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squeamishly bent over and peeked into the small wire cage where Arliss was pointing.  Inside, a small white, round, furry animal was huddled in the corner on a pile of wood shavings.  Underneath her, barely visible were the tiny heads of several baby creatures of the same type.”
    “You scared us to death, Arliss!” scolded Pamela.  “We thought we’d have to deliver your baby ourselves right here on the floor of the lab.”
    “I’m sorry, Pam,” said Arliss with a frown, then suddenly grinning, “but I just wanted you to see Eva’s babies.  Aren’t they adorable?”
    “Adorable,” said Joan with a fake grin.  The corners of her mouth rose abruptly and then returned to normal.
    “Cute,” agreed Jane Marie.  “They smell a bit though.”
    “You don’t understand,” continued Arliss, waving her thin fingers frantically. “This is our first live birth in the lab in years.  It’s really a wonderful sign that conditions have improved dramatically for our animals.  When animals can mate and produce young, it’s a wonderful benefit for an academic lab—in more ways than one.”
    “What is it, a hamster?” asked Pamela.  She peered into the cage, her nose squishing up in response to the odor.
    “Oh, no!” laughed Arliss.  “Eva is a chinchilla.  We named her that because she has such a beautiful and expensive fur coat.  And, of course, Eddie is very doting too—he’s the father.  That’s him—asleep in the corner over there.”
    “Eddie?” asked Joan, tapping a finger on the corner of her glasses.
    “Like Eddie Arnold,” said Arliss.  “From that old television series.  Green Acres .  You know, Eva Gabor and Eddie Albert.  Bob is nuts about it.  This guy takes his fancy city wife to live on a farm.”
    “No wonder Bob likes Green Acres ,” mused Pamela, “as he owns a farm himself.”
    “But Bob certainly doesn’t have a fancy city wife,” noted Joan, giving Arliss a glance from head to toe.
    It will be fun to name all five of her babies,” interjected Arliss.  “I may have a contest and let the students have a go at it.”
    “All right,” said Joan, exhaling.  “It’s a relief, I guess, that you’re fine.  I mean, you are about ready to drop that Goodman kid any day now.  Couldn’t you have imagined what we’d think when you called and told us to rush to the lab right away?”
    “I’m really sorry,” replied Arliss, sucking on her lower lip and patting her large belly.  “I know that when this baby is ready to make an appearance, my friends will be right there to help.”
    “Just think of this as a dry run,” offered Jane Marie to all of the women.  They all laughed and carefully took turns bending over Eva to look at her five little youngsters.  Eva wiggled her tiny pink nose and fluffed her fur up in a useless attempt to hide her brood from prying eyes.
    “Really, Arliss,” noted Joan after an appropriate amount of “ooing and awing” of baby chinchillas had occurred.  “My heart simply will not withstand any more excitement today.”
    “More excitement?  It’s not even ten o’clock, Joan.  What else exciting has happened today?” asked Arliss of her older colleague.
    “James Grant,” pronounced Joan, “was arrested yesterday for killing his wife!  Haven’t you heard?  I’ve been working on his campaign.”
    “You mean that young guy who’s running against Hap Brewster?” asked Jane Marie.  Her large brown eyes glistened.
    “Yes,” agreed Pamela, as the four women now stood in the center aisle of the animal lab, their heads together.  “It was on the news last night.  His wife evidently called 911 to say her husband was trying to break into their house.  When the police arrived a few minutes later, they found James Grant kneeling over his wife’s dead body.”
    “Oh, my god,” exclaimed Arliss.  “How awful!”  She rubbed her stomach protectively.
    “Oh, no!” cried Jane Marie with a shiver. “If he’s sent to