Shared Obsession Chapter 3

At Kate's desk, she and Castle study Kyle's sketch. "Kyle was right," Castle insists. "This guy does have eyes like Allison Tisdale."

"Or Kyle just drew them that way," Kate counters.

"But he drew the rest of the face as more masculine," Castle points out. "The brows are heavier. Look at the jawline and the thinner lips. And there's one other difference. I noticed from your photo of Allison Tisdale that she had a slight indentation on her bottom lip. This guy doesn't have one. Before we all started using computers, I saw that dent a lot on fellow young writers who chewed on their pens while plotting out a scene. They also did it sometimes when they were nervous."

"Is that why you asked Kyle if Allison was chewing her pen?"

"That's right. I was wondering if she was nervous. And she was nervous when she saw this guy."

"According to Kyle."

"I didn't ask Kyle if she was nervous, just if she chewed her pen. You heard him. He had to be taught to interpret facial expressions by rote. Scared has a lot more explicit signs than nervous. And why would Kyle lie?"

"Because he's a murderer."

"You have no proof of that. The facts say just the opposite. He's enough of a Castle fan to know the details of my stories. The killer wasn't. But Kyle knew Allison and doesn't know how to defend himself. That makes him a perfect patsy for the real killer." Castle pokes at the sketch. "It was this guy that made Allison nervous, not Kyle. He's the one you should be going after."

"We don't even know who he is," Kate points out and…."

"Beckett!" the wiry detective, Kevin Ryan, calls from across the 12th Precinct's bullpen. "We have another murder, a woman floating in a swimming pool with a knife in her chest."

"That's "Death of a Prom Queen," Castle realizes.

"Ryan, grab Esposito, and let's go," Kate commands.

"This is another copycat. I'm coming along," Castle announces.

Breath hisses through Kate's lips as she rolls her eyes. "Fine, but stay the hell out of the way."

"Castle, I need you to keep back," Kate calls as he makes a beeline for a water-soaked body next to a high school swimming pool.

The medical examiner looks up from her spot kneeling next to the victim. "Richard Castle! I'm Lanie Parish. I caught you on Oprah. She doesn't pick many spy stories for her book club."

"I think it was the bit about Storm and the orphanage," Castle offers. "As it turned out, she supports many organizations caring for orphans. She thought the book would give the idea a boost. Apparently, it did. For about a week after my appearance, the money spigot turned on full blast. But unfortunately, one of my books may also have spurred this tragedy. What can you tell me?"

Kate stalks up beside Castle. "What can you tell me, Lanie?"

"Cause of death was stabbing, not drowning. So far, no defensive wounds, but it can take a while for bruises to appear."

"The killer screwed up again," Castle observes. "The dress is the wrong color. Kyle wouldn't make a mistake like that. Dr. Parish, do you know the time of death?"

"The cold water would mess with the cooling of the body, and I don't know how long she was in the pool. I'll know better when I get her back to the lab. But her skin isn't water-softened that much, and rigor's still confined to the upper body, so she's been dead less than eight hours, possibly a lot less."

Darkly handsome Detective Esposito joins the group. "The swim team was using the pool for practice this morning before classes started," he reports. "They were out by eight am. Then there was a group of old ladies doing water aerobics here until noon. So the vic would have had to be dumped after that."

"That was four hours ago," Kate notes.

"And you broke in on Kyle three hours ago," Castle points out. "Even if he had the means to transport the body to the pool, there's no way he could have made it back to his apartment in time. He couldn't have committed this murder. And what are the chances that this unfortunate woman and Allison Tisdale were killed by two different copycats? Kyle's innocent, but his sketch could tell us who the killer is."

"Maybe," Kate accepts, 'if we can match it to a real person, not someone out of Kyle's imagination."

"A real person with Allison's eyes, so probably a close relative," Castle figures, pulling his phone out of his pocket. "Allison Tisdale. Oh, here we go. Allison Tisdale is one of the Tisdales. There's a picture of the family. Her father is Jonathan Tisdale."

"The guy who owns half the city?" Esposito questions.

"More like two percent, but that's him," Castle responds. "And Allison and Jonathan aren't the only ones in the photo." Castle turns his phone so that Kate can see it. "Does that other guy look familiar?"

Kate peers at the screen. "He's the one in Kyle's sketch. That's Harrison Tisdale, Allison's brother. But why would he kill his sister?"

Castle stares down at Kate. "Detective Beckett, where there's that much wealth, there's a motive."

Kate nods hesitantly. "Even if that's true, we need more than a sketch from someone who saw Harrison outside the diner to go after him."

"When someone is murdered, don't you usually interview family members?" Castle inquires.

"Yes," Kate acknowledges.

"Then how about a visit to Daddy Tisdale? I'm sure that in his grief, he would like to be assured the police are doing all they can to uncover the culprit. And if he's like a lot of high-powered guys, he's probably at his office, trying to bury himself in his work. It wouldn't be hard to find out. The Tisdale building is very prominently in midtown."

"And I suppose you want to tag along."

"If you mean I want to discover the identity of a murderer who's been copycatting my books, yes. But before we drop in on Tisdale, you might want to call the precinct and tell them to let Kyle go. You don't have a case against him, and you know it. Better yet, have someone give him a ride home. The noise of the subway must drive him crazy, and who knows how long he'd have to wait for a bus?"

"Why don't you take him home, Castle?" Kate questions. "I have to finish up here, and I can handle Tisdale on my own."

"I'll take Kyle home, but I'll meet you at the Tisdale building."

"Yeah, sure," Kate mutters as Castle leaves.

"You called ahead and made an appointment for both of us," Kate accuses as Castle enters the Tisdale reception area.

"It was the polite thing to do," Castle confirms, eying the lobby portrait of Jonathan Tisdale. "I settled Kyle in his apartment and autographed a few books for him before I left. I also asked the super to fix the lock. " He checks his watch. "And we should be just about on time."

"Mr. Castle, Detective Beckett, Mr. Tisdale will see you now," the receptionist informs them. "Take the elevator to the 20th floor. His assistant will meet you and take you to his office."

Jonathan Tisdale waves Castle and Kate to comfortably upholstered seats in front of his desk. "Mr. Castle, we've never met, but Mayor Weldon speaks highly of your work on the library project. Detective Beckett, I don't know what I can tell you that would help. Everyone loved Allison. I can't imagine who would want to kill her."

"I'm very sorry for your loss, Mr. Tisdale," Kate responds. "And I promise you I'll try my best to bring your daughter's killer to justice. When was the last time you saw her?"

"Tuesday night. We had dinner."

Castle catches Kate's eye at the further confirmation of Kyle's story. She takes a breath before continuing with Tisdale's interview.