similar. If he was right, he knew what tomorrow's headlines would read.
McCaskey's cell phone beeped as he was getting back into the car. It was Dr. Hennepin.
'It took exactly fifteen minutes for the laboratory to find something that did not belong in a man's mouth,' she said. 'Traces of potassium chloride.'
'Which is used for what?' McCaskey asked.
'Executing criminals by lethal injection,' the medical examiner told him. 'It stops the heart.'
'Is there any way our subject could have acquired that substance naturally?' McCaskey asked. He was careful not to use William Wilson's name, since this was not a secure line.
'Only if he had been eating dog food and certain brands of weight loss bars and dietary supplements,' she said. 'I did not find anything in the contents of his stomach that indicated he had eaten any of the above. Moreover, in the case of the bars and supplements, potassium chloride would have been detected in conjunction with potassium citrate or potassium phosphate.'
'The sample you found was pure.'
'Yes,' she said.
'So he was murdered.'
'Unless it was self-inflicted.'
'Which does not seem likely,' McCaskey said. 'Who has to be informed about this?'
'I have to send a report to the Metro Police superintendent of detectives and a copy to the MP forensics office,' she replied.
'When?'
'As soon as I can write it up,' the doctor told him. 'They should have it within an hour.'
'Can you write slowly?' McCaskey asked. 'I have to get back to my office and give Scotland Yard a heads-up. There may be individuals they want watched before the information becomes somewhat public.'
'All right,' she said. 'I'll have them run tests for other coronary inhibitors. That should take an extra hour.'
'Thanks, Dr. Hennepin,' McCaskey said. 'Will you be able to forward a copy to me?'
'Sure.'
McCaskey thanked her again.
Op-Center's top policeman was already on the road before the conversation ended. He did not want to call Op-Center or Scotland Yard from the secure cell phone in the car. He was not thinking about the empowerment he gained by possessing foreknowledge. Right now, the former FBI agent was thinking about everything that would have to be done to find the individual who had gone to William Wilson's room and apparently assassinated him.
Upon arriving at Op-Center, McCaskey went directly to his office, shut the door, and called George Daily. The detective superintendent was less surprised than McCaskey had expected.
'It's more credible, frankly, than hearing that he died of heart failure,' the British investigator remarked.
'I'm going to meet with Director Hood as soon as he's free,' McCaskey said. 'Do you want to approach the Metropolitan Police, or would you prefer that we work on your behalf?'
'We'd best do both,' Daily told him. 'When the press gets hold of this, we will be pressured to take a direct hand. In the meantime, it would help enormously if you would earmark areas that we will need to examine. Local police can be very territorial about their sources and the interrogation process.'
'I'll make sure you are represented, Detective Superintendent,'
McCaskey promised.
'How long do we have until this news becomes public fodder?' the Englishman asked.
