The Body Thief (7 page)

With a heavy sigh, she finished her soda and
tossed the can into the trash. There was one more autopsy to go.
Hopefully, it wouldn’t offer up too many surprises. She’d had
enough for one day.

A
ding
from the vicinity of her
handbag snagged her attention. She stood and retrieved the bag from
where she’d left it on the counter near the sink. Pulling out her
phone, she checked the screen. There was a new message from her
best friend, Hannah Langdon.

“Damn,” she muttered, remembering she was
supposed to be meeting Hannah for dinner. With work commitments
getting in the way of Sam’s social life, it had been the best part
of a month since she’d seen her friend, but she’d been looking
forward to catching up. Now, it looked like, yet again, work would
interfere.

Finding Hannah’s number, she selected it and
waited for it to dial out. It was answered by her friend in her
trademark cheery voice.

“Hi, Sam. How are things? Did you get my
text? I was just checking to see if you’re still right for
dinner.”

Sam bit her lip, hating to disappoint her.
“I’m sorry, Hannah, I’ve been called in to work. I still have one
more PM to do before I can consider getting out of here.”

“Bummer for you! As if you don’t work hard
enough during the week. Why were you the one to draw the shortest
straw?”

“I’m not sure, but so be it. I’ve been here
all day. I’m exhausted.”

“Why don’t I meet you at your place? We can
order pizza and drink beer. That way, you don’t have to go to any
trouble dressing up and heading back out.”

The idea was tempting. “Are you sure you
don’t mind? I thought you wanted to check out that new bar in
George Street?”

“I did, but we can do that another time.
It’s been ages since we got together. I… I really need to talk to
you.”

Sam frowned at Hannah’s somber tone, so
different from her usual cheerfulness. “Is everything all
right?”

“Yes, of course. I mean… Why wouldn’t it be?
It’s just that…I need someone who’ll listen when I whinge and whine
about work. You’re the only one who understands.”

Hannah was an embalmer at one of the inner
city funeral homes and not everyone understood her choice of
occupation or her fascination with the dead. But Samantha did and
she understood exactly where Hannah was coming from. Sam suffered
from the same problem. The thought of a hot shower and a relaxed
night on the couch, catching up with her best friend over beer and
a pizza, sounded like heaven. All of a sudden, she couldn’t wait to
finish up at the office and go home.

“I’m happy to listen for as long as you
need, Hannah. I’ll be another hour or two here, if all goes well.
How about I meet you at my place at eight? That should give me
plenty of time.”

“It’s a date.” Hannah giggled and Sam
couldn’t help but smile. “See you soon,” she said and ended the
call.

* * *

The front doorbell rang and Sam hurried to
open it. She’d showered and changed at work and not long ago had
put a six-pack of beer in the fridge. Glancing at her watch, she
noticed it was bang on eight. Hannah was punctual, as usual. With a
quick check through the security keyhole, Sam spied her friend
waiting on the other side of the door and opened it.

“Hi, it’s great to see you,” Hannah said and
enveloped Sam in an enthusiastic hug.

“You, too,” Sam replied and meant it.

She’d met Hannah not long after she’d
started at the Glebe Morgue. While the pair of them spent most of
their waking hours working with the dead, it wasn’t actually work
that had brought them together. Whenever Sam found the time, she
liked to attend a yoga class, held at the University of Sydney. The
college was within walking distance of Sam’s work and after a long
and stressful day in the morgue, she liked to treat herself to a
wind-down. It was at a yoga class that she’d met Hannah.

They found themselves lying with their yoga
mats side by side on the floor. While Sam attempted the various
positions, she couldn’t help but notice the girl beside her who
seemed so graceful and at ease with the class. Tall and slender and
at least five or six years younger than Sam, Hannah’s long,
straight blond hair, held in a high ponytail, was just as elegant
as her frame. Sam couldn’t help but feel a tiny bit envious of the
girl and the kindness Mother Nature had bestowed.

But when Hannah turned and smiled at her,
Sam forgot all about the green-eyed monster. The girl’s smile was
warm and friendly and genuine kindness shone in her eyes. Sam
couldn’t help but respond and before long, they were the best of
friends. When they discovered they both had similar occupations, it
seemed like fate had brought them together.

Now, Sam reached for the pizza box Hannah
held in her hands and headed toward the kitchen. “Are you ready to
eat now, or would you rather wait?”

“I’m starving,” Hannah answered, following
her inside. “I got busy at work and skipped lunch. I figured since
we were supposed to be going out to dinner, I’d work up an
appetite.”

Sam turned and grimaced. “Yeah, I’m sorry
about that. We’re short staffed. I didn’t have a choice.”

“Hey, it’s no biggie,” Hannah smiled. “I
know how it is. I’ve had to cover for more than my fair share of
no-shows.”

Sam reached for the plates and set them
alongside the pizza on the kitchen table. It was only big enough to
seat the two of them, but as Sam lived alone, it suited her just
fine.

“Help yourself,” she said and reached inside
the fridge for two beers. Handing one to Hannah, she sat down
across from her friend and took a grateful sip. “Ah, there’s
nothing quite like the taste of a cold beer after a hard day’s
work.”

Hannah grinned and opened the pizza box. The
mouthwatering aroma of pepperoni, onion, olives and melted cheese
permeated the air. Sam lifted a piece of pizza out of the box and
took a generous bite.

“
Mm
, that’s so good. And still
hot.”

“Yes, I just picked it up from the pizza
shop on the corner. Giuseppe says hello, by the way.”

Sam laughed. “He laments the fact I don’t
buy pizza often enough. I don’t have the heart to tell him my
weakness for takeout is serviced by May-Ling’s Thai.”

“Oh, yes! She has the best Thai food in
Sydney! It’s been ages since I ate there.”

“I was lucky enough to have lunch there with
Alistair when he took me to May-Ling’s for my birthday.”

“I’m sorry I missed it. I was out of
town.”

“No problem. I’m sure there will be others.
At least, I hope so.”

Hannah smiled. “And how is the Sydney
Harbour Hospital’s poster boy? I couldn’t help but notice the
enormous billboard picture of him as I was driving down George
Street the other day.”

Sam giggled. “It’s amazing what a little
airbrushing can do! He looks younger than me!”

“He looks younger than
me
!” Hannah
grinned. “It’s a good shot, though,” she added, “and it seems to be
having an impact. The number of bodies coming through the funeral
home with donated organs has skyrocketed and most of them are
coming from the Sydney Harbour Hospital.”

Sam stared at her and her heart began to
pound. “Really?”

“Yes, before the advertising campaign, we’d
see three, maybe four a week. Now we’re seeing ten or twelve. I
think there are more bodies coming into the funeral home with
organs and tissue missing than those who’ve remained intact.” She
shrugged. “I’m not complaining. It makes my job quicker and easier.
There are far less body fluids to extract. In fact, there’s less
leakage all round.”

Sam swallowed a smile. For anyone not
comfortable with the messy side of death, the discussion,
especially over dinner, would probably be distasteful. To the
girls, however, it was like discussing the weather.

“This is really good pizza,” Hannah mumbled
around another bite. “You ought to get takeout from Giuseppe more
often.”

“And give up May-Ling’s Thai?” Sam asked in
mock dismay.

“Hey, there’s no rule against having both.
Maybe you could alternate?”

Sam rolled her eyes and smiled, but her
thoughts returned to Hannah’s earlier comment and she grew
serious.

“It’s funny you mentioned the increase in
donor bodies. I’ve noticed the same thing,” she said. “At least, it
appeared that way last month. They seem to have gone back to their
usual number of late, or maybe they’re simply not coming to me?
Whatever it is, the extra donors are a good thing. More donors
means more organs available for transplant and less time on a
waiting list.”

“How’s your mom?” Hannah asked, aware of
Enid Wolfe’s fragile health status.

Sam shrugged and blinked hard to ward off a
sudden surge of tears. “She’s okay. Still getting treatment three
times a week. Her kidneys are hanging in there, but only just.
We’ve all had to accept that if she doesn’t get a transplant soon,
it’s only a matter of time.”

Hannah’s eyes filled with sadness. “How old
is she?”

“Sixty-nine.”

“Way too young to die.”

“Yep.” Sam drew in a deep breath and let it
out on a heavy sigh. “But there’s nothing we can do about it, short
of praying for a donor kidney to be found.” Silence fell between
them as they concentrated on their food. Hannah was the first to
break it.

“So, how’s your love life?”

Sam chuckled. “Wow, this conversation goes
from bad to worse.” She cleared her throat. “To answer your
question, my love life is non-existent. My last blind date was a
disaster!”

“Did you meet him online?”

“Yes. His bio sounded so good and his photo
was really nice. I finally scrounged up the courage to go out with
him and it was the most uncomfortable couple of hours of my
life.”

Hannah laughed. “What happened? It sounds
hilarious.”

“Oh, yeah. Hilarious. Easy for you to say.
You weren’t the one having to sit across from him and pretend you
had even the tiniest bit of interest in what he had to say. To make
things worse, he barely resembled his photo.”

“Oh, boy!” Hannah shrieked, with laughter in
her eyes. “What did you say?”

“What could I say? He’d aged twenty years
and had put on thirty pounds since it had been taken—if it was even
him at all. I seriously have my doubts on that score.”

“You poor thing!” Hannah sympathized. “What
did you do?”

“There was nothing I could do! We met
outside the restaurant. He’d reserved a table. It was a nice
restaurant, too. I could hardly turn tail and run when I saw him,
despite the fact he looked old enough to be my father.”

“So you stayed and had dinner?”

“Yes, although I went straight to the main
meal, declined dessert and coffee and got the hell out of there as
quickly as I could.”

Hannah giggled. “Did he ask if he could see
you again?”

“Yes.”

“Oh, no!” Hannah laughed, throwing her hands
up in the air.

Sam screwed up a napkin and threw it at her.
“You’re making fun of a very traumatic experience. Have some
sympathy for your best friend.”

“I’m sorry,” Hannah responded, looking
anything but. “So, does this mean you’re staying away from online
dating sites?”

Sam closed her eyes briefly and sighed.
“It’s all right for you. You’re young and beautiful and sexy. You
could have any man you choose! I’m thirty-four, not so beautiful
and definitely not sexy. It’s not so easy for me. I want to fall in
love and get married and be a mother to a handful of children. I’ve
dreamed of it since I was a little girl.”

Hannah’s expression softened. “For a start,
you’re not old. Thirties are the new twenties, haven’t you heard?
Nobody finds the love of their life in their twenties anymore.
We’re all too busy with our careers and climbing the corporate
ladder. Girls and guys who marry in their twenties are
so
yesterday.” She rolled her eyes and Sam couldn’t help but grin.

Hannah continued in a no-nonsense tone.
“What’s more, what do you mean, you’re not sexy? You’re gorgeous!
All that dark, wavy hair and big brown eyes and your skin—it’s
flawless. I’d die to have skin like that. Well, maybe not die, but
you know what I mean. I only have to be out in the sun for ten
minutes and my nose turns pink. You look like you have a tan all
year round and I know it doesn’t come from a bottle. Give yourself
a break, Sam. Take a moment and look at yourself and see what
everyone else does.”

“Then why haven’t I found my prince charming
yet?” she asked, unable to keep the whine from her voice.

“Have patience, honey. He’s out there, I’m
sure of it. Maybe you’re trying too hard?”

“What do you mean?”

“I mean, stop putting so much effort into
online boyfriends and go out and live your life. In the
real
world. With
real
men who you can tell even from a distance
whether they’re going to appeal. It’s old fashioned, but guess
what? It’s worked for hundreds, maybe even thousands of years! Give
it a go, girl! What do you have to lose?”

Sam stared at her friend for a long moment
and slowly nodded. “You’re right. I’ve been so busy it feels like
all I ever do is get up, go to work and come home again. I can’t
expect to find someone like that. It’s time I brought back a little
balance in my life. We could go dancing or even to a live show. Or
maybe even just to one of those hip city bars we talked about,
where the professionals like to hang out.”

Hannah beamed. “Exactly! Now you’re getting
into the spirit!”

“Will you come with me?”

“Of course! What are best friends for?”

The girls fell into another companionable
silence, each lost in their thoughts. Sam picked up her beer and
took another drink. Hannah chewed on another slice of pizza. When
they were finished, Sam collected the leftovers and tossed them
into the trash. Hannah rinsed the plates and left them to dry.