The neighbor helped her to a chair, and Marissa was amazed to see that she was anxiously folding and unfolding some lined papers that
seemed to contain the requested list of her husband’s activities over the last weeks. Knowing what a strain the woman must have been under, Marissa didn’t know what to say, but Anna simply handed her the sheets saying, “I couldn’t sleep last night anyway, and maybe this will help some other poor family.” Her eyes filled with tears. “He was such a good man . . . a good father . . . my poor children.”
Despite knowing of his affair with Helen Townsend, Marissa decided that Dr. Richter must have been a pretty good husband. Anna’s grief seemed real, and Marissa left her as soon as she politely could.
The notes that she read before starting the car were surprisingly detailed. Put together with a further interview with Miss Cavanagh and the doctor’s appointment book, Marissa felt they would give her as good a picture of Richter’s last few weeks as anyone could get.
Back at the hospital, Marissa made a separate sheet of paper for each day of January and listed Richter’s activities. One fact she discovered was that he had complained to Miss Cavanagh about an AIDS patient named Meterko who was suffering from an undiagnosed retinal disorder. It sounded like something Marissa should look into.
In the afternoon, the phone in Marissa’s cubicle rang. Picking it up, she was startled to hear Tad Schockley’s voice. The connection was so good that for a moment she thought he was there in L.A.
“Nope,” said Tad, responding to her question. “I’m still here in Atlanta. But I need to speak to Dubchek. The hospital operator seemed to think that you might know where he was.”
“If he’s not in the CDC room, then I guess he’s gone to his hotel. Apparently they were up all last night.”
“Well, I’ll try the hotel, but in case I don’t get him, could you give him a message?”
“Of course,” said Marissa.
“It’s not good news.”
Straightening up, Marissa pressed the phone to her ear. “Is it personal?”
“No,” said Tad with a short laugh. “It’s about the virus you people are dealing with. The samples you sent were great, especially Dr. Richter’s. His blood was loaded with virus-more than a billion per milliliter. All I had to do was spin it down, fix it and look at it with the electron microscope.”
“Could you tell what it was?” asked Marissa.
“Absolutely,” said Tad excitedly. “There are only two viruses that look like this, and it tested positive with indirect fluorescene antibody for Ebola. Dr. Richter has Ebola Hemorrhagic Fever.”
S
“Had,” said Marissa, mildly offended by Tad’s callous enthusiasm.
“Did the man die?” asked Tad.
“Last night,” said Marissa.
“It’s not surprising. The illness has a ninety percent plus fatality rate.”
“My God!” exclaimed Marissa. “That must make it the deadliest virus known.”
“Some people might give rabies that dubious honor,” said Tad. “But personally I think it is Ebola. One of the problems is that almost nothing is known about this illness because there has been so little experience. Except for a couple of outbreaks in Africa, it’s an unknown entity. You’re going to have your work cut out for you trying to explain how it popped up in Los Angeles.”
“Maybe not,” said Marissa. “Dr. Richter had been bitten just prior to his illness by a monkey that had come from Africa. Dr. Vreeland is pretty sure the monkey was the source.”
“He’s probably right,” agreed Tad. “Monkeys were responsible for an outbreak of hemorrhagic fever in ’67. The virus was named Mar-burg after the town in Germany where it occurred. The virus looks a lot like Ebola.”
“We’ll soon know,” said Marissa. “Now it’s up to you. Hepatic and splenic sections from the monkey are on the way. I’d appreciate it if you’d check them right away and let me know.”
“My pleasure,” said Tad. “Meanwhile, I’m going to start work on the Ebola virus and see how easily I can culture it. I want to figure out what strain it is. Let Dubchek and the others know they’re dealing with Ebola. If nothing else, it will make them super careful. I’ll talk with you soon. Take care.”