Shared Obsession Chapter 176
"Hmm, nothing says I'm guilty quite like an attempt to flee the country," Castle opines as he watches two uniformed officers bring in Domingo. He heads for the breakroom to make fresh coffee while the suspect is processed and settled in the box.
Kate inhales deeply from the mug Castle hands her. "Mmm, I need this."
"You didn't sleep much last night – and not for the most pleasing of reasons," he notes. "Worried about the case or the trial?"
"About not being able to finish the case before the trial. But this guy, Domingo, sounds like a slam dunk – unless you come up with some contradiction that stands my case theory on its head."
"I will do my best to avoid doing so, but we still don't know why Wolf needed 40 grand. It couldn't have been to set himself up to be murdered by a line chef. And if Domingo did kill Wolf, why leave the evidence of his presence in the sink? Why not just clean up? And who ate the two bowls? Did Wolf, who was ostensibly busy doing some fancy sub-zero sculping for a cake, eat one? Did Domingo? Or was someone else there? And what the hell is the recipe for popcorn soup?"
"I'll do my best to find out," Kate promises.
As he accompanies Kate into Interrogation, Castle can't resist sending off the opening salvo. "The next time you go all Mr. Freeze on someone, you really should clean up after yourself. We found your bowls in the sink."
Confusion reigns on Domingo's face. "I don't understand."
"We found you with a packed suitcase, a ticket to Ecuador, and $5,000 cash," Kate continues.
Domingo squares shoulders broadened by years of chopping and hefting heavy pans. "That is not a crime. I have a passport."
"Which you were using to flee a murder," Kate accuses.
"Who is it you think I killed?" Domingo questions.
"Your boss in the big white hat," Castle replies.
Domingo lunges from his seat. "Wolf? Wolf's dead? How?"
"Mr. Verdugo, sit down," Kate orders.
His eyes bright with apprehension, Domingo sinks into his chair. "I did not kill anyone."
"We know you came to see Wolf last night," Kate says.
"Yes," the suspect acknowledges. "I came back to the restaurant last night. My sister, she's in Ecuador. She's very sick. She needs surgery. So I ask Chef if I can go home."
"Five thousand dollars is a lot of money. Where did you get it from?" Kate queries.
"Chef Wolf gave it to me for my sister's operation. I told him he was crazy but he insisted. He said, 'Go take care of your sister.' Look, five years I've worked with Wolf. He hired me for Q3. He's my friend. I didn't kill him."
Skepticism sharpens Kate's tone. "And Wolf just happened to have $5,000 on him."
Domingo nods vigorously. "Yes, in his backpack. Look, I promised to pay him back."
"He had that much money in a backpack?" Castle asks.
"Yeah, he had more, a lot more. Look, I told him he shouldn't carry that much cash. He could get …killed."
Kate checks documents in her file. "There was no backpack found at the scene."
"Maybe that angry lady stole it," Domingo offers. "Maybe she's the one who killed Wolf."
"What angry lady?" Kate presses.
"One of his girlfriends. I left when she came."
"When?" Kate asks.
"After midnight, like around 12:45."
"Do you know her name?" Beckett questions.
"No, but she came into the restaurant all the time."
"Can you describe her?" Kate inquires.
"Sure," Domingo agrees. "If it will help find out who killed Wolf. But I need to get to Ecuador – my sister."
"I can't let you leave until we clear up your involvement in Wolf's murder. But work with our sketch artist. If the woman you described did kill Wolf, we'll get you on a plane," Kate promises.
"Beckett, if I recall, there were two spoons in the sink with the bowls and the soup pot," Castle says after Kate gets Domingo started to produce a sketch.
"That's right," Kate confirms.
"Is CSU running them for DNA? If Domingo is telling the truth, one of them should match Wolf and the other one, the mystery woman."
"Right, and we wouldn't need an ID or full profile to know male or female. I'll check. And if Maddy or someone from Q3 can identify her from the sketch, the DNA would confirm her presence."
"I know murder comes first, but let's get the soup recipe off Domingo before he takes flight on his mercy mission. Oh, if he is innocent, will he get the money back for his sister's operation?"
"Assuming he is innocent, we may still have to keep it as evidence," Kate replies.
"Damn!" Castle strokes the dark stubble beginning to sprout on his chin. "Maybe there's something I can do."
Kate hangs up her landline. "The restaurant staff confirm that Wolf had a backpack with him yesterday. And the only reason they noticed is that Wolf doesn't usually carry one."
"So Domingo was telling the truth," Castle says.
"Just because the backpack exists doesn't mean the rest of his story is credible," Kate points out.
Esposito strides up holding a printout. "But he was telling the truth about the money. Wolf's banking information came in. There's nothing out of the ordinary over the last six months and then bam! Two weeks ago he withdraws all his savings."
"Fifteen thousand dollars," Ryan adds from behind Esposito.
"Two weeks ago is about the time Wolf asked David Nicolaides to buy out his share of the restaurant," Kate recalls.
"Yeah, and as soon as that check cleared he withdraws $40,000 in cash," Esposito reports.
"On the day he was killed," Ryan puts in.
"Why would someone need $40,000 in cash?" Castle wonders.
"Well, nothing legal," Kate asserts. "You know, Madison said he would disappear between three and five every afternoon. Maybe where he went had something to do with the money. Why don't you guys talk to the kitchen staff again? And let's look into his credit card receipts. Maybe we can figure out where he was going. And where are we on his phone records?"
Ryan frowns. "The SIM card was damaged from freezing. Tech's seeing what they can salvage. And we subpoenaed his records from the provider. We're waiting on those."
"OK," Kate acknowledges. As the partners drift away from her desk, a uniformed officer approaches. "Here's the sketch you wanted."
"She looks kind of sketchy to me," Castle quips.
"Assuming she exists outside of Domingo's imagination," Kate says.
"How long until you hear from CSU about soup spoon DNA?" Castle asks.
"Just for gender? It should be any time now." Kate's computer beeps an alert. "That might be it." She brings an email up on her screen. "They're still running it for other markers, but a male and female were sharing the soup."
Castle wets his finger and makes imaginary marks in the air. "Backpack, money, and DNA. Score three for Domingo."
"That still doesn't entirely clear him," Kate says. "But let's go show the sketch to Maddy. If the woman is a regular patron, maybe she can identify her."
"And while we're at it, maybe we can find out how whoever it is could get multiple reservations when I couldn't even get one," Castle suggests.
"If Domingo was right about her being Wolf's girlfriend, that might explain it," Kate offers.
Castle springs to his feet. "Aha! So now you're believing in Domingo too."
Kate grabs for her purse. "So far, I believe the evidence is on his side."