"What about calling the department of public health?" Marsha suggested.
"That's an idea," Kim said. "I'll be willing to try that too on Monday. But, to tell you the truth, I wouldn't be optimistic going that route. I'd just be dealing with another bureaucracy, and it probably would take too long. Besides, I kinda want to do this myself. It's to make up for not being able to help my daughter medically."
"I might be putting my job on the line," Marsha said. "Although maybe I could enlist the aid of my immediate boss. The trouble with that is that he and I have never had what I would call a good working relationship."
"Would that be the district manager whom you mentioned earlier?" Kim asked.
"That's right," Marsha said. " Sterling Henderson."
"I'd prefer we just kept this between you and me," Kim said.
"That's easy for you to say," Marsha said. "The trouble is, it's my job not yours."
"Tell me," Kim said, suddenly having an idea. "Have you ever seen a child ill with this E. coli problem? The reason I ask is because I never did before my own daughter got sick, and I'm a doctor. I mean I'd read about it, but it was always an abstraction, a statistic."
"No, I never have seen a child sick with E. coli," Marsha admitted.
"Then come with me to see my daughter," Kim said. "After you see her, you can then decide what to do. I'll accept whatever decision you make. If nothing else, it will give added meaning to your work."
"Where is she?" Marsha asked.
"She's at the University Med Center," Kim said. "The same hospital where I'm on the staff." Kim motioned toward Marsha's cell phone that he could see between the two front seats. "Call the hospital if you question what I'm saying. My name is Dr. Kim Reggis. My daughter's name is Becky Reggis."
"I believe you," Marsha said. She wavered. "When do you have in mind?"
"Right now," Kim said. "Come on. My car is right over there." Kim pointed over his shoulder. "You can ride with me. Afterwards I'll bring you back here to get your car."
"I can't do that," Marsha said. "I don't know you from Adam."
"All right," Kim said, warming to the idea of Marsha seeing Becky. "Follow me. I was only worrying about where you'd park once at the hospital, but screw it. Just follow me right into the doctors' lot. What do you say?"
"I'd say you are persistent and persuasive," Marsha said.
"All right!" Kim exclaimed, raising a clenched fist for emphasis. "I'll loop around here, so just follow me."
"Okay," Marsha said warily, unsure of what she'd gotten herself into.
Jack Cartwright had had his nose pressed against the window. He'd kept an eye on Kim and had witnessed the entire confrontation between Kim and Marsha Baldwin. Of course he'd not heard what they'd said, but he did see Marsha follow his car out of the lot after the two had seemed to reach some agreement.
Leaving the reception area, Jack hustled down the central corridor, passing the stairwell where he'd taken Kim up to the observation tunnel. At the far end of the hall were the administration offices.
"Is the boss in?" Jack asked one of the secretaries.
"He sure is," she said without interrupting her word processing.
Jack knocked on the president's closed door. A booming voice told him to "come the hell in."
Everett Sorenson had been successfully running Mercer Meats for almost twenty years. It had been under his leadership that the company had been bought out by Foodsmart and that the new plant had been constructed. Sorenson was a big man, even stockier than Jack, with a florid complexion, small ears for his size, and a shiny bald pate.
"What the hell are you all wired up about?" Everett asked as Jack came into the room. Everett had a sixth sense about his minion whom he'd personally elevated right off the patty-room floor into the company's hierarchy.
"We got a problem," Jack said.
"Oh!" Everett said. He tipped forward in his desk chair to lean his bulky torso on his elbows. "What's up?"
Jack took one of the two chairs in front of Everett 's desk. "You know that article you pointed out in the paper this morning? The one about the crazy doctor carrying on about E. coli and getting arrested in the Onion Ring restaurant on Prairie Highway?"
"Of course," Everett said. "What about it?"
"He was just here," Jack said.
"The doctor?" Everett asked with disbelief.
"The exact same guy," Jack said. "His name is Dr. Reggis. And I'll tell you straight, this guy is a nutcase. He's out of control, and he's convinced his daughter got her E. coli from one of our patties."
"Damn!" Everett intoned. "This is not what we need."
"And it gets worse," Jack said. "I just watched him have a conversation in our parking lot with Marsha Baldwin. Afterwards they drove away in tandem."
"You mean, you think they drove away together?" Everett asked.
Jack nodded. "That's the way it looked. Before they left, they'd talked for quite a while in the parking lot."
"Jesus Christ!" Everett said, slapping the surface of his desk with one of his shovel-like hands. He pushed back from the desk and got to his feet to pace. "This is not what we need! No way! That goddamn Baldwin bitch has been a thorn in my side from the day she was hired. She's constantly filing these stupid deficiency reports. Thank God Sterling Henderson has been able to can them."
"Can't Sterling do something about her?" Jack asked. "Like get her fired?"
"I wish," Everett said. "I've been complaining until I'm blue in the face."
"With the money we're paying him as if he still works here," Jack said, "you'd think he'd at least get her transferred."
"In his defense, it's a difficult situation," Everett said. "Apparently her father is connected in Washington."
"Which leaves us up the creek without a paddle," Jack said. "Now we've got an overzealous inspector who doesn't play by the rules teamed up with a loose-cannon physician who's willing to get himself arrested at a fast-food restaurant just to make a point. I'm afraid this guy could be like a kamikaze pilot. He'll sacrifice himself, but he's bent on taking us with him."
"I don't like this," Everett said nervously. "Another E. coli fiasco would be devastating. Hudson Meat management didn't survive their run-in with the bug. But what can we do?"
"We've got to do damage control," Jack said. "And we have to do it quickly. It seems to me that this is the perfect time to call into play the newly formed Prevention Committee. I mean, this kind of situation is exactly what it was formed for."
"You know something," Everett said, "you're right. It would be perfect. I mean, we wouldn't even be involved."
"Why not give Bobby Bo Mason a call," Jack suggested.
"I'll do that," Everett said, warming to the whole idea. This type of tactical thinking and decision-making was why he'd promoted Jack to the vice presidency.
"Time is of the essence," Jack said.
"I'll call right away." Everett said.
"Maybe we can take advantage of Bo's dinner party tonight," Jack said. "That might speed things up. I mean, everybody will be there."
"Good point!" Everett said as he reached for his phone.
Kim parked quickly. He got out in time to direct Marsha into one of the spots reserved for doctors that Kim was relatively confident wouldn't be used on a Saturday. He opened her door the moment she stopped.
"Are you sure this is a good idea?" Marsha asked as she got out. She looked up at the imposing facade of the hospital. After having time to think about the plan during the drive into the city, she was having second thoughts.
"I think it is a masterful idea," Kim said. "I don't know why it took me so long to think of it. Come on!"
Kim took Marsha's arm and guided her toward the entrance. She put up a token resistance at first but then resigned herself to the situation. She'd rarely been in a hospital and didn't know how she'd respond. She was afraid it might upset her more than she bargained back in the Mercer Meats parking lot. To her surprise, while they waited for the elevator in the hospital lobby, she noticed that Kim was trembling, not she.