Shared Obsession Chapter 135
Ryan catches Kate before she and Castle make it to her desk in the morning. "According to the security footage, the boyfriend never left the hospital during his shift. It wasn't him."
Kate drops her purse into a drawer "Damn! Tyler was our best suspect."
Esposito strides quickly across the bullpen. "Beckett, there's something you've got to see." He hands her a few sheets of paper and several photographs. "That's one of Jessica's subjects. She calls him Sam-I-Am."
"He's got a Doctor Seuss fetish?" Castle asks.
"Because he's a 'SAM' – smart-assed masochist," Ryan explains. "According to the part of Jessica's notes you guys left for us, a SAM pretends he wants to be a submissive, but what he actually wants to do is dominate his mistress, usually with passive-aggression."
"Instead of asking for what he wants, he makes a game out of making other people upset so they can be punished," Esposito adds.
"Reminds me of some of the pencil-pushers at 1PP," Kate says.
"Only these SAMS can be dangerous," Ryan puts in, "sometimes resorting to threats to provoke a response."
Kate scans the notes. "Listen to this. 'He said Mistress Venom was the one who needed to be punished. He said he was going to find her, tie her up, and drown her, but in something sweet – like caramel. This should be enough for Markway to give us a court order to see Jessica's client list."
William "Sam-I-Am" Caraway squirms in the cold metal chair in Interrogation, supporting his weight on his hands as he raises himself from his seat. He'll take punishment, even relish it, but on his own terms. As a senior vice president at Stewart, Cabot, and Sagansky, he can manipulate his underlings into screwing up enough for him to mete out punishment. But it's nothing like what he fantasized about doing to Mistress Venom. Of course, he never would. He's always needed to have someone lined up to take the fall for him, and in Mistress Venom's case, he wouldn't be in a position to point a finger. If his wife found out – well, she's too timid to punish him on her own, but her brother is one hell of a divorce attorney. William's not about to let her get her hooks into anything he's earned – except what he grants of course.
Kate regards the suspect through the glass in Observation. "Castle, I think you'd better sit this one out. I believe Mr. Caraway will respond best to a firm female hand."
Castle's eyebrows do a fair approximation of a wave. "And he probably can't firm up unless he gets one. And you know how I love research. I'm curious to see how you play him."
Kate interlocks her fingers, her knuckles cracking as she stretches out her arms. "Showtime."
"Sit!" Beckett instructs Caraway as if addressing a wayward canine.
Caraway glares at her. "First, why don't you tell me why the hell I'm here? I've got a board meeting…."
"I said sit down. Now!" Kate commands. Caraway sinks into his chair. "Good boy. Your mistress would be very proud of you."
Caraway feels the burn of acid in his throat. "Excuse me?"
Kate shoots him a knowing smile. "Mistress Venom of Lady Irena's House of Pain. Your mistress was very thorough in documenting your deepest, darkest desires – the thing with the matches, how you like it messy."
Caraway gasps. "She wrote that down?"
Kate leans over the table, looking down at her suspect. "She also wrote how you wanted to turn the tables on her, how you threatened to tie her up and drown her in caramel."
"I-it's fantasy," Caraway protests.
Kate shoves a photo of the crime scene in front of his face. "But your fantasies weren't enough. You wanted to make your dream come true."
Caraway stares at the macabre image. "No, that's not possible."
"The more she said no, the more you became obsessed. You didn't want to be the submissive. You wanted to dominate her, and the ultimate domination is murder."
Caraway pulls back. "No, I swear. I didn't even know she was dead."
"You were very specific in your threats." Kate holds up the photo again. "And that's exactly how we found her. Do you really expect me to believe that wasn't you?"
"Well, well," Caraway sputters, "someone must have found out. Someone must have read her notes."
The sharp smack of Kate's palm against the table echoes off the walls. "Where were you two nights ago?" Caraway covers his face with his hands. "Mr. Caraway, where were you?"
"I was with my wife. It was our anniversary."
Esposito lays down the receiver of his landline and joins the group at the murderboard. "Caraway's wife confirms it. He was at their anniversary party all night. And the caterer remembers him being there too because he was a pain in the ass. He couldn't have done it, Beckett."
Kate points at the photos of the murder scene. "The staging was way too specific to be just a coincidence. Somebody knew."
"Maybe she told someone," Esposito suggests.
"Maybe someone had access to her research. The filing cabinet wasn't exactly Fort Knox," Castle recalls. "Anyone who got into it would've read exactly what we read and could use it to throw us off their trail."
"Esposito, you and Ryan go to the dungeon," Kate instructs. "See if any of the girls swap stories after work. Castle and I will go to the university and find out who had access to Jessica's work."
Kate glances at Jessica's empty desk before turning her attention back to Kelly. "You were her officemate. It would have been very easy for you to access her work."
"No, it wouldn't," Kelly argues. "I told you. She was very private about her work."
"You mean to tell us she didn't once slip out to the bathroom and leave her notes sitting on the desk?" Castle questions.
"If she did, I wouldn't be interested," Kelly claims. "And the night she was killed I was in Westchester with my folks."
"Does anyone else have access to this office?" Kate asks.
"Just maintenance."
"How about your keys?" Castle asks. "Did you ever lose them or lend them to a friend?"
"No. Wait. I gave them to Matt last week because he said he had some papers here. What? You think he broke into her filing cabinet and took her research?" Kelly queries.
"You said it yourself. It's a very competitive program," Castle reminds her. "They were both finalists for the same fellowship. Um, didn't Matt say his proposal was about studying AIDS clinics?"
"Yes, he spends quite a lot of time observing in them," Kelly says.
Castle turns to Kate. "And what would you like to bet that while he's there he wears scrubs?"
"If he does, he could have been the guy Mistress Sapphire saw at the dungeon," Kate realizes.
"Hey, Esposito," Castle calls when he and Kate return to the precinct. "What's that on your face? It looks like the mark from a whip."
Esposito puts a hand to his cheek. "I bumped into a door."
"Strange door," Castle says.
"Unis bring in our new suspect?" Kate asks.
Ryan points toward Interrogation. "Been in there about ten minutes. Complained about being pulled away from his work."
"After Beckett gets through with him, he may have a lot more to complain about than that," Castle says. He lifts an eyebrow at Kate. "Want some coffee? Give him a few more minutes to marinate before you toss him on the barbie?"
"No, let's just get to it," Kate decides.
As Castle trots after her toward the box, he spies the headline on the afternoon edition of The Ledger on a desk. "Hold on a second, Beckett." He picks up the newspaper. "'Where was Senator Brinkman?' Hmm, not their usual style. 'Reporters are hitting a brick wall when trying to get details regarding the absence of Senator Brinkman. While his office acknowledges that the senator has medical issues, that was never a secret in the nation's capital or his home state. However, rumors are flying that intelligence agencies are involved in the matter. Our staff will continue digging into the mystery.'" Castle lays down the paper. "Beckett, sooner or later this thing is going to explode."
