Curt made it a point to take Worth Street west in order to pass the Jacob Javits Federal Building. He wanted to show Mike where he was to enter the building in the morning. After doing so, Curt turned north on the Bowery with the plan of getting over to First Avenue via Houston Street.
'I don't want to take a lot of time, ' Yuri said nervously. 'I just want to point out Jack Stapleton, get out, and let you guys do what you have to do.' Curt took his eyes off the traffic for a moment to cast a questioning glance at Yuri. 'We'll have to see how things work out, ' he said. 'We're kinda playing this operation by ear.'
'What does that mean? ' Yuri asked. He was holding on with both hands.
Curt was driving aggressively in the traffic, especially now that they'd turned north on First Avenue.
'It means we'll be making things up as we go along, ' Curt said. 'But why the rush? I thought you'd want to be along for the whole mission.'
'I have a lot of work to do to be ready for tomorrow, ' Yuri explained.
'Oh, right, ' Curt said.
In the back of the van, new arguments erupted about who was going to hold which weapon. Curt glanced in the rearview mirror and was horrified to see his troops struggling over the Kalashnikovs. 'Get that ordnance out of sight, ' he yelled. 'Jesus Christ! We'll have the cops pulling us over.' Amid grumbles, the weapons were placed on the floor.
Curt caught Yuri casting anxious glances back at the troops. 'They're a little excited, ' he explained.
'They love this type of operation.'
'They seem more than a little excited, ' Yuri responded.
'What was that address again? ' Curt called back to Steve.
Steve pulled Jack's card out of his pocket. 'Five-twenty First Avenue, ' Steve said. 'I imagine it's up in the hospital neighborhood.' Curt began to slow down as they passed Bellevue Hospital on the right.
'There it is, ' Steve said while pointing to a glazed, blue brick building.
Curt pulled to the left side of the road just beyond Thirtieth Street, stopped, and put on his emergency blinkers. They were on the opposite side of the street and catty-corner from the morgue's First Avenue entrance. People were coming out of the building in clumps and either walking away or hailing taxis.
Steve came up between the front bucket seats. He, Curt, and Yuri stared at the front of the building and watched the people exit.
'Looks like the employees are getting off work.' In the back of the van the troops reopened the argument about who was going to hold the Kalashnikovs. Curt had to yell at them to shut up.
'How are we going to know if he's not already left? ' Steve asked.
'We could be here for hours for nothing.'
'He better not have gone, ' Curt said, glancing harshly at Yuri.
'Let's try to give him a call.
Give me that direct number he put on his card.' While Steve got the card from his pocket, Curt pulled out his cellular phone. As Steve read out the number, Curt punched it into his keypad.
Then he lifted the phone to his ear.
It gave Jack a great sense of satisfaction to sign out yet another case.
Marveling that he'd never been quite so caught up in his work since the day he'd been hired, he put the folder on top of the tottering completed pile. As he pulled his hand away, his phone rang.
'Jack Stapleton here, ' he said in his normal fashion. Instead of a voice, Jack heard a rushing noise, as if he was listening to a distant waterfall. Then there was the unmistakable honk of an automobile horn.
'Hello, hello! ' Jack said into the mouthpiece all the more loudly.
Jack was treated to a click followed by a dial tone. He tossed the handset back into its craddle with a shrug.
'What happened? ' Chet asked without looking up from his work.
'Who the hell knows? ' Jack said. 'I could hear traffic in the background but whoever called never said a word.'
'Must have been an old girlfriend checking up on you, ' Chet said.
'Oh, yeah, right! ' Jack said with as much sarcasm as he could manage. He looked at his diminutive stack of uncompleted files and debated whether to continue his marathon.
Then Chet's phone rang.
'She must have had the wrong number, ' Jack said with a laugh.
Chet picked up his phone. He sat up straighter when he heard who it was. 'Yes, I'm still here, Dr.
Simsarian, ' he said loud enough to be sure Jack could hear.
Jack turned around to look at his officemate, who'd also turned to face him. Their eyes met. Chet was wide- eyed with disbelief. 'Really! ' he said. 'I'm amazed, too.'
'Amazed about what? ' Jack demanded.
Chet held up his hand toward Jack while continuing to talk into the phone, 'Thanks for calling back, Dr.
Simsarian. It's fascinating, and we'll be interested to hear the follow-up. I'll be sure to tell Dr. Stapleton about the results and convey your gratitude.' Chet hung up his phone.
'Don't tell me the rats were positive for botulinum toxin! ' Jack said.
'You guessed it, ' Chet said. 'He was flabbergasted. I am, too. What really made you even consider the idea in the first place? '
'Purely because it was the same neighborhood, ' Jack said.
'Connie Davydov must have eaten one of the rats, ' Chet said with a sinister chuckle.
Jack laughed, too, then commented that only two medical examiners could find such a concept laughable.
'I wonder if an infected rat would put out the toxin in its feces? '
Chet asked.
'That's even a more disgusting idea, ' Jack said. 'I suppose we could ask the veterinary epidemiologists. More realistically, I wonder if Connie Davydov put the rest of whatever it was she ate that was contaminated with the toxin down her disposal.'
'Yeah, but enough to kill that many rats? ' Chet questioned suspiciously.
'I know it sounds far-fetched, ' Jack admitted. 'But you know how potent that stuff is supposed to be.'
'Well, it will be interesting to hear if the vet epidemiologists can figure it out.' Jack got up and stretched.
'I think I've had it for the night. I need the relaxation of a good hard game of B-ball.'
'See you tomorrow, ' Chet said.
'Take care, sport, ' Jack said. He grabbed his bomber jacket from behind the door. He slipped into it as he walked down to the elevator.
Remembering the fabulous weather from his afternoon jaunt to Brighton Beach, he was again looking forward to a relaxing bike ride.
'At least we know he's still in there, ' Steve said.
'True, ' Curt commented. 'The question now is when is he going to come out? I don't know how long the troops will keep away from each other's throats.' Just after Curt had hung up from calling Jack, Carl, Clark, Kevin, and Mike had gotten into another heated argument about the guns that had almost ended in fisticuffs. Curt had had to collect the weapons, they were now all on the floor at Yuri's feet.
'That's him on the bike! ' Yuri shouted. He frantically pointed to Jack's figure as the medical examiner rounded the corner of Thirtieth Street and powered his way up First Avenue.
'Jesus, he's moving! ' Curt said. He snapped off the emergency brake and accelerated out into the traffic. The driver of a taxi the maneuver had cut off leaned on his horn in frustration.
'Let me out! ' Yuri urged.
'Not now! ' Curt cried. 'I don't want to lose the bastard.' Although the traffic was heavy, it was moving in sync and at a fairly rapid pace.
'The guy's a freaking dynamo, ' Curt complained. He drove aggressively, knowing it was the only way to close in on Jack. He was totally unconcerned about grazing other vehicles or having others run into his side or rear.
'Holy shit! ' Steve swore as Curt cut off another taxi and there was a dull thump followed by the screech of
