“No shit! These people have no conscience."
“Well, it would have been a simple process. They would have tried to bribe me and I would have sent them away,” he explained, “except Pam was there.”
“Uh oh. So, now what are you going to do?"
“I don’t know," Brian said sadly. “It’s a simple problem. If someone offers you a wad of money to bury the truth, you tell them to go to hell."
“I would agree with that."
“Yeah, any idiot can figure that out. The problem is that I have no idea when I’ll be able to go back to work."
“That’s an important factor," she agreed.
“It’s the only factor as far as my wife is concerned."
“In a way," Carol reasoned, “they do owe you some kind of compensation."
“Yeah, they do," Brian agreed, “but by their terms I would also have to keep quiet about what happened to me. And not only that, if I don‘t come forward for the AJC I can probably kiss my future job goodbye."
“What a mess," she concluded.
“You will probably find yourself in a similar mess," Brian warned her. “You’re into this as deep as I am and they must know that." Carol began to see the bigger picture. They were paying off all of the volunteers who could provide damaging information and she was probably on the top of that list. “So, what will you do?" Brian interjected.
“One hundred thousand dollars," Carol repeated incredulously.
“Suddenly gets real confusing, doesn’t it?"
“You got that right," she agreed. “Thanks for the heads up, though."
“Let me know what you decide," Brian said. Carol told him to hang in there and ended the call.
She continued to ponder the problem. They would probably have to decide what to do together. It would make no sense for only one of them to come forward while the other claimed temporary insanity. The issue had a simple moral solution. The fact that the drug had caused an indefinite disability made the issue much more complicated. They had been damaged as a result of what Dominex had done to them. Now they were being offered reasonable compensation. The fact that they were expected to drop the fight after accepting the money was not an unusual request. Weren’t most court settlements conducted in the same way? She could accept what she had coming to her, or she could hold out for a higher purpose. She would have to think long and hard about what to do.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * *
Michelle pulled into Peggy’s driveway. She was halfway up the walkway with her suitcase in hand when her friend met her at the door. “I didn’t think the worm would quietly go away," she said, reaching to help Michelle with her bag.
“I guess I always assumed that he’d have another place he’d rather be."
“You can stay here as long as you like," Peggy offered. “This big empty house swallows me up. It’ll be fun having a housemate."
Peggy had been divorced for five years. Her two children were both off to college and the house had been her biggest prize in the settlement. The terms of the agreement stated that if for any reason she ever decided to move, her ex-husband would have the option of buying it at the original purchase price. She wasn’t about to give it to him.
The two women finished unloading Michelle’s car and put everything into one of the spare bedrooms. “It’s funny," Michelle said, “after all these years, the only stuff I have that is really mine fits into this one room."
“Enjoy the moment," Peggy laughed. “Your life is simple. You don’t appreciate the beauty of that until you have to hire three moving men with a sixty foot truck to get you from one place to another.” Michelle just sighed and sat down on the bed.
Finally, she looked up at her friend. “I’m going after him," she announced.
“Wasn’t that always the plan?"
“No," Michelle said quietly. “I never planned to get into a heated divorce. I had a fair chunk of money in a savings account and I was going to just live modestly off the interest… Maybe go back to school."
“That’s a start," her friend chimed in, “but it’s not enough. You put up with him for fifteen years."
Michelle nodded her head in agreement. “All the more reason to get away from him and his precious company."
“So what has changed?" Peggy inquired. Michelle thought for a moment.
“His behavior tonight," she stated finally. “In the space of twenty minutes, he let me know just how little I meant to him." Michelle wiped a few tears off her cheek. “He took away fifteen years of my life. Now I’m going to take the one thing he values most away from him.”
“His male appendage?" Peggy asked, trying to cheer her friend.
Michelle began to laugh through the crying. “Wouldn’t that be fun?" she said, regaining her composure. “No, he can keep his tiny little appendage. That’s punishment all by itself."
“You’re terrible," Peggy laughed.
“I can be. And he’s about to find out just how much."
“Come on," Peggy said, grabbing her arm. “I have been saving some very expensive wine for a suitable occasion. This is it."
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
When Carol pulled into to her driveway, she noted the strange car parked on the street. Enter the grim reaper. She walked up the few steps to the front door, wishing she had worked out a better plan with Brian. She still didn’t know what he was going to do, and without his testimony, hers would have little point. She entered the house to rescue Josh.
The two men were seated in the living room and Josh looked relieved to see her. “This is Paul Pratt," Josh announced. “He’s here to see you about the research study."
Josh stood to leave, but Paul said, “Actually, Mr. Freeman, you might want to stick around for this. It involves you, too."
Josh reluctantly sat back down.
Paul began his presentation, outlining Dominex’s position of innocence and their genuine concern for the individuals who had been harmed by the terrible doctor. “And although you had elected not to see Dr. Donovan," the attorney continued, “we were made aware of the difficulty you have had as a result of volunteering to help us with the study."
“Difficulty?" Carol mimicked sarcastically. “This so called difficulty has been the most devastating thing that has ever happened to me."
Josh closed his eyes, and began shaking his head. The attorney was about to experience the wrath of the counselor, AKA the Savior of Mankind.
Carol didn’t care about the purpose of the man’s visit. She already knew why he was here and that she wasn’t going to make a decision. She did, however, care a great deal about the man’s mission. “First of all," she began, “this drug has been on the market in some form or other for over forty years. The fact that it cannot be taken longer than a few weeks without becoming severely addictive is common knowledge by the drug companies. So, can you please explain to me why there are no warnings or guidelines?"
Paul looked to Josh for help. Josh did not jump to the man’s aid. He was on his own with this one.
“Well," the attorney stumbled, “the drug companies don’t do the prescribing. The doctors are responsible for that."
“That’s very convenient," Carol stated. “And do you warn the doctors about the risk of addiction?"
Paul squirmed around in his seat and said, “Doctors are expected to know about all the risks of sedatives."
“They don’t," Carol announced, “and that’s a whole other issue. The problem today is that forty-nine percent of the people who are on your medication will never be able to stop taking it without becoming severely ill for an indefinite period of time, possibly for years. How
do you justify that?"
Paul was sinking in this debate quickly and decided to give it one last-ditch effort.
“We didn’t really know that until we conducted this study," he offered.
“Bullshit," Carol said. “That information is all over the internet. It’s documented by doctors and thousands of sedative victims, many of which have submitted formal complaints. So, how is it that everyone else knew about it and the company that makes the drug had no idea?"
“Well, I can see that you are very upset," Paul said, getting to his feet.
“Upset is the wrong word, counselor," Carol said, standing as well. “Outraged is more accurate. The only question I have for you is this. Your company is poisoning millions of people every year and paving the path for their destruction. How is it that you are not outraged?"
The attorney for Dominex Pharmaceuticals did not answer Carol’s question. Instead, he attempted to divert the focus of their conversation. “Carol, I understand your outrage, but unfortunately I can’t resolve that issue today." Carol was getting ready to argue that point when Paul raised a hand and said, “What I can do is offer compensation for your pain and suffering, past and future."
Carol knew she was hitting a brick wall and decided to end the senseless debate. The immediate problem at hand was how to get compensation for both Brian and herself without selling out. She suddenly had the answer.
“Two hundred thousand dollars," she stated.
Josh removed his focus from the ceiling and stared at Carol in astonishment.
The attorney thought for a moment and then nodded in agreement.
“Okay," he concluded. “I think we can arrange that as long as we can agree on a few stipulations.”
“Go on," Carol directed.
“First," Paul began, “you won’t discuss the amount of the settlement with anyone." Carol nodded her agreement. “Next," he continued, “the money will be paid after the new medication is approved by the FDA."
“No," Carol stated adamantly. “Your study was a fiasco. I have serious concerns about where all that is going, but my disability will continue regardless of the outcome of your study."
Paul could tell that he had hit an impasse in the negotiating process.
“I’ll have to get back to you on that," he conceded. “The truth is that I don’t really know if those funds are available right now. Once Suprame is on the market, we will have no problem complying with that amount, but right now… Well, I will have to get back to you.”
“Fine," Carol agreed. “Thanks for coming."
She stood and shook his hand. This was Paul’s cue that the meeting was over.
Josh walked him to the door.
“Your wife is a tough woman," Paul commented on his way out.
“You have no idea."
Josh returned to the living room to find his wife sitting back on the couch with eyes closed.
“That was quite a performance."
“It was the only way out," Carol sighed. She got up and went to the phone. “I’ll explain it all to you after I make this call," she said, dialing Brian’s number.
Chapter 23
Donovan’s office was a ghost town. His regular patients had seen the article and didn’t want to be anywhere near an ongoing investigation. All the Dominex patients had stopped coming as well. The doctor had attempted to contact the drug company and had left numerous messages. No one was taking or returning his calls. He should have known that at the first sign of real trouble they would hang him out to dry. There was no such thing as loyalty with that much money on the line.
Donovan attempted to contact Jeff one last time.
“Look," he yelled into the phone at Jeff’s secretary, “the man has been in a meeting for three solid days. I want to know what is going on!"
The secretary offered the standard options, stating that she would be sure he got the message. Donovan doubted he would. And after three days of no contact and no patients, he was pretty sure he had already gotten their message. He was now on his own. What had started out as a great money-making proposition had resulted in not only the loss of that opportunity, but his own practice was now suffering as well.
He had no patients waiting and saw no reason not to close the office early. He went out to where his staff was assembled and announced that they could all go home. “I guess it’s just a slow week," he offered lamely as he walked off to his office. The staff waited for him to close his door before asking each other if they still had jobs.
“I don’t know about you," the nursing assistant said, “but I think I’ll update my resume."
“I guess we all should," the receptionist agreed.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
Wednesday morning the newspaper was served with notification of the lawsuit filed by Dominex Pharmaceuticals. Attorney Wendy Cox sat impatiently drumming her fingers on her desk top while waiting for Paul Pratt to come to the phone. Typical attorney tactic. Make the guy wait on the phone for an unreasonably long time, thereby creating the illusion of busy, powerful lawyer.
Pratt finally graced the AJC attorney after ten minutes. “Wendy," he began cordially. “It’s been a long time.” Wendy Cox had had the pleasure of a prior head-to-head with Pratt on a previous case when Pratt had represented a sleazy brokerage firm. The paper had printed a story about their unfortunate tendency towards insider trading practices and subsequent client rip-off scams. Wendy did not like Pratt, if for no other reason than his choice of clients. Cox still preferred the old fashioned idea of doing the job in a manner that would lend itself to being able to sleep at night. She also believed that Pratt had probably not lost a minute’s sleep since he had passed the bar. That made him a two-time loser in her book.
Wendy did not feel like doing the traditional attorney small talk routine and went straight to the purpose of her call. “Paul, we got your summons to appear in court next week. What does Dominex want to make this go away?"
Paul could not help but smile to himself. Most people hated the whole idea of lawsuits, and would do anything to avoid them. He personally loved the chase. It was an adrenaline rush like no other.
“We want a full retraction of that bogus story," Pratt began, “and a formal apology from the AJC.”
“Anything else?" Wendy threw in sarcastically.
“Front page would be a nice touch," Pratt added. “It would convey your sincerity."
Wendy just shook her head at the attorney’s arrogance. “Not only is that not going to happen," Cox countered, “but I think the paper has enough evidence to write a follow-up story."
“Then I guess I’ll see in you court," Pratt said happily.
Wendy wanted to tell the guy to drop dead, but remembered how much Pratt liked adversity. “I’m looking forward to it," she said instead and hung up.
This was not going well. None of the three solid sources that had come forward had actually signed the affidavits. She had been assured prior to approving the story that it was a done deal. Now, she couldn’t even get the first one to answer her calls. She could only imagine that Pratt had gotten to them first.
In her prior dealing with the attorney, numerous victims of the brokerage firm had suddenly found themselves rich and had also developed similar cases of amnesia. In this case, there were only three people to support the story they’d printed. They needed at least two to come forward.
Cox attempted to contact Steve Warner one more time. His wife had been acting as goalie each time she’d tried to get through. This time she got lucky. The call was answered by a male. “Mr. Warner?" she questioned. She could
hear the guy trying to come up with a denial.
“Yes?" the man answered finally.
“This is Wendy Cox from the AJC. I wanted to come by with that affidavit for you to sign. What would be a good time?" There was too long of a pause and Wendy began to shake her head in disgust.
“Well, I’ve been thinking about that," Steve said. “And the truth is, that we aren’t really sure what happened to my sister. She had always been a loner and a moody person. We were all so distraught when she killed herself we may have overreacted. You know how that is," the man stammered awkwardly, “we had to blame it on someone."
“You don’t think the abundant amount of drugs that Donovan gave her had anything to do with her suicide?" Cox asked incredulously.
“Well, it didn’t help," the man laughed nervously, “but we think there was probably more to the whole story.”
“And what about the drug company?" the attorney continued. “Your sister didn’t start abusing her medication until they had her stop taking it abruptly."
“That was an unfortunate catalyst," the man reasoned, “but her addiction was probably inevitable." The attorney knew a pay-off when she heard one and this was a textbook performance.
“Mr. Warner," she began carefully, “did Dominex Pharmaceuticals offer you any compensation to change your story?"
“No," the man denied loudly, “and I resent the implication."
“You were certain of your facts prior to coming to us," the attorney prodded, “and now you are telling me that you may have overreacted?"
“That’s exactly what I am saying."
“Are you aware of the laws governing individuals who provide false information to newspapers?" the attorney asked, threateningly.
“It wasn’t intentional fraud," the man stated too eloquently. “I gave you an honest view of the situation at that time. Time has passed and my view has changed."
“I see," Cox said. “Well, if time should clarify your story any further, you be sure to give us a call."
“I’ll do that," the man said angrily, and hung up with a bang.
Cox was furious. They should have gotten those stupid affidavits signed before they printed the story. Reporters and editors are not logical creatures. They’d been too emotional and too excited to listen to reason. They had printed that story based on verbal agreements. That and a dime get you nothing, she thought. Steve Warner had been a solid cornerstone of that story. Now she only had Carol Freeman and Brian Carter’s testimonies. That was, unless Pratt had gotten to them, too.