Chapter 15
Day 17
I’m very curious about the autopsy Trevor conducted on the dingo. I wonder what he found out. Good news, I hope. I reach in the pocket of my jacket just to make sure my notes from last night are still there, and they are. We pull up to the lab, park, and go inside only to see everyone a little excited, to say the least. We go into the command post and find Trevor, Geoff, and Nicola sitting at the table talking.
“Geoff, I’m telling you, it’s not over,” Trevor says in a panic.
“Trevor, start at the beginning. What did you find while you were doing the autopsy?” Geoff says calmly.
“OK. Nicola and I started the autopsy by making an incision from just below the throat all the way down to the genitals. We pulled the skin and muscles apart, and there wasn’t much left on the inside of the dingo. Most of the intestines and organs were a dark molasses color and almost completely gone like they had been liquefied. The smell was disgusting. We removed most of its insides and were able to get a few samples of the liver, stomach, and lungs. We placed the samples in three large petri dishes for later. A cross-section of bone was taken from the rib, breastbone, femur, and shoulder region. When we opened up the skull to get a cross-section of the brain, we found the molasses again, so we couldn’t get a clean sample from the brain. A piece of skin and hair were also obtained and placed on microscope slides.”
Nicola then spoke up and said, “Here is the problem. There is no way the dingo was alive with all of this going on inside of him. Trevor and I think the parasite continued consuming the organs after the dingo was dead. The dingo was dead, but the parasite wasn’t. We even conducted a test on the three petri dishes we had collected earlier. We watched the parasite destroy the remaining samples within 12 hours. Again, we introduced uninfected blood into the petri dish, and the parasite attacked it.”
“Where is the dingo corpse now Trevor?” Geoff inquires.
“Marcus and I wrapped it up and brought it down to the incinerator for disposal.”
“Good. What else do you have Trevor?”
“There is some good news. We checked one of the petri dishes this morning, and the parasite is not very active. Maybe without a food source, it will eventually starve to death. That’s what we are hoping. We’ll keep an eye on it.”
“Geoff, I was thinking last night about this parasite. In Dr. Elliot’s notes, he talked about unleashing the parasite on the government using Trevor as the host. How was the parasite supposed to get out of Trevor’s body into theirs? I understand that a kiss, or another form of fluid exchange could transfer the parasite, but I don’t think Trevor was planning to swap spit with anyone there at the meeting, so I am wondering if there is something about this parasite that we haven’t discovered yet.”
“Oh, I think I can explain how Dr. Elliot was going to unleash the parasite.” Trevor explains. “I was sick with a bad head cold that week, with lots of sneezing and blowing. I’m sure Dr. Elliot knew I was sick and realized that the parasite would be on my hand and in my handkerchief. Most people don’t wash their hands after a sneeze, so the parasite would have been all over my hands. Quite an ingenious way to unleash the beast.”
It’s a good theory, but a bit risky on Dr. Elliot’s part. Trevor must have been really sick. I glance at Derrick and Dane and notice that Dane’s eyebrows are close together--he has something on his mind.
Dane interjects, “I’m thinking about the dead dingo and the parasite continuing to eat away at its insides. What about the people that were attacked and killed at Katherine’s Gorge? If they were attacked by the infected dingoes, then chances are they were infected as well. If what you are saying is true, then their bodies may still be infected.”
A look of terror spread through the room. Eyes were wide open with raised eyebrows.
“But, they were embalmed. Wouldn’t that kill the parasite?” I ask
Everyone looks at each other. Nicola says, “I don’t know,”
Geoff looks at Dane, “Dane, see if you can find out anything about the family that was murdered. Where were they from, where were the bodies sent, and where are they buried? Here, you will need this ID badge in order to get that kind of information from of the authorities”
“You got it,” Dane says as he jumps up, taps Derrick and me on the shoulder, “Let’s go. Monti, are you coming?”
“No man, I think I will stay here and help if I can.”
“Where are we going, Dane?” I ask as we are running to the car.
“We are going to find Officer Dillon and get some details on the family.”
Before I know it we are on our way to Katherine’s Gorge. That place doesn’t hold a fond memory slot in my head. While we are driving Dane looks at Derrick and me and says, “I’m sorry. I just assumed that you would want to come with me since you have been involved with this since the beginning. It didn’t dawn on me that you might want to do something else on your honeymoon.”
“Are you kidding Dane?” Derrick says, “There is no place we would rather be. Fun is over-rated anyway.” Dane and I both bust out laughing. So that is settled. We arrive at the Ranger’s station right about noon. We get out of the car and walk in only to see Officer Dillon manning the desk today.
“Good morning, may I…hey, I know you guys. You were just here about a week and a half ago, right?
“That’s right,” Dane says. “Is there somewhere we can talk privately? It’s about the family that was attacked and killed.”
“Sure, come with me.”
We follow Officer Dillon to a back room in the building and shut the door.
“What’s going on?” he asks.
Dane briefly explains the situation to Officer Dillon. Officer Dillon asks us to wait right here while he gets his logs from that week. All campers have to register and pay camping fees. He returns within a few minutes with his ledger.
“Here it is. The family was here on vacation from Perth. Their names were Thom and Becky Smithton. It says here that they also had their three year old son with them. We sent the bodies to the hospital in Katherine.
“Where are they now?” Dane asks.
“I don’t know. You will have to ask the morgue attendant for that information. Her office is located around the rear of the hospital in the basement. I’ll call ahead and tell her you’re coming.”
“Thank you so much. You have been extremely helpful and we appreciate that very much,” Dane says as he shakes his hand.
All the way to the hospital I keep thinking about the three year old boy. Such a tragedy. The family had no idea that their vacation would end that way. Dane drives around the back of the hospital and finds the morgue. There is a ramp leading up to the entrance to the morgue. We walk through the sliding glass doors and proceed down a long hall until we see a sign for the Administration Office. Amazing how gloomy this place really is, just like in the movies. If a body sits up while I am in there, I will have a cow. I know I work in a Medical Examiner’s office, but these places are always a little spooky.
Just inside the office, we see a young lady in her mid-thirties sitting at a table filling out medical papers of some sort. “Good morning,” we say.
“Good morning. May I help you?”
“Yes. I’m Dane Walker, and these are my friends, Derrick and Kobi Reed. We are working with the CDC in Darwin and would like to ask you a few
questions?”
“Okay,” she says with a puzzled look on her face.
“About 10 days ago, a family was brought here from Katherine’s Gorge. They had been attacked and killed by a pack of dingoes. Were you working when they were brought in?” Dane inquires.
“Oh, Officer Dillon just called about you. I’m sorry I didn’t make the connection. Yes, I was here that day. I remember, the bodies were in terrible shape and the little boy…well, I cried and that doesn’t happen very often. We put them in the freezer
until the wife’s mother came to claim the bodies. She did not want an autopsy done because it was obvious what had happened. Also she didn’t want their bodies mutilated any further, which I totally understand. Hold on; let me get the paperwork on them,” she says and goes to the file cabinet to retrieve some papers.
She returns to the table and begins reading, “Three bodies were released today to Mrs. Ida Jones and loaded onto a private charter at 1:00 p.m. I believe she flew the family back to Perth. Here is her contact information if you would like to give her a call.”
“Thank you very much,” Dane says and shakes her hand.
Once we are back in the car, Dane pulls out his cell phone to call Mrs. Jones. “It’s ringing…Hello. Mrs. Jones? I am calling you about your daughter and her family. I am from the CDC. May I put you on speakerphone?”
“Who is this again?”
“My name is Dane Walker and I am from the CDC in Darwin. May I put
you on speakerphone?”
“Yes, of course you can,” she says.
“First, I would like to say I am so sorry for your loss. I am working with the CDC in Darwin and am calling about your daughter and her family. Please don’t be alarmed, but there is a possibility that your daughter and her family were attacked by a pack of infected dingoes.”
“What do you mean infected dingoes? Infected with what?”
“We aren’t completely sure yet, but it appears to be a parasite of some sort that could potentially be very dangerous. We would like to speak with the mortician that embalmed your daughter and her family. I know this is soon and very difficult to talk about, but the infection could be highly contagious,” Dane explains.
We didn’t want to go into all of the details, because we don’t want a panic to start across the nation. The authorities know about it and have been instructed on what to look for, but the general public has not been given all of the details, yet.
“The name of the funeral home is Dacketts. Mr. Dackett took care of my daughter and her family. Do you want me to get you the phone number? I think I still have it in my purse.”
“No ma’am, we can find it, but thanks so much.” Dane replies.
‘You are welcome. I hope everything is going to be all right?”
“We hope so too, Mrs. Jones. Thank you, we appreciate your help. And Mrs. Jones, please keep this conversation confidential because we don’t want to create a panic. I would appreciate that very much. I promise, we’ll keep you posted on what we find out,” Dane says.
Dane hangs up the phone and calls directory assistance to get the number
for Dacketts Funeral Home. “I think we should go back to the lab and let Trevor
talk to Mr. Dackett. He knows exactly what questions to ask.”
We arrive back at the lab around 3:00 p.m. We go directly to the command post and find Trevor there talking to Geoff.
“Hey Geoff, here is the number for the Funeral Director. He is located in Perth. The woman at the morgue said the family did not want to do an autopsy since their bodies were already mangled from the attack. It will be interesting to see what he has to say,” Dane says as he hands Geoff the piece of paper.
“Let’s give him a call, Trevor,” Geoff says as he is dialing the number. He has put the call on speakerphone, so we can all hear. I run to the back office to get Nicola. She should probably hear this conversation as well.
“Dackett’s Funeral Home, this is Mr. Dackett speaking.”
“Good Morning, Mr. Dackett. My name is Geoff Collins. I am the CDC Director in Darwin and I would like to discuss a case with you, if you have time. I also have Dr. Trevor Tomblim on speakerphone, and he has a few questions for you as well.”
“Yes, Mr. Collins, now is a good time. How can I help?”
“About ten days ago, Mrs. Ida Jones flew her daughter, son-in-law, and grandson back to Perth from Katherine’s Gorge. They had been attacked and killed by dingoes. Do you remember that case sir? Did anything unusual happen during your embalming process?”
“Yes sir, I remember this case vividly. It was a horrible tragedy the way that family died.”
“Do you remember anything odd or different about the bodies, specifically
with the blood?”
“Yes, I do. I started the embalming procedure by making a small incision
above the clavicle bone, like I always do, in order to insert the tube that flushes the blood out of the system through the right carotid artery and the right jugular vein. When I made the incision on the husband, a reddish black fluid oozed from the incision, but I didn’t think much of it. I continued with the process until the fluid ran clean. I performed the same procedure on all three bodies. The only body that had the ooze was the man.”
“Did you notice if there were any clots in the blood?”
“Come to think of it, yes. His blood had what appeared to be little black beads in it.”
“Didn’t you think that was odd at the time?”
“I didn’t really give it much thought. I embalm so many bodies, it unfortunately becomes routine.”
“Where does the blood go?” I ask.
“The blood is flushed in my septic tank. Why? Is everything okay?”
“We won’t know for sure until we check the body you embalmed. There may have been an infectious parasite in his blood. We also need to check your septic tank, so don’t have it emptied.”
“But Geoff, even if there was a parasite in his blood, wouldn’t the chemicals from the embalming fluid kill any infectious organisms?” I ask.
“We can’t say for sure because we have never seen a parasite like this and do not know how it responds or reacts. Mr. Dackett, at which cemetery in Perth are the bodies buried, do you know?”
“They aren’t in a cemetery. Mrs. Jones lives almost 200 kilometers north of Perth. She and her husband ran a sheep station for many years together, and then he died a few years ago. She still operates the station and wanted to have the
remains buried there. Her daughters’ husband did not have any family, so she decided to bury him with her daughter and grandson.”
“Did you personally drive the remains to the location where they were put to rest?” Trevor inquires.
“Yes, I did.”
“Thank you, Mr. Dackett. Please do not allow the septic service company to empty your tank, under any circumstances. I am going to send one of my employees to test the contents of the tank in the next few days” Geoff explains.
Geoff looks at Trevor and Nicola and says, “Do you think we have a problem?”
“I don’t know, Geoff. The only way we can be sure is to go to Perth and test the septic tank behind Dackett’s Funeral Home for the parasite,” Trevor says.
Geoff leans back in his chair and interlocks his fingers behind his head. “We could have a serious outbreak on our hands. I need to contact the CDC in Perth and brief them on the situation. Kobi, how would you like to become part of this team? With your experience as a medical lab technician, you will be a valuable asset to us all. I will contact your boss in St. Louis and ask him if you can stay and help out with this crisis. I’ll tell him it’s a national emergency,” Geoff explains.
“Really? That sounds good to me. I would love to stay and be part of your team. Derrick, it that okay with you?”
“That’s fine Kobi, if that’s what you want to do. I wish I could stay with you, but I have to get back to my job. Do you feel okay staying by yourself?”
“Yeah, I’m okay with it, but I wish you could stay.”
“I know. I was lucky to get the four weeks off in the first place. I doubt
my boss will grant me anymore time. You stay, Honey. Believe me, if I could stay, I would.”
I look at Geoff and say, “I’ll stay if it’s okay with my boss. I don’t know my way around the area though. Someone will have to drive me.”
Geoff looks at Dane and says
, “Dane, how would you like to be put on the payroll? You will be her guide just like you are now. Get her wherever she needs to be.”
Dane looks at Derrick and says, “Is that alright with you, Mate?”
“No problem. I trusted you before with both our lives, so why not now.”
“Great! That’s settled. Welcome to the team you two,” Geoff says as he smiles at Dane and me.