Emergence
Chapter 36
Castle turned to Kate as she stretched contentedly beneath the sheet. "Do you have to be at the precinct this morning?"
Kate cuddled into his shoulder. "After my trip to Cape Cod, I won't be expected in until Hamburger is brought back. I do want to set up surveillance on Hamburger's girlfriend Dilly Latshaw's apartment, so we can track her when she returns."
"You think she's involved?" Castle queried.
"I don't have any hard evidence, but my gut tells me that she's involved up to her neck," Kate replied."
Castle laid his wide palm on the warm skin of Kate's abdomen. "And your gut is stupendous."
"I'm even better a little lower," Kate purred, leaning into the pressure of his palm.
Castle's hand trailed downward. "I've noticed." Kate gasped, pushing against his fingertips as he explored her most demanding spot. "Care to pursue that idea further?"
Kate sprang up, hastily clambering on top of him to straddle his hips. "I've never given up on a pursuit yet."
"Then, by all means, let the chase begin," Castle responded.
Kate needed no encouragement, but Castle lent more urgency to her ride, as his hands found her breasts, driving the sensitive tips to ravenous attention and her motion to a frantic pace. As she bucked, he rose with her, the slap of skin against skin marking the frenzied collision of their bodies. As the pressure within them grew, Castle reached between them, stoking a fire on the verge of flash-over. Kate screamed as the waves of completion overcame her, triggering Castle's release in wild concert. She collapsed, her head falling to his chest. He stroked her hair gently as she lay there, willing herself to breathe."
Martha and Alexis had yet to return to the loft when Kate and Rick worked up the strength to make it to the kitchen. "I'm starved. I'll start the coffee if you make pancakes," Kate offered.
"Deal," Castle agreed. "While we work on renewing our stores of energy, tell me more about Hamburgler's girlfriend."
Kate's forehead furrowed. "Some things just don't fit, Castle. She plays the goodtime girl, and I believe it to a certain extent. Why else would she have tied up with a guy like Mark Hamburger? But at the same time, she's also too smart to tie up with someone like him. She must be getting more out of it than sweating between the sheets - not that I object to sweating between the sheets."
"I think you were doing most of yours in open air," Castle noted, "but I certainly agree in principle. So, are we looking at some deep background digging on Ms. Dilly Latshaw?"
Kate nodded as she scooped fragrant ground coffee into one of Castle's premium filters. "We are."
"Compare notes?" Castle suggested after he and Kate had both spent a large chunk of the morning in research.
"Um hmm. You first," Kate said.
"Okay," Castle agreed. "I contacted some of my old acquaintances that you would rather not know about. Dilly Latshaw is known to them. She's insinuated herself for years with various city officials, sometimes higher up the chain than Hamburgler, but always able to smooth the way for 'certain projects.' She has also performed tasks which my contacts preferred to leave unspecified, but I got the impression they weren't talking about vacuuming floors or doing dishes. More like taking out the trash."
"Castle, if you're saying what I think you're saying, it would make sense. Someone might have noticed a man going into a ladies' room, but no one would have looked twice at a woman. Lanie said the ligature marks on Marsha's neck might have come from something like a scarf. Dilly could have been wearing one and used it to kill Marsha. The process would have been almost silent. Then she could have put the scarf back on before she left the restroom. With no cameras, she would have been undetected. Then she could have taken a train or just left the subway. That scenario also fits with what I found. Over the past few years, Dilly's presence was noted briefly in metro section blurbs about the appearances of various city officials at functions like fundraisers. She was viewed largely as arm candy. Obviously, she was more. She may be a more important target for the Anti-Corruption Commission than Hamburger is."
Wheels within wheels," Castle observed. "It makes a great story."
"I'll bet the deal Hamburger wants to make is to flip on Dilly," Kate speculated. "With any luck, once he does, she'll blame him, and we'll have them both. I'll make sure that surveillance on her is tight enough that she can be pulled in the minute Hamburger makes his statement."
The sound from Louis the Lark's cell phone interrupted his massage. The ringtone indicated a priority call. "Hold on a minute, sweetheart," he instructed the tiny masseuse with amazingly strong fingers. Louis grabbed his phone from a nearby table and listened. His lieutenant, Tony, reported that cops had been sniffing around Dilly Latshaw. That wasn't good. Dilly had always known how to keep her mouth shut, even if her hand was always out. But if the cops actually had anything they could use to apply pressure, she could spill something. She was a cousin by a careless liaison, but not truly part of the family. Her loyalty was not assured. Most of his ears in the N.Y.P.D. had been deafened by the actions of the Anti-Corruption Commission and the bitch Gates in Internal Affairs. He would have to put a couple of his people on Dilly to make sure she behaved. And if she didn't, he hated to lose a resource, but business was business and part of his was to protect family operations. He sighed, sent a couple of texts, and returned to his position on the massage table. Now his muscles could really use some untightening.
While Kate awaited the impending arrival of Mark Hamburger and A.D.A. Toni Gonzalez at the precinct, Castle studied the notes from his editor. He'd promised Gina that he would make a timely response to revision requests and he intended to keep that promise. There weren't too many suggested changes. Mostly they pertained to making Storm's return to the land of the living more believable. Castle wasn't surprised. Bringing back a hero whose gray matter had oozed out of his skull while his lover cried, had been no easy task. He could afford to tweak a few details of the whole faked death scenario. He was making notes on his phone when Ryan and Esposito arrived with Hamburger. The man looked like he had been through the kind of grinder that produced his culinary namesake, as Esposito nudged him toward the interrogation room. Kate quickly took a place at the table, with the hard-eyed Ms. Gonzalez. An attorney, Jace Chaffetz, summoned for Mark Hamburger, was in the seat beside the suspect. Castle watched with Ryan and Esposito, from observation.
"Mr. Hamburger," Toni began, "you informed Detective Beckett that you know who the 'real killer' of Marsha Anders is and that you wanted to make a deal for that information."
Hamburger nodded and started to open his mouth when his attorney jumped in. "What are you offering, Ms. Gonzalez?" Chaffetz questioned.
"Mr. Hamburger's actions have led to the illness of children, Counselor. That does not incline a judge or a jury to be friendly. Any concessions your client receives would be a gift. If what he tells us is true, and I mean every word of it, and leads to the apprehension of Marsha Anders' killer, we are looking at some reduction of charges. But given that at present your client is the chief suspect in Marsha Anders' murder, his evidence against this mystery person will have to be extremely convincing. Otherwise, Mr. Hamburger will spend a very long time as a meal for fellow inmates with a taste for tender meat."
Hamburger paled and swallowed. He looked at Chaffetz, who nodded. The grafter's mouth held barely enough moisture to croak out his words. "Delilah Latshaw killed Marsha Anders."