Another Chance
Chapter 33
"I can see why the New Rochelle cop laughed when I asked him about the Haverstrom Estate," Kate said. "This place doesn't look much like the picture Bob the Fourth sent Midge."
Castle regards the peeling paint, cracked driveway, and sagging fencing. "Yeah, it might have 20 years ago. It would appear that the Haverstrom family fell on some hard times. I looked up the history of this area. It was settled by immigrants from Germany and Ireland. Back in the 1700s, it was farm country, but in the 1800s it became a retreat for wealthier New York City families and some of the more distinguished lights of the Great White Way. It's close enough to the city so they could just hop on a train to do business or appear onstage. A lot of the residents still do that.
I checked out the Haverstroms a little too, while we were driving up. They were quite a big deal. They've kept most of their finances below the radar, but from what I can make out, they were very into the securities backed by the liars' mortgages. When the real estate bubble burst, they took a big hit. They were already pretty heavily leveraged, so they've been scrambling ever since just to keep their heads above water. I couldn't find anything specific on Robert, other than a 2 line bio that lists him as a financial analyst."
"That would jibe with what Midge said about him working on Wall Street," Kate notes.
"It would," Castle agrees. "But if he had a decent position he would have been listed with one of the major firms, complete with a professional photo in a Brooks Brothers suit and an old school tie. My guess is that he's employed in a boiler room somewhere hawking the penny stock of the day. He probably put on a good show for Midge and ate ramen for lunch to make up for it. If he resides here, he hasn't been putting anything into maintenance."
"I think he might live here, Castle, but I don't think anyone's home. Someone left this place this morning. See the tire tracks in the ridge of snow the plow made at the end of the driveway? Snow fell up here last night so those would be fresh, but there's no sign of a return. We can check this place for signs of life, but I think we'll need to get some help from the locals to set up a stakeout for when he comes back. We can have them check to see if his car is at the train station too. If they find it, the schedule will give us some idea when we can expect him."
"Sounds like it's going to be a long day. Are you up for that? Sitting that long in the car, I mean. Dr. Lyra said it's better for your circulation if you move around - in moderation."
"I'll be fine, Father Rooster. Once we get the New Rochelle cops on board, I can take breaks. We both can."
Castle scans through listings on his phone, "There's a build your own burger joint near here that's rated four and a half stars. You can pile the condiments our little one has a yen for as high as she likes."
"Sounds good, Babe."
Micah stares at the screen of Alexis' laptop. "Baby clothes? You're not?"
Alexis scrubs a hand down her face. "No! God, Micah, you know how careful I am. Kate and my dad are having a little girl. I was just checking out some stuff I might get my sister. It feels weird to say that. All the time I was growing up, it was just Dad and me, and now there's going to be someone else. We might even be making toys for her one day."
"Sounds like you're looking forward to it."
"I am. I always wondered what it would be like to have kids; take care of a baby. Now I can find out how I feel about it - and how you feel about it too. We've never talked much about children except about how to design toys for them, but…"
"But since we're engaged we need to discuss how we feel about having a family," Micah finishes.
"We do. I mean my mom was hardly ever around, and that was OK because I knew my dad always would be. And from what Dad's said, Gram tried to be a decent mother, but she was always leaving him with someone or sending him to boarding school while she made a movie or was on the road with a play. I don't know how a mom and dad and the kids kind of family is supposed to work. Hardly any of my friends growing up had one either. But Micah, I can't see myself ever being with anyone but you. If we have children, we're going to raise them together, and we'll both have to be ready to do that."
"I get it, Alexis. My parents have been married for 26 years. I remember they made a big deal of their 25th anniversary. My father bought my mother a set of sterling silver flatware because all they could afford when they got married was stainless steel. And she got him an espresso machine. She's a tea drinker; she doesn't even touch coffee. But he does, and she wanted him to have the best. They've always been there for each other, and they've always been there for me, as best they could. You know New York. It takes a big slice of what they make to pay for the house, so there haven't been a lot of extras. But I always had what I needed. That's why I'm paying my own way now. I couldn't take any more from them, even if they could afford it."
Alexis reaches for his hand. "I understand. And I don't want to be one of those spoiled rich kids living off Daddy. I've seen the way some of the other students who are like that behave, and it's disgusting. My dad wanted to be a writer from the time he was a little boy. He kept writing and banging on doors until he succeeded. I think I've finally found my own passion, working with you, and I want to work at it until we kick some butt too. But that doesn't really answer the question for either of us about kids. Do you want them?"
Micah presses a kiss into the palm of her hand and curls her fingers over it. When we're ready, I do. Do you?"
Pushing out of her chair Alexis presses her lips to his. "Having kids with you will be fantastic."
Castle grins as Kate fits her mouth around her giant burger. It has everything on it except raw onions, for which he is grateful. His own needs were a little more modest. He couldn't pass up the freshly sliced Swiss cheese and it paired nicely with the lightly sautéed mushrooms, but other than a dab of mustard, that's all he needed. Of course, he's only eating for one, even if he does have to keep his strength up.
A car belonging to Robert Haverstrom is at the train station. Trains from New York arrive every half-hour, and the New Rochelle cops will be waiting for his vehicle to exit the parking garage, so they endanger as few people as possible when they pick him up. Once they do, they'll let Kate know so she can question him. Until then, there's plenty of time for lunch and possibly Kate's afternoon snack and dinner too.