Wrong Place Wrong Time

Chapter 53

"So where's Vulcan Simmons?" Beckett asked, as Jordan Shaw visited the loft.

"We've got him in a safe house," Jordan replied.

"I hope it's not too nice," Castle commented. "The bastard deserves to rot in a cage."

"I agree with you, Rick," Jordan told him, "but he's the witness that not only connects Bracken to the drug operations, but knows the details to enable us to bring them down. Once we have all of that, we can launch a joint operation to bring the operations and Bracken all down at once. The money will keep flowing to Bracken until then. We've leaked a story to the streets that Simmons is refusing to cooperate and that we've got him stashed somewhere for questioning. We're hoping that will make Bracken feel secure enough to give us the element of surprise."

Castle shook his head."This is like Churchill allowing the bombing of Coventry so that the Germans wouldn't know Turing had broken Enigma. A lot of innocent people died to keep a secret."

"But more lives were saved," Jordan pointed out. "Look, I don't like this any better than you do. We'll make it all go down as fast as we can. Then Bracken, Simmons, and all their minions will be behind bars where they belong. In the meantime, you two should hunker down. Captain Gates has been told that Kate is still working with a task force. We'll have units outside the loft until the operation goes down. Do you have everything you need?"

A smile ghosted at the corners of Beckett's mouth. "If there's anything Castle excels at, it's preparation for emergencies."

"Laugh if you like," Castle retorted, "but Zombie Apocalypse Survival Training Camp has come in handy. We're fully stocked."

"How about your families?" Jordan asked.

"Meredith, Alexis' mother, is doing a film in Paris. Alexis has gone with her. She's doing a paper on the Louvre for extra credit in her art history class." Castle related proudly. "Mother's got a gig on a cruise ship. I think it's a cougar cruise and she's acting as some sort of life style adviser. Anyway, they're both out of the line of fire."

"My dad's gone up to his cabin for a while," Beckett added. "No one can get in there without being seen miles off."

Jordan nodded in satisfaction. "That's good. I'll let you know when everything is set to go."

Beckett watched the door close behind Jordan and started to pace the floor with clenched fists. "Kate, take it easy," Castle counseled. "We may be waiting for days and by that time the hardwood will need refinishing."

Beckett stopped for a moment, jamming her hands into her pockets. "Yeah, but Castle, I just hate waiting. You know?"

Coming behind her, Castle put his hands on her shoulders and touched his cheek to hers. "I do. But you know there's been something else that's been waiting, something we put on the back burner during this whole ugly business."

Beckett turned to face him. "What?"

"The wedding planning. Ryan didn't really want to bring it up, but he asked me about it when we were at the precinct. Jenny is getting anxious and apparently her mother is getting really anxious," Castle explained. "We have the time now and we both need the distraction. How about if we work on it?"

Beckett nodded slowly. "Castle you know more about this than I do. I'm not even sure where to start."

Castle pulled out a chair at the table and guided Beckett to sit. He brought two legal pads and two pens and sat with her. "Okay, Ryan's told me that Jenny has had her eye on a particular church ever since she was a little girl. She's just waiting for word from us to book it. It holds about a thousand people, so it should be large enough."

"Castle, you want a thousand people at our wedding?" Beckett asked incredulously.

Castle put a calming hand over hers. "Ryan and Jenny both have very large families. They'll probably account for at least four hundred people. You'll want to invite your friends and family. I have a list of people from the publishing world I have to include and mother has all her people from the theater. By the time we finish the lists, we'll probably be pretty close."

Beckett ran her fingers through her hair. "I had no idea. How about the reception? Where do we feed a thousand people?"

Castle laughed. "We don't. A caterer or the catering staff of a hotel does. But to get a hall or a ballroom that big, we need to book ASAP. We may have to hope for a cancellation as it is, especially since Ryan and Jenny wanted to get married around Christmas and we're only a few months away. We'll have to start calling around. Tell you what. You call Jenny and tell her to book the church and then when she has a date, we'll find a reception venue. While we wait for Jenny, we can work on guest lists and figure out what kind of entertainment we want."

Beckett shook her head dubiously. "Sounds like a monstrous undertaking."

"It's true." Castle agreed. "Jordan's raid on Bracken and Simmons' drug operations pales in comparison to the complexity of a wedding. But you and I can pull this off. After what we've survived so far, anything is possible."


"Jenny says Christmas was impossible but she got the second Saturday morning in January," Beckett reported. "Apparently there's a lull between Christmas and Valentines Day."

"Okay," Castle acknowledged, consulting the list of possible reception sites he had located and picking up his phone. "Now the real fun begins."

Castle rolled his head and shoulders tiredly. "No luck?" Beckett asked.

Castle shook his head. "The middle of January may be a lull for weddings but not for conferences. So far all the big ballrooms are booked and have been for a year. I'm going to have to do some out of the box thinking."

"Castle, that is your specialty," Beckett encouraged.

"Yeah, but - wait, I think I know." Castle picked up his phone again.

"What?" Beckett asked when Castle ended his conversation.

"It couldn't be better!" Castle exclaimed excitedly. There's a Mystery Writers conclave at the Dickenson that weekend. A lot of the authors coming are on our guest list anyway, but the opening ceremonies aren't until mid afternoon and the first plenary session doesn't start until five. The ballroom will be free right after the wedding, and can be reset for the plenary later. It will also give us a perfect excuse to shoo the guests out so we can - get a start on our wedding night. I got us the honeymoon suite. Most of those guys are too cheap to spring for that. It was wide open."

Beckett threw her arms around Castle's neck, her feet lifting from the ground. "Castle, this is really going to work, isn't it?"

Castle's lips were too busy to reply.

A/N I wanted to make the date coincide as closely as I could with the original airing of 'Til Death Do Us Part.