The Other Path

Chapter 76

"See you for a minute, Detective Beckett?" Gates inquires, motioning Kate into her office. "I just wanted to tell you that my mother-in-law's trip to the museum on Long Island was a success. She was gone for a full day and couldn't stop talking about the airport history exhibit. She found displays about several abandoned airports that she had no idea existed. Thank you very much for the suggestion. It gave me a day of peace."

"Actually, it was Castle's suggestion."

"Well, then," Gates allows, "thank him for me. How is his recovery coming along?"

"Pretty well. I believe having George Robinson's dog around keeps his mood up and makes sure he keeps moving. But Sir, did you say something about abandoned airports?"

"Yes. Why?"

"It might have given me an idea about the John Doe case. And it may tie in with what Tori Ellis is working on. Will you excuse me? I need to check on her progress."

"Of course. Getting as much investigation done as you can before you start teaching your class at the academy tomorrow?"

"Yes, Sir. I'm trying."

Kate stops in the doorway of Tech. "Finding any info about that chip?"

"Maybe," Tori responds, nodding slowly. "Hardware isn't my expertise. But I reached out to a couple of other techs in the department. From what they were able to tell me, the chip sends a signal to a receiver, which responds with an acknowledging signal. As the chip gets closer to the receiver, the signals amplify. So if you monitor the frequency, you can see the rise as the signals converge."

"Could the detector be at an abandoned airport?"

"It could be anywhere, including a moving vehicle. From what I was told, you could use a frequency detecting app on a cellphone to track it. But you'd need the right app."

"That doesn't sound like a download from the app store. Where would I get it?"

"I don't know," Tori admits. "Neither did my contacts, although they thought it might be available on the dark web somewhere. But we'd need an IP address to locate the site. I'm still trying to find someone who'd know one."

"I think I have an idea who might know or have a thought about who to ask. But keep digging and let me know if you come up with anything."

"Will do."


Panting, Kate's ringtone still drives Rick to pull his cellphone from his pocket. "Hey! What's up?"

"You sound out of breath."

"I took Cronut for what should have been a brief outing, but he saw a squirrel."

"Hasn't he seen one before? They're all over the park."

"Uh-huh. But I think this one might have found a piece of a discarded PB&J or something. It looked like it had peanut butter on its nose. Anyway, I had a hard time holding Cronut back until the squirrel made it up into a tree. Even then, our new family member tried to climb it. Fortunately, our pet pooch is not capable of arboreal adventures. So, much as I enjoy hearing your mellifluous tones, I assume you're not calling to say hello."

"Actually, I'm calling to check with my favorite app expert. Tori tells me there's one that could home in on the signal from the chip Perlmutter dug out of John Doe. But it's only available on the dark web, and she doesn't know where to look. Do you?"

"I commit a lot of things to memory. Unfortunately, dark web hot spots aren't among them. But I know a guy."

"I figured you would. Can you get in touch with him?"

"Sometimes, he crawls into a hole and turns his phone off after working straight through for a couple of days. But I'll give it a shot. We should try to meet him somewhere the CIA hasn't bugged – although I'm not sure where that would be."

"How about the coffee shop next to Cronut's favorite treat pusher?"

"At least Cronut will be happy. I can bring him along. Boxey loves dogs."

"Boxey? Wasn't that a character on Battlestar Gallactica?"

"Mostly on the original where he had an endearing robot canine. The Earthling version built a working replica when he was ten. Thus the name. But he likes the flesh and blood variety almost as well. I'll let you know if I can get through and set something up."

"Try to be quick. You know I …."

"Start teaching tomorrow. Yeah. You were mumbling about it in your sleep."

"I was not!"

"Indeed you were. I have it recorded on my phone. You were alternating between all-knowing and terrified. I can play it for you later."

"Please don't. Ooh, a text is coming in from Perlmutter. "Gotta go."


"OK, Perlmutter, I'm here," Kate announces in the ME's autopsy room. "What did you want to talk about?"

"The DNA results came back on John Doe. No match on CODIS."

Kate's lips thin. "You could have texted that."

"I could have," Perlmutter agrees. "But there's something else. I had the lab look at more markers than we'd need for a CODIS match. Doe has a recessive allele for a hair growth disorder. He doesn't manifest any of the symptoms, but it's there. And it's most common in some regions of Russia on the Baltic Sea."

"St. Petersburg is on the Baltic Sea. That would cover a lot of people, including Putin. He was born there."

"There's a strong chance your John Doe was born or conceived in that area as well. I can submit bone samples for isotope analysis. That would indicate where he grew up. But it will take some time."

"How much?"

"I don't know. The lab is overloaded. Carl can send the work out. The Museum uptown has the facilities. But I don't know how much faster you'll get your results."

"Submit the samples anyway, Perlmutter. I need to know as much about Mr. Doe as we can uncover."


The man who joins Rick and Kate at the café next to Mrs. Nachas' domain looks more mainstream than Kate expected. His hair is longish but not caveman-type. He's clean-shaven, and his clothes look more midtown than gamer den. He reaches down to pat Cronut before acknowledging the humans. Rick smiles and nods but doesn't extend his hand. "Kate, meet Boxey Kilcannon, internet expert extraordinaire."

"So what's this about, Rick?" Boxey questions, his fingers buried in Cronut's fur. "You said you didn't want to discuss it on the phone."

"Certain interested parties may have electronic ears," Rick explains. "I need a particular app." Rick passes over a copy of the notes Tori gave Kate. "These are the specs. I understand it's only available on the dark web."

Boxey quickly skims the text. "Something like this, yes. The coding for the app wouldn't be that complicated, but offering it could raise red flags on a search engine. If you're going to use the app in a book, I could describe how it would work for you. You don't have to purchase it."

"It isn't for a book," Rick confides. "But the less you know about why we need it, the better for all of us. So can you get me an IP address?"

"I can get you several. I'll send them to you in an encrypted email. No one else will be able to open it." Cronut pokes his muzzle against Boxey's knee in protest as the petter-in-chief shifts his attention to putting down a series of characters in a small notebook. He tears off the sheet and hands it to Rick. Here. "This is your private key. It will keep our exchange away from eavesdroppers. Now, how is the coffee here? Can I get them to add cinnamon?"

Rick grins as he tucks the slip of paper into his shirt pocket. "I think I can arrange that."