Poison Pen

Chapter 39

Kate holds up a small key. "This was in Coonan's effects, in the pocket of his scrubs." After pulling on a pair of gloves, she inserts her find into the locker that security identified as belonging to Justin Geiger, and opens it easily. A custom-made jacket, along with a pair of extra-long slacks, is folded and neatly lying inside. "Bingo!" After snapping a picture of the clothes in place, Kate transfers them to an evidence bag and rapidly fills out the chain of custody information. "I want to run these over to CSU for a priority analysis. They should have Geiger's DNA sample from Perlmutter, for comparison."

"How about talking to Lockwood?"

"This takes priority, but we tripled the guard on him. He's not going anywhere, and no one is getting to him. But," she continues, imitating Arnold Schwarzenegger's accent, "we'll be back."

Kates and Castle's phones echo each other, dinging texts. Castle scans his first. "There's a hearing for Badcock today. Some expert is going to present his credentials and testify as to whether Badcock's competent to stand trial."

Kate nods, skimming her own message. "Right, but if the judge rules that he is, his lawyer will still go for the insanity defense."

"That makes no sense," Castle insists.

Kate sighs, shaking her head. "A lot of things in the legal system don't make sense, but we have to live with them. The hearing isn't scheduled until later. Are you going?"

"I can't not go, Kate. I need to see Badcock put away one way or another."

"OK, we'll get as much done on the case as we have time for, and if I can, I'll be in court with you."

Rick gently brushes her temple with his lips. "I appreciate it, Kate."

"Castle, you've been there for me every step of the way; besides, Badcock is my case too. Let's get Coonan's clothes to the lab and then we'll come back and see if we can get anything out of Lockwood."

Springer has always responded to Bill Bracken's calls on his private line before, but for some reason, he's gone silent. Bracken hasn't been able to reach Lockwood either, and he saw a report of the police taking down a shooter at a corporate suite. The situation stinks, but Bill's not sure what to do about it. He's always followed Springer's orders and become rich and influential by doing so. Just the seat on the Intelligence Committee that Springer engineered for him has allowed Bill to monetize interesting tidbits of information from around the world. His membership on the Judiciary Committee has enabled him to maintain many useful contacts. And Coonan and Lockwood have removed all kinds of obstacles over the years, for both Bill and Elliott.

All in all, the longstanding association between the senior and junior senators from New York has worked out beautifully, which makes Bill's inability to contact his mentor all the more disturbing. There is one person who almost always knows where Springer is, to keep her ladies ready to respond to his call. Bill dials the number for Charlaine and puts in his personal code.

Lockwood stares icily at Kate. "I already asked for a lawyer, Detective. Not that I would have been stupid enough to talk to you anyway, but he advised me not to say anything."

"It seems to me like you just gave out with a couple of pretty long sentences," Castle observes.

Kate moves close to Lockwood's bed, looming over him. "You don't have to talk, Mr. Lockwood. You opened fire on police officers. That fact is not in dispute. We also have considerable evidence implicating you in the murder of Dominic Farrell, Luther Frontiere, and a great many others. Your ex-pal Coonan has been quite forthcoming. Your only prayer of doing anything for yourself is to tell us something we don't know or back up Coonan's charges against a third party."

Lockwood's eyes widen. "Coonan flipped on…?" Lockwood presses his lips shut before getting out anything except a "B."

"We know all about Bracken," Kate bluffs.

"You don't have anything," Lockwood taunts. "If you did, you wouldn't bother trying to pull a number on me. You have no idea what you're up against, Detective, but I do. Coonan is only the tip of the iceberg. If I tell you anything, we'll both have a lot more to worry about than you can imagine."

"You believe him?" Castle asks as he and Kate walk down the hall from Lockwood's room.

"I believe that he believes what he said," Kate responds. "And it tracks with Coonan demanding protection. But what Lockwood doesn't realize is that he gave away his relationship with Coonan. If they had been strangers, Lockwood wouldn't know that Coonan was anyone except a guy who tried to shoot air into his I.V. line. Clearly, they worked together, and Lockwood knows that their boss sent Coonan after him. Sooner or later, if he thinks he has any chance of saving his ass, he'll flip. But right now, at least we have a 'B.' We're following the right trail."

Castle checks his watch. "But if we're going to make it to court, we need to branch off now."

"We'll get there. If we hit too much traffic, I'll use the gumball."

"Can I work the siren?" Castle asks.

Kate rolls her eyes. "Don't get carried away."

"What can I do for you, Billy?" Charlaine purrs. "I have some new arrivals at the K Street house. I think you'll enjoy their skills."

"I'll check them out, Charlaine," Bracken promises, but I was looking for Elliott. He's not answering his phone, and I was wondering if you know if he's – engaged."

"He has been employing the on-call services of our New York establishment, but there's not much I can tell you, Billy. The girls said he seemed to have something on his mind, but he didn't talk about what was distracting him. They did say that whatever it was didn't affect his performance."

Bill can almost see the madam smirking into the phone. "Thanks, Charlaine. I'll drop by K Street as soon as I have a spare minute." As he hangs up, Bill mentally reviews what Charlaine said. It was no surprise. Elliott has had exotic appetites ever since Bill's known him, but it's never impacted their business, on or off the Senate floor. At least he knows Elliott's in New York. That's more than he knew before.

Badcock seems calm as he's led into the courtroom. Many lawyers have their clients wear suits to look more respectable, but Badcock is in his prison garb and sports a bushy beard, lending wildness to his appearance.

After the preliminaries, the clerk swears in Manley Welborn M.D., Ph.D., and Badcock's lawyer proceeds with the mandatory queries establishing Wellborn's qualifications before questioning the shrink about his examination of Badcock.

"After administering a number of standard tests, I believed that I could make the most thorough evaluation of Mr. Badcock by letting him freely express himself," Welborn explains. "Mr. Badcock wrote what he regards as his manifesto. After carefully analyzing his statements, I concluded that he is narcissistic and obsessed. He evaluates everyone and everything through his own standards for the written word. He is, however, capable of performing everyday activities. He knows where he is and understands what's going on around him."

"In your opinion, Dr. Welborn," the judge interjects, "is Mr. Badcock competent to stand trial?"

"He is," Wellborn confirms.

Kate interlocks her fingers with Castle's, whispering in his ear. "At least he'll have to face a jury."

As he squeezes Kate's hand, the description of the proceedings that he'll commit to the page is already running through Rick's mind.

A/N Guest, there are ways to get into a locked car besides breaking a window. Electronic locks can be hacked, and there are many devices to do so. Thieves (and cops) use a tool called a slim jim to get into some cars. Castle featured another method in "Number One Fan." Remember the blood pressure cuff? Also, the lock to a trunk could be picked, without getting into the car. Someone like Coonan might find that relatively simple.