Ken McClure - Trauma

“Professor? It’s Sarah Lasseter. I think you’ve probably been expecting me to call?”

“Yes indeed, Dr Lafferty. My brother tells me you’d like to work with us for a while?”

Sarah thought that Tyndall sounded a little distant, as if she didn’t have his full attention. “If that’s at all possible, sir?”

“This needs some thought, Doctor. Perhaps we should meet first and discuss which aspects of our research interests you most.”

“I was rather hoping I might be able to call in and see you this afternoon,” said Sarah.

“I think perhaps it might be better if we were to wait a few days. I’m up to me eyes at the moment. Give me a call in a couple of days.”

“Very good, sir,” said Sarah, feeling utterly dejected. Cyril Tyndall’s interest in her career certainly seemed to have become lukewarm. She was forced into considering that Paddy Duncan might have been right at the reception when he suggested that Tyndall’s interest in her had more to do with her gender and the dress she’d been wearing than any genuine regard for her professional skills. She decided that she would have to be philosophical about it, but it didn’t stop her feeling more than a little foolish. Somewhere in the back of her mind she could hear her father say, “Life is a learning process Sarah... and there are no school holidays.”

Sarah felt at a loose end. Instead of being on her way up to Cyril Tyndall’s lab later then afternoon as she had planned, she would have to twiddle her thumbs for at least two days. She wondered how much time they had before the Keegan boy’s funeral took place. Lafferty would know; she called him.

“The funeral is on Thursday,” said Lafferty. “According to the undertaker I spoke to, they won’t pick up the body until just before the funeral so, presumably it will lie in the medical school mortuary until then.”

“That gives us three days.”

“Not long,” said Lafferty. “Especially if you are not going to get a chance to go up there until Wednesday at the earliest.”

“And maybe even later than that,” said Sarah. “It also depends on my off-duty. That’s partly why I was hoping to see Professor Tyndall this afternoon. I’m off duty until tomorrow morning.”

“I see,” said Lafferty. “Look, John Main is coming round later. Why don’t you come over and join us?”

“What time?”

“Come whenever you’re ready.”

Sarah arrived at St Xavier’s a little after seven to find Lafferty ‘doing a bit of tidying up’ as he put it. “My cleaner will be off for a few days,” he said. “She’s had a bit of a shock.”

When Main arrived at half past, Lafferty told them both about the cause of her shock.

“How awful,” said Sarah.

“Another warning,” said Main.

“One for each of us,” said Lafferty. “On the plus side it means that they still think it worthwhile trying to convince us that black magic is involved.”

“And on the minus?” asked Sarah.

“They know we are working together. That must have come from Logan seeing us together. It’s just possible that Sarah might get a little ‘present’ from them too.”

Sarah screwed up her face at the thought of it.

“In the meantime, we are running out of time,” said Lafferty.

“How so?” asked Main.

“The Keegan boy is due to be buried on Thursday and Sarah doesn’t think she will get a chance to sniff around at the medical school by then.”

“Then maybe I could try?” suggested Main.

Lafferty and Sarah looked at each other in surprise. “How?” Sarah asked.

“You tell me,” said Main. “What sort of people visit the medical school?”

Sarah shrugged and said, “Company reps, service engineers, undertakers, delivery men, all sorts.”

“Then there’s lots to choose from,” said Main positively. “We just have to decide what I’m going to be.”

“And which part of the building you want to be in,” said Sarah. “It’s a big place.”

“There is that,” agreed Main.

“But the bodies must all end up in the medical school mortuary, surely?” said Lafferty.

“I suppose they must,” agreed Sarah,

“That would fit with what the undertaker told me,” said Lafferty.

“Then I could be an undertaker’s man,” said Main.

“Wouldn’t you need a hearse?” asked Sarah.

“Not necessarily,” said Main. “I remember you said something a while ago about undertakers measuring bodies?” replied Main.

“That’s right,” said Sarah, sounding more positive as she followed Main’s line of thought. “Most of them pay the mortuary attendants to measure the bodies for them so they can supply the right size of coffin, but a few firms prefer to do it themselves. You could turn up to measure a body.”

Main nodded.

“Are you sure you feel up to it,” asked Lafferty.

“I’m up to it,” replied Main.

“But who would you be measuring?” asked Sarah.

“I’ll make up a name,” said Main. “The real point is to gain access to the mortuary. If I give a name and there’s no body to match it then someone will have to check with somebody else and so on and so forth. Mix-ups and incompetence are a way of life in most public service institutions. While they’re looking for someone who’s not there, I’ll be taking a look at who is.”

“It might just work,” agreed Lafferty.

“There aren’t that many undertakers in town,” said Sarah. “It’s likely that the mortuary attendants know them all. They will spot you as an impostor right away.”

Main thought for a moment then said, “I could be from out of town. That’s it! The hospital must have patients from all over the country in it. I could be acting for a firm in Aberdeen or Inverness — or anywhere.”

Sarah could think of no further objection. She looked at Lafferty who shrugged and said, “Personally, I think it’s worth a try.”

“Good,” said Main. “Then it’s settled.”

As she walked across the courtyard to the main hospital, Sarah saw Murdoch Tyndall’s dark green Jaguar parked outside HTU. If Tyndall was in at this time in the morning she decided, something was wrong. She wasn’t surprised therefore when Sister Roche told her that he wanted to see her.

“Come in, Sarah, sit down.”

Sarah sat down in front of Tyndall’s desk and saw that he wasn’t his usual urbane self. “I’m afraid Dr Logan has had to leave us for a while. Some family crisis I understand. He may in fact be away for some time.”

“I’m sorry to hear that,” said Sarah with mixed feelings. She was feverishly trying to work things out in her own head. Had things become too hot for Logan to handle?

“This, of course, leaves us with a problem,” continued Tyndall.

“A problem sir?” asked Sarah almost absent-mindedly.

“With Dr Logan gone, I am afraid I can no longer sanction your secondment to the medical school. We will need all the experienced people we have in HTU.”

“Of course,” replied Sarah.

“But as Dr Logan was the source of your discontent perhaps this won’t come as too big a blow to you?”

“No, of course not sir,” replied Sarah. She was still trying to work out the repercussions. Even if Logan had made a bolt for it, could they still nail him? They could if they could show that Martin Keegan’s body had been taken, she decided. It looked as if John Main was going to be their only chance of proving it.

“I’m arranging for a locum of course,” said Tyndall. “But for the meantime I would be grateful if you do your best to hold the fort. As soon as I get things organised today, I myself will take over Dr Logan’s shifts.”

“Very good, sir.”

“Now that you’re here, I’ll take myself off to the administration people and see if I can get some action out of them. I’ll be wearing my bleeper. Call me if you need me.”