Georgia caught the tail end of the morning rush and hopped on the Edens Expressway for the drive down to the Lincoln Park Zoo, which had reopened in April. Her “parking karma,” a somewhat uncanny ability to find a cheap, legal parking spot on city streets, was with her, probably because it was a gray misty day designed for indoor activities. But despite the weather, the zoo was crowded with mothers and nannies pushing strollers with small children trotting beside them. Georgia wasn’t that surprised. Even though Covid wasn’t over and the weather was lousy, they’d been cooped up all winter. People wanted to feel normal, and taking the kids to the zoo was one of the most normal activities there was.
LeJeune had texted her to meet him at the Ape House.
Fitting.
She spotted him leaning over a railing outside the Ape House. He’d tipped a Starbucks cup upside down and was slurping the dregs of his coffee. He must have seen her out of the corner of his eye because he lowered the cup and canted his head to the side. “Mornin,’ cher.”
“You could have picked a nicer day.”
“Couldn’t be helped. Big news.”
It was unusual for LeJeune to get right to the point. He liked foreplay.
“What’s up?”
He dropped the Starbucks cup in the trash and took her arm. “Let’s walk.”
She looked around. He was being careful.
“We got the tests back from Quantico.”
Her pulse sped up.
“It’s sux.”
“I’m sorry. You got nothing?”
“No,” he said impatiently. “It’s sux.”
Irritated, Georgia repeated herself. “I said I was sorry.”
LeJeune snapped his fingers. “Come on, cher, you’re usually faster on the uptake.”
She gazed at him. What game he was playing?
He shook his head. “Guess I need to spell it out for you. We found traces of succinylcholine in the vials.”
Georgia’s eyes widened, and her mouth fell open. “Holy sh—
“Hey. There are children here.”
She threw him an aggrieved look.
He stifled a grin. “I assume you know what sux is.”
They turned a corner and walked toward the new big cats pavilion. “Succinylcholine paralyzes the body,” she replied. “It’s used with anesthesia in some surgeries. They use it a lot these days to intubate Covid patients when they’re put on a ventilator.” She bit her lip. “The problem is that if you use too much, the vic—sorry, the patient—can die. Oh, and it’s usually untraceable because it breaks down so fast. They used to call it the perfect poison.”
“Very good, Davis. How do you know so much about it?”
“When I was on the force, I worked on a serial killer case where succinylcholine might have been the primary agent. Turned out it wasn’t, but I did research on it.”
“I’m impressed.”
“So how did Quantico find it?”
“Sux breaks down into succinic acid and choline. They found traces of both in the urine of all three victims.”
“Which means the vaccine has definitely been tampered with,” Georgia said.
“Yup. We have ourselves another serial killer, cher. Probably hospital-based, since that’s where ninety-nine percent of sux is shelved.”
“Which puts the focus squarely back on Blackstone.”
“It does indeed,” LeJeune said.
“Have you told Jefferson Medical?” Georgia asked.
“We’re going up to Kalamazoo later today for a powwow.”
They paused in front of the recently opened Family Wildlife Center. Georgia said, “Don’t forget to take the Bureau’s Tylenol manual.”
He snorted a laugh. “Already packed. Although that was before my time.”
“I’m guessing you want me work on Blackstone while you’re gone.”
“As a confidential informant for the most powerful crime fighting organization in the world, you know I can’t tell you what to do. Especially if it’s against the law.”
“He’s got to know we’re trying to find him,” Georgia said.
“I would assume so.”
“It may be tricky.”
“I agree.”
“He’s probably protected by whoever engineered the tampering.”
“Hard to say. We scrubbed his background. He might be a player, but I wouldn’t bet on it. I think he’s just scared shitless about his reputation.”
“Hey. There are children here.” She smirked and pulled her blazer tighter. “When will you be back?”
“Does that mean you’ll miss me?”
His question made her uncomfortable and she didn’t know how to answer, so she didn’t. They walked around the new big cats building. An African lion paced uncertainly around his cage, as if he wasn’t sure he wanted to be outside. Georgia could relate.
“I’ll be back tomorrow morning,” he said.
“Tell me something,” she said. “Why do you think only three vials were tampered with? Whoever poisoned the vaccine could have killed three hundred people, not just three.”
“Honestly?” LeJeune frowned. “My theory is whoever’s behind it was testing it out to see if it worked. A pilot program.”
“I was wondering about that myself. So you think the worst is yet to come?”
He looked her straight in the eye. “I do. And we don’t have much time to stop him.”