Body Harvest Read Online Free PDF Page A

she answered. ‘Rumour has it that certain overseas prisoners are executed for their organs as well.’
    ‘What about people who’ve killed themselves?’
    ‘I’m not aware of that. But …’
    ‘Yes?’
    ‘It makes a perverted sort of sense. If someonewere helping people to commit suicide, they could make sure the method doesn’t damage the valuable organs and then remove them quickly. After all, the deceased don’t need them.’
    Troy said, ‘People thinking about killing themselves aren’t in it for money.’ Thinking aloud, he added, ‘I suppose their friends and family might be, though. Someone could assist a suicide, take the valuable bits, pay the relatives or whoever, and then sell the organs on the black market.’
    Gianna shrugged. ‘Sounds feasible, but it’s all guesswork.’ She got to her feet, saying, ‘I’ll show you around.’
    While she escorted them along clean, quiet and classy corridors, Troy asked, ‘Why are you here? I mean, tucked away in the middle of nowhere.’
    ‘Our clients recover much quicker in a relaxed atmosphere. They appreciate tranquillity.’
    It was certainly peaceful. No one was rushing around with patients on trolleys. Two nurses walked from one room to another, talking quietly to each other. At the far end of one passageway, a man was mopping the floor almost noiselessly. There were no alarms or sirens, no traffic noise, no obvious emergencies. Faint regular bleeping noises sounded from some of the side-rooms. Everywhere was the reassuring whiff of disinfectant.
    ‘Have you transplanted a right hand recently?’
    ‘No. A left, yes, but not a right.’
    Gianna took them into a reception area at the back of the building. ‘This,’ she announced, ‘is where all our tissue arrives. Out of a specialised delivery van, straight through that hatch and into here where the barcodes and details are double-checked.’
    Troy and Lexi looked around. It was a simple room containing a large chiller, two computer terminals, various medical tools and small pieces of equipment. ‘So,’ Troy said, ‘you don’t get whole bodies.’
    ‘No. The organs arrive – usually from hospitals – in sealed sterilized containers. Each is barcoded at source.’
    ‘Have you ever heard of a major getting an outer body part by accident?’
    She laughed dismissively. ‘It can’t happen. We have strict procedures. From here they go to a sterile area for visual and analytical checks. Some are used as soon as the tests are complete. Some are chilled until the recipient is prepared.’
    ‘But could a mix-up happen? Somewhere else?’
    ‘Not in any hospital adhering to the right and proper guidelines. If there was a rogue clinic – an underground one – I suppose the standards wouldn’t be so rigorous.’
    ‘Do you know any illegal places?’
    ‘No,’ she answered tersely.
    ‘Where’s your nearest competition?’
    On her way out of the room, she replied, ‘I don’t regard other clinics as competition. And I like to think we’re unique around here.’
    Following her, Lexi said, ‘You must have very experienced doctors.’
    ‘We used to have two house surgeons. Ely Eight and – appropriately enough – Blade Five, but we lost Ely to retirement. When necessary, Blade brings in specialists to assist with particular transplants. But, yes, he’s highly skilled.’
    Troy knew by instinct that Lexi was wondering who was capable of removing the heart, liver and kidneys of L4G#1 with a sharp knife or scalpel. He hung back by the window for a moment, watching a smartly dressed and broad-shouldered man walking away from the clinic’s rear exit. His baseball cap seemed out of place.
    ‘Come,’ the manager said. ‘I’ll show you all our records – at least the ones without patients’ confidential details.’
    ‘We could force you to hand everything over,’ Troy told her.
    ‘To get a warrant,’ she replied, ‘you’d have to havegood evidence we’d done something wrong.’ She