Malice

by Jennifer Jaynes

  “My sister says that any dangerous ingredients are in trace amounts. Amounts that aren’t supposed to hurt children.”

  Gail studied her as though trying to figure out the best way to respond. “Let me put it to you this way,” she said. “Say a child who is allergic to bees is stung by one. How much venom does it take for that child to develop an anaphylactic reaction and for his throat to close up? Not much, right?”

  Rachel nodded.

  “Besides, there are top aluminum scientists who say that there are no safe amounts when we’re talking about injection because when injected straight into the bloodstream, the aluminum bypasses most of the body’s filters and therefore can’t be properly excreted,” Gail said.

  “If that’s the case, why are they putting aluminum in drugs at all?” Rachel asked.

  Gail shrugged. “Parents have been asking this question for decades. Now that there’s more science available, a growing list of doctors and scientists are asking the same thing.”

  Rachel told Gail what the reporter for the local NBC affiliate had told her.

  “Yes, isn’t that maddening?” Gail said. “The drug industry has the media in their pocket, so no major network is going to report anything but positive messaging about Respira. Especially now that there’s such a big push to get it on the vaccine schedule. It’s sad, really. If Respira were a malfunctioning car seat, the media would be all over it. It would take just one severe injury, and a recall would be demanded. But when children die or are permanently disabled by pharmaceutical products like Respira, the media is as quiet as a mouse.”

  Rachel’s leg was trembling. She pressed her heel to the ground to get it to stop.

  “You wrote that Suzie screamed a lot after both doses?” Gail asked.

  “Yes. Loud, constant, horrible screams. And she kept arching her back.”

  Gail nodded. “Many of the other parents I’ve spoken to have reported the same chain of events in their children. The constant, high-pitched screaming, then a reaction a few hours to even several days later. They call it an encephalitic cry. Many experts say it’s caused by swelling of the brain.”

  Swelling of the brain? Rachel was horrified. “But her CT scan came back normal.”

  “Don’t get me wrong. I’m not saying this was the case with your daughter. I’m a journalist, not a doctor. But having said that, while a CT scan can identify encephalitis, it can’t rule it out. An MRI is more sensitive and reliable for identifying encephalitic changes.”

  “Well, if that’s the case, then why didn’t they do an MRI?”

  “It’s much more expensive. Also, not all emergency rooms have the machines.”

  Rachel shook her head. “Why would Dr. Winters lie to me and tell me it was safe?”

  “He might not have been lying. He might honestly think it is. We as a culture seem to think that doctors know a lot about the drugs they prescribe, but that’s not always the case.”

  “Can I sue him for hurting her? Or sue the clinic?”

  “Unfortunately, no. With this class of drug, doctors and even the drug manufacturers can’t be sued, even in cases when a child dies as a result of being administered the drug. They’re completely protected.” Gail went on, “Back in the 1980s, drug manufacturers threatened Congress saying they’d stop selling vaccines in the United States unless a law was passed giving them full immunity. Now the liability shield exists to protect the manufacturers and to ensure the continued development and sales of vaccines.”

  CHAPTER 22

  DANIEL

  DANIEL SAT AT one of the tables in the back of Jiminy’s and pored over the information that he’d printed out on Respira while he waited for Billy to show up.

  After spending several more hours reading and watching testimony from experts and reading parent testimonials and studies, he had more than enough information now to present to the small group of doctors at tomorrow’s monthly brunch. He was going to show his colleagues what he’d discovered, and they could all figure out what to do about it together. Most of the others had more experience than he did and were well connected. They’d know what to do.

  Certainly, the first step would be calling a meeting with Immunext. Also, discontinuing the administration of the drug at each of their clinics until they knew for sure it was safe. After tomorrow’s brunch meeting, Teddy would finally understand his concerns, and he would no longer feel so alone.

  Quit pushing Teddy. He’s going to fire you.

  Daniel didn’t agree. Ignoring the voice, he looped back to what Mia had said about Dr. Hemsworth. He’d tried to find the article in the Los Angeles Times that she had said she’d read, but it was nowhere to be found. Daniel thought about the death threat she said the doctor had received. Mia said she didn’t find it difficult to believe that a drug manufacturer or someone with strong financial ties to a drug would make a threat of that nature, but Daniel couldn’t even begin to wrap his head around something like that being possible. It seemed more like a far-fetched conspiracy you’d find only in movies and books. Not real life. But maybe he was being naive.

  Speaking of Mia, he looked around now, feeling a little intrusive for showing up unannounced to eat at the restaurant where she worked. It would probably look like he was spying on her. But, to be honest, he kind of was. He glanced at his watch. Mia’s shift should be starting in five minutes. Billy was already twenty minutes late, and this time it annoyed him. If Billy couldn’t be on time, would he be able to trust him to—

  As if to answer his concern, he heard Billy’s laughter from the front of the restaurant. A moment later, he appeared, swaggering to the booth and chatting with Julie, the blonde hostess with whom Daniel had left the first bouquet of orchids. The young woman wore an amused smile as she informed them that their server would be with them soon.

  Billy plopped down in the chair opposite Daniel, his black shirt wrinkled and untucked. He gazed out at the ocean view from the restaurant’s panoramic windows and let out a low whistle.

  “Holy shit. This is even nicer than the other place. You are seriously living the life.”

  Yeah. I’m living the life, all right.

  “Hey, I saw that ancient Tahoe of yours in the parking lot. When are you going to upgrade? Keep up with the Joneses a little better?”

  “It runs fine. And I couldn’t care less about the Joneses.”

  Billy laughed. “Whatever you say.” He leaned forward, serious now. “So . . . you changed your mind and want me to follow your old lady, huh?”

  Daniel nodded, feeling slightly nauseated.

  Don’t feel bad, Daniel. She asked for this.

  The voice was right. Mia was obviously hiding something, and it was time to find out what. Who was she texting? Whose calls was she deleting? Where was she going if she wasn’t going to work?

  Find out, then kick her ass to the curb.

  He forced the voice into its room. As he was shutting the door, it resisted. He pushed harder, and the door slammed shut.

  Daniel saw Mia hurry into the restaurant and disappear behind a door that led to the kitchen. “She just showed up,” he said, picking up his bourbon and taking a long pull.

  “Where?”

  Daniel watched Mia appear again and pointed toward the kitchen’s swinging door. “She’s the brunette.”

  Daniel studied his wife, not used to seeing her in this environment. She was wearing the Jiminy’s employee uniform: a clingy white polo shirt and black jeans that hugged her amazing ass. Even though the waitresses all dressed the same, Mia definitely stood out.

  “Her?” Billy asked.

  “Yep,” Daniel said, watching her walk to a computer.

  “Damn, man.”

  “I told you.”

  Mia turned toward them to scan the restaurant, and her eyes met Daniel’s. She froze, her face registering surprise. But then her features relaxed, and a smile spread across her face. She walked over, her gait confident, her hips swaying. “Well, this is a pleasant surprise. When
you texted me that you were going out to dinner tonight, you didn’t mention it would be here.”

  Daniel watched her closely. If she was uncomfortable about his being here, she didn’t show it. He stood up and planted a kiss on her cheek. “I figured as long as I’m meeting a friend, I might as well get to see my beautiful wife.”

  He introduced Mia to Billy, and she stretched out her hand.

  Billy took her hand in his and smiled. “Anything Dan’s said about me is a complete lie.”

  “What if it was something nice?” Mia asked.

  “Then he wasn’t talking about me,” Billy answered. He winked at Daniel.

  Mia laughed, and her smile almost melted Daniel’s heart.

  Almost.

  “Sorry, I got here a little late, so I need to get moving,” she said. “I’ll stop by in a few minutes to say hi, okay?”

  They said their goodbyes, and Daniel watched her walk away. He noticed Billy was still staring at her.

  “Stop drooling,” Daniel murmured. His words came out harsher than he’d intended. He glanced at his drink. “Sorry. It’s just . . .”

  . . . that you’ve been drinking.

  “No, man. I get it. You’re stressed.”

  “Anyway, I told you she was gorgeous.”

  “Yeah, but everyone says that about their wives when they first get married. But shit, man. I can see why you’re worried.” Billy stared intently at Daniel. “I don’t get it. You’re a doctor . . . you’re loaded . . . so, why is she still waitressing?”

  “It’s a long story,” Daniel said, not wanting to get into it. “So . . . how does all this work?”

  Billy leaned in closer and took on a more businesslike tone. “I’ve been getting $5k for this type of job, but since you’re a friend, let’s cut that in half. Twenty-five hundred, and we’ll call it a day,” he said.

  “What does that include?”

  “It includes following her for seven days, if I need that long. And so far, I haven’t,” Billy said. “I can start with day number one tonight, if you want me to.”

  Daniel nodded. “Okay, what else?”

  “At the end of the seven days, you’ll get a full report on where she went, people she talked to, how long she was with them. If there’s anything worth photographing—and there always is—you’ll get all the pictures. Sometimes video, too. Just depends on how close I can get without being seen.”

  Daniel scowled, his imagination running wild. But he needed to know the truth. At this point, anything would be better than worrying.

  “Just so you know, though, I might have to duck out every once in a while to help Mikey because he’s been really busy and depends on my help, but in cases when I can’t watch her, I’ll let you know, okay?”

  Daniel nodded.

  “Looks like I may be on the clock a little early,” Billy grunted, yanking Daniel from the thoughts pinballing in his head.

  He turned to see what Billy was referring to. A male server who looked like he could model for Calvin Klein was standing behind Mia as she gazed down at a clipboard. His hands were cupping her shoulders, and he was whispering something into her ear. Whatever he was saying was making her laugh.

  They looked comfortable together.

  Too comfortable.

  That’s probably where your five G’s went.

  Something primal flashed through Daniel. He considered getting up and walking up to the guy. Manually removing his hands from his wife’s body. Mia pushed away from the guy and punched him playfully on the shoulder. Then she walked off and began tending to one of her tables.

  Daniel tossed back the rest of his drink, an intense molten anger burning inside of him. He’d never considered himself a jealous man. But then again, he’d never felt as deeply and passionately for anyone as he did for Mia.

  CHAPTER 23

  DANIEL

  THE NEXT MORNING, Daniel reminded himself to breathe as he removed his car key from his key ring and handed it to the valet outside of the Zephyr Grill, an upscale steak and seafood restaurant and popular weekend brunch spot in Brentwood.

  The image of the young male server’s hands on his wife’s shoulders last night had been seared into his mind. The ease with which he’d seen the guy lay his hands on his wife had been disturbing. The guy had been young. Early to midtwenties. Is that what Mia liked? Younger guys? If so, he’d made a huge mistake.

  I’ve been telling you this all along.

  Shut up.

  After returning from dinner with Billy last night, Daniel had changed his mind about waiting to look up Mia again online. But instead of finding anything unsettling about her, he’d found nothing. He wasn’t sure what he’d expected to find. Maybe photos of her with an ex-boyfriend or two. Or something concerning that would raise suspicions, like maybe a secret social media account. But not only did he not find any of these things, he didn’t find anything. Just one photograph of her with what appeared to be her coworkers at Jiminy’s. Besides that one photograph, she didn’t seem to have an internet footprint whatsoever.

  That in and of itself raised suspicions. Who didn’t have an internet footprint these days? Who didn’t have at least one social media account? He knew she was private and didn’t have a lot of friends. In fact, she’d mentioned only one friend to him, a guy named Sam who was in the military and stationed overseas. The guy was someone she’d known since childhood. But Daniel was the same way. Aside from dinners with Billy or Claire, and maybe playing racquetball every once in a while with Andy, he didn’t really socialize, either.

  He made another note to ask Billy if he knew someone who ran background checks. And once he was on the other side of this Respira stuff, maybe he’d hire someone to do one.

  As the hostess led him through the maze of brunch-time patrons to the reserved table on the patio, the voice in his head wouldn’t stop cautioning him. It had been warning him ever since he woke up early this morning.

  Don’t do this, Daniel. Teddy’s going to be pissed.

  He knew Teddy wasn’t going to like what he was going to say. But he also knew that the man would have no choice but to consider examining Respira more closely once he saw all the information Daniel had compiled, how concerned all the other doctors would be.

  In Teddy’s defense, Daniel hadn’t done the best job of presenting his suspicions so far. But this time, it would be different.

  The hostess showed him to the table that had been reserved for his group, and Daniel found himself to be the first to have arrived.

  Good. That gave him time to gather his thoughts.

  He chose a place at the round table that provided him a good view of the rest of the seating area.

  The patio was packed with people, and the air was dancing with lively conversation and laughter. He watched a group of heavily made-up women clink champagne flutes filled with what appeared to be mimosas. They made him think of Mia again.

  About Billy following her.

  He hoped to God that what Mia was hiding was innocent enough.

  Daniel felt like a pigeon was trapped in his chest as he opened the folder in front of him and shuffled the packets of photocopied documents he’d put together.

  Throw those away.

  They’ll want to know, he countered. They’ll thank me. After all, no one wants to hurt kids, especially doctors. Once they know what’s going on, they’ll want to examine the information, too.

  He glanced up and saw a famous actor and his wife waving to him from a few tables down. The wife’s face looked shiny, pulled tight, and Daniel remembered hearing his nurse, Deepali, mention she’d recently had another round of plastic surgery. Their granddaughter was a patient of his. Daniel waved back, marveling at what his life had become. That he sometimes found himself sitting among people like this, some of Hollywood’s most elite—it was a far cry from the crowded trailer back in Tyler, Texas.

  You do understand you could lose all this by pushing Teddy too far, don’t you?

  He flinched as he pu
shed the voice back to where it belonged.

  “You okay, sir?” the waitress asked, carrying a silver pitcher.

  “I’m fine.” He smiled. “If that’s coffee, I’d love a cup.”

  She poured him coffee. After she left, he took a big gulp of the hot liquid, then closed his eyes and tried to center himself. He concentrated on the slight chill in the air. The ray of sun that was warming his shoulder. He was releasing a deep breath when he heard a voice boom, “Hey, guys, looks like there’s a vagrant sleeping at our table!”

  Teddy.

  Daniel opened his eyes and watched his boss choose the seat next to him. He greeted Daniel with one of his trademark blows to the back. Teddy was flanked by Chet Wahler, an older and well-respected pediatrician from Beverly Hills. Both men were dressed in ugly plaid pants and bright shirts, likely heading for the golf course after brunch.

  Chet was a big, formidable man with a receding hairline and leathery skin. He held out his hand to Daniel and grinned. “Dammit, kid. You look like you haven’t slept since your wedding. Good for you.”

  Daniel smiled nervously. He’d always found Chet a little imposing. He was powerful. A pretty big deal in the medical community. All three of the senior physicians were.

  In the next five minutes, another Beverly Hills pediatrician, Roy Alexander, arrived. Tall and athletically built with brilliant white hair, piercing blue eyes, and a strong jawline, he looked more like a movie star than a doctor. He was with Collin Sheers, a young pediatrician who had just started at Roy’s practice. Collin’s red hair blazed in the late morning sun as he took the only remaining seat at the table.

  After placing their brunch orders, Roy announced that the younger doctor, Collin, was expecting his first child with his wife.

  “I recommend hiring a couple of good nannies,” Chet said. “Otherwise, once that baby comes, your weekends are going to be filled with nothing but diapers and screaming.”

  The doctors participated in more small talk. The mood was loose and friendly, but Daniel was only half-present. He was going over the facts in his head. The best way to present them.