cpatricia.unnaturalexposure-第46章

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　'Dr　Scarpetta；'　Fujitsubo　spoke。　'Can　you　tell　me　what's　in　this　facial　spray；　as　best　you　know？'
　'Distilled　water　and　a　fragrance。　There　were　no　ingredients　listed；　but　generally　that's　what　sprays　like　this　are；'　I　said。
　He　was　making　notes。　'Sterile？'　He　looked　back　at　us　from　the　monitor。
　'I　would　hope　so；　since　the　directions　encourage　you　to　spray　it　over　your　face　and　contact　lenses；'　I　replied。
　'Then　my　question；'　Fujitsubo　went　on　via　satellite；　'is　what　kind　of　shelf　life　might　we　expect　these　contaminated　sprays　to　have？　Variola　isn't　all　that　stable　in　moist　conditions。'
　'A　good　point；'　Martin　said；　adjusting　his　ear　piece。　'It　does　very　well　when　dried；　and　at　room　temperature　can　survive　months　to　a　year。　It　is　sensitive　to　sunlight；　but　inside　the　atomizers；　that　wouldn't　be　a　problem。　Doesn't　like　heat；　which；　unfortunately；　makes　this　an　ideal　time　of　year。'
　'Then　depending　on　what　people　do　when　they　have　these　delivered；'　I　said；　'there　could　be　a　lot　of　duds　out　there。'
　'Could　be；'　Martin　hoped。
　Wesley　said；　'Clearly；　the　offender　we're　looking　for　is　knowledgeable　of　infectious　diseases。'
　'Has　to　be；'　Fujitsubo　said。　'The　virus　had　to　be　cultured；　propagated；　and　if　this　is；　in　fact；　terrorism；　then　the　perpetrator　is　very　familiar　with　basic　laboratory　techniques。　He　knew　how　to　handle　something　like　this　and　keep　himself　protected。　We're　assuming　only　one　person　is　involved？'
　'My　theory；　but　the　answer　is；　we　don't　know；'　Wesley　said。
　'He　calls　himself　deadoc；'　I　said。
　'As　in　Doctor　Death？'　Fujitsubo　frowned。　'He's　telling　us　he's　a　doctor？'
　Again；　it　was　hard　to　say；　but　the　question　that　was　most　troublesome　was　also　the　hardest　to　ask。
　'Dr　Martin；'　I　said　as　Martinez　silently　leaned　back　in　his　chair；　listening。　'Allegedly；　your　facility　and　a　laboratory　in　Russia　are　the　only　two　sources　of　the　viral　isolates。　Any　thoughts　on　how　someone　got　hold　of　this？'
　'Exactly；'　Wesley　said。　'Unpleasant　thought　that　it　may　be；　we　need　to　check　your　list　of　employees。　Any　recent　firings；　layoffs？　Anybody　quit　during　recent　months　and　years？'
　'Our　source　supply　of　variola　virus　is　as　meticulously　monitored　and　inventoried　as　plutonium。'　Martin　answered　with　confidence。　'I　personally　have　already　checked　into　this　and　can　tell　you　with　certainty　that　nothing　has　been　tampered　with。　Nothing　is　missing。　And　it　is　not　possible　to　get　into　one　of　the　locked　freezers　without　authorization　and　knowledge　of　alarm　codes。'
　No　one　spoke　right　away。
　Then　Wesley　said；　'I　think　it　would　be　a　good　idea　for　us　to　have　a　list　of　those　people　who　have　had　such　authorization　over　the　past　five　years。　Initially；　based　on　experience；　I　am　profiling　this　individual　as　a　white　male；　possibly　in　his　early　forties。　Most　likely　he　lives　alone；　but　if　he　doesn't　or　he　dates；　he　has　a　part　of　his　residence　that　is　off　limits；　his　lab　。　。　。'
　'So　we're　probably　talking　about　a　former　lab　worker；'　the　S。A。C。　said。
　'Or　someone　like　that；'　Wesley　said。　'Someone　educated；　trained。　This　person　is　introverted；　and　I　base　this　on　a　number　of　things；　not　the　least　of　which　is　his　tendency　to　write　in　the　lower　case。　His　refusal　to　use　punctuation　indicates　his　belief　that　he　is　not　like　other　people　and　the　same　rules　do　not　apply　to　him。　He　is　not　talkative　and　may　be　considered　aloof　or　shy　by　associates。　He　has　time　on　his　hands；　and　most　important；　feels　he　has　been　mistreated　by　the　system。　He　feels　he　is　due　an　apology　by　the　highest　office　in　the　land；　by　our　government；　and　I　believe　this　is　key　to　this　perpetrator's　motivation。'
　'Then　this　is　revenge；'　I　said。　'Plain　and　simple。'
　'It's　never　plain　or　simple。　I　wish　it　were；'　Wesley　said。　'But　I　do　think　revenge　is　key；　which　is　why　it　is　important　that　all　government　agencies　that　deal　with　infectious　diseases　get　us　the　records　of　any　employees　reprimanded；　fired；　laid　off；　furloughed　or　whatever；　in　recent　months　and　years。'
　Fujitsubo　cleared　his　throat。　'Well；　let's　talk　logistics；　then。'
　It　was　the　Coast　Guard's　turn　to　present　a　plan。　Martinez　got　up　from　his　chair　and　fastened　large　maps　to　flip　charts；　as　camera　angles　were　adjusted　so　our　remote　guests　could　see。
　'Can　you　get　these　in？'　Martinez　asked　the　agent　at　the　console。
　'Got　them；'　she　said。　'How　about　you？'　She　looked　up　at　the　monitors。
　'Fine。'
　'I　don't　know。　Maybe　if　you　could　zoom　in　more。'
　She　moved　the　camera　in　closer　as　Martinez　got　out　a　laser　pointer。　He　directed　its　intense　pink　dot　at　the　Maryland…Virginia　line　in　the　Chesapeake　Bay　that　cut　through　Smith　Island；　just　north　of　Tangier。
　'We　got　a　number　of　islands　going　up　this　way　toward　Fishing　Bay　and　the　Nanticoke　River；　in　Maryland。　There's　Smith　Island。　South　Marsh　Island。　Bloodsworth　Island。'　The　pink　dot　hopped　to　each　one。　'Then　we're　on　the　mainland。　And　you　got　Crisfield　down　here；　which　is　only　fifteen　nautical　miles　from　Tangier。'　He　looked　at　us。　'Crisfield's　where　a　lot　of　watermen　bring　in　their　crabs。　And　a　lot　of　Tangier　folks　have　relatives　in　Crisfield。　I'm　real　worried　about　that。'
　'And　I'm　worried　that　the　Tangiermen　are　not　going　to　cooperate；'　Miles　said。　'A　quarantine　is　going　to　cut　off　their　only　source　of　ine。'
　'Yes；　sir；'　Martinez　said；　looking　at　his　watch。　'And　we're　cutting　it　off　even　as　we　speak。　We　got　boats；　cutters　ing　in　from　as　far　away　as　Elizabeth　City　to　help　us　circle　the　island。'
　'So　as　of　now；　no　one's　leaving；'　Fujitsubo　said　as　his　face　continued　to　reign　over　us　from　the　video　screen。
　'That's　right。'
　'Good。'
　'What　if　people　resist？'　I　asked　the　obvious　question。　'What　are　you　going　to　do　with　them？　You　can't　take　them　into　custody　and　risk　exposure。'
　Martinez　hesitated。　He　looked　up　at　Fujitsubo　on　the　video　screen。　'mander；　would　you　like　to　field　this　one；　sir？'　he　asked。
　'We've　actually　already　discussed　this　at　great　length；'　Fujitsubo　said　to　us。　'I　have　spoken　to　the　secretary　of　the　Department　of　Transportation；　to　Vice　Admiral　Perry；　and　of　course；　the　Secretary　of　Defense。　Basically；　this　thing　is　speeding　its　way　up　to　the　White　House　for　authorization。'
　'Authorization　for　what？'　It　was　Miles　who　asked。
　'To　use　deadly　force；　if　all　else　fails；'　Martinez　said　to　all　of　us。
　'Christ；'　Wesley　muttered。
　I　listened　in　disbelief；　staring　up　at　doomsday　gods。
　'We　have　no　choice；'　Fujitsubo　spoke　calmly。　'If　people　panic　and　start　fleeing　the　island　and　do　not　heed　Coast　Guard　warnings；　they　will　　not　if　　but　will　bring　smallpox　onto　the　mainland。　And　we're　talking　about　a　population　which　either　has　not　been　vaccinated　in　thirty　years。　Or　an　immunization　done　so　long　ago　it's　no　longer　effective。　Or　a　disease　that　has　mutated　to　the　extent　that　our　present　vaccine　is　not　protective。　There　isn't　a　good　scenario；　in　other　words。'
　I　didn't　know　if　I　felt　sick　to　my　stomach　because　I　wasn't　well　or　because　of　what　I'd　just　heard。　I　thought　of　that　weather…beaten　fishing　village　with　its　leaning　headstones　and　wild；　quiet　people　who　just　wanted　to　be　left　alone。　They　weren't　the　sort　to　obey　anyone；　for　they　answered　to　a　higher　power　of　God　and　storms。
　'There　must　be　another　way；'　I　said。
　But　there　wasn't。
　'By　reputation；　smallpox　is　a　highly　contagious　infectious　disease。　This　outbreak　must　be　contained；'　Fujitsubo　exclaimed　the　obvious。　'We've　got　to　worry　about　houseflies　hovering　around　patients；　and　crabs　headed　for　the　mainland。　How　do　we　know　we　don't　have　to　worry　about　the　possibility　of　mosquito　transmission；　as　in　Tanapox；　for　God's　sake？　We　don't　even　know　what　all　we've　got　to　worry　about　since　we　can't　fully　identify　the　disease　yet。'
　Martin　looked　at　me。　'We've　already　got　teams　out　there；　nurses；　doctors；　bed　isolators　so　we　can　keep　these　people　out　of　hospitals　and　leave　them　in　their　homes。'
　'What　about　dead　bodies；　contamination？'　I　asked　him。
　'In　terms　of　United　States　law；　this　constitutes　a　Class　One　public　health　emergency。'
　'I　realize　that；'　I　said；　impatiently；　for　he　was　getting　bureaucratic　on　me。　'Cut　to　the　chase。'
　'Burn　all　but　the　patient。　Bodies　will　be　cremated。　The　Pruitt　house　will　be　torched。'
　Fujitsubo　tried　to　reassure　us。　'USAMRIID'