Shared Obsession Chapter 194
"My cousin Sal can't stop talking about hanging out with a famous writer. Glad we could finally get together, Ricky." Vinny Cardano raises a glass filled with Castle's $200-a-bottle red wine. "Salut!"
"Hear, hear," Castle proclaims as glasses clink.
"Cheers," Kate adds.
Vinny leans across the table toward Kate. "Oh, Sweetie, this meat sauce is to die for."
"Thank you, Vinny," Kate responds, "it was my Nona's recipe."
"There's no substitute for family, is there?" Vinny asks. "And Castle, don't you have a daughter? Why is she missing out on this exquisite meal?"
"She's on the beach," Castle explains. "We stumbled on a fossil bone down there from some kind of prehistoric bear. She's working with some people from the Natural History Museum to safely excavate it for study. She finds fossils fascinating. I suppose a lot of people do, don't they, Vinny?"
Vinny coughs and grabs his napkin.
"You OK there, Man?" Castle queries.
"Fine," Vinny responds. "But most of the people I know busy themselves with the needs of today – if you know what I mean."
"Sure," Castle agrees. "We've all got to earn a living, right?"
"That we do," Vinny agrees. He glances around the airy dining area. "Looks like you have no problems with that, Castle."
"I do OK," Castle responds. "Business treating you well, Vinny?"
Vinny downs half his glass of wine. "None of my customers can complain."
"Yes," Castle says, "I imagine not."
Castle watches as Vinny drives off in a gold BMW 750. His eyebrows jig as he turns to Kate. "Wow! Did you see how he reacted when I mentioned the bone? I thought he was going to choke to death."
"I saw," Kate acknowledges. "OK, so Vinny knows about Nick Cardano's fossils. Now what?"
"We find out more about the old Cardano compound."
"Back to the library?"
"No need. The real estate buyers around here can be very picky. They like to do their research – or at least have someone do it for them. The public records are all digitized. We can search them online."
"And of course, you brought your laptop."
"A writer must always have his tools. There's no telling when inspiration will strike. Actually, the internet here is better than in the city. Fewer obstructions and a clientele that screams bloody murder if it goes down. So shall we have a look?"
"As if I could stop you."
"What have you got?" Kate asks as Castle studies his screen.
"The records for the old Cardano compound. According to these, it's unoccupied now."
"So Vinny doesn't live there?"
"No, I checked on his home. He has a place close to the marina. That's big bucks territory even in big bucks territory. But the compound is almost on the tip of the peninsula, toward Montauk. There's only one real land route in, but it has unfettered sea access."
"A perfect defensible position for a pirate," Kate observes.
Castle grins at her. "Now you're getting into the spirit of things, Beckett. But if there's any piracy going on there now, it's not in the official record. If it was, law enforcement would be obliged to put a stop to it. Still, that doesn't mean there aren't operations flying below the radar. Ooh, or perhaps a satellite view. I wonder what's on Google Earth.
Castle enters a location and brings up an aerial view. "There's a lot of tree cover," Kate notes. "You really can't see much."
"But there are still buildings," Castle points out. "And the drives to them are clear. If no one was using them, they'd be overgrown with brush and grass. You wouldn't believe how fast things spring up around here. What I have to pay my landscaping service… never mind. But anyway, there's still something going on out there, and I'd love to know what."
"Castle, you said there's only one way in," Kate reminds him. "If there is something going on there and we go to check it out, they'll see us coming."
"Only one way by land, but all kinds of ways by sea. Hmm, did you just hear Paul Revere's Ride in your head?"
"Not really. Good poetry, bad history. He didn't even finish the ride, Samuel Prescott did."
"You would point that out, and yes I know. But Revere's an easier rhyme. And regarding the sea, there are all sorts of little inlets out there. What we need is a grizzled old sea captain who knows every inch of the coast and can figure out the best way to sneak in."
"And where do you propose to find one?"
"I know a guy who can point us in the right direction."
Master shipwright Carlton Smith almost spits out his beer. "Castle, are you out of your mind? You want someone to sneak you in to spy on a mob operation?"
"I didn't say it is a mob operation. I only said it's possible that it is," Castle argues. "And that's why I need the best – so we can check it out unseen. I figure we sail into some obscure cove that leads inland, maybe something old rum runners or bootleggers might have used. Then we take a quick look to see if there are any signs of life and get the hell out of there. If anyone is in residence, they'll never know the difference. And if they aren't, no harm, no foul."
"And Detective Beckett, isn't it? What do you think of Castle's plan?"
"I think we take a boat trip to what is by all official accounts, an abandoned compound. Chances are all we'll get out of it is a nice sail. But we take a look from as far away as possible and if there is actually anything happening, we get out immediately and notify the proper authorities."
"Which does take most of the fun out of it," Castle complains. "But Kate is right, we're not about to beard the lion in his den, just take a short and possibly enlightening excursion."
"All right," Carlton grudgingly agrees. "I can give you the name of someone who knows every inch of the coast out there. But their services aren't going to come cheap."
Castle rolls his eyes. "Nothing around here ever does."
Castle regards a sturdy-looking thirtyish woman waving from the deck of an equally sturdy-looking boat. "Not old and definitely not grizzled."
"Are you Castle and Beckett?" Gertrude Moshower inquires.
"We are," Castle replies. "I'm told you're the expert on the coast at the tip of the peninsula."
"None better," Gertrude replies. "I grew up on my grandfather's boat up there. Feet almost never touched solid ground. If I don't know where to find what you're looking for, no one else does."
"Well, Carlton Smith confirms your opinion," Castle says. "Do you still sail regularly up there?"
"When I can. There's more charter business down here. But I'm usually in those waters at least once a week, on my own time."
"And have you noticed any unusual activity?" Kate asks.
"It depends on what you call unusual. Boats come and go. Most of them I recognize. Some I don't. But I haven't seen anyone hoisting the Jolly Roger."
Kate smothers a laugh.
"So, when can we get underway?" Castle asks.
"As soon as I see the money. Cash only. One thing I know about weekenders here, the richer they are, the more likely they are to stiff you. A couple of months ago that big real estate guy from the city was here. He chartered a boat for a whole weekend for him and his pals and ran up bills for thousands of bucks for food and booze. Didn't pay for anything. He told everyone he owed that if they wanted their money, they could sue him."
"Which would have cost them more than they'd get out of it," Kate assumes.
"Exactly," Gertrude agrees. "And no lawyer's getting rich off me. So cash up front or I don't leave the dock."
"Be back with it in an hour," Castle promises.