Chapter Fifty Two
Jordan brought Martha to Rick's office. Once she was seated, Mike brought her some water. They both had been expecting hysterics but she calmly took a sip and then a deep breath. "Is my son dead?"
"No Mrs. Rogers, he is fine. The explosion last night was just a small part of a larger plan to trick the man who is after Kate and him into thinking they're dead."
"Why do I have the sinking feeling this plan was something my son came up with?"
"The basic plan was his but I added safeguards to make sure nothing went wrong last night."
"Go on."
"We had a decoy yacht built, it was basically just a shell but it had explosives planted near the bow. The plan was they would pretend to go for a late night swim; Rick and Kate already had diving gear stored on board. Just as the explosives went off, they would drop off the back of the boat and swim underwater until they were miles from the explosion. Since Kate had just learned how to dive, I didn't want to take any chances of her overdoing it. I had a small raft about two miles out in the sound. They used that raft to reach Rick's boat which was moored five miles away from the explosion site. First thing this morning I had my pilot do a fly by, he confirmed that the raft and Rick's boat are both gone. We know that the plan worked, they are safe and sound, sailing away as we speak."
"Sailing to where?"
Shaking his head as he answered, "I'm sorry, it's best you don't know where they are."
For the first time she raised her voice to Mike. "Best for whom?" Turning to Jordan, "What isn't he telling me?"
"The man that is after Kate, we call him "The Dragon", sent several men last night to kidnap or kill her. They also planted a bomb on the yacht to lure them out of the beach house. Since very few people even knew that Kate was here, it is very possible that this man has someone in the NYPD or even the FBI on his payroll. So only Mike and I knew about the plan and even we don't know where they are sailing to, just to make sure they stay safe." Jordan sat in front of Martha. "Mrs. Rogers, for this plan to work we need you to act as if you did just lose your son. NO ONE can know what we've just told you. Rick and Kate's life could depend on it." Martha only nodded, so Jordan continued. "Yesterday, Paula had her film crew take pictures of them on the yacht as part of the publicity tour for his new book, "Summer Heat". One of her cameramen got sunburned and couldn't sleep last night, so he went out to take shots of the yacht in the moonlight. Luckily, he also got a picture of the yacht exploding. That photo is all we are releasing for now...that and the fact that Rick Castle is missing along with his house guest, Kate Beckett. You saw how many cameras and reporters are waiting outside. So far we've managed to keep a lid on this story, they know that there was some kind of explosion last night but we don't want them digging, so we have to give them something to publish. I need you to let them know the FBI was called in by the local police. Your son is missing and may have been kidnapped but so far there has been no ransom demands received. The FBI is trying to determine if he was kidnapped or if he was accidently killed when his new yacht exploded. Ask them to allow us the time and space to find those answers. I know you are a great actress but this is real not a role. I can have Paula or Gina release the statement but I would prefer that you or Alexis do it."
"Oh my God, Alexis! Please, I'll do the statement but first I need to call her immediately. I have to reach her before she hears any of this on the news. She is in Europe with her mother. I don't want her to think even for a minute that she's lost her father."
"Your phone may not be secure. Let me have it checked before you make any calls, Mrs. Rogers. Even then you need to be very careful of what you say to her."
"My phone, where is my phone?" Martha searched desperately through her pockets and purse. "I can't find it...wait, Martin has it."
"Martin?"
'Martin Davis, my fiancé. That's actually why I left Cape Cod and drove here today, to announce to my family that I have accepted his proposal of marriage."
She watched as an uneasy look from Jordan met with a worried look from Mike. "Congratulations but you can't tell him or anyone about the plan. I would prefer you don't say anything to Alexis about her father over the phone. Just ask her to come home. Perhaps you can just say there has been an accident."
Martha opened her mouth to object but closed it again remembering the strange look on Martin's face earlier.
Mike moved over the phone on Rick's desk. "Use the house phone, I checked it this morning. Let me give you some privacy." He heard a commotion outside and came down stairs to check it out. Through the windows he saw Keith being held by several agents. Walking over to the lead agent, he explained that the man was part of his security team. Last night his job had been to be a target, taking off in a speed boat in the opposite direction of Rick and Kate. Nodding, the agent alerted the men detaining him to let him pass. Mike opened the door confronting an angry Keith. "What the hell took you so long getting back here?"
"I drove that boat for hours, went as far as Long Beach but no one followed us or attempted to engage us at all. Captain Troy from the Coast Guard took the powerboat back to the impound yard and I had to hitch a ride back here." Glancing at the FBI agent warily, "Has Alexis been contacted yet?"
Mike just nodded and indicated that Keith should follow him. "Agent Jordan will want to speak to you, sit down." They sat in the last two chairs farthest away.
"Talk to me about what? I didn't see a damned thing. No one came after us. It was complete waste of time, Mike." Lowering his voice, "At least tell me that everything else last night worked. I could swear I heard two explosions?"
"There were some...complications but also an unexpected bonus. One of the camera men got a picture of the first explosion and video of the second. Keith, if you think you can handle it, I have a more hands on job for you. I want you to play the part of boyfriend to Alexis, go pick her up at JFK. Let me be clear, you are there to protect her until she gets here, possibly even after that. Her grandmother just got engaged and I have a bad feeling about the fiancé but I can't tell him to leave. The phones may be bugged, so her grandmother is only letting Alexis know there was an accident, we will tell her the rest once she arrives."
"I can tell her on the drive back here. Look Mike, I know you don't approve but I care for Alexis. I'll do anything to protect her or help her...but then you already knew that. What else do you want me to do?"
"The FBI is asking Martha to give the press a statement that her son may have been kidnapped or killed in a yacht explosion. They are releasing a still photo of the first explosion. I need you to leak the video of the explosion to the press...it's been "enhanced", you see something or someone burning on the deck."
"And I'm doing this because...I don't want my girlfriend to hold out any false hope that her father is still alive."
"Exactly, this statement will start a feeding frenzy by the press. I want you at her side day and night until they lose interest in the whole story. Hopefully that will be in a few days when the FBI concludes that Rick Castle was killed in an explosion. Then we'll need Alexis Castle to simply disappear from the public eye, at least until the plan is complete. That way Alexis Rogers will be able to start college at Columbia University unrecognized and safe."
"I have to shower and change before I go anywhere. Should I use her car?"
"Shower and change at your apartment in the city. I want you to leave now before the story and all hell breaks loose. Use the SUV, it has darkened glass and bulletproof windows plus it has a phone. Keith, make damned sure you aren't followed and I'll call you with flight information on Alexis once I have it. Now go!"
Mike watched as Keith left, stomping out as if he was still mad. He got into the SUV and with the help of the agents was able to part the sea of press blocking Seashore Road. A short time later Martha came out on to the front lawn and was instantly swamped with cameras and microphones. "I am here today not as an actress but as a desperate mother hoping to find her son alive and well. As many of you are aware there was an explosion last night on the beach behind this house. The local police contacted the FBI to determine exactly what happened. Several men came here last night perhaps to rob or even kidnap Richard for ransom but there have been no demands...they blew up his yacht...to lure him outside but they were unaware he could have been on board the yacht...oh no, I'm sorry...I can't" Unable to continue, crying she walked back into the house as Agent Shaw stepped forward. "This entire property is now a crime scene but what that crime was, we do not know yet. We don't have answers to any of the questions you have and we can't allow you onto the property until we are sure we've found every piece of evidence. What I can tell you is that we already have several suspects in custody and they are being questioned. The evidence we've located so far is being processed. The family has received no ransom demands so far. We are releasing a photo of the yacht explosion that was captured by Mr. Castle's security cameras. We'll have no further statements on this case until our investigation is complete, so we are asking you to leave this area and let us do our work." She ignored all the shouted questions and microphones shoved in her face as she walked away and closed the front door.
/
Meredith was finally done filming for the day. She was in her trailer, makeup removed and just finishing dressing when the film's publicist barged in. "What do you want Ricardo?"
"Hot Pink, Cara? Hardly appropriate for a grieving ex-wife."
"What are you talking about?" She stopped when he handed her a tablet, the headline read, IS RICK CASTLE DEAD? "Is this some kind of a sick joke?"
"I confirmed the story from several sources. Apparently there was a kidnap attempt but things went very wrong. He died in some kind of an explosion."
"No! That's impossible...my poor Alexis! Is my car here yet? I have to get back to the hotel at once."
He was surprised that she seemed genuinely upset. He nodded, opened the trailer door and assisted her into the limo. The door was barely closed when she pulled out her cell phone. "I have to speak to Ben Solomon immediately, this is Meredith Rogers."
The man in question was sitting in his office, eyes glued to his TV and the unbelievable breaking news. Rick was gone? The man was an amazing writer but with no money sense...he was a sweet and happy go lucky man with more charm than brains sometimes. Working with the police, risking his life instead of sitting behind a nice safe desk and writing best-selling crime novels all day. He bought property on the moon and gave away too much money as a wedding gift to a friend as a down payment on a house. Even with all his extravagant spending, there was still a huge trust to manage for his daughter. Ben's heart broke a little for the friend he'd lost and Alexis. She was such a lovely girl and he had always envied Rick's relationship with his daughter. The two of them had always been so close. Rick set up the trust for Alexis years ago to make sure his shrew of an ex-wife Meredith could not touch one cent of his little girl's money.
Ben was also not surprised that the first person that would call him after hearing the news of Rick's death would be her. He hated Meredith; she was such a scheming, shallow and heartless bitch. He had been dealing with her demands for more alimony and child support for over ten years. Ben enjoyed rubbing her nose in the fact that she signed away her custodial rights to her daughter in exchange for a lump sum cash payment. The agreement she'd signed, gave him the right to tell her to go to hell, which he had enjoyed doing many times in the last few years. Rick was such a soft touch, he would often give Meredith cash or do things for her...like finding her work, including the movie that she was filming right now in Europe. Ben smiled as he walked over to take her call. Yes, Rick always helped his ex-wife but he also made sure that Meredith stayed busy and as far away from Alexis as possible.
"Meredith, what a questionable surprise!"
"Hello Ben, have you heard? My Ricky is gone...I'll miss him so much but the most important thing is that our baby girl is protected."
"Rick already took care of that Meredith. He set up a trust years ago. All the money, property and the rights to his books belong to her. He is or was the trustee and Martha is now the successor trustee until Alexis graduates college or turns twenty-one. She is eighteen now and can withdraw funds but only for school."
"But she can't live alone, I..."
"She is leaving for college in a few weeks. Her tuition and dorm costs have already been paid. For anything else she has to go to Martha. You get nothing!"
