Waking Dead
a novel
by
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Chapter One I can't catch my breath; a black wall is crushing my chest. No air is getting into my lungs, and the pressure is unbearable. Suffocating and paralyzed, I will stop breathing! I'm dying he thought, terrified of what was next. The alarm went off; it's five AM, the worst time of the day for Paul Peres. Drenched in a cold sweat, he dreaded the early hour. It was the time of the day when men seldom survived the widow maker, a blockage of the main artery of the heart muscle that kills suddenly in the early morning hours while asleep in bed. The nightmare had been repeating more frequently, leaving him in a dream-like state, semi-conscious but paralyzed and speechless. Each time, he’d remain horrified by the thought that he was dead and lingered in a conscious state. Some of his patients brought back from the brink of death told him that they had died but were fully aware of what was happening around them and couldn't communicate or react. Rationally, Paul knew that what he had endured was not a near death experience but only night terrors with sleep paralysis. However, he couldn't shake the feeling that he had been dying and waking dead. He hurried to the hospital earlier than usual to review the charts of patients scheduled to be seen in the afternoon medical clinic. As the director of the outpatient department, his job was to supervise the interns and residents in the clinic. Paul, an internist and full-time employee of North County Hospital had been subpoenaed by his wife's attorney to appear in court that afternoon. His wife sought sole custody of the children and had charged him with child neglect and abandonment. His life was in a tailspin with the uncertain future of his employment at the hospital and the stress of the divorce. Appearing in court at that time conflicted with the clinic and he decided to leave detailed instructions on each patient's chart, so the interns and residents could function without him. A covering doctor had been assigned to take his place that afternoon, but Paul was not confident he could depend on him. A mistake would get him fired. He arrived at the hospital and entered the cafeteria for a cup of coffee. It was usually a busy place but appeared deserted at that hour, except for someone slumped over a table, at the other end of the room. He walked over to the table and realized it was Raj, a pathologist, and friend who worked there. Raj cradling the dining room table with his hair rumpled up and face covered with both hands, didn't see him. Paul hearing his muted sobs tapped his shoulder and asked what was wrong. He had never seen him in a disheveled state since his friend always appeared impeccably dressed, dapper and debonair. Raj’s voice cracked with barely audible sound, while he told Paul about his former wife, Elaine, who was murdered the previous evening. The police had called him early that morning to identify the body that was found in her apartment. Shocked, Paul sat next to him with his arm around his shoulders steadying him as Raj cried, and told him the harrowing details of Elaine's murder, describing it with startling precision. The body was found dismembered with her arms and legs scattered throughout the apartment. On the dining room wall were pinned her amputated breasts staring at him as he entered the room. They seemed surgically removed as in a double mastectomy. Her stomach and intestines floated in a fish tank filled with blood red water surrounded by dead fish. Raj said the blood covered walls filled the apartment with the stench of death. Continuously shaking his head from side to side while sobbing he cried that it was the work of a human monster. He purposely didn't mention the mutilation of the genitalia and rectum, to preserve her dignity and to spare disturbing his friend further. Paul knew Elaine and was visibly shaken as he imagined the entire bloody scene. Raj insisted a surgeon or pathologist had performed the mutilation with such meticulous technique that only a doctor trained in surgical anatomy could have been responsible. He told Paul that the police believed the crime was drug-related. Paul had difficulty regaining his composure and with a look of disbelief shouted, "Drugs!" The word reverberated off the cold tile cafeteria walls as though a chorus was there echoing it. The cops claimed that Raj's former wife was stealing ketamine from the research lab and selling it to drug dealers. The drug used in the research lab to sedate animals was sold on the street as "Special K," a popular dance club drug. Vials of ketamine along with needles and syringes were found in her apartment. Raj told the police it had to be a set up to hide the real reason for her murder. He said that Elaine hated recreational drugs and never used them when she was married to him. He was unsure why anyone would do such a terrible thing and could not think of anyone who wanted her dead. Everyone admired her good looks, intelligence, and carefree spirit and she had no known enemies on the staff. She was a flirt, and Paul thought possibly a jealous wife or girlfriend murdered her, but it seemed macabre and too ordered to be the result of jealous rage.
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About the Book
The story involves a hospital-based physician facing a bitter divorce and the possibility of losing his job because he works in a hospital facing financial problems. He finds that he is unsuspectingly and unwillingly involved in solving recent murders and death of employees at his hospital and another hospital in the northwest that had occurred in the past. He is recruited for this investigation by a gorgeous young female FBI agent, who had grown up in the northwest of United States. Her father, who had worked at a hospital in a university community there, had died from a hunter’s stray bullet along with other colleagues who had died from similar suspicious events. His daughter, who always suspected that the death was not accidental, had found a definite way to identify the murderer that, until recently, was not available. To definitely prove it, however, she must trace the history of the suspect back to his origins in Europe and find a family that includes an elderly brother who is on his deathbed but is an essential piece of the puzzle. The plot includes romance, adventure, unusual locations, and surprise. Pacific Book Review A doctor’s life is in disarray. An FBI agent is on the trail of a killer. An esteemed medical man may or may not be a monstrous ex-Nazi. A monastery in Spain may hold the key to a generational mystery. All these elements combine to create an intriguing multidimensional thriller in Jay Glendell’s novel, Waking Dead. Paul is a doctor going through a crisis. He’s suffering from horrifying nightmares that don’t always end when he wakes up. His job’s long hours are taking a physical toll. His impending divorce and potential loss of his children are making his mental state fragile. Then things get even worse. The ex-wife of a doctor (and friend) in the hospital where he works is brutally murdered. Soon after, his friend is hit and killed in what is initially thought to be a hit-and-run accident—but was it really accidental? Karen is an FBI agent with an incredible story and an even more unimaginable plan. She tells Paul that the highly regarded senior physician at the hospital where he works may well be a serial killer plus a fugitive from heinous crimes committed during World War II. She coerces Paul into joining her investigation that will take them to South America and then on to Europe in hopes of uncovering a hoax which has allowed a psychopathic degenerate to continue his murderous ways for years. Their quest for answers will lead them on a dangerous journey that culminates in gun battles, life and death decisions and surprises neither one of them could have imagined—but will it end with justice being served? Glendell is a skilled writer who keeps his tale moving forward swiftly. Important information is deftly revealed piece by piece. His characters are finely drawn both physically and psychologically—the minor ones as well as the major players. The way he tells his story however, often puts a degree of emotional distance between the reader and what is being read. Parts of the story are told via informational prose that could have been dramatized more forcefully if played out in interpersonal dialogue between the participants. Still, he manages to infuse his narrative with intrigue and energy that makes one want to know what will happen next.
About the Author
The author is a retired medical doctor and educator who has previously published in medical journals and presented medical research on a national and international level. He presently lives in Florida and passes his time boating and fishing when he’s not reading or writing. His greatest love is his wife, Eleanor who has been at his side from his medical school days and more recently three grown children and four grandchildren who complete his life.