Detectives Hector Lopez and Roscoe Edwards respond to a call to a suspicious death at a motel that looks like death by an overkill of natural causes— to the extent where HazMat teams were brought in to inspect the fever-hot body for any contaminants.

After the presiding medical examiner determines a surprisingly mundane cause of death, the case is about to be shelved when the victim’s lawyer drops off a somewhat incriminating letter— considered a deathbed confession, and thereby truthful to the extent of the victim’s knowledge— that throws suspicion on one person—

A young woman whom the victim had been stalking since she was a child. The victim’s obsession with her started when he got the idea stuck in his mind that the young girl could influence people’s immune responses.

The letter had absurdities in it that fell a little too close to home; with the state of the body when they’d arrived at the scene, it was eerily possible that maybe this identified woman could have access to something extraordinary— whether powers or unrestricted access to virus and bacteria was anyone’s guess.

When they’re ordered to hand over the case to federal agents, the detectives believe their work is done; but the agent assigned to take over the case draws them back in…

…and that’s when things get weird.

Mystery - Police Procedural ~ 220 Pages

Warning: depictions of children harming children, mentions of indirect abuse against women (non-domestic, non-sexual)