CHAPTER FOUR

Castle had set the deadbolt on the door, walked into the kitchen, and poured himself a generous portion of scotch by the time the trio of soldiers had walked to the end of the hall. By the time the elevator doors had closed on them, he had drained one glass, was starting to pour a second drink, and was speed dialing a number on his cell phone.

It was not quite 5:00 PM on Friday; she might still be in her office, he thought. His call was answered on the third ring.

"Offices of Katalya Goldwyn Bristol."

"Kat, its Richard Edgar." That was what she had always called him; no one else used his middle name, but that was the moniker she had adopted for him alone, and nothing was going to make the Connecticut Yankee change her use of it, especially after almost fifteen years.

A lyrical laugh came over his speaker. "Author Richard Edgar, my favorite client," came the woman's voice, soft with a gentle New England accent.

Castle automatically corrected her, as he always had since he had hired her on a spur of the moment decision all those years ago. "Kat, your ONLY client."

It was so good to hear her voice, Castle realized. For many years, this had been his most steady female relationship; up until he had met Katherine Beckett almost two years ago. Castle realized that he had not thought of Beckett for almost fifteen minutes. A new record in his recent history, but not unexpected, considering what had recently transpired at his front door.

"Richard Edgar, you keep me busy on a fulltime basis; how could I accept another client? It wouldn't be fair to take someone else's retainer and then completely ignore them. Between your book deals, personal appearance contracts, and the fact that I oversee all of your investments, not to mention doing my best to keep some of your more memorable albeit juvenile stunts out of the public's eye, if I did have another client, they would sue me for lack of oversight . . ."

Castle cut her off, knowing that if he failed to do so, she was capable of talking almost as much as he did.

"Kat, this is serious."

She immediately shut up. "What is it, and what can I do?" Although the relationship between the two had previously been best described as "friends with benefits", the physical aspect to their friendship had been discontinued four years ago when she had met and had been courted by her future husband. Like Castle's track record, it had proved to be a short marriage that had produced twin sons and a divorce within fourteen months. Still, they both knew that they could rely on one another, and she was always prepared to protect him, cut through the crap, and, if necessary, take Richard Castle by the hand and safely lead him through whatever minefield he had managed to uncover. She had done it many times, too many to count, if the author was to be honest with himself.

Castle realized that the image of them navigating through a mine field was a little too close to the truth, considering his present situation.

"I've been called up. Re-activated."

There was not so much as a momentary pause before an earthy single syllable profanity was heard over the speakerphone. The New England accent didn't do much to soften the sharpness of the emotion behind that word.

Castle continued, "I need to amend my Will. Tonight, Kat."

"How long did they give you? Two weeks? Seven days?" There was no response from Castle. "Less?"

"Forty-eight hours. I need to let you know that Mother and Alexis are out of town until about this time tomorrow."

The zoftig platinum blonde woman had already reached into her filing cabinet and was holding a light blue envelope containing a signed original of his Will and Medical Directive. She placed those in her carrying case for her laptop and started to thumb through CDs containing various legal forms. She was finalizing her selections when she spoke again.

"I'll bring over the forms. I'll also print out your latest financials and bring a hard copy with me. I can be at your place in about, ah, forty-five minutes. Should I stop and bring take-out for dinner? This could take a few hours to make sure everything is finalized, witnessed, and in order . . . just in case."

"We'll order something from here, later."

She paused. "Should I bring my toothbrush?"

The man considered that statement, and then realized that he was starting to become aroused by the thought of her return to his bed. Some physical release from his self-imposed denial of carnal pleasuring just might be a good idea.

"Please." It wasn't likely that Beckett was going to appear at his door and want to throw herself at him in the next few hours.

"See you shortly." And the phone connection went dead.

Castle started to walk toward his study in order to jot a few thoughts down on a legal pad before Katalyna's arrival. Then his phone rang. He looked at the caller I.D.

It was Kate Becket. There was probably a recent homicide for him to join her and her team of detectives on.

Without a pause, Castle let the call go to voice mail.