The Other Path
Chapter 7
Kate's eyebrows dive toward the bridge of her nose. "You want to go to the Kingsbridge Club? Isn't that a rich bad boy hangout? I thought you were finished with places like that when we got married."
"Actually, I was finished with them when you and I started sleeping together. But that's another story. Except for the occasional guest, you're right about the rich part. No one else could afford the drinks and the other, um, perks. But the bad boy thing isn't necessarily true. Kingsbridge can merely be the one place where the scions of old money shed their ties. I can see how that would attract Michael Covington Drew III without embarrassing his family too much. Of course, the indecent exposure happened after he left the club. Apparently, he had to relieve himself without the benefit of a restroom. Unfortunately, a twelve-year-old girl was allowing her cockapoo to do the same nearby."
"I assume the NYPD didn't arrest the cockapoo, but what happened to Drew the Third? Having a child present might mean more than a slap on the wrist."
"The article I found didn't mention anything except the basics of the arrest. I thought I might overhear some details at Kingsbridge. I'm wondering if the family might go to Snodgrass to exert some pressure. He is their councilman. And maybe Drew Anniston went after Arlie Spinrad because she thought she'd be doing Snodgrass a favor," Rick offers.
"That's quite a leap, Babe."
"I know. That's why I want to see what I can pick up at Kingsbridge. But you were looking into the Crewlands. What did you dig up?"
"LaNeda was right. That company has cut corners for years. And with the settlements they had to pay, they needed that community center. They had more than enough motive to bribe Snodgrass. And Snodgrass could have had Arlie poisoned to cover the whole dirty business. But I still don't see how to connect that to Drew Anniston."
"As tenuous as it is, the Drew family would seem to be the only thing tying everything together," Castle declares. "I wouldn't make happy hour this afternoon, but I'll try to get an earful at Kingsbridge tomorrow."
"I don't want to wait that long," Kate decides. "I want to talk to Michael Drew."
"How are you going to manage that? Peeing in public hardly qualifies him as a murder suspect. And he's not a witness to anything."
"I can tell him I got a tip that he might know something about Arlie's murder."
"I forgot how much you're allowed to lie."
"I don't have to lie. Do you think he might know something about Arlie's murder?"
"It's possible," Rick responds.
Kate bats her eyelashes. "See, I've got a tip. And I shouldn't have much trouble getting an address on him. The cop who arrested him would have asked for it. You want to go with me?"
"If he shows up at Kingsbridge, being seen with you would blow any chance I'd have of picking up gossip."
"So, what are you going to do?"
Rick stares sheepishly at the floor. "I actually have some rewriting to work on. I'd started a Nikki Heat where she becomes captain when that jerk who was in charge of the 23rd bites the dust. But if I'm going to continue with her adventures, I need to take things in a different direction. And Gina already OK'd the chapters I wrote. She'll personally come after my hide with a knife and scraper if I don't give her something new fast."
Kate wraps her arms around her husband. "I guess I screwed things up for you. I'm sorry."
"Don't be sorry. When I made Nikki a captain, it opened up the possibility of tearing her and Rook apart. I hated that. It made me sick every time I wrote something leading that way. Now I can go back not only to what works for us but what works for Heat and Rook. The thing is, we're still Caskett. What am I supposed to call them, Rookeat? It sounds like a predatory bird or a lousy restaurant. And if I went with Nikson, that would recall a douchebag politician."
"Caskett is made out of the beginning and end of our last names," Kate considers. "you could use their first names that way and make it Jameki."
"Hmm, Jameki, it has a bit of a ring to it. And Nikki has the key to Jameson's heart. Jameki it is. Now all I have to do is get my butt in front of my computer and write it. See you after you grill Michael Drew? I will try to stay away from our kitchen, but I can order in a feast. How would you feel about the chef's special from Berlati's?"
"Sounds terrific."
Michael Drew's eyes sweep appreciatively over Kate. "Detective Beckett, I didn't know cops came looking like you. You could be a model."
"Been there. Done that. Rather be a cop. Which is why I'm here, Mr. Drew. I got a tip that you might have information about the murder of Arlie Spinrad and/or Drew Anniston."
Michael's eyes narrow. "A tip from where?"
"I don't reveal my sources."
"Well, your source had their head up their ass, Detective. I don't know anything about any murders. I don't even read about them in the Ledger. They're depressing."
"Did you know Arlie Spinrad?"
"I think I might have met her once at an LGBTQ fundraising thing."
Kate's eyebrows rise. "I didn't know your family was into that particular cause."
"It isn't. I went to piss off my Uncle Josiah. He was almost ready to stand on the courthouse steps to block gay marriage." Michael chuckles. "But my Uncle George convinced him that between the family's bakeries, florists, and hotels, gay weddings could be a substantial revenue stream. So the old boys avert their eyes, hold their noses and grab the money. When you come down to it, everything in the rest of my family is about money."
"How about you?" Kate asks. "What's Michael Covington Drew III about?"
"Having a good time, preferably without hurting anyone. And for the record, I'm sorry I took a leak in front of that girl. I didn't know she was there. I didn't know much of anything was there."
"And you enjoy getting blind drunk, Michael?"
"There are things I'd rather not see."
"Like what your family does?"
"Some of it. Do you know that when they turned a building at 76th and Columbus into condos, 40 families lost their homes? And they knocked out a whole block of low-cost housing to build a strip mall."
"Wouldn't the city have had to rezone for that?" Kate asks.
"Sure, and it did. Our old family friend Councilman Desmond Snodgrass pushed it through. He pushes all that crap through for them. But that's how it goes. They have money. He has power. It's a match made in hell. But you didn't come here to ask about my family's business. You asked about murders. Arlie Spinrad was one. Who did you say was the other one?"
"Drew Anniston."
"I think the name rings a bell. Wait! Cousin Drew. She's a second cousin, from what the family refers to as the wrong side of the blanket. She showed up at a family function once. Uncle George was polite. I'd already had a few, but I think George introduced her to Snodgrass. Yeah, I'm pretty sure he did. And she seemed pretty taken with the old goat. But you know what Kissinger said, 'Power is the ultimate aphrodisiac.' I can't think of any other reason why a woman would get near Snodgrass."
"Me either," Kate mutters under her breath.
