“Yeah, Soph was asking me about Uncle Seth just this morning,” Leetch said. “How about Friday for dinner? It’s Sophie’s fifth birthday on Saturday and we’re having a little family get-together.” He chuckled. “Plus now that Gina’s given up on trying to set you up, she’d kill for another chance to shamelessly flirt with you.”

“Five, huh? I can’t believe how quick Sophie is growing up.” Cohen shook his head. “I would love to come, but I don’t think I’ll be in town on Friday.”

Leetch squinted at him. “You got vacation time I didn’t know about?”

Cohen shook his head again. “I heard from the hospital earlier, Rome. Carol’s blood was growing that MRGAS bug. She’s Portland’s first confirmed case.”

“Oh, crap,” Leetch muttered, slowly putting down his cup. “Are there others?”

“The doctors here seem to think so.” Cohen sipped his coffee. “I spoke to a Dr. Lopez from Seattle earlier this morning.”

“And?”

Cohen stared at him. “There was a case in Seattle almost identical to Carol’s.”

Leetch frowned and deep lines cut into the normally smooth skin at the corner of his eyes and mouth. “You mean, another drug addict who got this bug from a mysterious dealer?”

Cohen nodded. “Right down to the sample he gave her.”

“Son of a bitch,” Leetch grumbled. “I got to admit, KC, you might be right for a change. I’m beginning to think Dennis Tyler didn’t come to town to clean up our garbage after all. Maybe he was here to spread that shit.”

“That’s why I can’t make dinner. And neither can you. I think we need to go to Seattle and meet Dr. Lopez and her people. And after that, to Philadelphia.”

Leetch put his cup down. “Since when did we become worldwide bounty hunters?”

“We have the best lead—the only lead—on Tyler, so far.” Ever since his conversation with Lopez, Cohen had mulled over the next steps to take and decided they had to follow the trail themselves. “We have nothing concrete to connect Tyler to MRGAS. And except for one unreliable transvestite, our potential witnesses are all dead. According to Dr. Lopez, her higher-ups at the CDC don’t buy the fake drug dealer theory. And you can imagine what will happen if we go to the FBI now with what little we have.”

“Oh, yeah.” Leetch blew out his lips contemptuously. “Special Agent The-Sun-Shines-Out-Of-My-Ass will thank us politely and then file it below the UFO sightings for the week on his to-do list.”

Cohen finished the last of his coffee. “So are you coming to Seattle?”