“I always think it best to get the work done first,” Jack said. He was amazed they said nothing about the New York City shutdown. Could they somehow have been so busy at work and preoccupied with their own issues that they hadn’t heard about it yet? Jack had no idea but wasn’t about to broach the issue.
“I couldn’t agree more about work before play,” Harvey said, speaking up for the first time.
The group set off toward the elevators. Jack took note that both men were dressed in scrubs with long white coats over them. He wasn’t surprised about Harvey, but he was about Ted. Somehow its casualnessdidn’t jibe with his intellectual internal-medicine persona. “I notice you are wearing scrubs,” Jack mentioned to Ted. “Does that mean you are going to participate in the autopsy?”
Ted laughed, more as an affectation than out of mirth. “I’m hardly going to participate,” he said. “I’m going to observe. Margaret was our program’s first heart transplant. We’re as devastated to lose her as we were Carol, maybe even a tad more so.”
Thanks to his high-energy state, Ted wasn’t satisfied just hitting the elevator button once. He had to hit it a half-dozen times and then scan the board to see where all the elevators were.
“I do have a question,” Jack said.
“Fire away,” Ted said.
“Did Margaret know Carol?” Jack asked. “Were they friendly?”
“They certainly knew each other,” Ted said. “They crossed paths here at the hospital on a few occasions. But as far as I know, that was about it.”
“We deduced from her tattoo that Carol was a lesbian,” Jack said. “Do you know if Margaret was as well?”
“I hardly think so,” Ted said. “She was married to a local boy. Why do you ask?”
The elevator arrived, and the passengers filed out. Ted gestured for Jack to enter.
“I wanted to know if there was any chance they might have been intimate with each other,” Jack said as he boarded.
“I can’t imagine,” Ted said. “Nor do I think it would matter.” He got on the elevator behind Jack, and Harvey followed him.
Jack did think it mattered, even though it seemed as if Ted was uncomfortable with the line of questioning, so Jack let the issue drop. If Carol had gotten the illness that killed her from the donor of the heart, which Jack thought possible, the only way Margaret could have gotten it was from Carol. When he’d first heard about Margaret, he thought maybe she’d gotten the virus from having had a transplant, but the morehe thought about the idea, the less probable it seemed. The chances of another donor carrying the same unknown virus were extraordinarily slim. Although such a situation had happened with HIV and organ transplantation in the 1980s, that was when HIV was much more significantly widespread.
“Dr. Friedlander and Dr. Lin will be joining us for the autopsy,” Ted announced as the elevator descended.
“It’s going to be a regular party,” Jack said. It was one of his pet expressions.
“You do have a sense of humor,” Ted said. He laughed again, in the same manner as when Jack had asked if he was going to participate in the autopsy.
“It comes with the territory, right, Harvey?” Jack said.
“A lot of forensic pathologists use humor to deal with the reality they face on a daily basis,” Harvey said, essentially agreeing with Jack.
When they arrived at the morgue, Jack was blown away. Harvey had described it as superb, but in Jack’s mind it was more than that. In comparison to what Jack was accustomed to at the NYC OCME, the autopsy room was akin to the difference between an operating room from the early twentieth century and a hybrid operating room of today. All the equipment was brand-new, including the latest stainless-steel autopsy table. The room itself was clad in a white composite material, including the ceiling. The floor was a white, spotted terrazzo that curved up at the edges to make cleaning easier. Jack could see that not only was standard X-ray available but also what was called 3-D virtual equipment.
“You weren’t kidding about the facility,” Jack said.
“Dr. Zhao allowed me to work with the architects,” Harvey said proudly. “I was able to make a few suggestions. It is capable of biosafety three if needed.”
“Impressive,” Jack said. “Out of curiosity, do you have any proprietary interest with the hospital?”
“Yes, of course,” Harvey said. “We all do. Dr. Zhao believes stronglythat everyone feels part of the team. It’s a corporation, and we all have been given a little stock.”
“That’s right,” Ted chimed in.
“Interesting,” Jack said, falling back on his newly adapted favored retort. He wasn’t surprised. Wei had said as much yesterday.
“What level of personal safety would you feel comfortable with?” Harvey asked. “As I said, we can go all the way to biosafety three. But we believe that standard barrier precautions with face shields and latex gloves, not surgical gloves, et cetera, will be adequate.”
“I’m comfortable with that,” Jack said. He’d used a moon suit on the previous cases, but now that he was becoming progressively convinced a retrovirus like HIV was the culprit, he didn’t think it was necessary.
At that moment Dr. Stephen Friedlander and his apparent sidekick, Dr. Han Lin, appeared. They were both dressed similarly to Ted and Harvey, with the addition of surgical caps and with surgical masks hanging down from their necks. It was apparent they’d been in surgery.
