by Robin Cook
While trying to figure out how to dial the United States, Jennifer had another question: What time was it on the East Coast? She knew it was nine and a half hours’ difference, but in which direction? Despite her exhaustion, Jennifer forced herself to concentrate. She reasoned that since New York was ahead, then time should go back, and as crazy as that sounded to her at the moment, the more confident she was, but not overconfident. She went through the reasoning again, and then decided to accept on faith it was close to midnight the evening before in the Big Apple.
Knowing from the distant past that Laurie was an inveterate night owl, Jennifer was willing to make the call. Despite the subject of the call, she found herself getting excited as she heard it go through. It was astounding to think she was about to talk to Laurie halfway around the world, and she hadn’t spoken with her for more than a year. The phone was picked up on the first ring.
“I hope I’m not calling too late,” Jennifer said without preamble.
“Heavens no,” Laurie responded. “Is this Jennifer?”
“It is.”
Laurie was demonstrably pleased to hear Jennifer’s voice and assumed she was in California. For a few minutes, the women made small talk. Jennifer asked about Jack. Laurie, for her part, apologized for not calling Jennifer since the wedding and used the infertility turmoil as her prime excuse. Jennifer wished her luck.
“So,” Laurie said when there was a pause, “is this a mere social call or what? Not that it isn’t great to hear from you, but is there something I can help with, like a letter of recommendation for a residency?”
“Unfortunately, there is a specific reason for my call, but it doesn’t have anything to do with my medical training,” Jennifer said. She went on to explain that she was in India and why. At several places she had to stop and pull herself together.
“Oh, no!” Laurie said when Jennifer finished. “I hadn’t heard a word. Oh, I’m so sorry!”
Jennifer could hear a catch in Laurie’s voice as she waxed nostalgic about how much Maria had added to her childhood. She closed her spontaneous eulogy with a question: “Did you go to India to bring back her body or her ashes to the States, or are you planning on leaving her there? After all, India might be the world’s most spiritual country. If I died in India, I think I’d like my ashes placed in the Ganges with the billions of other souls.”
“Now that’s one thing I didn’t think of,” Jennifer admitted, explaining that she was having trouble deciding between cremation or embalming, much less what she was going to do with the remains afterward. “Sometime today I’m going to try to get over to the American embassy. I imagine they’ll have the scoop on comparative costs and all the diplomatic details.”
“I imagine that will be the case. Gosh, I’m sorry you have to do this yourself. I wish I were there to help. She truly was like a mother to me, so much so, I think there were times my real mother was jealous, but it was my mother’s own fault. She was the one who handed me over to begin with.”
“I can assure you the feelings were mutual,” Jennifer said.
“I’m pleased to hear it, but I’m not surprised. Children can sense it, like I did.”
“There’s something else I want to run by you. Do you have a few more minutes?”
“By all means. I’m all ears.”
“The hospital authorities have really been pushing me hard, which I freely admit I don’t respond well to, and they do have reason. I mean, the private hospital involved is spectacular and very high-tech. Yet when they built it, they passed on building any mortuary facilities. Because in India bodies are claimed very rapidly by both Hindus and Muslims, for religious reasons.”
“And maybe the hospital’s owners thought that in spiritual India with all the gods on their side, they wouldn’t have any deaths.”
Jennifer managed a chuckle then went on. “Granny’s body is in a walk-in cooler, but the cooler is down near the cafeteria and contains mostly sealed food containers. Apparently that’s the only place to leave a body.”
“Yuck,” Laurie voiced.
“Why I’m telling you this is because from their vantage point they have a real reason to want to dispose of Granny, especially since they already have the death certificate in hand.”
“I should say.”
“But they tried to force me to decide even before I got here, and once I did get here, and I’ve only been here for hours, it’s been push, push, push, cremate or embalm. I mean, they literally wanted to do it yesterday for fear the sky would fall. Initially, maybe I was just being obstructive from being angry because they killed my granny. Now it’s something else.”
“Like what? What are you implying?”
“I asked them what killed Maria, and they said heart attack. Then I asked them what caused the heart attack, given that she came out to visit me in L.A. not too long ago, and while she was there, she got a very thorough physical at UCLA Med Center. I was told her cardiovascular system got an A-plus report. Now, how can someone with an A-plus get an F a few months later, twelve hours post-elective surgery. I mean, during the procedure it might be understandable for idiosyncratic drug toxicity but not twelve hours later. At least I don’t think so.”
“I agree,” Laurie said. “With no apparent risk factors, you have to ask the question why.”
“And that’s why I did ask the question, but I certainly did not get a satisfactory answer, at least from the case manager. She just told me she wasn’t a doctor and apparently considered that adequate. It was then that I suggested the autopsy.”
“Good for you,” Laurie commented. “That is exactly what is needed if you have questions.”
“Fat chance,” Jennifer scoffed. “The case manager, Kashmira Varini, said whether or not there is going to be an autopsy is not up to the doctors or next of kin but the police or the magistrates. She went on to say that since Granny had been issued a death certificate, then there was not going to be an autopsy, case closed!”
“I’ve heard that the Indian forensic pathology system is behind the times. It’s too bad. It creates a circumstance where miscarriages of justice are waiting to happen. In many developing countries, the police and the judiciary are almost invariably corrupt and often in cahoots.”
“There’s more,” Jennifer said. “For the second night in a row, there’s been a death at the same hospital that sounds strangely similar. First it was my granny, then last night it was a man named Herbert Benfatti. Both were apparent heart attacks the night of their surgery, and like Granny, Mr. Benfatti had been recently cleared by an essentially normal pre-op angiogram.”
“Did they do an autopsy on the second patient?”
“I have no idea. When I asked the case manager handling Granny’s case, she told me she didn’t know about any death last night, but I didn’t believe her.”
“How come?”
“Mostly intuition, I guess, which is hardly scientific. She just does not strike me as a truthful person. She wanted me to decide on the disposition of my grandmother’s body and didn’t want the issue to be diluted. I don’t know.”
“Do you think you are going to be able to keep stalling them?”
“I truly don’t know. As irritated as I am, I know they’re irritated, too; at least the case manager is. Why do you ask?”
“Because I’m going to come over there as soon as I possibly can and give you a hand. I don’t think I’d forgive myself if I didn’t come. Remember, she was as much a mother to me as she was to you and your brothers. Listen, I’ll come unless you think you won’t be able to deal with a hormone-addled crazy woman.”
Jennifer was stunned. Laurie being willing to come all the way to India had never even occurred to her. “Hormones or no hormones, it wouldn’t make a particle of difference, but it’s one hell of a long flight,” she warned. “I mean, I’d love to have your help and support. Don’t get me wrong!”
“I don’t doubt that it is one of the longest,” Laurie said, “but how bad can it be? I just read that Air India h
as New York-Delhi nonstops.”
“I suppose that would have been better than the two stops I was relegated to.”
“Where are you staying?”
“It’s called the Amal Palace, and it’s the best hotel I ever stayed in. Of course, I’ve stayed in very few hotels.”
“Wait a second!” Laurie suddenly said, sounding disgusted with herself. “What am I thinking? I can’t wing off to India. I’m in the middle of an infertility cycle.”
“Right! You told me, and I forgot, too,” Jennifer said. Selfishly, she felt a big letdown. Having Laurie there with her would have been terrific.
“Actually,” Laurie said, “I believe I can do it after all, providing I can bring my sperm factory. That’s what Jack has been calling himself the last few months. That means it will be up to Dr. Calvin Washington, the deputy chief. I know he’d let me go, but whether he’d let both of us go without more warning, I have no idea. But it’s worth a try. Here’s the plan: We’ll both be coming or neither will come. I’m sorry about that. Can you live with the uncertainty?”
“Of course,” Jennifer said. “Tell Dr. Washington I’m asking him pretty please to let you guys come.”
“That’s a good ruse. He’s never gotten over your week stay fourteen years ago.”
“Neither have I, and I’m finally getting a payoff this June with my M.D. diploma.”
“And I’ll be there to see you get it,” Laurie said. “Now, what about timing? How soon can we get there, presuming we’re coming? Do you have any idea?”
“I do,” Jennifer said. “Correct me if I’m wrong: It’s still Tuesday there.”
“It is. It’s a little before midnight.”
“If you leave tomorrow night, which is Wednesday, you will get here Thursday night late.”
“Do you think you can hold them off until we get there? We don’t want Granny cremated or embalmed if we are considering an autopsy.”
“I’ll certainly do my best. Hey, I’ll even come to the airport to pick you up.”
“We can discuss that when we know for certain we’ll be coming.”
“Laurie,” Jennifer said, just moments before the call was to be terminated, “can I ask you a personal question?”
“Of course.”
“Do you think any less of me that I’ve let all this undoubtedly superfluous stuff overwhelm the grief I feel for Maria? What I mean is that most people would be so overwhelmed by their emotions that they would be incapable of worrying about whether their loved one should be subject to an autopsy or not. Am I weird?”
“Absolutely, totally, one hundred percent no! It’s exactly the way I would have responded. Normal people love the person, not the body. The body is a mere receptacle guaranteed to wither and die. The fact that you loved your grandmother to the extent that you are sensitive to issues way beyond the details of dealing with funeral concerns, I believe, is a tribute.”
“I hope so.”
“I know so,” Laurie said. “As a medical examiner, I’ve seen a lot of bodies and the reactions of a lot of family members.”
A few minutes later, after an appropriate good-bye, Jennifer disconnected. Despite not being superstitious, she quietly thanked her lucky star that she’d even thought of calling Laurie Montgomery. She was thrilled Laurie might come, and the fact that Laurie was as willing as she was emphasized to Jennifer what a piece of dog crap her fair-weather friend Neil McCulgan had turned out to be. Jennifer literally crossed her fingers for a few moments and gestured with them in the air that Laurie and Jack would be given the time off.
“We are nearing your hotel,” the driver announced. “Am I to wait?”
The thought of asking him to wait hadn’t occurred to her, but since the health management company that killed her grandmother was paying, why not? After all, she had to go back to the hospital. “You can wait or you can come back to the hotel in a few hours. One way or the other, I’ll give you a call when I have to go back to the Queen Victoria Hospital.”
“Very well, madam,” the driver responded.
Chapter 12
OCTOBER 16, 2007
WEDNESDAY, 1:15 A.M.
NEW YORK, USA
Jack!” Laurie called. “Wake up!”
Laurie had turned the bedroom lights on but for Jack’s benefit had kept them at their dimmest. Since she’d been on the computer in the fully illuminated study, it seemed exceptionally dark.
“Come on, dear,” she continued. “Wake up! We have to talk.”
Jack was on his side, facing Laurie. She had no idea how long he’d been asleep, maybe almost two hours. Their usual evening routine was a light dinner after Jack’s run on the basketball court. While they ate, they watched half a DVD for an hour or so, the rest the next night, before tidying up. At about nine they generally moved into their double study that looked out over 106th Street and the neighborhood basketball court and the rest of the small park that Jack had paid to have renovated and lighted. At about ten Jack would invariably begin yawning, give Laurie a peck on the top of her head, and supposedly retire to bed to read. But in reality, not much reading ever got done. No matter what time Laurie might poke her head in, he’d invariably be asleep, sometimes with a book or a medical journal precariously propped on his chest and his bedside light ablaze.
“Jack!” Laurie called again. She knew it was going to be hard to wake him, but she was determined. She began to nudge his upper shoulder until she was shaking it. Still, he stayed asleep. Laurie had to smile. His sleeping ability was of Olympic caliber. Although in some situations she could find it frustrating, generally she found it a trait to envy. Laurie was a light sleeper until the morning hours, when she had to get up. Then she slept soundly.
Laurie gave a final good shake to Jack’s stocky shoulder and called out his name sharply. One eye, then the other, popped open. “What time is it?” he asked in a gravelly voice.
“It’s around one-fifteen, I think. We need to talk. Something has come up.” Initially, after Laurie had gotten off the phone with Jennifer, she wasn’t going to bother Jack. She assumed he was asleep, as he proved to be. What she’d done was go on the Internet to learn what she could about traveling to India, and she’d learned a lot.
“Is the house on fire?” he asked, with his usual sarcasm.
“No! Be serious. We have to talk.”
“It can’t wait until morning?”
“I suppose it could,” Laurie admitted. “But I wanted to give you a heads-up. You’ve warned me you don’t like surprises. Especially big surprises.”
“Are you pregnant?”
“I wish! But good guess. No, I’m not pregnant. Just a few moments ago I got a call from that young woman who’s graduating from UCLA medical school this coming June, Jennifer Hernandez. Do you remember her? She came to our wedding. She wore a luscious red dress. Can you picture it? She has one of the world’s best figures.”
“Jesus H. Christ,” Jack mumbled. “It’s almost midnight, and you woke me up so you can quiz me about what someone wore to our wedding? Give me a break!”
“The dress doesn’t matter. I’m just trying to get you to remember this medical student. She’s the one who spent the week at OCME when she was twelve, and also the one my mother and I got a scholarship for the same year.”
“Okay, I remember her,” Jack said, making it apparent he was lying. He was clearly much more interested in going back to sleep.
“She called me an hour or so ago from India. She’s there because her grandmother died after having surgery in New Delhi. The hospital is pressing her to decide how she wants to deal with the body.”
Jack lifted up his head, and his eyes opened wider. “India?”
“India,” Laurie repeated. She then told the whole story to Jack as Jennifer had related it to her. When she got to the end she added, “I don’t know if you’ll remember, but Maria Hernandez was my nanny until I was thirteen, and the only reason she stopped was because my own mother became too jealous. I was crushed a
t the time. I preferred Maria’s opinion to my mother’s, like with clothes and things. I loved that woman. She was a mother to me for a lot of crucial years. I used to sneak over to Woodside, Queens, to visit her.”
“Why did she go to India for her surgery?”
“I don’t know for sure. Probably mostly financial.”
“Do you really think there is some conspiracy here?” Jack asked in a skeptical tone.
“Of course not. I was supporting Jennifer because she seems to think so. If there’s a problem at this hospital, it’s undoubtedly some systems error. As far as the hospital putting pressure on Jennifer, I’m certain they are. The body has been in the cooler since Monday night, but it’s not even a mortuary cooler. It sounds like mostly an overflow storage cooler for the cafeteria.”
“You mean there’s food in with the corpse?”
“That’s the story. And it is the other way around. It’s more accurate to say the corpse is in with the food and some medical supplies. But it’s sealed food, which sounds worse than it is. Anyway, Jennifer is thinking there might be some sort of conspiracy involved.”
“That’s crazy! I think Ms. Jennifer Hernandez might be in a tiny bit over her head and a touch paranoid because of it.”
“I couldn’t agree more, which is one of the reasons you and I hopefully will be heading over there tonight.”
“Come again?” Jack asked. He thought he’d heard but wasn’t sure.
“First thing tomorrow morning I’m going to head into Calvin’s office. What I’m hoping is that this emergency will justify him giving us a week or so off together. If he gives the green light, I’ll go directly over to the organization that handles Indian visas, then I’ll pay for our tickets, which I have already reserved online. Then I’ll—”
“Wait a sec!” Jack said. He sat up and drew the blankets around his waist. The eyes were wide open now. “Hold your horses. Have you already committed us to this journey halfway around the world?”
“If you mean have I told Jennifer we’re going to make every effort to come, then the answer is yes. I told her we had to get clearance from Calvin.”
