Ellie's Last Act

Chapter 2

Kate stirred unwillingly in Castle's arms. "We have to go," she murmured.

Castle groaned softly in protest but loosened his embrace. "Where are we going?" he asked as they retrieved clothing that lay in a trail from the door.

"Standish Hotel," Kate answered, reattaching the ankle holster for her back-up weapon.

Castle watched her with appreciation. "You have no idea how hot you look when you do that. Given the reputation of the Standish, we could always get a room for another go round once we've finished with - whom are we talking to?"

Kate rolled her eyes but couldn't help smiling. "Castle, we just..."

"But we're making up for lost time," Castle protested. "A lot of lost time."

"Work first, Castle," Kate insisted. "Then we can think about - other things. We're talking to Ellie's second meeting, Maury Harshaw."

They found Maury Harshaw in the hotel bar, where he appeared to have been for some time. He was tall and thin with deep set dark eyes and overlong unkempt hair. His hand shook slightly around his drink and his voice quavered slightly as he spoke. "Ellie was so sweet. I have a new production company. I was building an organization around her. No one could do a death scene like she did." Maury stopped abruptly, realizing what he had said. "I meant as an actor," he added quickly. "She was a wonderful actor."

"We're very sorry for your loss, Mr. Harshaw," Beckett comforted, almost out of habit. "When you saw Ellie yesterday morning, was she upset about anything?"

Harshaw shook his head. "No, she was enthusiastic. We were going over a treatment and she really liked it. She didn't die until almost the end of the movie. She had a great love scene too. We were going over the details of that."

Castle covered his mouth as he gave a little cough. "Sorry," he apologized, "I had something stuck in my throat. Speaking of which, did she have a thermos with her?"

Harshaw paled as if about to retch. "Oh, that stuff! Yeah, she had it. She drank a little of it before she left."

"Did she seem ill at all?" Beckett asked.

Harshaw closed his eyes, thinking. "No, she was her up self. She always made me feel up too."

Castle jammed his mouth closed to avoid comment, while Beckett smiled edgily. "Well thank you, Mr. Harshaw. Will you be here if we have anymore questions?"

"I'll be here all week," Harshaw assured them. "I have several interviews to conduct."

Castle shuddered as he and Beckett left the bar. "Still want to get a room here, Castle?" Kate asked.

"No," Castled replied, running his hands over his sleeves as if to wipe off some imaginary slime. "I'm struggling to get some imagery out of my head. Where do we go next?"

"You should love this, Castle" Kate told. "We're going to see 'Mr. Kill Off My Characters' himself, Marky Joiner."

"Wow," Castle enthused, "I watched Slaying the Impaler three times."

"I know," Kate commented dryly.

"Ellie's never been in any of his movies though," Castle noted. "I wonder if she was trying to move up."

"If you call that moving up," Kate replied skeptically.

"Hey!" Castle pointed out, "the man's a cult icon. The crowd he gathers at comic cons is unreal. Besides he's been pegged to direct a major super hero franchise. If Ellie could have gotten herself into that, she would have been 'A' list, or at least 'B+.'"

Castle and Beckett were shown into Joiner's office by a female assistant with long hair, ripped jeans and sandals. Joiner sat behind a desk scratching out notes longhand. He was only five foot nine and at least twenty pounds overweight, but his presence filled the room. He scratched absently at a red beard.

"Mr. Joiner," Beckett began, showing her badge, "we need to ask you about your meeting with Ellie Monroe yesterday."

"What about it?" Joiner asked distractedly. "Did she file some kind of complaint or something?"

"Mr. Joiner," Beckett informed him. "Ellie Monroe is dead. She's been murdered."

Joiner looked up, clearly shocked. "I had no idea. I've been working on a script since yesterday afternoon. I have no idea what happened in the outside world. How can I help you?"

"You can start by telling me why she was here," Beckett instructed.

Joiner pulled at his shirt and squirmed in his chair. "She wanted a role in my next movie."

"And?" Beckett prompted.

Joiner's face became redder than his beard. "She wanted to..."

"Trade favors?" Castle filled in.

Joiner drew a relieved breath. "Yes. I know some roles are cast that way, but it's not my style. I might not have been kind. I got rid of her as fast as I could."

"Bad choice of words," Castle pointed out.

"What I meant," Joiner stammered, "was that I asked her as politely as possible to leave. My wife was bringing me a burrito for lunch anyway and I didn't need that kind of trouble."

"I understand," Castle empathized, looking pointedly at Kate.

Kate cleared her throat. "Mr. Joiner, when Ellie Monroe was here, did she have a thermos?"

"I really don't know," Joiner answered. "She had a tote bag. It might have been in there."

"Did she seem ill in any way?" Beckett questioned.

Joiner shook his head. "If she was, I didn't notice. I just wanted to get her out of here."

"Thank you for your time, Mr. Joiner," Beckett said, extending her card. "If you think of anything, give me a call."

"I will," Joiner promised, already going back to the notes he had been making when they came in.

"Interesting man," Kate commented, as she and Castle walked to her car.

"Yeah," Castle agreed. "Next time I'm at Novacon, I'm going to be sure to catch his panel. I think I'll dress as an evil priest."

"Well that would be a break from your space cowboy," Kate observed, "although, she added, extending a hand in the direction of his well filled back pocket, there are definite drawbacks to priests."

Castle laughed, pulling her close enough to kiss the top of her head, "You do have a point. Hey, are you hungry?

"Yeah," Beckett realized, "why?"

"I was thinking that we could multi-task," Castle explained, "grab some lunch where Ellie had hers, maybe scope the place out before we start asking questions."

"That's actually a good idea, Castle," Kate acknowledged as her stomach rumbled.

"Yeah, well," Castle responded. "I think fast when I'm starving.

The restaurant where Ellie had her meeting appeared designed for trysts. Each table seemed to be in its own dark corner and the booths had extra high walls. Castle would not have been surprised to find out there were rooms in the back with beds or couches. He pulled Kate against him, extended a hundred dollar bill and asked the host for the most private place they had. His guess had been pretty close. He and Kate were led to a back room with a low table and a floor strewn with plump cushions. There was a small curtained area near the door for the stowing of clothing and other private items. Requests could be made and staff summoned by the use of a touchscreen. The door locked, automatically displaying a do not disturb sign. Gazing around the room with anticipation, Castle thanked the host and handed him a second hundred.

Kate began swiping her finger over the touchscreen. "What are you looking for?" Castle asked.

Kate stretched like a cat. "As long as we're here, I thought I'd see if they have any oysters.

Castle wiggled his eyebrows and grinned.