The Trial (20 page)

69

The next day Ryan Sinclair got on the Internet and learned the name of the case and of the plaintiff lawyer. Armed with that information, he called the district clerk in San Marcos and was given Luke Vaughan’s phone number. That night he dialed it.

The first time Luke’s office number rang, at eight o’clock in the evening, he ignored it. Also the second time. When it rang again, he picked up the phone. “Vaughan here. Office is closed. Please call back during business hours.”

“Wait, Mr. Vaughan. Don’t hang up. This is Dr. Ryan Sinclair. You don’t know me, but I work for the FDA and was involved in the Exxacia new drug application.”

Luke settled into his office chair. “Sorry, Dr. Sinclair. Why are you calling me?”

“Please call me Ryan. I’m calling about the deposition you took of Roger Boatwright yesterday.”

“Yes,” Luke responded, reluctant to say more until he saw where this conversation was going.

“Luke, you need to know there’s more than one version of the Exxacia clinical trial. I don’t know what Boatwright gave you. When you have a chance to review it, please contact me at my home or on my cell. There’s something strange going on at CDER about this drug. I don’t know if there’s a cover-up or not. If there is a cover-up, I don’t know whether it’s coming from Ceventa or if someone in my office is somehow involved, or both.”

Luke processed what he heard and asked, “How do I know that I can trust you?”

Ryan paused, then responded, “Go to the Rockville newspaper and search for my name. You’ll find a small story. Someone bombed my car while it was in my driveway. Trust me. I’m on your side.”

Ryan had just placed the phone in its cradle when he heard the sound of breaking glass.
Jeez,
he thought,
another rock and a note.
He walked from the den into the living room to pick up the rock—and even though he had never seen a bomb other than in the movies, he knew he was in trouble. He turned and ran back to the den, diving through a window just as the bomb exploded. The concussion knocked him twenty feet. He was just returning to consciousness when the fire department arrived. As he staggered to his feet, an EMT grabbed him under the arms and pulled him away from the house.

“Anybody else in there?”

Ryan shook his head. “No, just me. My wife’s safe.”

The EMT examined Ryan and sat him against an oak tree, where he watched as the firefighters battled the blaze. The EMT tried repeatedly to get him to go to the hospital to be checked out. Ryan refused, saying he was a doctor and was doing just fine. Within a half hour the fire captain in charge hollered, “Forget the primary house. Protect the adjoining properties. This one’s gone.”

Ryan buried his face in his hands, thankful that Sara was safe. Then he thought,
Is she safe?
He borrowed a cell phone from one of the neighbors who had congregated on the street and called her. Relieved to hear her voice, he told her what had happened. Sara wanted to join him, and he insisted that she stay where she was. He would catch a ride over to his parents’ house.

After a neighbor dropped him at the house his mother and father had occupied for twenty-five years, he made his way up the sidewalk. Before he could reach for the doorknob, the door opened and Sara pulled him into a hug. His dad stood beside her.

“Ryan, come into the living room. Let me look you over,” Maxwell insisted.

“Dad, I’m fine. A little shaken up, but no broken bones and only a slight concussion.”

While Ryan explained what had happened, his mother brought a tray with four steaming cups of coffee.

“Mother,” his father said, “get that bottle of brandy and put a shot in Ryan’s. One for me, too, for that matter. Ceventa behind this, Ryan?”

“Dad, I have no idea. First my car and now my house. I was talking to that lawyer that’s suing Ceventa in Texas. Maybe my phone was tapped. No, that couldn’t be it. The bomb came through the window within a minute after I ended that call. Wait, wait just a minute. I told Boatwright yesterday that I had a copy of the Exxacia trial at home. Boatwright must have told someone at Ceventa. I don’t know, Dad. I’m exhausted. Let’s go to bed, and I’ll try to sort this out tomorrow.”

“Not just yet, Ryan,” Sara interrupted. “Look at me. I’m five months pregnant. Now I’m really worried that our son may never know his father. You need to quit the FDA tomorrow! Please!”

Ryan nodded his understanding. “Sara, believe me, I’m worried. That’s why you’ve been staying over here. I can’t forget what I know, only now the evidence to back up my word is destroyed. Whether I’m working for the FDA is immaterial at this point, but I’m not ready to leave the FDA to Boatwright.” Then he paused as he thought through the idea that just hit him. “Dad, give me Kingsbury’s home number.”

While his family watched, Ryan punched in the digits.

“Maxwell, to what do I owe the honor of this call? You up for golf on Saturday?”

“Kingsbury, this is Ryan Sinclair. My house was just burned to the ground and, you lowlife bastard, I know you did it.”

“Ryan, I’m so sorry. Are you and Sara all right?” Kingsbury replied in a calm and modulated voice.

“Cut the crap, Kingsbury. I’d like to see you behind bars. Instead, you’ve got what you want. I’m now officially out of the loop on Exxacia. You and I both know that your drug is killing people, but I’m not going to risk the lives of my family to prove it. I’ll stay out of the way on Exxacia, and you leave my family alone. Deal?”

“Ryan, I don’t know what you’re talking about, but you can rest assured that I’ll do nothing to harm you or your family. Good night, Ryan.” As Kingsbury hung up, a smile was on his face.

70

Once again the courtroom was filled with lawyers, and this time there were several reporters from Austin and San Antonio newspapers and radio and television stations. Human interest attracted the media like flies to honey. Now everyone wanted to know about the dying girl fighting a pharmaceutical giant. Everyone rose as Judge Nimitz took the bench. He looked over the crowd in his courtroom and realized that the media was in attendance. “Before I call the rest of my docket, Mr. Vaughan and Ms. Metcalf, your case will be last. Judging from the other matters before you, it’ll probably be about ten thirty before I’ll hear your motion, Mr. Vaughan. You can be excused until then.”

Luke and Audrey Metcalf rose and turned toward the door, but Judge Nimitz stopped them. “Ms. Metcalf, I notice you’re always wearing a pink ribbon in your lapel. Is there something special about it?”

“Yes, Judge, there is.” Audrey smiled, pleased to have something to discuss with the judge other than discovery motions. “I’m a breast cancer survivor and on the board of directors of the Susan G. Komen breast cancer foundation. That ribbon is my reminder that we haven’t cured breast cancer yet. If I may, Mr. Vaughan, I’d like to give the judge and you a small bag of pink jelly beans, another reminder.” Metcalf reached into her purse and handed one to Vaughan, then walked to the bench to hand one to the judge.

Judge Nimitz nodded his appreciation. “I’m sure that Luke won’t report you for bribing a judge with jelly beans, and I admire your efforts. My wife is also a breast cancer survivor. I’ll give these to her. Now you’re excused.”

At once the reporters rose and went into the hallway. They clamored for interviews with Luke as he and Sue Ellen walked by. Luke wasn’t accustomed to trying his cases in the media and shook his head at each reporter. Once she and Luke were in her office, Sue Ellen shut the door behind them.

“That was some stunt that Metcalf pulled with those jelly beans,” Luke fumed as he tossed his into the trash.

“Drop it, Luke,” Sue Ellen cautioned. “Along with Judge Nimitz, every woman in the courtroom admires her efforts, and I know Chuck’s wife. She had a tough time. I want to talk about something else. Ceventa is blasting us with commercials about the wonders of Exxacia. We need to put a face on this case that our potential jurors will remember when they’re called in a few weeks. The judge hasn’t entered a gag order. Let’s go out on the courthouse steps and answer some questions.”

Luke stared at Sue Ellen while he thought about her proposal. “I’ve never tried my cases to anyone but the judge and jury before.” Then he smiled. “I guess there’s always a first time. Let’s go.”

They stepped out the door to find the reporters still roaming the hall. Once the reporters saw Luke, they followed him out into the sunlight, where he stood on the steps with the courthouse behind him. The reporters stuck microphones and recorders into his face. Cameramen quickly adjusted their equipment. Sue Ellen stood off to the side.

“Ladies and gentlemen, I’ve decided to make a brief statement, and then I’ll answer questions. Let me start by telling you there will be no interviews with Samantha. She’s too sick. I took on this lawsuit for her, but there’s also a higher purpose. I’m convinced that my daughter is dying because she took a drug manufactured and marketed by Ceventa. I expect to prove that and use this lawsuit to force Ceventa to take Exxacia off the market so this won’t happen again. Today, we are here because Ceventa refused to honor Judge Nimitz’s order to give us all of the documents related to the study that led to the FDA approving the drug. Once we get the rest of the study, we’ll be ready to go to trial in a few weeks.”

“Mr. Vaughan, Mr. Vaughan,” a young woman asked, “can you tell us more about how Samantha is doing?”

Luke looked into the cameras. “She has good days and bad days, but no days like you and I have. On her good days she can get on her computer for a few hours or watch television. Sometimes I wheel her out on the porch, where she and Cocoa watch the birds and squirrels.”

“Cocoa?”

“Oh, that’s our dog. Cocoa stays with her constantly.”

An older male reporter pushed his way to the front. “Will she testify at trial?”

“I really don’t know. The way her health is deteriorating, I doubt it.”

A reporter with a KLBJ logo on his shirt, obviously from the Austin radio station originally owned by former president Lyndon Johnson, raised his hand. “How can you be so sure that Samantha’s liver damage was caused by Exxacia? Ceventa’s answer to the lawsuit says it wasn’t.”

A frown crossed Luke’s face. “That’s the company line. I can tell you that I will produce evidence that will convince not only twelve jurors we’re right, but even you cynical media types. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I’ve got to get back to the courtroom.”

Luke turned to walk back into the courthouse. Sue Ellen whispered that he had done just what they needed. When they got into Judge Nimitz’s courtroom, there were two other lawyers arguing at the bench. Audrey Metcalf, along with three associates and two paralegals, was at one counsel table. Luke and Sue Ellen took seats at the other. The reporters noisily followed behind them, talking among themselves as they found seats.

“Let’s have order in this court,” Simon Rothschild, the bailiff, commanded as he stared at the reporters until they all were quiet.

The other lawyers finished their hearing, and Judge Nimitz looked first at Luke and then at Audrey Metcalf. “You guys ready? If so, come on up. Ms. Metcalf, I only want you up here at the bench. The rest of your posse can keep their seats.”

Judge Nimitz smiled at Luke, and his face turned somber as he looked at Audrey Metcalf. “Ms. Metcalf, I’ve read Mr. Vaughan’s motion. He’s attached an affidavit from Professor Wilson Moore over at the university. I know Professor Whizmo and have no doubt that if he swears to something, it’s true. Are there some records that your client has been holding back?”

Metcalf spoke in a loud voice to emphasize her conviction. “Absolutely not, Judge Nimitz. We turned over all we could find. We even put them on discs to accommodate Mr. Vaughan.”

As was his custom when he wanted to intimidate a lawyer or witness, Judge Nimitz leaned over his bench, getting his face as close to Metcalf’s as possible. “Then, pray tell, what happened to the data from all these missing sites?”

“Judge, I can explain,” Metcalf responded as a little nervousness appeared in her usually calm voice. “We’re talking about tens of thousands of documents. After the motion was filed, we went back and did another search. There were some sites missing, and we’re prepared to provide the information on them. In fact, I have another disc with me that I am handing to Mr. Vaughan. I apologize for creating the problem.”

“Ms. Metcalf,” Judge Nimitz said as his voice rose an octave, “do you understand that we’re going to trial in four weeks and you are just now turning over critical information? I’ve read Dr. Boatwright’s deposition, and he swears that Ceventa was required to preserve the entire study. Mr. Vaughan has also asked me to sanction your client for violating my orders. Here’s what I’m going to do. I’m going to carry that motion along with the case. Tell your client that if I learn of any more conduct like this, I’ll evaluate all of it at the conclusion of the case. That’s all.”

“Judge,” Audrey Metcalf said, “there’s one more thing.”

“Ms. Metcalf, I don’t have anything else on my docket on your case this morning.”

“Judge, it just came up this morning. May I be heard?”

“Okay, make it brief. I have a tee time in an hour.”

Metcalf turned to Luke. “Judge, this lawyer is attempting to try his case in the media. Just this morning he had a press conference out on the courthouse steps. I move that the court enter an order forbidding any lawyer or party from talking about this case to any member of the media.”

“That true, Luke?”

“Yes, sir. It certainly is. I figured it’s a free country and the media needs to know what’s going on.”

Judge Nimitz looked from lawyer to lawyer and then out to the reporters in the audience. “Motion denied.”

A commotion broke out among the reporters, and the bailiff rose to bring order.

“That’s okay, Simon. I can handle this. Ms. Metcalf, I’ve never looked up the net worth of your client on the Internet, but, like everyone else around here, I can’t turn on my television without seeing a commercial for Exxacia. I think Mr. Vaughan is entitled to level the playing field. So, unless your client is willing to drop all of its ads, here and nationally, about Exxacia until our trial is over, Mr. Vaughan can talk to the media anytime, anyplace.” Judge Nimitz then turned his attention to the audience. “As to you folks, you’ve heard my order. You’re welcome in my courtroom, but my rules apply to you, too. If you disrupt my proceedings, you can forget about freedom of the press. You’ll be out on the street. Is that understood?”

The reporters nodded in unison as the KLBJ reporter got to his feet. “Judge Nimitz, on behalf of my colleagues, we sincerely apologize. It won’t happen again.”

Judge Nimitz nodded his understanding as he spoke. “Don’t any of you guys report that I’m sneaking out for a round of golf, either. Too nice a day to spend indoors. In fact, if any of you have your clubs with you, I’ll get you on my course as my guest.”