Chapter 10

"You're making me food for a change, huh? Now this is something I could get used to." Castle wrapped his arms around her waist from behind, his lips pressed against the flat of her neck, her hair pulled up allowing him the access. His tee still hung intoxicatingly from her body, her legs and feet bare. She was a morning vision beyond compare.

Kate tickled her fingers back and forth along his forearms, dipped her head back against his shoulder. "I'd hardly call toast and coffee a proper meal, but if you're happy with it, I'd definitely enjoy reaping any rewards you're prepared to offer for my minimal efforts."

"And rewarded you shall be. Wish you'd woken me, though. How long have you been up? It's early."

She pulled at his arms to free her body and she spun around to face him. He was shirtless, wearing only a pair of dark boxers that sat provocatively low on his waist. Her eyes wandered the length of him, down to the floor and back up again, the tiny curve of her lips indicative of the pleasure she took in the journey. "My gift of sleep was your reward for last night. You more than earned it."

"Here I thought that came with its own reward," he teased. "So, what's the plan for today? What would you like to do?"

Kate poured him a mug of coffee and topped off her own, lowered the toast again to warm. She grabbed a bottle of juice and the fruit she'd already cut up from the refrigerator, handing each to Castle blindly over her shoulder, never turning to discover how his eyes watched unwaveringly as she moved.

"I might just let you keep that thing, you know." He sipped from the mug, his eyes peeking out over the rim at her body wrapped in his shirt. "And in the interest of full disclosure, it would be for purely selfish reasons. No matter how many times I've worn it, I've never been able to make it look like art."

"Wow, just one more to go and I'll have a complete Richard Castle set." She scooped a spoonful of fruit into her grinning mouth.

"A complete set?" He was both confused and curious.

"As you put it, in the interest of full disclosure, I already have one of your t-shirts- from a couple of years ago when you invited me to stay at the loft after my apartment was blown to bits. I accidentally forgot to return it. Oops." She wasn't at all apologetic and was clearly making no secret of that fact.

"You still have one of my shirts? How did I not notice that?"

"You're a rich man, Castle. My guess is you have a lot of shirts."

He stepped in front of her, her lower back angled against the countertop, his arms against the edge of the butcher block surface at her hips, caging her in. "Well, that's actually pretty hot- no pun intended- you keeping it all this time. Do you ever wear it?" he asked hopefully, his thighs brushing gently against hers.

"What fun would it be if I didn't?"

"Like a serial killer with a trophy. That's kind of twisted, Detective."

She rocked her hips forward slowly, deliberately. "And effective, apparently," she purred, feeling the hard of his body. "So, about that plan for today, I was-"

"New morning plan!" he declared authoritatively, his hand tugging at her arm, the bedroom their day's first destination.

XXX

"Little T's in the wind, bro." Espo announced to a late-arriving Ryan. "That jackass in holding has to give up everything he knows. Today." It was too early for the shitty news- too early and a weekend, and the combination of those two things really pissed Espo off.

"Silver lining is I still recognize you this morning, even with that purple thing on your face." Ryan dropped his bag onto his desk and chuckled. Espo did not. "Too soon. Got it," Ryan nodded.

"Where the hell have you been, by the way? We said 7 AM."

Ryan lifted his cuff and checked his watch. "I'm nine minutes late, Javi. Give me a break. You're grumpy when you've been the victim of a sissy punch. Well, grumpier."

"Let's just get this shit done so I can put in a request for a new partner and move on."

"Very funny. Like you could find a better partner than Kevin Ryan," he boasted.

"Whatever, bro. Maybe I just want a partner who doesn't refer to himself in the third person like an ass." He stood and started to walk away. "You ready to go or what?"

Ryan furrowed his brow. "Can't I get some coffee first?"

Espo gave him a look.

Ryan went without coffee.

XXX

Abruzzo was brought from holding to the interrogation room by a uni, and Espo and Ryan made him sweat it out a few extra minutes before they went in as a team.

The moment the door opened and Espo walked through, Abruzzo started in on him. "You back for some more? How 'bout I go easy on you and use my left fist this time, huh?" He laughed like a doped up teenager until Ryan slammed the door shut and shocked the hell out of him. "I see you got Robin with you again." They both caught the reference. Ryan didn't appreciate it.

They each pulled up a chair and sat, their body language casual, their desire to end this whole thing anything but.

"Everything comfy and cozy last night, Dominic? Bring back fond memories?" Ryan grinned smugly.

"Whatever, man."

"Robin asked you a question, man." Espo found the moniker sort of amusing, actually. "Feeling nostalgic for the old prison cell? 'Cause we can make that trip home happen, right, Robin?"

Ryan snapped his head, tossed Espo his own look of criticism and Espo did his best not to laugh in his face. "Yeah, we can," he grumbled. "Your buddy Gionta's gone. Any idea where he is or where he'd go?"

"Naw, man, I barely know the guy. He's Micky's newest."

"Unfortunately, that's not very helpful for you, bro. He was in that surveillance video with you. If you didn't kill Talia Thorne at the motel that night, seems like he'd be the guy to be able to back that up."

"I didn't kill her, man!" Abruzzo shouted. "How many times do I gotta say it?"

"I guess you gotta say it until we actually believe you, Dominic," Ryan taunted. "We've got two dead bodies here, your boy Micky and a girl on the floor of a motel you were seen leaving the night she was killed. And your friend, Little T, he doesn't seem to want to help you out. Nope, he wants to run far, far away."

"If you didn't do this, bro, you should be tellin' us everything you know. We might be the only friends you got."

Abruzzo stomped his foot against the floor. "You ain't my fuckin' friends. And I did not kill her."

"Seems you've got a choice to make, Dominic. For your sake, we hope it's the right one."

The room fell quiet. Abruzzo stared at the ceiling and mumbled to himself- nothing Ryan or Espo could understand, but it was obvious to them he was frustrated and scared. He looked around the room, anywhere except directly at his interrogators who just sat back and watched the show happening in front of them.

They knew exactly what was coming. Dominic Abruzzo was about to crack wide open.

XXX

"Hang on a second." Castle grabbed for Kate's arm as they reached the edge of the grass line in the backyard, the vast expanse of the wood just one step away. "We aren't going to get eaten by a bear in there or anything, right?"

She had to laugh. The fear-laced query came from a man who she'd once witnessed tackle and render incapacitated a hit man who was brandishing a very large gun. "I hear the bears up here have a weakness for rich, successful mystery novel writers from the city, so there's a good chance."

"Sure, joke all you want now, but it's all fun and games until someone gets mauled. Also, you didn't say handsome."

"Oh, they find the handsome men tastiest. I just didn't want to worry you any more than you already were. But, a mauling would definitely put a damper on the day, so let's agree not to do that, okay?" She extended her left hand toward him to shake on it.

"Yes, let's," he agreed, clasping her hand in his and adding an exaggerated nod of the head for good measure. "Nice shake with the left, by the way."

"My hands have talents you've never seen, Mr. Castle."

"Well, then I can't wait for show-and-tell. But, mostly show."

"Come on, follow me," she said, rolling her eyes, and she stepped into the trees.

The late-morning sun freckled the ground beneath them, permeating the dense leaves and branches of the canopy above in fits and starts. The quiet was remarkable, the only sounds puncturing it the shuffle of their feet and the occasional snap of a distant twig. It felt like a world all their own, no interlopers or intrusions to speak of.

"Is this even a path, Kate? Do you know where we're going? I feel like I should've done that breadcrumb thing."

She paused and turned back, his position a few steps behind, courtesy of his overzealous bear vigilance. "How many times have I been up here, Castle?"

He had no idea. "I guess- a lot?"

"And how many times have you been up here, Castle?"

"I see where you're going with this." Stupid question. "Lead on."

"We're almost there, anyway."

Up ahead a short distance, Kate veered to the right and came to a stop, waiting for Castle to catch up to her. They were in a small clearing, two eastern hemlock trees standing full, like twins, before them.

"Why are we stopping? You didn't see something, did you?" The panic in his voice was palpable.

"I saw…" She taunted him with hesitation.

"What? What was it?" He was literally two seconds from fleeing.

"It's my old fort, you big baby. Over by the two hemlocks. See it?"

"Oh, yeah, I do see something." He headed for it, Kate now following him close behind. "It's still here?"

"My dad helped me build it. Well, I helped him, actually. We spent a weekend on it when I was ten. I'd hand him whatever tool he needed or pass him the next piece of wood. He was always really good at that stuff."

Castle kneeled in front of it and ran his hand along the old lumber, now shades of green and black with age. "Time's been pretty kind to it. Just a few boards missing and some rot, but it looks like it was a fort to be proud of. Did you come out here a lot?"

Kate reached her hand out and touched it as well, her palm flat against its overhang, as though attempting to call up memories through the physical connection. "My friend, Sarah, and I did, yeah. We spent so many summer days here, Castle. When it was too hot or our parents were getting on our nerves or when we had secrets to share, we always ran to this place." She spoke with a tenderness and a reverence that moved him.

"I wish I could have known ten-year-old Kate Beckett. And what kinds of secrets?"

"Planning on taking Nikki Heat back to grade school, Castle?"

"Yes," he snickered. "I'm going to call it A Growing Heat."

"Sounds like a bestseller, for sure. Let me know when it hits the bargain paperback rack."

He stood back up and put his hands on his hips. "Cruel woman. Now I'm hurt so you have to tell me one of your secrets."

Kate didn't say anything, merely pointed to a spot over his right shoulder. He turned his head slowly, having no idea what it was he was supposed to be looking at. "That birch tree, go look," she instructed.

He moved to the tree, finding himself more and more curious with each step.

"Look down a bit," she called out.

And there, he saw it, carved into the bark, enclosed within the curves of a heart: KB + RC.

"Some coincidence, huh?" She was standing directly behind him now, almost touching him, watching him motionless with awe.

"When did- What is this?"

"I was twelve. He was thirteen- Robby Calvert. I was very much in love, obviously. Sarah made one too, around the other side."

It was more than his mind could process. It was almost shocking, the magic of the universe. Castle pulled her in and clamped his arms around her waist. "You know what this means, don't you?"

"No, but I bet you're going to tell me."

"It means we were always meant to be." He smiled softly and sincerely. She leaned in and pecked his lips. "So," he took a quick look around, "if a couple makes out in the forest and no one's there to see it, would that mean it didn't really happen?"

"Ah, yes, the age-old question of the world's brightest philosophers."

Castle pressed his lips to hers adoringly. "Always meant to be," he whispered, into the rustle of the leaves in the spring breeze.

XXX

The ache of Kate's injuries had all but faded into the euphoria of their hours together in a place she'd long considered paradise. Castle had touched her body and her heart in ways she'd only imagined, in ways she'd feared he never would, and in ways she was now fully prepared to accept she could never be without.

She listened to the water from the shower cascade over his body, her back pressed against the wall in the hallway just outside the bathroom door. It made a unique sound, she thought, one she'd never heard before, like a siren song in its temptation and seduction of her senses. She imagined each drop's journey along the topography of his muscle and bone, how each must be fighting desperately to linger on his skin, how she'd explored the very same routes as some and longed to discover the paths of others.

The squeak of the faucet brought her out of her reverie and back to the narrow hallway with little idea as to how much time had passed since she'd stopped to eavesdrop. She'd never done this to anyone before. She'd never been so fascinated by such prosaic things. She knocked softly when she heard the rings of the shower curtain slide open along the rod. She had need of nothing inside, had no reason to be there at all except that he was on the other side of the door.

"Come in?" Castle wasn't entire certain he'd heard a knock, and he felt a bit foolish saying anything at all.

Kate turned the knob slowly and pushed the door open just enough to sneak through, as though someone else in the house might see, as though she were participating in something illicit. "Hi," she said simply and with a prick of embarrassment as she suddenly realized she had no idea what to say next.

"Hi, yourself, beautiful." He held a bath towel in his hand, his body not yet covered, every inch of him exposed to every inch of her imagination. "What's a nice girl like you doing in a place like this?" He ran the Egyptian cotton over his hair to absorb the excess water dripping down his face. She watched his hands rustle in the fabric. She wanted him fiercely.

She propped herself up on the counter opposite him, revealing silently her intent to stay. "Every answer running through my head involves a boost to your ego, and I'm not really sure it can handle that. I feel like it's already pinning the needle."

"Well, my ego and I took kind of a hit recently, so we're still working on getting back to our comfortably obnoxious state. What've you got?"

He stepped over the side of the tub and onto the bath mat. He was a foot closer to her now and she could almost feel the heat radiating off his skin. She laughed inside wondering if it would always be this way, if she'd feel like this every time his body was near, if she'd ever want to venture out into the world again when she had him all to herself. "Assuming I played a role in your recent tumble from great heights, I suppose I owe you. And in that spirit, I will tell you that I'm finding it very difficult to satiate the hunger my eyes have recently developed for your naked body. That's one reason I find myself in a place like this. And, to be honest, I'm not feeling all that nice."

He dropped the towel to the floor, its mission not yet complete, but its use suddenly inconsequential. "You know, I'm reminded of a time when I saw you in your bathroom without clothes on, and aside from the remnants of an exploded bomb all around us, it was really quite something." With two more steps, he reached her knees, and he drew them apart with his fingers. She leaned forward and tasted the drops of water at his chest, the scent of soap perfume on her tongue. Her hands bracketed his hips, their hold tighter than she intended yet fanning his arousal. "Kate," he hummed, his lips at her ear, "you feel light-years beyond nice to me, but if we're ever going to make it to lunch, you have to find a way to stop doing that."

"Doing what?" Innocent, but not.

"Being you." He bit playfully at her neck, his tongue following in unnecessary apology.

"I'll try to work on that."

"But don't try too hard!" he added urgently.

"Hey," she said, her fingers tickling wickedly along his length, "you said you weren't looking that day in the bathroom, Castle."

"I'm a writer, Kate," he managed to stammer, the sensation of her touch robbing him of most of his faculties. "I say a lot of things."

"Go put some clothes on, loudmouth. Let's go eat."

XXX

"If that shit he just said is true, that's as cold as it gets. Cold, with a capital C."

Ryan sank into his chair and slid Dominic Abruzzo's file onto his desk. "He seemed pretty freaked. Are you buying it? You and Beckett talked to Jimmy Vincent, I didn't. Makes it harder for me to get a read." He propped his hands behind his head, his fingers locking them in place. "I need some of that Spidey-sense Castle has."

"Seriously?" Espo scoffed, sounding utterly incensed. "You're such a Kool-Aid drinker, bro. Maybe you and Castle can open a shop together and sell crystals and voodoo dolls."

"I'm just saying, I can't be sure. That guy seemed genuinely scared, and for someone like that to feel that way- maybe it's true, as crazy as it sounds, as cold as it sounds. It is one of the primary motives for murder."

"Thanks for the Crime 101 lesson, Robin." Espo punctuated the derisive nickname with the insufferable tone of a boy nagging his younger brother. "I know all about what money does and what people do for it. It's messed up."

"So you didn't get a vibe from him? From Jimmy?"

"Bodyguard was creepy. That was about it."

"We need to talk to him."

"I'll get him in here. Lucky for us, this guy likes to do things face to face."

XXX

"Beckett?" Kate heard the rickety voice call out from somewhere behind them as they meandered through the shop toward the small cluster of lunch tables at the back. "Is that you?"

She stopped and looked back over her shoulder, a man later in years approaching them at as quick a pace as it seemed he could travel. The expression of sheer delight on his face was unmistakable, his cheeks shifting upward until the smile crinkled his eyes into tiny moon-shaped slivers. He held his plaid-covered arms open in front of him, and he didn't stop moving until his body collided with hers in embrace.

"Bennett, you're here." They held on to each other for a long moment, Castle looking on curiously from Kate's side. "We were here yesterday but I didn't see you, so I had to come back and try again. I'm so glad I did. You look wonderful."

He loosened his hold and stepped backward, allowing him the opportunity to take a good look at her. "Such bruises and yet such beauty. Oh my word, and your hand. What's happened? Still fighting the good fight, it seems." He shot her a wink. "We all rest a bit easier knowing you're looking out for us, my dear."

Kate laughed softly. "Still fighting, Bennett, still fighting- just like my parents taught me." She turned to Castle and became immediately flush with embarrassment. "Oh, Castle, I'm sorry. Apparently I must've missed my parents' lesson on manners. Bennett, this is my friend, Rick. Rick, this is Bennett."

The two men shook hands, the elder's firm grip a pleasant surprise to Castle. "It's good to meet you, Bennett. I can't say as I've ever met anyone named Bennett before. It's an interesting name, memorable. Good for a story."

Kate caught Bennett's eye and the two shared a smile. "Actually-"

"That's kind of you to say so, son, but Bennett's the last name. Beckett, here, is the only one who uses it. Been that way since she was just a wee thing. I still remember the giggle that came out of her when her father introduced us. The first name's Henry."

Kate jumped in. "Apparently, I found it highly amusing that our last names were so similar. It just kind of stuck after that."

"That's really sweet," Castle said.

"Yes, sir, it is." Henry took Kate's hand. "So, we haven't seen you in…must be a year, at least. We've missed your pretty face around here."

"I'm sorry, I know." She meant it sincerely. There'd been so many times she'd wanted to come back to this place. "It's been difficult to find the time."

"Making time is important. We all need it." He lifted her wrapped hand delicately. "Some of us more than others."

"We do. And that's why I brought this city boy with me. It's his first time here." She nudged Castle with her elbow.

"Well, we're glad to have you- both of you. I hope she's been a good tour guide."

Castle turned to Kate, waited until he had her attention. "She's made my time here unforgettable, Henry."

"Very good, very good. Well, listen, I don't want to keep you two. I'm sure you have better things to do than stand around listening to an old man."

Kate stepped forward and hugged her old friend once more. "I can hardly think of one," she told him. "We'll come say goodbye before we head out."

"That sounds just fine. I hope you both enjoy."

XXX

It was quiet after lunch, the only other couple around them having finished their meal and moved on a short time earlier. They lingered at the table, the one beside the window with the view of the trees, their plates cleared, enjoying the time rarely available to them to do so. "I really like this place," Castle said, sitting sideways in his chair, looking into the shop from a new perspective. "I didn't even see the tables back here when we bought the food yesterday."

"I do too. It's been here as long as I can remember. Bennett took over when his dad got sick. It has a very local feel to it, but no one who comes by ever seems to feel unwelcome."

"He really cares about you."

"He's a good man. Like you. Big heart. He's always been like family."

Castle watched as Kate sipped from her near-empty glass- the way her lips curled around the rim, the length of her neck as she raised her chin to welcome the liquid in. Never in his life had he been so completely taken with another person, not just in that moment, but in all of her moments. "I don't know if I've said it yet or not, Kate, but even if I have, I want you to know how much it's meant to me to be here with you. I'm so thankful that you wanted to share all of this- the house, the stars, the fort, and now this place and your friend. This has truly been one of the most special and memorable weekends I've ever had."

Kate put her hand on the table, palm up, in invitation of his. "I've never wanted to share this much of myself with anyone before. And it still scares me sometimes. But, I feel safer with you than with anyone else in my life, Castle, and that makes me want to be in every moment completely. And I want you there with me."

He smiled softly, their hands clasped tightly. "So, you asked me a question last night and I got distracted and never gave you an answer. If memory serves, your mouth was the responsible party."

"Entirely your fault, of course. You asked for my mouth."

"And who could blame me?" he shrugged. "It has otherworldly powers." His eyes remained fixed on it, despite the fight against it. "Now," he said, clearing his throat, "before I get lost in it again, I'd like to tell you my answer."

She raised an eyebrow with piqued interest.

"You asked me if there was a moment when I knew this was what I wanted, and that's a very difficult thing to pinpoint. And you'll have to forgive how clichéd this is going to sound, especially from someone who calls himself a writer, but every moment I've spent with you since we met has given me a reason to want you with me for the next. There were times, however-"

His mind seemed to wander mid-thought. "Hey." Her soft voice brought him back.

"Sorry, I was- there was that night in the precinct, when you told me about your mom for the first time and you showed me the ring and the watch, I knew I was in trouble that night. Not in any trouble I wanted to escape from," he quickly clarified, "very much the opposite. I just had no idea how the hell I was going to convince you to want more of me, because in that moment I knew I wanted so much more of you."

"And have you come up with a plan yet?" she teased.

"Funny." He pulled his napkin from his lap and set it on the table. "But, you know, I always think back to the summer I was in the Hamptons. Well, more about what it felt like to see you for the first time after I came back."

Just hearing the name made her stomach knot. "You mean when we almost shot you at that crime scene?"

"Yes, Kate, when you almost shot me. That's atop my list of most-wanteds in a true life partner. No! Not then, exactly. It happened when you walked into the interrogation room after. I'm not even sure you knew you did it, but my eyes were on you from the second you opened that door, and it was there. I saw it and I felt it."

She had no idea what he was about to say, but she found herself shifting in her chair with anticipation, wanting to move even an inch closer to him to hear.

"You smiled with your eyes, but as though you were trying desperately to hide it. I swear, it was like lightning, Kate. I'd spent so many weeks and days and hours missing your face. I saw it and I thought- maybe you'd missed me too. I don't know. It sounds ridiculous when I say it out loud. But I just knew, more than anything else, I wanted to spend every day after trying to make that happen again and again. Okay, granted, I was back with my ex at the time, but I claim temporary insanity on that." He fiddled awkwardly with the balled up wrapper of his straw left discarded on the table.

Kate slid to the edge of her chair and stood, took a step around the edge of the table and gestured for him to shift his body with a swish of her finger. He obliged, and she turned and lowered herself onto his lap. And then she kissed him, more enthusiastically than was appropriate for their surroundings, but far less than he deserved.

XXX

Jimmy Vincent made Espo and Ryan wait, but he finally showed up at the precinct a few hours after Espo's call- much longer and they would've gone out looking. He slept most days until late afternoon he'd told them, given that he worked all night at the club, and the schedule had only become harder on him since Micky had taken off to God-knows-where, leaving him to run the place on his own.

After what they'd heard earlier from Abruzzo, they found it difficult to feel much in the way of sympathy.

"We know you're a busy man, Mr. Vincent, so we appreciate you making time for us this afternoon."

"Please, as I told you when we met before, call me Jimmy."

It should've sounded congenial, the gesture being what it was. No doubt Jimmy thought it had. But he'd said it with a bite, like it wouldn't have been a surprise if it'd been followed by an or else. There was something about him now, there, in the bright light of the room, that Espo hadn't seen the first time they'd met. It was in his posture or in the arrogance of his affect; he couldn't put his finger on it exactly. But whatever it was, Espo hoped he could find a way to bury Jimmy with it if this all played out.

"Jimmy, we just have some follow up questions about your brother and about-" Ryan was interrupted before he could even get his first sentence out.

"Where's Detective Beckett today?"

Espo and Ryan turned and shared a look.

"We're here today, Mr. Vincent," Ryan answered sharply.

"Jimmy," he corrected pointedly.

"Of course, Jimmy." Espo grinned patronizingly. "Now, when was it that you last saw your brother?"

"I'd say it's been a few weeks."

"You can't be more specific than that?"

"I can't be."

"And the two of you didn't get along because-"

"Because Micky made poor life choices and because those life choices had an effect on my life and on my club." He sounded like a pompous ass, one that didn't have the right look for the part.

"Your club?" Espo recalled otherwise. "Didn't you say you and Micky owned the club together? A 50-50 split, right?" It was clear the mere mention inspired aggravation.

"That's how my father set it up, yes." Both Ryan and Espo took note of the pronoun again- my. "Micky never wanted to be around, though. He always had his own bullshit going on, too much to be bothered."

"And what kind of bullshit was that?" Ryan's pen was poised.

Jimmy picked at the invisible lint on his sleeve, seemingly bored with the entire affair. "Drugs, mostly. And his group of thugs. And Talia. He was with Talia all the time. That's why I assumed they were dating or whatever."

"And Talia was another one of his poor life choices?"

"I don't know what Talia was, except a druggie."

"And how do you know that?"

"Because I saw her at the club all the time, Detective. I know what it looks like. It's part of my world."

"Right, your world. Do you recall seeing Talia at the club on the night of her murder?"

"No," he replied without any hesitation. "I don't."

"You seem pretty certain of that."

"Like I said, this is my world."

"Do you remember when you did see her last?"

"Must've been the weekend before."

Espo nodded. "Must've been. Now, in your world do you know a…" he pretended to flip through his notes, "Tony Gionta, Mr. Vincent? Also goes by Little T." Espo was referring to Jimmy by his last name now solely to piss him off.

Jimmy stared him down. "Should I?"

"I don't know if you should, but I asked if you do."

"Doesn't ring a bell."

"You sure?"

Jimmy ran his fingernail back and forth along a spot on the table. "Actually, you know, I think he's done some work at the club here and there. He's, uh, one of Micky's. Yeah, once in a while. Don't really know him, though."

Ryan made a note of Jimmy's reply and his reaction.

"How about a Dominic Abruzzo?"

"Abruzzo, Abruzzo," he repeated aloud, as though he was actually thinking about it. "Not that I'm aware."

"Huh." Espo and Ryan shared another glance.

"Huh, what?" Jimmy asked with disdain.

"You want another minute to think about that one too?"

"Thank you, but I don't need another minute, Detective."

"Well, that's kind of odd, Mr. Vincent, since Mr. Abruzzo has quite a lot to say about how he knows you."