Love's So Contagious

Alarming

Mew woke up to find himself wrapped in the arms of a handsome doctor, which was a pleasant surprise. Usually, the guy would leave before morning, but this time Mew decided to stick around. He realized he should probably let his mom know where he was, even though he was an adult and did adult things. His mom always worried, especially considering his profession.

After giving Gulf a kiss on the cheek, Mew carefully got out of bed. He struggled a bit with Gulf's coffee pot since he didn't have an engineering degree, but he managed to figure it out eventually. Then, he found his phone and sent a quick message to his mom, letting her know he was okay and had stayed the night in town.

That should be sufficient. His mom trusted him enough not to pry too much. After all, everyone had their own hookups, even his mom, although they were less frequent now that she was in her sixties.

Mew returned to the bedroom to find Gulf waking up. "I either made coffee or triggered a national security alert," he joked with his new lover.

"Sounds great," Gulf replied with a yawn. "Shower?"

So maybe last night wasn't a one-time thing. Or maybe it was, and Gulf just wanted to continue the fun. Either way, Mew was going to enjoy it while it lasted. "Sounds great."

Gulf's shower could have accommodated ten people if they were really friendly. Mew and Gulf could have showered together if they'd been straight colleagues determined not to look or touch. As it happened, neither of them had much interest in not touching. Apparently maybe-crooks from Udon Thani liked giving head in the shower. Who knew? Mew wasn't about to complain.

After showering, they grabbed breakfast and headed into the hospital. Apparently the chaplain at Sekhmet had gotten in touch with Mild Korapat's family. They were devastated, of course. Apparently they hadn't quite understood the seriousness of the meningitis diagnosis. Now it was too late. The college was going to pay to have the body shipped back to California.

It was about as much as anyone could do.

The patients at the hospital were stable for now. None of the additional inmates from the Legal Hall tested positive for hepatitis, and there were no new cases of the disease in the following days. This gave Mew and Gulf the opportunity to investigate further.

Mew and Gulf traveled all around the county, mostly visiting places suggested by Gulf. They went to two different pharmaceutical companies to inquire about their meningitis supplies. Mew initially tried to ask the questions, but he quickly realized it was a futile effort.

Gulf stepped in and it was as if they had a translator with them. The pharmaceutical executives knew Gulf wasn't necessarily on their side, but he was able to communicate effectively and avoid any conflicts. Gulf and Mew were granted access to the labs and examined the companies' bacteria supplies, which were all in good condition, just like Gulf's samples at the lab.

Unfortunately for Mew, the criminal side of the investigation was at a standstill. By the end of the first week, they hadn't uncovered any new leads. Mew knew he had to find a different approach to identify a suspect. If he couldn't do it through the sample, he would have to rely on the motive.

Over the weekend, Mew sat down with Gulf to brainstorm. Gulf, it seemed, didn't take weekends off. That was fine during an investigation because Mew was just as dedicated. However, if Gulf was always a workaholic, it could cause problems.

But that was a problem for another time. Right now, Mew welcomed Gulf's assistance. "Alright, let's think about what could motivate someone to release a deadly bacterium. Terrorism, perhaps?" Mew stood in front of Gulf's whiteboard and wrote the word TERRORISM in bold letters.