Shared Obsession Chapter 105

Beckett and Castle sit across the table from Harun in Interrogation while his bodyguard stands nearby with eyes on the door Kate left open.

"Mr. Harun, you were a client of Mr. Fink?" Kate asks.

"That's correct," Harun confirms.

"You bought a significant number of works from him?"

"Yes."

"Well, we believe those works were forgeries," Kate reveals.

"Also correct," Harun replies, unruffled.

"So you're saying you knew they were fakes?" Kate presses.

Impatience flashes in Harun's dark eyes. "Of course, I knew. I have many friends back home whose wives are, um, shall we say demanding."

"And what do demanding wives have to do with any of this?" Kate rejoins.

Harun's eyes settle on Castle. "Well, we all know that the fairer sex can be shallow." He shifts his attention back to Kate. "Not you, of course, Detective, a smart liberated American woman. But my friends' wives want a bag that says 'Gucci.' They don't care who made the bag as long as it has that signature. And it's the same with paintings. They are more appreciative of the signature than the work itself. And my friends don't always want to spend top dollar on authentic pieces. So Victor would commission a copy. My friends save money. I get rich. And the wives get to think they have…."

Ryan steers J into Harun's eyeline through the doorway. "Move to your left just a drop," he whispers.

"extravagant artwork on their walls," Harun continues. "Everyone's happy. And no one's broken the law," he adds.

"So you only bought fakes from Fink?" Castle questions.

"No, he would also source originals for those husbands with taste. I was happy to provide…."

"He look familiar?" Ryan asks J.

"even though the originals pay less," Harun goes on. "What with everyone wanting to pay fair market and all.

"No, sorry," J replies.

"The night that Mr. Fink was murdered, you called him not long before he was killed," Kate states.

"That's correct, Detective. He told me to come by, that he had a painting for me. I showed up around 9:45 but he sent me away."

"Sent you away?" Kate asks.

"Yes, he was arguing with a man."

"About what?" Kate queries.

"I have no idea," Harun claims. "I respected his wishes and went for dinner at Nobu."

"Did you try the squid ink pasta?" Castle asks.

"Yes, it was excellent," Harun responds.

"And what did the man who was arguing with Mr. Fink look like?" Kate questions.

"Please, must we continue this ridiculous charade," Harun points at J, "when he is standing right there?" Harun rises and signals his bodyguard to follow.

"I'm not quite finished," Kate protests.

"But I am," Harun declares. "Have a nice day."


At the murderboard, Esposito finishes a conversation on his cell phone. "Thanks."

"For a guy with diplomatic immunity, Harun wasn't very diplomatic," Castle says. "And if he thinks women can't spot phony merchandise, he's never met Meredith or her friends. But sooner or later male chauvinist pigs get stuck."

"Find that out the hard way, Castle?" Esposito asks.

"Not personally. I grew up with the ruler of the roost, Martha Rodgers. But I've seen it from unfortunate males, especially some of the actors who tried to challenge her reign. It could happen to Harun someday from a certain female detective."

"Harun's hiding behind his immunity," Kate says. "He knows more than he's telling."

"Maybe," Esposito considers, "but his alibi is good. Nobu has him on security video entering at 9:55, 17 minutes before the 911 call about shots being fired. He's not our guy."

"Just because he didn't pull the trigger doesn't mean he wasn't involved," Kate insists.

"And just because J was shot doesn't mean he wasn't into something shady," Castle points out. "Could be the reason he was shot."

"And Harun said he saw J arguing with Fink," Kate recalls.

"We need to figure out why J was at the gallery," Esposito says.

Kate starts pacing in front of the board. "And we can't do that unless we know who he is."

"You know," Castle mulls, "there was another being at the gallery that night whose presence we haven't accounted for either."

"What are you talking about, Castle?" Kate demands.

"The pooch who was tied to the pole. No dog lover would leave her tied up like that for long. The owner expected to return pretty fast. And there's one other thing that never made sense. Remember what was in J's pockets? From his reaction to the spouse impersonator, we know why he had the inhaler. And most people have keys. But an empty grocery bag? People carry those to scoop poop when they walk their dogs."

"So the dog probably belongs to J," Kate realizes. "When he was shot and developed amnesia, he forgot about her."

"And she had a tag on her collar," Castle recalls. "Usually tags have some way to connect with the owner. How about a trip to Animal Control, Beckett?"

"Are you sure you don't just want to see your lady love again?" Kate teases.

"I do. But I also think she could be the key to unlocking J's identity."


Attendant Gilmer points at rows of cages. "Those are all the canines with ID tags we picked up in the last 24 hours. Mostly, the owners lost them accidentally and are relieved when we call."

Castle quickly strides over to a cage. "Aw, who's a good girl?"

That one's from 148 West 26th," Gilmer says.

Kate nods. "That's Fink's Gallery."

Castle checks the dog's tag. "Her name's Lucy! Good girl, Lucy. The owner's name is here too, Jeremy Preswick. That's got to be our J. Jeremy sound familiar, Lucy?" The dog gives a happy bark. "I think we've got an ID."


Kate and Castle join J in the lounge. "Your name is Jeremy Preswick," Kate informs him. "We checked it against DMV records. It's a positive ID."

"Jeremy Preswick," J repeats.

"You are 34 years old," Kate continues. "You live at 82 Warren Street in Tribeca. You don't really have any family. Your parents passed away a few years ago and you don't have any siblings. But we did manage to get a hold of your ex-wife, Emma Carnes."

Jeremy stares at Kate. "Ex-wife?"

"Yes."

"I'm divorced?"

"An experience many men would love to forget," Castle says.

Kate throws Castle a look. "Jeremy, your ex-wife sounded pretty concerned. And we figured that getting her in here would be the fastest way of putting together the details, which would be great for you and our investigation."

"If you think it would help," Jeremy replies, still looking stunned. "An ex-wife that I can't remember."

The entrance of teenage feet vibrates across the bullpen. "That must be Alexis's crew coming to work on the tree," Castle says. "I'm going to go instruct them of their duties – and get their pizza orders."

"Is the tree here stabilized?" Jeremy asks.

"It's not as lofty as the one at my loft," Castle says.

"But if you want to check it out, it will give you something to do until your ex-wife gets here," Kate suggests.

"Yeah," Jeremy agrees. "That's a good idea."


"Here you go," Ryan says, ushering Emma into the lounge. "Jeremy should be in here in a minute."

Followed by Kate and Castle, Jeremy enters hesitantly, staring at the attractive blonde. "Hey, thank you for coming. I appreciate it."

"Sure," Emma replies, staring at the confusion on his familiar face.

"So we're divorced?" Jeremy asks.

"Yeah."

"It must be weird coming here to try to help me out, huh?"

"A little."

Kate gestures at a chair. "Please take a seat, Ms. Carnes."

"So what happened to him?" Emma asks.

"That's what we're trying to figure out," Castle explains.

"So, what can you tell us about Jeremy?" Kate inquires.

Emma lets out a breath. "I don't know where to start."

"He seems to be good at math and engineering stuff. Does he work as an engineer?" Castle asks.

Emma looks at Jeremy "As far as I know, you don't work at all. You have a Ph.D. in economics from Wharton. You had a consulting business in channel economics and strategy. You're like crazy smart. But you like to work with your hands. You built the bookcases in our apartment. You were always reading something."

"A life-saving habit," Castle observes. "But he had a business? What happened to it?"

"He sold it last year – for a lot."

"Which might have made him a target for purveyors of expensive art, like Victor Fink," Castle figures. "Emma, did he buy art as an investment?"

Emma looks wistful. "As far as I know, Jeremy only bought one painting, and it wasn't for investment."