'It was a touch of genius, ' Curt said with a wry smile as he made the turn onto Ocean Avenue. 'The idea just came to me like a bolt out of the heavens. If this all goes as well as I'm sure it will, we'll probably want to make future strikes.'
TUESDAY, OCTOBER 19
Jack liked to work after hours. With few people in the building and no phone calls to distract him, he was able to get much more done than he could during the day. The only person he'd seen over the previous hour had been one of the janitors, who'd whisked by the door with a large dust mop.
For efficiency's sake, he'd spread himself all around the one office, bunching similar tasks for different cases in the same location. He'd even arrogated Chet's desk, where he'd set up his microscope for examining the histology slides. Taking advantage of the wheels on his desk chair, he moved from station to station.
'My God, I'm homeless, ' a voice said, breaking the silence.
Jack glanced up to see Chet looking forlornly at his commandeered desk.
'Ah, the missing ME! ' Jack said. 'Talk about me going out in the field!
Where on earth have you been? I haven't seen you since early this. , , morning.
'I told you I was going to the pathology conference, ' Chet said. 'You did? '
'Of course I did, ' Chet said. 'In the ID room this morning over coffee.'
'Sorry, I guess I forgot, ' Jack said. He remembered being preoccupied about his planned apology to Laur
A lot's going on.'
'It looks like a cyclone hit this office.'
'I suppose it does, ' Jack said. 'Here, let me get my stuff off your desk.'
'Hey, not on my account, ' Chet said. 'I've just stopped in to pick up my briefcase. It's got my exercise clothes. I'm heading over to the gym.'
'Are you sure you don't want me to move my junk? '
'Absolutely, ' Chet said. He gingerly stepped over folders Jack had strategically placed around the floor. 'You should have come to the conference. It was one of the best I've attended.'
'Really? ' Jack questioned without interest. He'd turned his attention back to the prisoner-in-custody case, whose slides had appeared in a miraculously short time from the histology lab.
'The last seminar was particularly fantastic, ' Chet continued. He pulled open the top drawer of his file cabinet and lifted out his briefcase. 'It was on zoonoses. You know, diseases of animals that people can get.'
'I know what zoonoses are, ' Jack said absently.
'What made it so good was that a number of city veterinarians were on the panel, ' Chet said. 'I was bowled over by the number of animal diseases which they're constantly contending with. It's incredible.'
'No kidding, ' Jack said vaguely. He was trying to find the slides of David Jefferson's brain, particularly the sections of the temporal lobe.
'And I'm not just talking about the ones you hear about in the media like rabies in raccoons. In fact, one of the guys said that just today there was a major die-off of sewer rats in Brooklyn way out in Brighton Beach.' Jack's head popped up. 'What was that? '
'As usual, you're not listening to me, ' Chet complained.
'I just missed the last part.' Chet repeated what he'd said about the rats.
'And this was in Brighton Beach? ' Jack asked. He stared off.
'Yes! ' Chet said, mildly miffed. As usual it irritated him the way Jack could tune him out. 'Why does Brighton Beach surprise you? ' Jack didn't answer. It was as if he was in a trance.
'Hello! ' Chet called, waving his hand in front of Jack's face.
'Earth to Jack! Come in please! ' Chet shook his head. 'God, I haven't used that phrase since the third grade.'
'What did the rats die of? ' Jack asked. 'Was it plague or something like that? '
'No!'
' Chet said. 'That's the big mystery. They haven't been able to come up with a cause yet. But they're very concerned. And just to add to the mystery, two out of the hundreds of dead rats they've collected had cutaneous ulcers that turned out to be anthrax.'
'Now that is weird!
' Jack said. 'Do they think the others had anthrax?'
'No, not at all, ' Chet said. 'They've pretty much ruled out bacteria as the culprit, including anthrax.
Now they're focusing mostly on some kind of virus. The anthrax is just a curious corollary.'
'This is the second time I've heard about Brighton Beach today, ' Jack said.
'And before that, I never knew it existed.'
'What amazed me was to learn that this kind of problem, maybe not quite as dramatic as with the rats, occurs all the time. We just don't hear about it. These veterinary epidemiologists are busy guys.'
'Do they have any idea where the anthrax came from? ' Jack asked.
'Nope, ' Chet said. 'But it has them thinking that maybe some of the rats are hosts, which is not what the textbooks say. I tell you, it's fascinating stuff.'
'Let me tell you about my Brighton Beach case, ' Jack said. 'Do you have a minute? '
'Provided it doesn't take too long, ' Chet said while peeking at his watch. 'I don't want to miss this particular aerobics class. There's this one girl with a figure to die for who only comes on Tuesday nights.'
Jack gave a quick synopsis of Connie Davydov, focusing on the diagnostic mystery. Jack listed all the agents he'd been considering. Then he asked Chet if he had any ideas.
Chet screwed up his face and pondered for a few moments. He shook his head. 'I think you've pretty well covered the landscape.'
'It is kinda curious that Connie Davydov suddenly dies from what I think was a mysterious poisoning the day there's a major rat die-off in the same town.'
'Whoa! ' Chet said with a smile. 'That's a giant leap of association, unless, of course, Ms. Davydov spent some quality time during the previous twenty-four hours in the sewer or a portion of the town's rat population hung out in her apartment.' Jack ran the fingers of both hands through his hair, while laughing at Chet's absurd suggestions.
'Of course you're right! But what a strange coincidence, especially when you add the anthrax to the picture, and the case of human anthrax I had yesterday here in Manhattan. What a couple of days! '
'Well, I'm going to leave you to ponder these mysteries, ' Chet said.
'While I go ponder another more enjoyable one in aerobics class.'
'Excuse me, Dr. Stapleton! ' Jack and Chet turned to see Peter Letterman standing in the doorway in his long white coat with its inevitable pattern of colorful stains. He was holding a computer printout.
'Peter! ' Jack said eagerly. He searched the man's face for a hint of his news, but Peter's delicate features were unrevealing.
'I've run all the assays you suggested, ' Peter said.
'And? ' Jack questioned expectantly. It was like waiting for the envelope to be opened at the Academy Awards.
Peter handed Jack the printout. Jack scanned it. He had no idea what he was looking at.
'Everything came out negative, ' Peter said guiltily. 'I haven't found anything.'
'Nothing? ' Jack questioned. He looked up. He was dismayed.
Peter shook his head. 'I'm sorry. I know you were counting on a positive so I ran some of the assays several times. Everything came back negative.'
'Oh, crap! ' Jack said. He threw up his hands. 'So much for my intuition. Maybe even my job.'
'You checked for carbon monoxide? ' Chet asked.
'Absolutely, ' Peter said.
'And cyanide? ' Chet asked.
'EVERYTHING that Dr. Stapleton requested plus a few drugs he didn't mention.'
'Thank you very much, ' Jack said. 'At the moment I might not sound as appreciative as I should, but I am thankful for you staying late and doing this.'
'If you can think of anything else you want me to test for, give me a call.'
