Chapter 19
Day 19
Derrick and I get up around 8:00 a.m., get dressed, and head downstairs to the restaurant for some breakfast. Dane shows up about 9:00 a.m. looking a little tired. He tells us that he went to his room, tried to fall asleep, but couldn’t, so he came back down here to the bar and ended up staying here until it closed around 2:00 a.m. Lucky for us, he’s not driving today.
After breakfast, we meet Taylor in front of the hotel. There is a huge vehicle out front that reminds me of a bread truck. This is the CDC’s portable lab, complete with hazardous suits, microscopes, and a shower for decontamination purposes, if needed. Taylor is parked behind the CDC truck in a very large SUV that I assume we will be riding in. We say our good mornings and start the 200 kilometers drive to Mrs. Jones’ house.
“Taylor, what is the plan after we exhume the body?” I ask.
“We will make four incisions in the body. One in the chest, stomach, arm, and leg. If we discover the body is infected with the parasite, it will be soaked in bleach, and burned just like the dingoes. We will also need to check the soil around the coffin for contamination,” Taylor explains.
Derrick is curious about the ground water around the burial site. It raises a good question. If the body is infected, it could seep into the ground and contaminate the water that she and the employees use. The sheep could all be infected as well, since they use that water too. There are a lot of possible problems in the works if this body is infected. Matthew will be taking charge of the decontamination procedures, should we find evidence of the parasite at the sheep station.
I am surprised to see that most of the yards here don’t really have any grass. I guess I just assumed that living next to the coast would yield a lush, green, environment. The yards consist mostly of sand and rock. The one advantage to not having a lush, green, yard, is you don’t have to worry about mowing. I did see one yard that had really green grass, but Taylor told me it was a special grass that doesn’t need watering at all. It is plastic! Ha Ha…actually, that’s not a bad idea.
We finally arrive at the sheep station around 12:30 p.m., and notice that we are the first ones to arrive. Taylor pulls the SUV into the driveway, while Matthew parks the CDC truck closer to the family graveyard. We exit the car and walk up to the front door of this beautiful old house. Taylors knocks several times before an elderly lady answers the door. Taylor introduces us, and she introduces herself as Mrs. Jones. Dane steps forward.
“Mrs. Jones, I’m Dane Walker, we spoke on the phone. It’s very nice to meet you.”
“Oh, hello, Mr. Walker. It’s very nice to meet you and your friends.”
Taylor gives her a quick synopsis of what we are going to be doing here today, and promises to keep her posted. The local authorities will be here at 1:00 p.m., which gives us time to get everything set up. First of all, we want to drape a plastic tent around the gravesite. We don’t want everyone staring at the body. It’s disrespectful. Second, this will allow us to control the environment the body is exposed to. There will be no dust or wind to disturb us. Everything is ready, so now we just need the authorities and the diggers to arrive.
The local authorities finally arrive, and the diggers are ready to go. Mrs. Jones gives the final okay, and they begin digging. It takes them about half an hour to get the dirt out and raise the coffin. It is then carried into the shelter and placed on the table. Mr. Dackett and Taylor are opening the coffin. As the lid is raised, we immediately see that the body is indeed infected, because the body is almost entirely black. Mr. Dackett looks shocked and advises us that this was not the condition of the body when it was buried. The parasite is alive and looking for its next victim.
Taylor tells everyone to leave, except CDC employees, Mr. Dackett, and me. He takes a scalpel and removes a tissue sample from the chest cavity and places it in a plastic container with a lid. He also takes tissue from the stomach, arms, and leg. All of these samples are sealed and put in an airtight container and sealed with CDC tape. Taylor and I take the container to the CDC lab truck.
Matthew excuses himself and goes to the truck for a big bottle of bleach. He brings the bleach inside the tent, then walks to a spot about 100 yards away and starts building a fire. While he is doing that, Taylor takes off his hazardous suit and proceeds over to Mrs. Jones to deliver the bad news. I am going with him.
“Mrs. Jones, may we go inside for a moment.”
“Sure, come right in.”
Taylor proceeds to tell her the entire story about the dingoes and the infectious parasite.
“We think your son-in-law has been infected with the parasite. Unfortunately, the only way to kill the parasite is to soak it in bleach and then burn it. We are going to have to burn his body immediately.”
“Oh, that’s terrible.” Mrs. Jones understands totally and doesn’t question our decision at all.
Matthew comes into the tent about 20 minutes after starting the fire and pours bleach all over the body while it is in the coffin. The bleach will need to soak in thoroughly before the body can be put in the fire. Luckily, the coffin is made of some kind of special-treated wood and will burn, if the fire is hot enough. From the looks of the fire, it’s hot enough. This works out great because no one will need to touch the body. The coffin can be carried and placed on the fire as is.
The next thing we need to do is get a sample of the soil around the coffin to see if it is contaminated. Taylor has this instrument that looks like a grabber with a small cylinder device attached to the end. As he shoves it into the ground, the cylinder fills up with dirt. The tip of the device is then placed into a container and a handle is squeezed, allowing whatever is in the cylinder to fall out. It reminds me of a tool I use at home to dig holes for bulbs. You twist it around, the cylinder fills up with dirt, and then you squeeze the handle together and the dirt falls out. It is the same principle but on a much smaller scale.
As the body burns, Taylor asks me to go to the well and get a few samples of the water. After collecting the samples, we all go into the truck and look at the samples we have collected to determine if we have a problem or not. As expected, the body is infected with the parasite. I add a little liquid to the dirt so I can look at it under a microscope slide easier and am shocked to see traces of the parasite swimming arround.
Taylor looks at me and says, “I think we need to exhume the bodies of the daughter and the grandson as well. If the parasite is in the soil, it may have penetrated through the coffins to the other bodies. We will need Mrs. Jones’ permission. Let’s go talk to her.”
We take off out suits and walk up to the house where Mrs. Jones is sitting on her front porch. Taylor explains the situation to here and she looks very upset. She really doesn’t want to disturb her daughter’s final resting place, but she understands and allows us to proceed with the exhumation of her daughter and grandson. Taylor advises the authorities, and the diggers get right to work digging up the two bodies. The daughter’s coffin is removed first, than the smaller coffin belonging to the grandson.
Taylor and I suit up again, and with the help of the funeral director, we open up her coffin. We slowly raise the lid and see her lying there so peaceful and perfect. There is no parasite evidence in the coffin or on her body. We will collect a sample of her tissue and check it anyway, but I’m sure it will show no evidence. As expected, the sample shows no parasite. Now, we have to check the grandson. The tiny lid is removed from the coffin, and inside lying just as peaceful as an angel is this precious little boy with light blond hair. It really tugs hard at my heart to see this little boy on a bed of white satin, dead. We check him too just to make sure. There is no parasite in his coffin either. We will leave the bodies out of the ground until we rid the soil of the parasite. Taylor asks Matthew to set up a trailer by the cemetery to store the coffins in until they can be placed back in the ground.
The next sample to be checked is the wat
er. I am crossing my fingers that the parasite isn’t in the water because if it is, we have a serious problem on the sheep station. I put the slide on the microscope stage and slowly put my eyes up to the eyepiece. I twist the focus knob. There it is--the parasite.
“Taylor, have a look. It’s right there in the station’s water supply.”
“Shit! We better start collecting blood samples from everyone on the sheep station,” Taylor says regrettably.
Derrick and Dane shake their head because they realize we have an outbreak here on the station. This is bad. Mr. Dackett asks us if there is anything more he can do, and we tell him no. He is going to return to Perth. I ask Derrick if he wants to go back to the hotel, since I will be here a while.
“No way, Sweetheart. I’m not going to leave you alone. I know there’s nothing I can do, but Dane and I want to see this thing through. The sheep probably need to be herded and contained. Maybe I can help with that. Also, do you want samples of the sheep’s blood? That--I can do.”
“Let me check with Taylor. Hey Taylor, so do you want to get the sheep corralled and tested as well for the parasite? I think it would be a good idea.”
“Yes, Kobi. That’s a great idea.”
“Dane and Derrick have offered to corral them and get blood samples if
that’s okay with you. Derrick is a Zoologist and knows a thing or two about animals.”
“That’s an excellent idea. Make sure they get suited up before collecting the blood samples.”
“Okay. Derrick, you’ve got the green light from the boss. Be careful and be sure to suit up before you start messing with their blood.”
Dane and Derrick head off to the stables, grab a couple of horses and start doing their thing. Taylor and I are going to talk to Mrs. Jones about our findings. It is not going to be easy telling her.
“Mrs. Jones,” Taylor says, “May we please go to the house and have a word with you?”
“Yes, of course. What have you and your team discovered?”
“Well, Mrs. Jones, I’m afraid it is very bad news. We tested the soil where the coffin was, and it is infected with the parasite, so we decided to check your water, too. Mrs. Jones, please have a seat,” Taylor says as he pulls the chair out from under the table for her. “I’m sorry, but your drinking water and the water you give to the sheep are also infected with the parasite. I am going to need a blood sample from you and everyone on your payroll here. We will also need to get your sheep rounded up and contained so we can check their blood.”
“A blood sample, from me. Why? I’m not infected. I feel fine.”
“I know Mrs. Jones, and I hope you don’t have the parasite, but we really need to check, okay?” I say calmly to her, as I rub her shoulder for reassurance.
Taylor gets a small blood sample from her.
“I will be right back Mrs. Jones,” Taylor says as he exits the room. “I am
going to check the blood right now. Be right back.”
Mrs. Jones is very upset and more worried about losing her livestock than she is about being sick herself. She looks at me with tears in her eyes and asks, “What if the sheep are infected? Will they need to be destroyed or can they be saved?”
“If the sheep are infected, they will be quarantined here at the station. We have a team of doctors in Darwin working around the clock trying to find a cure for the parasite.”
Taylor comes running back into the house very excited and completely out of breath. “Taylor, what is it? Catch your breath a minute,” I say.
“She’s not infected! I checked her blood and there is no parasite in it. I can’t believe it. Kobi, go take a look under the microscope just to be sure.”
I walk out to the truck and look at her blood. He is right--there is no parasite. How is that possible? How odd that the water is infected and she isn’t. I go back inside the house and confirm that there is no parasite. Mrs. Jones is happy not to be infected, but is still worried about her sheep.
“Mrs. Jones, Kobi and I are going to get back to work now. We need to check the blood samples we are collecting from your employees. When we finish checking their blood, we will check the sheep. About how many head of sheep do you have on the property?”
“Last time I checked I had about 150 sheep.”
“Okay, thanks Mrs. Jones.”
Taylor and I look at each other and take a deep breath because we know that this is going to be a very long day. Instead of getting blood from every animal, I suggest we collect blood from every fifth sheep coming through the gate. That’s 30 vials of blood instead of 150. It will take a lot of manpower to collect and test the blood, so this option works best for this situation. Chances are if 30 sheep are infected, the entire herd will be.