REVELATION

 

Chapter 10

REVELATION

 

Alden understood that he would never have all the answers to all the questions, nevertheless, he wanted to solve the most important ones. He went to wake up Nora and asked her why she had told the two policemen to inform Briony about the accident, or was it Quinn who had told her to do so. Nora said Quinn had become obsessed with Sandra and she (Nora) had become afraid of him. She thought it was the correct thing to do. Many of the other victims had no near relatives to claim their bodies. Nora had begun to suspect that something not quite right was going on. She had said nothing for Briony’s peace of mind.

 

Grandfather fed the computer with all the information he had. He continued asking the machine questions until the job was done. He switched off the computer and turned on the crystal ball. There was nothing out of place, not even a stationary vehicle.

Rivermount was not only a place of pilgrimage for those with skin complaints, it also practised plastic surgery. Doctor Star and Doctor Landers were both working there at one time. Landers was a specialist in kidney transplants. The patients arrived at Copse Hospital by different routes. Star was avid to create a miracle in modern medicine and fell into the temptation of using unethical methods. The first treatments were to alleviate the patient’s suffering. But some people were unable to face long-term treatment, so as there were many wealthy patients, Star began to use outrageous methods. Star was a genius and capable of carrying out any experiment, as long as it was to do with his work. A really rich woman only had to complain about her treatment, for Star to see it as a way of doing what was prohibited. Star started out as a man with a vocation, but as time passed it became avarice.

 

The first patients left Rivermount and returned home declaring they were cured of eczema and ulcers. They didn’t know Star had used them as guinea pigs in a laboratory. Star was looking for an anti-aging process in the skin. Women were soon aware of the effectiveness of Star’s treatments. What was the truth about Rivermount? There were two: one was the pilgrims who continued visiting the saint; the second was the dark secret side that the patients murmured about. The secret part maintained all the sanctuary. Star paid to use all the services, like the laboratory, and one of the rooms became an operating theatre. Most important of all was that moneyed people were willing to pay in order to have a healthier and more agreeable aspect. Star had met Hermione at Rivermount. Star began blackmailing her about revealing her identity.

The treatments were the injections of the cells from animals bred especially for that purpose. It was a non-chemical treatment, completely natural. The results were astonishing and nobody left the clandestine Rivermount dissatisfied. It didn’t take long for the local people to suspect the ‘miracles’, together with the disappearance of certain animals, such as sheep and pigs.

 

One day, not so long ago, when a man asked him to cure a problem on his scalp, Star suggested injections of cells. At that time Star was at the height of his success, and wasn’t always scrupulous enough, failing to test the health of either the animals or the patients. He was always in a hurry and worked all the hours he could. The man woke up a few days later with a mutilated face. Star went to Quinn and Landers asking for their help. Landers gave a large sum of money to the man, and Star was thrown out of Rivermount. Alden stopped reading.

 

Walter Landers had worked less time in Rivermount than Star. The report said he wasn’t a man who stood out. He had behaved as a doctor and had no kind of relationship with Star, other than medical. Landers seemed to have no kind of history either. He had worked abroad for several years in remote regions. Landers was a urologist. The photos revealed names and addresses of patients who had been given life. It appeared nobody knew anything before arriving at Copse Hospital.

 

Grandfather tapped away at the computer and the house disappeared. He then began putting in and getting out information from the machine. He didn’t go to bed until he had squeezed everything he could out of the business in hand. He took a look at Nora to assure himself she was all right, and then retired for what was left of the night.

 

Next morning grandfather created a storm, and Nora said she was amazed the weather had gone mad with so many changes in such a short time. Grandfather asked Nora to show him where the lake was. He told her to go home and pack up all her things, because she would be living with them for a while. Grandfather went off for a sleep. He wanted Nora to stay, so that he could get to know her better. Briony wanted to go home right away, but Alden said they had to stay to the end.

 

Alden and Nora went together to the village. They arrived at Landers’ house at midday. They were surprised at the number of cars parked outside. The ground floor was all lit up, giving out an air of warmth. Nora said the white car they could see belonged to Landers. Nora knocked on the front door, and Landers himself opened it. He welcomed them in. Nora told him it was necessary for them to speak to him. People were speaking and moving around the rooms eating and drinking. Landers told Nora she had arrived at an inopportune moment. He found her sudden interest in him strange, after she had turned down the invitation to dinner a short time before. He said they could stay if they wanted to, but it would be better if they didn’t. Nora saw Quinn with Antoinettte in one of the rooms at a drinks table, refilling their glasses.

 

Alden and Nora went to the hospital but nobody was there. There were patients in the waiting room. Nora sat down at her desk. The hours ticked by, and Nora went on with her work. As it was getting dark, the main door opened and a tall corpulent middle-aged man entered. He wore a black cashmere coat and was obviously used to handing out orders. When he asked to see either Doctor Quinn or Doctor Landers, Nora told him they weren’t in the hospital. He said his name was Ricardo Rinatti and that he had an appointment that Quinn had given him half an hour ago.

Landers arrived just then, and the two men went away. Alden rushed to the lift with his skeleton keys and got to the top floor and hid behind some sliding doors, and waited. There was a long corridor with all the doors to the rooms closed. Alden heard voices from one of the rooms. He opened the door of the room next to the voices, and found a large cupboard full of bed linen. At the top of the wall that gave onto the next room, there was a long narrow window. He piled the bed linen on a chair and peered through and down. It was the room where the doctors washed themselves. He saw the man called Ricardo Rinatti, unconscious on a stretcher.

 

Alden rushed down in a lift and told Nora to pick up her things from the office. First of all they would go to her house to clear it out, and then to Grandfather’s. Nora wanted to know what Alden had seen, but his mind was far away in another place.