2 weeks earlier
"Oh man, how in the world are we going to find Moreno in this crowd?"
Detective Kevin Ryan sighed wearily, letting his eyes drift across dozens of people standing in line ahead of them, twice as many still off to the right, ready to join in.
Flanked by his partner, he took another step forward, overwhelmed with the sizeable task.
"Gotta give the guy credit, he planned it out well. You can easily disappear in a crowd like that."
Sharing his frustration, Esposito ran a nervous hand through his short black hair, his keen eyes locked onto an overweight, middle-aged guy wearing a pink sweatshirt. Then, as if to realize that this couldn't be their suspect, he got on his toes, hoping to get a better look at what was ahead.
"You know, the longer we stay here, the worse this is gonna get…", Ryan noted and pointed at the A-Frame sign next to the music store, "Her CD signing won't start for another half hour."
At least they were inside a mall and out of the freezing weather, the younger detective reminded himself, still annoyed that Moreno had gotten away the first time.
Then, a few days later, Beckett and Castle had stumbled upon the disgraced property owner with a hankering for murder once again, nearly making an arrest but eventually losing him in the crowd.
Thankfully these run-ins had given them ample time to look into their suspect's past some more, highlighting a connection to the owner of a local music store.
Even more interesting had been the transactions going on between both of their bank accounts. While it wasn't enough to incriminate the shop owner, it certainly caused reasonable suspicion, making him a viable lead when it came to tracking down Moreno.
Unfortunately, their idea of a stakeout hadn't put into consideration the visit of Allison Banes, twenty-eight-year-old singer and song writer who had recently rose to fame for her song "Don't stop dancing with me", a heartfelt rendition of a young woman trying to stop her father from committing suicide.
The dark topic had allowed her to reach several target groups, propelling her song to Number One on the charts, making her an overnight success story.
And as of right now, an attractive distraction; her sheer presence causing a slew of activity around the small music store.
Groups of every age and gender had descended upon the area, patiently waiting along a set of crowd control panels that had been arbitrarily put into place, causing more chaos than fixing it.
"He's gonna show…", Esposito reiterated firmly, "The note had today's date on it…"
The note.
There was that.
Suspecting that their murder victim had something to do with an illegal business deal gone awry, they'd produced a warrant for Moreno's office, house and even Porsche, finding inside it a small handwritten note to meet at 3pm today.
There was a 50-50 chance the note was meant for the store owner- or their victim.
Ryan's gut feeling was that a man who knew he was being chased by the cops wouldn't follow up on such appointments but then again, some people's ignorance never did cease to amaze him.
Next to them, a small choir of fans began to chant their favorite song, most of them horribly off key. It started a chain reaction that echoed through the crowd, getting everyone else involved.
"Don't stop…don't stop dancing with me…", Esposito chimed in playfully, trying to coax a reaction out of his partner as they worked their way through the masses, hoping to blend in but failing.
"We still don't know what the meeting is all about…", Ryan muttered, his words getting drowned out by the choir that gained in strength…and volume.
They were a few feet away from the store front when loud cheering erupted, signaling the arrival of Allison Banes. To either side of them, the fans began to squeeze toward the entrance, some cursing while others squealed in delight.
Stuck in the human avalanche, both detectives moved along, equally uncomfortable being in a tight crowd of crazed people who for one reason or another had made it their life's goal to meet the young singer.
Throughout them all, Ryan could see the table that had been set up for Banes, the young blonde seemingly taken aback by the massive response to her overnight success. With a bodyguard on each side, she smiled shyly, running a hand over her flowering blue dress, then sat down while a handful of coordinators tried to get people to line up single file.
"I haven't been in a crowd like that since they opened the first American Doll Girl store in Brooklyn.", Esposito mentioned, causing his partner to glance over at him with a frown.
"And you went there why?"
"Went there to get a Christmas gift for my sister. What were you thinking, bro?"
With a theatrical headshake, the older detective pushed on, finally making it to the door and holding onto the frame as more people descended upon the small entrance area.
"You still think he will show, Javi?", Kevin asked and stepped off to the side, nearly tripping over a stack of shopping baskets as he tried to avoid a group of giggling teenagers.
"You bet…"
Gathered on either side of the double door, they watched as the fans were separated in groups before helpers created a channel for people to leave the store when done, causing an echo of impatient grunts.
From his spot, he watched Banes smile at each fan, taking a moment for a brief conversation, before signing her CD and wishing them well on their way out. He wondered how much coaching it took to handle a celebrity status like that, and more importantly, how hard it must be to wake up to that sort of pressure every day.
Glancing over at his partner, Ryan noticed that Javi had his eyes on the young singer as well, quite possibly for an entirely different reason.
"There he is…", the older detective suddenly said and cocked his head off to the right where their suspect stood in the doorframe to the supply room, gesturing for the owner to come over.
"I'll be damned…", Ryan muttered under his breath and slowly headed toward the general area, keeping his gaze low, hoping their presence would stay undetected as long as possible.
In the end, the lack of Allison Banes euphoria must have given them away- or Esposito for that matter. Kevin saw their suspect glance across the crowd, his eyes stopping at the older detective before he froze.
So much for staying under the radar.
Without hesitation, they both gave chase- or tried to for that matter.
"NYPD- Stand down!"
Despite announcing his presence, Kevin's attempt to go after Moreno ended quickly when the people lined up for autographs moved in different directions, some ducking, others stepping out of the way, forming a human wall that held him back and tripped him up whenever he tried to take a step.
Cursing impatiently, he broke out in a cold sweat when he saw Moreno head for Banes' table, potentially setting up for a hostage situation.
Esposito noticed the same thing and quickened his pace, his path wide open as he circled the crowd and headed for their suspect.
Panicked screams could be heard as the fans dispersed even more, many of them rushing for the doors that were too narrow to handle the sheer volume of bodies trying to pass through.
Banes' bodyguards, which were such in name only, seemed confused by the commotion, one of them turning around, looking for the threat but never noticing a desperate Moreno rushing toward them.
Without a realistic chance that he'd reach the table in time, Kevin drew his Glock and stepped past a couple of screeching teenagers, widening his stance for a shot if it were to become necessary, yet the number of people surrounding the table making it hard to justify pulling that trigger.
Eventually it was Esposito who managed to get close enough.
In a full run, he leapt onto the signing table, taking down a stack of CD's with his back foot as he flew past Banes and one of her bodyguards and ramming shoulder-first into the heavy-set Moreno.
The impact sent both men crashing to the ground, where the mixture of groaning and expletives finally ended with the sound of clicking handcuffs.
It took Kevin a while before he finally reached the table, trying to ignore the perplexed looks he received from Banes and her crew.
Behind them, Esposito got back on his feet, a victorious smile on his face as he pulled up a handcuffed Moreno by the upper arm.
"See. I told you he was gonna show up, bro!"
