“I was told I had to ask you by the Commissioner of Health,” Laurie said in her own defense. “And she is my boss. Please answer the question so that I can honestly respond to her.”
“Well, they only paid me fifty bucks,” Jack said. “But I also got a free year’s subscription.”
“Please, Jack. This is no time for your acerbic humor. We’ve alsolearned that a CDC epidemic intelligence officer and team are already on their way here. We tried to say their presence wasn’t needed, but we were told that they had already been involved, trying to identify an unknown virus from New York City, which I presume is from the initial subway death, and they want to look into that. Have you been in contact with the CDC when I asked you not to involve them?”
“The virologist from the Public Health Laboratory contacted them unbeknownst to me,” Jack snapped. “She said she wanted them to help identify the organism since they were so good at it. It certainly wasn’t my idea. And she said she gave them no details of the origin of the samples. If the CDC has associated them, that’s their business.”
“All right, back to the newspaper issue,” Laurie said. “How did theDaily Newsget your name? I mean, yours is the only name in the article.”
“Obviously, as it says in the article, they got it from the highly qualified, experienced inside source,” Jack shot back. “Certainly that lets me off the hook.”
“So you did not contact theDaily News,” Laurie said. “Please, just tell me straight out so I can pass it on. Sometimes you can be such a child.”
“I did not in any way, shape, or form contact theDaily News,” Jack snapped. He stood up and started for the door. He’d had enough. He needed a moment by himself before he said something he’d regret.
“Where are you going?” Laurie demanded. She, too, was losing patience.
“I need to let you adults sort out this unpleasant fiasco,” Jack said. “It’s above my pay grade. Hopefully I can find some work to do being a medical examiner to keep myself on an even keel. If you have any more questions, don’t hesitate to call.”
Jack walked out of the front office, marveling at the irony. He’d started his mini-crusade to avoid obsessing over Emma’s tentative diagnosis, which was responsible for turning his home life into an emotional trial. Now his crusade was turning his work life into something almost as bad.
32
THURSDAY, 6:56 A.M.
As Jack headed for the ID room, where all the OCME medical examiners started their day, he continued to fume about Laurie having the nerve to ask him if he had talked with theDailyNews. Yet the more he thought about it, the more he could understand her position, if it was indeed true that the Commissioner of Health had gotten involved. Honestly, he didn’t know if that part was true. Nevertheless, his comment that he needed to find some work to do to keep his mind occupied definitely was. That meant going through the cases that had come in overnight and finding a case to autopsy. He remembered Janice saying there had been a homicide. That might be interesting, as Lou Soldano would be involved on some level.
To avoid the reception area in case any of the press had managed to get in, Jack used the back route. Because she had been called earlier, Dr. Jennifer Hernandez was already at the desk, where the folders were stacked up of the cases that had come in overnight. Jack was also pleased to find Vinnie had made it in and was busy making coffee in the common coffeepot, which most people thought was possibly his most important responsibility.
“Have you heard that the pandemic influenza emergency has been called off?” Jack asked.
“I have,” Jennifer said. “Thank goodness. The idea really terrified me.”
“It is still a disaster par excellence,” Jack said. “It is going to take days for the city to recover.”
“True, but nothing like a real pandemic,” Jennifer said.
“We could still have one with these subway deaths,” Jack said. “There still isn’t a specific diagnosis of the virus involved. At least it wouldn’t be a pandemic spread by aerosol, meaning it wouldn’t spread as rapidly.”
“It still could be bad,” Jennifer said. “Ebola and Marburg don’t spread by aerosol, either.”
“Good point,” Jack said. “But with only two cases in three days, we certainly aren’t dealing with the likes of Ebola.” Then he called over to Vinnie: “Did you leave your car in the 421 lot?”
“I did. And I left the keys with security in 421.”
“Did either of you guys have any trouble getting into the building with all the reporters outside?”
Both Jennifer and Vinnie said no simultaneously.
“We came in the back way,” Jennifer added.
“Smart move,” Jack said. “Vinnie, any sign of our friend Carlos?”
Vinnie laughed sardonically. “No. Nor do I expect to see him.”
“I’d like to slap him around a bit if he was the source of theDaily Newsarticle,” Jack said, and meant it.
“You’d have to wait in line,” Vinnie said.
