Silent Epidemic (Book 1 - Carol Freeman Series)

by Jill Province

  Damn.  Terry Sanders was not just a suicidal person with a grudge towards Dominex.  He wasn’t ready to let the story go.  He hadn’t heard from Carol Freeman and was unable to proceed any further without her input.  Jason dialed Brian’s number and waited. 

  “Hello," a woman answered. 

  “Brian, please."  

  “This is his wife. Can I help you?"  

  Jason filled her in on the reason for his call. 

  “So, I really need to get in touch with him," Jason concluded. 

  “Hold on," she said flatly.

  Jason waited for several minutes before Brian came to the phone.  “I just got the third degree," the reporter said. 

  “Yeah, and I got the fourth and fifth degree before I could pick up the phone."  

  “I don’t think I want to know," Jason speculated. 

  “I can assure you that you don’t." 

  “Listen," Jason began, “I haven’t heard back from Carol yet, and we really need that contact information." 

  “That’s strange," Brian said.  “She’s usually very reliable." 

  “Maybe she called and it got lost in the shuffle around here," Jason explained. 

  “I’m sure she wouldn’t mind if you contacted her," Brian said.  “I’ll give you her number at work, and if you miss her there, I also have the one at home.  Her husband won’t throw up a road block," Brian added.

  Jason took down the information.  “Thanks," the reporter said.  “I’ll let you know what I find out."  

  Brian hung up the phone and went back in the bedroom to finish arguing with Pam.    

   

  Jason checked his watch.  He didn’t know what hours an addiction counselor kept, so he dialed the office number first.  A recorded voice told him that the Mental Health Center was opened Monday through Friday, from 8:30 AM to 5:00 PM.  It also instructed him to call an 800 number if he had an emergency.  He didn’t think his assessment of an emergency would be the same as the afterhours staff’s at a mental health center. 

  He pulled out his notebook again and dialed the home number Brian had given him.  “Hello," a female answered. 

  “Carol?" He inquired. 

  “Yes?" 

  “This is Jason Sample.  We met you last weekend with Brian." 

  “Yes," Carol confirmed.  “Were you able to get anywhere with the information I gave you?" 

  “Well, to be honest, I never got the information." 

  “That’s odd," Carol said.  “I called yesterday morning.  The person said you were out and took down the names of the contact people at Dominex.  They said they’d be sure to give you the message. 

  “Someone said that I was out yesterday morning?  What time did you call?" 

  “I guess it was around nine-thirty in the morning."

  “Interesting," Jason said.  “I guess they forgot." 

  “No problem," Carol said.  “The one I spoke to directly about Dr. Donovan was Jerry Owens.  I also mentioned that Sheila Montgomery might be another contact person, even though I only spoke to her in the beginning when I got signed up.  If you can hold on for a second, I’ll look for the numbers.” 

  A few minutes later, Carol returned to the phone and provided the reporter with two numbers for Jerry Owens and a work number for Sheila Montgomery.  The reporter thanked her and hung up the phone.  This is very interesting, he thought, getting up to find Sandra.  He finally found her leaning up against the counter in the break room, with a steaming cup in her hand.  

  “I’m hoping this blood transfusion will revive me," she said, when Jason waved his hands in front of her face. 

  “Another long one last night," he agreed. 

  “I don’t know how you do it.  You were there, too, and you look fine." 

  “You get used to it," he said.  “Listen, did you get any phone messages from Carol Freeman yesterday?"  

  Sandra sipped on her coffee, hoping the caffeine would hit on the brain cells that stimulated memory. 

  “Not that I can recall," she said finally.  “Why?" 

  “Because I just got off the phone with her, and she said she left a message for me yesterday," Jason explained. 

  “Well, people forget to forward messages all the time," Sandra said between yawns. 

  “She was told I was out of the office yesterday morning at nine-thirty," he continued. 

  “So?”   

  “I was right here yesterday morning." 

  “That is strange," she agreed.

  “Considering the kind of story we’re working on, I find it very interesting." 

  “Well, the individual in question can only be one person," Sandra said, coming back to life.  “We just got a new hire in the newsroom, and that individual was instantly enthralled with the Dominex story…” Both of them came to same conclusion at the same time.  “You think this person might be interested in more than learning the ropes?" Sandra asked.  

  Jason just rolled his eyes at her. 

  “Let’s just say that they are about to get the lesson of their lives," he concluded.  “We need to set up shop somewhere else.  We can’t work from my house.  It’s too far outside the city, and I have a two year old that is active enough to be twins." 

  “My place is only a few miles from here," Sandra offered, “and it’s empty." 

  “Okay that’s perfect," he concluded.  “We can camp out there in the morning.  Right now we need to try to locate Jerry Owens or Sheila Montgomery.  I’ll use my cell phone so there won’t be any AJC phone records."

  Jason tried both of the numbers he had for Jerry.  There was no answer and he did not leave any messages.  He tried the only number he had for Sheila and was not surprised when there was no answer there either.  He doubted that anyone was still at Dominex this late at night.  “Let’s see if she’s listed in the phone book," Jason ventured.  He found only two Sheila Montgomery’s.  One was a College Park listing and the other was in Midtown.  Jason dialed the Midtown number first. When a woman answered the phone, the reporter identified himself and confirmed her place of employment.  Sheila told him that she had no knowledge of any problems with the research study and that everything appeared to be in the last stages and ready for FDA approval.

  Jason listened to the politically correct statement, but could not help but notice a slight edge to her voice.  When Sheila finished her short monologue, Jason thanked her for her time and told her that if she thought of anything else she could reach him on his cell phone and gave her the number.  He pushed the button to end the call and sat down staring at the cell phone.

  “What are you doing?" Sandra laughed. 

  “Waiting for her to call me back from a different phone."

   

  Sheila wrote down a number and hung up.  Turning to Jerry she said, “We need to get to a pay phone."  

  They headed down to the street and Sheila filled Jerry in on the conversation she had just had with the reporter from the AJC. 

  “Are you sure you want to share information with a newspaper?" Jerry asked.  “I thought we were supposed to be incognito." 

  “Not really," she said.  Jerry just looked at her waiting for an explanation.  “I’m more interested in finding out what they know.  And if they turn out to be trustworthy, I might feed them a few crumbs.  A little extra media play wouldn’t hurt our cause."  

  They found a pay phone two blocks away and Sheila pulled out the paper with Jason’s number.  The call was answered immediately.

  “Why do I get the feeling you were expecting my call?" Sheila began. 

  “I’m a reporter," Jason explained.  “I get paid to know these things. Can I meet with you?" he continued.  “I have a lot of questions and I have a feeling you have a lot of answers." 

  “I guess so," Sheila answered tentatively.  “Where do you want to meet?"  

&nbs
p; “It’s hard to say whose activities are being monitored at this exact moment, but I think it would be best if I came to you," the reporter said. 

  “Why?” Sheila asked suspiciously

  “I have a hunch about something, and if I’m right, you and I are both being watched.  And don’t start looking around," Jason added. 

  “How did you know…?" Sheila began. “Oh, that’s right," she concluded, “the reporter thing." 

  “Give me your address," Jason said.  “I think I can dodge our spy better than you can.”  Sheila gave him the address. 

  “I’ll see you in about fifteen minutes.  Oh, I almost forgot," he added.  “Would you have any idea where I might find Jerry Owens?" 

  “You’re the reporter," Sheila laughed.  “Just follow your nose." 

  “Two for price of one," Jason stated.  “Good deal."

   

  “Let’s temporarily part company," Jerry suggested.  “If someone is watching our every move, they won’t be able to follow both of us." 

  “Good thinking," Sheila said.  “I’ll meet you back at my apartment in fifteen minutes.”  She kissed him goodnight and went back to her place, via the Publix for a few groceries.  Her apartment was stocked with very little in the way of food.  She ate one meal a day and that had usually been at some fast food place on her way home from work.  Now she had a guest.  She felt strange, yet peaceful with the arrangement. 

  Jerry went on a ten-block marathon.  It was the first real exercise he had had in days and it felt good to work up a sweat.  If anyone had been following him, they would have had to be in pretty good shape to keep up.  Jerry had been in training for this little cat and mouse game whether he realized it at the time or not.  After clocking about two miles in less than twenty minutes, he ended up at the service entrance of Sheila’s complex.  Security was nowhere to be found and he casually made his way back up to Sheila’s apartment.  When she opened the door he said, “The security in this building is going downhill fast.  I just came up through the service entrance without any problem, and that furniture delivery thing today was a fiasco." 

  “You’re sweaty," Sheila said, wrinkling up her nose.  

  “I ran," he confirmed, still slightly out of breath. 

  “Well, go run into the shower." 

      

  A young reporter had watched Sheila go into her complex carrying groceries.  Looks like an uneventful night, he thought and began to yawn.  This had been a very long day.  It was safe to assume it was bedtime for everyone.  The individual got into their car and drove away.

   

  Jason and Sandra left the AJC building and drove towards the direction of the address Sheila had given them.  After checking his rearview mirror for the tenth time, he was satisfied that no one was following him.  “You know," he said glancing at Sandra, “I have worked as a reporter for fifteen years and I have never been this paranoid." 

  “You’ve probably never been tangled up with a pharmaceutical company before."  

  “You’re right about that," he said. “These people are ruthless." 

  “Do you have any idea how much money is on the line for a huge empire like Dominex?" Sandra questioned. 

  “I assume it’s the same as with any large corporation."

  “I was doing a little research of my own today," Sandra began.  “These people stand to make billions every year once the drug goes on the market.  And another interesting thing I discovered.   They have been in a little bit of financial trouble." 

  “No shit," Jason interjected. 

  “Yeah, and if they don’t get this drug on the market soon, they could even go under." 

  “Well, that certainly puts things into a different perspective," he said.  “Feast or famine.  No wonder they’re hot on my trail.” 

  “I would suggest a bullet proof vest," Sandra added.  

  Jason hoped it would not come to that.

   

  The two reporters sat in Jason’s parked car for several minutes, watching for any street activity.  There didn’t seem to be anything out of the ordinary.  People were returning home or leaving to go somewhere.  It was the midtown of a major city.  There was a lot of movement, but nothing that appeared to be focused at them.  Jason nodded to Sandra and they headed for the apartment complex.

  Sheila was still in the process of putting order back to her domain when she heard the knock at the door.  Jason identified himself and introduced Sandra.  “She is working on the story with me," he explained.  

  Sheila shook both their hands, and said, “This is Jerry Owens."  

  After all the mutual greetings, everyone moved inside the apartment. 

  “What happened here?" Jason asked, acknowledging the overturned mess. 

  “Oh, this," Sheila said.  “Dominex has been doing a little investigation of their own." 

  “Not too concerned about you knowing about it, are they?"  

  “That’s arrogance," Sandra added. 

  “They did the same thing to both our offices," Jerry interjected.  

  Jason took in the whole scene and shook his head. 

  “For a closed investigation, there is still a lot of interesting activity going on."  

  Sheila moved over to the living room area and placed chair cushions back on chairs. 

  “We can all sit over here," she offered.

  Sheila and Jerry sized up the two reporters quickly and decided to let them in on Dominex’s dark side.  They spent the next hour filling Jason and Sandra in on the antics of the entire research study.  

  “That explains why the good Doctor went to his office in the middle of the night to retrieve all the files," Sandra interjected. 

  Sheila and Jerry exchanged glances.  The process of merging information was turning into an interesting proposition, to say the least. 

  “What do you know about Terry Sanders?" Jason asked. 

  “We don’t remember too many details about each volunteer," Jerry began.  “We have detailed documentation, but as soon as we heard about the shooting, we sent it off to a safe place.  That’s probably what Dominex was looking for.

  “No doubt," Sandra agreed.    

  “When this whole thing started, there were five hundred of them.  Jerry stayed in contact with them while I was being diverted on an assignment a thousand miles away," Sheila explained.  “I had started asking too many questions about the follow up phase of the study." 

  “Tell us about that," Jason directed. 

  “I was responsible for recruiting all the volunteers for the study," Sheila explained, “so I was involved in all the planning as well." 

  “And why was that necessary?" Sandra interjected. 

  “In a situation like this, people are tentative about what will be happening to them.  I needed to be able to walk them through the process before they agreed to participate." 

  “Makes sense," Sandra agreed. 

  “Well, just before the study began, I was informed of some interesting additions to the process," Sheila continued. “The follow up process was supposed to be done at a satellite location by an independent lab, but at the last minute they set up their own lab for Phase Two inside our facility.  The more I questioned the last minute change, the more evasive they got."  

  “Interesting," Jason said. 

  “I thought so," Sheila agreed, “so I started doing some serious snooping."

  “What did you come up with?" Sandra asked. 

  “There were memos dated back to the beginning of the planning stages outlining this on site lab." 

  “It’s odd that you were never informed of this," Jason said. 

  “I was sure that they had set things up this way to control the results," Sheila concluded.  “And when they shipped me out of the area I was sure something was up." 

  “So I picked up where Sheila left off," Jerry inter
jected.  “I stayed in communication with all the volunteers and kept tabs on their progress." 

  “Or lack of it," Sheila added.

  “We knew that a lot of the volunteers were getting very sick from going off the medication," Jerry explained, “but Carol Freeman was the one that tipped us off about the extreme methods they had resorted to." 

  “That’s where this Doctor Donovan comes into play?" Sandra speculated.

  “Right," Jerry agreed.  “They sent all the really sick patients to Donovan, who basically put them back on the drug without their knowledge or permission.  So, the ones that had decided to come to grips with their addiction and ride out the withdrawal process were not only robbed of the time they had already suffered, but were forced to repeat it all over again." 

  “Sounds to me like Terry Sanders had a very legitimate reason to be irate," Jason concluded. 

  “Terry, and about two hundred other people," Sheila continued.  “Some went happily back on their medication, but others were furious about what the drug had done to them.  They blamed their doctors for continually writing prescriptions without any concern for how addictive the medication was.” 

  “Carol Freeman was a good example," Jerry continued.  “I remember her because she was one of the few who refused to see Doctor Donovan." 

  “Did she tell you why?" Sandra asked. 

  “Explicitly," Jerry laughed.  “She told me that it was a doctor that had done this to her in the first place and the last person she ever intended to let near her again was another doctor." 

  “A lot of them felt that way," Sheila added.

  “So, Donovan only saw the ones that were willing to seek additional medical treatment?" Sandra speculated. 

  “That’s right," Jerry confirmed.  “The rest of them quietly went off to deal with the tragedy on their own.”

  “There were five hundred people at the start of this study," Jason began.  “How many of them successfully made it through the entire process?"