COSMOS magazine

Thursday, July 3

Kept up most of the night by the pounding in his head, Wayne had finally dozed off around four. When he woke at ten, the violent headache had been replaced by a dull pressure, uncomfortable but bearable. At least his swollen, bruised balls were less painful now. The bitch had packed a kick like a mule. He tested his limbs; his aching muscles, too, had recovered more quickly than he'd expected. It's now or never, he thought. No time to mess around feeling sorry for myself. I need a car.

From the jumble of returning memories, Wayne was pretty sure he knew where Payback had left Fern's car, but he was afraid to drive it, if it was even still there, since she might have reported it to the police as stolen. He'd have to borrow a car. The notion made him feel guilty, but he wouldn't have to use it for very long; it would be only a small inconvenience to the owner.

Thursday, July 3

When the judge called a recess for lunch, Jill was treated by Carol at The Granite Garden, a favourite restaurant, but she found herself unable to eat more than a couple of bites. For the first time it was starting to seem sickeningly real: They might take Alex away from me!

When the hearing resumed, Carol presented their side. Two of Alex's teachers testified that he seemed a happy, well adjusted child, that Jill was a loving mother. Neither had ever met Keith; as far as they knew, he had never visited Alex's school. Grady had no questions.

"Okay, girlfriend." Carol patted Jill's shoulder. "Your turn."

To her surprise Jill felt quite calm, settling into the leather chair on the witness stand. Carol led her briefly through a history of Alex's childhood, the doctors he had seen, the treatments prescribed.

"Could you tell the court how you made the decision to take Alex to Dr. Collins at the Garcia Health Sciences Center?"

"I read their literature, and did research on the Internet, and it seemed to me they were offering the best chance for my son to get well. I discussed the treatment with Dr. Collins..."

"Were you in the habit of consulting Keith Hindle about Alex's medical care?"

"He'd never shown any interest in Alex's school or medical care or anything else. The few times he saw Alex were when I called him up and suggested it. I'd always wanted Alex to have a father as well as a mother, but Keith was usually too busy. Before his dad picked him up last week, Alex saw Keith a total of three times over the past two years."

"How do you know exactly how many times Alex has seen Keith?"

"I keep all my appointments in my daily planner. Yesterday I went through it and counted the number of times Alex went to visit his father."

On cross examination, Grady asked, "Did you consult Keith Hindle at all about Alex's medical care when you found out Alex was ill?"

"As a matter of fact, I did try to call him the night before we left for the first interview with Dr. Collins. His wife answered the phone and told me he was in the shower and she'd let him know I'd called. He never returned my call."

"Are you a physician, Jill? Do you have any medical training?"

"No, but I've read a lot of—"

"Have you at any time in the past been associated with a group called Nature Forever?"

"Yes." Oh no! Dear God, please help me get through this. Heart pounding, she tried to steady her breathing. "I did volunteer work for them, and also worked on some of their files when I was at Allen Hoffman."

"How long did you do volunteer work for them?"

"A little less than a year."

"Um hm." Grady nodded as if this confirmed everything he'd previous stated about Jill Shannon's character. "Tell the court, Ms. Shannon, some of the projects you worked on as a volunteer."

"One Saturday morning a month, handing out literature at the Balcones Mall Farmers' Market. All the employees were expected to do some volunteer work. It sort of went with the job."

"And where was your son Alex when you were spending your Saturday mornings in this way?"

"Either with a babysitter or in daycare."

"Um hm." Grady nodded confidently. "You did additional work for Nature Forever, didn't you? You drafted a petition to send to Congress?"

"Yes."

"Could you speak up, please, Ms. Shannon?"

"Yes, I drafted a petition."

"And what was the general nature of the petition you drafted?"

"It was to express support for PAHGE."

"And that is?"

The contradictions of Jill's life were bearing down on her, leaving her little chance of escape. "The Prohibition Against Human Genetic Engineering Act."

"So you were well aware of the dangers inherent in doing medical experiments on human subjects?"

"Objection!" Carol was on her feet, glaring at Grady. "You're asking the witness to express an opinion. She's not an expert in the field of medical research."

"Objection sustained."

"Ms. Shannon, did you believe there could be dangers associated with medical research?" He said her name with a little sneer, drawing out the word "Mizz."

"In certain cases, yes. But—"

"In fact, you believed this strongly enough to canvass for a bill to protect people from such dangers."

"Alex's chemotherapy didn't—"

"Please just answer the questions, Ms. Shannon," said Grady, and added with a smirk, "You're a lawyer. You should know how to behave in the courtroom."

Jill held back her anger with difficulty, meeting his mocking gaze.

"Okay, Ms. Shannon, you've stated that you believed medical research could be dangerous. And yet you subjected your son to unconventional treatments that involved giving him non-standard doses of medication, without informing the child's father. How was it you didn't believe your son was entitled to the same protection you desired for everyone else?"

"You're completely distorting the truth! You're making it sound as though we loaded Alex's system with chemicals. The doses in Dr. Collins's treatment plan were lower than usual. Low-dose chemotherapy was Alex's best chance."

"Was it helping him? Is that why he had another seizure and was close to death—until he went to live with his father?"

"No!" Jill stared down at the wooden rail at the front of the witness stand, thinking helplessly of the auxosome injection.

Carol rose. "Objection! Calls for an expert medical opinion."

"Sustained."

"I believe we've already established that Ms. Shannon is not a medical expert," said Grady dryly. The judge glared at him. "Now, Ms. Shannon, suppose you tell the court what else you did for Alex."

Jill knew what was coming and wished a great hole would appear in the floor and swallow her.

"Did you and your son visit an establishment known as the Wellness Center?"

"Yes."

"While at the Wellness Center, did you purchase a product known as SMV-9b made by a company called... ahem... Eden's Bounty?"

"Yes."

"Did you administer this product to your son Alex?"

"Yes," Jill said miserably. "But..."

"Just answer the questions, please, Ms. Shannon." He stared blandly at her. "Now, Ms. Shannon, had Alex's doctor prescribed this SMV-9b?"

"No, but..."

"And did your son Alex have a seizure after taking SMV-9b?"

"It's a herbal nutritional supplement. I don't believe it had anything to do with the seizure, and neither do the clinic physicians." If only Les Collins could have been here to testify as an expert witness!

"Thank you. No further questions, your honour."

Jill's heart sank.

Carol did what she could, introduced an article from a medical journal into evidence as proof that Jill had rational grounds for believing their treatment would benefit Alex. Still, as Jill stepped down from the witness stand she feared she had come across as a wishy-washy flake who deserved the epithet "Unfit Mother."

To her surprise and vast relief, Judge Patterson gave her a sympathetic look. "It's obvious from the testimony I've heard today that you love your son very much, Ms. Shannon, and want the best for him. I'm very much aware of how difficult it is to balance work and family life." Jill sagged with relief. The judge, though, was not finished. "I can also understand your concerns, Mr. Hindle. Before making my decision I'd like to speak with the child privately."

"I'll phone my wife to bring him in," Keith told her.

Thursday, July 3

Alex and Tamara were sitting together on the floor looking at books when the girls' mother barged in. He could tell by the rapid way April was walking that she was nervous, and he hoped he had not done anything to upset her. Once you set her off, she could keep yelling at you all afternoon.

"Come on Alex, we have to go." She grabbed his hand and jerked him up.

"But Mommy, Alex's reading Les Miserables to me."

"Don't be silly, Tamara. Alex can't be reading that book. He's too young. He wouldn't understand all the words. Here. Get Pearl to read Little Lost Puppy to you."

"But I want to hear more about Cosette. And Alex does too understand the words! He tells me what they mean."

"Pearl! Come in here and look after Tamara. I have to take Alex down to the courthouse."

 

Judge Patterson seemed to be a pleasant person who liked kids, unlike so many adults who made you feel kids were nothing better than a nuisance. A big framed photo hung on the wall behind her desk: the judge standing in the woods with a good-looking man and three children. On her desk Alex saw several smaller photos of the children at various ages.

"I need your help here today, Alex," she said, smiling kindly. "I asked your stepmom to bring you in to talk to me, because there were certain things none of the grownups could tell me. Is it okay if I ask you a few questions?"

Alex nodded and glanced around at April.

"Mrs. Hindle, if you wouldn't mind having a seat in the hall—"

April made a brief grunting sound. Maybe she felt insulted at being asked to leave, Alex thought. He wished he knew a way to make her go away. She walked out and the door clicked shut.

"Now, Alex." Judge Patterson leaned across and smiled at him again. "You've been living at your dad's house for the past week, is that right?"

"Yes, your honour," Alex said, like he'd seen it done on TV.

"How do you like living with your dad?"

Alex shrugged. "It's okay. But I'd rather live with my mom."

"How did you feel about you and your mother moving in with Paul?"

"Well..." He hesitated. Probably he should say he was happy about moving to Paul's apartment, but really he didn't like it there all that much. He had no friends in the neighbourhood, and Mom was so worried about that Payback guy he hardly got to go outside at all. It wouldn't have mattered when he was too sick to get out of bed anyhow, but now... Mom had always stressed the importance of telling the truth. "I like living with my mom," he said at last.

"Do you and Paul spend a lot of time together?"

"He lets me help take care of his mice. Experimental mice, that is. In his lab."

"That sounds like fun."

"It is. Paul's making the mice smarter."

The judge smiled and nodded, just being nice, for sure—not believing or even understanding what he'd just said—then looked more serious. He had to get through to her, had to explain. "I hear you've been pretty sick, Alex."

"Yeah. I had cancer, but I'm much better now. I gained four and a half pounds last week. See, the auxosomes are rebuild—" Oops, too much information. Alex clamped his mouth shut, heart sinking.