Black Wind by Clive Cussler

mature trees and parked in an adjacent lot fronted by a large sign, stating: WASHINGTON STATE PUBLIC HEALTH LABORATORIES.
    A perky receptionist phoned up to the small CDC office shared by the state lab and a few moments later Sarah and Sandy appeared in the lobby. A portion of the cheeriness they showed earlier in the day had clearly left their faces.
    â€œDirk, it’s good of you to come. There’s a quiet Italian restaurant down the street where we can talk. The Pasta Alfredo is great, too,” Sarah suggested.
    â€œSure thing. Ladies first,” Dirk replied as he held the front door open for the two scientists.
    After the threesome shoehorned into a red vinyl booth at the nearby neighborhood restaurant, Sarah explained their findings.
    â€œAn examination of the sea lion revealed the classic signs of respiratory seizure as the cause of death. An initial blood test failed to reveal any concentrated levels of toxicity, however.”
    â€œSimilar to the test results for you three in Anchorage,” Dirk added between bites of bread.
    â€œExactly. Our vitals showed fine, though we still experienced weakness, headaches, and signs of respiratory irritation by the time we reached Anchorage,” Sandy added.
    â€œSo we went back and carefully reexamined the animal’s blood and tissue and finally detected trace elements of the toxin,” Sarah continued. “Though not one hundred percent certain, we are fairly confident the sea lion was killed by hydrogen cyanide poisoning.”
    â€œCyanide?” Dirk asked with an arched eyebrow.
    â€œYes,” Sandy replied. “It makes sense. Cyanide is actually expelled rapidly from the human body. In the case of Sarah, Irv, and me, our bodies had naturally purged most, if not all, of the cyanide toxins before we stepped in the door of the Anchorage hospital. Hence, no trace remained when our blood samples were taken.”
    â€œI’ve contacted the Alaska State Coroner’s Office and informed them of our findings. They have not completed the autopsy report on the two Coast Guardsmen yet, but they will know what to look for. I am convinced that is what killed them,” Sarah said with a tinge of sadness.
    â€œI always thought cyanide had to be ingested in order to be lethal,” Dirk remarked.
    â€œThat’s what’s commonly known, but it’s not the only deadly form of the poison. Everyone knows of cyanide tablets carried by wartime spies, the deadly Jim Jones cyanide-laced Kool-Aid that killed hundreds in Jonestown, Guyana, and the Tylenol poisonings, which used cyanide. But cyanide gas has also been used as a killing agent. The French tried variations of cyanide gas against the Germans in the trenches during World War One. And though the Germans never used it on the battlefield, they did use a form of cyanide in the concentration camp gas chambers during the Second World War.”
    â€œThe infamous Zyklon B,” Dirk recalled.
    â€œYes, a beefed-up fumigant originally developed to kill rodents,” Sarah continued. “And, more recently, Saddam Hussein was suspected of using a form of cyanide gas in attacks on Kurdish villages in his own country, although it was never verified.”
    â€œSince we packed in our own food and water supplies,” Sandy piped in, “the airborne poisoning makes sense. It would also explain the deaths of the sea lions.”
    â€œIs it possible for the cyanide to have originated from a natural source?” Dirk inquired.
    â€œCyanide is found in a variety of plants and edibles, from lima beans to chokecherries. But it’s as an industrial solvent where it is most prevalent,” Sarah explained. “Tons of the stuff are manufactured each year for electroplating, gold and silver extraction, and fumigants. Most people probably come in contact with some form of cyanide every day. But to answer your question, it’s unlikely to exist in a gaseous state from a