pleasantdale | Theatrical Engagements

Where: Pleasantdale Players
When: Three days after the Founder's Day incident
Who: Katie, OT Quentin, Joseph

Katherine was reasonably hopeful that she'd be able to catch 'Captain Mystery' at the theater in his off hours. While most blushing schoolgirls had need of 'Captain Mystery' for reasons of the flesh, her interest in finding him, or that nice man Joseph she'd met at Founder's Day, was much less carnal and much more pragmatic. She needed someone who could identify a clever ruse or act from a display of honesty, and if anyone would know about putting on masks and hiding your true intentions, it would have to be an actor.

She and Chester were still angry at each other, and as such she came alone; considering what he'd said and done after she brought up the idea of investigating the hospital, she wasn't interested in being on the receiving end of his anger if she presented another idea in front of him that upstaged his need to feel clever. Besides, it was nice to dress up and feel pretty and not think about how bad things were right now.

Now, where to find them...

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Quen had come to the theater to visit Joseph. They'd been talking about getting some shooting practice in, and he'd come to see when his friend would like to go for that. Plus, truth be told, Quen rather enjoyed hanging around with Joseph no matter what the reason. Maybe it was just that he hadn't been able to get to his usual Gentleman's Club in New York for quite a while now, or maybe it was that they had a lot in common.

At any rate, he'd been sitting on the edge of the stage, talking to Joseph when he saw Katie come in. "Ah, if it isn't my favorite lady-- how are you, dear Katie? It's so good to see you."

A charming smile lit up his face as he hopped down and offered her his hand.

Katherine smiled, took the hand, and half-bowed. "I'm doing ... interestingly, as I suppose we all are these days. I'd love to say this is a courtesy call -- it'd be nice to just enjoy the show and pretend everything was fine -- but I wanted to ask either you or Joseph something, if it's not too personal a request, and if you're not too busy."

If that wasn't a leading statement, she mused. Oh, well, if it got their interest... "How good are you at telling whether someone is lying to you?"

Quen arched a brow-- that wasn't the kind of request he was used to getting. "Well, there are some giveaways of course-- shifty eyes, tone of voice, fidgeting..."

He'd played enough roles over the years that he'd become practiced in what made up a nervous or insincere personage.

"Has Chester been up to... something suspect?" he asks, figuring this might be a domestic matter.

"No," Katie said, with a slight grimace at his mention. "We met someone the other day who... well, the details aren't to be discussed in mixed company, but let's just say that we heard an interesting story, but I don't for the life of me know whether to believe what he's saying, as opposed to whether it's a clever fabrication. He seems genuine... or, at least, not capable of lying well, and had a very poor lie as part of his introduction... but I don't know whether he's actually a very good liar who's capable of seeming like a very bad one, if that makes any sense."

Joseph had hung back from the conversation a little bit, as Katherine had a look on her face saying that she needed information about something. When she mentioned that she was trying to find out how to tell if someone was lying to her, his interest was certainly piqued.

"Quen mentioned a lot of what you can look for: shifting eyes, fidgeting. Especially see if they will keep eye contact with you. If they won't or look away right after saying something, they are likely lying to you."

"Well, he's definitely not doing that when he's talking," Katie mused. "Fidgeting a lot in general, though. Hrm. Oh, I'm sorry, here I am making requests and I haven't even asked how you two are lately, with things all asunder. Has your work been affected?"

"I'm still under contract for a show a week, come hell or high water or Commies," Quen said with a laugh. "Captain Mystery must go on. I feel a bit out of the loop though, having missed out on this-- who exactly are we worried about being a liar now?"

He's got the feeling that Katie came to see them for Important Business, not just some acting advice. "Do you want us to come and see said person, in person?"

"Well, it does sound like it's something important," Joseph said to her quickly. "Attendance has been doing a little at the theater, but not anything really bad."It was something that could easily be blamed on the season rather than, well, communists or whatever those things at the Founder's Day function was.

"I'd be happy to come see him in person as well," Joseph added quickly.

"Yes," Katie said with a nod, "you'd probably understand more about my concerns in person, I agree... do you have time soon?"

"I'm free now," Quen said. He didn't have to tape the show today - his plans had basically been to come over to the theater and hang out with Joseph.

He looked to his friend to see if he was likewise unoccupied. "Shall we go with Katie and see what this is all about?"

Joseph nodded. "Yes, I can come, too. Let's go see this man and see if we can figure him out." Joseph was more than happy to help, and he couldn't help but just be plain curious as well.

"Alright, good," Katie said, smiling. "He's over at Chow's - things'll make more sense when we get there, I promise."

"We can take the Mystery Mobile," Quen said graciously, referring to his car that was parked outside the theater. He headed for the door, and held it open for his companions. "Lovely day for a drive, anyhow-- provided we don't run into any erm, less-than-living communists."

He was pretty sure they'd be safe driving across town, but it seemed a good qualifier to add.

"Yes, let's hope that there aren't any less than living communists out on the road," Joseph said, making himself smile at the comment. It sounded ridiculous, but it seemed to be their life now, so he might as well get used to it, right?

"I don't think things are -that- bad," Katie said, though it was getting harder for her to believe it. "Besides, are Communists even allowed to own their own cars? 'Property is only for the state' and all of that nonsense..."

She climbed in, with a gracious nod to Quentin, and mused, "And less-than-living doesn't necessarily make them Communist, anyhow." Normally, she would be in the spirits for joking, but she was still sore from her dispute with Chester, and the mild jest slipped past.

Quen waited until his friends were settled comfortably, then drove toward Chow's. "Now that we're certain it's just us hearing," he said, turning the radio off so they could all hear each other well, "Let's talk."

He inclined his head toward Katie, as much as he was able to while driving. "So who's this mystery fellow you want us to check out? What do we know about him? That'd be a good place to start if you want us to figure out whether he's a liar or not."

"Even Communists have to get to work," Joseph said with a shrug to Katie. "Although I suspect that any cars they might have might just be 'lent' to them." It was sad that they really only had things like rumors to go on about what actually went on in the Soviet Union, wasn't it?

He looked at Katie when Quen turned the radio off so that he could listen well to what she had to say as well.

Theatrical Engagements

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