Very Castle Celebrations
Chapter 25
Castle watches Kate page through a file - again. "The Labor Day weekend is supposed to be for the celebration of labor, not the practice of it, Hon."
Kate looks up at him, sighing. "I know, Babe, but I just feel there's something in here that I'm missing and it's driving me crazy."
Castle can see that. "Want me to take a look? You know how I am with obscure details - the more obscure, the better."
Kate shrugs and hands him the folder. His eyes sweep over the entries. "Hmm. John Dolan, a construction worker; that's appropriate for the holiday. And he stopped a bank robbery? Wow, he distracted the robber so that his teller girlfriend, Janet Merriweather, could activate the silent alarm. Good man. The robber pistol-whipped him, but he was all right until a week later when he was the victim of a mysterious and fatal mugging. The cops always thought the two events were related, but they couldn't find the connection or the killer. Looks like they really grilled the girlfriend; crappy thing to do when her lover had just died."
Kate rolls her eyes at him. "Castle, you know that more often than not it's the spouse or significant other."
Castle nods. "Uh huh. But a mugging? If Janet was sleeping with John or was just around him a lot, she could have easily poisoned him. It would have been a very feminine thing to do. And if she was soothing his fevered brow while he was recovering from having a gun smashed into his head, slipping something to him would have been a piece of cake. I think the bank robbery is your classic red herring. Dolan may have met his end because of something else entirely. And if we're playing the odds, if it wasn't about love, the most likely motive would have been money. But if that's the case, no one is going to be digging up financials, especially old financials, until Tuesday. After you've relaxed and recharged, you can attack Dolan's case with fresh eyes."
Kate grudgingly agrees. Castle watches with appreciation as she rises from her chair and stretches, her breasts pushing against the fabric of her blouse. In another couple of weeks they'll have the pediatrician's approval to introduce Jackson to solid foods and Castle expects that Kate's bust line will gradually decrease to pre-pregnancy dimensions, but until then, he will glory in his every view of Mother Bountiful.
He and Kate don't have any travel planned. The temperature has been predicted to rise to 95 degrees and a sudden drop in the price of gasoline will make holiday traffic even more bumper to bumper than usual. He, Jackson, and Kate will be hunkering down in air-conditioned comfort.
That's not to say he isn't prepared to celebrate. When Castle and his son made their field trip to the butcher shop, he could feel his mouth watering as Ralph the master meat cutter sliced thick steaks. He can suitably sear them on the grill that occupies the rear of his upscale range. He also has massive baking potatoes and all the fixings including bits made of real bacon, not formed soy product. The salad greens in the fridge are fresh as are the veggies he's prepared for use with his signature dip. For sweet treats, he baked monster cookies with chips, chunks, and M&Ms as well as stocking in three flavors of ice cream, fudge topping, and extra whipped cream.
Jackson has a brand-new infant play gym to keep him busy. Between that and the ever-faithful baby swing, Castle is looking forward to the most time he's had to cuddle with Kate since she returned to work. Together they planned the video marathon to justify spending time vegging out on the couch. Castle's even rented a movie-style popcorn maker for the occasion.
While Castle wanted to view the three original and in his opinion best, Star Wars movies, Kate insisted that they should watch every episode of Nebula Nine. Castle agreed as long as he could add in his favorite original Star Treks, The Naked Time, The City on the Edge of Forever and I, Mudd. Kate is also determined to watch the Temptation Lanes she recorded over the last two weeks. Castle is fine with that as long as images of his mother with the venerable lead Lance Hastings don't invade his brain.
Castle is letting his mind drift as the soap opera unfolds until there is a scene at a construction site. A newly introduced hero is trying to erect the building complex of his dreams, a mix of affordable apartments, shops, studios for nascent artists, and office space for struggling writers. Of course, nothing on a daytime drama is without angst and peril. The mob is trying to muscle in on the project, threatening the supply of concrete and menacing the workers.
Castle hits pause. "Kate, John Dolan was in construction. Organized crime in New York is into that business up to their eyeballs. What if the mugging wasn't a mugging? If Dolan refused to play ball, one of the families could have put out a hit on him."
Kate grabs the remote control. "Castle, you were the one who didn't want me to think about work this weekend. Anyway, Dolan wasn't killed with a mob-style bullet to the back of the head. He was beaten to death. If it wasn't a mugging, it wasn't a contract killing either. Whoever did it was angry."
Castle wasn't about to give up. It can't hurt to reach out to his favorite capo, Sal Cardano. Sal's memory is almost as good as the clam linguine in his restaurant, and he knows what fingers were in what pies. If the mob did have anything to do with Dolan's death, Sal should be able to steer him in the right direction. He can even bring Jackson along when he asks him. For the Cardanos, however dirty their activities may be, family is everything. With a plan in mind, he starts a new batch of popped corn and settles himself back down beside Kate.
As the android torturer screams, "Harcourt Fenton Mudd, you've been drinking again!" Castle winces. Much as he loves seeing the villain of the piece get what's coming to him, he also has a certain sympathy for his plight. Harry wanted to get further and further into space to escape his shrewish wife, and Castle had often felt that way about Gina. It wasn't that she screamed at him. That might have been easier to take, especially with an appropriate set of earplugs. It was just that whenever she disagreed with him, instead of settling it with an argument, she'd beat a glacial retreat.
If there's one thing Kate seldom does, it's retreat. She doesn't encourage conflict. In fact, he sometimes finds the white lies she tells to avoid it, infuriating. But when faced with a serious problem, she can attack it head-on. The bigger the problem, the harder she fights. It's what made her a great cop, and she's still a magnificent muse. He knows that she will push until she find's John Dolan's killer. She could never do anything else. He'll help her along however he can - Tuesday. He pulls her into his lap. Until then, he can explore the multitude of his wife's other virtues.
A/N I am dying to be able to write The Rookie stories, but I don't know enough about the show yet to do it well. For now, I've just dropped a couple of Easter eggs.
