Dark Tiger by William G. Tapply Page B

voice said, “Hello, Deputy Calhoun. This is Ella Grimshaw calling you on Thursday morning from the medical examiner’s office here in Augusta. When I saw you yesterday, I promised I’d let you know when I heard from the CDC. Their report just came in a short time ago, and I’m relieved to tell you that those two victims from St. Cecelia, who we determined were not killed by gunshot wounds, appear not to have died from some rare mutated virus or some insidious new strain of influenza, either. I don’t know if you’re interested in the details, but they are public record, and I’d be happy to share them with you if you want. You may call me here at the office or on my cell phone.” She recited two numbers, and Calhoun knew he’d remember them without writing them down.
    He tried Dr. Grimshaw’s office number and reached a receptionist, who asked his name and put him through.
    A moment later Dr. Grimshaw said, “Deputy Calhoun. Hello.”
    â€œHi,” he said. “I’m returning your call.”
    â€œRight,” she said. “I told you I’d call when I had something new about the McNulty and Gautier deaths, right?”
    â€œYes, ma’am.”
    â€œWell, I got the report from the CDC just this morning,” she said. “They both died of botulism poisoning.”
    â€œBotulism,” said Calhoun.
    â€œThat’s right.”
    â€œI don’t know anything about botulism,” he said. “It’s pretty deadly, isn’t it?”
    â€œVery deadly,” she said. “Fortunately, it’s quite rare. We have only about a hundred and fifty cases a year in the United States. The botulinum neurotoxins kill you by paralyzing your respiratory system. Not a pleasant way to die. It’s actually the most poisonous substance known to man.” She hesitated, then said, “It’s no wonder that we worry about terrorists.”
    â€œYou saying that stuff’s a biological weapon?” He remembered how Mr. Brescia had told him that he thought McNulty was working on something involving national security when he died. A biological weapon in the hands of terrorists would certainly qualify.
    â€œNot a weapon,” she said. “Not as far as we know. Not yet, anyway. We worry that it could be, though. Just a matter of figuring out how to package it and deliver it efficiently.”
    â€œSo how did McNulty and Millie Gautier get botulism? Not from terrorists, I assume.”
    â€œNo,” said Dr. Grimshaw. “There have been no terrorist incidents lately in Aroostook County.” Dr. Grimshaw chuckled softly. “No, so far this is good news. Most likely they both just ate the same tainted food. They apparently died at about the same time.”
    â€œThat’s good news, huh?”
    â€œIf no one else ate that food, if it’s not an outbreak, it’s good news, yes.”
    â€œHow long between when you eat the bad food and when you die?”
    â€œIt can be as little as six hours or as much as several days,” she said. “Why do you ask?”
    â€œJust wondering,” he said, though since he intended to investigate McNulty’s and Millie Gautier’s deaths, he was thinking that the information could prove helpful. “How do you figure it?” he said. “They were driving in their car, and both of them started to feel sick, so they pulled off the road there where they happened to be, which was in the woods on the outskirts of St. Cecelia, and they sat there in their car until they were dead? Then somebody came along and shot them both and tried to make it look like a murder and a suicide?”
    â€œI guess so, Mr. Calhoun,” said the doctor. “It’s a hard one to figure, isn’t it? Frankly, right now I’m more concerned with the health of the people living in and around the town of St. Cecelia than I am with the details of these two deaths. With