Shared Obsession Chapter 16

Flanked by her parents, Romy Lee sits nervously in the lounge at the 12th Precinct. "Romy, are you ready to identify the man you saw ask Donny for $200 and then shoot him?" Kate asks.

Romy clings tightly to her designer bag. "Yes. Let's just get it over with."

"That bag must be very precious to you. A good luck charm?" Castle inquires.

"Kind of, I guess," Romy replies.

"Do you mind if I have a look inside?" Kate queries.

Romy's hands tremble. "Why?"

"I've never seen the inside of a Gucci before. I put every extra cent I had in high school toward my motorcycle."

Romy hands over the bag. "OK."

Kate gazes appreciatively at the inside of the purse. "It's very nice, well made. Wow! You've got $300 in here. Do you always carry that kind of cash?"

"We like her to be prepared for emergencies," Mrs. Lee interjects. "And books and supplies can be very expensive."

"Yes, they can," Kate agrees. "But Romy, you said the dealer shot Donny over $200. If you carry around this much money, why didn't you just give it to Donny to pay his debt?"

"What are you implying, Detective Beckett?" Mr. Lee demands.

"She isn't implying, she's saying your daughter is lying," Castle asserts.

"The thing, Mr. Lee," Kate explains, "is that the dealer who sold Donny Kendall drugs has no record of violent behavior. We have no evidence that he's ever carried a gun. And two of his associates say he was with them at the boathouse at the time the shooting occurred."

"His associates?" Lee repeats. "You mean other drug dealers? You can't trust what they say."

"But I can trust the evidence," Kate returns. "I had the crime scene unit check all the suspect's clothes and shoes for gunshot residue and blood. They didn't find either. And the shoe prints in the blood-dampened ground where Donny was shot are the wrong size for him. So before your daughter runs the risk of perjuring herself, she might want to rethink her story. There wasn't a guy, was there Romy?"

Tears well in Romy's eyes. "I didn't do anything."

"Romy!" Lee chastens his daughter.

"What really happened to Donny that night?" Kate asks.

"It was an accident! We were just playing a game."

"What kind of a game?" Kate demands.

"Like Russian roulette."

Mrs. Lee pales. "Romy, with a gun? Where did you get a gun?"

"Spencer had it. We never meant for there to be bullets. It was supposed to be empty. We just pointed it at each other and pulled the trigger to see what it would feel like. We did it all the time," Romy adds. "It was fun."

"Fun?" Mr. Lee echoes. "With a gun?"

"An unloaded one," Romy insists. "It wasn't supposed to be dangerous. Spencer bought bullets. We went up to his summer house to fool around and shoot at cans and stuff. One must have got left in by accident."

Kate shakes her head. "Romy, hundreds of people in this country die every year from unintentional shootings. The first rule of handling a gun is to always assume that it's loaded. Donny should never have died. But covering up what happened, and trying to blame it on an innocent party, only makes things worse. So which of you fired the bullet? Who shot Donny?"

"Tell her, Romy," Mr. Lee orders.

"Max. It was Max."

A woman opens the door when Kate rings the bell of a condo in an upscale high-rise. "I'm looking for Max Heller. Is he here?" Kate asks, showing her badge.

"No. I'm his mother," the woman explains. "What's going on?"

"I need to see him right now, Ms. Heller. Do you know where he is?" Kate questions.

"No, I don't. Why do you need him?"

"I have a warrant for his arrest," Kate states as gently as she can.

"Warrant? Oh God! For what?"

"Murder, Ms. Heller. Do you understand? I need you to call him on his cell phone, find out where he is and tell him everything is going to be all right. But you have to do it now. Detective Esposito will go with you." Kate looks back at the other detective. "We'll need a photo for the APB."

"Right," Esposito acknowledges.

Kate's cell phone buzzes. "Ryan, what? We're right in the middle of… Oh, God!"

"Kid's not answering his cell phone," Esposito reports. "His mom's looking for a photo. She thinks he might have gone to the park."

Kate blows out a breath. "Yeah, he went to the park."

Heller returns with a school photo. "I found the… what? What happened?"

"Ms. Heller, I'm so sorry," Kate responds. "Your son did go to the park. He committed suicide there."

Heller covers her face with her hands. "Now what? What do I do now?"

While, with his stomach in knots, he records his notes on Donny Kendall's death, Castle's mind forces him to find refuge in sleep. After nodding off in his chair with his laptop across his thighs, he wakes up to find Alexis staring down at him.

"If you're looking for money to order pizza, my wallet's on my nightstand."

Alexis tearfully shakes her head. "I don't deserve pizza, Dad. I lied to you."

"You could still order," Castle suggests, "and tell me about this terrible offense over basil and sausage."

"No, I need to tell you now. Remember the holiday formal Kelsey and I went to Taylor's house after?"

"Did someone spike the punch?"

"No, it isn't anything like that. It was raining when we left, and we tried for half an hour to get a taxi. So we were soaked. It was after ten, and we decided to try the subway, even though I know you don't like me riding it at night."

"Considering that the odds of getting a cab in that situation are roughly equivalent to winning the Powerball, I forgive you."

"But that wasn't the worst of it, Dad. The train was coming, and Kelsey ran down the stairs and was going to hold the door for me. But when I swiped my Metro card, it was empty. I didn't have time to put more money on it, so I…"

"What? Don't tell me you mugged someone for a Metro card."

"Dad, it's not a joke. I jumped the turnstile. That's stealing, and I never steal, but I couldn't help it."

"Did you make the train?"

"Yes. And the next time, I swiped my card twice and didn't even ride."

"Which would make the city the winner on the deal," Castle points out.

"But I still stole. You have to punish me."

"Alexis, having you stranded in this city in the rain in the middle of the night would be a lot worse, not to mention more dangerous, than temporarily depriving the city of your train fare. But if hopping the turnstile is the worst thing you ever do, you can't imagine how ecstatic I'll be. Still, if you insist, mandatory ice cream for breakfast, no excuses."

"Dad, I'm serious. If you won't punish me, I will. I'm grounded for a week."

"All right."

"After the DC trip."

"Of course. That trip's a scholastic necessity. And that's my girl. Alexis, have you ever wanted a Gucci bag?"

"Why? On my allowance, it could take me a year to save up for one. And I couldn't fit all my books into it anyway. I'd rather get a good backpack with room for my laptop."

"Very wise choice."