Trauma (31 page)

Mrs Grogan came back in triumph with the track suit and Lafferty thanked her. He knew where his training shoes were; they were in a cardboard box in the hall cupboard along with the table tennis gear for the church hall. Within five minutes he was running out through the gates of St Xavier's and heading briskly towards the park.

For the first mile or so Lafferty could do nothing but think about the aches and pains that were developing in his limbs but as his bones seemed to settle down and accept that he wasn't going to stop just yet his mind turned again to the nightmare. Finding out that Mary O'Donnell's coffin had been empty had proved that his suspicions surrounding Simon Main's fate had been right. He now need have no qualms about alarming John Main unnecessarily. The question was just when and where to tell him. Perhaps it would be a good idea to arrange a meeting between the three of them, he wondered. Sarah Lasseter, Main and himself. They could perhaps decide on a joint course of action.

Lafferty came to a particularly steep section in his chosen route and stopped thinking about anything until he had crested the top and his breathing had settled down again. There was only one thing against involving John Main and that was the fact that he was personally involved. His heart might rule his head and that might make him a liability. On the other hand the man had a right to know what had happened to his son and the mere fact that satanic ritual and black magic were not involved must surely afford him some comfort. Main was an intelligent man. Perhaps he could be constrained into following a jointly agreed course of action.

Lafferty decided that this was the way to go. He would call Main after he had spoken to Sarah Lasseter. He was now sweating freely and the original sharpness of the pain in his limbs was being replaced by a dull ache as fatigue began to set in. This was the pain he sought. It was going to dull his sense to everything else for the next half hour.

Sarah Lasseter called at six thirty. 'I got your message,' she said.

'Can we meet?' asked Lafferty. 'We have to talk.'

'I'm on duty until the morning,' said Sarah.

'And then you'll have to catch up on some sleep,' said Lafferty thoughtfully. 'That would make it some time tomorrow evening?'

'I wish!' said Sarah. 'I'm back on duty at two in the afternoon tomorrow.'

'Oh dear,' said Lafferty. 'I didn't realise . . .'

'Most people don't Father.'

'Are you the only doctor on duty tonight in HTU?'

'Yes, why?'

'Could I come up there?'

The suggestion took Sarah by surprise. 'I suppose so . . .' she said uncertainly.

'I don't want to cause you any problems,' said Lafferty quickly. 'Just say if you think it's not a good idea.'

'No,' said Sarah firmly, now that she had had time to think. 'I don't see that anyone could object. We can talk in the doctors' room and I'll be here if anyone needs me.'

'Good,' said Lafferty. 'What time would be best?'

'Let's say, any time after eleven. The nursing staff will have changed by then and everything should be well settled for the night. With any luck we won't be disturbed.'

'I'll come at half past,' said Lafferty.

'See you then,' said Sarah.

'Oh, one more thing,' said Lafferty.

'Yes?'

'I'd like to bring somebody with me.'

'Who?'

'John Main.'

'Simon Main's father?'

'Yes.'

'Can't you give me an idea what this is all about?' asked Sarah.

'Later,' said Lafferty.

'Very well,' sighed Sarah.

Lafferty called John Main at home. He let the phone ring a good long time but there was no reply. He hadn’t considered the possibility that Main might be out and decided to try Main's number at half hourly intervals until it was time to go to the hospital. Main answered at half past nine.

'I tried to get you earlier,' said Lafferty.

'I went to a séance,' said Main.

'I see,' said Lafferty, wondering about Main's state of mind and considering whether it was such a good idea after all to involve Main at this stage.

'I thought I might meet someone to give me some idea how to get at these bastards,' said Main. 'But it was just a bunch of housewives playing themselves. They were about as close to Satanism as Mother Theresa.'

Lafferty was relieved. Main hadn't gone to the séance in some kind of desperate attempt to contact his son as with the Ouija board incident. He had gone there in logical pursuit of his investigation. 'Can we meet?' he asked.

'Tonight?' asked Main, obviously surprised.

'It's important. I want you to come with me to the hospital. We're going to meet with one of the doctors there. I've got something to tell you both.

'You know something about Simon?' asked Main.

'Yes,' replied Lafferty. 'I do.'

Main arrived at St Xavier's at eleven fifteen and Lafferty offered him a drink. He declined and asked what it was that Lafferty had discovered.

'I don't want to say just yet,' replied Lafferty. 'I want Dr Lasseter to hear what I have to say at the same time.'

'Can't you give me a clue?' asked Main, betraying his frustration.

'You won't have long to wait,' soothed Lafferty. 'I said we'd be there at half past.'

Main looked at his watch and said, 'We'd best get started then. Your car or mine?'

'Mine,' said Lafferty.

The hospital was quiet at that time of night and Lafferty had no trouble parking inside the gates. He left the car in an empty bay of three spaces marked, CONSULTANTS ONLY, saying to Main, 'There won't be too many consultants abroad at this time of night.'

Sarah Lasseter had been keeping an eye open for them; she saw them as soon as they appeared at the doors to HTU and let them in. She greeted Lafferty and was introduced to John Main. Sarah was keeping her voice low and the others took their cue from her to do likewise. 'In here,' she said, ushering them into the doctor’s room.

Lafferty noticed the duty nurse crane her head from where she sat at the console at the head of the ward to see what was going on but Sarah did not approach her to provide any explanation.

'Would anyone like coffee?' asked Sarah. Lafferty sensed that she was nervous. Both he and Main declined. Sarah poured herself some and sat down to face them at the table. 'This is all very mysterious,' she said.

Main said to her, 'If it's any comfort it's as much a mystery to me.' They both turned to Lafferty who was having difficulty in knowing where to begin. 'First,' he said. 'I must ask for your assurance that when you've heard what I have to say it will go no further without all three of us agreeing?'

Sarah and Main exchanged glances before giving their assurances.

Lafferty took a deep breath and began, 'Yesterday I officiated at the funeral of a young girl called Mary O'Donnell. She died here in HTU, just like Simon. She was involved in a motor cycle accident.' Lafferty looked at the floor for a moment in silence before adding, 'Only I didn't.'

'I don't understand,' said Sarah.

'Nor me,' said Main. 'You didn't what?'

'I didn't really officiate at Mary's funeral because Mary herself did not attend. She wasn't in the coffin.'

Sarah's mouth fell open. Main looked equally shocked.

'She wasn't in her coffin any more than I believe your son Simon was in his,' continued Lafferty turning to Main.

'But this is . . .' Main could not find words.

'Beyond belief?' asked Lafferty. 'I thought so myself when the idea first occurred to me but now I'm in no doubt. Simon's body, Mary's body and God knows how many others never actually made it to their funerals.'

'But what happened to them?' exclaimed Sarah.

Lafferty looked at her and said, 'That's what I was rather hoping you might be able to help with.'

'Me!' exclaimed Sarah.

'The answer must lie here in HTU. Both Simon and Mary died here.' said Lafferty.

'How do you know Mary wasn't in her coffin?' asked Sarah.

'I looked,' replied Lafferty.

'How can you be sure about Simon?' asked Main who had been lost in his own thoughts.

'I can't be absolutely sure,' conceded Lafferty but everything points towards it when you think about it.' He told Main how his suspicions had been aroused after the incident with the severed hand. 'It was just over the top,' said Lafferty. 'Someone was just too keen to have us swallow the Satanist scenario. The down and out McKirrop must have given them the idea when he lied to the police and the press about that night. The only thing he saw in the cemetery was an empty coffin. That was why he was killed, to keep his mouth shut and perpetuate the devil worship theory.'

'It does make a lot of sense,' agreed Sarah.

'So what did happen to Simon's body?' asked Main.

'I don't know,' confessed Lafferty. 'That's what we have to find out and I think our best chance of doing that is if they, whoever they are, don't know we suspect anything.'

'Where do we begin?' asked Sarah.

'Tell us what happens when a patient dies in HTU,' said Lafferty.

Sarah shrugged her shoulders and said, 'The nursing staff prepare the body, the hospital porters are called and the body is removed to the mortuary. The relatives then instruct a firm of funeral directors and they take it from there.'

'What does that involve?' asked Main.

'The funeral directors either come and measure the body themselves or have some arrangement with the mortuary attendants to do this. They then come with the coffin, put the body in it and take it away.'

'So the funeral firm's men actually see the body?' asked Lafferty.

'Yes.' replied Sarah. 'Unless ...'

'Yes?'

'Unless the patient has died from some highly contagious disease. In that case the body would be sealed in a special bag and then placed in a specially designed coffin which the director might supply but he wouldn't necessarily be present when the body was enclosed.'

'That hardly applies in this case does it?' said Main.

'No,' agreed Sarah.

Suddenly the door of the room was opened and Derek Logan came in. Sarah stiffened.

'I'm sorry,' said Logan in a tone that said that he wasn't. 'I didn't realise you were entertaining, Dr Lasseter. I thought you were on duty.'

'I am Dr Logan,' replied Sarah frostily. Was there something?'

'I came by to take a look at the Keegan boy. His tests this morning seemed to suggest he was going downhill. But if you're busy . . .’

Sarah got up and excused herself before following Logan out of the room. The tension between them persisted while they stood on either side of the patient's bed and ran through the monitor read-outs together. As Logan finished noting down the last reading into his Filofax he said, 'I thought you realised Doctor that being on duty meant giving your undivided attention to your patients.'

'When they need it they have it,' replied Sarah, but she knew that Logan had the upper hand. He was not going to let her off lightly.

'I hardly think that socialising with your friends is compatible with giving undivided attention, do you?'

'I am not "socialising with my friends", as you put it,' replied Sarah. Mr Main and Father Lafferty had something they wished to discuss with me.'

'Main?' said Logan.

'Simon Main's father,' said Sarah. 'You may remember, Simon was a patient here in HTU. He died.'

'I remember,' said Logan. 'What exactly do they want?' he asked, now more puzzled than annoyed.

'I'm not at liberty to say,' replied Sarah, intrigued by the change that had come over Logan.

'If it concerns HTU in any way I should be told,' blustered Logan. 'Do I have to remind you that you are a junior doctor in this unit?'

'I don't think so,' replied Sarah evenly. I think you have made that perfectly clear to me on every conceivable occasion.'

'I demand to be told what's going on.' said Logan angrily.

'And I must repeat that I am not at liberty to say,' said Sarah.

'You leave me no alternative but to inform Professor Tyndall of this,' said Logan.

'As you wish Doctor,' replied Sarah coldly.

Logan stormed out and Sarah let out her breath in a long sigh. The staff nurse at the console who had been out of earshot but still aware that all was not well gave her a sympathetic shrug. Sarah returned to the doctors' room.

Lafferty got up from the table and said, 'This is all my fault. We should never have come here. Perhaps I could speak to Professor Tyndall and explain?'

Sarah smiled her appreciation. 'Dr Logan and I just do not get on. He wanted to know what you were doing here and I wouldn’t tell him. That was why he was so angry.'