For the People Chapter 36
As soon as she rubs her fingers over the smooth warm wood of the crib and smiles at the cheerful purple and green used on the changing table and chest of drawers, Kate knows she's found what she wants for her daughter. The few minutes required for Rick to arrange payment and shipment is the longest time it takes to actually furnish the nursery. "So, mission accomplished," Rick announces as he and Kate return to their vehicle. "There's a restaurant bakery not too far from here where we can refuel you and the baby. And if you delight in the pastry offerings, we can buy some to bring home for later."
Kate settles as comfortably as she can in the passenger seat. "Sounds good."
Rick waits to drive out of the parking lot while a horse pulling an Amish buggy clops by. "You know, there are horses in the city for the cops to use for crowd control. And of course, flower-festooned steeds pull the romantic rides through Central Park. But seeing people employ horses as everyday transportation is like stepping back in time – or it would be if the Amish hadn't started using fiberglass for the bodies of their conveyances. It's as if Abraham Lincoln drove a Corvette, although one would have given him enough legroom. Can you imagine an archaeologist digging around here in a few thousand years and wondering how the tech could have become so mixed up? Maybe millennia from now they'll create their own version of 'Back to the Future.' But I can't see them improving on the performances of Michael J. Fox or Christopher Lloyd."
"Neither can I," Kate agrees. "But the case I'm handling is like a mix of old and new, too. Pulco was following Racine's old model for protection rackets and other heavy-handed methods for controlling a territory. Yet the surveillance that tripped him up required current tech like better, smaller, batteries instead of the huge wire setups undercover cops used to strap to their bodies."
"Right, I researched those for some of my early stories. They could get dangerously hot, and sometimes the batteries even leaked corrosives. No one would want that in their pants. But with button cameras and the rest, like the one I wore to the Russian card game, we don't have to worry about that anymore."
"Right, just about screw-ups in using the information we get."
"Oh! Kate! Are you still worried about Denny?"
Kate flushes. "Now that I don't have the nursery to concentrate on anymore, a little."
"You know, it's going to take us at least 15 minutes to get to the restaurant, more, if we're behind a buggy or two. You could check in with Kari to see how things are going. I'm surprised you haven't already."
"I didn't want to interrupt our little adventure, as you call it. It's been months since we had this much time with each other."
When he comes to a stop at a light, Rick leans over for a kiss. "I'm truly touched by your restraint, Kate, but we'll both enjoy the rest of the trip more if you can put your mind at rest until you return to grinding the wheels of justice."
Kate reaches into her purse for her phone. "OK. I'm calling Kari now."
"Oh, Ms. Beckett," Kari answers enthusiastically, "we found a good angle on the protection. A cop named Simkins filed several reports on business owners being harassed and threatened by Pulco's soldiers. But when nothing happened, Simkins started asking questions. The next thing he knew, he was transferred to the furthest precinct from his home and under investigation by IA. Captain Gates cleared him, but by that time he was so fed up with the constant invasions of his private life and having to commute for hours to get to work, he quit the force and took a job with a private security company. He's willing to testify about exactly what happened."
Kate can feel herself relax. "That's great work, Lautner. How's Leibowitz doing?"
"He's the one who spotted the original protection incidents."
"But…."
"Actually, I had to connect with Simpkins and secure his cooperation. Still, it's all good. We're making it through a lot of material. I think you'll be pleased with what we have so far."
"I'm sure I will, Lautner. But," Kate asks, "keep a record of who's dug into what, and actions taken, in case I need to give what you have another look."
"Will do, Ms. Beckett. Did you and your husband find what you wanted for your baby?"
"We did, Lautner, and it's perfect. But I don't want to hold you up. See you Wednesday morning."
"I'll be here bright and early," Kari promises.
"Feeling better?" Rick asks as Kate restows her phone.
"Yeah. But I'm still going to keep my eye on Liebowitz."
Rick suppresses a chuckle. "I wouldn't expect anything else."
Kate moves as quickly as she can into the small conference room where Kari and Denny have their files assembled. "All right, Lautner informed me of your progress on the protection angle. What else do you have?"
Kari is about to open her mouth, but Denny speaks first. "We're looking into a string of arsons including a resulting felony murder. Angela Racine recorded Pulco talking about burning the bastards out. Shortly after that, two restaurants and a hardware store were torched. A clerk at the hardware store died in the fire."
"And what were the forensic commonalities of the arsons?" Kate asks. "Was the same accelerant used in all three? Did the arson investigator identify a specific signature?"
"Uh, um," Denny stutters.
Kari jumps in. "No signature matching the registry. But according to inspectors' reports, it could be the same arsonist. The accelerant for all three was a paint thinner. It's very common. Anyone could have bought it at a big box store. The hardware store that was burned down also carried it. The arsonist or arsonists used candles as fuses. They were scented, but different scents. They could have been purchased separately or been part of a gift set. The burn patterns were similar but not identical. That was expected because the layouts of the buildings burned were all different. Captain Delia Burton felt that if the same arsonist didn't set all three, whoever did might have been working together. But she didn't have any solid proof. Still, they were all in the area Pulco was trying to take over."
Kate nods. "I see. Good work. Anything else?"
Kari hands Kate a folder. "Here's what we talked about."
"Great! And pick a pile of the files you haven't looked at yet and drop it on my desk. We're going to get through all of these ASAP."
Kari smiles at the first chair. "Yes, Ma'am."
In the privacy of her office, Kate studies the summary Kari gave her. Denny went through more files than Kari did, but obviously wasn't doing any deep dives. He did stumble on the protection, but despite Denny bringing them up, Kari found the real data on the arsons.
Kate will doublecheck Denny's work but depend on Kari for any vital data. Or – Shapiro did give Rick status as a consultant for big cases, and this one is pretty huge. Kate will give Denny's files a once over to see if anything jumps out at her. But if Rick isn't buried in writing his current book, he may be willing to serve as another set of eyes. Hell! With the inimitable Castle curiosity, he'll probably be more than willing. He'll be enthusiastic. And she loves working together as much as he does.
