Another Chance

Chapter 54

"It's easy, Bro," Ryan advises as he and Esposito are on their way to pick up a suspect. "You just need to prove to Lanie that you're into what she likes, or at least you support her interest. Find out something about ballroom dancing so you can talk to her about it. You could watch some of the how-to-dance videos, that Monday night dancing show or even get a couple of lessons yourself. Then if she wants to practice together, it could lead to better things."

Esposito groans. "Ballroom dancing, really man?"

"Hey, Jenny likes it. She watches it every week, and she loves it when the dancers fall in love with the contestants or with each other. It's romance. Women love romance. Why do you think Castle sells so many Nikki Heat books? It's not just about solving mysteries, it's the build-up of the relationship between Nikki and Rook. That love scene Castle wrote in Naked Heat was really something - I mean Jenny thought so."

"Right, Jenny thought so. But you really think ballroom dancing is romantic?"

"Check it out, Javi. You'll see. And then you can make up with Lanie. It'll be worth it, right?"

Esposito's knuckles tighten around the steering wheel. "Yeah. Maybe."

Alexis and Micah take seats in the two brown leather upholstered chairs in front of Jim Beckett's wooden desk. The chairs aren't new, but they are comfortable. Jim points to the paperwork in front of him. This isn't a bad deal, but there is one thing to look out for. He holds up a sheet to which he's attached a paper flag and hands it to Micah.

"This provision here about their right to make improvements and apply for improvement patents doesn't contain anything allowing you to share in the profits stemming from those patents. They could make minimal tweaks to the product and claim that you are no longer entitled to any royalties. It's not illegal, and if some brilliant engineer makes a giant leap forward, it may even be justified, but if you want to get the best out of this that you can, you need to have a stake in any of the improved merchandise. If you like, I can contact their legal department about making the change. Negotiations like that take place all the time. Companies throw out something like this to see if they can get away with it, but when you come back with reasonable amendments, they usually don't kick too much."

Alexis leans forward in her chair. "That would be great Mr. Beckett. Do you need a retainer or something?"

Jim smiles across the desk. "Not for family. I know Kate is really proud of what you two have accomplished and I want to see you kids succeed."

Micah extends his hand. "Thank you, sir. We'll try not to disappoint you."

Alexis and Micah make the short walk to the subway hand in hand. "Improvement patents," Micah muses, "I never would have thought of that."

"Me either," Alexis admits. "I guess we still have a lot to learn about the business side of things. I'm glad Mr. Beckett knew."

"Yeah," Micah agrees, pulling Alexis against his side, "me too."

Castle plants himself in front of the poker machine that had been so generous the day before and inserts his card. As far as he can tell after playing 20 hands, the device is behaving normally and not letting him win enough to interfere with the profits of the shipboard casino. "There had to be something coded into that man's card. There are no magnetic strips or chips. "Maybe it's in the QR code. All of our cards have one."

Kate puts a hand on his shoulder as he unsuccessfully draws toward a straight. "You mean those squares they put on packages? I don't know anything about them, Babe. That's stuff for the cyber guys. But if you're right, how could we find out?"

Castle pulls his phone out of his pocket. "I have a program that scans QR's. You can get all kinds of cool swag that way. Once I earned this thing from Dr. Pepper that…" Kate's eyes narrow in the stare he recognizes as a not so subtle hint to skip the story. "Never mind. I can scan yours and mine and see what the difference is - if any. Then comes the hard part. We need to get hold of the card of that guy we saw sitting here, at least for the few seconds it would take for us to scan it."

Kate catches her bottom lip between her teeth. "He wasn't wearing a uniform. Most of the crew wear them, or at least an official nametag, even when they're off duty. He's probably a passenger. Castle, there are thousands of passengers on this ship. How do we find the right one? Even if he comes back here, we can't spend all our time in the casino."

"No. And there are other pleasurable pursuits for us to explore. But the chits we get out of the machines for our winnings have to be redeemed in the purser's office. If we earn sizable enough totals, we can use our time there to strike up a conversation about a major winner. We might pick up a clue. So I would suggest we get busy. I've noticed the wins here tend to come in streaks. That's probably to keep the passengers playing hoping they'll hit the big one. We play until one, or both of us chalks up a decent balance. Then we quit as soon as the wins peter out, and make a visit to collect our payday."

Kate consults her watch. "Our gambling spree will have to wait. We need to pick up Aletha before our seating for dinner."

"Very true. We need to keep our strength up for sleuthing, and whatever other delightful exertions present themselves."

Esposito sets a beer and a large pizza with double jalapeños on the table in front of his big screen TV. If he's going to torture himself watching a bunch of has-been celebrities trip over themselves on the dance floor, he might as well have something he can enjoy.

The first thing he notices in the opening number is how hot some of the women are, with hips that don't quit and costumes that emphasize their assets. This may not be as bad as he thought. He doesn't think much of the waltz executed by the first couple in the competition, even if the judges seem impressed with it. But the next dance, the Argentine tango, he had no idea you could show stuff like that on TV except for the pay channels. Some of the steps are sexier than anything he's seen on a stripper pole. If Lanie wants to do that… hell, he'll learn. With his style, he could be a freakin' champion.

He can go to that jewelry store that has those things she likes to wear in her hair. He'll show up with the shine and suggest that they learn the Argentine tango together. She'll have to go for it. Why wouldn't she? They can make more heat together than triple jalapeños - on the dance floor and between the sheets later. He downs the rest of his beer and shoves the box with the remains of his pizza into the fridge. The jewelry store is open until ten. If he hurries, he can make it.