Slaying the Beast
Chapter 24
Adam Briggs' dark brown eyes drill into Lockwood's watery blue ones. "Mr. Lockwood, you were caught in the act of attempting to kill a police officer, as well as a civilian. We have information that you were behind at least one other homicide, but in terms of the penalties that will be meted out to you, realistically, that is of little consequence. The two attempted murders alone will send you to prison for life.
"We suspect that you are anticipating that a person of power who is behind these acts will be sweeping in and suddenly your prison door will spring open. I can assure you that will not happen. The reins of that power are at this very moment being cut. There is no help for you now except if I present mitigating circumstances to a judge who might make the rest of your life somewhat less of a living hell. But I will tell you this, Mr. Lockwood, men like you, don't engender my sympathy. You will do anything for a price - without remorse. That you served in a law enforcement capacity yourself makes your actions even more egregious. But at this juncture, that very lack of scruples or loyalty may be to your advantage. Give us your boss, the man who gave the kill orders and put you in this position."
"Lockwood, I promise you this," Kate interjects. "I will hunt him down, and I will nail his hide to the wall, and when I do, you will lose what little bit of leverage you have to protect your own ass. The countdown has already started. You have no idea how much time you have before what's left of your life implodes, but I assure you, it isn't long."
Lockwood studies the two implacable stares aimed at him from across the table. It's time to cut his losses. "It's Bracken, Senator William Bracken."
A smile flits across Briggs' thin lips. "Yes, we know. What you are going to do now is tell us everything you know about Bracken; every interaction you've had, every order you've received; every word you've ever heard him say. And if you leave anything out or attempt to lie or bend the truth in any way, you're finished."
Things have turned to shit! Bracken's cell phone won't function. Even his landline is unresponsive. His wifi is blocked as well. He can't transfer funds; he can't do anything except run. He picks up his briefcase, prepared to do just that when Kate Beckett appears in the doorway of his office. "Going somewhere, Senator?"
His fingers tighten around the handle of his briefcase. "I have an important appointment."
Kate waves a hand at the armored tactical squad accompanying her. "And these gentlemen will escort you to it."
Castle scrutinizes the newly installed panes in the loft. They are sandwiches of polycarbonate and glass that will protect it from the scratches that would in time, obscure the view through the bullet-resistant plastic if the harder but brittle surface didn't shield it. It's not a perfect solution. Unless he wants to retreat to an underground bunker, there isn't one - and even that would have its weaknesses. Still, his domicile is more secure than it was before - and warmer.
Kate will be with him, not because they have work to do, but because she wants to be. As far as he's concerned that will light up the place more than any row of windows ever could. She's been at the precinct while he waited for the glazer to arrive and do the work, but she promised to let him know if a body dropped. Her work as a homicide detective goes on. Bracken has sworn he will fight the charges against him, but it may be months until he comes to trial. Until then, it's back to the routine - except that they are partners now on a whole different level.
He doesn't know what he's going to tell Alexis. It will be the truth of course, but he's not entirely sure what that is. He and Kate are lovers, but the subject of where they will go from here hasn't even surfaced. Lover is a better term than girlfriend or oh God, "significant other." He's just not sure it's the word to use with his daughter, and he's out of time. He hears her come through the door. He covers the few steps it takes to greet her. "I take it your project was received to great acclaim."
"We got an A if that's what you mean. The kids are too cool to applaud, and the teachers aren't allowed to respond with anything that might be perceived as favoritism. Do I smell brownies?"
"Double fudge with chips and chunks."
"Bad news brownies. Come on Dad; I know your routine. I bet you bought two different kinds of ice cream to go on top of them."
"Three, but there's no bad news, just news. Kate, Detective Beckett is going to be staying here with us - with me."
"And by 'with me,' you mean you're not going to pretend she's sleeping on the couch."
"Hey! I wasn't pretending. She did sleep on the couch, at least to start, but then…"
"Dad, relax. I know you're in love with Detective Beckett. I figured it from the moment you came home after she dragged you out of your book party. I just didn't know what either of you would do about it. It looks like you've finally worked it out."
Castle shakes his head. "Not all of it, not even close. But we're making a start."
"Good. So where did you hide the brownies, and do you want whipped cream or marshmallows in your hot chocolate?"
"Under the Star Trek dish towel in the kitchen and definitely whipped cream."
Jamil McDonald drops into a seat across from Clem Watkins at a table filled with chicken and waffles. "I hear you took over the operation."
"More like reorganized. Simmons left a crap pile, and the new boss is cleaning things up. But we're moving product again, and we'll be moving a lot more of it very soon. How much can you handle?"
"Man, whatever you got, I can put out there. With the new stuff, all I have to do is give people a taste, and I have them. They'll give everything they've got to stay tanked up. And if the fools kill themselves, there are always more behind them."
Clem spears a piece of his waffle. "And those fucktards in DC talk like it's coming in from Mexico! They hardly search anything in the harbor. They haven't got the people, and they're putting the ones they do have in the wrong place. Listen, I've got a container being unloaded tonight. Top grade. I can get you everything you can sell and then some. I should have the first division and packaging of the shipment done by the day after tomorrow." He passes Jamil a folded piece of paper. "This is our new distribution center. Meet the bros there, and we'll load you up." The two men bump fists before Jamil tears into a piece of chicken.
Pretending to swipe through his messages while eating biscuits and gravy, Colby Chesmire picks up every detail of the conversation through the tiny speaker in his ear that receives a signal from the miniaturized amplifier in his phone. So the flow of poison continues. Damn! It was too easy to hope it would stop when Kate and Rick nailed Bracken.