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they were doing?”
    “Falsifying data and reports about a new drug.”
    “Those are pretty serious allegations. Did you have any proof?”
    Martha stared down at her hands and twisted her watch around her wrist. “I gave the regulators a sample of the drug and a few documents I had found, but the really incriminating evidence was hidden away.”
    She sniffed and a tear trickled down her cheek. Katy looked up at the clock. Her pulse sped up and she silently willed Martha to hurry.
    “It’s okay, Martha, go on.”
    “The regulators didn’t believe me.” Martha swallowed and wiped away another tear. “Or maybe they did but Mr. Steele bought them all off. The drug will probably be the biggest thing to come out of North America in the last few years.”
    Katy jotted a few notes on her paper and motioned for Martha to keep talking.
    Martha shrugged. “There isn’t much more to say. I filed a report, and then the regulators sent a few people to interview me. They promised it would all be confidential and my name would never be released. A few weeks later, Mr. Steele called me into his office and fired me. He said I had been in the building after hours, which isn’t true.”
    “You were never in the building after hours?”
    “Well, once I went in because I had forgotten my purse, but I had to go through security before I went to my office so it wasn’t like I was sneaking around.”
    Katy studied Martha’s face but didn’t see any hint of deception. “Did you talk to the regulators again to let them know you had been fired shortly after you reported the company?”
    Martha nodded. “They said they had investigated and couldn’t substantiate my complaints. They also said they never released my name to Hi-Tech. I didn’t believe them.”
    Katy checked her watch. She hadn’t recognized the name of the partner listed on the pleadings as defense counsel and couldn’t assume he would be amenable to a late start. Usually she researched her opposition and strategized accordingly, but in this instance she just hadn’t had the time.
    “So you think you were dismissed because Steele found out about the whistle-blowing?”
    Martha nodded. “Mr. Steele also accused me of being a corporate spy when he dismissed me, but I think he was just fishing for an excuse. I was a good employee. He had no reason to let me go.”
    Her impassioned words left Katy in no doubt Martha would be a convincing witness. She came across as open, honest and without guile. Sometimes a good witness made it worth the risk to up the stakes in a strong case. “I think we might be able to establish an ulterior motive for your dismissal and make a substantial punitive damage claim.”
    Martha leaned forward. “It’s not about the money. It’s about getting enough evidence to make the regulators believe me. Hi-Tech has to be shut down. The drug has very serious side effects. I don’t want anyone to get hurt.”
    Not about the money? Given the high cost of litigation and the time and effort required to run a case through to trial, it was always about the money. She had seen Martha’s tax returns and her client was far from wealthy. Either Martha was the most altruistic person she had ever met, or there was more to the case than she had revealed.
    “We have a fairly wide scope for requesting documents and interviewing witnesses,” Katy said. “I’ll go on a little fishing expedition to see what we can turn up.”
    Martha smiled and dried her eyes. “It’s nice to finally have someone in my corner—someone who believes me.”
    Maybe. Maybe not. Katy knew better than to take her client’s story at face value. But given her uncertainty about opposing counsel, a more detailed examination of Martha’s story would have to wait.
    “We’ll have to finish up later. I’ve got enough to make Mr. Steele squirm for a few hours, and we can always drag him in again if something unexpected turns up in the discovery today.”
      “There’s something