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Probably, he said. Let me drive.
Margaret stood and Clarence sat down.
Perry leaned over to watch Clarences hunt-and-peck typing. You need a hand with that, champ?
Clarence kept his eyes on the keyboard and the screen in front of him.
I think I can swing it, chief, but thanks for being such a helper.
So its not the grocery store, Dew said. You think maybe something blowing through the air, right? Something airborne?
Airborne is a term for one host pa.s.sing the disease to another through sneezes, coughs or even breath, Margaret said. Look at the range on this curve. Were talking miles here, not feet. The more accurate term is wind-borne, where wind is the mechanical vector driving the spore.
But wouldnt Cheng have checked weather patterns? Dew asked.
Of course, Margaret said. But the wind can change direction from minute to minute. We now potentially have an exact time of infection. Cheng never had that. Perry, what did you do after you got your food?
Ate it on the way home, Perry said. Got home, got undressed and went right to bed. I had work the next day.
The vector must have been on your hands, Margaret said. Or maybe on your clothes, and when you got undressed you spread it around. You must have touched . . . uh . . . some private places.
A guy scratching his b.a.l.l.s in the privacy of his own home, Dew said. Imagine that.
Okay, Clarence said. I have historical weather. What do you want, Margo?
Give us wind direction at ten thirty P.M. Sunday, she said. Focus in on Belleville if you can.
Otto tapped away. Blue arrows appeared, pointing mostly east and a little bit north. A green line of text at the bottom read .5 MPH, 260 DEGREES.
That doesnt work, Dew said. The wind direction doesnt line up the Rawsonville hosts with the store.
Clarence, Margaret said, show me a time-lapse projection of wind patterns from ten P.M. to ten thirty P.M.
Otto looked at the keys for a second but didnt type. Uh . . . I dont think this computer can do that.
Jesus H, Perry said. Give me that.
He grabbed the keyboard and pulled it onto his lap. His big fingers flew across the keys. Data fields popped up on the screen and filled with strings of text faster than Margaret could even read them.
You people remind me of the idiots I used to support at my job, Perry said. Its like youve never read a software manual in your life. This is basic stuff, guys.
He hit one last key, and the blue arrows on the screen changed. Instead of a west-to-east orientation, they started pointing north, then curved northeast, and finally wound up pointing due east.
Perry clacked a few more keys. The blue arrows vanished save for onean arrow that started at the Whittaker houses icon, curved to the right to cross over both the Rawsonville icons, and then farther to the right to cross over Meijers.
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