Shared Obsession Chapter 119
"Ryan, did you get anything on the Maitlands?" Kate queries as the detective puts down his phone.
"They're on a cruise. We're getting the ship's security to track them down."
"Sounds like that part of Mickey's story fits," Castle observes.
"Ryan, have them track faster," Kate urges. "We need permission to get into their apartment."
"Can't you get a warrant?" Castle asks.
"On the word of a possible murder suspect? Not exactly probable cause. But once we disprove Carlson's story, we'll be able to press charges for murder."
"So far, you're not disproving anything," Castle points out as Ryan walks away. "Mickey's tale is just crazy enough to be true. Why would he make up something about climbing equipment? Do liars usually give that level of irrelevant detail?"
"No, they don't," Kate says. "But the crescent scar things sounds like something straight out of a movie. Maybe the other stuff was too."
"Maybe," Castle allows as a message alert sounds from his cell phone. "Oh, it's from my friend the maître 'd. We're in for Drago tonight. No overreach of NYPD authority required."
Ryan strolls back over to Kate's desk with a self-satisfied grin. "Just heard from the Maitlands. We're free to enter. They're calling the super now."
"Stay out here, please, Sir," Ryan instructs the super.
"We'll check the back," Esposito volunteers.
Kate scans the living area. "Surprise, surprise. Nothing here to back up Mickey's story."
Castle points toward the wall. "Oh wow! Look at this."
"Did you find something?" Kate asks.
"It's an old-fashioned dumbwaiter. You don't see these around anymore. Genius. The Maitlands had it converted into a hidden stereo component cabinet. I bet they have an RF remote around here somewhere."
"Place is clear," Esposito announces. "No gun, no Ketamine, no mountain climbing equipment."
Castle reaches for the handle on a vintage ice box. "I wonder if the Maitlands converted this to modern refrigeration."
"What does it matter, Castle?" Kate asks. "Everything Mickey said about this place was pure imagination."
"We could at least check to see if we get a match to one of his fridge pictures," Castle says, pulling open the ice box's heavy door to reveal a body stuffed inside. "Ah, I did not expect that."
Kate moves in for a look. "A crescent-shaped scar."
Castle stares down at the body. "Looks like our Mickey wasn't taking us on a tour of Fantasyland after all."
Ryan clips a new photo to the murderboard. "His name is Anton Francis. Mr. Francis here, not one to waste such a sinister-looking scar, decided to round out the stereotype with a laundry list of criminal activities including fencing stolen property, a stickup, and a smash and grab."
"Do we have a time of death?" Kate asks.
"Yes, between one and four this morning," Ryan replies, "which rules out Mickey Carlson since he was our guest."
"So if Mickey was telling us the truth, then Doug and Mr. Francis clearly got more than they bargained for," Kate realizes.
"All by the murderous hand of their partner, the guy with the syringe. Our mysterious third man," Castle adds with a dramatic flourish."
"Let's get photos of all of Anton's known associates and former cellmates," Kate says. "If Mickey saw his face he should be able to ID him."
"On it," Ryan responds.
"So how does a man like Douglas Bishop with no criminal record get involved with hardened criminals?" Castle wonders.
"Simple," Esposito declares. "They needed him. It seemed convenient that the Maitlands were out of town when this went down. So I did some digging. Turns out the cruise they're on, they won it in a contest. Only there was no contest."
"A phony award letter?" Kate questions.
"Yeah." Esposito clips the document to the board. "When they got that and the tickets, they figured why look a gift horse in the mouth. And guess where the tickets came from."
"Doug Bishop's travel agency," Rick and Kate reply in synchrony.
"The letter says the cruise has to be this week," Castle notes. "Scarface and company wanted them out of that apartment for something time-dependent. But what were they planning?"
"And why the Maitlands?" Kate mulls.
"Aside from some truly charming pre-war architecture, we didn't see anything in that apartment worth stealing except the audio equipment," Castle recalls, and that's still there. But according to Mickey's story, Doug's co-conspirator was looking for a three million dollar payday."
"Maybe what they wanted wasn't in the Maitlands' apartment," Kate speculates. "Maybe it just provided access."
Castle bounces on the balls of his feet. "The audio equipment! The old dumbwaiter! The Maitlands live on the second floor. The shaft would run perpendicular to their apartment and whatever's below. In 'Gathering Storm,' I had Derrick climb up the dumbwaiter shaft to bypass the Czech assassin in order to save the Swiss Ambassador's daughter. Maybe our bad guys are using the dumbwaiter to bypass the security of whatever's below them."
Kate nods. "Which would explain the climbing gear. So what's under the Maitlands' apartment?"
Castle stares in confusion at the sign in the shop window. "A pet store? What would be worth three million dollars in a pet store?"
A small bell tinkles as Kate pushes the door open. "Let's find out."
"I have the largest selection of reptiles in the city," Noel du Preez says proudly into his phone. "They're my specialty. OK. Thank you. Bye-bye." Noel looks up at Kate and Castle as he ends the call. "Hey, how is it?" He spies Kate's badge. "Can I – can I help you?"
"Have anything here worth three million dollars?" Castle asks.
"There are some very expensive animals," Noel answers after a thoughtful pause. "Racing pigeons, for example, can cost in the millions. But I wouldn't carry anything like that here. I don't know who it would unsettle more, the birds or the snakes."
"Have you had anything stolen or noticed anything missing?" Kate questions, as Castle looks around the shop.
"No, nothing," Noel insists.
Castle points toward a back wall. "Beckett. The dumbwaiter's been opened recently."
Noel whirls to look. "It's been opened?"
"What's on the other side of that wall?" Kate queries.
"Twenty-eighth Street, Eastside Bank and Trust."
Rick and Kate lock gazes. "A bank heist."
"It looks like the plan was to cut into the wall to get to the bank vault on the other side," Kate reports to Montgomery. "We called the bank manager. But our guys never made it that far."
"What went wrong?" Montgomery asks.
"We don't know. It could have been greed or panic. It looks like our victim might have been betrayed by the remaining partner."
Montgomery shakes his head. "In the old days, you got the money before you killed your partner. Any leads on this, ah, third man?"
"No, we had our squatter look at pictures of Anton Francis' associates. He didn't find him."
"What if the connection isn't through Scarface, it's through Doug?" Castle wonders.
"The travel agent?" Montgomery queries. "I thought we went through his contacts."
"We did," Kate confirms, "his family, his friends, his co-workers."
"But not his clients," Castle realizes. He stares into empty air. "The third man books a trip through Doug. Doug starts talking and confides to him about his dream of owning a scuba shop. The third man senses an in. He tells Doug that he's planning an easy job. No one will get hurt and Doug can get the money he needs to make his dream come true. He convinces Doug to send out the letter and the tickets, but he knows all along the tickets can be traced back to Doug, not to him. As long as Doug is dead, the third man is invisible."
"But not invisible to Mickey," Kate notes. "We'll have to get the agency's client list for at least the last six months and run it."
Castle checks his watch. "Which you're not going to get done tonight. The agency should be closing soon and don't you have to get ready for that thing?"
"Yeah, that thing. Right. We can start combing through the agency's records in the morning."
Montgomery gives her a curious look. "Yeah, Beckett, go get ready for – whatever it is. A break helps keep the brain sharp."
"What time is our reservation at Drago?" Kate asks as she and Castle board the elevator.
"Eight-thirty. So we've both got time to change. What are you wearing?"
Kate throws him a saucy smile. It's a surprise."