Sam made her way home in the early evening traffic and thought about her meeting with Rohan. She’d known he was a police officer, of course. He’d made detective not long after he started dating Daphne. At that time, he’d been stationed at Cronulla, a southern suburb of Sydney and a long way from the station in the city. She hadn’t imagined she’d run into him when she accompanied Hannah.
The years had been kind to him and the knowledge irritated her. Somehow, it would have made her feel better if she’d discovered his hair had disappeared off his head and the athletic body he’d sported a decade earlier had given way to fat. A near-sighted squint would also have gone a long way to soothing her annoyance. But it wasn’t to be. He looked as good, if not better, than he had ten years ago.
Although she wouldn’t admit it to anyone, he also appeared competent in his job. His questions had been insightful and he’d been genuinely determined to get to the bottom of their complaint. She almost wished they’d met with a buffoon who couldn’t care less about what they had to say. The knowledge that Rohan would investigate the matter until he was satisfied with the answers meant she now had to deal with the growing sense of unease that weighed her down.
Her phone rang in the car kit to the tune of a Bruno Mars song, distracting her from her thoughts. She glanced across at the screen. Alistair. All of sudden, the dread in her stomach grew wings and took flight. Swallowing, she moistened her dry lips and answered.
“Hi, Alistair, how are you?”
“What’s the matter? You sound weird.”
Sam groaned under her breath. Trust her brother to notice. She forced a smile and did her best to lighten her tone. “It must be the noise of the traffic. I have you on hands-free. I’m on my way home.”
“I just thought I’d call and see how you were now that you’re a week older.”
“I’m fine, Alistair. Just getting on with life: work, sleep, sitting with Mom, more work. You know how it is.”
“Unfortunately, I do. Nancy and the kids complain they barely see me these days.”
“So does Mom.”
“Hey, I was with her in the Dialysis Unit two days last week when Ava and Jessie couldn’t make it.”
“And what about this week? It doesn’t just stop, you know.”
“Of course. I’ll do what I can. Who kept her company today?”
“Ava did. She moved around a few appointments. Got the time cleared.”
“Ava’s such a good daughter,” Alistair replied, sounding genuine. “You all are.”
“Yeah, yeah, yeah,” Sam replied with a wry chuckle though her mirth was forced.
“Are you sure you’re all right?”
She bit her lip against a sudden rush of tears. No, she wasn’t all right. Her mother was dying and she was facing the possibility her brother might be involved in something so awful she couldn’t even think about it—and yet, she might be completely and utterly wrong. The worry and doubt and confusion and uncertainty was doing her head in.
A car cut into her lane in front of her and she cursed aloud and blasted the driver with her horn.
“What happened?” Alistair asked.
“Just another stupid Sydney driver impatient to get home. Doesn’t he realize we’ve all had a long day and we’re all desperate to get home? Talk about selfish. The idiot could have caused an accident!”
“How do you know it’s a male?” Alistair teased.
“You’re not helping, Alistair,” she replied through gritted teeth.
“I take it you had a rough day?” His voice was full of sympathy. Another rush of tears pricked Sam behind her eyes. She blinked hard to hold them at bay.
“Yeah,” she admitted quietly. “It was tough.”
“Was it a kid? Doing an autopsy on a kid would have to be the worst.”
“No, it wasn’t a kid and it’s not work that has worn me out.”
“Then, what?”
Sam bit her lip and debated silently over what to say. She wanted so much to tell him about her fears—about what her and Hannah had found—and she wanted to tell him about going to the police and how an officer she’d met ten years earlier, might be giving him a call.
And then, all of a sudden, she wanted to hear what he had to say. If he had nothing to do with it, surely he’d be just as curious and concerned about the findings as she was.
“I accompanied Hannah Langdon to the police station this afternoon,” she blurted out. “We wanted to talk to someone about our uneasiness over the recent high influx of bodies that had donated organs.” Her announcement was met with shocked silence.
Finally, Alistair spoke. “Wow! I… I’m speechless. When you mentioned it last week, I didn’t realize the numbers were so high that you’d go to the police.”
“Well, they are and Hannah felt the same way. I had dinner with her on the weekend. She’s also noticed a significant increase. She had a deceased come through her funeral home recently that had not only donated organs, but ligaments and tendons and even tracts of skin removed. Don’t you think that sounds strange?”
She held her breath and waited for her brother to answer. Her hands tightened around the steering wheel.
“Absolutely! You’re right, it sounds very weird. I pride myself on being good at my job and I can’t remember the last time I convinced a relative to give consent for all of those things. I wish I was that persuasive. For sure we need those kinds of tissues as much as any of them, but it’s rare for people to agree. I wonder who the doctor was who managed to secure the consent?”
Sam’s breath rushed out of her body in relief. Her brother sounded just as bemused with the whole thing as she was. If he’d had any prior knowledge or, heaven forbid, intimate knowledge, surely he’d be on the defensive?
“I don’t know any details, other than the body came from your hospital,” she hastened to tell him. “Hannah only receives the most basic information about her clients.”
“Of course. Do you have a name? I could look them up in our records and see who dealt with them.”
“No, but Hannah does. I could call her and ask.”
“Don’t bother her tonight. Besides, I’ve already called it a day. I’m at home, kicking back with a scotch, watching the rugby game I taped earlier.”
“Lucky you,” she teased. “I have another three miles to go.”
“Well, I’ll leave you to concentrate on the road. I don’t want you arriving home in pieces. Or worse still, not arriving at all.” His tone was light, but Sam appreciated the concern behind his words. She was lucky to have a big brother like him watching out for her. Not everyone was so fortunate. With a promise to take care and talk again soon, Sam ended the call.
There, she’d done it and Alistair had reacted exactly as she’d expect. Curious, concerned, wanting to investigate further and get to the bottom of it. There was no way he was involved. She was sure of it.