who have at least one associate, probably from organized crime. It is likely that the older of the two men is a medical doctor and the younger one is not.

"The two men are planning to do something that probably won't look like a crime, unless it's viewed in light of something that Katie knows.

"Whatever this is, it may involve the use of a drug that puts people to sleep and another drug that can paralyze people.

"Also, at some time in the future, the younger man is going to forced to do without, uh, intimate female companionship for about six months. This may have something to do with whatever act they are planning.

"This act is going to happen soon, probably tomorrow, and it is going to happen either close to Katie or it will be of such a high profile that Katie won't be able to miss it.

"That," said Mavis, closing her notebook, "is all we have and it may not all be relevant. Did I miss anything, Lieutenant?"

"No, ma'am, I think you've summed it up very nicely," Christopho complemented her. "Of course, it would help a lot if we knew what it is that Katie knows that is so important. It might be something she heard or something she saw and it is something that she attaches no importance to whatsoever. Looking at it the other way, we might be able to figure out what Katie knows if we had any idea what is going to happen so near to her or be so important that she could put it together with what she knows and get somebody into hot water."

"Well, if it's something that will happen near her, we don't need to worry about that," Jayne assured Christopho, "because, together, we will see that Katie isn't alone for a minute this whole weekend, so somebody else will see whatever it is." Turning to Katie and Sarah, she said, "Girls, I want you to stay with Mavis and Rick and me this weekend."

Both Katie and Sarah nodded.

Jimmy said, "Uh, Jayne, if there's room for me, I'd like to be with all of you, too, until this blows over."

"Well, Jimmy, you're pretty big, but I'm sure we can find room for you," Jayne said with a laugh. "So, Lieutenant Christopho, Katie is going to be surrounded by five pairs of eyes and ears all weekend. Nothing is going to happen anywhere near her that somebody else won't see."

Christopho looked around the room and nodded his head approvingly. "I certainly admire the way you all stand together. I think that's wonderful. But there is just one more thing that I'd like to figure out."

Everybody looked at the lieutenant with anticipation.

Finally, Jayne asked, "And what is that, Lieutenant?"

"If this is something that Katie will be sure to take note of, not because it happens right near her, but because it is so big, so high profile -- well, I would think we should be able to make a guess about that something is. Am I right?" Christopho looked around the room again.

Everybody nodded at least tentatively.

"Now, I ask you," Christopho said, "it's a Friday night in September. What's likely to happen in the next twenty-four hours? Any ideas?"

Everybody was considering this question when Rick entered the room.

"All of the meditators who were expected to show up tonight have been here and gone," Rick announced, as he made his way over to sit on the floor between Jayne and Mavis.

"Was anybody upset about not being able to meditate tonight?" Jayne asked.

"No, honey." Rick lowered himself to the floor. "Though I was talking with a couple of them as Suzy was being taken out in a body bag by the coroner's office."

Oh, well, that's the icing on the cake. Good thing I kept my day job, Jayne thought. Aloud, she said, "Were the meditators disturbed by the sight?"

"Hard to tell. I told them there had been an accident." Looking around at the generally grim faces, Rick said, "I can see that I haven't missed out on any good news while I was outside."

"No, sir, you haven't," Christopho confirmed.

"Oh, Rick, I've invited Katie and Sarah to spend the night with us, I hope that's okay." Jayne said. "Oh, and Jimmy also wants to provide us with some professional security tonight. I hope that's all right, too."

"Sure, honey. I think we all want to be together tonight." Rick patted her on the knee.

"Well, it isn't just for tonight," Jayne amended. "I think we should stay together all day tomorrow. We want as many people around Katie as possible until we know she's out of danger."

Rick looked up in surprise and allowed an expression of disappointment to flash momentarily over his face, but he quickly said, "Oh, yeah. Sure. That will be fine."

Jayne's sensitivity to her man told her that it wasn't really fine, just acceptable. "What's the matter, Rick? Did you have plans for tomorrow?"

"Well, yeah. But this is far more important." From Rick's tone, it was clear that he was offering to make a noble sacrifice.

"What is it, darling? Maybe it's something we all could do together," Jayne suggested.

Rick laughed. "That's not very likely. I had a hard enough time getting tickets for Jimmy and me."

"Oh, that's right! Jeez, with all this going on, I forgot all about that!" Jimmy shook his head in wonderment

"Forgot about what?" Mavis asked.

"Yeah," said Jayne with some impatience, "tickets for what?"

Rick gave Jayne and Mavis a sort of patient, indulgent, women-you-gotta-love-'em look and said, "Girls, tomorrow is a Saturday afternoon in September. For a whole lot of people, that means only one thing: College football."

Everybody else exchanged glances at Rick's mention of this fact of American life.

This was a high profile event. It was happening within twenty-four hours of the attempt on Katie's life. But where could there be a tie-in?

Mavis began checking her notes.

Katie and Sarah were looking at each other wondering how this could have anything to do with the poison pizza.

Jimmy was hoping that all this might be resolved by game time.

Jayne was thinking about the curriculum for her hospital's student nurses.

"I understand that tickets to the games at the U have been very hard to get this season," Christopho commented.

"Oh, they have been," Rick confirmed. "It's all because of this quarterback, Gary Boffman. I'm not really a huge sports fan, but this guy is something special."

"Yeah," Jimmy agreed. "The kid is a cinch to be a first round draft choice. Might even be the number one pick."

"I don't know if he's quite that good, but he is definitely going to go in the first round and he will have a pro career ahead of him." Rick mused on Boffman's future. "Years from now, when his name is a household word and he's one of the highest paid players in pro ball, we'll be able to say that we saw him play way back when he was playing for the Redcats right here at the U."

Sarah shook her head in puzzlement. "There's one thing I don't get about sports. I mean, I really admire the way Katie is continuing her education, but I don't understand why, when a college football player is good enough to become like a zillionaire, he doesn't just drop out of school and go get rich. I mean, a guy can always go back to school, if he really wants an education."

"Oh, Sarah, that kind of thing happens a lot," Rick assured her. "Of course, fans -- especially people who give money for athletic scholarships -- are disappointed, but everyone understands when a player decides to go for the money. I don't think that's likely to happen in Gary Boffman's case, though. He's got a family tradition to uphold. Both his father and grandfather played for the Redcats. In fact, Cyrus Boffman -- that's the granddad -- had a record as impressive as Gary's and would have gone on to the pros if he hadn't suffered an career ending injury in his senior year."

"How awful!" Jayne gasped. "He must have been very disappointed. Heart-broken, even."

"Well, yes, I'm sure he was," Rick agreed, "But nobody needs to feel too sorry for old Cy. He went on to make a fortune in highway construction. I hear he credits his sports experience with having given him a commitment to both teamwork and competition. I also hear that he's very proud of Gary. I'm sure the boy won't let Gramps down."

"But this thing about being drafted -- do you mean a guy can't choose who he plays for?" Katie asked.

"Not until he becomes a free agent," Rick said, "and that takes a while."

"Well," Katie said, "if I were going to do something dangerous like play football, I'd want to be able to decide who I was doing it for. I mean, a guy could get hurt bad, if he was playing with a bunch of bozos. This sounds like slavery."

"It's not slavery," Jimmy said, almost taking personal offense at the comment. "It's football."

Suddenly, Jayne interrupted the sports talk to ask a question. "Katie, about that story you told us about going to the wrong building -- do you remember the room number?"

"Jayne, that's been almost a month ago. My memory isn't that good," Katie laughed. Seeing the look of frustration on Jayne's face, Katie quickly added, "But I do remember the name of the woman whose signature I needed to get was Miss Muetto."

"Good girl, Katie." Jayne was on her feet. "I'm going to go make a phone call." Seeing Mavis getting up from her chair, Jayne amended her statement. "That is, Mavis and I are going to make a phone call. Uh, Katie, while we're gone, why don't you entertain Rick and Lieutenant Christopho with some of your cute stories about your first days on campus. Be sure and tell them the one about how you went to the men's gym by mistake."

Katie began her anecdotes with the gymnasium story as soon as Jayne and Mavis left the room and had time to finish her "matriculation" story before they returned.

"Amusing story about the men's gym -- right, Lieutenant Christopho?" Jayne asked.

"Oh, that it is, ma'am, that it is," Christopho said with a smile.

Mavis handed her notebook to Jayne as the two sat down.

"Now," Jayne began, "according to the University information operator, Miss Muetto's office is Room 128 in the Women's Gymnasium. In the Men's Gymnasium, Room 128 is the office of Dr. Herman Klinghoffer. And that is Dr. as in M.D., not Ph.D. He is the Medical Advisor for the Athletic Department and also the Team Physician for most varsity teams, including the football team."

Jayne paused while everyone absorbed that information, and then continued.

"Now, of course, we really have no way of knowing if one of the men in Katie's apartment was Dr. Klinghoffer." Jayne turned to Katie, specifically. "However, Katie, if you were a little further along in your nursing studies, say, to the point of being a student nurse at my hospital, you would be able to tell us for sure."

"Well, I'm sorry. My matriculation was late," Katie apologized with a laugh. "How would that help?"

"You would have recognized his voice, because," Jayne explained, "Dr. Klinghoffer speaks at least once, and sometimes twice, as a guest lecturer to every class of student nurses. Now, being the leading authority on the subject in the local area, he naturally gives a lecture on sports medicine -- stress-related injuries, treatments that allow an athlete to continue training during recovery, and so forth. He does that at least once a year, every year.

"Also, when no one else is available," Jayne added with a smile, "he has given lectures on the area of medicine he specialized in before his college roommate and best friend became athletic director at the University and offered him his present position. Now, can anybody take a wild guess as to what Dr. Klinghoffer's first specialty was?"

"Toxicology?" suggested Lieutenant Christopho and Mavis at the same time.

"That's the study of poisons," nurse-to-be Katie said authoritatively.

"Right," said Jayne. "Good guess and good definition. Now, I grant you this is not enough to arrest anyone -- it probably isn't even enough to justify asking Dr. Klinghoffer what he was doing this afternoon. But I think it is certainly enough to make us very interested in that football game tomorrow."

Mavis put her hand out for her notebook, which Jayne returned to her, and said, "We can't be sure, but this fits too many of our best guesses for us to ignore it. Katie, can you remember what the men you walked in on at the gym looked like?"

"They looked surprised. That's all I can remember." Katie laughed and then added, "Well, I do remember that only one of them looked the right age to be a student. That's it."

"Okay," said Mavis, "that gives us one young man and an older man who is probably a doctor and a third man. We know that Katie's visitors had an associate probably with criminal connections, and, not to be sexist, I would assume that is a man. Now, we can make guesses about the identity of THE THIRD MAN in both cases. If we work on the theory that the third man in the doctor's office was from organized crime, what does that give us?"

"Maybe a reason to want to kill Katie," Jimmy offered.

"But I didn't hear anything they were saying," Katie protested. "All I did was see them. I didn't even know who they were."

"Well, if the young guy was some kind of big man on campus, like, say, a star football player, he might expect you to know him," Jayne suggested. "As for the doctor, well, it WAS his office, after all. I'm not sure why, or even if, the third man would think Katie would know him."

"You know," offered Christopho, "some of these organized crime types, if they get their picture in the newspaper even once, they think everybody in the world is going to recognize them on sight for the rest of their lives."

"And," Jayne added, "Katie is a little older than the typical college student."

"Yeah, my late matriculation," Katie said with a smile.

"That could have made them think that Katie was some kind of policewoman or even a federal agent and perhaps she was trailing the man with the criminal background. They might have had her followed for that reason and, even when they found out she wasn't some kind of agent, they decided to silence her," Jayne suggested. "Does that make sense, Lieutenant?"

"Yes, it does, ma'am," Christopho agreed.

"Jayne, are you suggesting that Katie walked in on a meeting to set up some kind of plan to fix tomorrow's game?" Rick seemed shocked at the very idea.

"Well, if they were, that would be something that they would want to make sure nobody knew about, right? I mean, that's not just bad sportsmanship -- it is against the law, isn't it?" Ignoring the laughs that accompanied the affirmations in response to that question, Jayne went on, "And from what you said about the outcomes of all the games being foregone conclusions, well, wouldn't there be big money to be made by gamblers if the Redcats lost this game?"

"Yes, Jayne," Rick acknowledged. "That's the whole point of fixing games. And the Redcats wouldn't even have to lose the game. It would still be an upset as far as betting is concerned if the team just won by fewer points than expected."

"Oh, yes," said Mavis. "'And when the One Great Scorer comes / To score against your name, / He scores not that you won or lost, / But how big your point spread was."

There were a couple snickers at Mavis's verse parody, but Rick responded seriously.

"Exactly, Mavis. But, Jayne, why would they hold a meeting like that right in the men's gym? That doesn't make sense."

"Well, where else would they hold it?" Jayne asked in return.

"Right," Mavis agreed. "They could hardly meet completely in the open. And if they tried to meet in some secret, secluded hideaway like a mountain cabin or some backroom, well, if they were discovered, that would instantly cause suspicion. Somebody from organized crime might have such a place at his disposal, but it could be under surveillance, as far as who comes to it; it might even be bugged."

Christopho was supportive. "I think I have to go along with the ladies on this one. A semi-private office in a public place would be as safe a place as they could find."

"Yes," said Jayne. "And the first few days of fall semester, there are lots of unfamiliar faces on a university campus. It would be the perfect time for this third man to go almost unnoticed."

"But I can't see them working out something like this in one meet. This is pretty heavy stuff," said Jimmy.

"Well, I'm sure they didn't," Mavis agreed. "I'm sure they had all kinds of meetings in pairs, especially the doctor and the player. And any of them could have been represented by a surrogate at other meetings. But this might have been the one and only time the three principals were together in the same place at the same time. And this could have been a very short meeting."

Jimmy nodded. "Oh, you mean they just got together to just shake hands and say they had a deal? Yeah, I could see that."

"And, after whatever may happen tomorrow, simply knowing that the three men were in the same place at the same time could make Katie very dangerous to them, dangerous enough to kill," Jayne said solemnly.

"This just fits so well with what we know," Mavis summarized. "We've got the right number of people, two of whom fit what little we know about the men who visited Katie. The game is an important event happening at the right time, and there could be enough at stake to be worth killing over. And, maybe most important, we have a case of Katie being somewhere she shouldn't have been and seeing something she shouldn't have seen."

"What about the business of the young guy having to, uh, be sort of lonely for about six months? What does that have to do with football?" Sarah asked.

"Well, we did agree that his enforced celibacy could have nothing to do with what's happening tomorrow," Mavis reminded her. "However, somehow, I think there is more to this than just fixing a football game."

"Now, I do think that we should scan today and tomorrow's newspapers and watch the local news to see if there is anything else that we should be looking at," said Jayne, "but I also think that this is the very best possibility we are likely to come up with. Of course, the skeptical Lieutenant Christopho may disagree."

"No, ma'am, I do not." Christopho said, giving everyone a pleasant surprise. "I certainly think this game tomorrow is well worth our attention."

Everyone, especially Jayne and Mavis, smiled at this announcement.

"Well, I feel like I just got an A on a final exam," Jayne declared. "Now, I wish we could all go to the game, but that isn't possible, I guess. Rick, you and Jimmy will have to be our eyes and ears at tomorrow's game, if that's all right with you."

"Gee," Rick said, trying too hard to conceal his happiness, "you mean Jimmy and I should go to the game after all? I guess we could, if you really, really think it's important."

Jayne smiled and said, with an obviously mocking tone, "Oh, honey, could you? We would appreciate that SO much. Are you sure you're willing to do that?"

Rick and Jimmy both nodded nobly.

"What about you, Lieutenant? Is there any way you can get into the game?" Jayne asked.

"Yes, ma'am. All I have to do is show my badge at the right gate," Christopho assured them.

"Is the game being televised?" Mavis asked. When she got affirmative nods from the men, she said,"Well, I guess we females can watch in the comfort of our living room."

Jayne rose from her chair. "It seems we have a plan. We should probably go get some newspapers and try get home in time to watch the news, unless there's anything else we should talk about."

Christopho also rose. "No, ma'am. I think we've got things covered as well as we can at this point."

As the group exited the "morgue" and returned to the lobby, Jayne said, "They do say that television provides a much better view of a sporting event. Still, I wish there were a way that we could all get to the game."

The telephone rang and the caller i.d. box flashed the name of the Club's attorney. Picking up the receiver, Jayne said, "Hi, Dwight, I'm glad you got our message. There's been an incident at the meditation center. One of the girls died tonight. Yes. That's right. No, it has nothing to do with the practice of meditation. It's a case of murder and there is a Lieutenant Christopho here right now investigating the case. Oh, he is? Really? I'll tell him you said that."

Jayne turned to Christopho. "Our attorney says you are one of the investigators most respected by local defense attorneys. I think he means they're scared to death of you."

Christopho smiled at this praise.

Returning to the phone, Jayne said, "No, none of the meditators is a serious suspect, but there are some complicating factors. I'd like to get together with you tomorrow and talk about it. Oh, that early? Wouldn't afternoon be better? Oh, you are? That's right, your firm has box at the stadium, doesn't it?"

Jayne had a sudden inspiration and turned on her seductive charm. "Say, Dwight, darling, how would you like to have as guests in your box four gorgeous babes? Well, the rest of your partners will think you're the most studly lawyer since Tom Cruise in THE FIRM, that's what they will think!"

All of the women smiled at Jayne's compliment, but Mavis said, "Jayne, I think at least two of us, maybe Sarah and I, should watch the game on television. We might see something you won't."

"Okay, Dwight, I guess that will just be two gorgeous babes. You'll still be a stud, though," Jayne assured him. "Katie and me. And if it gets too crowded in your box, Katie and I could wander over to the hospital administration's box. I'm sure I would be welcome there and Katie should get used to being around medical types because Katie is going to be a nurse, just like me. She matriculated a little late, but that shouldn't present any problems for a bright girl like her."

Katie beamed at Jayne's vote of confidence.

Jayne wrapped up her conversation with Dwight. "Why don't you pick us up at my house tomorrow about -- what? -- an hour before the game? That way I can fill you in on the incident at the meditation center on the way to the stadium. Okay, noon. We'll be all ready for you. See you then. Bye."

"Jayne, do you think it's wise for Katie to go the game tomorrow? I mean, somebody might recognize her?" Security-minded Jimmy was concerned.

"Don't worry. We'll give her a disguise," said Mavis.

"I guess we're all set then," said Rick. "Unless there's something else, Lieutenant?"

"Nope. I think we've got it covered." said Christopho.

"Are you sure there isn't one more thing?" teased Jayne.

"If there is, ma'am, I'll let you know in the morning. I'll give you a call, just to touch base." Christopho began to head for the door. "I had better file a report and get home. Mrs. Christopho will be worried." Pausing at the door, Christopho raised his hand in a farewell salute. "I'll be in touch."

Christopho departed with a chorus of friendly good-byes.

"He's a nice guy," said Rick once the door was shut.

"Yes," Jayne agreed. "He seems very competent, despite his quirky mannerisms. I hope he buys all this talk about this place being a meditation center. Somehow, I have the feeling that he is a very hard man to deceive, even if he doesn't come right out and say that he has his doubts."

Everybody nodded agreement that, beneath the surface, the lieutenant seemed to be a very sharp fellow.

"Well," said Jayne, "Let's close up shop and get over to our house for a company slumber party."

Within ten minutes, the Bordello of the Dead was closed for the night. Everyone hoped that it was closed ONLY for the night.