Flu

Chapter 71

Vic leads the way into a large room filled with oversized furniture. Even so, the chairs and couches show deep indentations. "All the other guys from Family Wrestling tried to figure out how they could help. We still talk about it when they come over. But in all this time, there's been no sign of Leslie. What did you find?"

Kate perches on the edge of a leather ottoman while Castle tries to avoid getting lost in a nearby chair. "Mr. Vincenzo, I'll come right to the point. We're here because you are a sibling match to D.N.A. found in a murderer's apartment. We believe Leslie was one of his victims."

The sound of a ham-sized fist pounding the arm of a chair vibrates through the cavernous space. "What happened to her? What did he do?"

"We can't know that for sure," Kate explains.

"Not yet," Castle inserts.

"We only have Leslie's D.N.A.," Kate continues. "But we do have a great deal of evidence concerning the murder that put us on the killer's trail. We expanded the search to his other possible victims. That's why we're here. What can you tell us about what your sister was doing before she disappeared?"

A sigh rumbles from Vic's chest. "I don't know, not personally. I had a match, and I was busy working out and doing P.R. Usually, I called her for good luck right before I went into the ring. But that night my call went to voicemail. I never saw her again. But I can tell you who would know, Francie Goodwin. She and Leslie have been best friends since kindergarten. They used to have lunch a couple of days a week and called each other all the time."

"Do you have contact information for Ms. Goodwin?" Kate asks.

"Yeah, sure. We worked together for months on my campaign to find Leslie. And we still check in with each other. " Vic's seat creaks as he pushes out of it. "I'll get it for you."

Vic hands a slip of paper to Kate when he returns. "If there's anything you need to find out what happened to my sister, you let me know. The guys I work with will pitch in too. Not a lot of people say no to us."

"I'm sure they don't, Mr. Vincenzo," Kate responds. "I'll keep in touch."

"Pity we can't put Frees and Heitner in a room with Vicenzo and his colleagues," Rick muses, as he and Kate return to her unit. "Eli Douglas would get everything he needs to put them away until our civilization, such as it is, molders into dust."

"It is a tempting thought," Kate agrees. "Mmm. My shift was over a half-hour ago. I'm going to call Francie Goodwin and see about setting up an appointment tomorrow. Then what do you say to going home?"

"I say I'm starved, and the sooner I can hit the kitchen, the better."

Alexis removes the last lovingly packed ornament from one of a pile of boxes. She remembers when she made it. She was in third grade and couldn't get enough of fairies. Tinkerbell was her favorite, and she tried unsuccessfully to make the Disney version out of Play-Doh. Gram came to the rescue showing her a video of Mary Martin in the musical, with the fairy as a twinkling light and tinkling bell. Alexis put together her more impressionistic rendering with a jingle bell in an ornament on top of a flickering blue bulb. Dad still makes sure she can stick it over the same kind of light, even if it doesn't fit in with the rest of the tree's design. Alexis can't let that tradition go. Tomorrow, she's helping to mark midterms, not taking one. She doesn't need to study that evening. Hopefully, her dad will have some free time as well.

For a moment, intent on reaching the kitchen, Rick doesn't notice his daughter among the stacks of boxes. Frozen steaks clatter to the counter when he realizes she's there. "What's going on, Pumpkin?"

"I thought we could do the tree tonight. I have time, and I was hoping you would."

Kate strides toward the kitchen. "Go ahead, Babe, I can do the steaks."

"Kate could join us," Alexis adds. "Maybe we can all work on it after dinner."

Kate glances at Rick, who smiles his agreement. "I'd love to, Alexis."

"Then," Rick offers, "I propose a collaboration in the production of satisfying cuisine. If you ladies want to take salad and side dish duties, I'll fire up the grill."

Alexis bounds from between stacks of cartons. "Dibs on nuking potatoes."

No matter in what position Heitner lies, the mattress on his bunk is too hard and much too thin. If the bed had springs, he's sure he could feel them through the lumpy wadding, but the only thing under the inadequate padding is metal slats.

Hugh wishes he could hide in sleep. Once he managed to get the guard's attention and wangle a call, Eli Douglas refused to take it. The disgraced cop is being hung out to dry, and he can't think of a damn thing to do about it. His stomach hated the slop the prison called dinner. The flu messed up his digestion, and going to prison hasn't made it any better. This is all Frees' fault. Hugh should never have gotten involved with that nutcase. When he needed playthings, he could have found them on his own. If he does get another chance to talk, he'll talk plenty.

The cops know about Frees' cabin in the woods, but they don't know about the curing shack, or the field fertilized by human remains, next to it. After Hugh was foolish enough to leave a body in Pennsylvania, Frees proudly showed his protégé his own methods of disposal. He explained he'd started with deer bones, and the other parts of the carcasses he didn't use. But he added that the spot was perfect for his other prey. After that, they buried kills there together. That information as incriminating to him as it is to Frees, so Hugh hasn't shared it. But now he's totally screwed anyway. He has nothing to lose by giving it a shot.

Eli Douglas plays the tough prosecutor, but he's a bleeding heart. If he thinks he can give peace to the families of Frees' victims, he'll make a trade. If Hugh gets through to him, he'll announce that he quite literally knows where the bodies are buried. If he's going to hell, he's not going alone.

"Anyone for trim-a-tree hot chocolate?" Castle asks as Alexis festoons branches with a set of Dr. Seuss ornaments. The whimsical characters fascinated her when she was learning how to read, and she still gets a kick out of them.

"What's trim-a tree hot chocolate?" Kate asks.

"You'll love it," Alexis enthuses. "One year, I was selling candy canes as a fundraiser for a homeless shelter. I talked Dad into buying a case."

"It wasn't a tough sell," Rick comments.

"That's true," Alexis agrees. "I gave a bunch away to my friends, but we still couldn't eat what was left, so we hung them on the tree. So trim-a-tree hot chocolate is cocoa stirred with a candy cane."

"Or two," Castle adds. "The striped confections melt right in, all minty-chocolaty."

The tip of Kate's tongue rounds her lips. "Sounds wonderful, but shouldn't there be Christmas cookies to go with it?"

"There should," Castle admits, "but baking them is a holiday ceremony we have yet to perform."

"How about tomorrow night?" Alexis suggests. "I'll be finished with school and won't start at the lab until Monday. Will you two have time?

Rick looks toward Kate, who nods almost imperceptively. "You're on!" he declares.