"It's just like I told the Sergeant earlier, there was nothing extraordinary about last night. Roy just sat here for most of the night, sipping on his cocktails, munching on some peanuts. At one point he ordered and ate some chicken wings, but that was it. He never got drunk or obnoxious. Nobody sat with him, and he didn't talk about anybody. This was his place to relax and…ironically enough, stay away from people."
The twenty-something man behind the bar shrugged indifferently, as he used a well-worn towel to wipe some left-over glass rings off the bar surface.
Smiling understandingly, Mike gestured toward the dining area of the small hole-in-the-wall bar that had become a token for local music and stand-up comedy enthusiasts over the past decade.
"What about the rest of this place? Were there any strange people in here this morning? Non-regulars? Prostitutes perhaps? Anybody that stood out from the crowd?"
The young man glanced up at both detectives incredulously, before shaking his head.
"No. Just a bunch of our regulars. You see, this isn't your normal bar. We're family here. And I am sure you guys can't fathom that concept, but our doors are open for our patrons who may not have any family, who are always alone over the holidays."
"You're right, we can't begin to understand that concept."
Mike reacted swiftly to the insult, quick enough before anything else could be said in undue irritation, allowing for the ignorant notion to disappear as fast as it was voiced.
"But let me ask you this son, did Roy say anything about threatening phone calls or letters he received? Anything that bothered him more than usual?"
Next to him, Steve had fallen quiet, his green eyes studying his partner's mannerism and choice of words with great curiosity, the student imprinting on his mentor, even after all these years of intense partnership.
"Nothing in particular, no. He said that there'd been a couple obnoxious guests on his last few shows. You know, whiny people, people who complain but refuse to change. That sort of thing. But nothing in particular."
"Mhm…", Mike mused, pursing his lips as he shook his head deep in thought, "What about you? Did you ever watch it?"
"On and off, yeah.", the young man admitted, then shrugged, "I didn't care for it too much. Roy may have helped a few people here and there, but the real therapy is right here, in bars such as these. People from all walks of life come together for some peace and quietness, to get away from everything and just worry about themselves for once. No television show in the world will have that kind of an impact on the lives of everyday people."