"Steve? What a break to find you in! This is Rick." He swiftly outlined the events of the past few days, ending with the discovery that the bag contents were radioactive. He concluded, "I know this isn't a case for you, but we hoped you might help us to identify the stuff from the bag and get a better measure of how active it is."
Steve considered. "Know where Falls Church airport is?"
Rick had used it for a landmark on the way to the farm. It was a small private airport west of Washington near the city of Falls Church. "I know where it is."
"All right. You're only a few minutes flying time from there. It's now two thirty. Be there at four. I'll have a man meet you. Bring the sample."
Rick thanked the agent and hung up. He reported that Steve would send a man to the airport at four o'clock.
Scotty asked, "Is the field dry enough for take-off and landing?"
"Sure. I hope Steve has a real expert he can send. If we can identify this stuff, it may give us a clue to what's going on here."
At Barby's request, Rick and Scotty took the girls along for the short ride. Steve's man walked to the plane as they rolled to a stop on the Falls Church strip. He introduced himself as Don Baxter, then opened the suitcase he carried. "Let's see what you have."
He produced a field-survey instrument and held it over the bag Rick carried. The instrument's meter showed a reading at once.
"Gamma," Baxter stated. "Now let's try for alpha and beta." He opened a shield on the bottom of his instrument and checked the sample again. The meter failed to respond. "No beta. That's interesting." An inner shield was slid out of the way and the instrument held to the bag. The meter responded.