Into The Rabbit Hole Senator

Senator Bracken's morning is filled with the normal list of appointments. He starts out with a visit from the local Boy Scout Troop. They are taking a tour of the Capital. They are starting at the Senate office building and will then proceed to the Capital Building then over to the White House. Naturally they ask many questions about how a person becomes a senator. What does a senator do?

The next visit is from a group of constituents wanting to discuss subsidies. They need an explanation on why corn growers get paid to grow corn when the cranberries do not.

After the final visit from voters from back home leave, he opens his e-mail to see what he needs to deal with immediately.

There is one e-mail with an unusual message line. "Dick Coonan Needs to talk to you"

Bracken looks around as if he were expecting there to be a visitor standing in the room. He opens the e-mail and there is a video file that begins playing immediately

He watches the file and listens to the dialog. Panic sets in on his face. How did someone get this file? Where did it come from? Who sent it? As the file runs to completion William Bracken is obviously nervous.

When the file completes, he calls his Chief of Staff, Greg Athens, into his office "Greg! Get in here NOW!"

Athens enters the office "Sir, are you OK?"

"Yes, close the door"

After Athens closes the door, Bracken tells him to come over to his computer. There is somet5rhing the senator wants him to see. When the Chief of Staff walks around the desk, Bracken starts looking for the file he just ran. It's not there. Bracken hurriedly looks in the In Box. Out box. Deleted. Trash. The file he just viewed is gone

"Greg, I just received an e-mail with a video attached. I watched it. Now I can't find it. I promise it was here, but now it's gone"

"What was on it, sir?"

Bracken leans back in his chair. "It was a video that someone took of Dick Coonan murdering Johanna Beckett".

"SIR? Where did someone get a video?"

"I don't know but we have to find it and get it and whoever owns it taken care of"

"Wait a minute. Tell me what was on the video"

"The video started out with Beckett taking pictures of the warehouse. Then it started back with her again but then Coonan came up and told her to leave. She said she was there to get evidence to help a client who was falsely accused get out of jail. Coonan said that his employer, Mr. Bracken, did not want that and she needed to leave. She told him he swore an oath to help her client to the best of her abilities and she would not be leaving. Coonan then said 'this is from Bracken' and he stabbed her to death. Coonan left and the video zoomed into Beckett's dead body"

"Are you sure that this is real?"

"I have seen the crime scene photos. This is accurate down to the last piece of garbage on the ground. Yes it is real"

"And Coonan actually said 'BRACKEN'?"

"Yes! He specifically said my name TWICE on the video. I am sure that he did not know someone was recording the killing"

"What do I need to do right now?"

"Contact tech support and ask them to trace the source of that e-mail" Bracken is looking around his e-mail trying to find the message that contained the video. But it is gone he can't find it anywhere

"Will do, sir. Anything else?"

"Not right now. Dismissed"

Back in New York at the 12th Precinct

Captain Gates calls down to the Public Information Office and asks to speak to the PIO.

"Public Information Office, Lt. Caldwell. Can I help you?"

"Hello Lt. Caldwell. Captain Victoria Gates at the 12th"

"Yes Captain. How can I help you today?"

"I would like to set up a press conference"

"Of course. Can you give me those particulars?"

"I have a team of detectives that solved a decades old murder case, and I just would like it to be publicly announced"

"That sounds great. Closing cases like this is fantastic press for the department. We can never get too much good reporting. Can you give me any details that we can put in the press packet prior to the meeting?"

"Well, lieutenant, I actually would like it to be a little cryptic if you don't mind. I want my detectives to be able to be able to seize the limelight with their presentation"

"All right. I don't understand, but if that is what you want, we will set it up. If you will give me the details, I will put together a press release."

"OK. The team of detectives is headed up by Detective Katherine Beckett. Her team consists of Javier Esposito and Kevin Ryan. They are assisted by civilian consultant Richard Castle. This case was considered a cold case and occurred over ten years ago and has remained unsolved until new evidence surfaced just recently. Detective Beckett will be the speaker during the press conference"

"OK great, captain. I will put together the press packet and call the meeting for tomorrow afternoon at 4:00 o'clock here at One Police Place"

"Thank you lieutenant. I will let my team know so they can get prepared"

Gates hangs up her telephone and smiles. Thinking to herself, if we pull off Castle's little plan. I can see why all these guys like being around him. He really does think outside the box.

Senate Office Building

Greg Athens knocks on the senator's door. "Come in"

"Sir, I just got off the phone with tech support."

"Well, did they find where the file came from?"

"Sir? They say there was no file. They found no e-mail sent in to you during the last 24 hours with a video attached, nor a e-mail with that subject line"

"Greg, are you saying that I made this up? I'm seeing things?'

"No sir, I am saying that IT claims that no e-mail came thru the government e-mail system to you"

"Greg! I am not crazy. I saw it with my own two eyes"

Then angrily "dismissed"