CLEANING LADY
Chapter 3
Kate eventually made it back to her hotel. She walked inside and up to the front desk. "I was attacked. Here's the license plate." She handed over a scrap of paper with the plate number written on it. She had borrowed a pen from a store to write it down.
"I will look into it, Miss Beckett. Are you are alright? Do you need a doctor? We have one on call."
"I'm fine, thank you for asking. My key, please."
He handed over her key and watched her hurry over to the elevator. He looked at the plate number she had given him, picked up the phone, and made a call. He would know whose number this was in no time.
She entered her room, took off her coat, and hung it up. She started to take off her holster with her weapon still in it when her room phone rang.
"Yes?"
"That license plate belongs to Santino D'Antonio," he informed her. "Is there anything else you need?"
"No, that's all, but thank you for asking."
"Of course, Miss Beckett. Have a good night." He ended the call.
"Santino D'Antonio. Where do I know that name?" Kate thought about it, and then it hit her. "I remember now! I refused to do business with him. I wonder… Was that what I did that pissed him off?"
She picked up the phone. "Yes, Miss Beckett."
"I need an address for Santino D'Antonio."
"Certainly." He gave her the address like he was expecting her to ask him.
"Thank you."
"Of course, Miss Beckett. Enjoy your evening." He hung up.
"Best hotel ever," Kate said aloud. This place really was amazing. Now she needed one more thing. So she put her coat back on, leaving her weapon in place, and went looking for him.
She spotted him sitting in the bar area, drinking. She sat down beside him. "Miss Beckett."
"I had a run-in with Santino D'Antonio. Full automatic weapons fire. I'm alive because I hid behind a car with an engine block. I put at least one round in the passenger's head."
"Indeed. I trust you are undamaged?" the Administrator inquired.
"Yes. I was with Richard Castle at the time. I told him I wasn't there and then ran."
"Richard is involved? Leave this to me, and I'll see to it. You don't need to do anything." It was plain that he was angry.
"Really?" Kate was amazed.
"Yes, Miss Beckett. You are a trusted member of this establishment, and we always take care of our own. You will have no more trouble with Santino D'Antonio."
"I don't know what to say." She really didn't. She thought she would have to handle this herself.
"Think nothing more of it. As to Richard, that's up to you. May I ask what he said?" He was curious.
"He thought it was cool. I didn't understand his response to being shot at." Kate thought she should tell him the whole truth.
"Interesting. Still, think nothing of this. It will be resolved by morning. Good night, Miss Beckett."
"Thank you." Kate didn't get it. But she was going to be careful from here on out. She needed to keep an eye open for Santino D'Antonio.
Kate was no sooner gone when he pulled out his cell phone and put a hit out on Santino D'Antonio. Then he hung up and thought no more of it. Santino D'Antonio would be dead within the hour, given the number of people looking for him.
Kate returned to her room and began to undress. She stripped down to nothing and took a shower. That was one more thing she loved about this hotel. It never ran out of hot water. This hotel room was way better than her old apartment.
Naked, she sat on her bed and looked at Lanie's note again. She guessed the boys had found her, and she didn't know what to do about it. Lanie was her best friend, but she'd left her when she went into this business.
She dropped the hand holding the note and thought about it. She really didn't know what to do about it. Then there was Castle. She didn't know what to do about that either.
~oo0oo~
"You're home early, Dad." Alexis was still up even though tomorrow was a school day.
Rick sat down next to her. "We got shot at."
"You what?" Alexis was stunned at what he said. "Are you okay?" She looked him over and ran her hands over him to make sure.
"Yes, I'm fine. This car pulled up. Kate yelled at me to get down, and it opened up with automatic weapons fire. Then it stopped, and Kate popped up and shot three shots at it. I still don't know where the weapon came from, but it had a silencer. It was so cool."
"She had a silencer." Alexis didn't know what to think. "Exactly who is she? Who carries a weapon with a silencer?"
"I don't know, but I'm intrigued by her. Then she told me she wasn't there and she ran away. I ran too. I don't know who the shooter was or if he was after her or after me."
"YOU!" Alexis yelped. "Who would want to shoot you? What aren't you telling me?"
"I'm not telling you. I mean, I've told you everything. I don't know who it was. I was busy hiding behind a car."
"I'm glad you're okay, Dad, but what does that say about Kate?"
"That's a good question. Maybe we were both in the wrong place at the wrong time. Maybe they weren't firing at Kate but at someone else. It's just that she told me she wasn't there, and then she ran." Rick still didn't understand that.
"So, who is Kate, and are you sure you want to be involved with her?" But Alexis already knew the answer to that.
"Absolutely!" Rick told her. "Getting shot at was so cool!"
Alexis shook her head. Leave it to her dad to think getting shot at was cool. "Just be careful with her."
~oo0oo~
A week had passed, and Kate had yet to figure out what to do about Lanie or Castle. They both came with their problems.
She had, however, worked a new job which earned her three coins. It was three dead bodies and a little bit of cleaning. She was amazed at how little cleaning she had to do. Though that didn't mean she hadn't done her usual good job. By the time she finished, no one would ever know that someone died violently there.
She told herself she wasn't behind the killing, only that she just cleaned up the mess. She never learned who was murdered and didn't want to know. They were just dead bodies, and the cops would never learn about them. That she used to be a cop didn't stop her from doing her job.
An average human body takes from two to three hours to burn completely and will produce an average of 3 to 9 pounds (1.4 to 4.1 kilograms) of ash.
The heat ignites the container and dries the body, which is composed of 75 percent water. As the soft tissues begin to tighten, burn and vaporize from the heat, the skin becomes waxy, discolors, blisters and splits. The muscle begins to char, flexing and extending limbs as it tightens. The bones, which are the last to go, become calcified as they are exposed to the heat and begin to flake or crumble.
She took all three dead bodies to her incinerator and disposed of them. No one would ever see them again. After she did these three, she had to clean out the incinerator. It was all ash, and it took her nearly all day to complete the job. After that, she needed to dispose of the ash, which was easy enough. With that done, she was ready for the next dead body.
She needed to refill her cabinet with wine for the next time and clean her glass.
Finally, back at the hotel, Kate stopped at the front desk, asking for her key. "I have a message for you, Miss Beckett." He handed over a folded piece of paper in addition to the key. While waiting for her to read it, he noted on the computer that she picked up her key.
Kate unfolded it and read it. It told her that she no longer need worry about Santino D'Antonio. "Thank you." She handed it back, knowing he wouldn't read it and would dispose of it properly, meaning an incinerator would be used.
"Certainly, Miss Beckett. Have a nice day." Just then, a soft chime sounded, and he glanced at the computer screen. "If you wish to continue your stay with us, another coin is required."
Kate took out one of her new coins and slid it across the counter to him.
"Thank you, Miss Beckett."
"Thank you for the reminder," Kate said, and he bowed slightly.
Kate was up in her room which, for another month, was hers. Like any hotel, her room was spic and span, there were fresh towels, and the bed was made with crisp, clean sheets.
Since she had spent the day working the incinerator, she stripped off her clothes, tossed them in the hamper, and took a shower. That was one more thing she liked about this hotel. It came with laundry service. She just left what needed cleaning outside her door in the hamper, and it was back the next day, clean, freshly pressed, and on a hanger.
Because she needed to eat, she dressed, went to the restaurant, and ordered breakfast. As always, it came out perfectly. She sat there with her cup of coffee, sipping it slowly. It was even her favorite coffee blend. Then the Administrator walked over to her, stopping and sitting across from her.
"Miss Beckett."
"Thank you for handling that Santino D'Antonio problem," Kate said quietly.
"That was no problem," he assured her. "We take care of our own, and you are one of us. Have you decided what to do about Richard?"
Kate blinked in surprise. "Richard Castle? No, I haven't yet. I'm not even sure I should do anything after what happened. The man almost was almost killed because of me."
"Yes, I can see where that might be a problem. Still, based on the Derrick Storm books, Richard might not see it the same way you are."
Kate thought about that for a moment. She had to admit that his books did seem to suggest that he might not have a problem with them. "Being shot at in real life is very different from writing about it. You can die if someone's shooting at you; it's a deadly reality."
"This is true. Just think about it." He took his leave of her and walked away, leaving Kate with something to consider.
~oo0oo~
Alexis came downstairs after hearing the loft's door shut. "Hi, Dad. Still no word from Kate?"
Rick's shoulders sagged. "No, nothing. The ball is in her court. Obviously, Kate knows where I live, but I haven't the slightest idea where she lives."
Alexis changed the subject. "How goes it with Gina?"
"Gina is gone. Black Pawn replaced her with Paul, so things should be different. No more signing women's chests. No more project deadlines. I just have to finish it on time."
"Wow!" Alexis was shocked. Gina was gone. But Alexis knew he would have a problem getting his current book finished on time. Complete and ready for editing. "No more procrastinating, Dad. Or you'll get Gina back."
"Yeah, that's going to be a challenge." Rick had known it would be when he got rid of Gina. "But it's going to be good. No more playboy, so no more teasing at school."
"I can handle being teased. It's not a problem," Alexis said. "They aren't my friends. I have good friends who will support me."
"That's great, but you shouldn't have to. You should have told me."
Alexis sighed. "I did, but you didn't listen."
"When did you tell me?" Rick didn't remember that. "Never mind, it's in the past. We're in the future now. Now, what do you want for dinner?"
"How about oven-fried chicken chimichangas?" Alexis suggested. "Oh, I know! How about American goulash?"
Rick thought about what was in the fridge and said, "Oven-fried chicken chimichangas it is. Right after I look up the recipe."
~oo0oo~
Kate decided to give Castle one last chance, forgetting that it wasn't his fault the last time didn't work out.
So there she was, outside his building again. Kate sighed and headed upstairs to his floor. She rang the doorbell and frowned. It was still a buzzer.
"Kate. Thank God. Come in." Rick stepped aside to let her in.
She shook her head. "No, thanks. Come out, and we can have coffee."
"Come on, Kate! I don't bite. I promise, really promise," Rick cajoled.
"Not a chance, Castle. Either we do it my way, or we don't do it at all."
"The last time we tried that, we got shot at," Rick reminded her.
"That was an unhappy customer. That problem has been taken care of." Kate waited for him to join her in the outer hallway, but he didn't. She shrugged. "Have it your way. Goodbye, Castle." She turned to leave.
"Wait, wait!" Rick told her, getting her to stop. "I'm going out, Pumpkin," he called out. He yanked a coat out of the closet near the front door and hurried to join her. "Lead on." Kate led him downstairs and outside, heading toward a favorite coffee shop.
He noticed that she was wearing the same coat. "I take it you're armed again."
She nodded. "Yes, always."
"Any idea what caused that?"
Kate pressed her lips together and a muscle twitched. "An unhappy customer. I wouldn't do a job for him, and he took it out on me. That won't happen again."
"An unhappy customer." Rick tilted his head and studied her. "What is it you do?"
"I can't tell you that." Kate knew she couldn't explain what she did.
"Really?" Rick didn't believe her. She was like no one he had ever met. "That's so cool."
Kate looked at him like he'd lost his mind. She rolled her eyes, then entered the coffee shop and placed her order. Rick did the same.
Together they sat down where they could. Rick looked at her, studying her face. "So what can you tell me?"
"Let's see." Kate thought for a moment. "I used to be a homicide detective for the NYPD."
He stared at her and frowned slightly. "Used to be. What happened?"
"I had a life-changing event. It caused me to quit and start a new job that I can't tell you about."
"Interesting." Rick hazarded a guess, "CIA?" and watched her shake her head. Rick tried again, "FBI?" and saw her shake her head. "Not CIA or FBI. I know, Homeland Security," he guessed, but she shook her head. "I'm running out of three-letter words," Rick complained. "Is Kate even your real name?"
Kate smiled at him. "Yes, Kate is my real name."
"At least I know that much. You really can't tell me what you do?"
Kate gave her head a shake. "No."
"Then, tell me about yourself." Rick tried that instead.
"Alright. I'm single, have never been married, I'm 26 years old, used to be a homicide detective for the NYPD, and I'm an only child. My mother is dead, and my dad's a lawyer. I try and keep in touch with him, but it's hard.
"I attended Stanford for one semester. I was studying pre-law and wanted to be a lawyer like my parents. Life happened, and that dream died. Your turn now. Tell me about yourself," Kate told him.
"Fair enough. I'm a writer, which you know. I'm successful. I own the building where the loft is, as well as a house in the Hamptons. I have a Ferrari. It was an impulse purchase, and I spent the advance for my second book on it. I'm twice divorced. The first time, I was served with divorce papers by my wife. I caught her cheating on me, which is a line in the sand that I will not cross. She got half of everything, and I got Alexis. That's my daughter. She's the love of my life. There is nothing I wouldn't do for her. Nothing."
"My second wife lasted less than a year. Cost me two million to end it. That was my idea instead of the other way around. I kept her as my editor because she was good at her job. Recently, I dropped her, which didn't meet her approval. She tried to fight back, but my position with Black Pawn is such that I can dictate terms.
"You're right, I was a playboy, and at first, I enjoyed it. Who wouldn't enjoy signing women's chests or having good-looking women hanging on his arm?
"All that changed when Alexis told me girls teased her at school about me being a playboy. So I stopped. That was recently, but I've kept my promise to her. I never lie about anything. I tell the truth no matter how hard it may be.
"Oh, and my mother lives with me. Please don't ask me about that. It's difficult enough to deal with, though Alexis enjoys having her there."
"I don't judge, Castle. So your mother lives with you." Kate smiled at him. "I think it's sweet."
"I'm glad you think so. I find it difficult myself, but it's a necessity." Rick shrugged a shoulder. "So you really can't tell me what you do?" He saw the look she was giving him. "Right, you can't tell me… Yet."