Where Rivers Part (32 page)

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A
fter the truth broke, Juliet was exonerated of any wrongdoing.

Larimar Springs had been closed temporarily, pending the restructure with Montavan International, giving her a lot of time to consider how perilously close she'd come to taking her entire life over a cliff.

In the weeks since the closure, she'd often spent her evenings in front of the television, watching the episodes of the last months of her life unfold like an HBO drama.

First, there were the images of the arrests—of Alexa being led from her posh Mediterranean-style home in handcuffs, followed by a stricken-looking husband and son, no longer the smiling family shown in the photos in her office.

Both she and her plastic surgeon husband agreed to relinquish the company to Cyril without a legal fight, in exchange for his promise not to sue for damages.

Greer didn't fold as easily.

Rumor had it that when Greer learned of the incriminating security tape, he'd come completely undone. He'd shouted at his attorneys, even shoving one to the ground after the guy had the nerve to tell his ruffled client that there was no viable way to keep the recording out of evidence.

In the end, Greer turned himself in to the authorities, and of course the media covered him leaving the arraignment, flanked by attorneys. While not a hair was out of place, no one but Juliet likely noticed that one of his cuff links was missing.

In one of many press conferences, Dr. Breslin stood in the parking lot of Children's Hospital and read a written statement that included an eloquent recitation of how the outbreak had affected government resources, the community, and taxpayer dollars. He expressed that no amount of government oversight was effective if people in key management positions wantonly disregarded public safety.

He pulled his reading glasses from his face and looked into the camera. “On behalf of the City of San Antonio, the Texas Department of Health Services, the US Department of Agriculture, and the US Centers for Disease Control, I hope the court will send a clear message that these types of blatant criminal acts placing people in medical danger will not be tolerated. I urge the court to send a strong warning to corporate officers across this country by rendering the strongest punishment possible in this case.”

When Juliet learned that Alexa Carmichael and Greer Latham had later pled guilty to multiple counts of distribution of adulterated food product, as well as conspiracy and fraud related to the audits, she'd been relieved there would be no trial, yet saddened.

While no one could argue the former executives deserved to be brought to justice, she didn't relish knowing they'd likely be incarcerated, at least for a period of time.

Over the course of the past weeks, a lesson had been learned. She no longer held a fervent desire for meting out justice on her own. She'd leave punishing wrongdoers, including Alexa and Greer, to God and the proper authorities.

The Scripture her mother had underlined was spot-on. Juliet now could so easily see how God had indeed been right by her side the entire time, protecting and guiding her through the deep waters.

Sitting on the sofa, she reached across the cushions and gently caressed the worn leather cover of her mother's Bible. “Mom, you were right. The better way is to forgive and let go.”

She stood and headed into the kitchen, where she withdrew a pan from the cupboard, then moved to the refrigerator for the chicken she planned to fry for dinner. She'd worked hard to perfect her ability to make her mother's cream gravy and couldn't wait to show off her new skill to her father tonight when he came over for dinner, something that was a fairly frequent occurrence now that they were becoming friends.

Suddenly, she heard a familiar voice on the television.

“As recent as two months ago, forty people in Oklahoma were sickened with listeria linked to raw milk. And only weeks before that, in California, hundreds fell ill after eating romaine lettuce tainted with salmonella. I could name a dozen more such incidents, all in the last twelve months. No matter what happens within the justice system for the likes of Alexa Carmichael and Greer Latham, I hope health officials don't let down their guard, believing we've done even near enough to protect the public.”

Smiling, she wiped her hands on a towel and quickly returned to the television.

Cameras flashed, and dozens of reporters scrambled to take notes, paying close attention to the man speaking, likely wondering who would be bold enough to make such assertions.

But Juliet knew.

J
uliet stood alone in the green room, gazing in the mirror. The reflection looking back was still that of the educated, accomplished young woman she'd been nearly two years ago. But now her eyes held a certain wisdom she'd lacked before. The respect she'd earned since being hired at Larimar Springs had been hard won.

A slight rap at the door pulled her attention. “Yes, come in.”

A perky young news intern peeked her head through the cracked opening. “Dr. Ryan? We're ready for you.”

She took one final glance in the mirror. Her coral and turquoise jacket was perfect. Her lip color and hair, great. She was ready.

She followed the intern down a long hallway lined with photos—among them Matt Lauer, Katie Couric, Jane Pauley, and Al Roker. Despite fighting to appear calm, her insides fluttered. Especially when they arrived at a set of heavy double doors.

The intern turned and put her finger to her mouth, warning her to be quiet. She pointed to the red light flashing to the right of the door and shook her head, just in case her first signal to stay silent had been missed.

The doors opened to a massive interior with rivers of wires running over the floor. Men with headphones sat in tall, swiveling
stools, perched next to cameras hanging from the ceiling, all directed at a brightly lit backdrop known as Studio 1A.

Natalie Morales smiled at Matt Lauer from behind the iconic anchor desk perched in front of windows looking over Rockefeller Plaza. “Matt, we have an interesting story coming up about a woman who exposed a company conspiracy—one that cost lives. Even those of several tiny children. She's authored a book about that experience and the extreme need for food safety in our country, and will be joining us to talk about it.”

Matt raised his eyebrows. “Sounds like something viewers won't want to miss.”

Juliet stood trembling, barely believing the famous morning news show hosts were talking about her in front of millions of viewers across America. For a flash second, she couldn't help but smile, oddly wondering if Ellen Shaffer was watching.

And Stinky Sam.

She followed the intern to an adjoining set with comfortable sofas and a coffee table. She positioned herself in her designated seat while another guy with headphones clipped on a microphone. “Testing, testing,” he said.

Never in her wildest imagination would she have dreamed this is how her story would turn out. After a brief commercial break, she'd be reporting how she and her father had handed the evidence Oliver Ford provided over to Dr. Breslin, which led to criminal charges being brought against Alexa Carmichael and Greer Latham. How they'd pled guilty to avoid extended sentencing.

She'd tell America how Montavan International took control of Larimar Springs in the aftermath, and with her at the helm, they'd raised the bar in food safety. How she'd written
Up the Waterspout
and now traveled internationally speaking at food safety symposiums, warning about the dangers of foodborne illnesses and the destruction and havoc that could result from cutting corners.

Photos of the new Marquis DeAndre Mosely Center for Chil
dren would be shown, built next to the expanded New Beginnings Birthing Center in San Antonio. She'd pay tribute to her mother and to the new director of both institutions, Tavina Mosely Jinks, who had married Leo Paternoster's paralegal. Pictures would flash on-screen of a very pregnant Tavina, locked in her new husband's arms, beaming.

Juliet's hand drifted to her own swollen belly. On camera, she'd smile across the studio at her husband, Cyril, a man of extraordinary integrity.

Her mother would be watching from heaven . . . pleased.

Lastly, and maybe most importantly, Juliet would look Matt Lauer in the eyes and express deep gratitude to the man who had stood by her side, a man she greatly admired and loved. The one who had taught her that without a heart and soul, she had nothing.

Her father.

L
ike many of my novels, the idea for this story was sparked by a legal matter. In the midnineties, I was assigned to a case where a teenage girl left her high school during the lunch break and went to a nearby Jack in the Box restaurant. Like others in the car, she ordered a hamburger. After taking only a couple of bites, she opened the bun to discover the middle of the burger bloody rare and elected to toss the remaining sandwich aside, eating her fries instead.

A short time later, she fell violently ill—a victim of E. coli O157:H7.

Over the course of the deadly outbreak linked to Jack in the Box restaurants (and their parent corporation, Foodmaker, Inc.), many others became dangerously ill, and several young children died. During the time I was immersed in reviewing and cataloguing the massive amounts of evidence in this litigation, I developed a new appreciation for those charged with maintaining food safety.

One of those is my own husband, who has been in senior management in meat companies over the past two decades.

I knew I wanted to highlight this issue in a novel, and
Where Rivers Part
was born, so to speak. I will never forget sitting across
a deposition table in San Diego and watching Foodmaker, Inc.'s quality control director tear up as he was questioned about his role. I saw the agony on his face as attorneys more than hinted he was a guilty party in the horrific event.

That prompted the question many novelists ask when starting a new story:
What if?

While this story features what I learned while working on the Jack in the Box litigation, much of it is purely my imagination at work.

For instance, it is extremely rare for bottled water to contain deadly pathogens. Bottled water is highly regulated. The quality control processes include ultraviolet light disinfection as well as microfiltration and ozone disinfection. I chose to use a water company simply because it fit with the water theme I wanted to create in the book.

What I found particularly intriguing was how San Antonio fit surprisingly into the water theme. While this beautiful city is located in an arid environment, underneath is the Edwards Aquifer, a unique groundwater system and one of the most prolific artesian aquifers in the world, serving the diverse needs of almost two million users in south central Texas—and such an amazing picture of Jesus, who is often referred to in the Bible as our Living Water.

I've certainly found Jesus to be what satisfies the arid places in my life.