The Last Handful of Clover - Book 2: Gifts Both Light and Dark

2.65 Unraveling

June 15, 12:10 pm

The West Valley Youth Shelter had not been eager to speak to Morgan Jensen. But after a string of suicides among the homeless population of West Valley City, including two residents of the shelter itself, they clearly felt they didn't have a choice.

It's either that, or my sparkling personality, Morgan thought.

The truth was, Morgan rarely had much trouble talking her way into the good graces of those she set her sights upon. She was blessed with a warm and engaging personality, and she radiated a calm confidence and authority that inspired trust. It also didn't hurt that she was under thirty, tall, blond, and beautiful—all things that were pretty much required for an on-air personality in the TV news business these days. And although she harbored a professional resentment about those stereotypes and sexist barriers, she wasn't beyond using her good looks and brilliant smile to charm whoever she needed to charm. Be it men, or women.

In this case, the director at the shelter had only required a minimum amount of her charm to open his door to her, as long as she agreed to ensure that none of the clients at his facility would be interviewed on camera without his consent. She had agreed to that, but also knew that, should the need arise, she wouldn't have any trouble talking him into allowing for such an interview.

As it turned out, their conversation had been not only friendly and helpful, but incredibly insightful about the causes of youth suicide, and the work they were doing at the shelter to prevent it. After an hour-long interview Morgan felt she had enough footage to put together a meaningful piece, even if she didn't speak to any of the clients of the shelter directly.

At the end of the interview, the director had even agreed to let her do a live shot from the corridor. The station had asked her to do a teaser at 12:15, just before a commercial break on the noon news. Morgan looked at her notes and read over what she was going to say.

"Hey Stan, let's do a dry run on this while we have a few minutes," she said.

Stan Kirshner was her cameraman, and had worked with her for so long that he always knew what she wanted—often, even before she did. He looked at his watch and grunted. His camera was all set up and ready to go.

"Should I run a tape, or do you just want to wing it?"

"Wing it, I think. I just want to talk it through before we go live. We have enough time, I think."

"You got about two minutes. Go when you're ready."

Morgan cleared her throat and stared at the camera as if it was actually capturing her, although the little red light was off.

"This is Morgan Jensen, on location at the West Valley Youth Shelter. This facility has been rocked by tragedy twice in the past ten days. Suicide is a growing problem among the youth of the Salt Lake Valley, and nowhere is it more acute and more heartbreaking than it is among those kids who don't have a place to call home. We've been talking to the staff here at the shelter about what causes homeless youth suicide, and what can be done to prevent it. What they told us may surprise you. We'll have the whole story on the evening report, tonight, right here on KUTV." She paused. "That should work. Phil or Brenda might ask a couple questions, but if not, that should make a good teaser."

"Sounds awesome," Stan said.

"You're nothing if not supportive, my dear," Morgan said with a laugh. "How long before we go live?"

"Looks like about a minute ten seconds. We've got the link, and we're ready to go."

She double-checked her mic and began to count down the last sixty seconds in her head. She was already thinking about how she might use the afternoon to try and talk to some of the kids here.