Shared Obsession Chapter 192
With his elbow on a pillow and his head on his hand, Castle stares down at the woman drowsing beside him. She came to him in a see-through body suit and now lays perfectly bare – emphasis on the perfect. Her sex-tangled hair splays over the satin pillowcase. Deep, even breaths issue through slightly parted lips, magic lips.
Meredith was one hell of a lover and Gina had her moments, but neither one of them could touch Kate. Her passion, so often hidden behind a wall of reserve and police protocol, drove a hunger he had never before experienced from a woman, a hunger that sparked his own.
They couldn't get enough of each other, touching, tasting, stroking every square inch of flesh, stimulating every fountain of pleasure and arousal. When the final climax came, it drained them both into quivering masses that could do no more than lay in each other's arms. For Castle's part, he would have been happy to never move again. But sleep eventually came, and with it the involuntary tossing and turning spurred by submerged worries lying in wait to resurface. They were resurfacing now.
What if Bracken had somehow managed to tamper with the jury? What if the defense twists the facts enough to convince them he was unjustly charged? And then there's the worst of all. What if after Bracken is found guilty, the obsession that binds Kate to him ebbs, and their connection ebbs with it? How would he cope with that? Could he cope with it at all?
Kate's sudden movement diverts his darkening thoughts. He presses his lips to hers. "Good morning."
"Mmm. Good morning." Kate sniffs the air. "Is that coffee?"
"I hope so. I made sure the timer was set on the machine last night. But I didn't want to disturb you by getting up to fetch some."
"I think I'd rather drink it out on the lawn anyway – as soon as I get some clothes on."
"Not too many," Castle cautions. "It's supposed to be in the high eighties today."
"And you want to be able to see my legs."
"That too. Oh, and the bakery from town should be making a delivery pretty soon."
"How did you manage that?"
"Loyal patronage and good tips. Anyway, someone should be bringing croissants, muffins, and various unhealthy treats pretty soon. So we can eat those outside too."
"What about Alexis?"
"If I had to guess, she's already submerged in her underwater universe – if she ever bothered leaving it. But there will be plenty of pastry to go around. And she still has her cache of healthy stuff, so we are free to binge, lounge, and wander as we please. And I thought maybe we could go beach combing. Have you ever collected shells or driftwood?"
"Shells, no. But after my mother's funeral, there were a bunch of people hanging around. I didn't know them and the last thing I wanted to do was talk to them. So my father said, "Katie, let's get out of here. We took the subway to the beach at Coney Island. It was November, cold, and pretty deserted, so we could walk along the beach without anyone bothering us. And we actually had fun, picked up some sticks and stuff, and made a little man out of them. I still have it in my desk at the 12th to remind me that even on the saddest days there can be joy."
Castle nods as he grabs a T-shirt. "Mm-hmm. I've seen it there. I thought maybe it was a weird clue to your first homicide or something. But that's a much more inspiring story. I doubt that anything we do on the beach will top it, but I've found some interesting things washed up before. And some of the shells around here can be quite beautiful. The shops in the village gleefully overcharge tourists for jewelry made from them. Want to hunt up some of our own treasures tossed up by the sea? After coffee, of course."
"Maybe we can take some along."
"Excellent idea."
"Castle," Kate asks as they stroll along the rapidly warming sand. "When you were on the phone before we left, you said something about making an offer. Were you trying to bid on one of the collectibles you like or something?"
Kate steps back in surprise at Castle's belly laugh. "No, that was definitely not about anything I'd want to collect. More like get rid of. Remember when Mother talked about Keeno Deeves being in town to shoot a movie with Madge Vance and pursue his good works?"
"Right, you asked about his security. I thought it was a weird question. But you ask a lot of weird questions."
"Occupational hazard. But I had a non-literary purpose for that one. Demming may miss a few – more than a few – as a detective, but his work with disadvantaged youth is admirable. It's no secret that Keeno Deeves has a similar interest. So I thought that providing security for Deeves could be a job made for Demming. I had to make a lot of calls, but I finally found the person who could offer Demming the position. He'd have a job he should enjoy and be out of our hair. I just hope he takes it."
"Yeah, me too," Kate agrees. "I think he will. From the rumblings I heard at the precinct, the boom came down on him pretty hard for not arresting Finch before Hollowell could kill him. Add that to the involuntary transfer from the 54th and he's got to know he isn't going to move up in the NYPD. But what will you do when you don't have Tom Demming to kick around anymore?"
Castle draws Kate in for a kiss. "I think I'll manage." His foot brushes against something hard in the sand. "Damn! What's that?"
Grudgingly pulling away, Kate crouches down for a look. "I think it's the end of a bone, a big one."
"Human?" Castle asks.
"I don't know. But if it is, it's got to be a femur. Nothing else is that size."
"Wow! Do you think it's the bone of an ancient sea captain, attacked by pirates and lost until his remains could finally find their way back to land?"
"Whatever it is, we need to report it to the local cops."
Castle sighs. "So much for beachcombing."
The slight, uniformed Chief of Police, Brady regards the knob of bone sticking out of the sand. "That could be anything. Maybe someone buried their dog."
"If they did, it would have had to be a Great Dane," Castle says.
"But if it is human, shouldn't you check it out?" Kate asks.
"It's a holiday weekend," Brady protests. "We don't have an ME's office of our own. We'd have to get someone out from the county, and they're not going to rush out here for an old bone. They'd look at it on Tuesday if we were lucky. Until then I'd have to close off this part of the beach and I don't have the manpower for that."
"I have an idea," Castle says. "Dr. Menschel, an anthropologist from the Natural History Museum has a house not too far from here. My daughter Alexis and I visited with him several times when she was working on a science project. If he's out here for the weekend, he can probably tell you if the bone is human or not. If it isn't, then you have nothing to worry about. I can give him a call," Castle offers.
"All right," Brady agrees. "You might as well."