Moment in Time Part 3

Chapter 73

Heartbreaker

Part 1

"She's texting me again," Darren Ives complains as he and his companion cross a parking garage, carrying bags from an armored truck.

"Who?" Michael Kirby queries.

Darren scowls at his phone. "Angie."

So, you going to see her again?"

Darren shoves his phone back in his pocket. "Nah, Man. I have to shut that down."

Kirby rolls his eyes. "You've been singing the blues about this woman for months. And now she reaches out her hand, and you're going to slap it away?"

"Yeah, well, she broke my heart, Man," Darren explains.

"But if it hurt that much to lose her, you should give it another shot." Kirby holds up his wedding ring. "Fourteen years and counting." Reaching out to a touchpad, he deactivates an alarm. As a door clicks open, the men enter together.

"You're right," Darren decides. "I'll give her a call."

"Nice."

While Kirby and Ives are gone, an intruder lowers himself to their vehicle and begins removing the precious cargo.

"I'll go get the rest of the bags," Kirby volunteers. The robber is retreating to a hidden perch when Michael returns. He draws his gun – but the thief is faster.

As Kate shares breakfast with Rick at the loft, a balloon pops, momentarily startling her.

"It wasn't me," Rick claims.

"Says the man with the French toast and sausage kabob."

"Which is on one of my regulation blunted épées," Rick points out. "The only thing it can puncture is my opponent's ego. But they don't make balloons like they used to. I remember trying to scare my third-grade teacher Mrs. Pettigrew and that stubborn thing just wouldn't... Never mind. This morning is a celebration of revelations – the best of them taking place in our own marriage bower." He leans across the table for a kiss.

Rick's lips barely touch Kate's when they're interrupted by the buzz of Kate's phone. "Beckett. Yeah. All right. Thanks."

Rick's eyebrow quirks. "Homicide?" Kate nods, working a piece of French toast loose from Rick's sword. "Then I would have thought you'd be halfway to the door instead of grabbing another hunk of breakfast."

"I would be, except for captain stuff. I have a meeting with the DA this morning, and he hates it when people are early. But I won't have time to go to the crime scene either. Still, you know what? You could meet up with the boys for an initial take. Then I can debrief you later."

Rick almost chokes on a sip of coffee. "I can only hope you're not talking merely about the case. All right, I'll join Fric and Frac. After your meeting, you and I can hook up in your office. Being able to lock a door is one nice thing about your captaincy."

"It has its moments," Kate agrees.

"Castle, where's your better half?" Esposito asks as Rick ducks under the crime scene tape.

"Doing her part to smooth the path to justice. I'm her eyes until she can ditch the DA. Hey, Lanie! What have you got?"

"Our victim is Michael Kirby. COD is a single GSW to the head."

Ryan points to an air conditioning duct. "It looks like our killer repelled down from there."

"He got away with $100,000 in cash," Esposito adds.

Ryan gestures toward a white-faced man staring upward at the duct. "This is Darren Ives. He was inside when he heard the shot."

Darren's voice quavers. "I rushed out, but it was too late. I don't know how the thief did it. The complex is high security. It's damn near Fort Knox."

"And you didn't see anything suspicious?" Esposito questions.

"Nothing," Darren insists. "It was just a normal drop."

Ryan points away from the body. "We'll finish taking your statement over there."

Sniffing the air, Rick begins to look around.

"Your allergies acting up?" Lanie inquires.

"No. I think I smell perfume." He walks a few steps to a gooey substance on the concrete, squats, and sniffs again. "It's coming from this. What is that fragrance? White Diamonds? No, it's Chanel #5." He uses his hands to waft the scent closer to him. "Ah, one direction body spray. I knew a supermodel once – way before I met Beckett. But anyway, that's what it is, perfumed goop. Maybe someone's been shopping on Gwyneth Paltrow's website. But I don't think she'd pay for the privilege of using Chanel. She soaks her customers, not herself."

"That stuff dropped from the AC vent," Esposito observes.

"CSU took samples," Lanie tells the men. "It's from the alarm sensors in the vent. Apparently, the killer used it to disable the security system."

"Lanie, can you ask the lab to put a rush on this?" Esposito requests.

"Why? Do you recognize it?" Rick asks.

"I've seen this MO before."

"When?"

"I should explain it to Beckett," Esposito decides.

Rick detects the sweet smell of cherries in the elevator at the 12th Precinct. "I think Kate's already here," he informs Esposito. "This morning, it's the nose that knows." He spots the lights on in Kate's office. "Yeah, she's definitely here. You'd better spill to her what you wouldn't tell me."

"I'll go check with the lab," Ryan volunteers.

"So, Espo," Kate inquires, "what's the mystery?"

"No mystery, Captain," Esposito admits. "I saw the same MO about ten years ago."

"That would have been when you worked at the 54th," Kate recalls.

"Yeah. I collared a thief name of, uh, Sonia Ruiz. She was part of a crew that stole 10 million dollars worth of gold coins from an auction house."

"And they used a fragrant gel too?" Rick asks.

"It was actually a unique blend of jello and ladies' perfume," Esposito clarifies.

"You're saying that a kids' dessert mixed with eau de toilette can foil a sophisticated security system?" Rick turns to Kate. "They'd have to leave a scent trail. The human olfactory system is good, but the canine one is better. We need a dog."

Kate gazes skeptically at Esposito. "Does the formula even work?"

"It works. Someone in the crew came up with it. The gelatin blocks the security lasers, and the phthalates in the perfume create an even distribution over the security sensors. But the mix has to be exact – eighty percent jello 20 percent perfume."

"Wait!" Rick interjects. "You said phthalates. Alexis did a report on those once. I think she called them endocrine disrupters. They can do all sorts of nasty and weird things like making boys grow boobs. Manufacturers have been removing them from their products for years. Whoever made that glop would have to have used some old perfume."

"Some women can take years to go through an expensive bottle," Kate notes.

"That's true," Rick acknowledges. "Mother used to purchase her signature scent when she was flush and ration it in the lean years. But still, someone didn't just buy that perfume off the shelf. They must have been holding on to it for quite a while. That should narrow the search down a bit, don't you think?"

Holding up a file, Ryan hurries into Kate's office. "I have the preliminary report from CSU. The goo at the crime scene was eighty percent jello and 20 percent perfume. And you were right, Castle. It was Chanel #5. It was also identical to the substance used on a heist nine years ago where the only perp captured was Sonia Ruiz."

Ryan pulls a picture out of his folder.

"Yeah, that's her," Esposito responds.

"So obviously, this wasn't a coincidence," Kate surmises. "Someone on Sonia's crew likely used the technique and is behind Michael Kirby's murder."

"It can't be Sonia," Esposito claims. "She got 15 years. She's still in prison."

"But she might know who else has the formula." Kate pushes up from behind her desk. "The DA promised me a little more leeway in trading for information. Espo, you and I are going to pay Sonia Ruiz a visit."

A/N The writers on the show apparently didn't research phthalates other than looking for chemicals used in perfume. They seemed unaware they were being removed. However, my ears immediately pricked at the mention. Manufacturers have been falling all over each other to declare their products phthalate-free. So, I added that little wiggle to the formulation story.