Beckett Behind Bars
CHAPTER SEVEN
All standard disclaimers apply
Kate and Valeria were now headed for the prison store so that Kate could see how it worked.
Once there Kate was surprised how small it actually was, but was impressed by how well laid out it was. But it was easy to see why they would have a problem keeping items in stock.
Kate noticed, that they had a selection of used paperback books. When she asked about them she was told that inmates buy the books, then sell them back to the store to be resold to someone else. Of course the one selling the book back only got a fraction of what they paid for the book initially.
She glanced over the titles and was pleased to see a well-read copy of Heat Wave. Kate looked at the price and was flabbergasted. They wanted as much for the used paperback as a new hard cover would cost. She bought it anyway.
When Kate complained, Valeria just laughed.
"The store does fairly well for itself. It definitely makes a profit." They had reverted to speaking Russian while out in the open.
"A profit! This is highway robbery." Kate was smoldering.
Val chuckled. "Why are you buying a book about a cop?"
Kate gave her a raised brow. "How do you know it's about a cop?"
Val rolled her eyes. "Kristoff had several of that writer's books."
Kate couldn't help but smile. "Really, isn't that interesting?"
"He's a man, and he likes to read the sex scenes." Val stared at her.
"So do I." Kate had to bite her lip to keep from laughing. Val just shook her head.
They wandered around a bit, but it didn't take long to be able to see pretty much all that they had to offer. Val grabbed Kate's arm and pulled her aside.
"Do you see that woman currently at the cash register? Kate nodded. "Go ask her for Ruby Red lipstick." Kate frowned, then shrugged her shoulders and went over to the woman cashier. What would a woman in prison need lipstick for?
Kate stood and smiled at the woman until she got her attention.
"Yes, can I help you?"
"I would like some Ruby Red lipstick."
The woman shook her head. "I'm sorry, but we don't carry any ruby red lipstick."
Kate came back to where Val was standing with a confused look on her face. "She said they don't carry Ruby Red lipstick."
Val nodded knowingly. "We'll come back later."
The pair moved down the hall until they were facing the Stylist/Barbershop. There was only a single chair, which was occupied at the moment by a long haired inmate who was currently getting that long hair cropped really short. Kate frowned at the crude and fast method the 'barber' used.
"Not exactly a delicate touch." Kate noted.
Val shrugged. "With as many appointments as she gets, speed is her most valuable skill." Val reached up and ran her finger over Kate's tiger tattoo. "You might be well served to get an appointment soon, or by the time you'd be able to get an appointment your little kitty kat might be buried under a dark fuzz." She laughed.
Kate just frowned at her.
They walked on and peaked into the library. Kate was immediately entranced. There were shelves and shelves of books lining all the walls. There were several couches and plush chairs strewn about the room. In the center of the room held a simple low table which held several pitchers of water, with ice, and stacks of paper cups.
The reader inside her was greatly disappointed at how few women were in there taking advantage of this wonderful asset that they had.
"Why are so few women using such a great opportunity?" She walked along and looked over several of the titles. From classic novels and other fiction best sellers, to various books on a myriad of subjects. They even had several types of text books.
"If it doesn't have a lot of sex in it. Most of the women here aren't interested."
Val shrugged again as she put her hand on Kate's elbow. She led them out of the library and back into the hallway back toward the store.
They were standing in front of the fairly busy little convenience store. Kate noticed that a different woman was behind the cash register this time.
Val nudged her. "Go ask her for Ruby Red lipstick."
Kate didn't question, she went up to the gal. "Excuse me, do you have Ruby Red lipstick?"
The gal did a quick look in either direction before addressing Kate. "I'm sorry we are currently out of that product, but I can accept pre-payment for that item and you can pick it up when our stock is replenished."
Kate stood there and tried to act like she was making up her mind. "No thank you, I'll try another time." The woman gave her a strange look as Kate moved off toward a display of stationery.
Kate walked away. So that's how they deal drugs within the walls of a prison. It was scarily clever.
When she was back in the hallway she noticed that Val was missing. A frown stuck on her face Kate began to wander down the hallway.
Less than a minute later, Val came out from the little post office carrying another 'box of chocolates'. She slid easily in stride with Kate as the two of them move toward the stairway to the second level walkway. It was getting close to the 4:00 conversion of the gym floor to the dining room for the two dinner shifts.
Time to head back to their cell.
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Since they didn't have anything to work off of yet. Rick decided to go home and look into someone else. Since Martha had moved into her little place above her school and Alexis was in the dorms at Columbia, the loft was a bit lonely now.
Lately that emptiness had been filled with Kate staying here most of the time. It hadn't been all that long since they decided to 'be' a couple. She now had about half her clothes here at the loft and brought more over every day.
That's not to say that they didn't spend time at her apartment anymore. They spent a decent share of nights there also. It was just that they had more room in his bed for 'experimenting'.
Kate herself, declared his special order mattress with the Egyptian gabillion thread sheets as the most comfortable place to have sex she could ever imagine.
Castle, of course, took umbrage at her declaration. He tried to place much of that comfort with his masterful love making. Kate would look at him and smirk, then just toss off a remark like, 'you're pretty good too'. Then she'd giggle. Kate Beckett giggled!
Rick booted up his trusty laptop and began looking for whatever he could find on Kodiak Shipping.
After nearly a half an hour of mostly pointless searching all he could come up with was an address and a common, bland statement saying that Kodiak Shipping was a company founded by Russian immigrants who came over to the United States about 15 years ago. There was some more drivel about hard working people starting a company that they and their families could look back on and be proud. Castle nearly retched.
On a whim, Rick decided to call one of 'his guys' that he'd hadn't been in contact for quite a while. He wondered if Marty would even remember him. He shrugged. Nothing ventured nothing gained.
It took him a little while to find the number because he had to go into his safe and get out his special little black book. Fortunately, Marty's number was still in there, and he crossed his fingers that the number was still active.
Castle walked over to his desk and with the laptop still open to his previous research, he dialed Marty's number.
He was surprised that he was answered in only two rings. "Martin Kingman."
Castle leaned back in his chair. "Hey Marty, Rick Castle here. How's things going these days?"
"Rick Castle, god, I haven't heard from you in years. I'm guessing you want to tap into some of my particular genius once again."
Castle laughed. "Something like that. I'm looking to bring in a Russian character in my next book and I wondered what you could tell me about Kristoff Anitovich."
The other end of the call was silent for several heartbeats. "He's not someone you can mess with Ricky. Why do you need to know about him? I'm sure that cop you've been hanging around for a while now should be able to get you all the information you need on Anitovich."
"I don't need information on him, Marty. I know who he is." Rick switched his phone to his other ear. "You know that in the past I've had some interactions with more than a couple of bad guys so I could get the feel for the lives they live. It helped with the verisimilitude in the book."
"The what?"
Rick chuckled. "The reality. I try to make every character in my books real to my audience. It's all part of the experience. And I know you know what verisimilitude is."
"I don't know why you do that Ricky. You could just make stuff up and no one would know the difference."
Rick sighed. "I would. Can you help me? I'd like to see how life flows in a world like his."
There was silence for a few seconds again. "Look Ricky, I could put in a word for you. But Anitovich is one bad guy. He has no friends that I'm aware of. He uses people, and once they are no longer useful he tosses them aside. All he cares about is his own self-gratification and money. And not necessarily in that order."
"Hey all I'm asking is you make the contact for me. If he says no, he says no." Castle couldn't help but grin. "You'd be surprised how flattered those wise guys are to have a bestselling author wanting to 'interview' them." Castle chuckled. "They definitely know who I'm describing when I introduce the antagonist in my stories."
"Look, I still owe you, so I'll make contact for you. But don't expect much. The guy is freakin' granite."
"Thanks, that's all I ask." Castle crossed his fingers.
"If you don't hear back from me before midnight. There's nothing there. Got it?"
Castle nodded even though Marty couldn't see him. "Got it."
"Hey Ricky, just out of curiosity. You've been writing about that lady cop you've been following along for quite a while now, right?"
Castle was hesitant. "Yeah."
"Okay, so you say you do this to capture the reality of what your character is and does."
"Yesss." Castle responded carefully.
"So tell me the truth. Is that lady cop really as hot and competent as you portray her, or is there some writer's license that is allowing you to embellish her just a bit?"
Castle laughed out loud. "Marty, Detective Beckett is much more extraordinary than the fictional counterpart I write. If I wrote the truth, no one would believe me."
Marty chuckled in Rick's ear. "I'll take your word for it. Now remember, if you don't hear back from me by midnight it's a no go and I would advise that you forget it all together. Maybe you could use some other character for you bad guy… like a lawyer."
Castle laughed again. "How boring would that be? Everyone already knows that all lawyers are crooked."
"Love you too, Ricky. I'll see what I can do."
"Thanks, Marty."
Rick disconnected his phone. Marty turned out to be a man of his word. After the few strings that Castle had been able to pull that really helped Marty get his daughter out of a jam, he swore that he'd never forget and he would owe Rick a debt forever."
Now Castle just had to sit around waiting and wondering for several hours yet. Wonderful.
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Valeria had told Kate to hang back a bit as they approached cell C26. Val wanted to have a few minutes alone in the cell before she entered. Kate just shrugged and stopped in front of a schedule.
Val felt a little guilty about it since she'd pretty much given her bodyguard, the whole picture on how their little cocaine dealing scam within the prison worked. Still, she was hesitant to allow her to know where she had the stuff hidden.
She had to keep something back to establish the pecking order. Val liked the woman, but she was the one who called the shots. And if she was the only one who knew where the drugs were stashed. Then she always held the trump card.
After taking six capsules from their hiding place, Val wrapped them in a bit of toilet paper and tucked them deeply in her pants pocket. They did have a delivery tonight after dinner.
Val poked her head out the cell door and saw her cellmate standing in front of one of the schedules that hung conspicuously spaced frequently along the walkways.
"Hey, you can come in now." She had spoken Russian just in case anyone might over hear her, even though she saw no one close by.
Kate pulled her attention away from the schedule and moved down the way and into the cell.
"I see we have lunchroom set up and tear down tomorrow with cell block B."
Val nodded. "Yeah, I saw. It's really not hard work, just futzy."
Kate raised her brow. "Futzy?"
"Yeah, for crazy fussy." Val laid down on her bed. "The guards are all over you to put the tables and chairs in just the correct spots. Like everything isn't all knocked out of alinement within fifteen minutes."
Kate reached up and pulled her beat up but expensive copy of Heat Wave and began to read it for the umpteen time. They had some time to kill before the bell indicated that Dinner One was open for the two scheduled cell blocks.
Val led Kate back to the cell. Val was sitting on her bed as usual, and Kate sat in one of the chairs with her book in hand.
For prison food Kate had found that it may not be a lot to eat, but what they served was more than passable. This evening they had a slice of ham, a baked potato with butter, and a large spoonful of corn and a couple of carrot sticks.
If they were working folks it wouldn't be enough to fill the hunger, but for women who did very little physical exertion it was enough. The women who volunteered for the extra work details could purchase extra helpings if they wished.
Kate allowed herself to get lost in Nikki's case, even though she already knew who did it. She made a note to keep an eye on the store for anymore decent books she could buy. Also, she wondered if Valeria ever took advantage of the library. Kate knew there had to be a lot of books there she wouldn't mind spending some time with.
Val threw her pillow at Kate. "Hey, didn't you hear the bell? We are officially on free time for an hour and fifteen. We've got a delivery to make."
Kate put her book back on the shelf and followed Val out the door. They quickly made their way down to the main floor and headed for the library. Since the library got the least usage for the square footage it occupied, Val figured it would be the best place for an evening delivery.
She told Kate that during morning or midday, most hand offs, were done outside because the trees could serve as sight blockers. But the outside was not open in the evening.
They entered the library and found only three groups of inmates were in there. They were all spread out and all had their noses in books as they sat on various chairs and couches scattered about.
Val walked over and grabbed the first book she came close to and headed for a couch over near one corner.
Kate had to bite her tongue to not laugh out loud when she read the title on the book that Val had taken. It was a book on origami. Kate didn't think that Valeria was a stupid women, but she just didn't seem the type to fold paper into little birds for recreation.
Also anyone who bothered to notice would realize that Val was holding the book upside down.
Kate managed to grab a book of picturesque scenery. It was a photo book. The pretty pictures would occupy her while they were waiting for their customers.
Kate knew that Val was keeping track of the one guard who was sitting in one of the chairs nearest the door. But Kate kept an eye on her too. She couldn't tell what book she had in her lap, but Kate was pretty sure that it was occupying her attention since Kate could see a book marker sticking out from the pages. She probably volunteered for library duty regularly.
They sat there pretending to be looking through the books they had selected as they waited for the two gals that had hassled Val that morning.
Less than fifteen minutes had passed until the two women came strolling in. They passed by the seated guard but didn't make eye contact. Kate doubted if the woman even raised her eyes up from the book in her lap.
Kate saw Val crack a slight smile. "The M and M's are here."
Kate frowned at her. "Marie and Marsha."
Kate glanced sideways at them. "Who is who?"
Val shrugged. "Does it matter?"
Kate chuckled under her breath.
The 'M's both walked over to one of the shelves and each pulled a book from the shelf. Kate was pretty sure that neither of them even looked at the titles. Kate was able to spy the title on the book the 'big gal' had grabbed. She had a book on backyard horticulture. Kate wondered if she could even pronounce horticulture let alone know what it was.
The two of them sat in chairs directly across from Valeria and Kate.
Kate decided the short one with the attitude was Marie. Marie leaned forward with the book she had procured in front of her. She addressed Valeria.
"Have you seen this book before?" Marie asked as she pushed the book onto Val's lap.
Kate noticed that Val had a folded wad of toilet paper sitting on her lap which she must have pulled from her pocket when she sat down. She also saw the receipt that Marie had slipped in the open book like a book mark.
Val set her book aside and took the book that Marie offered. She quickly palmed the receipt and laid the folded toilet paper in the fold of the book and then closed it.
Val shook her head. "No, afraid not." She replied in her broken English.
Marie took the book back and nodded. "Yeah, I haven't ever seen it either. Oh well, it doesn't look that interesting. I think I'll just put it back."
Kate had been watching Marie and noticed that she had let the wad of toilet paper slip from the book to her hand which then wound up in her pocket as she got up from the chair.
"Come on Marsha. I'm too tired to read anyway."
Marsha, the 'big gal' got up and followed her master back over to the shelf they had taken the books from.
Val and Kate just stayed on their couch looking through the pages of the books they had selected.
Marie led the way out with Marsha lagging behind. Kate just knew from the look in her eye that Marsha just wouldn't be able to let go of the manhandling Kate had given her that morning.
Marsha leaned down near Kate's ear. "Nice hair Ruskie." She then used her fingers to flip up the shoulder length hair on the one side opposite her tattoo.
Before Marsha was aware of her even moving, Kate reached out and grabbed the hand that had flicked her hair and yanked the big woman forcibly down and smashed her face into the back of the couch.
Marsha bounced off the couch and staggered back from Kat
The thump must've been heard by the guard sitting in the corner because she stood up.
"Hey," she shouted. "What's going on?"
Kate jumped up. "Oh my gosh, are you alright?" She placed her hand on the woman's shoulder in what appeared to be a gesture concern, but in actuality Kate was squeezing the tendon that comes down from the neck painfully hard. Kate put her lips close to the woman's ear.
"If you ever touch my hair again, I will enjoy breaking every one of your fingers… slowly."
Kate looked up at the guard, and said in a loud voice. "She slipped and bumped her head on the back of the couch."
The guard took a couple of steps toward them. Kate could see that she wasn't happy to have her reading interrupted. "Are you okay?" She shouted from a few steps away from her chair.
Kate let go of the woman, but gave her a glare that was quite clear in its meaning.
Marsha just waved her hand at the guard and walked toward the exit. "I'm okay. Just a little bump. Nothing to worry about." By the time she had quit talking Marsha was out of the room.
The guard glared at both of them, then sat down and went back to reading her book.
Val was having trouble containing her laughter. She kept her face buried in the book on her lap because every time she tried to look up at Kate she started to giggle.
Kate gave her a shrug and a smile, then sat back down and picked back up the book she was looking through.
Val gave Kate a sideways glance. "So, did acting like a henchwoman give you some small bit of satisfaction?"
Kate smirked. "It had its moments."
They both stayed looking through the books they'd picked for about ten more minutes, then they put them away and decided to call it a night.
Kate had to admit that her first full day in prison wasn't anything like she thought it would be. If anyone asked her, she'd have to admit that it had been interesting.
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Rick had nearly paced a pathway into his carpet as he waited for a return call from Marty. If Marty calls back and tells him that Kristoff Anitovich agreed to talk to him he'd better figure out what he should talk to him about.
Rick remembered his interactions with a couple of mob guys. They had spoken in generalities, and colorful metaphors. Both parties knew what the other were talking about, but no one would come right out and admit to anything illegal.
Castle had no idea how a Russian thug, who seemed to have either the charisma, or simply the strength of will to organize what was a bunch of small unorganized Russian gangs into a large well run shipping company that was a perfect front for a large powerful drug based empire.
With the mob guys it was about family, and organization, and the consolidation of power. Not unlike a large corporation.
Castle hadn't been able to get much of a read on Anitovich from what little was available online and social media. Rick knew he was only in his late thirties, but unlike so many younger people, he didn't live his life on the internet.
Rick was pretty sure that Kristoff was old school. He probably trusted very few people, even within whatever inner circle he had.
The fact the one of his soldiers was gunned down, says that all was not drugs and roses. He had enemies. Whether they are coming from the outside, or are a cancer within his organization no one was speaking out.
Rick thoughts switched over to Kate. Was his meddling using the excuse of just trying to solve Chekov's murder smart? Probably not, but he was worried about her and he had a nagging feeling that Kate's undercover operation is going to involve more than just befriending a girlfriend who is currently serving time for transporting drugs. A girlfriend that's supposed to have critical information about a large drug shipment.
There were just too many suppositions that don't seem to work well together. If she actually had such important information, why did Anitovich allow her to live long enough to be put in prison?
Castle didn't seriously believe that Kristoff was so in love with the girl that he'd let her carry information that could be devastating to his business. Men like Anitovich valued friendship and love far below profit and power.
If this girlfriend was still alive and well in Belmont prison, there had to be another reason besides love. And that being true, that meant that Kate was going to wind up getting herself smack in the middle of something more dangerous than just acting as a confident to the girlfriend.
Castle glanced over at his coffee machine and wondered if he shouldn't make himself a strong cup to keep him lucid. He had to wait until at least midnight to find out if Marty was able to arrange an in for Castle to talk with Anitovich.
Just as he was about to fire up his machine, his phone rang. He instantly froze. He knew it was the call he'd been waiting for, but now he had his doubts that he should answer it.
Just a quick flash of the lovely Kate Beckett passing through his mind spurred him to action.
"Castle." It was difficult but he waited until his friend identified himself before he said anymore.
"Hey Ricky, its Marty. It wasn't easy but I was able to get a hold of Anitovich and speak to him for a few minutes. I sold him on the idea that you wanted to use some Russian characters who've come over to America fairly recently. And how they have to deal with not only the prejudice and racism, but the difficulty being able to create Russian run businesses because of it."
Rick smiled into his phone. "It sounds like you did a good sales job Marty. What did he say?"
"As it turns out I didn't have to do much selling at all."
Rick frowned. "I'm not sure I understand?"
Marty laughed. "It turns out that Kristoff Anitovich is a big fan of Nikki Heat. He's got it in his head that Nikki is actually of Russian ancestry. His words were, 'Only a Russian woman could be that beautiful, tough, and extraordinary'. He would love to meet you and discuss Russian characters for your books."
"That's great, Marty. I owe you big for this."
"Don't get too excited, Ricky. This is a very powerful man, who is used to people catering to his every whim. I'm not sure you'll be able to get him to confide anything to you that would put him or his organization in any bad light. He's not like the Dons of old, who were proud to lead the family business even though it was mafia. Kristoff is proud of his Russian heritage, but he feels that he's earned his position of power because he's smarter, and tougher than anyone else."
"Well, I still thank you, Marty. Did you try to set up an interview for me?"
Rick's friend didn't speak for several moments. "Yes, I did. You are supposed to meet him at his office at three o'clock tomorrow afternoon. I'll text you the address once I hang up."
"Thanks a ton, Marty. I don't know if anything will come from this, but thanks for the opportunity."
"No need to thank me Ricky, I owed you. But Ricky, do me a favor."
"What's that Marty?"
"Be careful."
The line went dead. Almost immediately and address was received on his phone. Rick was suddenly conflicted. A small part of him was gloating over the fact that he was able to get to talk with Kristoff Anitovich. A larger part of him was concerned over the fact that he was able to get to talk with Kristoff Anitovich.
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