Eleven:
Kate was finishing up the paperwork on the case she closed a few hours earlier. Between her new Captain and the new lead detective she now reported to, the job she used to love was nothing more than a fond memory. Gates and Marcum were so fixed upon rules and regulations that solving murders seemed like a secondary priority to them.
She was about to call it an evening, another one alone with a take out meal and a bottle of wine, alone and wishing that she had made better choices. True to his word, Castle called every other night with a progress (or lack thereof) update. She had tried to steer the their calls to other topics, but Rick managed to give her the same type of rebuff that she had given him for nearly two years when he tried to do the same.
She could sense that he was as frustrated as she was. He did have a few people that were helping him with his investigation of Bracken, but didn't expect any news for a while.
Halfway to the elevator, her phone rings, signaling a call from an outside line. Fighting the urge to simply let it ring, she returns to her desk and answers with a dismissive. "Homicide. Detective Beckett."
After an extended pause, a voice replies. "I don't know if you remember me. I was one of the detectives that was assigned to your mother's case... John Raglan."
Of all the people that could have called her at that moment, only William Bracken himself would have shocked her more. Quickly trying to regain her composure, she responds. "Yes, I remember you. Why are you calling me?"
"I have information on your mother's case... information that I can't give to you over the phone. Is there somewhere we could talk?" Raglan inquires, his speech slurred.
Convinced that Bracken has somehow discovered her secret investigation, she is sure that Raglan only wants to get her someplace private to do to her what Coonan did to her mother. "Why now? What could you possibly say about her case?" Kate challenges, trying to mask her fear.
"I'm dying. Consider this my attempt to right one of the many wrongs in my life. This is a one time offer. Take it or leave it, I don't care. Oh, and one more thing, come alone." Raglan replies, angered by her questions.
"I'll pick the place. Take it or leave it." Kate counters, now sure that this is a setup.
"Look lady, just talking to you puts a big bullseye on my back. If you want to hear what I have to say, then you'll meet me where I decide." Raglan replies, growing weary of it all.
"Okay. Where? When?" Kate answers, deciding that she'd talk to Rick before she would show up anywhere near the dying man.
"Tomorrow... O'Malley's Pub. Noon." Raglan replies and ends the call before she could offer any type of response. O'Malley's was the cop bar frequented by the members of the nineteenth precinct, not close to one used by those at the two-two. She guessed that it was close to his home and he felt safe there.
Gathering up her things, she finally made her way out of the precinct and towards the subway for the ride home. Briefly, she considered heading to Castle's loft, using Raglan's call as justification for her impromptu appearance, but dismissed it just as quickly. Things were awkward enough between them as it was and the last thing she wanted to see was him happy with another woman. Especially one as perfect as Jennifer.
And as much as she would like to accuse the blonde of stealing him away from her, she knew the truth was she threw him away. Why did it always seem that the only time she wanted him was when she was sure that she lost him?
X-X-X-X
It was after ten when she received the call from Rick. "We need to talk. Pack an overnight bag and I'll have a driver pick you up in fifteen minutes." The tone of Rick's voice as he spoke left no doubt that this was not a request and she quickly agrees as he ends the call. Her mind filled with possible explanations for his request, secretly hoping that they had something to do with him wanting to be with her.
Just as she finished packing her bag, her phone rang, informing her that the driver was waiting. Minutes later she arrived at Rick's apartment building, quietly exiting the limo. Any hopes of a liaison with Castle were quickly dashed as she was greeted at his front door by a smiling blonde, dressed only in what she could safely assume was one of his dress shirts.
Jennifer led Kate into Rick's office where he appeared to be studying something on his monitor. Kate declines her offer of a drink and takes a seat on the sofa facing his desk. He looks at Kate and sighs, raking his hair with his fingers. Sliding the photo on his desk towards where she is sitting, he breaks the silence. "This is worse than what I thought."
Kate reaches for the old Polaroid, examining it carefully and tries to suppress her surprise, realizing who is in the photo. "It appears that Montgomery was paired up with Raglan and McCallister as a rookie... The funny thing about it is that there are no records of Roy ever working with them. At first, I thought that maybe he had been on some sort of undercover assignment... until I saw the photo and talked to one of the old timers that remembered the three of them together." Rick offers matter of factly.
He then gestures to where Jennifer was seated and continues. "Jen has an old friend in HR that pulled Roy's personnel files. There's a gap in the timeline of nearly two years between his graduation from the academy and his first recorded assignment. The gap seems to coincide with the string of mobster kidnappings and ended immediately after the Bob Arman murder. To conceal something like this took some serious effort and from multiple sources..."
"Conspiracy." Kate whispers, shaking her head in disbelief. The timing of Raglan's call seemed ominous now and she had to wonder if somehow they had discovered what the three of them were doing.
Knowing that she needed to come clean, Kate speaks. "John Raglan called me today. Said he had information on my mother's case... said he wouldn't tell me over the phone. I tried to get him to meet me somewhere I had control of, but he refused." She pauses for a moment then continues. "I agreed to meet him in O'Malley's pub at noon tomorrow."
"You aren't seriously considering meeting him alone? The whole thing reeks of a setup." Jennifer blurts out, shocked that Kate would even consider his request.
"He's dying. Or at least he claims he is. Says he wants to make things right. I think he's trying to clear his conscience." Kate replies, looking directly at Rick to gauge his reaction to her revelation.
"The picture proves that whatever Raglan was involved in, Roy knew about it. We need to confront him about it. Then we go after Montgomery." Rick remarks, resigned that it was their only option.
"I don't like it." Jennifer offers, feeling as if she was somehow left out. "What can Raglan possibly offer that makes it worth the risk of him possibly working for Bracken? Just because he's dying, doesn't mean he wants to help."
Both Rick and Kate consider her remarks and know there's a good chance she's right about the corrupt cop. "Let me go instead." Castle offers. "I'll make sure that the place is secure beforehand and convince him to talk to me..."
"And just how do you plan on doing that?" Beckett counters, sure that he'd get nothing from Raglan.
"Let me worry about that. Rick replies with a tone of voice that signaled that this topic was closed.
X-X-X-X
John Raglan sat in the booth that gave him a clear line of sight to the front and back entrances to the dimly lit bar. Arriving an hour before his planned meeting, he was well on his way to what had now become his daily stupor. His leg shook involuntarily as he nervously looked at the doors and the clock on the wall.
Feeling the effects of the three doubles he tossed back in the first half hour, he decided to pace himself, ordering beers instead. As the old saying goes, you never buy beer, you merely rent it, and John felt the need to make a deposit in the men's room.
Upon his return, he finds his booth was occupied by man he had never seen before. Sure that Bracken had somehow found out about his meeting with Beckett, he walks past the booth and towards the front door, hoping for a quick exit.
Rick sees the panicked look on the man's face and calls out. "Johnny? Johnny Raglan? Is that really you?"
The bartender looks up from the beer glass he was drying in the nearly empty bar to see where the noise was coming from and then returns his attention to the task at hand. Raglan stops and turns to see the man seated where he was only moments earlier. "I'm sorry, but I have no idea who you are." He replies before turning back towards the door.
"Is that any way to talk to an old buddy?" Rick asks loudly enough that the bartender looks his way again. "Sit down. I'm buying." The tone of his voice left no doubt that this was not a request.
Deciding that running would only delay the inevitable, Raglan stops his retreat and returns to the booth. Holding up the empty bottle, Rick signals to the barkeep to bring two more. "So, you here to kill me?" John asks, ready to meet whatever fate he had earned.
Raglan's question brings an ever so light smile to his face as he replies. "Hardly. I'm here because you called Kate Beckett, offering information on her mother's murder."
"I've got nothing to say." Raglan responds, upset that Beckett sent someone in her place.
Rick had spent a good portion of the evening in his office alone trying to put together the bits and pieces of information that they had gathered into a plausible story. What he came up with was unsettling and painted a man that he considered a friend in a most unfavorable light.
Deciding to test his theories, he begins. "I know that you, Gary McCallister, and Roy Montgomery were part of a group of cops that used to kidnap mobsters, holding them for ransom. I know that everything came to an end with the death of Bob Arman. I also know that someone redacted any records of Roy's time working with you that means there were others involved..."
The look of shock on Raglan's face confirmed that his theories were correct, so far. Deciding to press further, he continues. "Joe Pulgotti testified during his trial that one of the three men who were attempting to abduct him shot and killed Bob Arman when he tried to defend him. Even after his conviction, his story never changed. He finally found somebody that believed him. An attorney named Johanna Beckett..."
"You seem to have all the answers mister. What do you want from me?" Raglan remarks angrily and starts to rise up from his seat.
Rick grabs his wrist giving it just a tight enough squeeze to get his attention before he speaks. "What I want from you is a complete confession of your involvement in the conspiracy that led to the deaths of Bob Arman and Johanna Beckett."
John gives him an incredulous look in response but can see that Castle is serious. "You're out of your fucking mind! The only reason that I'm still breathing is the fact that I kept quiet."
"Then why are you here? Why did you call Beckett in the first place? Look, we both know that you're dying. You can continue to be the piece of shit you've always been and spend your last days on earth sitting in a cell in Rikers awaiting trial... Or, you can come clean on everything and spend your last days lying on a beach somewhere. The choice is yours, but it's a one time offer."
The tone of Rick's voice left no doubt about his seriousness and the thought of dying in the Rikers infirmary scared him more than Bracken. "You have no idea how high this goes. There's nowhere I can go if I talk."
"Oh, I have a very good idea how high this goes. What I don't have is testimony from the people involved of the breadth of this conspiracy. That's where you come in and don't worry, the people I have are above reproach. You can either save yourself and leave this world knowing that you tried to make up for your mistakes, or go down with the rest of them. It's your call." Rick replies with a confidence that had made him a world class poker player.
Raglan considers his remarks and knows that he's telling the truth. The reason that he called Beckett in the first place was an attempt to atone for his many sins, thinking that it might keep him out of the hell that he hoped didn't exist. "Why should I trust you? I don't know who you are."
"You're out of options. And who I am doesn't matter. Come with me now." Castle remarks and pushes himself out of the booth.
Realization that he really had given up any options the moment he made the call to Beckett, he had to pray that this man was telling him the truth. It was apparent that this man knew the events and the people involved. All he would be doing was confirming the facts. John wondered if this man had similar confessions from the others already and was only using him as additional support of whatever case he was working.
Rick had nearly made it to the front door by the time that Raglan had slid out of the booth. Rick smiled, pleased that his ruse had worked and waited for John to catch up to him. Nothing was said as he pulls open the door and both men squint into the bright afternoon sun outside. Waiting in front of the bar was a grey Suburban with two men inside. Rick opens the rear passenger door and gestures for Raglan to get inside.
John slides into the seat, as Rick closes the door and climbs into the front. Not a word was spoken as the vehicle made its way through the streets of Manhattan and out of the city. The amount of time that elapsed combined with the silence of the others in the SUV has Raglan as scared as he had ever been and sure that he had made a terrible choice.
The Suburban pulls into an industrial park and comes to a stop in front of an unmarked office building. The doors open and the man that had been seated beside him in the back along with Rick exit the vehicle. Rick opens the door and gestures for John to exit as well, which he does. As soon as Castle closes the door the vehicle speeds away, leaving the three to make their way to the double doors that served as the building's entrance.
A receptionist is seated near the entrance. She looks up to see both Rick and the other man flash some sort of credentials. She simply nods and they walk towards the elevators behind her. The three get inside and ride down to one of the sub-basements. Exiting the elevator, the three make their way down a long corridor with door on either side, marked with only numbers on the jamb.
They enter what appears to be a small conference room, the only furniture being an oval table and chairs. Taking a seat, they sit in silence awaiting someone else to arrive. A minute or two passes before the door opens and their guest enters. The stunned look on Rick's face upon seeing her made her smile as she greets him with a sly. "Hello Ricky. Long time, no see."
Quickly regaining his composure, he replies. "Sophia Turner. What brings the CIA in on a case like this?"
"Special assignment. It appears that you've stumbled upon a real can of worms here." She grins and then looks directly at Raglan as she takes a seat directly across from him. "I'm here to take a deposition from your guest here and determine if it is worthy of immunity."
"What about protection? What about the sunny beach?" Raglan queries, clearly agitated by everything that has happened thus far.
"Depends on the value of what you give us." Sophia replies. "We already have enough on you to make sure that you remain in custody awaiting trial for the rest of your life. I don't know what type of promises Ricky made to you, but I'm sure that he'll keep his word... if you give us everything you know."
Six hours later, they exit the room, Rick and Sophia side by side with Raglan being led to a holding cell, awaiting transportation to a safe house. Rick wasn't surprised to learn that Montgomery had been the brains of the kidnapping crew and that he had kept meticulous records of every payoff to Bracken. He was, however, shocked to learn that it was Roy who had shot and killed Bob Arman. While Raglan explained that it was an accident, it didn't change the fact that the man he had considered a friend had killed a Federal agent while attempting to kidnap Joe Pulgotti.
Raglan went into exquisite detail explaining how the three panicked, speeding away in the van they used, only to return moments later in their cruiser to arrest Pulgotti. It was Bracken that came up with the plan to frame Joe for the murder once they learned Arman's true identity. The last thing they wanted was the FBI investigating and with Pulgotti's criminal past, he was the perfect patsy. Roy used the leverage he had with Bracken to erase any record of his time spent with Raglan and McCallister, along with an assignment to a new precinct across town.
Castle considers everything he has learned and decides that going after McCallister served no purpose and would probably tip off Bracken. No, he needed Roy. Whatever he had on the corrupt Senator had kept him alive all these years. Years that he had prospered and raised a family.
It was time for a reckoning.