For the People Chapter 46

"Mr. Castle and who's this?" Valerie MacDonald asks, regarding Lily in her infant stroller.

"This is my daughter Lily," Castle explains. "I keep her with me as much as possible while my wife goes after the bad guys. As I understand it, NHWH has a similar mission."

"Not exactly. No Hazardous Waste Here actually concentrates on preventing our neighborhood from becoming a toxic dumping ground. That's our primary mission. But in order to accomplish that, we try to find out who the bad guys, as you put it, are, and go after them in court. Unfortunately, up to this point, our success has been limited. Mr. Castle…."

"Rick."

"Rick, your books have successfully gone after public menaces that their victims and even law enforcement were after for years. You helped bring them to notice and even justice. That's why I was so excited when you called. The dumping is still going on. One of our spotters saw a truck again last night."

"Did your spotter get pictures?"

"Not of the actual dumping. She didn't want to expose herself with a flash, and she didn't have a setup that would work without one. But she had an infrared scope that she learned how to use in the military. She recorded all the information she could, and then went back this morning to look for tracks. I have pictures of those, along with the size and approximate weight of the truck and the driver. As usual, the truck wasn't marked, but it scraped a cement wall at the dump site and left some paint. I have pictures of that too. They're all on my laptop. I'll show you."

Rick studies the images on the screen. "These are excellent, but what we really need is a thorough forensic analysis of the site. Can you get the police lab in there?"

Valerie shakes her head. "We've tried, but with no evidence of a serious crime, we've gotten nowhere. Without knowing exactly what's in those drums, dumping them is a misdemeanor at most, or a civil penalty. We filled out the forms at Sanitation. But there's an award for turning in supposed dumpers, so they have a huge stack of reports to check out. And this neighborhood isn't high on the priority list. By the time they get around to us, the whole area could be poisoned. We tried the EPA, too. We're even lower on their priority list than we are with Sanitation."

"So you need someone who can make a loud enough noise to get the wheels turning," Rick guesses, "a big mouth like me."

Valerie hides her chuckle behind her dark-skinned hand. "I wouldn't have put it that way, Mr., uh, Rick, but can you help us?"

"I believe I can. New York has some highly competent private labs. I've used a couple of the directors as consultants on my books. I should be able to get a team down to the site to check out the tracks and paint scrapings and also analyze the soil for anything nasty that might be leaking from those drums. We'll see what they come up with and take it from there."

Valerie springs up from behind her computer. "Rick, you have no idea how grateful I am, how grateful NHWH will be."

Rick gazes down at Lily. "If someone was dumping possible poison around where she would play and go to school, I'd do everything in my power to stop it. The children in your neighborhood deserve nothing less. I'll let you know when I've started the ball rolling."


"So, this judge Maynard is a tough cookie," Rick sums up over a shared dish of M&Ms.

Kate searches out a red candy. "I don't know if I'd describe her as tough, exactly. I'm not sure how I'd describe her yet. But come June 17, I'll need to have everything I have against Brooks lined up and ready to go, because she's not going to be cutting me any slack. But I don't think she'll be cutting Lowell any either. Maynard wants to dispose of the case ASAP."

"Well, you said she's got a reputation for being a supporter of the NYPD. Maybe she doesn't want Chief Brooks in the news cycle any longer than necessary."

"That's possible," Kate considers. "But I think that's enough of a post-mortem on my day. From the way Lily was drooping when I got home, can I assume you took her along on another adventure?"

"I'm not sure adventure would be exactly the right word. I followed your advice tracking complaints, and I traced down one that could lead to some serious pollution issues. Anyway, Lily and I dropped in on NHWH, the organization that's fighting the good fight for their neighborhood. I sort of volunteered my services and some minor resources."

"How minor?"

"A team from Wilcox Forensics to survey a possible dumping site and gather evidence."

"Wilcox? My office comes up against them all the time. Defense counsels love to use their analysts to inject reasonable doubt into the conclusions from the crime lab."

"Reasonable doubt which has occasionally kept an innocent defendant from getting railroaded by a detective too lazy to point the lab at all the evidence or an ADA who chooses to downplay results that work against a conviction. Didn't Shapiro have to fire an ADA like that about the time you went to work for him – after a Wilcox analyst pulled back the curtain?"

"He didn't have to, he wanted to. He doesn't tolerate that kind of crap, even if it chalks up a win. But still, you are working with the other side, sort of."

"I thought the only side that counts is the side of justice." The M&M's rattle as Rick breaks out laughing. "Wow, that was lame! If I put that in a book, the editor would wonder why G&S is bothering with me. No, really, Kate. If I thought I could have the police lab handle it, that's who I'd try to call in. But the NYPD hasn't wanted to go near the problem. Neither have the feds. So I hired some outside help. Wilcox may not find anything worth taking to court. But what could be worse is that when they analyze the soil, they do. And if whatever is there seeps into the groundwater, the whole neighborhood could become toxic. Hopefully, if there is a chance of something dangerous contaminating the area, we'll catch it in time. Hanging up whoever's responsible by their thumbs can come after something's done about cleaning up the mess, even if that's all it is."

Kate lays her hand on his arm. "But you don't think that's all it is."

"Why would someone bother tearing warning labels off drums of harmless junk? I have a bad feeling in my gut, Kate. And I think the parents in that neighborhood have a bigger one. When it comes to protecting your children, your spidey sense doesn't stop sounding alarms."

Kate reaches up to cup Rick's cheek. "Hey, I've understood that since the moment Lily was born. I'd jump in front of a Mack Truck to save her and so would you. So whatever I can do to help, let me know."

"And what if the trail leads back to Brooks?"

"I'm not sure how I'd work it into the trial. Maynard isn't going to allow much leeway, especially for coming up with something new the defense would have to investigate. But criminal trials can lead to civil suits. And I know just the lawyer who'd love to handle one like that."

"Like daughter, like father?"

"Got it in one."