Chapter 20: Security

June 29, 1990, Chicago, Illinois

“Steve, I need to speak to you, Elyse, and Julia RIGHT NOW!” Cindi said.

I got up from my desk and followed her to Julia’s office.

“I just heard from a large medical practice that I’ve been courting for months. You are not going to believe this!”

“What?”

“They raised the IIT cheating scandal and your and Charlie’s involvement.”

“What?!”

“Yes. And they know about the paternity suit. And about your harem, so-called.”

I thought about it for a minute.

“I bet Jeri’s mom had someone scour the courts and found both lawsuits. The odds are ten to one that she talked to Brandon Littleton and Associates at some point. So what happened?”

“Our discussions are on hold until the five doctors in the partnership decide what to do.”

“So she’s playing THAT game,” I acknowledged. “What’s the issue with the cheating scandal? I wasn’t accused of anything, and Callie’s lawsuit was dismissed.”

“That IIT helped cover up your involvement in exchange for you hiring people from there, and you hired Charlie to buy her silence.”

“Bullshit!”

“Obviously, but it’s a good story.”

“And I won the paternity suit with DNA evidence. How can THAT be spun against me?”

“We didn’t get to that. It was just mentioned after they made an issue of your harem and your bigamy.”

“I’m only legally married to one woman!”

“You know this, but you do hold yourself out in public as married to both girls and they to you and each other.”

“Cindi,” Elyse said, “did you get any inkling that more doctors know about this?”

“The impression I got was that they heard it at some society gala last weekend. Maybe Jeri can find out who was there.”

“Maybe,” I said. “Elyse, you should handle talking to Jeri. I need to bring Charlie up to speed in case anyone tries to talk to her.”

“She WAS part of the cheating ring,” Julia said.

“In the sense that she bought a copy of a test, yes,” I said, “and accepted the punishment and completed her degree. But that’s ALL she did — pay for a copy of a test.”

“Again, YOU know that,” Julia said. “Cindi, do you think a meeting with them would help?”

“At this point? I don’t know. I suppose a call from someone wouldn’t hurt.”

“Joyce,” I said. “I certainly can’t do it, but she could.”

“I’ll call her,” Julia said. “Two days. Two fracking days!”

I chuckled, “There is a light at the end of the tunnel. Before we do anything else, let’s call Phil Lache.”

I dialed his number and was happy to find him in the office. His secretary put me through to him, and we explained what had happened.

“Is anything that was said untrue?” he asked.

“Only the claim that IIT covered up my involvement,” I said.

“That would be a claim for them, not you. Do you know if it’s more than just this one practice?”

“Not at this point, but we can probably find out who was at the gala event where they heard it.”

“Make sure you keep good notes of anyone who talks to you about this or anything you hear. I don’t think it’s advisable for me to call Mrs. Lundgren at this point. But keep me posted of anything you find out.”

“We will. Is there an issue with us talking to the potential client and trying to get them back onside?”

“No, I don’t believe so.”

After we hung up, I went over to Charlie’s desk and asked her to come to the small conference room. I told her what had been said that involved her.

“What are you going to do?” she asked.

“Nothing. Well, we’re not changing anything. Joyce is going to call the practice and talk to them and see if we can pull this back. I just wanted to let you know that your name was mentioned and why.”

“How bad is this?”

“As of now, it’s just one medical practice we were pitching. We’re going to try to find out who else might have been told and see if we can nip this in the bud. Don’t worry about it. I just wanted you to be aware.”

“Can you do anything to make this go away?”

“Right now? No. But we’ve talked to our attorney, and we’re going to see if we can make any headway with the potential client.”

“Let me know if there’s anything I can do to help,” Charlie said.

“I will, but there’s nothing at this point,” I said.

I got up to go back to my office, and Elyse waved me over to her office. I went in and shut the door behind me.

“There was a fund-raiser for a hospital out in Geneva. According to Jeri, it was mostly doctors from the Western Suburbs, plus the usual collection of people with money and politicians.”

“Does the Foundation do much work outside Chicago?”

“It doesn’t appear so. And this wasn’t a Foundation event. Jeri’s mom was there as a potential donor. There were people from the East and West Coast at the fund-raiser, but mostly they were donors, not doctors with small practices.”

“Then this might be limited,” I offered.

“It might. But who’s to say what the doctors say to each other? And who they talk to outside of Chicagoland.”

“Let’s see what Joyce finds out when she makes the call.”

Late in the afternoon, just before I needed to walk over to the hospital, Joyce called to say that she’d spoken to the doctor who managed the practice, and while the conversation had been friendly, she’d made no headway in convincing them to resume the discussions immediately.

“They made a big point about cheating and how that cast serious doubt on our ability to deal honestly with them.”

“I’d guess that’s the tack she’s going to take,” I said. “The kids out of wedlock issue isn’t that big of a deal if you look at Doctor Barton and some other prominent doctors we know. With regard to the ‘harem’, well, I think Ben Jackson got that one right. And the paternity suit is easily dealt with because the rulings were all in my favor.”

“I think that’s true,” Joyce said. “I pointed out that you voluntarily took two DNA tests, and both showed you not to be the father. But in the end, the cheating scandal is what really bothered them. Can we talk to IIT and get them to issue some kind of statement?”

“I’m sure I can talk to Dean Stauffer. He’s still there. Whether or not they’ll issue a statement of any kind is a question, but their attorney might well have a word with Mrs. Lundgren about the false accusations against them.”

“Talk to them and see what you can do,” Joyce said. “Let’s try to nip this in the bud.”

“Does the Lundgren Foundation give money to IIT?” Elyse asked.

“I have no idea,” I said. “But I can’t imagine them allowing her to defame them even if they do give money.”

“OK. I’ll make the call and see about setting up an appointment. School’s out, so people may be on vacation.”

I went to my office, looked up the number, and dialed Dean Stauffer’s office. He wasn’t available, so I left a message asking him to please call as soon as possible. I hung up, and by that point, it was time to head to the ER to get Jessica. On our walk home, I explained what had happened.

“Do you think a call from Doctor Barton might help? He has the reputation of being a straight shooter, and he’s fairly well-known in the hospital community here. He even goes to some of those events from time to time, but he hates them with a passion. Probably almost as much as Jeri does!”

“I don’t see how it could hurt to have him talk to the doctor. Is he in the office right now?”

“Yes. Do you want to walk back and see him?”

“I do,” I said. “We can call Kara from his office to let her know why we’re going to be late.”

Fifteen minutes later, after a quick call to Kara and waiting for seven minutes in the outer office, we were shown into Al Barton’s office. I made a point of looking at the ‘Great Saves’ wall and saw pictures of Bethany. I smiled as I shook hands with Al, and we sat down.

“My secretary said it was urgent. What’s up?”

I explained the situation and was not surprised that he agreed with Ben Jackson on all the issues with regard to my family. He did say that he knew of the Lundgren Foundation but had nothing to do with it, with the exception of having been invited to fund-raisers that he’d declined. Once we’d covered all the family issues, I turned to the cheating scandal. It took a bit of time to take him through the scandal and the trial, and when I finished, he was quiet for a few minutes.

“I can make the call and make the point about you. As you say, talking to the University is the best approach to head off further damage, but this young woman who actually cheated and was disciplined is a tougher nut to crack. Some people just don’t believe in rehabilitation. Please don’t take this the wrong way, but how important is this young woman to your company?”

“Very,” I said. “She’s been with us for four years and was our second hire after my friends and I founded the company. She manages our consulting practice, and they bring in a lot of revenue.”

He nodded, “OK. So the easy solution isn’t available.”

“What is it with everyone wanting me to terminate good employees to avoid outside troublemakers?” I sighed.

“It’s business, that’s what it is,” Al said. “I know you run your company like a family and that you’re loyal to a fault. Those are good things. But they get in the way of being a hard-nosed businessman.”

“So I’ve been told,” I replied flatly.

“When did this happen?”

“Six years ago, roughly. One of the students involved, Callie Shepherd, tried to implicate me, but there was no evidence of any kind except her claims. She tried to sue me for defamation and the University. The case against me was dismissed because I had basically given compelled testimony under oath, and she lost her lawsuit against the University. The interesting thing is that the law firm that represented her was the same one that represented Carla Rizzi in her paternity suit against me.”

“That is interesting. Do you think they’re involved in this?”

“I can’t imagine that someone with Mrs. Lundgren’s resources didn’t talk to them. Obviously, the court filings are all public records.”

“I bet she’s hired a private investigator. Don’t you have a friend in the security business? You might talk to him about a strategy to keep as much of your life private as possible.”

“That’s great advice,” I said.

“And get a full security system for your house. I’m not kidding about that. You probably should have already done it, given your situation.”

“Good advice as always, Al,” I said.

I wondered why Patrick hadn’t mentioned it to me and why Alarm Detection hadn’t tried to sell me a system. But those were less important questions than actually getting it done.

“I’ll let you know if I make any headway,” he said.

“Thanks.”

We shook hands, and Jessica and I headed home. Once there, I went to my study and called Patrick Shaughnessy. Before we got to business, we talked about Aimee. She’d received her commission as an Ensign and had been assigned to the USS Blue Ridge, a command ship assigned to the 7th Fleet, operating out of Yokosuka, Japan, as a surface warfare officer.

“Did Alarm Detection install the video monitoring system?” Patrick asked.

“Yes. It’s installed and working. I double-check each day that the tapes are being changed. We’re reusing them on a weekly cycle if nothing of import happens on any given day.”

“Good. I’m assuming there’s something else you need?”

“Yes. The person I spoke to you about might be using private investigators to try to dig up dirt on me, and a friend suggested I get a home security system installed. I thought you might have some input on those ideas.”

“Give me the background for why your friend thinks that,” he said, his voice becoming much more serious.

I went over my conversations with Al Barton, as well as everything else that had happened since we’d last spoken. He asked several questions and, in the end, proposed what I expected him to.

“Yes, you need a security system, and yes, it’s likely they’re using private investigators. I’m going to fly up next week and spec out the system for you. I’d like to talk with everyone who lives with you and all of your staff about dealing with this kind of threat. And discuss some ideas on how you might mitigate your risks. Will Thursday, July 5th work?”

“Probably. The only caveat is that Kara is due any day now, so I might have to drop everything to go to the hospital.”

“We can work around that,” he said. “I’ll see you first thing Thursday at your office.”

After I hung up, I went to spend time with Jessica and Kara before dinner, and then, with Kara’s blessing, Jessica and I went to the movies to see Total Recall, starring Arnold Schwarzenegger. We both enjoyed the movie, though the minute the credits rolled, we made our way from the theatre to head home to be with Kara.

July 3, 1990, Chicago, Illinois

“One more good push, Kara!” Doctor Robertson ordered.

Kara bore down, and seconds later, I watched as Doctor Robertson placed my new baby daughter on Kara’s stomach.

“A girl, Honey!” I said.

“Apgar is 8,” Doctor Robertson said.

“What’s her name?” the nurse asked.

“Stephie Anne,” Kara said.

“After Steve’s sister?” Doctor Robertson asked.

“No, after a close family friend who died a few years ago,” Kara said.

“Both your daughters are named for young women who died?”

“Yes,” I said. “You know the story of Birgit; Stephie is named for a young woman from Georgia who died of ovarian cancer a couple of years ago when she was 24.”

“Wow. That’s really young for that to happen,” Doctor Robertson said. “Steve, do you want to cut the cord?”

“Absolutely!” I said.

She handed me the surgical scissors, and I snipped the cord between the two clamps.

“Kara, I need to take your baby for a few minutes,” the nurse said.

She picked up Stephie from Kara’s stomach and took her to the warming table where she weighed and measured her, then cleaned the fluids and such from my daughter’s small body.

“Five-minute Apgar is 9,” the nurse said. “She’s 7 pounds, 10 ounces, and is 19 inches long.”

She brought my now swaddled daughter to Kara.

“Hi, baby!” Kara cooed. “Mommy loves you!”

“Kara, we’ll manage your placental delivery naturally, as we did last time,” Doctor Robertson said. “I’m going to step out for a few minutes, but the nurse will stay, and Jessica is here as well.”

“Thanks, Doctor!” Kara and I both said.

“Thanks, Sally,” Jessica added.

About fifteen minutes later, Al Barton came into the delivery room.

“I hear there’s a new member of the family!” he said happily.

“This is Stephie Anne,” Kara said.

“Congratulations to all of you! Steve? Do you have one minute?”

I looked at Kara, and she nodded, so I stepped out of the room to talk to Al.

“About two hours ago, I talked with the doctor out in the suburbs for a second time. He said that he spoke to Dean Stauffer and is satisfied that you were not part of the cheating ring. I’m not sure what they’re going to do, but I have a reasonably good feeling about this.”

“That’s great!” I said. “I know Dean Stauffer was going to have the school attorney talk to the doctor. I’m guessing that prompted the call?”

“Yes. I got the impression that IIT’s attorney had a conversation with that Lundgren woman yesterday. I suspect that might be the end of her whisper campaign against you.”

“We’ll see,” I said. “I don’t think she’s going to give up that easily. I have a meeting with my security consultant on Thursday.”

“Let me know if there’s anything else I can do. Now, I’m very sorry to have taken you away from your wives and new daughter, but I felt this was important.”