Under and Over Chapter 59
"Castle, what exactly do you think we're looking for?" Kate asks as Rick divvies up stacks of notebooks.
"Anything having to do with tech that could stop a heart. You heard Perlmutter. It doesn't have to be designed as a weapon, just anything that puts out a strong magnetic field. Come on, Kate. You went to Stuyvesant. When Alexis calculates what she needs to get her pick of colleges, she always brings up that the kids in Stuy and the other tech schools have to take all the basic sciences plus at least a couple of advanced science or math classes. What we're looking for should be pretty elementary physics. I'm sure the magnificent Beckett brain can more than handle it."
"My main interest in physics was how I could get the most power out of my motorcycle," Kate admits. "But I get what you're saying. I just hope this isn't a wild goose chase."
Rick pushes her hair away from her face for a quick kiss. "That would be ornithology, not physics. And the answer is here. I can smell it."
"I think that's dust and stale coffee, but I hope you're right."
Rick's back muscles protest as he suddenly springs from his spot on the floor. "Kate! I found it! Oswald didn't just research his stories. When he found out he needed a pacemaker, he researched those too. Oswald was just thinking about what he would need personally, but he was looking into the methods by which modern pacemakers could be reprogrammed outside the body. And like the inquisitive reporter he was, he dove deep. He made a note here that one company, Xiltco, had a batch of defective reprogramming devices because of a shipment of faulty chips. He said that it claimed it was fixing the problem and planned to check back later. But that was it. There's no follow-up. So, maybe Xiltco didn't fix the problem and its top dogs were afraid Oswald would investigate further and expose the company's failure."
"Or they were afraid of liability claims if Oswald reported that faulty units were still in use," Kate suggests. "Suits, especially a class-action suit, the kind my dad presses, could cost Xiltco millions of dollars."
"And using a faulty unit to take Oswald out would cost nothing," Rick concludes. "So what now?"
Kate tries to pace what little floor isn't covered in notebooks. "We can't just go charging into Xiltco with accusations. The executive suite would demand a court order before we could access any company records, and probably get the paper shredders running at full blast if they haven't already. We need to find out everything we can about the company to figure a way in."
"To the command center?"
"To the command center."
"How about if we stop by Remy's on the way for takeout burgers?" Rick proposes.
"With double fries."
"Even better."
Rick displays a website on the big screen. "This probably won't give us much, but we should be able to get the names of the major players. We can go from there. He switches to the "Meet the Team," page. "These are the usual professional photos and blurbs to make these guys look savvy. CEO, Dan Crockett, noting he's a descendant of Davy Crockett. VP, Reginald (Reggie) Smith, CFO Lyle Dickinson, Technical Director Neil Patel, DEE."
"Patel's the electrical engineer. He'd be the one to actually understand what was going on with the product," Kate asserts.
"You're probably right. But this Dan Crockett guy is trying to associate himself with an American icon. That's one method to portray oneself as respectable. Which begs the question: as the president of a company producing devices to aid humankind, why would he need to? If we're looking for someone likely to commit a scurrilous act, I'd start with him."
"He does look a little smarmy," Kate allows. "Let's check him out. Can you run background?"
"Yeah, but I thought I'd go where the nasty suspicious minds lurk, first."
"Twitter?"
"Pikers!" Rick declares hitting a few keys. "I'm talking about conversations on Yahoo Finance. Let's see what they have to say about Xiltco and Mr. Crockett."
Kate stares at the screen. "You weren't kidding about suspicious. They don't think much of Crockett or Smith. Do you see that? Grandpa Demo says they've been involved with three other companies and pumped questionable products in all of them. I didn't even know these forums existed. How did you get on to checking them, Castle?"
"I can't take the credit," Rick admits. "A few years ago I wanted to invest in a venture called Geek's Portal. It was supposed to be somewhere that fans of cool collectibles could locate hard-to-find items. The portal would take a percentage off the top, kind of like a nerd eBay. But my business manager steered me to the Yahoo comments, and I found out the guys behind the portal had done three others, taken exorbitant salaries to walk away with the money, and left the investors holding the bag. So I decided to hold onto my investment and stick to my personal collectible channels instead. But it was a wake-up call. Things can look rosy in Inc. or Fast Company and be total money pits. Now, if I blow my money I enjoy doing it. But back to our regularly scheduled program, Xiltco, Crockett, and Smith."
"Bring the Yahoo profile of Xiltco back up," Kate instructs. "Look, the administrative office is on Lex in the Chrysler Building. We should check it out, or better, you should check it out. Can you play the rich author investor again?"
"I actually am a rich author investor, Kate."
Kate traces her fingertip over his mouth. "A rich author investor who's never seen the comments on Yahoo Finance."
Rick draws Kate into his arms. "It would be my pleasure. But you know, it's way too late to schedule an appointment. Crockett and Smith probably ducked out to their favorite watering hole hours ago. Perhaps we should grasp the moment to amuse ourselves as well."
Kate presses herself against his growing heat. "And what kind of amusement did you have in mind?"
"We could conduct a little experiment in accelerating our heartbeats without the aid of artificial devices. We do have our own hot buttons wired in, so to speak."
Kate grabs handfuls of Rick's firm behind. "For someone so big on physics, you can't forget levers. Wasn't there something about moving the world?"
"If there's anything that can make my world move, Detective Beckett, it's your talented ministrations." Rick scoops Kate into his arms. "Shall we retire to the boudoir to begin our experimentations?"
"Mr. Castle, I believe that would be an excellent idea."
Morning and Kate's alarm come all too soon. "It's not fair," Rick protests. "You put in hours past your shift last night, I mean before we set up our private laboratory. You shouldn't have to check in at the precinct at the crack of dawn."
"Take it up with 1PP, Castle. In the latest directive, Montgomery got the word they're going to be monitoring check-in times. He'll have to turn in the paperwork weekly, complete with thorough explanations for any deviations from the normal schedule. He's not enthusiastic about writing those explanations. So regardless of comp time, I have to be at the precinct at start of shift. Still, there's nothing to keep you from grabbing some extra time in the sack and meeting me later."
"But the bed is lonely without you and Alexis will be up soon anyway. I might as well make breakfast. So do you have time to fuel your magnificent body with some of my special pancakes?"
Kate presses a kiss to Rick's lips. "I think I can manage."