{"id":3062,"date":"2026-01-03T23:03:18","date_gmt":"2026-01-03T23:03:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/epub-book.com\/download\/contagion-cook-robin\/"},"modified":"2026-01-03T23:03:18","modified_gmt":"2026-01-03T23:03:18","slug":"contagion-cook-robin","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/epub-book.com\/download\/contagion-cook-robin\/","title":{"rendered":"Contagion – Cook, Robin"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Book Preview<\/h3>\n
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\nContagion<\/span>
\n<\/b>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>Robin Cook<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>\u00a0<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>\u00a0<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>June 12, 1991, dawned a near-perfect, late-spring day as the sun\u2019s rays touched the eastern shores of the North American continent. Most of the United States, Canada, and Mexico expected clear, sunny skies.<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>\u00a0<\/span>The only meteorological blips were a band of potential thunderstorms that was expected to extend from the plains into the Tennessee Valley and some showers that were forecasted to move in from the Bering Strait over the Seward Peninsula in Alaska. In almost every way this June twelfth was like every other June twelfth, with one curious phenomenon.<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>Three incidents occurred that were totally unrelated, yet were to cause a tragic intersection of the lives of three of the people involved.<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>\u00a0<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>\u00a0<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0 <\/span>\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/span>11:36 A.M.<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>DEADHORSE, ALASKA<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>\u201cHey! Dick! Over here,\u201d shouted Ron Halverton. He waved frantically to get his former roommate\u2019s attention. He didn\u2019t dare leave his Jeep in the brief chaos at the tiny airport. The morning 737 from Anchorage had just landed and the security people were strict about unattended vehicles in the loading area. Buses and vans were waiting for the tourists and the returning oil company personnel.<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>Hearing his name and recognizing Ron, Dick waved back and then began threading his way through the milling crowd.<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>Ron watched Dick as he approached. Ron hadn\u2019t seen him since they\u2019d graduated from college the year before, but Dick appeared just as he always did: the picture of normality with his Ralph Lauren shirt and windbreaker jacket, Guess jeans, and a small knapsack slung over his shoulder.<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>Yet Ron knew the real Dick: the ambitious, aspiring microbiologist who would think nothing of flying all the way from Atlanta to Alaska with the hope of finding a new microbe. Here was a guy who loved bacteria and viruses. He collected the stuff the way other people collected baseball cards. Ron smiled and shook his head as he recalled that Dick had even had petri dishes of microbes in their shared refrigerator at the University of Colorado.<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>When Ron had met Dick during their freshman year, it had taken a bit of time to get used to him. Although he was an indubitably faithful friend, Dick had some peculiar and unpredictable quirks. On the one hand he was a fierce competitor in intramural sports and surely the guy you wanted with you if you mistakenly wandered into the wrong part of town, yet on the other hand he\u2019d been unable to sacrifice a frog in first-year biology lab.<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>Ron found himself chuckling as he remembered another surprising and embarrassing moment involving Dick. It was during their sophomore year when a whole group had piled into a car for a weekend ski trip. Dick was driving and accidentally ran over a rabbit. His response had been to break down in tears. No one had known what to say. As a result some people began to talk behind Dick\u2019s back, especially when it became common knowledge that he would pick up cockroaches at the fraternity house and deposit them outside instead of squishing them and flushing them down the toilet as everybody else did.<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>As Dick came alongside the Jeep, he tossed his bag into the backseat before grasping Ron\u2019s outstretched hand. They greeted each other enthusiastically.<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>\u201cI can\u2019t believe this,\u201d Ron said. \u201cI mean, you\u2019re here! In the Arctic.\u201d<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>\u201cHey, I wouldn\u2019t have missed this for the world,\u201d Dick said. \u201cI\u2019m really psyched. How far is the Eskimo site from here?\u201d<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>Ron looked nervously over his shoulder. He recognized several of the security people. Turning back to Dick, he lowered his voice. \u201cCool it,\u201d he murmured. \u201cI told you people are really sensitive about this.\u201d<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>\u201cOh, come on,\u201d Dick scoffed. \u201cYou can\u2019t be serious.\u201d<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>\u201cI\u2019m dead serious,\u201d Ron said. \u201cI could get fired for leaking this to you. No fooling around. I mean, we got to do this hush-hush or we don\u2019t do it at all. You\u2019re to tell no one, ever! You promised!\u201d<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>\u201cAll right, all right,\u201d Dick said with a short, appeasing laugh. \u201cYou\u2019re right. I promised. I just didn\u2019t think it was such a big deal.\u201d<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>\u201cIt\u2019s a very big deal,\u201d Ron said firmly. He was beginning to think he\u2019d made a mistake inviting Dick to visit, despite how much fun it was to see him.<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>\u201cYou\u2019re the boss,\u201d Dick said. He gave his friend a jab on the shoulder. \u201cMy lips are sealed forever. Now chill out and relax.\u201d He swung himself into the Jeep. \u201cBut let\u2019s just buzz out there straight-away and check out this discovery.\u201d<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>\u201cYou don\u2019t want to see where I live first?\u201d Ron asked.<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>\u201cI have a feeling I\u2019ll be seeing that more than I care to,\u201d he said with a laugh.<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>\u201cI suppose it\u2019s not a bad time while everybody is preoccupied with the Anchorage flight and screwing around with the tourists.\u201d He reached forward and started the engine.<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>They drove out of the airport and headed northeast on the only road. It was gravel. To talk they had to shout over the sound of the engine.<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>\u201cIt\u2019s about eight miles to Prudhoe Bay,\u201d Ron said, \u201cbut we\u2019ll be turning off to the west in another mile or so. Remember, if anybody stops us, I\u2019m just taking you to the new oilfield.\u201d<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>Dick nodded. He couldn\u2019t believe his friend was so uptight about this thing. Looking around at the flat, marshy monotonous tundra and the overcast gunmetal gray sky, he wondered if the place was getting to Ron. He guessed life was not easy on the alluvial plain of Alaska\u2019s north slope. To lighten the mood he said: \u201cWeather\u2019s not bad. What\u2019s the temperature?\u201d<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>\u201cYou\u2019re lucky,\u201d Ron said. \u201cThere was some sun earlier, so it\u2019s in the low fifties. This is as warm as it gets up here. Enjoy it while it lasts. It\u2019ll probably flurry later today. It usually does. The perpetual joke is whether it\u2019s the last snow of last winter or the first snow of next winter.\u201d<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>Dick smiled and nodded but couldn\u2019t help but think that if the people up there considered that funny, they were in sad shape.<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>A few minutes later Ron turned left onto a smaller, newer road, heading northwest.<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>\u201cHow did you happen to find this abandoned igloo?\u201d Dick asked. <\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>\u201cIt wasn\u2019t an igloo,\u201d Ron said. \u201cIt was a house made out of peat blocks reinforced with whalebone. Igloos were only made as temporary shelters, like when people went out hunting on the ice. The Inupiat Eskimos lived in peat huts.\u201d<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>\u201cI stand corrected,\u201d Dick said. \u201cSo how\u2019d you come across it?\u201d<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>\u201cTotally by accident,\u201d Ron said. \u201cWe found it when we were bulldozing for this road. We broke through the entrance tunnel.\u201d<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>\u201cIs everything still in it?\u201d Dick asked. \u201cI worried about that flying up here. I mean, I don\u2019t want this to be a wasted trip.\u201d<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>\u201cHave no fear,\u201d Ron said. \u201cNothing\u2019s been touched. That I can assure you.\u201d<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>\u201cMaybe there are more dwellings in the general area,\u201d Dick suggested. \u201cWho knows? It could be a village.\u201d<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>Ron shrugged. \u201cMaybe so. But no one wants to find out. If anybody from the state got wind of this they\u2019d stop construction on our feeder pipeline to the new field. That would be one huge disaster, because we have to have the feeder line functional before winter, and winter starts in August around here.\u201d<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>Ron began to slow down as he scanned the side of the road. Eventually he pulled to a stop abreast of a small cairn. Putting a hand on Dick\u2019s arm to keep him in his scat, he turned to look back down the road. When he was convinced that no one was coming, he climbed from the Jeep and motioned for Dick to do the same.<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>Reaching back into the Jeep, he pulled out two old and soiled and work gloves. He handed a set to Dick. \u201cYou\u2019ll need these,\u201d he explained. \u201cWe\u2019ll be down below the permafrost.\u201d Then he reached back into the Jeep for a heavy-duty flashlight.<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>\u201cAll right,\u201d Ron added nervously. \u201cWe can\u2019t be here long. I don\u2019t want anybody coming along the road and wondering what the hell is going on.\u201d<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>Dick followed Ron as he headed north away from the road. A cloud of mosquitoes mystically materialized and attacked them mercilessly. Looking ahead, Dick could see a fog bank about a half mile away and guessed it marked the coast of the Arctic Ocean. In all other directions there was no relief from the monotony of the fiat, windswept, featureless tundra that extended to the horizon. Overhead seabirds circled and cried raucously.<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>A dozen steps from the road, Ron stopped. After one last glance for approaching vehicles, he bent down and grabbed the edge of a sheet of plywood that had been painted to match the variegated colors of the surrounding tundra. He pulled the wood aside to reveal a hole four feet deep.<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>In the north wall of the hole was the entrance to a small tunnel.<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>\u201cIt looks as if the hut was buried by ice,\u201d Dick said.<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>Ron nodded. \u201cWe think that pack ice was blown up from the beach during one of the ferocious winter storms.\u201d<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>\u201cA natural tomb,\u201d Dick said.<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>\u201cAre you sure you want to do this?\u201d Ron asked.<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>\u201cDon\u2019t be silly,\u201d Dick said while he donned the parka and pulled on the gloves. \u201cI\u2019ve come thousands of miles. Let\u2019s go.\u201d<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>Ron climbed into the hole and then bent down on all fours. Lowering himself, he entered the tunnel. Dick followed at his heels.<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>As Dick crawled, he could see very little save for the eerie silhouette of Ron ahead of him. As he moved away from the entrance, the darkness closed in around him like a heavy, frigid blanket. In the failing light he noticed his breath crystallizing. He thanked God that he wasn\u2019t claustrophobic.<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>After about six feet the walls of the tunnel fell away. The floor also slanted downward, giving them an additional foot of headroom. There were about three and a half feet of clearance. Ron moved to the side and Dick crawled up next to him.<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>\u201cIt\u2019s colder than a witch\u2019s tit down here,\u201d Dick said.<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>Ron\u2019s flashlight beam played into the corners to illuminate short vertical struts of beluga rib bones.<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>\u201cThe ice snapped those whalebones like they were toothpicks,\u201d Ron said.<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>\u201cWhere are the inhabitants?\u201d Dick asked.<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>Ron directed his flashlight beam ahead to a large, triangular piece of ice that had punched through the ceiling of the hut. \u201cOn the other side of that,\u201d he said. He handed the flashlight to Dick.<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>Dick took the flashlight and started crawling forward. As much as he didn\u2019t want to admit it, he was beginning to feel uncomfortable. \u201cYou\u2019re sure this place is safe?\u201d he questioned.<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>\u201cI\u2019m not sure of anything,\u201d Ron said. \u201cJust that it\u2019s been like this for seventy-five years or so.\u201d<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>It was a tight squeeze around the block of dirty ice in the center. When Dick was halfway around he shone the light into the space beyond.<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>Dick caught his breath while a little gasp issued from his mouth. Although he thought he\u2019d been prepared, the image within the flashlight beam was more ghoulish than he\u2019d expected. Staring back at him was the pale visage of a frozen, bearded Caucasian male dressed in furs. He was sitting upright. His eyes were open and ice blue, and they stared back at Dick defiantly. Around his mouth and nose was frozen pink froth. \u201cYou see all three?\u201d Ron called from the darkness.<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>Dick allowed the light to play around the room. The second body was supine, with its lower half completely encased in ice. The third body was positioned in a manner similar to the first, propped up against a wall in a half-sitting position. Both were Eskimos with characteristic features, dark hair, and dark eyes. Both also had frozen pink froth around their mouths and noses.<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>Dick shuddered through a sudden wave of nausea. He hadn\u2019t expected such a reaction, but it passed quickly.<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>\u201cYou see the newspaper?\u201d Ron called.<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>\u201cNot yet,\u201d Dick said as he trained his light on the floor. He saw all sorts of debris frozen together, including bird feathers and animal bones. \u201cIt\u2019s near the bearded guy,\u201d Ron called.<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>Dick shone the light at the frozen Caucasian\u2019s feet. He saw the Anchorage paper immediately.<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>The headlines were about the war in Europe. Even from where he was he could see the date: April 17, 1918.<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>Dick wriggled back into the antechamber. His initial horror had passed. Now he was excited. \u201cI think you were right,\u201d he said. \u201cIt looks like all three died of pneumonia, and the date is right on.\u201d<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>\u201cI knew you\u2019d find it interesting,\u201d Ron said.<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>\u201cIt\u2019s more than interesting,\u201d Dick said. \u201cIt could be the chance of a lifetime. I\u2019m going to need a saw.\u201d<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>The blood drained from Ron\u2019s face. \u201cA saw,\u201d he repeated with dismay. \u201cYou\u2019ve got to be joking.\u201d<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>\u201cYou think I\u2019d pass up this chance?\u201d Dick questioned. \u201cNot on your life. I need some lung tissue.\u201d<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>\u201cJesus H. Christ!\u201d Ron murmured. \u201cYou\u2019d better promise again not to say anything about this ever!\u201d<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>\u201cI promised already,\u201d Dick said with exasperation. \u201cIf I find what I think I\u2019m going to find, it will be for my own collection. Don\u2019t worry. Nobody\u2019s going to know.\u201d<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>Ron shook his head. \u201cSometimes I think you\u2019re one weird dude.\u201d<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>\u201cLet\u2019s get the saw,\u201d Dick said. He handed the flashlight to Ron and started for the entrance.<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>\u00a0<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>\u00a0<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>6:40 P.M.<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>O’HARE AIRPORT, CHICAGO<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>Marilyn Stapleton looked at her husband of twelve years and felt torn. She knew that the convulsive changes that had racked their family had impacted most on John, yet she still had to think about the children. She glanced at the two girls who were sitting in the departure lounge and nervously looking in her direction, sensing that their life as they knew it was in the balance. John wanted them to move to Chicago where he was starting a new residency in pathology.<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>Marilyn redirected her gaze to her husband\u2019s pleading face. He\u2019d changed over the last several years. The confident, reserved man she had married was now bitter and insecure. He had shed twenty-five pounds, and his once ruddy, full cheeks had hollowed, giving him a lean, haggard look consistent with his new personality.<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>Marilyn shook her head. It was hard to recall that just two years previously they had been the picture of the successful suburban family with his flourishing ophthalmology practice and her tenured position in English literature at the University of Illinois.<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>But then the huge health-care conglomerate AmeriCare had appeared on the horizon, sweeping through Champaign, Illinois, as well as numerous other towns, gobbling up practices and hospitals with bewildering speed. John had tried to hold out but ultimately lost his patient base. It was either surrender or flee, and John chose to flee. At first he\u2019d looked for another ophthalmology position, but when it became clear there were too many ophthalmologists and that he\u2019d be forced to work for AmeriCare or a similar organization, he\u2019d made the decision to retrain in another medical specialty.<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>\u201cI think you would enjoy living in Chicago,\u201d John said pleadingly. \u201cAnd I miss you all terribly.\u201d<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>Marilyn sighed. \u201cWe miss you, too,\u201d she said. \u201cBut that\u2019s not the point. If I give up my job the girls would have to go to an inner-city public school. There\u2019s no way we could afford private school with your resident\u2019s salary.\u201d<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>The public-address system crackled to life and announced that all passengers holding tickets for Champaign had to be on board. It was last call. \u201cWe\u2019ve got to go,\u201d Marilyn said. \u201cWe\u2019ll miss the flight.\u201d<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>John nodded and brushed away a tear. \u201cI know,\u201d he said. \u201cBut you will think about it?\u201d<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>\u201cOf course I\u2019ll think about it,\u201d Marilyn snapped. Then she caught herself. She sighed again. She didn\u2019t mean to sound angry. \u201cIt\u2019s all I\u2019m thinking about.\u201d she added softly.<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>Marilyn lifted her arms and embraced her husband. He hugged her back with ferocity.<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>\u201cCareful,\u201d she wheezed. \u201cYou\u2019ll snap one of my ribs.\u201d<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>\u201cI love you,\u201d John said in a muffled voice. He\u2019d buried his face in the crook of her neck.<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>After echoing his sentiments, Marilyn broke away and gathered Lydia and Tamara. She gave the boarding passes to the ticket agent and herded the girls down the ramp. As she walked she glanced at John through the glass partition. As they turned into the jetway she gave a wave. It was to be her last.<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>\u201cAre we going to have to move?\u201d Lydia whined. She was ten and in the fifth grade.<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>\u201cI\u2019m not moving,\u201d Tamara said. She was eleven and strong-willed. \u201cI\u2019ll move in with Connie. She said I could stay with her.\u201d<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>\u201cAnd I\u2019m sure she discussed that with her mother,\u201d Marilyn said sarcastically. She was fighting back tears she didn\u2019t want the girls to see.<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>Marilyn allowed her daughters to precede her onto the small prop plane. She directed the girls to their assigned seats and then had to settle an argument about who was going to sit alone. The seating was two by two.<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>Marilyn answered her daughters\u2019 impassioned entreaties about what the near future would bring with vague generalities. In truth, she didn\u2019t know what was best for the family.<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>The plane\u2019s engines started with a roar that made further conversation difficult. As the plane left the terminal and taxied out toward the runway, she put her nose to the window. She wondered how she would have the strength to make a decision.<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>A bolt of lightning to the southwest jolted Marilyn from her musing. It was an uncomfortable reminder of her disdain for commuter flights. She did not have the same confidence in small planes as she did in regular jets. Unconsciously she cinched her seat belt tighter and again checked her daughters\u2019.<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>During the takeoff Marilyn gripped the armrests with a force that suggested she thought her effort helped the plane get aloft. It wasn\u2019t until the ground had significantly receded that she realized she\u2019d been holding her breath.<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>\u201cHow long is Daddy going to live in Chicago?\u201d Lydia called across the aisle.<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>\u201cFive years,\u201d Marilyn answered. \u201cUntil he finishes his training.\u201d<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>\u201cI told you,\u201d Lydia yelled to Tamara. \u201cWe\u2019ll be old by then.\u201d<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>A sudden bump made Marilyn reestablish her death grip on her armrests. She glanced around the cabin.<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>The fact that no one was panicking gave her some solace. Looking out the window, she saw that they were entirely enveloped in clouds. A flash of lightning eerily lit up the sky.<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>As they flew south the turbulence increased, as did the frequency of the lightning. A terse announcement by the pilot that they would try to find smoother air at a different altitude did little to assuage Marilyn\u2019s rising fears. She wanted the flight to be over.<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>The first sign of real disaster was a strange light that filled the plane, followed instantly by a tremendous bump and vibration. Several of the passengers let out half-suppressed screams that made Marilyn\u2019s blood run cold. Instinctively she reached over and pulled Tamara closer to her.<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>The vibration increased in intensity as the plane began an agonizing roll to the right. At the same time the sound of the engines changed from a roar to an earsplitting whine. Sensing that she was being pressed into her seat and feeling disoriented in space, Marilyn looked out the window.<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>At first she didn\u2019t see anything but clouds. But then she looked ahead and her heart leaped into her throat.<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>The earth was rushing up at them at breakneck speed! They were flying straight down…<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>\u00a0<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>\u00a0<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>10:40 P.M.<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>MANHATTAN GENERAL HOSPITAL NEW YORK CITY<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>Terese Hagen tried to swallow, but it was difficult; her mouth was bone dry. A few minutes later her eyes blinked open, and for a moment she was disoriented. When she realized she was in a surgical recovery room it all came back to her in a flash.<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>The problem had started without warning that evening just before she and Matthew were about to go out to dinner. There had been no pain. The first thing she was aware of was wetness, particularly on the inside of her thigh. Going into the bathroom, she was dismayed to find that she was bleeding. And it wasn\u2019t just spotting.<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>\u00a0<\/span>It was active hemorrhaging. Since she was five months pregnant, she was afraid it spelled trouble.<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>Events had unfolded rapidly from that point. She\u2019d been able to reach her physician, Dr. Carol Glanz, who offered to meet her at the Manhattan General\u2019s emergency room. Once there, Terese\u2019s suspicions had been confirmed and surgery scheduled. The doctor had said that it appeared as if the embryo had implanted in one of her tubes instead of the uterus\u2014an ectopic pregnancy.<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>Within minutes of her regaining consciousness, one of the recovery-room nurses was at her side, reassuring her that everything was fine.<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>\u201cWhat about my baby?\u201d Terese asked. She could feel a bulky dressing over her disturbingly flat abdomen.<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>\u201cYour doctor knows more about that than I do,\u201d the nurse said. \u201cI\u2019ll let her know you are awake. I know she wants to talk with you.\u201d<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>Before the nurse left, Terese complained about her dry throat. The nurse gave her some ice chips, and the cool fluid was a godsend.<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>Terese closed her eyes. She guessed that she dozed off, because the next thing she knew was that Dr. Carol Glanz was calling her name.<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>\u201cHow do you feel?\u201d Dr. Glanz asked.<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>Terese assured her she was fine thanks to the ice chips. She then asked about her baby.<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>Dr. Glanz took a deep breath and reached out and put her hand on Terese\u2019s shoulder. \u201cI\u2019m afraid I have double bad news,\u201d she said. Terese could feel herself tense.<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>\u201cIt was ectopic,\u201d Dr. Glanz said, falling back on doctor jargon to make a difficult job a bit easier. \u201cWe had to terminate the pregnancy and, of course, the child was not viable.\u201d<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>Terese nodded, ostensibly without emotion. She had expected as much and had tried to prepare herself. What she wasn\u2019t prepared for was what Dr. Glanz said next.<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>\u201cUnfortunately the operation wasn\u2019t easy. There were some complications, which was why you were bleeding so profusely when you came into the emergency room. We had to sacrifice your uterus. We had to do a hysterectomy.\u201d<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>At first Terese\u2019s brain was unable to comprehend what she\u2019d been told. She nodded and looked expectantly at the doctor as if she anticipated more information.<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>\u201cI\u2019m sure this is very upsetting for you,\u201d Dr. Glanz said. \u201cI want you to understand that everything was done that could have been done to avoid this unfortunate outcome.\u201d<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>Sudden comprehension of what she\u2019d been told jolted Terese. Her silent voice broke free from its bounds and she cried: \u201cNo!\u201d<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>Dr. Glanz squeezed her shoulder in sympathy. \u201cSince this was to be your first child, I know what this means to you,\u201d she said. \u201cI\u2019m terribly sorry.\u201d<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>Terese groaned. It was such crushing news that for the moment she was beyond tears. She was numb. All her life she had assumed she would have children. It had been part of her identity. The idea that it was impossible was too difficult to grasp.<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>\u201cWhat about my husband?\u201d Terese managed. \u201cHas he been told?\u201d<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>\u201cHe has,\u201d Dr. Glanz said. \u201cI spoke to him as soon as I\u2019d finished the case. He\u2019s downstairs in your room, where I\u2019m sure you\u2019ll be going momentarily.\u201d<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>There was more conversation with Dr. Glanz, but Terese remembered little of it. The combined realization that she\u2019d lost her child and would never be able to have another was devastating.<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>A quarter hour later an orderly arrived to wheel her to her room. The trip went quickly; she was oblivious to her surroundings. Her mind was in turmoil; she needed reassurance and support.<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>When she reached her room, Matthew was on his cellular phone. As a stockbroker, it was his constant companion.<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>The floor nurses expertly transferred Terese to her bed and hung her IV on a pole behind her head. After making sure all was in order and encouraging her to call if she needed anything, they left.<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>Terese looked over at Matthew, who had averted his gaze as he finished his call. She was concerned about his reaction to this catastrophe. They had been married for only three months.<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>With a definitive click Matthew flipped his phone closed and slipped it into his jacket pocket.<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>He turned to Terese and stared at her for a moment. His tie was loosened and his shirt collar unbuttoned.<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>She tried to read his expression but couldn\u2019t. He was chewing the inside of his cheek.<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>\u201cHow are you?\u201d he asked finally with little emotion.<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>\u201cAs well as can be expected,\u201d Terese managed. She desperately wanted him to come to her and hold her, but he kept his distance.<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>\u201cThis is a curious state of affairs,\u201d he said.<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>\u201cI\u2019m not sure I know what you mean,\u201d Terese said.<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>\u201cSimply that the main reason we got married has just evaporated,\u201d Matthew said. \u201cI\u2019d say your planning has gone awry.\u201d<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>Terese\u2019s mouth slowly dropped open. Stunned, she had to struggle to find her voice. \u201cI don\u2019t like your implication,\u201d she said. \u201cI didn\u2019t get pregnant on purpose.\u201d<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>\u201cWell, you have your reality and I have mine,\u201d Matthew said. \u201cThe problem is: What are we going to do about it?\u201d<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>Terese closed her eyes. She couldn\u2019t respond. It had been as if Matthew had plunged a knife into her heart.<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>She knew from that moment that she didn\u2019t love him. In fact she hated him…<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>1<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>
\n<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>WEDNESDAY, 7:15 A.M., MARCH 20, 1996<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>NEW YORK CITY<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>\u201cExcuse me,\u201d Jack Stapleton said with false civility to the darkly complected Pakistani cabdriver. \u201cWould you care to step out of your car so we can discuss this matter fully?\u201d<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>Jack was referring to the fact that the cabdriver had cut him off at the intersection of Forty-sixth Street and Second Avenue. In retaliation Jack had kicked the cab\u2019s driver-side door when they had both stopped at a red light at Forty-fourth Street. Jack was on his Cannondale mountain bike that he used to commute to work. <\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>This morning\u2019s confrontation was not unusual. Jack\u2019s daily route included a hair-raising slalom down Second Avenue from Fifty-ninth Street to Thirtieth Street at breakneck speed. There were frequent close calls with trucks and taxicabs and the inevitable arguments. Anyone else would have found the trip nerve-racking. Jack loved it. As he explained to his colleagues, it got his blood circulating.<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>Choosing to ignore Jack until the light turned green, the Pakistani cabdriver then cursed him soundly before speeding off.<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>\u201cAnd to you too!\u201d Jack yelled back. He accelerated standing up until he reached a speed equal to the traffic. Then he settled onto the seat while his legs pumped furiously.<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>Eventually he caught up with the offending cabdriver, but Jack ignored him. In fact, he whisked past him, squeezing between the taxi and a delivery van.<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>At Thirtieth Street Jack turned east, crossed First Avenue, and abruptly turned into the loading bay of the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner for the City of New York. Jack had been working there for five months, having been offered a position as an associate medical examiner after finishing his pathology residency and a year\u2019s fellowship in forensics.<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>Jack wheeled his bike past the security office and waved at the uniformed guard. Turning left, he passed the mortuary office and entered the morgue itself. Turning left again, he passed a bank of the refrigerated compartments used to store bodies prior to autopsy. In a corner where simple pine coffins were stored for unclaimed bodies heading for Hart Island, Jack parked his bike and secured it with several Kryptonite locks.<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>The elevator took Jack up to the first floor. It was well before eight in the morning and few of the daytime employees had arrived. Even Sergeant Murphy wasn\u2019t in the office assigned to the police.<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0 <\/span>\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/span>Passing through the communications room, Jack entered the ID area. He said hello to Vinnie Amendola, who returned the greeting without looking up from his newspaper. Vinnie was one of the mortuary techs who worked with Jack frequently.<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>Jack also said hello to Laurie Montgomery, one of the board-certified forensic pathologists. It was her turn in the rotation to be in charge of assigning the cases that had come in during the night. She\u2019d been at the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner for four and a half years. Like Jack, she was usually one of the first to arrive in the morning.<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>\u201cI see you made t into the office once again without having to come in feet first,\u201d Laurie said teasingly. She was referring to Jack\u2019s dangerous bike ride. \u201cComing in feet first\u201d was office vernacular for arriving dead.<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>\u201cOnly one brush with a taxi,\u201d Jack said. \u201cI\u2019m accustomed to three or four. It was like a ride in the country this morning.\u201d<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>\u201cI\u2019m sure,\u201d Laurie said without belief. \u201cPersonally I think you are foolhardy to ride your bike in this city. I\u2019ve autopsied several of those daredevil bicycle messengers. Every time I see one in traffic I wonder when I\u2019ll be seeing him in the pit.\u201d The \u201cpit\u201d was office vernacular for the autopsy room.<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>Jack helped himself to coffee, then wandered over to the desk where Laurie was working.<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>\u201cAnything particularly interesting?\u201d Jack asked, looking over her shoulder.<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>\u201cThe usual gunshot wounds,\u201d Laurie said. \u201cAlso a drug overdose.\u201d<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>\u201cUgh,\u201d Jack said.<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>\u201cYou don\u2019t like overdoses?\u201d<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>\u201cNah,\u201d Jack said. \u201cThey\u2019re all the same. I like surprises and a challenge.\u201d<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>\u201cI had a few overdoses that fit into that category during my first year,\u201d Laurie said.<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>\u201cHow so?\u201d<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>\u201cIt\u2019s a long story,\u201d Laurie said evasively. Then she pointed to one of the names on her list. \u201cHere\u2019s a case you might find interesting: Donald Nodelman. The diagnosis is unknown infectious disease.\u201d<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>\u201cThat would certainly be better than an overdose,\u201d Jack said.<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>\u201cNot in my book,\u201d Laurie said. \u201cBut it\u2019s yours if you want it. Personally I don\u2019t care for infectious disease cases, never have and never will. When I did the external exam earlier, it gave me the creeps. Whatever it was, it was an aggressive bug. He\u2019s got extensive subcutaneous bleeding.\u201d<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>\u201cUnknowns can be a challenge,\u201d Jack said. He picked up the Folder. \u201cI\u2019ll be glad to do the case. Did he die at home or in an institution?\u201d<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>\u201cHe was in a hospital,\u201d Laurie said. \u201cHe was brought in From the Manhattan General. But infectious disease wasn\u2019t his admitting diagnosis. He\u2019d been admitted for diabetes.\u201d<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>\u201cIt\u2019s my recollection that the Manhattan General is an AmeriCare hospital,\u201d Jack said. \u201cIs that true?\u201d<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>\u201cI think so,\u201d Laurie said. \u201cWhy do you ask?\u201d<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>\u201cBecause it might make this case personally rewarding,\u201d Jack said. \u201cMaybe I\u2019ll be lucky enough for the diagnosis to be something like Legionaries\u2019 disease. I couldn\u2019t think of anything more enjoyable than giving AmeriCare heartburn. I\u2019d love to see that corporation squirm.\u201d<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>\u201cWhy\u2019s that?\u201d Laurie asked.<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>\u201cIt\u2019s a long story,\u201d Jack said with an impish smile. \u201cOne of these days we should have a drink and you can tell me about your overdoses and I\u2019ll tell you about me and AmeriCare.\u201d<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>Laurie didn\u2019t know if Jack\u2019s invitation was sincere or not. She didn\u2019t know much about Jack Stapleton beyond his work at the medical examiner\u2019s office; her understanding was that no one else did either. Jack was a superb forensic pathologist, despite the fact that he\u2019d only recently finished his training. But he didn\u2019t socialize much, and he was never very personally revealing in his small talk. All Laurie knew was that he was forty-one, unmarried, entertainingly flippant, and came from the Midwest.<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>\u201cI\u2019ll let you know what I find,\u201d Jack said as he headed toward the communications room.<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>\u201cJack, excuse me,\u201d Laurie called out.<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>Jack stopped and turned around.<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>\u201cWould you mind I gave you a bit of advice,\u201d she said hesitantly. She was speaking impulsively. It wasn\u2019t like her, but she appreciated Jack and hoped that he would be working there for some time.<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>Jack\u2019s impish smile returned. He stepped back to the desk. \u201cBy all means,\u201d he said.<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>\u201cI\u2019m probably speaking out of turn,\u201d Laurie said.<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>\u201cQuite the contrary,\u201d Jack said. \u201cI honor your opinion. What\u2019s on your mind?\u201d<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>\u201cJust that you and Calvin Washington have been at odds,\u201d Laurie said. \u201cI know it\u2019s just a clash of personalities, but Calvin has had a long-standing relationship with the Manhattan General, as AmeriCare does with the mayor\u2019s office. I think you should be careful.\u201d<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>\u201cBeing careful hasn\u2019t been one of my strong points for five years,\u201d Jack said. \u201cI have utmost respect for the deputy chief. Our only disagreement is that he believes rules to be carved in stone while I see them as guidelines. As for AmeriCare, I don\u2019t care for their goals or methods.\u201d<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>\u201cWell, it\u2019s not my business,\u201d Laurie said. \u201cBut Calvin keeps saying he doesn\u2019t see you as a team player.\u201d<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>\u201cHe\u2019s got a point there,\u201d Jack said. \u201cThe problem is that I\u2019ve developed an aversion to mediocrity. I\u2019m honored to work with most people around here, especially you. However, there are a few whom I can\u2019t deal with, and I don\u2019t hide it. It\u2019s as simple as that.\u201d<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>\u201cI\u2019ll take that as a compliment,\u201d Laurie said.<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>\u201cIt was meant as one,\u201d Jack said.<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>\u201cWell, let me know what you find on Nodelman,\u201d Laurie said. \u201cThen I\u2019ll have at least one more case for you to do.\u201d<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>\u201cMy pleasure,\u201d Jack said. He turned and headed for the communications room. As he walked past Vinnie, he snatched away his paper.<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>\u201cCome on, Vinnie,\u201d Jack said. \u201cWe\u2019re going to get a jump on the day.\u201d<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>Vinnie complained but followed. While trying to retrieve his paper he collided with Jack, who had abruptly stopped outside of Janice Jaeger\u2019s office. Janice was one of the forensic investigators, frequently referred to as PAs or physician\u2019s assistants. Her tour of duty was the graveyard shift, from eleven to seven. Jack was surprised to find her still in her office. A petite woman with dark hair and dark eyes, she was obviously tired. <\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>\u201cWhat are you still doing here?\u201d Jack asked.<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>\u201cI\u2019ve got one more report to finish.\u201d<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>Jack held up the folder in his hand. \u201cDid you or Curt handle Nodelman?\u201d<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>\u201cI did,\u201d Janice said. \u201cIs there a problem?\u201d<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>\u201cNot that I know about yet,\u201d Jack said with a chuckle. He knew Janice to be extremely conscientious, which made her ideal for teasing. \u201cWas it your impression the cause of death was a nosocomial infection?\u201d<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>\u201cWhat the hell is a \u2018nosocomial infection\u2019?\u201d Vinnie asked.<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>\u201cIt\u2019s an infection acquired in a hospital,\u201d Jack explained.<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>\u201cIt certainly seems so,\u201d Janice said. \u201cThe man had been in the hospital five days for his diabetes before developing symptoms of an infectious disease. Once he got them, he died within thirty-six hours.\u201d<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>Jack whistled in respect. \u201cWhatever the bug was, it certainly was virulent.\u201d<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>\u201cThat\u2019s what worried the doctors I spoke with,\u201d Janice said.<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>\u201cAny laboratory results from microbiology?\u201d Jack questioned. <\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>\u201cNothing has grown out,\u201d Janice said. \u201cBlood cultures were negative as of four o\u2019clock this morning. The terminal event was acute respiratory distress syndrome, or ARDS, but sputum cultures have been negative as well. The only positive thing was the gram stain of the sputum. That showed gram-negative bacilli. That made people think of pseudomonas, but it hasn\u2019t been confirmed.\u201d<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>\u201cAny question of the patient being immunologically compromised?\u201d Jack asked. \u201cDid he have AIDS or had he been treated with anti-metabolites?\u201d<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>\u201cNot that I could ascertain,\u201d Janice said. \u201cThe only problem he had listed was diabetes and some of the usual sequelae. Anyway, it\u2019s all in the investigative report if you\u2019d care to read it.\u201d<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>\u201cHey, why read when I can get it from the horse\u2019s mouth?\u201d Jack said with a laugh. He thanked Janice and headed for the elevator.<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>\u201cI hope you are planning to wear your moon suit,\u201d Vinnie said. The moon suit, the completely enclosed, impervious outfit complete with a clear plastic face mask, was designed for maximum protection. Air was forced into the suit by a fan worn at the small of the back, pulling air through a filter before circulating it within the headpiece. That provided enough ventilation to breathe but guaranteed sauna-like temperatures inside. Jack detested the setup.<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>As far as Jack was concerned the moon suit was bulky, restrictive, uncomfortable, hot, and unnecessary. He\u2019d not worn one throughout his training. The problem was that the New York chief, Dr. Harold Bingham, had decreed that the suits be used. Calvin, the deputy chief, was intent on enforcing it. Jack had endured several confrontations as a result.<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>\u201cThis might be the first time the suit is indicated, Jack said, to Vinnie\u2019s relief. \u201cUntil we know what we are dealing with we have to take all precautions. After all, it could be something like Ebola virus.\u201d<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>Vinnie stopped in his tracks. \u201cYou really think it\u2019s possible?\u201d he asked, his eyes opened wide.<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>\u201cNot a chance,\u201d Jack said. He slapped him on the back. \u201cJust kidding.\u201d<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>\u201cThank God,\u201d Vinnie said. They started walking again.<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>\u201cBut maybe plague.\u201d<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>Vinnie stopped again. \u201cThat would be just as bad,\u201d he said.<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>Jack shrugged his shoulders. \u201cAll in a day\u2019s work,\u201d he said. \u201cCome on, let\u2019s get it over with.\u201d<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>They changed into scrubs, and then while Vinnie put on his moon suit and went into the autopsy room, Jack went through the contents of Nodelman\u2019s folder. It had a case work sheet, a partially completed death certificate, an inventory of medical-legal case records, two sheets for autopsy notes, a telephone notice of death as received that night by communications, a completed identification sheet, Janice\u2019s investigative report, a sheet for the autopsy report, and a lab slip for HIV antibody analysis.<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>Despite having spoken with Janice, Jack read her report carefully as he always did. When he was finished he went into the room next to the pine coffins and put on his moon suit. He took his ventilation unit from where it had been charging and hooked himself up. Then he set out for the autopsy room on the other side of the morgue.<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>Jack cursed the suit as he walked past most of the 126 refrigerated compartments for bodies. Being encased in the contraption put him in a bad mood, and he eyed his surroundings with a jaundiced eye. The morgue had been state of the art at one time, but it was now in need of repair and upgrading. With its aged, blue tile walls and stained cement floor it looked like a set for an old horror movie.<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>There was an entrance to the autopsy room directly from the hallway, but that wasn\u2019t used any longer except to bring bodies in and out. Instead Jack entered through a small anteroom with a washbasin.<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>By the time Jack entered the autopsy room Vinnie had Nodelman\u2019s body on one of the eight tables and had assembled all the necessary equipment and paraphernalia necessary to do the case. Jack positioned himself on the patient\u2019s right, Vinnie on the left.<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>\u201cHe doesn\u2019t look so good,\u201d Jack said. \u201cI don\u2019t think he\u2019s going to make it to the prom.\u201d It was hard to talk in the moon suit, and he was already perspiring.<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>Vinnie, who never quite knew how to react to Jack\u2019s irreverent comments, didn\u2019t respond even though the corpse did look terrible.<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>\u201cThis is gangrene on his fingers,\u201d Jack said. He lifted one of the hands and examined the almost-black fingertips closely. Then he pointed to the man\u2019s shriveled genitals. \u201cThat\u2019s gangrene on the end of his penis. Ouch! That must have hurt. Can you imagine?\u201d<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>Vinnie held his tongue.<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>Jack carefully examined every inch of the man\u2019s exterior. For Vinnie\u2019s benefit he pointed out the extensive subcutaneous hemorrhages on the man\u2019s abdomen and legs. He told him it was called purpura. Then Jack mentioned there were no obvious insect bites. \u201cThat\u2019s important,\u201d he added. \u201cA lot of serious diseases are transmitted by arthropods.\u201d<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>\u201cArthropods?\u201d Vinnie questioned. He never knew when Jack was joking.<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>\u201cInsects,\u201d Jack said. \u201cCrustaceans aren\u2019t much of a problem as disease vectors.\u201d<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>Vinnie nodded appreciatively, although he didn\u2019t know any more than he had when he\u2019d asked his question. He made a mental note to try to remember to look up the meaning of \u201carthropods\u201d when he had an opportunity.<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>\u201cWhat are the chances whatever killed this man is contagious?\u201d Vinnie asked.<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>\u201cExcellent, I\u2019m afraid,\u201d Jack said. \u201cExcellent.\u201d<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>The door to the hallway opened and Sal D\u2019Ambrosio, another mortuary tech, wheeled in another body. Totally absorbed in the external exam of Mr. Nodelman, Jack did not look up. He was already beginning to form a differential diagnosis.<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>A half hour later six of the eight tables were occupied by corpses awaiting autopsies. One by one the other medical examiners on duty that day began to arrive. Laurie was the first, and she came over to Jack\u2019s table. \u201cAny ideas yet?\u201d she asked.<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>\u201cLots of ideas but nothing definitive,\u201d Jack said. \u201cBut I can assure you this is one virulent organism. I was teasing Vinnie earlier about its being Ebola. There\u2019s a lot of disseminated intravascular coagulation.\u201d<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>\u201cMy God!\u201d Laurie exclaimed. \u201cAre you serious?\u201d<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>\u201cNo, not really,\u201d Jack said. \u201cBut from what I\u2019ve seen so far it\u2019s still possible, just not probable. Of course I\u2019ve never seen a case of Ebola, so that should tell you something.\u201d<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>\u201cDo you think we ought to isolate this case?\u201d Laurie asked nervously.<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>\u201cI can\u2019t see any reason to,\u201d Jack said. \u201cBesides, I\u2019ve already started, and I\u2019ll be careful to avoid throwing any of the organs around the room. But I\u2019ll tell you what we should do: alert the lab to be mighty careful with the specimens until we have a diagnosis.\u201d<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>\u201cMaybe I\u2019d better ask Bingham\u2019s opinion,\u201d Laurie said.<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>\u201cOh, that would be helpful,\u201d Jack said sarcastically. \u201cThen we\u2019ll have the blind leading the blind.\u201d<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>\u201cDon\u2019t be disrespectful,\u201d Laurie said. \u201cHe is the chief.\u201d<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>\u201cI don\u2019t care if he\u2019s the Pope,\u201d Jack said. \u201cI think I should just get it done, the sooner the better. If Bingham or even Calvin gets involved it will drag on all morning.\u201d<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>\u201cAll right,\u201d Laurie said. \u201cMaybe you\u2019re right. But let me see any abnormality. I\u2019ll be on table three.\u201d<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>Laurie left to do her own case. Jack took a scalpel from Vinnie and was about to make the incision when he noticed that Vinnie had moved away.<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>\u201cWhere are you going to watch this from, Queens?\u201d Jack asked. \u201cYou\u2019re supposed to be helping.\u201d<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>\u201cI\u2019m a little nervous,\u201d Vinnie admitted.<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>\u201cOh, come on, man,\u201d Jack said. \u201cYou\u2019ve been at more autopsies than I have. Get your Italian ass over here. We\u2019ve got work to do.\u201d<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>Jack worked quickly but smoothly. He handled the internal organs gently and was meticulously careful about the use of instruments when either his or Vinnie\u2019s hands were in the field.<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>\u201cWhatcha got?\u201d Chet McGovern asked, looking over Jack\u2019s shoulder. Chet was also an associate medical examiner, having been hired in the same month as Jack. Of all the colleagues he\u2019d become the closest to Jack, since they shared both a common office and the social circumstance of being single males. But Chet had never been married and at thirty-six, he was five years Jack\u2019s junior.<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>\u201cSomething interesting,\u201d Jack said. \u201cThe mystery disease of the week. And it\u2019s a humdinger. This poor bastard didn\u2019t have a chance.\u201d<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>\u201cAny ideas?\u201d Chet asked. His trained eye took in the gangrene and the hemorrhages under the skin.<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>\u201cI got a lot of ideas,\u201d Jack said. \u201cBut let me show you the internal. I\u2019d appreciate your opinion.\u201d<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>\u201cIs there something I should see?\u201d Laurie called from table three. She\u2019d noticed Jack conversing with Chet.<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>\u201cYeah, come on over,\u201d Jack said. \u201cNo use going through this more than once.\u201d<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>Laurie sent Sal to the sink to wash out the intestines on her case, then stepped over to table one.<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>\u201cThe first thing I want you to look at is the lymphatics I dissected in the throat,\u201d Jack said. He had retracted the skin of the neck from the chin to the collarbone.<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>\u201cNo wonder autopsies take so long around here,\u201d a voice boomed in the confined space.<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>All eyes turned toward Dr. Calvin Washington, the deputy chief. He was an intimidating six-foot-seven, two-hundred-and-fifty-pound African-American man who\u2019d passed up a chance to play NFL football to go to medical school.<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>\u201cWhat the hell is going on around here?\u201d he demanded half in jest. \u201cWhat do you people think this is, a holiday?\u201d<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>\u201cJust pooling resources,\u201d Laurie said. \u201cWe\u2019ve got an unknown infectious case that appears to be quite an aggressive microbe.\u201d<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>\u201cSo I heard,\u201d Calvin said. \u201cI already got a call from the administrator over at the Manhattan General. He\u2019s justly concerned. What\u2019s the verdict?\u201d<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>\u201cA bit too soon to tell,\u201d Jack said. \u201cBut we\u2019ve got a lot of pathology here.\u201d<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>Jack quickly summarized for Calvin what was known of the history and pointed out the positive findings on the external exam. Then he started back on the internal, indicating the spread of the disease along the lymphatics of the neck.<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>\u201cSome of these nodes are necrotic,\u201d Calvin said.<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>\u201cExactly,\u201d Jack said. \u201cIn fact most of them are necrotic. The disease was spreading rapidly through the lymphatics, presumably from the throat and bronchial tree.\u201d<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>\u201cAirborne, then,\u201d Calvin said.<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>\u201cIt would be my first guess,\u201d Jack admitted. \u201cNow look at the internal organs.\u201d<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>Jack presented the lungs and opened the areas where he\u2019d made slices. \u201cAs you can see, this is pretty extensive lobar pneumonia,\u201d Jack said. \u201cThere\u2019s a lot of consolidation. But there is also some necrosis, and I believe early cavitation. If the patient had lived longer, I think we would be seeing some abscess formation.\u201d<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>Calvin whistled. \u201cWow,\u201d he said. \u201cAll this was happening in the face of massive IV antibiotics.\u201d<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>\u201cIt\u2019s worrisome,\u201d Jack agreed. He carefully slid the lungs back into the pan. He didn\u2019t want them sloshing around, potentially throwing infective particles into the air. Next he picked up the liver and gently separated its cut surface.<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>\u201cSame process,\u201d he announced, pointing with his fingers to areas of early abscess formation. \u201cJust not as extensive as with the lungs.\u201d Jack put the liver down and picked up the spleen. There were similar lesions throughout the organ. He made sure everyone saw them. \u201cSo much for the gross,\u201d Jack said as he carefully replaced the spleen in the pan. \u201cWe\u2019ll have to see what the microscopic shows, but I actually think we\u2019ll be relying on the lab to give us the definitive answer.\u201d <\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>\u201cWhat\u2019s your guess at this point?\u201d Calvin asked.<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>Jack let out a short laugh. \u201cA guess it would have to be,\u201d he said. \u201cI haven\u2019t seen anything pathognomonic yet. But its fulminant character should tell us something.\u201d<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>\u201cWhat\u2019s your differential diagnosis?\u201d Calvin asked. \u201cCome on, Wonderboy, let\u2019s hear it.\u201d<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>\u201cUmmmm,\u201d Jack said. \u201cYou\u2019re kinda putting me on the spot. But okay, I\u2019ll tell you what\u2019s been going through my head. First, I don\u2019t think it could be pseudomonas as suspected at the hospital. It\u2019s too aggressive. It could have been something atypical like strep group A or even staph with toxic shock, but I kinda doubt it, especially with the gram stain suggesting it was a bacillus. So I\u2019d have to say it is something like tularemia or plague.\u201d<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>\u201cWhoa!\u201d Calvin exclaimed. \u201cYou\u2019re coming up with some pretty arcane illnesses for what was apparently a hospital-based infection. Haven\u2019t you heard the phrase about when you hear hoofbeats you should think of horses, not zebras?\u201d<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>\u201cI\u2019m just telling you what\u2019s going through my mind. It\u2019s just a differential diagnosis. I\u2019m trying to keep an open mind.\u201d<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>\u201cAll right,\u201d Calvin said soothingly. \u201cIs that it?\u201d<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>\u201cNo, that\u2019s not it,\u201d Jack said. \u201cI\u2019d also consider that the gram stain could have been wrong and that would let in not only strep and staph but meningococcemia as well. And I might as well throw in Rocky Mountain spotted fever and hantavirus. Hell, I could even throw in the viral hemorrhagic fevers like Ebola.\u201d<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>\u201cNow you\u2019re getting out in the stratosphere,\u201d Calvin said. \u201cLet\u2019s come back to reality. If I made you guess which one it is right now with what you know, what would you say?\u201d<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>Jack clucked his tongue. He had the irritated feeling he was being put back in medical school, and that Calvin, like many of his medical-school professors, was trying to make him look bad.<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>\u201cPlague,\u201d Jack said to a stunned audience.<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>\u201cPlague?\u201d Calvin questioned with surprise bordering on disdain. \u201cIn March? In New York City? In a hospitalized patient? You got to be out of your mind.\u201d<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>\u201cHey, you asked me for one diagnosis,\u201d Jack said. \u201cSo I gave it to you. I wasn\u2019t responding by probabilities, just pathology.\u201d<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>\u201cYou weren\u2019t considering the other epidemiological aspects?\u201d Calvin asked with obvious condescension. He laughed. Then, talking more to the others than Jack, he said: \u201cWhat the hell did they teach you out there in the Chicago boonies?\u201d<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>\u201cThere are too many unknowns in this case for me to put a lot of weight on unsubstantiated information,\u201d Jack said. \u201cI didn\u2019t visit the site. I don\u2019t know anything about the deceased\u2019s pets, travel, or contact with visitors. There are a lot of people coming and going in this city, even in and out of a hospital. And there are certainly more than enough rats around here to support the diagnosis.\u201d<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>For a moment a heavy silence hung over the autopsy room. Neither Laurie nor Chet knew what to say. Jack\u2019s tone made them both uncomfortable, especially knowing Calvin\u2019s stormy temperament.<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>\u201cA clever comment,\u201d Calvin said finally. \u201cYou\u2019re quite good at double entendre. I have to give you credit there. Perhaps that\u2019s part of pathology training in the Midwest.\u201d<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>Both Laurie and Chet laughed nervously.<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>\u201cAll right, smartass,\u201d Calvin continued. \u201cHow much are you willing to put on your diagnosis of plague?\u201d<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>\u201cI didn\u2019t know it was customary to gamble around here,\u201d Jack said.<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>\u201cNo, it\u2019s not common to gamble, but when you come up with a diagnosis of plague, I think it\u2019s worthwhile to make a point of it. How about ten dollars?\u201d<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>\u201cI can afford ten dollars,\u201d Jack said.<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>\u201cFine,\u201d Calvin said. \u201cWith that settled, where\u2019s Paul Lodgett and that gunshot wound from the World Trade Center?\u201d<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>\u201cHe\u2019s down on table six,\u201d Laurie said.<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>Calvin lumbered away and for a moment the others watched him. Laurie broke the silence.<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>\u201cWhy do you try to provoke him?\u201d she asked Jack. \u201cI don\u2019t understand. You\u2019re making it more difficult for yourself.\u201d<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>\u201cI can\u2019t help it,\u201d Jack said. \u201cHe provoked me!\u201d<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>\u201cYeah, but he\u2019s the deputy chief and it\u2019s his prerogative,\u201d Chet said. \u201cBesides, you were pushing things with a diagnosis of plague. It certainly wouldn\u2019t be on the top of my list.\u201d<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>\u201cAre you sure?\u201d Jack asked. \u201cLook at the black fingers and toes on this patient. Remember, it was called the black death back in the fourteenth century.\u201d<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>\u201cA lot of diseases can cause such thrombotic phenomena,\u201d Chet said.<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>\u201cTrue,\u201d Jack said. \u201cThat\u2019s why I almost said tularemia.\u201d<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>\u201cAnd why didn\u2019t you?\u201d Laurie asked. In her mind tularemia was equally improbable.<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>\u201cI thought plague sounded better,\u201d Jack said. \u201cIt\u2019s more dramatic.\u201d<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>\u201cI never know when you are serious,\u201d Laurie said.<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>\u201cHey, I feel the same way,\u201d Jack said.<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>Laurie shook her head in frustration. At times it was hard to have a serious discussion with Jack. \u201cAnyway,\u201d she said, \u201care you finished with Nodelman? If you are, I\u2019ve got another case for you.\u201d<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>\u201cI haven\u2019t done the brain yet,\u201d Jack said.<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>\u201cThen get to it,\u201d Laurie said. She walked back to table three to finish her own case.<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>2<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>
\n<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>WEDNESDAY, 9:45 A.M., MARCH 20, 1996<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>NEW YORK CITY<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>Terese Hagen stopped abruptly and looked at the closed door to the \u201ccabin,\u201d the name given to the main conference room. It was called the cabin because the interior was a reproduction of Taylor Heath\u2019s Square Lake house up in the wilds of New Hampshire. Taylor Heath was the CEO of the hot, up-and-coming advertising firm Willow and Heath, which was threatening to break into the rarefied ranks of the advertising big leagues.<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>After making sure she was not observed, Terese leaned toward the door and put her ear against it. She heard voices.<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>With her pulse quickening, Terese hurried down the hall to her own office. It never took long for her anxiety to soar. She\u2019d only been in the office five minutes and already her heart was pounding. She didn\u2019t like the idea of a meeting she didn\u2019t know about being held in the cabin, the CEO\u2019s habitual domain. In her position as the creative director of the firm, she felt she had to know everything that was going on.<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>\u00a0\u00a0<\/span>The problem was that a lot was going on. Taylor Heath had shocked everybody with his previous month\u2019s announcement that he planned to retire as CEO and was designating Brian Wilson, the current president, to succeed him. That left a big question mark about who would succeed Wilson. Terese was in the running. That was for sure. But so was Robert Barker, the firm\u2019s executive director of accounts.<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>And on top of that, there was always the worry that Taylor would pick someone from outside.<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>Terese pulled off her coat and stuffed it into the closet. Her secretary, Marsha Devons, was on the phone, so Terese dashed to her desk and scanned the surface for any telltale message; but there was nothing except a pile of unrelated phone messages.<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>\u201cThere\u2019s a meeting in the cabin,\u201d Marsha called from the other room after hanging up the phone. She appeared in the doorway. She was a petite woman with raven-black hair. Terese appreciated her because she was intelligent, efficient, and intuitive\u2014all the qualities lacking in the year\u2019s previous four secretaries. Terese was tough on her assistants, since she expected commitment and performance equivalent to her own.<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>\u201cWhy didn\u2019t you call me at home?\u201d Terese demanded.<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>\u201cI did, but you\u2019d already left,\u201d Marsha said.<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>\u201cWho\u2019s at the meeting?\u201d Terese barked.<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>\u201cIt was Mr. Heath\u2019s secretary who called,\u201d Marsha said. \u201cShe didn\u2019t say who would be attending. Just that your presence was requested.\u201d<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>\u201cWas there any indication what the meeting is about?\u201d Terese asked.<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>\u201cNo,\u201d Marsha said simply.<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>\u201cWhen did it start?\u201d<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>\u201cThe call came through at nine,\u201d Marsha said.<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>Terese snatched up her phone and punched in Colleen Anderson\u2019s number. Colleen was Terese\u2019s most trusted art director. She was currently heading up a team for the National Health Care account.<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>\u201cYou know anything about this meeting in the cabin?\u201d Terese asked as soon as Colleen was on the line.<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>Colleen didn\u2019t, only that it was going on.<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>\u201cDamn!\u201d Terese said as she hung up.<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>\u00a0\u00a0<\/span>\u201cIs there a problem?\u201d Marsha asked solicitously.<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>\u201cIf Robert Barker has been in there all this time with Taylor, there\u2019s a problem,\u201d Terese said. \u201cThat prick never misses a beat to put me down.\u201d Terese snatched the phone again and redialed Colleen. \u201cWhat\u2019s the status on National Health? Do we have any comps or anything I can show right now?\u201d<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>\u201cI\u2019m afraid not,\u201d Colleen said. \u201cWe\u2019ve been brainstorming, but we don\u2019t have anything zippy like I know you want. I\u2019m looking for a home run.\u201d<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>\u201cWell, goose your team,\u201d Terese said. \u201cI have a sneaking suspicion I\u2019m most vulnerable with National Health.\u201d<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>\u201cNo one\u2019s been sleeping down here,\u201d Colleen said. \u201cI can assure you of that.\u201d<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>Terese hung up without saying good-bye. Snatching up her purse, she ran down the hall to the ladies\u2019 room and positioned herself in front of the mirror. She pushed her Medusa\u2019s head of highlighted tight curls into a semblance of order, then reapplied some lipstick and a bit of blush.<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>Stepping back, she surveyed herself. Luckily she\u2019d chosen to wear one of her favorite suits. It was dark blue wool gabardine and seriously severe, hugging her narrow frame like a second skin.<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>Satisfied with her appearance, Terese hustled to the cabin door. After a deep breath she grasped the knob, turned it, and entered.<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>\u201cAh, Miss Hagen,\u201d Brian Wilson said, glancing at his watch. He was sitting at the head of a rough-hewn plank table that dominated the room. \u201cI see you\u2019re now indulging in banker\u2019s hours.\u201d<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>Brian was a short man with thinning hair. He vainly tried to camouflage his bald spot by combing his side hair over it. As per usual he was attired in a white shirt and tie, loosened at the neck, giving him the appearance of a harried newspaper publisher. To complete the journalistic look, his sleeves were rolled up above his elbows and a yellow Dixon pencil was tucked behind his right ear.<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>Despite the catty comment, Terese liked and respected Brian. He was an able administrator. He had a patented derogatory style, but he was equally demanding of himself.<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>\u201cI was in the office last night until one A.M.,\u201d Terese said. \u201cI certainly would have been here for this meeting if someone had been kind enough to have let me know about it.\u201d<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>\u201cIt was an impromptu meeting,\u201d Taylor called out. He was standing near the window, in keeping with his laissez-faire management style. He preferred to hover above the group like an Olympian god, watching his demigods and mere mortals hammer out decisions.<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>Taylor and Brian were opposite in most ways. Where Brian was short, Taylor was tall. Where Brian was balding, Taylor had a dense halo of silver-gray hair. Where Brian appeared as the harried newspaper columnist always with his back against the wall, Taylor was the picture of sophisticated tranquility and sartorial splendor. Yet no one doubted Taylor\u2019s encyclopedic grasp of the business and his uncanny ability to maintain strategic goals in the face of daily tactical disaster and controversy.<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>Terese took a seat at the table directly across from her nemesis, Robert Barker. He was a tall, thin-faced man with narrow lips who seemed to take a cue from Taylor in regard to his dress. He was always attired nattily in dark silk suits and colorful silk ties. The ties were his trademark. Terese could not remember ever having seen the same tie twice.<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>Next to Robert was Helen Robinson, whose presence made Terese\u2019s racing heart beat even a little faster. Helen worked under Robert as the account executive assigned specifically to National Health. She was a strikingly attractive twenty-five-year-old woman with long, chestnut-colored hair that cascaded to her shoulders, tanned skin even in March, and full, sensuous features. Between her intelligence and looks she was a formidable adversary.<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>\u00a0<\/span>Also sitting at the table was Phil Atkins, the chief financial officer, and Carlene Desalvo, the corporate director of account planning. Phil was an impeccably precise man with his perennial three-piece suit and wire-rimmed glasses. Carlene was a bright, full-figured woman who always dressed in white. Terese was mildly surprised to see both of them at the meeting.<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>\u201cWe\u2019ve got a big problem with the National Health account,\u201d Brian said. \u201cThat\u2019s why this meeting was called.\u201d<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>Terese\u2019s mouth went dry. She glanced at Robert and detected a slight but infuriating smile. Terese wished to God she\u2019d been there since the beginning of the meeting so she could have known everything that had been said.<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>Terese was aware of trouble with National Health. The company had called for an internal review a month ago, which meant that Willow and Heath had to come up with a new advertising campaign if they expected to keep the account. And everybody knew they had to keep the account. It had mushroomed to somewhere around forty million annually and was still growing. Health-care advertising was in the ascendancy, and would hopefully fill the hole vacated by cigarettes.<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>Brian turned to Robert. \u201cPerhaps you could fill Terese in on the latest developments,\u201d he said.<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>\u201cI defer to my able assistant, Helen,\u201d Robert said, giving Terese one of his condescending smiles.<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>Helen moved forward in her seat. \u201cAs you know, National Health has had misgivings about its advertising campaign. Unfortunately their displeasure has increased. Just yesterday their figures came in for the last open subscriber period. The results weren\u2019t good. Their loss of market share to AmeriCare in the New York metropolitan area has increased. After building the new hospital, this is a terrible blow.\u201d<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>\u201cAnd they blame our ad campaign for that?\u201d Terese blurted out. \u201cThat\u2019s absurd. They only made a twenty-five-point buy with our sixty-second commercial. That was not adequate. No way.\u201d<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>\u201cThat may be your opinion,\u201d Helen said evenly. \u201cBut I know it is not National Health\u2019s.\u201d<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>\u201cI know you are fond of your \u2018Health care for the modern era\u2019 campaign, and it is a good tag line,\u201d Robert said, \u201cbut the fact of the matter is that National Health has been losing market share from the campaign\u2019s inception. These latest figures are just consistent with the previous trend.\u201d<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>\u201cThe sixty-second spot has been nominated for a Clio,\u201d Terese countered. \u201cIt\u2019s a damn good commercial. It\u2019s wonderfully creative. I\u2019m proud of my team for having put it together.\u201d<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>\u201cAnd indeed you should be,\u201d Brian interjected. \u201cBut it is Robert\u2019s feeling that the client is not interested in our winning a Clio. And remember, as the Benton and Bowles agency held, \u2018If it doesn\u2019t sell, it isn\u2019t creative.<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>\u201cThat\u2019s equally absurd,\u201d Terese snapped. \u201cThe campaign is solid. It\u2019s just that the account people couldn\u2019t get the client to buy adequate exposure. There should have been \u2018flights\u2019 on multiple local stations at a bare minimum.\u201d<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>\u201cWith all due respect, they would have bought more time if they\u2019d liked the commercial,\u201d Robert said. \u201cI don\u2019t think they were ever sold on this idea of \u2018them versus us,\u2019 ancient medicine versus modern medicine. I mean it was humorous, but I don\u2019t know if they were convinced the viewer truly associated the ancient methods with National Health Care\u2019s competitors, particularly AmeriCare. My personal opinion is that it went over people\u2019s heads.\u201d<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>\u201cYour real point is that National Health Care has a very specific type of advertising it wants,\u201d Brian said. \u201cTell Terese what you told me just before she came in here.\u201d<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>\u201cIt\u2019s simple,\u201d Robert said, making an open gesture with his hands. \u201cThey want either \u2018talking heads\u2019 discussing actual patient experiences, or a celebrity spokesperson. They couldn\u2019t care less whether their ad wins a Clio or any of the other awards. They want results. They want market share, and I want to give it to them.\u201d<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>\u201cAm I hearing that Willow and Heath wants to turn its back on its successes and become a mere vendor shop?\u201d Terese asked. \u201cWe\u2019re on the edge of becoming one of the big-league firms. And how did we get here? We got here by doing quality advertising. We\u2019ve carried on in the Doyle-Dane-Bernback tradition. If we start letting clients dictate that we turn out slop, we\u2019re doomed.\u201d<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>\u201cWhat I\u2019m hearing is the usual conflict between the account executive and the creative,\u201d Taylor said, interrupting the increasingly heated discussion. \u201cRobert, you think Terese is this self-indulgent child who is bent on alienating the client. Terese, you think Robert is this shortsighted pragmatist who wants to throw out the baby with the bathwater. The trouble is you are both right and both wrong at the same time. You have to use each other as a team. Stop arguing and deal with the problem at hand.\u201d<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>For a moment everyone was quiet. Zeus had spoken and everyone knew he was on target as usual.<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>\u201cAll right,\u201d Brian said finally. \u201cHere\u2019s our reality. National Health is a vital client to our long-term stability. Thirty-odd days ago it asked for an internal review, which we expected in a couple of months. They now have told us they want it next week.\u201d<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>\u201cNext week!\u201d Terese all but shouted. \u201cMy God.\u201d It took months to put together a new campaign and pitch it.<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>\u201cI know that will put the creatives under a lot of pressure,\u201d Brian said. \u201cBut the reality is National Health is the boss. The problem is that after our pitch, if they are not satisfied, they\u2019ll set up an outside review. The account will then be up for grabs, and I don\u2019t have to remind you that these health-care giants are going to be the advertising cash cows of the next decade. All the agencies are interested.\u201d<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>\u201cAs chief financial officer I think I should make it clear what the loss of the National Health account would do to our bottom line,\u201d Phil Atkins said. \u201cWe\u2019ll have to put off the restructuring because we won\u2019t have the funds to buy back our junk bonds.\u201d<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>\u201cObviously it is in all our best interests that we not lose the account,\u201d Brian said.<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>\u201cI don\u2019t know if it is possible to put together a pitch for next week,\u201d Terese said.<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>\u201cYou have anything you can show us at the moment?\u201d Brian asked. Terese shook her head.<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>\u201cYou must have something,\u201d Robert said. \u201cI assume you have a team working on it.\u201d The smile had returned to the corners of his mouth.<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>\u201cOf course we have a team on National Health,\u201d Terese said. \u201cBut we haven\u2019t had any \u2018big ideas\u2019 to date. Obviously we thought we had several more months.\u201d<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>\u201cPerhaps you might assign some additional personnel,\u201d Brian said. \u201cBut I\u2019ll leave that up to your judgment.\u201d Then to the rest of the group he said: \u201cFor now we\u2019ll adjourn this meeting until we have something from Creative to look at.\u201d He stood up. Everybody else did the same.<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>Dazed, Terese stumbled out of the cabin and descended to the agency\u2019s main studio on the floor below.<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>Willow and Heath had reversed a trend that began during the seventies and eighties when New York advertising firms had experienced a diaspora to varying chic sections of the city like TriBeCa and Chelsea. The agency returned to the old stamping ground of Madison Avenue, taking over several floors of a modest-sized building.<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>Terese found Colleen at her drawing board. \u201cWhat\u2019s the scoop?\u201d Colleen asked. \u201cYou look pale.\u201d<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>\u201cTrouble!\u201d Terese exclaimed.<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>Colleen had been Terese\u2019s first hire. She was her most reliable art director. They got along fatuously both professionally and socially. Colleen was a milky-white-skinned strawberry blonde with a smattering of pale freckles over an upturned nose. Her eyes were a deep blue, a much stronger hue than Terese\u2019s. She favored oversized sweatshirts that somehow seemed to accentuate rather than hide her enviable figure.<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>\u201cLet me guess,\u201d Colleen said. \u201cHas National Health pushed up the deadline for the review?\u201d<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>\u201cHow\u2019d you know?\u201d<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>\u201cIntuition,\u201d Colleen said. \u201cWhen you said \u2018trouble,\u2019 that\u2019s the worst thing I could think of.\u201d<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>\u201cThe Robert-and-Helen sideshow brought in information that National Health has lost more market share to AmeriCare despite our campaign.\u201d<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>\u201cDamn!\u201d Colleen said. \u201cIt\u2019s a good campaign and a great sixty-second commercial.\u201d<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>\u201cYou know it and I know it,\u201d Terese said. \u201cProblem is that it wasn\u2019t shown enough. I have an uncomfortable suspicion that Helen undermined us and talked them out of the two-hundred- to three-hundred-point TV commercial buy they had initially intended to make. That would have been saturation. I know it would have worked.\u201d<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>\u201cI thought you told me you had pulled out the stops to guarantee National Health\u2019s market share would go up,\u201d Colleen said.<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>\u201cI did,\u201d Terese said. \u201cI\u2019ve done everything I could think of and then some. I mean, it\u2019s my best sixty-second spot. You told me yourself.\u201d<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>Terese rubbed her forehead. She was getting a headache. She could still feel her pulse clanging away at her temples.<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>\u201cYou might as well tell me the bad news,\u201d Colleen said. She put down her drawing pencil and swung around to face Terese. \u201cWhat\u2019s the new time frame?\u201d<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>\u201cNational Health wants us to pitch a new campaign next week.\u201d<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>\u201cGood Lord!\u201d Colleen said.<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>\u201cWhat do we have so far?\u201d Terese asked.<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>\u201cNot a lot.\u201d<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>\u201cYou must have some tissues or some preliminary executions,\u201d Terese said. \u201cI know I haven\u2019t been giving you any attention lately since we\u2019ve had deadlines with three other clients. But you have had a team working on this for almost a month.\u201d<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>\u201cWe\u2019ve been having strategy session after strategy session,\u201d Colleen said. \u201cA lot of brainstorming, but no big idea. Nothing\u2019s jumped out and grabbed us. I mean, I have a sense of what you are looking for.\u201d<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>\u201cWell, I want to see what you have,\u201d Terese said. \u201cI don\u2019t care how sketchy or preliminary. I want to see what the team has been doing. I want to see it today.\u201d<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>\u201cAll right,\u201d Colleen said without enthusiasm. \u201cI\u2019ll get everybody together.\u201d<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>3<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>
\n<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>WEDNESDAY, 11:15 A.M., MARCH 20, 1996<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>Susanne Hard had never liked hospitals.<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>A scoliotic back had kept her in and out of them as a child. Hospitals made her nervous. She hated the sense that she was not in control and that she was surrounded by the sick and the dying.<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>Susanne was a firm believer in the adage \u201cIf something can go wrong, it will go wrong.\u201d She felt this way particularly in relation to hospitals. Indeed, on her last admission, she\u2019d been carted off to urology to face some frightful procedure before she\u2019d finally been able to convince a reluctant technician to read the name on her wristband. They\u2019d had the wrong patient.<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>\u00a0\u00a0<\/span>On her present admission Susanne wasn\u2019t sick. The previous night her labor had started with her second child. In addition to her back problem, her pelvis was distorted, making a normal vaginal delivery impossible. As with her first child, she had to have a cesarean section.<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>Since she\u2019d just undergone abdominal surgery, her doctor insisted that she stay at least a few days. No amount of cajoling on Susanne\u2019s part had been successful in convincing the doctor otherwise.<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>Susanne tried to relax by wondering what kind of child she\u2019d just birthed. Would he be like his brother, Allen, who had been a wonderful baby? Allen had slept through the night almost from day one. He\u2019d been a delight, and now that he was three and already exerting independence, Susanne was looking forward to a new baby. She thought of herself as a natural mother.<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>With a start, Susanne awoke. She\u2019d surprised herself by nodding off. What had awakened her was a white-clad figure fiddling with the IV bottles that hung from a pole at the head of her bed.<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>\u201cWhat are you doing?\u201d Susanne asked. She felt paranoid about anybody doing anything she didn\u2019t know about.<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>\u201cSorry to have awakened you, Mrs. Hard,\u201d a nurse said. \u201cI was just hanging up a new bottle of fluid. Yours is just about out.\u201d<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>Susanne glanced at the IV snaking into the back of her hand. As an experienced hospital patient, she suggested that it was time for the IV to come out.<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>\u201cMaybe I should check on that,\u201d the nurse said. She then waltzed out of the room.<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0 <\/span>\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/span>Tilting her head back, Susanne looked at the IV bottle to see what it was. It was upside down, so she couldn\u2019t read the label.<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>She started to turn over, but a sharp pain reminded her of her recently sutured incision. She decided to stay on her back.<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>Gingerly she took a deep breath. She didn\u2019t feel any discomfort until right at the end of inspiration.<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>Closing her eyes, Susanne tried again to calm down. She knew that she still had a significant amount of drugs \u201con board\u201d from the anesthesia, so sleep should be easy. The trouble was, she didn\u2019t know if she wanted to be asleep with so many people coming in and out of her room.<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>A very soft clank of plastic hitting plastic drifted out of the background noise of the hospital and caught Susanne\u2019s attention. Her eyes blinked open. She saw an orderly off to the side by the bureau.<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>\u201cExcuse me,\u201d Susanne called.<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>The man turned around. He was a handsome fellow in a white coat over scrubs. From where he was standing, Susanne could not read his name tag. He appeared surprised to be addressed.<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>\u201cI hope I didn\u2019t disturb you, ma\u2019am,\u201d the young man said.<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>\u201cEverybody is disturbing me,\u201d Susanne said without malice. \u201cIt\u2019s like Grand Central Station in here.\u201d<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>\u201cI\u2019m terribly sorry,\u201d the man said. \u201cI can always return later if it would be more convenient.\u201d<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>\u201cWhat are you doing?\u201d Susanne asked.<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>\u201cJust filling your humidifier,\u201d the man said.<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>\u201cWhat do I have a humidifier for?\u201d Susanne said. \u201cI didn\u2019t have one after my last cesarean.\u201d<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>\u201cThe anesthesiologists frequently order them this time of year,\u201d the man said. \u201cRight after surgery, patients\u2019 throats are often irritated from the endotracheal tube. It\u2019s usually helpful to use a humidifier for the first day or even the first few hours. In what month did you have your last cesarean?\u201d<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>\u201cMay,\u201d Susanne said.<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>\u201cThat\u2019s probably the reason you didn\u2019t have one then,\u201d the man said. \u201cWould you like me to return?\u201d<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>\u201cDo what you have to do,\u201d Susanne said.<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>No sooner had the man left than the original nurse returned. \u201cYou were right,\u201d she said. \u201cThe orders were to pull the IV as soon as the bottle was through.\u201d<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>Susanne merely nodded. She felt like asking the nurse if missing orders was something she did on a regular basis. Susanne sighed. She wanted out of there.<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>After the nurse had removed the IV, Susanne managed to calm herself enough to fall back asleep. But it didn\u2019t last long. Someone was nudging her arm.<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>Susanne opened her eyes and looked into the face of another smiling nurse. In the foreground and between them was a five-cc syringe.<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>\u201cI\u2019ve got something for you,\u201d the nurse said as if Susanne were a toddler and the syringe candy.<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>\u201cWhat is it?\u201d Susanne demanded. She instructively pulled away.<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>\u201cIt\u2019s the pain shot you requested,\u201d the nurse said. \u201cSo roll over and I\u2019ll give it to you.\u201d<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>\u201cI didn\u2019t request a pain shot,\u201d Susanne said.<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>\u201cBut of course you did,\u201d the nurse said.<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>\u201cBut I didn\u2019t,\u201d Susanne said.<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>The nurse\u2019s expression changed to exasperation like a cloud passing over the sun. \u201cWell then, it\u2019s doctor\u2019s orders. You are supposed to have a pain shot every six hours.\u201d<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>\u201cBut I don\u2019t have much pain,\u201d Susanne said. \u201cOnly when I move or breathe deeply.\u201d<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>\u201cThere you are,\u201d the nurse said. \u201cYou have to breathe deeply, otherwise you\u2019ll get pneumonia. Come on now, be a good girl.\u201d<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>Susanne thought for a moment. On the one hand she felt like being contrary. On the other hand she wanted to be taken care of and there was nothing inherently wrong with a pain shot. It might even make her sleep better.<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>\u201cOkay,\u201d Susanne said.<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>Gritting her teeth, she managed to roll to the side as the nurse bared her bottom.<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>4<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>
\n<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>WEDNESDAY, 2:05 P.M., MARCH 20, 1996<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>\u201cYou know, Laurie\u2019s right,\u201d Chet McGovern said.<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>Chet and Jack were sitting in the narrow office they shared on the fifth floor of the medical examiner\u2019s building. They both had their feet up on their respective gray metal desks. They\u2019d finished their autopsies for the day, eaten lunch, and were now supposedly doing their paperwork. <\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>\u201cOf course she\u2019s right,\u201d Jack agreed.<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>\u201cBut if you know that, why do you provoke Calvin? It\u2019s not rational. You\u2019re not doing yourself any favors. It\u2019s going to affect your promotion up through the system.\u201d<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>\u201cI don\u2019t want to rise up in the system,\u201d Jack said.<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>\u201cCome again?\u201d Chet asked. In the grand scheme of medicine, the concept of not wanting to get ahead was heresy.<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>Jack let his feet fall off the desk and thump onto the floor. He stood up, stretched, and yawned loudly. Jack was a stocky, six-foot man accustomed to serious physical activity. He found that standing at the autopsy table and sitting at a desk tended to cause his muscles to cramp, particularly his quadriceps.<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>\u201cI\u2019m happy being a low man on the totem pole,\u201d Jack said, cracking his knuckles.<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>\u201cYou don\u2019t want to become board certified?\u201d Chet asked with surprise. <\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>\u201cAh, of course I want to be board certified,\u201d Jack said. \u201cBut that\u2019s not the same issue. As far as I\u2019m concerned, becoming board certified is a personal thing. What I don\u2019t care about is having supervisory responsibility. I just want to do forensic pathology. To hell with bureaucracy and red tape.\u201d<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>\u201cJesus,\u201d Chet-remarked, letting his own feet fall to the floor. \u201cEvery time I think I get to know you a little, you throw me a curveball. I mean, we\u2019ve been sharing this office for almost five months. You\u2019re still a mystery. I don\u2019t even know where the hell you live.\u201d<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>\u201cI didn\u2019t know you cared,\u201d Jack teased.<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>\u201cCome on,\u201d Chet said. \u201cYou know what I mean.\u201d<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>\u201cI live on the Upper West Side,\u201d Jack said. \u201cIt\u2019s no secret.\u201d<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>\u201cIn the seventies?\u201d Chet asked.<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>\u201cA bit higher,\u201d Jack said.<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>\u201cEighties?\u201d<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>\u201cHigher.\u201d<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>\u201cYou\u2019re not going to tell me higher than the nineties, are you?\u201d Chet asked.<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>\u201cA tad,\u201d Jack said. \u201cI live on a Hundred and Sixth Street.\u201d<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>\u201cGood grief,\u201d Chet exclaimed. \u201cYou\u2019re living in Harlem.\u201d<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>Jack shrugged. He sat down at his desk and pulled out one of his unfinished files. \u201cWhat\u2019s in a name?\u201d he said.<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>\u201cWhy in the world live in Harlem?\u201d Chet asked. \u201cOf all the neat places to live in and around the city, why live there? It can\u2019t be a nice neighborhood. Besides, it must be dangerous.\u201d<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>\u201cI don\u2019t see it that way,\u201d Jack said. \u201cPlus there are a lot of playgrounds in the area and a particularly good one right next door. I\u2019m kind of a pickup basketball nut.\u201d<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>\u201cNow I know you are crazy,\u201d Chet said. \u201cThose playgrounds and those pickup games are controlled by neighborhood gangs. That\u2019s like having a death wish. I\u2019m afraid we might see you in here on one of the slabs even without the mountain bike heroics.\u201d<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>\u201cI haven\u2019t had any trouble,\u201d Jack said. \u201cAfter all, I paid for new back-boards and lights and I buy the balls. The neighborhood gang is actually quite appreciative and even solicitous.\u201d<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>Chet eyed his officemate with a touch of awe. He tried to imagine what Jack would look like out running around on a Harlem neighborhood blacktop. He imagined Jack would certainly stand out racially with his light brown hair cut in a peculiar Julius Caesar-like shag. Chet wondered if any of the other players had any idea about Jack, like the fact that he was a doctor. But then Chet acknowledged that he didn\u2019t know much more.<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>\u201cWhat did you do before you went to medical school?\u201d Chet asked.<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>\u201cI went to college,\u201d Jack said. \u201cLike most people who went to medical school. Don\u2019t tell me you didn\u2019t go to college.\u201d<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>\u201cOf course I went to college,\u201d Chet said. \u201cCalvin is right: you are a smartass. You know what I mean. If you just finished a pathology residency, what did you do in the interim?\u201d Chet had wanted to ask the question for months, but there had never been an opportune moment.<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>\u201cI became an ophthalmologist,\u201d Jack said. \u201cI even had a practice out in Champaign, Illinois. I was a conventional, conservative suburbanite.\u201d<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>\u201cYeah, sure, just like I was a Buddhist monk.\u201d Chet laughed. \u201cI mean I suppose I can see you as an ophthalmologist. After all, I was an emergency-room physician for a few years until I saw the light. But you conservative? No way.\u201d<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>\u201cI was,\u201d Jack insisted. \u201cAnd my name was John, not Jack. Of course, you wouldn\u2019t have recognized me. I was heavier. I also had longer hair, and I parted it along the right side of my head the way I did in high school. And as far as dress was concerned, I favored glen-plaid suits.\u201d<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>\u201cWhat happened,\u201d Chet asked. Chet glanced at Jack\u2019s black jeans, blue sports shirt, and dark blue knitted tie.<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0 <\/span>\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/span>A knock on the doorjamb caught both Jack\u2019s and Chet\u2019s attention. They turned to see Agnes Finn, head of the micro lab, standing in the doorway. She was a small, serious woman with thick glasses and stringy hair.<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>\u201cWe just got something a little surprising,\u201d she said to Jack. She was clutching a sheet of paper in her hand. She hesitated on the threshold. Her dour expression didn\u2019t change.<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>\u201cAre you going to make us guess or what?\u201d Jack asked. His curiosity had been titillated, since Agnes did not make it a point to deliver lab results.<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>Agnes pushed her glasses higher onto her nose and handed Jack the paper. \u201cIt\u2019s the fluorescein antibody screen you requested on Nodelman.\u201d<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>\u201cMy word,\u201d Jack said after glancing at the page. He handed it to Chet.<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>Chet looked at the paper and then leaped to his feet. \u201cHoly crap!\u201d he exclaimed. \u201cNodelman had the goddamn plague!\u201d<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>\u201cObviously we were taken aback by the result,\u201d Agnes said in her usual monotone. \u201cIs there anything else you want us to do?\u201d<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>Jack pinched his lower lip while he thought. \u201cLet\u2019s try to culture some of the incipient abscesses,\u201d he said. \u201cAnd let\u2019s try some of the usual stains. What\u2019s recommended for plague?\u201d<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>\u201cGiemsa\u2019s or Wayson\u2019s,\u201d Agnes said. \u201cThey usually make it possible to see the typical bipolar \u2018safety pin\u2019 morphology.\u201d<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>\u201cOkay, let\u2019s do that,\u201d Jack said. \u201cOf course, the most important thing is to grow the bug. Until we do that, the case is only presumptive plague.\u201d<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>\u201cI understand,\u201d Agnes said. She started from the room. \u201cI guess I don\u2019t have to warn you to be careful,\u201d Jack said.<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>\u201cNo need,\u201d Agnes assured him. \u201cWe have a class-three hood, and I intend to use it.\u201d<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>\u201cThis is incredible,\u201d Chet said when they were alone. \u201cHow the hell did you know?\u201d<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>\u201cI didn\u2019t,\u201d Jack said. \u201cCalvin forced me to make a diagnosis. To tell the truth, I thought I was being facetious. Of course, the signs were all consistent, but I still didn\u2019t imagine I had a snowball\u2019s chance in hell of being right. But now that I am, it\u2019s no laughing matter. The only positive aspect is that I win that ten dollars from Calvin.\u201d<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>\u201cHe\u2019s going to hate you for that,\u201d Chet said.<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>\u201cThat\u2019s the least of my worries,\u201d Jack said. \u201cI\u2019m stunned. A case of pneumonic plague in March in New York City, supposedly contracted in a hospital! Of course, that can\u2019t be true unless the Manhattan General is supporting a horde of infected rats and their fleas. Nodelman had to have had contact with some sort of infected animal. It\u2019s my guess he was traveling recently.\u201d Jack snatched up the phone.<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>\u201cWho are you calling?\u201d Chet asked.<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>\u201cBingham, of course,\u201d Jack said as he punched the numbers. \u201cThere can\u2019t be any delay. This is a hot potato I want out of my hands.\u201d<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>Mrs. Sanford picked up the extension but informed Chet that Dr. Bingham was at City Hall and would be all day. He had left specific instructions he was not to be bothered since he\u2019d be closeted with the mayor.<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>\u201cSo much for our chief,\u201d Jack said. Without putting down the receiver, he dialed Calvin\u2019s number. He didn\u2019t have any better luck. Calvin\u2019s secretary told him that Calvin had had to leave for the day. There was an illness in the family.<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>Jack hung up the phone and drummed his fingers on the surface of the desk.<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>\u201cNo luck?\u201d Chet asked.<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>\u201cThe entire general staff is indisposed,\u201d Jack said. \u201cWe grunts are on our own.\u201d Jack suddenly pushed back his chair, got up, and started out of the office.<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>Chet bounded out of his own chair and followed. \u201cWhere are you going?\u201d he asked. He had to run to catch up with Jack.<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>\u201cDown to talk to Bart Arnold,\u201d Jack said. He got to the elevator and hit the Down button. \u201cI need more information. Somebody has to figure out where this plague came from or this city\u2019s in for some trouble.\u201d<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>\u00a0<\/span>\u201cHadn\u2019t you better wait for Bingham?\u201d Chet asked. \u2018\u201dThat look in your eye disturbs me.\u201d<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>\u201cI didn\u2019t know I was so transparent,\u201d Jack said with a laugh. \u201cI guess this incident has caught my interest. It\u2019s got me excited.\u201d<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>The elevator door opened and Jack got on. Chet held the door from closing. \u201cJack, do me a favor and be careful. I like sharing the office with you. Don\u2019t ruffle too many feathers.\u201d<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>\u201cMe?\u201d Jack questioned innocently. \u201cI\u2019m Mister Diplomacy.\u201d<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>\u201cAnd I\u2019m Muammar el Qaddafi,\u201d Chet said. He let the elevator door slide closed.<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>Jack hummed a perky tune while the elevator descended. He was definitely keyed up, and he was enjoying himself. He smiled when he remembered telling Laurie that he\u2019d hoped Nodelman turned out to have something with serious institutional consequences like Legionnaires\u2019 disease so he could give AmeriCare some heartburn. Plague was ten times better. And on top of sticking it to AmeriCare, he\u2019d have the pleasure of collecting his ten bucks from Calvin.<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>Jack exited on the first floor and went directly to Bart Arnold\u2019s office. Bart was the chief of the PAs, or physician\u2019s assistants. Jack was pleased to catch him at his desk.<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>\u201cWe\u2019ve got a presumptive diagnosis of plague. I\u2019ve got to talk with Janice Jaeger right away,\u201d Jack said.<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>\u201cShe\u2019ll be sleeping,\u201d Bart said. \u201cCan\u2019t it wait?\u201d<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>\u201cNo,\u201d Jack said.<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>\u201cBingham or Calvin know about this?\u201d Bart asked.<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>\u201cBoth are out, and I don\u2019t know when they\u2019ll be back,\u201d Jack said. Bart hesitated a moment, then opened up the side drawer of his desk. After looking up Janice\u2019s number, he made the call. When she was on the line, he apologized for having awakened her and explained that Dr. Stapleton needed to speak with her. He handed the phone to Jack.<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>Jack apologized as well and then told her about the results on Nodelman. Any sign of sleepiness in Janice\u2019s voice disappeared instantly. \u201cWhat can I do to help?\u201d she asked.<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>\u201cDid you find any reference to travel in any of the hospital records?\u201d Jack asked.<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>\u201cNot that I recall,\u201d Janice said.<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>\u201cAny reference to contact with pets or wild animals?\u201d Jack asked.<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>\u201cNegative,\u201d Janice said. \u201cBut I can go back there tonight. Those questions were never specifically asked.\u201d<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>Jack thanked her and told her that he\u2019d be looking into it himself. He handed the phone back to Bart and hurried back to his own office. Chet looked up as Jack dashed in. \u201cLearn anything?\u201d he asked. \u201cNot a thing,\u201d Jack said happily. He pulled out Nodelman\u2019s folder and rapidly shuffled through the pages until he found the completed identification sheet.<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>On it were phone numbers for the next of kin. With his index finger marking Nodelman\u2019s wife\u2019s number, Jack made the call. It was an exchange in the Bronx.<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>Mrs. Nodelman answered on the second ring.<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>\u201cI\u2019m Dr. Stapleton,\u201d Jack said. \u201cI\u2019m a medical examiner for the City of New York.\u201d<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>At that point Jack had to explain the role of a medical examiner, because even the archaic term \u201ccoroner\u201d didn\u2019t register with Mrs. Nodelman.<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>\u201cI\u2019d like to ask you a few questions,\u201d Jack said once Mrs. Nodelman understood who he was.<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>\u201cIt was so sudden,\u201d Mrs. Nodelman said. She had started to cry. \u201cHe had diabetes, that\u2019s true. But he wasn\u2019t supposed to die.\u201d<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>\u201cI\u2019m very sorry for your loss,\u201d Jack said. \u201cBut did your late husband do any recent traveling?\u201d<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>\u201cHe went to New Jersey a week or so ago,\u201d Mrs. Nodelman said. Jack could hear her blow her nose.<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>\u201cI was thinking of travel to more distant destinations,\u201d Jack said. \u201cLike to the Southwest or maybe India.\u201d<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>\u201cJust to Manhattan every day,\u201d Mrs. Nodelman said.<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>\u201cHow about a visitor from some exotic locale?\u201d Jack asked.<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>\u201cDonald\u2019s aunt visited in December,\u201d Mrs. Nodelman said.<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>\u201cAnd where is she from?\u201d<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>\u201cQueens,\u201d Mrs. Nodelman said.<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>\u201cQueens,\u201d Jack repeated. \u201cThat\u2019s not quite what I had in mind. How about contact with any wild animals? Like rabbits.\u201d<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>\u201cNo,\u201d Mrs. Nodelman said. \u201cDonald hated rabbits.\u201d<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>\u201cHow about pets?\u201d Jack asked.<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>\u201cWe have a cat,\u201d Mrs. Nodelman said.<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>\u201cIs the cat sick?\u201d Jack asked. \u201cOr has the cat brought home any rodents?\u201d<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>\u201cThe cat is fine,\u201d Mrs. Nodelman said. \u201cShe\u2019s a house cat and never goes outside.\u201d<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>\u201cHow about rats?\u201d Jack asked. \u201cDo you see many rats around your house? Have you seen any dead ones lately?\u201d<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>\u201cWe don\u2019t have any rats,\u201d Mrs. Nodelman said indignantly. \u201cWe live in a nice, clean apartment.\u201d<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>Jack tried to think of something else to ask, but for the moment nothing came to mind. \u201cMrs. Nodelman,\u201d he said, \u201cyou\u2019ve been most kind. The reason I\u2019m asking you these questions is because we have reason to believe that your husband died of a serious infectious disease. We think he died of plague.\u201d<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>There was a brief silence.<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>\u201cYou mean bubonic plague like they had in Europe long ago?\u201d Mrs. Nodelman asked.<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>\u201cSort of,\u201d Jack said. \u201cPlague comes in two clinical forms, bubonic and pneumonic. Your husband seems to have had the pneumonic form, which happens to be the more contagious. I would advise you to go to your doctor and inform him of your potential exposure. I\u2019m sure he\u2019ll want you to take some precautionary antibiotics. I would also advise you to take your pet to your vet and tell him the same thing.\u201d<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>\u201cIs this serious?\u201d Mrs. Nodelman asked.<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>\u201cIt\u2019s very serious,\u201d Jack said. He then gave her his phone number in case she had any questions later. He also asked her to call him if the vet found anything suspicious with the cat.<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>Jack hung up the phone and turned to Chet. \u201cThe mystery is deepening,\u201d he said. Then he added cheerfully: \u201cAmeriCare is going to have some severe indigestion over this.\u201d<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>\u201cThere\u2019s that facial expression again that scares me,\u201d Chet said. Jack laughed, got up, and started out of the room. \u201cWhere are you going now?\u201d Chet asked nervously.<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>\u201cTo tell Laurie Montgomery what\u2019s going on,\u201d Jack said. \u201cShe\u2019s supposed to be our supervisor for today. She has to be apprised.\u201d A few minutes later Jack returned.<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>\u201cWhat\u2019d she say?\u201d Chet asked.<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>\u201cShe was as stunned as we were,\u201d Jack said. He grabbed the phone directory before taking his seat. He flipped open the pages to the city listings.<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>\u201cDid she want you to do anything in particular?\u201d Chet asked.<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>\u201cNo,\u201d Jack said. \u201cShe told me to tread water until Bingham is informed. In fact she tried to call our illustrious chief, but he\u2019s still incommunicado with the mayor.\u201d Jack picked up the phone and dialed.<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>\u201cWho are you calling now?\u201d Chet asked.<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>\u201cThe Commissioner of Health, Patricia Markham,\u201d Jack said. \u201cI ain\u2019t waiting.\u201d<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>\u201cGood grief!\u201d Chet exclaimed, rolling his eyes. \u201cHadn\u2019t you better let Bingham do that? You\u2019ll be calling his boss behind his back.\u201d<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>Jack didn\u2019t respond. He was busy giving his name to the commissioner\u2019s secretary. When she told him to hold on, he covered the mouthpiece with his hand and whispered to Chet: \u201cSurprise, surprise, she\u2019s in!\u201d<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>\u201cI guarantee Bingham is not going to like this,\u201d Chet whispered back. Jack held up his hand to silence Chet. \u201cHello, Commissioner,\u201d Jack said into the phone. \u201cHowya doing. This is Jack Stapleton here, from over at the ME\u2019s office.\u201d<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>Chet winced at Jack\u2019s breezy informality.<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>\u201cSorry to spoil your day,\u201d Jack continued, \u201cbut I felt I had to call. Dr. Bingham and Dr. Washington are momentarily unavailable and a situation has developed that I believe you should know about. We\u2019ve just made a presumptive diagnosis of plague in a patient from Manhattan General Hospital.\u201d<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>\u201cGood Lord!\u201d Dr. Markham exclaimed loud enough for Chet to hear. \u201cThat\u2019s frightening, but only one case, I trust.\u201d<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>\u201cSo far,\u201d Jack said.<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>\u201cAll right, I\u2019ll alert the City Board of Health,\u201d Dr. Markham said. \u201cThey\u2019ll take over and contact the CDC. Thanks for the warning. What was your name again?\u201d<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>\u201cStapleton,\u201d Jack said. \u201cJack Stapleton.\u201d<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>Jack hung up with a self-satisfied smile on his lips. \u201cMaybe you should sell short your AmeriCare stock,\u201d he told Chet. \u201cThe commissioner sounds concerned.\u201d<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>\u201cMaybe you\u2019d better brush off your r\u00e9sum\u00e9,\u201d Chet said. \u201cBingham is going to be pissed.\u201d<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>Jack whistled while he leafed through Nodelman\u2019s file until he came up with the investigative report. Once he had located the name of the attending physician, Dr. Carl Wainwright, he wrote it down. Then he got up and put on his leather bomber jacket.<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>\u201cUh oh,\u201d Chet said. \u201cNow what?\u201d<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>\u201cI\u2019m going over to the Manhattan General,\u201d Jack said. \u201cI think I\u2019ll make a site visit. This case is too important to leave up to the generals.\u201d Chet swung around in his chair as Jack went through the door.<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>\u201cOf course, you know that Bingham doesn\u2019t encourage us MEs doing site work,\u201d Chet said. \u201cYou\u2019ll be adding insult to injury.\u201d<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>\u201cI\u2019ll take my chances,\u201d Jack said. \u201cWhere I was trained it was considered necessary.\u201d<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>\u201cBingham thinks it\u2019s the job of the PAs,\u201d Chet said. \u201cHe\u2019s told us that time and again.\u201d<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>\u201cThis case is too interesting for me to pass up,\u201d Jack called from down the hall. \u201cHold down the fort. I won\u2019t be long.\u201d<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>5<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>
\n<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>WEDNESDAY, 3:10 P.M., MARCH 20, 1996<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>It was overcast and threatening rain, but Jack didn’t mind. Regardless of the weather, the vigorous bike ride uptown to the Manhattan General was a pleasure after having stood all morning in the autopsy room imprisoned inside his moon suit.<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>Near the hospital’s front entrance Jack located a sturdy street sign to lock his mountain bike to. He even locked up his helmet and bomber jacket with a separate wire lock that also secured the seat.<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>Standing within the shadow of the hospital, Jack glanced up at its soaring facade. It had been an old, respected, university-affiliated, proprietary hospital in its previous life. AmeriCare had gobbled it up during the fiscally difficult times the government had unwittingly created in health care in the early 1990s. Although Jack knew revenge was far from a noble emotion, he savored the knowledge that he was about to hand AmeriCare a public relations bomb.<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>Inside Jack went to the information booth and asked about Dr. Carl Wainwright. He learned that the man was an AmeriCare internist whose office was in the attached professional building. The receptionist gave Jack careful directions.<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>Fifteen minutes later, Jack was in the man’s waiting room. After Jack flashed his medical examiner’s badge, which looked for all intents and purposes like a police badge, the receptionist wasted no time in letting Dr. Wainwright know he was there. Jack was immediately shown into the doctor’s private office, and within minutes the doctor himself appeared.<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>Dr. Carl Wainwright was prematurely white-haired and slightly stooped over. His face, however, was youthful with bright blue eyes. He shook hands with Jack and motioned for him to sit down.<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>\u201cIt’s not every day we’re visited by someone from the medical examiner’s office,\u201d Dr. Wainwright said.<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>\u201cI’d be concerned if it were,\u201d Jack said.<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>Dr. Wainwright looked confused until he realized Jack was kidding. Dr. Wainwright tittered. \u201cRight you are,\u201d he said.<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>\u201cI’ve come about your patient Donald Nodelman,\u201d Jack said, getting right to the point. \u201cWe have a presumptive diagnosis of plague.\u201d<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>Dr. Wainwright’s mouth dropped open. \u201cThat’s impossible,\u201d he said when he’d recovered enough to speak.<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>Jack shrugged. \u201cI guess it’s not,\u201d he said. \u201cFluorescein antibody for plague is quite reliable. Of course, we haven’t yet grown it out.\u201d<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>\u201cMy goodness,\u201d Dr. Wainwright managed. He rubbed a nervous palm across his face. \u201cWhat a shock.\u201d<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>\u201cIt is surprising,\u201d Jack agreed. \u201cEspecially since the patient had been in the hospital for five days before his symptoms started.\u201d<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>\u201cI’ve never heard of nosocomial plague,\u201d Dr. Wainwright said.<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>\u201cNor have I,\u201d Jack said. \u201cBut it was pneumonic plague, not bubonic, and as you know the incubation period is shorter for pneumonic, probably only two to three days.\u201d<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>\u201cI still can’t believe it,\u201d Dr. Wainwright said. \u201cPlague never entered my thoughts.\u201d<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>\u201cAnybody else sick with similar symptoms?\u201d Jack asked.<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>\u201cNot that I know of,\u201d Dr. Wainwright said, \u201cbut you can rest assured that we will find out immediately.\u201d<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>\u201cI’m curious about this man’s lifestyle,\u201d Jack said. \u201cHis wife denied any recent travel or visitors from areas endemic to plague. She also doubted he’d come in contact with wild animals. Is that your understanding as well?\u201d<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>\u201cThe patient worked in the garment district,\u201d Dr. Wainwright said. \u201cHe did bookkeeping. He never traveled. He wasn’t a hunter. I’d been seeing him frequently over the last month, trying to get his diabetes under control.\u201d<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>\u201cWhere was he in the hospital?\u201d Jack asked.<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>\u201cOn the medical ward on the seventh floor,\u201d Dr. Wainwright said. \u201cRoom seven-oh-seven. I remember the number specifically.\u201d<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>\u201cSingle room?\u201d Jack asked.<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>\u201cAll our rooms are singles,\u201d Dr. Wainwright said.<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>\u00a0\u00a0<\/span>\u201cThat’s a help,\u201d Jack said. \u201cCan I see the room?\u201d<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>\u201cOf course,\u201d Dr. Wainwright said. \u201cBut I think I should call Dr. Mary Zimmerman, who’s our infection-control officer. She’s got to know about this immediately.\u201d<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>\u201cBy all means,\u201d Jack said. \u201cMeanwhile, would you mind if I went up to the seventh floor and looked around?\u201d<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>\u201cPlease,\u201d Dr. Wainwright said as he gestured toward the door. \u201cI’ll call Dr. Zimmerman and we’ll meet you up there.\u201d He reached for the phone.<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>Jack retraced his route back to the main hospital building. He took the elevator to the seventh floor, which he found was divided by the elevator lobby into two wings. The north wing housed internal medicine while the south wing was reserved for OB-GYN. Jack pushed through the doors that led into the internal-medicine division.<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>As soon as the swinging door closed behind Jack, he knew that word of the contagion had arrived. A nervous bustle was apparent, and all the personnel were wearing newly distributed masks. Obviously Wainwright had wasted no time.<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>No one paid Jack any attention as he wandered down to room 707. Pausing at the door, Jack watched as two masked orderlies wheeled out a masked and confused patient clutching her belongings who was apparently being transferred. As soon as they were gone, Jack walked in.<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>Seven-oh-seven was a nondescript hospital room of modern design; the interior of the old hospital had been renovated in the not-too-distant past. The metal furniture was typical hospital issue and included a bed, a bureau, a vinyl-covered chair, a night table, and a variable-height bed table. A TV hung from an arm attached to the ceiling.<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>The air-conditioning apparatus was beneath the window. Jack went over to it, lifted the top, and looked inside. A hot-water and a chill-water pipe poked up through the concrete floor and entered a thermostated fan unit that recirculated room air. Jack detected no holes large enough for any type of rodent much less a rat.<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>Stepping into the bathroom, Jack glanced around at the sink, toilet, and shower. The room was newly tiled. There was an air return in the ceiling. Bending down, he opened the cabinet below the sink; again there were no holes.<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>Hearing voices in the other room, Jack stepped back through the door. It was Dr. Wainwright clutching a mask to his face. He was accompanied by two women and a man, all of whom were wearing masks. The women were attired in the long, white professorial coats Jack associated with medical-school professors.<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>After handing Jack a mask, Dr. Wainwright made the introductions. The taller woman was Dr. Mary Zimmerman, the hospital’s infection-control officer and head of the like-named committee.<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>Jack sensed she was a serious woman who felt defensive under the circumstances. As she was introduced, she informed him that she was a board-certified internist with subspecialty training in infectious disease.<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>Not knowing how to respond to this revelation, Jack complimented her.<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>\u201cI did not have an opportunity to examine Mr. Nodelman,\u201d she added.<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>\u201cI’m certain you would have made the diagnosis instantly had you done so,\u201d Jack said, consciously trying to keep sarcasm out of his voice.<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>\u201cNo doubt,\u201d she said.<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>The second woman was Kathy McBane, and Jack was happy to turn his attention to her, especially since Ms. McBane had a warmer demeanor than her committee chairwoman. He learned she was an RN supervisor and a member of the Infection Control Committee. It was usual for such a committee to have representatives from most if not all the hospital departments.<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>The man was George Eversharp. He was dressed in a heavy cotton twill blue uniform. As Jack suspected, he was the supervisor of the department of engineering and was also a member of the Infection Control Committee.<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>\u201cWe certainly are indebted to Dr. Stapleton for his rapid diagnosis,\u201d Dr. Wainwright said, trying to lighten the atmosphere.<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>\u201cJust a lucky guess,\u201d Jack said.<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>\u201cWe’ve already begun to react,\u201d Dr. Zimmerman said in a deadpan voice. \u201cI’ve ordered a list to be drawn up of possible contacts to start chemoprophylaxis.\u201d<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>\u201cI think that is wise,\u201d Jack said.<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>\u201cAnd as we speak, the clinical computer is searching our current patient database for symptom complexes suggestive of plague,\u201d she continued.<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>\u201cCommendable,\u201d Jack said.<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>\u201cMeanwhile we have to discover the origin of the current case,\u201d she said.<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>\u201cYou and I are thinking along the same lines,\u201d Jack said.<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>\u201cI’d advise you to wear your mask,\u201d she added.<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>\u201cOkay,\u201d Jack said agreeably. He held it up to his face.<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>Dr. Zimmerman turned to Mr. Eversharp. \u201cPlease continue with what you were saying about the air flow.\u201d<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>Jack listened as the engineer explained that the ventilation system in the hospital was designed so that there was a flow from the hall into each room and then its bathroom. The air was then filtered. He also explained that there were a few rooms where the air flow could be reversed for patients with compromised immune systems.<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>\u201cIs this one of those rooms?\u201d Dr. Zimmerman asked.<\/span>\n<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

\n

Read the full book by downloading it below.<\/p>\n

DOWNLOAD EPUB<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Book Preview Contagion \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Robin Cook \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 June 12, 1991, dawned a near-perfect, late-spring day as the sun\u2019s rays touched the eastern shores of the North American continent. Most of the United States, Canada, and Mexico expected clear, sunny skies. \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0The only meteorological blips were a band of potential thunderstorms … Read more<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":3061,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[167],"class_list":["post-3062","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized","tag-robin-cook"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/epub-book.com\/download\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3062","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/epub-book.com\/download\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/epub-book.com\/download\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/epub-book.com\/download\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/epub-book.com\/download\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3062"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/epub-book.com\/download\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3062\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/epub-book.com\/download\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/3061"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/epub-book.com\/download\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3062"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/epub-book.com\/download\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3062"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/epub-book.com\/download\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3062"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}