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this straight. You suspect that Dr. Shaw might not have just infected this man, but she sent him out to infect others? Like a suicide bomber, only with a virus instead of shrapnel?”
    Platt met her eyes, waited a beat, and said, “Yes.”

9
    NEW YORK CITY
    C hristina Lomax stood in the hotel atrium looking out at the street. The watchers had slipped a handwritten note under her hotel room door. It must have been during the two hours she’d finally slept. She hadn’t heard a thing.
    They’d told her there would always be someone watching over her to help her complete the experiment. But she never saw them. They were like ghosts. Once yesterday she thought she had seen a reflection behind her in a storefront window, but when she turned no one was there. It was getting more and more difficult to tell what was real and what was fever-induced.
    They’d warned her about feeling a bit feverish off and on. And there was a reminder in today’s message. But they made it sound like it was no big deal. By now she had done enough of these experiments that she knew the discomfort was temporary. Others had made her light-headed and one even made her nauseated for two days, but every time those minor symptoms didn’t last long.Still, she was glad they’d prepared her that it might be several days of feeling bad.
    She remembered thinking at the time, how bad could it be? She’d done enough drugs early in life that she didn’t think there was much her mind and body hadn’t experienced. And although she never considered herself a fighter, she knew she was a survivor. No matter how low she had sunk in the past, she always found a way to make do . . . to survive.
    Last summer after her second divorce Christina had lived in her car for two months. When she ran out of gas money she parked at a busy shopping plaza, moving the vehicle from one corner of the lot to another. A Goodwill drop-off box was close by, as were several fast-food restaurants. She had clean clothes and half-eaten sandwiches. When you were hungry enough, Dumpster diving—or trash can diving—was far from gross, especially if you timed it right. Sometimes the discarded fries were still warm.
    The more difficult challenge was finding a way to cool off during the hot humid days. She walked through one of the huge retail stores, pretending to browse and using the bathroom. The women’s restrooms at the Home Depot were rarely used during the morning hours, allowing her time to wash her hair and brush her teeth. She’d gotten good at slipping small necessities like deodorant, toothpaste, and shampoo from the department store shelves into her purse. She knew where all the cameras were hidden. She even knew what shifts were lightly manned.
    Yes, she had gotten quite good at surviving.
    It had almost become a game for her. Until the night she got caught rummaging through a load of donations at the Goodwilldrop-off box. She’d expected to hear police sirens. At the very least, a righteous lecture. She never in her wildest dreams expected a job offer. As it turned out, someone recognized that her skills would come in handy.
    Ever since then, the money she made from being a part of a few experiments once or twice a month was enough for her to move out of her car and into a studio apartment. But this time—this experiment was huge. Yes, she’d be sick for three to five days, but she’d make more money for those several days than she’d ever made in a year’s time.
    Now, as Christina stood in the atrium of the Grand Hyatt, she wished she could stay between the cool sheets of her king-sized bed. The fever made her head swim.
    She didn’t know New York very well, but they had told her that would make her even more convincing in her role as a tourist. They insisted what she saw as a weakness would end up being her biggest asset. And besides, the notes offered ideas of places for her to go.