American Crime Stories
Arc two, Chapter twelve
NEW YORK CITY – Random Diner
The following weekend, Rick and Alexis went for a brunch together. Alexis was getting more and more frantic the nearer her graduation came. She was driving herself mad, so Rick had decided that she needed a break. Convincing her of the same had not been an easy task, but in the end his daughter had complied.
They were sitting in a booth, waiting for their breakfast. He had asked his daughter a question but instead of answering him, Alexis was looking at two people that had just walked into the diner.
"Hey, look dad, that's Lacey and Agent Shaw." Alexis said. Rick turned around to have a look. Rick wasn't sure as it was hard to tell from where he was sitting. Then the older woman turned to look in their direction and Rick's eyes locked with Jordan's. "Yeah, pumpkin, you're right." He looked around and saw that the diner was full and the Shaw's would have to wait. "It's pretty full here. Do you mind having them join us?"
"No dad, it's alright."
"Thanks pumpkin." Rick said, stood up and walked up to the Shaw's. Lacey was the first one to see him. She gently slapped her mother on the arm and pointed in his direction. Jordan turned around just in time to see Rick walk up to them. "Hello ladies, it's a nice surprise to see you again."
"Hello, Rick/Castle." The Shaw's greeted him.
"Look, it's pretty busy here. What do you say, want to join Alexis and me?"
Jordan looked to her daughter. Sunday brunch was their fixed date in the week – unless Jordan had a case to work. The hopeful eyes of her daughter were answer enough. She really had liked Castle and especially Alexis. On their way home from their dinner, Lacey couldn't stop talking about the older girl.
"Sure. Lead the way." The three walked over to the booth. Lacey slid into the bench with Alexis leaving Jordan the seat next to Rick.
"Thank you for sharing your table with us. It's hard to get a seat in this place on the weekends," Jordan said to Alexis.
"No problem, Agent Shaw. We don't mind."
The waiter came over. Jordan ordered a bacon and cheese omelet and a side of hash browns. Lacey ordered the strawberry waffles, and some eggs.
"So what brings you guys here this morning?" Lacey asked.
"Well, Alexis is driving herself crazy with her valedictorian speech, so I forced her to take a break." Both Shaw's turned to Alexis who glared at her father, but they could see that she wasn't really mad with her father. "What about you?"
"We come here every Sunday if mom is home. We only live a few blocks from here," Lacey said with a smile.
The four of them talked throughout their breakfast. Rick had enjoyed his plate of French toast. The food in this place was good, but not as good as in "Carries Corner".
"So what are you ladies doing today?" Rick asked after the waitress had cleared their table.
"Well, the movie theater around the corner has an animated film marathon. I really want to go see that but mum isn't very fond of the idea."
"Lacey, I told you I would go with you."
"I know mum, but you'd only do that for me and not because you'd enjoy it." The look on Jordan's face told everybody the truth of that statement. Before she could say anything else, Alexis spoke up.
"Why don't I go with instead of your mum?"
"Really?" Lacey asked hopefully. She really wanted to spend more time with Alexis and going to the movies would be an added bonus.
"Sure. Dad has forbidden me to work on my speech today. Instead he has ordered me to do something fun." She accompanied her statement with an exasperated rolling of her eyes which made Jordan chuckle. "I haven't made any plans yet but the movie marathon sounds like fun. Unlike your mum, I'd really enjoy it." Alexis turned to Jordan. "If that is alright with you, Agent Shaw?"
Lacey looked to her mum. Jordan could see that her daughter would like that very much and told them that she had no objections.
In the end, Jordan decided to join Castle for another coffee while their kids went to the movies.
"It's great meeting your daughter and seeing that she is actually as impressive as you make her out to be."
"You wound me, Agent Shaw. Would I lie about how special my daughter is?" Short pause. "Wait, don't answer that." Jordan chuckled.
"Lacey was impressed, too. She told me that they talked about Marlowe Prep and college." Hearing the hated c-word, Castle cringed.
"So, are you ready for your daughter to go to college?" Shaw asked sheepishly, having seen Castle's reaction.
"No, not really. She is far too young to leave home, especially if she decides to go out of the state. It's too far from home."
Shaw smiled. "I think it is you who is far too young for her to leave your home. You've rather she's still be ten years old? Isn't that it?"
"Maybe," Castle conceded with a pout, and then smiled mischievously. "But don't look so smug. It's only a few years until Lacey goes off to college." Thinking about the truth of that statement, Jordan lost her smug smile.
Castle sighed again. "You know, she turned eighteen a few months ago. To be honest, she is definitely better prepared for college and the challenges it involves than I was at her age. I'm so grateful that she is that responsible. I know that she has a good head on her shoulders and that she will succeed in everything she decides to do. But that doesn't mean I have to like it."
"Yeah, to be honest with you. I'm fretting the time that Lacey will leave the nest, too. Maybe we'll get lucky and both our daughters decide not to go too far away. Maybe they'll decide to go to Columbia or Princeton, or somewhere else close to New York."
"I hope so for my poor heart."
"I know that Alexis' got some acceptance letters. Has she told you her preference yet?"
"No, she hasn't told me anything yet. She got accepted to Oxford, Princeton, Sarah Lawrence and even Stanford. It's funny. For most of her childhood she had wanted to go to Stanford but they rejected an early admission last year. She feels betrayed, she doesn't know how to get over the fact they have rejected her in the past." Castle paused for a moment, before he continued to speak.
"And after everything that has happened in the past weeks, we haven't talked about it much. We both had to come to terms with Gina's death. In addition to that, Alexis is preoccupied with her valedictorian speech. She is taking that very seriously. The other day I found her pouring over Winston Churchill's speech to Harrow's and Steve Job's address to Stanford." Castle said, shaking his head.
"And let me guess, you don't understand why she is taking it so seriously?"
"Well, yes and no. Of course, intellectually I understand the pressure she is feeling as valedictorian…"
"But on the other hand, you don't really understand why she's taking her graduation speech so seriously."
"Yeah," he conceded.
"You were probably the guy who had nothing on but boxers underneath his gown," Shaw said.
"That is so insulting," Castle said dramatically. "If you must know, I was stark naked underneath," he said proudly.
"Oh, I – I'm sorry. I stand corrected." They both smiled at their banter. For two people who didn't know each other that well they had a surprisingly easy time talking to each other.
"So, how is the father of the graduate taking it?"
Castle sighed. "I already have a plan to drown my sorrows after the ceremony. My mother goes off to the Hamptons, Alexis will be doing her all-nighter. I will be distracting myself with a double feature of The Killer and Hard Boiled."
"Wow. That is some double feature."
"You like John Woo?"
"The bloodier the better," Shaw responded.
"Despite your job?"
"It doesn't bother me, I have seen worse things in real life."
Castle thought for a moment. "Hey, why don't you and Lacey accompany mother and me to the graduation? Then you both can check and see what you have to look forward to in four years. Afterwards we can get something to eat and watch movies together. Maybe we will go with comedy instead of those action movies."
His suggestion surprised Jordan and she thought about it for a moment. Although they had had a good time during dinner and now brunch, this was something unexpected. She had a demanding job which left her not a lot of free time to socialize outside of it. The little time she had, she usually tried to spend with her daughter – especially since her divorce. Sure, they would go visit some of their families from time to time, but that's pretty much all socializing Shaw would do. That's why she enjoyed spending time with the writer and talking with him about anything that came to her mind. 'Though unsurprisingly, most of the time they spoke about their respective daughters. In the end she couldn't find a reason why Lacey and she shouldn't go to the graduation with the Castle's.
"Okay, that's sounds interesting."
"Great." There was a short silence in which both smiled. Then Jordan turned serious.
"Listen Castle, it's good that we've met. I actually planned to call you today." Shaw sighed. "Last night, a body washed up on a river bank. We're pretty sure that Tyson." She watched Castle closely but he didn't react. "You don't look surprised?"
Castle sighed. "Why would I? I mean, I shot at him several times. I don't think it's very surprising that I got a lucky shot in," Castle said. He knew better of course but didn't want to tell Jordan that. At least not yet. They may have started to become friends but in no way did he want to tell her that he had actually aimed for Tyson's head. At least not yet. He had witnessed Jordan shooting him in the chest before he had surprised and overpowered her. Castle had realized that Tyson must have worn a bulletproof vest. So he had aimed at another target. He had wanted Tyson dead, and now he was. He hadn't had much time to ponder about the fact that he had taken a life. It wasn't the first time, but not many people actually knew that fact. Not Martha and especially not Alexis. He didn't want to think about that now and concentrated back on Jordan. He saw that she had watched him closely but before she could say anything, his phone rang. He saw that is way Ryan calling and pondered whether he should take the call. He sighed, turned to Jordan, apologized and took the call.
"Hey Ryan."
"Hey Castle, sorry for calling. I know you wanted some time for away from the precinct." That was true. He had been pleasantly surprised to see Ryan and Esposito at Gina's funeral and told them so when they had spoken for a few minutes. They told him that both of them had felt the need to be there for their friend. Nobody had said anything about Beckett. At the end of their short meeting he had told them that he wouldn't come back to the precinct for a while, if at all.
"It's okay, Kevin. Why did you call?"
"Earlier this morning we got to a crime scene. The victim, Orlando Costas, was hit in the shoulder with a 357, but he was killed execution style with a 9 millimeter in the head. We learned that Costas was a thief. He had a couple of domestic B and E's, but was suspected of a dozen more. He also used to run with the Cazadores."
"Cazadores?"
"They're a violent street gang that deals in drugs, arms, and larceny. Anyway Costas priors were back when he was a teenager and he wasn't arrested in years. In fact, we later found out that he cleaned up his act. He did 4 years active in the military and was discharged with honors last year. He spent his rotation as an MP in Germany."
"If this guy went straight then how did he end up dead in an alley?"
"His girlfriend told us that she went to bed him with, but when she woke up, he'd been gone. She figured that he went to the career center to check the job listings which he did every morning."
"So, he'd been looking for work?"
"Yes, but without luck. Anyway, the girlfriend gave us the model of the car which we found in an empty alley to blocks away from our murder scene. In the car we found blood smeared on the armrest. We also found a .38. So, we figured that our victim was shot somewhere else first and then met someone in the alleyway."
"Okay, so what's the problem? I don't mean to be rude, and as tragic as his death is, what does that have to do with me?"
"We checked his phone, his last entry was Montgomery's address. Turns out that Costas did get back to his old habits, but ran into a bit of trouble."
Castle sat up straight. "Are Evelyn and her kids alright?" Jordan who had listened to Castle's side of the call, realized that something had happened to one of his friends.
"Everybody is fine. Evelyn was there, but the girls weren't. She was the one that had shot Costas in the shoulder. I thought that you wanted to know."
"Of course, Kevin. I'm on my way, meet you at the house."
"Okay, Castle. See you there."
Castle turned off his phone and turned to Jordan. "I heard, Castle. You have to go. Is everything okay?"
"Not really. You remember Captain Montgomery?" Jordan nodded.
"Somebody broke in to his widow's home. She shot the burglar, but later he was later found in an alley shot execution style."
"Okay, go to your friend's house."
"Thanks, Jordan."
CAPTAIN MONTGOMERY'S HOUSE
299 First Avenue, New York City
When Castle got Ryan's call about their current case, he got a bad feeling. A very bad feeling. He truly hoped that the break-in into his former Captain's house was just a coincidence, but deep down he knew better. That's why he didn't have to think about meeting the detectives at Montgomery's. He knew that SHE would be there, but he decided to ignore her as much as possible. Just like he had since she had arrested him. Knowing her as he did, he was pretty sure that she would do the same thing. It was, after all, her modus operandi. Ignoring everything that made her uncomfortable, hiding behind a wall. At the moment, he was fine with that. He knew that one day they would have to have another heart-to-heart. But the day was not today.
Castle made some calls on his way to the house. There was a protection detail on their way that would protect the Montgomery's. Having a bad feeling, he had asked Marcus to send someone to watch over Martha and Alexis.
When he got to Montgomery's house, he was greeted by Ryan. They had agreed to meet outside so that Ryan could bring him up-to-date.
"Hey man, thanks for coming."
"No problem. So what happened?"
"The children weren't at home, and Evelyn said she hadn't intended to be there, either…" Kevin told Castle everything they had found out so far.
They walked into the house where Castle looked around. He could see were CSU had catalogued blood spatter and digged out bullet from the doorframe. They walked into the study where they were greeted with an irritated Beckett, "Castle, what are you doing here?" She asked him rather heatedly.
"Beckett," he greeted her coldly. "Kevin called me," he responded shortly. "Excuse me." Castle walked pass her to greet Evelyn Montgomery.
"Hello Evelyn," he hugged her and gave her a kiss on the cheek.
"Hello Rick. It's nice to see you so again. Even if it is under those circumstances."
"Why didn't you call me? I would've come out here immediately."
"I'd call the police and they investigated. There was nothing more you could have done."
"We're just thankful no one was hurt," Ryan said as he walked up to them.
"Believe me, so am I. Ever since Roy died I've slept with his .357 in the nightstand." She turned to Castle. "I'm glad you convinced me to go to the shooting range again."
"Yeah, so am I," Castle replied. "I'm glad Evan and the girls weren't home."
"Funny thing is, I wasn't supposed to be home either. It's almost like he knew we weren't supposed to be here."
"Wait," Beckett injected. "When did you two see each other?"
"Since Roy's death, Rick and I met each other once every few weeks. He's been a good friend," Evelyn told the three detectives. The three detectives looked all a bit embarrassed since they hadn't made any effort to stay in contact with their former Captain's widow. Beckett felt especially bad, as Evelyn had sent her a card to the hospital.
"Anyway, not that I'm complaining, but why are you here, Kate?" Evelyn asked.
"It's about you're thief. Is this the guy?" Beckett showed her a photo of Costas. Evelyn studied it.
"Yeah, that's him. I heard a noise and went to check it out. When I came in here, he was taking files out of the cabinet. I could see that he had Roy's old laptop in his backpack already. When he saw me he pulled his weapon, so God help me I shot him. I think I hit him in his shoulder. He fired back, and then he crashed through the window," Evelyn described what had happened the previous night. Castle looked over her shoulder to the bullet hole in a clock at the end of the hallway.
"Anything special about those files?" Beckett asked.
Evelyn thought about for a moment and shook her head. "Just paperwork, legal documents, notes on Roy's old cases."
"What about his computer? What was on that?" Esposito interjected.
"His old work files, but mostly I use it for Christmas cards and recipes."
Castle and the others left a few minutes later. "They went after Montgomery's files. Not valuables, not cash. And now our thief is dead and the files they took are missing," Beckett said. Castle sighed internally, his previous feelings that this would be bad had been confirmed. "Well let's not jump to conclusions," he cautioned. Although he knew that she would ignore it. He could see that she had already decided what this was all about.
"What else would it be about? Everyone else thinks Montgomery died bringing a cop killer to justice. We're the only ones who know what he was really involved in. And his connection to my mother's murder. It can't be a coincidence," Beckett stated harshly. "You know those guys Montgomery was involved with, he said that they wanted me dead. That I was getting too close and he said that he was going to give his life in order to protect mine. And they still tried to kill me." Beckett paused. "Maybe he had some files on them. We've never checked his belongings."
"Beckett, there are thousands of break-ins in New York City every year," Castle tried again to steer her away from that line of thinking. The boys were quite throughout the conversation.
"This one feels different."
"Well, that doesn't mean that it is."
"Then why is our thief dead?" She asked harshly.
"Montgomery worked hundreds of cases over the years. Just because this guy goes after files doesn't mean he was after your mom's case."
"He's right, Beckett," Esposito interjected. Ran nodded.
Beckett sighed. Although, she didn't like it, and did not really believe it, she had to concede that the others had a point. She turned to Esposito. "Re-check the victim's rap sheet, see if Montgomery was involved in any of his old arrests and get on that number. I want to know who he was talking with just before he died," she ordered the boys. "What about you Castle? Are you coming back to the precinct?"
Castle thought for a moment. "No. I have no intention to step a foot into the precinct when Gates is in her office. I call you guys later."
"Whatever," Beckett said turned and walked away.
Castle turned the others. "Look guys, we all know that it is possible that the break-in was about the conspiracy around Johanna Beckett's murder. But it is also likely that it is not, even if the chances are small. You've seen Beckett, she has already decided what this is about and will focus on that. And only that. So it's on you guys to look at the investigation and the facts with an open mind." Esposito and Ryan looked at each other. Although they were pretty sure themselves that Beckett was right, they both agreed with Castle.
"Oh, and another thing. Be careful, guys. Whoever is behind this break-in knew that the house was supposed to be empty. That means that they have monitored her and her family. Remember the last time we investigated anything to do with Johanna Beckett murder? They had someone watching us then, too. You were taken, Montgomery killed and Beckett shot." Castle warned them. The boys looked grim. They understood Castle's warning.
CASTLE'S LOFT
After he left Evelyn's house, Rick went straight home. He was now in his office, studying his murder board on the Dragon. That's how Martha found him, when she walked into his office.
"Do you really think it's connected to her mother's murder case?" They had spoken shortly after he had come home, and he had updated her on the break-in. He had told his mother only the broadest aspects of his private investigation in the past, so she knew what he was doing. She didn't know the facts, didn't know that he knew the people responsible. He would keep it that way and not tell her anything to specific before he was sure that it was safe for all of them.
"Yeah, I do. I'm just surprised that it took them so long. We thought about checking Roy's files a months ago. That's how Marcus and his team found my mystery caller. But I can't tell Beckett and the guys that and that's the problem. As soon as I tell her about Smith, everything else will take second place. She will immediately obsess about Smith and my connection to him."
"So you'd rather withheld vital information to the case?" Martha asked her son. Castle gave his mother a look.
"Don't look so surprised, Richard. I do know some technical terms from my time working on NYPD Blue."
"Mother, you played a murder victim. You had less than a minute screen time."
"Well, I did a lot of research."
"I'm sure you did, mother." They smiled at each other but then the moment of levity was over.
"For some reason, the man behind this conspiracy has decided to take the deal with Smith off the table," Castle said. "And as I said, as soon as I tell Beckett about Smith, she's going to try and identify him. Our only advantage at this point is that nobody knows that we know about Smith or that we have already identified him. If the people responsible learn that Beckett is looking for Smith, they'll come after her again. Despite all the things that happened between us, I don't want her to get hurt."
Martha forced a smile and took a step forward, "I know."
"But I don't know what I can do to stop it? We may have gathered a lot of information, but we still haven't fully checked them."
"You told me that you wanted to talk to Agent Shaw and that you had a plan to involve other law enforcement officers. Maybe it's time to do that now?"
Castle sighed and put his right hand through his hair. "I don't want to do that now. As soon as I talk to them, things will get dangerous immediately. For all of us. I want you and Alexis out of the city for that. However, that's not going to happen until after Alexis' graduation in a few days. When you go to the Hamptons', you will have a close protection details around the clock."
"Richard, although you did tell me a few things about your investigation, you were remarkably vague about the details. From everything you told me, I don't think you have too much time left before it gets too dangerous. So you should really think about talking to Agent Shaw as soon as possible. Before it's too late for everybody involved." Martha said, put her right hand on her son's shoulder and walked out.
Castle closed his eyes thought about his mother's words. He was quiet for several minutes, thinking about his next steps. As he always did, he wrote various scenarios about how the story could go on from this point of time. Not on paper, but in his mind. Then he opened his eyes. Decision made, he took out his phone and called his friend Marcus. It was time to put their plan into motion.