“A good point,” Martin said, adjusting his ear piece. “It does very well when dried, and at room temperature can survive months to a year. It is sensitive to sunlight, but inside the atomizers, that wouldn’t be a problem. Doesn’t like heat, which, unfortunately, makes this an ideal time of year.”

“Then depending on what people do when they have these delivered,” I said, “there could be a lot of duds out there.”

“Could be,” Martin hoped.

Wesley said, “Clearly, the offender we’re looking for is knowledgeable of infectious diseases.”

“Has to be,” Fujitsubo said. “The virus had to be cultured, propagated, and if this is, in fact, terrorism, then the perpetrator is very familiar with basic laboratory techniques. He knew how to handle something like this and keep himself protected. We’re assuming only one person is involved?”

“My theory, but the answer is, we don’t know,” Wesley said.

“He calls himself deadoc,” I said.

“As in Doctor Death?” Fujitsubo frowned. “He’s telling us he’s a doctor?”

Again, it was hard to say, but the question that was most troublesome was also the hardest to ask.

“Dr. Martin,” I said as Martinez silently leaned back in his chair, listening. “Allegedly, your facility and a laboratory in Russia are the only two sources of the viral isolates. Any thoughts on how someone got hold of this?”

“Exactly,” Wesley said. “Unpleasant thought that it may be, we need to check your list of employees. Any recent firings, layoffs? Anybody quit during recent months and years?”

“Our source supply of variola virus is as meticulously monitored and inventoried as plutonium,” Martin answered with confidence. “I personally have already checked into this and can tell you with certainty that nothing has been tampered with. Nothing is missing. And it is not possible to get into one of the locked freezers without authorization and knowledge of alarm codes.”

No one spoke right away.

Then Wesley said, “I think it would be a good idea for us to have a list of those people who have had such authorization over the past five years. Initially, based on experience, I am profiling this individual as a white male, possibly in his early forties. Most likely he lives alone, but if he doesn’t or he dates, he has a part of his residence that is off limits, his lab . . .”

“So we’re probably talking about a former lab worker,” the S.A.C. said.

“Or someone like that,” Wesley said. “Someone educated, trained. This person is introverted, and I base this on a number of things, not the least of which is his tendency to write in the lower case. His refusal to use punctuation indicates his belief that he is not like other people and the same rules do not apply to him. He is not talkative and may be considered aloof or shy by associates. He has time on his hands, and most important, feels he has been mistreated by the system. He feels he is due an apology by the highest office in the land, by our government, and I believe this is key to this perpetrator’s motivation.”