Pathogen Read online

  Kate woke to Andy sitting on the edge of the bed in running shorts and a long-sleeved shirt, pulling on ankle socks. It was still dark outside, the night not yet ready to let go. Andy, seeing Kate awake, leaned over and kissed her eyes.

  “Go back to sleep. I’ll see you in a few hours.”

  Kate did so easily, effortlessly.

  The next thing she heard was the front door slamming, a child’s shriek of defiance, and an adult’s admonishing voice. It was lighter now, the diffuse daylight of sun filtered through clouds lighting up the room. Kate listened to voices outside, car doors slamming, the sound of an engine and tires through puddles. The house settled back into silence. Kate got up, stretched, and, smelling the wood smoke in her hair, decided to shower.

  The house was still quiet as she made her way downstairs in jeans and a sweatshirt, her hair damp and unbound. She followed the smell of coffee into the brightly lit kitchen. Elaine stood at the sink with a knife in hand, a bushel of peaches at one elbow and a huge bowl of yellowy segments at the other.

  “Good morning,” Elaine said, looking up to smile, then returning to her task. “Coffee’s on the stove, milk and cream in the fridge, sugar on the counter.”

  “Thanks,” Kate said, helping herself. “Where is everyone?”

  “Andy and Simon are still out running, Mark and Shayna took the kids down to the river, and Zach and Dee went into town to pick up a few things.”

  “Someone should have woken me up,” Kate murmured, a little embarrassed. She leaned back against the counter.

  “We were all under quite strict orders not to, actually,” Elaine said.

  “Andy,” Kate said. She looked up to see Elaine’s eyes on her, appraising, though she didn’t see anything critical about the look.

  “Yes, my daughter is very protective of those she loves.”

  Kate was startled by the boldness of the woman’s words, though she tried not to let it show. Silence settled around them, the only sound that of Elaine’s repetitive movements, the paring knife tearing wetly into the soft flesh of the peaches.

  “What my husband thought we were going to do with a bushel of peaches is totally beyond me,” Elaine said finally. “I think he enjoyed the picture of them more than he thought about how we would use them.” She shook her head, long dark hair swinging against her back.

  “Can I help?” Kate asked.

  “Please do. Knife in the top drawer on your left.”

  Kate grabbed a knife, and Elaine passed her an armful of peaches. They worked in silence, Kate segmenting the peaches, pulling off the skin, slicing the halves into quarters before adding them to the huge bowl.

  “Andy says you love being a doctor and that you are very good at your job,” Elaine said.

  “I do love being a doctor,” Kate said, unaware of the clarification she’d just made.

  “But you don’t love your job,” Elaine stated. Kate was reminded again of how effortlessly Andy could pull information from people.

  “Some days I feel like I practice bureaucracy more than I practice medicine,” Kate tried to explain. “It’s not exactly what I imagined as I was working my way through medical school.”

  “And I think my daughter was not what you imagined when you thought about finding a partner,” Elaine said. Kate could hear the question in the statement.

  “No, she isn’t what I imagined,” she said honestly. Kate’s hands were sticky, the juice running down her fingers and wrists. She reached for another peach, sank the knife against the pit, and circled it around in a fluid movement.

  Silence enveloped them again as they worked. Kate wasn’t sure if she was ready for this conversation. But then Elaine took a turn Kate wasn’t expecting.

  “If you’d asked me thirty years ago if my family was complete, I would have said yes. Absolutely. I had my husband, my work, my community, and my three healthy, lively boys. I could not have imagined Andy, of course I couldn’t. But now there is no way for me to picture my life without my daughter.” Elaine added the segments from her hand into the bowl and paused to look up at Kate. “I wonder, Kate, if life is less about what we can imagine our lives to be and more about what we do with it once we see it.”

  Kate met Elaine’s gaze and held it for a moment. She knew a thoughtless agreement would not be enough, so she concentrated on her task, thinking. But Andy and Simon’s return saved her from having to formulate an intelligent, thoughtful response. They were both soaked, the top halves of their shirts drenched, their shoes squelching noisily on the floor. Simon gave Kate a cheerful good morning, then excused himself to shower and change. Andy’s eyes sparkled, her cheeks bright red, always at the peak of energy when she returned from a run. As she crossed the kitchen and gave Kate a swift kiss on her cheek, she balanced on the balls of her feet, as if she was still running. Kate’s heart thumped at the sight of her, at the feel of Andy’s warm lips against her skin.

  “How was your run?” Kate asked.

  “Good. Long. Rainy.” Andy snagged a few peaches from the bowl and threw them into her mouth. “What are you two talking about?”

  “Not much,” Elaine answered for them. “The meaning of life, that sort of thing.” She gave Kate a sidelong smile as she said it.

  “Not fair, Mom,” Andy said lightly. “Kate looks like she’s only had half a cup of coffee.” She stole a few more peaches. “I’m going to have a shower.”

  They listened to Andy’s tread on the stairs, and Kate noticed they had almost finished the bushel of peaches.

  “Maybe she’s right,” Elaine murmured. “Perhaps I’m not being fair.”

  Kate smiled. “I don’t mind. Andy has changed my life. I think I just haven’t figured out all the ways she’s changed it yet.” It was the closest she could come to a real answer.

  Andy came back into the kitchen in her shorts and sports bra, a towel around her shoulders. She was holding her cell phone, peering at it with a frown on her face Kate hadn’t seen since they arrived. She hadn’t missed it. “Has my phone been ringing?”

  “I didn’t notice it,” Kate answered, reading the lines of worry around Andy’s eyes.

  “Finns has called me three times but hasn’t left a message.”

  “What does that—” Kate started, but was interrupted by the phone ringing in Andy’s hand.

  Andy met Kate’s eyes, blinked, and then turned on her phone, heading into the dining room.

  Kate watched her go, noticing the way Andy’s shoulders were tensed, her back rigid. She sighed and picked up the last peach. Elaine was watching her.

  “I see that you are protective of those you love, also.”

  Kate didn’t say anything, helping Elaine clean up the peach pits and skins, rinsing her hands under the tap. Andy came back into the room, her grey eyes guarded. She stopped just inside the doorway with her phone in hand.

  “What is it?” Kate asked. She could feel Elaine behind her, watching them.

  “Superintendent Heath’s eighteen-year-old granddaughter is exhibiting the same flu symptoms as the others. Finns wants me in his office at seven tomorrow morning.” She said it all in a monotone, her eyes never leaving Kate’s.

  “And?” Kate asked, waiting for the rest.

  Andy paused, like she couldn’t get the words out.

  “He wants you there, too.”

  Chapter Three

  Vancouver’s RCMP E-division headquarters at Thirty-seventh and Heather was old and cramped, with too many people from too many divisions in too little space. Andy said it had only gotten worse once they announced the shiny new headquarters in Surrey, as if the second the idea of more space was planted, the current space became unbearably confining. Kate had been here a few times after Seattle to give testimony and sign off on official reports. The building itself was a study in rectangles, most of them reflecting the early morning sunlight, the rest an opaque seventies aqua colour just now starting to look fashionable again.

  The floor was nearly empty this early in the mo
rning, and they stopped briefly at Andy’s cubicle. Kate’s heart warmed at the sight of the pictures she had centred on her corkboard. Alongside a photo of a much younger Denver holding a squirming baby Brindle, there was a photo of Andy in her blue serge uniform standing with Kate, her nephew Tyler, and her mom, Marie. It had been taken at the commendation ceremony about a month after they’d returned from Seattle. Andy followed Kate’s gaze and gave her a small but real smile, then indicated with a nod of her head that they should keep going. It was the only crack in her rigid posture, her unreadable expression. Andy had been varying degrees of untouchable since getting the phone call from Finns the day before.

  Staff Sergeant Finns called them in as soon as Andy knocked on his door. He was a handsome man with neatly parted grey hair and a strong jaw that held the evidence of a very recent shave. “Thank you for coming in so early this morning,” he said.

  Kate gave a small smile of acknowledgement. Andy sat perfectly still in the chair next to her, saying nothing. Finns seemed unperturbed by this, and Kate realized he was probably quite used to her work demeanour.

  “Sergeant Wyles, last week I asked you to unofficially assess the credibility of the threat from the journalist and any link to the four cases of unidentified influenza in Hidden Valley. I read your report and agree with your assessment of low risk, given the limited amount of information at hand. With some new developments, a fifth case, and a reportable death, we’re going to be increasing our presence.”

  Finns paused and looked back and forth between them, as if waiting for them to speak. Kate took her cue from Andy and said nothing.

  “Superintendent Heath has personally requested both of you. Sergeant Wyles, you don’t get a choice. This is your newest assignment, and it’s your main priority.” He left his eyes on Andy until she acknowledged this with a nod, though her expression didn’t change. Kate could feel the tension rolling off her body.

  “Dr. Morrison, Superintendent Heath is familiar with your work from Seattle and would like you to be involved in liaising with the Squamish-Whistler Health team, Public Health, and the coroner’s office. Unlike Sergeant Wyles, it is your decision whether or not you want to take on another temporary consultant position with E-division.”

  He paused again, looked between them, and cleared his throat. It was a small gesture, but Kate read it as a nervous one. “Now, the RCMP does not usually allow those who are involved to work together, but under the circumstances, the superintendent is willing to overlook—”

  The sentence was not complete, the words barely out of Finns’s mouth, when Andy interrupted. “Willing to overlook or unwilling to acknowledge, which is it?”

  “I understand you have concerns, Sergeant Wyles, but we are dancing a strange line here.”

  “No, actually, we’re not,” Andy said in a voice that left no room for disagreement. “If it is documented that Dr. Morrison and I are in a relationship, then it will also be documented that the superintendent has signed off on breaching protocol. I’m not letting this come back to bite me in the ass.”

  “Sergeant Wyles—” Finns began, a warning in his tone.

  Andy ignored it. “Staff Sergeant Finns, I am willing to take an assignment which will possibly take me away from home for who knows how long, and I’m willing to drag Dr. Morrison into the field if that’s what she decides to do. But I am not willing to walk into a highly politicized situation without any kind of protection because the superintendent is a homophobic prick unwilling to officially recognize my sexual orientation.”

  Kate had never heard Andy talk about this in public, but the truth of her words did nothing to diminish the harshness. Kate swallowed the awkwardness of the moment, unsure what to do or think or say. Instead, Kate watched Finns’s reaction. She couldn’t detect any hint of shock or anger at Andy’s words, insubordinate as they were. Finns looked at Andy impassively for a long time, then he switched his gaze to Kate. She was surprised to see a smile in his eyes.

  “My wife keeps asking me when I’m going to slow down, start taking it easy, and cruise into retirement. And I keep telling her that while Sgt. Andy Wyles is still in my division, that’s just not possible.”

  Kate gave a small smile. Finns obviously respected Andy a great deal.

  Sergeant Finns turned his eyes back to Andy. “I’ll have you covered, Wyles.”

  The simple words were apparently enough for Andy. She nodded once but still didn’t relax her posture. “What happens next?”

  “I want you up there tomorrow. The autopsy is scheduled for Wednesday morning.”

  “And the new developments you referred to? Has the credible threat risk been reassessed?” Andy said.

  “You’ll find out everything you need to know tomorrow, Sergeant Wyles. As you can imagine, this assignment has the potential to be very high profile.”

  “You mean because Superintendent Heath’s son-in-law is running for MP in the fall election.” Andy made it a question and a statement.

  Finns gave her that same long, impassive look. Kate wondered if they often had conversations that simply involved staring contests. Finns was almost as good at it as Andy.

  “I expect your professional discretion, Sergeant Wyles.”

  “And you’ll get it. I’d just like to know what I’m walking into.”

  “You know as much as I do. The rest is up for you to investigate,” he said pointedly. Andy acknowledged the order with a small, definitive nod.

  “Do you have any questions, Dr. Morrison?” Finns asked, turning to Kate.

  “Only a hundred,” Kate mumbled and felt a small amount of tension ease out of the room as Finns gave her a smile. “When do you want an answer from me?”

  “By the end of today, if possible. I know it’s overstepping, but Superintendent Heath has already been in contact with the director of Vancouver East about the possibility of you taking a brief leave from your job. Apparently, they golf together,” he said with a straight face.

  “Okay. I should know in a couple of hours,” Kate said, avoiding checking with Andy to see what her reaction would be.

  “Well then, I think that’s all we need to cover this morning. Dr. Morrison, thank you.” He stood and shook her hand.

  Andy guided Kate resolutely out of Finns’s office and across the office floor, not quite touching but also not allowing her to slow down. She grabbed her jacket and hat from her desk on the way. Maybe it was the expression on Andy’s face, but no one stopped to talk to them, other than acknowledge a quick good morning. It wasn’t until they were halfway down the stairs to the lobby that Kate recognized a friendly face.

  “Katie!” Jack gave an exuberant wave as he pushed back the two laptop bags he had slung over his shoulder, further rumpling his button-up shirt.

  Kate took the last few steps quickly, managing to give Jack a hug despite his heavy load. She missed Jack, although she probably saw him more than anybody outside of work, her family, and Andy.

  “What are you doing here? Are you dropping off Andy at work or something? Are you guys living together now? Did you get my last text? The one about the gaming cheats for Tyler?” Jack’s questions tripped over each other, his brown eyes shining excitedly.

  Kate laughed. “Yes, I got your text, and yes, I passed it on to Tyler, who thinks you’re a god. No, we’re not living together, and Andy is actually about to take me to work.” Kate didn’t mention the meeting, leaving it up to Andy to share the details.

  Jack looked at his partner quizzically. “What’s happening, Wylie? Anything I should know about?”

  “Finns wants Kate on an out-of-district case. Superintendent’s request,” Andy said shortly.

  Jack’s eyes widened. “The one up north?”

  Andy nodded. Jack looked back to Kate.

  “Are you going to take it?”

  Kate shrugged, again avoiding Andy’s expression. She wanted to have the discussion with Andy privately, when Andy couldn’t use her professional wall to hide behind.

&n
bsp; Jack, obviously sensing tension between them, said good-bye and took off up the stairs.

  “Buy me a coffee?” Kate said, attempting to keep her tone light. It was just after eight, still plenty of time before her shift started at Van East.

  “Sure. Let’s walk.”

  Kate shoved her hands into the pockets of her light jacket, wondering how cold it would be up in the mountains of Hidden Valley. She stopped herself, mentally backed up a few paces, and tried to start from the beginning. Kate liked the idea of working for the RCMP again. She’d enjoyed working through the case in Seattle with Andy and Jack and the rest of the multi-division team. It had stretched her in a way working in the ER had never done. Taking a break from Angstrom and his useless protocols and committees wasn’t so unappealing, either. But Kate felt like this decision was somehow bigger than any of these small pieces. Last time, the situation had escalated so quickly she never really got a choice. But Staff Sergeant Finns had just presented her with a clear and very personal decision. This time when she left her place in the ER, it would be to consciously pursue something else entirely. Even on a temporary basis, it felt like a statement Kate was making about her life. And what exactly am I saying?

  Kate could feel Andy’s eyes on her and she met the look, allowing the uncertainty she felt to show.

  “I’m just trying to figure out how I’m going to make the decision,” Kate said, hoping to start the dialogue. Andy said nothing and kept walking towards the busy Cambie Street intersection. Kate tried again. “I take it you would rather I had given Finns an unequivocal ‘no’?”

  “Not necessarily,” Andy said in a neutral tone, indicating with her head that they should turn left.

  Kate felt the first stirring of annoyance. She quashed it almost immediately. Maybe Andy needed to know where she stood first, before giving her opinion.

  “I like the idea of working on another case,” Kate said. “Particularly one that doesn’t involve me as a target,” she added, smiling slightly.

  Andy didn’t say anything, not even returning the smile. Kate wondered if Andy would ever be able to talk about Seattle without looking so murderous. Maybe Andy was thinking about everything that had happened last time Kate had been a consultant with the RCMP. But she couldn’t be sure because Andy still wasn’t talking.