The White Iris

by Susanne Matthews

  “Yes, sir.” The pilot raised his rifle and entered the house, announcing himself as he went. Moments later, he came out and didn’t look good.

  “Two in the bedroom, sir. Flies have been at them.”

  Julie took a deep breath to steady herself. She’d used her inhaler earlier, but this was still a stressful situation. She knew instinctively what the young man had seen, but she needed to see it for herself. At least the Hazmat suits spared them the stench of the putrefaction. Even in this weather, the bodies would decompose quickly.

  Entering the house, she noted the gas fireplace in the corner. From the temperature in here, it had probably been on for days. Unfortunately, heat increased the rate of decay.

  “It’s hotter than hell in here, and considering the temperature has been in the fifties, that makes no sense,” the lieutenant said.

  “People with high fevers are often chilled. You can turn it off,” she answered before entering the bedroom. Shirley was right. This place was haunted, not by ghosts but by lost dreams and hopes. The couple in bed, their bodies in partial rigor, had cuddled to comfort one another, knowing the end was near.

  “Did the carbon monoxide from the gas stoves kill them?” the lieutenant asked. “They’re really pale.”

  “If it had been carbon monoxide, they’d be a bright pink,” Luke answered. “I’m sorry, Julie. I know you want to take them back, but we don’t have enough room on the helo. I want to know what killed them, too. During peacetime, the USCG works for Homeland Security. Something like this is a real threat, no matter where it comes from. I’ll send in a ship and a recovery team as soon as we get back to base.” He turned her to face him. “I can hold off on reporting this until the ship brings all the bodies back, but my hands are tied. I have to call it in. You’ve got the man near the hangar and twenty-four hours to figure out what killed him. I’ll keep your name out of it. As well, until you know they aren’t all contagious, a rescue ship will make it easier to contain.”

  She nodded automatically, ignoring the ache in her heart. There was nothing she could do for the dead throughout the camp except mourn them. Hopefully one of them would give her the answers she needed to save the living.

  “These were all healthy people in their prime. There aren’t any sick or infirm, no children. How come? You’d expect to see all age levels, wouldn’t you? It doesn’t make sense to me.”

  “The older men, women, and younger children would have returned to the village by now, getting that end of things organized. Fish isn’t all they eat, so there’s still hunting to do. The kids are back in school. I’ll take the helicopter and check the village tomorrow when the rescue ship gets here,” Luke said. “The woman with the baby must be on the other side.”

  “Or she left and went back to the village,” Julie said, pointing to the four-wheeler parked next to the house. “That’s probably how they get back and forth.”

  How would she contain this virus if it could be spread so easily and quickly? And how did it spread? Shared body fluids? Contaminated food? There were plenty of insects around that could be carriers. Could it be airborne?

  Too many questions. No answers.

  They’d just left the last house when one of the men from the other team hurried over to them.

  “Commander, we’ve found one alive. Not sure how long the little thing will last…”

  “The baby?” Hope filled her. “You’ve found the baby? Where?” So, Maggie hadn’t taken her child and left.

  “This way, ma’am.”

  He led her down the street toward prefab buildings that reminded her of some of the cottages she’d seen along the Susquehanna River on one of the camping trips she’d made with Trevor. In one bedroom they found a young woman whose body was still in rigor, as were most of the ones she’d seen, indicating the campers had died within the last forty-eight to seventy-two hours. If everyone had been healthy seven days ago, that meant this virus killed in four days. Had Maggie brought the virus in with her? But Shirley had been in a float plane with Maggie for hours and was alive. So if Maggie didn’t bring it here, who did?

  “Is there any way we can identify the other bodies?”

  “We can take down the numbers on the fishing boats. That’ll give us the captain and crews since they’re all recorded. I can send Jeffries and Lewis back to check wallets and purses if he can find any.”

  “Do it. I’ll explain later, but have them look for someone who doesn’t belong. Someone brought the virus here, and considering Shirley’s alive, I don’t think it was Maggie.”

  “You’re right. I’ll be right back,” Luke said.

  Julie stepped into the second bedroom, where the mewling sounds of the exhausted infant grew louder. The woman in the bed looked as if she were asleep. Julie touched her, noted she was in the earliest stages of rigor mortis. She’d been dead no more than five or six hours. Maggie had definitely not been the source of the pathogen. Beside her, the infant chewed on her fists, crying for all she was worth.

  “Look in the cupboard, Lieutenant. See if you can find any formula or bottles,” she said to the pilot. “And call for another body bag. I want this one.” Julie indicated the new mother. “She hasn’t been dead long, Luke,” she said as he joined her. “There may still be live virus in her. I need to know what killed these people.”

  “Okay. We’ve got room for one more. If the virus breaks down quickly when the cells die, she’s your best bet.”

  “Why didn’t it kill the baby?” the pilot asked.

  “It still may, but my guess is the infant’s immune system fought it off. Babies are born with a high level of antibodies received throughout the pregnancy from the mother through the umbilical cord, and later through nursing. This baby isn’t two weeks old. Her immune system is at its best, but right now, she’s exhausted, dehydrated, and starving. Even nursing mothers keep formula on hand for emergencies.”

  The pilot nodded and hurried away.

  “Will this help?” he said moments later, returning with a six-pack of prepared formula in small bottles.

  Julie reached for a clean diaper. “Find me a plastic bag. I want to bring the diaper with me.”

  She proceeded to undress the baby, change her, and put her in a clean nighty. Opening one of the small nursing bottles, she fed the baby and burped her while Luke helped the lieutenant place the child’s mother in a body bag. Exhausted from crying, the tiny girl fell asleep.

  “I don’t know if she’ll make it,” Julie said when Luke came back into the kitchen following the men with the black bag. “She must be a preemie. I doubt she weighs six pounds.”

  Poor little thing. She was the sole survivor of an intentional massacre. There was a chance her blood contained the antibodies needed to stop the Prophet, but if he discovered the child had survived…

  “What’s going to happen to her?”

  “I’m not sure,” he said, frowning. “Rough way to start a life.”

  “Luke, trust me on this. Nobody can know this child’s alive. I’m positive no one was supposed to find those bodies until the virus broke down the way it did in Felix and left no clues as to what caused the fatalities.”

  “You’ve got a point. I’ll see to it that the men don’t say anything. But before we can turn her loose in Kodiak, you’re going to have to make sure she isn’t a carrier. The last thing I need is an asymptomatic child bringing a deadly virus onto the base.”

  “I know. I’ll check her blood for anything out of the ordinary. I won’t take chances. Trevor will be here tonight,” she said firmly, “and he’ll know what to do.”

  The thought of putting her faith in a man who’d let her down rankled, but what choice did she have? Besides, when it came to working a case, Trevor was the best, and right now that was what she and this poor child needed.

  “Come on,” Luke said. “Let’s get out of here. The clouds are moving in. I don’t want to get caught in a storm. I wish there was something more we could do for these people, but … I�
��ll leave three men here to make sure no one enters the village. The last thing we want is someone getting infected and taking this elsewhere. The men will disinfect the hangar since we didn’t find any bodies in there, and stay there. The radio’s working—they checked it. Why didn’t someone call for help?”

  “The man near the hangar may have been trying to,” she said. “He just didn’t get there soon enough.”

  “Why did he wait so long? When people started dying, they had to know what was coming.”

  “I don’t know, but it’s possible, judging by the fact these people have all been dead about the same time, that he didn’t realize others were dead. He just knew they were sick. Let’s get this young lady back to the base.” She handed the remaining formula to Luke. “It’s all sealed, and we may need it if she wakes up on the flight.”

  He nodded and led the way back to the helicopter.

  “Commander,” one of the seamen called as they neared the helicopter, “we found nineteen picture IDs that match the dead in the houses. Lewis found three guys on a boat down at the far end of the dock. The ship’s from Nome. Looks like they came in because they weren’t feeling well. They’ve been dead longer than the others. Their paperwork’s in there, too.”

  Luke reached for the plastic bag the ensign held out to him.

  “Thank you, Jeffries. I’ll have a cutter here before noon tomorrow.”

  “Yes, sir.” The ensign saluted, as did Luke.

  Holding the baby, Julie boarded the helicopter and placed her charge in the incubator. The child still slept, but she’d need to feed again soon. She was too tiny to skip any more meals. As sick as she must’ve been, Maggie’s milk wouldn’t have provided much nourishment. Julie stared at the sleeping infant, tears brimming in her eyes.

  We’re both alone in the world now. I won’t let anything else happen to you.

  • • •

  Trevor stretched and reached for the phone.

  “Hello?”

  “Trevor, it’s Julie. Where are you?” she asked. “I was afraid I wouldn’t be able to reach you.”

  “I’m somewhere over Western Canada. You’re upset, Jules. What is it?”

  “Hearing your voice is the first thing that’s gone right for me in hours,” she admitted, confusing him. Since when did talking to him make her feel better? “Is this a secure line?”

  “It is at my end,” he said. “It’s one of Jacob’s satellite phones. Tell me why you’re upset.”

  “I just came back from Chinook Cove, an Aleut fishing camp…”

  “Damn it! Didn’t I tell you to stay put? What the hell were you doing going off the base?” He fought to control his anger, but he was tired and it seemed that this case consisted of one screw-up after another. How the hell was he supposed to keep her safe if she didn’t follow instructions?

  “Technically I didn’t,” she answered, but without the bite he’d have expected of her. “I was with the USCG search-and-rescue mission. I found what may be his second trial site. They were all dead—twenty-two seemingly healthy people dead.”

  “Shit. Is it the same virus?” he asked, his fury evaporating. Were they too late?

  “I won’t know until I have a look, but I think so. It works fast, too fast.” She told him about Shirley and described the camp and the bodies. “I may have an edge. One of them has only been dead a few hours. I’m hoping to find viable virus still in her.” She paused.

  “But?”

  “No buts. I have a survivor, too. A two-week-old girl.”

  “Is she sick?”

  “It doesn’t look like it, but we’ll have to make sure she isn’t an asymptomatic carrier.”

  “You mean like Typhoid Mary?”

  “Yes, but no one can know who she is or that she’s alive. I’m hoping her blood contains the antigens needed to create a vaccine.”

  “Hiding a live child isn’t easy,” he said, knowing all the trouble he’d had trying to do just that. “I’ve had to send six halfway around the world to manage it.”

  “She’s not leaving me,” Julie stated, her tone brooking no argument. “I need her here. Assuming she’s virus-free, Luke, the base medical officer, has an idea that will work. He knows who I am, Trevor. He recognized me from the photograph on CNN.”

  “Damn, I didn’t think anyone would,” he said. “It was one Colleen had from our first camping trip. I okayed it, thinking enough of your face was hidden. I’m sorry.”

  “Don’t worry about it. I’ve spent a lot of time with Luke. Since he was already suspicious about what I knew, he put it together. He doesn’t think anyone else will make the connection.”

  “I see. So what is this idea of his?”

  “The safest way to hide her is in plain sight. I’m going to pretend she’s mine … well, ours, really.”

  “What? Have you lost your mind?”

  “No, I haven’t. Just listen. I’ll admit she doesn’t look like either of us, but she doesn’t have to. She isn’t a full-blooded Aleut baby. Her skin’s fair and her hair is dark brown instead of black. A lot of Eurasian girls are adopted from China each year. We’ll pretend she’s one of those.”

  “Earth to Julie. You’ve been on the base, without a baby, for three days. Surely they’d notice if you suddenly had one,” he said, trying to tamp down his sarcasm. This plan had disaster written all over it. And had she said our? Just what part did she expect him to play in this charade?

  “We’ll tell people she arrived with you tonight—that you just picked her up in Beijing, and because I’d been exposed to the cadaver, I couldn’t go with you.”

  The reality of what she was saying hit him like a hammer.

  “You want us to pretend we’re married?” Good God, would he even be able to pull off something like that? He’d expected to be close to her to do his job, but to pretend they were husband and wife? Touch? Talk? Kiss occasionally? That was more than he could handle on his best day.

  “Well, we could be cohabitating, but since we’re using the same last name … Think about it. You came here because you believe someone wants to kill me. Whoever is looking for me is searching for a single woman, not a woman with a husband and a baby. This way you can protect both of us. I’m not asking you to do anything more than your job.”

  “And there’s no other way to keep the child safe?” Couldn’t they keep her in the hospital under guard? It was a frigging Coast Guard base.

  “Do you honestly think I’d propose such a thing if there were? I’m placing my life and that baby’s in your hands—hands I haven’t found to be any too reliable in the past. I need you to do what you’re supposed to do, Special Agent Clark. Nothing more, nothing less.”

  Ouch!

  He ran his hand through his hair. How the hell had he ended up in this mess all of a sudden? He was going to Alaska of all places to protect her, and she was still throwing Carson Creek in his face.

  “How many people will know the truth?”

  “Miles, Cassie, and Luke. The four men with us in the village know, but they’ve been sworn to secrecy, military-style, and I have four technicians working in the lab with me, people Luke says have the highest security clearance on the base. If he has to, Luke will bring the captain in on it, but for now, since it’s a medical matter, it’s his responsibility. I’m not sure what we’ll tell Ariel, if anything. We may just let her believe what everyone else does.”

  “And you’re sure we can trust Luke?”

  “We don’t have a choice,” she admitted.

  “When will you know if she’s healthy?”

  “Before you arrive. If I find virus in her, and she’s contagious, I’ll call again. So, will you do it?”

  “I don’t see that I have a choice.”

  “You don’t have to be so ungracious about it. People need to believe we’re a family. The fate of the world could be on that little girl’s shoulders.”

  “I understand, Julie. Don’t worry. I’ll play my part.”

  “Then tha
t should do. I saw your acting earlier at the press conference. That’s the amount of realism you’ll need. Before I forget, the flight might get a little bumpy as you move west. We’re having a storm here, but it’s supposed to clear around nine and shouldn’t interfere with your ETA.”

  “Snow?” That was all he needed.

  “No snow, just plain old-fashioned rain, thunder, and lightning. Usually storms like these are over by mid-September. Wrap a pillow in a blanket and pretend it’s a baby. Miles will meet your flight. I’ll see you soon.”

  “I’m looking forward to it,” he said ending the call.

  Trevor set down the phone and leaned back. Pretending to be Julie’s husband would be the hardest undercover job of his career. It was one thing to protect someone in a safe house, but that was done with a gun and vigilance. Pretending to be her husband, her emotional rock … How the hell was he supposed to pull this off? How would he keep his hands off her? He hadn’t been able to do it in Atlanta a week ago, and to be with her for days on end…

  He sobered. They didn’t have endless days—they might not even have hours. The Prophet and that virus would see to it. Twenty-two people dead within a week. Her words had reminded him of those made-for-television disaster movies where people just dropped where they were once exposed to some contagion—like the sorority girl who’d collapsed on the stairs. He shuddered. How the hell were you supposed to stop that?

  A baby girl. Why did she survive when everyone else died?

  Pretending the baby was theirs would make it easier to keep a close eye on her and Julie. He thought of all the people who’d tried to protect James Colchester’s children—people brutally murdered by Pierce in the name of the Prophet. A vision of Iris in the freezer fixed itself in his mind. Julie was right. No one could know that child existed for more reasons than she realized.

  With a trembling hand, he poured himself a shot of bourbon, trying to put everything that had happened today into perspective. One day—twenty-four hours—and look at the changes it had brought. He was beyond tired. How long had it been since he’d actually grabbed more than two or three hours of shut-eye?