Pathogen

by Jessica L. Webb

  Kate stayed sitting up, watched Andy move around the room. She looked at the clock. Just before two in the morning. This made her tired, so deeply tired. Then Andy finally crawled into bed, pulled Kate down into her arms, and eventually they both slept.

  *

  Kate stood at the nurse’s station, trying not to think about how dry and itchy her eyes were from lack of sleep. She was staring at Harris Trenholm’s sats for the last few days. Her gut told her there was a downward trend, though the printout showed continuous results in the normal range. The computer program at least showed no red flags, but Kate worried. Harris seemed much too tired these days. As the election ramped up, he seemed to be fading. Kate shook her head. Fading was not exactly a medical term, but her instinct had been right too many times to ignore it.

  Double-checking that the nurse on call had her cell phone number, Kate made her way downstairs. The PHEM meeting wasn’t starting for another half hour, but thinking of the red-flagged computer system made Kate think of Jack. He was sitting at the far end of the table, his sweet, boyish face scrunched in concentration.

  “Good morning, Katie!” Jack said, his exuberance infectious. “Have you tried Judy’s coffee? So good. I told her she could make millions with this blend. Seriously.”

  “Morning, Jack.”

  Kate and Andy had missed out on their morning coffee, gone from the hotel long before the sun was up. She thought with a pang of those two large Styrofoam cups sitting at the front desk of the Sea to Sky Inn as she reached for the carafe of hospital coffee in the middle of the table.

  “I’ve got a question for you,” Kate said.

  Jack happily pounded at a button on his computer and turned all his attention on her. “Shoot,” he said.

  “I haven’t thought this all the way through, so bear with me,” Kate said, sipping her coffee, trying to organize her thoughts. “My gut is telling me Harris Trenholm is about to get much worse, but his tests are all falling within the low-normal range. I want to see if there’s a trend the system isn’t picking up on, something that it’s not anticipating. Something outside each individual patient’s test results. Does that make any sense?”

  “So there’s a system in place already for tracking patterns, but you think it doesn’t have all the factors,” Jack summarized in his own computer tech way.

  “Exactly.”

  “What data did you want to use?” Jack was already clicking through screens on his laptop.

  “Autopsy results, specifically those dealing with oxygen saturation levels, fluid levels and lung capacity. There should be three sets by this afternoon. I know it’s not much…”

  “Three is a pattern, Katie. Maybe we’ll find something.” Jack tucked his head down and got to work, the sound of keys and clicking filling the silence.

  Kate smoothed her fingers over the flat, black wood of the tabletop. She was trying to figure out what she had seen or understood that she couldn’t yet put into rational thought. There was something…Kate just hoped she could figure it out before Harris Trenholm took the downward turn she anticipated. The one she had little confidence that she could turn around.

  A moment later, Andy walked in, her tall uniformed frame filling the doorway. Kate’s heart gave her a nudge as Andy smiled at her. Even with the bandage above her right eye, she was still so incredibly beautiful.

  “How are your Ward B patients?” Andy asked, sitting down at the head of the table, pulling out her case notes.

  “Stable for now,” Kate said, hoping it would remain true. “I was planning on running a differential after this, get the medical team together and see what we come up with.”

  “Kellar’s scheduled the autopsy for right after this,” Andy said, giving Kate the bad news.

  “This afternoon, then, if we could schedule it for this afternoon,” Kate said. She supposed there was no point in meeting unless Kellar could be there. And they could use the results regardless.

  “I’m hoping to have something for you by then, too, Katie,” Jack said helpfully.

  Constables Ferris and Slater came in next and sat down. Kate looked at the young constable as he adjusted his holster after he’d sat down. Slater wore his uniform with the puffed-up pride of the still new. The holstered belt around his hips had not yet become an unconscious extension of his body, as it had with Ferris and Andy. Kate then looked closer at Ferris. His usual, affable smile was absent this morning. She had to assume she wasn’t the only one losing sleep over the HV1A virus.

  Lost in her scrutiny of the two cops, Kate hadn’t noticed Mona Kellar come into the room. She dropped her bulk noisily into a chair near the door, drawing Kate’s attention. Mona Kellar was looking at Kate with her bright, interested eyes, and she seemed almost happy. Kate didn’t want to know what was behind that, but then Mona Kellar turned that same eager, anticipatory look down the table to Andy.

  Kate’s heart lurched, though Andy returned the gaze in her professional, guarded way. Mona Kellar looked back and forth between them, and her eyes grew brighter. She shifted about excitedly. Immediately Kate understood. Cornering Kate on the stairwell had never been about hurting her, it was meant to provoke Andy. But by not telling Andy what had happened, Kate suddenly realized that she had played right into Mona Kellar’s hand.

  As more people filled the room, Kate could not tear her eyes away from Mona Kellar, dreading what she would say or do next. Kellar raised her hand in an accusatory gesture.

  “You didn’t tell her,” Kellar hissed, her eyes too probing, too eager.

  Kate couldn’t help looking at Andy at the end of the table, and the look she got told her quite clearly that yes, Andy had heard and no, Andy was not happy.

  “All right everybody, let’s start with updates,” Andy said, taking a moment to pull the rest of the team to order. “As most of you know by now, someone attempted to break into one of the RCMP vehicles last night. He or she was unsuccessful in their attempt, and they took off before I was able to apprehend them for questioning. Constable Slater, could you update the team on the evidence and the consequent actions we are taking.”

  Even distracted, Kate could see this was a big moment for Constable Slater. He sat up straighter in his chair and cleared his throat.

  “We found a few partial boot prints in the mud, which we’re taking to the lab to have analyzed. There were no fingerprints left on Sergeant Wyles’s car or on the surrounding areas. After meeting with Dr. Doyle first thing this morning, we are increasing the number of hospital security on each shift, and we are putting one RCMP officer on site as well.”

  Andy stared down the table at him and Kate could see her thinking. “Let’s make it two,” she said suddenly. “I’ll talk to Staff Sergeant Finns, but I think we should make it two more constables to come up and supplement the hospital security.”

  Kate’s instinct twigged, her suspicions raised. She had a feeling where this sudden need for increased security came from.

  Andy updated the team on the samples collected yesterday and the samples being collected today. Kate saw Ferris nod as Andy indicated he would be going back out again. He really didn’t look very good. Next, the Public Health update. The numbers were climbing so rapidly, they were assuming all flu cases were now a result of the HV1A strain. Testing would only be done on patients who had any of the listed risk factors, and those would be flagged for Kate and Eric.

  As Dr. Salinger finished his update, Andy took over the meeting again. “Dr. Kellar will be performing the autopsy on Jim Beckett this morning—”

  “And Dr. Morrison will be there to assist,” Mona Kellar interrupted.

  Andy met Mona Kellar’s challenging glare. “Not possible this morning,” Andy said neutrally. She then looked down the table. “Dr. MacKay, would it be possible for you to take a turn assisting Dr. Kellar?”

  “Sure, no problem, though I’ll need someone to cover the ER,” Eric said in his laid-back way.

  “Dr. Doyle?” Andy asked, turning her eyes to the chie
f of staff. Apparently Andy had this all worked out.

  “Yes, I could make myself available,” Dr. Doyle said somewhat stiffly.

  “Good. Lastly, Dr. Morrison would like to assemble the medical team later this afternoon, once the autopsy results are in. Four o’clock.” She didn’t pose it as a question. “Same time tomorrow. Any issues that come up over the day, bring them to me.”

  As the meeting broke up and people filed out of their seats, Kate looked down the table to Ferris and Slater, who were talking in low voices. Kate watched as Ferris stood. He seemed to be moving slowly. Her heart sank as she watched him cough once, quietly.

  Kate met him at the door before he could leave. “Constable Ferris, do you have a minute?”

  “Sure, Dr. Morrison, what is it?”

  Kate waved him into the hallway. “How long have you been sick?” she asked him quietly.

  Constable Ferris looked guilty. “I didn’t sleep well last night and woke up feeling like crap. A pot of Judy’s coffee, and I’ll be just fine.”

  Kate surveyed him with a critical eye. “You have a cough, fatigue, and I’m going to guess by the way you’re talking that you’re starting to get congested. Any fever?”

  Constable Ferris shrugged miserably. “I don’t own a thermometer.”

  Kate told him to wait and headed back into the meeting room. Andy was off the phone, writing in her case notes.

  “We have a problem,” Kate said, and Andy looked up immediately. “Ferris is sick.” Kate opened the box of masks and pulled some out. “I’m going to take him down to the ER, check him out and take a blood sample, but if he’s got a fever, we’re going to have to assume he’s got the virus. I’m going to have to send him home.”

  Kate watched Andy cycle through the implications of this news. She didn’t swear, didn’t visibly react like Kate would have.

  “I’ll call Finns back. We’re going to need a more senior officer up here to replace Ferris,” Andy said.

  “What about this morning? Are you going to go with Dr. Din to the Fullworth farm to collect samples?”

  Studying Andy’s face, Kate knew what her answer would be before she opened her mouth.

  “No. Constable Slater has been briefed on the NML information. He’s been studying the files since before he got here, so he knows as well as Ferris what to look for.” Andy paused. “Let’s give them an escort, though. We’ll drive down to the farm with them before meeting with Keith Grange’s roommates.”

  “Okay, give me half an hour to sort out Ferris.”

  “Send Constable Slater in. I’ll give him the news he’s flying solo,” Andy said and Kate quickly left the room. Soon enough, she would be stuck in a car with Andy where she could be grilled about the details of her latest run-in with Mona Kellar.

  Ferris had a fever. He slumped miserably on the hospital bed while Kate went through the long checklist of risk factors. Ferris had none of them, nothing to indicate this virus would develop into anything more than a week-long enforced vacation. As Kate drew his blood, she made it clear that Andy and now Staff Sergeant Finns were aware of his condition so he would not be allowed to actively participate in any PHEM-related business until he was better.

  Once Kate had sent the constable home, she and Andy caught up to Constable Slater and Dr. Din in the parking lot as they loaded supplies into the back of the van. Dr. Din gave a thumbs up, and both vehicles pulled out, ignoring the media vans parked along the road leading into the hospital.

  Kate waited for Andy’s onslaught of questions, for her anger and hurt and accusations. She knew she deserved all of it. It had been supremely stupid to keep the incident with Kellar from Andy, not only a wasted effort, but a damaging one.

  Andy was silent. Not grim, not angry. Just silent. She didn’t look at Kate, didn’t prompt her to begin. Nothing. She just followed the van in front of them, occasionally checking her rearview mirror to see if they were being followed.

  Kate couldn’t stand the silence. She just wanted to get it over with.

  “The night I went down to the lab to check with the lab tech, Mona Kellar cornered me on the stairwell. She was surprised to see me, but she knew I was alone. Then she called you my guard dog and offered me advice, something to the effect of you only being with me for the sex, and that I would never really qualify as a lesbian.”

  Now Andy was angry. Kate could see it in the tense line of her jaw, in the way she gripped the steering wheel, in the hard stillness of her body.

  “Why wouldn’t you tell me that?” Andy asked, controlling the anger in her voice so Kate could barely detect it there. Kate also guessed she was controlling the hurt and the worry.

  “Because I didn’t want you to go after her, I didn’t want it to start something or to have it affect you or the team.” Kate tried to explain, knowing the excuses were feeble. “With everything else going on, it seemed kind of insignificant.”

  “I bet it didn’t feel insignificant. When she said those things, are you really going to tell me it didn’t bother you?” Andy said.

  “Of course it did.”

  “Then why wouldn’t you tell me that?” Andy repeated.

  “I guess I just didn’t want to add anything else to your list of things to worry about.”

  “I don’t need you to protect me like that, Kate,” Andy said, and the rebuke in her tone was evident.

  Kate thought immediately of their morning meeting. “While we’re on the topic of protection, do you want to tell me why you decided to double the security team?” Kate said, her own irritation rising.

  “I think it’s called for.”

  “So it’s not about me.”

  Andy didn’t answer.

  “I don’t need a babysitter, Andy,” Kate said, her voice now sharp. She couldn’t explain why she was suddenly annoyed at Andy. She knew Andy had every reason to be upset with her, and this just seemed like more evidence of how Kate was failing on multiple levels. “I need to be able to work without an armed guard attached to my hip.” She knew from Seattle what that felt like.

  Andy continued her silence.

  “Andy…” Kate said in a warning tone.

  “What do you want me to say, Kate?” Andy said tiredly, like she didn’t have the energy for this.

  “I want you to say that you trust me enough to deal with this,” she said stubbornly.

  “Well, I don’t,” Andy said bitterly. “You have the worst self-preservation skills of anyone I’ve ever met. I don’t understand how you can make rapid, complex decisions about the treatment and care of others, but when it comes to yourself…” Andy shook her head angrily, unable to even finish the sentence.

  Kate felt the fight ebb out of her completely. Part of her reeled from the shock of the criticism. She stared blankly out the windshield, amazed at how Andy had perfectly, if painfully, summed up her greatest weakness. She didn’t feel angry or even really hurt. She just felt completely empty.

  “I’m sorry,” Andy said. “I shouldn’t have said that.”

  “But it’s true.”

  Andy didn’t contradict her. The van in front of them pulled up outside a large, unadorned fence surrounding the Fullworth farm. They both watched in silence as Dr. Din and Constable Slater were buzzed through, Slater waving an all clear to Andy as the gates closed behind them.

  “We’ll head to Keith Grange’s apartment first,” Andy said, glancing at Kate as if checking they were okay to move past this. They had to be, Kate decided. There were too many other things to think about.

  Andy pulled into the small working-class neighbourhood, the houses only shabby in comparison to their opulent neighbours. Andy indicated a three-story building as she killed the engine. “Top floor,” she said. “Our objective is to place Keith’s whereabouts the day of the Fullworth fall fair.”

  The Yukon doors slammed in the silence as they got out and walked up to the building. Andy tried the main door to the triplex and shook her head as she found it open.

  “Clear
ly we’re not in Vancouver,” she muttered and headed inside.

  They walked to the top floor and Andy gave two sharp knocks on the boot-scuffed wooden door. A moment later a young guy, nineteen or twenty, with tousled hair and wearing only plaid pyjama pants, answered the door. His bloodshot eyes got instantly round as he saw Andy on the landing outside his apartment.

  “Riley Hanson?”

  A tousled-hair nod.

  “Sergeant Wyles and Dr. Morrison with the RCMP,” Andy said, holding up her badge. “We have some questions for you about Keith Grange.”

  Kate saw a genuine wave of sadness cross Riley’s face, like he’d forgotten just for a moment, and the reminder was a sharp jab. Kate thought he was about to open the door wider, then he looked almost furtively behind him, unsure.

  “You’ve got thirty seconds to get rid of whatever it is you don’t want me to see, and then you will invite us in and answer our questions,” Andy said, pinning him down with her grey eyes. Riley hesitated. “Twenty-seven seconds,” Andy warned, and Riley disappeared from view.

  Kate looked at Andy silently, her eyebrows raised. She couldn’t help smiling.

  “What?” Andy mouthed.

  “You’re cute when you’re tough,” Kate whispered.

  Andy rolled her eyes, but Kate could see the corner of her mouth turn up in the smallest of smiles. “Focus, Dr. Morrison.”

  Riley returned, slightly breathless, a sweatshirt pulled on over his bare chest. He opened the door wider, gesturing for them to come in. The apartment was fairly small, a tiny kitchen opening onto what looked like a dining room / living room / game room combination. A large TV, game controllers, and wires dominated the room.

  “You wanted to talk about Keith?” Riley asked, standing by the window, running his hands nervously and ineffectively through his messy brown hair.

  “Yes. Are you familiar with the Fullworth fall fair?” Andy said, standing just inside the doorway.

  A look of confusion crossed Riley’s face. This clearly wasn’t where he was expecting the conversation to go.