Shared Obsession Chapter 45
The electronics store owner shrugs. "What can I say? People like to see themselves on television. You wouldn't believe some of the things people do in front of a camera. Like this one chick. Right in front of the store, she starts to take off her…."
"Just show us the recordings from the past couple of days," Kate interrupts. "OK?"
The owner shakes his head. "I'm sorry. I can't show you the recordings."
"You need a warrant?" Kate questions.
"Wouldn't help. I sold it."
"Sold the camera in the window?" Castle asks.
"Yeah. Some guy rolls in yesterday and asks for that one specifically. I told him I've got other ones, but he wanted the one in the window."
"What does he look like?" Kate asks.
"Six foot. Big. Black. Had an accent."
Kate holds up the sketch of Charles Oni. "This him?"
"No, that's the guy who owns the stall across the street."
"You know him?" Castle queries.
"We say hi. But the guy who bought the camera seemed, uh, heavy – not in the physical sense. There was something about him like he'd seen things, bad things."
"Do you have a credit card receipt?" Kate inquires.
"No. He paid cash. And the strange thing is, he didn't even try to talk me down on the price. You know Canal Street. People expect to haggle. So I add a percentage to allow for it. But he just paid what was on the tag and took off."
"We really need to ID that guy. Would you be willing to work with a police sketch artist?" Kate asks.
"Wouldn't a real picture be better?" the owner offers.
"Of course," Kate replies, "but you said he took the camera and the recordings."
The owner waves a hand at shelves full of video equipment. "Detective, this is an electronics store. I have built-in surveillance. Smile, you're on candid camera. And so was that guy."
Back across the street, Esposito regards a still shot the store owner sent to Kate's phone. "He looks like the kind of guy who'd paint a death symbol."
"And carry out the threat," Castle adds.
"But when he bought the camera and recordings, he got rid of the proof he was at Oni's stall," Kate points out.
Esposito's phone blares. "Yeah, really, when? No, no, absolutely. Bring him in." Grinning, Esposito shoves his phone back in his pocket. "TSA just pulled Charles Oni out of the security line at JFK off our sketch."
Ryan slaps his partner on the shoulder. "Good call, Bro."
Esposito raises his hand for a high five.
Where was Oni going?" Castle asks.
"Nigeria, under the name of Robert Burnett."
Kate consults her watch. "It's late, and it's going to take TSA a while to get through the paperwork to hand Oni over. We can let him cool his heels in Holding and grill him in the morning. He can have all night to sweat about being marked for death. Kate points at the menacing image on her phone. He might prefer us to this guy."
Yawning as Kate's shift begins, Castle hands her a mug of dark brew. "Some night, huh? I thought you might need one of these. I do."
Kate takes a grateful sip. "Yeah, thanks. Any progress on the Meredith problem?"
"Except for coming off a plane or reporting to a makeup trailer, she wouldn't be up this early. And she did say she had a dinner last night. Meredith serves desserts that aren't on the pastry tray. She should be out of my hair for at least a few hours yet. So, ready to go at Oni, or Burnett, or whoever he is?"
Kate takes another sip of her coffee. "Let's go!"
"Smuggling? A death symbol? I don't know what you are talking about," Oni insists. "I was going home to visit my family."
"Visit? Then why did you have a one-way ticket?" Kate questions.
"My mother is ill. I did not know when I would return," Oni claims.
"Must be nice being able to see your mother, something Jamal Buoncy will never be able to do," Castle comments.
"We know that you were involved in two murders," Kate declares. "Azi, your tenant who you coerced into helping you find Jamal, is eager to testify against you."
"Apparently, as a priest's son, Azi takes his religion very seriously," Castle adds. "He doesn't believe his rituals should be hijacked to kill."
"I didn't kill anyone," Oni protests.
"Then why were you looking for Jamal? What was in the purses you were selling? What are you smuggling, Mr. Oni?" Kate presses.
"I want a lawyer," Oni proclaims.
"Are you sure?" Beckett asks. "Because if you get one, you'll be out of here in about an hour, but I won't let you leave town. And that's what you wanted to do, isn't it? You want to get as far away as you can from whoever painted that death symbol in your stall. And he'll find you out there. But in here, you're safe. In here, we can protect you."
"You scare a lot of people, Mr. Oni, people you should be trying to help," Castle picks up. "You intimidate them into living in your hovels. They work for you at what I'm willing to bet isn't close to a fair wage. And they're so afraid you'll turn them over to immigration, they do whatever you say. But someone scares you, scares you a lot. Who is it?" Castle holds up a printout of the man who bought the video camera. "This guy?"
Oni shoves his palms against the air as if to hold off an invisible force. "I don't know him."
"He knows you," Castle retorts. "He marked you for death."
Oni winces as Kate pushes murder scene photos across the table. "Jamal worked for you. He's dead. Darcy Cho just bought one of your knockoffs. She's dead. Why?"
Oni crosses his arms defensively over his chest. "You offered protection. I won't talk without it."
"I can only protect you if you'll tell me from what," Kate responds.
"His name, the man in your picture, is Muhkta Baylor. Very bad. Very dangerous. Former child soldier. They call him the Butcher of Benin."
"What is he doing in the U.S.?" Kate queries.
"He traffics drugs, women, whatever will make him money. It is him that killed Jamal and the woman."
"Why?" Kate demands.
Oni leans across the table, his eyes pleading. "If I tell you, will you protect me?"
"We will. You have my word," Kate promises.
"Oni's a counterfeiter," Kate announces to a group, including Montgomery, gathered at the murder board. "He gets papers for the undocumented workers – passports, visas, whatever they need."
"On top of being a slumlord and flouting the labor laws," Castle adds. "He's quite the entrepreneur. But the big fish in the immigrant pond was trying to play with the killer shark. He also provided Baylor with documents for traffickers, sewn into the linings of bags like Darcy's. He kept them in the back of his stall. But apparently, my ex isn't the only shopper who catches Fashion Scoop Daily. After the feature on Sarah Jessica Parker, there was a run on the knockoffs. Jamal sold the bags but didn't know about Oni's deal with Baylor. When he ran out of bags in the regular display, he got more from the back."
"Why didn't Baylor just get Oni to forge more documents?" Montgomery asks.
"It takes time," Castle explains.
"The papers were for Baylor's brother in Africa," Kate continues. "The Nigerian officials are closing in on him for drug trafficking. If Baylor doesn't get him to the U.S. soon he'll be executed. Oni says Baylor operates out of a warehouse downtown."
"Get down there and get that dirtbag!" Montgomery commands.
As she's organizing her team to raid Baylor's warehouse, a text dings on Kate's phone. "Castle, the lab says they found a few grains of pollen caught in the binding of that Bible. Whatever plant it came from isn't native to New York. They're consulting with an expert at Cal Berkley to try to identify it. That's what's taking so long. But they expect an answer today. Maybe they'll have it by the time we bring Baylor in."
"Then let's get the hell into his den and get it done."
