Page 12 of Small Sacrifices
The next day, Reid quickly realizes that he's woefully unprepared to persuade any of the parents to agree to anything without concrete information. Even his initial calls, meant to gauge which parents might speak with the governor, prove to be challenging.
He should have expected this. Considering everything that's happened, he wouldn't trust vague promises either.
The parents have every right to be skeptical after having been misled by politicians for weeks.
At least there's a task force on the ground now, assessing the situation.
That's something, right? It would be even better if Reid knew more about their work beyond the optimistic and frustratingly vague news updates.
If the task force's assurances turn out to be misguided, it could end badly.
If Reid wants to do his job well—and he needs to make progress soon, with under three days remaining—he needs more information. He briefly considers asking Mr. Wright, but from what he's seen, Mr. Wright would be annoyed by the request. Besides, Reid doubts he can trust what Mr. Wright says.
No . He has to go straight to the source.
Mr. Elijah Swayne, in one of the single offices nearby, is the person liaising with the people at CalEPA.
Reid didn't even have to ask anyone about that.
Marisol just told him. She also told him that Mr. Swayne is generally sensible and communicates well, but he hates internal emails.
Which, in Reid's book, is a strike against him.
Because it means he'll have to talk to him face-to-face.
But thankfully, most of the questions he'll be asking him came directly from the parents.
Technically, Reid isn't the one who wants to know—although he definitely does.
He's very interested. He's just not primarily asking on his own behalf.
That's an important distinction that makes it easier for him to get over himself.
Unfortunately, Reid's plan to simply walk into Mr. Swayne's office is complicated when he finds the door open and hears two voices inside. He hesitates. If the door were closed, he'd come back later. But it's open. What does that mean? Should he just leave or knock?
His indecision is resolved when he takes a step to the side and locks eyes with Everett Mackenzie.
Reid is momentarily stunned. That’s the last person he expected to see, and now he's even more uncertain about how to proceed.
Why on earth is he here? Everett, instead of offering any explanation, crosses his arms.
"Either get in or go away," he says in a tone that implies he'd prefer the latter. "But don't hover. Please."
It sounds wrong, coming out of his mouth. Please. But he did give Reid two options here, and if he thought Reid was just going to leave with his tail tucked between his legs, then he's mistaken. Reid has work to do, and he'll be damned if he's going to let Everett keep him from it.
Mr. Swayne is a portly man of about fifty.
His hair is shorn close to the sides of his head, giving him a militaristic look.
But his eyes are kind and curious when he aims them at Reid across the room.
Reid hopes that's a good sign. "Please excuse the disturbance, Mr. Swayne. Could I have a moment of your time?"
Everett snorts, which Reid kind of expected. What he didn't expect, however, was that Mr. Swayne would chuck a stress ball at his head. Everett is still sputtering when Mr. Swayne says, "Ignore him. And sit. Please. What can I do for you?"
Sitting means being right next to Everett, who’s perching on the corner of the desk. But Reid does as he's told. The man reminds him of an advisor in college. He doesn't have to be this solicitous, so Reid figures it's best to just play along.
"I'm tasked with persuading the parents to cooperate in resolving the Lacrimosa issue." It's remarkable that it only took a few days for the words poisoning and pesticides to disappear from superficial discussions of what happened. Almost disquieting, even if it's working in their favor.
"But I don't have the information necessary to make a convincing case. I was wondering if you had access to an action plan that I can share with them? If we want them to agree to a public meeting, we need to give them something more than just assurances that the governor is working on it."
Everett opens his mouth to say something, but Mr. Swayne pokes a finger into his side. "Shut up, Ev. There are people here who need to get their work done. You can get back to interrogating me later."
Then, he looks at Reid. "I wish I could give you something concrete, but that doesn't exist yet.
Things are very chaotic on the ground, not least because Agrifarm and the current mayor could be cooperating better.
A lot of documents are still missing. But what I can tell you is that today, they're taking samples of the soil and every new piece of equipment in that schoolyard to verify the tests that the Times has gotten done. "
Mr. Swayne taps his fingers on his desk absentmindedly.
"There are people going around conducting interviews to make sure there isn't anything else that the sick children had in common in the relevant time frame.
And there's now a fund set up so that every child who played in that schoolyard since it was reopened can get a free check-up with their pediatrician. "
Everett snorts again, and Reid can't help but agree. "Just a check-up? What about medical treatment for those already experiencing health problems?"
Mr. Swayne winces. "Well, we can't really expend government funds on something we haven't confirmed yet. We'll have to wait for the test result on those samples."
"Do you expect that those will match the results published by the Times?" Reid asks.
There's a brief hesitation. Everett grins so widely that almost all of his too-white teeth are showing.
"Personally, I do. But that is my opinion as a private citizen and not as a member of staff in the State Capitol.
The governor isn't expecting any particular results, we're just awaiting the results in general and will proceed with the proper steps once they arrive. "
Reid casts his eyes around the room to avoid saying the obvious.
It's got a lot more character than most of the offices he's seen since he arrived.
There are framed cartoons from The New Yorker, several beautifully maintained plants and even a few personal pictures.
In one of them, it looks like Mr. Swayne has whiskers drawn on his face.
But maybe that's just the distance playing a trick on Reid's eyes.
"And when do you expect the test results to arrive?" he asks.
"The lab said they should be done overnight."
Reid tries his best not to sigh. "And should those tests turn out positive for pesticides or other toxins, do you know what the plan is?"
He doesn't even need to listen to Mr. Swayne's answer.
It's written plainly on his face before he opens his mouth to say, "That's the problem here.
For us, I mean. This would be under the purview of the Environmental Protection Agency in any case, but with the way the governor is implicated, we need to be doubly careful.
So we'll just have to leave it up to CalEPA and play the waiting game. "
Damn, he'd been afraid of that. Frustration swells up in Reid so rapidly that he has to close his eyes and breathe through it. This won't be enough for the parents—he tells Mr. Swayne as much. The pained look on the man's face shows him that this isn't exactly a revelation.
"We're painfully aware of that. But especially in this situation, Governor Mackenzie can’t afford to free up funds that could end up being unjustified.
" The look on Everett's face makes it clear he’s just as dissatisfied as Reid, but they both keep their mouths shut.
Mr. Swayne continues. "What he can do is put public pressure on the parties involved, which he’s already doing.
And the visit next week will also show how much he wants to help these families. "
Everett tilts his head back to look at Mr. Swayne.
"Are you sure it doesn't just prove his dedication to keep his image as clean as possible?
I mean, why else drag the parents of suffering children in front of a camera?
" He turns his head to look at Reid, considering.
"Or maybe even the children themselves? That's such a shitty thing to do.
They shouldn't feel like they need to jump through hoops to get their children the help they need. "
Reid sits up in his chair. "That is not what is happening." How dare he? How dare Everett suggest Reid would ever be involved in something like that? And why on earth would he even think of saying such a thing about his father? If someone overheard him, the consequences would be dire.
Everett leans back on his hands and looks down at Reid.
"You sure? Because from where I'm standing, the most you should do is offer a meeting under exclusion of the press.
But you're not. You're asking them to take part in a publicity stunt before their children have gotten the help that they need. "
Cold prickles all over Reid's body and makes his hair stand on end.
He can't say that he isn't asking anyone to do anything.
The governor is. And he also can't say that he somewhat agrees because he's in front of the governor's son and a senior colleague he's just met.
It's ridiculous that he even wants to, really.
Everett is already looking down on him, both figuratively and literally.
That won't change just because he agrees with him once.
If anything, it'll make him think he's won, which might make him even more insufferable.
Still, it hurts to open his mouth and say, "No one will be made to do anything. I just want to give them as much information as I can to help them make the best decision."