The Body Thief (10 page)

Rohan’s gaze didn’t waver. “Such as?”

“I autopsied a patient on the weekend who
had all of the major organs in her abdomen and chest removed, which
as you know, is unusual. But what concerned me even more was that
the consent form for the organ donation wasn’t there with the
patient’s notes.”

Rohan’s demeanor became more alert and he
leaned forward in his chair. “You mean no consent was given for the
organ harvesting?”

“No, Detective, that’s not what I’m saying.
I don’t have a clue whether or not the consent was obtained. All I
know is that the consent form was missing from the paperwork I
received.”

“Has that happened before?” Rohan asked.

Sam retained eye contact. “Occasionally.
We’re a busy place, Detective. We deal with two hundred or more
bodies a week. Now and then, paperwork gets mislaid. But, I’ve
never known something as important as a consent form to go
missing.”

Rohan stared at her a moment longer before
switching his attention to Hannah. “So, Ms Langdon, missing
paperwork hasn’t been your concern. Why do you think there’s
something suspicious going on?”

Hannah blew out her breath on a soft sigh.
“Like Sam said, I’ve seen a huge increase in the number of bodies
that’ve exhibited signs of having organs harvested. Obviously, I
have no idea how many or which organs have been removed, but last
week I came across something very strange.” She paused and Sam
could tell she was remembering what had happened.

“Go on,” Rohan encouraged.

“This body not only had recent suture lines,
there were also deep cuts across both wrists and ankles. It
appeared the ligaments and tendons in all of the limbs were
missing.”

Rohan’s eyebrows shot upward in surprise. “I
take it that isn’t usual?”

“No, it’s not. In fact, in the five years
since I’ve worked as an embalmer, I haven’t once come across wounds
like that. And there was more.”

“More?” Rohan asked.

“Yes. When I turned the body over, I
discovered large tracts of skin had been removed from the patient’s
back and the back of the legs.” She shook her head. “It was very,
very strange. I’ve never seen anything like it.”

Rohan’s expression turned grim. Gone was
even the slightest hint of humor. A frown line marred the smooth
expanse of his forehead. As Sam waited for him to speak, she
couldn’t stop the icy dread that slid stealthily into her stomach.
At last, he looked up at them.

“You’re right. It does sound odd.”

Sam’s breath caught in her throat. Her heart
pounded and blood rushed through her ears. She had to strain
against that noise to hear what else Rohan had to say.

“A sudden increase in the number of donors
and the volume of donated tissue, missing consent forms, highly
unusual donations… I’m going to confer with my colleagues as soon
as possible. This needs to be investigated further.” He looked at
Sam. “I assume you’re able to identify which hospital the bodies
have been transferred from?”

“Yes, of course, it’s on all of the
paperwork.”

“Including details of the treating doctors
and the persons responsible for obtaining the consents?”

The dread inside Sam grew into a cold, hard
lump, but she looked Rohan in the eye. “Yes.”

He turned to Hannah. “What about you? Are
you aware of where the bodies were sent from?”

She nodded somberly. “Yes. We’re contacted
by relatives of the deceased and then attend upon the relevant
hospital to collect their loved one. That’s about the extent of the
information we get, apart from the patients’ personal
identification details.”

In silence, Rohan made a few more notations
on the notepad, his lips compressed. “I’ll need your contact
details,” he said, looking from one to the other. “Home address,
work and cell phone numbers.”

Sam bit her lip and then forced herself to
relax. It wouldn’t matter that Rohan Coleridge knew where she lived
and how to get ahold of her. It was the fact he’d confirmed their
suspicions that had her tense. Something strange
was
going
on. The fact that it might involve her brother was something she
didn’t want to contemplate.

* * *

Rohan took down their details and then
slipped his pen back into his shirt pocket. Glancing at his watch,
he noticed it was almost the end of his shift. He hadn’t heard any
of his colleagues return from the raid and could only assume they
were still caught up in that drama. Not that it mattered. The
information Samantha and Hannah had relayed to him was disturbing,
but didn’t require urgent attention. It could wait until the
regular briefing held prior to the next shift.

He pushed back his chair and opened the door
to the interview room. The women followed him into the corridor and
back to the stairwell. When they reached the bottom, he entered his
security code and opened the door before turning back to face
them.

“Thank you for coming forward with this. I’m
sure you didn’t do it lightly.”

Hannah nodded. “It’s kept me awake for some
time now, that’s for sure.”

“Well, I appreciate your courage. You’ve
done the right thing. I’ll be in touch.” He indicated for them to
precede him. Hannah brushed past and gave him a brief smile of
farewell. Sam went to follow behind her.

“Samantha? Do you have a moment?”

She tensed and then reluctantly turned back
toward him. “Is there something else?”

“I’ll catch up with you later, Sam,” Hannah
called out on her way toward the exit.

Samantha looked like she wanted to scurry
off with her friend, but Rohan closed the connecting door. She
stared at him and once again he caught the flicker of anger in her
eyes. Determined to find out the reason for her animosity, he got
straight to the point.

“It’s quite clear you’re angry with me, but
for the life of me, I can’t work out why. I’ve scoured my memory
and I’ve come up blank. How about you tell me why you look at me
like you want to stab me in the eye?”

If anything, the anger in her eyes burned
hotter. He even took a step back and then cursed under his breath.
He had nothing to feel guilty about.

“I can’t believe you’re standing there,
pretending it never happened!” she hissed.

Rohan frowned in confusion. “What the hell
are you talking about?”

Her cheeks flushed and her breath came
faster. She looked like she might explode. Once again, he searched
through his memory for something that warranted her extreme
reaction and came up empty.

“You know what I’m talking about!” she said,
her tone full of contempt.

He drew in a deep breath and did his best to
hold his patience in check. “No, Samantha, I don’t. Now, are we
going to stand here like this until nightfall, or are you just
going to tell me what you’re so riled up about?”

Her stare turned lethal. “I’m talking about
Daphne!
Remember her? Your college girlfriend? The one you
promised to love forever?”

He stared back at her, still confused.
What the hell did Daphne have to do with any of this?
Until
Samantha appeared at the station, he hadn’t thought about his
ex-girlfriend in years. If he were honest, he could barely remember
what she looked like. They’d dated for a year-and-a-half before he
ended it. What was so maddening about that? It wasn’t like he’d
broken Daphne’s heart. In fact, he’d been the one
brokenhearted.

But, instead, he said, “Of course I remember
Daphne. What does she have to do with anything? We’ve been over for
more than decade.”

“Oh, you’re unbelievable! It’s so easy for
you to wipe your hands of it, isn’t it? You ought to be
ashamed!”

“Of
what?
For Christ’s sake, get to
the point. I don’t have a clue what you’re getting at!”

“Of abandoning your responsibilities, that’s
what!”

He shook his head and anger started to rear
its head. Never in his life had he been accused of shirking his
responsibilities. It irritated him to hear Samantha accuse him of
such now. Suddenly impatient, he got up in her face. Her head only
came up to his shoulder, but she continued to stare at him
defiantly, refusing to be intimidated.

“Cut the crap, Samantha. Spit it out. Tell
me what the hell you think I’ve done and why you’re so
furious!”

“Oh, yeah, I’m furious all right,” she
replied, pushing him in the chest.

He tensed and snatched at her hands, holding
them away from him. “Talk.
Now.
”

Her eyes narrowed. “I’m talking about your
son
! The baby you made with Daphne and then callously
abandoned because the pregnancy didn’t fit in with your plans. You
promised to love her forever and that’s how you treated her! Like I
said, you ought to bow your head in shame and beg forgiveness from
the mother of your child.”

Rohan reeled back in shock and let go of
Samantha’s hands. He could barely hear over the roar of blood in
his ears. Of course, he’d known about the baby. It was the reason
he’d ended it. Daphne obviously hadn’t told her roommate that the
baby wasn’t his.

He stared at the angry flush that stained
Samantha’s cheeks and was stunned she could think so badly of him.
After all the nights they’d double dated and sat around the girls’
apartment sharing pizza and drinking beer… He couldn’t believe she
hadn’t defended him. Or bothered to wonder whether the man she’d
considered a friend really could behave in such an appalling
manner.

Hurt and disappointment surged through him
and his chest went tight. He turned away from her, unwilling to let
her see how much her assessment of his character mattered. He’d
always liked her and had found her fun to be around, even though at
the time, he’d only had eyes for Daphne. To discover that Samantha,
a person he respected and liked, could believe he was capable of
such selfish, irresponsible behavior rocked him to the core.

With an effort, he unclenched his fists and
steeled his heart. His pride refused to allow him to explain. If
that’s how little she knew and thought of him, then who was he to
argue? Turning back to face her, he unlocked the connecting door in
silence.

“It’s obvious you’re convinced you have the
story right. I think it’s best that you leave.” It was all he could
manage.

Sam made her way home in the early evening
traffic and thought about her meeting with Rohan. She’d known he
was a police officer, of course. He’d made detective not long after
he started dating Daphne. At that time, he’d been stationed at
Cronulla, a southern suburb of Sydney and a long way from the
station in the city. She hadn’t imagined she’d run into him when
she accompanied Hannah.

The years had been kind to him and the
knowledge irritated her. Somehow, it would have made her feel
better if she’d discovered his hair had disappeared off his head
and the athletic body he’d sported a decade earlier had given way
to fat. A near-sighted squint would also have gone a long way to
soothing her annoyance. But it wasn’t to be. He looked as good, if
not better, than he had ten years ago.

Although she wouldn’t admit it to anyone, he
also appeared competent in his job. His questions had been
insightful and he’d been genuinely determined to get to the bottom
of their complaint. She almost wished they’d met with a buffoon who
couldn’t care less about what they had to say. The knowledge that
Rohan would investigate the matter until he was satisfied with the
answers meant she now had to deal with the growing sense of unease
that weighed her down.

Her phone rang in the car kit to the tune of
a Bruno Mars song, distracting her from her thoughts. She glanced
across at the screen.
Alistair.
All of sudden, the dread in
her stomach grew wings and took flight. Swallowing, she moistened
her dry lips and answered.

“Hi, Alistair, how are you?”

“What’s the matter? You sound weird.”

Sam groaned under her breath.
Trust her
brother to notice.
She forced a smile and did her best to
lighten her tone. “It must be the noise of the traffic. I have you
on hands-free. I’m on my way home.”

“I just thought I’d call and see how you
were now that you’re a week older.”

“I’m fine, Alistair. Just getting on with
life: work, sleep, sitting with Mom, more work. You know how it
is.”

“Unfortunately, I do. Nancy and the kids
complain they barely see me these days.”

“So does Mom.”

“Hey, I was with her in the Dialysis Unit
two days last week when Ava and Jessie couldn’t make it.”

“And what about this week? It doesn’t just
stop, you know.”

“Of course. I’ll do what I can. Who kept her
company today?”

“Ava did. She moved around a few
appointments. Got the time cleared.”

“Ava’s such a good daughter,” Alistair
replied, sounding genuine. “You all are.”

“Yeah, yeah, yeah,” Sam replied with a wry
chuckle though her mirth was forced.

“Are you sure you’re all right?”

She bit her lip against a sudden rush of
tears.
No, she wasn’t all right.
Her mother was dying and
she was facing the possibility her brother might be involved in
something so awful she couldn’t even think about it—and yet, she
might be completely and utterly wrong. The worry and doubt and
confusion and uncertainty was doing her head in.

A car cut into her lane in front of her and
she cursed aloud and blasted the driver with her horn.

“What happened?” Alistair asked.

“Just another stupid Sydney driver impatient
to get home. Doesn’t he realize we’ve all had a long day and we’re
all desperate to get home? Talk about selfish. The idiot could have
caused an accident!”

“How do you know it’s a male?” Alistair
teased.

“You’re not helping, Alistair,” she replied
through gritted teeth.