Flu

Chapter 20

"Does this writer mean to imply that my autopsy report wasn't complete?" Perlmutter demands, scowling at Castle while thinning strands paste themselves to his sweaty skull.

"Not at all," Kate soothes, "it's just that since we now have a suspect in custody, we'd like to clarify a few things."

Perlmutter tugs at his lab coat. "I can't imagine how I wasn't clear. What do you want to know?"

"For example, from the size and intensity of the blast, did it appear that the deaths were intentional or collateral damage from destroying the building?" Kate responds.

"More than intentional," Perlmutter declares. "Those bodies didn't just suffer the shock of the explosion and the consequent fire. The effect was more like an incinerator or a crematorium. Burning the wooden supports of a building would require 1100 degrees. That blaze had," Perlmutter pounds his palm with his fist, "more oomph. It takes 1600 -1800 degrees to completely destroy a body. The heat of that one had to have been very close. There was also a matter of the location of the victims. They weren't at the epicenter of the explosion. They might have been thrown back if they were. The bodies were in the hottest part of the burn. Whoever set that fire knew exactly how to take out the victims and did it."

Kate rewards the M.E. with a smile. "That's very helpful. Have you seen similar cases?"

"Very few," Perlmutter admits. "I could put together a list for you."

Kate smiles more broadly. "I'd appreciate that very much."

"I'll email it to you," Perlmutter promises.

"Should I be jealous?" Rick asks as they leave the Medical Examiner's building.

"Of Perlmutter? Only if his reports start to read like page 105 of 'Heat Wave.'"

Rick smirks. "I've read his reports. I think he's got a way to go."

"This is getting to be a steady gig for you," Eli observes, taking a seat next to a disguised Lana in the back of a police cruiser.

"I've had worse ones," Lana admits. "I pissed off Sergeant Ortiz at the academy and was stuck cleaning and disinfecting the mats in the gym for two weeks. I knew we sweated but, ugh! God, am I channeling DeNuncio?"

Eli chuckles. "Not unless you're planning on power scrubbing the entire academy. Anything you like to do besides setting yourself up as a target for the mob?"

"There's not much chance to do it unless I want to get on a plane, but I love cross-country skiing. It came in handy when we had that big snowfall last year. Even the garbage trucks had trouble getting through the streets, but my skis got me to the subway. I was able to check on my parents too."

"I've never been skiing, cross-country or downhill," Eli admits. " I'm more into cycling. But I'm going to be meeting some family in Minnesota soon, on the trip I told you about. I hear some of them ski."

Lana nods. "In Minnesota, I'm not surprised. Maybe you can bring back some good ski stories."

Eli makes a mental note to keep his ears open for snow tales. "Maybe I can."

"Detective Beckett, Mr. Castle," Tori calls across the bullpen, "there's something you need to see."

As Rick and Kate trot through the door to tech, Tori points to a screen filled with text that only a coder could love. "What are we looking at?" Kate asks.

"Evidence that communications at the N.Y.P.D. were hacked. Our security software kicked in to block it, but whoever broke in still picked up a lot of department-confidential messages. Some of them were about Leo DeNuncio and Sophie Conti."

Kate blanches. "The plan for transporting Leo to a safe house?"

"No, that was air-gapped. The copies went to a hardwired printer. And the breach was patched by then. But the account of what happened at the Saracen and for a few hours afterward went out."

"Which means someone may already be after Sophie Conti," Kate realizes. "Any idea who the hacker was?"

"Still tracing, but there are bread crumbs. The minute I have something solid, I'll let you know."

"What's taking so long?" Chris complains. "Dino could have someone on the doorstep any second."

"I know," Rita spits out through gritted teeth. "But my firewalls are getting pinged like crazy. Someone's trying to track me. I have to work around it to grab access to the accounts we need. I'm going as fast as I can. You could do something useful and take all the stuff down to the car."

Chris surveys Rita's luggage. "Why'd you have to take so much anyway? I thought you'd like to buy new clothes."

"It's mostly equipment," Rita argues. "But I have to have my shoes."

Chris grumbles as he hefts a case. The way Rita's legs look in spike heels is one of the things that makes him crazy for her, but having to drag this stuff along won't make for a quick getaway.

Not seeing Castle or Beckett at her desk from the bullpen, Tori checks the breakroom. Rick can't miss the triumph on the tech's face. "You found the hacker!"

"I have coordinates, and the machine is still active," Tori reports. "It's in a building in the village."

"Do you know whose computer it is?" Kate asks.

"No, and I was bumping up against all kinds of security. Whoever is running that operation will know they've been breached. If you're going after them, you better hurry. I already emailed you the address."

"Great!" Kate pulls out her phone and forwards the location to dispatch. She heads out of the room with Castle on her heels, "I'll have marked units on the place until we can get there."

With cases and bags in each hand and under his arms, Chris pulls back from the outer door to Rita's building and takes the stairs back to her apartment, two at a time. "There are cops out front!"

"Almost there," Rita pants. "That's it!. We've got the money. I'll use my card maker while you drive."

"We can't take the car, Rita," Chris argues. "The cops out there will see me load up your bags. They might even know who to look for."

"Then we'll take the fire stairs to the basement. The service door opens on the alley. We can come out of it on another street and catch a cab."

"You guys check the back," Kate orders Ryan and Esposito as they pile out of their car behind Beckett's unit.

"On it!" Esposito replies, taking off to round the building on a run.

"Hurry up, Baby," Rita urges, as she and Chris take the narrow stairs. She reaches for one of the bags. "Give me that. We have to move." Her heels click against aging wood as she and Chris hurry toward a metal door. She puts her weight against it, forcing a sticky latch. As they push through, gun barrels aim at her and Chris from both sides of the door.

"If it isn't Christopher Carlucci, the Scarpella family's favorite extortionist, and a friend. Going on a trip?" Ryan inquires.

"They're going somewhere," Esposito interjects, "right to the 12th Precinct."

Rick takes a sip of a remake of the coffee he'd abandoned two hours before. "What I can't figure out is how easily Carlucci and his talented friend accepted being arrested. Ryan said Carlucci had a gun and didn't even try to use it. Neither of them protested or even asked for a lawyer. What do you think's going on, Kate?"

Kate takes a swallow of potent brew from her favorite blue mug. "What I think is that they're less scared of us than they are of Dino Scarpella. If he's cleaning house, this is the safest place they could be."