Page 28 of Night Watch
She stared at it, uncertain about whether she wanted to open it and see personal information her mother didn’t want her to know about.
“We won’t know what it contains if you don’t open it,” Erik said.
“You’re right.” She glanced at him through the glass.
Her fingers were a bit clumsy due to the turtle bite, and she was double gloved even when using the large gloves in the biosafety containment cabinet. As with everything in this lab, her precautions were probably overkill, but better safe than sorry.
She took the envelope to a lab table and slit the top open with a scientific spatula. She looked inside and lurched back.
No letter.
“What is it?” Erik asked.
“Powder. White powder.” She looked up at him. “Stay there and don’t touch anything. There could be powder on the outside of the envelope, and you need to be decontaminated.”
“What do you think it is?” His voice was strained and high.
“Ricin maybe.” Heart pounding, she looked at him. “But my gut says anthrax. These are both the most common biotoxins sent through the mail. Either way, I feel certain we’re looking at a deadly substance sent to kill.”
7
Erik froze in place, his mind racing to remember what he’d touched. Had he put his hand by or on his mouth? Could anthrax or another biotoxin go through his skin? He had no idea, and he didn’t even want to ask. Better to wait for Kennedy to tell him what to do so he didn’t do the wrong thing.
“I need you to shower,” she said. “But you can’t come in through this door without risking further contamination as it could be airborne.”
He’d read about anthrax and the different forms. “So if it’s anthrax, it could be the inhalation kind.”
“Anthrax is anthrax.There isn’t more than one kind, just different means of infection by the spores. We could be dealing with cutaneous—skin—infection if you touched it, or you could’ve inhaled it.” She removed one of her outer latex gloves and set a test tube on the table far away from the envelope. She wet a swab with water from a vial and stuck it in the envelope.
“What are you doing?” His voice rose, worrying even himself. “You shouldn’t be touching that stuff.”
She looked up. “We want to know what’s in here, right, and know on a timely basis?”
He nodded.
“Then we need to get a sample to the Veritas toxicology person. They have proper PPE to deal with this so it’ll be safe.” She sealed the tube then placed it in a screw-top canister and affixed a red biohazard label on the outside.
The label and her precautions raised his concern even higher. “Is there a way to be tested for my exposure? Like a blood test or something?”
She shook her head. “Nothing to determine if you carry the bacteria.”
His heart dropped. “But I remember hearing about tests.”
“Nasal swabs and environmental tests are done, but not to determine if an individual should be treated. They only determine the extent of exposure in the building. Same is true of ricin.”
Oh, man.He could die. She could die. They both could. As could others who were exposed to the envelope before now. His head started swimming, but he balled his fists to control his emotions so he didn’t make this incident more emotional for Kennedy.
She set the envelope on the floor. “Don’t want it to accidently spill and spread.”
“Good thinking,” he said and meant it. He needed to put his trust in her and follow her directions. She’d been trained on infectious protocols, and she would do her best to keep him safe.
“Okay, then, I’ll go first in the shower then let you in.” She removed the other outer glove and left it on the table then went to the sink to wash and wipe down the outside of the canister in a bucket. Then she cleaned her still gloved hands with soap and water.
Seriously?This stuff, whatever it was, could be lethal, and she was using plain soap and water. Maybe it was a special soap. He wanted to know, but he didn’t want to distract her by asking. He clamped his mouth closed.
He’d questioned her about the necessity of the suit and respirator when she’d put them on earlier, but now he could only offer a prayer of thanks for her protection, especially since she had open wounds on her hand from the turtle bite.
She stepped into the shower and set the canister on the far edge then used a handheld showerhead to clean her suit. She took the canister into another small area and shed the suit, which she hung up. Then she grabbed the sample and moved into another portion of the space with a floor tray filled with liquid and a small sink. She sealed the canister in a large bag with a big warning label on the side and cleaned her feet and hands again.
