Captain Kate Beckett has left the morgue and is heading back to the precinct to see if her team has discovered anything new on the vehicle or the victim…well wait. He is NOT a victim. Lanie just said he is not a victim. He died of natural causes, but he was definitely not up to any good. No id. Driving an illegal vehicle, or rather a vehicle that does not or should not exist
When Beckett arrives on the floor she can see her two partners talking to someone. She immediately recognizes that profile. Her partners are being pestered by her husband.
He has his cell phone in one hand pointing at the many pictures he has taken of their children and lying on the desk beside him is an open photo wallet with many more images of the two little Castles
She walks up to Rick and leans into his back and kisses his ear making him jump. She then whispers "Hey Mister. You know you should not be bothering these nice police officers. You are probably interfering with an investigation and I may have to cuff you and put you in jail"
Rick turns around and pulls Kate close and whispers "the cuffs sound nice" causing her to smile "And if you let me pester their boss, I promise I will leave them alone"
As he gives her a kiss she lets out a soft hum then whispers again "later"
He smiles at her "OK I will be good. I just wanted them to see the latest photos of the kids"
She almost laughs out loud "They were just over at our house for dinner last weekend. How much could Jimmy and Alicia has changed in four days?"
Rick looks at his phone then back to Kate "Four day of growth?"
Happily frustrated, Kate grabs Rick's phone from his hand and closes the screen then takes the photo wallet off the desk, closes it, and lowers both items into his jacket pocket. Then she looks back to his face with a question in her eyes. Then her eyebrows pull together "Wait a minute! Where ARE the kids?"
"I left them at home. I told Jimmy to watch his little sister"
Kate grabs his ear causing a grimace to appear "You left a ten year old watching a six year old?"
"APPLES! APPLES!" He yells. Kate releases his ear "No! They are fine." He rubs his earlobe "Mother came by and wanted to take them to the park for a couple of hours and that gave me time to come down here to see if I could help"
Kate is to trying hard to pretend she is upset with her husband, when actually having him here today gives them the chance to do a little theory building together once again
The other two officers look at one another knowing how much these two love each other and love to banter like this
"SO? You think you can come up with the solution to our mystery, Mr. Castle?" she points at the white board "Here you go. Have at it"
Castle turns to the board and begins looking at the notes and photographs covering a large area of the writing surface.
He stands quietly for a minute then begins "You ran the VIN and it came back to a bogus series of numbers and letters that does not even come close to the actual truck"
Esposito responds first "The letters and numbers belong to several different manufacturers' products"
"OK. What about the engine? The block will have a serial number also"
Kevin Ryan picks up his notes "The engine block came from a Cummings Diesel block that belonged to a large 1995 Dodge dualey pickup that was totaled in an accident in Kansas and the vehicle was sold as salvage to a scrap yard in Nebraska where it sat for a couple of years. They have no idea when the engine was sold. This place is one of those 'Pull-a-Part' lots where people come in and buy parts from the vehicle and they have to remove it themselves"
"Can they tell us who bought the engine?" Castle asks
"They only keep records if there is a credit card purchase" Ryan answers "but this was probably not and there is no trail for who bought this motor"
"OK" Castle states then moves around the board again, now looking at the deceased "This man was not murdered?"
Beckett answers her husband "No. Lanie said he died from a brain aneurysm. No foul play"
Rick is looking at Kate "But he was driving a vehicle that should not exist" He looks back at the photo "Has Lanie found any DNA or dental information"
"Again. No" Esposito responds
"So this is not a factory built truck, but one that was assembled from scrap parts from around the country?"
"You got it" Kate comments
Esposito responds to that question "But the cab is definitely from an actual armored car, repainted of course. The back end is just a box that was welded together, door installed and gun ports. Just like a real car then painted to resemble the real armored truck"
"I suppose the box came from a different salvage yard too?"
"No, it is a legitimate box bought from, a dealer somewhere" Ryan responds
"And they have no trail of who bought it?" Castle asks
"No"
Castle keeps working in his mind "The rear box WAS made by Tomlinson Truck Body?"
"Yes. We had CSU verify that" Kate answers
"Then why don't you just get the serial number from the box and ask Tomlinson's to tell you who it was sold to?"
"That number and name was ground off. We barely could read the manufacturer name" Esposito finishes
"What about the confidential serial number?"
The other three go silent looking at Rick then Kate steps up to her man "What confidential number and how do you know about that?"
"When I was researching for one of my early Derrick Storm books, I had Derrick buy a truck box to use as a place to do surveillance. It looked just like a storage container used for construction so no one in the area thought anything about a storage box just sitting on the street. When I contacted one of the metal body manufacturers, they told me about the name plate and the confidential serial numbers. Everyone does that just in case you are using it for storage and it gets stolen, you can till trace it"
Esposito is grabbing a telephone along with Kevin Ryan doing so as well. Kate is moving closer to her husband, pleased to see him having information as he has done so many before "And where is this serial number?"
She turns toward the board with the picture of the truck and with her back side facing Castle.
With his wife standing so close and his eyes looking a little lower than the white board, he is having trouble thinking. "UH…on the opposite…side of the frame from the main nameplate near your rear…I mean the rear of the box. It is in so tiny, you need a magnifying glass to read it"
She turns around and can see where he is looking. She leans in so close to his ear "Good boy. Later we will have to discuss where you were just looking and a reward for that helpful bit of information"
GULP
They both know how much they have missed this playful theory building lately
/\/\/\/\/\/\/\
Kate and Rick are on the street heading to the Tomlinson's dealership holding a note with the serial number that was retrieved from a spot exactly where Rick told them it was located
When they arrive at the Tomlinson dealership, they are having some type of customer appreciation sales event. Balloons, banners, a giant truck outside decked out with advertising.
As Castle and Beckett get out of her cruiser they are approached by s couple of very beautiful women dressed in skimpy outfits showing a lot of skin. Kate glares at these women with distain. Wondering how someone from her gender can put herself out there like that. Then she recalls something from her own past and decides to not comment
It is when she looks at her husband looking at her with love on his face and not the models all around
"What's the matter Castle? Missing the attention from your past?" Referring to all the skin on display
"They would have to be better than what I have…and they are not. Not even close"
She quickly leans her face to him "LI love you Castle"
"Back at ya"
Once they clear the gauntlet and enter the facility they are surrounded by the sales associates all hoping for the big sale
The nearest woman gets to them first "Hi I am Victoria. What are you looking for today?"
Beckett pulls out her badge "Information"
"OH" the woman responds "What kind of information?"
"I really need to see the manager"
Victoria points toward the office area "Mr. Barker is the manager and his office is the third on the left"
Just as they turn to go to the manager's office the lady grab's Rick's arm "You don't look like a cop"
"I'm not"
She has an evil look on her face "Is there anything I can do for you today?"
"I don't need a big truck" he glances across the sales lot
"I was not referring to a truck"
Kate turns back to the woman "My husband does not need a truck or anything that rhymes with truck either" Kate takes Castle's hand and squeezes his fingers
"OH! Sorry" and she quickly turns and steps away from the pair
As they turn back toward the manager's office they encounter an older man in a business suit "Is there something wrong?" he questions after seeing the confrontation
"We are looking for Mr. Barker, the manager"
"That is I" he answers 'Is there something I can help you with?"
"Can we go to your office?" Beckett asks
Mr. Barker directs the pair toward his door. Once inside Beckett tells him what they need
"Only serial numbers on units we sold are on file here. If that unit did not come from us, we will have to request that from the factory and they will want a warrant"
"Can you check?" Beckett asks
Mr. Barker turns to his computer and enters the serial number into his system and it comes back as 'Not ON FILE'
"It appears we did not sell that truck body. If you like I will give you the name at the factory that can help you in your search, but as I said, I know they will want a warrant"
Beckett shakes her head in acknowledgement "We can do that"
The manager hands over a note with the name and phone number of a the factory manager and tells them that he hopes they find out whatever information they are needing
Walking out of the door and walking back toward the entrance and her cruiser, Kate makes eye contact with the sales woman who quickly turns and walks in the opposite direction
Once they get back into her cruiser Kate looks at her husband "You still attract the women, don't you?"
A gentle smile crosses his face. "Oh, I suppose. But you know where my heart lies. And anyway, I have the same problem with you"
Kate honestly has a questioning look on her face "What do you mean?"
Rick slides his hand into hers and links their fingers "Do you have any idea how many times I have to tell the men circling around you that you are taken?"
Her face goes soft "Really?"
"Yeah. Really"
A gentle non cliff hanger for the weekend
I must be getting soft or something