Wrong Place Wrong Time

Chapter 38

Castle awoke to to the aromatic siren call of coffee and found Beckett at the kitchen counter pouring two cups. She handed him the warm stimulation of the ceramic encased dark liquid. "How did you sleep?" Castle asked.

"Better than I would have thought under the circumstances," Beckett replied, catching the smug grin peeking over the lip of Castle's mug. "Yes, that was a lot of it," she admitted, "but it was good to know that George's people were out there too, watching all our backs."

"Well hopefully we won't need them long. Have you heard anything from the precinct?"

"Got a text from Ryan. He and Espo went in early to go over the financials from the prison. He might have something by the time we get there. We should get moving."

"Right," Castle agreed.

Ryan approached Beckett even before she and Castle reached her desk. "So we ran financials on everyone associated with the prison: guards, civilian staff, medical personnel."

Joining them, Esposito handed Beckett a folder. "We found a guard named Ryker. He's underwater in his mortgage, maxed out his credit cards, and about to lose his condo."

Beckett's mouth fell open. "Ryker? I know Ryker!"

Esposito shook his head. "You only thought you knew Ryker. The day before Lockwood was transferred to the general prison population Ryker received a fifty thousand dollar wire transfer. And guess who didn't show up for work today?"

Ryker's door splintered under the impact of Esposito's kick. Guns raised, Beckett, Ryan and Esposito made their way into the condo, loudly announcing NYPD presence as Castle followed closely behind. Beckett spotted the back of a figure, sitting in a recliner. "Show us your hands, Ryker," she commanded.

"Show us your hands," Esposito repeated harshly.

Seeing no movement, Beckett cautiously made her way around the chair. With a gaping hole in the center of his forehead, Ryker would never raise his hands again.

Beckett secured her newest homicide scene as Lanie Parrish arrived. "The bullet entered through the back of the head, exited through the front and landed in the cabinet," Lanie reported. "I'm making time of death around nine o'clock last night."

Castle held Ryker's cell phone in a gloved hand. "Ryker made four calls to the same burner Lockwood called from prison."

Beckett sighed. "He was negotiating prices. Poor S.O.B. Had no idea who he was dealing with."

"We still don't either," Castle reminded her.

"That was the DOJ," Ryan announced, lowering his own phone. "The fifty thousand deposit bounced through the United Arab Emirates before ending up in Ryker's account. It came from a Dubai branch of a Swiss bank."

Castle pulled off his gloves with a loud snap. "Who the hell are these guys!"

"Whoever they are, they've been two steps ahead of us the whole time," Beckett pronounced grimly. "It's time to get ahead of them. If we want to catch these bastards, we're going to have to bring the fight to their doorstep. Notify Ryker's next of kin, then dig into every aspect of his sorry existence. Talk to his neighbors again. See if anyone new came around. Castle and I will go back to the prison and see what we can dig up."

Beckett glanced in her rear view mirror more often than usual on the drive to Rikers. "Do you think George really has someone on us?" she wondered. "I don't spot anyone."

"Isn't that the idea?" Castle asked. "I'll text him and find out," Castle offered, already pulling out his phone. Castle watched his screen for a reply. "George says it's a Fusion, green."

Beckett looked in her mirror again. "Wow, there are three Fusion's back there. It must be one of the most common cars in the city. One of them looks green. It's unwashed, kind of blends in with the scenery. Your guys are good."

Castle put a quick hand on her knee. "Glad you approve."

"Officer Haskell," Beckett inquired as they spoke over soft drinks in the guard's break room at Rikers, "how long did you know Ryker?"

Haskell closed his eyes, trying to remember. "Since he came to the prison. Almost ten years I guess."

"Was he having trouble with anyone here?" Castle asked.

Haskell shook his head. "Ryker was stainless. All the other corrections officers liked him. Even the cons respected him because he treated them with respect."

"Anyone new in his life, maybe a girlfriend?" Beckett questioned.

Haskell swallowed, glancing quickly at Castle before returning his gaze to Beckett. "No one. To tell the truth, Detective, until he found out that you and Mr. Castle are engaged, he was working up the nerve to ask you out."

Castle cleared his throat. "Uh, did you know that Ryker was having financial problems?"

"I'm actually surprised to hear it," Haskell responded. "He never said a word to me about it and as far as I know, I was closer to him than anyone."

Beckett pushed out of her chair, with Castle following suit. She extended a card. "Thank you for your time, Officer Haskell. If you think of anything else, please give me a call."

"Anything?" Beckett asked as she stared at the frustratingly uninformative murder board.

"Everyone one we talked to said the same thing," Ryan reported. "Ryker was a stand up guy. No one knew he was in trouble, not even his family."

"We got a Blue Malibu off the footage from the airport," Esposito added,"but the plate was blacked out."

Beckett slammed a marker on the ridge below the board. "Damn it! We're nowhere. All we've got is dead ends!"

Castle put a hand on her shoulder. "You know, whoever planned Lockwood's escape knew they would need someone on the inside. If everyone thought Ryker was such a straight arrow, how would they know to approach him?"

"He was a soft target because of his financial problems," Esposito replied dismissively.

"But how would they know that?" Castle persisted.

Beckett's eyes lit with realization. "They had access to the same records we did! That means a cop or someone who has an in with cops."

"Beckett, we want this as much as you do. But we've been through all the records on cops having anything to do with this case," Ryan protested. "We checked and rechecked, months ago. There's nothing there."

Beckett turned to him, anger radiating from her body in palpable waves. "No one wants this as much as I do. No one. So recheck, and when you've finished that, check again!"

As the detectives in the bullpen pretended to ignore Beckett's outburst, Montgomery emerged from his office. "Beckett," he hissed, motioning her inside. Castle followed, without Montgomery attempting to stop him. Montgomery handed Beckett a flask. "Look, Kate, I think they heard you at 1PP. You're losing control and I can't have that. I need you to go home. Let the boys work on this for a while."

"Sir, I can do this," Beckett protested.

"No you can't, not right now," Montgomery told her.

"Kate," Castle interjected, looking toward Montgomery for confirmation, "I'll stay with the guys. I'll let you know if we find anything, anything at all." Montgomery nodded his agreement.

"I guess I don't have a choice," Beckett responded.

"No - you don't," Montgomery agreed. "You settle down, maybe get a new perspective, you can come back."

Castle put an arm around Beckett's shoulders, guiding her out of the office. "Kate, I promise. We'll go through every file, every scrap of paper. If there's anything to find, we will find it. George's guy will follow you to the loft and I'll be here with Ryan and Espo. Everything will be fine."

"You'll call me," Beckett reiterated.

Castle drew her to him, kissing her hair. "The nanosecond we find a thing."