Jamie Brodie 02 - Hoarded to Death

first name. Actually, I'm gonna make that a condition. Tell them you'll only do it if they won't mention your last name on the air."
    "Okay. That's better for me, too." Another thought occurred to me. "I'd b etter get this approved by UCLA. I don't want to get fired over something like this."
    "Right. But if the U and Pete both give you the go ahead, and you can be first name only, then give it your best shot."
    We said goodbye. I still wasn’t sure about helping Jennifer – but as a fan of the show, I was curious about the inner workings of Clean My Hoard. I dialed the number Raven had left, and she answered on the first ring.
    “Hi, Ms. Hechesky, I’m Jamie Brodie. You left…”
    She jumped right in. “Yes, thanks for getting back to me so quickly. I’d like to set up a meeting with you. Tomorrow afternoon, around 4:00? Your office?”
    Well, that was efficient. I checked my calendar. “If you can make it 4:15, that’s a deal.”
    “Yep, that’ll work. See you then.” She clicked off before I even said goodbye.
    Busy lady. I guess she could figure out how to find me.

    She could. Tuesday afternoon, she showed up five minutes early. I was finishing up a brief meeting with my supervisor. I saw Dr. Loomis out and ushered Raven in. She was a tiny person, with a jet-black crew cut, wearing black leggings and a loose black shirt over a gray tank top, and smelling faintly of cigarette smoke.
    Clad in black: the unofficial uniform of backstage Hollywood.
    She didn’t waste any time getting started. "Dr. Brodie, I'm Raven Hechesky, associate producer of the show "Clean My Hoard." She shook my hand briskly. "We are working with Jennifer Graham, and we're going to feature her on a coming episode of the show.”
    "That's great. I hope you all can help her."
    Raven nodded. "That's certainly our intention. Do you watch the show?"
    "Actually, I do. My partner and I use it as motivation for cleaning house on the weekends."
    She laughed. "Well, as you know, then, we ask as much of the featured individual's family as possible to be involved in the process. Jennifer gave us your name as a family member who might be willing to participate."
    " I have to tell you, that really surprises me. Jennifer's been divorced from my brother for six years. I haven't seen her since. I don't even know where she's living. Why would she want me to help?"
    Raven frowned. "Ah. Jennifer didn't indicate that it had been that long since her divorce."
    "Oh, yeah. As far as I know, she and my brother haven't had any contact since then."
    "Hmm." Raven mused. "Our problem is that we're having trouble finding people to take part in Jennifer's recovery. Her father has passed away, and her mother hung up on us when we called. Jennifer doesn’t want any of her coworkers to be involved. Her sister lives in Louisiana and can't make the trip. She gave us your name as someone who might be sympathetic. She also gave us your other sister-in-law's name - Valerie, is it?"
    Valerie was married to my oldest brother, Jeff. "Yeah. I doubt she'll be interested. But you can ask." I frowned. "I don't understand why she put me on the list, really. Or Valerie, for that matter. Even when Jennifer and Kevin were married, she wasn't close to our family. Then when she maxed out all the credit cards buying stuff and started filling the house up and wouldn't go to counseling, he had to get out."
    Raven sat back in her chair. "See, that's the kind of thing we can use on the show. That sort of background information helps flesh out Jennifer's story."
    "But that's all I know. I was living in England that entire time. I didn't see any of it while it was happening. All I know is what Kevin told me."
    Raven looked intrigued. "Jennifer didn't give us Kevin's name to contact. But he'd be the ideal participant. Do you think he would?"
    "Oh, hell no." I laughed. "Suffice it to say he'd hang up on you too."
    "Ah. Too bad."
    "Doesn't she have any friends?"
    "She did give us one name. Someone that she grew up with, as I understand it. But so far that's the only person that has agreed to participate." Raven gave me a we're-counting-on-you kind of look. "We could really use your help."
    Shit . She had me, and she knew it. “I have some conditions.”
    “Such as?”
    “My last name cannot be used on the air at all.”
    “That’s no problem.”
    “I also have to talk to my partner and okay it with the university. What's your deadline?”
    "Well, obviously we'd like to know as soon as