Chapter Two

It was almost dawn when Castle pulled into the circular drive that led to the porte cochere of his home in the Hamptons. He had always enjoyed the arrival. The place was an architectural gem of mellow old brick in front, disguising the modern glass construction and spectacular views on the seaward side. This morning he was just grateful to be there.

His face resumed its grim expression as he left the car for the front door. He opened the door and then turned to disable the burglar alarm.

"Freeze!" said a firm voice at his back. "Don't move!"

Hands gave him a quick and thorough pat down and then told him to turn slowly around. A young man in scrubs faced him, holding a Browning 9 mm pointed steadily at his heart. His name tag said only Smith.

"Oh, Mr. Castle," said the young man. "So sorry. We're just not taking any chances."

"I'm fine with that," said Castle, with a wry smile, as he reset the alarm and headed upstairs to his room. He dropped the suitcase off and then hurried down the hall to the double guest suite. Entering the first bedroom, he noticed that the windows had been covered with blackout curtains, held down with tape. He nodded in approval. Passing through the shared bathroom, he took a deep breath and then opened the door to the second bedroom.

And there she was.

The room was bright with light and with the huge smile Kate gave him, sitting up in her hospital bed amid the improvised care unit he'd had installed for her. She was pale, too pale, and looked smaller somehow, with the drips and tubes and whatnot.

He didn't care. Neither did she, as he gave her the most gentle of hugs, burying his face in her hair and calling her name over and over.

"How do you feel? Are Smith and crew taking good care of you?" Turning to the nurse, "Are her vitals OK? How's she doing?"

"I'm fine, Castle," she said as Smith said the same. Both smiled at each other and at Castle. Discretely, Smith left them alone. "But I missed most of the excitement right after the shooting," said Kate. "The crew here has filled me in, but I'd like to hear it from you. What happened?"

"It gives new meaning to the word exciting. A word I'm not sure I ever want to hear again. The ambulance rushed you to the hospital, where they wheeled you through the emergency room and almost immediately into surgery. While we waited, I got a call from Jordan Shaw. Remember her?"

"Yes," said Kate, "Special Agent Jordan Shaw. But what does the FBI have to do with the shooting of a New York City cop?"

"Ah, that's the beauty of it. The shooting took place in a national cemetery. Roy was a veteran, remember? With the funeral there, the jurisdiction for the investigation goes to the cemetery police and the FBI.

"The doctors had already given me an optimistic update. It appeared that the bullet somehow missed everything vital and passed on through and out the back. With that good news, Agent Shaw and I discussed contingency plans and decided that, first, you were going to be OK, and second, that we'd tell most everyone you had died on the table. That gave us time to look for Lockwood and time for you to be safe.

"This was the logical place to set you up to recover, so with the help of the Feds, we moved you here and the rest you know."

"OK, Castle, but I know you. You wear your heart on your sleeve. How did you ever convince people I was truly dead? You're not that good of an actor."

"I'm crushed," he said with a smile. "We had to assume that everyone on your team would be under surveillance. To be convincing, I used a trick I learned in my psychology class in college. By repeating 'Kate is dead' to myself over and over again, I actually felt the grief. There was no acting involved. And would you please not ever do that to me again? It's not a place I want to revisit."

Kate smiled and hugged him again. "I'll do my best."

"Get some rest. Even a Wonder Woman like you will need time to recover. Hurry up, though. We have a case to solve. "

"Wonder Woman? You just want to imagine me in an eagle bustier and starry blue shorts."

Castle waggled his eyebrows and grinned at her. "You better believe it."