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life for more immediate concerns.
    'Detective-Sergeant Celluci, homicide." He flipped his badge at the approaching constable as he got out of the car, forestalling a confrontation about the less than legal U-turn. "What's going on?"
    The young woman snapped her mouth shut around what she'd been about to say and managed, "Constable Trembley, sir. They sent homicide? I don't understand."
    'No one sent me, I was just driving past." The attendants were loading a body into the ambulance, face covered.
    Obviously D.O.A. "Thought I'd stop and see if there was anything I could do."
    'Nothing I can think of, Sergeant. Paramedics say it was a heart attack. They figure it was because of the mummy."
    A year ago, eight months ago even, Celluci would have repeated the word mummy, sounding intrigued or amused or both, but after having busted his ass last April tracking down a minion of hell and part of August associating with a pack of werewolves, not to mention time spent with Mr. Henry Fitzroy, his reaction was a little more extreme. He no longer took reality for granted.
    'Mummy?" he growled.
    'It was, uh, in the Egyptology workroom." Constable Trembley took a step back, wondering why the detective had gone for his gun. "Just laying there in its coffin. Too much for one of the janitors apparently." He still looked weirdly suspicious. "It had been dead for a long time." She tried a grin. "I don't think they'll need you on that case either…"
    The joke fell flat, but the grin worked and Celluci let his hand fall to his side. Of course a museum would have a mummy. He felt like a fool. "If you're sure there's nothing I can do…"
    'No, sir."
    'Fine." Muttering under his breath, he headed back to his car. What he really needed was a hot shower, a large breakfast, and a nice simple murder.
    Snapping his occurrence book closed, Trembley's partner wandered over to her side. "Who was that?" he asked.
    'Detective-Sergeant Celluci. Homicide. He was driving by, stopped to see if he could help."
    'Yeah? He looked like he could use some more sleep. What was he muttering as he walked away?"
    'It sounded like," PC Trembley frowned, "lions, and tigers, and bears. Oh, my."

    Chapter Three
    'Hi, Mom."
    'Good morning, dear. How did you know it was me?" Vicki sighed and hiked the towel up more securely under her arms. "I'd just gotten into the shower. Who else could it be?" Her mother had an absolute genius for calling at the worst possible times. Henry had almost died once because of it or, conversely, she'd just missed getting killed because of that same call-Vicki had never quite settled the question to her own satisfaction.
    'It's twenty to nine, dear, don't tell me you're just getting up?"
    'All right."
    There was a long pause while Vicki waited for her mother to work that last comment through. She heard her sigh and I then she heard, faintly in the background, the staccato sound of her nails against the desk.
    'You're working for yourself now, Vicki, and that doesn't mean you can lie about all day."
    'What if I was up all night on a case?"
    'Were you?"
    'Actually, no." Vicki put her bare foot up on one of the kitchen chairs and massaged her calf with the heel of one hand.
    Yesterday's climb up the tower had begun to make itself felt. "Now, as I was home two weeks ago for Thanks-giving…" Which is going to have to hold you until Christmas . "…to what do I owe the pleasure of this call?"
    'Do I have to have a reason to call my only daughter?"
    'No, but you usually do."
    'Well, no one else is in the office yet…"
    'Mom, some day the Life Sciences Department is going to expect you to start paying for these long distance calls."
    'Nonsense, Vicki. Queens University has lots of money and it's not like it costs a fortune to call from Kingston to Toronto, so I thought I'd take the opportunity to see how your visit to the eye doctor went."
    'Retinitis pigmentosa doesn't get any better, Mom. I still have no night sight and bugger all in the way of peripheral