Little Pink House_ A True Story of Defiance and Courage - Jeff Benedict [97]
By the end of the interview, Dee wanted to spend a lot more time with Claire, and Claire agreed. She also consented to have a photographer tag along. But driving to her office after leaving Claire’s house, Dee felt uneasy; she suspected the Claire she had met was the one Claire wanted her to meet. She also wondered about Claire’s motives for agreeing to spend time with her. Dee figured that Claire thought she could control the narrative.
The following morning, Dee showed up at Susette’s house for a scheduled interview. She brought along a photographer. Billy Von Winkle did his part to set the tone in the neighborhood, papering the windows of his deli with wanted posters featuring sexy pictures of Claire. Dee and her photographer stopped to look.
“Wanted … but not by us,” one of the posters read. “This subject is armed with a giant rolodex and should be considered dangerous … has been known to hang out at drug factories, gyms and schools.”
Another one read: “This subject is wanted in Connecticut for fraternizing with devious people including Governor Rowland, for violating Freedom of Information laws, for stealing people’s homes, and for pretending to be a social justice authority. Subject is adept at disguises. If spotted, do not approach subject for God sakes!”
A final sign with an oversized shot of Claire’s face said: “WANTED for theft, grand larceny, and attempting to pull the wool over innocent people’s eyes. Claire Gaudiani has used the following aliases: Dr. Gaudiani, Claire, Martin Luther King, Jesus, Mom and Claire Lois Gaudiani Burnett.”
Dee’s photographer snapped shots of Von Winkle’s posters for inclusion in the story.
The mood inside Susette’s house was raucous. Inside, Dee found Steve and Amy Hallquist and Connecticut College students who were vehemently opposed to Claire. Seated around the kitchen table with Susette, the group railed against the NLDC and its tactics. When Dee mentioned Claire, no one had a kind word to say.
The students belittled her approach. “The trend in America is to save what’s left of our communities,” one of them said. “And Claire’s out there knocking them down. It’s a mess, just a mess.”
Steve compared her to a cult leader carrying out community cleansing.
Amy took issue with her revealing wardrobe.
“She’s a ho,” someone blurted out.
The provocative quotes about Claire were still on Dee’s mind a few days later when she attended a speech that Claire gave to a local chamber of commerce.
“Good morning,” Claire began.
“Good morning,” a man in the audience responded.
“I love responsive men,” Claire told the audience.
Dee couldn’t believe it. After the speech, she asked Claire about her seductive style. Claire dismissed the criticism as noise from her adversaries, pointing out that people’s obsession with her attire amused her. “It’s not like I’m disabled and dragging a bad leg,” she said. “So I don’t let it bother me.”
The one item that stuck with Dee after her visit with Susette was Susette’s insistence that Pfizer was behind Claire’s push to clear the neighborhood. Dee got close enough to Claire to get an interview with her low-profile husband, David Burnett, who worked under Milne at Pfizer. He looked and sounded more like a professor than a corporate guy. “Pfizer wants a nice place to operate,” he said candidly. “We don’t want to be surrounded by tenements.”
On the day Dee spoke to Burnett, a photographer snapped photos of Claire. Dee’s story was quickly taking shape.
In addition to Von Winkle’s rental-property crisis, Bullock and Berliner had another problem. Back on December 7, two weeks before the institute had filed its lawsuit, the NLDC had applied for permits to demolish six of the fifteen properties owned by the plaintiffs. The law required the NLDC to wait sixty days before