Burnouts

Missed Connections and the One You Found

Scene 1: The Helmsley Hotel

Heather Blakely

"You should've grabbed a coffee, you look exhausted, sweetheart," my dad says with low concern.

"I'm fine," I say as I keep walking out of the building.

"No, I was talking to my daughter," he says into the phone. "I don't appreciate you coming home at such inappropriate hours, Heather. You're not an adult." He huffs in frustration, "No, I was talking to my daughter."

Leo had me locked in his arms for so long. I didn't want to wake him by leaving, so I stayed until he released me from his hold. I would've slept over, but I imagined the police would be waiting when I got home.

"Miss Blakely," the driver greets as I walk up to the car.

"Oh, Heather," father calls out while the phone is against his chest, "we'll share this one."

"Great," I say sarcastically. I slide in and he sits next to me.

"Yes, pull the funds from there. Let's just say I have a feeling they're about to have a steep fall," he says into the phone. "Put it into the Berkshire Hathaway stock. Okay, see you soon." My father sighs heavily after his call ends, "so— any big plans for today?"

"Nothing bigger than school."

"You'll be straight home after."

"Maybe— are you still a partner with the New York Post?"

"Yes...why?"

"Is there any way I can get an article from a couple of years ago?"

"Possibly, what's the title?"

"I'm not sure...but it has the name 'Ryan Carmichael' in it."

"Carmichael?"

"Yes, he was around my age but died after a fight went too far."

"Don't believe the media, Heather. Assume there are dollar signs behind everything you read."

"I don't understand?"

"That story is fabricated."

"What, did he fake his death or something?" I laugh to myself and hide the fact that I hope he did. I'd welcome anything that lets Leo off the hook.

"No, but I know the Carmichaels and their son wasn't killed by anyone but himself. He was an addict, and they were too embarrassed to tell anyone."

I narrow my eyes, "He overdosed, didn't he?"

"They begged me not to let the real story break. So, I withheld it, for a hefty fee of course. Ryan Carmichael had enough drugs in his system to fill a pharmacy. He was on life support for three days before they had to pull the plug. He couldn't get oxygen to his brain."

"How did you find out?"

"A reporter of mine was on the scene and was ready to print the story, but the Carmichaels paid $250,000 to bury it. As a bonus, I let them change the narrative. I'm not a monster, Heather."

"You let them lie. Why couldn't they name a charity foundation after him instead? That's what everyone else does."

"Don't be insensitive. It wasn't so much a lie but rather a stretching of the truth. Yes, he was in some sort of scuffle prior to the overdose, but it was a survivable one. Heroin— I believe, was not."

"It's a blatant lie that people have to live with believing."

He raises an eyebrow, "What's your interest in this?"