Curtain Call Part 6

 I don't own Castle. I think this is a longer post than usual, so...enjoy.

           Back at the theater, Esposito was talking to Elaine Heralds, the understudy for the role of Maureen. She pulled her long blond hair into a ponytail to keep it out of her face and off her neck as she talked.

            “Listen detective, I don’t know how much help I’m gonna be,” she said. “I honestly didn’t know Elizabeth very well at all. I just met her when we were cast for the play. I only knew her as a coworker.”

            “We still have a few things we need to ask,” Esposito explained. “This is this last place Elizabeth was seen alive. Do you have any idea where she might have gone after rehearsal that night?”

            “No, I don’t.”

            “When was the last time you saw her?”

            “She was putting up her costume as I was leaving the building. That was about half-past six that evening.”

            “Anything stand out to you? Odd behavior, arguments, anything like that?”

            “Nope, nothing,” Elaine responded immediately. “I would have known if there were any sort of fights, it’s a fairly small cast.

            “What did you do that evening after rehearsal?”

            “Went straight home, I was exhausted. My boyfriend lives with me; we had dinner and watched a few movies.”

            Esposito didn’t this she seemed much like the murdering type. She wouldn’t have thought through all the details. Just then his phone rang.

            “Yeah…got it, thanks Beckett.” Esposito hung up. “Was anybody on this show especially close to Elizabeth other than her roommate and boyfriend?”

            “Not particularly,” Elaine answered. “Why?”

            “Just checking,” Esposito told her. “Thanks for your time, let me know if you think of anything.”

            On his way to talk to Ryan Esposito was stopped by the director.

            “I need to know how much longer you’re going to be here, Detective,” he told Esposito. “You can’t just keep disturbing my rehearsals like this, we have a show opening soon.”

            “We’re just doing our jobs, Mr. Stevens,” Esposito told him.

            “Well it’s making it very hard for me to do mine. At these rehearsals, I’m in charge and I don’t appreciate you coming in and undermining my authority and disrupting my routine.”

            “We’re trying to take as little time as possible. Our goal is to catch a killer, not mess up your show”

            “Then talk to these people after rehearsal next time! I’ve got enough to deal with without this.”

            As Stevens walked off Esposito could help but wonder why he was so annoyed over a few hours out of one rehearsal.

***

`           Meanwhile, Ryan was having another interview with Rachel.

            “You know, we really should hire you as an interrogator, the way you handled Drake,” he told her.

            “He deserved it,” Rachel said simply. “There are times when he really just needs a good kick in the ass to straighten him out. He thinks he’s entitled to get away with acting however he wants. I might have overreacted but it’s just…Elizabeth was a good friend.”

            “I understand. I’m afraid I have to ask, what was your relationship with Drake?”

            “I told you, we were professional and I wouldn’t do that to Elizabeth. We worked together, that’s it.”

            “Was Elizabeth seeing anybody else?”

            “What? Why would you think that?”

            “Just covering any possibilities.”

            “As far as I know, no, she wasn’t seeing anybody other than Drake.”

            “But…”

            “But it’s not impossible.”

            “Ms. Golightly, when my partner and I first talked to you yesterday you didn’t exactly react to the news of your friend’s death in a typical way. You were rather…calm about the whole thing, anxious to get back to work and wanting to return to life as usual.”

            Rachel sat there for a minute before responding. “I act detached because it’s easier for me to deal with Elizabeth’s death that way than by becoming an emotional wreck. As the scene with Drake might tell you, I don’t always succeed. But pushing on helps me, it gives me something else to focus on so I don’t dwell on her death, and as performers we have a duty to the people who come to see our show. And if you think I’m acting this way because I killed Elizabeth, I want you to give me one possible motive you’ve found that would give me reason to kill her.”

            “We haven’t found any,” Ryan admitted.

            “I’m not your killer,” Rachel promised.

            Ryan couldn’t think of anything to say to that. After a minute he told her “Thank you, Ms. Golightly.”

            “Rachel.”

            “Thank you, Rachel. I’ll let you know as soon as we find anything. I’m sorry for your loss. We’re going to do everything we can to find this guy.”

            He looked like he was about to say more when Esposito interrupted the two.

            “Hey, I just got a call from Beckett,” he told his partner. “We’ve got a new angle to work.”

            “Right.” Ryan stood up and walked off with Esposito. “Feel free to call us if you think of anything,” he told Rachel.