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“How did Claudia respond to this revelation?” asked Noah.
“In the only way Claudia ever responded to things: compassionately. She was angry and hurt, of course, but it also validated something she had suspected for a long time. Things always go Beau’s way. It was starting to feel suspect to her. Anyway, Trudy told her it was okay if Claudia fired her because she had felt terrible about it all these years, but Claudia kept her on. I always say to Claudia that she’s too kind for her own good.”
“Was he lying when he said not getting that job was Claudia’s greatest failure?”
Liam wiped his nose with the sleeve of his shirt. “No. She did think that for a long time. She told me that that position was one of the only things she ever wanted and one of the only things she ever failed at. In a way, she was glad when Trudy told her the truth.”
“Do you know if she ever confronted Beau about it?” asked Josie.
“I don’t think she did.”
Josie said, “Did you and Claudia spend a lot of time together?”
“Whenever we could. Usually, we met for late lunch. After she tapes the show, she sees patients until one or two. By that time, I’m usually done here so I bike over that way and meet her. There’s this little place in South Denton that serves lunch and dinner. The Grotto.”
Archie Gamble had mentioned the restaurant several times in his notes. Mettner had been the one to follow up with the restaurant. Workers there remembered Claudia coming to lunch frequently and meeting a man, but no one remembered what he looked like or how old he was or much of anything except that he was male. The Grotto’s surveillance footage was erased every twenty-four hours unless there was an incident.
“I’ve heard of that restaurant.” Noah motioned to the bicycle helmet in Liam’s arms. “You ride your bike a lot? Even in January?”
Liam nodded. “As long as it’s not snowing or icy, I do. Trying to save the environment and all that. It’s good exercise, too.”
“Do you own a motor vehicle?”
“Yeah, but if I can ride my bike, I always prefer to do that.”
Josie gave Noah a look and he nodded almost imperceptibly. They’d do a much deeper dive into Liam Flint’s background as soon as they could but for now, they needed to know what he knew and how he knew it.
She said, “You and Claudia were meeting for lunch at The Grotto. Claudia wasn’t worried about the two of you being seen together?”
“Why would she be? Like I said, nothing ever happened between us. Not physically.”
“But other people wouldn’t know that,” said Josie.
Noah asked, “Does Beau know about your…friendship?”
“No. No one does. We didn’t keep our lunch meetings secret, but we didn’t broadcast them either. When we were here, it was all business. Casual hellos, friendly goodbyes. That was it. But Claudia was never really herself when she was here anyway,” he added wistfully.
Josie said, “How long has this been going on between the two of you?”
“About a year,” said Liam, swiping at a tear that slid down his cheek and into his beard. “I, uh, found her outside in the parking lot last year, sobbing her eyes out. She was mortified but I told her there was no need to be. We talked. It grew from there.”
Noah said, “Does your partner have a problem with this relationship?”
“I’m single.”
“What was Claudia crying about?” Josie asked.
“She said she was tired of lying.”
“Lying about what?” Noah said.
Liam looked again at the exit door. His expression switched from longing to resignation. With a heavy sigh, he turned back to them. “A lot of things.”
FORTY-FOUR
Josie pointed toward the end of the hallway where the exit door waited. “Is your bike out there? Maybe we should step outside before we discuss this any further. Less chance of one of your coworkers rounding the bend and hearing us.”
She also wanted to get a look at his bicycle.
