Shared Obsession Chapter 170
"I heard about Ike," Demming says, meeting Kate and Castle at the murder board. "Anything new on him yet?"
"No, we're working on it," Kate says, keeping her reply as close to the vest as possible. "What about Finch's partner?"
"There's nothing in his phone records or financials that points to one," Demming reports. "But the bank surveillance tapes finally came in. I was going to scrub them in the morning. If Finch cased the bank within the last couple of weeks, his partner might show up on them."
"Funny, you're just getting around to that now. If the bank was robbed days ago, wouldn't you have asked for the tapes then?" Castle questions.
"The theft of a safety deposit box wasn't exactly considered a priority, Castle," Demming retorts.
"Ah, the passive voice," Castle notes. "Frequently used by lazy writers – and, like the infamous 'mistakes were made,' people not wanting to take responsibility for their actions."
"Castle, Robbery does have other cases," Demming retorts.
"I'm sure you do," Kate intercedes. "And if there is a mystery partner, it impacts both the robbery and murder cases."
"Want to join me in taking a look, Detective Beckett?" Demming asks, emphasizing the "Detective Beckett."
Anger rises on Castle's face, but Kate sends him a "cool it" look. "Sure. Beginning of shift tomorrow?" she inquires.
"See you then," Demming responds aiming a self-satisfied smirk at Castle.
Castle watches as Demming strides toward the stairs. "I really don't like that guy!"
Kate bats her eyelashes. "I would have never guessed."
"Where's Beckett?" Demming asks Castle who's in his usual seat by Kate's desk, scrolling through emails on his phone.
"Where you can't follow her," Castle replies. "The ladies' room." Castle points to the blue mug Kate left behind. "Third cup of coffee."
"Here?" Demming wonders. "The shift doesn't start for five minutes."
"She had the other two at home."
"And how would you know… Castle, are you and Beckett living together?"
"She prefers to keep it quiet, but officially since a serial killer blew up her apartment, unofficially before that. And Demming, don't bother thinking about running to Montgomery about it. He already knows and pointed out that the rules about cops working together not seeing each other don't apply because as you have amply noted, I'm not a cop. Still, as little as your performance as one has impressed me so far, you are. So seeing as, despite whatever objections I might have about it, you are working with Kate, you shouldn't have been hitting on her."
"Castle, I really had no clue about you and Beckett," Demming protests.
"Having no clue seems to be a theme with you. But you might be able to redeem yourself – in Beckett's eyes, anyway – by showing her something useful on those tapes."
"I don't suppose you'd like to join us?" Demming asks with obvious reluctance.
Castle puts away his phone. "Love to."
Esposito's never been nervous going to Ike Thornton's home, but he is now. He and Ryan spotted the surveillance outside and he assumes that either Beckett or Montgomery sent it. Hell, it could even have been Holliwell. Not that it matters who dispatched the unit. If he can spot it, Ike can. He's not about to come around while they're watching. "Carol, you got a few minutes?" he asks.
Ike Thornton's son runs into the room. "Uncle Javi!"
Hey, what's up, Buddy?" Esposito responds.
Tim grins. "What's up?"
"How're you doing? Man, you're lookin' so tall," Esposito exclaims, shifting his gaze toward Ryan. "Hey, this is my boy, Kevin."
"Hi, I'm Tim," the boy introduces himself.
Ryan nods. "Nice to meet you, Tim."
"Hey, he loves baseball cards," Esposito whispers conspiratorially to Tim. "Why don't you, uh, take him upstairs and show him yours?"
Tim waves Ryan toward the stairs. "Come on!"
"Yeah, let's go," Ryan agrees.
Esposito waits for Tim to be out of earshot. "How long have you known, Carol? It will be a lot easier for him if you just tell me where he is."
Carol's eyes flame. "So you can arrest him?"
"Carol, he killed a man."
"No!"
"His prints were on the body."
"Please, please don't try to find him," Carol begs. "Not when we are so close."
"So close to what?" Esposito asks.
Carol shakes her head. "I'm sorry. I can't."
Demming had originally brought the video on a laptop. Castle imagines the robbery cop had visualized himself and Kate hunched over it together. However, on her return to her desk, Kate insists on using the big screen in Tech. "We don't even know who we're looking for," she explains. "If someone is casing the bank for Finch, we'll probably have to pick up on small tells. Castle's really good at that."
"Many misspent hours at the poker table," Castle explains. "But Beckett's my match. Skills honed during endless hours of interrogation." He glances at Tech Wong, who nods. "Looks like we're ready to go."
After a half hour of boredom, Castle points excitedly at the screen. "Hey, that's Paul Finch!"
"Oh yeah, he's casing the place," Demming says.
Kate whistles. "And look who his partner is."
"That's his wife, Monica," Castle realizes. "A lying liar. She claimed she had no idea what he was doing. But there's someone else with them. That's…."
"Ike Thornton!" Kate jumps in. "So if Thornton was working with Racine, what was he doing with Finch?" Castle wonders.
"Maybe Esposito got something from Carol that will help us figure it out," Kate suggests.
"So Ike was working with Finch?" Esposito asks Kate.
"It looks that way," she says. "Demming thinks he discovered Racine was keeping something valuable in that box and enlisted Finch to get it."
"Which makes no sense," Castle points out. "Thornton is a guy who's been trying to survive as a ghost and keep his family going. There were stacks of cash right there. If he needed money, why not take them? I mean even if Racine kept the family jewels in the box, Thornton would still have to fence them, which would pose a greater risk of discovery. Whatever was there must mean a lot more to Racine than money. And if Ike wanted to ransom it back to Racine, wouldn't he have contacted him about it already? There wouldn't be any reason for Racine to use the NYPD to do his tracking."
"And if Ike and Finch were working together, why kill him?" Esposito wonders.
"Racine did say there's no honor among thieves," Kate recalls.
"I don't buy it," Esposito declares. "Ike is one of the most honorable men I've ever known. And Carol said they were close. Close to what? I don't think he killed Finch."
"Ike's prints were at the scene," Kate reminds him.
"Thumbprints on Finch's eyelids, as if he did this." Castle uses his thumbs to gently close his own eyes. "That's the act of someone who cares. Maybe he found Finch after Racine's people tortured and murdered him. He might even have driven them off before they could dispose of the body."
"That sounds more like Ike," Esposito agrees.
"Well, the third person in on the bank job might know more about what happened," Kate says. "Ryan is bringing her in right now."
"Monica Finch?" Esposito asks.
"That's right," Kate confirms. "And this time she won't be in the interview lounge. She'll be going straight to the box."