Pia was steamed and George didn’t know what to say. The thought he’d expressed had taken on a life of its own in his mind. But as soon as he had voiced it, he knew it was very unlikely. Now he was just embarrassed he’d even mentioned it.
“All right, that does it, I’m going to the lab,” Pia said. “I really do have stuff there that I need to get. I worked there for more than three and a half years. And don’t worry, if it’s off-limits, I’ll come right back like a good girl.”
“And if it isn’t?”
“Then I’ll check out the storage freezer and get my stuff.”
“I’ll walk over to the med center and wait for you in the library.”
“You don’t have to do that.”
“After Springer, it’s the least I can do. Really.”
“I guess I can’t stop you.”
George knew that was as close to an invite as he was going to get.
34.
COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY MEDICAL CENTER NEW YORK CITY MARCH 24, 2011, 5:07 P.M.
Pia and George walked over to the Black research building and passed through security with their medical student IDs. They were bucking the tide, as it was past five o’clock and most of the staff was streaming out, having finished work for the day. Pia and George parted at the elevators, with Pia telling George she would come find him in the library when she’d finished her visit.
In the elevator, Pia was glad George wasn’t with her. She’d be able to do what she wanted more quickly without him. She was pleased but not surprised that the caution tape was gone from the lab entrance. More good news: The door was unlocked, meaning the lab was officially back to normal. But the positive feelings were short- lived when she saw that a few of the familiar denizens of the lab had taken the same opportunity to show up and get on with whatever business was pressing. Marsha Langman was tidying up her desk, its previous pristine neatness a victim of CDC investigators who had gone through most of the lab’s records. Unfortunately the head technician, Arthur Spaulding, was also there, for similar reasons, trying to get everything back to normal.
Seeing Spaulding was a disappointment. His presence precluded her plan to visit the biosafety lab. If he saw her, particularly if he saw her in the refrigerator storage facility, he would undoubtedly make a scene. Pia cursed under her breath that she hadn’t gotten into the lab before any of the others. Neither Marsha nor Spaulding, nor any of the other technicians who were there, greeted her, or obviously snubbed her-it was like she wasn’t there at all. It surprised her, because they were all going through the same trauma involving their bosses’ deaths. It was like they were a group of automatons.
Pia headed toward the open door leading into her small office, thinking she might have to get her stuff, leave, and then return later that night to check out the biosafety microbiological storage freezer. In the process she practically collided with the maintenance man from the day before, O’Meary.
Obviously he knew Pia’s name. “Miss Grazdani! Nice to see you again. We just heard ten minutes ago that we can get back in here tomorrow morning to finish up. I’m just checking the site, making sure all the tools are here.” He then leaned toward Pia and whispered, “I’m not a hundred percent happy about being in here after what happened yesterday. But the job’s gotta get done. You think it’s safe in here now? Our boss says so.”
“I think it’s safe,” Pia said. “I don’t think it was ever unsafe.”
“Good to hear.” O’Meary straightened up to his full height. He jerked his thumb toward Pia’s ceiling. “I think we’ve isolated the problems with the short. It’s up there, so we should be outa your hair by lunch tomorrow.”
Pia didn’t respond. She doubted the problem would ever get solved. Besides, she wouldn’t be there at noon tomorrow or any other day.
“I hope we won’t be bothering you too much tomorrow,” O’Meary said, trying to be considerate. He tried to go around her. Pia stopped him.
“I know you’ve only been here a couple of days, but did you see anything unusual yesterday morning? Before all the excitement started. Anything that struck you as odd?”
“That Springer guy asked me already, and the Disease Control people. They took a long time about it.”
“I’m sure they were very thorough, but I’m wondering, because you were in here all morning and in different parts of the lab with your wires, if you saw anyone early on who you didn’t see in the lab later. Anyone who looked like he didn’t belong.”
O’Meary narrowed his eyes, but playfully.
“What are you, a cop now?”
“No, I’m not a cop.”
“I wasn’t working in that bio unit where they got sick, so I wouldn’t know about anyone in there. Are you sure this place is safe? The disease people were asking about contamination, like ‘Before the contamination . . .’ and so on. Is it really safe in here?”
“I’m sure it’s safe. I came back and I’m not about to take a risk with that bacteria.”
“So why the questions? You’re making me nervous.”
“I’m just making some of my own inquiries. Supposedly nothing abnormal was found here in the lab or in the biosafety unit. Did you see Dr. Rothman or Dr. Yamamoto at all?”
“I didn’t even know which one was which. There was a lot of people in and out of this lab, dropping stuff off.”
“Do you know Arthur Spaulding, the head technician?”
“Yeah, he was introduced to us when we first came on the job.”
“Did you see him when you were in Rothman’s office?”
“Sure, a few times. Quick ins and outs.”
“Anyone else more than once?”
“The secretary, Martha.”
“Marsha.”
“Whatever, yeah. You know, you sound an awful lot like a cop.”
“I’m not a cop, just a student who has a few questions. Sorry to keep you. But if you think of anything unusual, just find me.”
“Are you gonna be here?”
“Actually, no. Let me give you my cell phone number. If you remember anything, please call. I rarely use it, but I’ll pick up a message.”
“Okay, I got it.”
Over O’Meary’s shoulder Pia saw Spaulding say good night to Marsha and leave. She silently applauded. She was now free to go and check out the storage freezer.
To be on the safe side, Pia did a circuit of the lab to see who else was around. A couple of the other support personnel were tidying up in the main lab area, and Marsha was busy around the front desk, but there was no one there who might go into the biosafety unit. Stepping into Spaulding’s office, she took the microbiological storage freezer log from where she knew Spaulding kept it in his desk. In the anteroom of the unit she quickly suited up, and once inside the unit itself, she used her own key to enter the large walk-in storage freezer. The door closed automatically behind her. She was surprised the interior light was on, which was odd, because Spaulding was scrupulous about turning it off when he left. As Pia started to contemplate what that might mean, the door was yanked open. Pia’s heart leaped in her chest. She found herself face-to-face with an equally surprised Arthur Spaulding.
“What are you doing here?” Pia asked quickly, feigning indignation.
“I came to turn off the light. More to the point, what are
