Robin Cook - Foreign Body

With a hazy sun and a temperature hovering in the mid-eighties, the pool was a popular destination, and a number of people were taking advantage of poolside dining. Since he’d not found her elsewhere, Neil was actually surprised not to find her there. It was remarkably pleasant.

Guessing that she must still be in her room and possibly still sleeping, maybe with her phone ringer turned off, Neil debated what to do. If she was still sleeping, she truly needed it, and he wasn’t going to wake her. Consequently, he decided to do what he’d wanted to do the night he’d arrived — namely, put an ear to her door. If he heard either her moving around or showering, or the television playing, he’d knock. If all was quiet, he’d let her sleep.

With the decision made, Neil retraced his steps toward the spa entrance. One way or the other, he decided he’d come out to the pool himself.

October 19, 2007

Friday, 4:02 p.m.

New Delhi, India

Rather than heading directly to her room after coming through the bungalow’s front door, Veena made a beeline for the library. She felt agitated and wanted reassurance, and there was only one person who she felt could provide it, and that was Cal Morgan. He’d already done so several times in regard to the same issue, and she was counting on it again, even though this occasion seemed to her to be the most serious.

As she came through the open door, she was relieved to see him doing paperwork at the library table. She did a double take when she caught sight of Durell stretched out on the couch, a book on his chest, and an ice pack perched on his upper forehead. It was at that moment that Cal became aware of her presence and glanced up. They both spoke at the same time, neither able to understand the other.

“I’m sorry,” Veena said nervously, her hand fluttering up to her face.

“No, it’s my fault,” Cal said, putting down his pencil and grimacing in the process. He had an ice pack balanced on the top of his left shoulder.

There was a moment of awkwardness as they both began to talk concurrently for the second time. Cal chuckled. “You first,” he said.

“There was a disturbing development this morning,” Veena said. “It has me upset.”

Durell swung his legs around and sat up. He was rubbing his eyes; he’d been asleep.

“Tell us what it was!” Cal said.

“Late this morning, Maria Hernandez’s body disappeared. The hospital is convinced the two forensic pathologists that Jennifer Hernandez arranged to come to India took it. They must be planning to do an autopsy or they might have already done one. What if they discover she died from succinylcholine?”

“We’ve been over this before,” Cal said, with some frustration. “Especially after this amount of time. I’ve been assured the human body rapidly gets rid of succinylcholine by breaking it down.”

“Also, remember,” Durell added, “that if they find some of the breakdown products, it doesn’t matter. The woman actually had succinylcholine during her surgery.”

“I Googled succinylcholine,” Veena said. “There have been cases where people have been convicted of killing their wives with succinylcholine, and its presence was proved by forensic pathologists.”

“I read those cases as well,” Cal said. “One of them injected the drug, and it was found in the injection site. We’ve used an existing IV. The other one, the drug was found in the idiot perpetrator’s possession. Come on, Veena! Stop being so paranoid! Durell and I researched this. It’s foolproof in our situation. Besides, I’ve recently read that isolating the drug is not easy. To this day a lot of people question the work of the toxicologist involved in the intramuscular injection case.”

“Are both of you completely convinced these New York forensic pathologists are not going to find it?” Veena implored. She wanted to believe, but her guilty mind kept suggesting otherwise.

“I-am-con-vinced,” Cal said, pronouncing each syllable in a staccato fashion. He was tired of the issue.

“Yeah, man, it’s not going to happen,” Durell corroborated.

Veena breathed out noisily, as if deflating, and collapsed into one of the library chairs. She was exhausted from her anxiety.

“Now, we have a favor to ask you,” Cal said. “We need your help.”

“The way I feel, I can’t imagine I could be of any help to anyone.”

“We feel differently,” Cal said. “Actually, we think you might be the only one that can help us.”

“What is it that you need?” Veena asked with a tired voice.

“This morning the same people that we had talk to your father brought us Jennifer Hernandez,” Cal said without elaborating. He stayed silent and let his statement sink in.

“Jennifer Hernandez is here at the bungalow?” Veena asked warily, as if she might be frightened that Jennifer was now invading her sanctum.

“She’s out in the room under the garage,” Durell said.

“Why is she here?” Veena asked, a little frantic. She sat up straight.

“We decided we needed to know what made her suspicious,” Cal said. “You’re the one it has bothered the most. Right in the beginning, you wanted us to do something about her.”

“I didn’t want you to bring her here. I wanted you to get her to leave India.”

“Well,” Cal said, “we need to find out what made her suspicious so that we can change it. We don’t want anyone suspicious. I mean, look how it has affected you! You’re a wreck. We need you to talk to Hernandez, since you’ve already spoken with her. We think she’ll talk to you, or at least there’ll be a better chance, because she won’t talk to us.”

“No,” Veena said definitively. “I don’t want to talk with her. She made me feel terrible when I did. Conversing with her reminds me of what I did to her grandmother. Don’t make me do it!”

“We don’t have much choice,” Durell said. “You have to do it. Besides, Cal implied it’s for your peace of mind as well as ours.”

“It’s true, Veena,” Cal said. “Plus, I don’t think you want us to call off our friends who are leaning on your father, keeping him in line and away from you and your sisters.”

“That’s not fair!” Veena yelled, color suffusing her cheeks. “You promised that was to be forever.”

“What’s forever?” Cal questioned. “Come on, Veena. It’s not like we’re asking you to do something difficult. Hell, she might not even tell you. If that’s the case, so be it. But we need to try. We think you’ll be able to do it.”

“If she tells me, what then?” Veena demanded. “What will happen to her?”

Cal and Durell glanced at each other for a moment. “We call the people that brought her here so that they can take her back.”

“Back to her hotel?” Veena asked.

“That’s it. Back to her hotel,” Durell agreed.

“Alright. I’ll talk to her,” Veena said, with sudden resolve. “But I cannot promise anything.”

“Nor do we expect you to,” Cal said. “And we know it is a little hard for you, since she reminds you of her grandmother. That’s natural. What’s also natural is that we don’t want bumps in the road like this in the future, especially when everything is going so well.”

“When do you want me to try?”

Cal and Durell looked at each other. It was a question they had not specifically discussed.

Cal shrugged. “No time like the present.”

“I want to get out of my uniform and take a shower. How about half an hour.”

“Half an hour it is,” Cal said.

Veena got up and headed toward the door. Just before she got there, Cal called out, “Thanks, Veena. Once again, you’re a life-saver.”