Mon Sep 4 - Thomas Street

[Langdon]

Flatly, mustering all the control I can. "No." fist clenched and trembling slightly

[Dexter Ford]

Dex looks at all the others.

"Is there anything else we can learn from here? Let's get out of here and discuss this someplace more calmly and securely. Besides, I need a visit to a doctor or a hospital."

Dex stands up using the wall as a brace.

[Gaffer]

BUZZBUZZBUZZZZ! POUND! POUND! POUND!!! BBBUUUUZZZZZZZZZ!!!

"Officer Esposito! If someone doesn't open this door right now, I'm calling the precinct!" Myron sounds most insistent, almost panicky, "Someone heard gunshots!!"

[FrankyEsposito]

Apparently I'm the only one here who can open a door. I'm fuming by the time I get there. I fling it open and stare at the little man.

"I'd suggest you go back to studying your law books, Mr. Hirsch." My tone leave no room for nonsense.

"Capische?"

[Gaffer]

Myron draws himself up to his full height (such as it is) and fairly bristles with indignation.

"You can't intimidate me, Officer! I know the Law. As a duly authorized representative of the owners of this apartment house, I have the right and responsibility to enter these premises in the event of a disturbance. Mrs. Wolcott next door is in a tizzy. She said she heard gunshots!

"I want to see Miss Hirt and I want to inspect these premises right now."

Unless physically prevented, he will brush past you into the living room.

[FrankyEsposito]

I block the door. "Mr. Hirsch..." I've gone from no-nonsense to full-on cop mode. "If you set foot inside this apartment I'll have you in handcuffs so fast your head will be spinning for days."

I let him chew on that one for a second. "You want to help? Go tell Mrs. Grundy -- and anyone else that asks -- that the police are already here and the situation is under control."

[Gaffer]

"But... but as the duly..." Myron chews on being arrested and what that might mean for his legal career, "Well, if you will assure me that Miss Hirt is not injured and that I... that is, the owners will get a full report and compensation for any damages..." He's on tiptoe, weaving and trying to see past Esposito. "...and that Mr. Hirt will be duly compensated to damages to his personal property. Well... Could you talk to me before you leave the building and let me know what happened, please?"

[FrankyEsposito]

"Absolutely. I'll be sure and give you a full report."

I'm not sure what I'll report, exactly. But I'm going to have to report it eventually.

[Dexter Ford]

Dex stands up and begins to open the back door to the fire escape, looking down at the long climb to the ground floor. Instead he walks to the hall closet (or to the bedroom if necessary) and finds one of Hirt's coats, and slides it over his shoulders to hide his injured arm. "I am headed to the hospital. If you need me, call my office." The throbbing pain of the broken and wounded arm, still dripping blood, is a bit much to handle, quickly becoming as bad as being shot.

[Gaffer]

Dex <snip> walks to the hall closet (or to the bedroom if necessary) and finds one of Hirt's coats, and slides it over his shoulders to hide his injured arm. "I am headed to the hospital. If you need me, call my office." The throbbing pain of the broken and wounded arm, still dripping blood, is a bit much to handle, quickly becoming as bad as being shot.

Esposito doesn't manage to block Myron's view of Dex coming out of the kitchen and down the hall.

"My God! Mr. Ford, you've been injured!" With Esposito distracted, Myron manages to slip past him into the apartment. "You won't be able to drive yourself to the hospital like that. Let me do it. There's a doctor very nearby -- and very discreet. Is anyone else hurt? Is Miss Hirt alright? Were you shot?" He gives Esposito an accusatory look.

Myron bustles around, getting an old overcoat from the hall closet to wrap around Dex's shoulders. The revolver almost slips from the detective's waistband and Myron reaches for it.

"Do you want me to carry this for you?"

[Dexter Ford]

Dex very cautiously holds his uninjured hand out. "I'll hold onto my revolver Myron." Some days he wishes he carried his back up weapon. "Myron, I'll take the chances with a hospital. Miss Hirt and her devil dog are what attacked me. I am quite surprised you didn't see the two of them racing down the stairs. What am I going to say to your employer about your allowing a vicious animal like that into the building?"

OOC: Dex will use Assess Honesty to see if Myron is being a little too helpful, given the recent attack by Miss Hirt. If Myron doesn't give the gun back, Dex will use Athletics or Scuffling to get his weapon back before Myron does something stupid.

Assess Honesty: Spend 1, 1d6+1=3
http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/2540462/
Athletics: Spend 2 (if necessary) 1d6+2=7
http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/2540466/

[Gaffer]

Rolls,Assess Honesty: 1d6+1=3 vs target 4; [color=#FF0000]FAIL[/color]. Myron seems genuinely concerned for your well-being. He didn't actually touch the revolver, just reached out to prevent it from falling.

"Right. Of course. The hospital it is then. I knew that dog would be trouble. I warned her about the complaints," he takes in the bullet hole in the door frame and the stained floorboards, "Oh my, I hope Mr. Hirt will understand about the damage." He adjusts the overcoat over Dex's shoulders and begins to shoo him toward the door. "Is your car out front? You'd better give me the keys. Don't worry, I'm an excellent driver."

[Dexter Ford]

OOC: I am so going to regret this.

Myron, yes my car is out front. Dex reaches for his keys and gives them to him. Drive straight to the hospital. He looks back at the others, and then follows the doorman downstairs.

[Gaffer]

Dex
Myron is very solicitous as he walks Dan to the car and drives the several blocks through light holiday traffic to the Downtown Hospital, parking at the curb. Inside, Dex is taken to an examining room. A middle-aged nurse removes the crude bandage. after a few minutes, a young doctor comes in and examines the injury, causing some little pain.

"I don't believe anything is broken, just bruising and crushing to the ligaments and tendons, though I can't rule out a cracked radius. Should have a splint and a sling, just to be on the safe side. I'll take some stitches in the worst of these lacerations and irrigate the deeper punctures to forestall infection. Must have been a big dog. I expect it was vaccinated against rabies?"

Franky
Back at the apartment, Esposito pokes around the study. It’s hard to reconcile (Library Use) the haphazard arrangement of some of the bookshelves -- few books that are carelessly stacked or fallen over, some turned the opposite way -- with other shelves neatly stocked, mostly with generic volumes like dictionaries, an encyclopedia set, an atlas, various sets of leatherbound classics – Shakespeare, Poe, Dickens, Twain, Stevenson, Kipling, etc. It seems incongruous.

Franky makes a quick search of Hirt's desk (Evidence Collection). The two left-hand drawers are deeper and completely empty, except for a couple of paper clips at the back and some little chads of cardboard that fall off of new file folders. The three right-hand drawers contain a variety of office and stationary supplies – letter paper and envelopes embossed with Hirt’s name and address, stamps, paper clips, rubber bands, pencils, pens, ink, a magnifying glass, typewriter eraser and ribbons, paste and rubber cement, scissors. There’s an unwrapped ream of typing paper and part of another. The long center drawer holds a clutter of paper and notes – a reminder about dinner at the Harvard Club, a grocery list, a book of street maps of New York City (the south Brooklyn section dog-eared and foxed), and a bill of sale from Koslov’s Art at 23 Thomas Street for a painting purchased on August 21 for $150.In one drawer is a well-thumbed book of street maps of New York City, .

He also notices (Evidence Collection) that the living room rug has been knocked askew (probably because it's cheap and new, the edges curled a bit) and that the hardwood floor underneath is damaged. Flipping the rug back, he discovers two sets of gouges separated by about two feet, each comprised of four parallel grooves about an inch apart. The dark stains in the gouges are possibly blood (Forensics).

Delores
Delores notes that the kitchen is very art moderne – lots of chrome and streamlined appliances, a black-and-white tiled floor. There is nothing in the refrigerator but some soured milk. The bread in the bread box is moldy. The cupboards and drawers are filled with mundane articles. A carving knife is missing from the knife block on the counter. She can easily see the scratches on the floor tiles that Dex pointed out: four parallel grooves in the hard surface, about an inch apart. There’s a deep gouge on one cabinet door and a broken pane of glass in the back door leading out to the fire escape. (Evidence Collection) It seems there was a struggle of some kind.

Phone
The phone rings in the study and Esposito answers. It's the records clerk from Motor Vehicles. New York license plate AYB-843 is registered to a red 1932 Ford Coupé owned by Miss Marlene Hirt, address 1288 Lexington Avenue, Manhattan. That's uptown on the east side near Central Park. No wants, no warrants.

[FrankyEsposito]

I scribble all the important bits in my notebook. I'm going to need to go art shopping. I gather the other two into the kitchen to compare notes.

"I'm going to call this in to the station house. I need them to send a couple uniforms down here to collect the evidence. We need to pay a visit to Koslov's Art -- that's the second time the name has popped up. And I have an address for 'Marlene Hirt.' We'll want to check that out."

[Langdon]

OOC,It's been a hectic weekend with moving. I'm a little lost this morning. I hope to get something posted this afternoon. Or later this morning after the coffee kicks in

[Dexter Ford]

Dex, not the mysteriously renamed Dan [humble apologies, ed.], nods to the doctor. "Do what you need to do doctor. I am pretty sure I don't have to worry about rabies, but if I don't feel right in a day or so, I'll check back in." When he is done, he will pay the bill out of the money in his wallet, if not, he will ask to be billed, using his business card and his detective license to show he is good for it. If Myron is still about, he will thank him and ask if he needs to be driven back home.

[Langdon]

"Excuse me... Detective Esposito? Perhaps we should reassure the neighbors that everything is under control, that you - that is the police - are looking into the matter, and that they needn't worry or call for any more 'help.' "

[Gaffer]

Dex nods to the doctor. "Do what you need to do doctor. I am pretty sure I don't have to worry about rabies, but if I don't feel right in a day or so, I'll check back in."

"I'm afraid by the time you exhibit symptoms, it will be too late. Pull up your shirt and lie back." He then injects the rabies serum directly into Dex's abdominal muscles. "Come see me every morning for the next five days -- through Saturday -- for another of those. It should prevent you from developing rabies."

The cashier takes ten dollars for examination, treatment of the wound and the injection. It'll be two dollars for each of the subsequent injections.

With the splint and sling, the throbbing ache of the wrist, and the lingering pain of the injection, there's no way Dex can maneuver his Ford through the city traffic. Fortunately, Myron is still in the waiting room.

"I'll drive you back to the building, Mr. Ford. If you want, you can wait in Mr. Hirt's apartment until I get off at six and I'll drive you home. Where do you live?"

The beautiful afternoon weather -- breezy and about seventy degrees -- somehow fails to make Dex feel better.

[FrankyEsposito]

"Excuse me... Detective Esposito? Perhaps we should reassure the neighbors that everything is under control, that you - that is the police - are looking into the matter, and that they needn't worry or call for any more 'help.' "

"Yeah, yeah. I'm sure there's a crowd forming already."

I head out into the hallway to look for thrill seekers. I flash my badge at them. "Nothing to see here, people. Everything is fine. Go home."