For the People Chapter 62
"Yeah. All right. Thanks. Love you." Shoving his cell back in his pocket, Ryan scoots his chair over to Esposito's desk. "Jenny found the program. Nick got a hold of it and stuck a corner in his mouth, but she was still able to make out who played Fergus mac Roth. The actor's name is Liam O'Doyle."
"With a name like that, he shouldn't be hard to track down. I'll check the DMV," Esposito offers.
"There might be a faster way," Ryan suggests. "We can ask Castle's mother. Martha knows a lot of the actors in this city, and she'd know where they hang out."
"Fine, Bro. You call Martha, and I'll do the DMV," Esposito agrees.
"Liam O'Doyle," Martha echoes. "Oh yes, a strange young man. I remember watching him audition for the part of Tybalt in Romeo and Juliet. He seemed to enjoy the scene where he ran a sword into Mercutio, but I doubt the director enjoyed it as much. O'Doyle wasn't cast. I've never seen him at Sardi's, but he might patronize one of the pubs in the theater district. When he wasn't in character, he was very Irish. And, it was a union play, so Actor's Equity should have O'Doyle on file."
Ryan smiles triumphantly. "Thanks, Martha, that should help a lot."
Esposito strides up waving a printout. "I got O'Doyle's address from the DMV. Let's go."
The super at the minimally refurbished building in the East Village examines O'Doyle's DMV photo and scratches his head. "I think he was here in 6B for about a month, maybe less. I saw him putting trash out. A lot of actors share apartments for a while, but they come, and they go. The owner doesn't care as long as he gets the rent."
"When was the last time you saw him?" Ryan asks.
"Must be at least four, five months. Could be more."
"Did he leave a forwarding address?" Esposito queries.
"No. I don't think his mail came here for long. A lot of the actors move around so much they have po boxes or get their stuff sent to their agents or something. I don't know about this one."
"So, who's in 6B now?" Esposito presses.
"More actors, four of them, I think. But good luck finding them home. When they're not running around to auditions or classes they're waiting tables."
Esposito gestures toward the stairs. "Come on, Bro. Let's check them out."
"Why don't you have an elevator?" Ryan asks the super.
"We did, but the cables broke, and a woman was killed, must be 40 years ago. The tenants claimed the thing was cursed, so the owner took it out and never put in a new one."
"Hey, you don't want to get soft. Stairs are good cardio," Esposito insists as Ryan puffs up the fifth flight.
Ryan examines the grime on his fingers from the ancient railing. "If I want cardio, I'll take a spin class. It's cleaner."
After Esposito raps loudly, a woman wearing a waitress uniform of Daisy Dukes shorts and a cleavage-displaying ruffled top, answers the door. Esposito takes an appreciative look as he holds up his badge. "Detective Sergeant Esposito. This is Detective Ryan. Ms….?"
"Lena Strong."
"Ms. Strong, we need to ask you some questions about Liam O'Doyle."
"Liam? He moved out five months ago, and good riddance too. He was always waving his sword around, doing practice thrusts. We all warned him that he was going to hurt someone someday. But he claimed that he always knew where his sword was and his aim was perfect. Still, I felt safer after he was gone. What do you want him for? Did he finally stab someone?"
"It's an ongoing investigation," Esposito replies. "Do you know where we can find him?"
"No idea. I haven't heard about him booking any acting gigs. Sometimes he gave other actors lessons in swordplay, but I don't know where. Sorry."
"It's all right, Ms. Strong," Esposito rushes to respond. "You've helped a lot."
"Looks like we'll be using what Martha told me after all and checking with Actor's Equity," Ryan announces as the partners descend the stairs. "Or we could try those pubs she mentioned, first. I could go for some Irish stew."
"Some fish and chips would be OK with me. Too bad most pub servers don't dress like Lena Strong," Esposito grumbles."
Ryan smiles slyly. "You should see the server girl outfit Jenny found for next Halloween. Or maybe we'll just keep it private. But let's go hit a pub."
Kate stretches, a low purr vibrating in her throat. "Maybe you should take Lily to more cons. While she naps afterward, we could take more naps of our own."
"I might also have to throw interrogations in as sleep-promoting outings. Ryan and Esposito don't have your moves, but their performance piqued Lily's interest. I wonder how they're doing finding the mystery sword-plier."
"Assuming there is one. The thief you all caught could have been BSing about the guy and killed the vic himself."
Rick shakes his head. "I don't think so. When I was fencing, I had to spend a lot of time in the gym. It takes considerable upper body strength to handle a sword with any prowess. From what I saw of Dana Klimick, he didn't have it. He could barely heft his bag of ill-gotten gains. I believe he saw an opportunity and he took it. It's just too bad for him that Trehosen had that receipt in his pocket, or Klimick might have gotten away with his little caper. But the boys are on the hunt for the true villain of the piece. They'd probably nab him faster if you were still at the 12th, but it would be fun to watch anyway. However, I'm not getting Lily within a blade's length of some murderous swordsman."
"And you shouldn't be there either," Kate points out. "You already did more than your part at Enchanted Exchange."
"As satisfying as garnering justice through the written word is, sometimes I still miss hot-footing it after perps," Rick admits. "Don't you?"
"You didn't do it on heels. But sometimes I do," Kate confides. "Still, making sure the process actually makes them pay for their crimes is great. And sometimes I wish I could do even more."
"Like what?" Rick asks. "You were the most kickass cop in the city, and now you're the most kickass prosecutor."
Kate nibbles on her lip. "I don't know. But I feel that eventually there will be a next step. Still, right now, if Jason Jordan did what Amelia believes he did, I want to kick his ass right into jail."
Rick cups Kate's cheek. "And you can even do it wearing stilettos."
Generously coating a fry in ketchup, Esposito gazes around the Whistle and Drum pub. "I don't see O'Doyle."
"It's early," Ryan points out. "I bet half the lunch crowd isn't even here yet. But if O'Doyle doesn't show, we can try the Hungry Pig or go straight to the Equity Office. I called ahead. They don't give out actors' addresses, assuming they have them. But they can put us in touch with O'Doyle's agent. No actor who wants to work is going to lose touch with his personal bloodsucker."
"You really want to try the Hungry Pig?" Esposito wonders. "How does a skinny guy like you stuff away all the food you do without blowing up like a balloon?"
Ryan reddens. "Jenny makes sure I get my exercise."
Esposito nudges his partner with his shoulder. "With her little server costume? Yeah, I bet she does."
