'Exactly, ' Jack said. 'The cause was just confirmed a few hours ago.'
'That means the source of the toxin that killed Connie went down the drain, ' Laune sala.
'Or somehow the rats infected Connie, ' Jack said. 'Connie lived in an old, ramshackle cottage in a curious, anachronistic warren of others.
You guys should see this little community. I have no idea of the adequacy of the plumbing, but judging from the exteriors and the haphazard way the cottages have been remodeled, I can't believe that the plumbing could be state-of-the-art.' Laurie shook her head. 'I doubt that the plumbing had anything to do with this. It had to be the other way around. The toxin came from Connie's house. And it must have been a substantial amount of it to kill all those rats. I wonder if Connie did any home canning.' Laurie looked to Warren.
Warren raised his hands. 'Don't look at me. I never met the woman.'
'Well, ' Laurie commented, 'all this emphasizes that someone knowledgeable about epidemiology had better look around Connie's place for a source. At a minimum, her husband should be warned. If the source is still around, he's certainly at risk.'
'I thought the same thing, ' Jack said. 'In fact, I went out there today around noon to do just that.'
'You talked to Yuri Davydov? ' Warren questioned. 'Does Flash know?'
'I didn't see the man, ' Jack said. 'He wasn't home.
I met a neighbor who said Yuri was out driving his taxi and wouldn't be home until nine or ten.' Laurie glanced at her watch. 'That means he'd be home now.'
'That's true, ' Jack said. 'What are you suggesting? '
'Do you know the phone number? ' Laurie asked.
'Yes, but it's no use, ' Jack said. 'Mr. Davydov apparently has his phone off the hook.'
'When was the last time you tried? '
'This morning, ' Jack admitted.
'I think it might be worth trying again, ' Laurie said. She picked up her purse and got out her cellular phone. 'What's the number? '
'I don't have it here, ' Jack said. 'It's in the office.'
'I'll try information, ' Laurie said. 'How do you spell Davydov? ' Laurie had no trouble getting the number. She checked with Jack concerning the address to be absolutely sure it was correct. When she dialed the number, she got a busy signal.
'So now you believe me? ' Jack asked.
'I believed you before, ' Laurie said. 'I just thought it reasonable to give it a try. So we can't call. That means we should run out there.'
'Now? ' Jack questioned.
'If we wait and the man dies, how would you feel then? ' Laurie questioned.
'Guilty, I suppose, ' Jack said. 'Okay, I'll go, but it's going to take some time. It's way out on the other side of Brooklyn.'
'It shouldn't take that long now, ' Laurie said. 'We can take the Brooklyn Battery Tunnel and the Shore Parkway. With no traffic, we'll be there before we know it.'
'I'm not going, ' Warren said. 'Flash told me the guy's a turd. I'll leave this up to you professionals.
Spit and I will call it a night.'
'That's fine, ' Laurie said. 'We can take a cab.'
'No need, ' Warren said. 'You two take my wheels. I'll go home with Spit. Doc, you know where to park it.'
'Are you sure? ' Laurie asked.
'Of course I'm sure, ' Warren said. 'You guys enjoy yourselves. And when you come back to the neighborhood, don't be concerned. There's going to be someone out there all night keeping an eye on things.'
WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 20
10:30 P. M. Yuri straightened up and stretched his back. He'd been busy reattaching the hopper to the Power Row Crop Duster out in the garage after having meticulously filled it with the anthrax powder. The whole procedure had taken almost two hours, including the time he'd had to spend in the lab inside the class A hazmat suit. But now it was done and the pest control truck was ready for its rendezvous with fate in the morning.
Yuri glanced at his watch and allowed himself to relax for the first time all evening. Ever since he'd managed to escape from crazy Curt and the others involved in the hair-raising pursuit of Jack Stapleton, Yuri had been in a minor panic. He'd been worried that he would not be able to complete everything he had to do by the eleven o'clock deadline he'd promised. But the worrying had been for naught. He was ready by ten-thirty, a half hour ahead of time. On the kitchen table were five onepound plastic sausages stuffed with the light tan powder, waiting to be handed over to Curt and Steve. On top of them was the sealed envelope that Curt had requested. A heavy bath towel to pack them in was on the countertop.
After giving the side of the truck an appreciative pat for the role it was soon to play, Yuri glanced into the cab to make sure the keys were where he'd left them, hanging from the driver's side visor. He wanted no stupid mistakes in the morning like forgetting where the keys were. He planned to leave for Manhattan at eight o'clock sharp with his suitcase, fake passport, and airline ticket.
Yuri walked over to the side door. After one more admiring look at the truck, he flipped off the light.
Before he opened the door, he stuck his right hand in his jacket pocket to grip the Glock pistol. He was still afraid Flash Thomas might show up, although at that time of night he considered the chances slim. At least he didn't have Jack Stapleton to worry about anymore.
As Yuri opened the door, he marveled that he'd not realized how truly crazy Curt was. Steve was weird, too, but not the way Curt was. Yuri knew he was no psychologist, but he imagined something terribly abnormal must have happened to Curt during his childhood to explain his personality. Yuri understood that Americans were covetous and violent and had little self-awareness, but Curt carried the traits to ridiculous extremes, his and only his view of the world was correct.
But what really irritated Yuri was Curt's anti-Slavic bias, which had become progressively more apparent as time had gone on.
Holding his key at the kitchen door, Yuri hesitated. Musing about Curt's personality raised a worry that Yuri had not contemplated before.
Considering Curt's selfishness, what was going to keep him from making arrangements so that his People's Aryan Army would get the credit for the whole bio-weapon event even if Curt and the others had nothing to do with the Central Park laydown?'
'Chert, ' Yuri murmured when he realized the validity of this new worry.
Up until that moment the idea had not entered his mind.
'Mr. Davydov? ' a feminine voice called out.
Shocked to hear his name, Yuri looked toward the alleyway. Despite the proximity of the houses in the area, Yuri had always made it a point to avoid socializing with his neighbors. His hand tightened around the automatic.
'Excuse me! Are you Mr. Davydov? ' Yuri had to squint in the darkness. With his carriage light off and no streetlights, all he could make out were two figures in the alley beyond his chain-link fence. He relaxed when he could tell they were both white. At least it wasn't Flash Thomas.
'Who wants to know? ' Yuri asked.
'My name is Dr. Laurie Montgomery. If you are Mr. Davydov it is urgent I speak with you for just a few moments.' Yuri shrugged.
Holding onto the pistol and being sure it was free if he wanted to pull it out, he advanced toward his fence. He could see that the second individual was male.
'Sorry to bother you so late, ' Laurie said. 'I'm a medical examiner from Manhattan. Do you know what a medical examiner is? ' Yuri tried to speak but no words came out. Despite the darkness he recognized the other figure. It was Jack Stapleton!
Laurie took the silence for a negative response and went ahead and explained what medical examiners did.
Yuri swallowed with difficulty. He couldn't believe he was looking at Jack Stapleton. What possibly could have happened? Why hadn't he been informed? But then he remembered his phone was off the hook.
