Shared Obsession Chapter 44

Meredith barges across the bullpen with a mortified Alexis trailing behind. Suppressing a groan, Castle forces a smile to his lips. "Meredith, what a surprise."

"I know, isn't it great!" the redhead responds. "In LA, no one just stops by. Don't you love this town?"

"Depends how many bloody bodies I've seen," Kate replies.

"Oh! You're working on a murder!" Meredith exclaims enthusiastically.

"Which is why we shouldn't be disturbing them, Mom," Alexis cautions.

"Nonsense!" Meredith declares. "Detective Beckett may be your father's new muse, but I was his inspiration once, wasn't I, Kitten? "

"Really?" Beckett inquires as Castle winces.

"Anyway, we were in the neighborhood, and I have a dinner tonight, so I thought I'd drop Alexis off here instead of schlepping uptown. An actress has to learn to absorb a situation and react." Meredith continues and points at the board. "Isn't that SJP's purse?"

"SJP?" Esposito queries.

"Sarah Jessica Parker. Who would have thought she'd go from playing a nerd on a failed series like Square Pegs to an acting and fashion icon?"

"Talent might have had something to do with it," Castle suggests.

"Sarah wore a purse just like this to the Armani show on the lawn," Meredith goes on. "It was on Fashion Scoop Daily last week."

"Actually, the purse belongs to one of our victims," Kate explains.

Meredith dramatically sweeps the back of her hand across her forehead. "Oh, that is so tragic. Of course, it would be more tragic if it had been the real thing, but still."

"Are you saying this one is fake?" Esposito questions.

Meredith leans in toward the photo, her cleavage obvious as she bends. "Well, look at the leather and the stitching. It's a total knockoff. I mean, it's good enough to fool the untrained shopper, but I have a retail eye."

Castle surveys the multiple shopping bags Alexis and Meredith hold. "More like an addiction. Retailers can see you coming."

Kate pokes her finger at a notation on the board. "Canal Street, knockoff central! That's where Azi said Jamal worked at Oni's store."

"And Darcy worked right near Canal Street," Ryan notes.

"And her purse was all torn up," Castle adds. "What if Jamal was killed over something in one of the purses?"

"See, Kitten," Meredith remarks with satisfaction, "I'm still your inspiration."

"You're also supposedly a parent. How did you drag Alexis along on your spree? Did you pull her out of school?"

Meredith sticks out a perfectly reddened lower lip. "It was only for one day, Kitten."

"One day on which, if I recall, our daughter was supposed to have a calculus exam."

"Mr. Simmons said Mr. Brown would let me make it up," Alexis inserts.

"Not your fault, Sweetie," Castle replies. "Just your mother's latest example of irresponsible parenting."

"Richard, I can see you're not going to be reasonable about this," Meredith proclaims, "and I have to make my appointment uptown."

Dad, Mom did help with your case," Alexis reminds her father as Meredith stalks toward the elevator. "And she did help me find some really nice things."

"Your mother has her strengths," Castle admits, "but parenting definitely isn't one of them. And if she's back in the same city…."

"Yeah, Dad, I know."

While Castle takes a moment, Kate turns to Ryan and Esposito. "Guys, put Azi with an artist and get a sketch of Oni we can take around to other vendors on Canal Street. If Oni's the one selling knockoff purses, that ties everything in this case together."

"On it," Esposito acknowledges.

"Castle, you all right?" Kate asks after the boys take off.

"Yeah, but I need to take Alexis home and work on a way to get Meredith out of town before she tanks Alexis's scholastic career. "Let me know when you hear from the lab or get a usable sketch of Oni?"

"Sure. And the sketch, at least, shouldn't take long. Our artist does pretty fast work."

"Maybe he could give the lab a few lessons." Castle suggests. "See you later, Beckett."

"Dad, what are you going to do about Mom?" Alexis asks as they take the elevator up to the loft.

"I don't know, Pumpkin," Castle confesses. "But I'll figure something out. You want pizza while you refresh yourself on calculus for your makeup? I ended up taking enough of those to know they can be tougher than the originals."

"Yeah. Sausage and basil?"

"You've got it."

Kate's ID appears on Castle's phone as he's disposing of an empty pizza box. "Did you hear from the lab?" he asks hopefully.

"Sorry, Castle, not yet. I'm pushing, but with all the testing for a current multiple murder, trace on Lochlan Jackson's Bible must be at the bottom of the pile. But we have a sketch that Azi swears looks like Charles Oni. Most of the stores and stalls on Canal are open pretty late. So the boys and I are going to check out Oni's place. Want to meet us there?"

"Sure. Which stall is it?"

"I'll text you the address. Esposito's applying for a warrant. We should be ready to go in about half an hour."

"See you there."

"Got the warrant?" Kate asks, joining Ryan and Esposito in front of Oni's stall just as Castle trots up.

Esposito pats his pocket. "Oni's not here. No one is. But the door was open, and we've already had a peek inside."

"The place is pretty torn up," Ryan adds.

Kate leads the way back into the stall. She points at the purses scattered across the floor. "The same bags as what Darcy had."

"And ripped apart the same way, too," Castle notes. "Weird, you wouldn't think Oni would tear up his merchandise."

Esposito points to a symbol on the floor. "Beckett."

"That's not the same one we found in the victim's mouths," Kate notes.

Castle crouches beside the marking. "This one I can identify without any help from Michelle. It's the symbol for death."

"Why would a guy mark his own stall with a death symbol?" Ryan questions.

"He wouldn't," Castle replies. "This symbol was meant for him. Charles Oni has been marked for death."

Kate pulls on her gloves to examine the ruined bags. "The linings have all been cut out. All of this stuff is imported, right?"

"From the best overseas sweatshops," Castle asserts.

"You know," Beckett considers, "knockoffs would be the perfect delivery system for smugglers."

"Yeah, but what are they smuggling?" Ryan wonders.

"Only the person marked for death can tell us that," Kate declares.

Esposito gazes around the wreckage. "Well, if he's still alive, he doesn't have much incentive to stick around."

Castle heads for the door. "Where are you going?" Kate asks.

"I noticed there's an electronics store across the street with cameras in the window. A target for a smash-and-grab like that has to have security surveillance. Maybe it caught something."

"Good idea."

As they approach the store, Castle catches sight of his image on a monitor in the window. "Beckett, Meredith always says I'm ruggedly handsome – at least when she's trying to get something out of me. But I look like I've aged a year since Murray gave us his report. And Meredith's arrival hasn't helped any."

"I don't know. I think you look pretty spry for an old man," Kate teases.

"Old man? Beckett, it's not that bad."

"No, it isn't," Kate agrees. "If I remember, by the time I was Alexis's age, my father was already starting to go gray."

"Was that age or trying to handle you?" Castle returns.

"Probably a little of both. But I think you're doing great with Alexis. You haven't let Meredith do too much damage yet."

"Thanks."

"You're welcome. Now let's get in there and find out who trashed that stall."

"Right behind you."