Shared Obsession Chapter 83

Montgomery waves Beckett and Castle to seats on the couch in his office. "Looks like you managed to set things right with the U.S. Attorney's Office."

"Moran's would-be killer turned state's evidence," Kate explains. "When Moran recovers, the feds will have two witnesses against the Spolanos."

"But only Maggie can link them to murder," Montgomery notes.

"Maggie Dowd, aka Carla Dante, or to the Spolanos, Carla Coldblood. She's been killing for the family for five years now," Kate continues. "When Jimmy dropped the dime the Spolanos sent their best."

"A lady hit man – a real blow for women's rights. But what about the real Maggie Dowd?" Montgomery asks.

"Esposito tracked her down," Kate replies. "She's working for a hospital in Seattle and had no idea her identity was stolen. Carla pulled a recommendation off a job-hunting site to apply for a position with Leeds and get at his files. She'd thought she could get her hands on a picture of Moran – the new Moran. But when she couldn't she went after Leeds."

Montgomery nods. "And when Leeds didn't talk, she killed him."

"She would have done that anyway," Castle points out. "Apparently the Spolanos love drama. Also, the whole plastic bag duct tape bit was to send a message to Moran to keep his mouth shut. And Leeds could identify her. So broken fingers wouldn't have done the trick."

"But why stay around the office after she killed him?" Montgomery asks.

"To allay suspicion," Kate answers. "And if Castle hadn't picked up on Maggie's little lie, she might have succeeded."

"She should have followed the family's advice on keeping her mouth shut," Castle observes. "But too many of the wrong people have been keeping their mouths shut for too long. What the forensic accountants dug up on Bracken's financial maneuverings is terrifying. It goes so much further than funding murders in New York."

"I didn't have much of a chance to look it over, but I saw that," Montgomery agrees. "What he's into is federal stuff. We should take it to the U.S. Attorney's office while they're feeling friendly."

With the vociferousness of her shaking head, Kate's hair whips Castle's face. "We can't, Sir. You pointed out yourself that the place leaks like a sieve. And as hand-in-glove as the FBI is with that office, we can't trust them either."

"And given Sorenson's competence – or lack of same – I can't see them slaying the dragon anyway," Castle adds. "They'd probably go spelunking in the wrong cave."

"So what?" Montgomery asks.

"The Bracken thing is international. Normally that would mean involving the FBI. But there are other agencies that deal with overseas affairs," Castle offers.

"I could reach out," Montgomery mulls. "But I don't know how much attention they'd pay to an NYPD captain."

Kate and Castle exchange looks. He nods. "Castle has a contact, Sir."

"How did that happen?" Montgomery asks.

"Certain elements at the agency wanted a positive portrayal in my books, so the company gave me a little help," Castle shares. "I'm not allowed to tell you more, and they might be a little touchy that I said that much. But I can reach out, Sir. If we're going to nail Bracken, he can't be allowed to see the attack coming. Covert operations are the agency's specialty."

Montgomery palms the top of his balding pate. "All right, Castle. Right now I don't see a better way. So, you might as well give it a shot. But Beckett, both of you, should still keep up your caseload here. It'll keep you from raising suspicions with Bracken's organization. And also, the Chief wants Castle to generate more good press. So there's going to be a Cosmo reporter shadowing him for a while."

"A shadow for a shadow, how meta. But there's no way my contact can approach me while a reporter's around," Castle warns.

"Just try and give the Cosmo lady a nice fluffy story," Montgomery advises. "She'll be gone, the Chief will be happy, and we can all get on with our work."

"Yes, Sir," Castle agrees.

Reporter Amy Saunders holds out a recorder to catch Kate's response to her questions. "What's so special about world-famous novelist Richard Castle? He's rich. He's handsome, and he's basing his next bestseller on you. Tell me, Detective Beckett, what's it like being the inspiration for thrill master Richard Castle's new character, Nikki Heat?"

"On behalf of the NYPD, it's been a pleasure to offer Mr. Castle insight into the profession," Kate replies.

"Given all his bestsellers, it's obvious that Mr. Castle already had tremendous insight into the criminal mind. I understand that his participation was essential to solving some of your toughest cases."

"Castle has displayed some surprising talents," Kate responds.

As Ryan's phone rings across the bullpen, Amy leans in closer to Kate. "Tell me more, Detective."

"Hey Beckett," Ryan calls over the sea of desks. "We've got a body in a tree."

Amy's eyes glow with excitement. "I have to see Castle in action on this one."

"We can't let you onto an active crime scene," Kate cautions.

"The Chief of Detectives said I could follow you and Castle wherever you go," Amy reminds her. "But I'll stay out of the way. I won't trample on any evidence. I watch CSI."

Kate resists rolling her eyes. "Good for you, Ms. Saunders.

Kate cranes her neck at Lanie, who's working from the bucket on a cherry picker truck. "How's it going up there?"

"I got tree branches poking my boobs and a spotlight shining up my booty," Lanie grouses.

"It could be worse," Esposito offers. "You could be wearing a skirt."

"When I come down there, I'mma smack you," Lanie threatens.

Esposito grins. "I'm looking forward to it."

Amy leans over the yellow tape securing the scene, to talk to Castle. "Do they always joke around like that?"

"Investigating murders can get very dark. A little humor helps to break the tension," Castle explains.

Amy scribbles on a steno pad. "I see. And do you also try to lighten the mood, Mr. Castle?"

"When I can, of course. There was this one time that…."

"Here!" Lanie bellows, throwing down a man's wallet into Esposito's hands. "The vic's a white male, late mid-thirties. Judging from the cracked branches, I'm guessing he did a Superman off the top of that building."

Esposito flips through the wallet. "Vic's name is John Allen. ID has him on the Upper West Side. Business card has him in insurance."

"Is it a suicide?" Amy asks.

"It's not a suicide," Kate and Castle declare in concert.

Amy poises her pen over her pad. "How do you know?"

"Uh, the building is too short," Kate answers. "He'd want to kill himself, not cripple himself."

"And if you want to kill yourself, you're going to aim for concrete, not a tree," Castle adds. "A tree could actually break someone's fall. He might have been killed before his earthward plummet, and judging from the angle of descent, I'd say the man was thrown off that building."

"Do you have a cause of death, Lanie?" Kate inquires.

"There are signs of strangulation. Looks like his windpipe was crushed," the ME replies.

"Any ligature marks?" Kate queries.

Lanie shakes her head. "No."

Castle turns to Amy. "Ligature refers to anything that ties or binds, like a rope or a belt – anything that leaves marks. The lack of them suggests he was strangled by hand."

Amy reaches over the tape to stroke Castle's arm. "You really know your stuff. No wonder they like to have you around."

Catching the narrowing of Kate's eyes, Castle slips away from Amy's touch. "Well, actually it's up to medical examiners like Dr. Parish to analyze the bodies to determine the exact mode of death. She'll be removing the body soon, and can probably tell you a lot more at the morgue."

Amy gives a small shiver. "That sounds pretty creepy, can you go with me?"

Kate shrugs helplessly as Castle looks around for some excuse to stay as Lanie's assistant opens the back doors to the ME's van. "All right. But it could get creepier. We'll have to ride in the back with the body."

"She can take my seat up front," Lanie suggests as she thankfully returns to terra firma. "I can do some more observation on the body."

"So, what do you see?" Castle asks as Lanie leans over John Allen's corpse while her assistant drives the vehicle.

"Bruises beginning to come up post-mortem. I may be able to get the pattern of the killer's grip. If we get really lucky, I may get prints from fuming the body. If the killer strangled this guy with his bare hands and tossed him from that building, he must have had some muscle on him and…."

As the van jolts to a sudden stop, Castle sees stars when his head bashes against solid metal. Men with guns pull open the back doors and rush in.