Chapter 2

Morning came too soon for Beckett. Her body was stiff and she wanted nothing more than to stay in bed, but the search for the jerk behind the bombing couldn't wait. Castle came in with a tray with two lattes, two glasses of juice, and two ibuprofen. He was fully dressed, wearing one of the blue shirts that matched his eyes. Beckett drew herself up against the headboard and smiled at the hearts on the lattes. She took the ibuprofen with her juice and started on her latte. "When you feel up to it, I have eggs and bacon in the kitchen," Castle told her. "Pi cringed in horror."

About half way through her latte, Beckett put on her own clothes and made her way to the kitchen. Castle placed a plate of crisp bacon in front of her and poured an egg mixture into a hot pan for a quick scramble. Alexis was nowhere to be seen, but right now Beckett and Castle had other things to worry about. Beckett's cell buzzed. It was Esposito. He reported that the call that Percy Strong had received about the bombing had come from a burner and wasn't traceable, but that multiple prints had been found on the cash Strong turned over. Several of the prints had been identified. Beckett took a few quick bites of her breakfast and she and Castle took a cab to the 12th.

Ryan and Esposito had set up a board with DMV photos of the people who matched the prints found on Strong's cash. There were four of them, Marie Curtain, a bank employee, Jim Beakman, a sales clerk at Radio Shack, Amos Bledsoe, a cashier at Off Track Betting, and Marie Meacham, a civilian employee of the narcotics squad at the 56th. Ryan and Esposito took Curtain and Beakman. Beckett and Castle took Bledsoe and Meacham.

Beckett and Castle found Amos Bledsoe counting cash, lots of cash, at his station at OTB. He told them that he handled cash all day long. He had no idea where it came from or what winners it might be given to. He was able to tell them that a great deal more cash came in than went out. There was a list of large transactions that had to be reported to the IRS. He agreed to e-mail Beckett a list.

Marnie Meacham was anxious to be helpful. She enthusiastically described her duties, which involved logging in cash seized in drug raids.

"What happens to it after it's logged in?" Castle asked.

"It goes to evidence," she told him smiling broadly. "After a case is settled, a portion of it may be used for police purposes. The more money that is seized, the better job we, the NYPD can do. I love my work!"

"Do you keep records of serial numbers?" Castle asked. Mary continued smiling and turned to Beckett. "I'll send you a list."

Beckett thanked her and she and Castle left. As soon as they were out the door of the 56th, Beckett began to laugh. Castle was always glad to see a smile on her face, but he was curious as to the cause. "What's so funny?" he asked.

"She's a blue groupie," Beckett explained. "She gets off on being around cops." She grinned at Castle. "Kind of like you."

Castle turned Beckett towards him and gave her a light kiss. "I'm only a groupie of one cop," he told her, "you."

Beckett sighed. "I wish I could say the same about your daughter," she told him.

Castle put an arm around Beckett's shoulders and kissed the top of her head. "Yeah," he said. "Me too."

Ryan and Esposito reported the results of their interviews. Marie Curtain was a teller at First Second Bank. She handled bills all day, every day, much like Amos Bledsoe. She was also able to provide a list of large transactions. Beakman explained to Ryan and Esposito that most of his transactions were by credit card. He had received one payment involving a hundred dollar bill. He remembered it because it was unusual. The bill went to First Second Bank in a regular deposit.

First Second Bank was a common factor. Beckett wrote it on the board and drew a line connecting Beakman and Curtain.

Beckett and Castle spent the rest of the day working through the lists of transactions that they received from Amos Bledsoe and Marnie Meacham. Finally they decided to call it a day. Castle rotated his shoulders to get the kinks out and reached out to massage Beckett's neck. "Alexis and Pi will probably be diving into a pile of fruit," Castle said with a grimace. "What do you feel like?"

Beckett thought for a minute. "Some kind of comfort food," she suggested.

Castle smiled. "I know just the place." Castle hailed a cab and gave the driver an address Beckett didn't recognize. They arrived at an old-fashioned diner called Comfort Car. There were booths with seats upholstered in red leather and menus featuring a compendium of comfort. After considering pot roast, meat loaf, and turkey with stuffing and mashed potatoes, Beckett and Castle both settled on macaroni and cheese, accompanied by hot chocolate. By the time they finished, Beckett was feeling pleasantly sleepy. She snuggled into Castle's shoulder in the back seat of the cab they took back to the loft. They came through the door to find Alexis and Pi vigorously making out on the couch. Castle coughed loudly.

Pi released Alexis, who looked angrily at her father and even more angrily at Beckett. "We weren't doing anything you don't do," Alexis hissed."

"I'm sure that's true," Castle told her, "but Beckett and I are adults, we're engaged, and neither one of us is living in our father's house."

"Fine!" Alexis spat and strode up the stairs to her room. Pi looked at Castle and just shrugged his shoulders.

Castle twined his hand with Beckett's. They went into his bedroom and Castle made sure that he locked the door behind them. Castle fell backward on the bed and covered his eyes with his forearm. Beckett lay down next him, putting her head on his chest. Castle took a deep breath and put an arm around her, pulling her closer. "I've never yelled at Alexis before in my life," he told her. "I never had to. She always did the right thing, even when I didn't. What happened to my little girl?"

Beckett lifted her head and laid a kiss on his lips and stroked his hair. "She's growing up, Castle. That's painful, for both of you."

Castle put both arms around Beckett and pulled her tightly to his body. He kissed her hair. "You've got that right," he whispered.