Flu
Chapter 74
"Is someone we know back there?" Alexis asks as Martha looks over her shoulder toward the end of the line at Zabar's.
"I'm not sure," Martha responds. "But it doesn't matter. We'll pick up our bagels and the bag of coffee you want to put in your father's stocking and be on our way. My play's costume mistress has a shop that sews to order for a lovely store at 82nd Street. Nothing makes a style like a unique piece. We should go up there before we head back to the subway."
Alexis glances again at the tall man at the tail of the line. She can't see enough of his face to know who he is, but he feels familiar. Still, Gram seems to be looking in any direction but at him. The teen regards the bags they're carrying. They're all purchases by her grandmother. "Does that store have men's things? I want to get something for Dad besides coffee, and nothing I've seen so far said him."
"It's never easy shopping for your father," Martha commiserates. "I never understand the toys he likes, and a man can only wear so many shirts. He has them made for him anyway."
"Not his T-shirts," Alexis realizes. "And he loves the ones with obscure superheroes on them. They have a bunch of those at Comicadia. It's only 20 minutes from here on the train. We could go after we check out the store you like."
Martha shakes her head. "Sometimes you're a lot more like Richard than you believe. But a grandmother must be indulgent. We'll go to Comicadia – if this line ever moves.
Kate could bathe in Rick's pure joy as he watches the children trying out the playthings at F.A.O. Schwartz. He was right about the spirit of the place. From the classic stuffed animals to the newest robots, the little and not-so-little ones love them all. So does he. After an hour soaking up the atmosphere, he settles on a quirky electronic companion for Alexis but doesn't purchase the arcade game he came to see. Maybe Kate will come back and get it for him, but she has a feeling he had more fun watching the kids check it out than he would playing it himself.
No one could doubt Rick's commitment to fatherhood. If anything, his helicopter blades spin too often, and he hovers too close to Alexis. But he also seems to genuinely enjoy other children and their pastimes. She, like Martha, has often written that behavior off to a Peter Pan complex. But she's been wrong. When it counts, he couldn't be more grown up in terms of taking care of his family and people in general. Kate's never had to assume that kind of responsibility, even when her father was drinking, but Rick glories in it. Her husband is a man who's never forgotten what it's like to be a kid, both the joys and the heartache. And at this moment, she loves him even more for that.
As they descend into the subway, she observes the family groups. Parents try to keep hold of kids bursting with excitement at the start of their holiday vacation. Mothers and fathers are harried, even angry, but most still have love in their eyes, the same love Rick has for Alexis. Kate knows in her bones that he'd also feel it for any child they made together. She's been pushing the idea away, and he's let her. But maybe it's time for her to at least think about bringing another Castle into the world – at least think about it a little.
Jack doesn't dare get too close to Martha and Alexis. He made sure he was in another car while they took a short subway ride. He has a good guess where they're heading. He's tracked his son and granddaughter enough to know about Comicadia. It's not a place he'd choose to go. The aisles are too narrow for a quick escape, and the shop has video surveillance to keep its easily concealable wares from disappearing under jackets and into backpacks. If Richard's visits are anything to go by, stops at the graphics lovers haven are rarely quick. Jack can't just stand around, waiting for the ladies. But at least he got to see them for a while. That was an early Christmas present.
Kate sinks into a chair and props her feet on an ottoman. Smiling, Rick kneels and yanks off her boots. The heels are chunky, but they're still high—all in all, not the best choice of footwear for pounding New York sidewalks. But Kate loves them, and she never complained while they were out and about. "Want a rub?" he offers, pretty sure that she wouldn't ask."
She wiggles her toes. "I knew there was a reason I married you."
He takes a seat on the ottoman, pulling her feet into his lap. "And here I thought it was for my cooking."
"That too."
"You know, Alexis texted me while we were on the way home. She and Mother decided to have an early dinner together before Mother goes on to the theater. That gives us at least a couple of hours here all alone. Whatever will we do with ourselves?"
"You could finish rubbing my feet," Kate suggests.
"After that. Hmm, there is this little spot right here where…"
Kate gasps as the sensation in her instep excites a nerve center higher on her body. "Omigod, Rick! Maybe we should finish this in the bedroom."
Rick scoops her up. "Wherever and whatever the lady likes."
Carl Osnitz doesn't mind working weekends. If anything, he prefers them. The bureaucrats are sitting on their duffs at home, and he and his people can get the real work done. There's no shortage of it. Extracting the DNA from the remains connected to Beckett's cold case will take some doing. They'll also have to analyze strips of leather as probable murder weapons. On top of that, the lab has to deal with what's left of one of the victims' clothing.
The chief is toying with the idea of calling in Alexis Castle before her scheduled start. It's a little late in the day to get her now. Where minors are concerned, he has rules to follow. But there's no reason he can't try for Sunday. He might even provide her and the rest of his staff with the cronuts his local bakery produces for brunches. Carl knows what else he likes for brunch, but he definitely can't have that around a minor.
The M.E.'s office isn't having any downtime time either. Kate is Lanie's best friend, and she loves her, But right now, she wishes the detective and her writer hubby weren't quite so good at their jobs. And that A.D.A. Eli Douglas isn't making things any easier. The body connected to their cold case is just that, cold. The ground wasn't quite frozen. If it were, she would have had the weekend off while it thawed. Decomposition in the tissues she has is slowed, but not stopped. Given the variability of conditions, determining the time of death will be hell. She's got a computer program she can use, that will take the temperature over a number of days into account and spit out a calculation. The trouble is she doesn't know how long the body was in the ground. She'll have to work backward. Kate's going to owe her big time for this. Castle's been known to pay off favors in spa days. After what the two of them are putting her through, she could use one. Damn! She could use a whole week.