Lieutenant Christopho encountered his quarry just coming through the basement door nearest the doctors' parking lot.

"Excuse me, sir. Could I have just a moment of your time?" Christopho asked very politely.

"You should be aware that there is no smoking anyplace within the hospital," the man said in a stern voice.

"Oh, this?" Christopho held up his cigar. "Don't worry, it isn't lit."

"A filthy habit, nevertheless." The man tried to get past Christopho.

"Something my wife, Mrs. Christopho, tells me all the time. I'll let her know that I got some expert medical advice on the subject." Christopho restrained the man with a light touch on the sleeve. "You are Dr. Ernst Klinghoffer, aren't you?"

"Why, yes," Klinghoffer wasn't used to being recognized by strangers. "And you are...Mr. Christopho?"

"Sorry, my bad manners again. Lieutenant Christopho of the Police Department, Homicide Division," Christopho put his hand out.

"A pleasure, I'm sure." Klinghoffer accepted the hand after a brief hesitation. "Now, if you'll kindly excuse me, I have a patient I must get back to."

"Oh, yes. Gary Boffman. Very tragic case. Terrible accident, just terrible." Christopho shook his head sympathetically. "However, I checked with the staff on his floor and they assure me that he is doing very well. Otherwise, I wouldn't think of stopping you before you had a chance to see him."

"Thank you for the update, Lieutenant." There was a trace of sarcasm in Klinghoffer's voice. "You might have waited until I had had a chance to render my own judgement, though."

"Well, I would have, but I wanted to take as little of your time as possible. I know what a busy man you are. But the reason why I stopped you is just a few paces down the hall." Christopho gestured past the elevator to the dead end of the hall.

"Down the hall? Why there's nothing down there but a laboratory and the, um, hospital's morgue. What's this all about?" Klinghoffer was becoming impatient.

"I heard a member of the hospital staff discussing Mr. Boffman's case and she said some very flattering things about you."

"Hm. Did she, indeed?" Klinghoffer's interest had been captured.

"Oh, yes! She really built you up. She said that not only were you a leading authority on sports medicine, but that you had a second specialty. She said you were an expert on toxicology as well."

"That is quite true. However, I don't see how that can be of any interest to anyone. My involvement in that field is now rather limited."

Christopho smiled as engagingly as possible and said, "Well, when I heard that, the thought came into my mind that that this was a real piece of luck. You see, I've been working on a case of murder by poison and I thought that you might be able to give me a little help."

"I'm very flattered, Lieutenant, and perhaps after I've seen to my patient, we could discuss the matter." Klinghoffer began to move toward the elevator.

"Well, sir, there's a bit of urgency about this case and what I want will only take a moment of your time. Sometimes a minute or two can make the difference between catching a criminal and having him slip through your hands." To illustrate his point, Christopho cupped his hands together and then opened his fingers.

Klinghoffer looked at his wristwatch and seemed to notice that he had not been gone as long as he thought. "Well, if it's really important, I suppose I can spare a few minutes. But no more than that."

"Oh, thank you very much. I've always found that people of great responsibility are so often the first to be helpful. If you would come this way, please." Christopho led Klinghoffer towards the morgue, as he began his explanation. "You see, we've had a really baffling case come up -- a real puzzler. It seems that a young woman died of poisoning sometime yesterday."

Klinghoffer seemed to hesitate. "You say she 'seems' to have been poisoned. You aren't sure?"

"Well, there's some circumstantial evidence involved in the case that I'm really not free to disclose, but that evidence does point in a certain direction," Christopho explained. "There seems to be some real difficulty in identifying the poison or its source."

"I'm afraid that the answers you want can only be discovered through lab work. I'm sure that a technician could be of more far help to you than I."

"I understand that, sir. I had the body brought here to make use of the hospital's excellent facilities. But, as I said, there is some urgency about this case and it would be helpful if our people had an idea as to where to start."

"I don't know what you're expecting of me." Klinghoffer seemed rather uneasy.

"I've often found that when a person really knows his or her field sometimes that person develops a gift that you could almost call intuition. I've seen cases where an expert can just take glance at a situation and have a flash of insight that turns out to be instrumental in solving a case. Very often, the person can't explain where the insight came from." Christopho opened the door to the morgue and advised, "Now, there's a nurse in the room and she's going engage the microphones that the hospital uses to record the observations of the doctors as they examine bodies. After you, sir."

"Relying on intuition is hardly a scientific approach." In spite of saying this, Klinghoffer did enter the morgue where he was confronted by the sight of four sheet-covered bodies lying on carts.

"Well, I really appreciate your willingness to help, even in view of your skepticism," Christopho said with a smile. "I'm hoping that maybe you'll notice something like a particular shade of discoloration about the woman's lips, or maybe a smell. Now, the young woman that I would like you to look at is right over here. Nurse, if you please."

Jayne, now wearing a uniform that wouldn't get her arrested for public indecency, stepped forward and lifted the sheet covering one of the bodies.

Klinghoffer was smiling the smile of someone who is indulging the pointless whim of another as the sheet was raised. His expression changed abruptly when he looked down and saw the body of Suzy on the cart.

"Oh, my!" Klinghoffer could not help but utter an expression of surprise. He had, of course, expected to see Katie.

"Sir, what's the problem? You seem disturbed. Is there something wrong? Do you know the young woman?" Christopho asked.

"Oh, no, quite the contrary. That is, I mean, not at all. It's just that, um, she looks so young and innocent. Uh, frankly, I thought this might be a case of an overdose of an illicit substance and, uh, I'm afraid my expectations as to her appearance were somewhat stereotypical." Klinghoffer covered his reaction with some credibility.

"Yes. She was a charming young woman," Christopho agreed. "Now, is there anything about the color of her lips, the expression on her face, a smell, anything that suggest what type of poison might have been used?"

"No, Lieutenant, I'm afraid you're expecting something along the level of psychic power from me." Klinghoffer laughed. "I don't even see anything that indicates that she was poisoned."

"As I said, there is some circumstantial evidence. We think she ate a pizza that had been laced with poison," Christopho explained.

Klinghoffer did twitch a bit at the mention of the pizza, but decided not to be too curious. "Well, you did say that you can't disclose that circumstantial evidence. I'm afraid I can't help you. Only a painstaking process of elimination carried out in a laboratory can give you your answer. Now, I really should be going."

"Doctor, as long as you're here, there is one more thing you could do for me, if you don't mind." Christopho again was very polite.

Klinghoffer again looked at this watch and said, "All right, if it doesn't take any longer than this did. What is it?"

"Well, this young woman isn't the only one who was exposed to the poison pizza." Christopho stepped to the next cart and the next body. "Nurse, if you please."

Satisfied that Katie could have had time to share her pizza with a girlfriend who ate quickly and left, Klinghoffer relaxed a bit.

Jayne again raised a sheet and revealed the body beneath it..

"Oh!" Again, Klinghoffer was obviously taken aback by the sight.

Boy, thought Sarah, I'm sure Katie did a good job of making me up to look dead. If I were an actress like she is, I wouldn't have asked to be turned off, but I'm glad I did because this way I won't give anything away.

"Doctor, is something wrong? Do you know this young woman?" Christopho asked.

"Oh, no, no, no, of course not. I...uh...it's just that the destruction of such beauty is always a shock. Again, Lieutenant, I'm afraid that there is nothing I can tell you from merely looking at the woman. I'm sorry," Klinghoffer appologized. "Now, I really should be going, Uh, unless there's something else you would like."

"As a matter of fact, there is one more thing," Christopho said. "There was another woman exposed to the pizza. Nurse, if you would oblige us again, please."

This time Klinghoffer was not really surprised when Jayne pulled back the sheet covering Mavis, who, though she had not had an implant, was doing a very credible job of playing dead. He did, however, shudder a bit, wondering just how many friends Katie could have shared her pizza with.

"How about it, sir? Is there anything you can tell me? Maybe comparing the three women, you can see something that you wouldn't have looking at just one of them." Christopho sounded hopeful.

"No, once again, I'm sorry. Only a laboratory technician can help you." Klinghoffer looked at his watch and smiled. "Now, I really, really must be going. Excuse me."

Two floors up, Rick and Jimmy had just heard something very disturbing.

"Look, Jimmy, the girls and Lieutenant Christopho really should know about this. Let's do this: you go down and tell them about it and I'll stay here in case there are any more developments," Rick suggested.

"Okay." Jimmy started to head for the elevator.

"Uh, Jimmy, just a second. Could you take a couple of the girls' purses with you?" Rick asked.

Jimmy looked at the pile of purses and said, "No, Rick, you take the purses. If I was to take two of them, well, somebody might think I was stealing 'em or something. And if I took just one, somebody might think, well, you know. But if you're carrying all four purses, you'll look like you're on a mission or something."

Rick didn't understand why Jimmy couldn't take all the purses and appear to be on a mission, but he did nod and watch Jimmy proceed to the elevator.

Back down in the morgue, Christopho stopped Klinghoffer from leaving, saying, "There is just one more thing, sir. I mean, you've been so kind so far, maybe you could take just a moment more."

Very impatient now, Klinghoffer declared rather loudly, "Really, Lieutenant, I assure you, I absolutely DO NOT have time for this!"

Jayne thought she saw the figure on the fourth cart give a "thumbs up" signal beneath the sheet.

"Sir, I understand, but, really, I promise, this is the last one," Christopho assured him. "Nurse, please let the doctor look at the last dead girl."

Klinghoffer sighed almost audibly with relief when he finally saw the body of Katie revealed.

"Okay, Lieutenant. I've humored you. I've looked at all your dead girls. I'm very sorry that I can't help you at all." Klinghoffer seemed to be pleading for understanding when he said, "Believe me, I really, honestly hope with all my heart that you get a break in this horrible matter. Good luck in catching whoever killed these poor women. I sincerely hope that something happens to point you toward a solution in this case."

Suddenly, Katie sat bolt upright on her cart.

Christopho gasped, but Klinghoffer was not disturbed.

"Don't be alarmed, Lieutenant." Klinghoffer's voice was calming. "This happens all the time. At a certain stage of deterioration, corpses sometimes move as muscles contract or as gas is expelled. It is a startling sight the first time, but, really, this is nothing unusual."

What was unusual, however, was that Mavis also sat up just a few seconds later.

And what really caught Klinghoffer's attention was when both Katie and Mavis opened their eyes, rotated their heads to face him, raised stiff right arms, pointed at him, curled back their lips, and hissed like cats.

"Gott in Himmel!" Klinghoffer turned deathly pale himself, sank to his knees, grabbed Christopho's legs, and beseeched him in a trembling voice. "Lieutenant, I beg you, defend me! Protect me! I swear, I only meant to kill one of them! Just the dark-haired one! The other three, I didn't know! The dead rise to accuse me! But I am innocent of all their murders except one! I would have done nothing to harm her, except that the cowardly young man upstairs insisted that she die! It was his idea! His alone! Take me to jail, save me from the dead women!"

"Gotcha!" Katie cried with delight and laughter.

"Was ist das? What is the meaning?" Klinghoffer was shaking as though he were having a seizure of some kind. "The living dead accuses me and now laughs at me! I am doomed!"

"Well," said Katie, continuing to chuckle, "you might call me 'the living dead,' but that's another story. The point is, you just signed yourself up for long, long vacation from freedom."

"Yeah, Doc," Mavis chimed in. "That confession was better than any version of THE TELLTALE HEART that I've ever seen."

Oh, I wish I could get turned on! Sarah lamented to herself. I wish I hadn't told Jayne to put my control box back in my purse and let Rick and Jimmy take all the purses. This sounds like fun! I wish I could have sat up and pointed my finger at him!

Klinghoffer was beginning to understand that somehow Katie had escaped the poison.

"You mean, I have confessed for nothing? But, then, what have I confessed to? You are not dead! I am guilty of nothing." Klinghoffer was trying to sort out his situation.

"Oh, you're guilty of plenty," said Jayne. "But don't blame yourself completely for giving yourself away. You didn't tell us anything that your prodigy, Gary Boffman, didn't tell us a few minutes ago. Of course, his version distributes responsibility a little differently. But the County Attorney will straighten all that out. And I'm sure there will be enough room in prison for both of you."

"You can get up now, Dr. Klinghoffer," said Christopho. "If someone walked in right now, it might look like you were proposing to me and I would never hear the end of that from Mrs. Christopho."

Klinghoffer had just gotten to his feet when, in fact, somebody did enter the room.

Bursting through the door and seeing that Katie and Mavis weren't playing dead anymore, Jimmy figured that the girls and the lieutenant had already accomplished their objective.

"Uh, is everything all settled?" Jimmy asked.

"Yes, Jimmy," Jayne assured him. "It's almost a sure thing that Dr. Klinghoffer and Gary Boffman are going to be getting room and board from the Department of Corrections for a long, long time."

"Well, uh, that ain't quite gonna be the case," Jimmy said.

Everybody in the room who was able looked at Jimmy in puzzlement.

Rick was also getting some puzzled looks at that moment.

Having learned everything he figured that he could without being either a policeman or a medical person, Rick was riding the elevator to the basement, carrying four purses as he did so. The two women and the priest who were sharing the ride with him were obviously curious, but nobody really wanted to ask Rick about his burdens.

"Gary Boffman died just a few minutes ago," Jimmy informed the group.

Everybody except Dr. Klinghoffer was stunned.

"What happened?" Mavis asked.

"Well, I don't know all the medical terminology, but from what Rick and I overheard, I guess his heart just stopped,"Jimmy said.

While everyone else's attention was on Jimmy, Klinghoffer's eyes were darting about the room.

"What do you mean 'just stopped.'?" Jayne asked.

Klinghoffer spied what he had been looking for. Seemingly unsteady on his feet, he made his way toward a counter along the wall of the room furthest from Jimmy.

"I guess it means that his heart was beating one minute and it wasn't the next." Jimmy realized that wasn't much of an explanation.

"Well, what preceded his heart 'just stopping'? Did he have a seizure? Did he complain of pain?" Jayne persisted.

"I guess not. He didn't holler for help or anything. The policewoman who was with him just said his eyes got big and he seemed real surprised. If he would have complained of pain, I'm sure that she would have called a nurse. But the first clue they had at the nursing station was when they saw on their monitor that one of the lines had gone flat." Jimmy was trying to explain as best he could.

"Hey," said Katie, "that's what the doctor said the poison would do to me."

"Well, that could mean,..." Mavis began to speculate.

Suddenly, Jayne felt herself grabbed around the waist from behind and she felt something cold and hard and sharp at her throat.

"Yes," said Klinghoffer, holding a scalpel to Jayne's jugular vein, "I gave him a shot before I left for dinner. I should have put him away in the ambulance on the way here from the stadium. I knew he couldn't be trusted to keep his mouth shut, but I thought he wouldn't spill his guts the very first day. He should have learned to think with his head and not his penis"

What's going on? What's happening? Oh, I wish I could move! Sarah was wishing that the timer on her control box had been set to give her the power of movement right at that moment.

Jimmy calculated the possibility of somehow taking Klinghoffer without getting Jayne hurt in the process and decided the chances were not good.

Knowing what Jimmy was thinking, Klinghoffer said, "Don't even think about making a move. I can slash her throat before you take a step."

"Well, if you do, you ain't walking out of this room. I'll tear you into little pieces." Jimmy sounded very sincere.

"I believe you completely and I don't have any desire to hurt this young woman. In fact, I expect her to make a very nice traveling companion for me." Squeezing Jayne, Klinghoffer spoke into her ear. "How about it, Miss Harrison? Would you like a little trip by private jet to a country without an extradition treaty?"

"Sure," Jayne snarled between clenched teeth, not particularly flattered that Klinghoffer remembered her name from when she had sat in on his lectures. "I always wanted to see the world. Just don't get any ideas about putting me in a harem or anything."

"We'll see about that when we arrive at out destination," Klinghoffer said with a sneer.

Oh, he must have Jayne! Oh, I wish I could do something! Before I got turned off, I saw steel bowl or something over on the counter! I think I could reach it if only I could move! Sarah was in a state of frustration.

Outside the morgue, Rick's elevator had reached the basement and he was making his way down the hall.

"Now, I don't want to get hurt, and I know nobody wants to see Miss Harrison get hurt. I think we can work something out." Klinghoffer tried to sound reasonable. "Oh, by the way, I'm sure you have a gun, Lieutenant. I don't want you to be tempted to try anything, so I'm not going to ask you to take it out and kick it over here. For right now, let's just have you put your hands behind your neck and keep them there."

Before entering the room, Rick decided to look through the two-inch wide window that ran almost the length of the door. When he did, he gasped and quickly backed away, hoping he had not been seen. He pressed his ear to the wall to see if he could hear anything.

"I'm sure you also have a cell phone, Lieutenant. Which pocket is it?" Klinghoffer asked.

"My right overcoat pocket." Christopho didn't want to be deceptive.

Not being able to hear anything, Rick dumped Jayne's purse on the floor, found a compact, and held the mirror so that he see what was going on through the window without being seen himself.

"Okay. You, the mousey-looking one." Klinghoffer nodded in Mavis's direction. "I want you do go over and take the phone out of the lieutenant's pocket. In a few minutes, you're going to dial a number for the lieutenant and he's going to arrange transportation for Miss Harrison and me."

"Great. I get to pick a policeman's pocket," Mavis muttered, but she did move to follow instructions..

"And while you are there, remove his gun as well," Klinghoffer ordered. "I'm sure it's in a shoulder holster."

Mavis made an effort to obey this command, too, but after a moment's frustration, she said, "I'm sorry. I can't seem to get the snap on the strap to work." Seeing the look of doubt on the doctor's face, she added, "I really, really mean it. Look, Jayne is my best friend in the world. I wouldn't take chances with her life."

"My gun very seldom leaves its holster," Christopho explained.

"If I were going to try anything funny," said Mavis, "I'd whip out the gun and go for a Mexican stand-off."

Klinghoffer realized this was probably true. "All right. Leave the gun where it is. Lieutenant, just make sure your hands stay where they are, too."

Rick as well as he could size up the situation with the use of the mirror, Rick decided he could risk looking directly through the window. Klinghoffer was standing with his back to Sarah and Suzy and was not facing the door.

"In a moment, I will ask you to dial a number so that the lieutenant can arrange transportation for me and Miss Harrison. But first, what about these two? Are they dead or what?" Klinghoffer asked, jerking his head toward Suzy and Sarah.

"Yes, they're dead," said Katie.

"Somehow, I'm not very trusting, especially of anything you have to say, Katie. I'm going to verify that for myself." Klinghoffer moved until he was backed up right against the cart bearing Suzy's body.

Rick saw Jayne's control box on the floor. He bent down to pick it up.

"All right, Miss Harrison. I'm going to turn the both of us slightly. I want you to slap this girl on the face. And do it hard. Don't make me have to inspire you with a prick on the neck." Klinghoffer seemed to enjoy the power he had.

"Don't worry," said Jayne. "I don't need a prick on the neck." To herself, she muttered I've already got one on my back.

Rick saw what Klinghoffer was doing. He decided to find Sarah's control box and turn her back on. The problem was he didn't know which purse was hers, so he selected one and dumped it on the floor.

Jayne gave Suzy's cheek a solid slap.

There was no control box in the second purse. "That must be Mavis's. I should have been able to tell that," Rick muttered.

"Harder," ordered Klinghoffer

Jayne slapped Suzy as hard as she could, causing her head to turn to the side.

Oh, I hope Jayne doesn't have to hit me that hard!Sarah fretted, hearing the slap.

The third dumped purse had a control box, but when Rick looked at it, he saw that it had to be Katie's because it registered its owner as not being turned off

"Well, she seems to have gone on to a better world. Let's move over to the next one." Klinghoffer nudged Jayne.

The fourth purse was proving hard to open.

Jayne gave Sarah a slap, hoping that it was convincing enough.

Jayne, don't be afraid to hit me as hard as you can. Don't worry. I can take it. Sarah tried to communicate psychically.

Through the window, Rick saw Katie start to move but then restrain herself.

"Miss Harrison, I know you can do better than that." Klinghoffer dug the blade into Jayne's neck just enough to produce a tiny drop of blood.

Jayne tried to hit Sarah as hard as she could, but she pulled her punch just a little at the end of her downstroke.

"Miss Harrison, your hesitation tells me that perhaps this girl is not genuinely dead." Klinghoffer spoke to the prostrate form. "Come on, you. Get up! Get up or I'll cut your throat."

Rick succeeded in opening the fourth purse and dumped it on the floor.

"Don't!" yelled Katie, taking a step forward.

Rick looked up from sorting through the mess on the floor and saw that Katie might do something foolish.

"Oh, further confirmation that this girl isn't dead." Klinghoffer smirked and spoke to Sarah. "Move or I cut your throat on the count of three. One."

Jimmy and Katie were standing beside each other and both were about to pounce forward.

"She can't move!" Katie screamed.

"Two. Well, then we are about to have a little tragedy here." Klinghoffer's smile indicated that he would not mind cutting a girl's throat in the least.

It was hard for Rick to search for Sarah's control box and watch through the window at the same time.

"Three" Klinghoofer took the blade away from Jayne's throat, preparing to slash Sarah's throat.

NO! NO! I DON'T WANT TO DIE! NOT YET! NOT REALLY!

Jayne gave Klinghoffer a sharp jab in the ribs with her elbow. He grunted with pain, but did not release his hold on her.

Katie lunged forward, ready to be impaled on the scalpel if it saved Sarah.

Using Katie's control box, Rick switched her off.

Katie went limp.

Jimmy caught her before she hit the floor.

"What the....?" Klinghoffer was surprised by Katie's sudden collapse. There was frozen look of fury on Katie's face.

Jayne raised her elbow to plunge it into Klinghoffer's chest again.

Jimmy eased Katie to the floor.

Using Jayne's control box, Rick switched her off.

Jayne slumped.

Klinghoffer found himself holding a whole woman's worth of dead weight in one arm.

"Hey, what's this?" Klinghoffer was very bewildered, looking down at Jayne. "Did these two just drop dead?"

At last, Rick found Sarah's control box and switched her on.

Sarah jerked to life, and saw that Klinghoffer had his back to her and the knife was away from both her throat and Jayne's. She reached over for the steel basin she had seen, grabbed it, and smashed it into the back of Klinghoffer's head.

The blow only stunned Klinghoffer, but it did cause him to let Jayne slide to the floor as he brought his hand to the back of his head.

Seeing an opportunity, Jimmy sprang forward, grabbed the knife-wielding arm, and said, "Drop the blade, Doc, or they're gonna be calling you the one-armed medical man."

Klinghoffer dropped the blade and Jimmy kicked it over by the cart holding Suzy's body.

Mavis rushed to Jayne to make sure she had not been hurt in the slight fall.

Sarah saw Katie lying on the floor and jumped off the cart and ran to her lover.

Rick came through the door carrying all three control boxes and hurried to be with Mavis and Jayne.

Lieutenant Christopho took his hands away from the back of his neck and seriously considered drawing his gun.

"Hey, Lieutenant, you want I should break his arm anyway, just to make him a little more co-operative?" Jimmy asked with some eagerness.

"No, I think he'll have to be able to sign a confession," the lieutenant said.

"Oh, okay." Jimmy eased his grip on Klinghoffer slightly.

Using the control boxes, Rick restored Jayne and Katie's ability to move. Both women embraced their lovers.

"What the hell is this?" Klinghoffer's eyes were wide with wonder and confusion. "These women are dead, then they're alive, then they're dead again and then they're alive." He nodded at Katie. "I thought I killed her and then it looked like I killed almost everyone but her, and then I thought I had, in fact, killed her, but she wasn't dead, and then none of the others are dead either, but now this one just dropped dead and came back to life." He looked down at Jayne. "And you, nobody even touched you and you dropped dead and came back to life. Is this condition catching?"

"Wonders of the modern age, Doctor," Mavis said with a smile.

Everybody seemed to relax a little at Klinghoffer's dithering.

"Well, what about Boffman?" asked Christopho. "Is he, in fact, dead?"

"Oh, yes," said Rick. "You can call the nursing station and ask."

"So, that means you've got a double murder charge against the doctor," Sarah commented.

"No, actually, not. There's just one murder charge," said Christopho. "The murder of Gary Boffman."

Everybody was surprised at Christopho's statement, although individual reactions varied: most looked stunned or puzzled, Klinghoffer looked interested, and Jimmy seemed downright angry.

"What do you mean?" Jimmy asked. Believing that Christopho was implying that Suzy didn't count, Jimmy directed some of his anger toward the lieutenant, almost letting go of Klinghoffer.

"Well..." Christopho began to explain.

Feeling himself free to move, Klinghoffer violently broke away from Jimmy, dived toward the scalpel on the floor, and then sprang to his feet, holding the surgical instrument over Suzy's chest.

"Okay. Now, listen to me." The doctor had the wild eyes of a madman. "I'm not going to be fooled again. I know this girl isn't really dead. Unless I get cooperation starting right now, I'm going to jam this knife right into her heart."

The reaction Klinghoffer got was one of general amusement, including some outright laughter.

"What? You think I won't do it? You think I won't kill this girl? I've killed twice already or at least once. You don't think I'll kill again? You don't think can do it?" He looked about the room as though he was being challenged.

"Dr. Klinghoffer, you can't hurt that girl," Jayne said.

"You don't think so? I would have cut your throat or the throat of that girl hugging the other dead, or not dead, girl. I can cut this girl's heart out!" Klinghoffer was adamant.

"You can't hurt her because she's already dead," Mavis declared.

"Yeah. What kind of doctor doesn't know a dead girl when he sees one?" Katie taunted.

"Look, I know she's not dead! You all know it! We all heard the lieutenant say there was only one murder charge against me, the one for the murder of Gary Boffman." Klinghoffer thought he was stating the obvious.

"Oh, that!" Christopho laughed. "What I meant was that the charge against you in the case of Katie will have to be attempted murder. In the case of Suzy there on the cart, the charge may have to be manslaughter. You didn't mean to kill her, but she is dead."

"Nice try, Lieutenant. I'm not buying that, though. I've been fooled once too often." The doctor was very sure of himself. "I swear, if you don't do as I say, I'll put this blade right through Suzy's heart."

Jimmy boiled with anger and said in a very deep voice reverberating with rage. "Now, Doc, trust me. You hadn't ought to do that. Put the knife down." Jimmy took a step forward.

"Stay where you are!" Klinghoffer warned. "If you take another step toward me, I swear, I'll I drive this blade into her."

"Better not." Jimmy issued his own warning and took another step.

"Okay. You asked for it!" With that Klinghoofer plunged the scalpel into Suzy's heart.

Dr. Ernest Klinghoffer experienced one perfect moment of perceiving the universe as a totally absurd place. Nobody screamed when the blade pierced the girl's heart. The giant who was so intent on protecting her was not even fazed by the sight. The police officer in the room seemed to smile at the sight of a murder being committed before his very eyes.

The girl's wound should be gushing spurts of blood almost to the ceiling. No matter what her state of consciousness, this trauma should have caused some reaction, a reflexive jerk at the very least. But nothing happened.

Klinghoffer thought he had killed a girl and she wasn't dead. Now, he thought he killed a girl, and she was dead, but somehow that didn't make sense, either. The girls he killed were alive. The girl who was dead, he couldn't kill. Well, of course, you can't kill a dead girl. But he had killed her, maybe, before -- maybe not. Who knows?

There would be no hundreds of thousands of dollars coming his way from organized gambling and he wouldn't be able to retire in comfort. But even if he couldn't retire, he wouldn't be a doctor anymore, and he wouldn't enjoy not being a doctor, either.

None of it made any sense at all. Girls were alive when you wanted them dead and dead when you wanted them alive. The world needed to be explained to him.

Klinghoffer looked up hoping to find the answer to his many questions in the face of somebody in the room.

All he saw was Jimmy's fist headed right for his jaw.

And then Klinghoffer was flying, the floor snatched out from under him.

Where did the floor go?

Oh, there it is!

Everything went black for Klinghoffer.

"Nobody hurts any of my girls, even if they're already dead!" Jimmy proclaimed, shaking with rage and massaging the knuckles of his right hand.

Mavis went to Jimmy's side and put a soothing arm around him.

Jayne, still a nurse, even if her new patient had been ready to kill her a few moments ago, hurried to kneel by Klinghoffer's prostrate form. Rick followed to kneel beside the woman he loved.

"Ma'am, if I could please have my phone back?" Christopho put his hand out to Mavis.

"Oh, sure." Mavis had forgotten that she was still clutching the cell phone. She smiled and handed it to him.

"Lieutenant," said Jayne, "you had better call for some emergency help. The doctor is breathing and he has a strong pulse, but I don't like the way his head is turned. He may have a broken neck. I don't want to move him."

"Right away, ma'am," said Christopho.

"Katie and Sarah, I want you two to go out into the hall and see if there is anyone in sight, especially anyone who looks like a doctor," Jayne said.

"You stay here, Katie. I can go." Sarah got up and hurried out the door.

As soon as Sarah was through the door, she was heard shouting, "Oh, shit!" This was followed by a soft thud.

When Jayne, Rick, Katie, Mavis, Jimmy, and Christopho got to the door, they saw Sarah sitting on the floor amid the spilled contents of the purses, rubbing her ankle.

"Where did all this crap come from?" Sarah wanted to know. When she looked at all the "crap," she exclaimed, "Hey, this is our crap! These are our purses!"

"Rick, did you do this?" Jayne asked.

"Well, I was in a hurry," Rick explained, shrugging his shoulders.

Seeing the confusion surrounding Sarah, Mavis laughed and said, "It's going to take us longer to sort this mess out and figure out what belongs to who than it did for us to solve THE NECROBABE MURDER CASE!"

Everyone, even Sarah, joined in the laugher as Jayne knelt down to check on Sarah's ankle.