CLEANING LADY
Chapter 1
Kate lived in a hotel room. It was safe and secure. It lacked closet space, so her clothes and shoes were limited. Her room came close to being all bed. It was a big bed. She had a table with two chairs. Her pictures were nothing worth mentioning.
It cost her a coin to live here for one month. She had lived here longer than a month. Fortunately, she had enough to last her several months, and perhaps she would get a job that paid her a coin.
There was one thing about living in this hotel. You didn't do business in the hotel, so it was a safe hotel. Anyone that did business in the hotel would pay the price. Another thing was that the dining room was free. It was part of the cost of the hotel room, which was a good thing. It meant she didn't have to cook or worry about take-out.
Kate was presently in the dining room enjoying her dessert. It was apple cake served with a toffee sauce, caramelized apples, and old fashioned vanilla ice cream. She had ordered a small piece, but still, she worried that she wouldn't be able to finish it.
Then her cell phone rang. "Yes?"
It was a man's voice. "I need a cleaning."
"Size, location, and how messy is it?" Kate inquired.
"Two bodies, somewhat messy, and I'm offering two coins."
"You bought yourself a cleaner. I just need an address." Listening carefully, Kate noted the address. "So much for my dessert." She got up and left her dessert.
She went up to her room, gathered up her duffle bag, and then went downstairs and out to her van. She dropped the duffle bag, slid into the driver's seat, and started the van.
It took her thirty minutes to reach the site. She got out and met someone at the entrance. The man handed her two coins. No one said a word. She opened the door to her van and left it open, then picked up her duffle bag and went inside.
True to his word, Kate found two dead bodies. One was thin, while the other was more heavy set. She dropped her bag, opened it, and pulled out a bodybag. Opening the bodybag next to the dead body, she rolled him inside. She zipped it closed, dragged it over to the door, and dropped it, repeating it with the other body. Then she got down to cleaning up the site.
She had a trick for dealing with the blood so nothing would be left. She scrubbed everywhere. Her previous job told her where to clean and leave no trace. The blood splatter could be anywhere, so she needed to be careful.
Satisfied with her cleaning, she went to the door, dragging the bag out to the van. She lifted the first body, put it inside her van, and repeated with the other dead body. Then she went back inside and cleaned. When she finished, there would be nothing to find.
She even checked to make sure there were no surveillance cameras. Pleased with her job, she closed the door and went to her place. Not the hotel. This was her space.
She unlocked the door, checked, making sure no one was around, then returned to the van. She fireman-lifted the first body and carried it inside. Once there, she made her way to the incinerator and dropped the body on the lift. She fired up the incinerator and went out for the other dead body. Then she set out to close up the van.
Back inside, she waited for the incinerator to warm up. While biding her time, she reached for the remote and pressed a button. This one raised the lift up to the door.
The incinerator came up to heat, and finally, she opened the door and pressed a button on the remote. This button rolled the lift into the incinerator.
It would take some time to incinerate the body, but Kate was in no hurry. She walked over to the lone desk and chair, opened the cabinet, and took out a bottle of wine. Pouring herself a glass, she waited for the fire to consume the body. Then she did it for the second body and waited for the incinerator to finish. It was late and officially the next day by the time she left.
She decided on a cup of coffee. There was one thing she couldn't live without, and that was coffee. Finding someplace that was open at this hour proved to be challenging. Still, Kate found one. She parked her van, went inside, and ordered a large coffee, black with two pumps of sugar-free vanilla. While she waited for her coffee, she splurged on a Danish.
Moving to an empty table, she sat down and began to enjoy her coffee. She heard the bell above the door jingle and looked up, surprised to see who it was. She would know that man anywhere. His picture was on her books back in her room. She didn't have too many these days, but the ones she had, had meaning to them. He had even signed one of them.
She watched as he ordered a cup of coffee, black with a touch of nutmeg. She kept her eye on him as he looked around, and she realized he had noticed her. He smiled at her and turned to get his cup of coffee. Then she watched as he headed right for her.
"This table taken?" Not waiting for an answer, he sat down. "I'm Rick." He extended his hand for her to shake. When she didn't reach for his hand, he withdrew it.
"I know who you are, Mr. Castle."
"You have me at a disadvantage. I don't know your name."
"I didn't give it. I'll be blunt. I'm not interested in anything you have to say. I'm sure you have some cute pick-up lines, but I'm not interested. You're a playboy, and I have no time for a playboy. Actually, I have no time for anyone, let alone a playboy. Now, if you'll excuse me, I have somewhere to be." Kate got to her feet and took the what remained of her Danish with her.
"But… But." Rick stumbled at saying anything and saw her leave. He got up and watched her get into a dumpy-looking van. It was rusty, had scratches, and had at least one dent.
As he stood there watching, she drove away. He instantly kicked himself for not getting her license plate number. He had a friend who could look it up and tell him where she lived. But now she was gone.
Rick didn't resent having a reputation as a playboy. It came with some pretty nice perks. But this was the first time he wished he wasn't known as a playboy. He sighed, deciding to get back in his car and go home.
~oo0oo~
Alexis was in the kitchen working on breakfast when her dad finally came home. She eyed him. "The walk of shame?"
"Ha, ha. No, actually, it's not that." Rick headed for the kitchen but came up short and sat at the breakfast bar. "Are you ashamed of me?"
"No. Where is this coming from?"
"Are you ashamed that I'm known as a playboy?"
Alexis thought about that. "I do take some ribbing at school. Oh, you're the daughter of that playboy. But I can handle it, Dad. Those aren't my friends, so it doesn't matter."
"Why didn't you tell me?" Rick didn't want to believe his being a playboy was hurting his little girl.
"You were having too much fun being a playboy, signing women's chests and all that. You enjoyed having a 20-something hanging off your arm, even if you didn't bring any of them home." Alexis shrugged. "I understood all that and lived with it."
"I'm so sorry, Pumpkin, and you're right, I did enjoy it a little too much." Rick got up and went around the breakfast bar to hug her. She hugged him back.
"Where is this coming from?" Alexis was happy there might be changes but why?
"I met someone. I didn't get her name. I didn't even get her license plate. All I got was that she knew me, knew I was a playboy, and that she wasn't interested. That got me thinking. I'm going to make a few changes in my life. No more playboy and no more signing women's chests. What do you think of that?"
Alexis hedged her bet. "I'm all for it, but will it last? Once Gina makes that call telling you she has a 20-something waiting, you'll turn right back to being a playboy again."
"About Gina... I was thinking about her on the way home. I've decided it's time to drop Gina, cut her out of everything. Ask for a different editor and start a new plan for me and my books. One that doesn't include me being a playboy."
"I like it, I really do." Alexis paused for a moment. "But do you think you can go through with it? I know you. You have a weakness when it comes to women. I love you, Dad, but you let them walk all over you. You don't fight back, you don't."
"I know, and that's on me. You're right, it will be a challenge. I won't deny it. First, there was your mother and then Gina. I swear I'm going to turn over a new leaf. Starting today, right now. I'll call Gina, and I'll lay down the law to her." He even pulled out his phone and called Gina right then and there. He scowled. "Voicemail. I guess it will have to wait. But I'll do it. I promise."
Alexis shook her head. "But you don't keep your promises either."
"I do too," Rick insisted. "I kept that promise where I would… No, that's not a good example. There was the time where I… No, that's not a good example, either." He sighed. "How about a pinky promise?" He held up his pinky to link his with hers.
Alexis delayed linking her pinky with his. "You promise. So help you?"
"Yes, I promise," Rick swore, smiling when she linked her pinky finger with his. "I may need your help when Gina comes busting over here after I call her and tell her."
"I'll help you if I'm here, that is."
He smiled at his daughter. "Good."
"So, all this because you met someone, didn't get her name, and didn't get her license plate?" Alexis stared at him skeptically. "How are you going to find her again?"
"The universe gave me a sign, Alexis. And we both know I listen to the universe."
"Yeah, well, the universe better give you more than a sign if you plan on meeting her again."
~oo0oo~
Kate returned to her hotel room and put her two coins in the same container as her others. She now had sixteen coins which she considered to be a lot. Everything that she cared about cost a coin. She had found out about this coin-thing by accident.
Kate sat on her bed and reflected on what brought her to this day.
She was a homicide detective. It was her first year, and she was a junior detective. She heard about these people by accident. She learned there was an entire organization. She found there was a way of making sure the police didn't become involved.
There were killers of all kinds. Hired hit-men who did their jobs. Some people fought to prevent these killers from doing their job.
Then there was this hotel. It was neutral ground. No one did business on hotel grounds, or they suffered the consequences and died. However, the cost of staying there was a coin. Kate didn't know what a coin was at first.
She did undercover work and found out a lot. She liked what she was learning, so instead of helping the police bring in this organization, she joined it.
That decision cost her, though. It cost her her job and her friends. Even Lanie. She missed Lanie terribly, but it was for the best.
Now she was a cleaner who cleaned up messes that were almost always due to a shooting. Some were messier than others. It took her some time to be noticed. And she was proud that they paid heed to her now. She worked hard at being a cleaner.
She found an abandoned building where she put an incinerator to dispose of the bodies. Then she added a van to transport them. Now not everyone paid in coins. Instead, some paid her in cash, and she had done a few of those. Enough that she had money in the bank, more money than she could ever have had as a homicide detective.
It didn't bother her any that she was now a part of this organization. They had power. She had learned there was an organization called Top Table. They ruled all of them, even her, though she never had any contact with any of them. Or at least no one she knew about.
She was by herself, and that bothered her a little. She knew people that would help her if she needed help, but for the most part, she was alone. Save for her dad. Her mother was gone. Killed, murdered. She hoped that having this job would help her solve who did it. So far, it hadn't.
Maybe she should pay her dad a visit. She looked at her watch and decided it was too early in the day to visit him. She would have to wait a while.
Then she thought of Castle. He was a playboy. However, a one-night stand might not be so bad. It had been a while since she had gotten laid. In fact, Will had been her last lover, but that was years ago. She hadn't gotten laid since she became a cleaner.
Still, she was glad she had told him no. He wasn't worth it.
She decided to go down to the bar. If she couldn't get laid, she could get something to drink.
"Paris Sidecar, please," Kate told the bartender.
"Certainly." He began mixing her drink.
That was one more thing about this hotel. The drinks were free, and they had the good stuff. A Paris Sidecar should be made with 50-year-old cognac and this one definitely was.
He handed her a martini glass that had orange liquor in it. "Here you go, enjoy." She sipped it and enjoyed it.
"Thank you." She looked for a table and saw one off to one side where she could be alone. He nodded his head and cleaned up.
She sat and watched, guessing one man was someone she should avoid at all costs. He looked dangerous. He went to the bar, ordered something, and waited impatiently. Kate was too far away to hear what.
He got it and looked around, noticing her. "Please don't come my way. Please, please, please," she whispered. She was relieved when someone intercepted him, someone, who required his attention. Kate thanked the gods. She knew she was pretty and always attracted a few people, some like him and someone like Castle. But between the two, she would take Castle any day.
A man she only knew as the Administrator came to her table when she wasn't watching. "Miss Beckett. I trust everything is to your liking?"
"Yes, thank you. Everything is perfect."
"I'm glad. Let me know if there is anything you need." He excused himself and went to someone else.
That he knew her name surprised her. He was in charge of this hotel. She never dreamed he would know her name, let alone ask her anything. Though, it was nice of him.
She decided there was something, so she followed him and stopped him.
"Then there is something I can do for you, Miss Beckett." He was pleasant enough.
"Yes, please. I need some chemicals. Something used to clean up blood and other things."
"Of course. I will have it sent to your room. Is there anything else?"
"No, that's about it. Thank you again." He bowed his head and turned to walk away. Kate thought of something else. "Wait, who is he?" She nodded in the man's direction.
The look on his face changed. "That is Santino D'Antonio. You do not want to be involved with that man, not ever. Is there anything else?"
"No, that's all, thank you." Kate watched him walk away. Now she had a name and would do everything she could to learn more about him.
Since she was now expecting something, she hurried to her room.
She didn't have long to wait before there was a knock on her door. Kate answered it and saw a man usually at the front desk. He was pleasant, if not a little aloof.
He held out a box that had chemicals in it. "You ordered these."
Kate took it from him. "Thank you. May I ask you something?"
"Of course, ask me anything."
"I was wondering if you could tell me where someone was. The man's name is Richard Castle."
"Certainly, I'll look it up and phone you with the results. Good day, Miss Beckett." He bowed slightly and took his leave.
Kate watched him walk down the hallway, then she closed the door and looked in the box. It was full of the chemicals necessary for her job. She was used to getting them herself. She never hoped to think that the hotel would deliver them free of charge.
"Best hotel ever," Kate told herself and began to refill the contents of her duffle bag.
~oo0oo~
Her room phone rang not long after that. "Hello?"
"Miss Beckett, you can find Richard Castle at The Strand, where he is scheduled to do a book signing."
"The Strand. Thank you." She liked him a little more now.
"You are quite welcome. Have a good day Miss Beckett."
Now she needed to figure out where The Strand was. She cursed herself for not asking when he would be there. What day? Still, she could go there and find out.
She could use another signed book of his. She would wait in line no matter how long it took.