Drop When You Shop

Chapter 1

"Meredith," Kate said exasperatedly, "there aren't even any free try-on booths. I think we've bought enough stuff."

"Nonsense!" Meredith replied. "You'll drive Rick crazy in that. Look at the feet of that woman. She's just sitting in there. Hello! There are people waiting out here!"

Kate watched as the feet slid forward, followed by legs and a torso. "Ma'am, are you all right?" she called. Hearing no answer, Kate pushed the curtain aside. The fur clad body of a sixtyish woman lay on the floor. Kate felt for a pulse.

"Oh my God, is she dead?" Meredith asked.

Kate nodded and pulled out her phone.

Castle arrived at the scene and approached the body. "I've heard of shop 'til you drop," he said, "but this is ridiculous."

Lanie rose from where she knelt at the victim's side. "She didn't drop from shopping, Castle. She was strangled, with the belt from her fur coat."

"The ultimate statement on animal rights," Castle quipped as Kate shook her head. "To soon?"

"What's the TOD, Lanie?" Kate asked.

"It hasn't been long," Lanie responded, "I'd say she hasn't been dead much more than an hour, maybe less. When did you find her?"

"Around nine thirty. I was finishing a shopping trip with Meredith."

Castle's eyes widened as his jaw dropped. With a hand on Beckett's arm, he quickly guided her to an empty corner. "You were shopping with Meredith?" he asked in horror.

"Why not, Castle? She came to town to audition for a play and called me. She said she'd help me find some things to really turn you on for our honeymoon, as sort of an engagement present. Since you found sex with her 'unbelievable,' I thought I might take her up on it."

Castle palmed his face. "Kate, when I said that it was long before we ever... Believe me, you don't need any pointers from Meredith."

"I know that, Kitten," Kate said with a sly smile. Bringing her lips close to Castle's ear she whispered, "but I'm always open to suggestions."

"Beckett," Ryan called. "No one remembers seeing anything, unless you want to hear about the clothes. They were all too busy shopping."

"Yeah, well, there were post Valentine's fifty percent markdowns," Beckett said. "That can be pretty distracting. Check store surveillance, maybe something will turn up."

Esposito joined Ryan. "Unis found a purse in the trashcan outside the store. No money or credit cards but her license was still in it. Her name is Ellie Konic. She's from Teaneck New Jersey.

Castle followed Beckett's lead and for once was silent while she sat and listened. "Ellie and I are both from New York but we met in Israel," Danny Konic told her. "Isn't that strange? We both decided to go at the same time. It's as if our brains were on the same frequency. We've been married for thirty years. I can't believe she's gone."

"Dr. Konic, why was your wife in New York tonight?" Beckett asked, as gently as she could.

"Ellie went to the Bronx High School of Science. There's a group of alumni that have an email list. Some of them get together for dinner every month. She doesn't go often, but tonight she had another alum, Susan Goldstein, an old friend coming in from out of town. She went to the dinner to see her. There's a special kind of bond that people who went to the special high schools have."

"I know," Beckett told him. "I went to Stuyvesant, same test as Science."

"Then you do know, "Konic agreed. "I was expecting Ellie to be late. There's a guy who goes to those dinners, an old boyfriend of Ellie's actually. He has a disability and she gives him a ride when she's there."

"Do you have contact information for him?" Beckett asked.

Konic pulled a volume from a nearby bookcase. "This is a directory of all the alumni in Ellie's class. His name is Mel Rosenblum. You should probably get in touch with Sam Spersky. He administers the list. He could probably tell you more about who was at the dinner. Everyone confirms by email and there's a digest."

"Do you know where Susan Goldstein is staying?" Castle asked.

"I'm not sure. I think Ellie might have said she was at a Sheraton."

Beckett stood and Castle again followed her lead. "Dr. Konic, again, I'm sorry for your loss," Beckett said, handing him her card. "If you think of anything, please call me."

It was two A.M. By the time Kate and Castle returned to the loft. Kate piled the bags with the purchases she had made so many hours earlier in a corner of the room, and sat on the foot of the bed staring at the sea shells on the wall.

"Not sleepy?" Castle asked.

"Just thinking," Kate answered, "about how things happen."

"Ellie and Danny Konic grew up in the city but never would have met if they hadn't gone to Israel. She decides to go to dinner with friends and is murdered. You and I both grew up in the city but we never would have gotten together if Alison Tisdale's brother hadn't tried to stage his murders to look like your books. From one minute to another, you never know what's going to happen."

"It sounds like you're trying to make a point," Castle said.

"It's that I don't want to get caught up in what Meredith thinks about lingerie or about place cards or the design of the wedding cake. After the years it took us to get this far, after everything we've been through, I just want to be with you, as much as we can for as long as we can."

Castle took her hand as he sat beside her and caressed her cheek. "You'll get no argument from me."

They should have been tired, but fatigue fled. Kate ran her fingers lightly over Castle's lips. Then as she framed his face with her hands, the love in her eyes was reflected in the deep blue of his. They came together slowly, first with a touch of noses, then a tentative meeting of lips. Castle drew Kate to him, needing the warmth of her body against his own. The warmth grew to a mantle of heat that surrounded them, melding them together. They were one, as they moved to the passion that overcame them, until it released in a cooling flood and Kate found her rest in Castle's arms.

"Rick, I want to marry you," Kate whispered as her head rested against his broad chest.

Castle drew her hand to his lips and folded her fingers over a kiss pressed into her palm. "I want to marry you too.