Shared Obsession Chapter 54
Kate points at a new closure on the door of Susan Delgado's apartment. The super said he was going to put a working lock on this. It looks like he did. I'll need to get a key from him."
Powell smiles. "Not necessary." After a few seconds, the lock smoothly pops open. "Just like riding a bike."
"Our thieves used a bump key," Castle recounts.
Powell shakes his head. "This new generation. How utterly vulgar." His flashlight falls on the safe. "Rick, you didn't tell me they put that poor woman in there."
"What's the significance?" Rick asks.
"The significance is it's unnecessary. "It's brutality for brutality's sake. This used to be a gentleman's game. We were like ghosts. We could walk through walls and simply disappear. But whoever did this, they're more like vampires. The taste of blood makes them feel alive. They aren't the sorts of chaps a man in my line of work would care to run into in the dark."
"That's pretty much what Evan Mitchell, the guy who made the bump key said," Castle recalls. "He claimed he wanted to avoid them so much that he was staying away from residentials. How often would people in your profession actually run into each other?"
Powell continues regarding the scene. "More often than you think. We're a very small community."
"And what would happen if you did?" Kate asks.
"In my day, we'd usually come to some agreement. We had a code of conduct."
Castle regards the blood spatters still marked by CSU. "These guys never got the memo."
As Kate and Castle enter the bullpen, Montgomery stands in the doorway of his office waving a sheaf of papers. "The financials finally came through, Beckett. You'd better grab Ryan and Esposito. You've got a lot to go through."
Castle helps Kate wheel a whiteboard into the conference room where the other two detectives wait. "All right. What we're going to do is go through the financials of all the victims. Whenever you find a charitable contribution, write it on the board and make a column with the victim's initials," Kate instructs. If you find one that already has a column, write the initials of your victim. What we're looking for is charities with connections to all four victims. That's where the invader's mole would have to be."
"Delgado and Pastori both gave to the Opera Society," Esposito offers.
"But not the other two victims," Ryan notes, "but three families bought tickets to the Aids America Gala, Delgado, the Bruners, and the Keslers. Maybe the Pastoris came as guests of one of the others."
"But they all denied knowing each other," Kate reminds the group. "We need a column with all four."
Castle points to a column. "M.A.D.T., that's Metropolitan American Dance Theatre. It's up there twice with two in each. They all bought tickets to a fundraiser. That's the non-profit our invaders are profiting from. Hmm," Castle considers. "One of Alexis's friends is a budding ballerina. She takes classes there, and her mother is always hitting me up to buy fundraiser tickets. They have them quarterly, and I believe that the next one is tomorrow night. Beckett, I shouldn't have any trouble getting us in. But the glitterati will be strutting the red carpet. I can always get away with a tuxedo, but the ladies gravitate toward apparel that costs enough to feed most families for months. Do you have anything you can wear?"
"I'll manage, Castle," Kate assures him.
Lanie looks on in disapproval as Kate pulls dresses out of her closet. "Prom. Graduation. Wedding. Ugh! What was that for, a sci-fi costume party?"
"Actually it was," Kate admits, "when I was at Stanford. But it still fits me. I had a friend who was into body painting make me into a green Orion dancing slave girl. I won the prize for sexiest."
"Yeah, well you can't go to this thing painted green."
"Maybe…." The doorbell sounds. Grateful for the reprieve Kate answers it, receiving a large white box.
"Open it, Girl," Lanie demands.
Kate lifts the lid. "There's a card. 'Bibitty bobbity boo. I promise you won't turn into a pumpkin. Castle.'" She cautiously fingers a sparkling red gown and holds it up in front of her.
Lanie nods approvingly. "The man's got taste. So, what about shoes?"
Kate points to a full rack on her closet's floor. "Those, I have."
Martha looks on as Castle perfectly completes tying the bow tie that goes with his tuxedo. "You always did clean up well, kiddo. Good thing I was able to cover the bruise Powell gave you, not that you didn't deserve it."
Castle sighs. "You're right, as usual, Mother. And Powell said to tell you that he owes you a dinner at Le Cirque. Apparently, he was about to ask you when he and I had our little disagreement." Castle reaches into his wallet. "He told me to give you his number."
Martha lights up at the elegantly embossed calling card. "That man has always had class. You could learn more from him, Richard."
"If I write a take-off on The Pink Panther, I'll remember that. But Beckett is my muse, Mother. I'm learning more than I ever thought possible. And I can feel that we're going to prove who's behind Celia's death and so many others."
"If she doesn't get you killed first. You already have a daughter who's barely speaking to you."
"Alexis is coming around. I actually got several sentences out of her today."
"That's because she needed you to sign off on her application for violin camp. But really, Richard, writing about police work is one thing, but putting yourself in the line of fire is something else."
"Mother, I'm going to a fundraiser, not a bank robbery."
"You haven't told me which one."
"You can find out tomorrow like everyone else when you read Page Six."
A knock at the door provides a welcome interruption. "Beckett's here." Both Castle's chest and pants tighten as he sees Kate framed in the doorway. The dress looks ten times better on her than it had on the model at the exclusive boutique where he'd hurriedly purchased it. Above the scarlet beading, her cleavage and neck are creamy, perfect, but unadorned. He strides toward the safe in his office and returns with a velvet-covered box.
"Castle, what's that?"
"Don't get too excited, it's only on loan."
"Isn't that a line from Pretty Woman?"
"An inspirational movie if ever there was one. And after taking Alexis to see Cinderella six times, it was refreshing to catch the adult version." He opens the box to reveal a ruby neckless. "What do you think?"
"I think it's a good thing I have my gun on me."
He studies her sleek lines. "Where are you hiding it?"
"That's my secret."
Esposito stands at the rope line near the red carpet. "Great dress, Beckett."
"I'd let you borrow it, but you stretched out the last one. See anyone that looks like our guy?" Both Ryan and Esposito shake their heads. "Well, I didn't think he'd be the spotter here. One of our victims would have been able to identify him. But stay alert."
Esposito eyes several attractive ladies exiting a limousine. "No problem."
Beckett points at a flawlessly turned-out socialite as she and Castle make their way into a cavernous ballroom. "That's Anne Greene, the company's director. Her photo was all over the PR. She's about as inside as you could get."
"But why would she have anything to do with the home invaders?" Castle wonders. "It looks like she excels at fundraising without resorting to violence. And any extortion she carries out is legal."
"Maybe she's in on it for kicks," Kate proposes. "She's a textile heiress. I've run up against bored rich girls who'd do anything for an adrenaline rush."
"White centerpieces go on the angel tables. Red Centerpieces go on the sponsor tables," Anne instructs the staff.
"Excuse me, Ms. Greene," Kate interrupts, "I'm Detective Beckett, and this is …."
"Richard Castle!" Anne gushes. "My friend Cheney still talks about the incredible time she had at the Black Pawn Halloween Ball. She said you put on quite a show."
Kate shoots a gaze at Castle. "That must have been very interesting."
