“That’s music to my ears,” Curt said, forcing himself to smile. He stood up. Steve followed suit.

“I have a question,” Yuri said. “What’s a medical examiner?”

“It’s a guy that looks at dead people and figures out why they died,” Steve said.

“I thought so,” Yuri said. He got to his feet.

“That’s a curious question,” Curt remarked. “Why do you ask?”

“When I went back to the rug dealer’s today to find out if he’d died, there was a man there taking cultures who said he was investigating the case.”

“Wait a sec,” Curt commented. “I thought you said that your ruse of infecting a rug dealer would preclude any investigation by the authorities.”

“I didn’t say that,” Yuri responded. “I said that the authorities wouldn’t suspect the release of a bioweapon.”

“But the authorities know anthrax is used as a weapon,” Curt said. “What will keep them from getting suspicious?”

“Because they’ll have a logical explanation for the episode,” Yuri said. “They’ll be congratulating themselves for figuring it out. That’s the way those people think.”

“What if they don’t find any source?” Curt asked. “Or did you leave something for them to find on one of the rugs?”

“No, I didn’t do that,” Yuri admitted.

“Could that be a problem?” Curt asked.

“Possibly,” Yuri said. “But I doubt it.”

“But you can’t be a hundred percent certain,” Curt said.

“Not a hundred percent but very close to it.”

Curt let out an exasperated sigh. “Suddenly there seems to be so many loose ends.”

“It’s not going to be a problem,” Yuri said. “And we had to test the product. There’d be no sense in releasing it if it wasn’t pathogenic.”

“Let’s hope you’re right,” Curt said in a tired voice. He stood up and started for the door. “We’ll be in touch. Some of the boys will come by late tonight to deliver the pest control truck.”

“What if I’m not here?” Yuri asked.

“You’d better be here,” Curt said. “You’re the one making all the ruckus about this goddamn truck.”

“But I have to take care of Connie,” Yuri said. “I’ll have to call emergency after she’s had her fit. I might be at the hospital.”

“Oh, yeah,” Curt said.

“I know what I’ll do,” Yuri said. “When I go out with Connie I’ll leave the garage door unlocked.”

“Perfect,” Curt said. He waved and went out the door. Steve followed closely behind.

The two firemen trooped out of Yuri’s house and climbed into the Dodge Ram without talking. Once the doors were closed Curt pounded the steering wheel with a closed fist. “We got ourselves involved with a goddamned fruitcake,” he snarled.

“I’m not going to say I told you so,” Steve said.