Poison Pen

Chapter 19

The sound of Theresa Candela's cell spurs the FBI agents into action, and the agent at the monitoring board points at her to pick up. "I have your daughter," an electronically disguised voice announces. "To get her back, you will have to pay $700,000. You have 48 hours to liquidate your assets. You'll be receiving instructions on how to deliver the money." The call cuts off before Theresa can respond.

"Did you get a trace?" Sorenson demands of his agent.

"Looks like VOIP, sir. No trace."

"Except for our condo, $700,000 is all we have," Theresa exclaims.

"But Angela is worth more," Alfred insists. "We'll pay it, won't we, Theresa?"

Theresa twists her fingers into the fabric of her dress. "If we can. It will be difficult to get the cash that quickly."

"Do you have anyone who can help you," Sorenson queries, "a lawyer or an accountant?"

"Theresa's sister Nina can do it," Alfred declares. "She's a CPA and handles all our investments."

"You mean my investments, Alfred," Theresa spits out. "I earned every penny we put into them. Whatever you get for your paintings doesn't even cover the cost of what you splatter on canvas and call art."

"We agreed that I'd be the one here for our daughter," Alfred argues.

"But you weren't Alfred, were you? And now she's gone, and it will take everything I worked for to get her back — if we get her back."

"You don't have time to argue," Kate interjects. "To get Angela back safely, every minute counts."

"And you may not lose your money," Sorenson adds. "We can grab the kidnapper at the drop."

"Agent Sorenson, a word?" Kate requests, pointing toward the kitchen. "Will, I'm not seeing another kid die because you're grandstanding. Catching the kidnapper is not a priority. The Candelas will pay the money, and we'll get Angela back. Then we'll worry about rounding up suspects."

Sorenson shakes his head. "Kate, you know as well as I do that kidnappers kill victims whether they get the ransom or not. We'll do our best to make sure we get Angela back alive, but we're going to be on top of the drop every step of the way."

The door to the kitchen swings back as Castle strides in. "I thought the Candelas could use some coffee, but shouldn't we be pursuing the investigation while Theresa and her sister get the money together?"

"We, doesn't mean you, Castle," Sorenson retorts.

Rick looks toward Kate. "Detective Beckett, then. There were some things you were going to look into."

"Yes, I was," Kate agrees.

"Kate," Castle whispers as they leave Sorenson behind in the kitchen, "I checked out where Theresa works on her LinkedIn page. She's pretty high up at her firm. Then I looked for chatter about the dealings there, on Yahoo Finance. There were rumors that a top executive might be skimming, and Theresa is in a position to do it."

"What, Castle, you think Theresa is an embezzler? What would that have to do with kidnapping Angela?"

"Nothing, if it's a real kidnapping, but you've agreed that things don't add up. And now, Theresa's sister will be conveniently handling getting the ransom money together. What if Theresa and Alfred are looking to make a new start, preferably somewhere with no extradition treaty with the U.S.?"

"You think Alfred is in on a plan with Theresa? They can't stand each other."

"Or they put on a good act. Think about it, Kate. They stage Angela's kidnapping. All they have to do is break a window they've conveniently left unprotected. Angela is with a trusted friend or relative, possibly one who will be remunerated for their part in the scheme. The Candelas liquidate their holdings and collect the receipts free and clear as the ransom. Chances are the condo has a huge mortgage. They walk away from that, take Angela, and go set up family housekeeping on some pleasant isle. It would be the perfect escape to paradise. Theresa could kick back, and Alfred could play Gauguin."

"That's some story, Castle. But even if it's true, we need to start at the beginning. We run background on Nina and anyone else close enough to the Candelas to be involved. We have two days. Will and his people will be checking every lead they have. We do the same."

"Kate, we just left your mother's case hanging. The copy you gave me of the file is in your unit, and I saw a FedEx drop box in the strip mall we passed two blocks down. Those things stock the shipping forms and materials. It would only take me a few minutes overnight an envelope to Dr. Murray, my M.E."

"Dr. Clark Murray? Didn't you call him Dr. Death in the acknowledgments in your books?"

"You read the acknowledgments? Never mind. Yes, Dr. Death, but he might breathe new life into your investigation. What do you say?"

"Do it, Castle. I doubt that Sorenson will care where you are, but if he asks, you just stepped out to get some air."

"Actually, you can tell him that I went to get doughnuts for everyone. There's a Drink and Dunk in that strip mall too. Glazed, jelly, or maple bars?"

"Surprise me, Castle, but don't get any with sprinkles."

"Why?"

"Because Will ate them all the time on stakeouts. He loves them."

Castle grins. "No sprinkles."

"Hear anything while I was gone?" Castle asks Kate, as he props open a huge doughnut box on the kitchen counter.

"I had Ryan and Esposito run the Candelas. If he's doing his job, Sorenson probably ran them too, but Ryan came up with something Will's people wouldn't have found. When Kevin was working Narcotics, he ran across a drug operation run by a Henry Candela. They brought down the operation but never had enough to nail Henry. Turn's out, Henry is Alfred's uncle, and he's rumored to have overseas connections. He could easily help them get comfortably settled in any number of places. Esposito also looked up Nina Mendola, Theresa's sister. She's clean, but The Mendolas are a large family, and Angela could be with any of a half dozen cousins or even a grandmother. You want to come with me to check them out?"

"And get away from Sorenson, you better believe it! But I want to check in with Alexis later. Mother has finished the run of her play, and she'll be around the loft, but I feel a need right now to stay in huggable contact with my daughter."

"I can understand that, Castle. We can stop by when she gets home from school."

"Thanks, Kate. I'd appreciate that."

Castle surveys a house on Staten Island. "This is a great place for kids. It looks like there are front and backyards. They could put up a swing set and a jungle gym back there. Of course, at Angela's age, a kiddy pool would be more of an attraction, and she would love room to run around. So how do we do this, just knock on the door?"

"We can be a bit more creative than that, Castle. We knock on neighbors' doors and say that there's a little girl who's gone missing, which is true enough. Then we ask if they or their kids have seen any new little girls around the neighborhood. And while we're at it, we ask which house would be most attractive to a lost child. That will give us an excuse to go see the Mendola cousin."

"Kate, that's brilliantly sneaky!" Castle congratulates her. "I love it!"