Page 78 of Since She's Been Gone

“I’m sorry, but I can’t help you,” she says.

“Please, I’m begging you. I came all the way from Los Angeles to try to talk to Senator Lyon about my mom. She died when I was fifteen, and I recently learned she was an addict. I’ve struggled with addiction, and knowing more about her history might help me with my recovery.”

She meets my eyes. That’s when I notice the tears in hers.

“My younger brother, Joey, died from an overdose,” she says.

“I’m sorry for your loss,” I say.

“Thanks,” she says.

“Is this your car?” I ask her.

She nods.

“Can we sit down and talk? I promise I won’t take more than a few minutes of your time,” I say.

She nervously bites her bottom lip before unlocking the car. She sits in the driver’s seat, and I quickly open the front passenger side, sitting next to her before she can change her mind.

“What’s your name?” I ask her.

“Dawn,” she says.

“Nice to meet you, Dawn,” I say. “I’m Beatrice.”

“I really can’t talk about the hearing,” she says. “I could get in trouble with my job.”

“I get it. I’m a psychologist, and I’m bound by confidentiality in my job too. I promise I won’t tell anyone anything you tell me. I have no need to. This is just for me to know, for my recovery.”

There’s a long stretch of silence between us before she speaks again. “I watched the hearing,” she finally says.

“You did?”

“Yeah, but I don’t remember what your mom said or anyone’s specific testimony. I just remember my main takeaway—that TriCPharma is an evil company, which I already knew,” she says.

“What do you mean?” I ask.

“I came to Washington to work for Senator Lyon so that I could help in the fight against the opioid epidemic. We’re both from West Virginia, which I’m sure you know has one of the country’s highest rates of overdose deaths. He told me I’d have a front-row seat at the table when it came to enacting change. But after I started the job, I found out he gets more campaign contributions from TriCPharma than any other member of Congress.”

Oh no—he’s in with the Cadells too?

“Really?” I say.

She nods, resigned.

“Why do you think he wanted you to work for him, given your history with your brother?” I ask.

“To silence me. I’m from his state, and with my background working for a different senator, I could’ve made a big difference in the fight against TriCPharma and companies like them, which would’ve caused him headaches since he’s in their back pocket.”

“I see,” I say.

“After finding out about his connection to TriCPharma, I watched every congressional opioid hearing he participated in. I wish I had seen them before I took the job because I would’ve known he’s always been their puppet. Now it’s too late, and I’m stuck.”

“You can quit,” I suggest.

She shakes her head. “If I quit, he won’t give me a recommendation to work anywhere else. Or worse, he’ll have me blacklisted from getting another job on the hill. My family’s poor. I send money back home to make my parents’ lives easier. They went through hell after losing my brother. That’s why I didn’t want to talk to you. If Senator Lyon knows I’m giving up information about TriCPharma, he’ll fire me.”

“I’m sorry,” I say. “I wish I could help.”

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