'Don't tell me it was anthrax, ' Jack said.
Agnes pushed her bottle-bottom glasses higher on her nose and handed the sheet of paper to Jack. It was the result of a direct fluorescent antibody test on one of the mediastinal Lymph nodes. In bold capital letters it said, POSITIVE FOR ANTHRAX.
'This is unbelievable, ' Jack said. He handed the sheet to Chet, who read it with equal disbelief.
'I thought you'd like to know as soon as possible, ' Agnes said.
'Absolutely, ' Jack said vaguely. His eyes were glazed. His mind was churning.
'What's the reliability of this test? ' Chet asked.
'About a hundred percent, ' Agnes said. 'It's very specific and the reagents aren't old. After all the exotic diseases Jack diagnosed on that flurry of infectious diseases a couple of years ago, I've made sure we've kept up to speed for most anything. Of course, for final confirmation we've planted cultures.'
'This illness spreads by spores, ' Jack said as if waking from a trance.
'Are there any tests for the spores or do you just have to grow them out and then test for the bacteria? '
'There's a polymerase chain reaction or PCR test for the spores, ' Agnes said. 'We don't do that in micro, but I'm sure Ted Lynch in the DNA lab could help you. Do you have something you want to test for spores? '
'Not yet, ' Jack said.
'Uh oh, ' Chet moaned. 'I don't like the sound of that. You're not planning on going out in the field, are you? '
'I don't know, ' Jack admitted. He was still in a daze. A case of inhalational anthrax in New York was as unexpected as plague.
'Have you forgotten what happened to you last time you got involved with infectious-disease field work?
' Chet asked. 'Let me remind you, you were almost killed.'
'Thanks, Agnes, ' Jack said to the micro department head. He ignored Chet. He turned back to his desk and pushed away the files relating to the prisoner-in-custody death which Calvin wanted completed ASAP. Jack slipped the contents of Jason Papparis's file from the folder and thumbed through the papers until he came across Janice Jaeger's forensic investigator's report.
'Hey, I'm talking to you, ' Chet said. It always irked him the way Jack could tune him out.
'Here it is, ' Jack said. He held out Janice's report with his finger pointing to the sentence that said that Mr. Papparis was in the rug business. 'Look! '
'I see it, ' Chet said with annoyance. 'But did you hear me? '
'The problem is we don't know what kind of rugs, ' Jack said. 'I think that could be important.' Jack turned the report over.
Just as Janice had said, there was the name and phone number of the house doctor who'd taken care of Mr. Papparis.
Jack spun around and picked up his phone. He dialed the number and got the central switchboard of the Bronx General Hospital.
'Fine, ' Chet said with a wave of dismissal. 'You don't have to listen to me. Hell, I know that you'll just do whatever you want no matter what anybody else says.' Disgusted, Chet turned back to his own work.
'Could you page Dr. Kevin Fowler for me? ' Jack asked the hospital operator. While he waited he held the phone in the crook of his neck so he could lift down his copy of Harrison's Principles of Internal Medicine. The pages of the chapter on infectious diseases were dog-eared.
Jack turned to the section on anthrax. There were only two pages devoted to it. He was almost through reading when Dr. Kevin Fowler came on the line.
Jack explained who he was and why he was calling. Dr. Fowler was dumbfounded at the diagnosis.
'I've never seen a case of anthrax, ' Dr. Fowler admitted. 'Of course, I'm only a resident, so I haven't had much experience.'
'Now you're a member of a select group, ' Jack said. 'I was just reading there's only been a handful of cases over the last decade here in the U. S. , and all of those were the more common cutaneous form.
The inhalational variety like Mr. Papparis had used to be called woolsorters' disease. The patients contracted it from contaminated animal hair and hides.'
'I can tell you it was an extremely rapid downhill course, ' Dr. Fowler said. 'I won't mind if I never have to take care of another case. I guess we get to see everything here in New York.'
'Did you do a history on the patient? ' Jack asked.
'No, not at all, ' Dr. Fowler said. 'I was just called when the patient got into respiratory distress. All I knew about the history was what was in the chart.'
'So you don't know what kind of rug business the patient was in? '
'I haven't the faintest idea, ' Dr. Fowler said. 'Why don't you try the attending physician, Dr. Heitman.'
'Have you got a telephone number for him? ' Jack asked.
'Sure, ' Dr. Fowler said. 'He's one of our staff attendings.' Jack placed a call to Dr. Heitman but learned that he had been merely covering for Dr. Bernard Goldstein and that Mr. Jason Papparis was actually Dr. Goldstein's patient. Jack then called Dr. Goldstein.
It took a few minutes to get the doctor on the line, and he was less than friendly and rather impatient.
Jack wasted no time in asking his question.
'What do you mean what kind of rug business? ' Dr. Goldstein asked irritably. He obviously didn't like being interrupted in the middle of his day for what sounded to him like a frivolous inquiry. His secretary had been hesitant to bother the doctor even after Jack said that the call was an emergency.
'I want to know what kind of rugs he sold, ' Jack said. 'Did he sell broadloom or something else? '
'He never said and I never asked, ' Dr. Goldstein said. Then he hung up.
'He's in the wrong profession, ' Jack said out loud. Jack found the identification sheet in Papparis's folder and saw that the body had been identified by the decedent's wife, Helen Papparis. There was a phone number on the sheet and Jack dialed it. He'd been hoping to avoid intruding on the family.
Helen Papparis turned out to be exquisitely polite and restrained. If she was in mourning, she hid it well, although Jack suspected her extreme politeness was her method of dealing with her loss. After Jack offered his sympathies and explained his official position as well as the nature of the exotic diagnosis, he asked his question about Mr. Papparis's business.
'The Corinthian Rug Company dealt exclusively in handmade rugs, ' Helen said.
'From where? ' Jack asked.
'Mostly from Turkey, ' Helen said. Jack detected a catch in her voice.
'A few of the fur rugs came from Greece, but the vast majority came from Turkey.' . 'So he dealt with furs and hides as well as woven rugs, ' Jack said with academic satisfaction. The mystery was rapidly being resolved.
'That's correct, ' Helen said.
Jack's eyes dropped to the open textbook in front of him. Right in the middle of the anthrax section it described how the animal form of anthrax was a problem in a number of countries, including Turkey, and that animal products, particularly goat's hair, could be contaminated with the spores.
'Did he deal with goatskins? ' Jack asked.
'Yes, of course, ' Helen said. 'Sheepskins and goatskins were a large part of his business.'
'Well, I think we've solved the mystery, ' Jack said. He explained the association to Helen.
'That's ironic, ' Helen said without a hint of rancor. 'Those rugs have provided us with a comfortable life, including sending our only daughter to an Ivy League college.'
'Did Mr. Papparis get any recent shipments? ' Jack asked.
'About a month ago.'
'Are any of those rugs in your home? '
'No, ' Helen said. 'Jason felt it was enough to deal with them during the day. He refused to have any of them around the house.'
'Under the circumstances that was a smart decision, ' Jack said.
'Where are these rugs? Have many been sold? ' Helen explained that the rugs had gone into a warehouse in Queens, and she doubted many had been sold. She explained to Jack that Jason's business was wholesale and that
