|
This event is a story that puzzles me up
to this very day. I was sitting in my division either reading a
Toxicology textbook or writing up a report, when a man of Indian origin
walked in through the door. I shall never forget. He was dressed in a
pair of black pants and a white shirt for he was in mourning for his
deceased brother. He might have been in his late thirties or early
forties, but he was lean and wiry like some one who did a lot of outdoor
work.
He walked briskly and stopped in front of my desk. “Good afternoon, Mrs. Campbell,” said the stranger who seemed to know of me even before he came to the Department. I wished him the same and offered him a seat but he declined. “I have come to warn you,” he said. “My brother’s organs are coming in today or should be here already and there is something you need to know.” I waited for more from this stranger who I cannot remember as ever offering to give me his name. He looked at me and saw that I was totally ‘at sea’ but he did not offer any further explanation immediately. He allowed me to ask, “Warn me about what?” I said finally. “About your Department,” he said. Now I was ready to defend my Department, as any good employee should. “What’s wrong with my Department?” I asked incredulously and with some attitude. “Samples come in here and disappear.” He said. Well, that was one sin that I had never heard it accused of before. “Really,” I offered. “Yes,” he elaborated, “my brother’s widow was married twice before. Both times her husbands died suddenly. It was believed they were poisoned. The organs came here but before they could be analyzed, they disappeared and nothing ever came of the matter.” I was astonished. “I don’t know why he married her,” he continued to speak about his brother. “Everyone knows about her and how she can never be brought to justice because nothing could ever be found.” “Don’t worry,” I consoled him. “If the sample comes here, it will be tested. I have never heard of such a thing. We also have locks on the fridge and freezer and so everything is secure.” I had lobbied the Ministry of Health just before this event and had already received the items of which I was then boasting. “Remember what I told you,” he said. “The sample should come in some time today.” He also mentioned the place where he and his brother were from; then with a wave of his hand, the stranger left. I was restless. Nothing like what he described was going to happen while I was in command of the division. I opened the Logbook and checked for the nearest police station to the village that he had mentioned. I found an entry that matched and jumped right up. I ran over to the freezer and found the sample in the corner of the freezer................ |
