“No…not really,” said Roger, suddenly seeming uncomfortable.
“What happened?” Liam persisted.
Roger’s glance at Liam was a bit anxious. “Your dad…he was real upset.”
“How do you know?”
The man made a sheepish motion with his head. “He was crying.”
“Crying?” Liam repeated in a deadpan tone. Natalie examined his profile. His facial features remained unreadable, but she sensed he was stunned by Roger’s words.
“Yeah,” Roger admitted. “I’ve never really…heard anything like that before. Your dad…he was a big man. You have the look of him, so you must know what I mean,” he said with a significant nod toward Liam. “It just took me by surprise to come upon a man like that so obviously upset. He didn’t take too well to me seeing him, either. When he noticed I was on the beach with him, he looked like he was going to tear me to pieces for intruding on such a…you know…private moment. I’m not going to lie to you, I got off that beach like a fire had been lit under me.”
Liam just stared.
“Did he seem intoxicated?” Natalie asked, covering for Liam’s apparent shocked state.
Roger shrugged uncertainly. “Maybe. Mostly he seemed like someone had just told him his best friend had been killed. He looked like a mess, you know?”
“And you two never actually spoke?” Natalie prompted Roger.
“Nope. It left an impression on me though. To this day, in my mind’s eye I can just see him standing alone on that beach. He was the picture of misery. I felt terrible for interrupting him,” Roger mumbled glumly before he took another swig of his beer.
Liam straightened slowly, seeming to rise out of his thoughts.
“The crash happened about a half hour after you saw him, I’m guessing, given what you said about sunset. Isn’t that right?” Liam asked, looking to her for confirmation.
Natalie nodded.
A strange expression came over Roger’s face. Natalie saw him studying her glasses and the uncovered scarring on her temple as if he was seeing her for the first time.
“You were actually in that crash. You were that little girl,” he said in a hushed tone.
“Yes. I was in the car with my mother.”
“Damn,” Roger muttered under his breath. He threw Liam a wary glance and then looked back at Natalie. “If I’d known Derry Kavanaugh was…you know…in such a bad way drink-wise, I might have done something to stop him from getting into a car, but I swear, I didn’t guess he was intoxicated.”
“Of course you would have done something if you’d known,” Natalie reassured quickly.
“Is there anything else you can remember?” Liam asked. She had the feeling he was trying to deflect Roger from staring at her face with so much distress and fascination.
Roger shook his head. “Sorry. Nothing else.”
“Did you see my father leave?” Liam asked.
“No. Like I said, I hightailed it off the beach when your dad turned around and glared at me like he was going to take my head off.”
“And you didn’t know he was Derry Kavanaugh until later?”
“No, not until I saw his photo in the papers after the crash and put two and two together,” Roger replied, giving Natalie another furtive glance. He shifted uneasily in his seat.
“Listen…if that’s all…” Roger faded off and waved vaguely in the direction of the crowd and the band.
“It is. I can’t thank you enough for agreeing to speak with us,” Liam said. He stood along with Roger and shook his hand. Roger nodded at Natalie politely as he took his leave, but she had the impression he was glad to make his escape.
Liam slid back into his seat directly next to her. She tensed. Wouldn’t it have been more natural for him to sit across from her since Roger had left? And was it her imagination, or had he pressed closer to the side of her body this time?
“Well, that was interesting,” Liam said.