American Crime Stories
Arc three, Chapter twenty nine
Castle, Ryan, Esposito and Fischer were sitting in their office. It was their first week on 'duty' after they had trained together for the past two weeks. They were still in the early stages of a new team, but they were working well together so far. Nobody was too surprised about the men working well together, as they had known each other and worked together for years. Although it was different now with Castle as a full member of the team. But he had proven himself to the others during various training simulations.
As they hadn't gotten a case so far, they were working through cold cases Ken had provided them. They had talked about it together and decided to do that or, if ask, join other teams to support their investigations. Unsurprisingly, no other team had asked for their help. But they had found some new ideas and theories in the cold case files. It had generated them some good will that they had handed of their leads to the original teams to investigate, instead of going out to investigate themselves. It was their own brand of public relations, as they knew that there were a few people in the New York Field Office, and beyond, that were wary about the resurrection of the VCTF. Especially, as the team was comprised of two detectives and a consultant, and only two 'real' agents. They were interrupted in their work, when Shaw walked into the office. "Everyone in the conference room now. We have our first case," she told the group.
"What are we looking at, Shaw?" Fischer asked a few minutes later taking a seat at the head of the table as the rest of the team filed in around the table.
"Three murders in a high security gated community in Orange County, California." Jordan said tossing a big stack of files on the table. "Three women, all in their early thirties. Two brunettes and one blond. All of them Caucasian," Shaw added.
"That isn't surprising in a gated community like the one we're talking about. Generally speaking, there are maybe one or two non-Caucasian families out of sixty," Rick stated, after speed reading through the report.
"Castle is right. Anyway, the victims were all strangled with a thin wire, most likely a garrote. The first victim, Victoria Townsend, was home alone. The second victim, Renee Wheeler, was in the house and her husband and kids were outside in the back yard camping. The third victim, Taryn Baker, was killed in the house with her husband and kid asleep in separate rooms down the hall," Shaw told them.
"That's an escalation from no risk to high risk targets," Castle stated.
"Could it be an outsider?" Ryan asked looking over the file with a calculating eye.
"No, that's the one thing the local cops are sure about. The community is surrounded by an eight foot anti-scaling fence and the only two entrances have around the clock guards. Also, because this is a secure community the local security is the local cops. The community is practically its own township, we're dealing with one semi-retired detective that runs the team over there and some rookies," Shaw said.
"This is going to be a real pain in the ass," Rick said tossing the file on the table.
"What do you mean, bro?" Esposito asked.
"Well, Espo. What's our working profile for a strangler?" Rick asked.
"Uh, white male, 25 to 45. Soft job with little to no power over anything. Submissive to his wife or girlfriend. He has some kind of hobby that he uses to release his frustrations and physicality. However, it's not enough so he snaps when pressure is applied," Esposito replied what he had learned. While he was a good detective, he'd never focused on profiling too much above the standard most cops learned at the academy and on the job. He had known though that he would have to read up profiling for this new job and started with Jordan's book.
"Congratulations, Espo, you just described pretty much all of the men that live in that community. We have over hundred suspects and pretty much all of them fit the profile of the strangler," Castle said.
"Yeah, you're right," Espo said as he realized that Castle was right.
"Oh, but that's not all, Espo. According to his pattern of kills he's going to strike in the next 100 hours. The flight to California and getting settled in with the local cops will knock several hours off that time. And that's hoping this guy can wait to kill. What if us showing up spooks him into killing sooner? Or worse, quitting all together and waiting until we leave to kill again. No matter how you look at this, someone could die before we catch this guy," Rick said shaking his head.
"Haven't thought about that. It's still knew for me to travel to a crime scene that far. It's going to be a new experience," Esposito said. And wasn't that the truth. The idea of working for the FBI was still odd for Esposito, and Ryan, to grasp. He had never thought about working for the Fed's, even when he got suspended by Gates who had made it clear that she wanted him, Ryan, and especially Beckett, out of her precinct. He had no problem working with Captain Eames, but had realized that working at the 12th Precinct had changed. He had thought about a transfer, but in the end, he didn't have to make that decision. He had been very surprised at the offer to join the VCTF and after talking it over with Kevin and Lanie, had decided to take the opportunity.
He couldn't be happier that Shaw and Castle had offered his girlfriend to join them. He knew that Lanie had liked working for the Office of Chief Medical Examiner (OCME), but didn't want to stay in the same position forever. However, she knew that it would be difficult to get promoted as her competition were pretty tough. Well, not Perlmutter, but Dr. Sid Hammerback, Dr. Peyton Driscoll or Dr. Henry Morgan for example were excellent in their job and would be first choice for higher positions. So, she had been very happy to be selected for the position with the FBI. Not only came it with much prestige, but also a bump in pay grade.
"You get used to it. Gather your things, we meet back here in a ten minutes to catch a chopper to the airfield," Shaw said shooing them out of the room.
On the plane, Castle sat next to Shaw, but they showed not much outward affection to one another. It was an unwritten rule between them now. They sat next to each other. They exchanged small touches when one of them felt the need to do so. They knew that Ryan and Esposito had no problem with their relationship. And they had spoken to Fischer who had told them that she, too, had no problem with it. Although she told them that she found it kind of strange. She had, however, asked them to keep the relationship on the low down as much as possible when they were in the field. Shaw had been impressed with the younger agents' attitude and had told her so.
Shaw looked over to Castle asking him what he was doing. "I'm compiling a list of things we can use to eliminate some of the suspects," Castle replied.
Overhearing him, Ryan asked, "What kind of things?"
"Things like the height of our killer. I'm pretty sure that we're looking for a man that's at least 5'11"," Rick said.
"Why do you think that?" Ryan asked.
"Well, if he were shorter, he wouldn't be able to get the pressure he needed to kill them. According to the autopsy reports, none of the victims had drugs or too much alcohol in their system. They weren't sedated. We all know that it's not easy to strangle someone in one go. All of our victims are about 5'8". The killer must have some height advantage, as you need a good two inches on your opponent to get them down. You also need a lot of physical strength. It's a lot harder to strangle someone then you would think," Rick said calmly causing the whole group to look at him strangely. Even Jordan who couldn't help but ask, "How would you know it's hard to strangle someone?"
"Let's just say that over the course of writing a book with a strangler as the killer, I had to go to some interesting places to do some research. One of those places was a den of kink and bondage. I'm not saying I was choked by a mistress in black leather, but something like that might have happened." Rick told the stunned group.
"So you've crossed off any short men off the list. Was there anything else?" Fischer asked trying to get the conversation back on track. She was intrigued with the insight the writer was showing. He had impressed her during his certifications and their training. But now they were heading out in the field and she wanted to see what the writer would offer to the team. Shaw was one of the leading profilers in the country. That was her specialty. It was an open secret that she could have joined the BAU any time she wanted. However, she was obviously their boss and would have various responsibilities as SAC. Esposito and Ryan were very knowledgeable cops with experience in homicide, narcotics and gangs. Esposito had the added bonus of having served in the Army Special Forces. She, too, had experience in working homicide. She had also worked a stint in anti-terrorism, vice and even white collar. That left Castle who showed surprising sufficiency in profiling so far. She was looking forward to see what else he would bring to the table.
"Yes, I think that we're looking for a man whose wife has a better job than him, or someone who comes from money. All of the women that he killed so far were highly educated with high powered jobs: a doctor, a corporate raider and the last victim had been a lawyer. Our guy is married to someone with the same type of job. He may even be a stay at home dad, but I doubt it. My experience as a stay at home dad tells me that after a long day of dealing with the kids, he should be too tired to plan, and execute three murders like this," Rick said.
"Congratulations Castle, you just described yourself. You're tall, physically fit, and as your boss, your girlfriend has a better job than you," Ryan said to the amusement of the others.
"Should I be worried?" Jordan asked.
"Well, Jordan, there are two kinds of people who sit around all day thinking about killing people: mystery writers and serial killers. I'm the kind that pays better," Castle said and paused for a moment. "Well, actually, that was in the past…" he added with a deep voice and creepy facial expression that stunned the group into silence for a moment, before they began laughing.
"Wow, creepy much, bro," Esposito said still chuckling.
After that moment of levity they continued to talk about the case. They all knew that time was of essence and needed to do as much work as they could before they landed.
After landing at a small airfield, they got into two black SUVs and headed out to the gated community. When they arrived there they were met with a lot of prying eyes and an older gentleman in a dark suit and gold shield on his waist.
"Special Agent Shaw? I'm Victor Isbecki, the Police Chief for the community." To the members of the VCTF, the man looked relieved at their appearance.
"It's nice to meet you, Chief Isbecki. These are Special Agents Kim Fischer, Detectives Javier Esposito, Kevin Ryan and our consultant, Richard Castle," Shaw introduced her team.
"We're glad you could all come. You are set up in the model house as you requested," Isbecki said leading them into the first house in front of the gate. The house was set up to show off the properties in the community. It had a map of the area and white boards already set up.
"I see you gave us a head start," Fischer said looking over the boards. Not bad for a local, she thought. She, like Shaw, had had different experiences in the past.
"Yeah, I used to work for the NYPD, before I decided to retire out here. It may have been a while, but some things you don't forget," he told the group. "I have files on every man in the community. Around 80 of them fit the typical profile of a strangler. I also have taped all interrogations we've done so far for you to watch or the transcripts to read," Isbecki said pointing to a big stack of files on the table.
"Castle, I want you to start going through files and interviews. Fischer and Ryan, look at the second crime scene. Esposito and I are going to walk the last crime scene. Meet back here in two hours," Shaw ordered. Everybody nodded.
"But first," Shaw said walking to a white board. She picked up a marker and wrote 60 hours on the board. "60 hours people. That's how much time we have left before he kills again. Let's get him before he kills another woman."
While the others made their way out of the house, Castle sat down at the table.
"I think this is your best suspect. He lives close to all the victims and he likes to jog at night," Isbecki told him, but Castle interrupted him. "Please say no more, Chief. I'd like to make my own impression. If we're lucky, I get to the same man," Castle said.
"Yeah, you're probably right. It's been a long time since I worked a homicide. And to be honest, I was never the best detective, that's why I called you guys. We mostly handle smaller things, drunk and disorderly, maybe so burglary, but that's it. As much as we tried, we're just not cut out to do this kind of thing," Isbecki said looking tired.
"Alright, let's go over the files and see what we're working with," Castle said patting the man on the back. He was impressed with the man's honesty.
Shaw and Esposito walked up the street to Taryn Baker's house. "Notice how the neighbors watch our every move?" Shaw asked. "That's typical gated community mentality. They can't imagine one of their own did this, so they fear outsiders. And cop or no cop, for them, we're outsiders. And then there is the fact that you're a Latino. For these closed minded Fox News watchers, you fit the scary image in their head of the man they think did this. I'm sure that if we talk to the two black men and two Latinos who live in the community, that they will tell you they've been getting suspicious looks for the last few days," Shaw said making sure to remember every face he saw. Killers tended to try to keep tabs on the investigation after all.
"Yeah, I know. I've been living with that since my birth. Even people who knew that I was a cop, kept looking suspiciously at me."
"Alright, this is the house right? 1545 Dogwood Lane," Shaw said.
They walked around the house. "How did the suspect get in the house? Looks like a good sturdy door. Alarms on all the windows. Spear topped gate to the back yard," Esposito wondered.
"According to the file, he used a garage door opener," Shaw replied walking up to the front door and knocking. "Alright, let's go inside." The door opened and a six foot tall well-built man in his late thirties with blond hair opened the door. "Can I help you?" He asked.
"Mr. Baker? I'm Special Agent Jordan Shaw and this is my colleague, Detective Javier Esposito. We're with the FBI. We would like to ask you a few questions about your wife's murder?" Shaw said flashing her badge.
"Come in," the man said eyeing the two wearily.
"First off, I would like to express my deepest condolences for your loss. I understand you were asleep in the room down the hall when she was attacked," Shaw said taking in the house as she followed Tom Baker into the sitting room.
"I didn't hear a thing. I didn't even know until I got up the next morning and I saw…" He suddenly trailed off, looking close to tears.
"We're dealing with a highly skilled killer, Mr. Baker. I would be shocked if you did hear anything," Shaw said watching Baker's eyes as she spoke. She wasn't sure what she was expecting, but a slight twitch of the corner of his lips was not it. Something wasn't right about that, her experiences told her.
"What can you tell me about that night? Anything stand out in your mind as odd or out of place?" Esposito asked.
"Nothing. I've been going over it in my head, but nothing stands out. Nothing at all. My wife and I got home at the same time around six. Our daughter Emily came home from her friend's house down the street an hour later. That's where she is now. We had dinner a little after that. Emily went up to her room to do homework. I went into the living room to watch TV. My wife went to her office to work some more. I checked on Emily at ten, and she was asleep. I said goodnight to Taryn and went to bed," he said looking haggard and tired.
"The report says that the killer gained access to the house through the garage," Shaw said trying to track his response.
"Funny thing about that, they don't tell you that there are only five codes for the doors and that any remote can open one out of five doors on the street," Baker said looking pissed off.
"I just have one more question, Mr. Baker. I see you have moving boxes down here. Are you going somewhere?" Shaw asked.
"I'm getting out of this house and this community. I'm taking my daughter and going to my sister's house in Bakersfield. I can't live in the house in which my wife was brutally murdered," Baker said looking sad.
That's interesting, Shaw thought. She had heard those reasons before. However, normally people say that in anger or disgust, not sadness.
"Thank you for your time. We might be back later if we find anything," Shaw told him. "Here, take my card. If you think of something, please call me. You would be shocked how the smallest fact can break a case like this open," Shaw said.
Shaw and Esposito left and walked back to the model house. "So, what do you think?" He asked.
"I'm not sure. Something was off. I think he's hiding something. I'm not sure what it is, but he's definitely hiding something," Shaw replied.
"You think he knows who the killer is?" Esposito asked.
"I don't know. I do know that something was off. He was holding back on us. And his explanation for the garage door? I don't buy it. None of these killings were random. The killer has planned his kills meticulously. He knew exactly which house he was entering. That tells me he knows how to modify a garage door opener."
"Our guy has a tech background," Esposito said out loud what she was thinking.