Life Goes On

Chapter 54

Milton Archer sat smugly across the desk from Toni Gonzalez while she watched a video of Jared Gable's confession and thumbed through his Interpol file. "Let me get this straight, Mr. Archer. These materials were delivered to you anonymously and at roughly the same time, this Jared Gable was dropped on the doorstep of the FBI. And you don't have any idea who's responsible."

"That's correct Ms. Gonzales," Archer confirmed, "I can only conclude that someone wanted to see justice done and clearly justice does not include prosecuting Hayley Shipton for a murder committed by Jared Gable."

"These materials don't prove Ms. Shipton's innocence, Mr. Archer," Toni asserted. "The confession could have been faked or coerced and unless there's a murder in his criminal history, there's no pattern, so it's irrelevant."

Archer settled back in his seat and smiled. "Well that's the wonderful thing about our justice system, isn't it Ms. Gonzales. I don't have to prove anything; you do - and beyond a reasonable doubt. I just gave you a pile of doubt more than big enough to convince any jury. You and I both know that if this case goes to trial, a very well publicized trial given Richard Castle's involvement, you will lose. All in all not a great career move for you. I plan to offer a motion to dismiss all the charges. Don't oppose it. You'll be doing yourself a favor. With that, Archer brushed an invisible piece of lint from his perfectly tailored suit, rose smoothly from his chair, and left.


In deference to Kate's tastes, Lanie had decked the baby shower in the basement of The Old Haunt out not in pink, but in a deep purple. Other than the changing table, the presents were minimal, with most of Kate's friends well aware of the Castle's ability to provide abundantly for the impending blessed arrival. The cake, however, was huge, the drinks and junk food plentiful, and the games in full swing. After Hayley's triumph at dolly hot potato, Kate presented her with a gift certificate for a burger at Remy's. "Glad you could make it here, Hayley."

"I'm glad I could make it anywhere besides gaol," Hayley replied. "I expect Gable won't be anywhere else for the rest of his life. And Hunt did send me a message saying Gable's compatriots had been rescued, but they have a few matters to answer for themselves."

"My father-in-law does seem to be able to pull off improbable things, whatever his methods," Kate commented.

"Indeed," Hayley agreed.

"Baby charades," Lanie announced enthusiastically. "Choose your teams!"

"Oh, I wish Castle was here," Kate lamented. "He is really good at charades. No inhibitions at all."

Hayley laughed. "I've noticed. What is Castle doing today? I thought he'd stick his head in somehow. It is his bar."

"He has a book signing. His contract with Black Pawn obligates him to a minimum number and he wanted to schedule them before the baby is born. He'd hoped to finish them before now, but he couldn't fit them in."

"Because he was busy helping me," Hayley surmised.

"Only partly," Kate offered. "He's been working on three different books. He usually used to just work on one at a time, two at the most. But he's been trying to build up a backlog for Gina so he'll have more time with the baby in the early months, when they both need it."

"I've spent enough time with Alexis to know Castle's one hell of a father," Hayley observed.

"Um hm, he is. When he first started following me around, I really thought he was an immature obnoxious brat, but when I saw how he was with Alexis, it revealed a whole new side of his nature. I think that's when I first started to fall in love with him, But if you tell him that, I may ask the guys at the Twelfth to find another reason to arrest you."

"I get the message, Kate," Hayley laughed. "Oh I think Lanie is going to call us to be a team on the next baby word."

Kate shook her head. "Baby words. Not my forté. Now I really wish Castle was here."


Castle felt as if he'd stitched his smile to his face. It wasn't as if he didn't enjoy meeting his fans. He did. They often proposed insights on passages in his books that had never occurred to him when he was writing them, but gave him some cause for thought. In particular, several of the fans wanted to discuss Derrick Storm's father. He was a relatively new character, since Castle had based him on his own father - except in many ways he was Hunt in reverse. Other than his looks, Carl Storm was everything Jackson Hunt was not. While Jackson had been absent, Carl stood by his son. While Hunt's ethics could charitably be called questionable, Carl's were unimpeachable. Castle had written about the father he wished he'd had and the father he wanted to be. The praise flowed from the fans' mouths as if Carl was the real person, something that on that day, Castle found a little disturbing.

As grateful as Castle was that Hunt had saved the day for Hayley, his blithe acceptance for blowing people up whenever it seemed expedient, once again gnawed at Castle's gut. Despite Kate's reassurances, Castle had felt that strain of ruthlessness flow through his own veins, and Kate knew it. She had heard Douglas Stevens' screams when Castle tortured him for the location where a kidnapped Alexis had been taken. She'd seen him pump bullet after bullet into 3XK without hesitation. And she knew that Castle had finally trapped Jerry Tyson into being the target of Esposito's fatal shot. She'd even seen Castle hit Hal Lockwood so hard that he put hairline cracks in several of his own knuckles. Kate accepted all of that, even respected it, but Castle wasn't so sure he accepted it himself. He wondered if the day would come when whatever instincts his real father had passed on would be unleashed one time too many.

He'd never hit Alexis, just the idea of it made his stomach roil. BG would be safe with him, of that he was sure. But every so often anger surfaced, as it had after Kate left him to go chasing after LokSat. He hoped he channeled it through his characters, especially through Colin. The thoughts he suppressed and the words he had always been afraid to utter would flow through Colin's mouth. There was a catharsis in that he could never feel with Storm or Rook. The chance that path would be his way into the future was both thrilling and terrifying. He wondered if the lines of people so anxious for his smile and his signature now, would follow him down that road. He hoped that they would, but he knew he couldn't count on it.

A nubile young thing was next in line, her assets straining the bounds of her sweater. Once, Castle would have been delighted to return her flirtatious glance and even write some double entendre inside the cover of her book. That time had passed. His fingers were cramping and his shoulder ached. He just wanted to go home. He only hoped the shower would be finished and his wife would be there when he finally arrived. The look in her eyes was the only welcome he needed or wanted to see.