“That was my first thought too. But three people who went near the scene have already been hospitalized. The first was the local vet. The rancher called him in to check out the herd, and after going near the cattle, he got violently ill. An ambulance was called in, and the sheriff was notified. I knew it was something more than your run-of-the-mill water poisoning or some such.”

Alex leaned forward and asked, “So, what did you see when you got there?”

The local agent’s face held a haunted expression. “When we got to the scene, the ambulance was pulling away with two of the sheriff’s men. It seems as though one calf had survived the death of the rest of the herd, but was trapped under one of the dead animals. Some foolish officer went into the pasture to try to help the calf, and from what we’re told, as soon as he got near it, he yelled something about his eyes burning and he began going into convulsions. His partner ran in and dragged him out of the pasture, but then he, too, began showing signs of illness.”

Nate glanced at Alex as she chewed her lower lip in concentration.

“Anything else?” she asked.

“The calf ended up dying anyway. It freed itself and started stumbling toward the police, so someone put it down with a rifle shot. Anyway, after all that, you can understand why they brought us in.”

Nate frowned. “What’s the current status of the vet and the two officers?”

Cross shook his head. “The vet didn’t make it. Died in the ambulance on the way to the hospital. One of the officers is in a coma. I’m not sure the status of the other.”

“Wow, this is ugly,” Nate muttered. “I’m assuming you’ve got the area cordoned off.”

“The cops did that before we arrived. Set up a hundred-foot buffer all around the pasture.”

“That’s good.” Nate turned to Alex. “Thoughts?”

She shrugged. “Could be a chemical agent. A highly volatile nerve agent such as sarin, tabun, or even soman could spread over an area, killing the herd. But I can only speculate for now. I need to look at the animals before I can say anything definitive.”

Nate asked, “How long until we get there?”

“We’re five minutes out,” one of the agents in the front passenger seat responded.