“Is there any one place you regularly have dinner or anything you regularly eat?”
She felt too tired to carry on this conversation. She wished he would go away. She closed her eyes.
He shook her gently. “Mary, stay awake. Listen to me.” There was an urgency in his voice. “Is there any person you eat with constantly?”
She blinked up at him sleepily. “No.” Why was he asking all these questions? “It’s a virus,” she mumbled, “isn’t it?”
He took a deep breath. “No. Someone is poisoning you.”
It sent a bolt of electricity through her body. She opened her eyes wide. “What? I don’t believe it.”
He was frowning. “I would say it was arsenic poisoning, except that arsenic is not for sale in Romania.”
Mary felt a sudden tremor of fear. “Who—who would be trying to poison me?”
He squeezed her hand. “Darling, you’ve got to think. Are you sure there’s no set routine you have, where someone gives you something to eat or drink every day?”
“Of course not,” Mary protested weakly. “I told you, I—” Coffee. Mike Slade. My own special brew. “Oh, my God!”
“What is it?”
She cleared her throat and managed to whisper, “Mike Slade brings me coffee every morning. He’s always there waiting for me.”
Louis stared at her. “No. It couldn’t be Mike Slade. What reason would he have for trying to kill you?”
“He—he wants to get rid of me.”
“We’ll talk about this later,” Louis said urgently. “The first thing we have to do is treat you. I’d like to take you to the hospital here, but your embassy will not permit that. I’m going to get something for you. I’ll be back in a few minutes.”
Mary lay there, trying to grasp the meaning of what Louis had told her. Arsenic. Someone is feeding me arsenic. What you need is another cup of coffee. It will make you feel better. I brew it myself.
She drifted off into unconsciousness and was awakened by Louis’s voice. “Mary!”
She forced her eyes open. He was at her bedside, taking a syringe out of a small bag.
“Hello, Louis. I’m glad you could come,” Mary mumbled.
Louis felt for a vein in her arm and plunged the hypodermic needle in. “I’m giving you an injection of BAL. It’s an antidote for arsenic. I’m going to alternate it with penicilla-mine. I’ll give you another one in the morning. Mary?”
She was asleep.
The following morning Dr. Louis Desforges gave Mary an injection, and another one in the evening. The effects of the drugs were miraculous. One by one, the symptoms began to disappear. The following day, Mary’s temperature and vital signs were almost completely normal
Louis was in Mary’s bedroom putting the hypodermic needle in a paper sack, where it would not be seen by a curious staff member. Mary felt drained and weak, as though she had gone through a long illness, but all the pain and discomfort were gone.
“This is twice you’ve saved my life.”
Louis looked at her soberly. “I think we’d better find out who’s trying to take it.”
“How do we do that?”
“I’ve been checking around at the various embassies. None of them carries arsenic. I have not been able to find out about the American embassy. I would like you to do something for me. Do you think you will feel well enough to go to work tomorrow?”
“I think so.”
“I want you to go to the pharmacy in your embassy. Tell them you need a pesticide. Say that you’re having trouble with insects in your garden. Ask for Antral. That’s loaded with arsenic.”
Mary looked at him, puzzled. “What’s the point?”
“My hunch is that the arsenic had to be flown into Bucharest. If it is anywhere, it will be in the embassy pharmacy. Anyone who checks out a poison must sign for it. When you sign for the Antral, see what names are on the sheet…”
Gunny escorted Mary through the embassy door. She walked down the long corridor to the pharmacy, where the nurse was working behind the cage.
She turned as she saw Mary. “Good morning, Madam Ambassador. Are you feeling better?”