Shared Obsession Chapter 182
The pilot, sufficiently jazzed by coffee, smiles a welcome as Kate and Castle mount the narrow staircase to a private plane at Teterboro. The prosecutor would have been willing to pick up for a commercial flight, but the trip to LaGuardia or JFK and the TSA security lines would have had the pair rushing to meet with the prosecution in time. And by now, Kate is getting spoiled by Castle's charters of what are essentially flying limousines. Even the seats are deep and comfortable and there is a generous supply of New York bagels. Right now, Kate's stomach is in too many knots to think about eating. Still, the faint but familiar bakery smell in the air is comforting. Castle holds out his hand for her go bag and stows both of their luggage in the secure area in the rear of the plane.
"We should be in the air about an hour," the pilot announces as the couple settles in next to each other. "Life vests are under your seats. We won't be flying high enough to worry about oxygen. Please keep your belts on while you're seated, but you can move around unless I tell you otherwise. The power plugs work and once we get in the air, wi-fi will be live. Enjoy your flight."
As the pilot walks the few steps to join the co-pilot in the cockpit, Castle reaches for Kate's hand. "I'm not sure I totally believed this day would come," he confesses.
Her slim fingers wrap around his wider ones. "I'm not sure I did either. But it's a good thing we wrapped up Wolf's murder. We're not leaving the boys to pick up the slack."
"And Mother's going to keep an eye on Alexis while we're gone – or maybe it's the other way around. I had to reschedule a book signing, so Gina's pissed off. But what else is new? So I guess all we have to concentrate on is giving our testimony. Although, if it turns out we have a couple of free hours, I'd love to visit the superheroes exhibit at the Smithsonian."
Kate's mouth twitches. "Of course, you would. Too bad there was no superhero around to put that bastard Bracken behind bars."
"Oh, I don't know about that. This is all part of the amazing adventures of Super-Beckett, the fearless and stupendously beautiful star of the 12th Precinct's Homicide Squad."
"I think you'd better stick with Nikki Heat. My boobs aren't big enough to be a comic book superheroine."
Castle winks. "More than a mouthful is a waste. But anyway, what do you think will happen when we get there?"
"While you were playing AP quizmaster for Alexis last night, I called my father and asked him about that. He said that since we already testified before the grand jury, the prosecution will do everything it can to avoid any discrepancies between what we said there and what we testify to now. They won't want to give the defense any opportunities to impeach us. So the questions will be very carefully crafted and the prosecution will urge us to answer as simply as possible without adding any details the defense can pounce on."
Castle sighs. "Those little details are the spice of a story."
"You'll just have to rein yourself in."
"For the sake of the case, I will be as taciturn as Chewbacca."
A giggle erupts from Kate's throat. "That might be taking it a little too far."
Federal prosecutor Cali Montrose shows Beckett and Castle into a witness room. "Judge Kaplan is keeping a tight lid on everything," she explains. "The jury is anonymous. No photography, recording devices, or phones are allowed in the courtroom. Witnesses are not allowed to hear each other's testimony, so you'll each be staying here while the other one testifies. There's coffee and water. If you need to use a restroom, the officer outside will escort you. Now, I'm going to keep my questions as simple and straightforward as possible. Just answer what I ask you. Don't add anything or give any commentary."
Kate throws Castle an "I told you so" look.
"Now," Cali continues, "as I'm sure you know, the defendant has a constitutional right to confront his accuser. So far, Bracken is taking full advantage of that. His stare and body language have been intimidating to other witnesses. He's been too subtle for Judge Kaplan to intervene in any way, but you'll see it and you'll probably feel it. So I'll need you to ignore it and just focus on me. Can you do that?"
Kate nods.
"I'll ignore the devil himself if it means putting Bracken away," Castle declares.
"Good," Cali replies. "I don't know how soon you'll be called. The defense is stretching out its cross-examinations as much as possible. And the judge gives the jury regular breaks. But it should be today, probably even this morning for at least one of you. If it goes into the afternoon, I'll have lunch brought in. If your testimony spills over into tomorrow, do you have a secure place to stay?"
"A VIP suite at the Monaco," Castle replies. "The floor has controlled access and we'll be there under a code name."
"All right," Cali acknowledges. "Sounds good. Sit tight. Detective Beckett, I'll be calling you first and then Mr. Castle."
"How's the wi-fi?" Castle asks.
"Password restricted and you're not authorized to have a password. But cellular is fine. As long as you don't bring it into court, you can watch a movie or something on your phones or tablets that way."
Castle pulls out his phone. "Three bars. Not bad."
Cali backs toward the door. "OK, then. I'll see you later."
Castle pulls an iPad out of his bag. "What's your pleasure, Beckett? Science fiction? Romance? Porn?"
"Anything but crime drama."
"Got it!"
"So how was it?" Castle asks when Kate returns to the witness room.
"Pretty much the way Ms. Montrose said it would be. She asked very narrow questions about the same things I said to the grand jury and I kept my answers as limited as I could."
"How about Bracken?"
She was right about that too. He has this look, you know, almost a smirk, like it doesn't matter what you say because he has some secret weapon. I feel like I want to take a shower."
"You could go to the Monaco and take one," Castle suggests. "The suite's guaranteed on my titanium card and you're authorized for entry."
"No. Ms. Montrose wants me to hang around in case she has any questions. And she said they'll be sending in lunch soon."
"And you're hungry? That's a good sign."
"Yeah. How about you?"
"I just want to get this all over with so they can throw Bracken into the universe's blackest hole."
"I think you'll have to settle for a maximum security prison."
"Better than nothing."
The collection of antique first editions is magnificent, something Castle would have enthused about if he'd viewed the crime scene before the murderer arrived. But before the owner meets his end, Castle is stuck in DC, waiting an extra day to testify. And at the request of Cali Montrose, Beckett is staying there too, until the prosecution is confident their business is finished. So neither of them is in the city when the killer leaves the owner in a pool of blood. Still, Kate will be demanding details from the boys before her plane can touch down.