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  The youngest Rodriguez girl, Magdalena (everyone called her Lena), was the flower girl and the ring bearer was Maria's youngest brother, Miguel. At six and seven, they were adorable. Jeffrey's friend, Dan, from Moore Labs, stood with Jeffrey, as well as one of Maria's brothers. The rest of the brothers were ushers and the guest book was overseen by one of her other sisters. The church was packed with family, friends, and church members who Maria had known since she was a child.

  Jeffrey insisted on paying for the wedding, knowing that Maria's family could ill afford to give their beautiful daughter a wedding. The reception took place in the outdoor patio of the church. It was a beautiful spring day, one of those glorious days just before the June skies in Southern California turned grey, as they did every year.

  They honeymooned in the Tuscany area of Italy, a gift from Jeffrey's parents. His mother really liked Maria. She had always wanted grandchildren, but with Jeffrey's passion for science, she had long ago decided that a daughter-in-law and grandchildren were not to be. She was thrilled with the size of Maria's family, hoping Jeffrey and Maria would have many children. Maria didn't share with Jeffrey's mother the decision she had made at a very early age to never have children. Taking care of ten children had been enough for her. She told Jeffrey her feelings about not having children when their relationship changed from casual to something more. He understood and really didn't want children either since, in a way, science was his child. Although Maria had no education beyond high school and Jeffrey had his doctorate in Metabolic Medicine, his mother felt that the match was a good one. Maria's lack of higher education was far overshadowed by her nurturing, giving personality.

  Tuscany was beautiful. Other than her trip to Santa Barbara, Maria had never traveled. When you lived in the barrio, you rarely got out of the barrio. She eagerly took to the Italian countryside, enchanted with its food, small villages and shops, the art, and the rolling hills studded with grape vines and olive trees. Away from his lab, Jeffrey was able to completely relax and he joined her in attempting to eat and drink as much as they could. For a welcome change, he even seemed somewhat normal.

  The Italian men were as captivated with Maria as the American men. Wherever they went, she was the object of slavish male attention. Men passed her in the streets, softly telling her how beautiful she was, sending wine to her at dinner, and blowing kisses to her. If possible, Maria became even more beautiful, glowing in the spotlight of all the male attention. It was an unforgettable two weeks.

  Maria and Jeffrey returned to California and settled into married life. They bought a condominium in Irvine near Moore Labs. Maria was soon promoted to what Moore Labs referred to as a "scientific assistant." Her new job consisted of doing secretarial work for a pool of five Moore Lab scientists. She loved the work and felt she was beginning to have a glimmer of what Jeffrey did in his scientific research.

  Jeffrey was becoming renowned for his work on anti-aging hormones. Moore Labs had submitted his discovery to the Food and Drug Administration and they were now waiting for the government approvals to be completed. They wanted to be able to get the drug on the market as soon as possible. The FDA had approved their trials on the rats and they were now starting trials on humans. Everyone in the industry knew it would be one of the biggest blockbuster drugs to ever hit the market. The stock price of Moore Scientific Laboratories had risen dramatically in anticipation of FDA approval.

  The discovery came at a very good time. The baby boomer generation was reaching their sixties and had a fear of all things which indicated they were aging. This was the generation that wasn't supposed to age. If there was a magic elixir to delay aging, the boomers would be standing in line to buy it. Billions of dollars in new sales were on the line.

  Several years, happy years, went by for Maria and Jeffrey. Then one day, disaster struck. It came on a Wednesday afternoon, in Maria's office. She was preparing to leave for the day and decided to go to the ladies' room before she and Jeffrey met in front of the building for dinner at their favorite Italian restaurant. She left her purse on her desk.

  Dan, Jeffrey's good friend and fellow scientist who managed the five scientists in the pool for which Maria had been hired, walked out of his nearby office ready to quit work for the day. He definitely looked like his life had been spent in a lab. Pale-faced and overweight with thinning hair, it was apparent to anyone who looked at him that this was a very cerebral man, not a gym rat.

  He idly noticed Maria's purse on her desk and wondered if she had forgotten to take it with her. He walked over to it, intending to put it in one of her desk drawers. He noticed that the clasp on the purse was undone and it was open. He couldn't help but see a vial inside which was clearly labeled "Property of Moore Scientific Laboratories." He was very familiar with the vials, as all experimental products must be stored in them. There had to be a designation of what was in the vial so there would never be an inadvertent, dangerous mistake, which could prove costly to Moore Labs. He took the vial out of her purse and saw the designation on it for Jeffrey's experimental anti-aging hormone.

  The government was getting close to giving approval for the hormone, but the approval was still months, if not years away. Dan began to have a sick feeling about his discovery. Jeffrey was the only person who knew how to make the hormone or have access to it. Had he allowed the drug to leave the high security lab without company approval? Could he be administering it to Maria? This was a violation of company policy that was both unethical and illegal. Dan heard footsteps in the hall and dropped the vial back into Maria's purse, realizing she had gone to the ladies' room before she had left for the day.

  "Maria, I need to talk to you for a moment before you leave," Dan said. "I thought you had forgotten your purse and I walked over to your desk to put it in a drawer for you when I recognized a Moore Laboratories vial in it. Where and how did you get it?"

  Maria knew that Jeffrey could be fired if Dan told anyone what he had discovered in Maria's purse. She and Dan had become friends since she had started working as his assistant. A number of different answers to his questions came to mind, but she quickly decided to use their friendship as leverage.

  "Dan, can you keep a secret?" Maria asked.

  "Yes, but I'm not sure that I should in this case."

  "Dan, please, please, please," Maria said. "I'm swearing you to secrecy. Please promise me."

  "Okay, Maria. I don't think I'm going to like what you're going to tell me, but yes, you have my promise," Dan said. Dan really liked both Maria and Jeffrey. Everyone knew that the FDA was eventually going to approve the drug, so what if Maria had been using it prematurely? Did he want to be the one responsible for Maria and Jeffrey getting fired or worse?

  Maria was clearly very upset. She began by telling him about her fear of aging and how all she had ever heard from her mother when she was growing up was that she had to keep her beauty, that she had to marry while she was still beautiful or her life would be over. Maria told Dan about Jeffrey's decision to give her the drug before it was on the market because when she began the injections, she was at the most beautiful stage of her life. Maria told Dan that Jeffrey had only done this out of his devotion and love for her. She told him that Jeffrey hadn't given it to anyone else, how other drug companies had tried to bribe Jeffrey with promises of huge amounts of money if he would give them the formula, and how he had refused all offers. Maria told him Jeffrey had slipped the vial to her a couple of hours earlier as she was scheduled to get her monthly injection that night. She pleaded with Dan not to tell anyone.

  Maria glanced at her watch, realizing she was going to be late meeting Jeffrey. She hurriedly finished by once again asking Dan not to tell anyone and making him repeat his promise to keep the secret. She ran down the hall, rushing to the front of the building where Jeffrey was waiting.

  "Are you all right? You look upset. What's wrong?" Jeffrey asked.

  Maria knew that Jeffrey would be furious with her if she told him the truth and he'd also
be very worried that Dan would end up telling someone. Instead, she made up a story on the spot, telling Jeffrey that she had taken a phone call just as she was leaving and it was some crank call. Some strange person had gotten her extension number and threatened to hurt her if she didn't tell him what type of underwear she was wearing.

  It was the only thing Maria could think of on such short notice. It clearly worried Jeffrey, but she told him that she was fine and it was just some anonymous call by a wacko. She reassured Jeffrey that the person never called her by name and probably just dialed randomly and got some sick pleasure from hearing her shocked voice.

  He believed her.

  CHAPTER 6

  Dan felt sick to his stomach when he left Moore Labs after his conversation with Maria. He knew he had promised her that he wouldn't tell anyone about the vial he had discovered in her purse, but the more he thought about what Jeffrey had done, it became clear to him that Jeffrey had made a very bad decision.

  Many of the other scientists at Moore Labs had made discoveries which were highly sought after by various other drug companies. Even so, they all abided by the contract they had signed with Moore Labs when they had been hired. Dan himself had made an important scientific discovery resulting in a type of aspirin, which was effective, yet had no adverse side effects, unlike the others on the market. But Dan hadn't given it to any members of his family and it galled him to think that Jeffrey had abused lab ethics and protocol by administering the anti-aging hormone to Maria.

  Almost every time one of the scientists at Moore Labs made an important discovery, they would talk about how they wished they could give their discovery to some member of their family who was in pain or suffering from some type of physical or mental ailment, but they never did. It would be a breach of ethics and the legal contracts that each of them had signed when they had been hired by Moore Labs.

  Sleep wouldn't come to Dan that night as he weighed the pros and cons of telling the founder and president of the company, Sidney Moore, what Jeffrey had done. Sidney had been Dan's mentor and Dan knew he couldn't face Sidney if somehow he found out that Dan had known what Jeffrey had done, but hadn't told him.

  Yet, on the other hand, he had made a solemn promise to Maria. Jeffrey was not only Dan's colleague; he was his friend. They had shared many hours in the lab together as well as often getting together for a drink after work. Dan had also been the best man at Jeffrey and Maria's wedding. He desperately wished that he had never walked over to Maria's desk and seen what was in her purse. This really was a no-win situation.

  As dawn broke, Dan came to a decision. He went into his office early and promptly, at 9:00 a.m., when Moore Scientific Laboratories opened for business, he called Sidney's office.

  "Sidney Moore's office," answered Monica, Sidney's long-time personal assistant. "May I help you?"

  "Monica, this is Dan Weaver. I'd like to schedule an appointment with Sidney. Could he see me this morning?"

  "Let me check his schedule. Yes, if you can be here at 10:00, he has an opening. I know he would be happy to see you. He always speaks so highly of you."

  "Thanks. I'll be there at 10:00."

  Well, he thought, there's no going back now. The next hour passed at a snail's pace for Dan. He dreaded the upcoming meeting with Sidney more than he had ever dreaded anything in his life. There was no way to gloss this over. Later, he wished he had never made the call.

  At 9:55, he rode the elevator up to the top floor and walked to Sidney's luxurious office suite. As soon as he entered the reception area, Monica escorted him to the door leading to Sidney's office, knocking on the door, which was quickly opened by Sidney.

  "It's good to see you. What brings you to my office so bright and early? A new discovery, I hope!" Sidney said, laughing, with his customary large smile. The enormous success of Moore Scientific Laboratories allowed Sidney to wear custom-made silk suits; have his hair cut and colored by an expensive Newport Beach hair stylist; and have a private trainer come to the gym that had been installed adjacent to Sidney's spacious office three mornings a week. He was proud of his home in Cota de Caza, his Maserati, and his beautiful second wife. Sidney had been a pharmacist before he founded Moore Labs and very much enjoyed the perks of his successful career.

  Once again Dan felt sick to his stomach. This had to be about the worst thing that he had ever been involved in, ratting out his best friend. He began, "Thanks for taking the time to see me. I don't think either of us is going to enjoy the next few minutes, but there are some things you need to know, things that I have to tell you."

  "Sit down. Tell me what's troubling you." Dan was ashen, his hands were shaking, and he was sweating profusely. One look at Dan and Sidney could tell that he was paying a very high price for whatever it was he was getting ready to tell him. He motioned for Dan to sit on the tan leather couch on the other side of the room, which Dan interpreted as a gesture of trust and friendship. Sidney usually conducted his meetings with people by sitting in a position of power behind his desk.

  He told Sidney what had happened from the moment he had seen the vial in Maria's purse to the promise she had extracted from him. He knew that by telling Sidney he had broken his promise to Maria and ended his friendship with Jeffrey. He felt like a traitor and yet he knew he could not have done otherwise.

  "Are you sure about this? Are you 100% certain that Jeffrey has been administering the anti-aging hormone to Maria? I need to be very, very certain that what you've told me is true. If you have even a shred of doubt, tell me now. I don't want to be sued for slander," Sidney said.

  "Here is what I know and why I'm 100% certain of what I've told you. I personally saw the vial in Maria's purse. I know that it was Jeffrey's. Maria admitted that Jeffrey had been injecting her with his hormone. She even told me that Jeffrey had given the vial to her earlier that day because last night was the night for her monthly injection. Not only did she admit it, but she swore me to secrecy and made me promise I wouldn't tell anyone. I broke that promise and I don't feel good about it, but I felt you needed to know. Yes, I am 100% certain," Dan concluded.

  "You know what will happen when this story breaks? There will be a feeding frenzy in the press. This has all of the elements of a really good story with a possible future Nobel Prize winner developing an anti-aging hormone and giving it to his beautiful wife against all company protocol. Yeah, this is a story the press will be all over," Sidney said.

  Dan knew that Sidney was worried about the implications of what he had told him. He would have to meet with lawyers and pacify investors. And the hormone itself. Who owned it? Legally, it was the property of Moore Scientific Laboratories. When a scientist was hired by Moore Labs, a contract was signed involving confidentiality and it stated in very clear terms that Moore Scientific Laboratories owned whatever the employee developed. In this case, like in all the other discoveries, although the hormone had been developed through Jeffrey's experiments, Jeffrey did not own the hormone; Moore Scientific Laboratories did. Dan also knew that if Jeffrey had been supplying the drug to Maria in violation of all company rules and regulations, Jeffrey could just as easily be selling the formula to some competitor, getting rich in the process, against all Moore protocol and contract rights.

  Sidney began, "I am very, very sorry that you had to be involved in this. I can't thank you enough for telling me. I know it must have been the most difficult decision you ever had to make and I know that Jeffrey and Maria are good friends of yours. I can only imagine what you must be going through. Again, thank you. I need to talk to our lawyers and get some things in place before I confront Jeffrey. Why don't you take the rest of today, tomorrow, and next week off? Just go somewhere and get some rest. You can come back when this has blown over. I don't think it would be a good idea for you to be here when I confront Jeffrey. Once this becomes public, even though your name will never be mentioned, the press will nose around and probably try to reach you. Naturally, Maria will have to be fired as well."

&nb
sp; Dan left the office, sick at heart. He knew he couldn't have lived with himself if he hadn't told Sidney, but that didn't make the sick feeling in his stomach go away. He went home, booked a flight to Cabo San Lucas, Mexico, and left that afternoon. In a few hours, he was sitting on the beach, a much-needed piña colada in hand.

  CHAPTER 7

  It had not been a good couple of days for Sam Begay. In fact, the last few days had been even worse than usual. He had lost the faith of the Tribal Council; left the sweat lodge before the ceremony had ended; and disappointed Strong Medicine. No, these were not things one wanted to have happen on the reservation. But if he could have known what the next few years of his life would bring, they would seem good by comparison.

  Sam, a Native American, left the reservation when he went to college, one of the few from the reservation to do so. He was an extremely bright student and had received a scholarship earmarked for Native Americans. Even so, it didn’t fully cover the cost of his education and he still had to take out a number of loans to help pay for his education. He returned during brief vacations from school, but most of his summers were spent in school so he could get more credits and his degree earlier. Just as he was ready to graduate from college, a casino was built on the reservation by his tribe.

  The tribe had gone through many changes in recent years. The members had all prospered since a gaming compact had been signed by the Governor, which essentially allowed the tribe to have a casino on the reservation. The casino, financed by Las Vegas casino management firms, had provided wealth beyond any of their expectations. As one of the 241 members of the tribe, Sam received a check every month for $30,000, as did each of the other tribal members.