Burden of Truth – Still Waters

By: Stacy Miller

Billy (Peter Mooney) calls his niece Molly (Sara Thompson) and tells her that in order to file a class action suit they will need a named plaintiff on the suit that will represent all the other girls on the suit. “Ask Taylor, she was the first one to get sick,” Molly reminds. Joanna (Kristin Kreuk) tells Molly that although Taylor (Anwen O’Driscoll) did get sick, Molly is a star athlete with something to lose and a sympathetic face which the jury will relate. She tells Molly that they’ll need her decision within the next twenty four hours. “Molly this is the best chance for you and the girls winning this case,” Joanna tells the teen. “Uncle Billy, what do you think I should do?” “It has to be your decision.  But Joanna’s right, you’re our best candidate.” “God, I hate this town,” Molly says annoyed. She goes to take a shower and experiences a violent tremor which calls her to fall down.

Joanna goes for a jog and while she is taking photos of McMahon Rubber tire manufacturing plant, she notices a black car following her.

Billy drills a safety railing into the shower. Molly’s mother Wendy (Rebecca Gibson) tells him how she almost had a heart attack when Molly fell. Wendy suggests that Molly call her the next time she needs to take a shower then goes off to work.  Molly hates that everyone is treating her like she’s made of glass.

Joanna is in the diner working on the case when Billy enters.  She shows him the photos she took earlier and tells him how she found storage containers at the tire factory. Joanna explains that one of the containers looked cracked but she couldn’t tell whether anything was leaking. The other photos Joanna took include the steel mill and the old hospital. “Each of these places could have used a substantial amount of Benzine,” Joanne explains as well as other chemicals. She feels that she is on the right track, if she wasn’t right, the black SUV truck that was following her at all the locations wouldn’t have been there. Joanna tells Billy that they have to prove that the chemicals at one of the places leaked into the ground and somehow ended up at the school. “At CTS we used to hire a hydrologist to do the ground water testing,” Joanna tells Billy. “We don’t have any money,” Billy says reminding they can’t afford a hydrologist. That’s when a man named Howard (Sergio Di Zio) arrives at the diner.  Joanna introduces Billy to Dr. Howard Davies, their hydrologist. “Always available to CTS. I reviewed the materials you sent,” Howard says.

At Millwood High, Molly assures her girlfriend Luna (Star Slade) that it was just one little tremor and she had no more the rest of the night. Luna tells Molly that Ms. Evans (Nicola Correia-Damude) wants all the sick girls to attend a group meeting to talk about their feelings about what happened to them. Molly doesn’t think school counselor Diane Evans’ idea is a good one; Molly doesn’t want to talk about it preferring it not to be what her life is about. “You don’t always have to pretend,” Luna reminds Molly. But Molly assures she’s not pretending, the day will be a normal day like always where she hates Algebra. At the support group, a girl named Georgia (Cassandra Potenza) shows her bracelet that’s like a panic button. Georgia explains that she almost fell down the stairs last week and now her parents are scared for her to leave the house. Taylor comments that it’s almost like an ankle monitor prisoners wear. She’s frustrated that no one can tell them what caused them to become sick and their parents are blaming everything from drugs to social media screen time, basically accusing them of doing it to themselves. Diane tells the girls that she knows they’re confused and scared but have to remember they are not alone…they have each other.

Back at the diner, Billy reminds Joanna that because Howard thinks she’s working for CTS on this case he’ll bill them for the work he does like he would Carver, Thatcher and Stokes. “How are we going to pay him if we lose?” Billy asks Joanna. “I told out a loan on my condo,” Joanna answers. They go back over to Howard who is reviewing maps and explains that his gut is telling him that the old hospital location is the most logical culprit because it is closest to the field. He tells Billy and Joanna that in order to prove his theory they would need to dig a series of wells to determine where the ground water is flowing. If the toxic is present, they’ll have their answer.

While the girls are playing basketball, Diane approaches Molly about the support group.  As Molly has played a variety of sports at Millwood High and was the captain for most of them, Diane thinks she should attend the support group as the girls need a leader. “Have you been talking with Joanna?” Molly asks. She tells Diane how Joanna wants her (Molly) to be the face of the lawsuit; the named plaintiff.

Billy and Joanna learn that the mayor has denied their request for a permit to dig exploratory wells. They talk with the mayor about the delay and Joanna reminds that the mayor could be charged with criminal negligence. Reluctantly, the mayor tells them they can dig four wells. But she warns Billy to be careful as he knows how people in the town talk. As Billy and Joanna leave the high school, they find Luna waiting for them and Joanna spots the car that’s been following her and takes a photo of the license plate.  Luna tells Joanna that she sent the photo to her phone. “I’ve got a guy I can talk to,” she tells Joanna. “I’m sorry you’ve got a guy?” Joanna asks. “Consider it my job application,” Luna answers, she wants to do something to help Molly. “But I need to get paid, I have expenses,” Luna tells Joanna.

When Molly starts having spasms, one of the girls freak out and panics they could catch what Molly has. Molly assures it’s not contagious. But is reminded that she doesn’t know that for certain.

Billy, Howard and Joanna begin digging their first well. If it turns out to be the hospital because it was owned privately and the owner went bankrupt a few years ago, they can’t sue the government. So, Joanna hopes it’s not the hospital as a bankrupted defendant is of no use to them. Joanna says that the shower railing Billy installed may have cost twenty dollars, but what if the next expense is a wheelchair ramp or around the clock nursing care?  They need to win the girls a substantial settlement.

Luna meets Owen (Meegwun Fairbrother) in his police car and asks him to find the car that’s been following Joanna Hanley. “I need you to wave your magic police wand,” Luna tells Owen.

Ben Matheson (David Lawrence Brown), Taylor’s father and the owner of the mill is angry that Billy wants to drill there reminding that the mill was dying until his family breathed life back into the business. He talks about how everyone he grew up was starting families when he and his wife weren’t having any success; Taylor was their miracle. “Then we need to know what’s making her sick,” Billy tells Ben, who gives Crawford permission to drill.

“Repeat after me ‘this is not to become a pattern,’” Owen tells Luna handing over the list of names of black SUV owners. One is a worker at McMahon Rubber, a hot head with a domestic violence charge. Owen tells Luna not to go anywhere near the man. Later, Luna calls Joanna as she learns the man sold his black SUV.

Billy and Joanna talk about the old hospital. Joanna remembers how she once visited her mom there when she was eleven and her mother has pneumonia. Billy tells Joanna that the hospital was a psychiatric one. Joanna later calls her father David Hanley (Alex Ross) and asks “Why didn’t you tell me mom was in a psychiatric hospital?” David tells Joanna they’ll talk about it when she gets back. What secret is David hiding about Joanna’s mother?

Owen asks Diane about Luna. He explains that he used to date Luna’s mother and although he doesn’t miss the drama, he misses the step dad thing. Diane assures Owen that he has nothing to worry about as far as Luna’s concerned, the girl is on the right track.

The owner of the tire factory, McMahon refuses to allow Billy and Howard to win.

Joanna questions her mother’s old doctor and learns that her mother was on the road of a breakdown and her father encouraged him to get his wife some help.

Howard reviews the results of the drilling with Billy and Joanna. It seems that none of their four sites is the cause of the chemical pollutant. It is coming from the field itself. “Then someone put it there,” Joanna realizes.

Molly and Taylor talk about the support group. Taylor comments that they’ve known each other since kindergarten and that was the longest conversation they’ve ever had. The girls watch as Billy, Howard and Joanna drill on the field.  Howard hits something metal. It seems that someone buried a toxic waste container underneath the school field. They tell the mayor of their discovery and Ben Matheson agrees to have some of his guys remove the container before what’s inside leaks into the town’s drinking water. Joanna thanks Howard for his help and he comments how she was right. “Always go with your gut Joanna. You have one hell of a lawsuit,” Howard says.

Joanna tells Billy how her mother almost had a breakdown. They decide to follow to see where the containers are being moved to. But are run off the road by the new owner of the black SUV, who is not employed by McMahon Tire, who is after Joanna?