Erin Brockovich

ANNA: Um, Erin? Listen. Even though you're not necessarily my favorite person in the world ... ... sometimes you're not half-bad.

ERIN: I'm gonna assume that was meant as a compliment, Anna, and just say thank you.

ANNA: Where've you been?

ERIN: What the fuck did you do with my stuff?

ANNA: Don't use language with me --

ERIN: Anna? With this real-estate valuing stuff - - could you remind me, cause I'm a little confused about how exactly we do that.

ANNA: Erin, you've been here three weeks. If you don't know how to do your job by now, I am not about to do it for you.

ANNA: ... what we do in here is keep track of all the case files. That way, at any time, we can find out a case's status -- where it is in the office, stuff like that. We file 'em all here, alphabetically --

ERIN: Oh, hell. I'm dyslexic.

ANNA: That's a joke, right?

ED: Tell you what, why don't you go on over to reception, tell them I said Mario should take you to the airport.

BAUM: Hey, excellent. Thanks.

BAUM: Mr. Masry, before you go off on some crusade, you might want to remember who it is you're dealing with here. PG&E is a 28- billion dollar corporation.

ED: Thanks. I'll keep it in mind.

BAUM: A million things could have caused those problems. Poor diet, bad genes, irresponsible lifestyle. Our offer is final and more than fair.

ED: Wait a minute -- I thought we were negotiating here.

BAUM: 250,000 is all I'm authorized to offer.

ED: 250,000?

BAUM: In terms of land value out in Hinkley, Mr. Masry, we feel it's a more than fair price.

ED: What about in terms of medical expenses? 250,000 doesn't come close to what this family's gonna have to spend on doctors.

BAUM: I understand they've had a bad run of luck, health-wise, and they have my sympathies. But that's not PG&E's fault.

ED: You're kidding, right? Look at these readings for Christ's sake. PG&E's own technicians documented toxic levels of hexavalent chromium in those test wells, on numerous occasions.

ED: Fax these to this number, okay?

BRENDA: All of 'em?

ED: All of them.

ED: What's she doing here?

BRENDA: Who?

ED: What the hell is this doing here?

BRENDA: It's those files you asked for.

ED: I didn't mean for you to leave them in the middle of the floor. Jesus. Look at me. What do I have this afternoon?

BRENDA: Nothing you can't show up for with a stain.

ED: Whoa. Remind me.

BRENDA: Erin Brockovich. Car accident. Not her fault, she says. And she looks like such an honest girl, don't you think?

ED: You shouldn't judge, Brenda.

BRENDA: Right. Lap-dancers are people too.

BRENDA: Tequila. From your drug dealer friend.

ED: Carlos isn't a friend; he's a client.

BRENDA: He's a low-life. Speaking of which, that's your nine o'clock in there.

BRENDA: Tony Marvin.

ED: Oh, Jesus. Who's responsible for his pain and suffering this time?

BRENDA: His dry cleaners. You want him?

ED: What do you think? What's this?

ERIN: What? Hey -- he hit me.

DEFENDING LAWYER: So you say.

ERIN: He came tearing around the corner, out of control --

DEFENDING LAWYER: An ER doctor who spends his days saving lives was the one out of control --

ERIN: That asshole smashed in my fucking neck!

DEFENDING LAWYER: So. You must've been feeling pretty desperate that afternoon.

ERIN: What's your point?

DEFENDING LAWYER: Seventeen thousand in debt. Whew. Is your ex-husband helping out?

ERIN: Which one?

DEFENDING LAWYER: There's more than one?

ERIN: Yeah. There's two. Why?

GEORGE: Meningitis? What the hell is meningitis?

DOCTOR: It's an inflammation of the spinal cord and part of the brain.

GEORGE: Jesus.

DOCTOR: She must be a tough cookie, cause it's a pretty advanced case. I'd say she's been walking around with it for a few weeks now.

GEORGE: How does someone get meningitis?

DOCTOR: Usually, in adults, it's from exposure to bacteria or a virus or ...

GEORGE: ... or lemme guess -- toxic waste?

DONNA: I can put them in a good school.

ERIN: Any school you want.

DONNA: And get someone to help around the house.

ERIN: Yup.

DONNA: Oh my God. Oh my God.

DONNA: I don't even know how much money that is.

ERIN: It's enough -- for whatever you need, for whatever your girls need, for whatever your girls' girls need -- it'll be enough.

DONNA: Oh, my God.

ERIN: And he's making them give five million of it to you all.

DONNA: Five million dollars?

ERIN: Five million dollars.

ERIN: The judge came up with a number.

DONNA: A number for the whole group, or for us?

ERIN: Both.

DONNA: It's a good day. I feel good.

ERIN: Well, then -- if you're feeling up to it, maybe we should talk shop.

ERIN: You wouldn't happen to have a little time right now, would you, Donna?

DONNA: For what?

ERIN: Well, I was gonna head over to the Browns now. I was thinking -- Mandy really values your opinion ...

DONNA: Sure wish I had longer to get used to the idea. You think if you got no uterus, and no breasts, you're still technically a woman?

ERIN: Sure you are. You're just a happier woman, cause you don't have to deal with maxi-pads and underwire.

DONNA: No. Hunh-uh, see, that's not what the doctor said. He said one's got absolutely nothing to do with the other.

ERIN: Right, but -- didn't you say he was paid by PG&E?

DONNA: An on-site monitoring well? That means --

ERIN: It was right up on the PG&E property over there.

DONNA: And you say this stuff, this hexavalent chromium -- it's poisonous?

ERIN: Yeah.

DONNA: Well -- then it's gotta be a different than what's in our water, cause ours is okay. The guys from PG&E told me. They sat right in the kitchen and said it was fine.

ERIN: I know. But the toxicologist I been talking to? He gave me a list of problems that can come from hexavalent chromium exposure. And everything you all have is on that list.

ERIN: Seems like an awful big coincidence -- your water being messed with and you being so sick.

DONNA: Not around here. This is a rough part of the world. Hard times, not a lot of money, not a lot of luck. It's a challenge, staying healthy in a town like this. Heck, even our dogs up and die.

ERIN: What's chromium?

DONNA: It's a chemical they used over at that compressor station up the road there.

ERIN: Well, hell, maybe that's why you all have been so sick --

DONNA: I thought the same thing, right off the bat. That's why we went to see the doctor. But hunh-uh. Turns out one's got nothing to do with the other.

DONNA: Are you kidding? With how our lives are, if I start subdividing files, I'll be sunk. I just kept all PG&E correspondence in one place.

ERIN: Right, but -- I'm sorry, I don't see why you were corresponding with PG&E about it in the first place.

DONNA: Well, they paid for the doctor's visit.

ERIN: They did?

DONNA: You bet. Paid for a check-up for the whole family. And not like with insurance where you pay, then wait a year to be reimbursed, either. They just took care of it. Just like that. We never even saw a bill.

ERIN: Wow. Why would they do that?

DONNA: Cause of the chromium.

ERIN: The what?

DONNA: The chromium. Well, that's what kicked this whole thing off.

DONNA: I know. They're more than a bit unusual. See, two years ago, Pete got Hodgkin's disease. That's a kind of cancer --

ERIN: Yeah, I'm real sorry to hear that.

DONNA: Thank you. It's in remission now, thank the Lord, but you never know. And then while that's going on, I end up having to have a hysterectomy. Plus a whole mess of lumps removed from my breasts. All benign so far, but still, no matter how positive you stay, an operation can still take it out of you.

ERIN: I'll say. Holy moley.

DONNA: So the whole idea of selling the house -- don't get me wrong, I'd be glad to move to some better place, but if they aren't gonna pay us properly, I just don't see the point.

ERIN: Yeah, I can see that. I guess the only thing that confused me is - - not that your medical problems aren't important, but -- how come the files about them are in with all the real estate stuff?

DONNA: Thank you. I think so too. That's why I'm being such a stickler on this house price thing. I don't mean to be a pain in PG&E's backside, especially after all they've done for Hinkley, but I look around here and I think, if they want this place, they're gonna have to pay for it. And I don't just mean pay for the house; I'd like them to pay me for the trouble of starting over.

ERIN: Right.

DONNA: Cause first you gotta move, then there's decorating, and if the windows aren't the same size, you know -- you're making all new curtains. Honest to God, I don't know if I have the energy. You know, I've been sick. Me and Peter both have.

ERIN: Yeah, I'm real glad you brought that up. I was going through your file here, and I ran into these medical records. They kinda surprised me --

DONNA: I added air conditioning, put in the pool, made all those pillows by hand ...

ERIN: Yeah? I should learn to do stuff like that. They make the place feel real homey.

ERIN: This is a real nice place you got here.

DONNA: Well it oughta be, with all the work I put into it.

ERIN: Hi. Donna Irving?

DONNA: Yes?

ERIN: I'm Erin Brockovich, from Masry & Vititoe?

DONNA: You're a lawyer?

ERIN: Hell, no. I hate lawyers. I just work for them. You got a minute?

ERIN: Two million dollars?

ED: The firm took in sixty. That's three percent. Seemed like a fair bonus to me.

ERIN: What is that?

ED: Take it.

ERIN: Careful you don't spit from here; you could kill someone.

ED: You see your office?

ERIN: Yeah. Yours is nicer.

ED: Oh, okay. Here it comes.

ERIN: Here what comes?

ED: The extortion, the threats ...

ERIN: I wasn't gonna --

ED: "I can always find someplace else to work. Someplace that'll pay me a fortune and give me a view of the French Riviera ..."

ERIN: Ed, I swear, I'm not --

ED: Okay, fine. Fine You backed me into a corner again. You're holding me hostage ...

ED: But I know you're not gonna quit on me.

ERIN: How do you know that?

ED: Cause you got a little voice in your head saying, do the right thing. Give him another chance.

ED: I don't know what to say.

ERIN: Say you were wrong.

ED: I was wrong.

ERIN: Say you shortchanged me and you shortchanged yourself.

ED: I did. Both.

ERIN: Say you'd be the luckiest son of a bitch on Earth if I didn't up and quit over all this.

ED: The luckiest son of a bitch in the universe, Erin. The luckiest son of a bitch in history.

ED: Ho - ly - shit.

ERIN: Oh, now don't get all jealous, Ed. I got a little something for you, too.

ERIN: Morning!

ED: Erin? What are you --

ERIN: You know what, Mr. Potter? I completely forgot your birthday this year. And seeing as how you've been so good to me, I think that is a terrible oversight. So what I been doing over the last few days is I've been putting together a present for you.

ERIN: Between 50 and 400 million, definitely?

ED: Uh-huh.

ERIN: And if you had to guess ...

ED: With nothing linking it to the corporate offices yet, I'd say we'll end up on the lower end of that. Still a lot of money.

ERIN: So why would PG&E offer it?

ED: Because. They know the evidence; they know they're gonna lose a jury trial. Maybe they wouldn't lose 400 million bucks, but once you factor in all they'd spend on this case in the next ten years, it makes a lot of --

ERIN: Wait, what do you mean, ten years?

ED: Five years, maybe, for a trial. Double that for the appeal.

ERIN: I'm sorry, are you saying that if this thing goes to trial, it'll be ten years before these plaintiffs see their money?

ED: Hey, that's not so bad. Compare it to the Love Canal -- that was twenty years ago, and those people still haven't seen a dime. So in legal terms, ten years is --

ERIN: Fuck legal terms. We're talking about human beings here. Sick people. A whole bunch of them are gonna be dead in ten years. They need their money now! We gotta get 'em to agree to the arbitration, Ed. We gotta get every damn one of those plaintiffs to --

ED: I know. We're having a meeting, it's all set up --

ERIN: When? Where?

ED: Tuesday at seven, at the Hinkley firehouse.

ERIN: Okay, good. I think I should be the one to tell 'em, cause they trust me more than --

ED: You're not gonna be there.

ERIN: The fuck I'm not. I don't care what the doctor says --

ED: This isn't doctor's orders. It's mine. I'm saying you can't come.

ERIN: Why not?

ED: Because Kurt doesn't want to work with you. He thinks you're a loose cannon.

ERIN: Fuck Kurt.

ED: Erin --

ERIN: No, I'm serious. You know what Kurt Potter is? He's the kind of guy who never would have taken this case in the first place. He's the kind of guy who would have sold these plaintiffs down the river when PG&E offered 20 million. He doesn't work like us, Ed. There's no little voice in his head telling him to do the right thing.

ERIN: If you're here to fire me, your timing's lousy.

ED: I'm not gonna fire you. I wanted to. But then you got sick, and that woulda made me look like a shit. You embarrassed me, Erin.

ERIN: I know. I'm sorry. Do I get to hear what happened anyway?

ED: Don't give me that. You've gotten plenty. You've been well-paid; you've gotten lots of perks ...

ERIN: Perks? Jesus -- perks?

ERIN: How dare you take that away from me.

ED: No one's taking anything --

ERIN: Bullshit. You stuck me in Siberia dictating to some God damn steno clerk so you could finish this thing without me. After all I've done for you, that's the thanks I get.

ED: Look, this is serious now. They're talking serious money --

ERIN: And, what, I'm not serious?

ED: You're emotional. You're erratic. You say any God damn thing that comes into your head. And I'm not saying that's bad. That can be great; that can be a lot of fun --

ERIN: "Fun?" Jesus, "fun?" I kill myself for a year and a half, hand you the best case of your life on a God damn silver platter, remind you of why you became a lawyer in the first place, and you think of me as "fun?"

ED: Okay, now you're making this personal, and it isn't --

ERIN: Not personal? That's my work in there, Ed. My sweat, my labor, my time. If that's not personal, I don't know what is.

ERIN: If you tell me to relax, I'm gonna kick your fucking head off --

ED: Erin, it's just a meeting.

ERIN: People don't fly down in their own god damn plane for "just a meeting" --

ED: Look, you said you weren't feeling great. I thought you should rest.

ERIN: Bullshit. You'd drag me off my deathbed if it suited you.

ED: Okay, look. It's an important meeting. Kurt thought, if it was just lawyers --

ERIN: Kurt thought? What about you? Do you think anymore?

ED: Because that's how people treat each other!

ERIN: Not in my world.

ED: Gee, I wonder why.

ERIN: She insulted me!

ED: Bullshit. It was a misunderstanding. But instead of handling it politely, instead of treating her with respect --

ERIN: Why the fuck should I respect her?

ERIN: Why good?

ED: He's got a reputation for doing all his --

ERIN: Counts?

ED: Reasons PG&E thinks it shouldn't go to --

ERIN: What's a demur?

ED: It's PG&E saying to the judge that we don't have a case. Their lawyers go --

ERIN: Holy shit. Who do they represent, God?

ED: Don't joke. They might. So do me a favor and behave yourself for once. Ed Masry to see Kurt Potter.

ERIN: What kind of things come up?

ED: Things like the head counsel for PG&E calling me with an offer. 20 million, plus attorney's fees. Take it or leave it.

ERIN: Whoa. No shit.

ED: It's about 50 thousand per plaintiff.

ERIN: So what are you thinking?

ED: I'm thinking ... I wish someone else had to make this decision. 50 thousand bucks is more than any other California toxic plaintiff has gotten. Ever. But ...

ERIN: ... but it won't cover Annabelle Daniels's medical bills.

ED: And it's less than pocket change for PG&E.

ERIN: Do you think we'd do better by going to trial?

ED: Maybe. but maybe not. We still don't have anything linking this to PG&E corporate. Plus, there's the statute problem. Plus, we're way short on manpower, so we'd need to bring on more lawyers ...

ERIN: Plus, 40 percent of 20 million's a whole lot of money.

ED: It's eight million dollars, Erin. Eight million dollars.

ED: I'll see what I can do.

ERIN: You might want to think real hard about the amount, too. My kids are sitting in the God damn parking lot right now, cause I still don't make enough to afford good child care. Makes me think about looking around for a job where I'm appreciated, for shit's sake.

ED: Oh, Jesus. You wanna tell me what the problem is here, or --

ERIN: It's my paycheck. Which I earned. Which I deserve. Which I shouldn't have to beg for. That fat-ass bitch won't give it to me.

ED: Erin, you're a big girl. If you got a problem with Jane, work it out for yourself. I don't have time to deal with --

ERIN: Fuck you. Make time. Cause I bust my ass for you. I watch everything else in my life go straight in the toilet, for you. And what do you do for me? Huh? You see the way I'm treated around here -- but have you ever stood up for me once? Have you ever mentioned to everyone what good work I'm doing? Have you ever bothered saying, hey, Erin doesn't get paid the most cause she has the best tits; she gets paid the most cause she's the best God damn employee I've ever had?

ED: Is that what you want?

ERIN: I want my paycheck. By the end of the day.

ERIN: I want my fucking money --

ED: I'm sorry, I'm gonna have to put you on hold for just one second here -- Do you mind?

ERIN: Yeah, I mind. You bet your ass I mind.

ED: What kind of truck?

ERIN: I don't know. Big. Dark.

ED: He's gone. Did you get a license plate? Or a make?

ERIN: No, Ed -- what with me running for my life, I didn't have time to check those things --

ED: I was just asking. Are you all right?

ERIN: Yeah. Yeah, I'm ... fine.

ERIN: Someone's following me.

ED: What? Who?

ERIN: Some guy in a truck -- he waited till I was alone, then he followed me, like, two miles. Jesus, I'm shaking. Get me a beer.

ED: Hey. A new plaintiff called, wants to meet you. I told him we'd be out there Thursday.

ERIN: D'you get his name? Course not. Jesus, Ed --

ED: He said he'd be at the gas station at six.

ERIN: Boy, this job takes me to some of the best damn places, huh?

ERIN: Jesus. They look like the Secret Service.

ED: They're trying to intimidate us. Tell them to wait in the conference room.

ERIN: If they've sent that little shmuck Baum again, I'm gonna be real pissed off.

ED: From their tone of voice on the phone, I'd say they're taking us more seriously.

ERIN: Yeah, I heard that one before.

ED: Hey. I like working with you.

ERIN: Well, good, Ed. I like working with you too.

ED: I like this case.

ERIN: Really? It makes me sick.

ED: Me too. That's why I like it. It's been a long time since I had a case I cared about.

ERIN: You didn't care about my case?

ED: I would now.

ED: Then they didn't know. And if they didn't know, we can't hit 'em for punitive damages. And punitive damages is where the money is.

ERIN: Jesus Christ, Ed -- you know, the more I work on this thing, the more I realize what a crock of shit this legal system is. Here we got a company that poisoned a whole aquifer -- that built a pool for a town, then filled it with toxic water -- and we're the ones who've gotta bust our ass proving things? That's just not right.

ERIN: Don't give me that. You're gonna get plenty rich off of this, Mr. 40 percent. We got those PG&E fuckers by the balls here.

ED: We've got the PG&E fuckers in Hinkley by the balls. But nobody's getting rich unless we can pin this on the corporate PG&E fuckers in San Francisco.

ERIN: What do you mean?

ED: PG&E corporate is claiming they had no way of knowing what was going on in Hinkley.

ERIN: Oh, they knew. They had to know.

ED: Show me the document that proves that.

ED: Erin -- lemme tell you something. If I'da put three researchers on this, I wouldn't expect them to dig up all the information you got here. This is some damn good work.

ERIN: Yeah? Then gimme another raise.

ED: Hey, I got a staff to pay, plus rent, plus I haven't billed a minute of my time since I started on this case, so you can quit hitting me up like I'm rich or something.

ERIN: For your information, Frank cares what was in those ponds 'cause he used to spend half his day wading around them. That was his job.

ED: No shit.

ERIN: No --

ERIN: See, according to this, they were supposed to line the ponds so this shit couldn't seep into the ground. But guess what --

ED: They skipped that step.

ERIN: I guess it was a little too inconvenient. So for fourteen years, this stuff flowed into the groundwater, free as you please.

ED: Jesus. I don't even wanna ask what you did to make this Melendez guy talk.

ERIN: They covered 'em over. And not too carefully either, cause you dig one inch under the surface, and the dirt is green as a fucking shamrock.

ED: And that's what caused the contamination?

ERIN: It didn't help, but no. The real problem's on the bottom.

ERIN: They used the hex chrom here, in these cooling tanks, as an anti-corrosive. Then they dumped it here, in these six ponds.

ED: I don't remember seeing any ponds up there.

ED: You wanna talk about --

ERIN: No.

ED: Is that what I think it is?

ERIN: She lived on the plume. You never know.

ED: What now?

ERIN: Another raise wouldn't hurt. And with all the time I'm gonna be spending on the road, I'll probably be needing my own cel phone, won't I?

ERIN: You're doing the right thing, Mr. Masry.

ED: Yeah, yeah. Remind me of that when I'm filing for bankruptcy.

ED: This is a whole different ball game, Erin. A much bigger deal.

ERIN: Kinda like David and what's-his-name?

ED: Kinda like David and what's-his-name's whole fucking family. Okay, here's the deal -- if, and only if, you find me the evidence to back all this up -- I'll do it. I'll take it on.

ED: How many families we talking about here?

ERIN: Four more. Eleven people. So far.

ED: You think there's more?

ERIN: Well -- I found one document at the water board that had a toxic test well reading from 1967. A hell of a lot of people have lived on that land since then.

ERIN: We can get these people. With a little effort, I really think we can nail their asses to the wall.

ED: Oh, you do? With all your legal expertise, you believe that?

ERIN: Okay, fine. I don't know shit about shit. But I know the difference --

ERIN: And this shit is bad news, Mr. Masry. Not only does it attack every organ of the body, it fucks with your DNA, too. That means these people's genes, and the genes of their kids, and the genes of their grandkids --

ED: I know how DNA works, Erin --

ERIN: Okay, so here's what I'll do. I'll go on up to Ted and Rita Daniels -- two of the nicest people you'd ever hope to meet, who spend every single day watching their little girl fight like a dog against this cancer -- I'll tell them we can't help them cause you don't feel like working that hard.

ED: It's not about working hard --

ERIN: Bullshit.

ED: -- It's about being realistic. Something like this, Erin -- it could take forever. They're a huge corporation. They'd completely bury us in paperwork. I'm just one guy with a shitty little P.I. firm.

ERIN: -- who happens to know they poisoned people and lied about it.

ED: Hunh-uh. Absolutely not.

ERIN: That's crazy -- why not?

ED: Because I said no. Look -- the only reason PG&E's even talking to us is cause this is a quiet little real estate dispute. We add plaintiffs, and suddenly we're in the middle of a toxic tort -- with a statute problem -- against a massive utility. No, thank you.

ED: Then I don't get anything either.

ERIN: And I realized, he's taking a chance too.

ERIN: Boy, do I know how you feel. First time I heard that number, I said you got to be kidding me. Forty God damn percent?

ED: Erin --

ERIN: I'm the one who's injured, and this joker who sits at a desk all day is gonna walk away with almost half my reward?

ED: Erin --

ERIN: Mr. Masry, Mario gets lost going to the bathroom. They'll be driving around the valley for hours.

ED: Yeah. Isn't that a shame?

ERIN: At least they made an offer.

ED: That wasn't an offer. A million would've been an offer. When they send the God damn mail clerk down to jerk me off, waste my time, it's a fuck you.

ERIN: I don't get why they'd do that.

ED: Because they can. You heard that kid -- they have 28 billion dollars at their disposal. They can afford to waste all the time in the world.

ERIN: And you can't?

ED: What, you think I'm made of money?

ED: I'm telling you, the minute Brenda sent the fax -- I'm talking the second she pressed that send button -- PG&E claims department is on the phone to me, scheduling a meeting.

ERIN: So you think we got 'em scared?

ED: It sure as hell sounded like they were sitting up and taking notice.

ED: This is the only thing you found?

ERIN: So far. But that place is a pig sty. I wouldn't be surprised if there's more.

ED: Find out.

ED: Okay. A 5% raise, and --

ERIN: Ten. There's a lot of other places I could work.

ED: A ten percent raise and benefits. But that's it. I'm drawing the line.

ERIN: I want a raise. And benefits. Including dental.

ED: Look, Erin, this is not the way I do business, this extortion nonsense.

ED: That document you found, the one that says it was the bad chromium -- you didn't happen to make a copy did you?

ERIN: Course I did.

ED: Lemme see it, will you?

ED: But, PG&E told her about the chromium?

ERIN: They told her something, but it can't have been too specific, cause I talked to her, and she sure didn't think her water was bad.

ED: So what made you think it was?

ERIN: It doesn't take a genius to look at those medical records and think something's wrong.

ED: What medical records?

ERIN: The ones in the box of files. The box of files? The one from your office?

ED: I didn't see any medical records in there.

ERIN: Boy, you musta really fine-tooth-combed it then, huh? And you fired me. Jesus.

ED: So what's the story on this thing? This cancer stuff?

ERIN: You wanna know, you gotta hire me back. I got a lot of bills to pay.

ERIN: What are you doing here?

ED: I got an interesting call this afternoon. It was from a Dr. Frankel.

ERIN: Oh, yeah?

ED: He wanted you to know the legal limit for hexavalent chromium, is .05 parts per million. And that at the rate you mentioned, .58, it could be responsible for the cancers in that family you asked about. The Irvings.

ERIN: Well, that was nice of him. Isn't it funny how some people go out of their way to help people and others just give 'em the ax?

ED: Look, I'm sorry. You were gone. I just assumed you were off having fun.

ERIN: Now, why in the hell would you assume that?

ED: I don't know. Maybe cause you look like someone who has a lot of fun.

ERIN: Boy, are you ever a shitty judge of people.

ED: Come on, I'm trying to help here.

ERIN: Bullshit. You're trying to feel less guilty about firing someone with three kids to feed. Fuck if I'll help you do that.

ED: Okay, enough -- Now, look, Erin -- this incident aside, I don't think this is the right place for you. So what I'm gonna do is make a few calls on your behalf. Find you something else, okay?

ERIN: Don't bother.

ED: Erin, you've been gone for a week.

ERIN: I left a message. I've been dealing with that real estate thing. I was gonna write up a whole damn report and --

ED: That's not how we work here. You don't just leave a message and take off.

ED: You're a girl.

ERIN: Excuse me?

ED: How come you're not at lunch with the girls? You're a girl.

ERIN: I guess I'm not the right kind.

ED: You do know how to do that, don't you?

ERIN: Yeah. I got it. No problem.

ED: Good.

ERIN: Give her a cold washcloth to suck on -- I gotta go -- there's a clean one in that bag -- I'll check back in a bit. Sorry. My kid --

ED: Where's Anna?

ERIN: Out to lunch with the girls.

ED: Oh. Huh. Well, look, I got this file I need valued. Real estate thing. A lady has some property next to a PG&E plant that PG&E wants to buy. I need to know what to ask for it.

ED: All I have is hundreds.

ERIN: I don't wanna take your money, Mr. Masry.

ED: Bullshit, you don't.

ED: Yeah?

ERIN: I was wondering -- could you tell me who I'd talk to about maybe getting an advance on my paycheck? Just -- for the weekend.

ED: Jane's the office manager. She handles payroll and petty cash. But she leaves early on Fridays.

ERIN: Oh. Okay. That's okay.

ED: Okay, look. If you really want to apply for a job here, you can do it the way everyone else does. Send in a rsum, make an --

ERIN: I'm not everyone else, Mr. Masry. I'm someone you made promises to that you didn't deliver on. I trusted you. With my kids' well-being. Now, I'm smart, and I'm hard- working, and I'll do anything. But if you think I'm leaving here without a job, you got another thing coming.

ED: I never lied. I may have miscalculated -- that happens sometimes, but --

ERIN: You said things would be fine, and they're not.

ED: I'm sorry about that. Really. But --

ERIN: I don't need pity. I need a paycheck. And I've looked, but when you've spent the last six years raising babies, it's real hard to convince someone to give you a job that pays worth a damn. So I figure, since you're the one who said I was gonna be okay, you should be the one to hire me.

ERIN: You never called me back. I left messages.

ED: You did? Wow, sorry about that. Listen, Mario's a little not so bright. He seems to think that you said --

ERIN: There's two things I can't stand, Mr. Masry. Being ignored, and being lied to. You did both.

ED: I'm sorry, Erin.

ERIN: Yeah? Well, fuck you. Sorry doesn't feed my kids.

ED: Okay -- let's try and settle down here.

ERIN: Settle down? I got 74 bucks to my name, Mr. Masry! I can't afford to settle down!

ERIN: Open and shut? Open and fucking shut?

ED: If you hadn't used profanity --

ERIN: Oh, please, it was long over by then. God damn, he made me look like some cheap --

ED: I told you the questions might get a little personal --

ERIN: Bullshit. You told me I'd get half a million dollars. You told me I'd be set.

ERIN: They took some bone from my hip and put it in my neck. I didn't have insurance, so I'm about seventeen thousand in debt right now.

ERIN: ... couldn't take painkillers cause they made me too groggy to take care of my kids.

ERIN: ... Matthew's six, Katie's four, and Beth's just nine months.

ERIN: ... just wanna be a good mom, a nice person, a decent citizen. Just wanna take good care of my kids. You know?

ED: Yeah. I know.

POTTER: I've also been thinking about the team. Responsibilities, who should cover what --

ED: Right.

POTTER: I think we should makes some changes.

POTTER: Who's the judge?

ED: Corey.

POTTER: Good.

POTTER: How many counts?

ED: Sixty-nine. We've got good answers to all of 'em.

POTTER: When'd they file the demur?

ED: Yesterday.

ERIN: How come you didn't say anything when you found these things?

EMBRY: At the time, I thought, I got six kids, some of 'em want to go to college. I can't afford to lose my job. I told myself I was being honorable. But there's nothing honorable in what I did. Maybe that's why they picked me for the job. Maybe they knew what kind of man I was.

EMBRY: Course as it turns out, I'm not a very good employee.

ERIN: What do you mean?

EMBRY: Well. There were a few documents that I somehow didn't get around to shredding. That I kept instead.

ERIN: And you were told to destroy those?

EMBRY: That's right.

EMBRY: I was working in the compressor, and out of nowhere the supervisor calls me up to the office and says, we're gonna give you a shredder machine, and send you on down to the warehouse. We want you to get rid of all the documents stored out there.

ERIN: Did he say why?

EMBRY: Nope. And I didn't ask.

ERIN: Did you get a look at the stuff you destroyed?

EMBRY: Well, it's pretty boring work, shredding -- you gotta find some way to entertain your mind. So yeah, I took a look.

ERIN: And ...?

EMBRY: There was a lot of dull stuff -- vacation schedules, the like. But then there were a few memos about the holding ponds. The water in them. They had readings from test wells, stuff like that.

ERIN: Hey, Ross. Tell me something. Does PG&E pay you to cover their ass, or do you just do it out of the kindness of your heart?

ROSS: I don't know what you're talking about.

ERIN: The fuck you don't. No one calls me Pattee. That heavy-breathing sicko that called the other night could've only found out about me from you. People are dying, Ross. You got document after document here, right under your nose, that says why, and you haven't said word one about it. I wanna know how the hell you sleep at night.

ROSS: You know what, Erin? I got nothing but time here. Why don't you let me do that for you, and you can get your kids some dinner.

ERIN: Ross -- you are an absolute angel.

ROSS: Pattee? That your middle name?

ERIN: Nope. Maiden.

ROSS: You're married.

ERIN: Not anymore.

ROSS: Erin. Cool. What can I do for you, Erin?

ERIN: Well, believe it or not, I am on the prowl for some water records.

ROSS: You come to the right place.

ERIN: I guess I did.

ROSS: You just tell me what you want to look at and I'll be glad to dig 'em out for you.

ERIN: I wish I knew. It's for my boss. He's fighting his water bill, and he wants me to find all manner of bills from all kinds of places. The easiest thing would probably be if I just squeezed back there with you and poked around myself. Would that be okay?

ROSS: Heck, yeah. Come on back. Just gonna need you to sign in here --

ROSS: Oh, hey -- lemme give you a hand there.

ERIN: Thank you very much. Aren't you a gentleman? Mr. ...

ROSS: Ross.

ERIN: Ross. Real pleased to meet you. I'm Erin.

ERIN: So that stuff -- it kills people.

FRANKEL: Oh, yeah. Definitely. Highly toxic, highly carcinogenic. Bad, bad stuff.

ERIN: Well, how do I find out what kind of chromium is up in Hinkley?

FRANKEL: Have you been to the water board?

ERIN: Hunh-uh. What's that?

FRANKEL: Every county has one. They keep records of anything water-related within their jurisdiction. You should be able to find something there.

ERIN: County water board. All righty, thanks.

FRANKEL: Good luck. Oh -- I wouldn't advertise what you're looking for if I were you ...

FRANKEL: What kind of chromium is it?

ERIN: There's more than one kind?

FRANKEL: Yes. There's straight-up chromium -- does all kinds of good things for the body. There's chrom 3, which is fairly benign, and then there's chrom 6, hexavalent chromium, which, depending on the amounts, can be very harmful.

ERIN: Harmful, like -- how? What would you get?

FRANKEL: With repeated exposure to toxic levels -- God, anything, really -- respiratory disease, liver failure, heart failure, reproductive failure, chronic headaches, bone or organ deterioration -- plus, of course, any type of cancer.

ERIN: What are you doing? Where's George?

KATIE: I don't know.

ERIN: George!

ERIN: Look, I know you're mad. But the way this job is, things come up at the last minute, real important things, and I gotta deal with them. Now I don't like me missing dinner any more than you do, but we're all gonna have to get used to it, cause the fact is, it's gonna happen sometimes.

KATIE: It happens all the time.

ERIN: That's not true; we had dinner together just last night.

KATIE: Yeah. A real moron.

ERIN: Some kind of half-wit, no-good, big-haired, bimbo, I bet.

KATIE: I hate it too. I hate this trip.

ERIN: Oh, come on, where's your sense of adventure? We're going someplace you never been before.

KATIE: I'm gonna hate it.

KATIE: Mommy, can I get a flower?

ERIN: Sweetheart, you can get a whole big bunch.

ERIN: Put your napkins in your laps and eat up.

KATIE: How come you're not eating?

ERIN: Hey, Ros. Nice view, huh?

ROSALIND: Yeah, I'm gonna start sleeping here. Masry & Vititoe, can I -- damn it. Does anyone know anything about these phones?

ERIN: Hey, Ros, where are they?

ROSALIND: In the conference --

ERIN: What's going on in there?

ROSALIND: Some meeting. With PG&E people.

ERIN: PG& -- Are you sure?

ROSALIND: Yup. They must be important, too, cause they came on a special plane.

ROSALIND: Hey, Erin, I thought you were taking a sick day.

ERIN: So did I.

ROSALIND: You've been reading for hours.

ERIN: I'm a slow reader, on account of the fact that I look at the word "dog" and see "god".

ROSALIND: Hey, just so long as you see Him.

ROSALIND: Masry & Vititoe, can I help you?

ERIN: Hi, Rosalind, this is Erin. Brockovich. From the file room? I was wondering if you could tell Mr. Masry that I'm following up on that real estate thing out of the office.

MATTHEW: How come her own mom isn't helping her?

ERIN: Cause her own mom's real sick, too.

MATTHEW: She's one of the sick people?

ERIN: Yeah. She is. But you know what? That's why I'm helping her. So she can get some medicine to make her feel better.

ERIN: We'll work out the roller hockey thing, okay? Whatever you want, we'll work it out. I promise.

MATTHEW: You always say that. Then you go to work and forget you promised.

ERIN: I never forget, honey. I try, real hard. It's just, for some reason, I don't seem to be able to organize things right and -- when it comes to you guys, I end up falling short.

MATTHEW: You never fall short for the work people. I guess maybe you just love them more.

ERIN: Oh, God, sweetheart, no. There's nothing on Earth I love more than you. Nothing. I promise.

ERIN: God damn it, Matthew. What the hell are you doing out here?

MATTHEW: I'm gonna go live with George.

MATTHEW: Randy's mom said yes right away.

ERIN: Well, God damn it, Matthew -- Randy's mom doesn't work eighteen-hour days, and Randy's dad didn't leave her, so figuring out who's gonna take who where is a little easier over at Randy's house.

MATTHEW: Can I play roller hockey?

ERIN: We'll see.

MATTHEW: When?

MATTHEW: Yeah.

ERIN: Thank God we got you away from her, huh?

ERIN: There's no way a son of mine hates Funky Town. It's impossible.

MATTHEW: Well I hate it.

THERESA: Okay, look -- I think we got off on the wrong foot here --

ERIN: That's all you got, lady. Two wrong feet. In fucking ugly shoes.

THERESA: Annabelle Daniels.

ERIN: Annabelle Daniels. 714-454-9346.

ERIN: Excuse me -- Theresa, was it? There are no holes in my research.

THERESA: No offense. There are just some things we need that you probably didn't know to ask.

ERIN: Don't talk to me like I'm an idiot, okay? I may not have a law degree, but I've spent 18 months on this case, and I know more about those plaintiffs than you ever will.

THERESA: Erin. You don't even have phone numbers for some of them.

ERIN: Whose number do you need?

THERESA: Everyone's. This is a lawsuit. We need to be able to contact the plaintiffs.

ERIN: I said, whose number do you need?

THERESA: You don't know six hundreds plaintiffs' numbers by heart.

ERIN: Hey -- those are my files --

THERESA: Yeah, we had them couriered over. And listen, good work. They're a great start. We're just going to have to spend a little time filling in the holes in your research.

GEORGE: Promise you'll turn around if you get tired.

ERIN: I will. Bye.

ERIN: No, I need my car --

GEORGE: We'll just be a minute. Get a little more sleep.

ERIN: What time is it?

GEORGE: Real early. We're just gonna take your car to get some breakfast.

GEORGE: You shouldn't be driving around, you know. You're sick.

ERIN: Yeah, but I'm gonna get better. A lot of these folks aren't.

GEORGE: Think you could learn?

ERIN: You know me. I pick things up real fast.

ERIN: And I miss you.

GEORGE: Yeah, well -- good help is hard to find.

GEORGE: How long's this whole thing gonna take?

ERIN: I don't know. Few days. Thanks for helping me. I appreciate it.

GEORGE: They up?

ERIN: Hunh-uh. Not yet. Look, don't take any of 'em on your bike, okay? Call a cab if you wanna go somewhere.

GEORGE: Hello?

ERIN: Hi. It's me. I got a favor to ask you.

GEORGE: I don't do favors for you anymore.

ERIN: It's not for me; it's for my kids. You're the only one I trust them with.

ERIN: Thank you.

GEORGE: Mm-hm.

ERIN: They said that'd be tomorrow. They just wanna keep an eye on me another night.

GEORGE: Fine. I'll drop 'em off tomorrow afternoon.

ERIN: You already packed up your stuff?

GEORGE: I pretty much knew what your answer was gonna be.

GEORGE: About this.

ERIN: What's that?

GEORGE: It's a pair of earrings. I saw 'em in the mall one day, and I thought, damn, those would look good on those beautiful earlobes. So I bought 'em. And I said to myself, next time Erin says something nice, does something nice, I'll surprise her with 'em. Know how long ago that was? Six months. In six months, you haven't said one nice thing to me. That's a long time.

ERIN: I'm sorry. I'm just working so hard --

GEORGE: I know. But still. Six months. I think you oughta either find a different job or a different boyfriend. Cause there may be men who don't mind being the maid and getting nothing in return, but I'm sure as shit not one of 'em.

ERIN: I can't leave my job, George.

GEORGE: Yeah, you can. You could just quit. People do it all the time.

ERIN: I can't. Look -- this job -- it's the best thing that ever happened to me. I mean it. For the first time in my life, I got people respecting me. Up in Hinkley, I walk into a room and everyone shuts up just to hear what I got to say. I never had that. Ever. Don't ask me to give it up. I need it.

GEORGE: More than you need me.

ERIN: I need it.

ERIN: What's going on? What are you doing?

GEORGE: Thinking.

ERIN: About what?

GEORGE: Fuck you. Just cause I don't spend all day trying to prove what hot shit I am --

ERIN: That is not what I'm --

GEORGE: Bullshit, Erin. Bullshit.

GEORGE: It wouldn't kill you to talk about something other than yourself and your own fucking job once in a while --

ERIN: What do you want to talk about instead? Your day? That's a fascinating subject.

ERIN: That's Ed.

GEORGE: Lock the door.

ERIN: No, I wanna say hi.

GEORGE: I'm just saying -- we have one night to ourselves, why do we have to spend it here?

ERIN: Cause it's my office party. If you had an office, I'd go to your party.

GEORGE: I'm bored, and so are the kids.

ERIN: Just a few more minutes, then we can go. Take her, will you?

ERIN: I'm so tired I'm about to drive off the road. Keep me awake, willya?

GEORGE: What do you want, a joke?

ERIN: No, no jokes, I gotta pee. Just tell me about your day. What went on back there?

GEORGE: Well, come to think of it, we did have a big event around here. Beth started talking.

ERIN: What? Beth? My Beth?

GEORGE: Yeah. We were sitting around at lunch and she pointed at a ball and said, "ball."

GEORGE: You mind telling me what that's supposed to mean?

ERIN: Nothing.

GEORGE: If you got a problem with me taking care of your kids instead of getting some job, just say so.

ERIN: I didn't say that.

GEORGE: Cause I can get a job. I will. And you can start leaving the kids with the chicken fat lady again. Would that make you happy?

ERIN: Keep your voice down.

GEORGE: I know what they can sleep through, Erin. I probably know it better than you.

GEORGE: It doesn't have to be this complicated, Erin. There's a lot of jobs out there.

ERIN: How would you know?

GEORGE: Look, don't take this the wrong way, but don't you think you might be out of your league here?

ERIN: No, see -- that's exactly what those arrogant PG&E fucks want me to think -- that because they got all this money and power, we don't stand a chance in hell against them. But you know what? They're wrong.

ERIN: I'm not gonna quit cause of one creepy phone call, George.

GEORGE: Come on, Erin. A job's supposed to pay your bills, not put you in danger.

ERIN: I'm not in danger. I have a dead bolt. Remember?

ERIN: George, I am just trying to do something nice for my kids on my one day off. Could you please not give me a hard time about it?

GEORGE: One toy per kid is doing something nice. Four is ... something else.

ERIN: Well, hell, I guess that's it, then, huh? They're scarred for life. They're gonna start holding up 7-11's any day now.

GEORGE: I'm just saying --

ERIN: I know what you're saying, and I don't wanna hear it. I am doing the best I can.

GEORGE: You're not nothing, Erin.

ERIN: Well, I'm sure as hell not what I thought I was gonna be. I was supposed to have one of those great lives, with everything all laid- out and perfect. I mean, hell -- I was Miss Wichita, for God's sakes. Did I tell you that? You live next door to a real live beauty queen. I still got the tiara. I kept it cause I thought it meant something. I thought it meant I was gonna do something great with my life. I thought it proved I was gonna grow up to be someone.

GEORGE: You are someone.

ERIN: No I'm not. Look at me. I'm not.

GEORGE: You're someone to me. You're someone real special to me.

ERIN: What kind of person lives like this? Huh? What kind of person lets her kids run around in a house crawling with bugs the size of housecats?

GEORGE: It's a simple thing. Everybody gets them. All we gotta do is call an exterminator.

ERIN: I can't call an exterminator. I can't afford one. God, I can't even afford my phone. I got fired.

GEORGE: What? But you been working so hard --

ERIN: Doesn't matter. Doesn't make one bit of difference. Oh God, George, how'd this happen to me? How'd I end up so ... so nothing?

ERIN: Great.

GEORGE: I'm gonna clean it up.

ERIN: What are you doing here?

GEORGE: Fixing a leak under your sink.

ERIN: You think it could make you sick, living in a place like this?

GEORGE: What do you mean?

GEORGE: I'm gonna put a dead bolt on your front door, too. This isn't exactly the safest neighborhood in the world, you know.

ERIN: Thanks for reminding me.

GEORGE: I guess we get what we pay for, huh?

ERIN: What're you doing?

GEORGE: Better safe than sorry.

ERIN: This isn't gonna get you laid, you know.

GEORGE: Yeah, we'll just see about that, won't we?

ERIN: You're around every afternoon?

GEORGE: Yup. Usually working on my bike. No big deal. If it doesn't work out, you can send 'em back to the chicken fat lady.

ERIN: Yeah. I'm probably ruining them.

GEORGE: How?

ERIN: I'm never here. I gotta leave 'em with this weird sitter all afternoon who costs a fortune and smells like chicken fat.

GEORGE: I was serious before, you know. If you need someone to keep an eye on them -- after school or something -- I don't have a job now, so I'm around in the afternoons.

ERIN: Great. Another deadbeat.

GEORGE: I'm not a deadbeat. I work when I need to.

ERIN: Yeah? And what do you do the rest of the time, live off your trust fund?

GEORGE: I do construction, which pays real good. And I make it last by living cheap.

ERIN: I hope that's not supposed to impress me.

GEORGE: Are you this hard on everyone who tries to help you?

ERIN: It's been a while. Maybe I'm just out of practice.

GEORGE: Then lemme remind you, the polite thing is to say, thank you, that's a real nice offer, I don't mind taking you up on it.

ERIN: Why in the hell would you want to watch my kids?

GEORGE: Cause I like kids. I like hanging out with them.

ERIN: Right.

ERIN: I'm not gonna leave my kids with you.

GEORGE: Why not?

ERIN: Cause I don't even know you.

GEORGE: Yeah, and whose fault is that?

ERIN: I had a good neighbor, George. She was 60 and Mexican and she watched my kids for free. Something tells me you're not gonna be able to measure up to that.

GEORGE: You need help with your kids? I could probably do that.

ERIN: No.

GEORGE: C'mon. I bought 'em for you, to make up for that night.

ERIN: Return 'em. Maybe you'll get your money back.

ERIN: You want my number?

GEORGE: I do.

ERIN: Which number do you want, George?

GEORGE: You got more than one?

ERIN: Shit, yeah. I got numbers coming out of my ears. Like, for instance, ten.

GEORGE: Ten?

ERIN: Sure. That's one of my numbers. It's how many months old my little girl is.

GEORGE: You got a little girl?

ERIN: Yeah. Sexy, huh? And here's another: five. That's how old my other daughter is. Seven is my son's age. Two is how many times I been married and divorced. You getting all this? 16 is the number of dollars in my bank account. 454-3943 is my phone number. And with all the other numbers I gave you, I'm guessing zero is the number of times you're gonna call it.

GEORGE: Ooh, now, see, if I'da known there was a beautiful woman next door, I'da done this different. Let's start over. My name's George. What's yours?

ERIN: Just think of me as the person next door who likes it quiet, and we'll get along fine.

GEORGE: Now, don't be like that. Tell you what. How about if I take you out on a date to apologize for my rudeness?

GEORGE: Well, hello to you, darlin'.

ERIN: What the hell do you think you're doing, making all that Goddamn noise?

GEORGE: Just introducing myself to the neighbors.

ERIN: Well, I'm the neighbors. There, now we're introduced, so you can shut the fuck up.

LAURA: Know what I always thought I wanted outta life, Erin? A Jaguar.

ERIN: Jaguar's a darn pretty car.

LAURA: I thought if I could spend that kinda money on a car, it'd mean everything else was fine. I don't even know how much they cost.

ERIN: A lot. But you hang in there, maybe you'll get one.

LAURA: I'm embarrassed.

ERIN: That's okay. I understand.

LAURA: It's just -- the pain. It's only getting worse. I can't be a good wife. I can't be a good mother.

ERIN: I'm real sorry, Laura.

ERIN: Where's my paycheck?

JANE: Have you been logging on?

ERIN: What?

JANE: I moved payroll onto the computer. It only knows to process paychecks for employees who log on in the morning and off at night.

ERIN: Now how'm I supposed to do that when I'm not in here most mornings and nights?

JANE: You're clever. I'm sure you'll think of something.

ERIN: What am I supposed to do, check in every two seconds?

JANE: Yes. It's called accountability.

ERIN: I am not talking to you, bitch.

JANE: Excuse me?

JANE: -- toothbrush, toothpaste, and a pair of hose. Here.

ERIN: What's going on?

JANE: There may be jobs where you can disappear for days at a time, but this isn't one of them. Here, if you don't do the work, you don't get to stay.

ERIN: Someone stole my stuff.

JANE: Nice to see you, Erin. We've missed you.

ERIN: I had photos of my kids, plus a mug --

ERIN: I mean, it's not a problem or anything, but -- I'm just a little unclear on what those things are. I thought maybe you'd know.

JANE: What do I look like, Erin? A library?

MANDY: You know that thing it says in here about rashes?

ERIN: Uh-huh?

MANDY: Well, this old neighbor of mine, Bob Linwood -- he ran the dairy on Community -- seemed like someone in his family always had a rash somewhere or other. I just figured it was something in the genes. And you know how it is -- you don't like to ask about things like that ...

MANDY: I know. It's an awful lot.

ERIN: I'm surprised Donna didn't say anything.

MANDY: There's something else, too.

ERIN: What?

MANDY: When Donna told us about you, and what you told her about the chromium, we figured that might have something to do with this, too.

ERIN: It sure could, yeah. Thanks a lot.

MANDY: Excuse me, are you Erin Brockovich?

ERIN: Yeah. Who are you?

ERIN: It'll be fine, yeah.

MRS. MORALES: Ai, bueno. Because I didn't want to tell you before, with your worries --

ERIN: What?

MRS. MORALES: My daughter, she's bought a big house with a room for me. I'm going to move in with her.

ERIN: You're moving away? When?

MRS. MORALES: Next week.

ERIN: Wow, that's soon --

MRS. MORALES: I know. But it's good for me. Now I can help my daughter take care of my grandkids. And it's good for you, too. Now you have money, you can find a good babysitter, huh? Not the old lady next door.

ERIN: Hi, sweetie. Were you a good girl? Where are Matt and Katie?

MRS. MORALES: Outside with the sprinkler. So it's good?

PAULSEN: I gotta say, Erin -- first time I saw you, I did not peg you as the kind to go off and conduct her own epidemiological study.

ERIN: Don't go telling anyone. It'll ruin my reputation.

ERIN: Uh-huh. Spent the last few days knocking on doors. And you know what? They're not. I mean, they got problems, but none of this cancer stuff. And their pets are fine. So I don't know -- I just can't shake the feeling that it wasn't no multivitamin they put in the water.

PAULSEN: Well, if you're talking about contamination, you're getting out of my area of expertise. Let me give you the name of a toxicologist friend of mine over at USC.

ERIN: ... and when I realized our area's just as bad as Hinkley, I thought maybe my neighbors are all sick too. So I went and asked.

PAULSEN: You did?

PAULSEN: Well, look, there isn't a ton of information here, but from what there is, I'd say that these two people here -- what are their names? Shanna and Ashley?

ERIN: Right, I guess those are the kids --

PAULSEN: They've both got some immune system problem. Can't say what from, whether it's viral or genetic or what, but something's wrong. And these guys -- Donna and Peter --

ERIN: Their parents, I'm pretty sure.

PAULSEN: Well, from what this stuff says, I'd say they both have some form of cancer.

PAULSEN: Oh. Oh.

ERIN: No one put me up to anything. I was just hoping I could ask you a couple questions.

PAULSEN: Of course! Oh, gosh, of course --

ERIN: Dr. Paulsen?

PAULSEN: Yes?

ERIN: Hi, I'm Erin Brockovich. I was just over in the library there, asking a mess of questions about -- I guess they call it epidemiology? -- and the fella there told me to find you, cause you know all about it.

PAULSEN: Is this a joke? Did Baxter put you up to this?

ERIN: Who's Baxter?

PAULSEN: He did, didn't he? Baxter!