Shared Obsession Chapter 72

When her sister Nina arrives, Theresa Candela makes quick introductions to Kate and Sorenson. Nina takes a seat at the table where the Candelas' financial documents are spread out and begins going through them. "The $750,000 is doable. We'll market the stocks tomorrow morning. We'll have to wipe out the retirement account and both pensions. And you'll have to pay penalties."

"Well I don't care," Theresa responds. "Whatever it takes."

Castle peers in the door of Alfred's studio to see him throwing paint at a canvas. Theresa gestures toward her husband's sanctuary. "He paints when he's stressed."

"Does he sell much?" Castle inquires.

"Some," Theresa replies.

Nina smirks. "That's generous." Theresa throws her a black look. "Sorry, wrong time."

"Why do you ask?" Theresa queries.

Castle points at the paperwork. "I don't know too many artists with their own pension accounts."

"Theresa set that up for him," Nina explains, "so he'd have something for him and Angela in case… you know."

"Most people would just buy insurance," Castle notes. "But is there something specific that…?"

Sorenson approaches the table. "Mrs. Candela, we think the specificity of the demand indicates the kidnappers had knowledge of your finances."

"Is there someone with a grudge against you?" Kate asks as Alfred comes out of his studio. "Or maybe someone close to you who needs money now?"

"No one who would do something like this," Theresa asserts.

"What about Doug Ellers?" Alfred interjects.

"Who's Doug Ellers?" Kate asks.

"Someone I worked with," Theresa replies, "but I can't imagine…."

"What about those messages he left you at work?" Alfred interrupts. "Remember you filed those complaints with HR?"

"I know what happened, Alfred," Theresa retorts.

"Ms. Candela, I know how hard this is," Sorenson soothes. "But please, we need to know everything."

"He ran an assets management group. But it wasn't performing so I had to let him go," Theresa explains.

"Did he ever threaten you?" Sorenson queries.

"Well, he blamed me for his divorce," Theresa recalls. "He said his wife left him because I fired him and…." Theresa freezes in sudden realization.

"And what?" Beckett prompts.

"And she took his kids."

Beckett pulls out her phone. "Espo, get Ryan. I need you to pick someone up."


Kate leads Sorenson across the bullpen toward Interrogation where a sweating Ellers sits while Esposito and Ryan watch from Observation. "Where'd you find him?" Kate asks.

"Off-track betting," Ryan reports.

"ESU just hit his apartment," Esposito continues. "No trace of the kid."

As the boys stride back to the bullpen, Sorenson turns to Beckett. "That's not good. Pressure interview. I'll take the lead."

"That's what you always want to do, isn't it, Will? You wanted to go to Boston for your career, so you expected me to give up everything I'd built for mine and follow you. It didn't work then, and it won't work now. I've been taking the lead in that room for a lot of years," Kate points out. "It's my territory, and I get results. And what are you expecting to pressure him with? The guy was at off-track betting. What kidnapper goes to lay down bets when he's expecting $750,000? And there's no evidence he went near Angela Candela."

"He's the only lead we have, Kate," Sorenson argues.

"Maybe not," Montgomery says, holding up a file as he joins them. "Preliminary results from the CSU team you sent in, Beckett. No matches in the system for fingerprints. But there was a long hair in the dirt below the window, too coarse to be baby hair. The DNA didn't match anything in CODIS, and the lab's still checking elimination samples, but they say it's female."

"Ellers could have a partner," Sorenson insists.

"Fine, we'll question him," Kate agrees. "But I'm taking the lead. We can't waste time on dead ends."

"Mr. Ellers, I'm Detective Beckett. This is Special Agent Sorenson. Are you acquainted with a Theresa Candela?'

"Acquainted with Theresa Candela?" Ellers repeats. "Yeah, I'm acquainted with her. The bitch fired me."

"When was your last contact with her?" Kate questions.

"Why, what's going on?" Ellers asks.

"Just answer the question," Kate instructs.

"I don't know. It's been months since she went crying to HR. Why? What BS did she say to you?"

"We're more interested in what you said to her," Sorenson jumps in, hitting play on the recording of the ransom demand.

Ellers whitens as he listens. "Wow! That's too bad. Wait! Do you think that was me? Theresa may be a bitch, but I wouldn't wish that on anyone. Besides, I got a new job, a better one, and I'm working on sharing custody of my kids. I wouldn't mess that up by pulling a thing like that. And I'd never take a little girl."

"Aside from off-track betting, where have you been all day?" Kate asks.

"At work for most of it, Teaberry Fidelity. You can check. I lined up five new accounts, which is going to earn me a nice bonus. I figured it was a sign of good luck, so I was trying to put down a few bucks at OTB when those other two cops grabbed me and brought me here."

"We will check with Teaberry Fidelity, Mr. Ellers," Sorenson assures him.

Ellers shrugs. "Good. I've got nothing to hide. And Detective Beckett, tell Theresa I hope she gets her little girl back."

Kate nods as she starts to leave the room. "I will."


Kate hangs up her phone and goes to find Sorenson in the break room. "I spoke to Ellers' supervisor at Teaberry Fidelity. He confirms what Ellers said. And I talked to his ex. He was telling the truth about the pending joint custody too. He couldn't have taken Angela and had no reason to. That brings us back to the unidentified woman. We might as well go back to the Candelas' place. If we ask them about a woman, they might come up with someone they hadn't thought of before."


"You and Alexis are getting along better, Richard," Martha notes, pouring herself a glass of after-dinner wine."

"Yeah, I think it was this case. Dead bodies are one thing, but the kidnapping of a little girl…. I found myself with a deep-seated need for a hug. And when Alexis heard the story, she was similarly inclined."

"Perfectly understandable," Martha declares. "After all, we are pod mates. That's a Martha-ism, part of the wisdom I share as a life coach."

"Mother, you're twice divorced and your second husband ran off with all your savings. How do you qualify as a life coach?"

"Mistakes make the best teachers, another Martha-ism. And we were discussing what I call the pea pod bond, Richard. You know, the bond that exists between parent and child, you and me, you and Alexis. We're all peas in a pod. And whether we like it or not, anyone who's had a child is in the pea pod bond forever."

"How about my father?" Castle asks.

Martha sniffs. "Don't ruin a perfectly good theory."

"The pea pod bond," Castle repeats and presses a kiss to Martha's forehead. "Mother, you might just be on to something."


Sorenson grimaces as he tastes the last of a pot of coffee from the Candelas' machine. "Usually coffee in police precincts is the worst. The stuff in your break room at the 12th is a lot better than this, probably better than Java Hut. How did that happen?"

"Castle. He had a very colorful description of the coffee we used to have, so he bought us a professional machine. It took me a while to learn all the tricks to using it, and he still does it better than I do, but it's great."

"You like him, don't you?"

"There are things that are important to me that he understands but that you never really did."

"Castle's not a cop. How much can he understand?"

Castle leans against the doorframe. "More than you think, Sorenson. But we all completely missed the pea pod principle."

"The what?" Sorenson questions skeptically.

"The bond family members have. Angela was adopted, right? Who was the biological mother?"

"And does she have long hair?" Kate wonders.