Shattered Lies
Chapter 9
Relieved breath whooshes from Castle's lips. "Kate!"
"Castle, I'm sorry I'm so late calling. Something went down."
"Are you all right?"
"Fine, the Spinellis never got close. They tried to sneak into the laundry room from the air shaft, but Agent Murphy's people saw them coming. Murphy wanted to make sure that I had a look at them before he had them carted off. He needed to see if I recognized anyone."
"Did you?"
"Yeah, actually. I saw one of the attackers come in to clean the precinct on the night shift. Murphy checked. A usual guy called in sick, and the thug one was a last minute substitution. Usually, the cleaning service won't allow unvetted fill-ins like that because of bonding issues. They let it go because someone vouched for him, but it turned out the voucher is a second cousin to a Spinelli, so Murphy's folks are going to bring her in too."
"Her?"
"The whole family is in on this, Castle, you know that. But Murphy collared a good chunk of it tonight, and he may be getting a lot more of them after he finishes his interrogations. Did you see the picture I sent? Doesn't Agent Murphy look like someone who would shine a light in some thug's eyes and demand that he come clean?"
"He does, kind of."
"But he wouldn't do anything that would cause a judge to cut a perp loose on a technicality. One of his guys told me that Murphy was a practicing attorney before he joined the FBI. He just wanted more action than he could get in court."
"Sounds like he's getting it. I don't suppose that while the Spinelli forces are in at least temporary disarray, you and your Praetorian Guard could find your way up here. Alexis is sound asleep - I hope - and I have a camera aimed outside from a window in her room, just in case. Mother is holed up studying the script for a new play. Complete immersion. She's dressed like her character and saying everything in a Tennessee accent. At least I think it's Tennessee. She sounds like she just left the stage of the Grand Ole Opry. They should both be securely out of the line of fire."
"You won't be."
"But I'll have you, and I'm sure you'll have a watcher not far away. I am hoping for at least the other side of the bedroom door."
"I suppose it's possible, but Castle, you'll never heal if you don't get any sleep."
"Which I won't get if I don't see you."
"I should have seen that coming. I'll check with Sarah. She's my personal bodyguard right now. We'll figure out what we can set up."
The clock in Castle's great room is digital, but he could swear he hears it ticking as he waits in a chair by the door for Kate to show up. Getting to his post from his bedroom took him a while, but he's never had a chance to give her a key. He'll present her with one now. She already has the key to his heart. Why shouldn't she have one to his door? Whoa! He's never put a cliché like that in one of his books, but it is the way he feels.
The knock on his door is in the rhythm of the opening eight notes of the Dragnet theme. Kate is keeping her sense of humor. He winces as he pushes up from his seat to let her in, but the twinge is more than worth it when he sees her standing there, even accompanied by what Rick supposes are three FBI agents.
He offers her his arm, but she extends her elbow first. He'll be leaning on it more than he likes, but they'll get where they want to go, faster. The tall, angular woman Castle assumes is Sarah, indicates that she'll be in Rick's office, a whole four feet away, but at least theoretically in another room.
Rick sinks down on the edge of his bed, and Kate snuggles beside him, pulling her feet up under her. He runs the knuckle of his index finger over her cheekbone. "I missed you."
"I missed you too. And we'll have to make the most of the time we have now because after the Spinellis have a chance to regroup, I won't be able to come back here, at least until the next roundup."
"And when do you expect Murphy to pull his lasso tight again?"
"I don't know. Maybe in a couple of days if we're lucky, and Murphy manages to squeeze out enough information from the soldiers he's already caught. But it could be a lot longer."
"So what do you want to do now?"
Kate brushes her lips against his. "Whatever we can without tearing your chest open again."
Castle presses his lips to hers. "I'm willing to take the risk."
"What the fuck happened?" Dominic Spinelli demands.
Rico shoves his hands in his pockets so his father can't see them shake. "The Feds know we're after Beckett. They have people on her everywhere every minute. Maybe it would be better if we laid off."
Pens rattle as Dominic brings his meaty fist down on his desk. "I can't believe my son would even suggest such a thing. We'd lose honor in our family and in front of every family in the city. And we'd be completely closed out of any new businesses. Our failure with Q3 was bad enough. The decision to use Perlmutter was a catastrophe. That damn doctor dragged two good men down with him. But Beckett is at the root of our troubles. If she had accepted Perlmutter's story, we'd control Q3 and more like it by now, instead of just using our trucks to haul their garbage. Beckett must be eliminated, whatever it takes. So, you and Gino stay on top of it, 24 hours a day until she's in a hole in the ground. Capeesh?"
"Yes, Father."
Luca knows he's in deep shit. At first, he thought Agent Murphy was a clown, someone who watched too many movies. But Murphy is no joker. And he knows the system. The Fed never does anything a lawyer could use to claim excessive force or abuse. He never lays a hand on Luca or keeps him from sleeping. He just goes at it, hour after hour while Luca's awake. He demands to know everything about Rico, Gino, the Don, the whole family. Luca's never met Don Dominic. Now it's unlikely he ever will.
Murphy gave him a little break - 20 minutes for lunch. He has to eat shackled, but it's good pasta, better than what Luca's mother makes. The captive longs for a glass of vino to go with his meal, or better yet a whole bottle of red, but he had to settle for water. At least that's the quality stuff too. The food won't be this good in Sing-Sing. Luca knows that for a fact. Maybe this is the end of the line. If he goes along with Murphy, tells him what he knows, maybe he could be sent to a better joint or even put into WITSEC, and protected in case the family - if there's anything left of it by the time Murphy's finished - enforces the penalty for squealing.
Luca takes another bite of his pasta. Murphy isn't going to give up. He knows that in his gut. So maybe it will be better to talk to the man than spend the rest of his life eating crap and making sure his back is against the wall.