Chapter 6 – Interview with a mobster.

The storage space was filled with CSU techs and officers from the Vice unit.

Kate was approached by an African-American man in his early forties, a golden badge hanging on a lanyard around his neck. "Detective Beckett I presume?" he said laying his hand out to Kate.

"You presume correctly," she answered shaking the Detective's hand. "These are my colleagues, Detectives Ryan and Esposito and Mr. Castle."

The man nodded. "Detective Henry Morgan, Vice Unit." He quickly turned his attention towards the crates filled with jars of moonshine. "Quite a collection you stumbled upon, Detective Beckett." Henry took out one of the jars and unscrewed the lid. Then he mimicked what Castle had done moments before, dipping his right index finger inside it and then sucking on it.

"We've seized some of these crates from raids on three different bars right here in Queens," Detective Morgan explained, "now thanks to you, we know who was distributing them."

"Glad I could help, Detective Morgan." Kate smiled at the Detective, "It's just a shame that you won't be able to question him."

"Yeah, it is." Morgan scratched his stubble and sighed, apparently frustrated by the fact, "But I think I may help you with your case" he replied, the smile returning to his face.

"How so?" Esposito frowned.

"You see..." Morgan put the lid back on the moonshine jar and placed it back on the crate. "We confiscated a batch of this moonshine from an area controlled by a known dealer in the illicit alcohol trade – among other things - A man by the name of Patrick Reilly. We've busted him a few times before, be he always got away on minor charges, but we know the guy has connections with both the Irish and Italian mafia. Just this week we succeeded in impounding a shipment of Reilly's moonshine and shut down several bars controlled by the mafia here in Queens.

"Now, the bars where we found your vic's moonshine, they had no connections whatsoever with Reilly or the Mafia, at least that we know of. And on top of that, it was the first time we've seen this kind of moonshine being sold here in New York." Morgan grabbed the moonshine jar once more, holding it in front of Beckett.

"So I'm guessing that this Reilly character wouldn't be too happy seeing someone else encroaching on his turf and taking a share of his business." Kate said taking a closer look at the jar.

"Maybe he decided to kill the competition." Castle jumped in on the conversation.

"He has been known to hold a grudge." Morgan put the jar back in the crate once more. "A few years back he beat up a competitor pretty badly. A guy who was trying to muscle in and sell moonshine here in Queens. The other guy didn't press charges so we couldn't do a thing."

"I see." Kate nodded.

"I'll send you everything I have on Reilly as soon as I get back to the precinct Detective Beckett."

"Thank you Detective Morgan, I would appreciate that very much." Kate summoned the team as she turned towards the exit of the store room, "Okay boys, there's nothing much we can do here, let's go."

On their way back to the precinct, Kate called ahead, briefing Montgomery about what they had found in Queens and their lead on Reilly.

Montgomery immediately ordered a patrol unit to pick him up from his last known residence. He also managed to get a warrant to search Reilly's home address and the office where he supposedly conducted his business of importing and exporting alcoholic beverages.

While the uniformed cops successfully managed to pick up Reilly without much resistance, Javi and Ryan took care of the search on the dealer's home and office.

Much to Kate's delight, just thirty minutes after they'd left Queens, Patrick Reilly was waiting for questioning in one of the precinct's interview rooms. Finally she had something palpable to work on.

She entered the room with a manila folder clamped under her arm, Castle following on her tail. "Mr. Reilly, I'm Detective Beckett, this is Mr. Castle," she announced as she strode towards her seat at the table across from their suspect. Castle shadowed her, occupying the chair next to her.

"Woah, arrest me now," Reilly said taking a long and appraising look at her. "Sweetheart for you I'll confess to anything." He licked his lips and ran a hand through his hair.

Kate cringed at the attitude. The man was a poster boy for the mafia goon. He had the top three buttons of his shirt undone, revealing a mat of dark hair on his chest and nestling within was a thick gold chain with a chunky cross. He was in his early forties and his receding dark hair was neatly combed through and heavily coated with wet look gel. To top it all, he spoke with a heavy New York accent.

Patrick Reilly seemed to have walked directly out from an eighties Hollywood mobster movie.

"Mr. Reilly do you know this man?" Kate pushed the picture of the dead victim in front of Reilly, ignoring his comments altogether.

"You're not her boyfriend, are you?" Reilly asked Castle having failed to take even the slightest glance at the picture. "I hope not, because a woman like her deserves a real man."

"A real man?" Castle raised an amused eyebrow.

"Yeah, you look more like one of those prissy guys that uses body lotion and practices body hair removal like a woman. How do you call a guy like that? A metersexual?"

"A metrosexual," Castle corrected.

"Metro, meter, whatever. Besides, I'm more of an imperial unit kinda of guy." He leaned across the table looking Beckett in the eyes. "A woman like you deserves much better than that," he said nodding in Castle's direction.

"Mr. Reilly, could you please answer my question." Beckett prompted with an impassive look on her face.

Reilly grabbed the picture from the table looking at it for the first time. "Never meet him," he said quickly, discarding the photograph, tossing it back on the table like a playing card. "He doesn't look so well, though."

Kate pressed on, trying to get the interview back on track, "Mr. Reilly we know this man was selling moonshine on your turf, a fact which would make him a direct competitor and you have a reputation when it comes to dealing with your competition."

Reilly squinted is eyes at Kate "Listen, I don't know what you've heard about me honey, but I ain't in the business of selling no moonshine. My business is a hundred percent legit and I have all the licenses required by the law." He leaned smugly back on his chair. "So I couldn't care less if this guy here was into selling moonshine or not," Reilly nodded to the victim's picture.

"Funny," Kate said lightly. "As we speak we're preforming searches of your home and business premises. And guess what?" Kate leaned forward against the table, her eyes fixed on the mobster. "Before we came in, my colleagues found something very interesting there. A couple of crates with bottles of moonshine. Oddly enough, they found it at your home, in the basement. I wonder why it's there and not at your offices where you keep your legal merchandise."

"Those bottles were a gift from my cousin in Kentucky, for personal consumption."

"It was the exact same kind of moonshine that vice apprehended in mafia controlled bars in Queens," Kate smirked at Reilly. "What a coincidence Mr. Reilly."

"My cousin, he's the black sheep of the family." Reilly shook his head. "Ma always warned me to stay away from him, God rest her soul. But what can I do, you can't just turn your back on family can you, sweetheart?"

"Well, my colleagues also seized a nine millimetre Glock, again discovered at your home address." Beckett revealed a printed picture of the weapon wrapped in a sealed evidence bag. "You don't hold a permit for this gun."

"And here's another coincidence." Castle leaned in with his elbows on the table, getting Reilly's attention. "The victim was killed by the exact same kind of weapon; a nine millimetre. Or should I say a .35 inch calibre gun, since you're a imperial unit kind of guy."

Reilly's smile dropped, and his gaze slipped down to look at the picture.

"Don't tell me, another gift from your Kentucky based cousin?" Castle asked, a smirk forming on his lips.

Reilly shifted his stare from the photo of his gun, back up to Castle, a challenge in his eyes. "Hypothetically, if I had wasted that guy, do you really think I would hide the weapon in my house? What kind of a moron do you think I am?"

"I don't know." Castle shrugged. "But perhaps you've become complacent, because you have, until now, managed not get arrested from your crimes of moonshine distribution and occasional beatings to dissuade your competitors. So why wouldn't you think that you could get away with murder too, and as you're clearly untouchable, a criminal genius, why should you not feel secure in keeping the gun - at your house?" Castle turned to Kate "How would you describe a guy like that? An arrogant idiot?"

Reilly closed his fists and clenched his jaw, his eyes fixing Castle with a murderous look.

Before things could get out of hand, Kate made a move to intervene. "Mr. Reilly, I'm waiting for the results on the gun we found in your house. If it matches the weapon used on our victim then we're done talking. But if you decide to confess, then I'm sure I can put a good word with the DA for your cooperation."

Reilly looked at her with contempt. "You can test all you want, you won't find anything," he said and lazily crossed his arms over his chest. "I'm done talking sweetheart, I want a lawyer."

"So, what do you think?" Castle said as he walked beside Kate on their way to her desk.

"Our friend Reilly certainly has ties to the mob," Beckett answered, "So if he killed someone, I don't think we would find the body at the victim's home address. I'm sure that our moonshine dealer has connections that would help him get rid of the evidence." Kate let go of a frustrated huff as she took her seat.

Castle settled in, occupying his usual place next to Beckett. "So you don't think it was him?"

"It doesn't matter what I think," she commented with a shrug. "I have to follow the evidence. Until the results come back and we can check his movement, he remains our best and only suspect. At least for now."

Castle remained silent, keeping his attention focused on Kate. He rested his elbow on her desk and supported his chin on his hand. He had a pensive look on his face as he gazed at the Detective.

Kate meanwhile resolutely kept her focus on her computer, doing her best to ignore Castle's open scrutiny of her. But after several minutes without his focus wavering, she snapped. "What?" She said, directing the heat of her irritation onto him at last.

Unfazed by the harshness of her challenge, Castle responded calmly. "How do you handle it?" he asked, his tone conveying genuine concern.

Kate's irritation softened in response, "Handle what?" she queried with a frown.

"Guys like Reilly, that just see you as a..." Castle hesitated, for once the writer seemed at a loss of words.

"Piece of meat with legs instead of a Police Officer?" Kate concluded for him, then she let out a snort.

Castle just nodded and kept quiet.

"Some guys do that because they feel threatened by a woman with power. Others because that's just who they are; nothing but jerks who treat every woman they find attractive that way." Kate shrugged. "It's not that it doesn't bother me, because it does. But I assure you that I don't lose sleep over it and it definitely doesn't affect the way I do my job."

Kate sighed and turned fully on her chair towards Castle. "I've been dealing with all types of scumbag since I joined the force. If I had let them get to me, I would have quit a long time ago." She turned back towards her terminal intent on resuming the report she was writing about the suspect's interview.

Castle kept looking at her, a small smile playing on his lips. "You're a very interesting woman Detective Beckett," he concluded impishly.

Kate felt her face warm and flush and silently cursed at herself for letting Castle get to her. She tried to disguise her state of embarrassment by keeping her eyes on the screen of her computer and typing on her keyboard something she wasn't even sure was English.

She was finally saved by her desk phone that started ringing. "Beckett," she answered, almost letting out with a breath of relief.

"This is Purlmutter. I have the preliminary results from the autopsy on your victim. In case in you're still interested."

"I'll be there in a minute," Kate said and hung up the phone.

She jumped from her chair as if the thing had caught fire, grabbed her keys from her desk draw and snatched her jacket from the back of the chair. Castle hardly had time to catch up with her, taken by surprise by the haste with which Beckett had suddenly vacated her desk.

"What happened?" he asked as he trotted after her. "Ooh, don't tell me there's another body?!"

Kate rolled her eyes. "No. I'm just going to the ME's office. Sorry to disappoint."

Undeterred, Castle hustled to keep up as she made her way out to the car. It took them just a few minutes to reach the office.

She announced her presence as she burst through the swinging doors to the morgue. "Tell me what you've got Perlmutter,"

Perlmutter raised his head from the body he was examining. First regarding the Detective and then his eyes narrowed when he also found Castle trailing after her. "I asked only for you detective, you're friend the writer I could do without."

"Learn to live with him like I had to, Perlmutter," she snapped at the coroner.

Perlmutter frowned at Kate's reaction, but to her relief, her harsh reaction had the desired effect on the ME who frowned following her comment but remained quiet, refraining from throwing any more sarcastic comments out at, or about Castle. As a bonus, the writer stood silently by her side, like a frightened puppy hiding behind his owner.

Without further digressing, Perlmutter indicated the body of the victim as he stood over it. "I managed to narrow down the time of death," the coroner explained. "I place it between forty eight to fifty two hours ago and I can confirm that cause of death was a 9mm projectile through the skull" He pointed at the hole in the centre of the forehead.

"So our victim was killed between between 2pm and 6pm last Tuesday" Kate mused, her eyes fixed in the bullet hole Perlmutter was pointing at.

"Precisely" The coroner nodded. He then moved his attention towards the dead man's legs "I also found two additional puncture wounds, one on each leg." He manipulated the left leg of the victim revealing the wound to Kate and Castle "Which makes a total of six punctures wounds, if you add the ones I had previously found during my preliminary examination at the crime scene"

Kate lowered her head to take a closer look. "Are these puncture wounds suggestive of an addict?"

"I don't believe so, I was unable to find any drug in his system that an addict would find titillating. But I did find something," Perlmutter said as he wandered to his desk, where he picked up a report while he continued to relate his findings, "traces of two chemical agents in the vic's body. The first, in the dose present would have rendered the victim unconscious and the second was probably administered to reverse its effects." He handed the toxicology report to Kate.

"What does that mean?" Beckett took a cursory glance at the sheet. "The guy was drugged, then woken up before he was shot? But why multiple puncture marks? Why drug a guy, then reverse his sedation several times before he was killed? It doesn't make any sense."

"That I cannot tell you Detective, I'll leave the wonders of unravelling the story behind this murder to you, my work here is done." Perlmutter strolled away headed towards a second gurney with another body awaiting his attention. "But I can offer you one last detail," he said as he walked away. "The puncture marks were all made around the same time of his death"

"There's nothing with the same MO in the database." Kate huffed leaning back on her chair "the drugs just don't make sense. Why drug him and then kill him?"

Beckett and Castle had regrouped at her desk, having returned from the ME's office less than an hour before. Kate had been going through the NYPD and federal crime database looking for similar crimes occurring in the tri-state area.

"Maybe the two events are unrelated," Castle suggested.

"On the same day, the guy first gets drugged and then killed by two different persons?" Kate shook her head rejecting the notion. "That would be a big coincidence and in my job coincidences like that seldom happen."

"Okay," Castle nodded. He kept quiet for a few seconds staring vacantly at a pen that was sitting next to Kate's keyboard. Then he snapped out of his trance and looked at the Detective with a smile. "Then maybe the same guy drugged our victim to get information from him and after he got what he wanted, he killed him!"

Kate squinted her eyes, pondering Castle's suggestion. "He could have rendered him unconscious to restrain him," she elaborated, picking up on the writer's train of thought, "then woke him up so the victim would give up whatever information he was after." The Detective grabbed her desk phone and dialled a number.

"I'm on my way out, it's been a long day so this better not be about a newfound corpse" Perlmutter answered from the other end of the line.

"This is Detective Beckett, it's just a quick question about the victim of the murder I'm investigating."

"I already told you everything I know and you'll have my report tomorrow, but if it gets you off my back, ask away."

"Were there ligature marks on the body that you may have missed, signs of restraint or any evidence of torture perhaps?" She asked.

There was silence on the other end of the line for a few seconds. "Detective Beckett," Perlmutter finally answered, "do you really think I could miss something like that? It would be like failing to notice that the doofus writer whose been following you around, is not a cop."

Kate huffed, "So that's a no?"

"It's a definitive no. Goodbye Detective Beckett." Perlmutter disconnected with a heavy clatter causing Kate to instinctively recoil from the handset.

"So?" Castle asked.

"Nothing. No ligature marks, no torture." She ran both hands through her hair. "I hope Javi and Ryan have better luck than us, but I'm not holding my breath."

"Speak of the devils." Castle nodded towards the elevator doors that had just opened with both Detectives walking out.

"Yo Beckett, how did the interview go?" Javi saluted them with a nod.

"Well, Reilly denied everything and asked for a lawyer." Kate shrugged.

"And he hit on Beckett." Castle informed them with a wiggle of his eyebrows.

"Oh, so someone's got a suitor." Javi chuckled, "You gave him your phone number?" His huge grin slowly faded as he noticed the glare Kate was directing at him, which eventually caused him to look away uneasily.

Mercifully, Ryan cleared his throat, shifting Kate's attention from his partner. "We dropped by the forensics lab on our way here and waited for the results on Reilly's gun. It's not the one that killed the vic." He handed a comparison photo of two bullets to Kate, the side by side images showed striations which were distinctly different, even to the inexpert eye.

"Maybe he used another gun," Castle suggested hopefully as he peaked at the photos.

Kate dropped the photo on top of her desk with a sigh. "I don't think it was him. Like I told you, this doesn't feel like a killing carried out by someone connected to the mob."

"Depending on what Perlmutter has determined to be our vic's time of death, you me be right about that," Javi said in a low voice. He had a sheaf of paper in his hand which he hesitated to give to Kate.

"What is this?" she asked grabbing the paper.

"It's a report from the Atlantic City PD. When we conducted the search on Reilly's office, we interviewed one of his associates..." Javi flipped a few pages of his notepad "Johnny Marcano. According to Marcano, Reilly was in Atlantic City last Monday and only came back to New York by the end of the next day because he had been arrested there."

"Arrested? Why?" Kate frowned, her eyes roaming the report she had grabbed seconds before.

"I contacted the Atlantic City PD and they sent me that" Javi nodded towards the paper Kate was still holding "It says that Reilly got into an altercation in a strip club last Monday night. He was arrested and brought to a judge at 4.30pm the next Tuesday. He got a reprehension, a fine and had to pay damages to the club owner. He wasn't released until about 6pm."

"Perlmutter said the time of death occurred between 2pm and 6pm last Tuesday," Castle stated. "Unless he hired someone, Reilly is not our man."

"And just as a side note," Ryan added, "The partial print found on the stray bullet, isn't a match either."

"Well, I guess we have to rule him out for now." Kate got up and walked towards the board. She picked up Reilly's photo and took it out of the suspects section.

"So, what now?" Castle said standing by her side.

"Now..." She turned to Castle tiredly. "We call it a day. I need to go home and get into a nice, hot bubble bath to clear my head. We'll start over with fresh eyes tomorrow morning."

"Bubble bath?" Castle raised an eyebrow.

Kate shot a warning look towards the writer. "Whatever you're a thinking right now Castle, don't say it."

"Detective, I can't even begin to phrase what's going on in my mind right now."

Peter was lying on the couch of his hotel room. In his hand he held a device, which resembled a smartphone. His thumb hovered over the 'on' switch, uncertain if he should activate the thing on or not.

Peter sighed, he was no longer sure if it had been a good idea, doing what he had done.

He had been battling with himself since Olivia had returned as to whether he should tell her or not. At the time, it had seemed a good idea, but now he was having second thoughts. He had a feeling she was not going to like it.

But it was too late for second thoughts, sooner or later he would have to tell her. She trusted him and he didn't want to break that trust, so from that stand point, the sooner he told her the better.

"Son." Walter's voice broke his train of thought.

"Yes Walter?" Peter reached for his jacket that had been ditched on top of the coffee table next to the couch and slipped the device inside one of its pockets.

"Are you still mad at me?"

"No Walter. Now go to sleep."

"I'm sorry Peter, I should have asked you first before conducting the experiment, even if it was completely harmless. But it was wrong not to ask for your permission, I understand that now."

Peter raised his head and turned to look the towards his father's bed. "It's okay Walter. As long as you ask first, I don't mind doing experiments with you. So long as they are reasonable and safe," he hastened to add.

Walter's face broke into a smile, his lower lip trembling. "Thank you son."

Peter repositioned himself again on the too-short couch and closed his eyes.

"You're a good man Peter." Walter said, once more deciding it wasn't time for sleep. "And you take good care of me. You may think I'm not aware of it, but I am. And I'm very grateful for that."

"You're welcome Walter. Now let me sleep okay?" Peter said still with his eyes closed.

"You'll make a great father someday." Walter said with conviction in his voice.

Peter snorted and shook his head.

"You will Son," Walter insisted, "Someday when you have children you will be an amazing father, much better than I was."

Peter tensed at his father's words, the subject of his childhood - of Walter's absence and being raised by his mother who had been effected by a deep sense of sadness most of the time, and whom had over time steadily become crippled by depression - was something he had avoided discussing with anyone, never mind with the person he held responsible for everything negative that had happened during that period of his life. Again he chose to remain silent, hoping that Walter would shut up once and for all. Or at least change the subject.

"I only hope that by then..." Walter ventured, not conceding to Peter's silent wish. "I… I will have earned your trust back Peter..." The old man paused a few moments, "Enough that you will let me babysit my grandchildren."

Peter grunted. He was already feeling tense, but he decided it was not a good idea to snap at Walter if he had any hopes of getting a good night sleep. "Tell you what Walter," he said with the calmest voice he could summon. "You let me go to sleep and I promise you I will let you babysit your grandchildren."

"Thank you son," Walter replied. "Have a good night then."

"Good night Walter."

Peter tossed around, until he found a position comfortable enough on the cramped couch that would to carry him to sleep.

"Of course..." Walter's voice broke the silence once more, "there's is also the matter of Agent Dunham also granting permission for me to babysit my grandchildren."

Peter's eyes snapped open. He raised his head again towards his father. "Why on earth would you have to ask Olivia's permission to babysit your grandchildren?"

"Because she's going to be their mother, of course!"

"Of course she will be." Peter sank his face into the pillow and massaged the back of his neck.

"I can already see it in my mind," Walter continued his train of thought, "a young blonde girl, as beautiful as Olivia with your dashing blue eyes. If she inherits my intelligence… what a bright and beautiful woman she will become!"

"And with your sense of ethics, she will be god's gift to humanity," Peter muttered with his face still mashed into his pillow.

"First thing tomorrow morning we must stop by the flower shop son!" Walter said.

Peter rolled to his side with a sigh. He knew he shouldn't ask, nothing good would come out of it, but if he didn't, Walter would probably just keep rambling throughout the night. "Why do you want to go to the flower shop?"

"Because you must buy a bouquet of flowers for Agent Dunham!"

"Oh Christ!" Peter put his head under the pillow.

"Peter, you must start courting her immediately! I am looking forward for the birth of my first grandchild!"

Alexis strolled down the stairs that led to her bedroom with an empty water glass in her hand, heading for the kitchen.

She filled the glass with tap water and leant back against the counter while she took a series of long gulps. She noticed the lights were still on at her father's office, with a comforting glow spilling out onto the rich wood of the floor. She wandered over and stood at the entrance, catching sight of him at his desk, feet propped up with his laptop perched on his legs; he was oblivious to her presence as he stared intently at his laptop screen.

"Can't sleep, dad? What are you watching?"

She crossed the threshold of the office towards Castle, but before she got too close, she suddenly stopped. "Please don't tell me you're watching porn," she said grimacing.

Castle took his eyes from the laptop and looked at his daughter without moving his head. "No such luck, my young padawan. I'm watching boring footage from surveillance cameras, trying to see if anyone suspicious entered a building where a murder took place."

Alexis squinted her eyes at him. "I thought you weren't allowed to bring evidence home."

"It's only evidence if I find something."

"Right," Alexis shook her head and stood by her father, taking a peek at the footage. "Any luck?"

"I've written down some possible suspects, but nothing that really stands out. Besides I don't even know if the killer is a man, a woman, young, old, tall, short…"

"So you're kinda grasping at straws?"

"Yeah, kinda."

They stood in silence for a few minutes, watching pedestrians and traffic passing by. Alexis stood behind Castle, leaning against his chair. She absentmindedly started a motion with her nails on her father's scalp. The tedious viewing of the footage combined with Alexis soothing motion, soon caused Castle's eyes to droop and he began to drift off.

"Someone forgot his key." Alexis frowned still fixated on the footage.

"What?" Castle woke from his momentary slumber at the sound of his daughter's voice.

"The guy in the dark coat," Alexis noted, pointing at the screen.

"What do you mean?" Castle blinked a few times looking at the monitor and then at Alexis.

"Go back about thirty seconds dad."

Castle did so and watched a tall Caucasian man in a dark coat come to stand near the entrance of the building. He loitered for a few moments, then as someone exited, he took advantage of the opened door, stopping it before it swung closed to gain access to the building.

"It's a shame we can't get a clear picture of his face, he's too far away." Alexis leant in to control the playback, slowly moved the footage back and forth trying to get a better image of the man.

"Maybe we can." Castle said taking the mouse from Alexis. He clicked back to a point he'd reviewed before Alexis had joined him, until the time field indicated it was about thirty minutes earlier. He set the playback running and waited, and soon the same man appeared in front of Curtis' shop, looking directly into the window of his store and offering a perfect view of his face. "I knew I had seen him before. Got ya!" Castle grinned at Alexis whom smiled victoriously back at him.

A/N So here it is, for the few that follow this story, I apologize for taking so long (two years, yikes!).
So if you're still interested, here's the next chapter. I promise to try not to take so long with the next one :)
Big thanks to Crystalline Green for her invaluable editing and correcting. I keep throwing chapters of two different stories at her and she never flinches :)
Thanks mate, you're the best!
Another thanks goes to my three reviewers.
The unknown guest and realityshifts for taking the time of reviewing. Both reviews were greatly appreciated. I hope you like the new chapter.
But especially to eleanorlovesananias, it was thanks to your review that I brought this story back from the limbo where it was.
How could I not after that review? I hope you enjoy this next chapter and that I don't disappoint you.