The Body Thief (16 page)

“A few days later, she was in the shower
when a text came in on her phone. I picked it up. It was from some
guy called Nathan and he was talking about the “fun” they’d had the
last time he’d been in town. It was obvious they’d had sex.

“I confronted her. At first, she went on the
offensive and accused me of invading her privacy by looking at her
phone, but after awhile, she broke down and admitted she’d had a
fling with some biker she knew from her hometown. That was when I
asked her for a DNA test.”

“And it came back negative.”

“Yes.”

Sam breathed in heavily and her shoulders
slumped on a loud sigh. Once again, she couldn’t help but think
about all the wasted hours she’d spent hating Rohan Coleridge. She
looked up at him and was relieved to find no trace of anger in his
eyes. “I’m sorry,” she whispered. “I said some terrible
things.”

He moved closer until she could see the
flecks in his bright blue eyes. “It doesn’t matter, as long as you
understand now.”

Sam shook her head back and forth,
dismissing his words. “Of course it matters! Don’t you see? For ten
years, I’ve thought of you with anger and resentment and so many
other awful things. We were good friends! I’d known you for a year
and a half! I should have gone to you and demanded to hear your
side of the story before taking Daphne’s word. You called me a few
times afterwards and I refused to answer or call you back. I was so
angry at you for what you’d done. You must have wondered what had
happened.”

Rohan’s expression filled with resignation.
“I remember thinking it was just the way it was. You were Daphne’s
friend long before you were mine. When she and I broke up, I forced
myself to accept that losing my friendship with you was collateral
damage. It was hard to let it go, but I didn’t think I had any
choice. I wasn’t going to make you choose between us.”

Caught in a quick shift of emotion, Sam
wanted to go to him and throw her arms around him and beg his
forgiveness. But she was dressed in scrubs that were stained from
the blood of a dead baby and he looked like he’d stepped off the
set of a fashion shoot.

“I’m sorry,” she said again and hoped he
could see how much she meant it.

“And I’m sorry, too. I should have tried
harder to speak with you, to assure you I valued our friendship,
despite the fact Daphne and I had gone our separate ways.”

“I can’t believe how much time I wasted
hating you.”

“There’s no point in looking back, filled
with regrets. Let’s put it behind us and look to the future.”
Rohan’s voice filled with hope. “It’s not too late to pick up where
we left off. If I remember rightly, you used to be a mean chess
player. You certainly gave me a run for my money, more often than
not. How about we get together this weekend? Are you free on
Saturday night?”

Though Rohan’s tone was light and friendly,
a sudden rush of nerves tightened Sam’s throat. They’d always been
friends, but did she want more than that now? Did
he
?

Daphne was no longer the elephant in the
room. They could be anything they wanted to each other…if they
wanted. Was she brave enough to find out if his feelings ran any
deeper? Did she want to become involved?

The questions raced around inside her head
until she was almost dizzy. Aware that Rohan was waiting for her
answer, she opened her mouth and surprised herself by saying, “Your
place or mine?”

Dear Diary,

I watch my mother’s health deteriorate.
Every time I see her, she’s weaker. If only I could find her a
kidney! I’d happily donate one of mine, if it would do her any
good. We’re not a match. We never will be. It tears me up
inside.

All the organs and tissue I’ve harvested and
I can’t find a kidney for my mom. It doesn’t seem fair. It isn’t
fair! And yet, I must continue on. It brings me comfort knowing how
many lives I’ve saved by doing what I do.

And then there is the added benefit of
knowing no matter what happens, my wife and children will want for
nothing. My actions might be illegal, but for me, the good far
outweighs the bad. If I’m caught, I will surrender with dignity and
courage, but I will not be sorry for what I’ve done. I will beg
forgiveness from no one…

* * *

Rohan stood outside Samantha’s apartment
block with a bouquet of aromatic oriental lilies and tried hard to
summon the courage to go inside. Over his lunch break he’d
telephoned his parents to enquire about his mother’s ongoing battle
with her health. His father had assured him they had an appointment
scheduled for the next day with another doctor. Rohan hoped that
after another course of antibiotics, his mother’s cough would go
away.

He heard the sound of his mother coughing in
the background. It sounded like she was hacking up a lung. When she
finally had enough breath to speak on the phone, they spent most of
the time discussing the fact that he was in his thirties and still
hadn’t found a wife. It was a topic his mom never tired of. It
didn’t help matters that he was the oldest child and as such, was
expected to lead the way.

Unlike Rohan, all of his seven siblings were
under thirty. His mom accepted that some of them were still
finishing college and others were putting their efforts into
pursuing their various careers. But Rohan had made detective at the
age of twenty-four and five years ago, he’d been promoted to
detective sergeant. What more did he want? She couldn’t seem to
figure out why he continued to put so much time and effort into his
career when there were other, more important things to focus
on—like finding a girl and settling down.

It wasn’t that Rohan was against commitment.
He believed in marriage, like many other people did. But he also
believed that it was a lifelong promise and not one to take lightly
when the going got tough. During the rare times his parents
disagreed, he learned that married life wasn’t always sunshine and
roses, but no matter how bad things got, they worked through their
differences and stuck by each other.

Now, he stood outside the building of a girl
he’d never thought of in a romantic way. And yet, here he was,
wiping sweaty palms on his jeans, trying to slow his heart rate and
scrounge up the courage to knock on her front door. He was filled
with anticipation at the possibility there might be something more
between them. The only stumbling block was not knowing how she
felt.

Ten years earlier, they’d shared a lot of
fun, laughter and good times, but he’d been Daphne’s boyfriend and
that had always stood between them. He couldn’t help but wonder how
it would be now that such a barrier had disappeared.

Would she find him attractive? Would she
still laugh at his jokes?
A decade was a long time. A lot of
things had changed.

Samantha hadn’t had a steady boyfriend
during the time he’d known her in college, but that didn’t mean
there wasn’t a significant other in her life right now. He wondered
what he’d do if the door was opened by her husband. She hadn’t said
anything about a partner, but their recent conversations hadn’t
exactly been conducive to sharing personal information. If she was
already married…

In sudden panic, he stashed the flowers in a
nearby hedge and turned on his heel. He’d barely taken four steps
when he heard her call his name.

“Rohan! Where are you going? I’m here, on
the second floor. Hang on a minute. I’ll come down.”

With no other choice, Rohan thrust his hands
in the pockets of his jeans and headed back to the foyer of the
apartment building. Made of red brick, the three-storey structure
was reminiscent of the apartment blocks built in the early
seventies, but it appeared to be well maintained and the
surrounding garden beds were newly planted and freshly mulched. A
pair of large wattle trees stood either side of the entry and were
heavy with golden flowers. Their sweet scent filled the air.

“There you are!” Samantha announced and
Rohan turned to greet her. He gave her an awkward hug and then
quickly stepped away.

“I thought you’d gotten lost,” she said,
smiling.

Her shiny hair was loose and wavy and fell
in soft curls around her face. Like him, she wore Levis and a
sweater to ward off the late winter chill. He couldn’t help but
notice how the fabric molded to her breasts and how the pale pink
color complemented the olive tones of her skin. She smiled again
and his belly somersaulted.

“Not quite. I… I couldn’t remember the
number of your apartment,” he quickly improvised. I was going to
call you and then I realized I didn’t have your number.”

A tiny frown marred the smooth skin of her
forehead. “I gave you my contact details that night at the
station.”

“Yes, but they’re in the file at work. I
didn’t put your number into my phone. I’m sorry, I didn’t even
think—”

“It’s fine,” she interrupted him. “I’ll give
it to you now.” She waited for him to pull his phone out of his
pocket and then rattled off the numbers.

When he’d finished entering her into his
contacts, he put the phone away and then offered her a smile. “Now
I don’t have any excuse.”

“Come on,” she said, taking him by the hand
and leading him inside. “I have beer and pizza.”

He groaned in exaggerated delight and tried
to ignore how good it felt to have his hand in hers. “What more
could any man want?”

* * *

Sam took a couple of plates from the
cupboard and carried them over to the table. She collected two
beers from the fridge and handed one to Rohan. Having him seated at
her small kitchen table was a little surreal. They’d shared plenty
of meals before, but that had been a decade ago, when he was
someone else’s boyfriend. It was different now. Not only were they
older and wiser, he was no longer attached. At least, she assumed
he was single. She hadn’t even asked.

Her heart had been racing from the moment
she’d spotted him from her living room window. She wasn’t sure why
he looked like he was heading in the opposite direction, but she
wasn’t prepared to let him leave. Though she’d surprised herself by
agreeing to catch up for a game of chess, the moment she had, she
was all aflutter and couldn’t help but think about what spending
time together might mean. For so long, he’d been the enemy; the
asshole who’d left his pregnant girlfriend high and dry. Even now,
knowing the truth, it was a little difficult for her to accept him
as the good guy.

She’d gone home the very night Rohan told
her about Daphne’s deception and spent an hour on the Internet.
Surfing several social media sites, Sam had finally located her old
roommate. A quick search through the White pages online and she had
an address and phone number.

She’d dialed the number before her courage
ran out and prayed Daphne would answer. Her luck had held and Sam
asked the one question that had burning inside her brain from the
moment Rohan told her:
Why had she lied?

Daphne didn’t even pretend to misunderstand.
She apologized for her immature behavior and said she’d done it out
of spite. She knew Sam thought highly of Daphne’s boyfriend and
that Rohan admired Sam. When it was obvious Rohan was going to end
the relationship, Daphne couldn’t help but seek revenge.

She was angry and upset and wanted to
tarnish his good-guy image and what better way than accuse him of
abandoning his unborn child?

Sam had shaken her head back and forth in
wordless horror and disbelief. She couldn’t imagine being so cruel
to someone who hadn’t done anything wrong and she felt even worse
when she thought of how she’d maligned Rohan’s character—even if it
were only in her mind. She was relieved he’d finally clarified the
truth.

Sam had always prided herself on being
observant and an astute judge of character. Her ability to notice
things held her in good stead in her job and had helped her solve
difficult questions about puzzling causes of death. To have that
confidence shaken by not one mistake, but two, was hard to take.
She was only grateful Rohan accepted her apology and was prepared
to renew their friendship.

At the thought that it might turn into
something more, her insides turned to mush. Nerves fought for space
inside her stomach. She had to remember the reason they’d met again
was connected to a potential police matter that could very well
turn into a full-blown investigation. She wasn’t even sure if she
should be meeting with him like this. What if she became a witness?
Would a personal relationship with the lead detective jeopardize
the case?

She shook her head and told herself not to
be so silly. As far as she knew, the police were a long way from
making an arrest, if there was even an arrest in the works. The
whole thing with the cadavers missing organs could be nothing more
than a coincidence. Surely there was no case to jeopardize…
Besides, she and Rohan didn’t have a close relationship. He was
someone she’d known in her past. No big deal. She was making way
too much of it.

“Are you going to stare out the window all
night, or sit down and eat? This pizza is incredible, by the way.
Maybe even the best I’ve ever eaten.”

Rohan’s words broke into her thoughts. He
smiled in her direction and she blinked and forced herself to smile
back. He was an old friend. They were enjoying a casual night of
beer and pizza, and maybe afterwards, they’d have a game of
chess.

She hadn’t played for years, but there was a
time when they’d both enjoyed it and had been competitively
matched. She wondered if he’d found someone else to help him hone
his skills in the time they’d been apart and realized it was none
of her business. Feeling a tiny twinge of jealousy—toward no one in
particular—she took a seat, sat her beer on the table and reached
across for a slice of super supreme.