Flu

Chapter 51

"I'm seeing a bunch of for-sale signs," Rick notes as Kate makes the drive to Teaneck. "After the recession, a lot of people around here must be downsizing."

"Babe," Kate reminds him, "we agreed we'd wait two years before talking about finding a bigger place and adding to our family."

"I know," Rick concedes, "and Alexis has two years to go at Marlowe Prep. I'm not about to uproot her. Although if we found a house in the city, we wouldn't have to. It wouldn't mess with your job, either. Unfortunately, it would probably cost several times per square foot what these do."

Kate reaches across the console to pat his arm. "Hey, you're working with the N.Y.P.D., you're writing, and you've got the Pumpkin Palace. You're stretched pretty thin already without worrying about making a move we weren't going to consider for years. How are things going for the feast, anyway?"

"We should have enough fixings to feed a few hundred homeless throughout the day. The writer regulars will be serving, and the chef got some colleagues to volunteer time. Alexis and her friends at Marlowe Prep twisted some parental arms for contributions. Also, the Cooking Network will be sending one of their second-tier celebrities to whip up a special dish. They'll be videoing what goes on in the kitchen, but I had Mark tell them that shooting any of the people we're feeding is off-limits. I won't have them used as props to promote the network or Pumpkin Castle. And I thought I'd put in some time slinging stuffing, to give some of the volunteers a break."

"If the department doesn't issue an all-hands-on-deck call, I want to dish out meals too. But the holidays are always problematic. The department tries to let as many cops as possible spend time with their families, but mental illness spikes and more people may need help. I'll have to roll with whatever comes up, but I'm looking forward to some downtime with you, Alexis, and even Martha."

"I'm for a Castle clan interlude myself and..." Rick points through the windshield. "Over there. That looks like Brunner's place."

Kate parks at the curb in front of a large home with a giant blow-up pumpkin in the front yard. "He should be expecting us. I sent him a copy of his report to review. I thought it might refresh his memory."

Leighton Brunner opens the door almost immediately after Kate rings the doorbell. "Please come in! I've always wondered if anyone would revisit Bridget McCready's murder. I have daughters and granddaughters. I hate to think that a monster who'd do what he did to Bridget is still out there."

"Sidney Perlmutter said to say hello," Castle inserts.

"Ah, the porcupine pathologist, or has he mellowed?" Brunner asks.

"As quick with the quill-covered quips as ever," Rick replies. "Ooh, try saying that three times fast."

Brunner chuckles. "I wouldn't even want to say it once." He inclines his head toward a leather couch with a welcoming patina of use. "Please, sit. My wife took the grandchildren shopping, so no need to worry about speaking freely. How can I help you?"

"Dr. Brunner, you noted that the victim had been tied up and strangled with a ligature. Any idea what the killer used?" Kate asks.

Brunner shakes his head. "Not precisely. I found minute traces of leather on Bridget's neck, but the marks didn't match a belt or anything else with which I'm familiar. The lab analysis suggested that the leather might have been hand-tanned, but the level of confidence was only 50%, so I couldn't state it as fact in my report. However, it is possible that the murderer worked with leather, either professionally or as a hobby. The pattern of the rope and the fibers it left behind were common. The killer could have purchased it in any hardware store."

"How about D.N.A.?" Rick questions. "Is there a chance there was some you didn't have the technology to detect or analyze at the time?"

"As far as detection goes, the possibility of missing something always exists," Brunner replies, "but in this case, it's a slight one. I was quite thorough going over the surface of Bridget's skin. The condition of her body suggested that her killer took great pains not to leave anything of himself behind. Aside from the lack of foreign pubic hair, I saw no signs of saliva, other hair, sweat, or even a stray skin cell. It was as if the murderer raped her wearing a hazmat suit. If he did shed something, it might have been on Bridget's clothes, but those were never found. He must have disposed of them somehow."

"If he didn't leave anything, could he have taken something?" Castle queries. "Could he have removed something that would go unnoticed, like a small lock of hair?"

"You probably saw from the pictures, Bridget's hair was short. Even if I missed it, anything snipped out should have been noticeable to my assistant back then. She spent some time working in a mortuary, doing cosmetic work. But when I was checking for tissue under Bridget's nails, I noted that they were cut extremely short and straight across, not rounded the way most women would shape them. The killer might have done it, either to destroy evidence or take the nails as a trophy."

"Or both," Kate considers. "If that's his signature, it will give us something to look for."

Brunner strokes the white stubble forming on his jaw. "I hope it helps."

"So," Castle considers, as Kate drives back to Manhattan, "we have a killer who might have worked with leather and had a thing for fingernails. He also might have worn something that covered his whole body except for the invading member encased in its rubber raincoat. You've always said you like the weird ones. Even for our cases, this bastard is pretty weird. Where do we start?"

"Perlmutter's into this case, and I'm sure he'd love a chance to impress Brunner. I'm going to ask him to put out a query to other M.E.'s about trace signs of leatherworking."

"It wouldn't be a bad idea to get Lanie into it, too," Rick suggests. "I suspect they have different circles of professional friends, and with Perlmutter, I use the term 'friends,' loosely."

"Good idea. We can ask both of them about the fingernails, too, but that's something a cop might notice as well. We examine fingernails for signs of a struggle. I'll put the word out to the N.Y.P.D. and other departments. Bridget McCready may not have been the murderer's only victim. If he moved around or chose his targets at random, he could have been preying on women for decades with no one connecting the crimes."

Castle sinks back against the passenger seat. "God, much as I'd love to solve the case, I hope not." He checks his watch. "Hey, when we get back, I need to start setting up for our family gathering tomorrow night. With being at the Pumpkin Palace, I won't have time tomorrow."

"And whether I'm on duty or volunteering with you, I won't either," Kate realizes. "I'll drop you off and get things rolling from the precinct. Then I'll come home, and we can work on prep together."

"Sounds good," Castle agrees, "but drop me at the store, not the loft. I want to pick up a few last-minute items."

"I thought we already shopped for everything." Kate reaches over to squeeze his thigh. "What are you up to, Babe?"

"I guess you'll just have to wait and see."