Flu
Chapter 34
Lacking a square inch of space left in the cargo area of the minivan, Roy helps Eli secure his newly acquired ski equipment on the roof rack. "What are you going to do if New York has a warm winter?" Roy asks.
"Maybe Lana and I can go to the Poconos for a weekend," Eli considers.
"Uh-huh. You'd better have your mind back on your job by Tuesday morning," Montgomery advises. "I got a text from Kate Beckett. She collared a con man turned murderer she'd love to see you throw in a hole. Total sonofabitch the way she describes him. Maybe he can share a cell with DeNuncio."
"Beckett's suspect might end up wishing New York was still giving death sentences." Eli reflects. "And if his roomie doesn't rival Mr. Clean, DeNuncio might wish for one for himself."
Montgomery chuckles. "Sounds like poetic justice."
Eli shrugs. "Anything's possible. I'll have to see how the D.A. feels about giving me the case." He tests the tie-downs holding his skis in place. "I think we're ready to roll."
Montgomery jingles the key to the van. "Then, let's load up the family and get on the road."
Closing his eyes, Rick takes a swig from his second mug of his expensive-but-worth-it Kona coffee. "Unless I'm dreaming, with Mudd locked away for the rest of the holiday, we have two whole days before we return to hunting desperate criminals, and I regain my cupcakes-for-the-P.T.A.-dad persona."
"And you were going to figure out the perfect way to spend them," Kate reminds her husband.
"Indeed I was," Rick acknowledges. "And I have. I had the housekeeper at the Hamptons house make sure we were provisioned for a laidback holiday. Mother has an assignation, but Alexis will be bringing Paige along. The girls can calculate their strategies for conquering their junior year at Marlowe Prep, while we do as we will. I propose romantic walks on the beach, lazing by the pool, and lots of time between high thread-count sheets. Note that the master suite is at the far end of the house from Alexis' room and the guest room. We'll be free to enjoy whatever pleasures we wish. But I planned a family barbecue before we return to the city. It's hardly a holiday weekend without a burger on the barbie."
"I think the phrase is 'a shrimp on the barbie,'" Kate teases.
"If you wanted to go down under, you should have said so." Rick paries.
Kate drapes herself across his lap. "We'll figure out something. When do we leave? My dad went up to his cabin for the weekend, and I want to let him know where I'll be. He was worried that I got back into the thick of policework too soon."
"As if anyone could stop you."
When the FBI moved in to seize the Scarpella compound, a few of the family's staff managed to slip the federal net. One such member was Luca Arnelli. Dino noticed Luca's talent in the kitchen when Arnelli was still a teenager and sent him to culinary school. After Luca completed his studies, Dino put him in charge of food for high-ranking family gatherings. At the Cardano's loss of their compound to the Scarpellas, Luca became the retreat's chef in residence. He has no rap sheet and was out meeting with a supplier when the cops closed in, so he wasn't arrested.
After the raid, Luca had no trouble finding other employment in the Hamptons, taking a position with a catering company that specializes in lavish parties. He bitterly resents what happened to the man who'd allowed him to pursue the profession he adores but hasn't been able to do anything about it – until now.
Luca knows most of the regular patrons of the Hamptons Fresh Food Market by sight, and the housekeeper who works part-time for Richard Castle is no exception. When he spots her having beef ground to order, he suspects that Castle and his bitch cop wife will be coming to the Hamptons to celebrate labor day. That's a bad joke in itself. The hack writer probably never did a day's hard work in his life. The former mob chef has some urgent calls to make. Dino may be behind prison walls, but Luca and a few others loyal to the Scarpellas can be his hands in the outside world. If Luca has anything to say about it, this will be the last weekend on earth for Richard Castle and Detective Katherine Beckett.
Jack hasn't been back in the states in a while. Putin's been setting up cyber teams to make mischief for U.S. allies, and Jack's been busy cleaning out their nests. But he has a few days in New York and was hoping to spend some time checking on his family. Just his luck, he spotted Richard packing up his car for a trip. He watches his son, daughter-in-law, and granddaughter pile into Richard's Mercedes. Martha isn't with them. No doubt, she has other plans that Jack shouldn't dwell on too much.
Jack doesn't have to follow Richard. He can track the car's GPS and has a pretty good idea where the vehicle is headed anyway. Richard's done well enough for himself to own a beach house in the Hamptons, as nice a spot as any to spend a holiday. Jack can keep an eye on the place and maybe even find an opening to exchange a few words with his son. He'll see what happens.
Luca knows a lot about cooking but nothing about alarm systems except for how to enter a code. None of the remaining Scarpella faithful have much expertise with electronic security either. Luca has little chance of breaking into the Castle beach house undetected, but he easily climbs up to the grounds from the beach and looks around. He's hoping to find a propane grill. Diligent chefs know that there are thousands of propane grill fires a year. Sometimes the explosions ravage unwary cooks and their families. Luca's work gives him a vested interest in knowing how to prevent such disasters, but he also has an idea of how to cause one.
When Luca reaches Castle's grilling area, curses freely erupt from his lips. Who would have thought a rich author would go to the trouble of using charcoal? He looks around for other possibilities. From what he can make out, the heating for the pool is solar. There could be a backup electrical system somewhere, but that won't help him much. Or maybe it will.
Storms in the area knock out the power on a pretty regular basis. The Scarpella compound has a backup generator – that runs on propane. Many of the homes he's cooked in have them too. Luca circles the house, trying not to get too close. He spots the generator and the propane tank. The tank feeding the generator is a hell of a lot bigger than the one for a grill. Luca can visualize a fatal fireball. He's just not sure how to cause it and survive the experience.
DeNuncio was the family's expert in fires and explosions. But blowing the tank can't be that hard, and there isn't much you can't find on the internet. Hell, he heard that there are instructions online for building an atom bomb. With a little research, Castle and family won't survive the weekend. That won't get Dino off the hook, but it might give him some satisfaction. Luca owes Dino that much, and it's time to pay up.