:17:00
Has Dr. Reed filled you in on this?
Have you finished, Doctor?
:17:03
Well there's not much more,
Mr. Mayor.
:17:05
Bubonic plague, as you probably know,
is spread by the rat flea...
:17:08
which is why we watch
all ships and ports.
:17:11
Pneumonic, on the contrary,
can be spread like a common cold...
:17:15
on the breath, sneezes
or sputum of its victims.
:17:17
Very interesting, but I don't quite see why
we were called into this.
:17:20
Because this morning,
right here in the city...
:17:22
your police found the body of a man
who was infected with this disease.
:17:25
Well, Dan, what about it?
:17:27
- Our reports show the man died
with two bullet wounds.
- He did. Heart and lungs.
:17:31
- Death was probably instantaneous. Right, Tom?
- Yes, sir.
:17:33
- We had a police surgeon...
- Regardless of what the police surgeon said...
:17:36
he would have died
within 12 hours.
:17:38
- But what he did die of was two bullet holes.
- He had pneumonic plague.
:17:40
- But he died of...
- Drop it, Tom.
:17:42
- Dr. Mackey?
- As you know, Mr. Mayor, I wasn't there.
:17:46
Ben was there when the body was brought in,
but I can go now and check.
:17:49
- I had the body destroyed.
- You had it destroyed?
:17:51
It was the prime source of contamination.
I had Ben cremate it.
:17:54
I see.
What else have you done, Mackey?
:17:56
Everyone who came in contact
with the body has been inoculated...
:17:59
everyone we know of...
with serum and streptomycin.
:18:01
And now I think
they ought to be isolated.
:18:03
We can have them watched.
We know who they are... all but one...
:18:06
the man who killed him.
:18:08
- Or men.
- Mr. Mayor, this man was shot.
:18:10
The killer wasn't within 10 feet of him.
I can prove it.
:18:12
- Was he shot on that riverbank, Captain?
- Of course not.
:18:15
He was dumped off the Canal Street Pier
about 5:00, 5:30.
:18:18
- How did he get to the Canal Street Pier?
- How do I know?
:18:20
Somebody must have...
:18:23
The point is that whoever dumped him there
may very well be walking around...
:18:27
with incipient plague
at this moment.
:18:29
- Oh, now, wait a moment.
- No. We've got to work on the supposition
the doctor's right.
:18:33
Dan, looks like your job.
:18:36
All right, sir.
I'll do what I can.
:18:39
But after all,
we don't know the identity of the dead man.
:18:42
- We have no possible idea of the motivation.
- And you haven't got much time.
:18:47
- Also, we haven't got the body.
- Did you empty out his pockets?
:18:51
- I had everything burned.
- Great.
:18:54
If the killer is incubating pneumonic plague,
he can start spreading it within 48 hours.
:18:58
- Forty-eight hours?
- Yes. We have 48 hours.