Life Goes On 2
Chapter 2
The Castle family occupied a reserved space in the stands at the finish line of the Fill the Cracks 10K run. Lily leaned forward in her seat, anxiously awaiting the runners, especially her Uncle Javi in his first race since his injury. Reese and Jake, each on a parental lap, squirmed only slightly, distracted by the toddler version of video games. Maria Esposito sat next to Kate. As the runners approached, it was clear that Esposito was back in pack somewhere, but the Castles were both obligated and pleased to celebrate the winner.
Kate, accompanied by Maria, presented a trophy to Miranda Marjan. The mother of three children, when her bank account was cleaned out by a husband who took off with his new girlfriend, Miranda turned to Fill the Cracks for help. After engaging Richard Castle Investigations to track down her errant spouse, FTC had helped her obtain child support and get her life back on track. Miranda's counselor had suggested running as a coping mechanism and Miranda had thrown herself into it. She trained daily and ran shorter races building up to the 10K. Kate was honored to hand Miranda the trophy, as living proof that FTC could make difference in a life. As Kate and Maria were bestowing second and third place awards, Lily jumped up and pointed at the incoming group of runners. "There's Uncle Javi!"
Maria smiled and held out her arms to her sweaty but triumphant husband. "You made it, Mi Amor."
"Was their ever any doubt?" Esposito asked. "Next time I'm going to win this, and right now training starts for the marathon in November."
Holding Reese, while Lily grasped Jake's hand, Castle slapped Esposito on the back. "Good going bro! We'd stay around to celebrate, but Kate needs to get back to her studies. Her tutor is coming over. And the twins are way over their limit for staying in one place."
"Yeah Castle, I get it. Maria and I have our own plans anyway. See you for Halo night?"
"Wouldn't miss it," Castle declared.
Smitty Kirsch stretched his endless legs out in front of him in his chair in Kate's home office. "So Kate, what are your insights on business law since our last session?"
"That there are countless ways of getting ripped off and it's the lawyer's job to prevent as many of them as possible. And whatever we do, the bad guys are always coming up with ways to get around it. We just have to try to keep ahead of them. Also that the amount of paperwork involved is unending."
"All true," Smitty agreed. "So you've discovered a way for your crime busting soul to embrace the basis of business law?"
"I have. And I'll admit it is a lot easier for me to get into it now. But I also have an urge to track down the killer in the Nano-Life case," Kate added.
"I can understand that, Kate, but you'll need to resist that particular urge. If you're going to be ready for your exam, you don't have the time. I brought a stack of other examples of business lawyers protecting their clients and the public. We can go through them together and then you should do the further research on your own. But don't get sidetracked. You want to be a lawyer, not a cop. Your efforts are going have to be in churning out paper not pounding the mean streets. Are you hearing me?"
Kate sighed and nodded. "I hear you."
"Good. Now while you peruse the documents I brought, where's the snack your husband insisted you foist on me?"
"Arriving any minute," Kate replied, "from the best pizzeria in Riverdale."
"We appreciate the dinner invitation, Kate," Sergei said, carefully slicing his steak. Between my Nano-Life case and Alexis' work at RCI, things really get crazy."
"How is the Nano-Life case going?" Kate queried. "Any leads?"
"We found a hair in an air duct with a follicle attached. We've pulled some DNA from it. The good news is that it doesn't match any of the Nano-Life employees, so we're fairly sure it came from whomever planted the virus. The bad news is that it doesn't match anyone in the system. Whoever did this has no record."
"Has the virus been identified yet?" Castle asked.
"The CDC says it's similar to Marburg, but modified to be even more virulent. The strain is not what anyone would use to take out a city. The symptoms begin almost immediately, which limits the opportunity for transmission. This is more something that would be used in a raid, to immobilize the occupants of a particular building. The claim is that our government hasn't developed anything like it because of the treaties against biological warfare. But there are several labs that might be analyzing and working with captured samples. There is no effective anti-viral for Marburg or any of its variants. The profiles of researchers who might have access are being kept confidential and Homeland Security has stepped in. They'll be asking the researchers at the labs for DNA samples to compare with what we found."
Kate shook her head. "Things always get complicated when the feds are involved."
"Tell me about it," Sergei agreed. "But having them take over the heavy lifting will give me more time with Bernard." Bernard slapped his hands against the tray of his high chair and babbled in response to his name. "Did Alexis tell you he's walking now?"
Castle smiled at his older daughter, who was busy spooning pureed something into Bernard's mouth. "I have watched and re-watched all twenty videos. I'm looking forward to an in-person demonstration after dinner. With Jake and Reese inheriting the Castle curiosity, the house is still resistant to tiny prying fingers. He can toddle to his heart's content."
"Wah!" Bernard responded.
"Sound's like he's getting ready," Castle noted.
"I can play a walking song for him," Lily volunteered. "I wrote one for Jake and Reese."
"That sounds great!" Alexis encouraged her sister. "I'm sure Bernard will love it."
"Much as I love to have my older daughter and son-in-law, not to mention my grandchild visit, you asked them here to pump Sergei for information on the Nano-Life case didn't you?" Castle accused Kate after their guests had departed. "Didn't Smitty advise you to move on?"
Kate chewed sheepishly on her lower lip. "He did and I have, Castle - mostly. But Smitty got me interested in the first place and now I want to know how it comes out."
"I know," Castle commiserated. "You know I can't stand to let a story go without an ending either. But Kate, this is as far as you can go with following the case." He smiled mischievously. "Unless you're thinking of getting in touch with some of our old Federal contacts."
Kate batted her eyelashes. "Castle, would I do a thing like that?"
"In a heartbeat," Rick responded. "But tell you what. You keep your nose in your books and I'll make the calls. If I come up with anything I'll let you know. Anyway, you need to clear some time for Lily's performance with The Young People's Orchestra. Mother took her shopping for a new dress and I think our grand dame must have used every ounce of self control she possesses. The dress is lovely, but actually conservative enough to blend in with all the other kids."
"That is amazing Babe. Maybe being a great grandmother is mellowing her."
"I doubt it," Castle replied. "I can't even use the term great grandmother in her presence. And she's making sure Alexis sticks to Gram."
Rising on her toes, Kate clasped her hands behind Rick's neck. "Speaking of sticking things, the kids will be in bed in a couple of hours and I'm pretty sure I'll be on law book overload. Maybe you can stick something in during a nap of our own."
With his palms cradling her well shaped posterior, Castle pulled her against his groin. "I think that is a brilliant suggestion, and I think I know just the something. A great nap it will be."