Robin Cook - Vector

“Something like that,” Yegor said. “Is there a problem?”

Jack nodded. “I need to talk with him. Do you know what taxi company he works for?”

“He just works for himself,” Yegor said.

“That’s too bad,” Jack said.

“I’d heard that his wife just died,” Yegor said. “Is that what you want to talk with him about?”

“It is,” Jack said.

“Would you like to tell me what it is in case I see him?” Yegor said.

“Just tell him we know what killed his wife,” Jack said. “But the important thing is that he call me because what killed his wife is very dangerous, and he could be at risk. Let me give you one of my cards, which you can give to him if you see him.”

Jack took out a business card. “I’ll even include my home number.” Jack wrote on the back and handed the card to Yegor.

Yegor examined the front of the card. “Is this the address where you work?”

“That’s it,” Jack said. He tried to think if there were any other questions he could ask Yegor, but none came to mind. “Thank you for your help.”

“It was my pleasure,” Yegor said. “How late will you be at work?”

“Probably at least until six,” Jack said.

“I’ll tell Yuri if I see him,” Yegor said. Then he nodded to Jack before continuing on his way.

Jack watched the receding Russian for a moment before looking back at Yuri Davydov’s house. That was when he thought about leaving one of his cards under the door. The only potential downside was that when and if Clint Abelard came out and the card was brought to his attention, he’d have evidence of what he called Jack’s interference. Then Jack would undoubtedly hear about it from Bingham.

“Ah, who the hell cares,” Jack said out loud. He got out another card. On the back he wrote a message for Yuri to call him ASAP. He included his direct extension as well as his home number. Then he went back up the front walk and slipped the card under the door.

Jack unlocked his bicycle and pedaled away. He had it in his mind to take a quick loop around Brighton Beach before heading back to the office. He was mainly just curious about the area, but he thought that if he happened to see a veterinary office, he’d stop in to ask if they had information about the rat die-off.

Wednesday, October 20

12:15 p.m.

Yuri had never been more agitated in his entire life. The moment he’d come face to face with Jack Stapleton, it had felt as if his heart would leap from his chest. And to make matters worse, he hadn’t been able to get the Glock out of his pocket, since it had gotten caught up in the lining of his jacket.

As it turned out, the vain struggle was for the best. If he had managed to get the gun out, his situation would be worse than it was. Jack Stapleton hadn’t caused him to panic so much as the fear that Flash Thomas was there as well. Gordon Strickland had said they’d been together at the funeral home.

As soon as Yuri was sure that the medical examiner was by himself, he’d collected his thoughts enough to deal with him. He’d been stunned to learn that Jack Stapleton had somehow seemingly made the diagnosis of botulism.

After walking away from Jack, Yuri had not looked back. He’d gone directly to a local bar. Only then had he dared to glance behind him to see if Jack Stapleton had followed him. Not seeing the doctor, Yuri had gone in, ordered a vodka, and slugged it down.

“You want another?” the bartender asked. Thankfully, it was someone Yuri didn’t know. If he did, Yuri would have worried about his commenting about the beard. Yuri was afraid to take it off.

“A double,” Yuri said. He was still trembling. The other issue that bothered him was that Jack Stapleton had obviously been walking around his property. That meant that he’d seen the laboratory vent in the backyard. Yuri had no idea what the doctor might have made of that.

The other thing Yuri worried about was whether Jack had looked through the back window of the garage. If he had, he might have seen the pest control truck. That could be as potentially damaging as seeing the laboratory vent.

Yuri glanced at his watch. He didn’t know if he’d allowed enough time for Jack to leave, but he couldn’t wait any longer. He paid his bar tab, polished off his drink, and picked up his groceries.

Walking back to the mouth of Oceanview Lane, he hesitated. He looked at his house and saw no one. Encouraged, Yuri started down the alley. He had his right hand in his pocket wrapped around the pistol butt, much as he had before. The difference this time was that he made sure the gun wouldn't be caught in the jacket lining. He was not about to be surprised again, particularly not by Flash.

The house appeared quiet. Yuri scanned the immediate neighborhood. With Jack nowhere in sight, he went through his front gate and rushed around to the side door. As quickly as he could manage, he got himself inside and locked the door behind him.

Leaning against the door he let out a deep breath of relief. A rapid glance around the interior suggested that no one had been inside. He set the groceries down and immediately descended the steps to the basement. He breathed another sigh of relief to see that the lock on the lab was undisturbed.

Back in the kitchen Yuri put the frozen dinner and vodka into the freezer. The rest of the boxes he left on the table. On his way to the bathroom he saw the business card on the floor by the front door. He picked it up. As he expected, it was another one of Jack's. Yuri added it to the one already in his pocket.

Yuri pulled off the fake beard. The adhesive was driving him crazy. When he looked into the mirror he saw that he had a minor rash where the beard had been. He washed his face. Unsure of how else to treat it, he put on some aftershave lotion. Unfortunately, it stung so much it brought tears to his eyes. When he looked in the mirror again, the rash was significantly redder. It looked much worse.

Back in the kitchen Yuri got his car keys out of the cabinet. Ever since he’d been in the bar he’d been agonizing over what to do about Jack Stapleton’s appearance on the scene. Much as he hated to, he decided that it was serious enough to warrant alerting Curt and risking his wrath. But he would do it in person.

First, Yuri went to the front windows. He surveyed the alleyway through the slats of the venetian blind. Except for a young woman in babushka pushing a child in a stroller, there was no one in sight. Nor were there any strange vehicles parked near his cottage. Walking to the kitchen door, Yuri looked out at the side door of the garage. It was only a few steps away. He debated putting the beard back on but decided against it for fear of aggravating the rash. Instead, he took the gun out of his jacket, held it in his left hand, and draped a towel over it. With his keys in his right hand, he opened the door.

After one last check to make sure there was no one about, Yuri went out the door. He locked it and opened the garage within seconds. Vigilant for any surprises and careful to keep the gun at the ready, Yuri made short work of getting his cab out of the garage and the overhead door closed. Accelerating down the alleyway, he began to relax. He turned out into Oceanview Avenue and headed for the Shore Parkway, which was the fastest route into Manhattan at that time of the day. As he motored up the entrance ramp, he bent over and stuck the Glock under the front seat.

Yuri knew that Curt would be furious at Yuri's upcoming visit to the firehouse, but Yuri was convinced he had no choice. He could have called, but Curt would have been angry at that as well, and Yuri was convinced it was far better to talk to Curt face-to-face to emphasize the seriousness of the situation. As he drove, Yuri got progressively annoyed that he even had to worry about Curt becoming irritated. It was ridiculous for people working together for a common goal to be so fearful of a partner’s reaction. The only explanation was that Curt was anti-Slavic like he was anti everything else.