Robin Cook - Marker

Putting Lewis's hand back down on the table, Laurie began a careful search for any scratches on the man's body that might account for the dried blood. There were none. Nor was there any bleeding at the IV site. Next, she removed the bandages covering the right shoulder. The surgical incision was closed and showed no signs of inflammation, although there was some evidence of postoperative bleeding, with a bit of crusted blood along the suture line. Laurie thought there was a chance this blood could have been the source of the blood under the nails although it seemed strange, since it was his right hand.

When Marvin came back, Laurie asked for a sterile swab and two specimen containers. She wanted to do a DNA fingerprint on both samples just to make sure they matched the victim. When she took the samples, she sensed that there was a small amount of tissue as well. In the back of her mind was the titillating thought that if her serial-killer idea had any merit and if Lewis had had a hint of the killer's intentions and if he could have gotten hold of him, maybe he could have scratched him. That was a lot of ifs, but Laurie prided herself on being meticulous.

The rest of the case went quickly. Laurie and Marvin had become accustomed to each other such that they functioned as a well-orchestrated team that required minimum conversation. Each anticipated the other's motions like tango dancers. Once again, there was almost no pathology. The only findings were minimal atheroma formation in the abdominal aorta and a benign-appearing polyp in the large intestine. There was no explanation for the man's sudden death.

"Is this your last case?" Marvin asked after taking the needle holder from Laurie when she had finished sewing up the body.

"It seems that way," Laurie said. She looked around the room to see if she could make out Chet, but she couldn't. "I guess we're done. Someone would have said something to me by now."

"Both these cases this morning remind me of those two we did a month or so ago," Marvin said as he began cleaning up the instruments and collecting the specimen bottles. "Remember those two when we found nothing significant? I can't remember their names."

"McGillin and Morgan," Laurie said. "Certainly I remember, and I'm impressed you do as well, considering the number of cases you're involved with."

"I remembered them because of how much they bugged you not finding anything. Hey, do you want to take these specimen samples with you, or do you want them to go up with all the rest?"

"I'll take the toxicology and DNA samples," Laurie said. "The microscopic can go with the others. And thanks for reminding me. I must say, I'm appreciating you more and more."

"That's cool," Marvin responded. "Likewise from my end. I wish all the docs were like you."

"Now that would be boring," Laurie said with a laugh as she gathered up the samples. She walked past Jack's table once again without stopping. She could hear him and Vinnie laughing over what had probably been some black humor. Laurie disinfected herself and the sample bottles before emerging into the hallway.

Not wasting any time, she got out of her protective gear and plugged her battery into the charger. Without even changing out of her scrubs, she headed for the back elevator. She carried the clutch of sample bottles against her chest to keep from dropping them. The two folders were under her arm. As she rode up to the fourth floor, she could feel her pulse in her temples. She was excited. The posts had confirmed Janice's assessment. Laurie was now confident that her series now stood at six.

Getting off on the fourth floor, Laurie cautiously peered into the toxicology lab. In her attempt to avoid the temperamental lab director, Laurie was reduced to sneaking around. Luckily, he stayed mostly in the general lab on the floor below. Feeling like a cat with its ears down, Laurie scurried diagonally across the lab and into Peter's tiny office. She was glad when she didn't hear someone call out her name. She was even more glad that Peter was at his desk, meaning she didn't have to seek him out.

"Oh, no!" Peter moaned teasingly when he looked up from his work and spotted the samples in Laurie's arms.

"I know you're not happy to see me," Laurie said. "But you are the man! I need you more than ever. I've just posted two more patients that are the mirror image of the others. There are now six."

"I don't know how you can say I'm the man, because so far, I've come up with a big blank."

"I haven't given up hope, so you can't, either." Laurie dumped the samples onto Peter's desk. Some of them threatened to roll off. Peter grabbed several and righted them. "Now that there are six cases, the idea of skulduggery goes up. Peter, you've got to find something. It has to be there."

"Laurie, I did everything I could think of with the other four cases. I looked for every known agent that affects cardiac rhythm."

"There has to be something you haven't thought of," Laurie insisted.

"Well, there are a couple of other things."

"Okay, like what?"

Peter made a face and scratched his head. "I mean, this is way out in left field."

"That's okay. We need some creativity here. What are you thinking about?"

"In the back of my mind, I remember reading something when I was in graduate school about a poison frog from Colombia called Phyllobates terribilis."

Laurie rolled her eyes. "I'll say you're getting a bit far afield. But it's okay. What about these frogs?"

"Well, they contain a toxin that's one of the most toxic substances known to man. If I remember correctly, it's capable of causing cardiac arrest."

"Sounds interesting! Have you tested for it?"

"Not really. I mean, so little of the toxin is needed, like millionths of a gram. I don't know whether it would show up with the sensitivity of our machine. I'll have to find out where to look."

"That's the spirit. I'm sure you are going to find something, especially with these two additional cases."

"I'll go online and see what I can learn."

"I appreciate it," Laurie said. "And keep me posted!" She picked up the DNA samples and started to leave, but then she stopped. "Oh, by the way, there was something slightly different with one of these cases. Let me check which one it was." She opened Sobczyk's folder and checked the accession number against the sample bottles. Finding the correct one, she held it up, then put it directly in front of Peter. "It's this one. This was the only patient out of the six who apparently had some cardiac and respiratory activity when she was found. I don't quite know what to make of that, but I thought you should know. If it were an unstable toxin, maybe it would have the highest concentration of all the cases."

Peter shrugged. "I'll keep it in mind."

Laurie looked out into the lab proper. Seeing that the coast was clear, she waved to Peter and quickly dashed out into the hallway. She used the stairs on her way up to the sixth floor. Halfway up, she stopped. All of a sudden, the right lower quadrant abdominal discomfort she'd had that morning reappeared. Once again, she used her fingers to press over the area. At first, it made the discomfort worse, reaching the threshold of what she would call pain, but then, as quickly as it had appeared, it vanished. Laurie felt her forehead to make sure she didn't have a fever. Convinced she didn't, she shrugged and continued on her way.

The sixth floor housed the DNA laboratory. In contrast to the rest of the building, the DNA lab was state-of-the-art. It was less than a half dozen years old and sparkled with white tiled walls, white cabinetry, white composite flooring, and the newest instrumentation. Its director, Ted Lynch, was a former Ivy League football jock. He wasn't in Calvin's league in terms of size, but not far behind, though he had a personality the opposite of Calvin's. Ted was an even-tempered, friendly individual. Laurie found him hovering over his beloved sequencer machine.