Page 31 of Night Watch
“After you.” He led her into the conference room and glanced around the table. He wasn’t surprised Drake was missing, as he was still in Texas.
“You don’t look like you’re on death’s door,” Aiden grinned. “When do you find out if you’re infected?”
Erik appreciated his brother’s lighter tone that downplayed the seriousness of their exposure. “Maya will know what we were exposed to tomorrow or the next day.”
Aiden shifted his gaze to Kennedy. “And you’re sure you’re fine?”
She nodded. “Thanks to Erik, I opened the envelope when I was wearing my PPE, and it very likely saved me from exposure. I’m on an antibiotic, too, just in case.”
Wow.She didn’t blame him at all. Guilt ate at him anyway. “Go ahead and have a seat.”
She took a side chair, and he went to one of the whiteboards and wrote the word anthrax with red marker. “Okay let’s discuss the envelope to see if we can figure out who sent it.”
Clay faced Kennedy. “Question is, was the envelope meant for your mother or for you?”
Kennedy rested her hands on the table looking relaxed, but Erik could see the strain in her eyes. “It was addressed to her but mailed after she died.”
Brendan arched his eyebrow. “The sender might not have known she died.”
“He would if he’s her killer,” Clay said.
“True that,” Brendan said. “But maybe she made more than one person angry.”
Kennedy’s fingers tightened into fists. “That’s entirely possible with the number of counterfeit drugs she was threatening to expose.”
“My question is”—Erik tapped his marker on the whiteboard—“who would have access to anthrax or other biotoxins?”
“Terrorists are a given,” Aiden said. “But I see no indication that we’re dealing with terrorists here.”
“So someone in the scientific community,” Kennedy said.
“How is that even possible?” Brendan asked. “Anthrax has to be highly controlled by the government, and so are other deadly toxins, right?”
“Yes and no.” Kennedy rested her injured hand on the table. “Getting a sample isn’t as hard as you might think. A scientist engaged in legitimate research can apply for a certificate of registration with the feds. Once this person is designated as the Responsible Official, they can legally request samples of toxins and agents on a Select Agents list.”
“Select Agents?” Brendan asked.
“Sounds like law enforcement, but it’s not.” She smiled. “We’re talking about a list of biological agents and toxins that the Federal Special Agent Program determined to have the potential to pose a severe threat to human, animal, or plant health or to animal and plant products. To be approved to handle these agents, a security risk assessment is done by the attorney general, and then the applicant still needs approval by the HHS secretary or administrator.”
“That doesn’t sound easy,” Aiden said.
“It’s not, but once they’re approved, they can order the microbe from wholesale supply houses. We call them reference laboratories. They keep large inventories of some of the deadliest organisms known to man. Those materials are normally shipped as freeze-dried samples via regular U.S. mail or through a commercial shipping company from the reference labs to the scientists.”
“So, the shipment could be intercepted,” Erik stated.
“Yes, but I’ve never heard of that happening. The more likely route to obtaining it illegally would be stealing some of the freeze-dried samples that are converted into live organisms and stored in sub-zero freezers until needed. An employee could simply use a cotton swab to scrape a minute portion of the culture from a stored vial, then start the process of multiplying the bacteria or viruses themselves.”
Erik shook his head. “That’s something I wish you hadn’t told us.”
“Sorry,” she said. “Scary stuff, but I thought you should have the details.”
“So,” Erik said, “we’re most likely looking for someone in the scientific community with connections to your mom. Maybe one of these Responsible Officials.”
“Can you get us a list of these people?” Aiden asked.
“I’d think one exists, but I don’t know if it would be in an accessible database. I can check. In the meantime, most of you have federal contacts who might be able to get this list. Ask them. Plus I’ll ask Malone and Reed. Even Piper, Devon, and Hunter.”
“And these people are?” Kennedy asked.
