Very Castle Celebrations

Chapter 41

When Kate comes through the door of the loft, Castle can't wait to ask her what Bitsy Mortimer said.

Kate shakes loose of the wool wrap coat she's been wearing against the January chill. "She said that she had no idea that she'd done anything illegal, but if the U.S. didn't want Sumatran tiger fur being smuggled into the country that customs agents really should do a better job spending her tax money. Babe, I really wanted to slap the superior look off her face."

Castle pours a glass of red wine and hands it to Kate. "Did she at least say who sold her the bag?"

Kate takes a gulp of the scarlet liquid. "She claims that she buys all her accessories through her stylist, Tuck Speelman. Supposedly, he's off skiing somewhere. The detectives are trying to track him down."

Castle's heard the name before. Alexis' mother had mentioned him last time she was in town, but not in a complimentary way. He tells Kate that Meredith claimed Speelman had no judgment of quality and that the women with a true retail eye thought his clients looked like they worked on the streets - and not to shoot exterior shots. His ex-wife is flighty about a lot of things, but she knows fashion. He's pretty sure that if she thinks there's something wrong with Tuck as a stylist, there is.

Kate sighs. "It's a long jump between picking out lousy accessories and being involved with smugglers. But I guess we'll find out. We are making progress on a cold domestic violence case, but not the kind of progress anyone wants to see. In the original case, a woman had wounds from a bush hammer."

Castle admits that's a weapon with which he's not familiar.

Kate nods. "I didn't know what one is either. It's not something my dad had in his toolbox, and you don't use one to work on motorcycles. It's a masonry tool. The end of it has a grid made up of sharp points. The marks it leaves are very nasty but very distinctive. The original victim, Lindy Sloan, was found in a dumpster. She wasn't near any construction. Her girlfriend thought that Lindy had a boyfriend who worked in the building trades, but she didn't even know his name. The investigators couldn't locate any contractors who'd put in masonry that matched with the tool. I don't know how hard they looked. Anyway, the trail went cold, and Lindy's killer was never found. But there have been two cases in the past two years, where women were beaten and killed in their own apartments. They had marks from a bush hammer. In both cases, neighbors said they heard arguments between the victim and some unknown man. One of them called the cops, but nothing came of it - until someone was found dead. No one knows who the man was, except that he had an accent they didn't recognize, which with New Yorkers, pretty much lets out the outer boroughs and Puerto Ricans. Could be he was undocumented, maybe someone who's overstayed his visa and was paid under the table. Some contractors love to hire workers like that because they can stiff them on their wages and they can't complain or file suit. If he's still in the city, or even the country, he's going to be hell to track down."

Castle points out that she's solved cases with fewer clues, and a unique weapon and an exotic accent are pretty good ones.

Kate sucks her lower lip into her mouth and nods slowly. "Yeah, but it's a lot easier if you start within the 48-hour window. This guy could be anywhere, but Lanie is putting out feelers in her M.E. network to see if anyone's seen bush hammer marks. So, what have you and Jackson been up to?"

Castle can't help grinning. "I gave him the leg from a Cornish game hen to try. He really went at it. I think he might be a candidate for the drumette lover's club. He loves to get those new teeth of his into things - not unlike his mother."

Kate mimes biting his earlobe. "I've never seen you let go of a case either, Babe."

Castle acknowledges that it's true, but right now he's writing a new fictional one, a Drake Bentley. His intrepid hero is after a model toy car thief. Castle's been looking up information and videos on old automobiles, and several times Jackson has surveyed the images on his father's tablet with fascination. Castle put on a video of a NASCAR race and Jackson sat still for an unheard of 20 minutes, watching. He's wondering if his son might grow up to write for Car and Driver.

As far as Kate is concerned that would be preferable to seeing her son behind the wheel of a race car.

It's Castle's turn to roll his eyes. "This from the woman who couldn't wait to get her leg over a Harley. Welcome to the world of obsessing over the safety of your offspring. You'll probably spend the rest of your life here."

Obviously hurrying to change the subject, Kate wants to know what Castle was doing with a Cornish game hen. He explains that it is also a factor in his story, which features a villain who likes everything small; small cars, houses, and very petite women. Besides the toy cars, the thief specializes in stealing rare miniatures - artwork and sculptures. He also prefers baby peas, baby corn, and cherry tomatoes. In the end, Drake will track him down by his eating habits. Castle's been doing a bit of culinary research and still has all the leftovers. He wonders is Kate is OK with eating them.

Kate is fine with integrating the meat and tiny vegetables into dinner, but more interested in Castle's ideas about tracking culprits by their habits. Castle points out that he recalls that they located one suspect by his hair gel. He's wondering if there might have been any clues to the killer's habits left behind on the bodies murdered with a bush hammer that might have been overlooked.

Castle turns from retrieving containers from the refrigerator. "You could ask Lanie to inquire about stomach contents. That would fit in with the mysterious accent. He might be into regional food as well. Some ingredients that aren't common here, are used in foreign cookery and medicinals. I've run up against those several times in research for Derrick Storm books. I was thinking about having him healed by some sexy medicine woman, but I kept seeing Jane Seymour in my mind and had to junk the idea. It's been done too many times anyway, at least back to Steve Trevor crashing on Themyscira and being treated by the Amazons. Maybe you'll get lucky."

Kate gets out the wok for a stir-fry. "I could definitely use some luck on this case - all the luck I can get. Lanie will be getting the full autopsy reports, and I can request the lab info. Maybe something will turn up."

Castle palms the firm curve of her derriere. "It would be lovely to see the corners of your mouth turn up. This case, the whole domestic violence thing has been pretty hard on you. For something strangely delectable, I could add my secret ingredient to all those mini components."

Kate waves him toward the wok. "Go for it!"

He urges her to step back and close her eyes before reaching for the jar of peanut butter.

A/N Now this is not so secret. If you do a stir-fry with soy sauce, peanut butter will not only immediately thicken the sauce, it will taste fantastic. It's a trick I'm sure Castle would have loved almost as much as eating the stuff off a spoon.