Moment in Time

Part 3

Chapter 24

The Cool Boys

Part 4

"Can I go now?" Louis asks.

Ryan shakes his head. "I'm sorry. Even if you didn't kill Victor Lee, you'll be charged with grand larceny."

"But he's just a kid," Slaughter protests. "And he was trying to take care of his mother."

"He'll probably be charged as a minor," Ryan acknowledges, "but that won't get him off the hook. We need to keep him until the DA decides what to do with him. You should know that, Slaughter. You must have brought in plenty of juveniles in Gangs."

"Yeah, but those kids were killers and drug dealers. Louis didn't hurt anyone."

"But he stole a valuable chip."

"What if there were mitigating circumstances?" Castle wonders.

"Like what?" Ryan asks.

"Someone still wants that chip, and more than that, Louis' invention. Victor Lee died to keep that secret. So what if Louis helps you trap the real killer?"

Slaughter slaps his hand against Castle's chest. "Hold on there, Sherlock. I promised to watch out for this kid."

"How could you watch out for him better than by catching whoever is after him? Look, the killer has to be technologically sophisticated to want what Louis has. Whoever it is can track him, like the goons that had him before. Didn't they turn out to be Lacy's raiders? Lacy's a pretty big deal in the cyber-theft world. But someone out there is bigger. So you put Louis in a safe house, but you let him have his phone. When the killer comes after him, you nab him before he gets close to Louis."

Esposito barges in the door. "No way I'm going to sign off on that, Castle."

Castle grins. "After I call your captain, you won't have to."

"Rick, are you sure you won't be putting a kid in the line of fire?" Kate questions. "There's no way I can agree to endanger a minor."

"Nor would I ever ask you to," Rick replies. "I've got the whole thing worked out. We transport Louis to a safe house, visibly enough for someone to know he's being moved. Then, we sneak him out again but leave his phone behind. He can be safe and sound at the precinct. And when the killer traces his phone and comes to find him, the boys arrest him. The 12th gets the credit for the collar, and Louis has something to impress the DA and the court."

"All right," Kate agrees, "but I need to coordinate with Espo so that boy isn't in danger for a single second."

Rick smiles appreciatively at his screen. "Of course. I would never expect anything less."

Castle tries to send Louis his most reassuring look. "All set?"

"I guess."

"You'll be in a car with Ryan and Esposito," Castle recaps.

"And I'll be keeping my eyes on you," Slaughter adds.

"Right," Castle continues. "Ryan and Esposito will take you to a safe house. And you'll stay just long enough to convince anyone who might be watching. Then they take you out through the basement to another car, and you leave your phone for the bad guys to trace."

"Will I ever get my phone back?" Louis asks.

"It might be evidence. But you've got other things to worry about, like staying alive and keeping your ass out of jail," Slaughter reminds his charge.

"But if anything happens to me, you'll watch out for my mother," Louis insists.

Slaughter raises his right hand. "Yeah, kid. I promise."

"You know," Castle muses to Slaughter, on the way to the safe house, "I'm not sure Victor's killer even wants to hurt Louis. He is the goose that lays the golden eggs. And I don't just mean the chip. I mean his wonder tool. With Victor dead, they could never get it if they killed Louis. But whoever killed Victor must have known them both. Who set up Victor as Louis' mentor? What social worker in their right mind would put a kid who's already in trouble with a petty crook?"

Slaughter strokes the stubble rapidly forming on his chin. "That's a good question, Sherlock. When we're done baiting the trap, we should ask Louis."

"That should be pretty soon," Rick notes. "Ryan and Esposito are pulling up at that nondescript house, now."

"And they damn well better get Louis in and out fast," Slaughter mutters.

"If they don't, they'll be lucky if Kate only busts them down to traffic cops. And she won't be too happy with me, either." Rick stares at his phone, looking for the signal. "That's it. All we have to do is wait."

Castle wanders in from the break room and hands Ryan and Esposito fresh coffees. "Anything yet?"

Ryan shakes his head. "Not a peep."

"It's a bust, Castle," Esposito complains. "Got any other bright ideas?"

"Yeah, maybe I do. But I need to talk to Louis again."

Esposito shrugs, rolling his eyes. "Go ahead. You can't make things worse."

"Louis," Rick asks, "who hooked you up with Victor?"

"That was Mr. West at the Mentors Program."

"Did he tell you why he picked Victor?"

"He said that he didn't have a lot of choices. Not many guys sign up to mentor, but that Victor supported his mother, and he'd understand me."

"What do you know about Mr. West?" Slaughter probes.

"He told me he used to be on Wall Street and decided to do the Mentors Program to help people."

Castle and Slaughter lock gazes before Slaughter gives his best imitation of a reassuring smile. "Thanks, kid."

"Victor was a small-time crook. Wall Street is where the big ones hang out!" Castle exclaims as soon as he and Slaughter are out of Louis's earshot.

"No kidding, Sherlock. I had to pay a little visit once to a broker who thought he could take advantage of Maddy. Can Beckett's Indian guy do his magic to find out about West?"

"I'll bet he can."

"West worked for Lohman Brothers," Vikram confirms. "But he didn't leave by choice. He was suspected of embezzling from clients' accounts. So the Mentors Program was the only job he could get. Apparently, they were so desperate for people that they'd take almost anyone. And West was never officially charged, so it wouldn't have shown up on his background check."

"Who were his clients at Loman's?" Castle inquires.

Vikram's fingers move swiftly over the keys. "His biggest one was Booth."

"As in the fancy microchip Booth?" Castle questions.

Vikram nods. "He's the one. West administered one of Booth's personal accounts offshore in the Cayman Islands. When West left, it was worth fifty million dollars."

"That's what West was after," Castle realizes. "He didn't care about the chip. He wanted Louis' device to disable all the security in the Booth building so he could get into that account and hijack the funds. Maybe he heard Victor talking to Louis about the job. He must have sneaked in behind them. But Victor saw him. So he had to take Victor out. And the bastard was perfectly happy to let the cops think the kid did it."

Slaughter rubs his hands together. "We need to have a little talk with Mr. West."

"Just talk," Castle warns. "The DA can't convict him if he's dead."

"I'll be gentle as a lamb," Slaughter promises.

Esposito comes up behind him. "Why don't I believe that? Ryan and I will pick West up."

As Castle and Slaughter watch West break down under grilling from a newly returned Beckett, Rick turns to his erstwhile partner. "Well, that's it. Kate will hand that jerk over to the DA with a recommendation for probation for Louis. The boy came through. Now it's your turn. What about those cartel stories?"

"Fair is fair, Sherlock," Slaughter admits. "You see, there was this slimeball named Marquez…."