“I thought of it. He’s such an ass. He has no authority to bar me from anywhere. I have no idea if what we found in the storage facility has any relevance whatsoever. If someone used a sample of salmonella from the freezer to infect Rothman and Yamamoto, there’s no way we’re really going to know.”

“So do you really think Spaulding had something to do with Rothman’s death?”

“If he did, he was a very small part of something larger. He’s not smart enough to think that up all by himself.”

Pia thought about what that might imply, about who might possibly be involved if there was a broad conspiracy. If Spaulding had been recruited, anyone could be a threat to her, a thought that made her shudder. She felt extraordinarily vulnerable, as much as or more than anytime during her childhood. As difficult as it was, she just had to keep her nerve and find some more evidence.

“George, can I stay in your room tonight? I don’t want to be alone.”

“Of course you can,” George said. He was pleased she was asking. He only wished the circumstances were different.

When they reached the street, George expected Pia to head back to the dorm. Instead she accompanied him toward the hospital. It was raining and the wind was blowing sideways. People were moving along with their heads down, collars turned up against the cold.

“So you’re not satisfied with the readings from the coffee cups?” George said. “You don’t think it’s enough to go to the media with?”

“I really don’t think so. The few clicks we heard might not be that uncommon. I really don’t know. The cups obviously were rinsed out, I think, but not scrubbed clean. I want to check the infectious disease ward. The killer may have been able to clean up after himself at the lab, but they wouldn’t have been able to get onto the ward. Unless they have people on a cleaning crew.”

Which was entirely possible, thought Pia.

“So that’s where we’re going?” George asked. He checked his watch. He still had time before the lecture he had to attend.

“Yes.”

They reached the ward and quickly saw the futility of the mission. There were new patients in the rooms that had been occupied by Rothman and Yamamoto. An infectious disease ward had to be kept spotless because of the nature of the illnesses and infections treated there. The hospital was always aggressive with its general precautions, here even more so.

After a couple of minutes of scouting around, Pia looked at her watch.

“We’re wasting our time here. Let’s go back to the morgue.”