Poison Pen
Chapter 10
Mary Beth approaches Rick, certificate and paper plate in hand. "On behalf of the creative writing club and Marlowe Prep, I'm pleased to present you with this certificate of appreciation. And one of our parents sent along a special treat, based on your last book. I hope you enjoy it. Now, let's all thank Mr. Castle for giving us his time and insight today."
Simon stays in his hiding place as the applause dies down, and the students begin to leave their seats. Castle has yet to show any signs of wanting to try the sushka, as he approaches a red-headed girl and the boy pulling at his collar who is standing with her.
Attempting to balance the plate and the certificate, Castle extends his arm. "You must be Owen."
As Owen nervously shakes Rick's hand, the flimsy plate bends, spilling its contents to the floor. "I'm sorry, Mr. Castle," Owen stammers as the Russian version of a bagel bounces away.
"Sorry, Dad," Alexis chimes in.
"Not a problem," Castle confides. "Having that thing hit the floor gives me an excuse not to eat it. The truth is that Derrick Storm likes sushki, but Richard Castle doesn't. Authors don't need to share their creations' tastes. Readers were always giving Dorothy Sayers port because her character Lord Peter Wimsey drank it. In truth, she hated the stuff. I'm not quite that hostile to sushki, but the only way I can make them palatable is to dip them in tea or coffee. Somehow I don't think the punch that's on the refreshment table would do the trick."
"I'll go pick it up before someone steps on it," Alexis volunteers, taking the plate from her father to scoop up the fallen pastry. "Dad, do these things have a filling? There's a little hole in it like there is in a jelly doughnut."
"Maybe that's a special touch from whoever made it for me," Castle suggests, his eyes searching the room. "Can you find a bag or something? I might be able to get a picture of it with the card and the certificate. I could post the photo on my website to give the school a plug."
"I know where to find one," Owen pipes up, his voice cracking slightly. "There are a bunch of paper bags with the craft stuff. We used them to make puppets for a show we did for some little kids at the library."
"Very admirable," Castle comments.
"I'll help you look," Alexis suggests, following Owen into a supply room.
Castle scans for any sign of Badcock. If the killer was in the room, Castle can't spot him now. He didn't want to worry Alexis unnecessarily, but he's never heard of a filled sushka. If would be like the sick bastard to strike at him while he's being celebrated for his writing, and worse with his daughter in attendance. He can text Beckett while Alexis and Owen are gone. His protective detail, just inside the main doors to the multipurpose area, can take the sushka to the lab.
Rick's not sure if he's hoping that there is poison in the pastry or not. If there is, he and Beckett will have an additional trail to follow. But if there isn't, at least he'll know that a killer didn't breach the safety zone of Marlowe Prep.
Castle smiles as Alexis and Owen return with a paper lunch bag encasing the sushka. Ever the prepared parent, Rick pulls a packet of wipes out of his pocket and taking one to clean his own hands, offers them to the pair. "You never know what was on the feet that trod the floor where that thing landed." Rick satisfies himself that no trace of the suspicious filling will remain with himself or either teen.
"I should have known better than to take food from someone I didn't know," Mary Beth laments, twisting the hem of her skirt in the lounge of the 12th Precinct. "What if he had poisoned the children?"
"I was his target," Castle assures the distraught teacher. "I doubt the children were in any danger."
Kate holds up her phone with an image of Simon Badcock. "Was this the man who brought the sushka?"
Mary Beth nods vigorously. "That's him. If you know who he is, can you arrest him?"
We don't have a valid location on him, but we know where he may turn up," Kate responds. "In the meantime, we'll make sure that everyone who works at Marlowe Prep can recognize him in the unlikely event that he shows up again. Does the school have its own security?"
"We have one guard who keeps unauthorized people from wandering in during class time. The principal said she's going to extend his hours."
"Not a bad idea," Kate considers. "Out of caution, until the intruder is caught, the N.Y.P.D. will be putting a unit outside the school too."
"Maybe I should keep Alexis home for a while," Castle ponders after he and Kate escort a shaky Mary Beth to the elevator. "She could do her classwork online. They let her do that when she's sick."
"I doubt that Badcock will return to Marlowe, Castle. He'll know he'll be recognized. Alexis will probably be safer there than in most places. But I'm more worried about you. The lab says that there was lily extract in that sushka. It could have shut down your kidneys or killed you. Badcock could get lilies anywhere, especially around this time of year. We can't trace the poison the way we did with the blarina toxin. At least we got something out of that," Kate figures. "Phillip Larkin is Simon Badcock. He showed up on the video, picking up his package. I have surveillance on the shipping store. If he comes to pick up anything else, we've got him."
"That's a big if, Beckett."
"Yeah, Castle, I know, but we'll put out a BOLO on Badcock and release his picture to the media. Someone will know where to find him."
Badcock's palms sweat on the steering wheel as he makes the drive to upstate New York. When he picked up the papers for the library that morning, he stared into a photograph of his face. It wasn't a good picture, but he was recognizable. He immediately destroyed the papers in his hands, but that didn't address the thousands that would be all over the city. No doubt he's on television and the web, too.
If Castle hadn't dropped the sushka, the writer might be dead by now, with no clue as to what happened until someone performed an autopsy. By then, any evidence against Simon would have been long gone. Instead, he's running. At least he won't have to run far. He's only a few hours from his uncle's farm. Since the old man went to eldercare a few months before, the place has been abandoned.
Uncle Sid Morehouse is on Simon's mother's side of his family. It's unlikely that anyone will make the connection. Simon can stay at the farm while he builds another identity for himself. Sid's church teaches keeping at least a year's supply of food on hand. There will be canned goods in the cellar and staples in the pantry. Simon can survive until the search for him dies down, and he can build another identity for himself. Then he'll take care of Castle once and for all.