Double Birthday Bash
An AU story in the "Becks" universe where it's decided that Kate and Becks should combine their birthdays into one special party. But who can guess what might happen.
A/N: Since my current story is bogged down in plot problems I thought I'd throw together a fun short to remind the gentle readers that I'm still alive (sort of)
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CHAPTER ONE
Kate Beckett-Castle had just finished wrapping her hair into a tight bun at the back of her neck. She wanted to make sure that she would project the proper serious tone in her lecture that was scheduled for this afternoon's class.
She frowned at the extra lines on her forehead and at the corners of her eyes that she swore weren't there yesterday. She quickly used another swipe of make up to hide what could only be described as her age becoming more and more obvious.
It's not that Kate was vain and overly worried about her age, but it was a little annoying that her husband was ten years older than she was and still looked as handsome as he had when they'd first really met. Actually, he looked better. Being a 'ruggedly handsome man' his aging just gave him more character as the years went by, whereas a woman just got older. There was no character in her extra wrinkles, just a blaring signboard screaming 'getting old' for all to see.
She sighed and shrugged her shoulders. It wasn't like she was worried about what a room full of police cadets thought of her personally. As long as they listened, she would be satisfied.
Captain Katherine "Kate" Beckett-Castle had retired from active duty running the 12th precinct that had been her home for all of her former life as a cop. But once she and Rick had their little girl Lily, she left full time employment and had made a deal with the NYPD to utilize her years of impeccable service and experience by giving occasional lectures to the next generation of New York's finest.
Kate, deciding that she didn't care if all the cadets saw an old woman standing in front of them, walked away from the mirror and grabbed her uniform jacket and her large folder where she kept her hand outs, and notes.
"Babe?" Kate called out as she left the bedroom and moved toward the handsome man standing in the kitchen. "Did you have a chance to look over my presentation?"
He turned and gave her an emphatic kiss when she came up to him. He grinned.
"Yes I did, and even though a lot of what you will say is couched in police terminology, I found it easy to follow, and to the point." He smirked. "But…"
"But?" She frowned and looked at the papers in her hand. "What buts?"
He put an arm around her and gave her a hug. "It's nothing about the information that you were imparting to your audience. I just thought that it was a little dry. It you are going to keep the cadets attention for as long as it will take to get through all that information, you are going to need to occasionally lighten the mood. Give them a, sort of break, in the serious nature of your presentation."
She glared at him. "This is a serious topic. Something I'm trying to teach them to be aware of. I'm not trying to have them laughing through my lecture."
Rick steered her over to the island where he already had a plate of scrambled eggs and hash browns waiting for her.
"All I'm saying is, occasionally you have to change the mood for a few moments. That will allow them to take a breath and be able to refocus on what you have to say." He kissed her on the head. "I jotted down a few things that you could use to lighten the mood occasionally."
Kate still frowned, but knew that he had point. She remembered too many of those lectures which could give dust devils a run for their money when it came to dryness. She reached for her cup of coffee first of course, then looked at what was waiting for her on her plate.
After breakfast, and a quick visit upstairs to check on Lily, Kate came down and flopped down on the couch. She looked exhausted and she hadn't even started her part time work teaching at the academy.
Rick came over and dropped down next to her. He put his arm around her shoulders and she lowered her head to his shoulder.
"Am I a bad mother? Lily is not even a year old and I'm already running off to start a new job."
Rick laughed. Kate glared at him.
He managed to calm his chuckles. "No, I don't think it's anything like that." He gave her another squeeze. "I think it's actually more the opposite."
She frowned. "What do you mean?"
"I think that you are afraid of this new job, and am using mother abandonment as a convenient excuse."
"Why would I do that? You've got plenty of money…"
"We've got plenty of money."
She rolled her eyes. "Fine, we've got plenty of money. So if I'm afraid to do this job, why did I take it in the first place?"
"Because that's who you are."
She frowned again. "Try to make sense."
Castle pulled his arm back and sighed as he leaned against the back of the couch. "Okay, when you lost your mother your father lost himself in a bottle, and you were left without any purpose. You pulled out of Stanford and needed to find a purpose. So you decided on a dual purpose. First you wanted to find out what really happened to your mother, but also you wanted to do what you could so that someone else would never have to suffer what you had to."
He shifted his position on the couch so he was facing her. "Even though you have finally solved your mother's murder and have gained some sort of peace, you found that doing the same for others who couldn't for themselves to be a rich and rewarding vocation."
She stared into his eyes. "So, then why would I be afraid to continue to work."
He leaned over and kissed her cheek. "Because now Lily is in the picture, and you know that daughters need their mothers so you see any kind of voluntary separation from your child as being a bad mother."
Kate rolled her eyes and shook her head. "So what am I to do Dr. Freud?"
Rick chuckled. "Trust your husband. And trust your support system. Do you honestly think that either of us would ever leave Lily without supervision or protection? Between you and I, my mother or your father, Alexis on occasion, even Becks probably wouldn't mind playing mommy for her in a pinch." He put his finger under her chin and turned her face toward him. "And as she gets older, there will be others in our lives whom we can trust."
Kate clenched her fists. "I guess I got used to not going to work because of the baby, and now it feels like I'm leaving her behind so I can go back to work."
Rick shook his head. "Look Kate, I know you loved working for the NYPD. I enjoyed working with you and the boys for all those years too. But you don't have to feel guilty. The situation isn't like before. You will devise teaching methods and curriculum based on your years of exemplary service. Curriculum which can be constructed here at home. And then, you will be needed what, four or five times a month to present a lecture on some of those methods that need a more direct explanation and clarification."
Castle helped Kate up to her feet. "That doesn't sound like someone who is abandoning her child. It's just someone who is finding a way to be both a good mother, and someone who still wants to serve the people of New York like you have for years."
She couldn't help but laugh herself. "Wow, you sure know how to sling it. Do you know that? Someone might think you're a writer or something."
He gave her a quick kiss. "Yeah, but you can't resist me anyway."
She smirked. "I'm working on that, but I admit that I haven't been able to quite resist you yet." She bent over and grabbed her valise from the coffee table. "I'll look over your mood easing funny comments before the lecture and decide if I'll use any of them, or I'd rather not have the cadets think I'm auditioning for an open stage at the Comedy Cellar."
Kate was slipping on her coat when Rick approached her somewhat gingerly.
"Say I didn't want to forget to mention this, but it's going to be your birthday next week."
She raised a brow. "I just finish mentioning an audition for a comedy club and the first thing that comes to your mind is my birthday?"
Rick shrugged. "Amazing isn't it? I've always been able to multi-task." He grinned. "But to the point, do you have any preference as to how we celebrate?"
She should have known this was coming. Kate was not someone who liked to draw a lot of attention to herself. And birthday celebrations were some of the worst. Everyone congratulating you, like you had any choice about growing older. Then there were all the 'friends' who had to gush over how well you looked for your age, and the other 'friends' who would be sure to remind you how many years had gone by.
She took a deep breath. "Can we keep it to just us? I don't know if I could take a lot of so-called well-wishers."
Rick pursed his lips. "Well, mother and your dad would be hurt if they weren't invited to some sort of party, or at least a dinner. And while Alexis might be too busy with her graduate studies to come, she would feel bad if not invited."
Kate sighed. "Yeah, I know. But I'm just not really in the mood for all the "birthday" jokes." She formed quotes with her fingers.
He paced back and forth. "Actually, I've been thinking about something a bit different."
Kate's facial expression blanked as she walked over and sat back down on the couch.
"Tell me."
Rick's face suddenly lit up with excitement. Kate got worried.
"When I noticed it was getting close to your birthday I couldn't help but think about Becks."
Kate dropped her head. She immediately felt bad because Becks had been in their timeline for quite a while now, yet she never even gave it a thought that her "cousin" would have the same birthday that she had because she was actually another dimensional version of herself.
Kate nodded. "I'm ashamed to say that it never really crossed my mind. I guess I've conditioned myself to think of her as a completely different person rather than a different version of myself."
He shrugged. "Well, being the Beckett that she is, she would never have mentioned it, or tell anyone about it."
"No, you're right. I never wanted to let people know when my birthday was because I didn't like all the teasing that came with the age jokes, even when you were in your later twenties." Kate sighed. "So what is your idea? I doubt if Becks would like having people badgering her about how old she is, and I certainly don't want to deal with the jokes."
Rick shook his head. "No, nothing like that. I was thinking just a nice dinner here, just family and us and Becks and Charlie."
Kate chewed her fingernail. "So we're talking about a dinner party with dad, Martha, Alexis and her roommate Kari. And we invite Becks and Charlie."
He nodded. "Yeah, it will be a pleasant celebration of two birthdays."
She shook her head. "But how do we make it for two birthdays. You weren't thinking of telling everyone that Becks has the same birthday because she is a ten year younger version of me?"
Rick chuckled. "Well, your father already knows because we needed him to help lay the family connection. But Mother and Alexis never knew Becks as anyone but your cousin, so we can just make up a story about Becks having a birthday one or two days from yours. That would be enough to justify a single party for both."
Kate nodded. "And that way we'd only be lying to Martha, Alexis, Kari, and Charlie." Kate frowned. "I know that Charlie can be kind of overly courteous and proper. Would he think it unusual to be invited to a family birthday celebration?"
"While Charlie comes off kind of shy and such. From what I've seen when I'm at the P.I. office, and what gossip I get from Joanne, they are getting pretty close." He chuckled. "Our nosey receptionist believes that they spend a lot of time at each other's places."
They both had a good laugh over that.
Kate stood up again. "I've got to get going. If you want to arrange something like you just mentioned to celebrate the two birthdays, then I don't see any problem with it. From the guest list you proposed, you'd be the one who'd have to watch his manners the most." She grinned.
Rick rolled his eyes. "Real nice." He pulled her in for a long tender kiss. Her walk was a little wobbly as she moved toward the front door.
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Rebecca, 'call me Becks' Beckett was sitting at her desk at RCI, Richard Castle Investigations. She was the primary investigator, and in charge of the day to day operation of the company.
They were a small operation with just her, her computer data researcher and part time investigator Charlie, and Joanne, the congenial receptionist and book keeper.
They were fairly exclusive and picky when it came to the kind of cases they took. There were no particular types of cases that they specialized in, but instead they based their taking a case strictly on merits of the case and the people they'd be working for. They favored helping people in need rather than big corporations trying to recover some lost revenue.
Since RCI was owned by Richard Castle there was never a push to take a case "for the money". Since Castle never opened the agency to make him money, there was never any pressure to make a huge profit. Fees were variable depending on the client's ability to pay.
Not that they were a charitable operation. They charged reasonable fees based on what they would have to do, but also the client's ability to pay was taken into consideration. Rick was already a rich man due to his being a successful best-selling author, so at the worst, bad cases were tax write offs. He never intended RCI be a money maker.
Suddenly Becks could hear talking out in the outer lobby. Joanne was talking with someone, but it didn't sound like the typical exchange that she would have with a new potential client. There was definitely some giggling going on and Becks didn't expect that from a client in need.
She was just about to get up from her desk and go out and see who might be out there talking to Joanne, when the answer came through her door.
Rick strode confidently into her office jiggling a giggling little girl in his arms. Becks jumped out of her seat and came around the desk indicating to him that he should sit in one of the upholstered side chairs. He did so and she followed in the chair next to him.
Of course she gave her attention to Lily Jo first.
"My goodness aren't you getting big sweetie." She tickled the baby under her chin. She giggled and gurgled as Lily tried to capture Beck's finger that stroked the child's plump cheek.
Becks looked up at her boss and raised a brow. "What brings you here with such a cute package in your arms?"
Rick chuckled. "Well, today was the day that Kate starts her part time lecturing at the Police Academy so daddy has Lily duty today."
Becks answered his laugh. "I'm sure that Kate hadn't figured that once she was gone, you'd grab the kid and wander around New York."
Castle smirked. "They're never too young to get acquainted with the wonders of the city." He grinned. "But I did have another reason for coming by."
She pursed her lips. "I knew this was coming." She almost cracked a smile when she saw the furrowed brow. "You've come here to fire me because we haven't had a new case in nearly a week."
He chuckled. "Not a big deal, we'll just write it off. Overhead is always a pain in New York."
Becks continued playing with Lily's pudgy little fingers. "So you haven't come here to fire me?" He shook his head. "Darn." She laughed which got Lily to giggle along with her.
"Actually I came by for another reason." Rick reached out and pulled a thumb out of Lily's mouth and quickly inserted a teething ring in its place.
Becks smirked at him. "And what would that be?"
He took a breath. "I talked about this with Kate, and I'd like to throw the two of you a nice family birthday dinner next week."
She leaned back in the chair. "A birthday party for both of us? How are you going to justify that? I don't think anyone will buy into the cosmic coincidence of us having the same birthday."
"We'll just say that your birthday is just a day or two different so we just decided to double up on the party." He smiled at her. "Look Becks, no matter how you came into our lives, you are still family in our minds. Let's face it, you are closer to Kate than any sister could be. So why not celebrate both birthdays."
Becks raised her brow. "And this isn't just an excuse to throw a bigger party?"
Rick grinned. "Of course it is, but what's wrong with that? It won't be all that big. Just a nice dinner at the loft. Mother, and Jim, and Alexis and her roommate if they can get away from their studies for a night. And you and Charlie. Come on, it will be fun."
Becks shook her head slowly. "How long have you been with Kate and you don't know she doesn't like birthdays?"
He rolled his eyes. "Oh I know, believe me I know. But I've worn her down somewhat over the years and she's gotten more accepting of the necessity of a party."
Now it was Becks who rolled her eyes. "Now I know you are lying to me."
He held up one hand. "No really, she's not always thrilled about the idea at first, but she pretty much always has a good time when we do."
Becks shrugged. "So have a nice dinner party for your wife. Why would you want to include me? I'm just the cousin. Cousins don't get invited to close family birthday dinners."
He shook his head. "Because you are family. Let's face it. How could anyone be closer to Kate than you? Because you were stranded here doesn't mean that you don't belong. You are a Kate Beckett and it's you're birthday too so you should get the opportunity to celebrate with those who love you."
He held up his hand when she looked like she was going to say something.
"And don't even go there. As far as anyone I've mentioned is concerned, you are part of the family."
She stared at her hands for a bit. "And you want me to bring Charlie? We're just co-workers. Wouldn't the rest think it strange to have someone who isn't family at this party?"
Rick shrugged again. "Well, I'm going to tell Alexis to bring Kari."
Becks frowned. "Yeah, but Kari's her roommate and partner."
He chuckled. "I hate to break the news to you sweetheart, but Joanne would make a very good investigator. She hears things and is very good at putting two and two together."
Becks face blushed a lovely color pink.
Rick laughed out loud. "Go ahead an invite him. We'd all love to see him, and get a chance to grill him as to his intentions toward our favorite cousin."
Her mouth turned down and her eyes squinted nearly shut. "Don't even think about giving Charlie any trouble. The minute I hear anything that remotely sounds like hazing, we're leaving."
Rick had a big smile on his face as he stood. "Good, I guess that means that I can expect both of you at the dinner." He smirked at her glare. "I'm thinking of Thursday since that is the actual date, but I'll send out an actual invitation."
He gave Lily a little bounce and took her little hand. "Wave goodbye to Auntie Becks." He waved her hand.
Becks stood up. "So that's what I am, her auntie?"
Rick grinned. "Close enough."
Becks gave Lily a kiss on her hand. "Bye bye sweetie. Help your daddy find his way home."
She laughed as Rick just shook his head and left her office. She stood there and wondered if this birthday thing was a good idea. Only Jim, Rick, Kate, and that investigative journalist Sue Thomas knew who she really was. It's not like most people would believe it. But now, the circle could be getting larger. Charlie wasn't a part of the Castle or Beckett clan, but he was important to her.
Things were beginning to get much more complicated.
She got up from the chair she'd been sitting in. No time like the present she thought and stepped out of her office and headed for Charlie's.
When she got to his door she had to smile when she saw him. He had that 'look' on his face. The one he always had when he was hunting for data and information. He was staring at his monitor screen and was tapping the eraser end of a pencil against his desk top. That let her know that his attention was fully engaged by what he was looking at.
Becks almost turned around and left him to his task.
But as fate would have it, he chose that moment to glance up and notice her standing in his doorway.
"Hey Becks, what's up? Did we get a new case?"
She shook her head, her chin length locks brushing her cheeks. "No, nothing like that. Rick was just here with Lily. You just missed him."
"Oh, I'm sorry. I didn't hear them. I was tracking down some information on that fellow that was in here yesterday."
It took Becks a moment to recall who Charlie was talking about. "Do you mean Arlo Jefferson?"
He nodded. "Yeah, there was just something about him that didn't feel right."
"I'm sorry." She grimaced. "I forgot to tell you that I turned down his case. I felt there was something about him that didn't feel right either so I told him we couldn't take his case."
"Oh," he said as he crumpled up a piece of paper in front of him.
"I'm sorry I didn't tell you right away." She frowned. "I had no idea that you were already looking into him."
He shrugged and smiled at her. "No harm, I wasn't all that busy anyway." He noticed the unsure look on her face. "So, what's up? You look a bit confused."
She walked over and sat in his side chair. "It's not so much confused as it is unsure."
He gave her a comforting smile. "So tell me what's up?" He opened his arms. "Unburden yourself. I'm always here."
She couldn't help but smile. "Yes you are. And that's the way I like it." She rearranged herself in the chair. "Rick was just here to tell me that he is planning a birthday dinner party for Kate next Thursday."
Charlie leaned back in his chair. "Sounds nice, why the strange look on your face?"
"He wants to make it a double celebration. A double birthday party, for Kate… and me."
He grinned. "That sounds really nice. Are your birthdays close?" He smirked. "Barring the extra decade between them."
Becks glared at him and swatted him on the arm. But it did bring back what Rick had said when she asked about it. He'd said they would just say they would have a combined party because the dates of their birthdays were close. Though he never told her what dates he was going to use. How could she avoid telling Charlie what the real date was? Knowing him, he'd like to know so he could surprise her with some little gesture."
She pursed her lips and stared at him for several moments. She could tell it unnerved him. But she couldn't stop the thoughts swirling through her mind. They'd been close, really close for several months now. She liked him, she really liked him. No, that wasn't really true. At least admit it to yourself, Becks. You loved him. And if they were ever to have any real chance long term then they couldn't have this secret between them.
Becks almost shut down right there. What she was thinking was a big step. A real big step.
It brought forth uncertainty, and fear. What if he laughed at her, and dismissed her story as just that… a story? Or worse, he believed her but couldn't deal with the idea that she was a version of Kate from a different dimensional realm. He might walk away thinking she was some sort of freak, or just crazy.
Suddenly there was a warm hand on her arm. "Hey, earth to Becks, what has you so lost in your own head." He had a concerned look on his face. "Is there something about this birthday party you aren't telling me?"
She couldn't help herself. She started laughing. "Oh you have no idea how much I'm holding back."
He slid his hand down to her hand and gave it a squeeze. "So tell me."
Becks dropped her head and bit down on her bottom lip. "I'm afraid of what you might think."
He shook his head. "I don't understand."
She chuckled. "Oh, that's a given." She straightened in the chair and took a deep breath. "You see, I'm not really from around here."
Charlie nodded. "I know. You mentioned you were born and raised out west."
She shook her head. "That was just a story. I'm really not from around here."
He chuckled. "Oh, are you going to tell me you are some body-snatching alien who has come to our planet to pave the way for a future invasion?"
She clenched her hands in her lap. "That might be more believable."
He spread his hands out. "Just tell me what you need to tell me. I'll believe you."
"You promise?"
He smiled his goofy Charlie smile. "I promise, cross my heart and hope to…"
"Don't say that!"
For Charlie, it finally sank in. Becks was really upset about this and being flippant wasn't going to make it any easier. Whatever she was rambling on about really had her worried. Worried that he might find it, unbelievable. He needed to reassure her.
"Becks, you can tell me anything and I'll believe you."
"What if it's unbelievable?"
"I will still believe it."
"Why?"
He smiled. "Because you told me, and I know I can trust you."
Becks had to wipe some tears from her eyes before she could continue.
She took another deep breath. "Okay, I was born Katherine Houghton Beckett." She held up her hand to stop him from saying anything.
"A couple of years ago something very strange and terrifying happened to me. I was leaving the precinct, where I was a homicide detective grade one. I stepped into the elevator and pushed the down button. Suddenly there was a bright flash of light and then the doors stopped before closing, a couple seconds later they closed. I had assumed it was just the old elevator acting up and I hoped it wouldn't break down while I was in it."
She took another breath. "Then it started up again but it felt like it was going way too fast and I was worried that I'd find myself smashed into jelly at the basement level. But then the elevator came to a stop and the doors opened. I was still on the fourth floor. I quickly got out and decided that taking the stairs would be a more logical action."
She looked up into his eyes. Becks didn't recognize any loss of attention on his face.
"So, I won't go into the confusing and terrifying hours that I spent trying to get home to an apartment that apparently wasn't there anymore and a landlord I'd never met. I wandered the streets of New York being at once comforted by familiar places and sites only to be unnerved when I came across places that weren't as I remembered."
She let her head drop again, staring at her hands as she spoke. "I didn't know what to do, when I recognized the neighborhood I'd managed to wind up in. I was in Castle's neighborhood. Being the only thing I could think of, I went in and knocked on his door."
She shook her head. "I didn't know what was happening to me. The man looked just like the Rick Castle I'd known for a few months, but he looked older, like years older. To say he was surprised would have been an understatement, given what happened next."
Charlie couldn't help himself, this story was just too good. "What happened?"
Becks chuckled weakly. "At that precise moment a tall brunette with long wavy hair flowing over her shoulders and down her back entered the room."
Charlie bit his lip. "I'm guessing that was Mrs. Castle?"
Becks nodded. "Oh yeah, it was Mrs. Kate Beckett-Castle in the flesh… in a lot of flesh. She was also very pregnant."
Charlie just gaped at her. "So what did you do?"
"I did exactly what you'd think I'd do. I freaked out. You see, I got up that morning and it was the year of our lord 2009. But when I crashed Castle's loft, I was told it was 2019. What would you have done?"
He nodded. "Yeah, freaking out would seem like the most reasonable response."
Becks clasped her hands tightly in front of her. "Now obviously there is a lot more to this story, but that can wait for another time. What I'm telling you now is… I'm a Kate Beckett from some other parallel dimension, or wherever. It was assumed to the best guess of any of the scientist types that we conferred with that they was no way home."
Charlie just kept shaking his head back and forth. "So… so how did you wind up as Kate's cousin?"
"I'm sure you've heard at some time from one of us, that 'Rick knows a guy'." He nodded. "Well that's no understatement. With Jim Beckett's help and cooperation, and Rick's connections in high places. I was given this identity of Rebecca Beckett, kind of like the witness protection program does. And was officially adopted into the Beckett clan. And considering how this could have turned out, I'm eternally grateful for all their help and friendship."
She reached over and grabbed his hand. "So that's my story, do you want to run screaming out the door to get away from the crazy lady?"
He chuckled. "First off, you already know that I'm a sci-fi fan so I find this story really amazing and really cool. I'm sorry this had to happen to you, but for my sake I'm really glad that it did."
Becks stared at him with her mouth open. "You believe me, just like that? It's a crazy story, but you never even blinked as I told you."
He shrugged. "I've only met you less than a year ago, but we've spent a lot of time together for the last several months and I've never had cause to believe that you'd lie to me. Even something as incredible as this, you wouldn't lie to me about it… would you?"
Becks had tears in her eyes again. "No," was all she could choke out."
He reached out and took both of her hands in his. They engulfed hers and made her hands feel small, but protected.
"So when is this party anyway?"
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Arlo Jefferson paced back and forth on the thread bare rug that covered much of the floor in his one room apartment. His poor excuse for a living space was located in a rundown building sandwiched between similar rundown buildings.
He muttered to himself as he continued to pace. He was angry. How dare that stuck up woman turn down his case. He promised a share of the money once they found it. He felt that was more than a generous offer. There was no way he could pay a retainer up front, but he was offering them a lot more than their normal rates once they found that hidden money.
Yes, he was aware that found money that hadn't been recovered from a crime wasn't technically fair game to anyone who found it. The legal statutes of New York didn't abide by "Finders Keepers, Losers Weepers" as a legitimate argument for possession of stolen cash. But who would ever know?
He had stumbled upon a down in his luck drunk, Bernie, at a local bar a few weeks back and after buying the poor sot a drink the grateful drunk told him a very interesting tale.
Apparently he'd acted as a wheel man for a bank heist that took place nearly a year ago. The Third National Bank of The Bronx was scheduled to receive a large infusion of cash for their biggest corporate client. Something about needed cash for an overseas transaction coming up a day later.
It was going to be an inside job, but that morning their getaway driver suffered a heart attack and was hospitalized. The crew had everything planned, but suddenly they didn't have a driver.
One of the guys had known Bernie from seeing him at the local bar frequently. As was typical Bernie was found at his favorite watering hole just a few hours just before the planned hijacking.
It didn't take much to convince Bernie to help out. So he was sitting in the driver's seat of a large sedan a half a block up from the Bank. He had no idea how they managed to steal the bags of cash, but the three men came running out of the bank and jumped into the car.
As told, Bernie sped away and headed for Brooklyn. Long story short, he followed their directions and soon arrived at an abandoned warehouse.
The guy who recruited Bernie pulled out a handful of cash and handed it over to Bernie, and told him to take off and ditch the car. And that was all he was supposed to do. And for the seven hundred bucks they gave him… he did it.
Bernie may be a down on his luck drunk much of the time, but he used his ill-gotten gains to enjoy the next several weeks at several of the nicer bars around town. But like anyone who appreciated drinking more than working for a living had all the money spent in weeks and his life went back to his normal.
Arlo just happened to be in a bar where Bernie was spending his disability check on his favorite pastime. As he was wont to do on occasion when he'd had a few more than he should have, the stories of his grand adventure driving the getaway car would come out. Most of the patrons, especially those who knew him ignored him, but Arlo found his stories interesting.
After spending several days sharing stool space with Bernie Arlo was ready to make his move. At first he'd ignored Bernie's boasting, but something he'd said had triggered a memory of seeing that particular heist in the papers. Something like four hundred thousand dollars was stolen. The culprits had been captured, but were only caught with a small amount of the cash. There was supposedly nearly four hundred thousand dollars that never had been recovered.
Arlo had listened to Bernie's stories over and over again, until he was sure he'd gotten all he could from the man's soggy brain. Now was the time to cash in. But he needed people with the right credentials and skill set if he was going to have any real chance at finding the loot.
Bernie had never been one to remember things like addresses and street names, so he was going to need help locating the stash that wasn't found when the thieves were caught.
He chose Richard Castle Investigations because it was a small operation but had a good reputation. He came up with the idea that he worked for a family whose patriarch suffered from dementia. Apparently he thought it would be funny to make a game out of finding his wealth. He supposedly hid it somewhere in New York and Arlo made up a list of "clues" based on what he'd learned from Bernie.
But the woman that ran RCI decided that it wasn't the kind of case that they would be interested in. When she turned him down he panicked slightly and must've come off too desperate. He got the impression that she didn't seem to trust him.
He took the old revolver that had once belonged to his dad from the drawer in the small rickety table under the only window in the place. He flipped open the cylinder open and gave it a spin, then flipped it shut.
She was going to help him whether she wanted to or not.
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