CHAPTER 10

Beckett lead Lucy out of Interrogation and asked Esposito to drive her to the Twentieth and get her connected with the Organized Crime Task Force.

Beckett returned to her desk and dropped her notepad on it with a smack.

"Well, that certainly puts a new spin on this case," Castle remarked as he gazed at the Murder Board.

"Yeah," Kate said, "But if what Lucy said is true, then our odds of catching this guy are not good."

"Unless she can help Organized Crime bring down the tong, like she said," Castle pointed out.

"But it doesn't even sound like this Mogui has a very strong connection to the tong. He's more of a gun for hire," Beckett argued. "Even if they can round up the tong, Mogui will probably just disappear. And we have no physical evidence that can place him at the scene. Unless we can get physical evidence or a confession, the D.A. is never going to take it seriously."

"Or if we find whatever John was looking for," Castle said.

Beckett cocked her head, waiting for him to continue.

"Lucy said John was looking for something, something that would guarantee their freedom, and she said that he found it. So what is it? John must have been planning on using it as leverage if the tong ever tracked them down, so it's something damaging. And we know John was helping the tong hide money, so maybe he had a record of their illegal business dealings."

"Well, if he did, where is it?" Beckett asked. "Tech didn't find anything on his computer and CSU didn't find anything in his apartment."

"A second look can't hurt," Castle said.

Kate stared at him for a minute, then grabbed her keys. "Let's go."

"So where do think this evidence is hidden, exactly?" Beckett asked as she pulled on blue latex gloves.

"Obviously, somewhere out of sight. Mogui didn't search the apartment, probably didn't want to risk staying any longer than necessary. Leung would have hidden it well. Possibly taped it under something or behind something."

"I'll take the bathroom," Kate said, moving towards the rear of the apartment. "You look out here."

Castle moved strategically around the room, running his hands behind bookcases and taking down pictures to check their backs. In the bathroom, Kate checked the inside of cabinets and opened drawers, brushing her fingers underneath and all around the inside.

"I haven't found anything," Beckett called. "You?"

"No," Castle replied.

"Let's check the bedroom," Kate suggested.

They moved into the bedroom and repeated their search. They checked the dresser, the closet, even rifled through his clothing. They raised the mattress and looked underneath.

"This is hopeless, Castle," Kate said, sitting on the edge of the bed. "There's too many places Leung could have hidden his evidence, if he, in fact, had any. Castle?"

Castle walked back to the living room, wearing what Kate thought of as his "breakthrough" expression. She found him kneeling by the bookshelves.

"What's wrong with this bookcase?" he asked.

Kate couldn't see anything missing. "I don't know. What?"

"This book," Castle pulled a thick, "coffee-table" book off the shelf.

"So?"

"So, Leung's bookcases are in order. Tthey're organized by subject and size. This book is vastly larger than the ones around it. And it's the only book here about Chinese mythology."

"So? He didn't shelve his book properly" Kate said.

"Only I think he did it to call attention to it," Castle picked it up and turned it upside down. A large packet of papers fell to the floor.

Beckett bent down and picked it up. "Looks like pages from a ledger."

"His evidence, perhaps?" Castle raised his eyebrows and tried very hard to not look overly pleased with himself.

"How did you know he would hide it there?"

"I used my extraordinary powers of deduction."

The light dawned and Beckett rounded on him, her eyes narrowed. "You had no idea it was there, did you?"

"Absolutely none," Castle confirmed.

Kate just smirked and shook her head. "Let's get this back to the precinct. I'll have the forensics guys go over it. Maybe there's a clue in there about who this Mogui is."

"So the case is getting closer to a solve," Castle remarked as Beckett drove back to the 12th.

"It seems that way. What are you getting at, Castle?" Kate asked.

"Nothing," Castle said. "I was just making a comment about the progress we've made in such a short amount of time. After all, Leung was only found three days ago and two of those you took off."

"Uh-huh," Kate smirked. Castle was such an obvious liar. "Come on, Castle. Out with it."

"I just think with the case getting closer to a conclusion, you should talk to Gates about-"

"I said I'll talk to her, Castle, and I will," Kate interrupted kindly. Castle looked hurt even so, but she reached over and squeezed his hand to let him know she wasn't mad. "I know you're worried I'll catch another case," she whispered. "But I promise I'll talk to Gates soon. And then we can leave for Virginia and we can relax. We'll be safe. All three of us."

"You're right," Castle admitted. Then, he smiled. "And I like the way that sounds, 'all three of us.'"

Kate grinned shyly, as though still in awe that this handsome, wealthy, famous man loved her and chose her. "Yeah. Me, too."

"What do you think the boys'll say when we tell them?"

"I think they'll be happy for us," Kate speculated. "Lanie will, too, but she'll be mad that I didn't tell her."

"I was thinking we'd have a party at the Old Haunt when the case is over and we could tell everyone then," Castle said.

"I'd like that, Castle."

Beckett swung the Crown Vic into the parking garage and slipped into a space. She sighed as she turned off the ignition.

"You're tired, Kate," Castle observed.

"Yes," she said. "Let's drop this off with forensics and go home."

Beckett and Castle rode the elevator up to the second floor, CSU's floor. Kate left the pages they had found with Michael, the forensic accountant helping with their case. He promised to look over them and report back by Wednesday.

Rick and Kate rode the elevator up again to the homicide floor. They found Ryan and Esposito standing by the Murder Board. As soon as they stepped off the elevator, Ryan and Espo watched as they walked toward them.

"Where were you guys?" Esposito asked when the couple reached Beckett's desk.

"Leung's apartment," Kate replied, pushing her hair behind her ear and rearranging papers on her desk.

"Did you find anything?" Ryan matched his partner's serious tone.

"Just the one piece of evidence that will blow this case wide open," Castle bragged. "Lucy said that Leung was looking for something, something that would allow them to escape the tong. So whatever he had was something important and damaging."

"So what was it?" Ryan asked.

"We're not exactly sure," Rick admitted, "but we think-,"

"Castle thinks," Kate amended.

"I think it's a copy of the tong's accounts listing all their illegal transactions," Castle finished.

Esposito jerked his head up in acknowledgment of Castle's theory.

"We left it with Michael and he said he'd get back to us by Wednesday."

"Anything else you guys want to tell us? About the case or anything?" Ryan asked.

"Nope," Kate looked him in the eye and lied.

"What about you, Castle?" Esposito now went after the writer.

Castle gaped, trying to make a plausible lie come out.

"Ready to go, Castle?" Kate asked, tossing her coat over one arm.

"Yes," Rick quickly followed his wife to the elevator.

Ryan and Esposito watched them leave.

"Did you see that?" Ryan asked.

"Yep, they just lied to us."

"Maybe we're jumping to conclusions," Ryan said. "There could be a logical explanations to Beckett's behavior. An explanation that's not she's pregnant," he quickly added.

"But why wouldn't they tell us?"

Ryan didn't have an answer.