40 

Juliet paced her kitchen, waiting for the teapot to boil, knowing she was in more hot water than she’d earlier recognized.

Alexa Carmichael hadn’t only deceived her by hiding her relationship with Greer, knowing Juliet was also romantically involved with him, but she’d lied. Clearly, she’d characterized Robin Ford’s departure as voluntary, predicated by a medical situation that left her unable to fulfill her duties.

After pulling out the box of chamomile tea bags, Juliet slammed the cupboard counter. She’d fallen for every bit of untruth Jezebel and Mr. GQ set in front of her—gobbled it up, hungry for their approval and accolades.

She tore open the tiny envelope and tucked the bag into a mug. The whistle blew. She startled and grabbed the handle on the teapot. “Ouch! Blast it!” She quickly withdrew her burning palm.

After slamming the faucet handle up at the sink, she placed her hand under the cold stream of water. With her head thrown back, she closed her eyes against tears that formed, unsure if pain or emotion had prompted their appearance.

She’d been so gullible, believing everything and anything they’d told her. Even when things weren’t quite adding up. Even when a small voice inside told her something wasn’t quite right—like the night she’d been locked out of the building.

Letting the cold water run across the blisters already forming, she replayed what Malcolm had told her back at the office.

Her QA supervisor had liked Robin Ford, saying she was young but very bright and a hard worker. Malcolm was her first hire, and they’d worked closely to establish well-thought-out lab procedures.

“She wasn’t nearly as highly trained as you, Dr. Ryan,” he’d explained. “But I admired the effort she made to do her job well. I enjoyed working with her. In many ways, we were a team.”

The comment jabbed. Making the mistake so many managers promulgate, instead of joining with her lab staff and creating an aggregated effort, she’d elevated herself above them in an effort to feel secure. A critical error in judgment, for sure. Perhaps if she’d signaled she was more available, Malcolm might have felt free to voice concerns and she’d have clued in to problems earlier.

What if together they could have prevented, or at least reduced, the number of people who fell victim to the outbreak? What if the tainted product had been discovered on their own, instead of the CDC officials alerting them to a problem? Tavina’s little boy might still be alive, and the entire company wouldn’t be in jeopardy.

Not that she cared if Alexa lost her financial holdings, but Juliet agreed with her boss’s statement that a lot of good people were employed by Larimar Springs—vulnerable employees who would be hurt if their financial security was suddenly ripped away.

Her hand finally grew numb under the cold water, prompting her to close the faucet. She moved the still steaming teakettle to a cold burner and left the cup empty on the counter.

No amount of chamomile could soothe her conscience.

She moved to the sofa and tucked her legs up underneath, then settled her Mac on her lap, carefully typing “Robin Ford phone number” in the Google search window. Her eyes scrolled the results, settling on a site that looked promising.

She clicked and opened what appeared to be a phone directory. Granted, if she waited until tomorrow, she might be able to access records at work that would provide the contact information she needed, but this was urgent. She didn’t want to wait.

Of the twelve numbers provided, there was little way to know if any of them belonged to the woman she hoped to talk to without calling each one.

And what if the woman didn’t have a landline and used a mobile as her primary phone? In that case, Juliet might not have access to the number.

Of the list, four were no longer in service. The first several remaining numbers were not matches. Moving on, she dialed the seventh number—shown listed to Oliver and Robin Ford in Gruene, a popular tourist destination less than an hour north of San Antonio.

Malcolm said Robin had suffered through a series of fertility treatments before becoming pregnant. “Despite employment laws, I never got the impression Alexa was too keen on mixing career and family. Robin confided that Alexa was giving her a hard time about missing work.” He shook his head. “Funny how often women fail to be supportive of other women when it comes to their professional lives.”

He’d gone on to say that shortly after her first trimester, Robin encountered severe difficulties that required her doctors to put her on full bed rest. His own daughter had encountered something similar, and the condition was nothing to fool with.

Unfortunately, her medical situation hit about the same time they started seeing abnormal microbial counts.

“There were a couple of days she still made it in, despite the medical warnings,” he said. “We both worried the Edwards Aquifer might be having a similar situation that was encountered a few years back when discharge back into the system from the San Antonio Zoo presented increased and dangerous fecal matter in the water system.” Malcolm rubbed his hand through his thinning black hair. “Robin’s husband showed up at work and scolded her. Made her stay home, as he should’ve. In Robin’s absence, I took my concerns to Alexa.”

Juliet nodded. “And?”

“And I was told in no uncertain terms she’d already resolved the issue directly with Robin.” Malcolm turned sad. “I’ll always regret not forcing the issue. But something she said left me nervous.” His eyes filled with regret. “Frankly, I was scared—even too scared to call the CDC and turn her in. There just wasn’t enough evidence to prove anything—you know?”

She’d nodded and patted his arm, promising she understood. She’d assured him she was going to push to find out whatever she could. Which is why she now sat with the phone glued to her ear.

The phone rang again. Juliet sent up a quick prayer, hoping somehow to find and talk to the former quality assurance director. Getting the account directly from her was the only way to fill in the blanks and know the full story. Especially given the questions in her mind, and knowing she’d likely never get the truth from Alexa or Greer.

Together, she and Robin Ford could join forces and take what proof they could piece together to Dr. Breslin.

“Hello?”

The man’s voice on the other end sounded about the right age. A baby cried in the background, which was a promising sign she might have the right party.

She cleared her throat. “Hello, I’m trying to locate a Robin Ford, a woman who used to work at Larimar Springs Water Corporation.”

“Who is this?”

Taken aback at his gruff response, she tried to explain. “Uh, my name is Dr. Ryan. Juliet Ryan.”

“What’s this got to do with Larimar Springs?”

“I’m the director of quality assurance,” she told him, hoping the man on the other end of the phone could hear her over the baby crying. “I’m trying to locate the woman who worked in that position before me. I’d really like to talk to her.”

“Yeah, my wife used to work there. I heard all about the outbreak. I’m really sorry for all those people, but frankly, I couldn’t think of a better company to have something like that happen to.”

His response didn’t entirely surprise her. Obviously, his wife’s termination had left bad feelings. Treading carefully, she tried again. “There are some things that—well, to be honest, I’m wondering about a few of the events surrounding your wife’s departure from the company.”

“Departure?” he huffed. “That blonde witch fired my wife. Just for trying to do her job.” He paused to try to quiet the baby. “The stress over all that is what did her in.”

Juliet closed her eyes. She knew this would be delicate, but he wasn’t making her intentions any easier. “I—I understand. Really, I do. But, if I could just talk to her. Is she there?”

“Is she here? Are you serious?”

“Excuse me?”

“For goodness’ sake, because of what was going on with that company, my wife became severely hypertensive and suffered seizures. Her entire system shut down. We nearly lost the baby.”

She swallowed, thinking of little MD hooked up to all those machines. “I’m so sorry to hear that. That had to have been extremely difficult.” She quickly glanced at the computer screen for his name. “Oliver, if this wasn’t really important, I wouldn’t ask, but I really need to talk to Robin.”

“Yeah, me too,” he said in a solemn voice. “But you’re not getting what I’m telling you. My wife is dead.”