For the People Chapter 50
"Are you putting Graupel on the stand today?" Rick asks, handing Kate a chocolate-filled croissant.
Kate licks a smear of chocolate off her finger. "Yes, I am. And so far he seems enthusiastic to cooperate. But he also went head-to-head with his lawyer last night, so he might be planning to change his strategy. I won't know until I get him up there. Either way, I have my responses set."
"Of course you do. You've been exploring every possible contingency since you got this case, and you're going to be great. I wish I could be there to see it."
Kate's eyebrows rise. "I thought I heard you lining up Alexis to sit for Lily. Where else are you planning to be today?"
"It's supposed to be the big cleanup day. Neighspec is sending in their remediation people. I arranged to put a drive-thru gate in the fence so they can get their equipment and personnel in, but I want to make sure it's properly secure. NHWH will be showing up with signs and banners all set to cheer the cleanup team on. And I believe Channel 31 will be sending a news crew."
"A local station? The story doesn't rate ZNN?"
"Nope. No one is bleeding, or at least I hope not. This should be one of the Channel 31 warm and fuzzy stories, not ZNN's thing. Still, it may get picked up by other news media. And NHWH will be posting to Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram, as will I. I have a lot more followers than they do, so we should get some traction with retweets."
"But if you think the cleanup is a scam, won't you be playing into Neighspec's hands by publicizing it?"
"I don't think so. Once they've penetrated the public consciousness, it will be easier to expose any nefarious scheme. As much as people like hearing good news, they really like hearing about the bad guys. And that would even be ZNN-worthy. However, first things first. Neighspec has to clean up the mess. And your dad's putting together a formal request for permission to send Wilcox in there to make sure they have. If they refuse, that will make the newsfeed too."
"Sounds like I'm not the only one covering my bases."
"It does appear to be a family trait. In any case, by tonight, we should both know how things are proceeding on our respective crusades. Trade stories over dinner?"
"I'll look forward to it."
Perky Channel 31 reporter, Mina Thompson, waits as her cameraman counts down to her stand-up. "Good morning! I'm here on the site of a long-awaited cleanup of a toxic site in the North Bronx. No Hazardous Waste Here, NHWH for short, an organization started by concerned parents, has been trying for almost a year to get a public agency to pay attention to the threat to their children. Bestselling writer, Richard Castle, pitched in by getting an analysis of leaking chemicals and erecting a fence to keep children away from the danger they posed. But it took a tip to the respected newspaper, the Ledger, to finally get the wheels rolling. Neighspec, the corporation that owns the property has arranged to send in a remediation team.
"The atmosphere here is celebratory. You can probably hear chants of 'Clean at last!" from behind me. Parents have gathered with signs and banners. NHWH has also set up a stand across the street to provide water and snacks for the crowd. Any moment we expect…. Oh, here they come, a truck and a van from Nick and Teach Envo Pros. The crowd is cheering. And author Richard Castle himself is opening the gate to the contaminated lot. I'll try to be back in a few minutes with a word from him and NHWH rep Valerie MacDonald. For now, for Channel 31 this is Mina Thompson reporting."
Kate holds up her phone, so Rick can see it. "Martha sent this to me. Apparently, Alexis set her up with an alert for when you appear on video. Mina Thompson is practically gushing over you."
"That's why Channel 31 sends Mina Thompson out on human interest stories. She practically gushes over everything. I saw a feature she did on puppies once, I was afraid she was going to faint from ecstasy. But I thought she did a good job covering the goings-on. Valerie MacDonald gave her a great interview, and she got some good footage of techs in hazmat suits examining rusty leaking drums. Humans encased in Tyvek condoms always make for good TV. The story should get picked up across services and platforms. If Neighspec tries to do what Jim and I are expecting, I know exactly who to call to get the word out. And this whole little rescue show may backfire on Neighspec. Valerie is a public spokesperson now. She'll find it easier to get attention if trouble starts popping up. So how did your Graupel day go? Fun fact, graupel is little pellets of frozen rain that crunch underfoot in weird weather. Was Graupel crunchy?"
"More like slippery. He didn't take the Fifth. He answered my questions, but from an angle that made himself look as good as possible. That's probably what he was figuring out with his lawyer last night. He kept to the letter of our agreement, but didn't give me a word more than was necessary."
"And how do you think that looked to the jury?"
"I don't think they liked him. But they don't have to like him, just believe him. Still, I may be putting on some of the witnesses on my reserve list to back him up. Itzen and Green did a thorough dive into them. They'll hold up. Maynard's not going to like anything I do that stretches out the trial, but I don't think she has any legal reason to limit me. And she obviously doesn't want to be seen as biased for Brooks."
"So what are you talking about; adding another week?"
"More likely two or three days. It will depend on Lowell's crosses. So now that Neighspec's made their move, at least for the moment, what are you going to be up to?"
"Besides devoting myself to our daughter's every need?"
Kate rolls her eyes. "Besides that."
"I'll be working on my book. I'll be leaving the Neighspec story open, but I have plenty of other offenses of the ruling class to commit to prose. And I just subscribed to a new streaming service that offers some of the worthy shows Netflix chose to ignore. I may try to binge a series or two while getting my thoughts together in between stints at the keyboard. I might even find something that Lily likes. I doubt she'll care much about the plot, but she is a fan of interesting sounds and bright colors."
Maybe you can find a series about the circus."
"That's a good idea, Kate. Mother's family history and love of things carnie might be bundled somewhere in Lily's DNA. I'll look around and see what I can find. That, however, is a task that can await the morrow. Any interest in curling up together in front of something romantic, perhaps as stimulation for later activities?"
"What did you have in mind?"
Rick's brows ripple. "Why don't we skim through the guide and see what catches our fancy? Then maybe we can act out a scene or two of our own, later."
Kate trails a fingertip over the bare skin revealed by Rick's open collar. "That just might work."
