Shared Obsession Chapter 41

With his fingers curled around his scotch glass and his eyes focused on nothing, Castle barely registers Kate's knock on the loft's door. He shuffles across the hardwood floor to let her in. She hands him a report. "We know what killed Lochlan Jackson. The boys found some pills in Jackson's apartment. They were marked as an experimental drug for the military. They didn't match anything the ME's office has on file, but Lanie said they're consistent with traces she found in a surgically implanted compartment in Jackson's mouth. She figures the poison must have been slow acting enough for him to have swallowed it before he had a cavity search."

Castle shakes his head closing his eyes. "So he was connected with the military. We already knew that. It doesn't get us any closer to Bracken – unless the boys found something in Jackson's apartment besides the pills."

"They didn't. Except for his weapons collection, they said it looked like he lived like a monk. No papers or books except for a Bible, and no computer."

"He must have picked up his contracts somehow. Did he have a cell phone?"

"He did, but it's locked. Wong thinks he'll need to get past at least two-factor authentication to get in. He didn't look very hopeful."

"Damn! So we've got nothing. But wait, Beckett. You said Jackson had a Bible?"

"Uh-huh. The boys thought that was kind of strange for a contract killer, but some murderers use religion to justify their actions. Some of them even claim to get messages from God."

"Or Jackson might have been getting messages from someone else on high. Beckett, I need to see that Bible!"

"CSU has it. They're testing it for any kind of trace evidence and fuming it for prints. But you can have a look at it when they're finished."

"When's that going to be?"

"Probably by morning. Castle, I know you wanted Jackson to give us Bracken, but no more than I did. At least you know Celia's killer is dead."

"That's like being glad some homicidal maniac's hand is bruised while he's still running around taking out innocent people. I'm sure that's all Jackson was, Beckett, like your mother's killer. The hand does the work, but the evil brain gives the orders. Could you check with CSU and find out what time they'll be done with the Bible?"

"All right, but I don't know what you hope to find in it, Castle."

"What anyone looks for in a Bible, Beckett, hope."

At five am, while Kate dozes with her head on her arms, Castle sits at the conference table at the 12th. He's studying what would be a holy book if it weren't for the taint of its owner. It's one of the many editions using red ink to highlight the spoken words of Jesus. Castle's seen Bibles like this before, and memorized much of them. At two of the schools he'd been shipped to, chapel attendance was mandatory. Reading a pew Bible was a lot less boring than listening to the sermons. Young Richard Rodgers had actually found many of the stories, usually the bloodier ones that never came up in lectures from the pulpit, very engaging. Eventually, he'd made his way through the whole book, red text and all.

On his first paging through Jackson's Bible, Castle has a feeling he's missing something, so he goes back for a more intense look. Some of the red ink is missing. What is still there are the references to earlier scriptures. Castle flips quickly back to the citations and finally finds what he's been searching for: almost imperceptible ink dots next to some of the letters. He grabs a legal pad and pen that had been sitting idle. After minimal manipulation, the letters spell out names. One of them is Celia Lawrence. Castle swallows against the bile rising in his throat. There are too many others, probably previously undetected murder victims. He gently touches Kate's shoulder. "Beckett."

Disoriented, and still half asleep, Kate lifts her head, trying to remember where she is. "Castle? What's going on?"

"They're in the Bible, Beckett."

"Who are in the Bible?"

"Lochlan Jackson's assignments, Celia and more victims, they're in the Bible. His copy didn't just come off the shelf of some Christian bookstore. It had to be specially printed. That has to make it traceable."

"I hope you're right, Castle. But these days almost anyone can print something or have it printed. There must be thousands of print shops in this country."

"But not that many operations that can bind something to look like a real Bible. It's a start, Beckett, and all we have unless CSU comes up with something else."

"They would have texted me if they had. All right, Castle, we'll give it a shot but…."

As Kate's stomach suddenly rumbles, Castle claps a hand to his mouth. "I need to get home. I promised Alexis strawberry smiley-face pancakes this morning. The batter will need time to rest, and I need to get cleaned up and changed before I start it. Sounds like your tummy doesn't want to wait that long, but if you want to join us, you can snack on extra strawberries until the flapjacks make their debut."

"Castle, I need to get cleaned up and changed too. But I can stop at my place and then meet you at your loft in what, an hour?"

"That will work," Castle agrees. "And Beckett, I'm not about to give up on getting Bracken just because Jackson's dead."

"Castle, I'm not about to give up either. Whatever it takes, we're going to nail that bastard."

The words of the incantation are soft but with an African lilt. On a bed of red flannel, surrounded by red candles, a man performs a ceremony. On reaching the end of the rite, he's convinced what he must do.

Castle's loading the breakfast plates into the dishwasher when the door buzzer sounds insistently. He swivels to call to his daughter who's slipping her arms into the straps of her backpack. "Alexis, do you have a friend coming over to meet you before school?"

"I'm not expecting one. Maybe it's Eduardo with a delivery."

Castle frowns. "I'm not expecting anything. Mother?"

"Not a thing, Richard, and certainly not at this time of day."

As Castle strides toward the door, Kate's hand covers the grip of her weapon. A curvaceous redhead stands at the threshold and charges inside. "Oh, Kitten! I came straight from the airport. I sent my luggage ahead, but my hotel room won't be ready for hours. And Alexis! I couldn't wait to see my little girl."

"You've waited more than six months, Meredith," Castle observes. "What are you doing here?"

"Looking for a place to live, Richard."

"I thought you love LA."

"Oh, LA has changed. The juicy roles just aren't there for an actress of my caliber."

"Thirty-eight double D?" Martha inquires.

Meredith continues, ignoring the interruption. "I need a change, like Broadway maybe. The legitimate stage." Meredith's eyes suddenly rivet themselves on Kate, assessing her measurements and flitting down to the badge hanging from the detective's belt. "And you must be Richard's new muse. Detective Becker, is it?"

"Beckett," Kate corrects.

Meredith casually waves a hand. "Becker, Beckett, isn't it a little early to be giving Richard lessons on police work?"

"As it happens, Meredith," Castle interjects, "Detective Beckett and I were just taking a short break from pursuing a case. And of course, I wanted to see Alexis off to school. Parents do that, you know. But now, we really have to get back to the precinct."

"And I have an early yoga class," Martha adds. "So there won't be anyone here. But I'm sure you can find something to amuse yourself for a few hours, dear. You've always been good at that. Perhaps you'd like to refresh your portfolio. I imagine that by now your headshots are outdated."

Castle clears his throat. "So it sounds like we're all on our way out."

Alexis kisses Castle and Martha on their cheeks. "Bye, Dad, Gram." After an air kiss with Meredith, she hurries out the door.

"And Beckett and I will be leaving now too," Castle announces, maneuvering his ex toward the exit. "Have a good day, Meredith."

"I hear The Flea is casting for chorus," Martha calls out. "You may be a little – mature – but it's probably the best chance an actress of your caliber will get."

Meredith smiles with sickly sweetness. "Thank you, Martha. I always appreciate the voice of such long experience."

As Martha's fists clench, Castle bustles Meredith out the door and closes it behind her. He catches Kate's eye. "We need to get to the precinct before she tries to come back."