Note to the readers: Nothing new to say. I keep hoping for more reviews but no one much seems in the mood. I can't really blame you. I haven't felt much like reviewing the ones I have been reading either. It isn't that I haven't enjoyed them. I am just a bit brain dead when I am through writing. It makes getting a coherent thought together for someone else impossible.

Anyway, thanks to those of you kind enough to review…

Disclaimer: No, I don't own Castle, nor did I create it. Maybe I will get lucky and AM will steal something from what I write…it would a compliment.

Chapter 12

12th Precinct Monday Morning

The team was sifting through the list of court cases that had been filed with the courts on behalf of Green, Lambert & Green. No one seemed to be having any luck. Esposito's cell rang.

"Esposito. Hmm. Yes. That would be good. Can you fax that over please?" He said.

Esposito explained the content of his phone call. "That was the clerk of courts; she said that she just found something interesting. Bradford Green & Brian Green are both parties to a lawsuit. They are being sued by a waterfront neighborhood that claims that an industrial warehouse they inherited from their father has been polluting their properties. Their father had owned the now bankrupt Green Neon Light Creations. If you see neon lights in Manhattan there were created between 1960 and 2000, there is a good chance where they were made."

Ryan contemplated "How are they causing the pollution if the warehouse is no longer in use?"

"The court documents don't say, but what is interesting is that the water samples identified on the hard drive are from less than a mile away from the warehouse." Esposito responded.

"I guess now there are a few unanswered questions: 1. who had Sherman check into the water quality? 2. How did Green, Lambert and Green know he had the analysis? 3. Did the Green's know they were being negligent and therefore needed to cover it up? 4. Was Brad Green part of the plot; did he know what they were after or was he an unwitting accomplice?" Castle put in.

"Some of those questions have to be answered for us to be able to make an arrest. As sad as it is, it is irrelevant whether or not Brad Green knew what was going to happen. He is dead and can't be charged with anything. Let's not waste our time on something that we can't prosecute. But, more importantly, let's make sure this case is air tight as we are going after two lawyers that are apparently sharks in the court room." Becket said.

Castle smirked. "Fortunately for us there is an old saying. A man who represents himself in court has himself a fool for a client."

"Any suggestions on where to start?" Ryan asked.

Beckett thought for a moment and said, "Do we know if any of their employees have left in the last year or two? It would help if we could interview someone that had very little to do with the law firm at present. There won't be a need to keep the bosses apprised of what we know."

Ryan threw in, "You know it might be worth our while to contact a few of the law school close by and check if any of their students are interning or have interned for them. They would roll over easily if we let them know that they would be culpable if they had any information."

Esposito said, "Ryan and I will take the law schools if you two would pretend to be checking into former employees for the firm."

"That sounds like a plan to me." Castle said standing up and heading toward Beckett's desk. She was right behind him ready to grab her coat, gun, badge and keys so they could make a personal visit to law firm's human resources coordinator or head secretary.

They get on the elevator and like always lean against the back wall to ride down.

Castle thinks for a minute and then looks over at Beckett. "What I don't get is how a father could let his child, his only child at that, help in this kind of scheme. If he knew his brother was going to kill the O'Keefe family and the potential was there to kill Sherman then it would make sense that the son was in danger. I think there must be someone else involved that we aren't aware of yet. I think we need to look into who else owns that property with them. They may not be the sole owners."

"Castle you have a good point, but there may have been no plan to kill any of them. It could be that it happened in the heat of the moment. But, I am inclined to agree with you that this could possibly go beyond family." Beckett said as the elevator opened.

They stepped out and headed out the door for more answers.

Castle's Loft Monday Evening

They were sitting at the table together finishing their salads with blackened shrimp. Alexis was staying with Paige tonight as they were studying for an AP Human Anatomy exam. Martha had come in for a few moments and announced she was too tired to eat. Rick had already made Martha a salad and a container of blackened shrimp she could re-heat later; he suspected she was still recovering from her weekend of late nights. Even though their dinner had been mostly silent, it had been comfortable.

"It amazes me that such a small firm could possibly have gone through so many employees in the last 24 months. Bradford's part of the office must be a total nightmare. The secretary that last the longest only made it 4 months. He can't keep file clerks either. His legal secretary has been there for only 3 weeks and said that the temp agency that hired her kept a list of replacements of file because of how quickly the women choose not to work for him. The man must be a totally arrogant ass." Kate reflected.

Rick shook his head. "Did you look at their exit interviews yet? Several of the women implied that he gave them a choice between sleeping with him and quitting. I have a sneaky suspicion that those women might be happy to tell us anything we know."

"You might be right, but we would have a problem of knowing whom and what to believe. Someone who has been threatened often feels the necessity and the right to get vengeance." She said while picking up their empty dishes and heading toward the dishwasher.

Rick cleared the table and then brought out their work files. He began separating them into piles. He then went to his office and picked up notepads, a stack of sticky notes and some pens.

"Okay. I made piles by complaint. This pile consists of those that claimed he had tried to seduce them. This second stack of files disliked his frequent mood swings. The third pile represents the group that quit because they felt that they could not ethically work for him. They didn't like his sense of right and wrong." Rick stated pouring more coffee in their cups prior to sitting down at the table he had just arranged.

"Let's look at those that have ethical complaints first. Maybe they will say something that shows if their discomfort was related to clients, cases or more personal matters." Kate picked up the top file and handed the second to Rick.

They read and annotated so that they could differentiate between the ethical complaints. These stacks were again subdivided until they had a list of people to interview. When they reached a reasonable stopping point, Rick labeled all the stacks with sticky notes and packed them back in a box for tomorrow morning.

"Rick thanks for this. I know you didn't really want to work on the case tonight. I am just afraid another body will drop and I will have a second time-consuming case while we are still working out this one. Do you realize this is the third week I have been on this case?"

"Yes, I know which week it is. I have had the thought about another body too which is why I brought the files up. And, you are always welcome. You have been assisting me with my work in the evenings so I think I can afford a night or two without writing."

"So, are you planning on researching or are you including this case in that?"

"No Kate, I was thinking more of a little role playing to help sort out where this is headed." He reached down and picked her up like a caveman and tossed her over his shoulder.

She laughed at first until he started sprinting toward his office. He stopped just before his office door and opened a decorative box on the book shelf. He retrieved duct tape and a pair of flexi cuffs before entering and closing his office door.

"Now, I guess the fair question is do you want to be the one who tests this out or do you want to be entertained by watching me?" He asked. Kate raised an eyebrow at him.

"I think I would rather be entertained until you decide you need rescuing. What exactly do you want me to do?"

Kate was more than a little surprised when Rick stripped only leaving on his black socks. He then set in one of the desk chairs meant for visitors.

"I need you to duct tape my ankles to the chair on top of the socks."

"Rick, why are you leaving on your socks?"

"Because duct tape ripping out leg hair is one of the most painful experiences I have ever had. And, it doesn't always grow back." He pulled down his left sock and pointed to a place just above his heel that held a bald patch the size of a silver dollar.

She nodded her understanding and bent down to tape him in place.

"Is that tight enough?"

He tried to move his legs, but failed. "No, I think I am good. Now, when I slip my hands behind the back of the chair, cuff them together. I want to see how Rook gets out of this one."

Kate laughed a little and said "I am more than a bit curious as to how you think this will happen."

She watched him struggle for a few minutes. Then, she walked into the bedroom. He could hear the bath water running. When she didn't return he knew she must be taking a bath. He thought that he would get himself loose and then go join her. But, she had taped him better than he had anticipated. She was definitely better at this than Martha and Alexis. The flexi cuffs had stretched a little but they were nowhere close to breaking. He hopped in his chair around to the other side of the desk. His desk chair was the difficulty. He couldn't get it out of the way. If he could move it, then he could get to his letter opener by standing and leaning back on to the desk about 4 inches in if he could find the center of the desk with his back turned. He was still trying to figure this out when he heard the distinctive click of a camera shutter.

"You wouldn't."

"I not only would. I did. I have a new image that will pop up every time you call me," she grinned.

"You can't keep an R rated image of me on your phone." He sat staring at her with a shocked look on his face.

"It isn't a full body shot Rick. You and I will always know that you didn't have a stitch on but if Lanie were to see this she would think you were working at your desk while shirtless. See no legs in the photo."

He threw his head back and closed his eyes in frustration. She wasn't realizing how much this was bothering him obviously.

She loved torturing him this way. It was vengeance for all those little things he had done to annoy through the years. She went back in their room to put her cell by the bed to charge for the night.

She waited patiently for him to struggle a little more. When she thought it looked like he was starting to get some play in the flexi cuffs she snuck back in the office while his back was still turned. She dropped her robe to the floor and then walked in front of his form that was shocked into sudden stillness. She leaned down and gave him a passionate kiss as she situated herself on his lap.

"I hope you don't mind if I take the driver's seat on this one Ricky. With Alexis having her friends over most of the weekend, I didn't get to have near enough of your attention. "

He couldn't decide if he had died and gone to heaven or hell. God, how he loved this woman.