Chapter 2

Kate was stuck lying on her back because her foot was in a wastebasket that was holding the weight of the sheets and blankets off her ankle. Rick heard the little snuffling noises she had been making stop and decided she must be awake. "Hey, how's your ankle?" he asked, lightly stroking her cheek.

"Annoying," Kate griped. "I don't like sleeping in that position."

Rick grinned and wiggled an eyebrow. "Now that you're awake, you can always pick a position that you like better."

"What did you have in mind?' Kate asked.

Rick sat on the edge of the bed and lifted Kate to sit on his lap with her legs behind him. He grabbed a pillow and put it under her foot. "See," he said,"your ankle is up and we can talk face to face."

"Talk?" Kate asked.

"Among other things," Rick answered, bringing his lips to hers.

The heat rising between them banished any thoughts of her ankle from Kate's mind. As the kiss deepened, and Rick's arms came around her, Kate pushed even closer, until there was no space between them. She needed more. They came together as one, rocking in an ancient rhythm until fulfillment spread outwards in a series of concentric waves. Rick held Kate tightly as the onslaught hit and she rested her head against his chest as the rush ebbed into comforting stillness.

Beckett came into the 12th in black leather high tops that matched her favorite black leather jacket. Somehow everything seemed just a little off. The desks seemed a little higher and her colleagues a little taller. It wasn't much, but it niggled at the back of her mind. Once she was seated at her desk and Castle had brought her coffee, things seemed back to normal.

Beckett went over the list of Ernesto Garcia's co-workers to be interviewed. The first of them, George Murphy, had just been brought into the lounge by LT. Beckett and Castle took seats opposite the white haired man.

"Mr Murphy," Beckett asked, "what can you tell us about Ernesto Garcia?"

"Ernesto was a fine young man, a good worker," Murphy answered. "I was his supervisor. I'm in charge of shipping and receiving and I'll be retiring soon. Ernesto was one of the people we were looking to move up."

"Can you think of anyone who might want to hurt him?" Beckett asked.

"Maybe Julio Cortez. He had a thing for Esperanza, Ernesto's girlfriend, when she used to work for us. It's my understanding that she changed jobs to get away from Julio. He blamed Ernesto."

"We were told that Ernesto might have been looking into something at work," Beckett told him. "Would you know anything about that?"

"I have no idea what that would be about," Murphy replied. "Except for Julio, everyone liked Ernesto."

"Thank you Mr. Murphy," Beckett said, standing as Murphy stood, and extending her card. "Please call if you think of anything else."

Murphy smiled down at Beckett. "I'll do that little lady."

As Murphy left, Castle could almost hear the growls as Beckett gritted her teeth. "He just doesn't know how easily you could kick his butt," Castle said.

Beckett should her head grimly. "Damn it Castle, right now I can't kick anyone's butt!"

Castle put his hands on her shoulders and looked into her eyes with a smile of perfect innocence. "So shoot him!"

Beckett gave a wry laugh. "Let's talk to the next one."

Lucinda (call me Lu) Keller was a hearty woman. She was stocky with muscle, not fat, and looked capable of doing exactly what she did, tossing the huge boxes called gaylords around with no difficulty whatsoever. "Detective," she said, surveying Beckett's slender frame, "don't you ever eat anything? You look like a strong wind would blow you over."

"I'll be going out for a cheeseburger as soon as we're finished," Beckett responded dryly. "Ms. Keller, did you know Ernesto Garcia?"

"Sure, the kid was an artist. He could put a flat right on target within a fraction of an inch. He understood the operation, too. It's such a shame. He could have gone places. Sad for his girl Esperanza, too. They were good together. I could have seen them getting married some day."

"You know Esperanza?" Beckett asked.

"Sure, she was our receiving inspector until that idiot Julio Cortez started hitting on her. I think that Julio and Ernesto might have gotten physical if she hadn't left. She didn't want to see Ernesto get into trouble."

"Have you ever heard about Ernesto looking into some problem at work?" Castle asked.

"No," Lu replied, "but Ernesto looked at everything. He was always interested in learning all he could about the company. He was a go-getter."

"So, do you want to go to Remy's for burgers?" Castle asked after Lu had left.

"You know Castle, I didn't when I said it, but I think I do now," Beckett answered.

Fortified by a burger, shake, and large order of fries, Beckett was ready to conduct her next interview. The slight, blond haired, blue eyed Jeremy Bonner looked as if he couldn't lift a watermelon.

"Mr. Bonner, what do you do at the plant?" Beckett asked.

"I handle all the shipping manifests and I'm a rigger."

"What does a rigger do?" Castle asked.

"I figure out how things can be lifted safely, by anyone. I use hoists, scissor tables, whatever it takes. I'm working toward a shop where we can handle anything without the requirement for muscle. Our insurance company loves it."

"Were you familiar with Ernesto Garcia?" Beckett continued.

"Ernesto was great! He really wanted to see the company move forward."

"Can you think of anyone who might have wanted to hurt him?"

"Of course there was Julio Cortez. Everyone knew that, but some of the old timers didn't like him either. Ernesto always thought that we could be better, faster, safer. Some people just don't like change. They were also afraid that a more efficient operation would cut into their overtime. He was in line for promotion and they didn't want to see it."

"Who exactly are you talking about?" Beckett asked.

"Perry Green, Jimmy Holt, and Archie Bittle."

After Jeremy had been sent on his way, Esposito signaled Beckett. "I put this one in the break room," Esposito softly told her. "I think you need to be a little careful with him."

Parker Boyd was a little different. He was quiet and spoke in a flat tone. His eyes darted all over the room, seeming to take everything in, but he didn't meet either Beckett's or Castle's eyes. "Mr. Boyd," Beckett asked, "did you know Ernesto Garcia?"

"Yes." Parker answered.

"Do you know what happened to him?" Beckett prompted.

"He died."

"That's right. Do you know anyone who might be happy about that?"

"I'm not good at knowing when people are happy."

Beckett tried to push a little bit more. "Can you think of anyone who might want to hurt him?"

"I don't know what people want unless they tell me. No one told me they wanted to hurt Ernesto."

"What do you do, Mr. Boyd?" Castle asked.

Parker looked puzzled. "What do I do where?"

"At work," Castle clarified.

"I fix things," Parker answered.

"What do you fix?" Beckett asked.

"Anything that's broken."

"OK, Mr. Boyd. Thank you for talking to us," Beckett told him. Boyd pulled back his hand when Beckett extended hers."

As they watched Parker Boyd walk to the elevator with a slight side to side motion, Beckett asked Castle what he thought was going on with Boyd.

"I've seen kids something like him at Up," Castle told her. "Probably somewhere at the high functioning end of the autism spectrum. He seems to be doing well, though. He's got a job and takes care of himself."

"Not very informative," Beckett commented.

"We may not have asked the right questions," Castle said. "You may want to talk to him again later."

"We get to have real fun now," Beckett quipped. "We get to see Perlmutter."

"Detective Beckett and Mr. Castle," Perlmutter greeted them. I have a time of death for you, between two and four yesterday afternoon. The murder weapon hasn't been found but it was made of wood, cheap wood. I found large splinters in the wound."

"There was wood like that making up, what did they call them flats, that were found around the victim. Could the murder weapon have come from one of those?" Castle asked.

"You'll have to check on that, or get the real detectives to check on it, Mr. Castle," Perlmutter sniped.

Beckett and Castle returned to the 12th to fill in the murder board. Ernesto had begun his shift at five A.M., so he had been killed after his workday ended. The actual location of the murder had not been found, but he had been taken from there back to the shop, placed on the flats, and the fork lift driven into him during the second shift break when everyone was out at the food truck affectionately known as the Roach Coach. Someone had to be very familiar with Ernesto's schedule and those of the other workers. That suggested an employee or ex-employee. Beckett started to list the suspects and was irritated to find that she didn't easily reach as high as she usually did on the board. "You want me to do that?" Castle asked, seeing her frustration.

"I'm fine, Castle," she retorted.

Castle stepped back and raised his hands. "Just offering, Kate."

Beckett listed Cortez, Green, Holt, and Bittle under suspects.

"We need to talk to all of these guys," Beckett said, tiredly rotating her shoulders.

"How about tomorrow?" Castle suggested gently "They're all on first shift and we can catch them together. We could get a pizza on the way home."

At the mention of pizza, Beckett gave him the look. They returned to the loft, picking up grilled chicken on the way. Castle made a quick salad to go with the chicken and Beckett put her feet up on a chair as they ate at the table.

"You want a hot bath?" Rick asked.

"That sounds wonderful," Kate said.

Rick filled the Jacuzzi tub with Kate's favorite bubbles and lit the candles Kate had placed around the bathroom. Despite Kate's protestations that she didn't need any help, Rick helped her undress, placing gentle kisses where the clothing had been. Rick steadied Kate as she stepped into the tub and gently washed her body before leaving her to soak. When Kate was thoroughly relaxed and slightly wrinkled, Rick helped her out again wrapping her in a fluffy oversized towel.

"What would you like to do now?" Rick asked.

Plunging her fingers into Ricks hair, Kate pulled his head down letting her lips reach his. "I'll think of something."