Trauma (33 page)

'That would be my guess too,' agreed Lafferty.

There was another long pause before Lenny said, 'Frankly sir, we - the police that is - have been having a hard time over what happened to the Main boy. We've not been making any headway because no one will speak to us about black magic or devil worship.'

'I see,' said Lafferty. 'It can't be easy for you.'

'No sir. We're becoming paranoid. I'm even inclined to think that you yourself just might know a good bit more than you are letting on.'

Lafferty shrugged and said, 'I assure you Inspector. I know as little about the subjects you mentioned as you do.'

'Your housekeeper had a bit of a shock tonight sir,' said the policeman, changing tack.

'Quite so,' said Lafferty.

'My driver said she was still quite distraught on the way home . . . Mentioned something about you having books on witchcraft, inviting young ladies here at all hours, your bed not being slept in . . .' The policeman paused to watch the effect of what he was saying before continuing, 'I realise of course that she was upset and all this might be . . .'

'Ill informed tittle tattle,' interrupted Lafferty. 'And that's exactly what it is.'

'If you say so sir.'

'I do.'

Lenny exchanged glances with his sergeant and got to his feet. He said, 'Well, we'll be getting along sir. If there is anything else you might like to tell us please get in touch.'

'I will,' said Lafferty.

The inspector smiled and said as a parting shot, 'After all sir, we're all on the same side. Aren't we?'

The policeman clearly thought he'd had the last word and had turned to leave when Lafferty said, 'Have you had the forensic report on the four men who died in the car fire Inspector?'

The policeman stooped in his tracks and turned. He seemed surprised by the question.

'Yes sir, as a matter of fact we have. I understand there were no suspicious circumstances. An act of God you might say.'

'I'm not too sure that God will be happy to take the blame for that one Inspector,' said Lafferty.

'What are you implying, sir?'

'Nothing Inspector. Let's just say you’re not the only one suffering from paranoia.'

Lafferty watched the police circus depart. His eyes followed the black plastic bag that contained the cat and its message of black magic. His lips broke into a wry smile. 'Not convinced,' he murmured. 'Not convinced at all.'

* * * * *

Sarah had little time for brooding. Several patients in HTU had a disturbed night and she was on call constantly to deal with the situation. For the most part it was a case of altering the settings on the life support systems but for one patient, Martin Keegan, it was the end of the line. He was the patient that Logan had called in to see earlier when he had found her with Lafferty and John Main. Keegan had been involved in a road traffic accident. His car had swerved across the central reservation of the M8 motorway and hit an oncoming heavy goods vehicle. In addition to severe head injuries, he had suffered extensive damage to his left leg and foot where he had been trapped in the wreckage. Logan had been right about his condition; it had been worsening. At a little before seven in the morning, he lost all trace of brain function. Sarah repeated the Sigma probe tests at the most sensitive setting but could still find no trace of activity.

'No good?' asked the Staff nurse.

Sarah shook her head. 'Afraid not,' she said.

'Dr Logan didn't think he was going to make it,' confided the nurse. 'He asked that he be informed if things got worse.'

'Really?' said Sarah, sounding surprised. 'I didn't get that message.'

The nurse was uncomfortable with this news. 'There was a message left at the nurses' station.'

'I see,' said Sarah. 'Have you any idea why Dr Logan made this request?'

'I understand he wanted to speak to the relatives personally,' replied the nurse.

'But Professor Tyndall always speaks to the relatives,' said Sarah.

The nurse shrugged as if she was unwilling to get any deeper into this particular conversation.

'All right, thank you Staff,' said Sarah with a smile. 'You’d better call him but give me five minutes first will you?'

Sarah went back to the doctors' room. What the hell was Logan up to this time? Was this the new plan? Get in first with the relatives and brow-beat them into giving transplant permission before Tyndall spoke to them? That way he wouldn't have to steal the bodies. Sarah was furious; she picked up the phone and called Tyndall.

'Professor? It's Sarah Lasseter here. I'm sorry to bother you but I thought you should know that Martin Keegan has lost all brain function. Dr Logan left word with the nursing staff that he should be informed if this happened. I understand that he intends to contact the family personally with a view to seeing them in the morning. I thought you might like to be present too?'

'That's very considerate of you Doctor,' replied Tyndall thoughtfully. 'I certainly would. Perhaps you would leave word to that effect for Dr Logan before you go off duty. Just say that I should like to speak to the relations first . . . as is my usual practice.'

'Yes sir,' said Sarah. She made a request for a meeting of her own with Tyndall and was told that four o'clock would be convenient. She put the phone down and felt well pleased with the outcome of her call. Checkmate, Dr Logan,' she murmured under her breath.

Sarah was woken from a deep sleep just after midday by her door bell ringing. 'All right, all right!' she complained as she struggled out of bed and fought her way into a dressing gown. She opened the door to find Derek Logan standing there. He looked furious.

'What do you think you are playing at?' he demanded. He walked into the room so forcibly that Sarah had to step back sharply to avoid being trampled on. Logan closed the door behind him and Sarah felt afraid. 'What do you mean?' she stammered.

'You and Tyndall? What's going on?'

'I don't know what you mean. Get out of my room!'

'You told Tyndall about the Keegan boy didn't you?'

'Yes I did,' said Sarah.

'Why?' demanded Logan.

'So that he would see the parents instead of you.'

The honesty of Sarah's reply seemed to stop Logan in his tracks. 'For God's sake, why?' he asked.

'Because you have all the charm of an orang outang with piles,' said Sarah, using up her last reserves of courage. 'I didn't want the Keegan boy’s parents being subjected to a charmless ghoul demanding their son's body for use as a Lego set.

'Jesus Christ!' said Logan in a hoarse whisper. 'So you call in Saint Murdoch and he lets them off the hook without batting an eyelid. As you wish, Mr Keegan. Fiery Furnace it is then Mr Keegan. Out with the Sigma probes and it's into the fire with perfectly good kidneys, lungs, eyes; you name it.

'That's their right,' said Sarah.

'That's their right,' mimicked Logan in a sing-song voice. 'Don't you ever think?' he demanded. 'Don't you realise how much good these perfectly healthy organs could do?'

Or how much money you could make, thought Sarah but she didn't say it.

'Do you know how many transplant permissions we've had in the last eighteen months in HTU?' asked Logan.

Sarah shook her head.

'None,' said Logan. 'Not one.'

Sarah remained mute.

'And all because our noble professor is more interested in promoting his own image as Mr nice-guy.'

'That's unfair!' Sarah protested.

'Is it?' said Logan. 'Not one in eighteen months. That's an appalling record.'

'Not all doctors are fans of transplant technology,' replied Sarah, but it sounded weak.

Logan gave her a disparaging look. 'Come on,' he protested. 'We're not talking about twenty years ago when transplant patients lasted ten minutes on a good day. We both know what the modern success rate is. Why doesn't he try harder to get permission?'

Sarah did not reply. She was thinking how much easier it would be for Logan to run his scam with official permission.

Logan's expression suddenly changed and he drew in breath sharply as if he had just realised or remembered something. He turned on his heel and stormed out, leaving Sarah feeling exhausted, partly from tiredness but mainly from fear.

She sat down on the bed as she felt her legs become weak as she took pleasure for a moment in the fact that Logan had gone. He left in his wake a silence which was gradually invaded by the everyday sounds of normality, traffic, a distant police siren, a meal trolley being wheeled across the yard outside. There was no question of going back to sleep. She would just lie back down on the bed and try to rest until it was time for her appointment with Tyndall.

Logan had been furious with her but he hadn't harmed her. She had feared for her life when he forced his way into her room but to her surprise, he hadn't even mentioned the business of Ryan Lafferty and John Main being in HTU the other night. He hadn't tried to pump her on how much she knew. Instead, he had concentrated on Tyndall's failure to get transplant permission. Was he offering this as an excuse for what he was doing? The manner of his going had also been strange. What had made him suddenly turn on his heel and leave?

Sarah tried to put Logan out of her mind as she thought what she was going to say to the professor. She was excited by the prospect of meeting up with Cyril Tyndall again. If she was really honest with herself she would have to admit that the excuse of getting away from Logan had given her the chance to find out more about Cyril Tyndall's suggestion that she might conceivably have a career in research. Maybe it was fate, she reasoned. She had tried convincing herself that she still really wanted to go into general practice with her father but there was no escaping the fact that Tyndall had dangled quite a different prospect in front of her and it was undeniably exciting. For a moment she remembered Paddy Duncan's joking comment that she was a medical 'groupie'. It annoyed her.

Murdoch Tyndall put Sarah at her ease as soon as she entered his office. 'Now then, Sarah,' he smiled. 'How can I help you?'

'It's a bit difficult,' began Sarah.

'Something's wrong, I can see that,' said Tyndall.

'I have to get away from HTU for a bit, only temporarily, but I do have to get away.'

Tyndall regarded Sarah in silence for a moment before spreading his hands on the desk in front of him and saying, 'Is that it? No explanation?'

'It's very difficult for me to speak frankly sir but Dr Logan and I do not see eye to eye and I'm feeling the strain.'

'A clash of personalities?' asked Tyndall.

'Something like that.'

'And what would you propose doing during this temporary absence?' asked Tyndall.

'With your permission sir, I have a suggestion to make.'

'Go on'

Sarah told Tyndall of her earlier conversation with his brother and asked if she might be permitted to spend some time in Cyril Tyndall's lab in the medical school.

'I see,' said Tyndall thoughtfully. 'Are you sure that laboratory medicine is something you want to do?'

'No sir, I'm not. But I would appreciate the opportunity to find out.'

'But if this is to be a temporary arrangement won't the problem still be here when you return?' asked Tyndall.

'I believe it will be resolved by that time,' said Sarah.

'Very cryptic,' smiled Tyndall. 'Is there something I don't know about?'

'Yes sir, but that is as much as I can say at the moment.'

Tyndall intertwined his fingers and said, 'Dr Lasseter, Dr Logan reported to me that you had been entertaining guests – as he put it - while on duty. Normally I would take a dim view of this but on pressing him further he told me that your "guests" were in fact, Father Lafferty and the Main boy's father.'

'Yes sir.'

You obviously don't want to tell me more so I won't press you but can I ask if their visit had something to do with the 'problem' with Dr Logan?'

'Yes sir, it did.'

Tyndall sat back in his seat and said, 'Very well, Doctor, I'll see what can be arranged. I'll call my brother before I leave.'

'Thank you, sir,' said Sarah, feeling relieved and getting up. 'I can't tell you how grateful I am.'

'I have to think of the patients,' said Tyndall. 'Discord between the staff is something we cannot allow.'

Sarah called Lafferty and told him how the interview had gone.

'And do you think his brother will agree?' asked Lafferty.

'Unless he's changed his mind,' replied Sarah.

'Excellent,' said Lafferty. Sarah told him of Logan's visit to her room earlier and of what had been said. Lafferty picked up on the fact that the incident had been prompted by the death of another patient in HTU. 'Tell me about the Keegan boy,' he said.