Dreams of Future Past
Chapter 37
The captain and Castle are already there. They're trying to shield her, but she can't leave any more than Royce could. He was shot in the leg, but he was still trying to get away. He couldn't make it. There was a paper in his pocket, a letter to her. She scans it, but there's no way she can handle those words right now.
Why did Royce come back to New York? She was more comfortable knowing that he was 3,000 miles away. She hadn't abandoned him: he was just out of reach. And what did he get himself into? Whoever killed him used a silencer. That means premeditation.
The boys are trying to help. They're not doing a bad job. The killer, Neil McCauley, followed Royce from L.A. Castle immediately recognizes the name as the character Robert DeNiro played in Heat. Is there a movie he doesn't know? McCauley flew to New York, bringing a silencer with him, bought a cheap gun and flew back to L.A. two hours after killing Royce. He was in the city just long enough to commit a murder. Why? The only way she can find out is by going to L.A.
The captain won't let her go. He's not stopping her that easily. She'll go on her own and the hell with him. She can tell Castle knows what she plans to do, but she ducks him. He's not getting in her way, either.
She finally reads Royce's letter. He says he'd turned back on a righteous path. He hopes that someday she'll forgive him. She already has, but it's too late now to tell him. Getting his killer is the only thing she can do to make things right.
How did she get upgraded to first class? Of course, Castle. She should have known. She doesn't feel much like taking the Champagne he offers, but it is good to know he isn't going to try to talk her out of tracking down Royce's killer. He wants to help. He always does. He promises they'll fly under the radar.
How is a red Ferrari flying under the radar? And he wants her to share his suite? It would make sense, but can she be that close for that long without…? No matter how rough things are with Josh, she's not a cheater, is she? She'll have to keep her door - and her heart - firmly closed and her mind on the case.
Royce lives in a mansion? How? The place belongs to Gene Simmons, source of jarring music and one of her better Halloween costumes. Simmons is flirting with her. Good. She can use that to get information. Royce helped him out and was living in his guest house. So, Royce really was on a righteous path. He was working for a would-be starlet named Violet Young.
Violet is shooting a commercial at the same studio where they're shooting Castle's movie. Another one of Castle's connections coming in handy.
Violet didn't show up for work. A woman trying to claw her way up in the business wouldn't miss out on a chance like that unless she was in trouble - or dead.
Eww! The characters playing Raley and Ochoa are just creepy!
Dissolving bullets? Why was Royce shot with dissolving shells?
She shouldn't be breaking into Violet's place, but she has no choice. An airline itinerary. Violet went to New York with Royce. He was trying to protect her, so he took her to his home ground. What are all those articles and pictures for? What does the voice on the digital recorder mean? Oh no, the L.A.P.D.
They're caught. The snarky cop is Detective Kyle Seeger of Robbery/Homicide. He thinks that a phone call from Montgomery may be worse than arresting them. He could be right. The captain won't let her explain, and there's not much she could say that Montgomery doesn't already know. He wants her and Castle to get on the next plane back to New York. Seeger wants them gone too. Hell no!
Maybe the boys can find Violet Young. Wow! They have a photo of the killer! Sometimes she forgets just how good they are.
Castle's phone search found the man in a photo that was in Violet's apartment. He's Charles Kelvin, a weapons manufacturer. The actress was studying his interests. That's why she had all those articles.
Kelvin doesn't want his surfing hour interrupted, but the recording of his voice gets his attention. It's the key to a high-security vault.
The dissolving bullets were there, and now they're not. Whoever killed Royce must have stolen them. They were of no use to the military, but on the black market, they will be a valuable commodity. Violet got herself mixed up with some very dangerous people. That's why she needed Royce - and why Royce is dead.
With the couch, the wine and Castle's willing ear, she can't help telling him about Royce. She feels so close to him, and not just because they're gazing straight into each other's eyes. He says he thought she was a mystery he was never going to solve and that he's still amazed at the depth of her strength, her heart - and her hotness. She doesn't feel very strong now. She knows where her heart is, and it's not with a cardiac surgeon. It's with the man right in front of her. If she just leaned in, she could have what she wants, what she's been wanting for so long.
She can't. She needs to go. He calls after her. He wants her too. She can't go back. There's still Josh. Her hand overrules her head and reaches for the handle of her door. Castle's gone. The door to his room is closing. It's only a short walk away. She could knock on it. He'd let her in. She knows he would. No. Not while she's still with Josh. Not while her soul is wrapped too tightly to open to someone she could really love. She should just find Royce's murderer. That's why she's in Los Angeles.
The wondrous concierge, Maurice, gets her a murderboard. There's a security guard, Reggie Walsh, involved somehow with the theft.
Damn! Detective Seeger is at the door. She needs to hide the murderboard. Seeger demands to know why her name came across his desk in reference to the theft of the bullets. She's not about to tell him.
Castle wonders if it was a good idea to cut Seeger out. Maybe it wasn't, but she just wants to get Royce's killer, and she doesn't need the L.A.P.D. in her way.
The crew shooting Castle's movie can help. She's even having a good time pulling off the con. So is Castle. Hell, the interrogation room on the set is better than the one at the precinct.
Reggie was just paid to take a cigarette break, but he heard the name, Russell Ganz. Could that be Royce's killer?
Ganz's friend is hunting Violet. Maurice really is amazing. He has a network that knows precisely where Ganz is. He earned the $100 Castle is handing him. Castle wants to call the L.A.P.D. now, but the sting they pulled worked. She's going to try another one.
Her swimsuit makes her look almost nude. Good. She'll rise out of the pool right in front of Ganz.
She's got the bastard's attention. She's reeling him in. Damn! What's Castle doing? She can't let Ganz see him. She tried too hard and blew it. It's Castle's fault. No, it really isn't. He was doing his job too. He got a picture of Ganz's recent call list. She wants to kiss him, but if she does, she may not be able to stop. Castle urges her again to call Seeger. Now she can.
The robbery detective is pissed. Castle offers him a luxury robe. No help there. But Seeger knows about Ganz's call to his accomplice, Mannis, in New York. They have the number. They can call and rile him up, maybe get him to flip on Ganz.
Why is Espo answering Mannis' phone? He shot Mannis. She won't be shedding any tears over that, especially since the boys get Mannis to spill about the sale of the bullets taking place on Santa Monica Pier. They have 15 minutes to get there. It's going to be close.
They found the bullets but where is Ganz? That cigar is like one he was smoking at the pool. She spots him. He isn't going to get away from her. She can shoot Ganz as an escaping felon. It would be a righteous shot. She gets him in the leg. She could have killed him, but she needs to let him know she's avenging Royce. Now he does. She is the hell Royce told him would rain down on him. She's so close to killing him now. Castle is shouting her name. She pulls back. Would she have shot again if she hadn't heard Castle's voice? She'll never know, but Royce will have justice.
Time to go home. They're back in first class. Castle is comfortable there. He's asleep. She couldn't sleep if she tried.
She unfolds Royce's letter again. She can hear the sweet gravel in his voice as she reads it. Royce wrote that she and Castle have something real and she shouldn't put her job ahead of her heart. He says that the last thing she wants is to look back on her life and wonder "if only."
Oh God, he was so right! She should have listened.