8. A Burden of Blood

Complete story — includes the ending

Ellen Jacobs, two months pregnant despite having had a tubal ligation, is found suffocated by a plastic bag in her car. She was leaving a voice mail message when she was killed; her last words are "Oh, my God. No. Stop it! No!" Her husband is sterile. Ellen is the daughter of an imprisoned killer whose modus operandi matches her death. The father of her child is the realtor selling the Jacobs' house, whose mother was killed by Ellen's father; he is the prime suspect until he is attacked and hospitalised by the husband. The husband is arrested, but Ellen's brother Nolan is the true killer; the first "No" she said in the voice mail was actually her pet name for him. Ellen and Nolan had had an agreement not to pass on their father's genes, so he killed her after she refused to get an abortion. Meanwhile, Joan helps Bell study for the Sergeant's exam. Sherlock takes over Bell's tutelage and ascertains he does not want the promotion, but needs the pay raise to help his mother, who has lost her job. Joan gives Bell a tutoring "case study", which is actually a real case. This leads to his mother receiving most of a $40,000 bounty for locating a wanted fugitive.