“I want to know what kind of rugs he sold,” Jack said. “Did he sell broadloom or something else?”

“He never said and I never asked,” Dr. Goldstein said. Then he hung up.

“He’s in the wrong profession,” Jack said out loud. Jack found the identification sheet in Papparis’s folder and saw that the body had been identified by the decedent’s wife, Helen Papparis. There was a phone number on the sheet and Jack dialed it. He’d been hoping to avoid intruding on the family.

Helen Papparis turned out to be exquisitely polite and restrained. If she was in mourning, she hid it well, although Jack suspected her extreme politeness was her method of dealing with her loss. After Jack offered his sympathies and explained his official position as well as the nature of the exotic diagnosis, he asked his question about Mr. Papparis’s business.

“The Corinthian Rug Company dealt exclusively in handmade rugs,” Helen said.

“From where?” Jack asked.

“Mostly from Turkey,” Helen said. Jack detected a catch in her voice. “A few of the fur rugs came from Greece, but the vast majority came from Turkey.”

“So he dealt with furs and hides as well as woven rugs,” Jack said with academic satisfaction. The mystery was rapidly being resolved.

“That’s correct,” Helen said.

Jack’s eyes dropped to the open textbook in front of him. Right in the middle of the anthrax section it described how the animal form of anthrax was a problem in a number of countries, including Turkey, and that animal products, particularly goat’s hair, could be contaminated with the spores.

“Did he deal with goatskins?” Jack asked.

“Yes, of course,” Helen said. “Sheepskins and goatskins were a large part of his business.”

“Well, I think we’ve solved the mystery,” Jack said. He explained the association to Helen.

“That’s ironic,” Helen said without a hint of rancor. “Those rugs have provided us with a comfortable life, including sending our only daughter to an Ivy League college.”

“Did Mr. Papparis get any recent shipments?” Jack asked.

“About a month ago.”

“Are any of those rugs in your home?”

“No,” Helen said. “Jason felt it was enough to deal with them during the day. He refused to have any of them around the house.”

“Under the circumstances that was a smart decision,” Jack said. “Where are these rugs? Have many been sold?”

Helen explained that the rugs had gone into a warehouse in Queens, and she doubted many had been sold. She explained to Jack that Jason’s business was wholesale and that shipments came in months before they were needed. She also said there no employees at the warehouse or at the office.

“Sounds like a one-man operation,” Jack said.

“Very much so,” Helen said.

Jack thanked her profusely and reiterated his sympathies.

Then he suggested that she contact her doctor about possible prophylactic antibiotics even though he explained that she was probably not at risk since person-to-person spread did not occur and she hadn’t been exposed to the hides. Finally he told her she’d probably be hearing from other Department of Health professionals. She thanked him for the call, and they disconnected.