Tuesday 11:40 pm

12th Precinct

Beckett slammed down the phone on her desk in frustration. She looked over at Castle, who was on the phone at Karpowski's desk. She heard him say. "Are you sure?...Would you check again?" He then held the receiver away from his ear, and she could hear some indistinguishable yelling from the other end of the call from all the way over at her desk. Castle moved the phone back to his face long enough to mutter "Okay, Thank you" and he hung up. He looked over at her. "People sure are grumpy at night."

"Any luck?" Stupid question. If he'd found anything she'd have heard. "I'm through my half of the list."

Castle nodded at the phone. "That was my last one. Forty-three armored car companies in Manhattan, and nothing is amiss."

Beckett's lips curled. "Amiss?"

"Amiss. Incorrect or inappropriate. I'm a best selling novelist, so I talk more gooder than you." He looked at Karpowski's computer screen and sighed. "I guess I could start on New Jersey."

"Maybe we are wrong about the armored car. Maybe it was something else, like an armored limousine?" Beckett smiled mischievously. "Or maybe a Clone Wars Fighting Vehicle. "

Esposito came up the steps and entered from behind Beckett. "Stop it! You're not a Castle yet. Anyway, it definitely was an armored car." Castle got up and they gathered at Beckett's desk. Esposito continued. "There was a CSU tech weenie at the site who was ex-Army CID. Knew his stuff." He flipped open his notebook. "The plastique wasn't C4, it was probably military grade Semtex. The weapon used was probably a TOW A1 rocket. That's not a little shoulder fired LAW. That's some serious shit, needing a bad-ass recoilless rifle."

Castle asked, "Law?"

"Light Anti-tank Weapon, like an M-72. Infantry weapon."

"Well, who would have a recoilless rifle?"

"The big green machine, or the Marines. That's about it." Esposito checked his notes. "Also, some pieces of a steel-and-Kevlar weave were found at the scene. They need to test it, but he said it was consistent with a newer commercial armored vehicle, like a Brinks or Wells Fargo truck."

Beckett swore. "This just keeps getting worse. We will definitely have some alphabet agencies on our backs in the morning, not to mention some bad guys with some serious firepower. Anything from the construction site or the canvas?"

Esposito shook his head. "Not really. The canvas was a bust. We'll try it again tomorrow, but that area is pretty empty after rush hour. The construction site is in some unknown court battle, and has been shut down for a couple of weeks. No night watchman, they were relying on the fence topped with razor wire. All the perps had to do was cut and peel, and they had full access. According to the guy Ryan talked to, the owners didn't even bother taking the keys out of the crane engine. The bad guys broke the glass on the console door up top, and were ready to rock and roll. A ton of trace, so it'll take time."

"Anything else?"

"Yeah. At least your Dad had a good night."

"Don't tell me!"

Esposito nodded his head. "Yankees scored 5 in the 8th. Beltran hit a 3 run dinger. Won 8 to 6."

Kate looked at Castle. "That's all your fault. They play like shit when you show up. You're not allowed to go to any more games this year."

"Beckett, they're my tickets!"

"Too bad!" Beckett turned back to Esposito. "Where's Ryan?"

"Downstairs in the tech media room. We can watch three street feeds at the same time. What did you guys find?"

"A whole lot of nothing." Beckett looked disgusted. "Gates will be in early to run interference. She was also going to get us somebody from Robbery who knows all about armored car practices and procedures. Castle and I have spoken to all Manhattan security companies that are answering their phones at night, and nothing is amiss." She smiled at Espo's look. "Why don't you go down and fill in Ryan, help him out. Might as well also start a search for recoilless rifle thefts. Castle and I are going down to the morgue and see if we can hurry that ID."

"On it." Esposito turned around and went back down the steps. Castle and Beckett started for the elevator.

"Hey Castle, what are ya thinking?"

Castle shook his head. "Inconsistencies, Beckett. On the one hand, we have a well thought out and well financed heist. Great location, great execution. Being prepared to remove the guard's uniform shows true genius in detailed planning. On the other hand, we have nothing missing, which I'm sure is part of their plan. It's pissing me off that I can't figure it out."

They got on the elevator and Beckett pushed the button for the basement. "Okay. Let's run with that. How do I get an armored truck to go in the alley in the first place."

"Easiest first – buy off the driver."

"Then hit his truck with a large rocket? No way he survives that. That's a special kind of ruthlessness."

"These guys are definitely playing for keeps. Which tells me that their score must be huge."

Beckett smiled at Castle. "Okay crime novelist, tell me about the biggest and best armored car robberies."

Castle looked offended. "Hey! I'm a mystery writer. That being said, the biggest 3 armored car jobs in the US all happened in the same year oddly enough – 1997. One in LA, one in Florida, and one somewhere in the Carolinas. They were all for about 18 million, give or take. They were all inside jobs. The biggest here was the Empire back in the eighties, for about 11 million. Technically, they robbed the armory and not a car. Another inside job."

"How do you know all this stuff?"

"Research. " Castle grinned. "And wish fulfillment."

Beckett rolled her eyes as they entered the morgue lab. "Simon Templar or Alexander Mundy?"

"Beckett, it is so hot that you even know those names."

Permlutter looked up. "Mr Castle, please try not to drool on my floor."

Beckett smiled at the ME. "Doctor, do we have an ID yet?"

"No, Detective. I just finished putting the prints into the system. I did find something you might be interested in, though."

Beckett tried to hide her impatience. You couldn't rush the prickly medical examiner. She missed Lanie, currently at some seminar that included a beach and free drinks. "Great. What did you find for us?"

"Amongst his other injuries, both his ankle joints have been shredded. I've never seen an injury similar to it. He also has a distinctive hexagonal shape in the back of his head. If you find that bolt, you have your crime scene."

Castle asked, "Dr Permlutter. We believe this victim was inside an armored car that was attacked by both a missile and an unknown amount of plastique explosive. If you'd have to guess, was he in the cab or the back?"

"Mr Castle, I'm a scientist, so therefore I don't guess. I would estimate that this man had been standing upright, and a great deal of explosive went off below and in front of him. Actually, that would explain both the ankle injuries and blunt force trauma. It would have to be a great deal of explosive to give him sufficient impetus to cause these extensive injuries."

Beckett asked, "If it was an IED, could you calculate the amount of explosive force needed."

"I doubt it. Too many variables."

Her phone rang. "Beckett. Okay. Be right there." She turned to Castle. "Ryan's found something."