Guardian Angel
Chapter 27
As Kate strides away from Interrogation, Rick catches her up in his arms. "That was beautiful! Incredible! You destroyed him."
"We'll see what his lawyer tries to do, Babe, but it looks good." Kate smothers a giggle behind her hand. "Did you see the expression on Coonan's face when I talked about him sleeping with his knife?"
Castle grins. "That was the best part. So what happens now?"
"We give Jerry Adelson as much time as he wants with Coonan. After that, he'll probably demand to have someone from the D.A.'s office in on the negotiations. That's when we nail him down, getting him to flip on Bracken."
"And in the meantime, you want to take a walk or something?" Castle asks.
"I really should be around to respond to whatever Adelson demands. But I have an idea, and we don't have to leave the building."
"After burning all that brain energy, you want to get a snack? This morning's doughnuts were delivered to the breakroom just as I was coming in. The locusts shouldn't have devoured them completely yet."
"Maybe in a while, but there's something I want, first." Taking Castle's hand, she leads him to a tiny but empty office. "This used to belong to the guy who fixed our equipment, back when the problem was a loose wire or something. But with everything going electronic, when he retired, Tech took over most of his job with maintenance picking up the rest. Montgomery likes to have his people where he can see them, so he hasn't assigned this space to anyone else." She presses a button on the doorknob. "It even locks."
Castle's eyebrows dance a gleeful jig. "So it does. And what did you have in mind doing in this little hideaway?"
Kate's hands find a grip just below Rick's back pockets. "I'm sure we'll figure out something."
Castle fiddles with the top button of Kate's blouse. "Ideas are coming to me as we speak."
"Detective Beckett," Officer L.T. Tolliver yells into the bullpen, "your suspect's lawyer wants to talk to you."
Kate rushes to open the door of the small room, a crack. "Be right there," she responds, hastily straightening her clothes and finger-combing her hair.
Castle tucks his shirt back into his slacks. "That didn't take long."
"No, it didn't," Kate agrees. "But it's probably good news. Maybe we can pick this up later."
"Perhaps in less sparse surroundings, " Rick suggests, "although this place does lend a spirit of adventure." He pulls a handkerchief out of his pocket. "Your lipstick is smeared. There, that's got it. Go get 'em tigress."
Kate opens the door to Interrogation while Castle takes up his post in Observation. "Mr. Adelson, I take it your client has something to say."
"My client has a lot to say," Adelson declares, "but not just to you. Get the D.A. in here, and I mean Lou Karnacki, not some pissant A.D.A. What Mr. Coonan has to say will blow a hole in the fabric of this city and maybe this country."
"Considering the miracle your client is going to need, Mr. Adelson," Kate replies. "you'd better hope that it does. I'll discuss your request with my captain."
"What did Karnacki say?" Kate asks as Montgomery puts the receiver of his landline back in its cradle.
"That he's only going to take the meeting because we go back so far and if it doesn't pan out I'm going to owe him a bottle of 50-year-old single malt. Also, he wants to wait until we have more from the lab. As soon as C.S.U. gives us the high sign on the D.N.A., he'll set a time for a meeting with Adelson and Coonan."
"That won't be at least until tomorrow, maybe longer," Kate protests.
Montgomery runs his palm over his increasingly higher forehead. "That's the deal, Beckett. And after what you pulled, you're lucky you're still in the mix. So, go home and get Castle out of here too. I'll let you know when the lab results come back and when Lou and I set the meeting."
"Sir, I can't just sit around."
"Then go to the gym, take a walk, climb the Statue of Liberty, I don't care." He pulls a sealed envelope out of his drawer. "Your letter of reprimand. If the deal with Coonan goes the way you hope it will, this goes in the shredder. Now grab that shadow of yours and get the heck out of here."
"Yes, Sir."
"A couple of days!" Castle repeats incredulously.
Kate sighs. "Maybe longer. We're lucky Montgomery and Karnacki are old friends, or we might not have gotten the meeting at all. I can't remember ever seeing the D.A. come to the precinct. Let's just go, Castle. OK?"
"Whatever you want. Can I buy you a hot dog? There's a Nathan's vendor set up right down the block."
Kate tugs her purse out of the drawer of her desk. "No thanks, Castle. I lost my appetite."
"You want to go back to your apartment?" Castle asks as they leave the building.
Kate shrugs. "To be honest, Rick, I don't know where I want to go. All the notes on my mother's case at my apartment will just make the time waiting more frustrating."
"Then come back to my loft with me. Alexis is at school and will be going to Math Team afterward. She's hot and heavy into practice for the semi-finals."
A smile hints at Kate's lips. "Good for her."
"And Mother's tutoring some ingenue in stagecraft," Rick continues. "We'll have the place to ourselves. We could watch something soapy and immerse ourselves in someone else's troubles, or get lost in an adventure on one of the movie channels. I get them all."
"All right, Castle, but let's walk. I can use the air."
"Yeah," Rick agrees. "Me too."
"F***ing Coonan!" Bracken slams his fist on his desk. The idiot had to get himself caught. If he opens his mouth… The pol takes a breath. Obviously, the fumbling hitman hasn't said anything yet, or the press would be breaking down Bracken's door even before the D.A. worked out a way to charge him. The N.Y.P.D. leaks like a sieve, something he's always used to his advantage, and a scandal about a high official would be big news and all over social media before it even hit the mainstream press. Well, so far, so good. If he can get Coonan taken out before he spills, he can salvage the situation. Maddox is in D.C., but it shouldn't take long to get him to New York. He should have sent him the moment Coonan started screwing up. And Maddox will enjoy taking out Coonan, and whoever else requires elimination. He always savors his assignments.
Castle brings up the guide for his satellite service and hands Beckett the remote. "Pick whatever you want." Rick reaches under the couch to pull out a plastic storage box. "I have Raisinettes, Milk Duds, Good & Plenty, Hershey's kisses, and M&M's. I also have three flavors of ice cream in the freezer. What's your pleasure?"
"Can we start with the ice cream?" Kate wonders.
"Of course. Chocolate, vanilla, or potato chip fudge?"
"There's really an ice cream flavor called potato chip fudge?"
"I admit it sounds a little strange. But once you try it, you'll be a believer." Castle asserts.
Kate spies Johanna shimmering into sight. "Castle, you'd be surprised at what I can believe."
