“Gwen, may we invade your kitchen to conduct an experiment of fresh versus reheated tea? For the good of humanity, we must learn the truth.”

This was why she loved these Friday soirees. She never knew how the evening would unfold, but they were always a delight. President Matthews offered to serve as an impartial observer to ensure the fresh tea and reheated tea were fairly presented to the taste testers.

She and Dennis had retreated to the kitchen to set out teacups when the incessant ringing of the doorbell cut through the dull roar of the soiree noise. Someone answered the door, and Gwen went back to preparing a new pot of tea but was soon interrupted.

“Mrs. Kellerman, I need your help.”

She blinked, not quite believing that Patrick O’Neill was standing in her kitchen doorway, panic on his face. He was a disheveled mess, his sandy hair windblown and his collar askew.

“Good heavens, what’s wrong?”

“The doctor said my mother has tetanus. He says there’s no cure, but I think your college is working on a remedy. Some kind of serum.”

She clasped a hand to her throat. Tetanus was a horrible disease, and Dr. Haas was working on it, but he wasn’t here this evening.

“How long has she been showing symptoms?” Dennis asked.

“They started today,” Patrick said. “She cut herself ten days ago, but she only started having the muscle seizures today. I remember Mrs. Kellerman saying the college has a treatment for it.”

Gwen fidgeted. “We do, but it’s only been tested on humans a few times.”

“And those people died,” President Matthews said.

Dennis shook his head. “Two died, two survived.”

“That’s better odds than the doctor gave my mother,” Patrick said. “How can I get it to her?”

That was the problem. The laboratory with the serum was in Queens, and the ferries would stop running soon. It would take hours to get the serum here, but she would try.

“I’ll get you the serum,” she began, and Mr. O’Neill let out a mighty breath and sagged against the kitchen wall. This was no easy cure, and she needed to be sure he understood. She grabbed both his shoulders and forced him to meet her gaze. “Mr. O’Neill, please understand, this is a long shot. The serum may not save your mother’s life, and it might even make things worse. We simply don’t know enough yet.”

He looked like he wanted to weep. “I understand, ma’am. I know you can’t work miracles, but there’s nothing worse than having no hope.”

She nodded, but it would take a herculean feat to gather all the people necessary to administer the treatment, and she didn’t know if they had enough time to make it happen. The treatment was new and risky. They failed as often as they succeeded, but they would try.