Shared Obsession Chapter 57
Kate raps softly on the loft door and Castle opens it almost immediately. "Beckett! Come in! I was just making breakfast. I was hoping you'd stay so I could feed you when you dropped me off."
"I had some things I had to take care of." Kate pulls the velvet-covered box from her bag. "I had this secured in my locker at the precinct so I could get it back to you. I hate to think what your bill would be at the jeweler's if you didn't return it."
"You don't want to know." Castle waves toward the kitchen. "Want some eggs? They're my special Saturday recipe. Alexis still eats them even when she won't talk to me."
"No thanks. I grabbed one of Remy's breakfast burritos on the way over here. And I should be getting back to the 12th. I have a report to write."
"You know, I do still owe you, and not just for keeping Nadir from killing me. You did win the date."
"For which you've already paid me back."
"But you still won it, and more to the point, you deserve it."
"Castle, can we talk about it later? I should get out of here before Alexis comes down and sees me. I don't want to stir up more trouble than I already have."
"Listen, I'm going to work on the Jackson Bible thing. But if I get a hit, can I meet you at the 12th later?"
"Sure, Castle. Maybe you can wordsmith my report."
"I look forward to it."
When Martha doesn't come down for breakfast, Castle isn't sure if the diva decided to sleep in or is still with Powell. He doesn't really want to know. After serving his somewhat less sullen daughter eggs and a couple of extra slices of the turkey bacon she loves but he regards as culinary sacrilege, he retreats to his office.
When Castle flips open his laptop, the list of Bible giveaway events is still displayed on the screen as he left it when he was pulled into Beckett's investigation of Nadir's murderous rampage. The next item is a prayer-a-thon for the families of victims of nine-eleven. "A worthwhile cause," he murmurs, entering the URL into Google to explore the details. Manna was one of many sponsors and not even close to the top tier. But it had a table to provide free Bibles and the services of a Colin Leveral, who is described as a spiritual counselor providing comfort through scriptural consolation.
In the flood of religion-related blurbs Castle's sifted through, this is the first mention of a Colin Leveral. That is strange. Religious figures often make the rounds of prayerful events the way sci-fi actors make the rounds of conventions. It keeps their names before the fanbase and promotes whatever projects they have. So who is Colin Leveral and what is he doing at the prayer-a-thon?"
Castle opens another Google window and enters the name in quotes. He only gets a few hits, all referring to an obscure series of fanfic stories. Colin Leveral is a made-up character that someone apparently borrowed for the occasion.
Castle clicks on one of the stories. It's derivative of a movie about a cult that armed itself to defend what it considered the sacred pronouncements of its leader. Colin Leveral is the member of the brotherhood who hands out the assignments of enemies to be eliminated, using coded messages in scriptures. Castle checks for the author of the story. Unfortunately, the only thing in the profile of Ephesians610 is the date of joining the platform. Castle scrolls through the reviews. There's one signed by an FQ, praising the tale. Castle's "Booyah!" echoes through the loft. "FQ, Fred Quistel the CEO of Manna," Castle shouts at the empty air. "Quistel recruited Ephesians610 as a conduit to Bracken's assassins. I've got to call Beckett!" He pauses for a moment as he picks up the phone, then shoves it into his pocket. It's time to get to the 12th.
"So you think that Manna was using a guy with the alias Colin Leveral, aka Ephesians610 to figure out how to give Bracken's killers their assignments and actually handing them out?" Kate questions.
"It all fits, Beckett. We know Bracken had dealings with Quistel. And Quistel gushed over this guy. He also could have sent him a personal message to complete his ingratiation. He might even have conned him into thinking he's doing the Lord's work like his character. So if we can talk to Leveral, or whoever he really is, we may be able to establish the connection from Lochlan Jackson straight to Bracken."
"Castle, I'll probably have to get a court order to get the fic platform to reveal who Ephesians610 is."
"The order might not help, at least not very quickly. All you need to register on the site is a valid email. You'd also have to track down the owner of that. But I may be able to make something happen faster."
"How, Castle?"
"I register on the site. Colin Leveral or Ephesians610 or whoever he is, was in New York to give Lochlan Jackson his coded Bible. He may still be here. So I PM Ephesians610 that as a fellow author, I admire his work and would like to discuss it further. With any luck, I can set up a meeting in a public place like a restaurant."
"Castle if this guy is some kind of religious nut, you don't know what he'll do. He could come to your meeting with a holy sword or something."
"Ephesians 6:10 is about putting on the armor of God and extinguishing flaming arrows, not shooting them. No holy swords. But you and your merry band can be at the next table the way you were for our favorite prostitute. Then, if anything goes sideways, you can move in."
"I don't like it, Castle."
"You don't have another case, do you?"
"No, I'm still finishing my report on the home invasions and Susan Delgado's murder. There are a lot of pieces to fit together into a decent narrative."
"Which is exactly my specialty. I'll help you write it and then we can take the next step toward nailing Bracken."
"All right, Castle." Kate points to the text on her screen. "This is what I have so far."
"Looks like you've got the frame assembled. Let's put in the middle pieces."
Tapping his fingers against the edge of Kate's desk, Castle stares at his phone, waiting for an answer to the personal message he sent to Ephesians610. With sleep deprivation catching up, he decides to get some coffee – two coffees. Beckett probably got even less sleep than he did. He puts the phone away and heads for the break room. He's got a mug in each hand when an alert sounds through the fabric of his pants. He hurriedly lays the mugs on the counter to check it. It's a message from Ephesians610. He'd love to meet Castle, but he's going to a revival upstate that night and wants to know if Castle can make it that afternoon.
Kate's lips set into a thin coffee-flavored line. "Castle, putting the operation together that fast is going to be tight."
"Beckett, we're not talking about bringing in a tactical squad. The guy wants to meet at a buffet called the Good Feast and talk about writing. You and the boys can stake out tables in an area away from the serving stations. No one likes to sit that far from the food, and places like that aren't exactly crowded in the middle of the afternoon. I'll suggest to 610 that we'll have more peace and quiet sitting there. It should be fine."
Uneasiness bubbles in Kate's stomach, but she can't think of any specific objections. "All right, Castle. We'll give it a shot."