Now that the host was dead, members of the community were fleeing. They were abandoning this cooling vessel.
Every few minutes, the woman asked did I know what they were, what the hell they could be?
Some people burn adrenal excesses by talking. She chattered away before asking again: “You really think you’ve seen these things before?”
I was standing with my hands on the base of the gurney, leaning over Applebee. I was so focused, it took me a second to realize she was waiting for an answer.
“There’s a parasite I’ve seen in… West Africa, the poorest areas-Ethiopia, Nigeria. Maybe other parts of the tropics, too, but I’m not sure. They’re called guinea worms. People get infested by drinking water that contains little tiny water fleas. They’re actually copepods-barely visible-that have fed on the parasite during its larval stage. Copepods are little crustaceans related to crayfish. All they do is eat and reproduce. They’re worldwide. Ponds, ditches, even standing water in old tires. You need a microscope to see them, so you wouldn’t know they were in a cup of water.”
Graves looked at the body, then looked away. “Those things come from water fleas?”
“No. Inside the fleas, the guinea larvae develop teeth. Once they get inside a person’s stomach, they eat through the intestinal wall. When they’ve mated, ready to release larvae, the females move through the body’s soft tissues, and finally break through the skin looking for freshwater.”
Graves said, “My God.”
“Uh-huh, an unattractive life cycle. In Africa, I saw street people who were infected. The common treatment isn’t pretty. I’ll spare you.”
When the investigator pressed for details, however, I told her what I’d seen, finishing, “The worms can be three or four feet long, so it’s the only way to prevent them from breaking off beneath the skin. Which could cause infection, maybe death.”
“Ohhh, awful,” sorry now that she’d asked. She pointed. “But how do they know which areas of the body are soft enough…? Do you see the one that’s… that’s…?”
I looked, turned away. “I see. I don’t know how they navigate. It’s an interesting example of specialized adaptation.”
“Sickening’s a better word. These things aren’t found in the United States, are they? They can’t be. I’d know about something that nasty.”
“Guinea worms aren’t indigenous to North America. I’m almost as sure that they aren’t found in this hemisphere. They aren’t supposed to be here, anyway. These are exotics. Not native to Florida.”
I added, “Exotic plants and animals thrive here. It’s the heat, all the water. Or maybe these are just similar in appearance to guinea worms; not the same species. But I think they are.”
I stood, glanced around the room. One of the detectives had recovered. He was standing, his back to us. I wanted a pan of water-not to drink, but to see how the parasite reacted to water. I decided to find the kitchen myself. Rona Graves followed, relieved to be out of the room.
As we walked, she said, “Please tell me that we can’t be infected by contact with the body. God, I don’t think I could handle the thought of having-”
“No, don’t worry. You have to ingest contaminated water. I might be able to show you why in a second.”
“They’re from Africa? Do you know if Applebee had traveled to Africa? Maybe that’s where he was infected.”
“I’ll ask his sister, because you’re right: It’s important to nail down the source. If Applebee picked them up locally, if he wasn’t studying the things for research, this county’s got a serious problem. Maybe the entire state’s got a problem.”
“How serious?”
Instead of telling her, I took a chance and demonstrated; did it to convince myself of something that I already believed was true. Witness an emaciated street child using a Popsicle stick to spool a guinea worm and you’ll never forget what the parasite looks like, how it behaves, nor what you’ve later read about it.
In the kitchen, I’d filled a glass bowl with water. Now, back in the room, I placed the bowl on the gurney next to Applebee’s ankle. After several seconds, the parasite’s senses began vectoring, its bristled scolex twisting, searching. After a few more seconds, it leaned toward the bowl, arching like a caterpillar. Then it stretched until it could insert its head into the water.
Instantly, from its mouth, the parasite began to emit a milky current that bloomed slowly, slowly, murking the bowl.
“You’re seeing why it could be a serious problem. Males die after fertilization, so these are all gravid females. The milky substance is a stream of larvae. Each female releases tens of thousands.
“Imagine them dumping many millions of larvae into a lake or river. The copepods I mentioned feed on them, and the worm begins to develop. Then you or I come along, swallow or inhale a few drops of the water. Our bodies become part of the parasite’s life cycle.”
The woman made a shuddering noise. “Did Dr. Applebee know-do victims know-what they have inside them?”
“I’ll do more research when I get home, but I think it’s asymptomatic. Maybe a low-grade fever toward the end, but that’s all until the parasite begins to exit.”
Sounding woozy, the woman said, “Oh-hhh, that’s revolting. I’ve got to get out of here.” She turned and walked toward the hallway door. “What about the deceased? Is it safe for us to bag and transport?”
I told her I thought it was, but suggested she contact the Centers for Disease Control in Atlanta right away.
“They need to get a team down here and start collecting samples. It takes the female parasite a year or so inside the host to reach sexual maturity. If Applebee was infected locally, then they’ve had at least twelve months to spread.”
The Everglades watershed begins just below Orlando as a series of lakes known as the Kissimmee Chain. Lake Toho was one of the largest lakes in the system. I didn’t tell her that the entire southern part of the state might already be infested because of the natural, slow flow of water.
No one was more aware of the Everglades’ complicated interlinkings than Jobe Applebee.
Something else I chose not to impose on Rona Graves was a request for plastic specimen bags. I wanted to harvest samples of the parasite so I could have a look under the microscope when I got back to Sanibel.
The medical investigator didn’t seem up to that.
9
LOG
(Kissimmee motel)
13 Dec. Monday
Cold front dissipating, gray jet stream clouds. Damaged my boat. Nose, shoulder, ribs ache. Dreamed of parasites, then old familiar nightmare. Awoke w/sweats.
Spoke w/Dewey 3 times this mom. Still pissed off, irritable, eager to get off phone.
List: 1. Meet Frieda, search Applebee’s house. 2. Call Laken, check on sharks. 3. Xmas presents.
Frieda Matthews told me the family seldom disclosed the truth about Jobe, he’d done so well professionally.
There was a reason he was different.
“When we first found out, I guess we were ashamed. By the time we knew there was no reason to be ashamed, he’d already made it on his own. So it didn’t seem to matter.”
Her brother had been born with Asperger’s syndrome. She said it had nearly destroyed him as a child, but then defined him as an adult. He was one of those uncommon people who found success through his handicap.
Asperger’s is a form of autism; a neurological disorder that causes developmental problems.
“Aspey people, like Jobe, have a unique view of the world because their neuron pathways develop differently. They approach problems from unexpected angles because their brains are uniquely wired. It’s like there are two different software platforms for human beings. For every thousand IBMs like us, there are two autistic Macs.”
It was a little before noon on Monday, the thirteenth day of December, the morning after I’d found Applebee’s body. A gusty north wind was pushing gray stratus clouds toward Key West. The void was filled with Canadian chill, dropping the temperature into the midfifties. Because she’d been unable to sleep after hearing about her brother’s death, Frieda had left her son and husband in Tallahassee, pointed the family SUV toward Kissimmee, and called me on the way. Would I wait there for her?