They were both too nervous to talk on the drive to the prison. The tension seemed to wind tighter around Nella with every turn of the tires, though she strove to keep herself calm, more for Frank's sake than hers. They got out of the parked car without speaking and entered the prison. Both of them wore calm, polite masks. Nella walked behind Frank to the metal detector. She was momentarily shocked at the ease of Frank's greeting with Stan Kembrey. His smile was the same as the day he'd met her. At first it unnerved Nella that he could be so casual. She realized if she couldn't tell how anxious he was, then Dr. Pazzo certainly wouldn't, and Nella breathed easier.
"Hey Stan, I've got a few minutes before my meeting, how about a cup of coffee with me and Dr. Rider. She hasn't had a real cup of coffee in years and I told her you had the last can in the City."
Officer Kembrey simultaneously laughed and scowled. "That's supposed to be a secret Frank. But now that you've spilled the beans, I guess Terry can take over for a while."
Frank groaned at the obvious pun while Terry, still looking as nervous as on Nella's first visit, cleared them. Nella followed Frank and Officer Kembrey into a small office hardly bigger than a closet and crammed with various lockers. Officer Kembrey sat behind his desk, just freeing enough space for Frank and Nella to stand side by side. Frank closed the door without comment and the smile fell off his face.
"All right Frank, what's this really about?"
"Look, I don't have time to explain all of it, and I honestly think you'll sleep better at night if you never find out. But Nell- Dr. Rider can tell you if you insist. She really does need some information and I know you can keep your mouth shut if you need to. I wouldn't ask if it wasn't important Stan."
"This is a good, steady job Frank. After the trial I've been guaranteed a similar post if this one is no longer needed. I don't want to jeopardize that, even for you."
"It isn't information that's illegal or even questionable," Nella broke in quickly, "it's just that we can't afford for anyone else to know that we're asking."
Officer Kembrey leaned forward, "I don't understand."
Nella glanced at Frank. "You better tell him," he said, "I have to go or Dr. Pazzo will get suspicious." Frank opened the door and slid his thin frame out of it before closing it again.
Officer Kembrey turned to Nella. "You better sit down," he said indicating a stool jammed into the corner, "I can tell this is going to take a while."
"How much do you want to know?" asked Nella, trying to arrange herself without knocking her injured arm against the wall.
"I suppose you'd better tell me it all, otherwise I'll be up all night imagining the worst."
Nella blew out a sigh.
"That bad, huh?" Officer Kembrey asked.
"I'm sorry to be blunt, but I don't think we have a lot of time. Dr. Schneider and Dr. Carton developed a very dangerous bacteria before the outbreak of the Plague. When Mr. Courtlen and I interviewed Dr. Pazzo, it turned out that he knew about it. Frank and I went to destroy the existing samples at Dr. Carton's old lab based on Dr. Pazzo's information. Instead of finding the samples, we found Dr. Schneider. The samples had been stolen some time ago. I think by Dr. Pazzo himself."
"How dangerous is this dangerous bacteria?"
"It's the incurable version of the Plague and those that were immune the first time probably won't be as lucky this time."
"Incurable?" Officer Kembrey shook his head, "And you think Dr. Pazzo has it?"
"That's what I want to ask you about. But if he does have it and finds out we're asking, whatever his plans are, could change."
Officer Kembrey rocked back in his seat and scratched the back of his head. "He was brought in with what was on him when he was Cured. But he didn't get to keep much of it."
"What did he come in with?"
Officer Kembrey opened a desk drawer with a rusty squeal. He rummaged around for a second and then pulled out a thin, plain folder. He opened it on the desk and then fumbled around the cluttered desk for reading glasses. At last he said, "It looks like a set of clothing provided by the Cure personnel, a wallet, a dead cell phone and three fountain pens. Uh, it looks like the wallet had thirteen dollars, a state ID and a university ID in it and . . . Nothing else. That's weird."
"What's weird?" Nella asked, leaning quickly forward.
"Well, I've been an intake officer for years, since before the Plague even. Nobody walks into prison with just an ID. It just doesn't happen. Okay, I've seen people without credit cards or identification. I've even seen people come in without keys to their car or house. That happens. But I've never seen anyone, even a homeless person, come in without some of the normal stuff in their wallets. This guy had no bank card, no grocery card, no video club card, not even a library card- and he was a university professor. No metro ticket, no pictures, not even an old condom wrapper. Nothing. It would be written here if he had. Combined with the fact that he didn't have any keys at all, not even to the lab he was found in. . . It's like all he wanted us to know about him was his name. Like he knew what we'd be looking for-"
Nella stood up and banged her wounded shoulder on an overhanging locker. Officer Kembrey winced in sympathy but Nella hardly noticed. "Like he knew what you'd be looking for so you wouldn't look any farther. So you wouldn't look at any of the other things he came in with, because they'd be normal, easy, nothing to remark at, nothing to remember. What else did you say he came in with?"
Officer Kembrey glanced at the paper. "His clothes, a dead cell phone and three fountain pens."
"What would he have been allowed to keep?"
He shook his head. "Well, none of it. At least at first. He would have been given his wallet back without the cash. There's a note from the Warden saying he requested the fountain pens back and some paper after a few days. It looks like he was given those. Nothing else, not that there was much anyway."
Nella was confused. What good were fountain pens and an empty wallet? "Has he received any mail? Or had any visitors who could give him anything?"
He flipped through the few pages in the folder. "He's had a few letters from Frank of course. And the books that you brought in for him just a little bit ago, but no, he hasn't had any deliveries. As for visitors . . . Just Frank, you and- oh yeah, I remember this guy. Ned Glist. He was a jeweler that Dr. Pazzo commissioned. He wanted to get something nice for the defense attorneys. The Warden approved it, as long as Mr. Glist didn't bring any tools with him. The guy came in empty handed, we checked him thoroughly."
"Do you know what type of jewelry he was supposed to make?"
"No, we didn't ask. It would have to be checked back through here anyway when it was done and sent to the Warden's office for safekeeping."
Nella felt panic claw it's way up her throat. "Did the guy leave with anything?"
"Sorry Dr. Rider, we don't really check what people leave with, just what they come in with. You and Frank could talk to him though."
"Not without him talking to Dr. Pazzo."
"I bet you could if you were clever. You and Frank go talk to this guy, tell him that Dr. Pazzo recommended him, because jewelers are scarce now. In fact I think he's actually a wire wrapper down at the electric plant these days. I have no idea how Dr. Pazzo found him or what he's intending to pay him with. Anyway, tell him you two are shopping for a ring and hint at Dr. Pazzo's order and see if he'll gab. Tell him he has to keep the ring a secret though, because there'd be trouble at court if anyone found out you two were seeing each other."
Nella blushed and looked confused. Officer Kembrey smiled. "Yeah, I didn't think that was too far off the mark. But no one'll hear it from me. Anyway, what exactly am I looking for, in case these samples haven't got here yet?"
Nella collected herself and sat carefully back onto the stool. "The samples were in small glass test tubes. As long as they are still sealed in those vials they are okay. Once they are exposed to the air though, the bacteria will eithe
r die or start spreading."
"How long do they have to be open before the bacteria spreads?"
Nella shrugged. "Depending on the ease of transmission, a few hours to a few days? This is a more potent version of the Plague, so I'd bet on sooner rather than later."
He ran a shaky hand through his spiky, graying hair. "Well," he said brightly, "I guess that's good news in a way. We're either already sick or it hasn't happened yet, because nothing like that has come through in the past few days. Or ever."
"I doubt anyone would bring the test tubes in openly. And glass won't set off the metal detector."
"The only people who have been through here since you two took off were staff. Even Mr. Green hasn't been by. And if Dr. Pazzo has staff working for him, well, we might as well give up now."
"What could they be hidden in?"
Officer Kembrey stood up. "Listen, Dr. Rider, let me work on that. It's my job to find contraband, and to find it quietly. You can help by visiting that jeweler and by acting normal. We're going to find those samples. The fewer people that know about it, the less panic we'll cause and the less likely Dr. Pazzo- or whoever has them, is going to jump the gun. Are you sure he would keep them here?"
Nella stood up too. "Yes. Dr. Pazzo needs to be in control. Having them nearby would ensure that he could use them when and how he wanted without relying on outside help. It would also give him a sense of power even in here. Trust me, that stuff is my job."
"Okay then. Let's both get to work. I'll find a reason to get into his cell and soon. If I find anything, if I even guess anything, you and Frank will be the first to know. If the jeweler tells you anything, you let me know."
Nella shook his hand with her good one. "Thank you Officer Kembrey, it's such a relief to have help."
He put one hand on her good shoulder. "We'll find them Dr. Rider. It's going to be all right."
She smiled at him through her worry.
Forever in a Place Like This
After the Cure Page 47