Trauma (40 page)

'How are you feeling?' Lafferty asked.

Sarah thought for a moment before replying, 'I don't
think I've ever been so afraid in my life.'

As they drove through the outskirts of the city Sarah
asked, 'Do you think we could stop off at the hospital?
I'd like to change.' She fingered her torn skirt.

'Of course.'

Lafferty was glad it was still raining as he parked Sarah's
Fiesta in the car-park outside the residency. It gave him
a feeling of security. He supposed it was psychological,
but a dark, wet night suggested that most people would
be indoors. There would be less chance of being seen by
casual passers-by.

Eventually, Sarah emerged from the building wearing
jeans and her suede jacket. She ran down the steps and
got into the car, brushing the rain from her hair with her
hand. 'Sorry I was so long,' she said.

Lafferty ignored the apology and said, 'Sarah, you really
don't have to do this. I can go alone to the Institute. Why
don't you wait here and I'll get in touch with you later?"

Lafferty was puzzled when he saw a flash of anger cross
Sarah's face. It was still reflected in her eyes when she
said, 'Ryan, don't ever treat me like the little woman.
Understood?'

'Understood,' replied Lafferty, a little taken aback.

Sarah wasn't finished yet. She said, This is as much my
problem as it is yours and I'm the doctor in this team; I'm
in a much better position than you to find my way round
a medical research laboratory and understand what's going
on. If anyone stays behind, it should be you. You may be
a man but you are a priest and in my book that makes
you
..."
Sarah paused as she felt her mouth begin to run
ahead of her brain.

'As much use as a chocolate spanner?' ventured Lafferty.

Sarah saw the humour in Lafferty's eyes and her temper
evaporated at once to be replaced by guilt. She let her
body sag and she looked up to the heavens, saying, 'What
am I doing? What am I saying to the man who drove
through the night to save me from a fate worse than
death, the man who laid out the villain with a punch
that would have made John Wayne look limp-wristed. He
does all this and I start playing the aggrieved feminist!'
Sarah shook her head.

'It wasn't entirely unjustified,' said Lafferty. 'You actually
made a very good point.'

'Why do you have to be so bloody reasonable?' exploded
Sarah.

Lafferty looked puzzled and Sarah burst into laughter.
'What am I going to do with you?' she exclaimed.

When Lafferty still looked puzzled, Sarah said quietly,
'Let's both go to the Institute, shall we?' As the smiles
faded, they both knew the time for laughter was over.

'Got a torch?' asked Lafferty.

'In the glove compartment,' Sarah replied. Lafferty started the car and they set off for the medical school.

A church clock struck one as Lafferty and Sarah made
their way to the Institute. There was no security to speak
of at the medical school, more a caretaker service to deal
with late phone enquiries and keep a general eye on
things. Despite the lateness of the hour, there were still
a number of lights on in the main buildings. 'Emergency lab services,' explained Sarah.

When they reached the Institute Lafferty suggested
that they wait in the shadows for a few minutes to
make sure that there were no signs of activity inside
the building. Being modern, a lot of glass had been used
in its construction. Even a light on in a room at the back
would have been visible from where they stood.

Sarah rubbed her arms as she became cold with the wait.
Lafferty nodded and said, 'All right, let's go.' They flitted
across to the door of the institute, and Sarah inserted the
card in the electronic lock. There was a barely audible
click and the door was released. Sarah ushered Lafferty
inside, then closed the door again quietly. Both of them
dropped to their knees to make sure they were not visible
from outside; they waited a few moments until their nerves
had calmed down.

Sarah pointed to the stairs at the back of the reception
area and Lafferty nodded. But when they got to them
they found that the stairs only went up. There were none leading down to the basement. Lafferty looked to his left
and saw a door with a small glass panel in it. He went to have a look while Sarah checked the other side of the hall. Lafferty looked through the panel and saw steps leading
down. 'Over here!' he whispered.

Sarah joined him and he opened the door to let her
pass through first. With a quick glance over his shoulder
to make sure that all war still quiet outside, Lafferty joined
her and they descended to the basement corridor. There
was a light on in the corridor - just a single bulkhead
lamp, covered in a wire mesh, but it made Lafferty and Sarah look at each other apprehensively. They stood still
for a few moments, listening, but there was no sound to
indicate that they might not be alone.

'Maybe it's a safety thing,' whispered Lafferty. Sarah
shrugged. They walked along the corridor, slowly examining
the rooms on either side as they looked for the Sigma Lab.
Sarah found it. The door had a white plastic sign on it
with green lettering saying, SIGMA LABORATORY,
AUTHORIZED STAFF ONLY. She tried the door but
it was locked. Glancing at Lafferty she smiled wryly
as if embarrassed that they had not reckoned on that
possibility.

Lafferty placed his palms against the door to get an
idea of how solid it was. He moved his head from side
to side to indicate that it did nor seem all that secure to
him and looked around for something he might use as a
jemmy, but he found nothing.

'Well,
^’
he sighed, taking a pace backwards. 'In for a
penny . . .'

Lafferty threw his shoulder hard against the door and had
the satisfaction of hearing splintering sounds. He did it
twice more and the door swung back quietly on its hinges.
'Can we risk the light?' asked Sarah. 'There aren't any
windows.'

'Better not,' replied Lafferty. These ventilation grilles
may lead straight through to the outside.' He briefly
highlighted two wire covered squares on the wall with
the torch, and then pointed it at the floor again.

The room was bigger than either of them had thought
from the outside. It was actually a double room, with two
doors leading out to the corridor. One half was obviously
used for working on the bodies when they arrived. It
had an operating table mounted on a central pedestal
with a surgical lamp mounted above it. Instruments were arranged on metal trays on a side bench. There were two stainless steel sinks, one equipped with elbow taps so that
they could be turned tin and off without the operator
having to use his hands.

'Could organs he removed here.'' Lafferty asked Sarah.

'No,' replied Sarah firmly. The facilities are not nearly
good enough. This set up is just what you would need for
removal of the Sigma probes.'

'Nothing out of the ordinary?’ asked Lafferty.

Sarah shook her head and they moved through a central
partition into the other half of the room. On the left was
a small refrigerated body vault capable of accommodating
two bodies. Lafferty swallowed as the torch beam picked
out a coffin sitting opposite on the side bench. Sarah
gripped his arm as they approached and looked at the
lid. There was a brass plate fixed to it. On it was the
inscription, MARTIN KEEGAN, RIP. The lid was loose
and Lafferty pushed it aside. It was empty.

'The body's missing,' he said.

'Try the fridge,' said Sarah.

Lafferty pulled the clasp and released the fridge door.
There was no light inside so Sarah held the torch while
he examined the contents. There was one white-shrouded
body inside; the label attached to the big toe of the left
foot said, Martin
Keegan
.
Lafferty stood up straight and felt
thoroughly dejected. 'Well, that's that,' he said, berating
himself. 'All wrong
...
we got it all wrong.'

'Not necessarily,' said Sarah softly. 'With Logan being
away, they may have decided not to use Martin Keegan's
body. It doesn't mean to say they didn't steal the others.'

'I suppose not,' agreed Lafferty. 'But this was our last
chance to prove it.' He was about to shut the fridge door
when Sarah suddenly said, 'Wait!'

'What is it?' asked Lafferty, alarmed at the note in her
voice. He could see by reflected torch light that Sarah
was staring at something in the fridge, but he couldn't
understand what. Her hand was shaking slightly and the
movement was amplified in the torch beam.

'His foot,' said Sarah.

'What about it?

'His left foot is undamaged. Martin Keegan's left foot
was badly injured in his accident.’

Lafferty gripped the end of the tray that the sheet-covered corpse was lying on and slid it out of the fridge.

The sheet was cold and damp as he unwound it from
the head. He heard Sarah gasp as it came away. 'Oh
my God,' she exclaimed, taking a step backwards. 'It's
Derek Logan!'

Lafferty saw that she was right. He remembered Logan
from the night he had caught the three of them together
in HTU. 'The much maligned Dr Logan,' he said
thoughtfully.

Sarah looked utterly bemused. 'I don't understand,' she
confessed. 'What's going on?'

'I think we may have done Dr Logan a disservice,' said
Lafferty. 'We let dislike colour our judgement.'

'You mean he wasn't involved in the body theft?' asked
Sarah in astonishment. 'But he was always on about the
lack of transplant organs and how Murdoch Tyndall didn't
press the relatives hard enough for them!'

'We didn't know about his son,' said Lafferty. 'We
should have listened more carefully to what Logan was
complaining about. I think Murdoch Tyndall didn't press
the relatives for permission . . . because he didn't
want
them to give permission!'

'What?' exclaimed Sarah.

'It makes sense now. John Main said that Tyndall
asked him at precisely the wrong moment. You yourself
suggested he did the same thing with the O'Donnells.
He did that because he didn't want the relatives to give
transplant permission.'

'But why not?'

'Because he and his brother wanted to use the bodies
for something else,' said Lafferty.

Sarah's mouth fell open. 'But what?' she asked in a
voice that shock had reduced to a whisper.

‘
I don’t know, Sarah,’ said Lafferty.

'But why kill Logan?' asked Sarah, desperate to seek
out flaws in Lafferty's argument.

'I think when Logan came to see you about telling tales
to Tyndall he suddenly realised that there was something
fishy about the whole thing. He realised while he was speaking to you that Tyndall must actually have wanted the relatives to say no. He must have gone to Tyndall to have it out with him - the row you heard them having.
When he didn't get any joy out of Tyndall he, like us,
must have worked out that removal of the Sigma probes
presented the best chance for "diverting" the bodies. He
must have come here to the institute and this is the result.'
They both looked down at Logan's corpse.