Very Castle Celebrations

Chapter 24

Castle can feel his eyebrows rising. "Russell Kallen has a juvie file?"

Kate nods. "It's sealed, and we'll need a lot more than an old newspaper photo and a birthmark to get it open, but he has one. And that's not all, Castle. Russell started college at SUNY Buffalo. Apparently, it was one of the few schools with a decent molecular biology department at the time. He left after his first semester. The college was mum about why, but there's a record of the police being called a couple of times. He transferred to the University of Chicago and became a psych major. He ended up at the same medical school his parents had attended and did his residency at the same hospital. In both cases, it appears that his parents made substantial donations."

Castle can see a picture forming. "So they got their problem child the hell out of Dodge, then smoothed his professional path with an open checkbook."

Kate hunkers down in front of Jackson and answers over her shoulder. "Looks like that's what happened, but somewhere along the line, Russell became a good citizen. He's had a sterling reputation for decades."

Castle had gleaned as much from his own research. "Then if we want to figure out what happened with Russell and Havah, we need to find the person from 1969 who would be most likely to know. We need Gidon Arad."

When Castle launches his search for Gidon, he is surprised to find the Arad name popping up in old issues of Variety as a dancer turned choreographer. If there's anyone who would know how to get in touch with him, it's Mother. Castle knows she's got a performance that night, but with any luck, he can enlist her services the next day - as long as it isn't too early.


By way of encouragement, Castle slides a fresh fruit plate and the obnoxious wheatgrass concoction she loves in front of Mother. She takes a thoughtful sip of green sludge. "Gidon Arad. Yes, I have worked with him. He never made it to Broadway, but his work in summer stock and some of the smaller theaters was quite good. As I recall, he toured a lot, but as far as I know, he's not attached to any shows right now. There was never much gossip about his personal business, but I remember hearing something about cancer and some speculation that it might be related to HIV."

That could fit in with Castle's Romeo and Mercutio scenario. "So he's gay?"

Mother shrugs. "Gay, bi, straight, who cares these days? But whatever his private life is, he's kept it private, which is not easy in the theater."

Castle wonders if Mother knows if Gidon is in New York. She doesn't, but she thinks it won't be hard to find out. Even if he's not physically up to working, she believes he may be mentoring young dancers and choreographers. In her opinion, hardly anyone in the craft ever leaves it entirely if they can help it. Closing her eyes to savor a fresh strawberry, she promises to make inquiries.


Castle has spent enough time backstage to know that dancers rarely show their age, but Gidon Arad is showing his. When Mother delivered the news of Gidon's residency in a nursing home run by a Jewish charity, Kate made arrangements for Castle and herself to visit. They find Gidon in a common area, chatting with a man who looks to be at least 20 years older than the choreographer, but with brighter eyes and a much readier smile. Gidon introduces his companion as Max, a playwright, then suggests they go to his room to talk.

Gidon tiredly admits to knowing both Havah and Russell. He explains that though he was extremely fond of Havah, he was never head over heels in love with her, but he believed that she was considerably more serious about him. They enjoyed dancing together when they could, but any other physical contact never went beyond hand holding and exchanging a few kisses.

When Havah introduced him to Russell, it was as if lightning struck for both boys. Gidon and Russell spent as much time as they could steal, together. For Gidon, the ideology of the Shomrim made that problematic. The boys and the girls were not often segregated. They even changed into their costumes in the same room. Choosing to be too close to a boy, especially a Betari, would have been viewed as suspect.

He and Russell did the best he could to keep their relationship under wraps, but one day Havah caught them in what she regarded as in flagrante delicto. She rushed away, and he could hear her throwing up. When she finally talked to them, she told them that if she ever saw them together again, she would go straight to the senior Kallens. At the time, homosexuality was thought of as a mental illness. Russell knew that his parents would either subject him to therapy or worse, put him in a facility for treatment. Even though he and Gidon decided to stay away from each other, Russell was still scared.

After Havah died, Russell came to Gidon and confessed that he had hit her. He never meant to kill her. When the fight broke out at the parade, he just took the opportunity to send a message. For a long time, Russell couldn't handle his part in Havah's death. He and Gidon still saw each other, but Russell got into all kinds of trouble. He didn't really learn to live with what he'd done until he went through the therapy that was required of anyone who wanted to be a psychiatrist. He and Gidon finally fully parted ways, and Gidon went on to other lovers. Unfortunately, his choice of partners was never the wisest. Now, Gidon doesn't want to die with the secret he's been keeping, and he believes Zev Greenspan deserves to know the truth.

Gidon stares at Kate. "So what now? Will the police go after someone who has spent the majority of his life helping people, for what happened because of one stupid moment when he was 17?"

Kate has to tell him that she honestly doesn't know. There is no statute of limitations for murder, but Russell committed the crime as a minor. Gidon didn't witness the act, so his testimony would be unlikely to secure a conviction. The D.A. might decide not to bring charges or try to get Russell to plead to a lesser offense. She adds that whatever happens, Zev Greenspan needs to know the truth. Gidon pushes back thinning white hair and slowly nods.


Castle is making plans for Labor Day when Kate delivers the news that in accordance with a plea deal, Russell Kallen was sentenced to a fine and a year in prison for negligent homicide. He will be losing his medical license, but under the circumstances, the judge has decided to allow him to spend his incarceration as a volunteer in the Mental Health facility at Rikers. There is an irony to it. Variety had just published Gidon Arad's obituary. If Russell had managed to wait just a couple more days before pleading out, there would have been no one to testify against him and no case. At least this way, there is some small amount of justice for Havah and a measure of peace for Zev.

A/N Max is based on my late Uncle Max who was a playwright in New York City. Unlike Castle, his work was actually produced. When I was little, I used to sit on his lap when he was at the typewriter, and I couldn't resist giving him a cameo.