Ian 2

Chapter 35

Jonathan Lakes slapped Castle on the back. "Ricky Rodgers! I haven't seen you in dog's years, but you've made quite a name for yourself. I'd never let her hear me say it, but you're bigger than Martha ever was."

Castle's eyes darkened. "Given that I'm six two and she's five seven, that's obvious. But she does send her regards. Her run at the Guthrie has been extended."

"Prestigious theater," Lakes noted.

"Yes, it is," Castle agreed. "But I didn't come to you to talk about my mother. I'm doing some research on the accident that paralyzed Stanley Beach. Do you remember it?"

"Remember it? He was playing quite a role, and when I stepped in for him, I only had a few hours to memorize ten pages of lines. Checking it out for a book?"

The muscles at the corner of Castle's jaw vibrated as his fingers curled into his palms. "Yes, I'm sure that was very difficult for you. And I may use what I find out in a book if it's interesting enough. So, what can you tell me?'

"I'm sorry Ricky, there really is nothing to tell. It was just a freak thing, metal fatigue maybe."

"From what I've found out so far, those cables were brand new," Castle pointed out. "Metal fatigue would have been highly unlikely."

Lakes shrugged. "Then I have no idea what happened. Maybe you should talk to that rigger, Lou Morgan. He's a bit of a strange one. He was obsessed with the accident, insisted there was no way it should have happened. Tried to do his own investigation. He got into everyone's face so much it was slowing down production, and we had to let him go. I'm not sure what happened to him after that. He dropped out of sight. So good luck on finding him."

Castle forced a smile to his lips. "Yeah, thanks."

Martha absently fingered her chunky necklace as she regarded her son's face on the screen of her phone. "Lou Morgan. Yes, I remember him. If there was ever anyone you could trust to keep the scenery from crashing, it was Lou. And as obnoxious as your conversation with Jon might have been - he always has been self-centered - he was right. I haven't heard anything about Morgan in a long time. But if he's working, if anyone would know where he is, it would be his union."

Castle blew a kiss at the screen. "Yes, Mother, of course. You're brilliant!"

"As you should have been aware for 40 years," Martha pointed out. "But you be careful, Richard. If what happened to Stanley wasn't an accident, whoever is behind it isn't going to like having you poke around."

"Mother, caution will be my middle name," Castle promised.

"Are you sure you don't mind me going out again?" Castle asked. "You've been handling Amelia by yourself for most of the last two days."

"As long as you fill me in on what you've found out," Kate said. "Javi told me that since the Wang-Shayne war ended, things at the precinct have been so dead that he and Ryan have been playing table hockey with those cookies from the vending machine in the breakroom."

"That's better than eating them," Castle offered. "Those things are stale enough to be hockey pucks. But so far, I don't have anything solid. The only thing pointing to something other than an accident is Stanley Beach's suspicions. That's why I want to track down Morgan. If there's anyone with a stake in knowing what really happened, it's him."

"You're right," Kate agreed, "but how are you going to get information out of the union? You haven't got a badge."

"Kate, I was around those guys enough to know that there are more persuasive inducements than badges."

Mike "The Pug" Lederer dug into the huge box of crème-filled maple bars Castle brought. "Yeah, Rick, Lou is still on the rolls, but he's not in the city. He pissed too many people off. He's still makin' films if you can call them that. They're industrial stuff. They shoot 'em in a studio in Paramus, in Jersey, Smartworks. Not far, but the traffic is shit this time of day."

Castle threw up his hands "When isn't it? Thanks, Pug. I'll give Smartworks a shot."

Ian and Fleur gazed together at the new painting on Mrs. Belkin's easel. "What do you think about the water?" Ian asked. "There's something that doesn't look right."

Fleur nodded. "Our house on Martinique was near the beach, and I could see the ocean from the window of my bedroom. I used to look at it all the time. It's the reflections of the light on the water. The way the sun is in her picture, they wouldn't look like that."

"That's it!" Ian agreed. "You have a terrific eye, Fleur. Well, two of them. I'll leave a note for Mrs. Belkin. She'd want me to. But you've given me an idea for how we can be together this summer. I'm going to volunteer at an art program at the Boys and Girls Club. It won't be like what I'm teaching Jeffy, more like arts and crafts stuff. You could volunteer too. Your mother wouldn't have any problems with you working with a bunch of little kids, would she?'

"I don't think so. She always wants me to be busy with something when I'm not in school. She thinks it will keep me out of trouble. I'll ask her."

Ian pressed his lips to the silk of her hair. "Outstanding!"

With real estate considerably cheaper in Paramus than in New York, Smartworks could afford to look impressive. There was no guard at the gate, but there was a dragon at the reception desk. Fortunately, for Castle, when he lowered the hood on his parka, she recognized him and quenched her fire. Oh, Mr. Castle, Lou Morgan is employed here, but he's working on a shoot right now, and the set is closed. Industrial announcements are embargoed until the release date. Don't want to let the competitors in on any secrets."

"Of course not," Castle agreed.

"But I can call and ask for Lou to come out when he's finished if you'd like to wait. I have Earl Grey tea, hot, like Captain Picard. I have some good cookies too. My sister makes them with the extra dark chocolate chips."

To Castle, it seemed a pleasing piece of symmetry to go from plying The Pug with sweets to find a Trekkie dragon who would offer them to him. "Thank you. Tea and cookies would be very nice."

Disturbance was evident in the creases on Lou Morgan's face when he finally entered the reception area. "What's this all about?"

Rick extended his hand. "Richard Castle."

Morgan nodded. "I know who you are. I worked for Letterman for a while. You were on a couple of times. What do you want, Mr. Castle?"

"I'm looking into the unfortunate accident that befell Stanley Beach," Castle explained. "I was wondering if you could give me any insights."

Morgan put up his hands as if to ward off the devil. "I can't talk about that. And Mr. Castle, if you know what's good for you, you won't ask any more questions about it. Let it go. Nothing is going to change what happened to Stanley. Opening the thing up again will only cause more trouble."

"What do you mean?" Castle asked. "What kind of trouble?"

"I can't say any more." Morgan strode away and disappeared behind an unmarked door.