Whiteout Read Online Free Page A

don’t cross the line—I’ll come out.” She realized right away she had made an error of tact. He was the police officer and she was the civilian—he would feel that he should be giving orders to her, not the other way around. The frown that crossed his face showed her that he had felt the slight. Trying to be more friendly, she said, “How are you, Frank?”
    â€œWhat’s going on here?”
    â€œA technician from the lab appears to have caught a virus. We’ve just taken him away in an isolation ambulance. Now we’re decontaminating his house. Where’s Jim Kincaid?”
    â€œHe’s on holiday.”
    â€œWhere?” Toni hoped Jim might be reached and brought back for this emergency.
    â€œPortugal. He and his wife have a wee time-share.”
    A pity, Toni thought. Kincaid knew about biohazards, but Frank did not.
    Reading her mind, Frank said, “Don’t worry.” He had in his hand a photocopied document an inch thick. “I’ve got the protocol here.” It was the plan Toni had agreed on with Kincaid. Frank had obviously been reading it while waiting. “My first duty is to secure the area.” He looked around.
    Toni had already secured the area, but she said nothing. Frank needed to assert himself.
    He called out to the two uniformed officers in the patrol car. “You two! Move that car to the entrance of the driveway, and don’t let anyone by without asking me.”
    â€œGood idea,” Toni said, though in truth it made no difference to anything.
    Frank was referring to the document. “Then we have to make sure no one leaves the scene.”
    Toni nodded. “There’s no one here but my team, all in biohazard suits.”
    â€œI don’t like this protocol—it puts civilians in charge of a crime scene.”
    â€œWhat makes you think this is a crime scene?”
    â€œSamples of a drug were stolen.”
    â€œNot from here.”
    Frank let that pass. “How did your man catch the virus, anyway? You all wear those suits in the laboratory, don’t you?”
    â€œThe local health board must figure that out,” Toni said, prevaricating. “There’s no point in speculation.”
    â€œWere there any animals here when you arrived?”
    Toni hesitated.
    That was enough for Frank, who was a good detective because he did not miss much. “So an animal got out of the lab and infected the technician when he wasn’t wearing a suit?”
    â€œI don’t know what happened, and I don’t want half-baked theories circulating. Could we concentrate for now on public safety?”
    â€œAye. But you’re not just worried about the public. You want to protect the company and your precious Professor Oxenford.”
    Toni wondered why he said “precious”—but before she could react, she heard a chime from her helmet. “I’m getting a phone call,” she said to Frank. “Sorry.” She took the headset out of the helmet and put it on. The chime came again, then there was a hiss as the connection was made, and she heard the voice of a security guard on the switchboard at the Kremlin. “Dr. Solomons is calling Ms. Gallo.”
    Toni said, “Hello?”
    The doctor came on the line. “Michael died, Toni.”
    Toni closed her eyes. “Oh, Ruth, I’m so sorry.”
    â€œHe would have died even if we’d got to him twenty-four hours earlier. I’m almost certain he had Madoba-2.”
    Toni’s voice was choked by grief. “We did all we could.”
    â€œHave you any idea how it happened?”
    Toni did not want to say much in front of Frank. “He was troubled about cruelty to animals. And I think he may have been unbalanced by the death of his mother, a year ago.”
    â€œPoor boy.”
    â€œRuth, I’ve got the police here. I’ll talk to you later.”
    â€œOkay.” The connection was broken.