Flu
Chapter 70
"Look!" Rick points to a Christmas tree visible through the window of the Windsor family's small apartment. "They're celebrating the holidays. I hate to put a damper on things."
Kate's teeth dig into her lower lip. "I do too, but we have to do this. We need whatever information they can give us. But let's take the stairs instead of the elevator. I need a minute."
"I can use one too." Rick agrees.
As he and Kate approach the door of the Windsor flat, Rick hears a soft but distinctive, "Oh-la, oh-la. "They have a newborn. In the first days, most babies cry in French. A late in life child, perhaps?"
"Pippa Windsor's a sibling match," Kate reminds him. "And we don't know when Frees killed her sister. It may not be that late."
"The birth of a child is another reason for a family to celebrate, although right now, a decent night's sleep would probably be the world's best Christmas present. Unfortunately, after our visit, receiving that gift will become even more unlikely. "Maybe we ought to skip this one for now," Rick proposes.
Kate raps on the door. "I already called ahead, Babe. Not showing up won't help. We'll try to make our visit as painless as possible."
The woman who answers Kate's knock has a white stain on a misbuttoned blouse and a protesting infant in her arms. "Come in, but you'll have to give me a few minutes. I need to finish feeding the baby."
Kate nods immediately. "Take your time."
"Or we can come back," Castle suggests.
Pippa shakes her head. "No, she falls asleep pretty fast with a full tummy. That will be the best time to talk. Sit down somewhere. I won't be very long."
Kate glances around. Baby paraphernalia is everywhere, but there are empty chairs at a small table. She motions to Rick to join her there. " I hear the creak of a rocking chair. It should only be a little while," he observes. "If she doesn't want to get sore, she'll only do a few minutes on each side. Tiny tum-tums don't hold much; they just demand frequent refills. Meredith nursed for the first couple of months after Alexis was born," Rick responds to Kate's questioning brows. "I think she liked the way her breasts looked full of milk. And she honestly loves Alexis in her own way. But the call of the footlights was too strong. She took off after that. She's been a pop-in mother ever since, even while we were still married."
"That's why you and Alexis were a pair at Christmas," Kate realizes. "Meredith wasn't there."
"She showed up when she was in town, but Christmas is a very busy time in the theater, and she was in a lot of road companies. Mother was on the road a lot too when I was growing up, but she always managed to be home at Christmas. Even before Alexis was born, that's what made it special for me. Christmas was always family time, even a family of two."
"It will still be special," Kate promises. "We'll make sure of it."
Pippa's top is buttoned straight when she returns and takes a seat with Rick and Kate. "You said you wanted to talk about my sister's disappearance."
"That's right," Kate confirms. "Was she living here with you at the time she went missing?"
"She was, but she was looking for another place. I was just about to get married, and my fiancé was living with three other guys. Besides, this place is rent-controlled. It made sense for him to move in with me. But we would have let Dina stay as long as she needed to. She just…" Pippa's voice quavers.
"Do you remember what happened before she disappeared?" Kate gently prompts.
"She told me she was going to look at an apartment. Some guy posted that he had one to sublet. Dina said it wasn't that far from here."
"Prince Street?" Castle asks, giving the location of Frees' apartment.
"Maybe. Dina never gave me an exact address, just that she would be in Soho."
"So, your sister Dina went to look at an apartment and never came back?" Kate reiterates. "Before that, did she mention anyone hanging around her, maybe watching her?"
"Creepy, with crazy eyes," Castle adds.
"You know, she did," Pippa recalls. "She said she saw some weirdo checking her out at the store where the ad for the apartment was posted. But she wasn't worried about it. My sister was good looking, more than I am. A lot of guys checked her out, and New York is full of weirdos. That one didn't bother her or anything."
"Which store?" Kate asks.
"The convenience store near the school, the one the kids all go to. Not my kind of place, but Dina liked it because it sold scented candles. Does the store have something to do with Dina disappearing?"
Kate draws in a breath. "Ms. Windsor, we've connected that store with a man we know to have committed at least one murder, and we suspect he has committed more. D.N.A. that we believe to be your sister's was found on fabric in his apartment. Do you remember what Dina had on the day she disappeared?"
Pippa swallows. "I remember. I must have put it on hundreds of flyers. She was wearing a jean jacket, a denim skirt, and a Blue Pearl T-shirt. What kind of fabric?"
Beneath the table, Kate's fingertips dig into her thighs. "It was denim."
Rick smacks his palm against the armrest in Kate's unit. "I wish Pippa had let us call someone for her. I'm sure her husband would have come home from work."
"Sometimes a woman needs to be alone to get her thoughts together, Babe. I'll call her later to make sure she's all right." Kate starts the car. "We need to get the last interview done."
Closing his eyes, Rick sinks into his seatback. "Or the last until we start going through the missing person files."
"Yeah, the last until then."
Heitner's night in Rikers sucked. The infirmary discharged him into the segregated population, about all his lawyer and rep could get out of that f*****g A.D.A., Eli Douglas. Hugh wants another meeting, but Douglas insisted that the cops are well on their way to get what they need on Frees anyway. And there's still a chance the motherf****r will take a turn for the worse and drop dead. Hugh won't have much to offer then. Sh*t! He's got to try.
There's no way Beckett can trace down all of Frees' victims. The cops and the D.A. have to want to know who all of those are. Hugh doesn't recall everything Frees told him about the bitches either, but he remembers enough of Frees' brags to make a worthwhile trade. He'll get Douglas interested. He has to. The A.D.A. intimated that Hugh would be spending the rest of his life in a hole much worse than this one. That can't happen, can it? No way. He calls for a guard. With or without his sh*t of an attorney and asshole rep, he needs to talk to Douglas again, today. He calls again, louder.
Rick doesn't have to look up to many people, but the man who answers Beckett's knock barely fits in the doorway. Vic (the Brick) Vincenzo inclines his head toward his visitors. Detective Beckett, Mr. Castle, I've been waiting eight years for someone to get a clue about what happened to my sister. What can you tell me?"
Rick looks around as the mountain ushers them into his lair. His eyes widen. The loft is even bigger than Casa de Castle. The guy probably needs the room.