Shared Obsession Chapter 48
As Castle holds her close, his brace scratches against Kate's cheek, slowly bringing her back to reality. She pulls free. "Castle, we can't do this. Alexis could come down any minute. And I know how a fifteen-year-old me would have felt if I saw my father kissing someone who'd just gotten him shot."
"Beckett, when you were fifteen, your mother was still around. I'm guessing you would have been furious to see your father kissing anyone else, and" – a smile pushes at Castle's lips – slightly grossed out to see him kissing, period. But you're right. And I want to get back to work. I was dreaming about a trade show Gina dragged me to. And there was an exhibit displaying a logo, a desert bush with gray leaves and yellow flowers. It matched the images that I found on Google when I looked up sagebrush."
"Castle, that logo probably wasn't real, just something you dreamed about because we've been concentrating so hard on finding the printer that put out that Bible."
"No, Beckett. It was a dream, but the memory was real enough. The name on the display was Manna Publishing, with the tagline, 'Feeding souls, like manna in the wilderness.' I thought that was a little weird at the time. But it's not a bad claim for a company that puts out Bibles." He grabs his laptop from a table beside him, flips it open, and enters Manna Publishing into the search engine. "Got it! Manna Publishing! It's in Las Vegas, Beckett. I suppose if they're trying to bring the word of God to sinners, there isn't a much better place."
"But what would be Bracken's connection to Vegas?" Kate wonders.
"I take it your experience delving into the dark underbelly of humanity is fairly local."
"There's more than enough crime in New York to keep me busy. Still, I read that the mob pretty much built and ran Las Vegas. But didn't their control pretty much end when the gaming commission came in?"
"From what I know, it did. But while they were in charge, they bought off a lot of the local politicians. Some of those moved up the line to DC, where they could have been trading favors with Senator Brinkman. With Bracken essentially running everything for Brinkman now, he'd have access to that information. Maybe some of the old gang used Manna as a front. And someone could still be using it. Bibles get shipped all over the world, Beckett. They'd be perfect for smuggling drugs, conflict diamonds, anything small but valuable. And it wouldn't be hard to print editions with the inking coded to deliver messages. We need a deeper dive into Manna."
"They're not exactly going to put their dealings out on the web, Castle."
"No, they're not. But the publishing world has a grapevine of its own. I'm only tangentially plugged into that, but I know people who pay a lot closer attention to it, and one of them works at Black Pawn."
"Your ex-wife?"
"God, no! I mean, Gina knows her job, and she's good at it. But unless it affects sales she's less interested in industry gossip than scuttlebutt about the next great designer shoe."
"Am I sensing a pattern, Castle?" Kate wonders.
"You mean about my exes being high-maintenance shopaholics?"
"Uh-huh."
"Maybe you are. Now and again, during the times I was growing up when Mother was scratching to make ends meet until she could book a decent role, I'd get furious at my father for disappearing and putting all that on her. So I guess when I got married, I overcompensated. But Meredith's behavior and, to some extent, Gina's is one reason why I've tried to give Alexis some sense about money." He winces at a twinge in his arm. "Disaster can strike in an instant, can't it? We were both pretty lucky today, weren't we?"
"You coming up with that Champagne trick wasn't luck, Castle."
"No, but getting trapped in a kitchen with Champagne handy, was. And knowing someone at Black Pawn who might be able to give us the skinny on Manna might be too. I should call Fooky now."
"Fooky?"
"Fooky Joosten. He has a slight speech impediment. When he was a teenager, he tried desperately to drop the F-bomb, but it came out 'fook.' So he got the nickname 'Fooky' hung on him, and it stuck. I think he kind of likes that when people call him that, they're swearing and don't realize it. But anyway, I should call him."
"Castle, it's getting late, and you're still drained. Why don't you go back to sleep, in your bed, not a chair, and call Fooky in the morning? I'll curl up on the couch for the night. Then we can use whatever he can give us to get on the trail."
"Kate, there's a guest room upstairs. It even has extra sundries. You could use it."
"I know, but I'm supposed to be keeping an eye on you. I should at least be close enough to hear you if you need me. And I have everything I need in the go bag I picked up on our way here. I'll be fine, Castle." Kate leans in for a quick peck. "Get some sleep. We can get back on the trail first thing."
Even as trashed as his body still feels, dreamland isn't pulling Castle back into its grasp. He stares at the flickers of city lights reflecting from the ceiling above his bed. Beckett's close, too close, a short walk from his bedroom door. If it hadn't been for the kiss – kisses – sleep might come more easily. But he craves more, much more. His arm aside, with Alexis in the house, especially the way she's feeling now, that's impossible. And he has no idea when that situation will change. Alexis is even more stubborn than her mother and grandmother. And that takes some doing. He presses his unwounded forearm across his eyes. First things first. He and Beckett have to nail Bracken, and getting the goods on Manna is the next step. One dream helped. He can hope for a repeat performance.
Pulling a blanket more tightly around her, Kate rolls over, trying to get comfortable. She has no complaints about Castle's couch. The leather is soft and supple and, better still, carries a faint scent of him. Should she have kissed him? Maybe not. It just made an already complicated situation more complicated. But the sparks between them have been threatening to touch off a blaze since the night she flashed her badge at his book party. And now that they have, there's no going back – at least not for her. And she doubts there is for him either.
Pain pills can make a person loopy, especially on top of shock and blood loss. But Castle seemed to be thinking clearly enough, even in his dreams. Still, paths forward on anything but going after Bracken seem far from clear. But they're on one. It will go where it goes.
"Manna Publishing, Manna Publishing," Fooky Joosten muses. "Yes, I've heard whispers about them from time to time. For one thing, they don't sell to any of the online distributors. And in this day and age, that's just crazy. There aren't enough brick-and-mortar bookstores left to turn a decent profit, but somehow they seem to sail along just fine."
"How about political connections?" Castle asks. "Anyone in DC ever go to bat for them?"
"Yes, as I remember, some senator's office did. Manna claimed it was church affiliated and wanted a tax exemption. The IRS didn't think it qualified, but it got pushed through. Made a lot of other houses consider printing Bibles."
"Do you remember which senator?" Castle asks.
"Let me… I think maybe it was that old fossil. What's his name?"
"Brinkman?" Castle suggests.
"Yes, it was the office of Senator Brinkman."
"Thanks, Fooky. I owe you."
"Just bring those incredible bacon brownies you found, the next time Gina forces you in for a meeting."
"Sold."
