The delightful aroma of freshly brewed coffee greeted the two detectives the moment they set foot into Craig's Coffee House. As if the dreary weather outside motivated people to stay indoors and hide from the bone-chilling cold; nearly every table was occupied with businessmen and tourists alike, enjoying some flavorful brews and sweet treats in the warm and welcoming atmosphere of the hole-in-the-wall business.
The heat of the small fireplace nearby touched his cold skin, causing a shiver to run down Mike's back, as they slowly proceeded toward the waiter's station, trying to identify their contact without anything but a name to go by.
Closing the entrance door behind them to keep the cold weather out, Steve ran a hand through his sandy hair, before following the Lieutenant deeper into the Coffee House, his attentive green eyes scanning the crowds of patrons ever so subtly.
When Mike noticed a young man with a barista apron behind a small counter off on the side, he reached for the badge in the coat pocket of his light grey suit, and approached with a smile.
"Excuse me, I am…Lieutenant Mike Stone, this is my partner, Inspector Steve Keller. We're with San Francisco PD.", he introduced them and watched the scrawny kid with the short dark hair flinch slightly, "We're looking for Pippin. Is he working today?"
"That…that's me.", the other man stammered and glanced back and forth between both detectives, "What did I do? Is everything okay?"
"Everything's fine, son, not to worry.", Mike said softly, a warm smile on his lips to calm down their potential witness, "We'd just like to ask you a couple of questions. It has come to our attention that you might know a person of interest in our ongoing investigation. Is there…a place we could talk in private for a moment?"
"S…Sure…"
Hesitantly pointing toward the break room, Pippin lead the way wiping his sweaty palms on the skintight blue t-shirt and maroon jeans. He waited for the two detectives to join him, then closed the door to the tiny area full of supplies and pamphlets behind them.
"Pippin, we're looking for somebody who likes to wear a…a theatre type mask, about 5'10, 5'11, 160lbs, frequents a bar downtown called Morley's…"
Steve was keeping the cadence of his voice decidedly neutral, his craving for a positive lead in their case hidden well behind several layers of stoic professionalism.
"You must be talking about Horatio.", Pippin countered, causing Steve to reach for the black notepad in his breast pocket.
"Horatio, you say?"
"Yeah. Horatio. That's not his real name, none of us know his real name. We just know he goes by Horatio."
"He, as in…Horatio is a male?"
Mike's question seemed to confuse the young man momentarily, and he nodded with some hesitation.
"Well…I guess…we just assumed. Always hangs with us guys at the bar. But the voice gets distorted by the mask and he's putting on this…this act, for a lack of a better word. We're all actors in that group so we can certainly appreciate such dedication to a character. I suppose we never questioned if it actually is a guy…or a girl. That's kind of weird, now that I think about it."
"You say he's putting on an act…", Steve continued intrigued, trying to get back to the conversation, "Is he playing out the character of Horatio or is that just his cameo? Is he living out other characters?"
"It's just his cameo, I think. He…I am going to go with he for now…he plays out different characters, gets really into them. They're mostly classical plays, nothing too unorthodox. Lately he's been into a lot of Shakespeare's villains, but he puts an interesting spin on it."
"Shakespeare, eh?"
There was a smile on Mike's lips, the hope of finally getting closer to a viable lead. It was a smile his partner shared.
"What did you mean when you said that Horatio is putting a spin on these characters?"
Visibly intrigued, Steve stepped closer, his left hand clenching the notepad tighter, ready for more information.
"Well, he kind of…he explains the reasons for their negative behavior, he…adds the element of trauma and personal tragedy to these villains, makes the spectator relate to their suffering, and downright feel compassionate toward them."
"What kind of explanations is he using to rationalize his villain's behavior?"
As the lead was growing warmer by the second, Mike felt his heart starting to beat faster, his instincts growing more alert, taking in every nuance, every word of Pippin's explanation, his mind envisioning their person of interest and the delusional state of mind he was in.
"Stuff that goes along with the villain…like Angelo, who is so stressed out over the task of ruling Vienna that his anxiety and need for perfection is seen as a women-hating trait. Horatio reasoned that Richard was so oppressed by his deformity that it caused part of his behavior, and that eventually he was so stuck in that mold that his vile actions were a mere unanswered cry for help."
Glancing over and meeting Steve's eyes, Mike nodded slightly, growing increasingly intrigued by their information trickling in.
"When does he usually show up at Morley's?"
There was a slight quiver in Steve's voice, just enough to show the nervous excitement running through the young Inspector, as he tapped his notepad vigorously, eyes glued onto Pippin like an eagle who'd just spotted prey.
"Tomorrow evening.", the young man countered, his foot tapping an anxious rhythm against the linoleum floors, "He should be there around 6pm."
