“Then you understand, Dr. McCleary,” she began, “that means you may have contaminated tissue and bone from as long ago as ten years.”
“All of our tissue is tested.”
“But only for certain diseases,” Platt said.
“No one could have predicted what happened at NAS in Pensacola,” McCleary insisted, shaking his head. “That was one mistake. One out of thousands. And we’ve traced the grafts and bone paste Captain Ganz used. We think it all came from one donor.” He pointed to a document already set among a pile on the table. “One donor who may have been dead longer than twelve hours.”
“Actually, it was more like twenty-one hours,” Platt said.
“We don’t know that for certain.”
“He was dead long enough for his bowels to burst and Clostridium sordellii to start spreading to his tissue.”
“You have no proof of that,” McCleary said.
“What about the donors Joe Black obtained without certification?” Maggie asked.
“Joseph Norris,” McCleary corrected her, “followed procedure as far as I am able to judge.”
“There’s a funeral home in Pensacola,” Maggie told him, “that has two bodies. The Escambia County sheriff says both are homeless men who disappeared just days before the hurricane. The funeral director insists Joe Black brought them there and cut one of them up to be sold and used for educational conferences.”
This time McCleary was speechless.
“Joe Black was making a nice living on the side,” she continued. “Diener by day, body broker during the weekends and on his days off. He admits to using soldiers’ amputated parts when he came up short on an order. He already confessed that he used a few of your donors’ bodies. The surgical conferences paid big bucks and he couldn’t keep up with the demand.”
“You’ll need to check our entire supply,” Ganz said to McCleary. “Norris also admits to making substitutions, replacing healthy tissue with damaged tissue.”
Dr. McCleary nodded, an exaggerated bobbing of his head that told Maggie he would allow the possibility but didn’t agree.
“Come,” he said, and he led them out of the room and down a long hallway. “You want to do this, fine. I’ll show you what you’re in for.”
He slid a key card and waited for the security pad to blink green. He waved the three of them into a huge room that reminded Maggie of a police evidence room, only the shelves were replaced with drawers, one on top of another. Refrigerated and freezer drawers. Rows and rows.
“Would you like to start with the feet?” McCleary said, pointing at one end. “Or perhaps the eyes?”
Damaged
A Maggie O’Dell Novel
Alex Kava
ABOUT THIS GUIDE
The introduction, discussion questions, suggestions for further reading and author biography that follow are designed to enhance your group’s discussion of Damaged, the eighth installment of Alex Kava’s spine-chilling Maggie O’Dell series.
FOR DISCUSSION
1. The novel opens with a map, dated Saturday, August 22, detailing Hurricane Isaac’s wind speed, travel speed, and projected path. What mood does this prelude create?
2. How does the author set up the reader’s interest in and sympathy for Danny Delveccio, the surfer who sleeps in his Chevy Impala, and Charlotte Mills, the eccentric, beachcombing widow? How does this technique impact your reading of Joe Black’s character?
3. Why is Maggie’s boss, Assistant Director Raymond Kunze, angry with her over the Potomac serial killer case? Is he justified? Is Maggie simply being paranoid when she ponders whether Kunze “splattered her with the killer’s brains … to do just that—splatter her” (this page) and considers that perhaps what he wants is to psychologically “shove her and see if she’d fall” (this page)? Why would she persist in this seemingly abusive work climate when her work is considered brilliant across several government agencies?
4. Maggie’s internal struggle about her first helicopter ride—“A refusal or even hesitancy would be a mistake, especially with this macho group” (this page)—is reminiscent of Liz’s inner monologue as she prepares to jump at the start of the novel: “Liz kept her hesitation to herself” (this page) and refuses to let her aircrew see “even a hint of her reluctance” (this page). What challenges do these women face in two male-dominated fields? Do they hold their own through the course of the novel? Does each garner the respect they want from their male colleagues by the end? What are the other female characters in the novel like?
5. Scott Larsen’s weak character keeps him in thrall to the wily charms of smooth operator Joe Black. He’s thrilled to drink with Joe, to make Joe laugh, to be dubbed affectionately as “Dude” by Joe. When does this crush first begin to wane? What sends it totally over the edge? Does Scott ever fully recognize the depth of Joe’s betrayal? Is Scott an irredeemable character?
6. At what point do Maggie and Liz truly connect? Do you predict that Liz Bailey will make an appearance in the coming Maggie O’Dell novels?