FRAMED, page 15
“It does,” Brian said. “Once again, I recommend we hire a private investigator to find out who this guy is working for.”
Tori bit her lip. “I agree. Let’s do it.” She was finally committed.
“Great,” Brian said, sounding relieved. “I have an excellent PI in mind, and I’ll call her as soon as we’re off the phone. She’s very sought after, so I hope she’s available.”
“What about asking the PI to look into the possibility that not only did World Petrol, and maybe other petrochemical companies, steal Tori’s study data, but they also framed her for the robbery?” Jo said.
“You mean by bribing the FBI, the judge, or the eyewitnesses? That seems unlikely.”
“But if they’re willing to break into Tori’s house and steal her study data, they’re obviously motivated to stop her from publishing any way they can,” Jo insisted. “Shouldn’t we look into it?”
Brian frowned. “Let’s focus on finding out who this goon is working for first. If it is a petrochemical company, we can use that to plant reasonable doubt in the minds of at least a few jurors. We want them to think the same outfit might be behind her arrest. Some people know that these large multinational companies have excessive influence in this region and don’t like it. I’ll be picky when it’s time for jury selection.”
“Thank you,” Tori said, relief in her voice.
“Tori, tell me more about what the police did?”
“The cops took photos, a list of the missing items, and dusted for fingerprints, although they said the burglar might have worn gloves. I also took photos of the mess in the office and kept an inventory of everything missing.”
“Okay. Please send me your inventory and photos. Then we’ll ask the PI to collect information to plant reasonable doubt in the jury.”
“I’d also love to discover who the anonymous tipster was who told the FBI the bank robber looked like Tori,” Jo said.
“You and me both,” Brian said.
Chapter 31
A week later, when she’d caught up on her cases, Jo sat twiddling her pen between thumb and forefinger, gazing out her office window at the clouds forming on the horizon. Rain is coming.
When Tori told her, her case was going to trial in early September, Jo bristled. Was it too far-fetched to imagine Big Oil would stage a bank robbery to implicate a troublesome physician? And could the oil companies really put pressure on a federal judge to conduct a swift trial to convict and discredit her before she could publish her study? She hated not being able to openly investigate the possibilities.
She dropped a notepad into her briefcase and rose to leave. She almost collided with Tom.
“Perfect timing.” She thrust a document at him. “I’ve finished writing the factum for the train spill appeal. Please make sure there are no typos. I’m heading to the public library to do some research.”
*
Jo enlisted the librarian’s help in finding articles that examined worker illness or mortality in the petrochemical industry. Most articles from industry scientists showed no increase or a decrease in cancer and respiratory diseases, such as asthma.
In contrast, she discovered academic cohort studies of oil refinery workers that showed an excess of lung, blood, kidney, and brain cancer. Letters from World Petrol scientists to the editor of the same medical journals attempted to poke holes in these authors’ methods and conclusions.
She found only one industry-funded cohort study of a rural population living downwind from a natural gas refinery. It found no excess of cancer when residents were matched with age and sex-adjusted controls.
Of course, it wouldn’t.
This was what Tori was up against. Jo’s library search demonstrated that Tori’s study of excess cancer in communities surrounding petrochemical plants was sentinel and groundbreaking work. It would motivate public discussion of stricter air quality standards, industrial hygiene, and engineering controls that could cost companies tens of millions, not to mention potentially fomenting toxic tort lawsuits and federal fines.
No wonder they want to squelch it.
She perused other articles and editorial pieces related to World Petrol. Climate models developed by academic and government scientists predicted catastrophic global warming by 2030, primarily due to continued reliance on fossil fuels. Their studies predicted sea-level rise, ice-sheet melting, and rapid, unpredictable climate shifts that, if left unchecked, would become irreversible.
Yet these massive oil companies had used their vast resources to debunk these studies. They published their own analysis, which overemphasized uncertainties and denigrated government climate models by promoting the myth of global cooling and questioning the discernibility of human-caused warming. They proclaimed that the planet was warming due to natural climate variability, rather than the burning of fossil fuels and human activity.
She rolled her eyes and read on, learning more about their tactics. World Petrol’s scientists evoked sunspots, Earth’s wobble, and the cooling effect of aerosols—anything but fossil fuel consumption. They stated that the cause of the warming trend was still uncertain. The vehemence and scope of their efforts to stir controversy led Jo to suspect that World Petrol knew very well that burning fossil fuels would cause catastrophic planetary warming. Yet acknowledging it would threaten their vast profits.
It made her blood boil. But it was a fight for another day.
*
When Jo returned to the office, Tom caught up with her in the hallway. “We just got the notice. The appellate court will hear our appeal in the train spill case next week.”
“Okay. I’m on it,” she said. But first, she needed to talk with David. She found him in the coffee room, chatting with an associate attorney. She loitered nearby until they finished and asked to see David in private. He motioned her into his office, and they stood facing each other.
“Someone has been following Dr. Nelson. They broke into her house and stole her computer, which contained her study data and the slides and notes for her MD Anderson talk,” Jo said.
David’s eyes widened and his mouth dropped open. “Sit down. Tell me the details.” He took a seat behind his mahogany desk. She sat opposite him and told him all she knew.
“Thank goodness she had an off-site backup copy.” David scratched his head. “This break-in lends more credence to your concern that the petrochemical companies are actively trying to prevent her from publishing her study.”
“That seems obvious.” She hesitated to mention the unlocked front door and her suspicion that Tori’s estranged husband may have facilitated the break-in. To hit Tori where he knew it would hurt—her precious research.
She said, “Is it still so far-fetched to imagine Big Oil implicating a physician who threatens their profits as a suspect in a bank robbery and putting pressure on prosecutors and judges to ensure her conviction?”
David leaned back in his chair. “Maybe not. But the federal judge is appointed, not elected. Do the police have leads in the break-in?”
“Not that they’re telling her. Her attorney is hiring a private investigator to find out who the stalker, who’s also the thief, works for.”
David sighed, his eyes narrowing. “If World Petrol and other companies are involved in her arrest, her attorney will need solid evidence. Framing a physician-scientist for bank robbery and breaking into her house to steal her research data would raise their treachery to a whole new level. Currently, there’s only inference.”
“Remember the Karen Silkwood case. She was forced off the road and murdered on her way to reveal damaging violations of worker safety to The New York Times.”
David nodded. “Yes. I’m sorry about Colin’s sarcasm. He shouldn’t have made light of that.”
“I’d like to keep on top of this,” Jo said. “If we find evidence to corroborate our suspicions, it may help us to revive and rebuild our lawsuit. Also, Dr. Nelson has found a physician at the Harvard School of Public Health to collaborate on her study and possibly become the lead author.”
“Interesting. That changes the landscape,” David said. “I’ll talk with Colin. Find out what you can. However, remember that you aren’t retained as your friend’s defense attorney. Don’t encroach on—who was it—Kirkland’s territory.”
Chapter 32
On Friday, July 26th, as Tori left the tranquil tree-lined streets of Houston Heights, she buzzed with excitement. Her destination was the Texas Medical Center, one of the world’s premier cancer-treatment and research facilities, and she was about to deliver her talk. The city’s skyline loomed ahead, a testament to Houston’s rapid growth and the petrochemical industry’s dominance. As she drove south on I-45, her mind whirled with anticipation.
The familiar landmarks of the medical complex came into view, and she navigated through the network of streets and buildings with ease. Parking her car, she took a deep breath. It helped her nerves to envision the attentive audience of medical professionals she hoped to inspire.
A distinguished-looking older physician in a long white coat introduced her in the lecture hall, highlighting her impressive background and training. As she approached the lectern with her notes, Tori’s palms began to sweat, and her mouth felt dry. She scanned the hall. The audience of at least fifty physicians was impressive for late July. Using an old public-speaking trick she’d learned in college, she quickly selected a friendly-looking face in the audience. Her gaze settled on a woman physician in the second row, whose pleasant, interested expression calmed her.
Tori projected her first overhead onto the screen, displaying the title of her study: “Cancer Rates in Communities Surrounding Petrochemical Plants on the Texas Gulf Coast.”
“This table shows the incidence of all cancers along a fifty-mile stretch of the Houston Ship Channel. It’s much higher overall than in the rest of Texas and the US.”
She quickly got into her stride. As her confidence built, she displayed and explained more tables showing rates of various cancers broken down by age, sex, occupation, smoking, and socioeconomic status. When she’d completed her talk with ten minutes to spare, the audience peppered her with questions.
“Dr. Nelson, were you able to get exposure data at the individual level?” a distinguished-looking older physician asked.
“Not as this time,” she answered. Not until I get Jude’s monitoring data and my lab up and running.
Another physician raised his hand—a middle-aged man wearing heavy, dark-framed glasses. He cleared his throat. “Of course, a typical weakness of population-based cancer incidence studies is that they might show that cancer is on the high side in a group of people, but they can’t tell you why. You have only crude measures of confounding factors, such as access to healthcare and socioeconomic status. What about the duration of residence near the petrochemical companies or the influence of previous residential exposures?”
“I can attempt to get residence duration from census or voter registration data, but it’s challenging and often incomplete,” she said. “And the stage of diagnosis is a measure of access to medical care.”
She steered the discussion toward established knowledge. “You are correct that we can’t draw firm conclusions as to the causes of excess cancer in these communities, but we do have other corroborating data from animal and occupational studies that the toxins emitted by these companies cause cancer.”
Glasses Man persisted. “Yes, yes, but we can’t say living near a petrochemical plant caused an individual patient’s cancer.”
She guessed Glasses Man was a petrochemical company plant. Just as she was about to respond, a young physician intervened to address Glasses Man.
“We know that excessive childhood sun exposure increases the risk of melanoma. Even if we can’t prove it caused an individual’s melanoma, we have a solid basis to say it probably did.”
Tori noticed a nod of agreement from the woman physician.
“Yes, that’s a good point,” Tori said, grateful for the support.
“Yeah, but what about smoking, alcohol consumption, exposure to radiation, and other known carcinogens?” Glasses Man retorted. “These carcinogens may be responsible for the excess cancer you describe.”
“As you probably know,” Tori said, “tumor registries don’t routinely gather data on smoking or alcohol consumption, though I got smoking data from other sources. If I get more funding, I will attempt to collect information on exposure to other carcinogens.”
What she didn’t say was that obtaining that data was unlikely, particularly without the necessary resources or time to manage the complex process of gathering patient information. Maybe one day, if she weren’t in prison, she’d join the full-time faculty of a School of Public Health. Then, she could apply for an NIH grant to do a nested case-control study of cancer patients from the area and control for genetic and lifestyle factors known to cause cancer.
She continued, her voice firm. “I realize the limitations of this type of population-based study. But when my study is published, other studies of different designs will follow.”
“I focus on known cancer risk factors in my patients, such as lifestyle,” Glasses Man said. “No point in chasing after iffy risk factors they can’t control, anyway.”
He’s definitely a plant.
“But,” Tori argued, “if pollution from the petrochemical plants is causing cancer in the workplace and surrounding communities, wouldn’t you want to know? Patients may be unable to control the air they breathe, but environmental agencies and local public health departments can. If they have the data to implement regulations.”
“Too much government regulation as it is,” Glasses Man grumbled.
The moderator recognized that the discussion was turning into a two-person argument and ended it. “Thank you, Dr. Nelson, for a provocative presentation.”
On her way out, the young physician who spoke about sunlight and melanoma followed her.
“Dr. Nelson? Hello, I’m Dr. Worsham. I’m caring for a patient in the ICU who worked at an oil refinery for years. He’s dying of acute myelogenous leukemia. I plan to support his workers’ compensation and disability claim. What specific questions should I ask regarding his work history?”
“If he’s lucid, find out if he worked around seals, pipework, or storage tanks with exposure to leaks of volatile organic compounds.”
“I will. Are there any books or papers you recommend I read to learn more about occupational and environmental medicine?”
She gave him an approving smile. “Of course. The best place to start is Environmental and Occupational Medicine. It’s by William N. Rom and others.”
Her mood, dampened by Glasses Man, lightened after encountering the young doctor. If she’d inspired just one physician to consider the environmental causes of cancer, her talk would have been worthwhile.
The physician moderator caught up with her.
“Nice job, Dr. Nelson,” he said. “It appears that you’ve at least a few physicians considering occupational and environmental exposure when evaluating their patients.”
“I hope so,” she said. “Too bad they don’t get any teaching about it in medical school.”
When she settled in her car, she smiled at herself in the rearview mirror. World Petrol didn’t prevent me from presenting my findings to these cancer specialists after all.
A moment later, her smile faded. Glasses Man had foretold the problem of assessing causality for individual patients. Getting Jude’s air monitoring data was essential. But was it worth the risk?
Chapter 33
The following evening, Tori paced her living room, sipping a glass of chardonnay. She was wrestling with what to do about Jude. Orange Cat, lounging on the back of the couch, watched her through narrow eyes.
What worried her most right now was how honest she’d been with Jude. Was she entirely sure she hadn’t taken advantage of Jude’s crush on her? She’d been anxious to gather damning environmental monitoring data to reinforce her cancer study and show the world the company’s habitual disregard of environmental standards. But was she being fair to Jude, who was taking the most risk?
“When did I become such an environmental activist?” she inquired of Orange Cat.
He stood up, yawned, and stretched his back. Like forever, he seemed to say.
“I guess it all started when I was twelve, and we tried to save those oil-soaked birds and baby seals on the beach in Cape Cod,” she told him.
Yet she had always considered herself an objective scientist, adhering to scientific methods and refraining from drawing conclusions that exceeded the evidence. Though she’d advocated for her patients who deserved workers’ compensation for work-related conditions, she didn’t claim causality for illnesses that didn’t meet the test of “more probably than not.”
Orange Cat leaped from the couch to the floor, rolling around on his back. It was a well-known signal: she was required to dangle a feathered toy over him while he batted at it with a lazy paw. But she was not tempted to play today as she continued to wrestle with her conscience.
Jude was only in her late twenties. She’d risk her career as an industrial hygienist by handing over company documents and conducting surreptitious environmental monitoring. Retribution could be harsh, especially given the uncertainty surrounding whistleblower protection. Could she believe Jude’s assurances that she wasn’t motivated solely by her crush?
And then there was Jo. This was an added complication. Tori’s feelings for Jo had resurfaced and remained unresolved. Could she truly be in love with two women at the same time?
“Oh, Orange Cat, what am I going to do? I care for Jude, but I can’t get Jo out of my mind.”
Orange Cat rolled upright, pounced on the feathered toy, and laid it at her feet.
Tori made up her mind. She had to talk to Jude.
