Oksana swallowed. Her eyes fell to her hands. “SeptoMed,” she whispered.

“You mean the cover-up with the dead lab chimps?” Kilburn asked. “Was that the problem?”

Oksana looked up in wide-eyed surprise. “Viktor was tortured by those monkeys. He wanted to tell the FDA.” She shook her head slowly. “But that is not why he was scared.”

The other three shared a glance. “What then?” Kilburn asked.

Oksana pointed to the three of them. “That bacteria from Seattle and Vancouver.”

“MRGAS?” Lopez asked, her jaw dropping.

“Yes,” Oksana said. “When Viktor heard of it, he became very frightened.”

Lopez grimaced. “Why would Viktor be frightened of MRGAS?”

Oksana fidgeted, appearing acutely anxious. “What is it, Oksana?” Cohen coaxed, leaning forward in his seat.

When Oksana looked up, her eyes were frantic. “Viktor worried that he had helped to create it.”

59 - Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

59

Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

Approaching the University of Pennsylvania emergency room in the late afternoon sunshine, Kilburn spotted the commotion at the front entrance from a block away. As they neared, he saw that two police officers, one male and the other female, stood by the doors blocking access to the flock of reporters and cameramen gathered in front of them.

Cohen pushed through the crowd and walked up to the two policemen. Lopez and Kilburn elbowed their way in after him. At the doors Cohen showed his police badge. The male cop viewed the badge and frowned. “Portland PD.?”

Cohen pointed to the radio clipped to the man’s belt. “Lieutenant Franklin from Homicide cleared us to visit the victim.”

The officer reached for his radio. While he talked, Cohen turned to the female officer. “What’s with all the media?”

“Something to do with SeptoMed,” she said, pointing to the ER behind her. “The accident victim worked on that new drug that’s been in the papers. Two of his colleagues died in the past week. Lots of rumors flying.”

The other officer clipped his radio back on his belt. He nodded to Cohen. “You and your guests can go inside, Detective.”

Kilburn followed Lopez and Cohen through the automatic sliding door into the bustling ER. He noticed how closely his two newfound friends moved together now without touching. Kilburn found their tentative intimacy endearing. And he thought of Michelle again.

They reached the ER trauma bays where yet another officer stood guard. The cop must have already heard from his colleagues at the door, because he waved them past, pointing to a glass-walled resuscitation room on his right. The three of them stepped into the room.