Moment in Time Part 3

Chapter 18

The Nose Part 2

"Captain," Esposito announces. "Lanie got an ID on our vic. His fingerprints were on file from when he tried to get bonded. His brother is on his way now. You want in?"

Kate's eyes sweep briefly over the stacks of forms on her desk. To survive slogging through the paper storm, she needs as much time as she can get with real police work. "Sure. Give me a heads up when he gets here."

Hayley looks up from her conversation with Alexis. "A forged painting? As far as I know, the Van Gogh I'm looking for is real, but its provenance is a bit shaky."

And by shaky, you mean it's been stolen?" Castle inquires.

"More like raided. Do you know anything about what the Nazis did with art during World War II?"

"I studied it. I was considering having it play into a story or two. The Nazis confiscated the property of families they sent to the camps, primarily Jewish families, but anyone who opposed them. So anything valuable like art found its way into the hands of various Nazi officers and officials. After the war, the living relatives of the actual owners tried to get the art back. They met with very limited success."

"The history of this painting is a bit murkier than most," Hayley explains. "It's an authenticated Van Gogh, but a previously undocumented one. He might have given it to someone for services rendered or traded it for food. No one knows for sure. But there is a story of the Nazis snatching an assumed Van Gogh during the occupation of the Netherlands. Until recently, it wasn't taken very seriously, but then a photograph and a diary entry showed up. That led to the painting itself. After an expert had a look, it went on sale at a less than well-known auction house. My client failed in his bid. So he hired me to track it down for a second chance."

"So what would a forgery have to do with all of that?" Castle wonders.

"I discovered that the painting was due for transport by a very high line outfit, Falcon. If someone made a copy, Falcon might have wanted to use it as a decoy."

"Which would mean Falcon might still transport the actual painting," Rick realizes.

"It's possible," Hayley agrees.

Kate ushers Lorenzo Fletcher into the lounge. "I'm sorry for your loss. I wish we could have notified you sooner, but we just identified your brother's body."

Lorenzo sinks onto the couch. "I can't understand why anyone would want to kill him. He was a nice guy, you know. He got into some trouble when he was younger and never had much money. But he shared what he had. He even helped pay for my art school."

"Apparently, your brother was transporting something that the killer believed was valuable. Did he ever talk to you about that?" Kate queries.

"Justin never talked much about his work. He just said he was a driver. Everything else was confidential."

"Can you think of anyone who would want to hurt him?"

"Not a soul," Lorenzo claims. "Like I said, he was a good guy. Can I see him?"

"Dr. Parish at the M.E.'s office will make arrangements for that. I can have some officers take you over there if you like."

"After what happened to Justin, I'm not crazy about cars. If you don't mind, I'll take the subway."

"Sure. There's a stop nearby. The desk sergeant has sheets of directions. He can give you one. I'll have someone walk you down there."

"Thank you, Captain Beckett. I appreciate it."

Sweat sheens on the bald pate of Tom Gilliam, head of Falcon, as Rick and Kate question him. Kate stares across the table. "Mr. Gilliam, was Falcon hired to transport a Van Gogh?"

Gilliam's chin butts the air. "Our contracts are confidential."

"Mr. Gilliam, you're neither a lawyer, a doctor, or a priest," Kate points out. "Murder trumps any claims of confidentiality you make. Now, was Falcon hired to transport the painting or not?"

"It's complicated."

"Questions people don't want to answer are always complicated," Rick offers. "Complicated how?"

"We were contracted to transport the item. And our driver, Liam Hollister, would have earned a large commission and bonus for delivering it. But he never got the chance. Instead, someone passed himself off as one of our people. He appropriated the painting and substituted a copy."

"And then what?" Rick prompts.

"Liam told me he'd get the real article back. He did. And according to him, the thief gave it up willingly, and Liam returned the copy."

Rick rolls his eyes. "Right."

"Could you get us a picture of Liam Hollister?" Kate asks.

"There should be one in his personnel file. I'll have it sent to you."

"You called for me?" Vikram asks from Kate's doorway.

"Have you had a chance to check all the video from the murder scene?"

"There wasn't that much to check. The garage only has cameras at the exits. They're set up to catch the face and plate of anyone who tries to get out without paying. I compared the video to the photo you gave me of Liam Hollister. I found a possible match, but my image has a beard, and yours didn't. That knocks down the degree of confidence."

"To what?"

"Seventy-eight percent."

"Still high enough. I'll have Ryan and Esposito bring Hollister in. And have you got anything new on our other project?"

"Not yet. But I have several ongoing searches."

Good. Let me know the minute something pops."

"Count on it."

"Hear anything about the results of the sergeant's exam yet?" Kate inquires after Ryan and Esposito settle Hollister in the box.

"I got a text saying the results would drop at 5 p.m.," Ryan replies, bumping fists with Esposito.

Rick grins. "Then we should get ready for a celebration."

"Let's nail our perp first," Kate suggests. "Why don't you guys take care of questioning Hollister. Castle and I can enjoy your performance from Observation."

Esposito nods toward Ryan. "We got this!"

"Yes, that's my picture, and yes, I was at the garage, but I didn't kill Justin Fletcher," Hollister insists. "He said he wanted to meet me and give the painting back. He did. But when I was on my way out, I heard what could have been a shot and got the hell away from there."

Esposito rolls his eyes. "And you didn't stop to call 911 when a man could have been dying?"

"For all I knew, the sound might have been a backfire. And if I get involved in a shooting, I could lose my bond. That would mean no more commissions, no more bonuses. I wasn't about to risk that. Look, that picture shows the shirt I was wearing. You can check it for gunshot residue or blood. Your lab people can go over my car, my apartment, whatever you want. I have nothing to hide."

"We'll see about that," Ryan assures him.

"You know," Rick says, offering Kate a bowl of popcorn, "there's a faster way to check Liam's story than inviting CSU to fine-comb his place."

"How?"

"Mia Lazlo. She smelled the killer. She'd be able to tell if Liam was the shooter or not. She could probably tell you what he had for breakfast and what brand of gasoline he uses."

"Babe, we can't just have someone smell our suspect."

"Why not? The NYPD uses picture lineups and voice lineups. Why not scent lineups?"

Kate shakes her head. "I can't see Mia wanting to get near this place again. But if you can convince her to come in, I'll have her take a sniff."

Rick raises his hand for a high five. "You've got it!"