American Crime Stories
Arc two, Chapter eighteen
"Hey Bailey, seeing you here is a surprise," Rick said as he greeted the other man.
"Yeah, well. As you didn't want go into detail with the AG over the phone, she asked me to come here and listen to your briefing."
"Well, you're just in time, I was about to begin. Please, take a seat." Bailey nodded and went to sit down on an empty seat. Rick shook his head. Bailey coming here was a surprise, but one he couldn't think about now. He had to concentrate on his presentations. He took a deep breath. "Now that we are all here, we can begin – again." He said with the last part while looking at Bailey Malone. "So, once again I want to welcome you to the briefing of an investigation which goes back a few years now. Actually, it goes back a few decades, but I will come back to that later. We will begin with a complete review of all information we have gathered so far. Those facts have been mostly compiled by Detectives Beckett, Esposito and Ryan, as well as from a team from SSI."
Listing the names of three detectives, all eyes turned to the two of those detectives that were sitting among them. The two shuffled nervously on their seats. To avoid any eye contact, especially with their Chief of Police, they looked straight at Castle.
"Although we will try to focus on the relevant points, we still will have to go through a lot of information. Therefore, I would ask you to hold your questions, unless there is something that you don't understand. Before you, you have a package with a summary about what I'm going to send you. At the end of this presentation, we will hand out packages with all the information that have been gathered until this point of time. I'm sure some of you were sceptic about my invitation and won't believe some of the things I'm going to present to you. However, I can assure you that we have proof for most of the facts, which you can and should check later. There are some theories and educated guesses – things you all are more than aware of that are a part of most investigations. Those are marked at such. " Castle could see some of the others nod. "So, let's start at the beginning," Castle said and pointed to the smart board, showing the first pieces of information.
"It all started with a case, you Commissioner Reagan, Henry Reagan that is, will be most familiar with, as it happened during your tenure as Commissioner." The mentioned Henry Reagan focused intently at Castle. He served as from 1990 until 2001, when his late wife was battling cancer.
"The 80s and early 90s is a time which I have heard older cops called "bad old days". It was a time when organized crime had too much power on the streets and in the New York justice system. During that time a group of police officers decided to resort to vigilantism to keep organized crime under control. They started to snatch up members of all five mafia families and hold them for ransom. That group of was so successful that the five families called a temporary truce in response to the kidnappings. That group consisted of police officers: John Raglan, Gary McCallister, and a then young rookie cop, Roy Montgomery. The trio continued their scheme until a tragic accident: while attempting to kidnap the mobster Joe Pulgatti, one of Pulgatti's associates, Bob Armen, appeared unexpectedly. Armen tried to help his associate and went for Montgomery's gun. During the ensuing struggle the late Captain's gun accidentally went off, killing Armen. Shocked the trio of cops fled. However, later they found out that Bob Armen wasn't just another mobster, but actually an undercover FBI Special Agent." This information drew shocked breaths from the listeners who didn't know the facts Castle presented. Castle could see that some of the attendees wanted to ask him questions, but held them back.
"This is when the path between the trios began to differ. A guilty feeling Officer Montgomery rethought his choices. After covering up his guilt by secretly altering reports and arrest records to conceal his association with Raglan and McCallister, Montgomery decided to focus on his career and to become the best police officer he could possibly be. And as someone who actually got to know the late Captain Montgomery, I can tell you, he succeeded in this endeavor." Castle saw Ryan and Esposito nodding.
"John Raglan and Gary McCallister however decided on a completely different path. They framed Pulgatti for the murder and arrested him. Pulgatti was subsequently send to prison. However, Pulgatti continued to proclaim his innocence. He came to realize that the only people who actually knew that he had been at the scene of Bob Armen's murder were the kidnappers themselves, and he must have concluded that they had to be the cops. Pulgatti started to write dozens of letters to attorneys, proclaiming his innocence. However, Pulgatti had been a mob enforcer and therefore hardly a sympathetic character. In the end, only one attorney answered his letter and promised to look into his case. The lawyers name was Johanna Beckett." Hearing that name everybody instantly understood the connection to Castle and some of them got a glimpse at the story of what Castle was going to tell them.
"Johanna Beckett cared about the truth. In her work with the Justice Initiative, she sought to re-open closed cases and exonerate the wrongly convicted. Although the cops had been successful in framing Pulgatti for the murder of Armen so far, Johanna Beckett's subsequent investigation threatened to reveal the truth. To ensure the cops' guilt remained secret, Johanna Beckett was murdered. For some reason, John Raglan was assigned the case. He used his role as the investigating detective to cover up the murder and to conceal his own role in the Pulgatti case. He passed the crime off as random gang violence to close the case and stop any further investigation. Years later, then Captain Roy Montgomery's past came back to haunt him, in form from a young patrol cop, Kate Beckett. As a young cop, recently graduate of the academy, Beckett had no authority to review the case records. But that didn't stop her in launching a private investigation. Montgomery saw that Beckett was working on a personal crusade. However, rather than stopping her, he took her under his wing. Whether it was out of guilt, a desire to make amends for his role in her mother's death or a combination of both, I don't know. And in the end, it doesn't matter. Beckett didn't get any closer to the truth." Castle made a short pause. He could see that his audience was listening in rapt attention.
"Fast forward a few years and enter a curious writer who starts to shadow said detective. It didn't take me to long to learn of the cold case. Intrigued and curious, I started to secretly look into the Johanna Beckett murder case. I enlisted Dr. Clark Murray, a renowned forensic pathologist, to analysis the case file. Here is when we got a first break in the case. Back then, I didn't know that the lives of all involved would change forever." Castle took a breath. His never ending curiosity had unpredictable consequences that haunted him until now. He was still feeling guilty about his part in this mess, and probably would always do. Everybody could see that Castle was fighting to keep his emotions in check. The writer took a deep breath, and then continued his narrative.
"Dr. Murray determined that, although Beckett's mother had been stabbed multiple times, only a single blow had been actually fatal - the initial thrust. He determined that Johanna Beckett's murder had been a professional hit, expertly disguised as a random stabbing. On a hunch, Dr. Murray delved a bit deeper and found several other victims with the same M.O. The victims were Diane Cavanaugh and Jennifer Stewart, two lawyers who helped Johanna Beckett investigate the Pulgatti case, as well as documents clerk Scott Murray, who could testify about the evidence that he'd provided them."
"At first, that information didn't help us much. But a few months later, we came across a case that helped us to get some new information. Our victim, Jack Coonan, an Irish mobster, had died in precisely the same distinctive way as Johanna Beckett and her colleagues. In the end, we eventually identified the victims' brother, Richard "Dick" Coonan, as the killer. Coonan, better known by his infamous alter-ego, Rathborne, served in the Army in the early nineties, possibly as a special operations soldier. He started as a contract killer shortly after his discharge. Coonan's M.O. was to kill his victims with a precise thrust to the kidneys, but then also stabbing them multiple times in other locations across the abdomen and torso. Dick had killed his brother Jack to cover up his own heroin-smuggling operation. During a conversation, Coonan let slip knowledge of Johanna Beckett's murder. In an ensuing struggle, Beckett had to shoot Coonan. After that the case went cold again, or so we thought. You have to know that until that point of time, we didn't know anything about the Pulgatti case. Anything I told you so far are information that the gathered to a later time."
Castle took a sip of water, and then continued his tale. "It was several months later that John Raglan contacted Detective Beckett. He was dying of lymphoma, and I guess he wanted to confess some of his sins. Anyway, we met him in a diner, but before he could tell us anything concrete, he was shot by a sniper. During our investigation, we spoke with McCallister. At first, he tried to implicate Vulcan Simmons as the one responsible for the hit on Johanna Beckett."
Hearing another known name, several eyes focused more intently on Castle. "Ah, I can see that the members of the NYPD and ADA Reagan are familiar with that particular name. Let me give the others a short overview on Vulcan Simmons. Simmons is a criminal who has run the drug trade in Washington Heights for nearly two decades now. He has multiple charges on his record, but for some reason he has regularly managed to get off them without any conviction. Anyway, McCallister explained that Johanna had been a thorn in Simmons eyes, because she had once tried to remove him from Washington Heights through a take back the neighborhood kind of thing, thereby incurring Vulcan's wrath. As I said, implicating Simmons was McCallister attempt to throw us of the truth. However, during our investigation we eventually discovered the connection to the Pulgatti case and confronted McCallister about it. In the interrogation, McCallister confessed to the broad outlines of what had happened. However, he also warned us by saying, and that's a direct quote, "You woke the Dragon". According to McCallister, that Dragon ordered the hits on Johanna Beckett and her colleagues. He claimed that this individual was far too powerful for us to handle." Castle paused for a moment. "That, ladies and gentlemen, was the first time we got any hint on an individual behind the curtain. And said individual is the main reason we all have gathered here today. But once again, I have to ask you to be patient. Before we concentrate on this Dragon, I want to tell the rest of the story of the Johanna Beckett murder case. While Beckett and I were working on McCallister and Simmons, Detectives Ryan and Esposito eventually identified the sniper as Hal Lockwood. What we all didn't know at that time was that Lockwood and his team had been tracking our investigation. When they realized that Lockwood himself had been compromised, his team ambushed Ryan and Esposito and tortured them for information." At this point, most of the eyes turned to Ryan and Esposito again. The two men, however, didn't meet anybody's eyes, but just looked straight at Castle.
"Beckett and I were able to rescue them and arrest Lockwood. However, our hope to get some answers were unfulfilled, as Lockwood kept silent after his arrest, and Beckett's weekly visits to the prison. A few weeks later, Lockwood was mysteriously transferred out of solitary confinement and put into the general population. It didn't take him long to seek out and killing McCallister. During the arraignment of that murder, Lockwood staged an escape. We discovered that Lockwood had been in regular contact with an outsider via coded messages in very brief phone calls. Later we were able to identify a prison administrator, Chuck Ryker, as the man who transferred Lockwood into general population without authorization. We also discovered that Ryker had received a mysterious payoff from a various banks in Dubai. However, when we went to arrest him, we found him dead. At that point, it was clear that the individuals behind Lockwood have a lot of influence and money." Several attendees nodded at that statement.
"It was then that we learned that Montgomery had been Raglan and McCallister's accomplice. What we didn't know though was that Montgomery had been in contact with Lockwood. In fact, I now know that Roy Montgomery not only knew who the Dragon is, the Captain actually had a package of incriminating evidence in his possession." Castle said the last sentenced looking at Ryan and Esposito. He could see the shock and a hint of betrayal in their eyes.
"He had sensitive information in his possession. Information that had been keeping the people who wanted Beckett dead off her back. He had made a deal with the Dragon: he would keep Beckett from investigating her mother's death, or I guess, at least making sure that Beckett didn't make any progress, and in turn, Beckett wouldn't be killed. And I guess, the evidence served as insurance that kept Montgomery himself and his family safe." Castle paused again.
"It seemed that the Dragon learned about Beckett's investigation due to the publicity surrounding Dick Coonan's shooting, and began taking steps to protect himself. Raglan and McCallister were killed, and Montgomery was the last of the trio that started all this. However, it seemed that the Dragon had more fear of Beckett than Montgomery. Understandable, if Montgomery would have wanted to out this Dragon, he would have done so much sooner. But then, his past deeds would have come to light, too. Something Montgomery wasn't keen on. So, Montgomery was given a choice: Beckett's life for Montgomery's and his family. The Captain agreed, only to double-cross them. The Captain made his last stand and ambushed Lockwood and his team. The Captain managed to kill everybody, but lost his life in the process, too." Castle said solemnly.
"In the aftermath of his death, the detectives and I went through our options. We had learned quite a bit. As I said before, we had painfully learned that this Dragon seemed to have a lot of influence and money. It was also clear that there were various people involved. We didn't know who to trust. That's why we decided to report only as few facts as possible, and covering up Montgomery's role in the conspiracy. As I mentioned before, Montgomery had a package of incriminating evidence in his possession. Before he left to make his last stand, Montgomery sent that package to a third party. This person tried to use this evidence to resume the old agreement Montgomery had made: Beckett would be left alone, as long as the investigation into her mother's case would end bare no new evidence."
Ryan and Esposito looked shocked again. They had not known this. "Then why was Beckett shot?" Esposito couldn't hold back his question.
"Well, it took a while until the papers reached Montgomery's friend, for this person to understand the information and then to actually struck a new deal. In the meantime, the Dragon had hired another hitman. Luckily for us, his attempt to assassinate Beckett failed."
"How do you know all this?" Commissioner Frank Reagan asked.
"Well, a few days after Beckett returned to the precinct, that third person contacted me and explained the terms of the deal. I was supposed to make sure that Beckett would not look deeper into the case." There was a shocked silence. Those who hadn't been in the know looked at Castle incredulously.
"You're kidding, Castle, right?" Esposito exclaimed. A sentiment that was shared amongst the others.
"No, Espo, I'm not." Before anybody else could say anything else, Castle spoke. "Before you all pester me with more question, please, let me get on with my briefing. I can assure you, we are far from over. In fact, it will even get worse. There are various threads of our investigation. I'd like to finish what had started with the Bob Armen's murder." Castle sighed.