O, beware, my lord, of jealousy;
It is the green-ey'd monster …

Othello, William Shakespeare

Chapter 4: Othello

After waiting around with little to do for almost two hours, the occupants of the study exploded into a bevy of activity. Ryan was at Beckett's computer, Alexis at her Dad's, while Crawford, Beckett, and Esposito were all working their cell phones furiously. Lanie was pacing around, peering over shoulders, eavesdropping, and basically making everybody nervous. Finally, Beckett grabbed her arm as she was stomping by on another lap of the room. "Lanie, would you please check on the party for me. I'm worried about my dad, and was expecting Martha back a while ago."

"Are you sure you're not just trying to get rid of me?"

Beckett gave her wide-eyed innocence. "No way. Why would you think that?" Then she ruined it by grinning.

"Okay. I'll check on everybody, but you and I are goin' to have a little heart-to-heart soon, girlfriend."

After Lanie left Beckett called out to everybody, "Anything?"

Ryan spoke up first. "It looks like Dr Davidson either lost or dropped privileges at both Mt Sinai and Presbyterian Hospitals. For the last couple of years, he's been totally off the local radar. I just got remote access to the NYPD database and am starting to run his full background."

Alexis shook her head. "Doctor Joshua Davidson has no twitter account and no facebook. As far as I can tell, he's never been mentioned in a blog ever. There's a couple of news items about his involvement with Doctors Without Borders, just fluff pieces, but they're a few years old."

Esposito then added, "I called my friend down at the city records office. Doctor Motorcycle Boy apparently sold his condo three years ago and his motorcycle right after that. As of now, he owns no property in the state of New York."

Beckett frowned. "It's like he fell off the face of the earth. His phones are disconnected, and the only old friend of his I could get a hold of hasn't heard from him in years."

Alexis asked, "Does he have family?"

Beckett shook her head. "He's an only child, never mentioned any cousins, and is estranged from his parents, who live somewhere in Florida."

Agent Crawford walked over, still talking on the phone. "…I don't care what time it is over there, wake someone up. I need a call back five minutes ago!" She hung up and turned to the others. "It appears your ex has dedicated all of his time the past few years to Médecins Sans Frontières. Our agent abroad in Geneva is attempting to get information on his current whereabouts, but right now it's late on a Saturday evening in Switzerland. It'll take awhile."

Alexis asked "Agent Crawford, can we get the state department to track his passport?"

"I'm sorry, honey, but even with a warrant a request like that takes days, sometimes weeks, to process. I can tell you that he hasn't entered the country in the past 3 years."

Ryan sat up. "Huh! That's interesting."

Beckett was behind his shoulder in seconds. "What have you got, Kevin?"

"Um, I think I found something in our New York records. Apparently, Davidson is now married. His wife's name is, or was, Ashley Chandler Nadosky, and her employer is Médecins Sans Frontières in Geneva, Switzerland."

"So, Josh got married, huh, and to a co-worker? Looks like he beat me to it. When'd he get married, Kevin?"

Ryan scrolled down the screen. "It was here in New York, at least somewhere in the state. Let me see. It should be down here somewh …". Ryan stopped speaking. His eyes got big. His face turned pink, then red, as he found himself holding his breath.

Alexis, seeing the detective in distress, asked "Kevin, are you all right?"

As he shook his head 'no', Esposito asked "What is it, bro?" while Beckett asked, "Ryan, what's going on?"

Ryan stammered, "Er, um, it may be a mistake with the records, but it, um, says here that Doctor Motorcycle Boy married, um, Mrs Doctor Motorcycle Boy, in June, uh … " Ryan's voice got even quieter, " … in June 2005."

Beckett's eyebrows shot up. "He was previously married? He never told me that!" She moved next to Ryan, looking at the screen. When'd he get divorced?"

Ryan's face grew even redder, if that was possible. "Um … apparently, he didn't. Not according to the state of New York."

"WHAT!" Beckett crowded Ryan out of his chair, almost dumping him on the floor. She started to look over the records as Agent Crawford's cell phone started ringing.

"Special Agent Elizabeth Crawford". She signaled everyone to be quiet, walked over, placed her cell phone on the desk and pressed a button.

Agent James tinny voice filled the room. " … an't be sure, though." The background noise of the helicopter meant James had to shout.

"Ron, I have you on speaker, can you start over?"

"Okay. We have done individual fly-bys of all barns within two miles either side of the William Floyd Parkway. Of the thirty two, we have three possibles. One had four people in it, all moving around freely, so we don't think that's the one. The other two were occupied: one by two individuals in close proximity, and the other was occupied by a single, stationary individual. I have to tell you, this fish finder idea was inspired.

So, we can expand the search parameters further from the road, or we can include all other buildings on the farms with barns, or we can zero in on those two. What do you want to do, Liz?"

Crawford looked around at the others. "Ideas?"

Esposito leaned in. "James, it's Javier Esposito. Tell us about the suspect barns."

"Let me check my notes. Okay. According to the deputy, the first is the old Whitman place, a working farm run by a co-op from the city. About 120 acres, 6 miles south of Ridge near 495. They grow cauliflower, pumpkin, and tomatoes – the barn is right in the middle of a cauliflower field, which makes approach very difficult.

The second place is more of a gentleman's farm, about 35 acres. This one is halfway up the hill, about two miles from town. They used to board a few horses and grow grapes, but the place has been for sale since old man Chandler died. A couple of his grandkids still live in the area and maintain the place."

Esposito turned to his partner. "Ryan …?"

"On it. Agent James, ask the deputy if he knows someone named Ashley Chandler Nadosky?"

"Okay. Wait one." About thirty seconds later, they heard "There was a girl in his older sister's class named Nadosky, and he's pretty sure her Mom was one of Old Man Chandler's daughters. She left the area to go off to some fancy college." James chuckled. "Don't you just love small towns? Why? Do we have a suspect?"

Crawford answered, "Maybe. Can you do another pass without alarming anybody? See if the Crawford barn is still occupied? You'll need to find the best approach, we don't want to spook them."

Beckett added, "You need to check for people in the main house, out buildings, and the grounds. Also, it would be nice to know if there are any alarms or electronic surveillance on the property."

"Did you get that, Ron?"

James shouted back "Yeah, got it! We're all the way up near Shoreham, so give us a few minutes to plan an approach and execute the fly by. We should know something in about twenty minutes."

Agent Liz Crawford looked at her suddenly buzzing phone. "Okay Ron. Call us back then. Crawford out." She stabbed a button on her phone, and the helicopter sounds ceased suddenly. She picked up the phone and took it off speaker. "Special Agent Elizabeth Crawford".

"Oh, good. Yeah, now I need everything we have on another doctor. Maiden name of Ashley Chandler Nadosky." She spelled the last name, while maintaining eye contact with Ryan to ensure her spelling was correct. At his nod she continued. "Married name is Davidson. Birth date is …" She looked at Ryan, then relayed the information into the phone " … November 11th, 1981. Got it? We need it soonest. Okay, thanks. Bye." The blonde agent looked at Kate. "Tell me about this Josh Davidson, and his wife."

Beckett shook her head. "I don't know anything about the wife. I never knew she existed until about two minutes ago. Josh Davidson was a cardiac surgeon I met in New York almost four years ago. He was finishing his surgical residency at Lower Presbyterian. I met him at a motorcycle rally we both attended, and we starting taking rides in the country together. We dated for about nine months. He was a nice guy, fairly quiet, and very smart. Dedicated. He spent about half his time out of the country, working with Doctor's Without Borders, mostly in Haiti. We broke up when I was in the hospital after my shooting. I haven't seen him since then."

"Anything else?"

The fed's questions were making Kate very uncomfortable, especially considering their audience. Her teammates and future step-daughter were looking at her expectantly. Worse, Lanie chose this exact moment to re-enter the room. She sighed. "I don't know if I can help much. We were both in New York and together only about half of those nine months, and both had very demanding jobs. It was a very … superficial relationship. We dated, but it was like we were never friends. There weren't a lot of deep conversations, or baring of souls."

Lanie smirked. "So what exactly were you baring, Kate?"

Beckett whirled on her friend, her expression murderous. The shorter ME knew immediately she'd overstepped, and threw up her palms to ward off her friend. "Oh my god, Kate, I'm sorry. That was totally insensitive and uncalled for. With the stress, Castle missing, and what I just witnessed out there, my mouth was working without my brain. I didn't mean that."

With apparent effort, Beckett tried to relax her threatening posture, and turned back to the computer screen to review the marriage record of her ex-boyfriend. In order to buy Beckett some time to cool off, and to change the subject, Ryan asked "So, what DID you learn out there, Lanie?"

"Oh, um, wow." Lanie Parrish, normally so composed, was obviously rattled. "Well, Ryan, I learned some really interesting things in the few minutes I was out there. I think Castle is going to have to burn all the linens in the house, and buy some new couches. I learned that the authors and Martha like to play strip poker in the kitchen, and James Patterson wears a wife beater t-shirt and those little thingies that hold up men's socks. I learned there's a whole bunch of stuff people shouldn't try in a swimming pool, and I won't be swimming here at Castle's in the foreseeable future. Lastly, I learned that if white people pass out on the lawn in the sun they turn a bright pink color. What did you guys all learn in here?"

Alexis was staring at Lanie, her mouth hanging open. "I hope to god you're kidding, Lanie."

"Well, not kidding exactly, but maybe exaggerating?" She then held her thumb and forefinger about an inch apart down by her side, indicating 'just a little', a gesture only Ryan and Esposito could see. Alexis did not appear the least bit mollified, and started glancing anxiously towards the door every few seconds.

Kate tried to address her concerns. "I'm sure everything will be fine, Lex. Let's all just concentrate on what we can find out about Doctor Ashley Chandler Nadosky Davidson, okay?"

Lanie asked "Who?" as Alexis got busy on her Dad's computer. Ryan and Beckett switched positions as Esposito started whispering to the M.E., his hands gesturing emphatically. While Ryan started using her computer, Beckett whipped out her phone, paged through her contact list, and stabbed a button. Her foot tapping impatiently, she stood on the far side of the couch, taut as a bowstring. At Lanie's eruption of "WHAT!?", she cast a quelling frown in their direction, but soon turned away as her call was evidently answered. "Good afternoon, this is Detective Kate Beckett of the NYPD. I need to speak with Doctor Thomas Elsinor immediately. … No, I'll hold … No, he can't call me back. … Yes, this is police business! Unless he's currently involved in life saving surgery, I need him on the phone NOW! … … Tom? … Kate Beckett. I need to inform you up front that this is an official call, and I'm currently working with the FBI on a capital case, alright? … Okay. How in the HELL could you NOT TELL ME that Josh WAS MARRIED? … Don't give me that crap! You were his closest friend, and have known him since medical school … Yes! She's a person of interest in our current case, as is Josh! … No, of course I'm not kidding! How could you have met me all those times, and not said ONE WORD about her? … … Doctor, that is the rankest kind of bullshit. You're just as culpable for not telling me, as that cheating snake Josh is. … Listen, Tom, and listen closely. I am just itching for an excuse to slap a felony obstruction charge on you, so pay attention. I need to know everything you know about Doctor Ashley Nadosky, and I need it now. … Okay, wait a minute."

Beckett sat down on the couch, and pulled a pen and notebook towards her. "Okay, begin. … uh-huh … Uh-huh … Yeah … When was that? … Okay … Alright … And that was the last time you ever saw or heard from her? … Uh-huh. … What about Josh, when was the last you heard from him? … I am aware what you previously told me, but your credibility has taken a major hit here. … That's everything? … I swear to god, Doctor Elsinor, if you're holding any information back, I'll personally slap the cuffs on you. … Good. I'd thank you, but right now all I feel for you is contempt … … Apology NOT accepted. You'd better pray our paths don't cross in the near future, Doctor." She hung up the phone, and blew out a long breath.

Lanie sat down next to her. "Kate, are you okay?" Beckett shook her head 'no', and Lanie continued, putting her arm across her friend's shoulders. "You know what I think?"

"Lanie, if you say one word that remotely sounds like 'the other woman', I swear to god …"

"No, Kate! All I was going to say, is that we've all made mistakes in our lives … well, with the possible exception of Alexis. The past isn't what defines us, it's the future we reach for that makes us who we are. Now, what do you say we find Castle, and get you married to YOUR man today?"

Beckett turned towards Lanie, her eyes shimmering, and they exchanged a heartfelt hug. She then stood and looked around the room. Everyone could actually see her marshalling her inner resources, her voice returning to detective mode. "Josh's friend told me that Doctor Nadosky did not change her name. They got married right out of med school. She became an OB-GYN and started working for Doctor's Without Borders almost immediately. She's a huge feminist, and hates this country's treatment of women, and refuses to work in the USA. So, what else have we got, people?"

Alexis asked, "Shouldn't we have heard back from Agent James and Chief Brady by now?"

Crawford shook her head. "It'll take them a while to scout the entire property, especially if there are multiple outbuildings on the place. They're probably just being extra cautious." The fed then turned to look at Kate. "Our agent abroad in Switzerland just called me back. Both Doctor Davidson and Doctor Nadosky have been working at a remote hospital in Indonesia the past thirty months. Prior to that, Nadosky was in Haiti for 5 years, with Davidson on part time status there as he completed his surgical training state-side. The big news is that Nadosky is now here in the country, having caught a ride on an emergency medical flight that arrived in Chicago yesterday. We have no record of her entering the country, so she somehow skipped customs and immigration. As far as they know, Davidson is still overseas."

Alexis complained "I have nothing on a Doctor Nadosky or a female Doctor Davidson on social media. Either these people are trying to keep a low profile, or they are complete Neanderthals."

Ryan added, "Beckett, I have an Ashley Nadosky who has an assault conviction in Brooklyn in 2004. Same birthdate. Apparently, she and a cocktail waitress got into it over some dude, and she laid a whooping on the girl. It was knocked down to a 4th degree misdemeanor, and she got a ton of community service hours." Ryan smiled and added "I also have an outstanding warrant on her for unpaid parking tickets in Manhattan, so if we find her, we can pick her up."

Esposito said, "Got something!" to the group, before returning to his cell phone, thanking someone profusely, and hanging up.

Impatiently, Beckett demanded "What, Espo?"

"My friends at the phone company found a cell phone number for an Ashley Nadosky, MD. It's been upgraded to an international sat phone, and is current."

"Gimme the number" demanded the fed, who was pulling out her own phone. She snatched the scribbled note from the detective's hand, while talking on her cell. "Charles? … It's Liz. We have a possible number for our suspect's satellite phone. The number is 718-555-2924. Can you get a location on that? Great! … What? It's where? … Any chance we can see that data too? … Okay, let me put you on speaker." The blonde walked over to Alexis, who was still sitting in front of the computer. "Alexis, can you pull up the website .gov ?"

"Sure." Alexis tried, then turned to look at Crawford. "It needs a user id and password."

From Crawford's cell phone, a young man's voice said "Alexis, right? Add forward slash and then gps187262 to the address."

"Okay. Nope. Still needs a user id and password."

"Right. Try 'admin' in lower case for both."

Despite the seriousness of the situation, the red head couldn't help but laugh. "Seriously?"

"What can I say? We like to stick with the classics."

She input the information, hit enter, and a map of the New York City area came up. A flashing red dot could be seen on I-295, crawling slowly south. Alexis said "Got her. She's in Queens."

Esposito, who with the others had crowded around the computer, said "She's headed for the airport. She's doing a runner. Let's get her pulled over."

"No, WAIT!" Beckett walked away from the group, shaking her head. She started pacing behind the couch, back and forth. "First, if Castle is sitting on some kind of booby trap, we have to make sure it can't be remotely detonated. Until then, we absolutely do NOT want to approach her. Secondly, it doesn't make any sense for her to flee the country now. We're now thinking she KIDNAPPED Castle, right? She could have killed him but didn't. So there has to be some reason to keep him alive.

Now, if we believe that asshole Loki who called earlier, it was a man who hired him to delay the wedding. So what if it was Davidson who hired him to delay, and Nadosky found out? So, for some reason, she sneaks into the country, and snatches Castle, effectively doing what Loki couldn't – delaying the ceremony."

"But why?" Crawford sounded whiny, but this whole escapade had given her a huge headache. "Why kidnap Castle, then leave him to take a drive in Queens."

Beckett grinned, and exchanged a meaningful glance with Ryan, who just then caught up to her thinking. The Irishman blurted "She's going to the airport to pick up a passenger."

Beckett stepped back to the group. "Liz, can you check to see if Doctor Josh Davidson is on an incoming flight to JFK?"

"Charles?"

"Yeah, gimme a minute. … Bingo! He's on KAL flight 120 from Seoul, scheduled to arrive in half an hour."

"Okay, that makes sense." Beckett was nodding to herself. "I'm betting she's going to confront her husband, and make him make some sort of choice. Or, maybe just shoot him – beating me to it. Esposito, is there any chance we can get an NYPD team to put both of them under covert surveillance?"

Crawford stepped forward. "Hold it, Kate. This is still a federal case. I'll have two teams on her before she parks her car, and another team on him the moment he deplanes."

Just then, Kate's phone went off. "Beckett!"

"Hey, babe, did you miss me?"

"CASTLE! Oh my god, are you all right?"

"I am now. Or, I will be, as soon as these guys uncuff me, and I can take a pee. You know, they never worry about bodily functions in books or movies, but it sure becomes urgent and all encompassing in real life."

"Oh, honey, we were so worried."

"I know, Kate, and I'm so sorry our magical day got screwed up."

"Well, at least we now know who to blame."

"Yeah. Chief Brady said you got most of my hidden messages, but wasn't aware you'd identified Doctor Motorcycle Boy or his crazy wife, Doctor Annabelle Lector yet."

"Yeah, that one took us a little while. Dumb without you, Rick? Ryan finally figured it out. Honey, are you really sitting on a booby trap?"

"Not for long. Actually, it's pretty damn clever. She, along with her two huge cousins, chained my chair to a post, and handcuffed me to the chair with these really weird, foreign handcuffs, which Agent James is trying to unlock. Then she took what she called an electric milking machine, that I hope is for cows 'cause it looks really painful for humans. It has this arm that extends when the power is on, and she rested it on a pressure mine under my chair. Then she activated the mine and left. If the power cuts off, or the chair moves, the arm retracts, and I go 'Boom'."

"Oh my god, Rick. Let me call a bomb squad …"

"I'm not waiting, Kate. The power here in the barn is supplied by a gasoline generator. Mrs DMB said she added enough gas to last until midnight, but every once in a while the damn engine misses and sputters, which is scary as shit. … Oh, great! Thank you, Agent James. I'm free, Kate, and we're headed for the helicopter now. I'll … call you back … in just a minute … Ahhhhhh!" he hung up.

Beckett looked around at all the grinning faces, and a tremendous smile blossomed on her own. Her knees felt weak with relief. "He's fine, guys. They freed him."

Alexis asked, "So what's he doing now?"

She responded "Peeing" which drew a huge laugh from everybody but his daughter, who exclaimed "Eww!".

Lanie walked over and embraced her, then stepped back, her hands still on her taller friend's shoulders. "Girlfriend, let's get you married!"

Beckett looked down at her clothes, and said, "Uh, Lanie, I don't know …"

Beckett's phone rang again, and she answered it immediately. "Hi, lover. Are you on your way? Ten minutes? Okay, we're talking about what to do next. I'm putting you on speaker phone." She pressed a button and placed he phone in the middle of the coffee table. The steady whock-whock-whock of the helicopter filled the room.

Alexis immediately shouted "Hi, Dad, welcome back!"

"Hi, sweetheart! Who's there with you, Alexis."

"Lanie, Javier, Kevin, Kate, and Agent Crawford."

"Great! Are you ready to be my best man, Pumpkin?"

Beckett interrupted. "Castle, we may have a problem."

Five seconds of silence, followed by an exasperated "What now?"

"Well, for one, my wedding dress will need to be cleaned after it got drenched."

"How'd it get wet?"

"From the fire hoses."

Another momentary pause. "What fire hoses?"

Esposito answered, "The hoses that were putting out the fire in your car, Castle."

"The Benz, Espo?"

"It's toast, bro."

Still another pause, then an audible sigh. "Kate? How important is wearing that dress? I'll wait if you want to, but …"

Lanie jumped in. "Kate, what about that beautiful white pants suit? That would be gorgeous!"

Kate smiled, as she thought of Lanie's suggestion. She could feel herself getting excited, the butterflies in her stomach growing. "Yeah, that will work." Wow! After all they'd gone through; they were actually going to do this!

"Okay, go change, and when I arrive I'll meet the boys on the lawn."

Ryan stepped closer to the phone. "Uh, Castle, you might want to consider a nice beach wedding. The lawn is pretty trashed."

More silence. "Fine! The beach will be beautiful. Go round up everybody, and get the minister down to the beach."

It was Lanie this time. "Castle? Kate? I don't think the minister is available. As a matter of fact, I'm fairly certain he's not even conscious."

Before this pause got too lengthy, Crawford stepped up. "Actually, guys, I happen to know that Agent Ronald James is an ordained minister in his church."

Castle said, "Okay! Let me check!" Another pause, followed by "Alright! We're set! He said he'd be more than willing to marry us, Kate. Actually, it's kind of fitting, since he was instrumental in unlocking me. By the way, what's a fish finder?"

Alexis was giddy with excitement. "Okay, Dad, just get here safely, okay? Lanie, why don't you go up and help Kate get dressed. Kevin, could you go get Jenny and Mr Beckett and invite them down to the beach? Oh, and get Grams too if she has any clothes on."

A strangled sound emanated from Beckett's cell phone, above the helicopter noise. It was ignored, as Alexis continued snapping commands. "Javier, will you help me move the flowers down to the beach?"

"Sure Alexis, I'd be happy to."

"Okay! Bye Dad, see you on the beach!"

Kate picked up her phone. "See you in fifteen minutes, Mr Castle. No more delays, right?"

"Right, soon-to-be Mrs Castle. I love you."

"I love you too, Rick. Always." She hung up the phone, still wearing her delirious smile. She left the room with Lanie, and started for the stairs. Alexis was just shutting down the computer when she heard Kate's scream. "OH. MY. GOD."

Finis

Not my best, but I swore I'd finish this story before starting another. I needed to do SOMETHING about the terrible ending to season 6 and equally atrocious start of season 7. Hope you enjoyed reading it, it was (sometimes) fun to write.