Participants:
| Scene Title | Hope springs…. |
|---|---|
| Synopsis | Ygraine makes enquiry about missing friends |
| Date | December 15, 2008 |
A coffee shop in Queens.
Sitting once again in the coffee shop where Officer Trask bought her breakfast while making his enquiries so many weeks ago, Ygraine is failing to distract herself with the book in her hands. Every half-paragraph she looks up, glancing around the room then out through the windows. She knows she's early, but she's already nearly finished one cup of caffeine and isn't sure whether another would be good for her already-frayed nerves…
Trask comes in a little early himself, in his uniform, since she asked for him in an official capacity. He smiles seeing her, and heading over to where she sits, "Ygraine…is everything ok?"
Ygraine musters a wan smile, gesturing an invitation to the bench-seat opposite her in the booth she's chosen. "I… quite possibly not. I'd like to ask you for a favour, since I'm not at all sure how to go about doing something as a lay person." Another slight gesture indicates the coffee pot and the unused cup up-turned on a saucer. "Help yourself, if you fancy a drink."
Trask pours himself some coffee, and puts his note pad down on the table as he takes a seat opposite of her, he smiles softly, "What is wrong?"
Ygraine darts another glance towards the window, sighs, and sets aside her book to take a sip from her own cup. "I… I've been trying to find someone. A friend, before you think that it's stalking or the like. I know that failing to get in touch with someone really isn't a police matter, but…." She closes her eyes, martialling her thoughts for a moment.
"I tried dropping her an email, but got no reply. Her cell's been disconnected or destroyed. Her home phone provided no answer. When I went to her home, the door staff told me that she and her lover'd been taken away in an ambulance, but they couldn't say where to. I tried calling the public hospitals, but…." She shrugs ruefully. "Can you help? Private hospitals won't talk to anyone who's not a relative."
Trask nods slowly, "I can see what I can find out, what is her name?
Ygraine shoots him a grateful look. "Danielle. Danielle Hamilton. I… be careful. I'm not sure about her employer. If he's got her, he might not appreciate cops poking around. I dunno."
Trask raises an eyebrow, "Her Employer?"
Ygraine bites her lip. "I'm sure you can see who it is if you run a check. I… I think she works for Linderman. Whom she herself suspected of being… well." She sighs and shakes her head. "It's potentially a real mess, I know. Or it might just be that her girlfriend's money has them tucked up securely in some ultra-private retreat I can't even find the name for. I dunno. But… it's not that her phone's _off_, it's not working. And… no response to email suggests she's either not woken up, or she can't get online at all wherever she is. I'm worried."
Trask says, "Linderman? You mean Linderman Act Linderman?" He frowns a little, "I will be more then willing to see what I can do." He offers his note pad, "Can you right down what you know about her?""
"That's him. Never-charged-with-anything, honest-I'm-honest Linderman. The man with the highly polished reputation. He did throw a good Hallowe'en party, at least." Ygraine dithers a moment, then accepts pen and pad, jotting down a brief description of Dani, the fact that she used to work for the New York Post as a reporter, her address in Dorchester Towers, the date of her removal by EMTs in an ambulance….
Trask nods looking over the list, "You said her boyfriend is missing too?
"Girlfriend", corrects Ygraine. "Cat. Catherine, I think. Chesterfield. You'll have seen her play at the Wench, most likely, if you go there at all often in the evening…."
Trask nods slowly, "Catherine Chesterfield?" He notes that down too, "She is a singer or musician of some type?" He makes another note. "You said she has a lot of money?"
Ygraine cocks her head. "I've not asked exactly, but… by most standards, I'm pretty well-off. I've got a mortgage on a three-bedroom apartment in a decent bit of New York. Cat… I have the impression that she's considerably more wealthy than me. It might just be show, of course. But she's got a nice apartment in Dorchester Towers, which should say something, even if she's renting it. And she seems to sing for fun rather than to make ends meet. I'm not even sure if she _works_ as a lawyer or not."
Trask says, "She is a singer, and a lawyer?" He raises an eyebrow again, very spock like, and makes another note. "But you don't know what law firm she works for? Is it possible she works for Linderman too?""
Ygraine shrugs slowly, frowning a touch. "I doubt it. I suspect she'd be self-employed, or a consultant, from what I've seen of her personality. They met at university - Yale, I think. Cat's certainly a high-flyer."
Trask says, "High Flyer? She does drugs?" He makes another note on his notepad.
Ygraine blinks slowly, then laughs and shakes her head. "I'd be very surprised if she did. I think she's too stable for that, by some distance. No… high-flyer. High achiever. Someone used to operating at the upper ends of the spectrum of ability. She's got a lot of confidence, and seems to have good reason for it."
Trask scratched that info off the note pad and makes another note. "Besides the Wench do you know anywhere else they might be hanging out, or would be making a habit of going, anything they like to do?"
Ygraine sighs, pursing her lips and shaking her head. "I met Cat while I was on a job. She'd ordered a delivery of various things to hospital - the one close by St John's cathedral - when Dani was in there. We got talking, but mostly about politics and the state of the world, as it happens. She was curious about what a Brit was doing riding deliveries through Midtown…. I've only ever bumped into them socially at the Wench. I've invited Dani out shopping and over for drinks, but… didn't really get to know either of them _that_ well."
Trask nods again, "Well I will check on ambulance records, and see what I can find out. I can't promise you anything though.
Ygraine sighs and nods once more. "I'm… I don't even know for sure what records'd be registered with law enforcement in Britain, rather than here. But I'm worried. And I _think_ I've exhausted the resources legally open to me, to try to find them - short of hiring a private eye, I suppose. I apologise in advance if this is just a waste of time, but…"
Trask nods, "If they don't want to be found, there likely isn't much we can do. Since you aren't filing an actual missing person's report, I can make some unofficial inquiries but that is it.
Ygraine shrugs awkwardly. "Well… could you access the security footage from the Towers, to identify the ambulance? I suppose that might require formal paperwork…."
Trask nods "Not much I can do there, but I can see what I can dig up, make some basic inquiries."
Ygraine nods gratefully. "Thank you. If you can't find anything, I'll file the formal report - but I don't want to make a fuss needlessly. Wasting police time is unlikely to look good when I come to renew my visa."
Trask says, "Don't worry about it….I'll see what I can find, and get back to you, is there a number I should call?"
Ygraine quirks a wry smile. "I think you already have my cell, don't you? But sure, I can give it to you again." She delves into her jacket, producing an Alley Cat Couriers business card, with a number written on the back in black ink.
Trask smiles, "I didn't know if thats the number you wanted. Was there anything else I could do for you?
Ygraine sighs heavily, then chuckles sadly. "Not that springs to mind. I'm _hoping_ that this is just… a matter of the paranoid privacy of institutions serving the very wealthy. But…." She shrugs awkwardly. "Find them, and I'll really owe you one."
Trask smiles and nods, "I'll see….." He pats her hand reassuringly.
Ygraine musters a nervous little smile. "Thank you. So… how've you been? It's a fair while since I last saw you at the Wench…"
Trask says, "I've been….busy." He smiles a soft little smile, "Life can get compicated sometimes, you know?""
Ygraine chuckles once more. "Yeah…. I suspect that most people get that from time to time. Nothing too dreadful, I hope?"
Trask says, "Dreadful isn't the word I would use, no." He chuckles softly, "How have you been?""
Ygraine chuckles, and shrugs slowly once more. "Bewildered, for a fair bit of it. I seem to have found myself a fiancee, which has been… rather a surprise. Just went to meet her parents for the first time, this weekend."
Trask raises an eyebrow, "What is her name?"
"Jen. Jennifer Galloway", says Ygraine, with her most natural smile yet. "A rather beautiful little actress. What she sees in me, I'm not exactly sure, but… she seems certain it's something worthwhile."
Trask smiles a little, remembering Jennifer himself, "I'm happy for you, It's nice when two people find each other…' He then frowns a moment, "I should get back to work…I'll do what I can."
Ygraine nods quickly. "Thank you for coming out to see me. And for the kind words. I… I hope you can find something."
 December 18th: To Make an Omelette |
 December 18th: Regarding Dani |