‘Ssh.’
Tally ran her finger lightly over the alphabetic labelling at the end of each row of shelves as they passed, getting ever nearer to the back wall where the atmosphere was heavy with the smell of old books and dust. ‘Here we are, N for Nature.’
‘You get the genetics journal; I’ll get the other one,’ whispered Steven.
A quick search of the shelves to his left and Steven found the bound copies of Nature journals from the year 2001. He removed the one containing volume 409 and took it over to an unoccupied table where he sat and waited for Tally to join him. His mouth was beginning to dry with excitement as he whispered, ‘You read that one and I’ll read this. Then we’ll talk.’
Tally complied with a nod and they both opened their volumes to begin reading.
Although he didn’t expect to feel encouraged by what he found, Steven had not anticipated the wave of horror that swept over him as he read the abstract of the relevant paper and slowly started to realise what must have happened at the St Clair Genomics lab. Even the reason for Scott Haldane working out what the problem might be became clear when Steven remembered that Haldane had worked for a long time in Africa. Haldane hadn’t known anything about the Nichol vaccine at all: he had recognised the symptoms of a disease in Trish Lyons that he couldn’t quite bring himself to believe or mention to anyone at the time.
Steven slowly raised his eyes and saw that Tally had been filled with the same sense of horror. She mouthed the one word, ‘Leprosy?’ and he nodded as if subconsciously unwilling to confirm it. ‘This paper reports the work of a group at Cambridge who sequenced the leprosy genome,’ he said. ‘They found it to be a cut down version of the TB genome, as if at some time back on the evolutionary path, leprosy had discarded all the genes it could do without. TB has four thousand genes, leprosy only sixteen hundred.’
‘And that’s the reason they can’t grow it in the lab,’ said Tally. ‘The leprosy bacillus has to grow inside cells in the body, stealing nutrients from them and evading the immune system until it can infect the Schwann nerve cells. This in turn leads to sensory loss — the reason leprosy sufferers have such horrible disfigurement. They don’t feel it when they burn or cut themselves which leads to mutilation and continual infections.’
Steven thought of Trish Lyons and the accident with boiling water. Trish had suffered horrible injuries but she was also shocked by the fact she didn’t feel pain. That’s what she had been trying to tell her mother and now Virginia Lyons was beginning to experience the same loss of sensation in the patches that were breaking out on her skin. Steven closed his eyes for a moment against the full implications of the nightmare.
‘But how could it happen?’ asked Tally, looking bemused.
‘Alan Nichol,’ said Steven but Tally’s eyes still asked the question.
‘He made his vaccine the “modern” way. He used the techniques of molecular biology to cut down the size of the TB genome in the lab until it was — he thought — no longer infectious only he had created a new version of the leprosy bacillus by accident. It stimulated antibody production against the genus that TB and leprosy belong to — Mycobacteria — but the strain didn’t grow in the lab so he thought he had made an effective non-live vaccine… to the applause and go-ahead from a grateful government.’
‘Oh God,’ sighed Tally, shaking her head. ‘What an absolute disaster.’
‘Judging by the way the infection raced through Keith Taylor, this strain may actually be worse than real leprosy itself,’ said Steven.
Tally nodded. ‘It sounds like it can grow faster,’ she said.
‘Maybe it has a few more genes.’
‘On the other hand, it’s not progressing particularly quickly in the others,’ said Tally. ‘So maybe the human immune system is working better against this strain than it does against real leprosy?’
‘God, I hope so,’ said Steven. ‘Any idea what the treatment is for leprosy these days?’
‘I seem to remember reading in a journal recently that the World Health Organisation was recommending multi-drug therapy in their bid to stamp out the disease. Dapsone, rifampicin and clofazimine if I’m not mistaken. It’s not a disease I’ve ever come across.’
‘I guess that goes for all the other physicians and skin clinic people who missed the signs too,’ said Steven.
Tally made an apologetic face. ‘I suppose so…’
‘If there is a god, he’s making it bloody hard for us agnostics to recognise the fact,’ said Steven.
‘What now?’
‘I’ll tell John Macmillan everything, get him to pull the plug on the vaccine, get treatment organised for the green sticker kids and their families and start the crucifixion scene in Whitehall.’
‘You don’t really think anyone there knew the whole truth, do you?’ asked Tally.
‘Not that it was leprosy in the vials,’ said Steven. ‘But, ultimately, these people were responsible for being taken in by a bunch of Russian gangsters and damned nearly licensing a vaccine that would have given kids all over the country leprosy. Given the opportunity, I personally will bang in the nails.’
Steven brought out his phone and was about to call Sci-Med when one of the library staff appeared at his side. ‘I’m sorry, that’s against the rules,’ she said.
Steven gave a half smile. ‘Of course,’ he said with a sideways glance at Tally. ‘We must stick to the rules… otherwise we’ll get in a right mess…’ He took the phone outside and called Macmillan.
Tally waited for a few minutes inside and then went out to join Steven just as he was finishing the conversation. ‘All right?’ she asked.
‘All done,’ said Steven. ‘The dogs have been let loose.’
‘Do you think the government will fall?’
‘Right now, I neither know nor care. John Macmillan said that Downing Street will be calling in the leaders of the other parties to “keep everyone in the loop and chart the way ahead”.’
‘And us? What do we do?’
‘We lie low for a couple of days until Marcus Rose and Phillip St Clair are banged up and their Russian pals know the game’s over.’
‘My God,’ said Tally as if suddenly realising something. ‘The hospital must be wondering where I am and my car is still in the car park at Watford Gap and I haven’t phoned…’
Steven put a finger on her lips. ‘It’s all being taken care of,’ he said. ‘Macmillan has been in touch with the hospital. You are currently providing invaluable assistance to HMG and will be officially on leave until such time as your services are no longer required. Your car will be returned to your home.’
‘But I have the keys…’ said Tally.
Steven smiled.
‘I suppose that was silly,’ she said, getting a nod in response. ‘Just how long are my services going to be required?’
‘Let’s see now,’ said Steven. ‘We’ll lie low for a couple of days and then we’re going up to Scotland for a short break: there’s someone there I’d like you to meet.’
‘I love it when you’re masterful,’ said Tally.
Steven smiled.
‘Just don’t get too masterful… or I’ll cut them off…’
