The Body Thief

by Chris Taylor

  As if his thoughts had conjured up the doctor, a middle-aged man dressed in blue surgical scrubs appeared in the open doorway. Rohan stared at him for a second and then jumped to his feet. His heart thumped hard in his chest. He glanced across at his mother where she sat in another chair. She’d also noticed the surgeon and stood and rushed to Rohan’s side.

  “Doctor, can you tell us what’s happening?” he asked.

  The man looked drawn and tired. A surgical mask hung loosely around his neck. His hair was still covered by a scarf.

  “Are you the relatives of William Coleridge?”

  Rohan’s arm went instinctively around his mother and drew her close. He nodded in response to the doctor’s question.

  “He’s my father. And this is my mother.”

  “Please, Doctor,” his mom whispered. “Please, tell us what’s happening. We… We’ve been here so long. Please, we need to know.”

  Her voice hitched and Rohan’s throat went tight. He squeezed her shoulder in wordless comfort.

  The doctor looked at them kindly. “Please, why don’t you take a seat?”

  He indicated the chairs they’d recently vacated. Rohan guided his mother over to one and sat beside her. The dread in his gut increased.

  “I’m afraid I have bad news,” the doctor murmured and pain stabbed through Rohan’s heart.

  His mother began to shake her head from side to side. “No! No! No! It can’t be.” She implored the surgeon. “Please, tell me he’s still alive.”

  The doctor’s lips compressed and his face filled with sadness. “I’m sorry, Mrs Coleridge. We did everything we could, but…your husband didn’t make it.”

  A keening howl of pain came forth from Rohan’s mom and she buried her face against his shoulder. Sobbing uncontrollably, she clung to him like she’d never let him go. The realization that his father had died slowly sank in. Tears pricked his eyes and his chest went tight. He’d never felt so helpless.

  “I’m so sorry,” the doctor continued. “He had a bleed on his brain and…” He shook his head. “It was left unchecked too long. We tried so hard to save him, but there was nothing we could do.”

  Despite Rohan’s shock and grief, he could see how hard it was for the doctor to speak to them about the terrible news. With his jaw clenched against the pain in his heart, he offered the doctor his hand.

  “Thank you for telling us, Doctor. We appreciate everything you’ve done.” He glanced across at his mom who was still quietly sobbing. “What… What happens now?”

  The doctor drew in a deep breath and exhaled slowly. “He’s still on the respirator. Though his brain is clinically dead, the machine is keeping his other organs alive. I’d like to have someone come and speak to you about organ donation. Was William a registered donor?”

  Rohan froze. A moment later, his heart pounded in his chest. After all that had happened over the past few months, he couldn’t believe he was facing this decision. His mom pulled away and wiped at her eyes and then looked somberly at the doctor.

  “Yes, he was.”

  Rohan reared back in surprise. He’d never discussed organ donation with either of his parents. He turned to his mom. “Are you sure?”

  “Yes,” his mom said quietly. “We saw a show about it a few years ago on TV. It was one of those hospital dramas, but we started talking about it and we both agreed it was something we’d like to do. They aren’t going to be any help to us after we die, we thought someone else might as well have the use of them.”

  Rohan sucked in a breath and held it deep inside his lungs. Exhaling on a heavy sigh, he once again drew his mother close. Pressing a kiss against her hair, he whispered, “I never knew.”

  His mom offered a tiny, sad shrug. “We should have told you. I guess it just never came up.”

  * * *

  An hour later, after driving as fast as the traffic allowed, Sam made it to the car park of the Sutherland Hospital. She’d sent Rohan a text while she was stopped at a set of traffic lights. The message simply read: I’m on my way.

  She found a vacant parking space and hurried from her car. The lights of the hospital beckoned and she sent up a silent prayer that Rohan’s dad would pull through. The automatic doors opened upon her approach and she moved as quickly as she could. A brief enquiry at the patient information booth gave her the information she sought. She half-ran to the elevators and then punched in the button for the second level. She stepped out a moment later and almost collided with Rohan.

  “Rohan!” she gasped, clutching at his shirt. His arms came out automatically to steady her.

  “Sam! Thank God you’re here.”

  She stared up at him and couldn’t help noticing the bleak expression in his eyes. She tightened her fingers on his arms. “How is he?”

  Rohan closed his eyes and his shoulders slumped. Slowly, he shook his head. Sam’s hand came up against her mouth in an effort to hold back her shock.

  “Oh, Rohan! Don’t tell me…”

  “He didn’t make it, Sam. The doctors came out a little while ago and told us. The bleed was left unchecked for too long. There was nothing they could do.”

  “Where’s your mom?” she asked quietly.

  “She’s still in the waiting room with the doctors. They asked us to consider organ donation.”

  For the second time, Sam gasped and this time she didn’t know what to say. After all that had happened with her brother, having to contemplate donating his father’s organs must be the last thing Rohan wanted to do. She understood why she’d found him by himself, near the elevators.

  “You don’t have to say anything, Samantha. I know how you feel about it and that’s okay. Your mom’s facing certain death if she doesn’t get a transplant. I get how important organ donation is to you and your family.”

  “It is important to me. I won’t pretend it isn’t, but if there was a worst day to consider the question seriously, today is probably it. My brother…” She shrugged helplessly, unable to find the words. “All I ask is that you think about how you felt about organ donation last month, last year… Don’t base your decision on my brother and his actions. He… I don’t know what he was thinking or why he went so far off course, but there are so many other wonderful, dedicated medical staff working in this area who make such a difference to people’s lives.” She paused and then asked softly, “How did your father feel?”

  He stared at her, his expression inscrutable. “My father was a supporter of organ donation. Mom’s going to consent to the recovery.”

  Her heart skipped a beat. “Oh, my goodness! Are you sure?” She gazed up at him, searching his face for the truth.

  His eyes filled with tears, but his nod was firm in response. “Yes. Mom told me tonight Dad was a registered organ donor. I never knew. We talked about it. Mom’s sure it’s what Dad would have wanted. He was the first to offer help to a friend, or even to a stranger. If donating his organs can help someone else, she’s certain she has his blessing.”

  He dragged in a breath and continued. “During the course of the investigation, I spoke to a lot of people involved in the industry and I’m also convinced it’s the right thing to do.”

  Sam put her arms around him and hugged him close. She was relieved to feel him relax against her. Resting his chin on the top of her head, he sighed heavily. His arms tightened around her—like he never wanted to let her go. She was content to stay there for as long as he needed her.

  So much had happened in such a short time. She’d started the day on top of the world and had quickly come crashing down. Phillip’s death had shocked and saddened her, but discovering what her brother had done to him and countless others had rocked her to the core. She could only imagine the distress Alistair would no doubt cause to the grieving relatives when the news got out. And through all that, a little voice in her head reminded her that his actions had also saved many others.

  That the increased number of people who’d received lifesaving transplants was a direct resu
lt of what Alistair had done, couldn’t be discounted. It didn’t mean she condoned his actions, but neither would she judge him. Their mother was one of the very people needing such a lifesaving gift.

  How would Sam have felt if one of the harvested organs had been a match? Would it have mattered that the organ had been obtained illegally or did saving her mother’s life trump everything? Sam didn’t know where the answer and the truth was, and for now, she preferred it that way.

  Eventually, Rohan’s hold loosened and he lifted his head. “I need to go and be with Mom.”

  Sam nodded and let him go. She went to step away, but he reached for her hand. “Will you come with me when I say good-bye?”

  Her breath caught in her throat. She blinked back a surge of tears. Squeezing his hand, she nodded. “Of course.”

  Hours later, surrounded by extended family, Rohan and his mom took their time to say good-bye to a man they obviously loved and held in high esteem. Sam didn’t have to meet Bill Coleridge to know he’d been a great man. Though she kept in the background, the love in the room was overwhelming and the support Rohan showed his mom touched Sam like nothing else could.

  Her phone vibrated in the pocket of her skirt and she surreptitiously glanced at the screen. It was Ava. A wave of concern washed over Sam and she quietly removed herself from the group. Moving out of the room, she quickly answered the call.

  “Ava, what is it? Is Mom okay?”

  “She got the call, Sam! Mom finally got the call!”

  Sam frowned in confusion. “What are you talking about?”

  “The transplant unit at the hospital! They think they’ve found a donor kidney!”

  “Oh, my goodness!” Sam gasped in disbelief, her heart pounding like a hammer against her chest. “Are you sure?”

  “Yes! I was sitting right next to Mom when she answered the phone! It’s real, Sam and it’s happening! After all these years, it’s finally happening!”

  Sam heard the happiness and relief in Ava’s voice and blinked back tears as she listened. She was in as much shock as Ava was. She only wished she could call Alistair and let him know the good news. He’d devoted his life to saving others, including their mother. The day had finally arrived when she was to be given another chance at life and he was locked up in a jail cell, awaiting a fate that was as yet unknown.

  “Where are you taking her?”

  “They’re going to prep her for surgery at Westmead. The donor kidney is apparently already on its way. We have to get there as soon as possible. Mom’s in the car. I’ve thrown a bag together for her and I’ll be leaving just as soon as I’ve locked up. How long will it take for you to meet us there?”

  “Give me an hour. I’ll explain to Rohan what’s happened. I’m sure he’ll understand.”

  “Okay, sis. Drive safely. Oh, my goodness, I can’t believe it’s finally happening!”

  CHAPTER NINETEEN

  Dear Diary,

  I can’t help but wonder as I lie on my uncomfortable prison bed, smelling of body odor and sweat, whether I would have done anything differently if I’d known I’d be caught and tried. Would I have done it at all?

  I might have quit sooner or gotten better at covering my tracks… I’ll never know because I was outsmarted by a cop and betrayed by my sister—between the two of them, my choices were taken away.

  I lie here and think about all the lives I have saved. I helped the lame walk again; I helped blind people see. I breathed new life into people who were facing certain death and I couldn’t have done any of it without the sacrifice of the dead.

  But in the end, I was the sacrifice. I gave my life, my freedom, my everything and I did it all for them.

  Or did I…?

  * * *

  Sam wasn’t at work when the police attended the Glebe Morgue to arrest Richard Davis. She was sitting beside her mother’s hospital bed in the ICU, waiting for her to wake up. A television near the nurses’ station was on low and she looked up at the screen in time to see her boss being led away by the police. A suit jacket tossed over his face concealed his expression, but reflected light from the news cameramen glinted off shiny, metal handcuffs. Sam stifled a gasp of shock, even though the scene didn’t come as a surprise. The argument she’d partially witnessed between her brother and her boss had made it all too clear.

  She shook her head, overwhelmed by the tragedy of it. Two brilliant men, kind and compassionate, had succumbed to the dark side and she wasn’t even sure what had motivated them. No doubt it would be revealed in time as the whole sordid mess played out in the courts and in the media. She shuddered at the thought. Catching a movement out of the corner of her eye, she saw Rohan walking toward her. She offered him a weak smile.

  “How is she?” he asked quietly, coming to a halt beside her mother’s bed.

  Sam lifted her shoulder in a half-shrug. “The doctors are happy with how it all went. Now it’s a waiting game. They’ll keep her in the ICU for the next several days until they know the kidney’s going to take. Rejection’s more likely to happen during that time. She’s taking a cocktail of immunosuppression drugs to aid in her body’s acceptance, but of course, there’s no guarantee.”

  Rohan nodded and his attention turned to Sam. “How are you?”

  The concern and compassion in his eyes was enough to undo her. Tears welled up and she stifled a sob, but the stress and anxiety of the past few days had finally caught up. Another sob escaped, followed quickly by more. Tenderly, Rohan drew her into his arms and she leaned into him, grateful for his support and the comfort only he could give.

  He stroked her back and held her close and whispered soft, soothing words against her hair. She cried quietly against his shirt. A long while later, she lifted her head and gave him a shaky smile.

  “I got your shirt wet.” She hiccupped and drew a deep breath.

  “I have plenty of others.”

  She tightened her arms about his waist and once again rested her head against his chest. His heart beat slow and steady and strong beneath her ear and made her feel safe and secure and loved. She never wanted to leave. As if he could read her mind, Rohan loosened his arms and tilted her chin up with his fingers. His head came down and his lips found hers. The sweetness of his kiss brought forth another rush of tears.

  “I love you, Samantha Wolfe.”

  She stared up at him. “I love you, too, Rohan Coleridge.”

  He kissed her again and Sam responded with all the love in her heart. It was a kiss filled with gentleness, kindness and compassion. It acknowledged wrongs and it offered forgiveness and it promised a bright new start.

  EPILOGUE

  Rohan pulled over next to the curb outside Samantha’s apartment building and swallowed the bundle of nerves that threatened to block his throat. Wishing he’d bought a bottle of water to ease the dryness in his mouth, he felt around in the pocket of his jeans. His fingers closed around the jewelers’s box and relief surged through him. It was still there. The thought was immediately followed by another rush of nerves.

  Samantha’s mom had undergone her transplant a month ago and from all reports, she was doing fine. Tonight, Sam had invited her family around to celebrate the milestone. While Rohan had met Enid in the hospital, he had yet to be introduced to the remaining two siblings who made up the Wolfe family. The thought of meeting the sisters of Alistair Wolfe only added to his nerves. While Samantha had shown remarkable understanding and had accepted Rohan was only doing his job, he had yet to see if the remaining Wolfe children would be as forgiving.

  Knowing he couldn’t put it off any longer, he grabbed the six-pack of beer on the seat and collected the bottle of wine. Samantha had told him her mom adored a glass of Merlot at night and although she now limited herself to one or two glasses a week, it was a habit she still indulged.

  With the wine in one hand and the six-pack in the other, he made his way into the building’s foyer and up the short flight of stairs. With the back of his knuckles, he knocked on Samanth
a’s door. It was opened almost immediately and she stood before him, gorgeous in crimson silk. It floated around her body like a living thing and set off her olive skin. Her black hair was loose and curled around her lovely face.

  “Rohan!” she exclaimed with a smile and threw her arms around his neck. He stood a little awkwardly with the alcohol in his hands and tried to maintain his balance.

  “I’m sorry.” She laughed and pulled away. “I almost bowled you over!”

  “Oh, you bowled me over, all right. You bowled me over the moment I saw you again.” He grinned and set the bottles on the floor and swept her into his arms. Unmindful of smudging her ruby-red lipstick, he kissed her thoroughly before setting her aside.

  “That’s a lovely way to say hello.” She laughed a little breathlessly. “Come in and meet the rest of my family.”

  Rohan collected the bottles off the floor and then Samantha took him by the arm. Depositing the beer on a nearby counter, he followed her into the living room. He’d expected a crowd, but there were only two other couples, along with Hannah Langdon and Enid. Sam’s mother sat alone, a little ways apart from the others in pride of place in a large armchair.

  ”Sam, can you help me with something in the kitchen?”

  The question had come from one of the women who looked so much like Sam she had to be her sister. Sam flashed him a quick smile of apology and turned away. Rohan moved toward Enid and she smiled and waved him over when she saw him.

  “Rohan! How lovely to see you again!” she cried, reaching out to him.

  Rohan stepped forward and took her hand and then leaned in close to press a kiss against her cheek. “You’re looking great, Enid. It’s fantastic to see you.”

  She nodded and squeezed his hand. “I feel like a new woman. I never imagined a donor kidney could make me feel so good. The doctors are pleased with my progress. So far, there haven’t been any signs of rejection.”

  “That’s great news!” Rohan replied, genuinely relieved. Samantha’s mother and her family had been through enough over the past little while, and it wasn’t over yet, not by a long shot.