Don didn't seem too happy about this. "Why is Constance Westerley defending my brother?"
"I'm a public defender, Mr. Veseli, and a good one. Please don't judge me by my last name."
"But you're rich, right?"
She deflected Don's question with a smile. "Funny that you should ask me that now, while I still have some money in my trust fund." Her dad was about to change all of that.
"You mean instead of a few weeks from now, when your brother becomes CEO?"
"You have been doing your homework."
"So what happens to your fortune when Robert Westerley ascends to the throne?"
I'd rather discuss more important issues. Like Don's brother, her dream man. She gave him a simple answer. "I'll do all right." She didn't need to elaborate.
Constance leaned closer. "Look Don, can we talk about Nick? I'm trying to build a case for him."
Don nodded his head. "Okay, you're right. What can I tell you?"
"Nick tells me that you advised him to stop a school vaccination program. He seems to think that has something to do with his arrest."
"Yeah, it's true. Too many kids are getting hurt by that wart vaccine." He slumped in his chair. "But I feel terrible that I ruined his life."
Nick isn't ruined yet. Constance wasn't about to let her dream man be wrongly convicted. And more and more, she was convinced of his innocence. She returned to her inquiry. "Why would an unsafe vaccine be approved?"
"I don't think they tested it enough. A surprising number of my patients come back to me with minor complaints the day after getting that shot. Some even have serious reactions."
"Then why do you still give it?"
"These days, I spend more time trying to convince parents not to give it to their kids. But if they really want it, I'll still give it. It hasn't been recalled yet."
"And you're expecting that to happen? I'm surprised that you're against vaccinations. Rather unusual for a pediatrician."
"I'm not anti-vaccine-I think they're great, but only for life-threatening diseases. When it comes to mild childhood diseases, I think the drug companies have gone too far."
Don sat up straight, suddenly energized. "Take the chicken pox vaccine, for instance. Like so many others, it doesn't give the same level of immunity as actually getting the disease, so it leaves people exposed to getting it later in life. And in the case of chicken pox, that can be very dangerous. Adults who get chicken pox are usually much more sick. Not a good thing."
He stopped to take a breath then went on. "And as for recalls, I'm afraid they're common. I read a paper that predicted that one out of every five prescription drugs would be recalled or shown to be harmful."