Slaying the Beast

Chapter 26

Gloria Meadows' fingers curl tightly around her damp handkerchief as if it's a lifeline. Kate wishes there was something she could do to ease the pain, but she knows from bitter experience that there isn't. "Ms. Meadows, I'm sorry for your loss, but if you can answer some questions, it may help us to catch Chelsea's killer."

Gloria nods mutely.

"Do you know if anyone was angry with Chelsea? Did she receive any threats?"

Gloria swipes at her eyes. "No. Who would want to hurt a wedding planner? Chelsea and I make dreams come true. Oh, no, wait! There was someone. The would-be husband of one of Chelsea's clients."

"Would-be?" Castle repeats.

"Yes. The marriage never took place. It was supposed to be a spring ceremony, planned to be in a field of flowers - wild daisies. The reception was going to be in a tent nearby. The caterers brought portable equipment for whatever last-minute cooking they would have to do. But something went wrong. A propane stove blew up. Thank God, no one was seriously hurt, but the tent caught fire, and the field started to burn as well.

"The wedding was postponed and then finally canceled. The groom, Harley Masterson, blamed it on Chelsea because she was the one who recommended the caterers. We'd both used them many times before without any incidents, but somehow, he thought Chelsea should have known. He posted bad reviews of her business all over the web and filed a complaint with the Better Business Bureau.

"He also filed suit against Chelsea and the caterers. The judge dismissed the lawsuits, and the BBB listed the complaint as resolved. Masterson went crazy. He started using Twitter, Facebook, Tumblr, anything he could to rail against Chelsea. When years of happy brides defended her, it just made him crazier. He started calling Chelsea, saying her heart should be destroyed the way his was. Then after a while, he went quiet, and Chelsea thought he'd calmed down, or maybe fallen in love with someone new. She must have been wrong. You need to arrest Harley Masterson."

"Ms. Meadows, we will question Harley Masterson and investigate what you've told us. If there is a case against him, we will pursue it," Kate assures the distraught woman. "But even if it isn't Masterson, I promise that we will work as hard as we can to bring Chelsea's murderer to justice."

Castle puts his arm around Kate's shoulders as they return to her unit. "That was rough."

"No rougher than usual. But I'm glad you were with me."

"If it was Harley Masterson, Gloria's story fits - especially the thing about destroying Chelsea's heart. I think Perlmutter got off on describing what the murderer did with the knife. That man is creepy."

"Creepy or not, Castle, he's a good M.E., and he gave us a lead. Maybe he's got the time of death pinned down by now. Without one, we won't be able to know if Masterson has an alibi or not. Let's go to the morgue and see what Perlmutter has."

The balding M.E. is no less abrasive than he was at the murder scene. "You didn't give me much time, but I can tell you that the murder took place between eight and ten last night. The body wasn't moved. She was killed in the parking lot where we found her."

"That makes sense," Kate notes. "Esposito sent me a text saying Chelsea's car was only a couple of feet away. She must have been trying to get to it when the killer over-powered her and stabbed her. That area is full of businesses that are open late. She could have been coming from any one of them."

"Or visiting someone in one of the apartments above them," Castle adds.

"The boys are running a canvass of the area. They should be able to find out. Now the question is, where was Harley Masterson between eight and ten last night."

Harley refuses to let Kate and Castle into his apartment, declaring that he can answer any questions they have from where he is standing in the doorway. "More about Chelsea Meadows! Hasn't that bitch done enough to ruin my life already?"

"That bitch is dead," Castle informs him. "Obviously you didn't care much for her."

"Care much for her? I hated her guts! I should be married now. Lily and I should have used the money I saved, toward a down payment on a little house somewhere. Instead, I have no wife, and I spent almost every dime I had on lawyers."

"Hated her enough to kill her?" Kate presses.

"Kill her? Wait, no! I was trying to forget she existed so I could get my life together again."

"Mr. Masterson, while you were trying to forget her, where were you between eight and ten last night?" Kate demands.

"I went to a movie, Shutter Island, at Cinema Eight."

"You have your ticket stub?"

Harley shakes his head. "Who the hell keeps ticket stubs? But there were cameras in the lobby. I should have been caught by one of them. You can check."

"Believe me, Mr. Masterson, I will," Kate assures him.

"Are we just going to leave like this?" Castle asks as he and Beckett walk down two flights of stairs.

"Of course not, Castle. I'm going to have Masterson kept under surveillance until we can check his alibi, but I think he might have been telling the truth. He seemed genuinely surprised that Chelsea is dead."

"He did at that, but I'm not sure anyone is as they seem anymore."

"Castle, that's good. You're beginning to think like a cop. I'll have Ryan scrub the video from the theater. If Masterson was telling the truth, we'll need a new suspect. And I think now would be a good time to talk to Alexis."

Over cocoa and leftover brownies, Alexis props up her chin with the palm of her hand. "I remember Chelsea Meadows. She was nice. She told me what she thought a wedding between Princess Leia and Han Solo would be like. It was fun. I can't think of anything she could have done to make someone want to kill her. I mean, Dad was pretty angry about his tuxedo, but he got over it."

"More or less," Castle puts in.

"But Chelsea did say she was glad that Gram and I were easy. I guess Gina's mom was a little pushy, even if Dad was paying for the wedding. And Gina's father didn't seem to be very happy that she was marrying Dad." Alexis turns to Castle. "Didn't he leave the reception before it was over?"

Castle nods. "Come to think of it he did. He said he had some business to take care of, but Gina told me he was retired. I only saw him once or twice while Gina and I were married. He wasn't the friendliest fellow I've ever known."

"None of which helps us solve Chelsea's murder, but thank you, Alexis. You have given me a clearer idea of what Chelsea had to handle with weddings."

Alexis downs the rest of her cocoa. "That reminds me. I have to call Paige. Her father is getting married again, and she's trying to figure out what to wear."

"Go ahead, Sweetheart," Castle urges. "Kate and I have another case to discuss."

Kate watches Alexis disappear up the stairs before she says anything. "You want to talk about Susan Collinwood."

"Yeah, I do. As I've thought more about my theory, some things just don't make sense."