Where Rivers Part (14 page)

His face brightened. But surprisingly, he turned her down. “Nah, I'd best stay. Lucy's out tomorrow. A dentist appointment.”

Juliet looked at him thoughtfully. “You sure?”

He nodded and straightened some beakers on the counter.

“Okay. Good night then.” Juliet gave him a weak smile. “See you tomorrow.”

Before she drove home, she called the hospital to check on MD. “No change. He's holding his own,” the charge nurse reported.

Juliet let out a sigh of relief and thanked the nurse. She started the engine.
Let'
s hope God will keep it that way.

 20 

T
he following morning, a meeting was held at the Texas Center for Infectious Disease. Health officials from multiple agencies were in attendance, as well as members of the media and, unfortunately, a few lawyers. No doubt victims were already gearing up to seek compensation from whoever was determined to be responsible.

First, there would be a general informational session. Right after, each of the Water Circus vendors would have a private interview with the health authorities in charge. Records would be turned over, and a number of questions would be answered. Ultimately, product confiscated on-site would be tested, and one by one, vendors would be ruled out until only one remained.

The man leading the effort stepped to the podium. “Could I have everyone's attention?” He waited for the room to quiet. “Thank you. I'm Dr. Henry Breslin from the Centers for Disease Control in Atlanta. I am the team leader and am charged with coordinating this multidisciplinary effort to identify the source of the E. coli O157:H7 outbreak here in the San Antonio area. I am also working with individuals from the City of San Antonio Metropolitan Health, the Texas Department of Health Services, the Texas Center for Infectious Disease, the US Department of Agriculture Food
Safety Inspection Service, and officials from several local universities, hospitals, and public food safety organizations.”

Juliet glanced around the room filled with all the food science heavy hitters. Like physicians, these men and women hoped to never have occasion to use their training. Sadly, the situation in San Antonio warranted every bit of their attention.

“What I'd like to do is brief you all on the new developments since last evening when we announced we'd narrowed the focus to Water Circus. We are fully aware of the economic impact a close order has on an enterprise of this size, and we're committed to doing everything in our power to isolate the product source and get the park back open.”

He spent the next minutes delineating the process they'd gone through to assemble a list of vendors and revealed their plans in detail. He ended by telling everyone that they hoped to produce a definitive answer within forty-eight hours.

Hands shot up around the room.

“I'm sorry, any time I devote to answering questions takes away from more important tasks. I will keep everyone appropriately updated with any new developments. Thank you.”

Dr. Breslin stepped down.

Juliet felt a hand on her shoulder. She turned to see Dr. Keller Thatcher, director of the North American Food Safety Symposium.

“Dr. Thatcher, this is a surprise.” She stood and they shook hands.

“Good to see you, Dr. Ryan. We enjoyed having you on the panel in Chicago.”

Juliet nodded. “Thank you. It was a treat for me as well. As you know, food safety is a subject I care very much about.” She smiled at the small-framed man. Unfortunately, he'd joined the ranks of men wearing bad toupees. His had slipped, forcing Juliet to look away quickly before she chuckled.

A familiar figure stood across the room. Her father had his back
to them and was talking with a small group. He was taking notes in a little pad he held while they spoke.

Juliet's heart quickened. She refocused on Dr. Thatcher. “I'm sorry. What were you saying?”

“I'm hearing through sources that your name is on the vendor list.”

She reluctantly disclosed that Larimar Springs was indeed a product provider. “But as you know, Dr. Thatcher, water products have the lowest incidence of pathogen-related contamination. That, coupled with the fact our protocols are impeccable and are followed to a tee, and every audit has been clean in the past five years—well, I'm not terribly worried,” she assured him. In the back of her mind, she still didn't care for the fact someone was leaking names. When this was over, she'd place a call and make her concerns known.

Juliet risked another glance in her father's direction. He was heading their way.

A voice called out from behind. “Dr. Ryan? You're up next.”

Juliet let out a sigh of relief. Thank goodness.

She quickly bid Dr. Thatcher goodbye and turned and scurried down the hall, following the woman who had called her name into a room that eerily reminded Juliet of an interrogation room you'd see on some cop show on television.

A small table occupied the center of the windowless room, surrounded by five chairs. A whiteboard was mounted on one wall. Large printed posters with flu warnings and information about vaccinations covered the opposite wall.

The woman didn't introduce herself when she motioned Juliet to take a seat. “Dr. Breslin and his team will be right in.”

She closed the door, leaving Juliet wishing they'd at least left some water in the room to drink. She glanced at the clock on the wall. Hopefully, this wouldn't take long.

The door opened. “Hello, Dr. Ryan. Thank you for coming in.”

Juliet squared her shoulders and smiled as the white-coated
man, followed by two other similarly clad men, filled the room and made their way to the seats around the table. The inflection of his greeting almost sounded as if she'd been invited to a social event instead of a mandated interview. But then again, perhaps his light tone reflected the reputation she'd tried to build in the food science community—one of working to place food safety as the highest priority. Certainly, her protocols and testing proved that true.

No doubt the team was exhausted and glad this interview would be brief.

“Gentlemen, it's good to see all of you. On behalf of everyone at Larimar Springs, I'd like to express how grateful we are for your efforts to get to the bottom of this quickly.” She leaned over and unsnapped the closure on her large wheeled document case. “I think you'll find we have everything you requested and will find our testing in order.”

Dr. Breslin nodded. “We have one other—”

The door opened then, drawing everyone's attention. Juliet looked up from her open briefcase. Her posture immediately stiffened.

“Sorry I'm late.” Her father marched into the room and pulled out the single empty chair. He nodded in her direction and sat.

Dr. Breslin leaned over the table, his hands folded. “Let me make some introductions.” He prefaced the effort with a weak smile. “I believe you know Dr. Bennett Ryan.”

Juliet pasted on a stiff, close-lipped smile before responding. “Yes.”

Her father gave a more relaxed smile. “We're—uh, well acquainted. Juliet is my daughter.”

The others looked at each other nervously and nodded. Juliet felt esteem for her position at the table circle the drain. By showing up to this inquest, her father had just scrubbed her confidence and ability to shine.

Dr. Breslin finished the introductions, and over the next thirty
minutes the men around the table posed questions and Juliet responded, taking care to highlight the fact that no internal testing revealed a hint of contamination. Further, the lab protocols at Larimar Springs surpassed minimum standards and those employed by most companies.

Her father remained strangely quiet. He focused on scribbling notes and studying the contents of her binders. She hoped he was happy. He'd finally gotten his audit, so to speak.

Dr. Breslin leaned back in his chair. “Well, the information you've provided has been very thorough, Dr. Ryan. Again, we appreciate your time.”

Her father pulled his reading glasses from his face. “I have one more question.”

All eyes moved in his direction. A heavy feeling settled in Juliet's stomach as she masked her apprehension with a broad smile. “Yes?” Her single-word response was as glossy as the porcelain on a toilet bowl. She averted her eyes and reached for one of the binders on the table.

“First, we'll need copies of some of those test results,” he said in a thinly veiled attempt to put her on the spot.

“Of course.” Juliet smiled again and nodded. “The team is welcome to have anything they need.”

“Second, I didn't see any source water or transport documentation.”

Juliet's eyebrows lifted. “Well, I don't believe the scope of the document requests extended that far. But certainly, if you want them, we'll provide copies.”

Her father perched his glasses onto his graying hair. “Could we examine originals?”

Tension blanketed the tiny room. Juliet's jaw stiffened. “Of course.” She glared at him. “Like I've said, Larimar Springs fully supports this team's objectives and welcomes any level of examination.”

Dr. Breslin cleared his throat. He slid his chair from the table and stood. “We appreciate that, Dr. Ryan. People like you make our job much easier.”

Juliet stood. She extended her hand across the small table and shook his hand. “My pleasure.”

The meeting adjourned and Juliet gathered her things. With careful intention, she swiftly positioned herself directly behind Dr. Breslin and followed him out, never bothering to look back at her father. The slight may have raised some eyebrows, given their familial relationship, but her emotions took over. Frankly, he was lucky she didn't go toe-to-toe with him and take him down a notch or two.

She was crossing the parking lot to her car when she heard his voice calling out. “Juliet, wait.”

She turned as he hurried toward her. “What do you want?” she nearly hissed.

“JuJu, wait a minute. I need to talk to you.”

“What? Wrecking my life wasn't enough? Now you're bent on toppling my career?” She turned and opened her car door. “It's all I have.” The minute the words left her mouth, she regretted saying them. The admission made her sound weak and vulnerable.

He touched her shoulder. “Please listen. I—I'm on your side here.”

She jerked away, hating that tears formed. She blinked quickly so he couldn't see her anemic attempt to appear strong. “Look, Dad. Take your pom-poms and go home. Shake them for some other team.”

Juliet slid into the seat and shut the door. Holding her ragged breath, she started the engine and pulled away, leaving him standing.

 21 

J
uliet headed directly back to the office and reported the meeting with the health officials had gone well. As expected, no specific issues had been raised. She skipped telling them her father had shown up and showboated at her expense. She also advised no new information had been released, and warned not to expect any developments for forty-eight hours—when the test results on the vendors' products would be concluded.

“Cyril Montavan arrives from Italy later this afternoon,” Alexa said. “I'd like you available to answer questions he might have about the investigation and alleviate any concerns that pop up. It's critical we maintain his full support—especially now.”

Juliet agreed. “Certainly. I'll lend whatever help I can.”

Since the company was now in a waiting game, and the focus of the efforts at Larimar Springs would be on accounting measures and profit recalculations, Juliet excused herself from the conference room and returned to her office so she could check back on Tavina's son.

Greer followed her into the hallway. “Hey, can you slip away for lunch?”

With everything happening, Juliet's mind had ventured far past the situation with Greer and the earrings in his bathroom. She did need to close things down with him so Mr. GQ didn't feel entitled
to reenact the inappropriate scene in her office from a few days ago. The temp already suspected something was up between them, and the last thing Juliet needed in the middle of following an E. coli–related outbreak was to have to repair her credibility if he chose to pull that baloney again and they were caught.

Lunch away from the office might provide the best and fastest opportunity for a clean break and to clarify their relationship going forward as strictly professional. “Yeah, sure,” she said, looking at her watch. It was eleven thirty now. “Where? I'll meet you after I check on Tavina's situation.”

Greer rubbed the space above his left eyebrow. “Yeah, tell her we're all pulling for her little boy.” He lowered his voice. “Want to meet at my place? I've been a little stressed and . . .”

Juliet cringed inside. What? She was now his antianxiety medication? A few minutes in the bedroom and he'd return to the office feeling less tense?

“No. That's not a good idea. I'll meet you at the Buckhorn.” Juliet wanted to meet at an out-of-the-way place. The popular eating establishment and museum was a short drive, and they weren't likely to run into anyone they knew.

“At twelve thirty,” she added before quickly moving on.

As Juliet neared Tavina's desk, the temp handed her a stack of mail. “I took the liberty of calling the hospital for an update. HIPAA privacy rules limit what they would disclose, but they did confirm your assistant's little boy is no worse this morning.”

“Thanks, Angela.” Juliet scowled. “Where's the framed photo of Tavina and MD? She keeps it right here on the corner of her desk.”

The temp nodded. “Yes, I know. That little boy smiling in my direction all day creeped me out a bit, given the awful situation. So I slipped the photo inside her desk drawer for now.”

The action irked Juliet. As every day passed, the overbearing girl, with her eighties hair and bad complexion, inched in and assumed more ground. Selfishly, she wanted her trusted assistant back.

She looked away from Angela's smile, which seemed far too close to a sneer, and buried her attention in the pile of mail.

The
sooner, the better.

No more had Juliet stepped up to the bar and ordered a club soda and lime than she felt a hand at her back.

“Juliet, you're right on time, as usual.” Greer's familiar cologne scented the air. “I have a table waiting.” He instructed the bartender to put the charge for her drink on his lunch tab. “Ready?” he asked.

Juliet nodded and followed him to a table at the back of the café. Around them, the walls were filled with mounted taxidermy. On the wall across from her, a hairy-faced wild boar with fierce tusks protruding from either side of his mouth stared with glassy eyes.

She quickly diverted her eyes back to the table and the situation at hand.

Before this lunch was over, she planned to take charge and poke through the pretense of this relationship, finally letting the unhealthy liaison with her ambitious co-worker die.

Greer ordered a brisket sandwich. He brought the napkin to his lap. “With extra jalapeños.” He waited until Juliet ordered her chicken Caesar salad before he made his move.

He reached across the table and caressed her fingers. “I've missed you.” Before she could gracefully pull back, he boldly rubbed the side of his foot against her thigh under the table like some common redneck, despite the fact that no tablecloth hid his action.

“Not here,” she scolded, pulling her hand back. Suddenly, nerves hit and she lifted her club soda to her lips to wet her throat.

Across the table, Greer's eyes narrowed. Sales prospects rarely turned down Greer Latham's proposals. That same intensity carried over into his personal life. “Juliet, if I didn't know better, I'd read your actions as being a bit hostile. In fact, you've been acting strangely for days.”

Juliet tried to recover. This was going too fast. She needed time to explain and make this transition as painless as possible. Nothing good would come of escalating the dismantling of their romantic attachment to a contentious level. She certainly didn't want to be goaded into revealing what she'd discovered the other evening. She and Greer Latham still had to work together.

Juliet scrunched her face into puzzled amusement. “I think the stress of everything at the company is getting to you, Greer.” She managed not to look him in the eyes while she took her passive-aggressive approach.

She felt him studying her as the waiter stepped to the table carrying their order. “That was quick,” she said brightly as he placed their food on the table. She picked up her fork and thanked the young guy dressed in a green polo with the Buckhorn logo on the pocket. As he walked away, Juliet stabbed a forkful of romaine covered in creamy dressing and Parmesan. “I'm starving.”

Greer went into a silent pout. He ate his sandwich while Juliet chattered on about the timing of health authorities' efforts to stop the progression of the outbreak, how anxious she was for Larimar Springs to be cleared, and tried to encourage him with the notion the company would be on the path to recovery once Water Circus reopened. “I have to say, I'm impressed with the way the park has managed their public relations effort through all of this.”

She put her fork down, noticing Greer's silence. She also knew the clock on the wall was a reminder that she needed to focus on why they were here. She looked across the table. “What's the matter?”

“You don't get it, do you?”

Juliet drew her chin back. “Get what?”

“We're likely to lose our jobs before this is all over. If Montavan pulls out, this company is dead in the water. We'll never recover from the reversal of profits.”

She waved off his comment. “I think you're exaggerating a bit.”

He let his fork fall to the table. “Do you? Well, clue in. I know
you're a scientist and numbers aren't your game, but trust me—things are likely to get ugly.” He leaned forward. “Look, between you and me? Before she partnered with Montavan International, Alexa had the company assets leveraged to the hilt. I had a hard time convincing her to hire someone of your caliber, instead of that milquetoast supervisor who was in line to get the quality assurance position when the former director got pregnant and wanted to go home to play mommy.” He sat back and picked up his sandwich again. He took a big bite and chewed, watching for her reaction.

His remarks hit their target. Juliet tried to swallow the salad that seemed to double in size inside her mouth. Greer had needed to talk Alexa into hiring her? And Malcolm Stanford had wanted her job. No wonder the friction.

Juliet forced herself to recover and reminded herself again what needed to be done.

“Look, Greer. I'm grateful for your recommendation and anything you did to advocate for my hire. I love heading up the quality control function at Larimar Springs—even now in the middle of this outbreak. I'm hoping the company weathers this storm and we end up better than ever.” She looked him in the eye, feeling a bit empowered knowing what lay just ahead. “You've done a marvelous job marketing our products, and if we all band together, we'll see this through. No doubt the company may struggle, but Alexa is no dummy. And she's assembled bright people to help her lead and grow the company. She'll not be quick to let her own investment tumble. You'll see.” Juliet risked reaching over and patting his arm.

“But I guess I haven't been totally honest,” she continued. “I think what you've been noticing is the fact that we've been growing apart, especially now that our responsibilities and commitments at work are racing forward at breakneck speed.”

Greer dropped his sandwich to his plate. “You've got to be kidding me! You're breaking it off? Now?”

An image of those gold earrings on his bathroom counter formed
in Juliet's mind. She'd accepted his professional dishonesty on occasion. But duplicity in the intimacy department was nothing she would ever accept from him. She bit the inside of her cheek and forced herself not to break his gaze.

“Yes,” she confirmed. “I think that's better for both of us at this juncture. Besides, we both knew we weren't in this for the long haul.”

His chiseled jaw set, and she could see the vein in his neck pulse. He wiped his hands clean, then pulled on his cuffs. “Speak for yourself,” he said as he pushed the chair back and stood. He waved over the waiter.

Greer nodded in her direction. “Give the check to her.” He slammed the chair back to the table. “My lady friend with the brass nerves is buying.”

He threw the napkin to the table, turned, and walked away.

Juliet apologized to the wide-eyed waiter for Greer's outburst and handed him her credit card. She sat stunned at Greer's reaction as the waiter took the card from her and went to ring up the check.

While waiting for the waiter to return, Juliet picked at her salad. Unfortunately, she'd lost her appetite. She placed the fork down and looked up at the wall. The wild boar stared straight ahead.

She sighed. “Well, that went really well. Don't you think?”