Under and Over Chapter 57
"Earth to Castle," Kate calls as Rick sits cross-legged on a small patch of floorspace reading one of Oswald Poindexter's notebooks. "Did you find his current story?"
"No, but I'm reading about his adventures in Chad. You know we had special ops there with no revelation to the American public. This is about a ranger who got killed and how the military tried to sneak his body back into the US. I bet there's enough in these notebooks for 10 or 20 Storms, maybe more. There are stories Rook might go after too."
"That's great, Castle, but what we need now is information on his current case."
Rick regretfully closes the notebook. "Yes, Ma'am. I'll keep looking. But he puts titles on these things, not dates. I'm not sure what to look for, but I guess I'll know it when I see it."
"Even for you, it would take hours, maybe days, to skim through all of this. Maybe we can short-cut it by getting Oswald's notes from the Reporter," Kate suggests. "Boss Bennett ought to be back by now."
"Good point," Rick allows. "We can always come back here."
Kate flashes a teasing smile. "And you can't wait."
"Oswald Poindexter will be sorely missed. I've instructed Ms. Lincoln to give you whatever you need to investigate his death," Hugh Bennett announces to Kate and Rick.
"I've already pulled the files," Robbie adds. "As I told you, there isn't much. But I hope it helps."
Rick reads over Kate's shoulder as she pages through the spare contents of three folders. "Stop, Beckett! Look at that, at the bottom of the page. I know that name, Kurt Carson. He's an ecologist at Columbia who writes books on the destruction of the environment. Alexis asked me to get her an advance copy of his latest one so she could use it in a paper for AP Bio. It looks like Oswald was trying to set up an appointment with him. BT, that could mean book tour. I think his book was officially scheduled to come out last month. He could be back in the city by now."
"Kurt Carson," Kate repeats. "It shouldn't take much to find out if he's in town. I'll call Columbia."
"There may be a faster way than going through the university bureaucracy," Rick suggests. "Book agents like Paula have a network of sorts. They keep track of what's going on out there and what's selling. She could probably find out with a short phone call or two. I'll call her right now."
Rick grins as he ends a call. "Carson flew back to New York yesterday. He's doing a book signing at The Strand in the East Village tonight. We can catch him there. I could probably even squeeze in a little more time with Oswald's notebooks before we go."
Kate rolls her eyes. "Castle."
"I spotted a vendor that sells those pretzels with the brown mustard down the block from Oswald's apartment. I'll buy you one to enjoy while I peruse Oswald's insightful observations. Just don't get any mustard on the notebooks."
"I know better than to contaminate potential evidence, Castle. So should you. And I want a root beer."
"Your wish is my command."
"Detective Beckett, Mr. Castle, I'm very sorry to hear of Oswald Poindexter's passing," Kurt Carson declares. "I recall that he was trying to arrange a meeting with me. But between making sure the research in my lab would proceed on schedule in my absence and fulfilling the demands of my publisher, I couldn't accommodate him."
"Do you know what he wanted to see you about?" Kate presses.
"He said it related to some of my earlier work on the presence and effects of endocrine disrupters in groundwater."
"Endocrine disrupters, substances that act like hormones?" Castle asks. "Like some pesticides?"
"That's right," Carson confirms.
"Did Mr. Poindexter mention any particular pesticide?" Kate queries.
"Several, but he seemed most interested in Clumdax."
Rick's lips purse in a sharp whistle. "Bingo!"
"Dr. Carson," Kate continues, "do you know of any labs that would be running EPA testing for Clumdax?"
"I know of several," Carson acknowledges. "The majority of them are in more agriculturally intensive states. However, there is one in the city, Armisen labs, out in Queens. It primarily analyzes for volatile organic compounds and fluorochemicals these days. But it still contracts to test for pesticides. That would include Clumdax."
"Who's the big kahuna at Armisen?" Rick inquires.
Carson chuckles. "I believe Dr. Fredricka Marsden is the laboratory director. But if you want to know about Clumdax testing, you might have better luck with Senior Analyst Diane Brodsky. She did post-grad work in my lab and wrote her thesis on the detection of pesticides in groundwater."
Kate nods as Castle jots down the name. "Thank you, Dr. Carson. I appreciate you giving us your time."
"Mr. Poindexter's article would have been important to protecting the environment. Detective, Mr. Castle. I hope your investigation will help make the information public."
"I'll see that it does," Castle pledges.
"It's been a long time since your pretzel. How do you feel about dinner?" Rick asks as he and Kate leave The Strand.
"What did you have in mind?"
"The Inglenook is a short distance from here. Crackling flames in a huge fireplace, slow-cooked comfort food, a dessert tray to die for, just the place to spend a cozy winter evening."
"The Inglenook is usually booked solid weeks ahead. How are you going to get a reservation?" Kate wonders.
"I featured it in my first Storm book, remember?"
"Right. Derrick Storm and Clara Strike had a romantic dinner there just before they captured an enemy agent."
"Uh-huh. That fictional dinner is one of the reasons the Inglenook is packed every night. The Ledger's food critic read the book and discovered the place. His review doubled their business. Since then, we have an arrangement. I can always get a table." Rick offers his arm. "So, are we on?"
"We're on."
Diane Brodsky nods thoughtfully. "Clumdax in groundwater. Yes, A Mr. Poindexter did contact me on that subject. But he wanted to know about analyses that were done on a confidential basis. We have clients from upstate that monitor the conditions on their own properties. Those results aren't available to the public."
"How about EPA samples?" Kate asks. "Do you ever run those?"
"We're not running them currently, but we did complete a contract a few months back."
"Were there any unused samples?" Rick queries.
"Normally, we run them all. But occasionally we disqualify one if it appears it could have been compromised in some way."
"Compromised in what way?" Rick probes.
"Sometimes ampules have tiny cracks or flaws, not enough for them to break open, but with the possibility that the concentrations might be slightly altered through evaporation."
"Altered by how much?" Rick questions.
"No more than a few percentage points. But as I said, we don't run them."
"But they'd still be in the same ballpark?" Rick presses.
"We've checked that out on occasion for our own information. Any loss of liquid would be minimal. Contaminant concentrations in the compromised samples would be in the same general range as the undamaged ones." Brodsky explains.
"What happens to the compromised ones?" Kate inquires.
"They go into a canister as part of our regular hazardous waste protocol. We have to ship the containers to an appropriate facility within 90 days."
"So for three months, someone here could get their hands on a sample like that?" Castle asks.
Brodsky's brows lower in a skeptical stare. "Mr. Castle, I very much doubt that anyone would want to raid a hazardous waste canister."
"What facility takes the canisters?" Kate asks.
"For the last year, I believe we've contracted with Nilk Brothers Disposal. Their decals are on the containers. But I don't handle the contract, so that's all I know."