“Understood,” replied Lafferty, a little taken aback.
Sarah wasn’t finished yet. She said, “This is as much my problem as it is yours and I’m the doctor in this team; I’m in a much better position than you to find my way round a medical research laboratory and understand what’s going on. If anyone stays behind, it should be you. You may be a man but you are a priest and in my book that makes you...” Sarah paused as she felt her mouth begin to run ahead of her brain.
“As much use as a chocolate spanner?” ventured Lafferty.
Sarah saw the humour in Lafferty’s eyes and her temper evaporated at once to be replaced by guilt. She let her body sag and she looked up to the heavens, saying, “What am I doing? What am I saying to the man who drove through the night to save me from a fate worse than death, the man who laid out the villain with a punch that would have made John Wayne look limp-wristed. He does all this and I start playing the aggrieved feminist!” Sarah shook her head.
“It wasn’t entirely unjustified,” said Lafferty. “You actually made a very good point.”
“Why do you have to be so bloody reasonable?” exploded Sarah.
Lafferty looked puzzled and Sarah burst into laughter. “What am I going to do with you?” she exclaimed.
When Lafferty still looked puzzled, Sarah said quietly, “Let’s both go to the Institute, shall we?” As the smiles faded, they both knew the time for laughter was over.
“Got a torch?” asked Lafferty.
“In the glove compartment,” Sarah replied. Lafferty started the car and they set off for the medical school.
A church clock struck one as Lafferty and Sarah made their way to the Institute. There was no security to speak of at the medical school, more a caretaker service to deal with late phone enquiries and keep a general eye on things. Despite the lateness of the hour, there were still a number of lights on in the main buildings. “Emergency lab services,” explained Sarah.
When they reached the Institute, Lafferty suggested that they wait in the shadows for a few minutes to make sure that there were no signs of activity inside the building. Being modern, a lot of glass had been used in its construction. Even a light on in a room at the back would have been visible from where they stood.
Sarah rubbed her arms as she became cold with the wait. Lafferty nodded and said, “All right, let’s go.” They flitted across to the door of the institute, and Sarah inserted the card in the electronic lock. There was a barely audible click and the door was released. Sarah ushered Lafferty inside, then closed the door again quietly. Both of them dropped to their knees to make sure they were not visible from outside; they waited a few moments until their nerves had calmed down.
Sarah pointed to the stairs at the back of the reception area and Lafferty nodded. But when they got to them they found that the stairs only went up. There were none leading down to the basement. Lafferty looked to his left and saw a door with a small glass panel in it. He went to have a look while Sarah checked the other side of the hall. Lafferty looked through the panel and saw steps leading down. “Over here!” he whispered.
Sarah joined him and he opened the door to let her pass through first. With a quick glance over his shoulder to make sure that all was still quiet outside, Lafferty joined her and they descended to the basement corridor. There was a light on in the corridor — just a single bulkhead lamp, covered in a wire mesh, but it made Lafferty and Sarah look at each other apprehensively. They stood still for a few moments, listening, but there was no sound to indicate that they might not be alone.
“Maybe it’s a safety thing,” whispered Lafferty. Sarah shrugged. They walked along the corridor, slowly examining the rooms on either side as they looked for the Sigma Lab. Sarah found it. The door had a white plastic sign on it with green lettering saying, SIGMA LABORATORY, AUTHORIZED STAFF ONLY. She tried the door but it was locked. Glancing at Lafferty she smiled wryly as if embarrassed that they had not reckoned on that possibility.
Lafferty placed his palms against the door to get an idea of how solid it was. He moved his head from side to side to indicate that it did nor seem all that secure to him and looked around for something he might use as a jemmy, but he found nothing.
“Well,” he sighed, taking a pace backwards. “In for a penny...”
Lafferty threw his shoulder hard against the door and had the satisfaction of hearing splintering sounds. He did it twice more and the door swung back quietly on its hinges. “Can we risk the light?” asked Sarah. “There aren’t any windows.”
“Better not,” replied Lafferty. “These ventilation grilles may lead straight through to the outside.” He briefly highlighted two wire-covered squares on the wall with the torch, then pointed it at the floor again.
The room was bigger than either of them had thought from the outside. It was actually a double room, with two doors leading out to the corridor. One half was obviously used for working on the bodies when they arrived. It had an operating table mounted on a central pedestal with a surgical lamp mounted above it. Instruments were arranged on metal trays on a side bench. There were two stainless steel sinks, one equipped with elbow taps so that they could be turned on and off without the operator having to use his hands.
“Could organs he removed here,” Lafferty asked Sarah.
“No,” replied Sarah firmly. “The facilities are not nearly good enough. This set up is just what you would need for removal of the Sigma probes.”
“Nothing out of the ordinary?” asked Lafferty.
Sarah shook her head and they moved through a central partition into the other half of the room. On the left was a small refrigerated body vault capable of accommodating two bodies. Lafferty swallowed as the torch beam picked out a coffin sitting opposite on the side bench. Sarah gripped his arm as they approached and looked at the lid. There was a brass plate fixed to it. On it was the inscription, MARTIN KEEGAN, RIP. The lid was loose and Lafferty pushed it aside. It was empty.
“The body’s missing,” he said.
“Try the fridge,” said Sarah.
Lafferty pulled the clasp and released the fridge door. There was no light inside so Sarah held the torch while he examined the contents. There was one white-shrouded body inside; the label attached to the big toe of the left foot said, Martin Keegan. Lafferty stood up straight and felt thoroughly dejected. “Well, that’s that,” he said, berating himself. “All wrong... we got it all wrong.”
“Not necessarily,” said Sarah softly. “With Logan being away, they may have decided not to use Martin Keegan’s body. It doesn’t mean to say they didn’t steal the others.”
“I suppose not,” agreed Lafferty. “But this was our last chance to prove it.” He was about to shut the fridge door when Sarah suddenly said, “Wait!”
“What is it?” asked Lafferty, alarmed at the note in her voice. He could see by reflected torch light that Sarah was staring at something in the fridge, but he couldn’t understand what. Her hand was shaking slightly and the movement was amplified in the torch beam.
“His foot,” said Sarah.
“What about it?”
“His left foot is undamaged. Martin Keegan’s left foot was badly injured in his accident.”
Lafferty gripped the end of the tray that the sheet-covered corpse was lying on and slid it out of the fridge.
The sheet was cold and damp as he unwound it from the head. He heard Sarah gasp as it came away. “Oh my God,” she exclaimed, taking a step backwards. “It’s Derek Logan!”
Lafferty saw that she was right. He remembered Logan from the night he had caught the three of them together in HTU. “The much maligned Dr Logan,” he said thoughtfully.