Slaying the Beast

Chapter 30

"Once again the wrinkly brow," Castle notes.

Kate stuffs her phone in her pocket in disgust. "None of the pharmaceutical companies in the area will release their personnel records without a court order, and I don't have any basis to ask for one."

"There may be another way, Kate. Joshua's a researcher, right? That means he's put out a paper or two every so often. The company might even want him to, to boost their image. There was actually a scandal a while back because scientists published research without disclosing their connections to companies or products that might have biased their results. I believe that these days, in reputable journals, any such influences are clearly stated. If we find a paper by Joshua Pelletier, we'll have his contact information, or at the very least, where he works."

"That's a great idea, Castle. Can you get on it? Lanie told me that she'd be able to dig up the original M.E. report on Callie Freedwell and go over it. She's supposed to be letting me know soon about anything that might have been misinterpreted or overlooked." Lanie's ringtone emanates from Kate's slacks. "That's her now. I'll put her on speaker."

"Kate, and Castle too, if you're with her, I think the M.E. who did the Freedwell autopsy may have missed something, through no fault of his own. Detection of bacteria in the bloodstream at the time was considered unreliable. General levels of contamination hadn't been established yet, so he reached his conclusion based on stomach contents and the degree of damage to the body, instead of a blood culture, which would have been negative or not shown much, if most of the bacteria had been dead when the lobster was eaten. Callie was severely dehydrated, so much so that her organs shut down, and both she and the other victim were highly susceptible, for two different reasons. If it was murder, the killer might have expected only one death. Callie was immune suppressed because she'd had a kidney transplant. The other victim had a genetic disease called thalassemia, which the killer probably wouldn't have known about. I can see why the original M.E. might have considered the two deaths a tragic coincidence."

"But it looks like a murder to you?" Castle prompts.

"Given the extremely high load of toxin in the bodies, I'd say that it was likely, but my opinion wouldn't be strong enough to convict without supporting evidence."

"It's still worth a lot Lanie," Kate assures her friend. "Thanks, I owe you one."

"Girlfriend, you owe me about a thousand, but who's counting?"

"So now what?" Castle asks after Kate ends the call.

"Now we finish checking what we can, based on the records in Bracken's box. If they stand, we take what we have to Briggs and see if he's willing to bring charges against Susan Collinwood."

"And if he's not?

"Then we'll need some help from your pal Colby Chesmire. If he publishes all the evidence, the Senate will be pressured to investigate, and maybe the House too. If Susan Collinwood is doing what we think she's doing, it will come out."

"And Joshua Pelletier?"

"Once we find him, we keep an eye on him to make sure he's not pulled into his mother's mess."

"And we're doing that for Bracken?"

"No," Kate declares. "We're doing it for Joshua. No one should have to pay for their parents' sins."

"Kate, I found him!" Castle calls out excitedly as Kate pours two mugs of coffee in the kitchen.

"Joshua Pelletier?"

"Uh huh. I found a paper he wrote on combatting the migration of cells that cause asthma attacks. It looks like he does worthwhile work. If he's right, it could help a lot of people to breathe easier. But anyway, according to the disclosure, he works for ATGC. If I recall, the city gave them a huge tax break to build a new research center in a neighborhood where Mayor Weldon is trying to promote gentrification. Joshua probably works there. In any case, his email is in the article. We can reach him that way."

"Castle, it will look pretty strange contacting him out of the blue."

"Not if I do it on behalf of Breathe Free. I'm on the Board. It's mostly an honorary position. They trot me out when they can't get a TV or movie star for a fundraising event. Alexis talked me into getting involved when she had a classmate who almost died of an asthma attack. I can tell Joshua I want to get familiar with his work and invite him to lunch with us."

"And what are you going to tell him about why I'm there, Castle?"

"You're my… I don't think muse will work in this instance, Kate. Are you ready for me to say, girlfriend, although the word is a gross understatement?"

Kate chews on her lip and shrugs. "I suppose since I practically live with you, our relationship isn't going to be under wraps much longer. But how about just saying friend, for now?"

Castle can feel the muscles in his neck tighten. "Yeah, sure Kate. I can do that."

Joshua Pelletier isn't accustomed to taking long lunches, but meeting with Richard Castle can be considered work-related - and reading the mystery writer's books on plane flights to conferences has often made for a nice change of pace, especially since he could always find them at airport booksellers. He immediately recognizes Kate as the real-life version of Nikki Heat. Castle's friend. Uh huh. If that's all she is, Castle is missing out big time. But that's not really Joshua's business. He's here to explain his work.

Usually take out Sichuan food is much more his style than the cuisine at a place like Chaise Magnifique, but the food is good, and the portions are adequate. He's doing his best to explain his research over coq au vin with asparagus and rice. To their credit, neither Richard Castle's or Kate Beckett's eyes are glazing over. Castle even gives him his private email and invites him to stay in touch about any developments in his field that he finds exciting. Joshua just may do that. He can always use a patron of the sciences with a social media megaphone.

"What do you think?" Castle asks as he and Kate take a cab back to the loft. "Do you believe that Susan can tempt Joshua to join her dirty enterprise?"

"I doubt it, Castle. He seems to be passionate about doing good things in this world. I'm beginning to wonder if he really is Bracken's son."

"Yeah, you would think that with a double dose of bad seed DNA like that, he'd be more Walter White than Snow White. But he has a mole on his cheek that is exactly the same as one Bracken has. It would strain credulity to believe that they weren't related. Personally, I find Joshua's attitude hopeful. It's encouraging that a man can come from two parents like William Bracken and Susan Collinwood and still embrace the light. His story is very Luke Skywalker. Despite Emperor Palpatine's efforts to make him an apprentice, he didn't go to the dark side."

"You're right, Castle. That is hopeful. And after years of seeing the worst of humanity on the job, that's the kind of a new hope that I need."

Castle wraps Kate's slim hand in both of his. "Stick with me, Detective Beckett, and we'll wield the force for good, together."