Shattered Lies
Chapter 31
Marie Constantine had long ago made a new life for herself. She'd married Mike and was happy with a part-time job and raising their two children in Connecticut. Uncle Cecil had warned her that he would be mentioning the incident in his book, but not identifying her. With the change of name and being in another state, she hadn't thought that anyone would be able to track her down - until Detective Beckett and her writer friend showed up at her door.
Kate Beckett makes it very clear that if she could find Marie, the press can too - and so can William Bracken. Telling the truth would not only pull the claws of the politician, it would make it useless for him to send anyone after Marie, as he had done to Cecil Bowdry.
Marie sinks into a chair bearing the marks of numerous passages of little hands and knees. "Mike, my husband, doesn't know. I tried to put it behind me. When Senator Bracken started showing up all over the news, and all the pundits started talking about what an upright breath of fresh air he is, it made me ill. I thought it would all go away - that the cameras would turn to someone else. They usually do. But then you showed up. This isn't going away; is it?"
Kate scoots her hassock close to Marie. "It won't. The story is out there now, and you can't put the genie back in the bottle."
"But you can make sure that your side is the one the press and the people hear and believe," Castle suggests gently. "Tell Detective Beckett everything, and I can help you put out the right words for the members of the fourth estate."
Marie looks up at him. "You'd do that for me?"
"I'd be doing it for the whole country. The last thing any of us needs is a monster like Bracken in the upper echelons of our government."
"Just start at the beginning," Kate urges. "Take your time and tell us what you remember about what happened to you and about what Bracken did."
"And you should tell your husband as soon as you can," Castle adds.
Marie twists strands of her hair in her fingers. "And what do I say to my kids?"
"The truth, that there are people in this world who do bad things." Castle advises. "That's always worked with my daughter. But between TV and social media, I'm sure they know that already."
"Do you think Marie is going to be safe?" Castle asks as Kate drives back to New York.
"I'll ask Captain Montgomery to contact the Connecticut locals to put a watch on the Constantines, but if anything happens to Marie, it will throw more suspicion on Bracken. He has to know that. Still, it won't be easy for her to put her life back together again."
"If anyone should know about that, it's you."
"You're a guy. How do you think Mike Constantine will react?"
"As a guy, I'd think he might be hurt that she didn't think enough of him to tell him sooner. But if he loves her, he'll be there for her. If he doesn't, he's not much of a husband."
Kate continues driving in silence, not sure what else to say.
Bracken crumples a page of the Ledger in his fist and hurls it at a wastebasket. He misses. Taking out Bowdry was a bad move. He had no idea the old hack had written a book, but he should have checked. Bowdry's claims from the grave are just the kind of accusations that make the press salivate. And if Bracken tries to impugn his honesty - he'll be speaking ill of the dead. At the moment, he can't see a way to spin this in his favor. But he will, he always does.
This bump in the road does increase his need to build his war chest. That means more money from Simmons' operation. Simmons had initially pushed back against Bracken's demand that he increase his sales, but apparently rethought his response, and is beginning to expand his operations. Normally Bracken would twist a few arms to keep the pressure off the new territory in Brooklyn, especially since the FBI has moved out. But Bowdry's revelations have thrown a wrench into that maneuver too.
The puppy is bigger than Castle remembered, or perhaps it just had a couple of days to grow. From the size of its paws and the research Rick's done, Custos may end up weighing almost as much as Castle does, but that will make him a great deterrent to robbers, kidnappers, and general invaders to Casa Castle. For now, he should be happy in his play area. And of course, Alexis will be taking him on walks, and the trainer will be starting his schooling.
Alexis spends most of the afternoon and evening in Custos' enclosure, and the dog seems happy enough, but as night approaches, he begins his laments. Castle activates the recording inside the giant stuffed dog that the perky sales clerk at Pet's Palace swore would keep the puppy content, but obviously, the clerk had never encountered Custos. Once out of a lap or arms, the little shepherd is inconsolable.
Castle considers employing the noise canceling earphones he uses for airplane trips, but neither he nor Kate has the heart to let the puppy cry. Around midnight they bring him into the bedroom where he immediately settles down to snooze between them. "You were right," Castle reflects wryly to Kate. "It's a good thing we got our fun in before our furry chaperone arrived. Alexis is on a school break right now, but after she goes back, it looks like I may need to hire a dog sitter for a while."
Kate groans and punches her pillow into shape. Castle, you can worry about that in the morning. Right now let's get some sleep.
Hal Lockwood usually doesn't pay much attention to the news. The talking heads don't know what they're talking about anyway. The reporters dutifully followed Bracken around, making the public believe every word he said. Morons! But now it looks like they've got their hooks into something sexy in the fallout from Hal's assignment to take out Bowdry. The obscure public official is on everyone's lips. Hal should have known the job was too easy.
Bracken might want to give him more jobs to try to clean up the mess, but he can't see that working out. It will attract more attention. Damn. Hal was just getting comfortable in New York. Now he'll have to relocate. But before he goes, there's really only one way to put a stop to investigations into Bracken that might eventually trace back to Hal.
Bracken has to be taken out of the picture - swiftly, cleanly, and before the cops can learn any more. That may take a little planning. According to what Hal saw on the net, Bracken headed upstate. Hal rubs his stubble-roughened jaw. The Senator maintains a rustic residence a couple of hours north of the city, to convince the locals that he's their guy. Hal snorts. Bracken's not anyone's guy but his own. And soon he'll be no one at all, just another body in the ground. Hal will go do reconnaissance, to spot the best position from which to eliminate his problem. Too bad. He hates working for free.
A/N I posted a new The Rookie story. It's a one-shot that follows immediately from "Checklist." Nolan tries to help Ben and reveals more of his own history.