Poison Pen
Chapter 15
"The sun's starting to come up," Castle observes as Kate drops him in front of the Broome Street building.
"We have a few hours before court convenes, Castle. You could grab some sleep," Kate suggests.
"Are you going to?" he queries.
"Maybe a little bit if I'm lucky. Montgomery is in by eight, and I need to brief him. I'll call you if I find out when Badcock's going to court. I'm going to ask the A.D.A to tell me when he's scheduled. If the judge has a full docket, it could be late today or even tomorrow. If it is, I'm going to try to crash for a while."
"How about asking Montgomery about letting me hang around?" Castle wonders.
"Let's see Badcock arraigned, first, then I'll put the idea to him."
"Promise?"
"Yeah. Just hurry up and get your butt into bed."
Castle grins at her. "Under other circumstances, I'd like the sound of that. See you later, Detective."
Kate lets herself into her apartment and quickly covers the short distance to her bedroom. Tossing her overnight bag in a corner to unpack later, she sheds her clothes and reaches for the N.Y.P.D. T-shirt under her pillow. She's not sure why she took a silky nightdress with her to Norwich instead of her usual choice of sleep gear. Not that it made a difference. Maybe, subconsciously she was wishing…" It doesn't matter now. The familiar comfort of the well-worn cotton will help her relax as much as possible. She slips between the sheets, hoping that exhaustion can keep the images attempting to invade her consciousness, at bay.
The alert he set for a call from Kate, immediately penetrates Rick's restless slumber. Propping himself up against the tufted leather headboard of his bed, he grabs for the phone. "Castle, Badcock's on Judge Mencas' docket today, but the A.D.A. isn't sure when he'll come up. If you don't want to miss anything, you should be waiting for the doors of the courtroom to open at nine. I'll meet you there."
Kicking away a sheet and blanket, Rick sits straight up. "I'll be there with bells on, Beckett."
Castle can hear the smile in Kate's voice as she cautions: "Better leave the bells at home. Judge Mencas likes order in her court."
"Roger that," Castle replies. "See you there."
Castle smothers a groan as yet another case that isn't Badcock is called before the court. He and Kate have been waiting almost three hours, and if Badcock isn't called soon, Mencas will probably adjourn for lunch. Idly, he wonders how TV courtroom dramas fit everything into the 42 minutes that isn't taken up by commercials. But then, it would be hard to air the real thing without losing the audience to boredom or disgust. At least Mencas moves cases along briskly.
As Badcock is finally called, Rick can feel Kate leaning forward in her seat, beside him. "How do you plead, Mr. Badcock?" Judge Mencas asks after the mandatory readings by the clerk.
"Your Honor," a young man in an ill-fitting suit, addresses the bench, "George Kirby for the defense. My client, Mr. Badcock, pleads not guilty by reason of mental disease or defect."
"Mr. Kirby, I take it that you are aware that plea requires an affirmative defense?"
"Yes, Your Honor," Kirby confirms.
"Very well," Mencas agrees. "The plea is entered. The trial date will be set to accommodate the appropriate examinations and discovery by the defense and the people. And I see that we're into the lunch hour. Court will be adjourned until 1:15 p.m."
"What's going to happen now?" Castle asks as Kate's fingernails dig into her palms.
"Kirby is going to try to prove that Badcock is crazy — by the legal definition. That means both sides will have to present evidence. Kirby will have some expert swear that Badcock didn't have the capacity to understand what he was doing was wrong, and the A.D.A will still have to prove that Badcock committed murder and tried to kill you."
Closing his eyes, Castle shakes his head. "It sounds like this case could go on for a long time."
"Yeah, Castle, it could. But at least Badcock will be locked up, one way or another, while it does."
"Kate, I was expecting to open a 50-year-old bottle of Scotch today to celebrate. But in view of what just happened, I think I'll use it more for consolation. Can you join me, or do you have to go back to the precinct?"
"Montgomery isn't expecting me back today. The last thing he needs is for me to run up any more overtime. And I could use a drink."
Castle pours two fingers each of single malt for himself and Kate and raises his glass. "To the Sixth Amendment."
"Right. A speedy trial. I'm all for that," Kate agrees, "but Castle, do you still want me to ask Montgomery to let you shadow me while we wait however long for the Badcock case to be settled."
Castle swallows half the contents of his glass. "Of course, Kate. I still want to research my book, and I still want to work with you. And if I let Badcock control my life, either of our lives, he wins. Whether he ends up in jail or a psychiatric facility, I'm not about to let that happen. Are you?"
Kate downs most of her own whiskey, grimacing and swaying. "Wow! That has quite a punch, especially on an empty stomach. But no, I'm not. I'll talk to Montgomery tomorrow."
"Thanks, and I'm a lousy host. I should have at least provided a traditional salty snack to soak up the alcohol."
Kate shrugs. "It would have ruined the drama of the moment, but never mind the snack. I don't suppose you have any sandwich makings?"
"To provide a writer's sustenance while sweating over a hot keyboard? It's required. Cold cuts or PB&J? I have rye bread and a loaf of that squeezable white that Alexis claims has negative nutritive value."
"Definitely, the PB&J on white," Kate decides.
"Castle," Kate asks, finishing her sandwich, leaning against the pillows of the couch with her feet up on the coffee table next to his, "does Nikki Heat have a love interest, a boyfriend or something?"
"She's no nun, but there's no strong attachment either. I did, however, create a male character, Jameson Rook, an intrepid reporter. He might be on the way to becoming her love interest. I'll have to see how things go."
"Rook, not exactly subtle, Rick Castle. But given that except when they're castling, rooks only move in straight lines, not a real match to your personality either."
"A mystery story isn't a chess game, Kate. Neither is life. Badcock's plea today was a case in point. People can move any which way in unexpected directions. I don't know the steps to the dance between Heat and Rook, yet. I'll have to figure them out as I go along. Or we'll have to figure out what they do, together."
"You know what I want to do right now?" Kate inquires, topping off her question with a loud yawn.
"What?" Rick asks.
Kate's eyes drift shut as her head settles on Rick's shoulder. "Sleep. I want to go to sleep." Rick glances down at her, inhaling the hint of fragrance her shampoo left in her hair. "In that case, consider me your pillow."