“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.
“Are you all right?” she asked.
“To be truthful, no,” Kim admitted. “Obviously I’ve been in and out of hospitals since medical school, and it’s never bothered me even at the beginning. But now with Becky’s situation, I get this awful anxiety every time I come through the door. I guess it’s the main reason I’ve not been staying here around the clock. It would be different if there were something I could do. But there isn’t.”
“It must be heart-wrenching,” Marsha said.
“You’ve no idea,” Kim said.
They boarded a crowded elevator and didn’t talk until they were in the corridor leading toward the ICU.
“I don’t mean to be nosy,” Marsha said, “but how is your wife holding up under the strain of your daughter’s illness?”
“We’re divorced,” Kim said. “But we’re united in our concern for Becky. Tracy, my ex-wife, is taking it hard, although I sense she’s doing better than I. I’m sure she’s here. I’ll introduce you.”
Marsha shuddered. Having to share a mother’s anguish was going to make the experience that much more disturbing. She began to question why she’d allowed herself to be dragged into this.
Then, to make matters worse, Marsha saw signs to the ICU that pointed in the direction they were walking.
“Is your daughter in intensive care?” she asked, hoping for a negative response.