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Authors: Nathan Wilson
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strange, are
fascinating and worthy of appraisal.”
“ So can you use this to
trace Camilla’s lineage and come up with a list of living
relatives? Or am I hoping for too much?”
“ Your friend Camilla? Why
in the world does she have an umbilical cord?”
“ It’s a long story, but we
suspect it might be hers. Suffice to say, someone left it for her,
along with a series of disturbing messages. We think she has a
stalker.”
“ Ah, so this isn’t merely
out of medical curiosity. I may have some connections that can help
you. I need Camilla to provide a DNA sample for comparison, of
course. Once we have a positive confirmation, I’ll see what I can
do.”
Vivian leaned in with a look so
intense that it electrified Gavin.
“ I also need your opinion
on a woman who died in the hospital. It’s not really any of my
business but it’s bugging me. Her skin looks like something out of
a horror movie and I’d wager it’s somehow connected to her
death.”
“ Where is she
now?”
“ The body is in holding at
the hospital morgue. I don’t think they’ll transfer it to the
medical examiner unless they have reason to believe a crime was
involved.”
“ True enough,” Gavin said.
“And I can’t exactly drop in and take a peek.”
“ Which is why I had to
break some rules and take a picture for you. I know, I know,
privacy and all that. Shoot me later.”
She whipped out her phone. Gavin’s
eyes fell to the photo.
He lowered his glasses on his hawkish
nose and suppressed a shiver in his voice. Vivian had never seen
him look so unnerved.
“ You took this photo from
the University Hospital? How many cases of this have you
seen?”
“ Only one so far. What do
you know about this?”
“ Cutaneous lesions with a
nodular appearance, red plaque clustering around the neck and
cheeks… How precisely did she die?”
“ She was brought in for
respiratory failure. She coughed up bloody mucus. Once she went
into cardiac arrest there wasn’t much we could do to save
her.”
“ This doesn’t bode well at
all… Respiratory arrest isn’t a common factor but this looks like
lupus vulgaris… Cutaneous tuberculosis.”
Vivian looked at her arm where she
received her BCG vaccine. She silently thanked the charismatic
blood technician for poking her with a needle.
“ I could be mistaken. Of
course I would need to take other symptoms into account such as
weight loss, bloody sputum, fatigue, and chills, but I can’t
account for that with a single photograph.”
“ How does tuberculosis
spread?”
“ It is a bacterial
infection caused by Myobacterium
tuberculosis. The difference between
tuberculosis and its cutaneous cousin is that the bacteria nests in
the skin instead of the lungs.”
“ I thought tuberculosis was
usually transmitted through coughing and sneezing. You’re saying
this directly attacks the skin?”
Gavin gnawed on his lip.
“ Yes and no. It could be a
combination of mycobacterium in the lungs and skin. Judging from
the progression of her lesions and the reddish-brown appearance, it
fits the case of lupus vulgaris. I can’t confirm it without a blood
test, but I’m damned sure. Your director needs to know about
this.”
“ But I can’t tell him how I
discovered this… I can’t say I took a photo from the morgue and
showed my professor-turned-bartender. Not to sound harsh, but she’s
dead. She can’t cough or sneeze on anyone. It can’t be transmitted
by any other means, can it?”
Gavin’s eyes wandered from the
photograph to the performers tearing up the stage.
“ Yes, I’m most likely
getting riled up for no reason. Cutaneous tuberculosis isn’t
contagious. How could I get ahead of myself like that? The germs
aren’t on her skin or clothes.”
He reached for a glass and generously
splashed absinthe, black raspberry liqueur, and peach vodka against
the sides. After adding grenadine and a pinch of peppermint, he
pushed it Vivian’s way.
“ Forgive an old
fascinating and worthy of appraisal.”
“ So can you use this to
trace Camilla’s lineage and come up with a list of living
relatives? Or am I hoping for too much?”
“ Your friend Camilla? Why
in the world does she have an umbilical cord?”
“ It’s a long story, but we
suspect it might be hers. Suffice to say, someone left it for her,
along with a series of disturbing messages. We think she has a
stalker.”
“ Ah, so this isn’t merely
out of medical curiosity. I may have some connections that can help
you. I need Camilla to provide a DNA sample for comparison, of
course. Once we have a positive confirmation, I’ll see what I can
do.”
Vivian leaned in with a look so
intense that it electrified Gavin.
“ I also need your opinion
on a woman who died in the hospital. It’s not really any of my
business but it’s bugging me. Her skin looks like something out of
a horror movie and I’d wager it’s somehow connected to her
death.”
“ Where is she
now?”
“ The body is in holding at
the hospital morgue. I don’t think they’ll transfer it to the
medical examiner unless they have reason to believe a crime was
involved.”
“ True enough,” Gavin said.
“And I can’t exactly drop in and take a peek.”
“ Which is why I had to
break some rules and take a picture for you. I know, I know,
privacy and all that. Shoot me later.”
She whipped out her phone. Gavin’s
eyes fell to the photo.
He lowered his glasses on his hawkish
nose and suppressed a shiver in his voice. Vivian had never seen
him look so unnerved.
“ You took this photo from
the University Hospital? How many cases of this have you
seen?”
“ Only one so far. What do
you know about this?”
“ Cutaneous lesions with a
nodular appearance, red plaque clustering around the neck and
cheeks… How precisely did she die?”
“ She was brought in for
respiratory failure. She coughed up bloody mucus. Once she went
into cardiac arrest there wasn’t much we could do to save
her.”
“ This doesn’t bode well at
all… Respiratory arrest isn’t a common factor but this looks like
lupus vulgaris… Cutaneous tuberculosis.”
Vivian looked at her arm where she
received her BCG vaccine. She silently thanked the charismatic
blood technician for poking her with a needle.
“ I could be mistaken. Of
course I would need to take other symptoms into account such as
weight loss, bloody sputum, fatigue, and chills, but I can’t
account for that with a single photograph.”
“ How does tuberculosis
spread?”
“ It is a bacterial
infection caused by Myobacterium
tuberculosis. The difference between
tuberculosis and its cutaneous cousin is that the bacteria nests in
the skin instead of the lungs.”
“ I thought tuberculosis was
usually transmitted through coughing and sneezing. You’re saying
this directly attacks the skin?”
Gavin gnawed on his lip.
“ Yes and no. It could be a
combination of mycobacterium in the lungs and skin. Judging from
the progression of her lesions and the reddish-brown appearance, it
fits the case of lupus vulgaris. I can’t confirm it without a blood
test, but I’m damned sure. Your director needs to know about
this.”
“ But I can’t tell him how I
discovered this… I can’t say I took a photo from the morgue and
showed my professor-turned-bartender. Not to sound harsh, but she’s
dead. She can’t cough or sneeze on anyone. It can’t be transmitted
by any other means, can it?”
Gavin’s eyes wandered from the
photograph to the performers tearing up the stage.
“ Yes, I’m most likely
getting riled up for no reason. Cutaneous tuberculosis isn’t
contagious. How could I get ahead of myself like that? The germs
aren’t on her skin or clothes.”
He reached for a glass and generously
splashed absinthe, black raspberry liqueur, and peach vodka against
the sides. After adding grenadine and a pinch of peppermint, he
pushed it Vivian’s way.
“ Forgive an old
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