Shared Obsession Chapter 94
The Tyvek clean suit Kate grabbed at the last minute to keep from emerging covered with remnants of coal dust, is tight and smooth enough to speed her exodus from the coal chute. She quickly strips it off, concealing it in some bushes, and strolls in a casual top and jeans toward the more distant reaches of the 12th Precinct's parking lot. With no makeup and her hair loosely pulled back in a scrunchie, she hopes to gather minimal notice. As far as she can tell, there's no one around to notice her anyway. It's mid-shift, with no changeovers taking place and everyone either working or grabbing ten minutes in a break room.
Montgomery accepted Kate's explanation for requesting time off to decompress after Coonan's capture, without question. If he found the intervention of an unnamed agency in handling the killer's request for a deal out of left field, he never mentioned it. Kate guesses that he was glad to get a monster like Coonan out of his precinct and the paperwork off his desk. She's free to meet up with Mayer's people.
Kate notes the green Taurus pulling into a pre-determined parking spot. At least Yancy's team doesn't go in for the black SUVs that scream "fed." Maybe he's a fan of Derrick Storm as well as Nebula Nine. Kate pulls open the door to the passenger seat. "Klaatu?" the driver demands.
"Barada nikto," Kate responds, musing that Yancy's people sure do love their science fiction. If they ever meet, Yancy and Castle might even like each other. But that's not happening right now. Kate herself may never see Yancy in his present role. Although her best guess is that he's somewhere around Washington D.C., she has no idea where he actually works. Right now it doesn't matter. The only thing that does is making sure that Coonan flips on Bracken and stays alive long enough to do it. After that, if he dies of some dreadful intensely painful disease, she won't shed many tears. As the Taurus moves out of the lot and slips smoothly into Manhattan traffic, Kate tries to relax. She's not very successful. The goal she's been working toward ever since her mother was killed is getting closer. She can't let her guard down now.
After several double backs, the Taurus pulls into the lot of a home improvement superstore just long enough for Kate to get out and enter a van like those used by do-it-yourselfers and contractors to haul building materials. Coonan is secured in a metal chair bolted in place. He's cuffed and his ankles are shackled to the floor. Headphones cover his ears to keep him from tracking his location by road sounds. A panel separates the front of the van from the back, making it impossible for Kate – or Coonan – to see out. Mayer is also in the vehicle, along with a man and a woman Kate assumes are agents of some kind. They briefly nod their acknowledgment as Kate takes a seat. The van immediately starts to move.
Kate has no idea of where they're going, but as stops become less frequent, she assumes they've picked up a parkway somewhere. Two and a half hours later, the van pulls to a final halt. Both of the unidentified passengers draw their weapons and the woman slides the door open. They step out, obviously searching for any signs of a threat. A few minutes later, the man returns. "All clear. Klein is setting up for our package."
Mayer releases Coonan's shackles from the floor and with the help of her agent guides him toward a small, one-story house surrounded by grounds covering an acre of closely cropped grass and shielded by a border of evergreens. Nothing about the house appears unusual. Two small satellite dishes sit on the roof. But in country areas far removed from cable and city broadcasts, those would be nothing out of the ordinary. Kate suspects that at least one of them is anything but ordinary, but has no concrete reason for her suspicion.
Once inside the house, Coonan is secured to a slightly more comfortable chair, and Mayer motions Kate and the other woman into a room with acoustic tiles on the walls and ceiling. "Detective Beckett, this is Agent Phyllis Klein. The agent watching Coonan is Conrad Murphy. We'll be conducting Mr. Coonan's interviews. You are free to observe and take any notes that you like with the materials I'll provide. For the first interview, I'd request that you give any questions you have for Mr. Coonan to me, Klein, or Murphy, in writing. Once we have an idea of what Coonan's willing to reveal and what will take a little pressure to extract, we can have a meeting on further procedures."
"How about Hoffsinger?" Kate asks.
"We've convinced Mr. Coonan that waiving his right to counsel is in his best interests."
"How did you do that?" Kate queries.
"Showed him a few pictures of a woman with large implants and equally large ambitions whispering in Hoffsinger's ear. Coonan wants to make sure he's the only one being shown any favors."
"What kind of favors?" Kate questions.
"For one thing, we keep him alive. But he also requested steak for dinner. We just made sure he knows that we'll be cutting it up for him. Can't have him playing with knives."
A smile twitches on Kate's lips. "No, we can't. When are you planning to start the interviews?"
"There are only two restrooms, so we'll be taking turns," Mayer explains. "But I estimate that 15 minutes should be enough for that. Then Coonan will have to make good."
Kate uses the pen and legal pad Klein gave her to write out questions and hands a sheet of yellow paper to Mayer. The Deputy Director quickly scans it and nods. "Mr. Coonan, do you have one of Manna Publishing's special Bibles?"
Coonan smirks. "What would I want with a Bible?"
"I didn't ask if you want it, Mr. Coonan. I asked if you have one," Mayer reiterates.
"I may have picked one up somewhere," Coonan admits.
"And given your obvious disdain for scripture, why would you do that?" Mayer asks.
"Some books have interesting markings in them. That Bible may be among them," Coonan replies.
"Isn't it true that the markings in Manna Bibles give you instructions for making a kill?" Mayer presses.
"People are always saying they get their walking orders from a Bible. I suppose some additions could be interpreted that way," Coonan responds.
Fists clenched, Kate resists the urge to lunge at the killer while Mayer continues calmly. "And how did you take them?"
"I did what I was ordered."
"And what was that?" Mayer continues.
"Taking out anyone who stood in the way."
"In whose way?" Mayer demands.
"William Bracken, of course," Coonan proclaims. "Isn't that why we're having this little party?" He shifts his gaze to Kate. "Isn't that why you're here, to get revenge on the man who paid me to kill your mommy?"
Kate rises from her chair. "Not revenge, Mr. Coonan, justice. I know you can't understand it, but justice is all my mother ever wanted, and not just for herself. And I intend to see that wish is fulfilled."
"Dad, that's the fourth time you've looked in the fridge without taking anything out," Alexis notes. "What's going on? Where's Beckett?"
Castle closes the refrigerator door and strides over to where his daughter is working at the counter. "She's on what you might call a mission."
"And you couldn't go with her?"
"Not on this one. Not right now."
"Are you worried she's going to get hurt?"
"Only if she doesn't succeed. And that could be a hurt neither one of us would ever get over."