The door of the interrogation room opened softly, and Esposito brought in a tall African man, handcuffed in handcuffs. After leading the detainee around the table where Beckett and Castle were already seated, Xavier loosened the detainee and with a brief gesture told him to sit down. An insolent, smug grin appeared on the Brown man's round face, and the rickety wooden chair creaked under his considerable weight. He kneaded his iron-clad wrists and bowed his head slightly to get a better look at his men.
The broad-shouldered man to his left, with a very determined look and a faint graying in his temples, did not look like a cop at all. He looked young, though, but the man was a little aged by the wrinkles on his forehead. When he realized there was no point in concentrating on him, the African contemptuously pulled back his fleshy lower lip and shrugged indefinitely: "Say, who is this strange guy? And what the fuck is he doing here?" A big swarthy finger with a gnawed nail scratched the tip of his flattened nose, and the African man lost interest in the dude; the woman, frozen with her fingers intertwined in front of her, was of much greater and very genuine interest to the African.
This was evident in the expression of his dark eyes, and in the curly African head, apparently, the potential threat posed by this supposedly beautiful woman was somehow not settled. He licked his lips carnivorously, sucked in the air with the bitter scent of her perfume, and even leaned forward a little, staring at her point-blank.
She was beautiful, beautiful as hell, and perfectly calm. A minimum of makeup on her drained face skillfully concealed the circles under her eyes, and her sensual, well-defined lips stretched into a stern line. Her luxurious brown hair, falling loosely over her shoulders, involuntarily gave her the look of a secretary-in-charge, but her lively, dark green eyes, glowing with mysterious lights, tenaciously watched the detainee's behavior, as if trying to unravel the eerie secrets of his soul. Right, despite those penetrating eyes, the woman looked peaceful enough on the whole, and the African calmed down by sending her a dazzling smile with all thirty-two teeth.
- I'm Detective Beckett, and this is Mr. Castle," the woman introduced herself tiredly, and looked warmly at her neighbor. He smiled back broadly and good-naturedly, and the probable partners exchanged a series of sparkling glances, then suddenly became serious and again crossed biased glances at the arrestee. Without fully grasping the situation, the latter only shrugged his shoulders.
- Why was I detained? - The African felt quite comfortable, speaking confidently and even with a certain degree of superiority. - Do you have me confused with anyone else?
- No. You are a suspect in the murder of Jeanette Vardes, Mr. Savimbi! - the woman's voice was steady, but there was a steel in it. - Don't you want to make a statement?
- Why should I? - Savimbi covered his yawning mouth with the palm of his hand, and rolled back lazily in his chair. - Why do you think I was involved in the murder of Jeannette?
- What, do you have a memory problem? Need I remind you? - Castle leaned his chest on the edge of the table, and righteous fire flashed in his clear eyes. - Jeanette Vardes, 27, stripper at your bar. Her body was found the day before yesterday with a stab wound to the heart. Time of death was around noon.
- Sad, of course, but we have enough girls without her," the African made a careless gesture, as if he were waving off an unpleasant conversation. - My administrator takes care of them: hires them, fires them ... and so on. And why should I remember her?
Castle immediately glanced over at Beckett. With a rather sweet smile she opened in front of her a cardboard folder and laid out in front of the African a few pictures. Savimbi moved the pictures closer to him and carefully studied them, squinting one eye.
- Do you recognize them? - Kate watched his facial expressions carefully. - The footage was taken with a camera from your own bar. She saw the two of you cooing and chewing at the table, then kissing passionately while dancing, and finally," Kate took out another shot, "the two of you getting into her car, too. And there was a stack of pictures like that. No doubt you were having an affair. I wonder if your wife knew about it.
The African man suddenly grimaced as if from heartburn, and even sat up straight. An incomprehensible shadow flashed across his face and immediately disappeared behind his mask of indifference.
- Okay, we took a little walk," he sounded confident, "but so what? I was so fed up with the constant whims of Vardes that I dumped her about a week ago. And my wife's not the jealous type...
Castle and Beckett looked at each other, then he ducked to her ear and whispered something, and when he received consent as a nod, he rather tapped himself in the chest.
- Let me ask you a very innocent question, Jaurès: how good a hostess do you think Vardes was?
The question was simple, but there was a twist in Castle's facial expression that made Savimbi wary.
- She was neat and tidy and a terrific cook," Jorace muttered softly under his breath. - She was nothing like my wife in that respect.
- I see, but we're not here to compare your women, Mr. Savimbi," Kate interrupted his tirade rather unceremoniously, "we're trying to work. So you're still claiming innocence?
The African gave a calm, affirmative nod.
- On the day of the murder I have an alibi: a packed bar with a huge number of witnesses. I did not go anywhere, everyone can attest to that.
- Your witnesses are liars! - Castle said in a chilling tone. - It turned out that you were also a usurer, so the witnesses are also your debtors, who are defending you. And you were absent from the bar from eleven till one o'clock in the afternoon, weren't you?
Not expecting such pressure, Savimbi grunted incredulously.
- Macy's dumb talk is the least of my worries. That old fart fired for stealing groceries hates me morbidly, and that's why your attempts to smear me aren't worth a damn.
- Don't be so self-righteous, Mr. Savimbi! - Castle's eyes and voice grew even colder, and his cheekbones were livid. - We've got something for you. Something that will finally shed some light on some unpleasantly unexpected facts.
As if to confirm his words, Beckett smiled tautly and immediately clenched her teeth into her lower lip. Her left hand disappeared under the table, and her unclenched right hand rested on her lips. All that was left on the table was a lonely plastic bag containing a brass lentil button covered in intricate ligature. The sight of the familiar contraption made Savimbi slightly nervous and involuntarily grasped the cuff of his sleeve. For a few moments his fingers were feverishly probing the spot where the torn threads were tangled; then Jaurès raised his head warily, and his eyes darted to the file folder. There was something of a hunted wolf in the detainee's gaze,
- Is this your button, Mr. Savimbi? We found it under the body, and it has traces of the victim's blood on it," Castle insisted relentlessly. - You still want to be stubborn?
- I dropped it a week ago," the African said sullenly, "and it may well have been at her house. But what does that prove? Someone might have planted it on me, for I have so many enemies.
- You called her a cleaner! - Kate spoke sternly, still holding her palm to her mouth. Rick glanced at her anxiously, agonizing over whether or not to intervene, but Beckett beat him to it with a curt hand gesture. - Is that so?
Not realizing what was about to follow, Savimbi nodded warily.
- Well, according to witnesses, the victim had vacuumed the apartment just before her death, so there's no way a button ended up on the floor before the day of the murder. Also, tell us one last thing: Who in your bar is called a "torn ass"?
The last phrase struck the African man dead, knocking all his bravado out of him. He wrapped his arms around his head in annoyance and sagged in his chair, afraid to look up at the angry detective.
- Who, Mr. Savimbi? - Beckett repeated in a voice ringing with rage.
- M-me," he answered, stammering. - I was badly mauled by a pit bull last year. And how did you know about that? - Savimbi raised his head, his face a look of despair.
- From the customers at the bar. And besides, Jeannette's apartment has such thin walls that the neighbors could hear not only the rhythmic creaking of the bed and the long moans, but all the dialogue that followed. When Vardes called you names in the heat of an argument, you, in a state of rage, killed her. Didn't you?
Savimbi muttered something indistinctly and covered his face with his hands. With a satisfied chuckle Kate began to put the pictures away in the folder and suddenly frowned. Her face began to look like a sheet of parchment, a lot of sweat appeared on her temples. Castle jumped up instantly.
- Kate!
- It's okay, Castle," she said quietly but firmly, "I've got it under control.
And she grimaced painfully. Castle almost threw the chair away, pointing his finger at the African, beckoning the guys behind the glass, and he reached for Beckett's hand. The support was only useful for her to get out easier, then Kate unhooked her fingers and in a slight sway wandered to the door, somehow forgetting about a dazed Savimbi.
- Deeper! Deeper, Kate! Deeper, please breathe!
She acquiesced, taking a series of deep breaths. Rick moved behind her, arms outstretched at the ready. Ryan, who ran towards her, gestured for help, but Kate shook her head in denial. She moved slowly, carrying her rounded belly with dignity, trying to keep a straight face, and holding the hem of her blouse slightly apart as she moved.
- I don't mind carrying you to the recreation room," Rick whispered, leaning toward her, but Beckett, half-turning toward him, stopped him with her hand against his chest and protested in the same whisper:
- "No! Don't you dare! No way!
- Well, then, keep breathing!
- Okay!
From the interrogation room their unhurried way led to the recreation room. Feeling nausea in her throat, Beckett looked only to herself, trying not to notice the staff's sympathetic glances. When they found themselves alone, Kate sat down on the couch with relief. Her hands immediately laid gently on her belly, and gently stroking it, Beckett watched with a happy smile the fast-moving Castle. He literally showered his beloved with caring, questioning glances, while he himself was already clearly in action: he put an inflatable pillow under Kate's back, helped her into a half-sitting position. He took out a handkerchief, wiped the sweat from her face, then gave her some cool water from the cooler.
Kate returned the half-empty cup to him and, after taking a few deep breaths, unbuttoned the top button of her blouse. She waved her handkerchief in front of her face a few times, and Castle immediately sat down next to her.
- Kate, are you okay? - Softly, but anxiously, said Castle. - Is it kicking hard?
- Yeah," she grimaced painfully, listening to herself, "it's especially sensitive when it hits under the ribs. I even lose my balance sometimes!
- I'm always here, honey! - Rick kissed Kate on her slightly damp forehead. - And it's wonderful that he's growing up!
Castle slid his lips down her cheek, then went down from the couch to the floor, kneeling, and carefully wrapped the hem of her blouse. He gently laid his hands on her huge belly, ran his fingertips over the velvety skin, happy to see it; he smiled happily, then pressed his ear to the roundness and whispered softly:
- Baby! Your daddy and mommy are here! They can hear you! And we know you can hear everything, too!
Purring with pleasure and his tenderness, Kate ran her thin fingers through Rick's hair for a light, pleasant massage.
- It kicks hard, really hard, Castle! - she complained harmlessly, slowly running her fingers over it. - It's not even a baby, it's... it's Pinocchio!
- His arms and legs are wonderfully strong now," she said, his heart swooning at her warmth and caress, Rick squinting like a cat basking in the sun, "but the strength of his movements depends on the mood of his mother! The stronger she was...
- Wait, Castle," her fingers froze in one position, "I think I know what you're about to say.
Lifting his head from the firm mound, Rick looked reproachfully at his beloved. Kate had met that characteristic look more than once in the past few days, and so she hurriedly averted her eyes to the side.
- Kate, we all understand perfectly well, - said Castle, stressing the word "we", trying to speak slowly, weighing each word. - But the sky won't fall to the ground, and the world won't turn upside down if you're not at the station for a while.
- A while? - she asked with genuine horror. - And who's going to do my reports for me? You?
- You can do the reports at home, between the movies, gymnastics, and walks in the park.
- I don't mind going for walks! - With a doomed sigh, Kate went back to her massage. She looked so dejected that Castle stretched out in an apologetic tone:
- "You'll be back at the station as soon as the doctor lets you! You won't ignore his instructions, will you?
There was so much earnest pleading in his voice, so much tenderness, that Beckett involuntarily gave in.
- Well, I won't!
Rick was genuinely delighted, only he didn't know whether it was his "victory" or her "defeat." He wanted to see the expression on her face, but with all the humility of her appearance, Kate bowed her head so that Rick could see neither the mischievous smile on her lips nor the cheerful lively in her eyes.
- Castle," she said deliberately quietly, "tell me, please: you won't refuse me one request?
- No, of course," twisting his whole body, he tried his best to look into her low, downcast face, and Kate, taking pity on him, sat up straight. - What would you like?
- You know," she stretched out with a look of utter seriousness, her eyes up in thought, as if she were solving some global problem, "I'd really like to ...
Here Beckett paused, because Rick's eyes reflected a whole range of feelings: tenderness, excitement, attention, and, of course, what she was so glad to see always - love. Castle looked so sweet in his concern that Kate almost changed her mind, well imagining how Castle would react to her unusual request. But knowing full well how happy Rick was to indulge her whims, Kate smacked her lips and said in a dreamy tone:
- "I'd like strawberries and cream," she finished her thought victoriously, seeing the slight disappointment on his face, "and after that I'd like capers. You know, such a big jar, six pounds.
Noticing how surprised rose his eyebrows, quickly asked:
- Don't you find my wish strange?
After stroking Kate's arm, Rick hastily jumped up and hurried toward the exit, not forgetting his coat on the coat rack.
- Uh-uh, no! No, no! I'll be right back, I'll be right back...
He was almost out of the room, but suddenly turned around on the threshold and asked anxiously:
- Are you sure you're okay? Can I leave you alone for such a long time?
- I'm not alone, Castle," Kate said ambiguously, groping herself, "and there's always someone to keep me company. Well, go on," she smiled encouragingly, "we're waiting for you.