Grey Matters Read Online Free PDF

that Dulcie was determined to finish before her grants ran out. She made a mental note to call Professor Bullock again. The Gunning anthology was a library book. And the heavy volumes that Polly had been carrying?
    ‘Bullock cares quite a lot about his private library. I know it’s not her fault, but I bet on top of everything else, there’s going to be hell to pay for dropping all those books.’

SIX
    C hris had laughed, shaking his head as Dulcie explained how persnickety her thesis adviser could be about his collection, much of which consisted of rare first editions. And Dulcie had been grateful. Chris cared about her, she knew that, and if he sometimes threw a psychotherapy phrase at her, it was just because he cared. But right now she needed some distraction from the reality of the murder. She needed to get back to work. He’d walked her over to Widener after their shared meal. They’d been on the wide granite steps, making plans for the evening, when Dulcie’s cell had rung.
    ‘Nancy?’ The departmental secretary’s voice brought it all back for a moment. ‘Is everything okay? Has something else—?’
    ‘No, no. I’m sorry, Dulcie. Everything’s fine.’ The motherly secretary was quick to jump in. ‘It’s just that I’ve received a call from Raleigh Hall. Cameron’s student? She’d heard the news and wanted to find out what was happening. I wanted her to have a sense of continuity, and so I told her that you’d be calling her soon. Would you, dear? She sounds a little frantic.’
    ‘Sure.’ The flash of fear vanished, but it had chased away the warm feeling from the Greenhouse for good. ‘I’ll call her now.’
    ‘Trouble?’ Chris was watching her closely.
    ‘A new student. Undergrad. We’re splitting up Cameron’s workload and I got her.’ She forced a smile on her face. ‘It’ll be fine. And you should get back to the lab.’
    ‘I can hang, if you need me.’ Chris wasn’t fooled, and Dulcie felt her smile becoming genuine.
    ‘Thanks, sweetie. Really, I’m fine. Taking on a new student is a drag, but it’s got to be done. I’m just going to call her and see if I can flush out Bullock, get my bag back. And then I’m going to spend the afternoon in the stacks, where no computer dude dares follow.’
    Chris’s thin face split into a real grin. ‘Don’t dare me, Dulcie Schwartz! But this time, I’ll let you go.’ He leaned in for a kiss and Dulcie watched him lope off toward the Science Center, waiting until he’d slipped past the white-steepled church before punching in the numbers of her new charge.
    ‘Hello, Raleigh?’ The automated voicemail gave no sign if the recipient was male or female. ‘This is Dulcie Schwartz calling. I’m going to be your adviser, at least for now . . .’ Dulcie quickly gave her own phone number and her office info, and hung up, grateful for voicemail. After yesterday, she really needed a day in the stacks. But just as she pushed open the big glass doors, the sound of an old-fashioned phone rang out.
    ‘Miss?’ The guard gave Dulcie a pointed look, and she nodded. Kicking herself for not turning the phone off, she turned back to the door, dug the offending implement back out of her pocket and, taking a deep breath, answered. If she was going to have to deal with a grief-stricken student, she may as well get it over with.
    But the voice that greeted her was both more distraught and more familiar than expected. ‘Dulcie, thank the Goddess I’ve reached you.’ Dulcie sank down on the top step and looked out over the Yard. This could be a while.
    ‘Hi, Lucy. What’s up?’ Lucy – Dulcie rarely called her mother anything else – was prone to premonitions, dreams, and other psychic disturbances. Despite the rarity of these various portents having any basis in real life, Lucy never failed to get worked up about them.
    ‘Where are you? You’re not home, are you, Dulcinea?’
    Living in the commune, as Dulcie still thought of the Oregon