Chapter 38
Senator William Bracken poured a generous measure of whisky into a cut crystal tumbler. Setting the bottle down he picked up the tumbler and brought it to his mouth and took a sip. He savoured the smooth liquid before he swallowed. Twenty year old Glenfiddich single malt Scotch Whisky never failed to bring a smile to his face. The expensive bottle of Glenfiddich had been a gift from a grateful constituent for Bracken's help.
Bracken took another sip of the whisky before he returned to his desk with the tumbler. Sitting down in his chair he surveyed the desk. There were papers and reports all over it. He took another sip of the whisky before he set the tumbler down and picked up his pen and resumed writing the speech he had been working on for the past couple of hours.
It was a rare Sunday evening that found Bracken at home in New York. There were no fund raising dinners to attended or political meetings, no Broadway show invitations, no family commitments.
This free time had allowed him time to catch up on work and prepare for some meetings that he had scheduled in Washington tomorrow. It also allowed him time to work on the speech. He had a pretty good speech writer on his staff and he could also call on the services of a freelance speech writer but there were times when he liked to write his own speech. He did not get to do it too often.
Bracken finished the paragraph he had written. He picked up the tumbler and took a sip of the whisky as he read what he had written. The speech he was writing was for the bill he was introducing into the Senate in the coming week, to increase the safety net for inner city kids. He was trotting out the well worn story of his friend Lamar Dokes. He had used it countless times before and it never failed to bring a few tears to the eyes of the listeners. He doubted that many of his Senatorial colleagues would be reduced to misty eyed sentimentality when he recounted the story but then again this speech was not for them. He did not think there would be too many Senators in the chamber when he rose to introduce the bill but that was not a concern for Bracken. He already had the numbers to get the bill passed. And he also had a couple of co-sponsors in the House. The bill would pass and his name would be featured prominently in the National papers.
In the background Bracken could hear some aria being played on the stereo system and was reminded that he had promised his wife to take her to the opera next week at the Kennedy Centre. It was the trade off he had made for this quiet Sunday evening at home. He had to go to the opera next week. He made a mental note to get one of his people in Washington to get tickets.
The sound of the door bell ringing interrupted his thoughts. Bracken returned to his speech.
"You have a visitor, Bill."
Bracken looked up and found his wife hovering by the door. He saw the frown on her face and he knew that who ever the visitor was this was not a social call. Before Bracken had a chance to say anything his wife left and in her place was Yearwood. Bracken regarded the man for a moment before he motioned him to sit.
Yearwood closed the door and crossed the room to sit down in a chair opposite Bracken's desk.
"A contact of mine in the NYPD called me this morning." Yearwood announced as he sat down.
Bracken set aside the writing pad where he was writing his speech and focused on the other man,
"Lockwood was arrested last night." Yearwood said without further preamble.
Bracken did not like having this kind of business brought to his front door step, to his home but he understood the seriousness of the situation for Yearwood to come to his home rather than deliver the news via the phone.
"Go on." Bracken said carefully.
"The cops killed three of his crew and arrested Lockwood and the other member of the crew."
Bracken nodded his head before he slowly rose from his chair and came around his desk, moving over to the side table taking his tumbler with him. He refilled the tumbler, pouring a more than generous measure. He did not offer Yearwood a drink.
"What happened?"
"From what I can gather, Lockwood kidnapped a couple of cops who were investigating Raglan's murder, to find out how far they had progressed in the case. The cops tracked him down."
Bracken frowned at this piece of news. He nodded his head and then moved back to the desk. He sat down and took a sip of his whisky. He then looked across to Yearwood.
"You told me he was reliable."
"He is." Yearwood inisted.
"And yet he currently languishes in the custody of the NYPD." Bracken retorted.
Yearwood shrugged his shoulders. Bracken raised a disapproving eyebrow.
"How was he supposed to know that the cops would find his hideout so soon?"
"That doesn't fill me with much cheer."
"Shit happens, Senator."
"Will he talk?" Bracken asked.
Yearwood shook his head.
"He wont talk Senator."
"How can you be so sure?"
"I served with him, Senator. When I say he wont talk, he wont talk."
Bracken regarded the other man and the vehemence of his defence of Lockwood. He accepted the man's response with a curt nod of his head. He then turned his attention to the whisky tumbler.
"I have my legal people looking after Lockwood." Yearwood reported.
Bracken glanced at the other man.
"There are no comebacks to you, Senator." Yearwood assured him. "Nothing to tie them to us at all."
Bracken picked up the tumbler and took a sip of the whisky. He gazed at the tumbler.
"What about the other guy that was picked up?" He asked.
"Him, I don't know." The other man said.
Bracken looked at Yearwood and scowled. "You damn well better find out then."
"I've got that in hand, Senator." Yearwood said quickly. "Besides, Lockwood hand picked his team, so I would say that he wont talk."
"Make damn sure, Yearwood." Bracken spat.
Bracken drained the tumbler and then set it down on the desk. His gaze ventured to the half finished speech.
"How was Lockwood found so quickly?" He asked.
"Detective Beckett tracked him down, sir."
Bracken stilled at the mention of the name. His expression hardened as he looked over to Yearwood.
"What do you want me to do about her, sir?"
Bracken saw the expectant expression on Yearwood's face.
That was a good question, Bracken thought to himself. A small frown creased forehead as he pondered the question. What was he going to do about Detective Kate Beckett? One thing he was certain was that he could not make any move against her right now. There was too much heat around the case. Any move against the detective would draw too much unwanted attention. The dust needed to settle first.
"I'll deal with her at the appropriate time." Bracken announced finally.
Yearwood opened his mouth to say something but a look from Bracken had him closing it rapidly and nodding his head instead.
Sensing that the meeting had come to an end, Yearwood rose from the chair.
"I'll keep you posted, sir."
Bracken did not rise to his feet. He merely watched as Yearwood left the study. When the door closed Bracken picked up the empty tumbler and got to his feet. He walked over to the side table and refilled the tumbler. He took a big sip of the whisky and then returned to his desk. As he was sitting down a thought occurred to him. He set the tumbler on the desk and reached for the phone. He hit speed dial #1. The call was answered after the third ring.
"Evan? It's Bracken...Clear my schedule for tomorrow morning and early afternoon." Bracken informed his chief of staff. "I have to take care of a couple of a few things up here. I'll fly down late afternoon...good...Anything I should be aware of? Okay...good...See you tomorrow evening then, Evan."
Bracken put the phone down and leaned back in his chair and stared into the distance and lost himself in deep thought.
XXX
Though she would not admit it much less explain it but Johanna Beckett was coming to enjoy marking exam papers. Exam papers were a marked change from reading sterile legal tomes or briefing papers. She rather enjoyed spending hours preparing for class rather than a court room.
Her greatest joy was going through these exam papers and seeing that the she was students teaching were actually learning something and that knowledge and progress was translated on these exam papers.
More and more Johanna was starting think that she might make teaching a full time vocation. The suggestion had been made to her about becoming full time by the Dean of the school. It was not as if she was turning her back on the law. She would be teaching the next generation of lawyers. It was something that she would have to discuss with her husband about. She rather liked the idea of becoming a full time teacher.
There was a knock on the door.
Johanna looked up from the exam paper she was marking. The colour slowly drained from her face as she stared at the man who was standing in the doorway of the class room. He was dressed in a sober looking dark blue business suit with an American flag pinned to the lapel. She had not seen since him in person since that night in his office all those years ago.
"W..what are you doing here?" Johanna demanded.
Bracken slowly entered the classroom and walked to the middle of the room where he paused and slowly took in the classroom before he finally settle his gaze on Johanna. A smile stole across his face.
"Is that the way to speak to an old friend?" Bracken said.
"We were never friends."
"Acquaintances then?"
"What are you doing here?"
"I was passing through, thought I'd stop by and say hi." Bracken said with some amusement.
Johanna stared at Bracken . She watched as he slowly approached the desk.
"So, how are things, Mrs Beckett?"
"What do you want?" Johanna repeated.
"Always straight to the point, eh?"
"You haven't answered my question."
"I think you know what I'm doing here, Mrs Beckett.
A reptilian smile flickered across Bracken's face. Johanna felt a shiver down her spine but kept her expression neutral. The urge to get up and walk out of the room was very strong but she resisted it. She did not want to give him the satisfaction of knowing that she was afraid of him.
"If you're looking for the Good Government classes, they're two rooms down the hall." Johanna pointed.
"Very funny, Mrs Beckett." Bracken laughed. He came to a halt a few feet from the desk.
"It was not meant as a joke." Johanna retorted.
The smile faded from Bracken's face. He stared at Johanna. Silently she held his gaze.
"I thought we had a deal, Mrs Beckett."
"I've kept my part of the agreement."
"Have you?"
"Yes."
Johanna did not particularly like the tone in his voice. She had no idea what he was doing here in her classroom. She certainly had done nothing to make him think that she had reneged on the agreement they had made.
Bracken nodded his head at her response. His hand trailed over a small stack of books, he flipped open the top book and inspected the first page he came to before he closed it and moved away from the desk. He began to slowly pace the floor.
Johanna watched Bracken as he paced.
"Then why do I have trouble with your daughter, Mrs Beckett?" Bracken said with an exaggerated sigh like some B-Grade movie villain.
"She's a police detective, she's doing her job."
Bracken stopped pacing and cast a glance at Johanna. An amused grin spread across his face.
"Do I need to remind you what the consequences are, Mrs Beckett?"
"What consequences are they?" Johanna asked.
The grin faded from Bracken's face.
"I have kept my side of the agreement, Senator."
Bracken slowly stepped up to the desk and peered down at Johanna in an intimidating posture.
"I repeat, Mrs Beckett, why do I have trouble with your daughter?"
Johanna stared up at Bracken. She could feel the intimidation and saw it in his cold gaze. Taking a deep steadying breath, she exhaled slowly. She placed her hands on the desk and slowly rose from her chair and stared back at Bracken.
"I have kept my side of the agreement, Senator." Johanna repeated. "And I expect you to do the same."
Bracken regarded Johanna. A moment later he smiled and nodded his head.
"Yet, I still have a problem with your daughter." He said.
"Then you have a problem with my daughter." Johanna replied defiantly. "I suggest you keep your nose clean."
Johanna had not spoken to Kate since that confrontation at her home a couple of days ago. Johanna had left messages which Kate had not returned. She did not know how far Kate had progressed in the case she had been working on but something must have happened if Bracken had shown up here.
Bracken let out a humourless laugh and stepped away from the desk. He resumed pacing the floor.
"Remember the file, Senator." Johanna said, breaking the tense silence that had descended.
Bracken stopped and looked back at Johanna.
"Oh, I well remember the file, Mrs Beckett." Bracken said in an even tone of voice. "Do you remember all the files you sent out?"
"I remember."
"I've spent many years and a lot of money to collect them." Bracken announced.
The colour drained from Johanna's face. Could he had gotten all the files she had sent out, Johanna wondered to herself. No, that was not possible, she told herself immediately. If he had all the files then she would not be alive.
Bracken came up to the desk and stared at Johanna.
"I don't need to tell you how dangerous a job being a cop is, Mrs Beckett." Bracken said, pressing his advantage. "Every day there's a new story on the TV about a cop getting killed in the line of duty..."
Johanna's blood suddenly ran cold. She did not want to believe what she just heard. The man just made a threat against her daughter. Her face darkened with anger as she glared at Bracken. How dare he.
"Are you threatening my daughter, Senator?" Johanna said angrily.
"No threats, Mrs Beckett." Bracken said smoothly, holding up his hands in mock innocence. "I'm merely pointing out the realities of life."
"Sounded like a threat."
"I'm merely pointing out that being a cop is a dangerous job. Things happen as we both know."
Johanna narrowed her eyes as she struggled to tamp down her rising anger. She tilted up her chin in a defiant stance.
"Yes, Senator, things happen." She said coldly.
Bracken abruptly turned away from the desk and walked away heading for the door. On reaching the door he stopped and looked back.
"Have a good day, Mrs Beckett." Bracken smiled before he walked out the door.
Johanna stared at the door for some minutes. She took a deep breath to calm her racing heart and slowly sank back down on the chair. It was many minutes before she was able to turn her attention back to marking the exam papers.
She had no idea what she was going to do about Bracken's threat but she realised she would have to do something and soon.
XXX
Kate was feeling exhausted as she emerged from the interrogation room. Her feet were killing her and was regretting the high heeled boots she had chosen to wear this morning. Her back hurt from sitting in a chair for three hours without a break.
Kate nodded to the two tall uniformed officers who had been standing guard outside the interrogation room for the past three hours. They returned Kate's nod and moved into the room to take charge of the prisoner and return him to the holding cells.
As Kate made her way to the bullpen she had to stifle a yawn. She had not gotten much sleep during the night. After leaving the warehouse instead of going straight home she had taken Castle to the emergency room at the hospital so a doctor could check out his hand. He had started complaining about the pain in his hand in the car. While she trusted the paramedic and his diagnosis Kate wanted to be safe rather than sorry, so a detour to the hospital was in order. It took a couple of hours before a doctor could see Castle. They both had been relieved to find that Castle had not broken anything. All the same Castle had a fitful night's sleep and Kate had stayed up with him trying to take his mind off the pain of his hand.
She had gotten up early to get to the precinct. She had left Castle to sleep. Kate had come into the precinct early so that she could write up her report of their rescue of Ryan and Esposito. She was not sparing in her praise of Castle and his actions.
Even now she still could not believe what she had seen him do. He had tackled a highly trained armed assassin with nothing but his bare hands. When they had gone home she had to ask him why he had done that. Castle had simply replied that Lockwood was going to shoot her and he was not going to let that happen.
Kate had also come into the precinct early so that she could prepare for the interrogation of Hal Lockwood.
Three hours trying to question Lockwood. Three hours spent throwing question after question across the table at the man and for three hours all she got in return was silence. Lockwood had merely sat there and stared back at her, impervious to threats or cajoling, or promises of a lighter sentence if he co-operated. Nothing. She had found the staring contest with Lockwood a little unnerving. After three hours she had come to the realisation that she was not going to get anything out of Lockwood, so she ended the interrogation.
Esposito was seated at his desk looking grim faced as he did some work. He had been given the day off by the captain after his ordeal but he had chosen to come in. He could make no other decision. He was sporting bruises from his encounter with Lockwood and his men. No one in the precinct was game enough to make fun of his and Ryan's kidnapping. At least not yet. Esposito suspected that would come in the future. On hearing Kate, Esposito looked up from his work.
Kate shook her head in response to Esposito's silent questioning look. Esposito frowned and shook his head. He had wanted to sit in on the interrogation of Lockwood. Kate had been more than happy to have him sitting beside her but Captain Montgomery had refused him permission citing that Esposito was both a victim and a witness and the defence lawyers would have a field day over it. Reluctantly Esposito was forced to sit this one out.
Kate reached her desk and dropped her portfolio and the file she had with her when she had gone into the interrogation room. Turning away from the desk Kate marched towards Captain Montgomery's office.
She knocked on the captain's door and walked in. Captain Montgomery looked up from the file he had been working on and shot Kate a questioning look.
"Nothing." Kate sighed as she sank down on the captain's couch.
"Not a word?" Captain Montgomery asked, a little surprised.
"Total silence."
"Well, he's ex-military." Montgomery shrugged. "Maybe you might have had better luck if you asked for his name, rank and serial number."
"Not funny, sir."
Montgomery shrugged his shoulders. He rose from his chair and slowly came around the desk. He leant against the front of his desk and folded his arms across his chest. He regarded his best detective for a moment and he saw that she looked exhausted and frustrated.
"It doesn't matter if he talked or not." Montgomery said slowly. "We have enough on him to charge him with kidnapping, assaulting police officers, as well as the murder of Raglan."
Kate shook her head.
"But I want the guy who hired him. I want the damn mastermind." Kate snapped.
"We take what we can get, Detective." Montgomery replied.
Kate frowned unhappily but slowly nodded her head. Captain Montgomery was right even though she was not happy about it. She started to get up from the couch but the captain waved her down.
"You look a little tired, Detective." Montgomery observed.
"Difficult case, sir." Kate replied.
"And it's over now."
"Yeah, except for the paperwork." Kate grimmaced.
Captain Montgomery smiled in understanding.
"Did you get much sleep?" Montgomery asked, changing the subject.
"Not much." Kate replied. "Castle slept fitfully."
"His hand?"
"Yeah." Kate nodded.
"Is it broken?"
Kate shook her head. "No. Just bruised, thankfully."
Captain Montgomery nodded his head. He had read both Kate's and Esposito's reports on what had happened in the warehouse. At first he had not believed that Castle had tackled a gunman unarmed. It had sounded like something out of one Castle's books. But after he had questioned Esposito carefully, Montgomery did believe it. It was an action above and beyond. Montgomery seriously considering submitting Castle's name for a commendation for his actions. Castle had save three of his detectives.
"You should go home, Beckett." Captain Montgomery announced.
"I'm fine sir." Kate replied automatically.
"Take a couple of days off." Montgomery added.
"Sir.."
"That's an order."
"Yes, sir." Kate sighed.
"So, how far are you gone?"
Kate frowned as she looked up at the Captain and found him smiling.
"Excuse me, sir?"
"How many weeks pregnant are you, Kate?"
Kate stared at the captain, a little stunned and not knowing how to respond. This was not the way she had wanted to break the news to him. She had wanted Castle to be with her.
"Kate, I used to be a detective, I've trained a few detectives in my time." Montgomery chuckled. "And I've got kids of my own. You don't think I haven't spotted the signs?"
"Nine weeks, sir." Kate confessed in a low voice, a smile spreading across her face.
"Congratulations. I'm so happy for the both of you." Captain Montgomery said as he pushed himself off the desk and moved towards Kate.
Kate rose from the couch and accepted the warm hug from her boss. Montgomery broke the embrace a few moments later and stepped back.
"Now take a few days off." He ordered.
"But sir..."
"Take a few days off." Montgomery said in a firm tone of voice, as he smiled. "And then we can sit down and discuss your situation and what we can do."
"Yes, sir."
XXX
Thoughts?