“I need to speak with Colonel Fujitsubo,” I said.

“I’m sorry, he’s in a meeting.”

“It’s very important.”

“Ma’am, you’ll have to call back tomorrow.”

“At least give me his assistant, his secretary . . .”

“In case you haven’t heard, all nonessential federal employees are on furlough . . .”

“Jesus Christ!” I exclaimed in frustration. “I’m stranded on an island with an infectious dead body. There may be some sort of outbreak here. Don’t tell me I have to wait until your goddamn furlough ends!”

“Excuse me?”

I could hear telephones ringing nonstop in the background.

“I’m on a cellular phone. The battery could die any minute. For God’s sake, interrupt his meeting! Patch me through to him! Now!”

Fujitsubo was in the Russell Building on Capitol Hill, where my call was connected. I knew he was in some senator’s office but did not care as I quickly explained the situation, trying to control my panic.

“That’s impossible,” he said. “You’re sure it’s not chicken pox, measles . . .”

“No. And regardless of what it is, it should be contained, John. I can’t send this into my morgue. You’ve got to handle it.”

USAMRIID was the major medical research laboratory for the U.S. Biological Defense Research Program, its purpose to protect citizens from the possible threat of biological warfare. More to the point, USAMRIID had the largest Bio Level 4 containment laboratory in the country.

“Can’t do it unless it’s terrorism,” Fujitsubo said to me. “Outbreaks go to CDC. Sounds like that’s who you need to be talking to.”

“And I’m sure I will be, eventually,” I said. “And I’m sure most of them have been furloughed, too, which is why I couldn’t get through earlier. But they’re in Atlanta, and you’re in Maryland, not far from here, and I need to get this body out of here as fast as I can.”

He was silent.

“No one hopes I’m wrong more than I do,” I went on in a cold sweat. “But if I’m not and we haven’t taken the proper precautions . . .”

“I’m clear, I’m clear,” he quickly said. “Damn. Right now we’re a skeleton crew. Okay, give us a few hours. I’ll call CDC. We’ll deploy a team. When was the last time you were vaccinated for smallpox?”

“When I was too young to remember it.”

“You’re coming in with the body.”

“She’s my case.”

But I knew what he meant. They would want to quarantine me.

“Let’s just get her off the island, and we’ll worry about other things later,” I added.

“Where will you be?”

“Her house is in the center of town, near the school.”

“God, that’s unfortunate. We got any idea how many people might have been exposed?”

“No idea. Listen. There’s a tidal creek nearby. Look for that and the Methodist church. It has a tall steeple. According to the map there’s another church, but it doesn’t have a steeple. There’s an airstrip, but the closer you can get to the house, the better, so we don’t have to carry her past where people might see.”