Doctored Death

by P. D. Workman

  “Yes. It burns, but that means it’s just a surface wound. It’s not bleeding much.”

  Lola nosed at Fisk, whining. Kenzie didn’t know what to do about the dog. She would still have to take Lola into the lab for quarantine. After she was done there. Despite the little bit of wrestling, her suit still seemed to be intact, so she was protected from the virus.

  The integrity of Zachary’s suit, on the other hand, had been compromised. He was now exposed to Lola and the virus. The risk wasn’t significant because he was still breathing clean air and had his gloves on, but the wound in his side did offer another entry point for the virus.

  “You need to stay back from Lola,” she told him. “I don’t want you to be exposed.”

  “Okay.”

  The chest compressions seemed to go on forever. But eventually, an ambulance arrived. The paramedics were shown through to the ballroom. Everyone else stayed back, mindful of Kenzie’s raving that Lola was a deadly contamination risk. But apparently, no one told the paramedics of the danger and they approached without any concern.

  “I don’t think there’s anything you can do for him, but I have been keeping up compressions,” Kenzie told the first paramedic to kneel down at her side. “And you need to treat this patient as a biohazard. He may have a virus that has caused several deaths recently.”

  He looked at her in disbelief. “Is this some kind of joke? Because of the costume?”

  Kenzie shook her head. “No. I’m wearing the biohazard gear because of the virus. It’s not a costume. I came to take the dog,” she nodded toward Lola, “to put her into quarantine, because she is carrying the virus and has spread it to a number of people already. We need to get her into isolation.”

  “I can’t do anything about that.”

  “I don’t expect you to. I have a place to take her to. But you need to treat this patient very carefully, even if he’s dead.”

  The paramedic already had gloves on in preparation for examining the patient. He put on a second layer of gloves and motioned to his partner to do the same. He opened up his case and pushed things around to find a face mask, which he put on.

  “Could you look at Zachary?” Kenzie motioned to the other paramedic. “He was stabbed, but he says it’s not bad.”

  The second paramedic approached Zachary to attend to him. The first knelt over Fisk, feeling for a pulse. As Kenzie had expected, there was no sign of a pulse.

  “Keep up the compressions until I tell you to stop.”

  Kenzie nodded. “I will.”

  “Let’s have a look at the wound.” The medic motioned for Walter to give him access to the stab wound. Walter lifted his hand and moved out of the way. The paramedic poked around, pulling Fisk’s shirt back to have a look. Walter stood and looked down at his hand.

  “Uh, Mackenzie...?”

  Kenzie looked at Walter staring down at his bloody hands, her stomach tightening in a knot. She wanted to swear, but kept it to herself. “Go straight to the nearest restroom and wash up. Don’t touch your face. Keep the water on a low stream. You don’t want it splashing back in your face or aerosolizing any contaminants. Warm water, soap, wash for two minutes, making sure you get in between your fingers, under your nails, everywhere. Okay?”

  “Okay. You don’t think...?”

  “No, unless you have open wounds on your hands, your skin should protect you. It can be spread through bodily fluids, but you shouldn’t be able to absorb it that quickly with the natural barriers that skin provides.” And once she had a chance to talk to Savage, they would work out what antiviral protocol to give the people who had been exposed to the virus. Zachary, her father, the other residents and staff at the nursing home. Anyone who had petted Lola. The Virutek people. The list was not going to be short.

  Walter nodded and walked toward the nearest restrooms. Kenzie was happy to see that he was walking, not running in a panic. The chances that he would follow her instructions to the letter were much greater if he stayed calm.

  “There’s no point in continuing the compressions,” the paramedic advised. “There’s not going to be anything we can do for this patient, and if there really is a biohazard here, we need to focus on containment rather than pursue extreme measures. Exactly who are you and how do you know about this virus?”

  Kenzie sat back, relaxing her shoulders and massaging her arms. “Dr. Kenzie Kirsch with the... I’m from the Medical Examiner’s Office in Roxboro. We’ve had some deaths that may or may not be related to a novel HHV-4 virus that escaped a lab. The lab virus is designed to cross the blood-brain barrier and we’ve seen cases of very rapidly progressing dementia, leading to death within a few days.”

  “Good grief. Where is the CDC on this?”

  “We’re still in the evidence-gathering stage. We don’t have enough for them.”

  The paramedic looked around at the ballroom, Lola, and all the people peering in at the doors. He swore. “I’m not doing anything without bringing in the infectious disease experts. Let’s lock this down.”

  Kenzie let the paramedic make the calls their protocol dictated. She went over to Zachary and the other paramedic. “Is he okay? Really?”

  “Should get stitched up, but it’s clean and didn’t go in deep,” the paramedic said. “If he’ll let me access it properly, I can bandage it up temporarily, and they can suture it at the hospital.”

  Zachary blocked the paramedic, and Kenzie realized the man wanted to cut the suit or for Zachary to take it off. Kenzie was with Zachary on that note. “No, he needs to keep the suit on, for whatever protection it will still give him. We need to get the dog into quarantine.”

  “The dog isn’t leaving here, and neither is anyone else,” the first paramedic said firmly. “When I say lockdown, I mean lockdown! Until we have someone with authority clear the site, no one is going anywhere. I’m not going to be responsible for releasing any carriers.”

  Kenzie looked at Lola, then back at Zachary. “Well... I guess we’re here for a while. Do you mind if we find a place to sit down? My legs are shaking.”

  Zachary nodded, looking happy to comply. “Yeah, I think we could all use a few minutes, after all this...” He nodded toward Fisk’s body.

  “I can’t believe it.”

  Walter was walking back from the restroom. He gave Kenzie a weak smile. “All okay now. Washed off the first two layers of skin. And it looks like you’re finished.” He glanced over at his friend’s form. “Or Aaron is, anyway.”

  “Yeah. I’m sorry, Dad. There wasn’t anything I could do.”

  “Of course not. I had to protect you...”

  “We were talking about finding a place to sit down. I don’t suppose they’re going to want us in the dining room or around anyone else now.”

  “There are bound to be private rooms available. Let me find out.”

  Walter strode toward the crowd watching through the doorways. People backed away, giving him space to pass, definitely nervous about the talk of a contagious virus. Walter was back a minute later with one of the venue staff. “Mackenzie, Zachary, come this way.”

  The two of them followed, and the employee led them to a private room where they could meet. Kenzie looked at the engraved plaque next to the door. The Champlain Room.

  It started and ended with Champlain.

  Kenzie sat down in one of the soft, comfortable leather chairs arranged around the heavy boardroom table. Zachary fell into one next to her. He gave a sigh. Kenzie was sure he was just as glad to get off his feet as she was. Probably more so, since he was injured. He didn’t want to show her any weakness, but she knew he must be shaking worse than she was. All the adrenaline from the day, peaking at the point that they were attacked. Walter sat in one of the chairs on the opposite side of the table. He leaned forward, examining them, looking eager to begin a long list of questions. And Kenzie wasn’t up for more questions. She needed an answer.

  “How do you know—did you know—Aaron Fisk?”

  Walter looked s
urprised that she had beat him to the punch. “I’ve known him for many years. He’s a lobbyist.”

  “I thought he was some kind of scientist. We saw him at a laboratory.”

  “No.” Walter shook his head. “But he does a lot of lobbying on behalf of medical corporations. Big pharma. We’ve been on opposite sides of the table more often than on the same side.”

  “So what was he doing there? And what was he doing here?”

  “Medical studies have to be funded. You know anything about the funding that this laboratory receives?”

  “No.” Kenzie wished that she could take her suit off so that she could scratch an itch. But she didn’t want to take any chances. It was safer, for the moment, for her and Zachary to remain in the biohazard suits. “I never thought to ask. I guess I just saw them as a little independent lab studying whatever it was that interested them.”

  “Not really the way it works. Studies need to be funded.”

  “There was a sign on the wall at Virutek,” Zachary said. “A plaque that had a name like Something Gesundheit GmbH. That’s like a German corporation, right?”

  “That’s right,” Walter agreed. “AFG, maybe? They’re very big. Or it could have been a smaller one. Aaron hired out to a lot of those companies. He had a reputation for succeeding when others had only run up against roadblocks. A troubleshooter.”

  A troubleshooter. Someone who was prepared to go above and beyond to clear the way for a big corporation. For a nice chunk of money, Kenzie assumed.

  “He was the one who broke into the Medical Examiner’s Office,” she told them. “The one who knocked me down.”

  “Are you sure? I thought you didn’t see who it was!” Walter demanded.

  Kenzie hesitated before answering. She was pretty sure she hadn’t told him that. So who had he gotten it from?

  “Not to describe him, no. But he was the same size and shape. And he has a certain scent. His deodorant or aftershave. It’s distinctive. I recognized it when he grabbed me.”

  “I don’t know if something like that would hold up in court,” Walter observed skeptically.

  “It’s not going to court. He’s dead.”

  “Well, yes,” Walter agreed uncomfortably.

  “If he’s the troubleshooter,” Zachary said slowly, “the one who pushes things through and makes them work, the one who broke into the office, then the police might want to look into the possibility he was involved in Abernathy’s death.”

  Kenzie frowned. “You don’t think that he was killed by someone unrelated to Virutek? It could have just been a mugging...”

  “In his motel room. Where he was hiding out.”

  “Well... maybe. That’s only a guess.”

  “Fisk is clearly not someone who is opposed to violence. To solving things with force instead of negotiation. Not above breaking the law.”

  Kenzie looked at Walter for his opinion. Her father gave a reluctant shrug. “He was known for being... kind of a cowboy.” Walter brushed his fingers over his own hat, which he had retrieved at some point. “Getting things done his own way. If you can make some headway... these difficult cases can bring in a lot of cash.”

  “Wow. But all of that... killing Abernathy, breaking into the ME’s office and stealing evidence... that would mean that he knew there was a problem. He knew the virus had escaped from the lab and was helping to cover it up.”

  “Yes,” Walter agreed. “I suppose it does.”

  “And it means that he should have known to wear protective gear. If he knew the virus was out there, that maybe Abernathy had it, that the samples he stole from the morgue might be infected, he should have worn something to protect himself.”

  “You can’t exactly walk into a motel room wearing something like this without attracting attention.” Zachary indicated their protective gear.

  “Not to this extent, but he could have a least put on gloves and a mask. The blood splatter in that motel room was... extensive. He basically aerosolized the blood. He was breathing it in. Right along with the virus.”

  71

  They had been isolated, been put through decontamination procedures, had extensive medical examinations, and Zachary’s knife cut had been stitched up. Kenzie lifted Zachary’s shirt and checked out the sutures, touching the wound lightly to reassure herself that the injury was minor and she wasn’t going to lose him as she had Lance.

  Zachary gave a shiver and hugged her to him, giving her a comforting squeeze. “It’s all over. Everything is going to be okay.”

  “I hope so. But what if the CDC doesn’t find the same things as we did? What if they think the virus doesn’t have anything to do with the dementia and deaths? I mean... my whole career could be down the crapper if they come back and say that I acted without reasonable proof that there was a danger.”

  “You were acting under Dr. Wiltshire. So... it would be his career down the crapper.”

  “And mine too.”

  He held her more loosely so that their bodies were just lightly touching. “What would you tell me?”

  Kenzie thought about it. “To stop worrying about what’s going to happen. Quit catastrophizing it.”

  Zachary nodded and rested his head against hers. “I’m glad that you’re okay. That you and your dad didn’t get hurt.”

  “And I’m sorry that you got hurt. But glad it wasn’t serious. Now you just have a cool scar to show your buddies and say ‘yeah, I got this protecting my girlfriend from a maniac with a knife.’”

  Zachary grinned. “That is pretty cool.”

  “Everybody’s going to want one.” She looked around. “I can’t believe that the CDC went all-out. Dr. Wiltshire said that we would need more proof before they would do anything.”

  He gave a shrug. “Well, if you can’t get proof, get publicity.”

  One of the staffers came into the hospital room that Kenzie and Zachary had been assigned to. She was wearing a protective suit similar to the ones that they had worn to the ball. She handed them each a bag of their personal possessions. Anything that they had been able to properly disinfect.

  They each sat down on one of the hospital beds. Kenzie turned her bag around to survey the contents inside. Zachary immediately delved into his to retrieve his phone. Kenzie preferred not to look at her phone yet. There would be calls from her mother and father, from Dr. Wiltshire, and who knew how many others. She wasn’t ready to deal with it yet.

  She looked over at Zachary to say something to him, but the remark fled her lips. He was scrolling through a screen, looking worried.

  “What’s up?” Kenzie asked.

  He passed the phone across to her. Kenzie took it, unsure what she was going to see. A worrisome message from Rhys? Bad news about Bridget or her babies? Another break-in at the lab or at the house?

  She saw a column of texts from Lorne Peterson, asking for one of them to call him as soon as possible. But specifically asking not for Zachary, but for Kenzie. Lorne probably didn’t have Kenzie’s number handy, as he always talked to Zachary.

  Rather than pulling her own phone out, Kenzie just tapped Lorne’s name and ‘Call.’ The phone started to ring through. Kenzie put it on speaker so that she and Zachary could both hear and talk.

  “Hello? Zachary?”

  “We’re both here, Lorne,” Kenzie said. “Is everything okay?”

  “Well... I’m sure it’s all right, but I wanted to talk to you, Kenzie, to see what you thought. Seeing as you’re a doctor...”

  So something was wrong. They hadn’t just seen Zachary on the news or heard that he’d been injured. “What is it?”

  “Pat’s been fighting this bug,” Lorne said. “The same one I had. Or that’s what we figured, anyway. He was dragging around tired all the time, kind of cranky and depressed. You know how a sick toddler behaves!” Lorne tried to joke, but the concern in his voice was clear.

  “Is it his meds?” Zachary asked. “Have they adjusted the dosages lately?”

  “No. I don�
�t think it’s anything to do with his meds. But... he fell down today—said that he just tripped—and he’s asked the same questions several times... I know it’s nothing, but I’m worried. He doesn’t have any of the symptoms for a stroke; I looked them up on the computer...”

  Kenzie’s eyes met Zachary’s. Zachary swore.

  “I’m sure it’s nothing,” Lorne said apologetically.

  “Actually... it might be,” Kenzie admitted. “Lorne... I was exposed to a virus before I came down to visit you guys last. And I might have passed it on to Pat.”

  “Then it isn’t anything to worry about. If you’ve already had it.”

  “I didn’t get any symptoms. But sometimes, people are just carriers or are asymptomatic. This is... a brand new virus, and we don’t know yet how it might behave”

  “So what should I do? Rest and fluids? Like the flu?”

  “You need to get him to the hospital right away. I’m going to call someone so they will be expecting him when you arrive. Go to the emergency room doors, but wait there and don’t get out of the car. They’ll come to get him. They’ll be wearing protective clothing, like HAZMAT suits. Don’t open the doors to anyone who isn’t wearing protective gear.”

  “Kenzie?” Lorne’s voice shook. He had been worried when he called, now he was clearly frightened. “Is it that serious? Is it the plague?”

  “It’s not the plague. It’s something new. It has... it has caused some deaths. I’ll convince the doctors to treat it aggressively. I’ll get them to treat all of us, you too. The earlier we catch it, the better our chances.”

  “Do you and Zachary have it too?”

  “Neither of us has been showing any symptoms. But we’re already in isolation because we were exposed. We’ll just have to take it up a level and not wait to see if we test positive for it. If I passed it on to Pat, then I have it for sure. Maybe Zachary too. Maybe you.”

  Lorne swore, worried. Kenzie had never heard him swear before. “Pat? Pat, you need to get ready to go. Come on. Pull on a jacket and your shoes. We have to go to the hospital.”