Shattered Lies

Chapter 46

"What are you looking at?" Castle asks, dropping into his accustomed seat next to Kate's desk at the 12th Precinct.

"It's Jada Bergeron's file. She was killed in the Bronx, so I had one of the guys at the 44th dig it up for me."

"When Winston Bergeron was a kid, the area around the 44th wasn't the best neighborhood."

"No, it wasn't," Kate agrees. "When I committed to looking into Jada's case, Winston Bergeron gave me the history of his family. They came from Jamaica. After Winston's father drowned in a hurricane, Jada brought him and his older sister Abigay to the United States, thinking she could support them better here, but they went through some tough times.

"Jada cleaned houses and worked as a health aide, the kind that changes sheets and dumps bedpans. But they got along. Abigay was old enough to watch Winston while Jada worked double shifts. That's why the idea of cake and ice cream for the kids was such a big deal. Most of the time the food budget only covered essentials.

"That the Bergerons are immigrants - and black - may have played into why the police gave the case so little attention. Also, technology then wasn't nearly what it was now. The clothes Jada wore when she was murdered were never analyzed for DNA. The M.E. didn't check for it either."

"If she was raped, there might have been semen."

"Exactly, or even sweat, but they didn't have the amplification then to do phenotyping, and DNA databases were practically nonexistent."

"Have her clothes been preserved?"

"I'm trying to find out. The NYPD doesn't throw much away, but the primary, a Detective Persky, may not have considered them worth keeping."

Castle shakes his head. "Jada died when Bergeron was just a boy, and he's older now than I am. Persky will be retired if he hasn't passed on. Can you track him down?"

"I'm going to try, but since this isn't officially my case, I'll have to be careful about using police resources."

"The computer system for Out of the Cold is being delivered this week. Some of the board members have pulled a few strings to get hookups to otherwise unavailable databases. The DNA analyzer should be in soon too. How are you coming on finding someone to run it?"

Kate close's Jada Bergeron's file. "I have Lanie doing the vetting. She's having a good time too. Apparently one of the candidates is a former college basketball player with a Ph.D. in forensic science. She called him back for a return interview. I think she's hoping that if we hire him, he'll ask her out."

Castle glances across the bullpen. "We might see a little smoke coming out of Esposito's ears. Whenever he's in her lab with us, his eyes tend to focus more on Lanie's, um, assets, than on the corpse in question."

Kate rolls her eyes. "I've noticed. But if he doesn't want her looking elsewhere, he should put up or shut up and ask her out himself."

"Maybe if he realizes he has some serious competition, he will. So with Lanie handling forensics, how are you doing on detectives?"

"Not as well as I hoped I would. Guys like Ryan and Espo, they've put in enough years not to want to walk away without a pension. And a lot of the retired cops have left New York for someplace warmer - or cheaper. The ones I've talked to who are left had either gone to work in security, started their own agencies or are more set in their ways than I'd like, especially where cyber skills are concerned."

"It sounds like you have a couple of options, cops who are retiring now or young ones you can train in the Beckett mode. Hey, how about Montgomery? He has his thirty in and Evelyn would love for him to leave the force before he gets himself killed and so he'll have more time with her and the kids. He's kept up with computers too. He could be great as a part-time consultant or something."

"You know Babe; you could be right. I'm so used to thinking of him as my boss; it never occurred to me that he could work for me - for Out of the Cold. But I'm not sure how to bring it up."

"No problem! He's coming over for poker tonight. After a couple of beers and some of my famous guacamole, we can feel him out. Who knows? He might even have an idea about where to find Persky."

"Fine, Castle. Just don't take too much of his money."

Rick leans in for a quick kiss. I will be kind - unless he says no."

"Babe, while we're discussing projects, how about yours?"

"Oh, you mean our wedding?"

Kate tugs at his ear. "Yeah, I mean our wedding."

"The Fire Marshall says that the maximum number of people we can have in the lobby of the building that the Out of the Cold Foundation bought, is 100. It would be a lot less if we have tables. So I went back to the building engineer and architect who checked it out for us before we put in an offer. They both say the roof is solid enough to hold at least 200 guests plus tables, catering staff and a band. It's flat enough to lay down a portable dance floor too. If the weather looks iffy, we could put up one of those inflatable domes, but I'm hoping for clear skies. With the park practically across the street, the view is great - at least in one direction."

"Castle, I never would have thought of the roof. I've never even been up there."

"That is a situation we need to rectify immediately, or at least after your shift tomorrow. We should check out the upgrades on the restrooms anyway. Can't have master detectives and scientists washing off in cracked sinks. And the urinals - ooh, never mind. Alexis will be on Custos duty. She can cook or order in if she wants to. We could grab a blanket, stop by the deli, and have a roof-top picnic."

"Sounds great. I wish we could go tonight."

"First things first. Poker and personnel."

Montgomery holds up a tortilla chip for inspection. "These are great, Castle, where did you get them?"

"A little bodega where the family matriarch fries them up fresh in the back. It's not far from the Out of the Cold building. You should check it out."

Montgomery dips his chip deeply into the avocado dip. "The bodega or the Out of the Cold Building?"

Kate jumps into the opening Castle created for her. "Both, Sir. I was wondering. I mean I heard what Evelyn said the last time she was in your office, about wanting you to retire. Would you consider coming and working for Out of the Cold?"

"You could set your own hours to make Evelyn happy." Castle hastily adds. "And have more time with your kids. They grow up so fast. Alexis is 16 going on 35."

"I hear that," Montgomery agrees. "And Beckett is right. Evelyn does want me to retire, but the idea of sitting around on my butt, at least when I couldn't be out fishing, never sat right with me. Working part-time, I would have more time with my family, but I wouldn't feel like I've been put out to pasture."

"So you'll consider it?" Beckett asks.

Montgomery grins and takes a bite of his chip. "If I don't, I could spend the rest of my nights sleeping on the couch."