get their hands on one of these virulent viruses. His expertise makes him extremely dangerous.”
“But it’s just a small sample, right?” Stephen asked.
“It doesn’t take much to start the cycle.”
“Are you surprised Walker was able to get his hands on this virus?” one of the detectives asked.
“Yes, I am. The lab here in Kansas City is a biosafety level 4 facility. BSL-4 is the highest rating for labs that work with infectious agents. It was set up during the COVID-19 pandemic. You have to remember that the lab believed they were receiving inactivated samples, and a technician they trusted received those samples. Not until someone in Addis Ababa noticed that one of their active samples was missing did they become concerned. Of course, when Walker went missing the next day, as did the chemist in Ethiopia, that rang alarm bells.” She sighed. “The lab in Addis Ababa has been shut down, and the lab here is under investigation. I can guarantee you that something like this will never happen again.”
“If this thing has been reengineered, what are we looking at?” Harrison asked.
Grace took a deep breath, then let it out before saying, “If Kirabo created something new, we could see an outbreak beyond anything the United States has ever seen. And as I said, if infected people travel to other countries . . . Well, we could completely lose track of it. The good news is we do have ways to prevent infection. A drug called Ervebo can keep people safe as long as the virus hasn’t been altered too much.”
“But that drug is preventative,” Stephen said. “What happens if someone is exposed to Ebola?”
Grace paused a moment, then said, “We don’t have a magic drug that kills it. One on the horizon shows great promise, but it hasn’t been approved for use in the United States. And before anyone asks, no, the drugs that worked for COVID-19 won’t treat Ebola. For now, all we can do is hydrate victims, balance their fluids and electrolytes, maintain their oxygen status and blood pressure, and treat them with antibiotics to address any secondary infections.” She shook her head. “But again, if the virus has been altered, we may not be able to do anything to help.”
“What’s the mortality rate for those infected with Ebola?” Mike asked.
“Around ninety percent. All of you who will be in the field will be vaccinated with Ervebo. I hope it keeps you safe, but as I said, we don’t know what we’re dealing with. Will this vaccine work for a mutated strain? I can’t answer that. All we can do is go by what we know now. If you pray, this is the time to do it.”
Although Alex felt a call to prayer wouldn’t help, it was clear Grace was extremely concerned. All Alex had wanted since that day at school was to be a behavioral analyst for the FBI. For the first time, she wished she was back in the field. She wanted to go out there and find this guy. But that wasn’t her job. She and Logan had to narrow the possibilities so the field agents could capture the Train Man before he unleashed the virus. And she intended to do just that.
23
Alex stood, and with their notes in front of her, she began to go through the assessment she and Logan had put together.
“I know Monty’s been working with you, giving you some preliminary ideas about our subject. But things have changed because we now have a solid suspect. What we’re giving you today isn’t a profile, since that’s a procedure we go through when we don’t know who our subject is. But I’m going to present this assessment as if we didn’t believe Adam Walker is our suspect. With that approach, I think you’ll learn some things that may help you find him.”
She reached down and, lifting her cup, took a sip of water. As she put it back she said, “We were certain from the beginning that our subject was probably a white male between twenty-five and thirty-five—”
An agent she didn’t know raised his hand. “I can remember only one time when the BAU presented a profile where they believed the UNSUB was over forty. Why is that?”
“I guess it’s because almost all serial killers are white males between twenty-five and thirty-five. All we’re really doing is following statistics. Of course, there have been some exceptions. Even female serial killers. Aileen Wuornos comes to mind. And Black serial killers—Wayne Williams, Samuel