Emergence

Chapter 14

"With the new Anti-Corruption Commission in New York, Bracken is continuing to generate problems, even though he's out of the picture," Ben Moss complained to his son.

"I know," Bill Moss agreed. "And we've lost almost our entire PAC income stream to from the city."

"That's not a problem," Ben decided. "most of that was going to support Bracken, and we have other fish to fry. We have to devote relatively low levels of resources to local elections around the country, but it will give us enough control, that the opposition will turn around and not know what happened to them. I'm more concerned about someone blowing the whistle on our connections to Bracken's former enterprises. It came close enough with that helicopter from our fleet. We really had to scramble to create enough doubt that it might have been stolen. We can't afford exposures like that again."

"That Detective Beckett was behind a lot of that, and she's a prime mover on that commission." Bill pointed out. "Bracken had been trying to take her out. We could still do it."

"No," Ben insisted. "That would just raise more suspicions. That commission is the baby of Mayor Weldon. He's banking on its success for his next campaign. I've been told that he's exploring a gubernatorial run. We discredit him, the commission loses its backing and collapses. End of problem."

"How are you planning on doing that?" Bill queried.

"I'll have to work out the details," Ben replied, "but it will have to be something that will dominate the news, which means there is going to have to be sex involved."

"Uh huh," Bill agreed, "For the best scandals, there always is."

Forcing his eyes open, Bob Weldon slowly scanned the unfamiliar room. He was sure he was in a hotel. From the unremarkable art on the walls, to the power outlet and USB connection in the base of the desk lamp, it was classic. He just had no idea how he got there. He'd had a few adventures like that before, running around with Rick Castle in the wilder days before the writer had become firmly tethered to Kate Beckett, but it had been years now. His watch, his wallet, and his phone were on the bedside table. He checked his wallet. The money and credit cards were still there. At least he hadn't been rolled. The other side of the bed was empty, and he didn't recall a woman. He wasn't really interested in anyone except Rebekkah since they'd become engaged. That made it even more of a puzzle as to how he'd ended up in a hotel room. He checked the time. It was eleven A.M. He'd already missed three meetings, and one of them was with a man who could be a significant donor to his run for the governor's mansion. That was not good, not good at all. He was naked, but he could see his clothes had been piled on a chair. He'd grab a quick shower and try to salvage the rest of the day as best he could. Unsteadily he made his way into the bathroom. He emptied his overfull bladder in the toilet, then pulled back the standard white hotel shower curtain. A girl was lying in the shower, and she wasn't moving. He felt for a pulse. There was none, and the body was too cold to be alive. He considered what to do. He couldn't cover up the fact that he'd been there. No doubt his fingerprints and DNA were all over the place, and there was a very good chance that he had been seen and recognized by hotel staff. There was one person he trusted to investigate what happened and give him a fair shake. He called Kate Beckett.

"Bob, you don't remember anything about how you got to that hotel," Castle probed, as they sat in the lounge at the precinct.

"Not a thing, Rick," Weldon insisted. "The last thing I remember was getting a cup of coffee from a food truck on my way to the subway. I was going uptown to go shopping for a gift for Rebekkah's birthday, so I wasn't taking an official car. I must have been drugged or something. I still feel kind of hazy."

"Lanie Parish is running a screen on your blood now," Castle said. "But I know from research for my stories that not everything would show up. You were at that hotel overnight. If someone used GHB on you, that's what's called 'liquid ecstasy,' it would have been cleared from your bloodstream in eight hours. I don't suppose you remember what you did with your coffee cup?"

Weldon shook his head. "Nothing, after I started drinking the coffee. But if I did toss it, it would have been in one of the litter baskets between the truck and the subway, or maybe in the subway, if I ever got there."

"We'll need the location and description of that truck," Kate said from the doorway. "We'll check any video in the area and run a canvass to see if anyone saw anything."

"Have you identified that poor girl in the shower?" Weldon asked.

"She was a prostitute," Kate related. "She had a rap sheet. Her name was Gertrud Yoder. Caspar, the bartender at the hotel, said that she was a regular, but pretty subtle about her work. Money never changed hands in the bar. She tended to go for the lonely fish out of water longing for home, types. She'd talk them up, let them buy her a drink or two, and then they'd leave the bar. He assumed the men took her to their rooms. The hotel confirmed that rooms were never rented in her name - until last night. You were in her room."

"Did anyone see me go there with her?" Weldon asked.

"Not that we've found so far," Kate replied. "And somehow the hotel security video from last night is missing, so there is no record of how you got there. We have our people checking on how that could have happened."

"Bob, it sounds like whoever set you up, went to a lot of trouble to do it," Castle said.

"Except," Kate put in, "at this moment, we have no evidence at all that you were set up. So far, all we have is a dead girl and your claim that you don't remember what happened. And Mayor Weldon, we've heard claims like that before from guys who are serving life."

"But Kate," Castle objected, "we've just started the investigation, right? Something is bound to turn up that will reveal what really happened."

"Castle," Kate assured him, "we will definitely keep looking for what really happened."

Castle poured out glasses of wine for himself and Kate, and they settled against the cushions of the couch in the loft. "Kate, you don't really think Bob Weldon killed Gertrud Yoder, do you?" Castle asked.

Kate put a hand on his knee. "Babe, it doesn't matter what I think. I have to go wherever the evidence leads. I can't show any preferential treatment for Bob, especially now that I'm on the Anti-Corruption Commission. This investigation has to be straight by the book, and if and when it clears him, no one will be happier than I will. And you know that I'll explore every lead."

Castle closed his eyes, shaking his head. "Explore every lead, that's what you say when you have nothing."

"Rick," Kate promised, "we will figure this out."