The Body Thief (20 page)

“Thanks, Angie. Have a good night.”

Sam hung up the receiver and did her best to
slow the racing of her heart. Rohan was outside, waiting for her. A
part of her wanted to run and hide. How could she face him at work?
The last time they’d shared company, they hadn’t worn many clothes
and knowing how that evening had ended so disastrously…

She drew in another deep breath and eased it
out between dry lips. She’d told Angie she’d see Rohan. He was
waiting for her. Everyone else had gone home. She couldn’t leave
him out there forever. Besides, even if she felt like running, she
was the last staff member in the building and needed to set the
alarm in the main foyer—right beside the waiting room.

“For goodness sake, Samantha, get it
together!” she chided herself out loud. She was being silly hiding
in her office like a school girl. The sooner she met with him and
got it over with, the better.

He was obviously here on police business.
Why else would he come and see her at work? That reminded her of
the last time he’d been there and how their conversation had
centered on the two of them and their shared past. A fresh wave of
nerves assailed her, but she forced herself out of her chair.
Leaning over, she saved the work on her computer and logged out. It
would have to wait until tomorrow.

She collected her handbag from the closet in
the corner of her office, and slung it over her shoulder, tossed
back her hair and headed out the door.

She saw him before he saw her. He stood just
inside the entryway, with his hands jammed into the pockets of his
suit pants. His tie was slightly askew and his hair was rumpled. He
looked like a tired professional who’d had a hard day. She wondered
what, in particular, had caused his fatigue.

Though her rubber-soled shoes made no sound
on the tiled floor, his head snapped around seconds after she
stepped into the reception area. His gaze zeroed in on her. Tension
held her immobile and her heart felt like it might leap right out
of her chest, but she drew in a few surreptitious breaths and
willed herself to appear outwardly calm.

“Rohan. What are you doing here?” She gave
an inward sigh of relief. Even to her ears, she sounded cool and
composed.

“It’s about the investigation.”

She looked at him steadily and tried to
ignore her disappointment. “What about it?”

“The autopsy you told me about at the
station—the one where you couldn’t find the consent form. What was
the deceased person’s name?”

Sam cast around in her memory and then came
up with it. “Natalie Piccoli.”

“Are you sure?”

“Yes.”

“I’ve been over all of the donor files that
came from the Sydney Harbour Hospital. Natalie Piccoli’s notes
weren’t among them.”

“Perhaps her records were sent here by
mistake, along with the report for the coroner?”

“Is that possible?”

“Of course. It happens more often than you
think. Administrative staff often assume the coroner’s office needs
access to everything in the file. The truth is, anything of
relevance in the hospital notes is included in the report prepared
for the coroner.”

“Could you get me a printout of all
autopsies conducted in this morgue since June—the ones where the
deceased has donated some, or all, of their organs?”

“Yes. It might take a little while and I
don’t have time right now, but I’ll get on it in the morning.”

“Thank you. I’d appreciate that. By the way,
where did Natalie Piccoli come from?”

“You mean, which hospital treated her?”

“Yes.”

Sam took a moment to think, but in reality,
it was an excuse to buy time and gather her thoughts. She thought
of her brother and prayed silently he had nothing to do with
it—whatever “it” was.

“Do you want to check your file?” Rohan
asked, interrupting her thoughts.

“No. The patient had been treated at the
Sydney Harbour Hospital. The organ retrieval was carried out there
and then the deceased was sent here for a post mortem.”

Rohan appeared to digest her information and
then asked the question she’d dreaded.

“Who was the treating doctor?”

She closed her eyes briefly and then opened
them again. She kept her gaze steady on his. “Doctor Alistair
Wolfe.”

“Your brother.”

Sam nodded and forced herself to hold his
stare.

“Was he in charge of the organ retrieval,
too?”

“Yes.”

“I see.” His words sounded so final, like it
was confirming something even bigger that he knew and she didn’t.
She did her best to control her panic.

“It’s not unusual,” she said quickly. “My
brother’s head of the Unit. He’s present for a good number of these
things. Besides, it’s not like he’s a one man show. The theater
would be full of people: retrieval teams from various other
hospitals, nursing staff and the like.

“In fact, the more I think about it, the
more I’m sure that the fact some of us have noticed a higher
incidence in organ and tissue removal over the past couple of
months is nothing more than a coincidence, or the result of an
extremely effective donor awareness campaign. Unless you’re
thinking whole teams of professionals could be involved in a
conspiracy.” She laughed, hoping to convince him how ludicrous the
very thought of such a thing was, but it came out sounding
flat.

“I understand what you’re saying,” he
replied firmly, his expression somber, “but I’m not sure I believe
it’s only coincidence. The file you mentioned isn’t the only one
missing a consent form.”

Her mouth fell open in surprise and a fresh
wave of panic tightened like a band around her chest. Her thoughts
flew once again to Alistair and she didn’t know why. He was a
passionate campaigner for organ and tissue donation, but she’d
never believe him capable of something as heinous as removing a
person’s organs without their consent. And yet, it appeared someone
on his team could be doing just that.

She shook her head in silent denial, hoping
and praying it wasn’t true. “I… I don’t know what you want me to
say.”

“There’s no need for you to worry. It’s my
job to find out what’s happening and who’s responsible. To some
extent, I understand why a doctor, devoted to saving lives, might
feel the need to remove whatever can be used by others from a
patient on the brink of death. Your brother explained how
frustrating it is for him to send healthy tissues to the grave. I
can see how it would be so, especially now knowing how much good an
unlimited consent for organ and tissue donation can do.”

“It doesn’t make it right, though,” Sam
whispered.

“Or legal. And that’s why I’ll do what I
have to in order to get to the bottom of it.”

She looked at him and tried hard to keep the
hot sting of tears at bay. No matter how much she tried to convince
herself otherwise, something deep inside her told her Alistair
was
involved.

He might not be the doctor removing the
additional tissues, but as head of the Unit and participating in so
many of the retrievals, it stood to reason he knew something about
it. She could only hope and pray his knowledge wouldn’t send him to
prison.

Swallowing a sigh, she drew in a deep breath
and squared her shoulders. Crossing her arms over her chest, she
addressed Rohan again. “Will that be all?”

“At the meeting I had with your brother and
the general manager, he confirmed what you said: that in order to
harvest organs from a deceased who requires an autopsy, the
authorization of the coroner or one of his deputies must be
obtained. Do you remember telling me that?”

“Yes. It’s standard procedure. The coroner
gets the final say when cause of death is yet to be
determined.”

“Who was the coroner who authorized the
retrieval of Natalie Piccoli’s organs?”

“Deputy Coroner Richard Davis.”

“Did you mention to him that the consent
form was missing?”

Sam thought back. “No. He was off sick at
the time I conducted the autopsy, but I raised it with the State
Coroner because I was concerned our procedures might need to be
reviewed. I assumed the paperwork had been mislaid somewhere
between here and the hospital. In that case, it’s impossible to
know who’s at fault. It could have been lost on the hospital ward,
during the transfer to the hospital morgue, or while the body was
being transported here. I wanted to make sure it hadn’t happened on
our end and if it had, that it didn’t happen again.”

Rohan pulled a notebook and pen out of his
pocket and scribbled in it. When he’d finished, he closed the
notebook and returned it and the pen to his pocket.

“Are we done?” Sam asked.

He stared at her. The silence between them
lengthened. She wanted to look away, but the intensity of his
expression held her enthralled. His eyes darkened with emotion and
he opened his mouth to speak.

“I… I needed to see you.”

She licked dry lips and forced herself to
respond. “And you have.”

He shook his head, dismissing her words.
“Not only about the investigation. It’s been too long. I… I can’t
stop thinking about you and…about what happened. I’m sorry. I
wanted to explain about what I said… I didn’t mean it the way you
thought. The words came out all wrong. It never occurred to me you
were trying to deceive me. What I said was stupid and I upset you.
I didn’t mean to. God, upsetting you was the last thing I wanted to
do.”

Sam listened to him stumbling over his words
and could see how genuinely sorry he was. Her heart softened. Their
disagreement and subsequent misunderstanding wasn’t entirely his
fault. She’d been quick to jump to conclusions and she should have
given him a little more time to explain—or at least been prepared
to listen when he tried.

“It’s fine, Rohan. You’re not the only one
to blame. I’m sorry, too. I pride myself on my honesty. Lying about
something as important as birth control is something I’d never
contemplate. I guess I was a little taken aback that you thought me
capable of it, especially right when we were about to…”

Heat scorched her face and she turned her
head away. It was one thing to be into it in the heat of the
moment, but to discuss it in the cold light of day…

He stepped closer and palmed her cheek with
his hand. The tender expression on his face snatched her breath.
She stared at him and her heart beat faster as he bent his head and
grazed her mouth with his.

“
Shh
,” he murmured against her lips.
“Let’s not talk anymore.”

Blood pulsed through her body and need
struck, hot and urgent. Her mouth parted on an indrawn breath and
his eyes flared with desire. Her arms went around his neck and she
clung to him, loving the strength and solidity of him. His lips
moved over hers with increasing urgency and she gave back all she
had.

The kiss, fiery in its intensity, went on
forever. Their tongues danced and tangled. He tasted of coffee and
breath mints. His mouth felt divine. A myriad of exciting thoughts
raced through her head while a saner part of her mind warned her to
slow things down. She was at work, and although she and Rohan were
alone in the offices, this wasn’t the best time or place.

“Rohan!” she gasped, pushing against him.
“I… I think we should stop.” He lifted his head, looking dazed, and
stared at her with eyes that were filled with desire. And then he
blinked and refocused and slowly moved away.

He drew in a deep breath, eased it out and
then breathed deeply again. Sam understood how he felt. Her heart
was pounding as fast as if she’d just sprinted a marathon.

“I’m sorry,” she said and watched him tense.
“Not about the kiss,” she hurried to reassure him, “but I’m at
work. I can’t be making out with a hot guy in the foyer of my
building.”

His face and body relaxed and he offered her
a slow and sexy smile. “You think I’m hot?”

She blushed, but nodded. “Damn right,” she
grinned.

With two long steps, he closed the distance
between them and scooped her up in his arms. He swung her around
and she laughed, clinging to his shoulders. When he set her down,
he did it slowly and slid her all the way down his length. Her body
clenched at the feel of his hard cock pressing into her
stomach.

Desire rekindled as quickly as it had been
doused and she reached up and dragged his head back down to hers.
Kissing him thoroughly, she once again pulled away and stared up at
him. “How about we try this again: Your place or mine?”

He stared at her with such heat in his gaze,
her toes curled up inside her shoes. “Mine.”

* * *

Sam followed Rohan’s unmarked police car
through the streets of Sydney. Evening peak hour was in full swing
and the traffic was heavy in both directions. They crawled across
the Harbour Bridge and then turned left toward an exit that would
take them to the affluent, lower North Shore suburb of
Cremorne.

Less than three miles from the city, it was
an old, well established area with many large and expensive homes.
There were also a number of high-rise apartments, with prices for a
modest unit starting at a little less than a million. Rohan had
done well for himself by securing a house with such an impressive
zip code and she couldn’t help but admire him for it.

It wasn’t the only thing she admired about
him…

She blushed anew at the thought of their
heated kisses and knowing she was on her way to his house for the
sole purpose of sleeping with him shocked her. Though far from
inexperienced, she’d never acted with such brazenness in her life.
She couldn’t deny it felt naughty… But it also felt right and
undeniably good.

A surge of excitement rushed through her.
Somehow, she knew instinctively that Rohan would be an amazing
lover. If his kisses were anything to go by, she was in for a
magical time. And she wanted to touch him too, and give him
pleasure and familiarize herself with every bump and hollow… She
squirmed with impatience.