The Body Thief (3 page)

May-Ling’s arrival cut short their
conversation. After greeting Sam with exuberant birthday greetings
and a warm hug, the owner of the restaurant escorted them to a
table.

“Your usual, Miss Samantha?” the old woman
asked with a twinkle in her eye.

“Yes, thank you, May-Ling, but seeing as my
brother’s paying, let’s double it and I’ll take a serving home for
dinner.”

May-Ling’s smile widened and she glanced at
Alistair. He waved away her unspoken question. “Whatever my sister
wants. After all, it’s her birthday.”

Samantha grinned. “I like the way you think.
Have I told you lately you’re my favorite brother?”

“Gee, thanks,” Alistair replied, his voice
dry. “Considering I’m your
only
brother, I feel beyond
special.”

“Oh, don’t get yourself all worked up over
that. It’s a tiny, insignificant detail. I’m sure if I did have any
other brothers, you’d still be my favorite.” She lifted her wine
glass to her lips. Giving him a wink over the rim, she swallowed a
healthy mouthful.

Alistair picked up his drink. “Here’s to my
favorite little sister,” he said and clinked his glass with
hers.

Sam smiled in surprise. “Wow, considering
you have
two
other little sisters, this is quite a coup!
Wait until I tell Jessie and Ava,” Sam said, referring to their
siblings. “They might never speak to you again.”

“Of course they will,” Alistair replied with
a lazy smile. “They love and admire their older brother as much as
you do and they’ll forgive me. It
is
your birthday, after
all.”

Sam screwed up her napkin and tossed it at
his head. He caught it before it connected and set it down on the
table, the corners of his eyes crinkling with laughter. Her heart
warmed. It had been awhile since she’d seen her brother so
carefree. The financial stress of providing the best possible
education and opportunities for his children, and starting his new
job had left him with little time to laugh and joke with his
family. She was even more grateful that he’d taken the time to be
with her now.

“Thanks for taking me to lunch, Alistair. I
really appreciate it. And…it means a lot.”

He averted his gaze, but she could tell he
was pleased.

“No problem, Sammie. I’d do it for
anyone.”

She looked around for the napkin to toss it
back at his head, but he still had it in his hand. Reading her
mind, he smiled at her and made a point of setting it out of her
reach. She made a sound of mock frustration and took another sip of
wine.

Alistair’s expression sobered. “Sorry I
didn’t make it to Mom’s dialysis appointment last week. I got
caught up in surgery. How did it go?”

Sam thought of their mother, fighting to
stay alive, and her chest tightened. She drew in a deep breath and
eased it out. “Not so good. You know how it is.”

Alistair nodded, shadows darkening his brown
eyes. “Yeah, I called in to see her over the weekend. She’s going
downhill fast.” He cursed aloud. “It’s ironic, isn’t it? I work in
the Organ Donation for Transplantation Unit at Sydney’s most
prestigious hospital. I’m the head surgeon of the retrieval team.
With a college education and all those fancy titles and yet, I
can’t help my own mother. I can’t save her from her pain. If she
doesn’t get a transplant soon, she’ll die.”

He slapped his hand on the table in
frustration. Startled, Sam jumped, but remained silent. She didn’t
blame him for losing control. She knew exactly how he felt.

“Why is it so hard for people to make the
decision?” he asked, his cheeks becoming flushed. “Why do so many
of them leave their wishes unstated? Do you know how hard it is to
approach a grieving relative and ask them to donate their loved
one’s body parts? Who wants to think of something like that at a
moment when their world has been turned on its end and they’re
saying their good-byes? Nobody. And that’s the problem.

“Demand for organs and tissue far outstrips
supply. There are thousands of people like our mother all over the
world, waiting, just waiting for someone to die. And not just to
die, but to donate their organs and tissue to another. Why is it so
hard for some people to contemplate donating their organs? What
does it matter if they go to a stranger? A friend? An enemy? Surely
the fact
someone
is going to benefit is what counts?”

He blew out a breath laced with frustration.
Sam reached across the table and squeezed his hand. “It’s not your
fault the rates of donors have historically been so low, Alistair.
You’re doing the best you can. And it’s not your fault you weren’t
a match for Mom,” she added quietly. “Just like it isn’t mine or
Jessie’s or Ava’s.”

His expression showed he remained
unconvinced and she tried again to reassure him. “There’s no
denying it sucks, Alistair, but that’s the way it is. The only
thing we can do is hope and pray a donor’s found in time. I just
hope your campaign has more success with other Sydneysiders than it
has with Phillip,” she muttered.

Alistair frowned. “What do you mean?”

She sighed. “After working together for
years, I found out this morning that Phillip’s dead against organ
donation. Despite everything, he’s unconvinced.”

“Why?”

She shrugged. “Religious beliefs, mainly. He
wants to maintain his body’s integrity for its journey to the
afterlife.”

Alistair shook his head in disbelief. “But
the Church—”

“Yes, I know. It doesn’t seem to make a
difference.”

Alistair swore under his breath and his
expression turned bleak. “What the hell are we supposed to do when
intelligent people hold such stupid, uninformed opinions?”

“Not necessarily uninformed or stupid,”
Samantha countered gently. “I don’t agree with him, but everyone’s
entitled to their opinion. The body parts are theirs, after
all.”

Her brother took a deep breath and blew it
out on a heavy sigh. “Yeah, I guess you’re right. But that’s also
the problem, too.”

He fell silent. To Sam’s relief, after a
moment, his shoulders relaxed. He picked up his glass and drank and
then turned to look at her again.

“I’m sorry, Sammie. I shouldn’t have said
anything. It’s your birthday! We should be talking about happier
things.”

“Like what?”

“Like…your love life. That’s always an
interesting topic. How’s the online dating thing going?”

Sam pulled a face, wishing she’d never told
him. “Do we have to talk about this?”

He grinned. “Of course we do! I love hearing
about all the weirdoes and freaks you converse with online. It
brightens my day.”

“They’re not all weirdoes and freaks!” she
protested. “Most of them are just lonely men and women looking for
the love of their lives. You ought to read their bios. Some of them
are hilarious at the outset, but gradually, you can’t help feeling
sorry for them and hope they find what they’re after.”

“Why did you join?”

She averted her gaze, uncomfortable with the
turn of the conversation. “I don’t know. I thought it would be fun
and I’m tired of being single.”

“What happened to meeting men the
old-fashioned way? I’m sure I could hook you up with one of my
colleagues.”

“No offense, Alistair but the guys you hang
out with are mostly your age—old.”

He pretended to look hurt. “Ouch! You’re
being a little harsh, Samantha. They’re not all as old as me.
Besides, someone’s better than no one, surely? You’re thirty-four,
Sammie. Time’s slipping away.”

She grimaced. “You don’t need to remind me.
It’s my birthday, remember? But it’s easy for you to say that. You
met and married the love of your life in college. You didn’t have
to look around and wonder if it would ever happen for you.” She
paused and took a sip of Merlot. Determined to steer the
conversation back to more comfortable ground, she smiled at her
brother and asked, “How is my favorite sister-in-law?”

Alistair offered her a wry grin. “Nancy’s
your
only
sister-in-law, Samantha.”

“Oh, so she is. She’s still my
favorite.”

He laughed aloud and shook his head. “You’re
incorrigible, Samantha Wolfe. Has anyone told you that?”

With a finger up to her lip, Sam pretended
to think about his question. “Um… Now that you mention it, I think
the answer’s yes and I’m almost certain the last person to say it
was you.”

“Yes, and I meant it then and I mean it now.
But to answer your earlier question, Nancy’s as beautiful and sweet
as ever. Busy with her charity projects and ferrying the kids
around. You must come over one of these nights for dinner. Lexie
and Brendan would love to see you.”

Sam smiled. “How are they? It feels like
ages since I saw my gorgeous niece and nephew.”

“Brendan is busy with football and girls.
He’ll be sixteen in a couple of months. Lexie is thirteen going on
thirty and giving her mother plenty of grief. Puberty and teenage
girls are another thing altogether. I don’t know how Mom survived
with three of you.”

Sam laughed. “I’m sure we weren’t that bad.
Jessie and Ava weren’t exactly difficult and I was, of course, the
perfect angel. At least with us all so close in age, she got it
over and done with quickly. Some people have it drag on for years.
Phillip has four girls and each of them are five years apart.
Imagine having four daughters going through puberty, one after the
other—for the better part of twenty years!”

Alistair looked horrified. “Oh, my God! That
poor guy! What’s his wife like?”

“Maree seems nice. I don’t know her well,
but they’ve been together forever. They were high school
sweethearts. Phillip even has a tattoo on his shoulder with the
first letter of their names entwined in a cherub. It’s very
sweet.”

“Well, I’m glad it’s them, and not me,
raising four women. How old are the kids?”

“The oldest has left home already. She
graduated with honors from the University of Technology. I think
she studied fashion design, or something like that. She scored an
apprenticeship with one of the top Sydney designers, so she must be
good. The next one is studying veterinary science at Sydney
University. I think she’s in her final year. Then there are the two
youngest girls. They’re still at school—fifteen and ten,
respectively. Phillip’s always bemoaning the cost of their school
fees.”

“Tell me about it,” Alistair said. “Between
Brendan and Lexie, I pay more than one-hundred-and-twenty grand a
year and that doesn’t take into account all the incidentals like
uniforms, excursions, pocket money, sporting engagements and the
rest. By the time they finish their education, I could have bought
a small apartment in Bondi.”

Sam shook her head and chuckled. “Is it
worth it, then? The private school education? You and I attended a
public school. So did Jessie and Ava. It didn’t do us any harm.
Look at you, the Sydney Harbour Hospital’s most celebrated surgeon.
I’m a doctor, too. Jessie’s on the way to making partner at her law
firm and Ava’s psychiatry practice is going ahead in leaps and
bounds. I’d say the public education system didn’t do us any
harm.”

“You’re right,” Alistair said thoughtfully.
“I guess it’s seeing Mom struggle so hard to provide for us, and
despite all her efforts, she was never able to give us all that…
The fact is, I can. And I want to make her proud. I guess I also
like the prestige that comes with sending your kids to a top-rated
private school. It’s a heady feeling when you realize you’re in a
position to give your kids the best.”

“I suppose so. Anyway, it’s your money. Do
what you like with it. If giving your kids a private school
education makes everyone happy, it’s money well spent.”

He looked at her quizzically, a tender smile
hovering around his lips. “When did you get to be so wise?”

Sam was prevented from answering when
May-Ling and one of her helpers arrived with steaming trays of
food. As Sam filled her plate, her stomach reminded her it had been
hours since breakfast when she’d chewed on a piece of toast spread
with Vegemite.

“
Mm
, it smells delicious,” she said
and then took her first fragrant bite. The spring roll was
everything it promised to be and she quickly finished it and
reached for another. Alistair watched her with amusement.

“When was the last time you ate?”

The fact that he still worried about little
things like that warmed her through. It had been years since she’d
left home and yet, he still looked out for her. She couldn’t have
asked for a better brother and that was the truth.

More food arrived. They continued to eat in
silence and Sam finished her glass of wine. She longed to order
another, but she hadn’t been lying when she’d told Alistair she
needed to return to work. There were three more autopsies waiting
in the fridge and then there was the paperwork. Regretfully, one
glass was her limit.

“Don’t give up on him, will you?” Alistair
said quietly, setting his fork aside.

Sam stopped eating mid-bite, a little
confused. “Who?”

“Your Mr Right. You’ll find the perfect
someone. He’s out there. I’m sure of it.”

She blinked back a sudden rush of tears and
marveled again about the caring and sensitivity of her brother.
“Thanks,” she whispered, her voice husky with emotion.

Alistair stared at her a moment longer and
then glanced at his watch. Wiping his mouth with the napkin, he
pushed away from the table. “I’m going to have to go, Sammie. Duty
calls.”

She opened her mouth to protest his early
departure and then closed it again. He wouldn’t leave without good
reason. He was crazy busy. She was grateful for the time he’d given
her. She’d seen more of him over their short lunch date than she
had in the past month. He leaned over and kissed her on the
cheek.

“You need to get out more, little sis.
You’re looking way too pale. Too much time spent working in the
cold and dark with all those dead bodies. You could always switch
your specialty and come over to the lighter side. Our patients talk
and respond to jokes and sometimes even thank us and we actually
get to see the sun for more than a snippet of time. I could look
into a vacancy for you, if you’re interested. There would always be
room at the hospital for someone with your skills.”