Shared Obsession Chapter 161

Ryan holds up a group of photos. "Mann had six ex-wives in ages ranging from 25 to 50. It seems that every five years he traded in for a newer model."

Beckett eyes the collection with disgust. "So he didn't so much marry them as lease them."

"I ran all their names through the system," Ryan reports, "and guess what popped up? Wife number five was arrested over an altercation with Bobby at a restaurant uptown."

"So, even if she wasn't aware of Bobby's dietary needs, he would have had to bring them up at a restaurant to keep the chef from killing him. Balsamic is quite the trend right now," Castle notes. "And he'd pass on any wine. She would know about means. And she does have crazy eyes."


"Mrs. Mann, when was the last time you saw your ex-husband?" Kate asks from her familiar spot in the box.

"About a year ago – in court," Cindy Mann replies. "He took out a restraining order against me."

"Well, according to the complaint, you did threaten to kill him," Kate reminds her.

"I really don't remember what was said," Cindy claims.

"I wish you were dead, you little weasel," Castle quotes.

Cindy's eyes blaze. "He was dating a younger woman and she looked just like me!"

"Tell that to his previous wife," Castle retorts.

"Were you aware of his dietary restrictions?" Kate inquires.

"Sure, nothing fermented or it could give him a heart attack. Why? You think I had something to do with it?"

"You tell me, Mrs. Mann," Kate returns. "According to the doorman, Bobby showed up at your building last night."

Confusion and anger war on Cindy's face. "He did?"

"Cindy, we know you saw him," Kate insists.

"How do you know he wasn't there to see Barbara?" Cindy queries.

"Barbara?" Kate asks.

"His first wife. She's got an apartment in the building too. We both got 'em in our divorce settlements. Bobby co-owned the building."


Despite the skillful application of makeup, in the box's harsh light, the wear and tear of years are evident on Barbara's face. "Yeah, I saw Bobby last night. He came by at around one am and woke me up as usual."

"Did he often surprise you in the middle of the night?" Kate questions.

Barbara sighs, nodding. "I was the one woman who fell in love with him before all the fame and the money. Whenever he felt insecure, he came around. Mostly it was the same old stuff: his ratings were down or he was getting old. But last night…."

"What?" Kate presses.

"It was different. He looked," Barbara pauses for a moment, "haunted. He said something was going on, something awful. He asked me if I thought he was a good person. And I held his hand and said, 'Bobby, you're a lousy husband but you're a hell of a man.' Then he left."

"At what time?" Beckett asks.

"About a quarter after one."

"Did he say where he was going?" Castle inquires.

"No. I thought he was going home."


"Something awful was going on," Kate recounts in front of the murder board. "He knew someone was after him."

"But he doesn't tell his ex-wife or his best friend. Instead, he tells me. Why?" Castle puzzles.

"Maybe because you said you were working with cops," Kate proposes. "He wanted Barbara to tell him he was a good person."

"Like he was doing something he was ashamed of," Castle speculates.

"Mm-hmm," Kate agrees.

Ryan strides across the bullpen. "OK. Neighbors confirm Barbara Mann's story. One of them saw him leave her apartment at 1:15."

Kate taps her finger above her timeline. "That's outside our kill zone, which means we have to figure out where he went next. Let's canvass all the garages in the area, and see if we can find Mann's car. Let's also look into his financials for the usual secrets: drugs, gambling, prostitution."

Ryan pulls his notepad from his shirt pocket. "Yeah."

When a buzz emanates from Castle's trousers, he reaches for his cell phone. "Ellie? How did you…? Oh. Sure. I understand you're upset, but I can't. I'm working on a case right now. No, I have no idea when I'll be free. If we can't get a good handle on things within the first day or two, the trail goes cold. So we stay on it. Yeah, sure, if the director asks me. Uh-huh. Me too. Bye." Castle shoves his phone back in his pants with more force than necessary.

"Hey, Castle, was that the actress from the show last night?" Ryan asks.

"Yeah. She wanted to get together to 'comfort each other' about the shock of Bobby's death."

"You could have given her my number," Esposito grumbles. "I'd know how to comfort her."

"Castle was right," Kate breaks in. "We don't have time to do anything but work on this case while the clues are still fresh. So let's get to it."


Pushing away from her desk, Kate goes to check in with the detective partners. "Hey guys, any news on the car?"

Esposito swivels toward her. "Nothing at the garages near Barbara Mann's building."

"So we checked out restaurant valets in the area," Ryan adds. "Bobby paid the guy at Mozart's at 61st and Central Park West, a hundred bucks to keep it close while he ran up to his ex-wife. Witness says he left a little before 1:30."

Beckett clips a map to the murder board. "At Sixty-first and Central Park West, he enters our kill zone. So where did he go after that?"

"Maybe check traffic cams in the area," Esposito suggests. "A guy in a sportscar like that might have blasted through some red lights."

"It's a bit of a Hail Mary," Kate considers, "but it's worth a try."

Castle retrieves his phone. "Maybe we don't need traffic cams. Why not just the man – or woman – on the street? I mean a celebrity in a Bugatti? Come on. People aren't just gonna notice that. They are going to talk about it or more specifically, tweet." Castle enters a search term and scrolls. "Booyah!" He holds up his phone for Kate to read the screen.

"One-thirty-seven am Bobby Mann FTW – just saw him driving some spaceship car into the garage at Broadway and 57th. FTW?" Kate asks.

"For the win," Castle translates. "Newest tweet-speak from the posters who fancy themselves the 'cool kids.' It means my tweet kicks your tweet's butt." Castle's phone goes off, this time with a red stoplight on the screen. "Ellie Munroe again. I've got to give her points for persistence."

"You could still give her my number," Esposito says, drawing a black look from Kate. "Uh, never mind."

Castle sighs. "I'll have to be a little more direct."

"Babe, you're not going to tell her…?" Kate worries.

"No, but I'll think of something." Castle steps away down the hall.

Kate looks at him expectantly when he returns a few moments later. "What did you say?"

"That a couple of Alexis's friends had picked up mono and I didn't want to take a chance of exposing anyone."

Ryan grins. "The kissing disease. That's good without getting too gross."

"The mono part is also kind of true. But the victims are both girls and as far as I know, my daughter isn't into that kind of experimentation."

"Not the way she talks about her new, very male, dreamboat," Kate confirms. "So, Ryan, if you're through with approving Castle's dodge, did you get anything on the car?"

"Parking garage at 1525 Broadway confirms Bobby Mann pulled in at 1:37 am and he never came back for his car."

"And what's at 1525 Broadway?" Kate queries.

"The park-view penthouse of Mickey Reed, the gregarious and affable host of Late Talk."

Castle shakes his finger in the air and singsongs. "Oh Mickey, not so fine."