That night after dinner, Georgia told Jimmy about her day. “The doctor supervising the injections did a runner. Just got the hell out of Dodge. Wife too, according to their neighbor.”
“Getting too hot?”
“Don’t know. He could be hiding.”
“Could be he’s scared. Thinks he’s going to be held accountable for the deaths.”
“I don’t see how. He wasn’t involved in acquiring or distributing the vaccines. Just getting shots in arms.”
“Didn’t you tell me the med students did most of the injections?” Jimmy asked.
Georgia nodded. “Right. I was hoping to interview them along with the people who got the vaccine that day. But now…” she shrugged “… I don’t know.”
“Maybe he has some kind of liability depending on who administers the shots,” Jimmy said.
“Good point. I should find out.”
Jimmy rubbed the back of her hand with his thumb. “So, what’s your next step?”
Georgia loved it when he touched her like that. “Time to check out Jefferson Medical. Find out where that batch of vaccines came from, what happened to it, and when.” She sighed. “If I can.” She looked up.
“You still want my help?”
She shook her head. “I think you were right. Really Big Pharma won’t chat with local law enforcement. Even O’Malley might have a hard time. And as for a private detective, forget about it.”
He let her hand go. She laced her fingers together. “I assume Illinois Public Health, maybe even the CDC or FDA, are already dealing with them. The company’s probably closed up tight. Not talking to anyone.” She unlaced her fingers and tapped them against the table. “The way I see it, I have two options. One: I’ll get Emily’s—that’s Susan’s aunt—vaccine card, which will give me the lot number, then go to one of the plants and hang around. Find the bar the loaders and truckers hang out at. See what I can pry out of them.”
“Which could be dangerous,” Jimmy said.
“Goes with the territory.”
“What’s the second option?”
She grimaced. “I’d hate to do it, but I could call LeJeune.”
“The FBI guy you and Ellie know.”
“Yeah. His information is always good. But that opens up possibilities I’m not sure I want to consider.”
“He’d take the case.”
She nodded.
Jimmy’s brow furrowed. “You know I’m on your side, babe, but that’s not such a bad idea. It would pretty much guarantee some answers to Evelyn’s questions. And he might need your help.”
“The Bureau need me?” She was quiet for a moment. “I don’t think so. But I’ll sleep on it, okay?”
He grinned. “I thought you’d never ask.”
She didn’t manage to tell him she’d seen Matt at lunch.
Georgia was brushing her teeth a few minutes later when her cell chirped. She went back into the living room and fished it out of her bag. With the toothbrush in one hand and the phone in the other, she forgot to look at her caller ID. “Davis.”
“Hi, Peaches. How are you?”
“Oh hi, JoBeth.” She arched her brows so Jimmy could see she wasn’t in the mood to talk to her mother. “Fine. How about you?” Georgia started to pace.
“Good. Good. I was just thinking…” JoBeth paused.
“Yeah?”
“I was just thinking that with spring on the way and better weather coming, maybe we could take a little trip. A vacation.” She seemed to stress the word.
Georgia stopped pacing and turned to face Jimmy. “A vacation? Now?” She lifted her free palm so Jimmy could see and scowled. “I don’t get it.”
“I’ve been thinking about it for a while, sweetie. I thought maybe you, Vanna, Charlie, and I could go away for a couple of weeks. We could head south where it’s already warm, or we could go north—I’ve never been to Canada—or maybe—”
Georgia cut her off. “What’s going on, JoBeth? You’ve only been here a few months. Why do you want to go someplace else?”
“Well, actually, I thought it would be a way to get us closer. You know, spend some quality time together. I know you still have questions about me, honey. So does Vanna. And I have questions for you, so I wanted to…” Her voice trailed off.
“I don’t believe you,” Georgia said.
“What do you mean?” JoBeth sounded wounded. “I love you both. I want to be your mother.”
“It’s too late for that. At least for me.” Georgia’s voice went cold. “What am I supposed to tell Jimmy? That my mother wants to take a trip so we can bond? Aren’t we trying to do that now? What is he going to do while we’re traipsing around the country?”
“Why doesn’t he come too?” JoBeth said. “That would be delightful. You know how much I like and respect—”
“JoBeth, listen. You don’t have a track record of going on ‘vacations.’ You have this habit of going out for a cigarette and not coming back for years. How do we know you’re going to stick it out? What’s really going on?”
JoBeth paused. Then, “Georgia, I’m different now. I’m growing up. I was hoping you’d see it, but I guess it’s going to take time. I’m willing to wait. I know what I did to you, and I don’t think I can ever make enough amends for that. But I will spend the rest of my life trying.”
Georgia didn’t know how to reply, so she kept her mouth shut. After a long silence, she finally said, “Well, let me talk to everyone and see what they think. I’ll get back to you.”