CBs

Chapter 37

Dr. Aaron Spinrad carefully examined the photos Kate had laid on the well polished desk in front of him. "I have no doubt these are the same person. The cheekbones, the chin, those are easily done with implants. The nose has been narrowed, but the method was not up to date. I could have achieved a more attractive result. With modern techniques, the change would be more subtle and fit the contours of the face better. I would say that the nose was done at least a couple of years back, if not more, and possibly not in this country. The implants were well done and most likely fairly recent. At least two different surgeons worked on this man.

"Thank you, Doctor," Kate said. "That's very helpful."

"Well, if either of you ever wants a little freshening up, you know where to come. I could give you a great deal on the puffiness under your eyes, Mr. Castle. You'd photograph better. You could use a more up to date picture on your book jackets. The one on there now must be at least ten years old."

Kate grabbed Castle's arm as he stiffened in resentment. "Eight!"

"Just think about it," Spinrad soothed, "And give Martha my regards. My door is open any time."

"Why do I keep getting offered plastic surgery?" Castle complained on the way to the subway. "Even that maniac Nieman thought my eyes needed fixing."

"Castle, Spinrad offered it to both of us. So did Nieman. Unless they've been in an accident or something, most people don't need plastic surgery. It's something that's sold to make people feel good about themselves, to give them more self-confidence. You don't need that. You have so much going for you. And your face doesn't sell your books, your writing does." Kate ran a finger along his jawline. "I've never heard any of your fans complain about your face and I love every ruggedly handsome inch of it. Your mother is a wise woman. Don't let Spinrad get to you."

"You're right," Castle conceded, "Spinrad is nothing to write home about either. Did you notice he has hair growing out of his ears? Hm, I need to do that with one of the more obnoxious characters in one of my books. Maybe I could have it happen to one of the officials at 1PP."

Kate laughed. "Just as long as you don't do it to a character based on Gates. She actually reads your books and I don't think she'd appreciate it at all."

"Roger that," Castle acknowledged.

The CBs convened at the 12th in the late afternoon. Kate passed around current photos of Yuri Tomov, together with copies of his file. "This is our suspect in the disappearance from the games. I'm proposing that we keep Hayley Shipton undercover as a dealer long enough to keep track of where the games will be, so we can set up surveillance. We can pull her out after that. A civilian shouldn't be in jeopardy any longer than is necessary. Now, I'm requesting that all of you use whatever contacts you have to gather as much intelligence as possible on this guy. Interpol had nothing about his recent activities. Any thoughts?"

"Since he's chosen not to pursue cyber-crime, there may be some uncomplimentary web chatter about him in the more modern branch of the Russian mob," Bill Garrett speculated. "I'll see what I can pick up."

"I'll see if the other gangs have any word about him," Angela Lopez added.

"My people are going to keep working on his games," Chekov put in.

"And mine are still working on their missing person cases," Morano offered.

"Hayley has a game tonight," Castle reported. "They're moving again and she won't know where until about an hour before, but she should be able to let us know in time for Captain Beckett to put surveillance in position."

"Good," Kate concluded, "let's stay on top of it. I'm sure all of you are following the court proceedings in the Trimp matter. Lee Burkowitz has certainly not been shy about giving press conferences. Marcus Weller informs me that Sam Waterman has a lot of confidence that the jury is seeing things our way. From the defense's witness list, Weller expects things to wind up in another month or so, maybe a little longer. Even if they can cast doubt on some of the charges, there's still enough to put Trimp away for more than a lifetime and close down many of his corporate operations."

"I'd like to close him down, for good," Esposito exclaimed. "But one good thing is both of Mary Brodsky's twins got Regents scholarships, so with other financial aid they should be able to manage Hudson University. They'll have a good start and still be near their sister."

Castle looked at Beckett, but she shook her head, warning him off saying anything further about Emily. Castle pressed his lips together.

"Okay, that's all, "Kate announced. "As always, keep in touch with each other and if you get anything, let me know."

Castle followed Kate into her office and closed the door. "Why didn't you want to say anything about Emily?"

"I don't want to jinx it, Castle. We just talked about it. We haven't even seen any paperwork yet. But we could see about taking Emily out this weekend," she suggested. "That would be a start."

"Let's do it," Castle agreed.

"She had to want to go up to the crown," Castle moaned, after making the special reservation for the top of the Statue of Liberty. "I haven't climbed those stairs since Alexis was in seventh grade."

"Buck up, Castle, it's no worse than some of the hikes we've been on, and if you can't make it all the way up, I'll take Emily by myself."

"Oh I can make it," Rick declared, "a Castle is not defeated by a woman who insists on turning green, no matter how tall she is."

"Good," Kate replied, "cause Emily is really excited. She wanted to go a couple of years ago with her mom, but she couldn't make the height requirement. Last time she was measured at school, she just made it. I think she feels if she gets up that high, she'll be closer to her mother in Heaven."

"Oh, I hope she still feels that way when she gets up there," Castle mused. "It is a comforting thought. Our crown reservations are for after the first ferry of the day docks and we'll have to shove everything except a camera in a locker. So we should pick Emily up early to get to Battery Park for the boat. Then after we take her to the top, we can take her down to the museum and get any souvenirs that she wants. The food there is not much. We can take the ferry back to Manhattan and take her someplace kid friendly to eat, maybe a Chuck E. Cheese so she can play the games."

Kate smiled skeptically. "Exactly who really wants to play the games, Castle?"

"Hey, last time I checked I still hold the all time record for the jet fighter. I'm a regular ticket generator at skee-ball too. I could win her one of the big toys. But we can go wherever she wants. I noticed she's picked up your yen for strawberry shakes and extra crispy fries. I can think of several places for great shakes. There aren't too many fun restaurants in New York that I don't know about."

Kate rolled her eyes. "Castle, of that I have no doubt."