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“I just mean that, well, Beau? God love him. He’s not that hard on the eyes and he’s got good intentions, but he never seemed to do well in private practice. He’d get complaints. Lose clients.”
“What kinds of complaints?” asked Noah.
“How many kinds are there?” Trudy laughed weakly at her own joke and then thumbed away more tears. Taking in a long breath, she held up a hand and wiggled her fingers. One by one, she pushed the fingers down using her other hand. “Missed appointments. Being late. Billing incorrectly. Not seeming interested in the patients. Seemingtoointerested in the patients. I just don’t think he ever liked doing it, and so he didn’t take it all that seriously.” She dropped her hands into her lap and sighed.
Josie said, “What do you mean, ‘seeming too interested’ in some patients?”
Trudy shook her head. “There were just some misunderstandings over the years. Sometimes a couple would come in and I can tell you that ninety-five percent of the time, husbands do not want to be there so they’re already hostile. Then they would see Beau being kind to their wives, really listening to them for the first time in their lives, and they didn’t like that at all. They’d accuse him of playing favorites or flirting and we’d never see them again.”
“Was he flirting?” asked Noah.
“Goodness, no. Like I said, some of these wives were so starved for attention that their natural reaction to someone finally wanting to hear what they had to say was pure joy. They’d hang on his every word, look forward to returning.”
Josie said, “You weren’t in the sessions, though, right?”
“Of course not, no. All of that is private and protected by HIPAA laws. I’m only telling you what I observed in the waiting room before and after appointments. What I overheard in the waiting room when Beau wasn’t there, or what the husbands told me when they called to cancel all future appointments.”
“Did Beau ever cross the line?” Josie caught a drop of sweat with her forefinger before it rolled down her nose. “Was he ever inappropriate?”
“I don’t think so,” said Trudy. “If he was, I never saw that.”
Noah asked, “Did he ever have any contact with patients or former patients outside of therapy? That you’re aware of?”
Trudy narrowed her eyes at Noah. “Are you asking me if he ever had an affair with a patient?”
“Did he?” Noah coaxed.
Trudy’s face loosened. A faraway look flashed across her eyes. Something over their heads caught her attention. She stood up, arm extended. “Mom!” she said. “Where is your walker?”
Josie and Noah turned their heads to see an elderly woman with short, thinning white hair approaching them from the doorway of another room. She was just as thin as Trudy had suggested. A purple sweatshirt hung on her birdlike frame. Spindly fingers grabbed at furniture to help her advance. As she moved deeper into the living room, her gait wobbled. Trudy closed the distance between them and expertly slid an arm around her waist before she fell. “Mom. You need your walker so you don’t fall.”
“Who are these kids?” she said, pointing at Josie and Noah.
“Those are not kids, Mom. They’re here to talk to me about my boss.”
Her mother tried to push Trudy away, slapping at the arm around her thin waist. Her attention was still on Josie and Noah. “You better send them to the office. If you catch them out here in the hall without a pass, it’s right to the office!”
“Mom, come on. Let me help you. I have to hold on so you don’t fall.” Trudy kept one arm firmly around her mother’s waist, steering her away from Josie and Noah, and guiding her down the hall. She returned a few minutes later, an apologetic grimace on her face. “I’m so sorry about that.”
Josie smiled. “Was she a teacher?”
Trudy returned the smile as she settled back into the recliner. “Yes. Thirty-seven years. Elementary school. Now, where were we?”
Josie said, “We wanted to know if Beau had ever had an affair with a patient?”
“Right,” said Trudy. “I don’t think so. If he did, I certainly didn’t know about it.”
“But you’re not sure,” said Josie.
Trudy didn’t answer, her attention suddenly focused on a frayed thread on the arm of the chair.
Softly, Noah said, “Mrs. Dawson, I understand if this feels awkward, but these are questions we have to ask in cases like these. What we’re looking for is anyone who might have held a grudge against Beau or Claudia Collins. Anyone who might be angry with one of them, with Beau in particular. Anyone who might wish him or Claudia harm.”
Trudy tugged at the thread and then wrapped it around her index finger.
When it was clear she wasn’t going to reveal what she knew, Josie said, “You mentioned that some of the husbands Beau Collins treated became dissatisfied. Angry, even. Are there any of those men, or any patients—former or current—that you can think of who might target the Collinses?”
The thread left small red indents in Trudy’s fingertip. “I honestly can’t think of any, although I couldn’t tell you even if I did. You should know that. HIPAA laws prevent me from disclosing anything at all, even names.”
