“Whoa,” said Jack. “What’s that about?”

Pia said nothing and moved the counter away from the sample and then back. It was unmistakable, the sample was emitting radiation, a lot of radiation. She did it again just to be certain, then turned off the Geiger counter and slipped it back into the shopping bag.

The three shocked MEs looked at one another and then at the young med student. Something wasn’t adding up at all. The sample of intestine had come from a man who had been signed out as having died of salmonella poisoning, yet the sample was emitting extremely high levels of alpha-particle radiation. This student had said that they had used radioisotopes in the laboratory as part of the experimental regimen, but could that have caused this radiation?

“What’s going on here?” Laurie asked, addressing Pia. Her voice was even, unchallenging. “This is all rather surprising. Do you have any explanation?”

Pia’s heart was racing, and she felt as though she might actually be in shock. She was not prepared to face the reality that Rothman’s and Yamamoto’s deaths might be a copycat of Alexander Litvinenko’s in London. Pia was terrified of not being able to get to the truth. Now, when it appeared that she’d found it, all she could feel was a rush of anxiety and paranoia. All she wanted to do at that moment was to get the hell out of the OCME, go back to the dorm, and give herself an opportunity to think about the implications of the discovery and what her next step should be.

“Miss, we need you to tell us what you think is going on,” Laurie said, her voice hardening to a degree. “This is an unexpected and very significant finding.”

Pia said nothing. She could feel the eyes of the MEs boring into her. She’d never had any reason to trust anyone in a position of authority. These three weren’t the police or hospital security, but they did work for the city. Who are the bad guys and who are the good guys? She didn’t know. The bigger question was, are there ever any good guys? She had to get away.

Jack was as flabbergasted as anyone else. “You mentioned isotopes, radioisotopes being used in Dr. Rothman’s lab?”

“Um, I’ll have to find out for sure,” Pia said. “I can get back to you in the morning. Do you come in on Saturdays?” She picked up her umbrella and hooked the shopping bag over her shoulder. She eyed the door to the hall.

Chet McGovern was trying hard to think of what Pia had told him about alpha emitters. “Earlier you mentioned something about lead and bismuth, something like lead-213 and bismuth-212, was that it?”