Flu

Chapter 67

Red rimmed and bloodshot, Heitner's eyes shoot darts at Kate and Rick. "Get the hell out of here! I'm sick!"

"I checked with your doctor. She says you're perfectly able to speak with us. In fact," Kate adds, "once the paperwork comes through, we'll ship you off to Rikers. Maybe you'll get lucky, and Corrections will let you stay in the infirmary for a while."

"I want an attorney and my union rep," Heitner insists.

"Then you better pray that they are less disgusted with you than I am," Kate warns. "You're the worst kind of cop, Heitner, a criminal hiding behind a badge. And you weren't even out on the street to take the risks. You kept your ass safe behind your desk until you decided to go out and break the laws you swore to defend."

Castle stares down at Heitner as the human slime clenches his jaw and turns away. The heat of rage surges through Rick's veins as images of the woman Heitner raped and killed sweep across his mind's eye. He shudders, visualizing not a Jane Doe, but Alexis, stripped naked, defiled, and struggling for air. His hands ball into fists, gazing at Kate, waiting for the crouching tigress to spring upon her prey.

Kate leans over Heitner's bed. "You know, Hugh, you can hide behind legal maneuvers all you want. They will slow things down, but won't stop them. Every cop in the department wants to see you nailed. And Barney in Support Services had a few very interesting things to say when he heard you'd been arrested. He couldn't think of a reason why you would be so interested in the movements of a homicide detective. He could understand if you were chasing tail, but not with my husband sitting next to me in my unit."

Kate nods toward Rick. "So, while we were on our way over here, I had a couple of detectives check out the area around the maintenance warehouse. You know what they found, don't you? Your little setup. One of those guys spent time in special ops, as a sniper. He recognized the little rod you left behind for what it is. Want to bet the prints on it match yours? Coughing, sneezing, sweating all leave DNA behind. We can prove you were on that roof and ready to shoot down a cop. Then there's Frees. While your lawyer files motions, what's he going to be putting on you?

"When you get to Rikers, and the other prisoners find out you were a cop, how long do you think you'll last? Who is going to care much about protecting you? When you get shanked, the guards will probably go out for a beer. You have one chance in hell. Talk first and get the best deal you can, or wait to bleed out from a sharpened toothbrush shoved in your kidney." Kate shrugs. "I'll be back. You think about it, but don't think too long. If Frees makes a deal first, you're screwed."

Kate turns, striding toward the door as Castle follows. "Kate," he whispers as they continue down the hall, "Frees may never tell us anything. I heard the paramedics say they'd seen guys in better shape than him, bite the dust. Not that it would be any loss to the world, but a dead man can't raise his right hand in court."

"Heitner doesn't know Frees' condition, and he's not going to," Kate replies. "Let's get some coffee at the Java Hut cart in the lobby. I'm guessing that Heitner will want to spill his guts before we finish it. We can keep him waiting."

Laugh lines fan from Rick's eyes. "Letting the bastard squirm. I like it, Kate."

"Yeah, me too. I think I'll get a doughnut."

"Sounds good," Rick agrees.

Spotting Eli coming in, Lana waves from a booth at the Carlton Diner. "I can't believe you managed to make it for an early dinner on my day off. We haven't even been able to make lunch work in weeks."

Eli slides across the Naugahyde upholstery to sit beside her. "I know. It's been crazy, trying to juggle all the racketeering cases going. And we're keeping an eye on families trying to move into the void. With the second wave of flu, things have quieted down a little. Kate Beckett asked me to do what I could for the girl involved with the parade explosion. I'm working on that. But she just called again saying she may have something big for me. Right now, I'm clear, but Beckett's case could break at any time."

"Yeah, I hear that she and Castle have been doing cold cases again and turned up a couple of creeps behind multiple murders and rapes."

"Police grapevine?" Eli asks.

"Cop bar," Lana confides. "The guys are chilling out while they can, anticipating the rise in crime we usually see this time of year. They hate the flu, but it seems to have put a lid on things a little. At least for the moment."

Eli reaches for her hand. "I'll take any moments I can get. You know, you and I haven't had much opportunity to talk about Christmas. Any chance you'll help me learn to use those cross country skis I bought?"

"With a lot of the force still out, I'm not getting many days off, are you?" Lana asks.

"No, and not likely to, either," Eli admits.

"But the ski sites that watch the weather say there's a major blizzard coming. It could dump more snow on the city than the one I told you about using my skis to get through before. You may get to learn how to use yours without going anywhere," Lana adds.

"And that much snow would probably keep a lot of the bad guys off the street too," Eli considers. "I'm kind of looking forward to it."

Still holding a coffee container, Kate leans casually against the doorframe of Frees' room. "You called for me, Hugh? I don't see a lawyer or your union rep."

Heitner pushes himself away from his pillows to sit upright. "Look, Detective Beckett, next to Frees, I'm a minor league player. He's killed so many – you wouldn't believe it."

"You'd be surprised what she'd believe," Castle inserts.

Kate straightens up, the heels of her boots clicking against the floor as she walks into the room. "I'm listening, Hugh."

"I was Frees' student, a disciple, you might say. I guess I was under his spell. He directed me. He taught me. He was the one who figured out how to avoid leaving evidence."

"But you did leave evidence, Hugh. So did he. That's how we caught you, both of you. As a guru, Frees was a bust."

Heitner's head bobs. "I know. You're right. But it took a long time for me to realize that. And Frees did a hell of a lot while his case was sitting on the shelf. I can tell you how he chose his victims, how he protected himself, everything."

"What I need to know is who his victims were, all of them, and Hugh, I need to know about yours too. You can start with the one you left near Allentown. Who was she, Hugh? What was her name?"

"I need some assurances before I can tell you that," Heitner counters.

Kate points to a spot high in a corner. "Hugh, did you know the hospital puts cameras in some of the rooms? They're primarily to protect patients, but in this case, you're on video, essentially admitting that you killed that woman. From now on, if you want me to talk sweet to the D.A.'s office, you'd better talk sweet to me."