Chapter 5 : The Autopsies
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Judge Bhatia was about to do something she never ever normally did which was go to the morgue. She always had people to go to and fro for her and this was good as she hated dealing with the dead. She had taken Miriam with her for moral support. Judge Bhatia was feeling sick before she even entered the morgue and even before the pathologist met her, well before she could even see a dead body. The pathologist, James Vincent, guided them both into his office.
"I appreciate that you need to see me but why does it have to be here. You know I hate this place," Judge Bhatia complained.
"Mints? I find they help," the pathologist offered her an open packet.
"What do I need a mint for?" asked the judge suspiciously.
"Well, we appear to have a foreign body infesting several of our deceased," explained the pathologist.
"And why can't you write about it and tell me?" asked Bhatia, trying to avoid the obvious looking at the dead body scenario. She was fine with pictures, words or even videos. It was in fact the smell and the physically being in close proximity to death that made her wrench. It was the one thing she hated but never usually had to do. The pathologist took out a series of pictures and showed them to her.
"I can't see anything out of the ordinary," said the judge.
"I know, that's why I need to look, now take a mint and follow me," Vincent said tersely.
Miriam and Bhatia grabbed several mint imperials each and put one in their mouths immediately. They were issued with gowns, masks and gloves, not that they were going to touch anything they thought to themselves. It was very cold in the morgue where rows of bodies lay on trolleys covered by draped green sheets.
"Okay ladies, we have nine deceased corpses all showing similar symptoms. They are not symptomatic of any known cause of death and they all appear to have foreign objects in their bodies," said the pathologist.
"What are the foreign objects?" asked Bhatia, curiosity overcoming her distaste at her surroundings for a moment.
"They appear to be a network of organic wiring, for want of a better word," the pathologist said.
"Can you be more specific? What about the growth and tumors?" Miriam asked.
Vincent pulled back the first sheet to reveal the body of a young girl.
"This is Miss Philips and she had a brain tumor. Now, I thought the tumor had grown and in a way never seen before, a mutation let’s say. Let’s look at her brain." The pathologist lifted the skull cap from her head as he spoke and removed the brain from the brainstem itself. He pointed to the area of the brain where it joined the spinal column. Miriam and the judge placed the hands over their mouths and Vincent shot them a glance of barely disguised annoyance.
"Please pay attention, this is important. These fibres are connected to the spinal column and they shouldn’t be there,” he explained, “they run throughout the bodies of the deceased."
He gently replaced the brain and skull cap and covered them with the green sheet.
"What you think this is?" asked Bhatia.
"I thought it was a parasite at first, a parasite that kills its host. I'm not sure why but it appears that this parasite was not fully grown," Vincent told her.
"What do you mean fully grown?" Bhatia asked, frowning.
The pathologist washed his hands and changed his gloves before going to the end of the row of bodies and pulling a sheet back, exposing the body of a male with a head trauma.
"Well this man was brought in today. He died instantly in a road traffic accident. He seems to have the same network, here you see?” he pointed, “but you can see it is much more obvious and more advanced," the pathologist showed them the man's brain and body cavities where the network could clearly be seen attached to the body’s major organs. Miriam thought that the network appeared to be made up of fine glistening gold like strands, as fine as a hair. She could see them easily by the light of the head torch the pathologist was wearing and his careful direction.
"I need to know what we’re dealing with. Is it a pathogen?" Bhatia sounded shaken.
"I really couldn't tell you. I've tried analysing the strand networks but they are decomposing to the point I can't use them. I need fresh bodies or a live carrier would be even better. The tissue samples I sent to the labs have only come up with a few trace elements," Vincent explained.
"So you're saying as soon as an infected person dies the trace elements of the pathogen or parasite disappear," stated Miriam.
"Yes, in essence. They dissolve upon death, much faster than the usual decomposition you would expect."
"Have you completed tissue samples for this man?" Bhatia asked.
"Yes, I believe we should get some results this time. There is a link between the nine though.” Vincent told them, “They have all recently had MRI scans, although they were at different hospitals."
"Let's get out of here, I've seen enough," the judge had gone very pale and was wincing as Vincent replaced the skull of the latest victim of the parasite.
The three of them cleaned up before going to Vincent’s office and grabbing another mint each.
"That really works," Miriam said.
"Speak for yourself," the judge retorted, still looking queasy.
"I hope Josh is okay,” Miriam worried,” he had an MRI scan after what happened to his father."
"Just a co-incidence I’m sure,” Bhatia spoke brusquely, aware that sympathy would not be helpful. “I'm not sure if this is a notifiable disease, but the HPA need to be informed and could lend us some assistance,” she continued.
“I have already phoned them, mainly I feel this could be a new disease," Vincent agreed.
There was a knock at the door. Vincent’s assistant came in and let them know that a HP pathologist had just arrived. ‘My word that was quick,” Vincent was surprised. Please show him in.”
A youthful looking man was ushered into the room. He held out his hand “Dr Bernstein, Health Protection Agency, I’ve five wagons outside. I believe you have some deceased for me?" the doctor held his identification and paperwork out to the pathologist.
"Dr Bernstein, this is the coroner judge, Bhatia, and her assistant Miriam," Vincent made the introductions and checked Dr Bernstein’s paperwork out thoroughly.
Dr Bernstein smiled at the two women and sat down at the desk, "As you are aware, nothing is to be said to anyone including the families, for the time being, and definitely not the press. We need to ascertain what we are dealing with first," he explained.
"What are we to tell the families? They will certainly want funerals," asked Vincent worriedly.
"Tell them we are investigating the deaths and will let them have the bodies as soon as humanly possible. From what you said, haste is in order anyway. Can we load the hearses up to make a start?" Dr Bernstein answered.
"Yes of course. I’ll be right with you," Vincent agreed.
Bhatia and Miriam returned to the coroner's office. They were concerned about the deaths and the strange new pathogen or parasite. On the way back to the coroner's office Miriam and Judge Bhatia discussed how it appeared to be killing people who were already sick or terminally ill but healthy people appeared to be able to live with it in their systems. The only tenuous link they could make was that people who went to hospital could be becoming contaminated. They decided that this was where they would focus their side of their investigation and that they would use all their investigative powers to get an answer. The health protection agency, of course, would determine the eventual outcome but the judge and Miriam wanted to help wherever they could. They decided to build on the work Miriam had already started. Miriam would go out to all the hospitals in the county and get a comprehensive list of all patients who had had an MRI scan in the last month or were due to have a scan in the next month.
Josh had the best night's sleep he had managed for ages. He had come in from town and practically just gone straight to bed. He’d grabbed pizza from the fridge and left a note for his mother explainin
g he’d gone to bed early. His mother didn't usually work on Saturdays, but this usually meant a holiday at the end of the month. She would take them away if she had to work late, as it meant she had a few extra pennies to spend. He showered and then looked in the mirror. He had the biggest black eye he’d ever seen and his whole body was hurting from the weirdo’s attack. He had no idea being punched could hurt so much. He wasn't a fighter as such as a runner or a hider but he wasn't a coward. He saw no point in fighting, it solved nothing. He thought about Chloe and how sexy she looked in the tight Lycra clothes she liked to wear and how her frilly little tops exposed the tops of her firm small rounded breasts. He though about how much he would like to stroke them.
"Josh," his mother shouted killing his shower fantasy dead on the spot.
"I'm in the shower," he replied begrudgingly.
"Are you okay?" Miriam asked.
"I’ll be down in a minute," replied Josh, still sounding sulky. Miriam was outside the bathroom door now.
"I have to go to work and was just checking, oh my God, what happened?" Miriam interrupted herself, her face suddenly etched with worry as Josh exited the bathroom wearing just a towel.
"I was protecting a girl from a man who was attacking her, the police arrested him," Josh replied, trying to keep his tone casual. He had been dreading his mother’s reaction.
"What girl and what man?" asked Miriam looking at the bruising on his body and face.
"Chloe Williams, I got a date with her for the prom." Josh bragged.
His mum's face turned from worry to semi amusement at her sons delight.
"So, you’re Chloe's little hero then?" His mum smiled, watching him blush slightly.
"Bodyguard, I'm her bodyguard," Josh replied.
"You say the police arrested the man?" Miriam asked.
"Yeah, but the car was an accident and I think he was he was injured. The coroner's car was there as well. I don't think he’ll bother her or me again," Josh explained.
"What did he look like?" Miriam asked.
Josh was surprised, but knowing his mum worked in the coroner's office he thought he knew why she was asking.
"Yeah, he had a bald head, was slightly fat and in his 50s He was wearing a green rain mac. I thought he was following me but he had just attacked Chloe and she ran away into me. That’s how we met," Josh said smiling as he thought of Chloe.
"I thought Chloe Williams was ill or had been off school for a long while," queried his mother.
"Yeah, she had a growth in her brain, but she had chemo and now she’s fine. She got the all clear last week," Josh replied.
"The police should have sent you to hospital with that amount of bruising. You could claim from the criminal injuries board," his mother fussed over him again having only been momentarily distracted by Josh’s romantic interest.
"I'm fine, I like my war wounds. They’ll get the girls," Josh joked.
"They’ll get the girls worried, that’s what they’ll do. What are you doing today?" Miriam asked.
"It's Callan’s turn to have us round but I think we’re going to Kate’s house," Josh said.
"Well, be careful. I’ll be back about four and I'll cook," Miriam replied as she kissed him carefully on the cheek and left for work.
Josh dressed and sent texts to the others to make sure that they were still on for the day. They didn't take long to reply and Callum asked for some more software. With all of the past few day’s events Josh had almost forgotten about the PC and his father's spirit visit. This wasn't a bad thing. It had freaked him out completely and was scarier than the weirdo who he’d fought the day before. And now, in an empty house he had to download some software onto a memory chip for Callum. He could always take it with him, he thought, no, no, don't be silly. He trudged reluctantly upstairs and turned computer on as he pulled out a little memory stick from a new packet. Callum wanted some screensavers they had found the week before. There was a Harry Potter one and a Star Wars one that he had a particular fondness for. The computer automatically connected to the Internet and, to his horror, his father’s familiar face popped up on the screen in the Windows media player he had used before. Father was dressed almost the same and was seated at a desk.
"Hi son, I'm very proud of you. You rescued that poor girl from an evil man," his father smiled.
"How do you know?" asked Josh, wondering how he could know anything at all. After all, he was just a programme. If he wasn't a programme he must be a ghost.
"Well, when you're dead you can see everything as clear as day, but only about those you love," he replied.
"I turned this on to get some screensavers for Callum and Kate. Do you mind?" Josh asked.
"No, it's your laptop now son," his father said happily.
Josh put the new memory stick into the PC.
"There you are son, one Star Wars and one Harry Potter screensaver," his father announced.
"Thanks, dad, I didn’t know you could do that," Josh felt as if he had just plunged into a surreal universe.
"Anything for my little hero," replied his father proudly.
"Okay, see you later dad," Josh said, shutting down the PC.
Josh took several deep breaths before taking the memory stick out. He knew this wasn't right. If his father’s ghost was going to talk to anybody, it should be his mother he felt. He wondered if he was being haunted by an evil spirit, maybe one that picked on young, vulnerable men. He knew he should talk to his mum about this really as she may have been having the same experiences on her computer but he really didn't want to talk about it. He would speak to Callum and Kate first see what they said. He prepared to leave. It was a good walk to Kate house, but not far enough to warrant a bus. He packed up his laptop in a satchel and set off on foot, locking the door behind him.
CCTV
From this vantage point you can see the young man walk down Station Street with satchel in hand. He is walking the hundred and fifty yards to the left turn at Burnham Street. I can see him walking towards the Park and now see him crossing the Park walking at the duck pond and throwing some rubbish into the bin. Zoom function enabled showed it was a Mars bar wrapper that went in the bin. He is now exiting the Park and walking north towards Long Lane and has stopped. He is going into a house: number 43 Park Street.
Search search complete: - Kate Parkins, Jerry Parkins, Jane Parkins
"Hi Kate, how is it going?" Josh greeted his friend who was clearly in a good mood.
"Do you want the good news," Kate was sparkling with excitement.
"You're going to tell me anyway," Josh sighed theatrically.
"Dad’s hired a limousine to take all of us to the prom," Kate shrieked.
"Yes, that's so that you get there and back without getting pregnant," Josh laughed.
"It's my first date, but I didn't think of it like that," Kate giggled.
Kate wasn't bothered by Josh’s joking; she was too excited about the whole thing. A knock at the door announced Callan’s arrival. Grabbing supplies of pop, crisps, sweets and biscuits a Kate led them to her room. Kate had the best room ever. She lived in an old Victorian house full of large airy rooms with high ceilings. Kate even had an ensuite room. She went straight over to the computer and typed in www.mylimousine.com. Images of several limousines filled the screen and Kate pointed out the one her dad had promised her. It was quite impressive, but she didn't think she would get the minibar as well.
"I’ve got a film to watch, live streaming; Skyfall," Kate said.
"Have you got a decent copy of that one already?" Callum sounded impressed.
"Yeah, it took me a while to find a decent streaming site, they’re closing them down as fast as they are opening new ones," Kate said.
"What's in the satchel," Callum asked Josh.
"My laptop and your screensavers," Josh replied.
"You're brave wandering with around with that," Callum looked impressed.
"Yeah, well, there is something I need to talk about, or to show you,"
Josh muttered. He felt silly and didn’t know how to begin to tell the others what had been happening.
"That doesn't sound good," Kate said.
"My dad," Josh said. Their faces became serious. Callan looked uncomfortable. He had no idea what to say if Josh needed consoling in his grief.
"Your dad?" Kate prompted.
"My dad is haunting me," Josh said.
"How?" Callum asked.
"He keeps talking to me through this laptop," Josh said.
"You mean you turned it on and it talked to you?" Kate asked.
"I went to look at the chaos file we ran and I found a message from dad," Josh said.
Josh slid the laptop out of the satchel. He set it up next to Kate’s PC and passed Callum his screensavers. He turned laptop to the start-up menu. Windows started up and Josh went to open up the file containing his father's last message to him. He couldn't find it, it simply wasn't there.
"It was here, I swear," Josh was pale.
"We believe you," Kate said.
"I know, I just feel like I'm going a bit crazy, it's not like everybody sees dead people," Josh said.
"Don't worry, it's just stress from losing him Josh, it happened to my Nan," Callum said reassuringly.
This wasn't going to help Josh with the ‘I'm having conversations with my dead father’ problem He half expected his father to pop up and start talking to him and desperately wanted it, but it didn't happen. Josh felt stupid. He quietly closed the PC down and turned it off. Kate, sensing his discomfort, bustled around setting the film streaming and they spent the next two hours quietly, drinking too much pop and eating too much junk food.
Eventually, Josh and Callan filtered off home feeling another successful night of friendship had been fulfilled.