Shattered Lies

Chapter 43

"Want to take the grand tour?" Castle asks, holding loosely to Custos' leash. Trainer, Laurie Sullivan, had done an excellent job. The dog doesn't really need to be restrained, but the city laws require it.

Kate shrugs. "Why not?"

Castle starts off the opposite way from where the smoking man is lurking. That's no relief to Jackson. Richard and Kate could easily make a circuit and come back around the block. The loiterer has yet to do anything threatening. Even if he does, Jackson can't just shoot him. He's been set up in the apartment opposite Richard long enough to have shed too many clues, and in any case, it could be tough to get a decent angle on the man with a steady flow of pedestrians passing by.

Jackson needs to get closer. There's an alley near where the potential foe is standing. Perhaps that's where he intends to herd his victims. Jackson can take a route around the backs of the buildings and end up behind Mr. Nondescript. He'll be ready to act if anything happens.

Custos is, as usual, curious, one of the traits he shares with his master. On this trip he also seems to be on the alert; sniffing the air and looking around. "You think he smells a coyote?" Castle wonders. "There have been some venturing into the city."

"I don't know Castle. I'm more inclined to worry about human beings, but I don't see anyone."

Castle reaches down to ruffle the fur on Custos head. "Whatever it is buddy, we'll keep our eyes open."

Jackson crouches behind a dumpster, his eyes on his target. He won't be able to stay like that for long. His knees aren't what they once were, but for now, he's concealed and has a good view of the man on the sidewalk.

Rick carefully seals a water soluble bag and drops it into a squashable net tote he had in his pocket. "I guess we're ready to close the circle."

Custos looks increasingly wary as Rick and Kate approach the loft from the opposite direction from which they started, letting out a bark at the man standing on the sidewalk, stomping out a cigarette butt. "It is a dirty habit," Castle murmurs to the shepherd. As Custos growls, Kate sees a flash of silver between the man's hands, as he throws a loop of fine wire around her neck and attempts to drag her into the alley. Jackson springs forward, but Custos is faster, pulling free from Castle, knocking the wire free and the attacker to the ground. Kate retrieves the small backup pistol she had secured in a band on her thigh beneath her dress and aims it at her attacker. "I wouldn't move. I'm not sure what would make you bleed out faster, my bullet or his teeth."

Castle hastily summons help from the 12th precinct, then runs his finger over the thin red line the wire left on Kate's neck. "Are you all right?"

"Yeah. Custos took this jerkoff down before he could do much damage."

"Callie was strangled with a wire. You think this is the guy who did it?" Castle queries.

"Lanie can compare the wire to the marks she found on Callie's body, but it's possible." Kate's mouth turns upward as her eyes sparkle. "That would mean that we're getting close to our target."

Castle's fists tighten. "I'm glad you're happy about it, considering you're the one our perp here tried to take out of the picture."

"Castle, when bad guys run scared is when they make mistakes, and sending this guy was a big one."

Custos is sitting on the sidewalk but still sniffing and scanning the area when Smoking Man is loaded into the back seat of a marked unit. Castle hunkers down next to Kate's furry protector, scratching him behind the ears. "It's all right, Boy. You got him, and the nice officers will be taking him to the precinct to lock him up."

The dog gets up and leads Castle and Kate into the alley, smelling the dirty and stained cement until he reaches the area behind the dumpster. Gazing back at Rick, he lets out a yip. "That's strange," Castle notes. "I'm not surprised he finds all sorts of interesting scents here, but the sound he made is like what he does when he senses a family member. Maybe there's an essence unique to my line, a pheromone or something. My father was watching us in Little Russia. Do you think he could have been here too?"

"Castle, there's no doubt you're unique, but concluding that your father was here from the pitch of Custos' bark is stretching it a little, don't you think?" Kate asks.

"Maybe not," Castle muses. "If someone was here and Custos thought he was a threat, he would have barked the house down. I think he knows more than you give him credit for. I wonder if he could track where my father went."

"We don't have time for that, Babe. Once Wire Man is processed, I'll want to question him. If he was Callie's killer, he might be able to lead us to whoever sent him after both of us. If your father is hanging around somewhere, Custos will get another chance to find him."

Bertrand Manning smacks the balls in his Newton's cradle hard, the clicking echoing through the room. He'd told Salmon not to send Cyrus Gooch - or anyone - after an investigator, but the idiot had done it anyway. And the killer has asked for a lawyer. Hopefully, that was the only thing he's opened his mouth to do. Manning can send an associate. The last thing he wants to do is get mixed up with Salmon's errand boy. If push comes to shove, and Gooch talks, he'll let Salmon go down. Up against the Southern District, that would be inevitable, and Manning will isolate himself while he can.

Through the glass in Observation, Kate eyes the man handcuffed to the table. He asked for counsel, and she'll have to wait to question him until someone shows up. She's also waiting to hear back from Lanie about the wire - hopefully before she begins her interrogation.

Castle isn't with her. He called Miniver to stay with the still agitated Custos, and he'll be coming after the sitter arrives. That's fine. In the meantime, Kate can learn a lot by watching the man identified as Cyrus Gooch and trying not to giggle at his name.

It's easy to for her to tell that the would-be killer is nervous. Stains are blooming beneath his arms, and he has a tic in one muddy brown eye. That's good, it will make driving him toward a deal easier, even with an attorney at his side.

Lanie's ringtone tinkles from Kate's cell. "Kate, the wire is a perfect match to the marks on Callie's neck. I don't have the analysis of the alloy back yet, but I'd be willing to bet the man who tried to kill you, murdered Callie. Go get him, girl!"

Ryan knocks on the door. "Gooch's attorney is here. He and Castle rode the elevator up together. Castle is making coffee for the two of you. He should be joining you in a minute. Shall I let the lawyer into the box?"

"Wait until Castle finishes making coffee. We'll let Gooch and his lawyer get a good whiff of what they can't have."

"That's a new ploy for you," Ryan notes.

"Yeah, but I feel like Gooch deserves it."