EXCITED TO SEE YOUR SHOW?” JACK ASKED AS HE CAME OUT OF the bedroom.
Taylor nodded, although she wasn’t sure excited was the word she’d use. But she was looking forward to seeing how it would turn out. It would be a distraction at least from the hell they were now in. “Is Evan asleep?”
“Totally out.”
He walked over to her and put a hand on her shoulder. “You okay?”
Taylor was still annoyed by Jack’s comment about dying to protect her. She wasn’t some helpless female in need of a knight in shining armor. She thought about the last time she and Jack had tried to bring down Damon Crosse. Even though it had been only two years ago, it felt like a lifetime. She’d been a different person back then, too trusting, and if Jack hadn’t come to her house after her husband had been murdered, she had no doubt that she’d either be dead or a prisoner of Damon Crosse. But she’d grown a lot in two years and didn’t need Jack to fight her battles anymore. They could fight them together. And she was proud that she had come through it all stronger than ever. She secretly felt like a superhero. She’d trained hard to learn how to handle a gun with the best of them, but also to defend herself with nothing but her fists and legs. She would never again be unprepared. If Damon Crosse thought he was dealing with the same soft woman he’d encountered back then, he was in for a surprise.
They turned on the television and she took a seat next to Jack on the sofa. She looked over at Jeremy in the armchair and was happy to see that the color had returned to his face. “How’s your shoulder?”
“Better.”
Their attention was drawn to the screen as a solemn-looking Karen Printz sitting in an armchair delivered an intro to the story from the studio.
Jack squeezed Taylor’s hand. “I’m so proud of you.”
Karen continued, her tone serious. “As many of you know, Jefferson Health Care is in the midst of a class action suit that reached the Supreme Court. Deliberations are still taking place and we expect a decision any day. Tonight we’ll be hearing from three families involved in the suit. As you’ll soon see, there are no easy answers, and not everyone is on the same page.”
The show cut to commercial.
Taylor looked at Jack, puzzled. “That was a strange cutaway. I wonder what she meant by that last line.”
Jack shrugged. “Well, obviously Jefferson’s not on the same page.”
When the show returned, Karen’s narration continued in voice-over. “First we’ll meet Molly and Clyde Edwards. Molly is pregnant but the prenatal testing showed the strong possibility of birth defects.”
The camera zoomed in on Molly. “I told him there was no way I was aborting my baby. We’re Catholic.”
Karen’s face suddenly filled the screen. “Despite the very real possibility of bringing a child into the world to suffer, Molly’s religious beliefs preclude her from preventing a child’s pain.”
“What the . . .” Taylor sputtered.
Karen continued. “Molly’s husband is pleased with the policy.”
The camera zoomed in on Molly’s husband, Clyde. “We thought the policy was a great deal. Saved us lots of money.”
Back to Karen. “How do you feel about terminating the pregnancy?”
Clyde again. “It’s so early, not a big deal, and we can try again. Why have a child that’s sick?”
The show went to commercial again.
Taylor jumped up from the sofa, incensed. “That’s all taken totally out of context. Clyde was mimicking the doctor when he said that. He was furious that the doctor had told them it was no big deal. I can’t believe this!”
Jeremy shook his head. “I’m sorry, Taylor. But I can’t say I’m surprised.”
“They’re going to be so upset! I need to call them. I don’t want them to think I betrayed them.”
“Whoa,” Jack said. “Even though we’ve taken precautions with our tech, you can’t reach out to anyone. I understand that you’re upset but we have to focus on Crosse right now.”
She sighed. “I know you’re right. But I feel so terrible.”
They watched the rest of the segment in horror and disbelief as Karen pulled the same stunt with every story, taking quotes out of context to make it appear as though Jefferson was only using common medical sense. The last word was from an interview with Georgia. “There’s no doubt in my mind their money is wasted trying to save the lives of anyone of advanced age,” the scientist said.
“That’s not what she said!” Taylor sputtered, rising out of her seat in indignation. “I remember how she put it. She said there was no doubt in her mind that Jefferson thought their money is wasted. They cut those two words.”
“Won’t she and the other interviewees have recourse against UBC for twisting the meaning of their words?” Jeremy asked.
“No, they’ve all signed releases agreeing to editing. There’s nothing they can do. I cannot believe that Karen did this!”
“I’m sorry, babe. This sucks. But how many times have we seen a story spun a certain way and then we get the whole story and see how it’s been edited? I’m really sorry, though, that your name is on this.”
“When this is over, you better believe I’m going to do something about it.” She turned off the television and went into the kitchen, opening the clean laptop and navigating to UBC’s website, where she read the comments pouring in.
She called over to Jack and Jeremy. “You won’t believe this, but most of the comments are positive. People criticizing the plaintiffs for selfishly wasting resources on lost causes.”
What had happened to Karen? She’d always had journalistic integrity. Then Taylor flashed to Karen’s face when Crosby Wheeler had come into their meeting. She wasn’t just intimidated by him. She was scared, Taylor now realized. She ran back out to the living room.
“Wheeler. It’s got to be him. We have to find a connection between him and Crosse.”
Jack nodded. “I was thinking the same thing. I have a feeling even a deep search won’t reveal much, but I’ll try. We can also see if Scotty can find anything out.”
Still feeling heartsick, Taylor went into the bedroom and shut the door. No matter what Jack said, she had to reach out to Georgia. She couldn’t have her thinking that Taylor had been any part of this debacle. She dialed her cell, but a man picked up.
“Hello? I’m trying to reach Georgia Lakos?”
“Who’s this?”
She was taken aback by the man’s abruptness. “Taylor Phillips, a friend of hers. Who’s this? Is Georgia there?”
His voice softened. “This is Gus, her son. She told me about you. My mother’s in the hospital. She . . .” A sob came over the line. He cleared his throat and went on. “Sorry, she jumped from a four-story window in the middle of class today. The students said she suddenly started talking out of her head and did it before anyone could stop her.”
Taylor froze. “Oh no! Is she going to be okay?”
“I don’t know. She’s in a coma. They don’t know if it was a stroke or maybe an aneurysm. I don’t know anything else.”
Tears sprang to Taylor’s eyes.
“If you don’t mind my asking . . . Had she had a physical lately?”
“That’s what’s so perplexing. She’d just gone the day before to get her vaccine shot.”
Taylor was now convinced the vaccine was the link to all those murder-suicides. If that was what happened, Georgia must have realized what was happening to her. She probably jumped to save her students. “I’ll pray for her. Again, I’m so sorry. I’ll call you tomorrow to check on her.” She didn’t want to say anything just yet, but if the hospital found meth in Georgia’s blood work, Taylor would tell him about their theory.
“Thank you.”
She ended the call and went out to tell Jack and Jeremy the horrible news.