Dead Of Winter (Willis/Carter #1)(83)

‘I don’t see how.’

‘Chrissie Newton, Mr Martingale’s daughter, was murdered, and now one of the children that her foundation helps is also murdered. Do you see what I’m getting at?’ Carter asked.

‘The Chrissie Newton Foundation has helped many thousands of children over the years. It would be impossible to link one little girl’s death to it.’

‘Mrs Warrell, who runs the home in Wales, seemed to think you accompanied them on outings sometimes,’ said Ebony.

‘Me? No . . . I’m afraid not. I wish I had the time. I’m sure she has seen me in my official capacity as one of the directors of the Chrissie Newton Foundation. I remember visiting the home on a few occasions over the years. But I don’t get time for much else.’

‘We need help really, sir.’ Carter took the lead.

‘Of course . . .’ He smiled sweetly. ‘If you think I can.’

‘We now think that this group of Bloodrunners in the news at the moment were responsible for killing Chrissie Newton all those years ago. This is a team of people – we know there are more than one. We believe they kill to order. We presume Chrissie Newton was a match for someone and Louise Carmichael must have been the same.’

Justin de Lange shook his head. ‘It’s just incredible.’

‘I’m sorry, sir. I know it seems far-fetched,’ Carter carried on. ‘Seems like it couldn’t happen. We were the same . . . weren’t we, Ebb?’ He turned to her; she nodded. ‘We thought it sounded like one of those science fiction films. Then, like so many things . . . the more we looked into it the more we found it wasn’t so uncommon. We also found out that you once unwittingly bought a product for use in one of the Mansfield Group’s cosmetic procedures that was traced back to someone’s dead husband?’

‘It was a long time ago. Now I’m more careful about where I source our products.’ Justin’s face had taken on a grey hue.

‘Where do you get them now?’

‘They come from large medical research companies who specialize in it.’

‘We believe you’re involved with a company who specialize in cadaver products?’

‘It’s not looked on like that. People donate their organs for use after death. They donate their bodies for medical research in certain fields. Or if they are healthy, their bodies go to help cure many horrible conditions: diabetes, heart conditions, burns . . . inevitably some ends up in the beauty business but it’s still a very worthwhile medical procedure. What is sometimes considered left over can be used for other procedures. One dead body can provide many living ones with a range of products. It’s perfectly legal.’

‘Give me an example. It’s fascinating.’

‘A lot can be achieved without using invasive surgery. Wrinkles, for instance. A filler for the upper lip, to smooth it out. It’s a gel made from human skin.’

‘Dead people’s skin? Where do they get their bodies that they harvest?’ asked Carter.

‘As I said . . . we wouldn’t use the term “harvest” and that’s not my side of the work but I know they come from donated bodies or bodies left for research.’

‘Research? So helping someone’s lips to look plump is research?’

‘Correct. Sold legitimately by non-profit-making companies.’

‘Companies that pay their execs huge money and offset the rest? Like Remed Ltd?’ Carter shook his head as if he could hardly believe what he was saying.

Justin smiled at Carter. ‘Very cynical. Not us. We pay huge taxes in several different countries, as you will know if you have my finances under scrutiny.’

‘Are these procedures you carry out here?’ asked Ebony.

‘Some of them, yes . . . all legitimate, widespread, well-tested procedures.’ Justin looked momentarily riled but was met with Ebony’s deadpan face.

‘My understanding is that these people – Bloodrunners – offer a black market in living donor products: organs, stem cells, foetuses. Is it the same thing?’

‘Of course not. These are cadaver products, legitimate.’

‘You used to perform transplants?’

‘I used to assist, when there was a need.’

‘In the Mansfield?’

‘Yes, that’s right. I have done but not for a long time.’

Carter turned back from looking at the picture on the wall . . . a blow-up photo of an orchid on canvas. ‘You’re a very clever bloke. You must have studied very hard for two careers. Must have been hard to choose which one to go for.’

‘As I told you before . . . I preferred business to medicine.’

‘Back in the days when you did transplants all the time. Did you know where those organs came from?’

‘Sometimes we might meet the donor – if, say, a relative was donating their kidney.’

‘What about a liver? Can more than one person share a liver?’

‘A liver can be split and used for more than one patient. Yes. It is grafted onto the unhealthy liver.’ Justin stared at Carter. The room had become very still.

‘So that has to come from a dead person?’

‘Correct.’

‘Clinically dead, braindead? Heart still beating sometimes?’