The White Iris

by Susanne Matthews

  Cassie sat at the table, a cookbook open in front of her.

  “Don’t you look good. Have fun on your not-a-date.”

  Julie shook her head and hurried out the door. It wasn’t a date. She’d check the blood samples and the spinal swab and talk to Whitey. She was on an information-gathering session, one she hoped would yield something Trevor could use. When he arrived, she intended to have enough to give him to make up for the humiliation he’d suffered to keep her safe. They weren’t a couple anymore, but perhaps they could be friends.

  The thought of seeing him again, especially after what Cassie had said about the date of the funeral, bothered her. What if she’d been too hard on him? PTSD? She supposed it could be possible. If the date was the reason he couldn’t handle coming back to Carson Creek, he should’ve said so instead of simply saying he couldn’t come. She’d have understood—well, a little anyway—but that didn’t explain Christmas or all the other times he’d lied to her.

  An hour later, Julie stood up and stretched. Why were lab stools so damn hard and uncomfortable? She’d checked all the blood work from Seward herself, and then reexamined the slides from Felix. There were no particulates on the spine—not that she’d expected to find any considering the level of damage to the torso. What should’ve been in Felix’s blood was definitely missing, and that was a good thing since it pretty much guaranteed the virus had been injected directly into the fisherman. The problem was the timeline.

  According to the CDC briefs on the H1N1virus that she herself had compiled, the normal incubation period for the swine flu was between one and seven days, with most people developing symptoms within four days and being contagious after that. For the H5N1 virus, the bird flu, the incubation period could be twice as long, with contagion after the symptoms showed.

  So how did buddy boy end up with a cytokine storm so quickly? The Alaskan Gold might’ve been missing for three weeks, but Cassie and Luke were sure the man had been dead for almost two weeks before the fishermen brought him in. The shorter timeline was frightening.

  The lab doors opened and Cassie came in.

  “What are you doing here?” Julie asked. “I thought you were taking the day off.”

  “I was. I was on my way to order that furniture when Luke called and asked me to meet him here. Don’t you know what’s going on?”

  “No. I’m not supposed to meet him for another half hour.”

  Grim-faced, Luke entered the lab.

  Damn. This isn’t good.

  “What happened that’s so important you dragged me to work on my day off? Have the fishermen showed signs of flu?” Cassie asked.

  “No. I’m afraid it’s worse than that. A float plane pilot landed an hour ago, so strung out I had to sedate her to get any coherent information from her. Don’t ask me how in hell she flew that plane ... I’ve known Shirley Koso for three years. She’s Aleut and one of the best Evac pilots we have. I’ve never seen her rattled like this … She claims a whole fishing camp full of people are dead.”

  The color leached from Julie’s face. “How many?” she asked.

  “Not sure. Could be anywhere from a dozen to thirty. The season’s winding down, so some of them could’ve left.”

  “Can you put all this away for me?” Julie asked the technician beside her.

  “Yes, Doctor.”

  Nodding her thanks, she turned to Luke. “Any chance the Alaskan Gold visited that port?”

  “Unlikely. It’s a ninety-minute flight from here, not anywhere near their fishing grounds.”

  “Where is she?”

  “She’s in an isolation room,” Luke answered. “I didn’t want to take any chances. When the tower called and said she was babbling, I assumed they expected her to crash, but she got the plane down in one piece. Because of our friend in there”—he indicated the freezer area where bodies were kept—“I ordered isolation protocols, thinking she could be feverish and delusional. I’ve checked her for flu symptoms, taken blood samples, and a nasal swab. The hospital lab will copy you the information if they find anything. She claims everyone was alive when she was there a week ago…”

  Julie swallowed. If a fishing boat was the site for the first test, an isolated fishing camp would work well for the second, but why in Alaska, so far from everything that would make it hard to observe the progress of the disease?

  “I need to talk to her,” Julie said. If Shirley was right, this fit the new timeline she’d extrapolated for Felix, and that wasn’t a good thing.

  Julie followed Cassie and Luke to the elevator and then up to the isolation ward, stopping only long enough to gown, glove, and mask before entering the private room. The woman standing by the window jumped and twisted her hands nervously in front of her.

  “Shirley, this is Dr. Smith and Dr. Logan. Do you want to repeat what you told me?”

  The middle-aged woman in a plaid shirt and jeans exhaled and sat in the chair she must have been occupying earlier. The nicotine stains on her fingers announced she was a smoker, and right now that woman needed a cigarette in the worst way.

  “I flew Maggie Asangis back to the village last week. Maggie just had a baby—her first.”

  “Where did you bring them from?”

  “Fairbanks,” she said, pulling a pack of nicotine gum out of her shirt pocket and shaking out two pieces. “Her husband was in the Forces. He died three months ago. I offered to take her to the main village, but she wanted to stay with the others.”

  Julie turned to Luke. “Don’t mind my ignorance, but I don’t suppose Fairbanks is close to Seward, either?”

  He shook his head. “It’s about 500 miles away by car. Do you want me to call the hospital in Fairbanks?”

  “Yes, please,” Julie said. “Find out if Maggie got a flu shot.” Trevor hadn’t mentioned any vaccine being sent to Fairbanks, but she needed to check everything. If Maggie had gotten the shot, she might’ve been asymptomatic for the flight.

  Turning back to the pilot, she smiled. “When you landed with Maggie, was anyone in the village coughing or sneezing?”

  “No, everyone was in good spirits,” the woman answered, chewing furiously. “I’ll probably get fired for this, too. I had no damn business going there this morning. I don’t have a regular stop there for another two weeks. I wanted to see how Maggie and the little girl were doing, so since I had to make an unscheduled delivery only thirty miles away, I picked up a case of diapers and decided to drop in. I radioed for landing instructions and didn’t get a response, which was unusual since there’s always someone manning the radio. I flew high over the place, but I didn’t see any other planes, and I kept calling. Nothing. I descended and flew over the area. There was nobody around. I was about to land when I saw the body next to the hangar at the far end of the dock.”

  “So you didn’t land,” Julie said.

  “No, ma’am. The body was just lying there, and I thought maybe someone had gone postal and killed them all. The boats are all in, too, which is odd.”

  “Odd how?”

  “Well, there are always a few out at that time of day.”

  “Can you take me there?”

  “To Chinook Cove?” the woman asked, her tone conveying she thought Julie was crazy.

  “Is that the name of the fishing camp?”

  “Yes.”

  “Then that’s where I need to go.”

  “No. I won’t go back there. Death lives there. It’s haunted now,” she said, starting to shake.

  “That’s okay, Shirley,” Luke said, trying to calm the woman. “You’ve had a hell of a shock, so we’re going to keep you here for a few days.”

  “What’ll I tell the boss?”

  “Tell him I called you in for your annual physical. You’d have to come in within the next few weeks, so while you’re here … No one’s going to make you go back. I’ll arrange for a search-and-rescue team to take Dr. Smith and me there. Cassie, will you be able to cover for us here?”

  Cassie nodded. “O
f course I will. I’ve got a few things to do, but I should be available for emergencies.”

  “Are you sure? I don’t want that husband of yours giving me grief for overworking you.”

  “I’m sure. Besides, someone needs to man the store.”

  “Okay, but don’t overdo it,” Luke said. “Julie, can you leave shortly? It’ll take us an hour and a half to get to Chinook Cove, and we want to be in and out as fast as we can. There’s a storm front moving in from the west. We’ll see what’s there and decide how to proceed.”

  “I’m ready whenever you are. Just let me go back to the lab and pick up a few things.”

  Shirley has to be wrong. The people are probably in their houses, sick.

  A week shouldn’t be long enough for any flu virus to kill that way.

  Following her out of the isolation ward, Cassie interrupted her thoughts.

  “It’s smart of Luke to keep her here in isolation,” she said. “We don’t want her spreading that around until we know what’s going on.”

  “I agree,” Julie answered, her admiration for the young doctor growing by the minute. “I refuse to believe they’re all dead, but if those villagers are sick, the pilot could’ve been exposed a week ago and isn’t showing any signs yet. Have the hospital lab run a full viral panel on her. Check her for H1N1 and H5N1 first, and then whatever the hell you can think of. Watch her cytokines and leucocyte levels, and try to keep this as quiet as you can. I don’t want anyone wondering why we’re looking for those particular viruses.”

  “I’ll check the blood for those myself. You think this could be a trial site?”

  “It’s possible. Monitor her closely. If she was infected seven days ago … if anything looks out of whack, start her on ACE inhibitors and corticosteroids.”

  “You shouldn’t be going to that village.”

  “I have to. I need to know what happened there.”

  “But you promised Trevor you wouldn’t leave the base.”

  “I’ll be with a Coast Guard search-and-rescue team. I’ll be fine. Thanks to Trevor, everyone thinks I’m dead. No one’s watching me.”

  Cassie scowled. “But what if they’re watching the camp? If it’s a trial site, they’d be monitoring it, right?”

  “Then they know Shirley’s been there, and she could be in danger, too.”

  “If anything happens to you… Let Luke and the Coast Guard go alone. You and Trevor can follow up after.”

  “Cassie, if those people are sick, they don’t have another day. They need help now. I’ll be fine. Get me ten vials of flu vaccine in case everyone just has seasonal flu. The guy by the hangar could be unconscious rather than dead. Does this hospital have a portable incubator?”

  “We have a portable isolette. I’ll call maternity and have it sent out to the helicopter right away. For what it’s worth, you’re about to take the flight of a lifetime. I just wish Trevor were taking it with you.”

  So do I. Damn. Old habits die hard.

  Half an hour later, partially dressed in a Hazmat suit, Julie stared out the wide windows, enjoying her first ever chopper ride. The Eurocopter HH-65 Dolphin MEDEVAC helicopter was roomier than she’d expected. Below her, majestic mountains met the sea in an ever-changing panorama of untamed beauty.

  “So, what do you think of the forty-ninth state?” Luke’s voice echoed in her ears from the headset he’d given her.

  “It’s amazing. Rugged and beautiful. I don’t see the railroad tracks and highways you’d normally see crisscrossing the place. How does everyone get around?”

  “Float planes. As soon as they’re old enough, kids get their pilot’s license, and people fly well into their eighties.”

  “You’re joking.”

  “Cross my heart. There’s a couple I met the last time I was in Anchorage. He just turned ninety-one and requalified for his license. His wife’s eighty-five and still flies, too.”

  “I think I’d prefer a younger pilot, but experience does count. Flying like this is different. You’re so much closer to the ground, and this view—it’s unlike anything I’ve ever seen.”

  “Before you leave, we’ll have to show you some of the glaciers around here, and I’m sure Miles will want to give you a tour of his volcanoes.”

  “Yeah, he mentioned that last night. Cassie wants to take me shopping in Anchorage, too. She thinks I need to bring home a parka and some kind of knife. I used to collect Christmas ornaments, but now that I’m alone, I don’t know if I’ll even bother with a tree this year.”

  “Everyone should celebrate the holidays. It’s a chance to overcome the winter blahs. Those of us who stick around here make a big deal of it. If you do go to Anchorage, let me know, and I’ll see if I can come, too. I never pass up a chance to go to Humpy’s for salmon chowder.” He pointed out the sights as they flew, showing her a pod of humpback whales heading south to warmer waters. After a while his voice grew serious.

  “I suppose unless I ask, you won’t volunteer the information. What did you find when you examined Felix Leclerc’s spinal fluid?”

  He had a right to know. After all, it was thanks to his equipment and staff that she knew anything. She described the missing antigens and her theory, mentioning the idea of trials as she had to Trevor. “The cytokine storm is a fairly normal reaction to any of the influenza A strains, and left untreated…” She shrugged. Why would White Iris Pharmaceuticals be making vaccine this year? As far as she knew, they weren’t equipped for it. That bothered her

  Luke fiddled with a dial on his headset and leaned over to do the same to hers.

  “Can you hear me?”

  “Yes, I could before.”

  “But so could they.”

  She frowned. And why does that matter now?

  He licked his lips and looked decidedly uncomfortable. “I watched CNN this morning.”

  “So did I.”

  This isn’t good.

  “That agent is being used as a scapegoat, Julie, no question, but I saw the whole broadcast.” He paused. “You’re Dr. E.J. Swift from the CDC, aren’t you? I knew something wasn’t quite right. And you just mentioned you were alone…”

  Busted!

  She took a deep breath. “Luke, you can’t tell anyone that I’m here. Miles and Cassie know. If it gets out that I’m alive, the person who tried to kill me will try again. You heard Trevor talk about the Prophet, the man behind the plagues in Boston. He may have something bigger in mind, and I believe Felix and whatever we’ll find in Chinook Cove is part of it.”

  “You think this is a bioengineered virus?”

  “Yes, one that acts very quickly with lethal results.”

  “Can you stop it?”

  “Maybe. If I can figure out exactly what it is. It’s behaving pretty much like any influenza A, but the incubation, the contagion, and the aggressive way it must’ve gone through Felix worry me. Whoever gave him the virus blew up the boat. That torso wasn’t supposed to surface. And now this fishing camp. I gather Shirley’s the only one who goes in and out of there, right?”

  He nodded.

  “She believes everyone is dead there. I’m hoping they’re sick but alive. If she’s right … This virus breaks down faster than any I’ve ever seen. Since she wasn’t scheduled to visit for another two weeks…”

  “Damn. You’re thinking this is a trial run. Why here in Alaska? Why not in the Lower 48?”

  “You know what they say: location, location, location. Look out there. There’s isolation here unlike anywhere else. Fewer people to interfere, and even if they realize how sick they are, the patients are hundreds of miles from medical help. If it hadn’t been for Shirley wanting to see the baby…”

  The copilot nudged Luke and pointed to his helmet. Luke put her radio back on the original frequency and did the same for his.

  “Commander Franklin,” the pilot said. “We’re approaching Chinook Cove. I’ve hailed the camp, but there’s no response. What do you want me to do?”

  “Do a f
ly-by. See if there’s anyone there, and assuming you see nothing to wave you off, land as close to the float plane dock as you can get. That should put us near the hangar. Since we have to anticipate the worst, I want everyone armed and in full Hazmat gear.”

  “Understood, Commander. We should set down in about twelve minutes.”

  Julie closed her eyes and prayed Shirley was wrong, because a virus that killed within seven days would be unstoppable.

  The helicopter touched down smoothly. One of the men hopped out, hurried over to the man lying right where Shirley had said he was, and shook his head.

  “He’s dead, but he doesn’t have a mark on him, sir,” the man said through his helmet.

  “Have the animals been at him?” Luke asked.

  “It doesn’t look like it, but the flies are bad.”

  “Bag him. We’ll take him back for autopsy,” Julie said. “If the animals haven’t gotten to him, then he may not have been dead that long, and I might have something to work with.”

  Chapter Seventeen

  Julie followed Luke and the pilot to the first house, which wasn’t more than a shack.

  “How do they manage in January?” She couldn’t envision suffering the cold of an Alaskan winter here.

  “This is a summer fishing camp, ma’am,” the pilot said. “The Aleuts, who settled this part of Alaska, are people of the sea. A lot of traditions have died off, but the younger members of the community come here in the spring to fish and hunt, stockpiling food for the winter, and then, around the end of October, they go back to their village a little farther inland. They used to live here all year long in underground houses, but times being what they are…”

  “Is it possible they left the camp early?” she asked.

  “Not likely, ma’am. I’ve been stationed here three years now, and I’ve never known any of the Aleuts to break camp ahead of schedule. For those who care about their history, living like this is almost a religion to them, and they cherish each day. None of them would leave fish behind like that, either.”

  Luke knocked on the door and announced himself. There was no answer.

  “After you, Lieutenant,” Luke said.