Poison Pen
Chapter 32
"A Hal Lockwood who rented a Kia K900," the clerk at Comfort Ride repeats, his fingers moving at a snail's pace over his keyboard. "Lockwood, Lockwood, yeah, here he is. He still has the car."
"Does it have G.P.S.?" Kate queries.
"No, there was a note on the contract that he didn't want it."
"That figures," Castle remarks.
"Do you have an address for Lockwood?" Kate presses.
"He gave us a permanent address in Idaho. For being in the city this long, he probably went for one of the corporate suites. A lot of our longer-term clients do."
"How about a credit card?"
"He gave us a cash binder and deposit. That's unusual, but some customers prefer it. They're afraid of being hacked or ripped off or something. It's better for us, too. We don't have to pay processing fees."
Kate's teeth dig into her bottom lip. "Did you at least get a phone number?"
"Yeah. Sure. He gave us his mobile. Here, I'll run a copy of this for you."
A printer hums and spits out a few sheets that the clerk hands to Kate. "Anything else? We have a great promotion going, rent for two weeks, get the third week free. Great if you have family coming for an extended visit."
"I'll keep that in mind," Kate responds drily.
Kate shakes her head as Rick takes his seat beside her in her unit. "What do you want to bet the phone number is a burner?"
"I wouldn't take that bet," Castle replies, "but aren't corporate rental facilities a place to start? Lockwood would want one where his comings and goings could go unnoticed. We think he had a date at Your Own Table. So a thirst for privacy would especially stand if he's found himself a girlfriend. Maybe he met her at the rental or in the neighborhood. We should look for a place with private entrances. And we could start with the route between Your Own Corner and Luther Frontiere's place. Lockwood might have dropped her off on his way to work, so to speak."
Kate taps her fingertips against the wheel. "That's a lot of supposition, Castle. I'll check on the phone, but if we're right about it being a burner, looking into your ideas about the rental is better than nothing. What I'm wondering about is why the Dragon would hire someone whose roots aren't in New York?"
"Maybe he sends Lockwood on jobs in other locales," Castle speculates. "If he has that much power, he may have national or even international connections."
"And if he decided to terminate Lockwood, no one local would come looking for him," Kate adds. "All of that would make a girlfriend a casual thing."
"Or maybe she was a rental too," Castle suggests, "a lady of the night who caters to the needs of out of town visitors."
"That's possible, Castle," Kate muses. "In which case, Vice might have a line on her and the venues she serves. That would give us two threads to pick up. They'd be slim, but better than nothing."
Castle reaches for his phone. "If the Dragon has become an urban legend, people must have been writing about him for a long time. There should be a kernel of truth in some of it. I can do a search on this thing with Google and some of the other engines, but I can get into the meat of it better with a couple of the subscription services I have at home. You could drop me off and chase down leads from N.Y.P.D. sources, then we can put our heads together later, maybe over dinner. Alexis is going to a fencing tournament with her club this evening and from Mother's humming this morning, she has an assignation. We should have the place to ourselves."
"Sounds good, Castle, Can I bring anything?"
"Just your remarkable self."
"Hookers who specialize in long-term visitors," Sergeant McKenzie, Vice's finest, considers. "There aren't many of those, Detective Beckett. Most of the working girls prefer to get it done and move onto their next john. Their pimps push them in that direction too. They don't want any entanglements or to have the fillies in their stable decide to take to the track on their own. And from what you've told me, you need someone who would fit in at an upscale joint like Your Own Corner. That winnows down your possibilities even further. I would suggest stepping into the Wading Pool."
"I'm not familiar with that term," Kate admits.
McKenzie chuckles into his phone. "It's not a term, Detective. It's a bar within two blocks of two corporate housing facilities, that's the likeliest place for your suspect to have found his date. Check it out. Things tend to start picking up there at happy hour."
Kate's nod goes unseen. "I'll do that."
On stepping through the door of the Wading Pool at 4 p.m., Kate immediately feels underdressed. No halter tops and thigh-high boots here. Most of the men at the bar and at the tables are in suits and ties. The women are sporting business casual, with tailored blazers over dresses and conservative jewelry. A man could as easily take one to a corporate function as a fancy restaurant. Would a hitman be interested in someone like that? Maybe. If he wanted to blend in with the business world, she'd be a perfect cover. And there's no judging what other talents the ladies might possess. Kate needs someone who might attract the right attention, someone with custom-made suits and overpriced ties. She needs Castle.
Rick sets a dessert platter of cheese, fruit, and chocolate on the table between him and Kate. "You've been looking like you've wanted to ask me about something —besides the results of my computer search — ever since you got here. What's going on, Kate?"
Kate gazes longingly at the chocolate. "I went to a bar this afternoon, one where Vice thought Lockwood's girlfriend might hang out, but I didn't stay long, I don't think I'm the person to extract information from that particular clientele, but you might have more luck."
Castle's eyebrows leap upward. "You want me to go to a bar and try to pick up girls?"
"More like let yourself be picked up by a girl — to a point. See if you can find out anything about Lockwood. You could talk to the guys there too. Someone might know where he's staying. Come on, Castle! Wouldn't it be a great scene for your book to have Jameson Rook go undercover — that is as long as he doesn't end up under the covers with anyone but Nikki."
"Of course," Castle agrees. "How much fun would that be? But," he continues, consulting his watch, "we do have time for a little undercover work right now. Alexis won't be home for at least another hour, and Mother may not show up until after sunrise. What do you say, Kate? Can you gird my loins against the advances I might encounter in a den of alcoholic iniquity?"
Kate fingers his belt buckle. "I suppose that it's my duty to protect my potential source in any way possible. And I have become quite fond of your loins." Pushing out of her chair, Kate extends her hand to him. "Let's see what I can do."
Castle grins. "With you all the way."