Read Online The End of the Roadie (A Mystery for D.I Costello) by Elizabeth Flynn - Free Book Online Page B
Authors: Elizabeth Flynn
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asked.
He flicked his eyes to Gary, back to her, and gave her a rueful smile. “I must think before I speak. There isn’t one, now. And even when it existed, nobody would kill over it.”
“Now you’ve got me completely intrigued.”
A short laugh escaped him. “Yes, if I carry on like this I could dig myself into a very deep hole, and all for nothing.”
All for nothing? thought Angela. “Nonetheless?” she said.
“Yes, of course, you’re looking for motives for his murder. I can’t give you one. Olly and I were having a conversation outside the theatre, in the alley.”
Angela nodded. “I became very familiar with the layout last night. What was this conversation about?”
Brendan leaned back in his chair. “There was an issue with Olly and I wanted to talk to him about it, to check it out myself.”
Angela took her time writing this down and noted that Gary did the same. She looked up from her notebook into Brendan’s attractive face and was suddenly struck by something she should have noticed before. He had the look of Patrick about him, the same Irish type, intelligent, charming, a similar smile. Brendan’s eyes didn’t yet crinkle as Patrick’s did; he was still too young. She pulled her mind back to the job.
“Tell me about this issue.”
Brendan took a sip of his coffee. “There’d been whispers for a while about him not pulling his weight. He was a bittoo fond of checking out the nearest pub at any venue we were playing, and he’d be in there when he should have been working. The other techies covered for him, but things had got a bit worse lately and he nearly missed a couple of cues. I can’t have that. The lights work in conjunction with the sounds – well, they do on most shows.”
“Yes,” nodded Gary. Both Angela and Brendan turned towards him. “I’ve seen the show,” he explained, addressing Brendan. “I was there last night.”
“Ah! Did you enjoy it?”
“Very much,” replied Gary, with enthusiasm. “The sound and lighting effects were tremendous. Those whip cracks are something else .”
Brendan looked pleased. “Thank you. We’ve worked hard on it.”
Yes, definitely a Paddy-type smile , thought Angela. “Is it normal for you to deal with your staff like this – yourself, I mean?”
Brendan turned his attention to her. “I know what you’re thinking and you’re right. I’ve got a production manager to handle that sort of thing.”
“It does sound like having a dog and doing the barking yourself.”
“Yep; normally Jack would deal with it but I’ve known Olly – I had known him – a long time, and I like to think there’s a good team spirit in my crew.”
“I see,” replied Angela as she made a note. She didn’t really feel her question had been answered but couldn’t find an argument against Brendan’s explanation. Brendan must have sensed this because he spoke again.
“When you’re a megastar you tend to get a lot of things done for you that you’d do yourself if you were an ordinary bloke. Every now and then, I go through this thing whereI tell myself I need to man up and take responsibility. This was one of those occasions.” He produced another disarming smile. “It won’t last.”
Angela laughed, noted the comment in her book and placed a large question mark after it. “So, you were talking to Oliver about his attitude to work.”
Brendan nodded.
“Why out in the alley?”
“I knew we wouldn’t be disturbed out there. You can go right to the other end of it and be private.”
“Surely you’d get the same privacy in your dressing room?”
“I could ask for it, but there’s a lot goes on after the show. A whole host of people appear backstage and you’re either pleased to see them or you’ve got to glad-hand them. I’d be forever answering knocks on the door and asking people to wait. You know how it is?”
Angela didn’t really, but she could imagine.
“Can you take me through the sequence of events?”
A
He flicked his eyes to Gary, back to her, and gave her a rueful smile. “I must think before I speak. There isn’t one, now. And even when it existed, nobody would kill over it.”
“Now you’ve got me completely intrigued.”
A short laugh escaped him. “Yes, if I carry on like this I could dig myself into a very deep hole, and all for nothing.”
All for nothing? thought Angela. “Nonetheless?” she said.
“Yes, of course, you’re looking for motives for his murder. I can’t give you one. Olly and I were having a conversation outside the theatre, in the alley.”
Angela nodded. “I became very familiar with the layout last night. What was this conversation about?”
Brendan leaned back in his chair. “There was an issue with Olly and I wanted to talk to him about it, to check it out myself.”
Angela took her time writing this down and noted that Gary did the same. She looked up from her notebook into Brendan’s attractive face and was suddenly struck by something she should have noticed before. He had the look of Patrick about him, the same Irish type, intelligent, charming, a similar smile. Brendan’s eyes didn’t yet crinkle as Patrick’s did; he was still too young. She pulled her mind back to the job.
“Tell me about this issue.”
Brendan took a sip of his coffee. “There’d been whispers for a while about him not pulling his weight. He was a bittoo fond of checking out the nearest pub at any venue we were playing, and he’d be in there when he should have been working. The other techies covered for him, but things had got a bit worse lately and he nearly missed a couple of cues. I can’t have that. The lights work in conjunction with the sounds – well, they do on most shows.”
“Yes,” nodded Gary. Both Angela and Brendan turned towards him. “I’ve seen the show,” he explained, addressing Brendan. “I was there last night.”
“Ah! Did you enjoy it?”
“Very much,” replied Gary, with enthusiasm. “The sound and lighting effects were tremendous. Those whip cracks are something else .”
Brendan looked pleased. “Thank you. We’ve worked hard on it.”
Yes, definitely a Paddy-type smile , thought Angela. “Is it normal for you to deal with your staff like this – yourself, I mean?”
Brendan turned his attention to her. “I know what you’re thinking and you’re right. I’ve got a production manager to handle that sort of thing.”
“It does sound like having a dog and doing the barking yourself.”
“Yep; normally Jack would deal with it but I’ve known Olly – I had known him – a long time, and I like to think there’s a good team spirit in my crew.”
“I see,” replied Angela as she made a note. She didn’t really feel her question had been answered but couldn’t find an argument against Brendan’s explanation. Brendan must have sensed this because he spoke again.
“When you’re a megastar you tend to get a lot of things done for you that you’d do yourself if you were an ordinary bloke. Every now and then, I go through this thing whereI tell myself I need to man up and take responsibility. This was one of those occasions.” He produced another disarming smile. “It won’t last.”
Angela laughed, noted the comment in her book and placed a large question mark after it. “So, you were talking to Oliver about his attitude to work.”
Brendan nodded.
“Why out in the alley?”
“I knew we wouldn’t be disturbed out there. You can go right to the other end of it and be private.”
“Surely you’d get the same privacy in your dressing room?”
“I could ask for it, but there’s a lot goes on after the show. A whole host of people appear backstage and you’re either pleased to see them or you’ve got to glad-hand them. I’d be forever answering knocks on the door and asking people to wait. You know how it is?”
Angela didn’t really, but she could imagine.
“Can you take me through the sequence of events?”
A
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