Plague

CHAPTER 2

Dr. Jose Cabero sat in his office on the second floor of the Health Administration Building in Lima and wondered why he had been sent a file about a death from over 629 miles away. This was something the locals should have dealt with. He sighed as he opened the folder, looked at the photo of the patient, and saw his nationality: American. That was the reason. The death of an American in a high tourist locale had to be addressed immediately. Americans were prone to panic and tourism was the lifeblood of many of the small villages. Without the guided tours and photo safaris and sightseers, many would starve.

He read the autopsy report of the treating physician, Dr. Alvarez, and reread the cause of death: DEATH BY MISADVENTURE. It was a way of saying they had no idea how he died without saying it officially.

Cabero looked at the autopsy photos and saw the young man covered in a thick, black liquid. It appeared like blood from a liver wound. He had seen many abdominal gunshot-wound victims with similar-looking blood. But underneath the skin was a thick, purple coloring giving him the appearance of being charred in a fire. That, he had not seen before. At the end of the file was a note from Dr. Alvarez: “Call me right away.”

Cabero picked up the phone and dialed the number to the Hermana de la Misericordia Clinic. A nurse picked up and he asked for Alvarez. He got on the phone. “I’ve been waiting two days.”

“Sorry,” Cabero said. “Busy.”

“Did you read the file?”

“Yes.”

“What do you think?”

“About what?”

“You didn’t read the file, did you?”

“I just told you I did.”

“I want to send a sample of his blood and have it tested with you. We don’t have the laboratories for it here.”

“Fine. Send whatever you like.”

“Have I done something to upset you, Jose?”

“I’m sick of these tourists coming here with dreams of finding lost cities and ending up dead. Then it’s my mess to clean and I get yelled at by every bureaucrat who sees tourism drying up. I’m just sick of the whole thing.”

“Sick of it or not this American is going to cause problems. We have over ten tours a day with each person paying thousands of dollars.”

“I know,” Cabero said dismissively. “Send the blood. I’ll have someone look at it. What are we looking for?”

“Unknown pathogen.”