American Crime Stories
Arc three, Chapter thirty two
"Hey guys, listen, the other day I met with a group of floater agents…"
"Bro, what the hell are floater agents? The only floaters I know are dead bodies," Esposito asked.
"Floaters are agents that are not assigned to any specific department. They work out of an office on the sixth floor. If any department gets swamped or need assistance, they call in some floaters to help. However, all they get to do is mostly rookie work or work the Special Agents can't be bothered with."
The others nodded, showing that they understood.
"Anyway, we started talking and I offered them some help. I thought you'd like to help me, especially as it would help us make a good impression. You know, the new guys helping out other agents."
"It could also be seen the other way around, you know, the guys showing up the agents."
"You're right, Kevin. But I'd like to think positive. Anyway, none of them have worked any real investigations from start to end. So, I offered to work with them through a simulation. I have asked 1PP for permission to use one of our cases," Castle said rubbing his hands gleefully. Seeing his expression, Ryan and Esposito didn't need long to decide. "Okay, bro, tell us what you have in mind."
Two weeks later, on a Saturday morning, Castle finished fixing a dummy on a couch, stepped back and nodded. It looked just like they had found the real crime scene in the shrink's office. He, Esposito and Ryan had talked about his idea. After a brainstorming session they had refined his plans and worked out the details. They were very happy that they were allowed to have copies of their case files. They had used them to refresh their memories, check some details and set the stage for their simulation. All three of them were looking forward to their unofficial teaching lesson.
They had already set up the second scene outside at the back parking lot. Now all they needed to do was bring the group in. "You guys ready?"
Castle asked Ryan and Esposito who were looking over the white board in the room to make sure all the facts were right.
"Yeah, bro. We finished checking. Let's call in those floaters and see what they've got."
"Alright, then. Let the games begin."
A few minute later, several young agents followed Castle into the prepared room.
"Come on in, guys. Let me introduce you to two of New York's finest, Detectives Javier Esposito and Kevin Ryan, who have graciously accepted to help me out today. Ryan, Espo, let me introduce you to Special Agents Carmen Santiago, Melissa Hill, Fay Li, Michael Forester and Justin Porter."
While they greeted each other, Ryan and Esposito took a look at the Special Agents. Carmen Santiago was an attractive short Hispanic with brown hair and grey eyes. Melissa Hill was a tall curvy black girl with long straight hair pulled back into a bun. Fay Li was a small and skinny Asian girl. Michael Forester was a chubby white kid with thick glasses. Justin Porter was short, maybe 5'4" at the most and his shaggy light brown hair.
"Alright, now that we all know each other, we can start. I want you to listen to us very closely as we give you the facts of the case. Let's begin."
Castle said and pointed to the couch.
"Meet Ashley Cosway, age 32. She was a couple's therapist. Ashley was found by her husband Jason Cosway, also 32 years old, at 11:25 p.m. Ashley suffered three GSWs to her chest and died trying to get to the phone to call for help. Walk around the room and look over the real crime scene photos. One of us will be around so that you can ask us anything you think can help you solve this case." Castle told the group.
He, Ryan and Esposito stood to the side as the five agents walked around the room.
"Was this a case you solved?" Porter asked.
"Yes, we did," Castle replied.
"It was one of your cases?" Santiago asked.
"Yes, chica. We worked it in our first year together," Esposito replied.
"Cool."
"Were there signs of struggle?" Li asked, and Esposito confirmed that the victim had bruises on both arms.
"What was the time of death?" Porter asked.
"Between 8 and 9 p.m.," Ryan replied, checking the original case file.
"Why had she been in the office so late?" Forester asked.
"According to her husband, she'd work late a couple of nights a month when she was writing up case notes and do other office stuff."
"Does the husband have an alibi?" Melissa asked looking closely at the crime scene photos.
"Yes, he does. He was with a friend the whole night. They went to a basketball game at the Garden," Ryan replied.
"A bit lucky, don't you think?" Santiago asked mockingly.
"Now, Santiago, are you trying to imply that the husband killed his wife?" Forester asked.
"Noooo, I would never make that leap. It's only the case for like two thirds of all murdered spouses," Santiago replied.
"I wouldn't call the husband out yet. Look at the writing on her face. PSYCHO THE RAPIST, on her right cheek; YOUR OUT OF TIME, on her left. It is not turned far enough, but there are the words HOW, MAKE and FEEL," Melissa told the group. "'Psycho the rapist, your out of time'? I don't know what the message is supposed to mean, but it is spelled wrong. It's supposed to be 'YOU'RE', not 'YOUR'. The husband is a well-educated man, do you think he's going to make a spelling error like that?"
"He could have if he wanted to throw the investigators off his scent," Justin replied. "I used to frame my older brother for things all the time."
"I suppose you're right."
"Was her jewelry stolen?" Carmen asked the next question.
"Yes, it was stolen." Ryan replied.
"And this white residue on her right sleeve, do we know what it is?" Forester asked looking at the chalk dust Castle had smudged on the dummy's sleeve.
"You won't get the test results until later. We're trying to simulate the case as best as we can get it to a real investigation. You won't be given all of the facts at the start of the case. Facts will be given to you as we got them," Castle explained.
"How was the couple's marriage?" Li asked.
"According to neighbor statements, the marriage was rocky. A lot of fighting and two of the neighbors think they were cheating on each other," Esposito answered.
"Note the dinner for two?" Ryan asked. "That wasn't for the husband and her last meeting was scheduled for six o'clock."
"You said, the neighbors 'thought' that they were cheating. Did they actually cheat on each other?" Porter asked.
"At this time there is no proof, only the gossip of the next door neighbors," Ryan replied. "But the husband really seemed to be broken up about his wife's death."
"What kind of caliber were the slugs the M.E. pulled out of the victim?" Forester asked.
"Small, maybe a .22." Rick said, checking his watch.
He signaled the others who nodded. "Listen up, everybody. Dispatch just called, we have a pop and drop on 102th street. Let's go to that crime scene. Follow us, please." Castle said and led everybody out of the room and down to the back parking lot.
When they arrived downstairs, the floaters could see that there was a ten foot square that was taped off. On the ground lay a dummy dressed like an old guy. To the side stood a white board with evidence. Two agents were gawking at the set up.
Castle walked up to them. "Hi, I'm Rick Castle. Can we help you?"
"Oh, sorry. We're just admiring your set up."
"Thank you. It was taken from real life. We're using it to run these guys through some crime scene practice." Castle explained and pointed to the floaters behind him.
"That's great. This is Special Agent Diana Barrigan and I'm Special Agent Clinton Jones," the man introduced himself. Castle thought about the name, trying to remember where he had heard them before. Then it clicked.
"You work with Peter Burke at White Collar."
"You know Peter?" Agent Barrington asked surprised.
"Yes, my girlfriend introduced me to him and his wife."
"Ah, Special Agent Shaw," Barrington said in a tone, Castle couldn't identify.
"Yes, is that a problem?"
"No, sorry. I didn't mean anything. Anyway, you guys have fun."
"Thank you, Agent Barrington. Agent Jones." The two agents left and Castle turned back to the group.
"Okay guys, meet Frank Anderson. A retired math teacher. He was shot at close range and from behind while he was out taking his nightly walk. He was found by a cop patrolling the park," Castle explained.
"The wound at the midsection looks huge. Which caliber was used to shoot him?" Forester asked looking at the photos.
".38, maybe even a .45. You won't know for a while," Ryan replied.
"Was this a mugging? Li asked.
"Well, wallet's gone, as was his watch and jewelry," Esposito replied without providing a direct answer.
"So, it was a robbery," Li concluded.
"Well, it looks like one, doesn't it? But don't come to a conclusion so fast, chica," Esposito warned her. Li nodded.
"Are these the only facts we get for this case?" Hill asked.
"They are, and it's going to take the right questions to get any additional information out of us. Just like in a real investigation, a random killing in the park is one of the hardest thing you can solve. However, if you ask the right question, if you knock on the right door, they will be some of the easiest to put together," Ryan explained and Esposito nodded.
"Anyway, just like we did, you have to solve both cases simultaneously," Castle told the group.
"This is way harder to solve then the one upstairs. No leads, less evidence. The evidence we have could be random or it could be something important. They could be hitting us with this case to take our attention off the case upstairs. This could be a trap," Santiago said to the other agents.
"She's right, you know. We could be trying to overwhelm you, take your attention off the case upstairs," Castle said with a smirk.
"You could stop us from doing that by splitting up. There are five of you, one more then we had for those investigations. You could form two teams and attack these cases separate or stick together and try to solve them one at a time. It's you decision."
"What did you do?" Li asked.
Castle looked to his friends, smiling at the memory. They had a lot of fun in their little bet. The others smiled back.
"We actually split up. Castle worked with the lead detective, Beckett, on the Cosway case, and my bro here and I took the one in the park," Esposito replied.
"Anyway, the rest of this day is going to run at the speed of a week. At the end of the day, if you don't have both cases solved they will go away into the cold case box and you'll never know who killed these two people," Castle explained.
"So, talk about it for a moment. Just because we did split up doesn't mean you have to do so, too. Remember, the detectives have years of experience and even I had worked dozens of cases at that time," Castle added.
"Also, although we split up to take the lead at one case each, the other detectives and officers from the 12th were happy to help us," Ryan told the group and then looked at the others.
They all shared a smile again, reminiscing the way some colleagues kept on popping in, even from different departments, as their little bet had made the round.
"As a little incentive, I have decided to pay each of you one hundred dollars for each murder you solve," Castle told the group who looked even more excited now.
"Now the question remains, are you going to split up into teams or are you going to work both cases?" Castle asked.
Forester looked around at his colleagues. "Do we split up or not? Although, I wouldn't mind the money, I'd rather have the feeling of accomplishing something and solve both cases. Like they did."
"Yeah, but as Castle said, they have years of experience between them. We don't." Fi said.
"True. We may have not made too much of an impression yet as agents until now, but we did come through the Academy. That has to mean something," Forester replied.
"Yeah, it does. But do you really think we can solve both cases?" Polter asked.
"I think we should try," Hill said.
"Hey guys, you're burning day light. It's 11am right now, by 3pm one of these cases will get a good break, one that could net you a win. But if you don't have identified the killer, their means, motive and opportunity and physical evidence as to why they did it by five, the cases go cold and you lose," Castle told them looking at his watch.
"Alright, let's split up. Santiago, why don't you and I work the Cosway case? You had the feeling that the husband was the killer. Let's go and proof it."
"Alright."
"Okay, Polter you up for investigating this one?" Hill asked pointing to the dummy on the floor. "And Li could work as, well, sorry for the expression, but you could work as a floater. Castle said that they had support from other people. You okay with that?"
"Sure, no problem."
"Alright, then. We", here Castle pointed to Ryan, Esposito and himself, "are going to go to our office. The teams can use the conference rooms at our floor. Come to us when you have questions."
The Agents nodded.
"Oh, and one last thing. You will get new clues on the hour. Like in real life, those clues may be good or they may turn out to be false leads. So, let's go people." Castle turned to Ryan and Esposito. "I need a coffee, you guys want one?"
"Sure, bro." "Sure."
"Alright, see you later guys. Have fun." Castle said and the three men left.
"Wow, this whole set up is great, they know what they are doing," Santiago said.
"You have no idea. Did anybody check-up on them?" Hill asked, and the others shook their head.
"I did. I looked up some of the cases they worked in the past. Not only did they solve some pretty difficult cases, their closure rate was extremely high. In fact, it was the highest closure rate citywide," Hill told them.
"Wow," Li exclaimed.
"You don't happen to have read the case files for these murders, did you?" Polter asked Hill.
"No, sorry."
"Too bad."
"Yeah. Anyway, let's take the murder board upstairs and start working."
A while later, Castle, Ryan and Esposito were playing cards when they were interrupted by Forester, Santiago and Li.
"Yes?" Castle asked looking up at them.
"It's noon, you told us that we would get a new clue on the hour," Forester said.
"That's right. Ashley's dinner guest was a lawyer named Brandy Rossi who Ashley had invited to ask for some legal advice. According to Rossi, that was a regular event, as Ashley was her best friend. However, that time Ashley wanted to know how to file a restraining order. Rossi thought it might be about a client," Castle told them.
"At what time did Rossi come to the office and at what time did she leave?" Santiago asked.
"She arrived around 6:00 and left around 7:00. Then Rossi went to the Gansevoort to have drinks with co-workers. They confirm that she arrived for drinks at 7:15, left at 11:00."
"What did the husband say about this client?" Santiago asked.
"He told us that he has no idea what we're talking about. According to him, his wife took her job very seriously and didn't tell him anything about any of her clients," Rick told them.
"And your time is up, as the other team is here. Out you go, think the clues over."
Castle said shoeing them out the door, while Ryan and Esposito looked on, smiling.
"Hello, Agent Hill. What can I do for you?"
"New clue," Hill simply said.
Castle turned to the detectives. They had decided that they would provide the clues for this case as they had originally investigated it.
"One of the victim's neighbors told us that the vic took a walk in the park every night at the same time. Like clockwork," Esposito told her.
"Is the park in a rough neighborhood?" she asked.
"It is. There was a local gang that was known to hang out in the park," Ryan replied.
"Right," Hill said walking out of the room.
The three men shook their heads. "She wasn't asking the right questions," Ryan said.
"Yeah, bro. And she came up here alone. She was missing things that Polter might have picked up on."
"Or Li. I don't understand why she didn't stay here. I understand that she has probably the most difficult job from them all, trying to keep up with both investigations," Castle said.
"But at least the other team tried to incorporate her in their investigation," Ryan said.
"Yeah. Well, let's wait and see what they are going to ask us in an hour."
They went back to playing cards.
An hour later, Forester came walking into the office. "Yes?" Rick asked looking up at her.
"What's the next clue, Castle?"
"We looked into clients with violent histories and found one guy, Hal Ross. Sadly, he turned out not to be involved. However, he told us that a man had been yelling during the session before his. According to Ross, the guy was cursing Ashley. It had gone so bad that Ross was tempted to go in there, but then he heard the other guy leave."
"What's the guy's name?"
Castle grabbed a piece of paper. "Here, I wrote it down."
Castle made a show of checking it. "Ooops, it seemed that I wrote it down wrong. Well, you're going to have to unscramble the name out of these three words. It's a two word name. However, there are way more letters in the clue then you need," Castle explained and handed Forester a slip of paper with three long words on it.
Forester stared at the paper and then at Castle. "You have got to be kidding me, Castle. This is not funny," he said.
"You're right, it's not funny. It's brain work. I can tell you this, if you go back to the crime scene you will find the name," Castle told him.
"Now go to work. If you don't have the name in an hour, I won't be able to give you the next clue. If that were the case, the clue after that won't really help you."
Forester nodded and left.
A few moments later, Hill came to see them again. This time she was accompanied by Polter and Li.
"Hey guys, it's good to see you. Last time Melissa came to us all by herself," Castle said.
"And she took half a clue, right?" Polter asked, not really angry about the fact.
Hill had asked him whether he wanted to accompany her, but he wanted to keep on working. So, it had been both their mistake.
"Very perceptive, Polter. Sadly for you, the other part of the first clue is gone," Castle said. "I told you that you would have to ask the right questions."
He looked to Ryan who started to speak.
"We arrested a mugger that worked that night at the park. When we found him, he was carrying a .45 caliber handgun."
"Now, to see if the ballistics actually match the slug pulled out of the victim, you have to put together this 200 piece jigsaw puzzle. You have one hour to bring us a picture of the puzzle with five pieces missing and sitting next to the puzzle," Esposito told the group while Castle handed Hill the box.
"And, the next time you come up here without the full team, we'll send you on an even wilder goose chase," Castle told them.
"Exactly, you're only as strong as your team, everybody brings something different to the table. That's why we worked so well together as a team," Ryan said pointing at the previous members of the 12th Precinct.
The Agents nodded and walked away.
"Yo, bro. Those ideas were mean, Castle," Esposito said smiling.
"Yeah, but so much fun. Feed the birds."
And the three of them did so.
A/N: Happy New Year!
The end is near for ACS as only a few chapters remain. I won't immediately start to work on the sequel. While I do have some ideas for it, I want to start publish other fics first. After working on ACS for four years, I'm looking forward to deep dive into other projects. Because of that, I'm not sure when I start to work on ACS: Hunt (working title for now). It can be this year or next, or maybe never at all. We'll have to wait and see.
For now, I want to bring ACS to an end that appeals to me and hopefully entertains you.
Wear masks and stay safe!