Couples

Chapter 136

Jack makes another pass through the contents of Azra's envelope. It holds three Russian oligarch's names he can recognize instantly. Some of the operatives, however, are unfamiliar to him. "The next generation," he mutters to himself.

Russia's top bear gifted or at least allotted much of the wealth he raided from his country to his pals, creating a hand-picked ruling class. As the kleptocracy solidified, agency briefings touched on the irony of a new cadre of rich and powerful controlling the assets of society that claimed to be classless.

Some of the young and eager agents even suggested touching off another revolution. But after Honduras, Cuba, and Iran, the leadership judged interference that blatant to be a nonstarter. From experience, Jack agreed.

Years before Richard was born, Jack had been young and eager himself, too eager. He played a small role in installing the Shah at the head of Iran's government. It was years before he realized that he'd helped light the match to a slow-burning but very destructive flame.

His missions now tend to have a lot less fallout. But whether the agency knows it or not, he's not flying solo. And Azra understands as much, if not more, about the worldwide intelligence structure as Jack does. So together, they'll do what they can, not only to dig into a murder but to address the bigger picture.

Still, Jack's first step will be to uncover whatever Russian lackey made the kill. Azra's list will help with that – a lot.

"Have you heard from your father yet?" Kate asks, crunching the crisp turkey bacon Rick placed on the counter in front of her.

"Literally, three words: 'Working on it.' So what are you going to do until he gives us something more to go on?"

"Go back to my original list of suspects, starting with Melissa Stone. Whether the Russians are involved or not, it's possible, if remotely, that she killed Lenore. And it's more probable that she sent someone to do it. So I'm going to look into her movements and her associations."

"You may hit the slimy wall of her army of lawyers," Rick points out.

"I've found the chinks in walls like that before," Kate insists. "And if Stone isn't involved, she probably won't bother spending the money to block my investigation. Then I can scratch her off the list pretty quickly."

"Listen, I know you're right in the middle of this case but have you asked Montgomery about getting some time off before Christmas? It's getting close. I know we agreed on family only, but it's still a big deal. The tree is on the way, and I have a bunch of unbreakable ornaments in storage that I used on the bottom branches when Alexis was little. Still, decorating will take a while. And Lily's seen her share of Christmas commercials. She doesn't understand what it's all about, but she's getting more excited every day. It won't be her first Christmas, but it will be the first one she's aware of. If possible, she should have her Mama around for whatever festivities there are."

"You're right," Kate agrees. "I said something to the captain right after Thanksgiving, but we got busy. And if Nestor Pettigrew decides I'm not working as fast as I can on his sister's murder, he may say more than a few words of his own."

"Yeah, I get that. And he'd have every right to," Rick concedes. "But maybe my father will come through, or you'll get lucky with Melissa Stone. Fingers crossed." A plaintive mew pierces the air of the loft. "Hmm. I already fed Felicia. She's probably lost her mouse toy again. For a predator, she's not much at tracking her prey. If we had real mice, she'd be useless."

"If we had real mice, you'd be on the phone to the exterminator," Kate guesses.

"Maybe," Rick acknowledges. "Lily more or less understands that Felicia is attacking an inanimate object. But if we had live rodents, we'd have to convince her that we weren't trying to kill Mickey or Minnie. God, do you think she's going to be a vegan?"

Kate shrugs. "I guess we'll cross that bridge if we come to it. But it's going to be a while before she realizes that those bits of turkey or chicken and those toddler nuggets she loves come from real birds."

"Are you sure about the nuggets? I've never seen a part of a bird that looked like that," Rick teases.

Kate pokes his arm."Maybe not the nuggets. But wait until she finds out that a Christmas ham could come from one of the three little pigs."

Rick winces. "We humans may all end up vegans. And what would she think of Felicia eating meat? Oh, life's contradictions and complications."

"Let's deal with the complications in front of us right now," Kate advises. "I need to get to the precinct. I'll let you know what Montgomery says. And let me know if you hear anything."

"Roger that," Rick promises.

For Christine, interviewing line cooks is a first. She hadn't expected it to happen so soon, either. But Mark put the word out, and several hopefuls were at the door before Imagination Patch opened. The first admitted that he was there because he'd heard that the restaurant paid more than the going starvation wage. Christine sympathized. She'd been in the same position herself. But she wanted someone who would love creating the meals as much as being able to pay for their own.

Spending that much time talking to potential workmates was putting her behind in prep. Fortunately, the fourth applicant, Mindy Goldfarb, twigged to her dilemma and offered to help while they talked. It was the first chance Christine had to properly evaluate a candidate in action, and she jumped at it. Besides, she really needed the assist.

Mindy's knife skills were adequate, nothing to write home about, but she could make the cuts Christine needed for her stir-fries. It was Mindy's attitude that impressed her potential boss. She never stopped working, and when she finished what Christine gave her to do, she looked around for more chores. To Christine, Mindy was a godsend. She'll have to run her choice past Mark and, of course, Ben. But she can finally see her way to catching a breath now and then – and having more time with the executive chef.

"What's with you today?" Ryan wonders when Esposito uncharacteristically drops a stack of papers.

"I got a call from Voulgaris," Javi confides.

"The jeweler I sent you to? Did you order a ring for Bambi?"

"Keep your voice down, Bro," Esposito urges, scanning the room to see if anyone heard. "I don't want anyone else to know until I find out what she says. The ring is ready. So if we get off on time, I can pick it up. But I'll still have to figure out where to propose."

"I thought about that a lot with Jenny," Ryan admits. "I even asked Castle. He thought I should go big like a hot air balloon or something. But Jenny doesn't care about stuff like that, just how we feel about each other. You remember what happened. All I had to do was ask. And all you'll have to do is ask Bambi. If she loves you, she'll say yes, no matter where you are."

"I guess you're right," Bro," Esposito concedes. "Still, I want to take her somewhere nice for dinner or something. But first, I've got to get to Voulgaris' store before he closes. So let's hurry up and get through all this paper."

Ryan points at the sheets still on the floor. "We'll have to pick it up first."

Esposito's lips twitch as he crouches. "Yeah, I guess we will."

"You're sure you want to hire Mindy Goldfarb?" Mark presses Christine. "I looked through all the resumes, and she had the least experience."

"I know, Christine acknowledges, "but I think she'll do the best job."

Mark shrugs. "You're the one who'll have to work with her. Fine. I'll get the paperwork started."