Jack gave the deputy chief a thumbs-up sign even though he doubted it was going to happen, since all the lab work wouldn’t be back. But there was no use arguing about it now. Instead, Jack took an elevator to the fourth floor. There was always the chance of a miracle.

Jack found John DeVries in his tiny, windowless cubicle and asked about the prisoner-in-custody case. In response, John launched into an impassioned lament about toxicology funding. By the time Jack left, he was even more sure he would not be able to finish the case by Thursday.

Using the stairs, Jack climbed up to the sixth floor and entered the DNA lab. Ted Lynch, the director, was in front of one of his many high-tech machines along with one of his technicians. The machine’s instruction manual was open on the counter. It was apparent the unit was malfunctioning.

“Ah, just the man I want to see,” Ted said when he caught sight of Jack. He straightened up and then stretched his back. Ted was a big man and a former Ivy League football star.

Jack’s face brightened. “Does that mean you have some positive results for me?”

“Yup,” Ted said. “One of all those samples you dropped off was positive for anthrax spores.”

“No kidding,” Jack said. He was surprised. Despite making the effort to take all the cultures, he’d not expected any positive results. “Which one of the samples? Can you remember?”

“Absolutely,” Ted said. “It was the one with the tiny blue iridescent star in it.”

“My word!” Jack commented. He could remember finding the star in the middle of the blotter on the desk. It seemed so out of place in the spartan surroundings. Jack had figured it was all that remained of some long-past celebration.

“Can you tell me anything else about it?” Jack asked.

“Yup,” Ted said agreeably. “I had Agnes send up a sample of the culture she’d taken from the patient. We’re running a DNA fingerprint now. We’ll be able to tell if it’s the same strain. I mean, one would assume it was, but it will be nice to have confirmation.”

“Indeed,” Jack said. “Anything else?”

“Like what?” Ted questioned peevishly. He thought Jack would have been more than satisfied with what he’d been told already.

“I don’t know,” Jack said. “You’re the one with all this high-tech wizardry. I don’t even know the right questions to ask.”

“I’m no mind reader,” Ted said. “I need to know what you want to know.”

“Well, how about whether the star was heavily contaminated with spores or only lightly contaminated.”

“That’s an interesting question,” Ted said. He stared off and chewed on the inside of his cheek for a moment while he pondered. “I’ll have to give that some thought.”

“And I’ll have to give some thought to how it got contaminated,” Jack said.