The Cradle Will Fall

Bill and Molly came ru

"Not yet," Phil answered.

The door to the fire stairs, partly ajar, burst open. A young policeman ran out. "She's on the floor in the morgue. I think she's gone."

Seconds later Richard was cradling her in his arms. Her skin and lips were ashen. He could not get a pulse. "Katie. Katie." Bill gripped his shoulder. "Let's get her upstairs. We'll have to work fast if there's any chance at all."

SHE was in a tu

"Hang on, Katie."

Sighing, she turned and began to make her way back.

ON MONDAY evening Richard tiptoed into Katie's room, a dozen roses in his hand. She'd been out of danger since Sunday morning, but hadn't stayed awake long enough to say anything. Her eyes were closed. He decided to go out and ask the nurse for a vase.

"Just lay them across my chest."

He spun around. "Katie. How do you feel?"

She grimaced at the transfusion apparatus. "I hear the vampires are picketing. I'm putting them out of business."

"You're better." He pulled up a chair. He hoped the sudden moisture in his eyes wasn't noticeable.

She had noticed. She gently reached up and brushed a finger across his eyelids. "Before I fall asleep again, please tell me what happened. Why did Dr. Highley kill Vangie?"

"He was experimenting on his patients, taking fetuses from women who had abortions and implanting them in the wombs of sterile women. In these past eight years he learned how to immunize a host mother to prevent her from rejecting an alien fetus, at least for a few months. Most cases eventually ended in spontaneous abortion, but he did have one complete success.

"After that one success, he wanted to break more new ground. An Oriental woman named A

"He was able to suppress the immune system?"

"Yes, and without harm to the developing fetus. But the danger to the mother was great. He's killed sixteen women. Vangie was getting terribly sick. Unfortunately for her, she ran into Highley last Monday evening just as she left Fukhito. She told him she was going to consult her former doctor in Mi

"And now," Richard said, "that's enough of that. All the rest can wait. Your eyes are closing again."

"No… You said Highley had one success."

"Yes. And if you had stayed five minutes longer at Molly's last Thursday night and seen the Berkeley baby, you could guess who it is. Liz Berkeley carried Maureen Crawley’s baby to term.”

“Maureen’s baby.” Katie tried to pull herself up.

“Easy, you’ll pull that needle out.” Gently he touched her shoulder, holding her until she leaned back.

“Does Maureen know?” she asked.

“It was only right to tell her and the Berkeley’s. Jim has been living with the belief that his wife lied to him about artificial insemination. You know how Maureen felt about that abortion. It’s been destroying her. She went to see her baby. She’s one happy girl, Katie. She would have given it out for adoption if she had delivered it naturally. Now that she has seen Marya

“What about the mother of Vangie’s baby?”

“A

Katie bit her lip. “Richard, tell me the truth. When they found me, how far did they have to go to stop the bleeding?”

“You’re okay. You can still have a dozen kids if you want them.”

His hand reached over to cover hers. That hand had been there, had pulled her back when she was so near to death. That voice had made her want to come back.

For a long, quite moment she looked up at Richard. Oh, how I love you, she thought. How very much I love you.

His troubled expression changed suddenly into a broad smile. Obviously he was satisfied at what he saw in her face.

Katie gri