Ian

Chapter 35

Castle swallowed. "Whoa, Kate, wait a minute! The Thicket isn't a yoga class. Those ladies are professional teases. The Birds, they're like Playboy Bunnies used to be. They're there to turn the guys on and get them fluffed for whatever they might want to do in the rooms, or wherever."

"But if they're like Bunnies, it's look but don't touch, right Castle?" Kate pressed. "Any contortions I'd do would be strictly for show. The men would have to procure their other amusements without the feathers. And if someone gets too hands on, I can always break a finger or two."

"I suppose," Castle conceded. "But what if something goes wrong? What if you're spotted by someone who knows you're a cop? You'll have no place to hide your gun."

"Castle," Kate rebutted, "what if you become a member and you're spotted? You don't even have a gun. You don't have my training either. I can take care of myself. Warrior princess, remember?"

Castle closed his eyes, shaking his head. "But real life doesn't come with a reset switch. If you want to do this, I'll support you in any way I can, but Kate, promise me you'll be damn careful."

Kate rose from her seat and turned to Castle, wrapping her arms arms around his waist. "Alright Castle, I promise."

Age lines carefully disguised by makeup and shapely body still firm, an artificially red-haired Mother Bird regarded a scantily clad Kate with merciless appraisal. "There's no doubt that you have great legs. Your ass is good too. The boobs could definitely use some help, especially if you want to make decent tip money. Usually, the bigger the cup size, the bigger the wad, if you know what I mean. We have some special tape you can use under the feathers to enhance the yourself as much as possible. The girls can teach you how to use it. You might want to bend over as much as possible too, display your best side. You'll be participating in a routine once an hour and when you're not doing that, you'll be serving. That means that you'll be on your feet for pretty much your whole shift. And you will be expected to wear at least a three inch heel. Can you handle that?"

"Yes Mother Bird," Kate agreed. "I can handle anything that comes my way."

"We'll see," Mother Bird returned. "Your first three months will be probationary. We'll be judging whether you actually belong in The Thicket. If you do your job well and our members like you, you can clear close to six figures a year. But if you miss a shift for any reason, you must get a replacement. If your shift goes unfilled, you're out. If a member complains about your service, you're out. If you mess up a routine, you're out. Are you reading me?"

"Loud and clear," Kate agreed. "I won't disappoint you, Mother Bird."

Mother Bird showed no signs of softening. "For your sake, I hope you don't."

Castle met fellow author, the slightly paunchy but highly enthusiastic Brian Brimstone, at a bar where the servers' necklines plunged and well shaped posteriors were barely covered by cut-off jeans. "Rick, I'm really glad that you're thinking about getting out a bit. Been quite a while since you took the bolt cutters to the chain Gina had on you. Seems like you've barely been anywhere except book signings, launch parties, and crime scenes. A man should have a little fun in his life."

Castle took a sip of beer and dipped a triangle of pita into the well of hummus on his appetizer platter. "I agree I have been keeping my nose a little too close to the grindstone the past few years. But I'm ready to venture out a little now. I really appreciate you arranging to get me a guest key to The Thicket. I don't know if I'll want to join or not, but I think I'll enjoy finding out."

Brain clapped him on the shoulder. "No sweat, Buddy. Just make sure when my next book comes out you'll write a blurb that will aim fingers toward the 'buy' button. All on the same team, right?"

"Absolutely," Castle agreed. "Compatriots of the keyboard."

When Castle was ushered to his table at The Thicket, the show was already underway. Kate was on the small stage with four other Birds. Castle gazed in horrified fascination as they manipulated their limbs, joining together to forms patterns that were suggestive of different aspects of female anatomy. As each formation was completed, their throats vibrated in the Thicket Tweet. The sound was supposed to be suggestive of a mating call, but it didn't sound to Castle like any feathered friend he'd ever heard, at least not of the egg laying variety. The ladies presented their final display and left the stage to retrieve the tablets on which they entered their customers' requests. Luck and a hundred dollar bill had ensured Castle was seated at one of Kate's tables. "Does doing that hurt?" he inquired softly as Kate arrived to take his order.

"Only my pride in the female gender," Kate whispered in his ear, fluttering her lashes as if she was flirting. "Castle, order something expensive enough to give me an excuse to talk to you."

Castle requested a Glenfiddich 30 and Kate smiled, her hips swaying enough to make her feathers wave as she sashayed away. Castle scanned the room as Kate took orders from other patrons, before making her way to receive the requested libations from a bartender who was both buxom and a mistress of mixology. Castle's eyes came to rest on a table in a corner out of Kate's assigned territory. Its occupant was slight, as the man he'd seen on stakeout had been. There was no sign of an attache case, but it could easily be in the man's room. Castle assessed him. His suit was expensive. That would hardly be out of the ordinary in a place like The Thicket. But the man seemed to have a wariness about him, unlike that of any of the other patrons. He slipped slowly at his drink and nibbled on fried mozzarella sticks. It was clearly not his intention to get drunk. His eyes did not appear to follow the Birds around the room either, regardless of how sexily their feathers swished. Castle wondered if the man was gay. If he was, he would certainly be expected to patronize a different sort of birdcage, making The Thicket a perfect hiding place.

It was not at all difficult for Castle to appear to flirt with Kate when she returned to his table with his scotch. He made a grand gesture of laying two large bills on her tray. Between them was a note alerting her to his suspicions. "I'll just check these out, honey," she purred saucily. While pretending to admire the tip, she quickly read the note and then tucked it and the bills into a feathered pouch that provided one of her few bits of coverage. She smiled, blew him a kiss and sauntered away. Castle couldn't help gluing his eyes to the motion of her retreating form, but his gaze eventually returned to the real object of his surveillance. The man had pushed back his chair and was preparing to leave his table. Castle was determined to follow.