CBs

Chapter 23

"I think I found the car that was following Ridley Mason," Ryan reported to Kate. "A traffic cam caught it behind Mason's car a few blocks away at the start of our kill zone and again right near the lot. We have it pulling out again during the kill zone too. The plate's splashed with mud, so we've only got a partial. It's a Malibu, so there are a lot of matches. Espo's running through the owners now looking for the most likely suspects. Lanie said the blow came from above, but Ridley Mason was only five eight, so that gives us a wide range of heights."

"Has Lanie got prints or DNA yet?" Kate inquired.

"No usable prints. Still checking for DNA. There weren't any stray hairs that didn't belong to Mason. Lanie said Mason's clothes were full of sweat. He might have been running scared," Ryan speculated. "If there is any DNA from a suspect, it may be difficult or impossible to separate out."

"How about the car Mason was driving? If it wasn't registered to him, where'd he get it?" Kate questioned.

"Rental," Ryan replied. "Mason owned a car. Guess he didn't feel safe driving it."

Alright, stay on it," Kate instructed. "I'm going to pick up Castle at the hospital, but call me if anything pops."

"Will do," Ryan agreed.

Kate perched on the edge of their bed after tucking a comforter around Castle. "You know Babe, it looks like you were right about Mason running scared. He was even driving a rental car."

"That's strange," Castle noted.

""Why?" Kate asked.

"Because you told me the car had a sticker saying the driver was hearing impaired. Usually you'd find that on a personal car, not a rental. And it's not something rental agencies usually have sitting on the counter. Where would he get it?"

"Castle, why would that be important?" Kate puzzled. "Mason is the victim, not the killer."

"Because it might tell us whom he might have confided in. He could have gotten it from an organization for the hearing impaired. If he talked to anyone, it could have been someone there."

"Castle, you have a point. I'll have the boys trace down that sticker and talk to whomever provided it."

"Maybe there's another way of going at it," Castle suggested. "You weren't around for the particular session at the Old Haunt, but Espo told Ryan and me about the transit cop who helped him take down the dupe who was holding hostages on a subway train. You remember the plot that was orchestrated to sell flu vaccine?"

Kate nodded.

"Well, he said they bonded over both of them being in the armed services, but she ended up pushing him away. She had an eardrum blown out by an IED. She learned how to read lips. That's how she knew he was saying Lanie's name when he tackled the guy holding the gun and that's why she blew Espo off. If memory serves, and now that I'm no longer wracked with fever it should, her name is Marisa Aragon. Marisa, or another cop who's experienced a similar disability, might have an easier time getting some answers."

Kate was silent for a moment while she considered what Castle said. "It's an idea, Castle, but I don't think we want to use a transit cop unless we have to. Besides, Espo is dating Angela Lopez and having Marisa around could introduce complications that we don't need. Bad enough that he has to work with Lanie, even if she is dating that A.D.A. Marcus Weller now. I'll check the records of our detectives and see if any of them have a connection to the hearing impaired community."

"Ah, romance in the workplace, always a conundrum," Castle mused.

Kate lightly punched his arm. "Hey! Worked out pretty well for us!"

Castle reached up, plunging his fingers into her hair and pulling her toward him. "Point taken," he murmured softly, just before their lips met.

Kate sat at the conference table with Ryan, Esposito, and another familiar figure from the bullpen. Kate looked at Esposito. "I understand that you and Ryan determined that the sticker on Mason's car was provided by the organization Aware and that they have a support group for the hearing impaired and members of their families?"

Esposito nodded. "Right, Captain."

"And Bruce, according to your file, you're fluent in ASL." Kate added.

"Yes Captain," the balding detective confirmed. "My wife is deaf. Her family moved into the next apartment when I was in high school. I thought she was the most beautiful girl I'd ever seen, so I learned ASL to be able to talk to her. We've been together ever since. I'm familiar with Aware. We attend functions there from time to time. We actually have tickets for one this weekend. It's a fundraiser for developing better algorithms for converting speech into written language. If you've ever asked your phone a question, you know there's still a long way to go."

"You've got that right Bro," Esposito agreed.

"Sounds perfect!" Kate exclaimed. "Ryan and Esposito will give you the rundown on the case. I'll need you to see if you can get anyone talking about Ridley Mason and anything he might have said about Rampart, Trimp, or being fearful for his life. And get me some info on the project. If I know Castle, he'll want to write a check. When I left the loft, he was cursing at Siri."

Bruce's mouth turned uncharacteristically upward. "I'll do that, Captain."

Kate stayed with Ryan and Esposito after Bruce had returned to the bullpen. "Have you made any progress with possible owners of the car that was following Mason?"

"We've narrowed it down to about ten possibilities," Ryan related. "The top two of them have rap sheets - assault. We have unis bringing them in now."

Kate nodded. "Good, keep me apprised."

Kate returned to her office and picked up the phone to check on her husband. Alisha, the housekeeper answered. "Captain Beckett, I'm glad you called. I'm making sure Mr. Castle stays in bed like you asked. Your threat about making up the bed with the scratchy sheets if he leaves it for anything except to go to the bathroom worked. But I don't think he's getting much rest. He has his computer in there with him and he hasn't stopped working. He's been on the phone a lot too."

"Okay, Alisha. Let me talk to him," Kate requested.

Alisha carried the phone into the bedroom where Castle was bent intensely over his laptop. "Your wife wants to talk to you."

"Am I in trouble?" Castle asked.

Alisha shrugged and handed him the wireless receiver. Kate's voice came sternly though. "Castle, Alisha tells me you've been busy. Bed rest has two words in it you know. You're ignoring the second one."

"Kate, the nurses let me do this in the hospital," Castle protested. "I'm not tired - much. Anyway, I've been working with Balazs. He's been going through Trimp's public filings. They seemed designed to be obscure, but the bottom line is that many of his subsidiaries are just on the edge of getting by. They bid so low on projects compared to other companies that if costs on anything go up, they'll take a bath. And costs did go up, Kate. During the downturn when fuel costs skyrocketed, they could barely afford to transport materials or run their equipment. There was also a lot of money earmarked for 'good will.' That could very easily have been a cover-up for bribes. One thing though, we haven't found any connection with the community center you mentioned to Angela or the crisis intervention programs you talked to Sylvie about. Trimp may be a villain, but he may not be the only one. The silver crossing official palms may be coming out of multiple pockets."

"Castle, Bill Garrett is looking into this from the angle of city finance, He may have a take on whose palms are being crossed. One way or another, we'll get it all put together. I should be home after my shift. We can have some of Alisha's stupendous chicken soup and then curl up for a while together. Deal?"

Castle grinned into the phone. "Deal."