Poison Pen
Chapter 14
"Looks like you got your appetite back," Castle observes as Kate enthusiastically bites into a corned beef and sauerkraut panini.
"I have a feeling that any minute I'm going to get a call that the paperwork on Badcock is finished," Kate explains. "I didn't think we'd find a restaurant like this in Norwich and I want to finish my sandwich before we have to take off."
Castle taps the pocket holding his phone. "Never underestimate the eagerness of the dining public to share their experiences, especially when they're proud of a find. This place is billed as being like a Paris café. I might believe that if I'd never been to Paris. The serving sizes here are very American. But that makes it more appropriate to the moment. If your call comes before we can have dessert, I can get some incredible looking cookies to go. Might as well enjoy them on the drive back to the city."
"I saw the brownies," Kate acknowledges. "They do look amazing and…" Her cellphone sounds an alert. "The paperwork is signed," she reports, "and an officer is bringing it from the hospital to the holding facility. The ETA for the transport team is in about an hour. That should work out about right." Kate starts to push up from her chair.
"Hey, finish your lunch," Castle urges. "We're less than 20 minutes from where you'll need to be. There's even time to buy the brownies. I'll get extra for the transport team and the sergeant."
Kate smiles, rolling her eyes. "You're consistent, Castle. Just don't get any for Badcock."
"There wouldn't be any point, would there?" Castle responds. "I already know he doesn't like me."
A shackled and glaring Badcock is led from his cell to where Kate and Castle wait with the two cops assigned to take Rick's would-be poisoner back to New York. "This isn't over," he proclaims. "When I'm finished testifying, the whole world will know about the trash that writers like you, Castle, foist on an ignorant public."
"If I were you, I'd talk to my lawyer before declaring your opinion of writers in court," Castle advises. "But if you'd like to demonstrate how well you can write a confession, I'm sure the prosecutor would be more than willing to give you your chance."
Castle watches with satisfaction as Badcock is loaded into the car that will return him to New York City. "I guess we're done here, Beckett."
"I guess we are, Castle," Kate agrees, pulling the keys to her unit from her pocket. "Let's go."
"What's going on up there?" Castle wonders, spotting flashing lights and cars slowing to a halt, an hour into the drive to the city. "Beckett, I can get a traffic check on my cell unless you have access to something more official."
After braking to a stop, Kate checks an app on her own phone. "There's a jackknifed semi, and do you believe this? A load of metal fasteners spilled on the road. There are at least six cars with flats. The State Police are going to work to find a way for vehicles to get around the mess, but it's going to take a while. Unless they get the road completely cleared, there are going to be more blowouts. I hope the unit transporting Badcock made it past this point. I'll check." Kate speaks a few terse words into her cell and listens for a reply.
"Were they lucky?" Castle queries.
"They just made it," Kate reports. "They heard the accident behind them. They'll get Badcock to The Tombs. With any luck, he'll be arraigned in the morning."
"I hope we're back in time to watch. I intend to savor every minute of seeing Badcock under the steely eyes of the judge."
A laugh escapes Beckett's lips. "It will probably be the honorable Judith Brody Mencas who is more nearsighted than steely-eyed. But she rules her courtroom with an iron hand. I doubt she'll be impressed by anything Badcock has to say. She'll just want to get a plea and send him off to Rikers. And after the way he took off, I don't see her granting bail or house arrest."
"The proceedings are sounding like more fun by the minute. Hmm. A lot more cars are piling up behind us," Castle observes, "and nothing is showing any signs of moving."
"At least we've got the brownies you bought, to eat while we're waiting." Kate points out.
"There's something else we could do while we're waiting," Castle suggests. "Badcock is on the way to his just comeuppance, but he's not the only reason you're holding back. Tell me what's going on with you, Beckett. What do you see happening between us besides a convivial if sexually frustrating partnership?"
Kate taps her fingers on the steering wheel, before turning in her seat to face him. "Castle, do you know who my favorite character in Grease is?"
"I'm guessing that it's not the blonde and virginal Sandy."
"You're right. It's Rizzo. She sings the song about not being a tease. I got the point. Not, I mean, about high school promiscuity. I never thought teens sleeping around was a good idea."
"I'm sure your father would have been glad to know you weren't a fan of that," Castle asserts.
"You'd be right. But some of the girls I knew thought it was fun to get a guy hot and leave things there. I guess it was their way of asserting some kind of power or something. That was never my thing."
"I painfully remember the type," Castle confides. "But Beckett, Kate, if you were so set against schoolgirl games, why did you…?"
"Kiss you that way last night?" Kate finishes.
"That kiss was definitely more Rizzo than Sandy, which brings me back to my original question. What's going on with you, Kate?"
"Honestly, you scare the hell out of me, Castle."
"Kate, you could have me on the mat and crying uncle, if I had one, with one hand tied behind your back and ankle weights. How can I scare you?"
"Because you get to me. As you pointed out, I'm no Sandy, but no guy, whether I've slept with him or not, has ever picked up on me the way you do. It's like we have a Vulcan mind-meld or something."
"And you don't like it?"
"I do. It's amazing. But it's like riding a roller coaster. The experience is terrifying, but somehow, I keep going back to Coney Island for another ride. Last night the terror won out for a second, especially with Badcock still hanging over our heads. But that doesn't mean I won't want to give it another shot."
"When Kate? How? You want me to buy tickets on the Cyclone?"
"Castle, Rick, one thing at a time, OK? Let's get back to the city. Once Badcock is arraigned, we won't be working together anymore. We'll have to see where things go."
"But I like working with you, Kate. I'm good at it, and I'm using what I learn in my new book. My heroine is based on you. Maybe Montgomery will let me keep shadowing you for research. Would a man with a tight budget turn down free labor?"
"I honestly don't know Castle, and it could be, um, you know, awkward. But after Badcock is hauled off, I can ask. So, what's this heroine of yours like?"
"She's beautiful, and she's smart, and she likes solving weird homicides. You'd like Nikki Heat."
"Whoa! Wait, Castle. Heat as in sex?"
"Kate, I appreciate the way your mind works, but no. Heat is a synonym for police, like in the film with DeNiro and Pacino. But Nikki is sexy, too. I based her on you. She couldn't be anything else.