Shared Obsession Chapter 111

Sophie's cell phone history shows that Sophie's call at the rehearsal dinner originated in the hotel lobby," Ryan reports.

"Check with the hotel," Kate instructs. "See if they have any video covering the phones."


At the security desk, Ryan scrutinizes surveillance stills of the lobby phones. "Wait, I know this guy from my time with Narcotics. His name is Gamble, Boyd Gamble."

"So he's a dealer?" Esposito asks.

"Mostly weed and coke back in the day. Did a couple of years for assaulting another drug dealer who was trying to muscle in on his turf. Beat him up real bad, too."

"Sounds like he's got a bad temper," Esposito observes. "Maybe he's graduated to murder."


Kyra enters the elevator Kate's riding while getting her report from Ryan and Esposito. "Sounds right," Kate acknowledges. "Go pick him up."

"Was that about Mike?" Kyra inquires.

"Uh, no," Kate responds. "Just following a lead. By the way, your dress is lovely," she adds, searching for a safe topic.

"Oh, thank you so much. I - it's Kate, right?"

"Yes."

"I feel like I know you a little, from Nikki Heat, the dedication."

Kate's gut clenches. "Oh?"

"I still read all of Rick's books."

"Yeah, well most of that book came out of Castle's imagination," Kate returns hastily.

"It's funny that you call him that, Castle. When I knew him, he was just Rick, fresh off his best seller."

"He told me that's when you met," Kate confides.

"He did? Then are you two close?" Kyra asks.

"We work very closely together," Kate dodges.

"Well I knew Rick about as well as I think anyone could," Kyra declares. "And I'm pretty sure he only dedicates his books to people he cares about."

The elevator doors open and Kyra walks out, leaving Kate lost in thought.


Despite his handcuffs, the metal table in the box vibrates from the impact of Boyd Gamble's fists. "Murder? What are you, nuts?"

"We know you met Sophie Ronson at the hotel, Boyd," Esposito informs the suspect. "Couple hours later she turns up dead. You wanna tell us how that happened?"

"She met me in the park. We had a mutual acquaintance who recommended my services. She knew I could get her what she needed."

"Why didn't you just sell her drugs and be done with it?" Ryan asks.

"Because she needed a specialty item. I didn't have any on me so I told her I'd call her when I did."

"What specialty item?" Esposito presses.

"Flunitrazepam."

"Ruffies?" Ryan questions.


Kate plunks into a chair in the hotel lounge off the lobby. "Why would a bridesmaid need ruffies?"

Taking the opposite seat, Castle shrugs. "You want to take advantage of a guy, knocking him unconscious kind of defeats the purpose. Best way? Just ask." A familiar shadow falls between Castle and Kate. "Hello, Sheila."

Disapproving eyes narrow at Castle. "Richard, it figures you'd be at the heart of this mess."

"Detective Beckett, this is Sheila Blaine, mother of the bride." Castle looks up at the scowling matriarch. "So I guess I didn't end up homeless or teaching at a third-rate college in New Hampshire after all."

"There's still time," Sheila ripostes.

Castle flashes her a pained smile. "I've missed our little talks." He turns back to Kate. "Sheila didn't approve of struggling artists, even the ones who managed to snag publishing contracts." He looks back up at Sheila. "You must like Greg, though. He comes from money, right?"

"It was never about the money," Sheila insists. "It was about character, and you'd know that if you had any."

Kate watches as the woman stalks away. "Wow! Just imagine. If things had worked out between you and Kyra, you'd be spending Thanksgivings with her."

"Maybe not. Kyra could always come up with an excuse to travel."

"With a mother like that, I might have gone a lot further away than Stanford," Kate imagines. "Timbuktu has a ring to it. Or can you imagine having to take Sheila in like you did Martha?"

Castle shudders. "Maybe Timbuktu wouldn't have been such a bad idea."

Kate's cell sounds off from her jacket pocket. She hurriedly takes the call. "OK. Thanks." Kate tucks the phone away. "They found Mike Weitz. Come on."


As "Help! Anybody!" accompanies loud banging on a storage closet door, a manager slips in a keycard. A disheveled man stumbles out.

"Mike Weitz?" Kate inquires.

"Where's that f***ing bitch Sophie?" Mike demands. "I'll kill her."

"Poor timing," Castle observes.

"What happened?" Beckett asks.

"That little freak drugged me!"


Mike sits on the bed in his hotel room while Kate pulls up the chair from the desk. Castle takes a spot standing behind her, looking down at the hapless groomsman. "All right Mike," Kate urges, "walk me through what happened with you and Sophie last night."

"She came on to me is what happened," Mike spits out. "Came on to me all flirty, bought me a drink."

"A drink spiked with ruffies," Castle inserts.

"Yeah. Nuts, right? Who ruffies a guy? All a girl has to do is ask."

Castle throws Kate a self-satisfied look.

"Did the two of you have a history?" Kate asks Mike.

"No, I mean I saw her last year at Greg and Kyra's engagement party. She was definitely the kind of girl you noticed. But, uh, I don't think we even so much as talked."

"Any idea why she would want to drug you?" Castle asks.

"Not a clue," Mike admits.

"Did she seem angry, nervous, or scared?" Kate inquires.

"No. She seemed determined. Guess I should have known it was too good to be true, right?"

"All right. If you can think of anything else, let us know," Kate advises.

"OK," Mike agrees.

Leaving Mike in his room, Kate motions Castle a distance down the hallway. "Can you get that writer's imagination going again? What was Sophie up to?"

"She went out of her way to get those drugs. She must have had a plan."

"To ruffie Mike and lock him in a closet? What kind of bizarre plan is that?"

"I don't know, Kate, but we're missing something. Wait! Mike was missing something, right? His keycard! The manager had to let him in his room. Sophie must have taken it after she drugged him. But what could Sophie want in Mike's room?"

"I don't know, Castle. He said nothing was stolen. And Sophie didn't take his wallet, just his key."

Castle begins pacing back down the hall. "There's something we're missing about that room. But I can't figure out what."

"Let's go meet up with the boys," Kate suggests, "maybe it will come to you."


Ryan spies a loaded buffet table in a hastily set up hospitality suite and grabs Esposito's arm. "Dude! Catering! And I'm so hungry!"

"What are you guys doing?" Kate demands as Ryan and Esposito fill plates.

"I haven't eaten all day," Ryan claims. "These potato pancakes are incredible."

Kate grabs the plates and puts them on the table. "You know what else is incredible? How much information we're going to find when we start investigating our victim's life. I want to know everything about Sophie Ronson from the moment her plane landed in New York till the moment she was found dead. Who she called, what she did, what she ate." Kate pulls her cell out of her pocket. "This is Detective Kate Beckett. I need the financials for Sophie Ronson. Yeah, in about an hour."

Ryan looks longingly at his plate. "Beckett, if the financials won't be in for an hour, do you think we could eat first? It only takes 20 minutes to get to the precinct."

"Come on, Kate," Castle urges. "Holmes used the needle to tune up his detecting skills. The guys just want the pancakes – and maybe a little sour cream on the side."

"All right," Kate agrees. "But eat fast, guys. We've got work to do."

"You think Beckett's in a bit of a mood?" Ryan wonders as Kate hurries Castle away.

"Yeah," Esposito agrees. "Something or someone here is definitely getting under her skin. Maybe one of Castle's lattes will smooth her out."

Ryan helps himself to seconds of pancakes. "He does have the touch."

"Kate, how about if I meet you at the precinct?" Castle asks. "If Sophie introduced Kyra and Greg, maybe there's something Kyra might know about her background that could explain her behavior – maybe something Greg told her. It couldn't hurt to ask."

"All right, Castle. But when Sophie's financials come, it would help to have your eyes."

"I understand. I'll be along," Castle promises.