Page 38 of Outbreak Protocol

"Yes," I confirm, introducing ourselves and explaining our investigation's purpose.

She leads us to a small living room filled with family photographs—Klaus smiling beside his wife at various ages and locations, children growing from toddlers to adults across framed moments of captured happiness.

"The hospital said it was some new virus," she says, gesturing for us to sit. "I couldn't even see him at the end."

Felix leans forward, his expression radiating compassion. "I'm truly sorry for your loss, Frau Richter. We're trying to understand how this virus spread so we can help others."

"My husband wasn't the only one who died," she says, her voice catching. "Our neighbor Herr Meyer passed last week. And I heard Frau Schmidt from the bakery is in hospital."

"That's why we need to understand Klaus's movements before he became ill," I explain. "We believe he may have encountered the virus during his travels."

Her eyes widen slightly. "The Kinshasa trip? He went to visit suppliers for our café."

"You own a café?" Felix asks.

"Café Richter on Reeperbahn. Nothing fancy, but we've been there fifteen years." Pride briefly displaces grief in her expression. "Klaus handled the business side and supplier relationships. I manage daily operations."

I pull out my tablet, displaying a map with outbreak clusters. "Your café is centrally located among several early transmission zones. Was Klaus working there after his return from Kinshasa?"

"Every day until he collapsed," she confirms. "He wasn't feeling well, but Klaus never missed work. Said he just needed to push through."

"When exactly did he start showing symptoms?" I ask, mentally calculating incubation periods.

"Two days after returning. He mentioned a headache, then fever the next morning. By the third day, he was having trouble concentrating, but still insisted on going to the café."

Felix makes notes while I update our transmission timeline. Klaus's movements perfectly explain the geographic spread across central Hamburg—a mobile infection source interacting with dozens of customers daily.

"Did he mention anything unusual about his trip?" Felix asks. "Any places he visited or people he met who seemed ill?"

Frau Richter hesitates, then stands. "He brought something back. A gift, he said."

She leads us down a hallway to a small spare room. In the corner sits a large ornate birdcage, empty but clearly recently inhabited—scattered seeds, water bowl, discarded feathers.

"An African grey parrot," she explains. "Klaus said one of his suppliers gave it to him as a goodwill gesture. Beautiful bird, but nervous. Always fluffing its feathers like it was uncomfortable."

My pulse quickens. "Where is the bird now?"

"It escaped when the paramedics came for Klaus. In the confusion, someone left the cage door open. I never saw it again."

Felix and I exchange meaningful glances. Zoonotic transmission—a pathway we hadn't fully explored though we'd speculated could be the case in the beginning.

"Was Klaus in close contact with the bird?" I ask carefully.

"Constantly," she says with a sad smile. "He was fascinated by it. Spent hours trying to teach it German phrases. The bird would nibble his fingers, sit on his shoulder..."

"Did the bird appear sick?" Felix asks.

"Not exactly sick. Just... agitated. Pulling at its feathers. But it ate normally, made plenty of noise."

I examine the cage more closely. "Would you mind if we took samples from the cage? It might help us understand the virus better."

She shrugs. "Take whatever you need. I've been meaning to get rid of it anyway."

While Felix continues interviewing Frau Richter about Klaus's final days, I call Sarah to request sampling equipment. Within thirty minutes, she arrives with collection kits and protective gear.

We carefully swab the cage bars, food dishes, perches, and collected feathers. Each sample is sealed in viral transport medium and labeled for urgent analysis.

"If the bird was infected but survived, it could provide crucial insights," I tell Sarah quietly. "Possibly even antibodies we could use for treatment development."