Narrow Down the Hunt
Back in the old bar they are trying to narrow down where to look for Beecham. None of the murders have happened above 14th Street so Sara says to limit their hunt to Greenwich Village and the Lower East Side. Moore tells her that’s only half the population of the city. He obviously feels this is not going to be easy, and I agree with him. It seems a nearly impossible undertaking. They know he uses the rooftops and Marcus says churches and charities use the rooftops to travel.
When Moore says they should start knocking on doors Sara tells him they don’t have time for that. The Feast of St. Barnabas is in 8 days. I had been wondering when the next Holy Day was, now we have a countdown. Will they find Beecham in less than 8 days? They have until the 11th of June. Moore says they need to involve the police and Lucius reminds him they ARE the police. Did he forget the Isaacsons are Police Detectives? Or does he just think they are not enough.
A Good Question
Moore steps outside to smoke a cigarette. Children are playing in an open fire hydrant. Moore rushes back into the old bar and asks the others why Japheth changed his name to John Beecham. The man who violated him was named George Beecham, so why did he only take his last name? I had wondered that myself when we discovered the real Beecham’s first name was George. Sara says there could be some twisted logic to it. By taking part of his name he goes from being victim to tormentor. I agree with this, but Sara that does not answer why he used John instead of George. Is there a John in his past? Did he just choose it because it’s such a common name?
Completely ignoring Moore’s question about the name Marcus tells him that Beecham was released from St. Elizabeth’s in 1890 and the Zweig kids were killed in 1893. So where was Beecham between those two events? Sara asks Lucius where she would go to find someone’s address if she had their name. He tells her police records. She then asks what if the person doesn’t have a police record.
The Isaacsons arrive at the Census Bureau telling them they need to check the census records for the name of a man they are trying to find. They pull all the books listing the lower east side wards. Sara and Moore join the brothers in searching the many volumes of handwritten names. Talk about looking for a needle in a haystack. Suddenly Marcus finds John Beecham on Allen Street. The excitement quickly wains when he realizes it was a 2 year old boy, who would now be aged 8. The hunt continues.
Fe Fi Fo Fum
A bunch of boys go running into a house. I’m not sure if the house is abandoned or not. It is full of furnishings and the boys are playing hide and seek. A young boy runs into a bedroom and hides inside the wardrobe. We then see that there is a man hidden behind the bed in the room. The boy who is “it” is repeatedly chanting “fe fi fo fum, I smell the blood of an Englishman” as he hunts for the boys. As he chants we see the feet of the man slowly moving towards the wardrobe. We switch to a shocked looking Sara, she shows Moore the signature at the bottom of the census pages…John Beecham. Back at the house, just as the man goes to open the wardrobe police rush in telling the boys they need to leave. When the boy steps out of the wardrobe the man is gone.
The Needle in the Haystack is Found
The Isaacsons are asking Charles Murray (Ronan Vibert), head of the Census Department, about John Beecham. He is reluctant to give them any information. Moore lies to Murray claiming they need information on Beecham’s brother and hope John can help them. Murray seems to accept this story and tells them he hired Beecham as an enumerator, a census taker. He tells them he hired 900 men in the Spring of ‘90 and Lucius is surprised he still remembers Beecham. Murray tells them he was hard to forget because of his facial spasm. Sounds like they have found the right John Beecham this time. Murray tells them he was a decent fellow; polite, religious, scrupulous.
Murray then tells them he had to fire Beecham after a complaint from a Jewish family. He did not believe the complaint, but the family said he had been visiting their 12 year old daughter. Murray claims girls of that age have “vivid imaginations” especially if they are of the Hebrew faith. I don’t know how the Isaacsons are able to hold their tongues, but they do. Murray brings Beecham’s employment file when Marcus asks for it. He compares the writing on his form to the letter sent to Mrs Santorelli and finds them similar. The form lists his birth place as New Paltz, NY and his address on Bank Street, which is located in the West Village. I also happened to notice on the form that he has blue eyes, brown hair, is 6’4”and 165 pounds.
I’m so heartbroken when we see Kreizler at home. His heartache is so obvious, he can’t even bring himself to answer the door. He wanders into Mary’s room looking a bit disheveled. As he looks at her belongings on her dresser he finds a ticket to The Vistascope. That was from the day Moore took her out on a date, not even 2 months earlier. Remembering how happy she was that day makes me feel so sad now. I wonder what Kreizler is thinking as he stares at it.
Just The Kitties
The Isaacsons, Moore and Sara arrive at the Bank Street address. Moore says he would feel safer if there were some roundsmen with them and Sara says not after they shot you in the back. After ringing the bell and getting no response Marcus jimmys the lock. The home seems quite neat and well decorated. Not what I would expect Beecham’s home to look like. The Isaacsons search the house with guns pulled. They cautiously make their way to the 2nd floor. There is a faint sound of crying up there, is it a baby? I hold my breath as the brothers open a door where the sound is coming from. Two cats come running out, I breathe again. The room is FULL of cats. Is Beecham an “Old Cat Lady”?
The front door opens and everyone freezes, but a sweet little voice calls out “Hello?” The little old lady (Flip Webster) apologizes for frightening them. Why isn’t she shocked people are in her house? Sara lies and tells her the door was unlocked. The woman asks if they are there about the room. Sara tells her their friends are looking for lodging and are upstairs. She asks the woman if she has any other lodgers and the sweet lady tells her “just the kitties for now”.
Moore tells her that he got her address from John Beecham. The old landlady says Mr. Beecham was not a friend of the kitties. She tells Moore that Beecham lived with her for almost 6 years, but left last Christmas after losing his job. She remembers it was the same day that Jib, her tabby, ran away. Coincidence? I think not. The landlady tells Moore that Beecham had been a charity worker. No one has used the room since he left and she tells them they can look at it. They are overcome by the smell of death as they enter the room. Jib perhaps? How does the landlady not notice the smell? They find a loose floorboard and pull it up. Although they all looked shocked, I’m not surprised at all to see poor rotting Jib.
Such A Vile Pig!
Back at the old bar it is now dark and Sara is preparing to leave. I’m quite surprised that the men left her there alone. Although, knowing Sara, she would have given them a difficult time if any of them offered to escort her. Connor confronts her on the steps after she locks up. What is that asshole doing out on the streets? Why isn’t he locked up somewhere after killing Mary? This makes me very angry and very worried for Sara. He offers to walk Sara home and she refuses. She tells him she will yell for a roundsman. He tells her good luck finding one that time of night. He grabs Sara and tells her she better be careful or someone could grab her from behind and “put it inside her.” He’s such a vile pig! I despise this man!
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