Poison Pen

Chapter 29

"Is this everything we have on Speedy Lifts?" Castle asks.

Kate nods, grimly staring down at the computer printouts. "The company incorporated as an LLC for the purpose of ridesharing. They're supposed to be something like Uber, except that they actually hire their drivers instead of going with the gig model."

"That would essentially make the company a car service," Castle points out, "but not one I've ever heard of."

"Probably because, according to this, they only own one car, a refurbished limo."

"Yeah, the guy who left after Sonnenfeld climbed into a white limo. It was hard to tell with just the lights in the parking lot, but it didn't look like a bad ride. He must be using it as his personal car."

"So why would he hire drivers?" Kate wonders, "unless they're using their own cars, which wouldn't match the description of his company in the paperwork."

"Or the description of the company isn't the real description of the company," Castle suggests. "Who set up the LLC?"

"A guy named Milton Fruman. He doesn't have a rap sheet, but there's not much else on him either, not even a chauffeur's license. Probably a fake identity."

"Right," Castle agrees. "So this Fruman sets up Speedy Lifts and looks for hires with experience as valets or servers, and in the market for more income. He drops his hints and comes up with guys like Dominic and Sonnenfeld to do the 'lifting.' Fruman or his crew follow the leads on targets, and the valets and servers get a finders fee or some kind of commission. But maybe Dominic finds something that Fruman won't touch, and he decides to go out on his own — and dies regretting it."

"In which case, the killer would be the owner of whatever was stolen. So if we catch Sonnenfeld and Fruman in the act, we should be able to leverage some information out of them. Too bad Sonnenfeld knows you. We could have used your Ferrari as a lure."

"Can't you get a drug car, like on 'Miami Vice,' that we can use for a sting?" Castle wonders.

"Maybe. That's more in Ryan's wheelhouse. I'll see what he can set up."

"Just make sure that if he's the one driving it, he isn't wearing a sweater vest," Castle urges.

Kate giggles. "I'll pass that on. So Castle, if Dominic lifted something that got him killed, what do you think he stole?"

"It would have to be small enough to be easily concealed in a car, without being in the trunk or the wheel well. A valet would be spotted searching those. He'd attract the least attention checking for anything he could reach from the driver's seat. That would mean in the console, the dash, the doors, or one of those web pockets in the seat well. Those are all places where you could keep a cellphone, a tablet, a manual, a small book, or drugs, maybe."

"I doubt that it would be drugs, Castle. Dominic could sell those on the street, and a narcotics ring could replace them. Killing Dominic would attract unwanted attention. A cellphone or tablet would be password-protected, and Dominic wasn't smart enough to be a hacker. I don't see why anyone would care about a manual."

"Me either," Castle agrees. "I just keep one in my car. So that leaves us with a small book, which could be anything; contacts, a record of transactions, or maybe even the key to a code. It would have to look interesting enough that Dominic would think it was valuable. He'd also know who owned it, or at least who was driving the car, but he tried to extort the wrong guy."

"Castle, if there was a book or something like that, it might be at Dominic's apartment. We need to search every inch of that place. If we find it, we might not need Sonnenfeld and Fruman, or they'd just be additional sources of evidence," Kate considers.

Castle bounces out of his chair next to Kate's desk. "Wow! Do we get to pry up the floorboards and everything?"

"If we need to," Kate allows, "but let's start with places we can reach without doing any damage to the premises. Dominic's keys are in his effects. We can use them to get in."

Castle gazes up at the dropped ceiling in Dominic's new apartment. "Kate, does that acoustic tile look off-kilter to you?"

"It does, Castle. The super probably has a ladder we can use. We can check."

"It's not that high, Beckett. You could climb on my shoulders."

"I'd skewer you, Castle. I'm wearing high-heeled boots."

"Kate. It's not as if I've never seen you in bare feet. You want me to pull them off for you?"

"That's OK, Castle, I've had plenty of practice." Momentarily slipping off her gloves, Kate drops to the floor, sliding off the soft leather sheathing her calves, before regloving and grabbing Castle's shoulders. "Give me a boost."

Castle cups the warmth of her rounded flesh as she climbs up his body, and supports her legs when she makes it to her perch. "See anything?"

"Dust, but there's something else up here." She sticks a fabric-bound ledger in her waistband. "I'm coming down now."

Castle braces her as Kate slides down his body. Ignoring her boots still lying on the floor, Kate pulls out her find. Castle peers over her shoulder. "Those look like records of some kind; names, addresses, dates, initials, fees - high fees. Flip to the front. Kate, they go back over a decade."

"Castle, there's one for the date when my mother was killed, and Diane Cavanaugh too. This guy could be the killer!"

Castle wraps his arms around her. "Are you OK?"

"Yes! More than OK! Castle, we may have stumbled on the clue I've needed all this time." Kate pages to the back. "The complete listings end a week before Dominic's death, but there's an entry for that night that wasn't checked off. The address is across town from Your Own Corner. The murderer must have been planning to make another hit after dinner, but didn't want his kill book sitting next to him on the table while he ate."

"Or maybe he made his kill," Castle suggests, "and never got a chance to record it."

"That address isn't in the jurisdiction of the 12th. The 54th would have picked up the case," Kate realizes. "We need to check with them about whether they're investigating a homicide from that night. And if not, we may have an undiscovered victim. I'll call over there right now."

Castle listens as Kate puts the call on speaker. The 54th doesn't have a body, but a Sergeant Kinney will be meeting them at the last address in the book. Kate drops the ledger into an evidence bag, making the notations necessary to maintain the chain of custody.

Before Sergeant Kinney opens the heavy wooden door of a refurbished brownstone to her and Castle, Kate knows there's a corpse inside. The smell of decomposition is unmistakable. "Have you called the M.E.?" she asks.

Kinney nods. "Dr. Perlmutter is on the way. From what I could tell without touching the body, the victim was stabbed, but there isn't much blood."

Kate turns to Castle. "That's like what Lanie said about Dominic. It was probably the same weapon."

"Do you think she and Perlmutter can work together?" Castle wonders.

"Believe it or not, Castle, they like each other. Lanie even goes to Perlmutter for advice sometimes. They'll be fine."

Castle wiggles his eyebrows. "Who would have thought Perlmutter has a friend?"