After the Vows
Jim Beckett's Journal
Chapter 15
Dear Johanna,
While we were stuffing ourselves with turkey the RCMP was on the job. They've captured Creason and he will be extradited to the U.S.. J.J. was brought back to the 12th for further interrogation. He had an attorney of his own with him. Captain Gates conducted the questioning herself, not budging a bit on excluding Katie from the case. She had her sister Elizabeth Weston, who's the U. S. Attorney for the Southern District, with her. The strategy was to threaten J.J. that getting information first from Creason would blow any chance J.J. might have at a deal. Gates did let Katie and Rick watch.
From what the kids tell me, Gates had a hard job. J.J. was convinced that he was being bluffed until he was shown a copy of Creason's extradition papers. Then Gates and Weston faced him with all the information that had been recovered from his files. They told him that he was fast running out of bargaining chips. Finally his attorney convinced him to give in. He had a long and sordid story to tell.
J.J. started his involvement with Vulcan Simmons' drug operation as a young teen. He was both ambitious and completely amoral. He started as a dealer and quickly moved up in the operation until he became Simmons' right hand man. J.J. was the liaison to Bracken's organization. He made sure that Bracken was paid off to leave Simmons' operation largely unmolested. Bracken recognized talent and recruited J.J. to his own organization, but J.J. was essentially his own man, using both organizations for his own purposes. J.J. actually went to law school and passed the bar. It was a great cover for him and helped him to understand all the loopholes in the law he could exploit for both the drug operation and for the Bracken operation. Bracken let him know that Vulcan Simmons would be taken out. He claims he doesn't know exactly who did it, just that it was one of Bracken's operatives.
When Katie took Bracken down, J.J. decided that his best chance would be to isolate the drug operation completely from Bracken, while keeping the public focus as much on Bracken, as some kind of evil mastermind, as possible. He wanted to kill Katie because she understands just how tightly entwined the two organizations are.
According to J.J., Creason was Bracken's man. Bracken ordered Donovan's death because Donovan knew too much about the plan to frame and kill Katie. Creason made sure that Portman carried it out. I have a feeling that Creason may not tell quite the same story. I imagine we'll find out when the Canadians turn Creason over.
J.J. disclosed a group of guards his organization had corrupted at Rikers Island. The thallium that was used to poison Pulgatti given to them. He didn't know exactly which guard actually carried out the murder, but he had a list of possible suspects. The reasoning behind the murder was to point at Bracken for something other than the drug operation. Again, the hope was that if the narrative of the murders Bracken was responsible for took center stage, less attention would be paid to the drug operation. The strategy behind the use of thallium was to catch the public's imagination. If Clark Murray hadn't figured out what happened, the N.Y.P.D. would have been tipped off. The whole plan seems highly convoluted to me, but then everything J.J. did was convoluted.
J.J. decided that Katie's knowledge would be essential to establishing the connection of the drug operation to Bracken. I'm sure he was right about that. Since, thank God, Katie has survived several attempts on her life, J.J. decided he had to take her out himself. As I had surmised, J.J. concocted his alcoholic persona to get close to me and thus to Katie. He got the toxin from one of the chemists of the drug operation, who specializes in exotics. That is yet another branch of the operation he's thrown under the bus. J.J. was a victim of his own hubris. He was so sure he was smarter than everyone, he never counted on Rick being able to stop him.
There is much to learn and much to happen yet. Creason may tell another story. There were also plans in place to move the various branches of the drug operation around. That will make it a continual fight to get all the pieces. Ryan commented: "The weeds always grow back." But for now a pretty wide swath has been cut.
Rick is gleeful, mostly because he believes that Katie is much safer. He is talking about "the best Christmas ever!" Katie is, as always, more reserved and more cautious in her expectations. "I'm with Rick, at least in part. I can't imagine that a Christmas without you could ever be the best ever, but I think the one coming will be pretty good.
Rick already has all kinds of plans. There are a number of Castle family traditions.. One is a fifteen foot tree which is decorated with ornaments that have been both acquired and handmade since Alexis was born. He also, as you might expect, has a massive train set that runs underneath. He even special orders his garlands. I'm told there is a traditional meal on Christmas eve. I understand there is a traditional glug as well, but of course I'd be staying away from that. Alexis tell me she makes very good mulled cider and they also have special hot chocolate. They open presents on Christmas eve and stockings on Christmas morning. I think Rick understands very well that all those things are merely trappings. The real joy he takes in Christmas is that of having his family around him. Katie was added to that mix a couple of years ago and the marriage makes that addition complete.
Two years ago Katie made Rick promise not to get her a gift because she considered the exchange of Christmas gifts too stressful. She was nevertheless disappointed when Rick kept his promise. After that, gift giving became a competition, with Rick having the financial edge and Katie pushing the bounds of creativity. They've since agreed on working within a financial limit, so it is now a matter of creativity and perceptiveness for both of them. It will be interesting to see how that works out, but however it does, I'm sure the gifts will come from the heart. For so long I worked to banish thoughts of the season from my mind and now I'm suddenly caught up in the Castle enthusiasm that grabbed Katie. I'm not quite comfortable with it yet, but I'm getting there.
Forever love,
JB