Doyle's comment left Bodie speechless for a moment, then the dark-haired man found his voice and shouted, "Why didn't you say something?"
His partner shouted back, "I didn't know it meant anything!" They stared at each other in a silence louder than the angry meaningless words. It was not the first time they had relieved their overwrought feelings by snarling at each other but they usually felt better afterwards. Now they were overcome with fear.
Dr Fairbairn cleared his throat softly. He could almost see the bond between the two men and he hesitated to break their rapport, but there was no time to lose. "Let us not jump to conclusions. I need to run a full blood panel immediately on both of you. Mr Doyle, you must try to think how you could have been exposed to the toxic chemical. What did you touch that Mrs Consolus would have been in contact with?"
Doyle's eyes widened. "The car!"
"I touched the car too and I'm not tasting garlic," said Bodie.
"You only opened it and lifted Mrs Consolus out," replied Doyle. "I sat in it to switch it off."
"It wouldn't have been the key," said Fairbairn. "It would have to be a larger surface."
"The steering wheel?" asked Doyle.
The doctor nodded. "That would do it."
"Oh, my God." The curly-haired man stood up. "The driver!"
"What driver?" asked Bodie.
"We called for a tow," said Doyle urgently. "The driver probably touched the steering wheel."
Bodie felt a lump in his throat. Was there ever anyone like Doyle? Here he was with a possible death sentence hanging over his head and his first thought was for some stranger who might also be at risk. The dark-haired man felt oddly humble that someone as good as Ray Doyle was his friend, but all he did was say gruffly, "I'll call the Cow."
A nurse was taking blood from Doyle, filling neatly labeled tubes and setting them in a tray, when Bodie returned. She took his blood while he reported, "The tow truck driver's luck was in. It was so cold this morning he was wearing gloves. He didn't touch anything on the car with his bare hands, and he left it in the impound yard. Nobody's been near it. Cowley sent Murphy to pick up the gloves and a hazmat team to collect the car."
"I'm still going to want to examine the driver," said Dr Fairbairn.
"I thought you might," answered Bodie. "He's on his way here." He looked at his partner questioningly. "How are you?"
Doyle shrugged. "Good so far."
"That's hopeful, isn't it?" Bodie asked the doctor.
Fairbairn was checking the blood samples and giving some directions to the nurse, more to give himself time to think than because she needed to be told what to do, and after a moment he turned to the two CI5 men. "We'll know more after the bloodwork is in." He spread his hands. "I'd rather not speculate. The only thing I can promise you is that we'll do everything in our power."
"Sounds like the sort of thing we tell people just before there's a firefight or an explosion," said Doyle, smiling weakly.