Moment in Time Part 3

Chapter 36

Witness for the Prosecution

Part 2

Judge Wolcott looks up as Rick charges into her office. "Mr. Castle, you can't be here. You're a witness in a case, and I'm the judge."

"I know, Your Honor, but I was a terrible witness. I want a do-over."

"A do-over? Mr. Castle, a trial isn't golf. You don't get to take a mulligan."

"But Your Honor …." Rick catches sight of the diploma on the wall. "I see you went to Hudson Law School. Isn't that ranked as one of the worst in the country? Maybe you should call someone who went to Columbia or NYU for a better opinion."

Wolcott pushes out of her chair. "Mr. Castle, I should cite you for contempt right now, but I'm not going to. I'm well aware of your friendship with the mayor. And I know you've helped bring a number of criminals to justice. So I'm going to let this go. And if you're in the courtroom when the case continues this afternoon, I'll expect you to show the proper decorum. So I'm calling my bailiff now to…."

An insistent ring from the judge's phone interrupts her train of thought. "Yes, This is Gloria Wolcott."

Martha carefully adjusts her tone to sound slightly bored. "Gloria Wollcott of Connecticut?"

"Yes."

"This is Tri-Mountain Security calling. The alarm on your home was triggered. The police responded, and I'm afraid that the officer reported that your residence was burglarized. You should return immediately to take further security measures and determine which items were stolen."

"What? OK. I'm on my way." Wolcott puts her phone down. "Mr. Castle, this conversation is over. My house has been burglarized."

"Your Honor, you've obviously been following my career. You know what I can do. I can find those burglars for you," Rick offers.

Wolcott's eyes narrow. "How?"

"Well, first, I'll need a listing of all the Hudson U students and alumni in the tri-state area."

"All right! That's it!" Wolcott sputters. "Mayor or no mayor, contempt!" She nods at the bailiff who arrived at her earlier summons. "Throw him in Holding!"

As the bailiff grabs him, Rick suppresses a grin.

Fortunately, the number of holding cells at the courthouse is limited, something Rick knew from his research. Still, he counts himself lucky to be confined on the other side of a metal mesh from Nina O'Keefe.

"Hey," Nina calls after the retreating bailiff, "my trial should be resuming any time now. What's going on?"

"The judge had a personal emergency and had to put it off until tomorrow," the bailiff explains. "You'll be transported back to Rikers at the end of the day."

"And how long do I have to stay here?" Castle inquires.

The bailiff smirks. "Until someone with some juice decides to get you out."

Rick approaches the barrier between him and Nina. "Hey, so what are you in for? Sorry, bad joke."

Nina turns away. "Haven't you done enough? Leave me alone."

"Look, Nina, I can't. I know about your affair with Sadie. We have you on video arguing with her. And the ADA knows it too. Marcus Weller can't wait to use it to bury you, and Caleb Brown won't have anyone to cross-examine to debunk it."

Nina shakes her head in confusion. "Why are you telling me this?"

"Because I was there, Nina. I saw you with that poker with my own eyes. I really thought you killed Sadie. But now I'm not so sure. So tell me. Did you and Sadie have a lover's quarrel? Did you kill her?"

"I didn't kill Sadie!" Nina protests. "I loved her. Yeah, we had a fight. But it was nothing. You saw me with the poker, but it wasn't to kill her. When I found her, she was in horrible pain and could hardly breathe. I was trying to help her. That's why I pulled the poker out. That's what you really saw."

"Then why did you run?" Rick asks.

"Because I saw you, and I knew how it looked. I panicked."

"Why didn't you tell the police that when they caught you?"

"I've been arrested before for nothing and the cops screwed me over because they didn't believe me. I wasn't going to make that mistake twice. So I thought I'd let my lawyer do the talking. But then I got stuck with Stan Novac. All he wanted to do was make me take a plea and get the case off his desk. I've never been so lucky as when his wife went into labor, and I got Mr. Brown. He's the only one who's been willing to fight for me."

Rick paces his cell for a moment. "Nina, I think you're telling me the truth. And I want to help you. You may not believe it, but on my very first case with Beckett, I kept her from nailing the wrong guy. I'm more interested in the truth than in adding another notch to Marcus Weller's belt. And I don't have to worry about looking like an idiot because Caleb Brown made sure that I already did. But I can't help you unless I know the whole story. So tell me about the fight."

"It was about a couple of things. For one, I was tired of sneaking around. But Sadie was all paranoid because her husband had caught her cheating with other guys."

Rick's eyebrows rise. "Other guys? So you were her first…?"

"Lesbian. Yes," Nina replies, crossing her arms defensively across her chest. "Do you have a problem with that, Mr. Castle?"

Rick vigorously shakes his head. "No! You should see my porn collection. But you said it was a couple of things."

"Uh-huh. You know I was on the catering staff at that party, and Sadie wanted me to use that to do something for her."

"What?"

"She wanted me to bring her Roger Masters' empty Champagne glass."

"Roger Masters? The guy who was her cameraman when she was in Iraq?"

"Yeah, him. But I didn't want to do it. If I got caught stealing, even something as petty as a Champagne glass, I'd get fired. And I'd be blackballed on the whole cocktail party circuit. So I'd have a hell of a time finding another job. But Sadie had me wrapped around her little finger. In the end, I agreed to do it."

"What precisely did you do?" Rick presses. "Walk me through it."

"When Roger finished his wine, I retrieved the glass and wrapped it in a napkin. Then I slipped it to Sadie. She took it upstairs. After about 20 minutes, I was on break, so I followed her up there to see what she was doing. That's when I found her. And then you found us."

Footsteps echo off the concrete floor, and a buzzer sounds as Ryan and Esposito approach the cells. "Yo, Castle! How'd you get your ass in a sling this time?" Esposito inquires.

"After pissing off the ADA, did you decide to piss off the judge as well?" Ryan wonders.

"She's a little sensitive about her alma mater. Can you guys get me out of here?"

Ryan nods. "Already done. Wolcott cooled down, and her bailiff called us to come to get you."

"What did Kate say?" Rick asks.

"That next time, you should probably bring a toothbrush," Esposito replies. "But she wants you back at the precinct ASAP."

"My pleasure, but," Rick turns back to Nina, "I believe you. And I'm going to do my best to keep you from getting convicted."

Nina sighs. "You're a little late, Mr. Castle."