Invasion

Jesse described the room, to Curtis's utter fascination. "I'll be damned," Curtis said.

"Do you have any ideas?" Jesse asked.

"Sorta," Curtis admitted. "But you're not going to like it. I don't like it either. It's crazy."

"Try me," Jesse said.

"First let me show you something," Curtis said. He went to a side table and brought back a pair of retractors. Putting them inside the deceased's upper and lower lips, he exposed the teeth. The dead man assumed a horrid, grimacing expression.

"Oh, gross," Vinnie said. "You're going to give me nightmares."

"Okay, Doc," Jesse said. "What am I supposed to be looking at other than lousy dental work? Looks like the guy never brushed his teeth."

"Look at the enamel of the front teeth," Curtis said.

"I'm looking," Jesse said. "Looks a little messed up."

"That's it," Curtis said. He withdrew the retractors and returned them to the nearby table.

"Enough of this pussyfootin' around," Jesse said. "What's on your mind?"

"The only thing I can think of that can do that to tooth enamel is acute radiation poisoning," Curtis said.

Jesse's face fell.

"I told you you weren't going to like it," Curtis said.

"Jesse's very close to retirement," Vince said. "It's not nice to tease him like this."

"I'm serious," Curtis said. "It's the only thing that relates all the findings, like the hole in the hand and the changes in the enamel. Even the cataracts that weren't seen on his last yearly physical."

"So what happened to this poor slob?" Jesse asked.

"I know it's going to sound crazy," Curtis warned. "But the only way I can relate all the findings so far is to hypothesize that someone dropped a red-hot pellet of plutonium in his hand that burned through and gave him an enormous dose of radiation in the process. I mean a whopping dose."

"That's absurd," Jesse said.

"I told you you weren't going to like it," Curtis admitted.

"There was no plutonium at the scene," Jesse said. "Did you check if the body were radioactive?"

"I did, actually," Curtis said. "For personal safety concerns."

"And?"

"It's not," Curtis said. "Otherwise I wouldn't be up to my elbows into it."

Jesse shook his head. "This is getting worse instead of better," he said. "Plutonium, shit! That would be some kind of national emergency. Guess I'd better get someone over to that hospital and make sure there's no hot spots. Can I use a phone?"

"Be my guest," Curtis said agreeably.

A sudden burst of coughing got everyone's attention. It was Michael Schonhoff, a mortuary tech, who was over at the sink washing the entrails. The coughing went on for several minutes.

"Jeez, Mike," Curtis said. "You're sounding worse. And pardon my expression, but you look like death warmed over."

"Sorry, Dr. Lapree," Mike said. "I guess I got the flu. I've been trying to ignore it, but now I'm starting to get chills."

"Clock out early," Curtis said. "Get yourself home and in bed, take some aspirin, and drink some tea."

"I want to finish up here," Mike said. "Then I want to label the specimen bottles."

"Forget it," Curtis said. "I'll have someone else finish up."

"Okay," Mike said. Despite his protestations to the contrary, he was happy to be relieved.

7

8:15 P.M.

"What I keep asking myself is why we never come down here," Beau said. "This is beautiful." He, Cassy, and Pitt were strolling along the pedestrian mall in the city center eating ice cream after a dinner of pasta and white wine.

Five years previously the downtown had looked like a ghost town, with most of the people and restaurants having fled out to suburbia. But like a lot of other American cities, there'd been a reawakening. A few tasteful renovations had started a self-fulfilling prophecy. Now the entire downtown was a feast for the eyes as well as the palate. Crowds milled about, enjoying the spectacle.

"You guys really skipped school today?" Pitt questioned. He was impressed and incredulous.

"Why not," Beau said. "We went to the planetarium, the natural history museum, the art museum, and the zoo. We learned a lot, more than if we'd gone to class."

"That's an interesting rationalization," Pitt said. "I hope you get a bunch of questions about the zoo on your next exams.''

"Ah, you're just jealous," Beau said, cuffing the top of Pitt's head.

"Maybe so," Pitt admitted. He stepped out of Beau's reach. "I put in thirty hours in the ER since yesterday morning."

"Thirty hours?" Cassy questioned. "Really?"

"Honest," Pitt said. He then told them the story of the room where Beau had spent the afternoon and about spilling the coffee on Dr. Sheila Miller, the woman in charge of the entire emergency department.

Both Beau and Cassy were entranced, especially about the condition of the room and the death of the housekeeper. Beau asked the most questions, but Pitt had few answers. "They're waiting for the autopsy results," Pitt added. "Everybody's hoping then there will be some answers. Right now no one has any idea of what happened."