For the People Chapter 47

Surprised not to see Rick in the kitchen when she stows her day's breastmilk in the fridge, Kate heads for his office. She finds him seriously regarding the contents of a thick printout. "What's that?"

"The report from Wilcox Forensics."

"Bad news?"

"Bad news for the neighborhood. Those drums contain a witches' brew of chemicals. Wilcox lists the ones they were able to identify so far. According to them, they'd be components in cleaners and paint thinners. And the mix is full of AOCs, aromatic organic compounds. Some of those cause cancer. The drums are steel and beginning to rust through and leak. Wilcox found some contamination in the soil, but they don't think there's been much runoff yet. Fortunately, most of this crap isn't soluble. Now that I have the data, can you help with lodging complaints that won't end up gathering dust in a file somewhere?"

Frowning, Kate perches on the edge of Rick's desk. "Unfortunately, that would be attacking the system backward. The various agencies are supposed to refer matters like that for prosecution, not prosecutors refer them to the agencies. And Shapiro has me in blinders until the Brooks trial is over. But I bet my dad could run with it right away. And he'll take any excuse to see Lily. We, no you, should call him now. If I get involved in this it could end up in a legal morass. Have you notified NHWH?"

"As soon as I took a first look at the report. Valerie MacDonald will be passing the information on to her people, but she asked me to look for the best way I could of using this data to move ahead. From what you've said, the smartest thing to do is put it in the able hands of Jim Beckett. If I invite him to dinner, what do you think he'd like?"

"You know my dad, keep it simple. But I've never known him to turn down a chili size."

"I still have some of the last batch of chili I made in the freezer. And we've always got the makings for burgers. An invitation for a chili size it will be."


Laying down the last page of the Wilcox Report, Jim Beckett sighs. "This is going to be complicated. Any action should be brought by the owner of the property that's been contaminated. That's assuming it was done without their knowledge. If they were aware, then they're criminally and civilly liable. Also, there's the question of the cleanup. This could take years to wind its way through the courts. Those drums can't just sit there making the situation worse. And the cost of the cleanup would help to put a price tag on any damages."

"Can't whatever agency is responsible come in to clean up and bill the perpetrators?" Rick asks.

"The EPA could come in right away if we could convince them it's an emergency response. But those are mostly reserved for large-scale releases like oil spills, radiation, and biohazards where there's an imminent threat. They'll also help locals responding to emergencies. But this is unlikely to qualify. The leakage is too slow to spur immediate action."

"And Sanitation contracts out their hazardous waste handling," Rick adds. "And that mostly applies to collections, not cleanups. So what do we do?"

Assuming we can determine ownership of the property, we could try to force them to do what Sanitation does, hire someone. But as I said, it could take a long time. Still, NHWH could hire someone itself and sue for reimbursement."

Rick shakes his head. "The organization operates on a shoestring. They don't have that kind of money. But I do. Could I hire someone to go in there and clean up and then sue the property owner?"

"Rick, there would be all sorts of legal entanglements to a plan like that. The owner could even try to sue you. And you might never get your money back."

Rick's steps echo as he paces the floor. "It would be worth the investment to save that neighborhood. What would be the first step?"

"We have to determine the owner of that property." Jim Beckett points out. "Once we know whom we're dealing with, we take it from there."

"I did a search and came up empty," Rick admits. "The property is corporately owned, but there are corps within corps, and the trail leads offshore. The only thing I have is the registration of a truck that did the dumping to Brown Rock, which has ties to some of Kate's bad guys. I don't have a connection to the owner."

"I may have more tools and tricks than you do, Rick," Jim suggests. "I'll dig into it and let you know. But in the meantime, you might want to have a fence put up around the area to keep kids out. To protest, the owner would have to come out of the shadows."

Rick grins and slaps his father-in-law on the back. "Jim, I like it."


Kate hands large traveling cups filled with Rick's special brew around the conference table. "The Brooks trial starts tomorrow, so this is our last day to fill any holes. Itzen, where are we on Graupel's testimony?"

"Green and I checked and double-checked every word Graupel told the grand jury. I believe he was being straight. So if he strays from it during the trial, you can straighten him out."

"But I'd be impeaching my own witness," Kate realizes. "If you're sure his statements to the grand jury are correct, I can have him read and verify them on the stand. If he tries to waffle, he'll be cutting his own legal throat. Vu?"

"Cambridge, Garcia, and I went over everything Gates submitted. You've already seen what we marked as the most dispositive. But there are other issues you can use for backup if the jury response seems weak."

"Or I might want to save them for rebuttal," Kate considers. "Let's have everything ready to pull depending on what Lowell brings up. At the speed Maynard's pushing this thing along, our case could go very quickly. I'm going to put Gates on first, to set the framework and provide evidence for each charge. So we'll want her documentation in order by charge rather than arranged chronologically. That will make it easier for the jury to follow and it might make it harder for Lowell. Then I'm going to follow up with Graupel. He can confirm Gates' testimony. I may have to call the witnesses he names as well if Lowell makes too many hearsay objections. They're already lined up, but I'll make sure they're ready to go. However, I don't want to try Maynard's patience, or the jury's, with repetitive testimony if it's not absolutely necessary. So does anyone see any potholes in the road that we haven't addressed?"

"What if any of the witnesses you call to confirm Graupel's testimony decide to take the Fifth?" Itzen inquires.

"Then Judge Maynard will carefully instruct the jury not to draw any inferences from that." Kate smiles. "Still, we all know that they will. You can't unring a bell. But since any conclusions will concern Graupel's and Brooks' connection with criminal behavior, that should work for us. Anything else?"

"Where did you get this coffee?" Cambridge asks. "It's amazing!"

"You'd have to ask my husband. The beans are from his personal stock. But he'd probably be willing to part with a few for members of my team."

Cambridge and Garcia high-five. "All right!"