Chapter 8
Returning to the precinct, Kate grabbed a cup of coffee and sat down at her desk. She looked up the number for the tax collector's office in Croton and placed the call. After she identified herself as a detective with the NYPD, she asked for property holding information for Matthew Poirier. Since this was a matter of public information, no warrant was needed. The clerk put her on hold while she checked her computer, then came back on the line to report the search had come up empty. Kate thanked the clerk and was about to hang up when a light went off in her head. She asked the clerk to run a search under Judy Poirier, and was rewarded with an address. She concluded the call and sat back, tapping her pen on her desk.
If she waited until tomorrow, and Poirier was up there, they might miss him. It was already lunch time, if she went would never make it back by dinner. She was surprised that her train of thought led her to factor in her personal life, but maybe it was time she started. After all, she had been doing the heavy lifting for quite a while now. She turned toward Esposito with the address for the cabin in hand. "Hey," she said, handing him the paper. "I'd like you to call up and make arrangements with Croton PD, then drive up there and pick up Matthew Poirier for questioning on his wife's murder."
"You…don't want to do it yourself?" he asked, confused.
"I have to take the training wheels off sometime, don't I?" she said dryly. "You guys can handle it, I trust you."
"Yeah, thanks…." He said it thoughtfully, like he still wasn't convinced. After he made the call to alert the locals, he tapped Ryan on the shoulder and motioned that they were leaving.
Looking at her desk, she realized that she had never given the badge to the guys to check out. She called Henry to let him know she was coming, then headed over to Dynagene. Henry met her in reception and escorted her to the security office. They scanned the badge, and the computer displayed the number designation. The security manager checked the number against the visitor log and frowned.
"Now this is odd," he said. "According to this log, this badge was given out to a visitor and then returned. Hmm, I don't recognize the initials of the person who logged the badge back in. It will take a little research, but I will get back to you as soon as I can."
"Thanks. Out of curiosity, who was the badge assigned to last?" Kate asked.
"Looks like Matthew Poirier" the manager replied.
"What? When?" Kate asked. Her two cases were CONNECTED? What were the odds?
"Monday night, which is very weird. Operations are at a minimum on the holidays. Let's see, he signed in at 4:40pm and was signed back out at 6pm."
Kate thanked him for his time and handed him her card, urging him to call as soon as he determined who had "logged in" the badge.
She tried calling Esposito and Ryan, but she received an automated message that they were out of area. Oh well. She decided to call it a day and go get ready for dinner.
Across town, Rick had a productive afternoon of writing, even though a piece of his brain was working out how to make amends with Kate. She had forgiven him enough to agree to keep their dinner date, the rest remained to be seen. Suddenly he had a flash of inspiration. He pulled out his phone and thumbed through the directory, until he found the number he was looking for. Seconds later the call connected. "Hey Keith, it's Rick Castle. Yeah, long time. Oh, thanks, yeah, Heat Wave has been well received. Listen, buddy, I was wondering if you could do me a favor…"
A few minutes later, his mission accomplished, Rick hurried upstairs to get ready. He arrived at the restaurant and inquired about Kate. He was rewarded with the news that she was in the lounge. He spotted her sipping a glass of wine. She was always gorgeous to him, but when she wore dress clothes he was so taken with her he could barely think straight. Tonight she had chosen an emerald green cocktail dress, which made her eyes look more amazing than usual. He approached her and kissed her cheek, then offered his arm so he could escort her back to the maître 'd so they could be shown to their table. He was so excited to tell her about the surprise, he only managed to contain himself until after appetizers.
"Do you have any plans for the July 4th weekend?" he asked her, his eyes dancing with barely suppressed enthusiasm.
"Nooooo" she answered slowly. "But I have a funny feeling I am about to."
"I hope so. I would love to take you up to Boston. We can take a Duck tour, have dinner, then go to a concert and see some fireworks."
"Concert…fireworks…Boston…." She gasped as the pieces fell in place. "You're not talking about the Pops, are you?"
"Yes I am, AND we'll have front row seats. My buddy Keith hooked me up." He tried not to sound like he was bragging this time.
"Keith LOCKHEART is one of your buddies? Holy crap, Rick, is there anyone you DON'T know?" she laughed.
"Ah, so you're familiar with his work. Is that a yes?" he said hopefully.
"That depends. Front row means prime angle for the TV cameras. This isn't going to turn into some silly publicity thing, is it?" she demanded.
Oh crap. He hadn't considered that. "Well we could take the yacht up instead, anchor in the harbor. We'd still hear the music and see the fireworks display."
She took in his earnest expression. "That's ok. I suppose if I am going to be 'romantically involved' with you, I'd better start getting used to the media exposure. Any chance you can limit it to two interviews tops?"
"You've got it."
"And Paula doesn't know about the trip, unless and until she absolutely has to?"
"Done. So that's a yes? Please please please?"
Kate nodded. "Absolutely yes."
"Does this mean I am off the hook for today?"
Kate scowled at him for a second, then relented. "Yes, you are off the hook. Just don't do it again."
They finished their dinner and then headed back to Kate's apartment to enjoy some alone time.
