Shared Obsession Chapter 37
A message dings from Castle just as Kate pulls into the parking area of the Southern State Correctional Facility. "I have an address for Lochlan Jackson." It's been a long drive, but she's still tempted to turn around. The hell with Kevin Henson! What could he really know? He wasn't there when Melanie was killed. At least Kate doesn't think so. But she really has no way of knowing. Sighing, she gets out of her unit. Jackson – and Castle – will have to wait.
Despite the prison tats intended to buttress a tough image, Kate can see the moisture threatening to overflow Henson's eyes as he stares at a photograph of Melanie's body. "You ever been in love, Detective? Makes you do crazy things."
"Like kill someone?" Kate questions.
"I never killed anyone, and I never wanted to hurt Mel. When we were together time just stopped. But even the first day, her and me, we knew it was never gonna work. God knows her folks were never gonna let their little girl end up with a tatted-up addict. But sometimes, see, sometimes when we were alone together, we almost believed."
"But wasn't she going to leave Sam? Isn't that why she came to see you?" Kate probes.
"There was more to it than that. She found out the sonofabitch was having an affair with some woman from his bank. She was afraid that he was going to leave her and get custody of their kids because of you know, the drugs. She wanted me to go with her, take the kids and just disappear."
"So what did you do?"
"Put her on a bus."
"You sent her away?"
"What she needed, I couldn't give. I checked into rehab the next day. I thought if I could get clean…. But it was too late. I was still there when she disappeared. By the time I got out, she must have been dead."
"Why do you think she was dead?"
"She stopped calling. If she was alive, she would have called."
After hearing Henson's story, Kate settles into the driver's seat of her unit to call Castle. "I'll double-check his alibi, but I don't think Henson killed Melanie. Unless he's an actor worthy of Scorsese, I believe he really loved her and wanted to make a life with her work. But he did give me something new. Sam was heating up the sheets with a co-worker."
"Which could explain a lot," Castle mulls. "Maybe he killed Melanie to be free to be with his lover. Or maybe he and the lover did it together."
"Castle, you're a guy."
"Last time I looked."
"So from a guy's point of view, if Sam had a lover, wouldn't his best friend know about it?"
"I don't know," Castle admits. "Meredith cheated on me, but I never cheated on her. I never cheated on Gina either. And I know a lot of guys, some of whom I might class as friends, but none I'd tag as a best friend. As a kid, I was thrust from place to place too much to make a connection that unyielding. And writers by their very nature spend a lot of time alone, so I never forged that bond as an adult either. But from what I've observed as a people watcher, men do tend to pour out their secrets to their buddies, particularly if alcohol is involved."
"So Wyler might have known who the woman was. But I'll have to convince his lawyer to let him tell me anything."
"Uh-huh, Fifth Amendment lockjaw. But he wouldn't be implicating himself in any way if he told you that. If anything, he might earn a point or two with the DA."
"That's true. And if Counselor Jenks is any good, he'd want to give Wyler that advantage. I'll get the boys to have Wyler waiting in Interrogation for when I get back."
"What about Lochlan Jackson?"
"What's his address, Castle?"
"226 Bowery."
"That's not that far from the 12th. You could meet me at the box, and we can question Wyler together. He'll either talk or he won't. Either way, it should be quick. Then we can scope out Jackson."
"Sounds like a plan."
Jenks' gaze sweeps over Kate's face. "You'll tell the DA that my client cooperated?"
"For as much as he does."
Jenks turns to Wyler. "Answer her questions unless I tell you not to."
With a split-second glance at Castle, Kate draws in a breath. "Mr. Wyler, did Sam Cavanaugh ever tell you he was having an affair?"
Wyler's eyes dart to Jenks who nods. "Yes, he did."
"And did he tell you who he was having the affair with?"
"Her name is Elizabeth Forte. She worked with Sam at the bank. But she transferred to another branch."
"And how did Cavanaugh feel about that?" Kate asked.
"My client can't possibly know how Cavanaugh or any other person felt," Jenks interjects.
"All right," Kate acknowledges. "Did Sam say anything about how he felt?"
"He said he was pissed off, really pissed off."
"Pissed off enough to take it out on Melanie?" Kate asks.
"Again, my client couldn't possibly know that," Jenks interrupts. "You wanted a name. You got one. We're done here."
"Fine," Kate retorts. "I'll tell the DA just how helpful your client was."
"Castle, what are you doing?" Kate asks as he types intently into his phone while Wyler is led away.
"Googling Elizabeth Fortes in NYC. I've got about 32 million hits."
"I'm sure the DMV could narrow that down a lot, but I can just check with the bank where she works."
Castle taps the crystal of his watch. "Kate, it's well past banking hours. But it could be the perfect time to find Lochlan Jackson in his den."
"All right, Castle, let's head for the Bowery."
Castle points to a name on a buzzer next to the locked entry of an aging apartment building near a mission. "L. Jackson. That's got to be him. So what do we do now, ring the bell?"
"On someone who's probably a highly skilled contract killer? Who knows what weapons he might have up there? Besides if we ring from down here, we could tip him off. Then we will never be able to find him."
"Then what?"
"I'll put a surveillance team on him, see where he goes, what he does, figure out the best way to approach him."
"You can do that? What about Montgomery and the budget?"
"Jackson has a direct DNA connection to a homicide. That more than justifies surveillance."
Castle groans. "Then how long before we can make a move on him?"
"As long as it takes, Castle. Or would you rather risk him getting away?"
"After all this time, no way is he getting away. All right, but it's going to be a damn hard wait to finally get a chance for some justice.
"Yeah, I know. But we're trying to get justice for Melanie Cavanaugh too. And first thing in the morning, I'll contact the bank and find out where Elizabeth Forte is."
"Which leaves us about eleven hours in between."
"And I'm going to try to sleep through as many of them as I can, but I need a walk first. I spent over five hours today just driving back and forth from South Jersey. And I was sitting on my butt during interviews too. I need to get everything stretched out."
It flashes through Castle's mind that there are ways other than walking to stretch one's muscles, but he quickly bats the thought aside. "Would you like some company on your walk?"
"Sure, Castle, that would be nice."
A/N I know some of you have been waiting for a particular scene. It's coming soon. It will need some tweaks from canon, of course, but it's coming.