Shared Obsession Chapter 58

The odor of overheated cooking oil wars with the smell of overcooked fish as Castle takes a seat at a table as far away as possible from what the establishment loosely describes as food. The wire beneath his clothes will record any conversation he has. He puts a full access for two receipt on the table, shoots quick glances at Kate, Ryan, and Esposito, and watches for the entry of a man who claims he goes by Ben, short for Benaiah. A quick web search told Castle this was the name of, not surprisingly, a biblical warrior and head of the royal bodyguards.

Castle immediately spots Ben, who's wearing an Ephesians 6:10 T-shirt and a rough-hewn wooden cross. With his best welcoming smile, he waves the arrival over. As Ben approaches, Castle stands and offers his hand. "I'm Rick Castle. It's a pleasure to meet you, Ben."

"I wouldn't normally read secular novels," Ben admits, "but I looked into some of your work. Your hero, Derrick Storm was a mighty warrior for the forces of good."

"An imperfect one at best," Castle responds, as they take seats opposite each other.

"As was King David," Ben replies, "but still beloved of God. And God has provided a bounty here. I have a long drive ahead of me. Do you mind if we honor his abundance before we talk further?"

Castle nods toward the panoply of platters and hotel pans. "By all means."

Castle notes that Ben piles a large plate high while also taking a smaller one for dessert and a bowl for soup. If Manna is paying him, it can't be much. Castle helps himself to what seems most recently out of the kitchen and returns with Ben to their table. Ben closes his eyes and folds his hands in a brief silent prayer before attacking his meal.

"I have to tell you," Castle says as Ben bites hungrily into an unidentifiable piece of fried chicken, "that I was fascinated by Colin Leveral's use of Bible-based codes."

Ben attempts to simultaneously smile and swallow. "Of course, there's a powerful history for that. The Old Testament, in its original language, is rich with significant arrangements of letters and acrostics, Psalm 119 for example. I just utilized the concept for the teachings of our Lord Jesus as well."

"And very well indeed," Castle replies, forking up some form of macaroni and cheese. "And I would think that your efforts would fascinate those truly invested in The Word."

Ben's mouth spreads in a grin. "I have gathered some notice. Manna Publishing had me do some work for them, very similar to what Colin Leveral does in my stories. I helped to produce special editions for some of their most devoted clients. They even paid homage to my stories by having me use Colin Leveral's name."

Castle takes a welcome sip from a machine-dispensed soft drink he figured would be fairly difficult to ruin. "That's a great compliment to your work."

Ben grabs another piece of chicken. "I do my best to fight His fight. That's why I'm going upstate tonight."

"Then I'm very glad we got this opportunity to talk before you return to the battle."

"Either Ben's one hell of an actor or he really believes he's doing God's work," Castle asserts as he and Beckett review the recording of his conversation with Manna's apparent pawn. "But regardless of what he believes, we know he got his marching orders from Manna, and Manna's Quistel got his from Bracken."

"Knowing and proving are two different things," Kate points out. "Jeff Starcrest saw Bracken pass something to Quistel, but we have no idea what it was. Bracken could easily claim support for a noble cause. And the Brinkman voters would probably buy it. Now we have to concentrate on finding everything we can about Quistel and his connection to Bracken."

"If we find enough dirt on Quistel, do you think you can flip him?" Castle asks.

Kate presses two fingers to her bottom lip. "Maybe, but we don't know if he's even been in NYPD jurisdiction. And I doubt he is now. We'd have a hell of a time even managing to question him."

"But he does business in New York. Someone must be handling that for him," Castle surmises. "And that someone would be in your jurisdiction. We just have to find them."

"Easier said than done. But we can start digging and…." She looks across the bullpen as the landline jangles on Ryan's desk.

Ryan quickly jots down some information before hanging up. "There's a homicide on Henry Street."

In a decrepit hotel room, parts of a woman's body stick out from a tub of slick liquid. Beckett sniffs, immediately flashing back to hours in a garage working on her Harley. "Is that motor oil?"

"Looks like it," Lanie answers, turning from beside the victim. "But CSU will have to pump out the tub and run some tests to be sure. If it is motor oil, its FTIR or GC Mass Spec should match something in the spec library that will give us the brand and designation."

Esposito approaches the tub, his gloved hands holding empty containers. "No need. I found these in the closet, and there are a bunch more. 10w-40."

Kate sighs. "Which you can get at any gas station, auto parts, or big box store."

"What kind of freak drowns a woman in motor oil?" Ryan wonders.

"Someone sending a message," Castle asserts.

Castle leans his elbows on the high counter while Kate displays her badge to a clerk. "I already told the uniforms," the clerk complains. "Once people check in I don't want to know what they do up there."

"Bill, is it?" Kate inquires.

The clerk nods.

"Well, Bill, her purse was missing and she didn't have any ID on her. Any chance she paid with a credit card?" Kate questions.

Rolling his eyes, Bill makes a show of rechecking the register. "All I can tell you is that whoever rented the room paid cash for a five-day stay. They were supposed to be out by the time we turn over the rooms. So I went up to check if the place was empty and I found her in the tub. Gonna be a bitch to clean it."

"So if anyone was meeting her there…." Castle inserts.

"It's not like guests arrive and I ring the rooms. This isn't the Ritz."

Castle gazes around at sagging furniture and threadbare carpeting. "I would have never known."

"How about the last few hours?" Kate persists. "Anyone strange coming in or out?"

Bill shakes his head as a six-foot-four man in full drag saunters past. "Hey, Bill!"

Bill gives a little wave. "How's it hanging, Jasmine?"

Castle looks at Kate and shrugs. "Not much would qualify as strange around here."

Bill watches as another man dressed as Catwoman strolls in. "That, you've got right."

As they settle into Kate's unit, Kate and Castle yawn simultaneously. "Look, Castle, we're both exhausted, and you've got a daughter to get home to. It's going to take hours for Lanie and CSU to get their work done. Why don't we start fresh in the morning?"

"Sure, but there's one thing you said we'd talk about later and we never did."

Kate rubs her eyes. "Our date."

"Uh-huh. Obviously, if I took you anywhere tonight we'd probably both fall asleep face down in our salads. But we should be able to find a time. How about after I dig up something solid to link Quistel to Bracken?"

"And we solve this case," Kate adds. "Something this weird is going to hit the papers. Someone's probably posted something online already. Montgomery's going to be under a lot of pressure to get it closed."

"And sh*t rolls downhill."

"You know it does."

"Fine. After I find a pursuable Quistel-Bracken connection and you collar the Oil Can Killer, I take you out for a night on the town. Deal?"

"Deal."