Poison Pen

Chapter 56

"How did the trial go today?" Kate asks as Rick drops into his chair next to her desk.

"Well, I think. It looked like Gonzales got what she needed, and it's obvious that Judge Mencas is hurrying things along. I looked her up. She clerked for a judge in the Eastern District of Virginia. Apparently, things move along there."

Kate smiles as she nods. "Right. I remember my parents referring to it as 'The Rocket Docket.' Cases that would typically take weeks, or longer, fly through there in a few days."

"Mencas appears to be emulating that example," Rick surmises. "Anyway, Gonzales gave her closing argument, and Kirby gave his. Gonzales will get the last word tomorrow, and then the decision will be up to the jury. I think that if Gonzales doesn't take too long, we could spend tomorrow afternoon in the until-now-forbidden reaches of the museum basement. Did you talk to Montgomery about our quest?"

"Yeah. He thinks it's a crazy scheme, but he's had collars go bad because of Galegos, so if we can help the D.A. kick the counselor's ass, he's all for it."

"Great! Are the Sewards still here?"

"Transferred to Rikers. I got the report from the handwriting expert, Jillian Norton, on the notations on Winston Seward's paperwork. In her opinion, Merriweather was the writer. She also said she thinks the relationship between the two is pretty much as we figured. Merri is a dominant personality. Winston is submissive."

Castle chortles. "That sounds like a porn book, but nothing I've read. I'm not into incest."

Kate rolls her eyes. "Good to know."

Castle checks his watch. "Are you ready to go? It's about time."

"Sure. Planning any dinnertime surprises tonight?"

"If I told you, they wouldn't be surprises. But I checked with Eduardo. A shipment I was expecting came in today, and he took it up to the loft. I think you'll enjoy it, especially if we make a quick stop at the fruit stand on the way home."

Kate runs her fingertips over his darkening jawline. "I'm intrigued."

Rick arches a brow. "Good. This is going to be fun."

"Strawberries, Babe?" Kate inquires as Rick hands his money to the vendor. "Did you order some upscale shake maker?"

"Better," Rick assures her. "You'll see."

As soon as he and Kate arrive at the loft, Castle puts his most recent purchase on the counter, and tears open the package already lying there. Kate checks the label. "Enrobing chocolate?" she asks as a strange and mildly obscene image flits through her brain. "What are we going to enrobe?"

Castle points to their newly acquired fruit. "Anything you like, but I thought we'd start with these. I caught the longing looks you were giving the chocolate covered strawberries that Ryan bought for Jenny, and he could only afford six of them, impressive as they were. We could easily make a dozen or more. A double boiler, a little patience, and nirvana. Alexis is going to a French farce dinner with her club from school this evening, but if we're feeling generous, we might even save her a couple."

"I'm not sure I'm that magnanimous," Kate confesses.

Castle shrugs. "I bought plenty of chocolate. She can always make her own."

Rick dangles a darkly coated berry over Kate's mouth as she lounges on the bed. "This is the last one."

"What if I'm still hungry after I finish it?"

Rick pops it in her mouth. "Then I suppose I'll have to find another way to sate your desires."

Red juice colors Kate's lips. "We can start with this." Chocolate and love flavor the kiss she presses to his lips. With their clothes suddenly becoming too warm for the growing heat of their bodies; the floor receives garments that will be retrieved later, much later. Bed coverings mangle as they thrash, desperate for more intensity, deeper contact.

As they roll, Kate straddles Rick's hips, madly posting above him. Her head falls back, her hair brushing his thighs as he caresses her breasts. Their lips collide in wild urgency, tongues thrusting and twining. Kate can feel the sensation for which she has no words, growing and spreading from the inside out. A tsunami of waves overcomes her, the pressure bringing Rick to simultaneous release. Sweetly exhausted, they fall together into the cradle of night.

Kate waves as Rick enters the lobby of the museum. "That didn't take long."

"No, it didn't. Gonzales got right to the point. I don't know about the jury, though. Some of them looked confused by Mencas' instructions. It could take a while to get a verdict."

"Kirby's probably hoping at least one jury member will go along with the insanity plea, but from what I've heard, Mencas doesn't like hung juries. If there's any hope of reaching a verdict, she'll make them keep at it. Anyway, I asked Toni to send me an alert when there's a decision. Whenever it is, I'll let you know."

Castle leans in for a quick kiss. "Thanks, Kate. You're the best. I will have, however, the finest of distractions. Are you ready to descend into the caverns of hidden delights?"

"As long as no giant boulders come rolling at us."

"I don't think we'll have to worry about that, but there may be some 2,000-year-old dust."

"What are we looking for?" Kate asks, skeptically surveying vast rows of shelves, cabinets, and crates.

"Apparently, Gamal has a thing for the jaguar god of the Mayans. He inhabited the underworld. The Mayans made masks of him." Rick pulls out his phone. "Here are some images that Stanford sent me. Jaguars are hot items. In the case of the Tiwanaku, that's literal. The museum has some jaguar incense burners it's ready to sell off. And there are a bunch of objects made out of lapis lazuli it wants to put up for sale as well."

"So, we're looking for jaguars and blue stuff." Kate summarizes.

"Right," Castle agrees, "but there's going to be so much more that will be cool."

"Babe, you're like a kid on a first visit to F.A.O. Schwartz. You want to see everything, but we're going to have to concentrate and figure out some plan. Things must be arranged by era or civilization or something."

"The way I understand it, originally by civilization and by find, but things were taken upstairs from time to time and not always put back in place. We should probably start with the Mayans. Once we find the jaguar masks, we'll have at least one major draw, and we can move on from there. But that doesn't mean I'm not going to keep my eyes open for amazing ancient wonders."

Kate taps her fist against his bicep. "Of course you are."

Castle gazes thoughtfully into space in the museum cafeteria. "Do you think I should trade my Ferrari in for a Jaguar? The masks we found were incredible. Ancient civilizations seemed to think a lot of that cat."

"Ancient civilizations that all fell," Kate points out. "I've only known a couple of people who drove Jaguars, but they both practically had to keep a mechanic on retainer."

"You have a point," Castle agrees. "Not that a Ferrari is exactly cheap to maintain, either." He reaches across the table to flick a speck of dust from Kate's cheek. "And I no longer need a vehicular attractant for the opposite sex, unless the Ferrari turns you on."

"I like driving it, but," Kate strokes his thigh under the table, "I like having things revved up and ready to go beneath me. And I have lots of ways to keep the engine running."

Castle coughs and reaches for his bottle of water. "About that, my bride-to-be, I have no doubt."