Shared Obsession Chapter 166

With Bracken's trial looming, and Castle shopping to resupply the break room, Kate does her best to release some of her tension on the heavy bag in the 12th Precinct's gym. Pausing for a moment to wipe away sweat that's eluded the band across her forehead, she notices an unfamiliar pair of eyes watching her. They follow her movements from a handsome face. It would be even more handsome if his eyes were more widely spaced like Castle's, but Kate guesses that her observer still attracts the attention of his share of women. She meets his gaze. "Can I help you with something?"

"No, but I'm guessing I can help you. Your assault is too intense for the bag to stay in position. You need someone to steady it for you."

"Are you volunteering? Kate asks. "Sure you can hold up to the impact?"

"Try me," he offers.

Kate knows a come-on when she hears one – she hears enough of them. But he is right about the bag. And if he thinks he can brace it for her, she's not going to refuse. She's already seen some conjecture from the press and she aims her blows at an imaginary camera lens she expects will become real before long.

"Wow!" the newcomer exclaims, planting his feet more firmly to resist the force of Kate's kicks to the thick leather. "That's some leg action."

"It helps to take down the bad guys," Kate replies. A loud buzz from the corner where she parked her gym bag, interrupts the final moments of her workout. She nods at the man on the other side of the bag. "Thanks." Taking a breath, she grabs her cell phone. "Beckett."


"Victim's name is Paul Finch," Esposito reports at a crime scene. He gestures toward a vehicle. "According to the registration, it's his car."

"What do we know about him?" Kate asks.

"We ran him for next of kin, found his wife," Esposito replies.

"She's on her way in," Ryan adds.

"And he has a rap sheet," Esposito continues, "couple of bank jobs, some corporate B&E's. But he hasn't been arrested in a few years. So, he's either really lucky…."

"Or he's out of the game," Castle says.

Kate takes a few steps toward Lanie, who's in her usual position over a body. "What happened to him?"

"He was electrocuted," the ME informs her.

Kate studies the victim. "The voltage had to be pretty high for him to get burns like that."

"Come on, Kate. A seasoned detective like you knows it's the amperage, not the voltage that kills," Castle says. "A car battery's only about 12 volts but it has a hell of a kick. You hook those leads into the ignition system, rev the engine high enough, and…."

"Yeah," Kate agrees. "But it looks like they were trying to torture him not kill him, and they took it too far."

"Either way, it wasn't pleasant," Lanie says.

"Whoever did this either wanted to send a message or wanted something from him," Kate figures.

"What would someone need from a retired…?" Castle stops short gazing at the victim.

"What?" Kate asks.

"His eyes are closed."

Kate turns to Lanie. "Did anyone touch the body before you arrived?"

"Nope. It was like that when I got here. The killer must have closed them post-mortem," Lanie assumes.

"That means he knew the victim!" Castle and Beckett blurt together.

"If I were writing it, the killer would have felt guilty about what he had done and wanted to erase it," Castle says.

"Have CSU sweep the cars and let's fume the body," Kate instructs. "Maybe we'll get some prints off the eyelids."

Lanie's head bobs enthusiastically. "You got it!"

Beckett spies an oddly shaped piece of metal inside the car and grabs it with a gloved hand. "What is it?" Castle asks.

Kate holds up her find. "You tell me."

Castle regards the strangely curved shape. "Maybe our killer was the artist formerly known as Prince."


Kate glances down at a small table in the interview lounge to make sure tissues are within reach and hands the victim's wife a cup of Castle's special blend. "Mrs. Finch, we're very sorry for your loss." Kate shows her a picture of the object she found at the scene. "Does this look familiar to you at all?"

Monica Finch sets her coffee on the table. "No. I'm sorry. Look," the attractive black woman urges. "I know what my husband was but Paul has been out of the game since he left prison. When we got married he swore off taking scores. Then a few weeks ago he said he had to do something for a friend."

"Did he tell you what or who?" Kate asks.

"No. I begged him not to do it but he said he owed the guy from way back. Paul was a thief, Detective, but he had a sense of honor. He was old-fashioned like that. He was a good man, Detective. I mean, God knows he had his faults, but he didn't deserve to die like that."


Castle, do you believe what Monica Finch said about her thief husband having a sense of honor?" Kate asks as they gather with the boys around the murder board.

"It's possible. Our old friend Powell certainly has one. He would never steal from anybody who couldn't afford the loss of expensive baubles and he is absolutely opposed to violence. As far as I know, he's never carried a weapon, unless you count his brain. And he's never turned on a friend. But then he's never been caught and gone to prison either. That can change a man."

"From what Monica said, it might have changed Paul Finch for the better," Kate muses.

"Which would have made it a very big deal to come out of retirement," Castle offers. "He tries for one last job and ends up dead. That can't be a coincidence."

"Yeah, what lures a guy who's been retired for years back into the game?" Esposito wonders.

"Must have been something big," Ryan opines.

Kate steps away to answer her ringing desk phone. "That was Robbery," she shares, on returning to the board. "They logged a break-in at a branch of Manhattan Mutual the day before yesterday."

"Bank heist. That fits Finch's profile," Esposito observes.

"Did they give you any details?" Castle asks.

"Nope. They're sending a guy up now."

"That would be me," a newly familiar voice sounds from behind Kate.

As Kate's mouth struggles to form a response, Esposito's face lights up. "Oh-ho! What's up, Bro? How're you doing? Why didn't you tell me you transferred?"

"Oh, you know, settling in," the arrival replies.

"Hey, uh, this is my boy, Tom Demming," Esposito announces. "He was one of the best cops back at the 54th. This is my partner, Ryan."

Demming extends his hand to the slim detective. "How are you doing?"

Ryan gives Demming's hand a hardy shake. "Hey, nice to meet you, Man."

"You, too," Demming responds.

Esposito gestures around the circle. "Richard Castle."

"Yeah, the author, right?" Demming asks.

"That's right," Castle confirms.

"And this is Detective Beckett," Esposito continues.

Demming's gaze sweeps over Kate's curves. "Yeah, we've met."

"Yes, hi," Kate acknowledges.

Castle eyes the way Demming is looking at Kate. He doesn't like it. He doesn't like it at all. And how the hell did they meet? He resolves to ask her as soon as they have some privacy.

Demming regards the photo prominently clipped to the board. "So Paul Finch, huh? He's one of the few guys on the island who could have taken a score like that."

"Like what?" Beckett queries.

"A couple of pros tunnel into the vault, drill open a safe deposit box, and leave nothing behind but the great smell of Brut."

Kate can't help thinking that she finds the heavily advertised scent anything but appealing, but wants to know more of what Demming believes about the robbery. "And you think Paul Finch couldn't have pulled that off on his own?"

"Nah, it's a two-man job, minimum," Demming asserts. "There's definitely another player floating around."

"Speaking of players," Castle mutters to himself.

"Well, we've run a search for his phone records and financials, so hopefully we'll find something that ties him to a partner," Kate says. "Maybe the partner decided he didn't need Finch anymore and turned on him. He might have been torturing Finch to find out where he hid his share of whatever they stole."

"But without prints or DNA from the robbery, the MO is our only connection between Finch and the theft," Castle points out.

"That's true," Kate agrees. "We need to find out what was in that box."