Walking unannounced into Lord's office, closing the door behind her, Celia wasted no time. "Why was I not told that Exeter & Stowe canceled their contract four days ago?" Lord, startled by the sudden entry, said awkwardly, "I was going to tell you. I hadn't got around to it.”
"How long would you have taken if I hadn't asked?" Then, without waiting for an answer, "I had to learn from outside that there have been adverse reports about Hexin W. Why haven't I heard of those either?" Lord said lamely, "I've been studying... collating them.”
She ordered, "Let me see them. Every one. Now.”
Knowing that, at this point, nothing could be held back, Lord produced keys and opened a locked drawer of his desk. Watching him, Celia remembered the occasion seven years ago when she had come here, wanting to see those early, dubious reports about Montayne. At that time, Lord had been reluctant to show them, but when she insisted, he had gone through the same procedure with the same locked drawer. She had been surprised even then to discover that the reports were not in the general office filing system where they would have been accessible to others. The same process of concealment. Celia thought bitterly, the earlier experience should have taught her something. Because it hadn't, an organizational weakness had persisted in the company, a weakness for which, as president, she was responsible. Doubly responsible-because she had known of Vincent Lord's penchant for hiding bad news, concealing what he didn't like, and she had done nothing to guard against it. Lord handed her a bulging folder. Celia's first impression was shock at how much it contained. Her second, as she turned pages and read while Lord watched silently, was horror. She counted groups of pages. Fifteen deaths. And all those who died had been taking Hexin W. At the end, she asked the inevitable question, though knowing the answer in advance. "Have we informed the FDA of any or all of these reports?" Lord's face muscles twitched as he answered, "No.”
"You're aware, of course, of the law and the fifteen-day rule?" Lord nodded slowly, without speaking. "I asked you some time ago," Celia said, "if there had been adverse reports on Hexin W. You told me there were none.”
Desperately trying to salvage something, Lord replied, "I didn't say there were none. What I said was-there was nothing that concerned Hexin W directly.”