Robin Cook - Contagion

“As shaken up as I am, I’m not sure I’m capable of much of a conversation.”

“Maybe I should let you know what I know already,” Lou said. Lou quickly outlined what Laurie had told him. He emphasized that he knew that Jack had been beaten up at least once and now had had an attempt on his life made by a member of a Lower East Side gang. Lou mentioned Jack’s dislike of AmeriCare and his tendency to see conspiracy in the recent series of outbreaks of infectious disease at the Manhattan General. He also mentioned that Jack had apparently irritated a number of people at that hospital. He concluded with Jack’s suggestion to Laurie that two apparently unrelated homicides might be linked and that preliminary tests had substantiated this surprising theory.

Jack visibly swallowed. “Wow,” he said. “I’m beginning to think you know more than I do.”

“I’m sure that’s not the case,” Lou said with a wry smile. “But maybe all this information gives you a sense of what else we need to know to prevent any more violence to you and others. There was another gang-related killing in the vicinity of the General this afternoon. Is that anything you know about?”

Jack swallowed again. He didn’t know what to say. Warren’s admonition reverberated in his mind, as did his fleeing from two crime scenes and abetting a murderer. He was, after all, a felon.

“I’d rather not talk about this right now,” Jack said.

“Oh?” Lou questioned. “And why is that, Doc?”

Jack’s mind raced for answers, and he was loath to lie. “I guess because I’m concerned about certain people’s safety,” he said.

“That’s what we are here for,” Lou said. “People’s safety.”

“I understand that,” Jack said. “But this is a rather unique situation. There are a lot of things going on. I’m worried we might be on the brink of a real epidemic.”

“Of what?” Lou asked.

“Influenza,” Jack said. “A type of influenza with a high morbidity.”

“Have there been a lot of cases?” Lou asked.

“Not a lot so far,” Jack said. “But I’m worried nonetheless.”

“Epidemics scare me, but they are out of my area of expertise,” Lou said. “But homicide isn’t. When do you think you might be willing to talk about these murders we’ve been discussing if you’re not inclined at the moment?”

“Give me a day,” Jack said. “This epidemic scare is real. Trust me.”

“Hmmmm…” Lou voiced. He looked at Sergeant Wilson.

“A lot can happen in a day,” the sergeant said.

“That’s my concern too,” Lou said. He redirected his attention to Jack. “What worries us is that the two gang members who’ve been killed were from different gangs. We don’t want to see a gang war erupt around here. Whenever they do, a lot of innocent people get killed.”

“I need twenty-four hours,” Jack repeated. “By then I hope to be able to prove what I’m trying to prove. If I can’t, I’ll admit I was wrong, and I’ll tell you everything I know, which, by the way, is not much.”

“Listen, Doc,” Lou said. “I could arrest you right now and charge you with accessory after the fact. You are willfully obstructing the investigation of several homicides. I mean, you do understand the reality of what you are doing, don’t you?”

“I think I do,” Jack said.

“I could charge you, but I’m not going to do that,” Lou said. He sat back in his chair. “Instead I’m going to bow to your judgment concerning this epidemic stuff. In deference to Dr. Montgomery, who seems to think you are a good guy, I’ll be patient about my area of expertise. But I want to hear from you tomorrow night. Understand?”

“I understand,” Jack said. Jack looked from the lieutenant to the sergeant and then back. “Is that it?”

“For now,” Lou said.

Jack got up and headed for the door. Before he reached it, Sergeant Wilson spoke up: “I hope you understand how dangerous dealing with these gangs is. They feel they have little to lose and consequently have little respect for life, either their own or others’.”

“I’ll keep that in mind,” Jack said.

Jack hurried from the building. As he emerged into the night he felt enormous relief, as if he’d been granted a reprieve.

While he waited for a taxi to appear in Park Row in front of the police headquarters, he thought about what he should do. He was afraid to go home. At the moment he didn’t want to see the Black Kings or Warren. He thought about going back to see Terese, but he feared endangering her more than he already had.

With few alternatives Jack decided to find a cheap hotel. At least he’d be safe and so would his friends.

The first symptom Jack noticed was a sudden rash that appeared on his forearms. As he was examining it, the rash spread quickly to his chest and abdomen. With his index fingers he spread the skin at the site of one of the blotches to see if it would blanch with pressure. Not only did it not blanch, the pressure deepened the color.

Then, as quickly as the skin eruption appeared, it began to itch. At first Jack tried to ignore the sensation, but it increased in intensity to the point where he had to scratch. When he did, the rash began to bleed. Each blotch was transformed into an open sore.

With the bleeding and the sores came a fever. It started to rise slowly, but once it got past a hundred degrees, it shot up. Soon Jack’s forehead was awash with perspiration.

When he looked at himself in the mirror and saw his face flushed and spotted with open sores, he was horrified. A few minutes later he began to experience difficulty breathing. Even with deep breaths he was gasping for air.

Then Jack’s head began to pound like a drum with each beat of his heart. He had no idea what he’d contracted, but its seriousness was all too obvious. Intuitively Jack knew he had only moments to make the diagnosis and determine treatment.

But there was a problem. To make the diagnosis he needed a blood sample, but he had no needle. Perhaps he could get a sample with a knife. It would be messy, but it might work. Where could he find a knife?

Jack’s eyes blinked open. For a second he frantically searched the nightstand for a knife, but then he stopped. He was disoriented. A deep clang sounded again and again. Jack could not place it. He lifted his arm to look at his rash, but it had disappeared. Only then did Jack realize where he was and that he’d been dreaming.

Jack estimated the temperature in the hotel room to be ninety degrees. With disgust he kicked off the blankets. He was drenched in sweat. Sitting up, he put his legs over the side of the bed. The clanging noise was coming from the radiator, which was also steaming and sputtering. It sounded like someone was striking the riser with a sledgehammer.

Jack went to the window and tried to open it. It wouldn’t budge. It was as if it had been nailed shut. Giving up, he went to the radiator. It was so hot he couldn’t touch the valve. He got a towel from the bathroom, but then found the valve was stuck in the open position.

In the bathroom Jack was able to open a frosted window. A refreshing breeze blew in. For a few minutes he didn’t move. The cool tiles felt good on his feet. He leaned on the sink and recoiled at the remembrance of his nightmare. It had been so frighteningly real. He even looked at his arms and abdomen again to make sure he didn’t have a rash. Thankfully, he didn’t. But he still had a headache, which he assumed was from being overheated. He wondered why he hadn’t awakened sooner.

Looking into the mirror, he noticed that his eyes were red. He was also in dire need of a shave. He hoped that there was a sundry shop in the lobby, because he had no toilet articles with him.