Page 142 - Labelle Gramercy, On the Case

Soaked to the Bone

Tim was totally lost in telling his story. Labelle was not, despite
her notes. I looked at my watch. It was way past lunch time, even for
me. The policewoman did not betray hunger. Maybe she never ate or
slept: the law personified, the unblinkered eye of justice which
nothing can escape. Outside the room I heard doors opening and
closing, voices raised and lowered, vehicles coming and going. What
a day! And my other appointments—I would have to make some
calls fairly soon or be in hot water. But Tim went on and on.
“Ellie is horrified. ‘That’s not possible!’ she cries. ‘You mean—’
‘Yes,’ says Orson solemnly. ‘I am John A. Raleigh-Bolle’s clone,
created to provide him spare parts as he ages. He had to send me out
of the country to keep our connection hidden. He arranged for the
forged documents and foster parents and the sinecure at
International Indemnity. And when the time came, he sent his own
medical team down here to steal my kidney. His own must have
failed. Now I remember all the blood drives here at the office. I
wonder if my contributions went to the Costa Rican Red Cross or
back to the States via Megalith couriers.’ Ellie shakes her head, but
cannot find objections. ‘Yes, I wasn’t supposed to be on duty the day
you came in. But they were short, and had no choice but to use me.
Oh, Orson, this is terrible: what if he needs your heart next week?’”
“‘I’ve got to get out of Costa Rica,’ says Orson, ‘change my name,
my appearance, start a new life somewhere he can’t find me. Once
Raleigh-Bolle realizes I am on to his game, he will have to kidnap and
imprison me in order to continue using my organs. Or he will have to
kill me, destroying the evidence of his crime. And technically I might
be his closest heir: maybe his brother, maybe his son—a court would
have to decide. But definitely a threat while I am at liberty. I can’t ask
you to risk your own life for me, Ellie. You know too much for them
to let you live. Go now and catch a bus across the border. They
won’t be looking for a single woman, and you can speak Spanish like
a native.’ ‘No,’ she says, embracing him. He gains courage. ‘We’ll face
this together,’ he says. ‘Now let’s make a plan. I don’t simply have
Raleigh-Bolle’s kidneys, lungs, liver and heart: I have the same brain.
I’ll bet I can think just as deviously as he does, maybe even anticipate
his next move.’”
Tim stopped, looking around the room. Maybe he suddenly
remembered where he was and what had happened to his father. Or

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