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an answer. The son of a bitch. It was all rigged to clear the way." The pieces were falling into place with dizzying, scary logic. "My God, they've been directing our lives for weeks. All to get us out before anybody caught on." |
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"The problem is, the stuff is still in your well. It'll need to be decontaminated or drained or something. When are you officially out of there?" |
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"And when do they move in?" |
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"Did they give any indication of their plans?" |
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"They didn't even show up for the exchange of closing papers. Just some lawyer." |
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Waite took a long swig of beer and leaned back as the implications sank in, a small-town reporter trying to grapple with a dream scoop. |
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"Dennis, I'm telling you all this because of Sally. Also because I'm alone with something bigger than me and I don't know what the hell to do. And I don't want to drag my wife into it. She's barely coping as it is." |
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"I understand," Waite said. "And I'll do what I can to help. Before we go to any authorities, we need some hard facts. And with the holiday weekend, there's nothing we can do until next week. Meanwhile, I'd like to call a few people in Washington." |
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"Sure, but what we are waiting for?" |
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"The problem with the EPA is that they do their own water tests, which means Dr. Tojian's friend isn't official. Which means we'd need permission from Julius Wick himself, since it's now his well. Nice irony, huh?" |
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"And all illegal or dangerous. But let me poke around first, make some calls. Hey, a story of lethal environmental contamination, potential homicide, wrongful deaths and a coverup involving a member of the presidential cabinet could have repercussions up the yingyang. You know, I think it'd be a good idea if I put your story on tape." |
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"In case anything happens to me?" |
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