Dead Tomorrow

108

‘Hello! Don’t you read the fucking newspapers? Have you been living under a stone for the last two weeks, Mother?’

Mother?

When the hell had she last called her Mother? Lynn wondered desperately, panic-stricken as a result of the police officers’ visit. The nightmare she was living was getting darker every second.

‘Like, we’re in the middle of the biggest organ-trafficking scandal of the century and somehow you kind of don’t know about it?’

Lynn stood up, pushing the kitchen chair back behind her, and faced her daughter, astonished and delighted by how much stronger she seemed this morning. But also a little alarmed; Caitlin was almost hyper.

‘Yes, that’s right, I, like, kind of don’t know about it. OK?’

Caitlin shook her head. ‘That’s so totally not OK. OK?’ Then she scratched each of her arms in turn furiously.

‘The police are lying, angel,’ she said. ‘There is no trafficking scandal, it’s just a wild theory.’

‘Yeah, right. Three dead bodies turn up in the Channel, missing their vital organs, and all the newspapers and TV news programmes and radio programmes are lying.’

‘Those bodies have nothing to do with your transplant.’

‘Sure,’ Caitlin said. ‘So why did the cops come round?’

Lynn was floundering, she knew. She could hear the desperation in her own voice, and another voice inside her head screaming at her, as she glanced back down, almost reluctantly, at the photograph on the table: WHAT IF DETECTIVE SUPERINTENDENT ROY GRACE WAS TELLING THE TRUTH?

The photograph of the girl’s face burned into her brain. Burned into the backs of her eyelids, so that even when she blinked she could still see her.

It wasn’t possible. No one would do that. No one would kill a child for – for money – for another child – for – for…?

For Caitlin?

Would they?

How she wished Malcolm was here at this moment. She needed someone to share this with, to talk this through with. Terror was coming at her from every direction.

Twenty-three years in prison.

You need to be aware quite how seriously the police and the judiciary view this activity.

She had not thought about it. Beating the system, yes, using an organ from an accident victim, that was all. There was nothing wrong with that, surely to God?

Killing a child.

Killing that girl.

The money was gone. Half of it. Would she ever get it back? Shit, she didn’t want it back. She wanted a damn liver.

The policeman had to be lying.

There was one quick way to find out. She picked up her mobile phone, opened the address book, then scrolled to Marlene Hartmann’s name.

She was about to press the dial button when she stopped.

Realizing.

Realizing just how dumb that would be. If the organ broker knew that the police were on to her, she would probably abort the operation and flee. Lynn could not take that risk. Caitlin had perked up since Dr Hunter’s booster, but that was not going to last. She had bought time from him, by promising she would allow Caitlin to be admitted to hospital this afternoon.

Barring a miracle, she was certain that if Caitlin went back into the Royal she would not come out again. There was no way she could let this all fall apart now.

‘Hello? Hello? Hello, Mother? Mum? Anyone home?’

Lynn looked at her daughter with a start. ‘What?’

‘I asked you, why did the cops come round?’

Then, to Lynn’s shock, Caitlin’s body suddenly sagged and she lurched sideways. Lynn grabbed her just in time to stop her falling, gripping her tightly.

For an instant, her daughter looked at her in total confusion.

‘Darling? Angel? Are you OK?’

Caitlin’s eyes seemed unfocused. Looking as if she were surprised by what had happened, she whispered, ‘Yes.’ Her skin seemed even more yellow than last night. Whispering again, so that Lynn had to put her ear to her mouth to hear, she said, ‘Why did they come? The cops?’

‘I don’t know.’

‘Are they going to bust us?’

Lynn shook her head. ‘No.’

Caitlin’s voice gained a little strength. ‘They seemed pretty desperate, you know? That’s a desperate thing, right? To lay that photo of the child on us. Unless it’s true, of course.’

She stared hard at her mother, her eyes suddenly focusing sharply again.

‘They’re probably under pressure about those bodies. Maybe they are getting desperate for a result. They’ll try anything, resort to anything.’

‘Yeah, well, we’re pretty desperate too.’

Despite all she was feeling, Lynn smiled, then threw her arms around Caitlin and held her, hugging her closer and more tightly than she had ever hugged her before.

‘God, I love you, my darling. So much. So much. You are everything to me. You’re the reason I get up in the morning. You’re the reason I get through work. You’re my life. Do you know that?’

‘You should get out more.’

Lynn grinned, then kissed her on the cheek. ‘You’re so horrible to me.’

‘Yeah.’ Caitlin was grinning too. ‘And you’re so fucking possessive!’

Lynn pushed her gently away and held her at arm’s length.

‘You know why I’m so possessive?’

‘Because I’m beautiful, smart, intelligent and would have the world at my feet if it wasn’t for one small problem, right? God gave me a liver from the wrong box.’

Lynn broke down in tears. Tears of joy. Tears of sadness. Tears of terror. Hugging Caitlin tight again, she whispered, ‘They lied. He lied. Don’t believe him. The detective lied. Just believe me. Angel, darling, just believe me. I’m your mum. Just believe me.’

Caitlin hugged her back, with all her feeble strength. ‘Yeah, OK, I believe you.’

Then suddenly Caitlin turned away, making a retching sound. Breaking free of her mother’s arms, she stumbled over to the sink. Lynn caught up with her, gripping her arm to prevent her from falling.

Then Caitlin threw up violently.

To her utter horror, Lynn saw it was not vomit that was spattering the sink and the tiled splash-back and the draining board. It was bile specked with bright red blood.

As she cradled her heaving, choking daughter, she knew then, in that moment, that she did not care about anything else. Did not care if Detective Superintendent Grace was telling the truth. Did not care if that girl he had brought the photograph of had to die. Did not care who had to die. If she needed to, she would kill them herself, with her own bare hands, to save the life of her child.