feared.
Should he tell Cecily Sunday about Jennifer, the researcher who 'd fallen sick? But her illness was just a cold—Gordon had checked it out himself, deciding to his satisfaction that there was nothing at all suspicious about it. Besides, if something malicious had gotten loose in Jennifer's lab then the technicians would be much more likely to get sick, since they were the ones on the front lines, so to speak. They did the actual work, at least in Jennifer's lab, as in most labs.
But if Micro found out about Jennifer they 'd snoop around even more, perhaps prying into Jennifer's personal life. Burnett had said very clearly that the less Micro finds out, the better. The words were spoken with a mixture of authority and pleading that Gordon found highly persuasive.
Gordon suddenly looked up and stared straight into Cecily 's eyes—she was looking right at him. He felt a rush of adrenaline, a crackle of tension.
" Relax," said Cecily. "I'm on your side. I don't want to find anything here, nor am I even slightly interested in any of your private research data."
Gordon smiled. "Believe me, I didn't think you're the type who would be."
" Here's the thing," said Cecily, still looking at him. "You've been honest with us and I'd like to be honest with you. We have a problem in Medburg. You know about the two bodies, but you don't know about the latest results and they aren't exactly encouraging."
" There hasn't been any more fatalities, has there?"
" Not unless you count the four-legged kind."
" Rats? Or mice?"
" Mice." Cecily nodded, as if she'd expected Gordon to catch on quickly.
" How many?"
" They're being wiped out."
Gordon felt a sharp intake of breath. But then there was a sense of relief. "So the mice are the carriers. Or something that the mice host."
" Could be. But it's also possible that they're just innocent bystanders."
Gordon 's relief started slipping away. "But I don't think I understand. If the mice are dying first—"
" I'm not sure it's the mice that are dying first. The two human victims may have been the start of all this, the very beginning."
" You're suggesting that the humans got something and passed it onto the mice?"
Cecily nodded solemnly.
"That's a bit odd, isn't it?"
" You know, everything about this whole case is odd. When I first found out about the mice I figured like you did. Hey, I thought, this means that there's some kind of bug in the mice or in one of their parasites that's killing them off. In which case, sometimes the bug may jump off the mice and onto to us. Hence the two victims in Medburg. That's serious, but not too big of a deal, probably. Once the mice are gone, the problem is gone."
Cecily rubbed her face. Then she continued, "But that theory just doesn't add up. I'll admit something. When I got this assignment I looked on the map and found the creek, then discovered your company. And so I said, 'Aha!' You know what I mean?"
Gordon knew. He found himself squirming again. This woman, Cecily Sunday, was a person he just couldn 't figure out. She seemed to be hinting at some sort of damaging information, damaging to his company, yet she was reluctant to bring it up. As if she was trying not to accuse him. Like a nurse who keeps assuring you it won't hurt a bit, even while she's holding a needle the size of your whole arm.
" So maybe I was biased from the start," Cecily went on. "I don't know. All I know is, it doesn't add up. You see, the thing is, all the evidence seems to point a big fat finger right at that creek."
" What evidence?" said Gordon weakly.
" The disease radiates away from there. It's a focal point. And I discovered a little while ago that the two victims were both seen near that creek shortly before they died. They were homeless—one more or less permanently, the other temporarily. That's what got me thinking: homeless people often use creek water. They bathe in it and they drink it. More than likely the two victims had taken a dip or a sip
Should he tell Cecily Sunday about Jennifer, the researcher who 'd fallen sick? But her illness was just a cold—Gordon had checked it out himself, deciding to his satisfaction that there was nothing at all suspicious about it. Besides, if something malicious had gotten loose in Jennifer's lab then the technicians would be much more likely to get sick, since they were the ones on the front lines, so to speak. They did the actual work, at least in Jennifer's lab, as in most labs.
But if Micro found out about Jennifer they 'd snoop around even more, perhaps prying into Jennifer's personal life. Burnett had said very clearly that the less Micro finds out, the better. The words were spoken with a mixture of authority and pleading that Gordon found highly persuasive.
Gordon suddenly looked up and stared straight into Cecily 's eyes—she was looking right at him. He felt a rush of adrenaline, a crackle of tension.
" Relax," said Cecily. "I'm on your side. I don't want to find anything here, nor am I even slightly interested in any of your private research data."
Gordon smiled. "Believe me, I didn't think you're the type who would be."
" Here's the thing," said Cecily, still looking at him. "You've been honest with us and I'd like to be honest with you. We have a problem in Medburg. You know about the two bodies, but you don't know about the latest results and they aren't exactly encouraging."
" There hasn't been any more fatalities, has there?"
" Not unless you count the four-legged kind."
" Rats? Or mice?"
" Mice." Cecily nodded, as if she'd expected Gordon to catch on quickly.
" How many?"
" They're being wiped out."
Gordon felt a sharp intake of breath. But then there was a sense of relief. "So the mice are the carriers. Or something that the mice host."
" Could be. But it's also possible that they're just innocent bystanders."
Gordon 's relief started slipping away. "But I don't think I understand. If the mice are dying first—"
" I'm not sure it's the mice that are dying first. The two human victims may have been the start of all this, the very beginning."
" You're suggesting that the humans got something and passed it onto the mice?"
Cecily nodded solemnly.
"That's a bit odd, isn't it?"
" You know, everything about this whole case is odd. When I first found out about the mice I figured like you did. Hey, I thought, this means that there's some kind of bug in the mice or in one of their parasites that's killing them off. In which case, sometimes the bug may jump off the mice and onto to us. Hence the two victims in Medburg. That's serious, but not too big of a deal, probably. Once the mice are gone, the problem is gone."
Cecily rubbed her face. Then she continued, "But that theory just doesn't add up. I'll admit something. When I got this assignment I looked on the map and found the creek, then discovered your company. And so I said, 'Aha!' You know what I mean?"
Gordon knew. He found himself squirming again. This woman, Cecily Sunday, was a person he just couldn 't figure out. She seemed to be hinting at some sort of damaging information, damaging to his company, yet she was reluctant to bring it up. As if she was trying not to accuse him. Like a nurse who keeps assuring you it won't hurt a bit, even while she's holding a needle the size of your whole arm.
" So maybe I was biased from the start," Cecily went on. "I don't know. All I know is, it doesn't add up. You see, the thing is, all the evidence seems to point a big fat finger right at that creek."
" What evidence?" said Gordon weakly.
" The disease radiates away from there. It's a focal point. And I discovered a little while ago that the two victims were both seen near that creek shortly before they died. They were homeless—one more or less permanently, the other temporarily. That's what got me thinking: homeless people often use creek water. They bathe in it and they drink it. More than likely the two victims had taken a dip or a sip
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