After the Woods
Chapter 7
Trying to ignore the pain of the bullet graze, Castle used the boat's GPS to steer for the nearest island. The sun was rising as he approached, searching for a place he could tie up the boat. He found a dock at the foot of wooden steps leading up to what appeared to be a weather beaten but functioning hotel. Holding tightly to the rickety railing and his satchel, he gingerly made his way upward to the entrance of the building.
The clerk eyed Castle doubtfully, but accepted some of the cash Castle had pilfered from the lascivious black shirt and handed Castle a key. Supporting himself with a hand on the wall, Castle made it to his room and collapsed on the bed.
It was mid afternoon when Castle awoke. His first thought was of contacting Kate and his family, but he realized that there would be no stopping Kate from coming to the islands and going after Joshua. After all they'd been through, Castle couldn't live with idea of having her throw herself into the cross hairs again. He'd have to put himself a position to enforce his threat against Joshua. Before Kate, Alexis, or his mother could ever hear from him again, a plan would have to be in place.
Leaving the hotel for the seaside town, Castle found a close by tourist trap selling clothes. Castle was relieved to discover that the store clerk spoke English, as had the clerk at the hotel, and surmised that English was a necessary skill to take advantage of the tourist trade. Despite the nervous look on the clerk's face at the now dried blood on Castle's shirt, Castle's cash was accepted. Far from his usual style, he attempted to buy what would make him as inconspicuous as possible. Castle made a quick return to his room to clean up and change. By luck, or perhaps because Joshua had considered it a trophy, Castle's passport was in his satchel. With his passport as identification, Castle sought out a bank where he was able to transfer funds from his emergency account to arrange transportation. With enough cash, few questions were asked either for the charter of a boat to an island with a small airport, or for the charter of a plane. The overarching question was the plane's destination.
Castle called the one person for whom very few explanations would be required for Joshua's actions: Brian Pierce. Through occasional contact over the years, Castle was aware that Brian had relocated to Montreal. After some conversation, Brian instructed Castle to fly there.
They met in a building at 876 Rue Sebastien. "Brian, what is this place?" Castle asked.
"Rick," Brian explained, "I have a partnership here with some of my colleagues. It's an expansion and an improvement on the work I was doing when you worked with Dr. Milman after your first encounter with Joshua. We help people make fresh starts. Milman is here and he's made a lot of strides in the intervening years. We have a really good hacker to put together backgrounds and a couple of other partners. We do whatever is necessary to help people get on with their lives."
"Sounds like what I need," Castle responded. "The most important thing I need to do is protect Kate. If she gets into this, she'll never stop and she could end up dead, or with Joshua, worse than dead."
"How about your mother and daughter?" Brian asked.
"I don't want my daughter to know either. She was kidnapped herself less than two years ago. She's been through enough. She doesn't need this. My mother handled the situation with Joshua. I think she'd prefer to see that chapter closed forever. We might be able to drop her some kind of reassurance. I don't know."
"Look Rick, we can make you forget what happened, if that's what you want," Brian told him, "but from what you told me before you came, this is going to be a lot more complicated than that. Your disappearance has been splashed across the papers and the web. You are going to need a pretty substantial cover story. Also to do something that severe to your memory, there are some real risks. Dr. Milman will explain those to you."
"If I remember the good doctor, he'll do that in excruciating detail," Castle joked.
Brian laughed. "That hasn't changed, but the risks being what they are, you'll probably want to set up a fail safe, messages for your family and for your fiancée in case things go really wrong."
"What do you mean 'really wrong?'" Castle asked.
"Rick," Brian said solemnly, "you could die."
Castle drew a deep breath, covering his face with his hands. "That's better than Kate or my family dying," he answered. "Let's do it."
"You'll be making videos for Kate, for Alexis, and for your mother," Brian told Castle. "Are you sure you want to do that now? You look like hell."
"If I'm dead when they get them, it'll make them more convincing," Castle considered. "We might as well."
Brian led Castle to room with a video camera. Castle prepared his first message for Alexis. Scrubbing his hands over eyes that threatened to overflow, he began. "Alexis, if you are watching this, I am probably dead. I wish I could explain. I never meant to leave you or Gram or Kate like this. Believe me, it was not my choice. Just know that I have loved you from the moment you were born and I love you now. My desperate wish is that you put this behind you and have a great life."
For Martha, Castle could leave only the most subtle of clues. "Mother, if you are watching this, I am probably dead. We both know that some things are best forgotten. I hope that you can move on from whatever has happened and help Alexis and Kate to put it behind them. I love you."
Kate was the most difficult. Castle took a few moments to try to compose himself, but still on the ragged edge, recorded his final message. "Kate, if you're seeing this … well, if you're seeing this, I'm probably dead. I want you to know, I never intended to leave you, not like this, not on our wedding day, but I – it wasn't my choice. I wish I could tell you what's going on, I wish I could explain … but just know that I love you. I've always loved you. Always."
"Rick," Brian suggested softly. "Let's get you a decent room. You can get some rest and we'll meet in the morning to take care of these."
Bone tired in every part of his being, Castle agreed.