Shared Obsession Chapter 18
Castle sinks into Kate's passenger seat, closing his eyes. Kate's hand hesitates on the ignition. "You OK, Castle?"
"I was just thinking about what the Kendalls will go through watching that video. They thought they'd seen their world crumble when Lehman went down. Still, that's got to be nothing compared to watching their son die. But I wonder why Brandon kept his copy of the recording. He had to know it would contradict the whole story he cooked up about a drug dealer killing Donny."
"He was pretty smart to keep it," Kate points out. "Otherwise, he could have been facing a manslaughter charge."
"Yeah, pretty smart in an evil genius sort of way."
"I can see your wheels turning, Castle. What are you thinking?"
"I'm just saying that it was pretty smart that they recorded their little game that night."
"Castle, with your interest in social media, you should know that people post all kinds of crazy things on YouTube."
"Sure, especially if they involve cats. But Beckett, Romy told us they played the game all the time. She had no reason to lie about that. It was just another strike against her. So I could see recording it the first time, maybe the second or third if the city's lighting wasn't as favorable. But on that particular night, the video would be old news. Kids like that aren't interested in repeating themselves. They want to feel the rush of something new and exciting. So what was so special about that game?"
"Donny got shot."
"But to take the trouble to record that, the kids would have had to know about it in advance. Brandon said Amanda shot the video. What did she know?"
"You're not going to get a straight answer out of any of those kids." Castle asserts.
"But I will out of the people who have the most interest in knowing what really happened."
Castle nods. "The parents."
"Right."
Mrs. Kendall waves Kate and Castle to seats in the Kendall's apartment. "My husband's out interviewing for a new job. It's hard so close to Donny's death, but at this point, he can't let any opportunity slip by."
"I understand," Kate responds. "And you may be able to tell us what we want to know, Ms. Kendall. According to Brandon, Amanda shot the video that showed your son's tragic death. Other than belonging to the same group of friends, was there a relationship between Amanda and Donny?"
"There was," Mrs. Kendall replies, her voice quavering slightly, "until a few months ago."
"When the Lehman disaster hit your family?" Castle inquires.
"That's right. Donny just didn't have the means to take Amanda everywhere she wanted to go anymore or give her the gifts she liked. So she moved on."
"Do you know who she moved on to?" Kate asks.
"Brandon, she started dating Brandon."
"And how did Donny feel about that?"
"How do you think he felt? He was upset. After everything else, that was the final straw. He said he'd figure out a way to compete with Brandon, to get Amanda back. Since I found out he was selling drugs, I've been going over in my mind how he could do a thing like that. I believe he must have wanted the money to spend on Amanda. I can't think of any other reason. And the last few days before he died, he seemed happier."
"As if he was making some kind of progress?" Castle offers.
"Yes, maybe. It could have been something like that." Tears begin to leak from Mrs. Kendall's eyes. "But now, I'll never know."
"Ms. Kendall, again, I'm so sorry for your loss," Kate says, rising from her seat. "We won't disturb you anymore."
Castle silently follows Kate out the door.
Amanda gazes around the box as Kate and Castle take seats opposite her. "Amanda, you weren't in school today," Kate begins.
"I wasn't up for it," Amanda replies.
"Remembering to tell just the right lie can be mentally exhausting," Castle asserts.
"So can losing two of your friends," Amanda retorts. "Shouldn't my parents be here, or a lawyer or something?"
"You can have a lawyer if you like. That's always your right. And your parents know you're here. They could accompany you at any time. But this is only an interview, not an interrogation," Kate explains. "We're not looking to gather information accusing you of a crime."
"You pretty much did that yourself by shooting video of your little game that led to Donny's death," Castle points out.
"Why did you shoot the video that night, Amanda?" Kate queries. "Did you shoot video of all your games?"
"I hadn't for a while, but Brandon asked me to."
"And Brandon is your leader, or is he your boyfriend?" Castle probes.
"Both, I guess," Amanda admits.
"But you used to be with Donny?" Kate asks. "Did you still like him?"
"Yeah, but he was…."
"Poor?" Castle interjects.
Amanda stares down at the table. "Yeah, I guess. But he was starting to have money again."
"From selling drugs?" Kate questions.
"I don't know. I guess so."
"And did that make Brandon nervous?" Castle inquires.
Amanda rolls her eyes. "Are you kidding? Nothing makes Brandon nervous. He always has everything all planned out."
"And Brandon told you to shoot the video?" Kate confirms.
"I told you he did. But he told me to delete it later. He told everyone to delete it. We all had copies because of our file share thing."
"We saw Brandon's copy. Obviously, he didn't delete his," Kate notes.
"He must have had a good reason," Amanda asserts.
"I'm sure he did." Kate agrees.
"Beckett," Castle exclaims as soon as the elevator doors close on Amanda, "Brandon could have only one reason to ask Amanda to record the fatal game and keep a video that contradicted the drug dealer fairytale his gang swore to. He needed to pin the shooting on Max."
"Which means that he had to have known in advance that there would be a shooting," Kate picks up. "Brandon had to be the one who put the bullet in the gun."
"It all makes sense," Castle agrees. "Amanda dropped Donny for Brandon when Donny could no longer afford his gang's decadent lifestyle. But Donny was determined to win her back. Hardly worth the trouble if you ask me, but teen love, or at least lust, is what it is. Brandon saw his relationship with Amanda as threatened. Worse than that, if Donny won her back, Brandon would lose face as the top dog. He couldn't handle that. So, knowing that Spenser had a gun and bullets, he cooked up his murderous scheme. And then he pretended he was covering for Max and the rest of the group by coming up with the drug dealer thing. But he kept the video as insurance. And when the drug dealer story fell apart, he killed Max to close the case and kept the video to back up Max's motive for committing suicide." Castle shudders. "They're making pathological killers younger these days."
"That could be, Castle, but we still have no proof. I checked on that attorney of his. He could give Dershowitz a run for his money. With just a finger abrasion and Max's alcohol level to suggest that Brandon killed him, the case wouldn't make it past the preliminary hearing, assuming that the DA would bother trying to charge Brandon at all. And that's not even considering that Brandon and Spenser alibi each other. We need something else."
"Anyone with an ego like Brandon's must have tripped up somehow," Castle declares. "We just need to figure out how."