Occupation: Detective
Partner(s):
Amanda Smart
Lorelei Fisher
Sara Mills
Children:
Matthew Smart (Amanda)
It’s complicated (Lorelei)
Liam Smart is a detective with the Grimwick Police Department and one of the main characters in The Probability of Time. He first became interested in becoming a police officer after his mother was killed and his father was sent to prison for the murder of a man he believed was her killer.
As a detective, Liam found a certain level of local fame when he was tasked with identifying and capturing the city’s most notorious serial killer: The Arrowhead Killer. With the help of his contacts in local crime families, he managed to locate and arrest Samuel Austin for the murder of fifteen women around the city.
Early Life
Liam was born to Gordon and Beverly Smart in Grimwick. The early portion of his life was normal. He was a straight-A student at Chesterfield Elementary School and was a three-sport athlete (football, basketball, baseball). He and his mom and dad would often spend summer vacations at a camp on Rangeley Lake in Maine.
His life was upended, however, when he was seven years old. His mother was murdered while waiting in line at the store to buy milk. Although she survived the shooting, she died three days later due to complications from surgery.
His mother’s death sent Liam’s father into a tailspin, spending all the family’s money on alcohol and chasing down bogus leads for her killer. Eventually, he found someone who matched the killer’s description and held him captive in the basement of the family home, where he died as a result of torture.
After his father’s arrest, Liam was sent to live with his grandparents. Although he had to change schools and his grades slipped, he graduated from high school and immediately enrolled in the Grimwick Police Academy.
Career
Liam enrolled in the Grimwick Police Department right out of high school. Upon his graduation, he spend the first couple of years working a beat through the financial district of the city. He first caught the eye of department leadership after he managed to run down and stop a pair of jewelry robbers single-handed, preventing the loss of more than four million dollars worth of precious gems.
He was hand-selected and mentored by Captain Clint Thompson to become a detective. After a few quick, high-profile busts, Liam was made lead detective on a new serial murder case. The killer, who would later become dubbed The Arrowhead Killer because of his MO to leave behind stone arrowheads on the bodies of his victims, managed to elude Liam for 10 years and murder 15 women.
Personal Life
After his graduation from the police academy, Liam married his high school sweetheart, Amanda. Seven years prior to the events of The Probability of Time, Liam and Amanda had their only child, Matthew.
As the Arrowhead Killer case ramped up, Liam became more distant with his family until it consumed his life entirely. Amanda left Liam, taking Matthew with her, three years prior to the events of The Probability of Time.
Without his family or a break in the case, Liam slipped into the same habits as his father with alcohol. He spent his nights drinking himself into a blackout at Patrick’s Pub until he met Lorelei Fisher, who started him down the events of The Probability of Time.
Liam survived The Last Great War and used his infamy and intimate knowledge of crime family operations to create and command a small militia of fellow survivors within the ruins of Grimwick.
Tim Koster 