After the Vows
Jim Beckett's Journal
Chapter 19
Dear Johanna,
Bracken has recovered enough to start doing interviews about his attempted murder. He has said pretty much what you would expect, that he is completely innocent, that Katie is crazy, and that the tape you hid in your elephant family is a forgery. He claims that he will be completely exonerated once the truth comes out. Even though I was braced for what he would say, it still made me sick. He fingered one of the inmates for stabbing him. That inmate died of a drug overdose while Bracken was unconscious. I don't find that a coincidence.
Katie is trying her best to ignore what's going on about Bracken. She's concentrating on Artemiz's murder. It is much more difficult for her with Rick on the road, but he is in touch with her every minute he gets a chance. He wasn't supposed to be back for a few days, but one of his author friends has a private plane and may be able to get him back here again for a few hours or maybe even a day. I don't know when he's going to get his writing done or even sleep, but it's important for him to be with Katie and I'm sure he'll find a way to make it work. I've been talking to Katie as much as I can as well.
As I said, Katie has been investigating Artemiz's murder. She checked out all the employees at the doctor's office. Apparently the doctor and his employees are part of a little Persian enclave. A couple of the assistants are acquainted with the Alfarsi family and one is even a cousin. It is very possible that the family was tipped to the possibility of Artemiz's pregnancy. Katie interviewed all the likely suspects but no one admitted to anything. No one showed any signs of administering a beating, either.
Ryan and Esposito went through the phone records both at Artemiz's and Tony's apartment and at Tony's political headquarters looking at the sources of phone calls that were less than friendly. They decided to split it up with Esposito handling political objections and Ryan handling religious ones. The theory behind that is that bigots against Artemiz might react better to Ryan's very white face than Esposito's brown one. It is a sad commentary on our world but probably a realistic strategy. Ryan told me that he has run up against some really angry people, some of whom lost loved ones in the Middle East and are looking for somebody, anybody, to blame. His interviews though, didn't point to anyone as the most likely culprit. Tony is an outspoken liberal. His most rabid political opponents seem to be affiliated in some way with the right wing, for the most part, the Tea Party. They are mostly senior citizens afraid that they will have their pockets picked by the government. Esposito's decidedly insensitive comment was that most of them would have to get off their scooters to beat someone up. Just as a point of information, Tony has actually been quite supportive of seniors, but that fact has been obscured by right wing news outlets, especially talk radio.
Katie tells me that Lanie just recently identified several samples of DNA on Artemiz's body. Because the samples were mixed, the lab work took some time. That's not strange. In New York you come in contact with people all day. None of the samples were in the police data base. One was a woman. In Lanie's opinion, Artemiz's wounds were inflicted by someone with small hands. It could have been a woman or a small man. That is is a very useful piece of information for eliminating suspects and has winnowed the suspect list down to just five. Unfortunately, there is not enough evidence to get a warrant for DNA on any of them, but three of them have given samples willingly, so either they're innocent or stupid. Katie has surveillance on the other two. If they can find a cup or a piece of gum or something that was willingly discarded, Katie may have her killer.
As I expected, it has been very difficult to launch any kind of investigation into Kyle McGovern, the lobbying group he went to work for, or the affiliated PACS. The wagons in D.C. have been circled and U. S. Attorney Elizabeth Weston, who you remember is Captain Gates' sister, is being stonewalled. Some things may open up when Bracken finally goes to trial. I have very mixed feelings about that. I would certainly love to see the man convicted, or better still burning in hell, for your murder and all of his other sins. But when the trial does take place, Katie will have to relive every moment of the ordeal she went through to take Bracken down. I'll be there for her, but I'm so grateful that she will have Rick and in fact the whole Castle family at her side. That is a wall Bracken will not be able to breach.
Speaking of breaching walls, I noticed a man hanging around outside the loft when I dropped in to have a quick coffee with Katie after a meeting last night. He was tall with white hair and a baseball cap pulled down over his face and was looking directly up at the windows of the Castle loft. I asked Katie if she had any idea who he might be and if he might be some kind of a threat. She said she didn't know, but she'd look into it. I'm almost sure she was lying to me. She didn't look frightened, but I'm pretty sure she knew who the man was and found his presence disturbing. I can't imagine why she'd want to keep that a secret from me, but we are talking about Katie. Even now, she is still often less than forthcoming. I may ask Martha or Alexis about him when I get a chance.
Martha has done a couple more daytime talk shows, thankfully without incident. She has absolutely refused to go near anymore cooking segments. I can't say I blame her. She has been asked a couple of times for tips on looking as good as she does at her age. Her eyes blazed at that, she would love to deny the passing of years. However, pro that she is, she gave tips on nutrition, exercise, and meditation. I gathered from the audience response that is just the sort of thing people love to hear on those shows. Now Martha is talking about putting out her own book, The Martha Rodgers Guide to Ageless Beauty. I don't know when she'd get the time, unless her play flops, but if she wants to do it, I say more power to her. Rick may get a little jealous having more than one writer in the family but I don't think anyone reads his books for beauty tips.
Rick's image as a romantic seems to have struck a chord, so the tenor of his PR campaign has changed. A picture Alexis took of Rick and Katie staring adoringly into each others' eyes at the wedding has been copied and is popping up everywhere. It's become what they call an internet meme and book sales have picked up. Katie has objected that it doesn't do much for her image as a tough cop, but there's a hint of a smile behind her eyes. I think she likes having the world know just how much her husband loves her. The depth of that love is completely obvious in the photograph, just as it was in any photograph I ever took with you.
Forever love,
JB