Forty-Seven: Chapter 21
DISCLAIMER: None of these characters are mine, but they are memorable. Thank you, Mr. Marlowe.
Wednesday, March 28, 2012 – 7:12 a.m. – On the way to Jim Beckett's Cabin in Upstate New York
The chopper hovers over the small cabin, whipping the tree branches into a frenzy as Harry Edwards pilots the craft downward, looking for the most level spot for a landing. No, it is not the most silent entry ever, she realizes, but Detective Kate Beckett has a singular focus right now, and that is not to go to bed tonight having no parents.
Detective Javier Esposito is with her in the back seat of the helicopter, his rifle pulled as he stares down at the scene below him. Bile rises in the back of her throat, her heart pounding a frantic rhythm that matches his as both can clearly see the blood stains indicating someone has been dragged from the front yard, up the porch and into the door. It's an awful lot of blood.
"We're clear," Edwards shouts as the chopper touches down, but both Esposito first, followed by Kate Beckett have already launched themselves out of the aircraft while it was still five feet above the ground. Javier Esposito has looked into the eyes of Cedric Marks, and there is only a flicker of the man he once knew there. No, in those eyes he saw Cole Maddox, the identity he has created for him since the war. Part of a man or woman dies in a war, on the various battlefields. For Cedric Marks, it appears it was a very large part.
Protocol be damned, Esposito bursts into the living room straight through the front door, low and rolling to his left side, while Kate Beckett comes straight in, toward the right. Both are met with a gruesome sight.
In the middle of the floor lies a large buck, dark blank eyes staring toward the side window. On the wall – written in the unfortunate animal's blood – is another message.
Strike 1
"Dammit to hell," Esposito shouts loudly, as Kate runs to check the only other room in the cabin. She is in the bedroom in seconds.
"Clear!" he hears her yell, then watches her return. Her face is a mixture of relief and fury.
"What kind of monster is –"
"Shut up, Beckett," Esposito mutters, interrupting and startling Kate with his intensity. He walks past her through the front door, taking his cell phone out of a compartment in his vest as he climbs through the open door to the chopper. Seconds later, Kate boards the craft as well, watching the scene below grow smaller as they lift off. She hears Esposito shouting over the engine.
"No dice, bro," he tells him. He doesn't hear Kevin Ryan's reply as the phone goes dead on the other end.
Wednesday, March 28, 2012 – 7:16 a.m. – In a cab driving through Manhattan
Kevin Ryan hangs up the phone, disgusted, turning his head to face his fellow passenger in the back seat of the fast moving cab.
"No luck," he tells Richard Castle, who now has his head resting forward in both hands.
"Okay," he begins, the frustration clearly visible in his voice. "Think, dammit! We tried the swing sets, although I don't know how he'd know about that. We tried the bench in Central Park I know she often goes to just to relax."
"This guy seems to know everything," Ryan replies, now glancing out the window. Now they are speeding to their third selection, when Castle slams his open palm on the window pane separating them from the driver, startling the cabbie.
"Driver, turn around!" Castle yells, then turns to Detective Ryan.
"I should have thought about this, I should have seen this," he tells Ryan excitedly. "Man oh man, have I been blind or what!"
"What is it, Castle?" Ryan asks. It's good to see the writer excited, more like his normal self. Especially now during these days. But it would be nice to know what there is to be all upbeat about.
"Yesterday afternoon, Beckett and I had a . . . well, a fallout of sorts," Castle begins, trying to figure out exactly how to tell this story. Because a story that begins with "Hey Kevin, I've spent the last couple of years making trips to the cemetery to talk to Beckett's dead mother," . . . well, that isn't going to go over too well.
Problem is, that's the truth.
"Long story short, I ended up at the cemetery – the cemetery where Johanna Beckett is buried." Castle is almost amused by the confused and bewildered face that greets him from Detective Ryan.
"Don't ask, okay?" Castle warns before continuing. "While I was there, Kate showed up. But before she showed up, I noticed a new burial hole had been dug and roped off. It was just a few plots down from Johanna's grave site. I never thought anything about it because – well, hell, that's what you see at a cemetery, right? Preparations for someone's burial."
Turning his attention to the cab driver, Castle gives him new instructions.
"Green-Wood Cemetery in Brooklyn – You have to go through the tunnel down –"
"I know where it is," the cabbie remarks dryly. He's wondering what kind of tip he's going to get for these two nutjobs who clearly don't know where they are going.
Ignoring the driver, Castle continues his story.
"Maddox said this is a place familiar to Kate. A place that is peaceful, surrounded by nature. Well, there is no better place that describes that than –"
"Than her mother's gravesite," Detective Ryan chimes in, nodding and smiling. The smile quickly disappears as both men simultaneously realize the potential plan that Maddox has for Jim Beckett.
"You don't think he'd bury him alive, do you?" Ryan asks Castle.
"How should I know?" Castle replies. "I only got shot by the bastard! This is more up Javi's department than it is . . ."
He cuts himself off, knowing how unfair the statement, the sentiment is. It's not Esposito's fault. Although he does have a question to ask the man. He's wondering why he let him get away. Yeah, he wanted to get out of there to save his own life. He didn't think he could stand up to the man for an extended bout. But is it really that simple?
He pushes the thought out of his mind, picking up his phone and placing a call back to the Precinct. One ring, two rings, and then she answers.
"Mr. Castle," Captain Victoria Gates greets him, recognizing the caller ID. "I assume you are calling regarding our little database search?"
"Yes . . . yes, sir," he replies, still uncomfortable with calling a woman 'sir'.
"Interesting, in that you might be on to something here," she remarks quickly. "However, the problem is we are finding a few possibilities."
"Do tell," he says, glancing at Kevin Ryan. He has the call on speakerphone so that the detective can listen in.
"There is a State Senator Ralph Blackman, from upstate who was a mayor's aide during the time of Johanna Beckett's death. Then there is a Julia Henderson, who is a U.S. Senator from Connecticut who served as a city councilwoman here in New York City at that time. And finally, there is Senator William Bracken, who was the assistant district attorney at the time of the death of Beckett's mother. And I have to tell you two – I assume Detective Ryan is listening in?"
"Yes, sir," Ryan says quickly.
"Good," she continues, "So Mr. Castle won't have to repeat himself. I have to tell you both, I hope to heaven it isn't Bracken, because word is he is prepping himself for a presidential run in 2016."
The two men are quiet, contemplating this latest news, when Castle finally speaks up.
"It's Bracken," Castle says suddenly. "Captain Gates, thanks for this information. I'll fill you in when we get there. We will get back to you, shortly," he tells her before hanging up quickly.
"Uh, Castle . . . man, she does not like that. Quick hang-ups."
"Kevin, she'll get over it," Castle dismisses with a wave of his hand. "Bigger fish to fry, my man – beginning with just what in the world do we do if I am right, and Cole Maddox is at the cemetery waiting for us?"
"We deal with that when we get there," Ryan tells him. "I'm already texting Javi. He and Beckett are in the air upstate but coming back here quickly. They should be at the cemetery in about thirty minutes."
"We'll beat them there pretty easily," Castle muses aloud, now wondering how he and Kevin Ryan are going to handle an ex-Special Forces soldier who – in the last twelve plus hours – is one and one against Javier Esposito.
"Yeah," is all Kevin Ryan says in response, as he changes the topic of conversation, "More pertinent right now, Castle, is why you immediately came to the conclusion that Senator Bracken is the guy behind all of Kate's problems?"
For Kevin Ryan, Castle's statement was a punch in the gut. Both Kevin and Jenny are huge Bracken fans, having long ago bought into the charismatic leader's visionary approach. Learning that this man is potentially a monster . . .
"Process of elimination," Castle says quickly. If I'm writing a story about a corrupt official who willingly involves himself with mob ransom and blackmail, I have to ask which of these people is more likely to come across such a scenario. A mayor's aide? Doubtful. A city councilwoman? Possibly. An assistant district attorney? Bingo! Collect your $200 as you pass go. Fits the profile much better."
"I don't know, Castle -" the detective begins to argue. Castle cuts him off.
"Second reason, and just as good for me," Castle tells him, "Blackman? He comes from money. The Blackman family isn't Trump rich, but they aren't crying on the corner either. Henderson? She –"
"Her family is filthy rich," Ryan nods in agreement, and he is now starting to understand a bit more about the Castle mindset. He admits he has to give props to the man for how quickly he processes things and comes up with his conclusions – and how accurate those conclusions are when he isn't being silly and throwing out zombie and vampire solutions.
"That eliminates those two as possibilities of someone needing money so badly that they jump into a kidnapping ring of organized crime figures. Get caught with that and that's a death sentence – and probably a nasty one. So that leaves our friend Bracken. He doesn't come from money, and he has always made his ability to run a campaign without heavy contributions – at least visible ones – has always left a question with some people. It's good in that he doesn't owe any special interest groups – hence his appeal to a lot of people. But he's not rich, so where does his money come from? It had to come from somewhere, initially."
Kevin Ryan considers the logic, and sadly finds no fault there. Both men are quiet for the next five or so minutes as they rush through the tunnel onto Long Island. Minutes later they are pulling up to the familiar spires that Castle had walked under just yesterday.
Exiting the cab, Detective Ryan looks over at his companion.
"You ready to do this?" he asks Castle, who nods excitedly and walks ahead of him into the cemetery.