Robin Cook - Foreign Body

“I wish. No, no autopsy. They have a signed death certificate, and once that’s signed, they want the body embalmed or cremated. My grandmother’s case manager is dead set, so to speak, on getting the body disposed of and has been ragging on me from day one, which for me was Monday morning.”

“Where is the body, in a morgue?”

“Yeah, sure,” Jennifer voiced with a mocking laugh. “Granny’s body and that of a man named Benfatti are in a cafeteria cooler. Yesterday morning, I actually saw my granny’s body in there. It’s not a perfect location for lots of reasons, but it’s okay. It’s cold enough.”

“What’s this other body you mentioned?”

“There have been two other similar deaths. One was so similar to my grandmother’s it seems eerie. The other is sorta similar, but my guess would be that he was discovered immediately after he suffered whatever the other two suffered, because on the third one they actually went through a real resuscitation attempt.”

“How do you know all this?”

“I’ve met the wives. I also talked both of them into not allowing their husbands to be embalmed or cremated. I think we have three bodies of people who have suffered some kind of a fatal medical crisis. The hospitals want to call it a heart attack, whether it’s warranted or not, because all three have each had some kind of cardiac history. To tell you the truth, it has been my sense that the hospitals just want to get rid of these cases as soon as possible, and frankly, that has made me suspicious from day one.”

“Could any of this be a kind of defense on your part as a way of helping you deal with the emotional aspect of losing your grandmother?”

For a moment Jennifer turned and stared out the car window. It was a good question, even though her first response was irritation that Neil would be capable of thinking she was making all this up. She turned back to Neil. “I think that there is something wrong with these three deaths. I think they were not natural. I do.”

It was now Neil’s turn to stare. He chose to stare out the front window. When he looked back at Jennifer, she was still looking at him. “It would be something hard to prove without autopsies. I assume you’ve been trying to get one.”

“To some degree,” Jennifer admitted. “As I said, once the death certificate is signed, they don’t think about autopsies. They just want to get the body out of the cafeteria cooler. But the reason I’m treading water today is because something is happening tonight that could turn this all around.”

“What do I have to do, guess?” Neil complained when Jennifer paused.

“I just want to make sure you are listening.” Jennifer said. “Did I ever mention to you that Granny was a nanny to a woman who’s become quite well known as a medical examiner?”

“I believe so, but remind me again.”

“Her name is Laurie Montgomery. She works as a medical examiner in New York City along with her husband, Jack Stapleton.”

“I can recall your mentioning Laurie Montgomery but not Jack.”

“Well, they just got married a couple of years ago. I called her Tuesday, right after I’d seen Granny. I just wanted to run some things by her, and she shocked me by offering to come immediately. I guess I didn’t know that Granny meant so much to her. I should have. Maria had that kind of effect on people. But then a problem arose: Laurie and Jack are in the middle of an assisted reproduction cycle, meaning Jack’s got to be around to perform.”

Neil rolled his eyes.

“Anyway, to solve the problem they both are coming and are scheduled to land tonight.”

“The fact that they are coming won’t hurt,” Neil said. “But I’m not so sure you should put such hope on it. If you’ve been unable to move the authorities here, I wouldn’t count on a couple of medical examiners doing much better. I happen to know that forensic pathology is not a really popular field here in India, and whether or not an autopsy is done is not up to the doctors.”

“I’ve heard the same. And to add to the trouble, there is some controversy over which ministry oversees what. The morgues are under the ministry of home, while medical examiners who use them are under the ministry of health. Also, the decision of whether an autopsy is indicated in a specific case is up to the police and the magistrates, not the doctors.”

“That’s my point. So I wouldn’t get your hopes up too high just because a couple of sharp medical examiners are coming to town. I get the feeling that you have done just about as much as anyone could do.”

“Maybe so, but I’m not going to give up, although I’m tempted after this episode today. I tell you, if Laurie and Jack weren’t coming tonight, I’d be out of here.”

“I’d be the one trying to get you to go, and I’m not sure it wouldn’t be the most sensible idea.”

They rode in silence, each lost in thought and each looking out their own window at the kaleidoscopic view of the Delhi street scene. After a while Jennifer hazarded a glance in Neil’s direction. She was still shocked by his presence. He was perhaps the last person on earth she’d expected to see when the curtain was whipped back while she was cowering in the toilet in the filthy butcher shop. She studied his profile. There was very little indentation where his nose abutted his forehead, like a head on a Greek coin. His lips were full, his Adam’s apple large. She thought he was a handsome man, and she was flattered that he came. But what did it mean? She had essentially given up on him because of the way he had brushed her off. Although Jennifer was unaccustomed to vacillating once she’d made up her mind, Neil’s effort in coming nine thousand miles suggested this might be the time to start.

“Are you planning on going out to the airport to welcome your friends?” Neil asked suddenly.

“I am. Would you like to come along?”

“Don’t you think you’d be safer staying in the hotel?”

“Maybe so, but security is high at the airport and at the hotel. I think I’ll be alright.”

“I’ll go with you, if I’m invited.”

“Absolutely,” Jennifer said.

Jennifer held her hand up. It was still shaking like she’d had eleven cups of coffee.

Every so often, Jennifer glanced out the back window. She was concerned about being followed, as she apparently had been when she left the hotel. Unfortunately, with the dense traffic and general chaos of the street, it was difficult to tell. But when they reached the Amal Palace Hotel and turned up the lengthy ramp, something mildly out of the ordinary happened.

Once again, she had glanced out the back as they rose up the driveway, and she was about to face around when a small white car pulled into the driveway behind them. But then it stopped, blocking the drive. Jennifer tried to see how many people were in the car, but she couldn’t, as the hazy sun was reflecting off the windshield.

Looking forward, she could see they were about to reach the porte cochere. Glancing back, she saw the small white car back out of the drive and drive away after causing a lot of honking, beeping, and angry shouts. Someone must have made a wrong turn, was all Jennifer could think, yet in her sensitized state it seemed out of the ordinary.

“Are you finished with the car?” the driver asked Jennifer, pulling her attention away from the curious antics of the white car.

“Absolutely,” Jennifer said, eager to get into the hotel. “Thank you.”

“I’m impressed you took a car,” Neil said, as they walked toward the entrance doors.

“I don’t know if I’ll get away with it,” Jennifer admitted. “The company, Foreign Medical Solutions, out of Chicago, is paying my hotel bill, but I don’t know whether it’s for extras or not. If not, it will have to go on my credit card.”