Page 61 of Devil
She inclined her head. “I had to get it first. It was a super fun negotiation with the CDC. I’m glad Stella and her husband, Hunter, managed that part. I don’t know the details, but I will say there were lots of raised voices.” She smiled, then shrugged. “Regardless, Stella and Hunter came out on top, and a sample was delivered to me this morning.”
“And?” Darius asked, reaching under the table and taking Lily’s hand in his. “Wait, where’s Chad?” he asked, realizing the man wasn’t anywhere in the vicinity.
“He had a meeting with a former colleague. He’ll be back in about an hour,” Lily answered. He nodded, then looked to Dr. Patel to continue.
“I’ve been studying it all day. And while that’s not nearly enough time to understand it completely, there are a few things I can tell you that might help with, well… I assume someone wants to disperse it and you want to stop it?”
Both he and Lily nodded.
“Well, I can’t help you stop the dispersal, per se, but if itisdispersed, there are a few things I learned.” She paused to make sure she had their attention. Darius looked at her, really looked at her. She was far younger than he would have anticipated for someone the CDC trusted—albeit begrudgingly—with what was essentially research into a deadly virus. Her thick, wavy hair was pulled up into a high ponytail, and perfectly shaped eyebrows framed a pair of hazel eyes. Both her name and her appearance told him she was of Indian origin, although her accent had her hailing from the upper classes of England.
“We’ll take all the help we can get,” Lily said.
The doctor nodded. “First, and I’m sure you’ve guessed, the virus is extremely fast-acting and fatal. Bad for those who get it, of course. But practically speaking, because of the speed with which it will debilitate someone, its virility reduces the chances of a broad community spread. Second, as with smallpox, it is transmitted through airborne means. Because of its strength, though, a smaller dose of, or exposure to, the virus will be sufficient to infect. And last, and probably most relevant to your work, it’s not particularly stable. It doesn’t handle heat or cold well, nor can it survive even the most basic kind of handwashing soap.”
“Can you be more specific?” Darius asked.
“It will disintegrate into harmless strands of DNA if it’s subjected to temperatures over ninety degrees Fahrenheit or below freezing. The same will happen if it comes into contact with any kind of soap, even baby-safe soap.”
“What does that mean about that?” Darius asked, nodding to the notebook.
“I have the oven heating up to 250 degrees. Paper won’t burn at that temperature, but it will be hot enough to kill any virus that might be lingering on the pages,” Lily answered. “I wanted to wait until you got back before we put it in, though.”
He held her gaze and under the table, squeezed her hand. “Thank you. I appreciate that.” Then turning to Dr. Patel, he asked, “How long will it need to be in the oven?”
“An hour to be safe. That’s probably overkill, but I’d rather do that than, well, risk the alternative. We’ll be able to slide it out of the bag without touching it when we put it in the oven, but even so, you should wear gloves and a mask. Once it’s in, I can gather the used equipment and you should wash your hands. It’s not foolproof, of course. As I said, I’ve only had access to the virus since this morning, but I’m pretty confident.”
He turned to Lily, and she arched a brow at him. “Ready?”
He grinned. “As I’ll ever be.”
Ten minutes later, the notebook was sitting open on a baking sheet in the oven. Dr. Patel was bagging up the gloves and mask Lily had worn, and Lily was at the kitchen sink, scrubbing her hands. She’d had zero contact with the book, but no one was taking any chances.
“Are you going to stick around, Dr. Patel?” Lily asked after drying her hands on several paper towels, which she also dumped in the hazardous waste bag the doctor held.
“Please call me Anjali and no, I want to get back to the lab and run a few more tests. I don’t anticipate anything cropping up, but if it does, please give me a call. You have my number.”
Lily nodded and walked the woman to the door. A few minutes later, she returned, pausing in the dining area and catching his eye. “I don’t know about you, but I could use a drink. Just one, mind you, but one would be good.”
* * *
Devil knew she’d made the right decision in calling Dr. Patel. She hadn’t expected her to arrive so quickly but was grateful that she had. As soon as Darius had left, her mind had started turning, mostly back to the conversation they’d had in the car. She’d asked him how he would have felt if the tables had been turned and she’d been the one injured and not said a thing. The situation with the notebook wasn’t exactly the same, but, well, yes, it was exactly the same.
If he’d been in a position to insist on being the one to handle the notebook he would have, and she would not have handled it as well as he had. She owed him,them, the courtesy of at least trying to find a different way. And thankfully, she had.
“Whiskey or wine?” she asked, opening the cabinet that held the alcohol. “Or beer, I suppose. I think I saw some in the fridge.”
“Whiskey, please. And we need to look into Highborn and Crawford,” he said. He’d mentioned that when he’d walked in the door, but they’d gotten sidetracked.
“Why?” she asked, grabbing two tumblers and putting one ice cube in each.
“I saw Highborn talking to another man outside a restaurant down the road. This man,” he said, pulling out his phone and handing it to her after she set their drinks on the table. “I don’t know who he is, but the conversation got a little animated.”
“Any chance Highborn lives around here?”
“Not on a DSS salary, but if he has some other income, it’s possible. But more to the point, it’s an odd place to meet someone when your job is in DC.”
And it was. Given the arrival of the president less than two hours ago, why wasn’t he on duty?
