The attractive blonde took a deep drag on her cigarette and added a lungful of smog to the hazy room.  A brief knock and the squeak of a door hinge spurred her to lean forward slightly in an oversized leather chair and crush the lipstick-stained butt into a floor-standing ashtray.  As she stood, she remarked coldly, “I thought you changed your mind about coming.”

      The next instant, a heavy object crashed down on the back of Professor Edwina Feelgood’s head, catapulting her onto the floor.  Her eyes were open when her perfect lips smudged the carpet, but her consciousness had left, as would her life within the hour.