Shared Obsession Chapter 120
Rick's mouth drops open when Kate emerges from their bedroom in a red dress that hugs every curve but offers the tease of one covered shoulder. She's paired it with shiny black spike heels and a matching clutch purse, just big enough to accommodate her gun and badge. "If you don't want to attract attention, that's not the way to do it. You've certainly got mine," he says.
She kisses him lightly on the lips, with tricks learned during a very brief stint as a model enabling her to keep her lipstick intact. "I looked at some social media postings from Drago. All the women looked like they asked their stylists to glam them up. I'd attract more attention by dressing down. I'd also look pretty stupid next to you. You do clean up nice, Castle."
"Every guy looks good in a tux," he replies. "Why do you think a certain British spy always seems to have an excuse to wear one? Castle, Richard Castle." He offers his arm. "Shall we go?"
A limo waits outside the loft building. "I thought," Rick explains as the driver opens the door to the back seat for Kate, "that we shouldn't have to worry if we want to take advantage of Drago's wine list."
"We could have always taken a cab," Kate says.
"Cab drivers talk," Castle replies. "How many times have you used them as sources?"
"A lot," Kate admits.
"Well, this limo service specializes in toting around celebrities, the big ones who have to keep their identities secret to avoid getting mobbed. Its business depends on drivers who can keep their mouths shut. I'm hardly in the category of their usual clients, but the rules still apply."
Kate climbs in. "As long as this one gets us there in one piece."
Kate surveys the waiting area at Drago, spotting several faces she recognizes immediately. But the star power is left behind as a smiling maître d' beckons her and Castle to follow him to a table. Castle discreetly presses a large bill into his palm and pulls out a chair for Kate.
"You are going all out," she says, as she takes the seat Rick offers.
He takes the spot across from her. "You'd think in a place like this, the chairs would be more comfortable. It must be the management's way of encouraging quicker turnover."
"It's fine," Kate says, picking up a card with the night's culinary offerings. "This says everything is made to order."
"Most fine dining does that Kate. Although sometimes they'll have things that would take a while partially cooked and waiting for a final fire, so they can get them out quickly. But usually, when a restaurant touts something like that, it's to encourage you to order drinks and appetizers, or in the case of this place, amuse-bouches, while you wait. But you're better at amusing my bouche – and various other parts of me – than anyone I've ever known." Heat rises in Kate's face. "However," he continues, "the figs with bacon and chili do look lovely."
"To you, anything with bacon looks lovely," Kate teases.
"Too true." He picks up the wine list and studies the entries. "So, do you want to try a fine vintage before dinner?"
"Huh?"
"Castle to Beckett. Where were you?"
"The pet store. If Doug Bishop's murderer was trying to get into the bank, why weren't there any signs of it? I mean the dumbwaiter was open. Someone came down. But then what?"
"Scared off by a siren maybe?" Castle suggests.
"After killing someone to get that far?" Kate questions. "The Maitlands would have been gone all week. The robbers could have come back to finish the job later."
"And as Montgomery said, it makes no sense to kill Scarface before getting the money. Unless money wasn't what they were after. And Mickey didn't see anything that would be the right equipment to rob a bank. Maybe the bank wasn't the target."
"Maybe it really did have something to do with the pet store," Kate suggests.
"In which case du Preez might have been lying when he said nothing was stolen. Other than the obvious South African accent, what do we know about him?"
"Nothing," Kate admits. "Karpowski's on tonight. I'm going to get her to run his background."
Rick takes the last bite of his petite filet. "When the menu said petite, it wasn't kidding. I think this must have come from a pygmy cow. How's your salmon?"
"Very good, what there is of it."
"Mmm, you want to order another entrée?" Rick asks. "I saw the dessert tray go by and it looks like the pastry chef is also into miniaturization."
"Maybe," Kate considers. "But we should be hearing from Karpowski any …." Kate's cell phone buzzes. "There she is." She signals Castle to follow her to the restroom area where she can put the phone on speaker.
"Du Preez came up clean," Karpowski reports.
"How about the last couple of days? Any unusual shipments?" Kate asks.
"The day before yesterday, customs had him taking possession of half a dozen African Gray parrots, two baboon spiders, and two black-tailed pythons, all from South Africa."
"Hmm, he lied about not taking birds, unless he delivered them straight to buyers," Castle muses. "Wait, did you say black-tailed pythons from South Africa?"
"Yeah," Karpowski confirms. "What about them?"
"Those snakes aren't indigenous to the area. Why would they be coming from South Africa?" Castle wonders.
"How do you know where the snakes live?" Kate asks after hanging up with Karpowski.
"Because when I did a quick lookup on Drago –too quick, I missed the portion sizes – I found out it means dragon or serpent. There was a link to an article about snakes and with the pet store…. Anyway, there were a few fun facts about our scaly friends. For one thing, unlike Drago's customers, they swallow huge amounts of food. Then they digest it very slowly."
"Which makes them perfect for smuggling," Kate realizes.
"And it wouldn't be the first time. There are two things abundant in South Africa, diamonds and racial hatred."
"And Mickey said there were millions at stake," Kate recalls. "With diamonds, you can put a lot of value into a very small package."
"Like a petite filet," Castle says. "Ketamine is used as an animal tranquilizer. It would help them get the snakes up the dumbwaiter shaft without a fight."
"And du Preez would be afraid to report the theft because it would expose him as a smuggler. But if we find out who robbed him…."
"We find the third man," Castle concludes.
"I'll get some unis to pick up du Preez," Kate says. "We need to question him ASAP. And I can get Ryan and Esposito back in to meet us at the store."
"I'd ask for doggy bags," Rick says, "but they'd be empty."
"Yeah, let's go."
Ryan is standing in front of the pet store when Kate and Castle arrive. "Is the owner in custody?" she inquires.
"His wife said he was working here late," Ryan reports, "but the place looks closed."
Kate pulls her gun out of her purse and hands the clutch to Castle to tuck into his coat. "All right, follow me."
"Ready, let's go," Esposito says. "Room all clear."
"Here too," Ryan calls out.
"NYPD," Kate shouts.
"Drop it!" Ryan orders a gun-wielding du Preez.
"NYPD," Kate repeats. "Get on the ground."
"I didn't know you were the police," du Preez claims as he complies.
"I didn't know you were the police," Du Preez repeats in the box. "I have a right to defend my store."
"Defend it from whom, Mr. du Preez?" Kate asks. "According to customs you took possession of two black-tailed pythons."
"Which is not a crime," Du Preez insists.
"No, but black-tailed pythons are native to India, so why ship them from South Africa?" Castle asks.
"My suppliers are there. There's nothing illegal about my business," du Preez claims.
"So where are the snakes?" Castle asks.
"They weren't in the store and we didn't find any invoices indicating they'd been sold," Kate adds.
"You know what we did find?" Castle queries. "A color grader, a UV lamp, and a carat weight scale."
"I want a lawyer," du Preez demands.
"Fine," Kate agrees. "Good luck getting one in at this hour. However, we do have accommodations where you can wait until your counsel arrives."
"Want to go back to the loft until morning?" Castle asks after du Preez is led to Holding.
"What have we got in the fridge?" Kate asks. "I'm still starving."
"Then how about a trip to Remy's?" Castle proposes.
Kate closes her eyes. "Mmm, those burgers, fries and I'd love a shake."
Castle offers his arm. "Then Remy's it is."
Ryan gazes after the departing couple. "So Castle and Beckett both show up at the crime scene in a limo and dressed like they're going to a premier or something. What's up with that?"
"Never mind how they were dressed. She handed him her purse. No woman in NY does that to a guy unless they're married – or seriously hooked up," Esposito asserts. "Those two are together."
Ryan grins. "It's about time."