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“Yes, but Claudia just…Maybe you’re right, but it seems very out of character for her.”
“Do you have any idea who she was having lunch with?” asked Noah.
“No, and I’m embarrassed to admit this, but I did look at her personal calendar once and there wasn’t anything on it at all. Maybe she wasn’t having lunch with anyone. Maybe she was getting a massage or taking a yoga class. This is why I didn’t want to discuss this because I really don’t know what she was doing during those times. I’m sorry I can’t be of more help.”
Josie stood up and felt sweat sluice down her spine. Her hand was clammy as she fished through her pocket for a business card. Handing it to Trudy, she gave her the standard spiel about calling them if she thought of anything they should know. Anything at all.
In the car, Josie told Noah, “We need to see if we can get Claudia’s phone records expedited. Maybe there’s something in them that will shed some light on this—text messages or voicemails. Something.”
“I’ll make a call to the provider’s legal department,” Noah said. “Rattle some cages. In the meantime, let’s go see Margot Huff.”
TWENTY-SIX
The halls of WYEP were oddly quiet for a television station. The news was being broadcast live in the main studio. The Collinses’ area of the station was deserted. No Margot anywhere to be found, even in the small row of offices belonging to the Couples’ Corner With The Collinses staff. Kathy, however, the producer, was alone in her office, staring at her computer screen. She jumped up from her desk when Josie knocked on the half-open door.
“I’m sorry to bother you,” Josie said.
She smoothed her dark hair and offered a smile. When she saw Noah standing behind Josie, she looked down at her white blouse and tan slacks, running her palms over the wrinkles. Up close, Josie estimated that she was in her mid-fifties. Behind her, the walls of the small office were filled with photos of Kathy with various celebrities.
Noah nudged Josie across the threshold and extended a hand to Kathy. She took it, her smile widening but still nervous, judging by the tiny quiver at the corners of her mouth. Nervous because she found Noah attractive, or because she was hiding something?
“I hope you don’t mind us dropping in,” Noah told her. “We just had a few questions.”
“Of course,” said Kathy. “I, uh, heard the awful news about Eve. Very sad. Tragic. She was so young.”
“Yes,” Noah agreed. “It’s been a very difficult forty-eight hours for your team and ours, really, trying to figure out who’s behind all this. We know you spoke with our colleagues and gave them some background—you’ve worked on Beau and Claudia’s show from the beginning. You came over from the WYEP news department where you’d worked for years.”
Kathy nodded along, keeping her eyes glued to Noah’s face.
He put the next part delicately. “You also maintain that your relationship with Beau Collins and everyone else on the show staff has always been completely professional.”
“Yes, that’s right,” Kathy said.
Josie said, “We wanted to talk to you because out of everyone on the staff, you were the only one with a keen enough eye to realize that Eve was in love.”
Kathy turned her gaze to Josie, a genuine smile now spreading across her face. “Thank you. I didn’t realize it was important. I was just noting what I’d observed.”
Noah said, “It was very helpful. We were wondering if there were any other things you’d observed or overheard or noticed in the last few months, maybe even a year, that you could share with us.”
“Oh, well, I told your colleagues everything I know.”
Josie took out her phone and pulled up the photo of Archie Gamble. She turned it toward Kathy, but she showed no signs of recognition. “Who’s that?”
Noah said, “We were hoping you could tell us.”
Kathy shook her head. “I’ve never seen him.”
“His name is Archie Gamble,” Josie said. “Does that ring a bell?”
Another blank look, another shake of her head.
Noah said, “You do know Liam Flint though, don’t you?”
Kathy’s expression darkened. “I’m sorry about that scene on set the other day, but honestly, that guy is an arrogant jerk. He really does think he’s better than everyone else. Full disclosure? No one likes him. We all just tolerate him.”
Josie said, “Are you aware of any grudges he has against Beau or Claudia?”
Kathy laughed, the sound high and unexpected. “Maybe Beau. He’s never made a secret of the fact that he hates Beau, but listen, Liam’s got a grudge against the world.”
