Confession Chapter 44
"When do you think Weston will have everything put together?" Castle wonders, slicing tomatoes for a salad while Kate tears the lettuce.
Kate throws ragged sections of leaves into a bowl. "I don't know. She's got a lot to coordinate and her people will have to check out everyone involved to make sure they're not a security risk."
"What about Sims?" Castle questions. "I've looked into some of the cases he's handled before. He operates behind the scenes for clients who push against the limits of the law – hard. He's just the kind of guy Bracken loves to have in his circle. And he's worked on cases that have connections to Bracken. They're well disguised, but connections no less. As Maddox's counsel, he'll have to be informed of the arrangements."
"Some of them, anyway," Kate acknowledges. "But even if he does pass information on to Bracken, Weston's people will give him as little of it as possible."
"That's assuming that Bracken doesn't have a mole at SDNY," Castle says.
"They background check everyone who gets anywhere near anything sensitive, Babe."
"Uh-huh. And the FBI checked out Robert Hanssen. But he was still working for the KGB. Hell, Beckett, our intelligence agencies miss red flags way too often. Anyone at the SDNY could be a plant."
"Castle, this isn't one of your books and we're not talking about Russian spies, just a murderous senator whose days in power are numbered," Kate insists, forcing herself to believe her own words.
Castle presses his chef's knife hard against his cutting board, scraping his slices on top of Kate's greens. "I hope you're right, Beckett."
Elizabeth Weston always puts her most crucial files under lock and key, even when she just needs to go to the ladies' room. This morning that's way too often. The stress of setting up the arrangements for the Thomas Street session brought her monthly visitor on both earlier and heavier than usual. Her pills take care of the cramps – mostly – but do nothing to prevent interruptions to her work that she can ill afford. Still, there's not much she can do about it. For the third time that morning, she secures her files before hurrying off to avoid embarrassing leakage.
Unknown to the U.S. Attorney, her office is about to spring an entirely different kind of leak. During the few moments he's had the chance, Joe Martin has been studying the lock on Weston's secure drawer. He's no expert on the device. A locksmithing course would have shown up in his background check. But his cousin Lewis always had a fascination with locks. When they were kids, he took Joe along on imaginary covert missions in which they'd break into the Martin patriarch's desk and eventually into his liquor cabinet. During their adventures, Lewis talked almost obsessively about locks and keys. Joe wasn't always in the mood to listen. He was more into the adrenaline their secret incursions generated. But he learned enough. And even now when he touches base with Lewis, the subject of their conversations hasn't changed much.
Joe took pictures of Weston's lock, which he went through careful protocols to delete after sending them off to Lewis. He told Lewis he was wondering how he could defeat it – hypothetically and just for fun, of course. Lewis was more than happy to oblige with instructions. Joe went over and over them, until he had every step down pat. He just had to wait for his opportunity. He's been watching Weston all morning and has a pretty good idea of how long she'll be gone. He hurries into her office to put his plan into motion.
Quickly flipping through the file Weston had been working on, he finds tentative arrangements for transportation and protection of Maddox and Simmons and the date they'll be needed. He doesn't find the exact time or location of the meeting. But he'll pass on what he has. The boss will have other sources. He always does.
Bracken charges into Carmack's office. "What have we got?"
"Two of our sources came through with the date and the location, but we don't have the exact time yet, Carmack responds.
Bracken's carefully trimmed nails, professionally strengthened, make deep crescents in his palms. "Why the hell not?"
"Apparently it's going to be released at the last minute to prevent any attacks on the prisoner transports."
"Without knowing the timing, can we still pull off the plan?"
Carmack grins over steepled fingers. "We can. I'll be in New York in a few hours to supervise. We'll set everything up to go at the touch of a button. When the targets approach, we'll hit it and take out a square block, maybe even bring down the building entirely. And there's a FedEx distribution center practically across the street. If they have trucks there, they could go up too."
"Gas explosion?" Bracken queries.
Carmack gestures confirmation. "Boom! We got lucky. There's a gas line running alongside the building. So whether they come in from the front or the back, it won't matter. They'll get blown to bits either way, with maybe hundreds of other people. No one will be concentrating on the fate of a couple of crooks. And the lawyers, a cop, and a writer will be just part of a hoard of unfortunates."
"As a New York Senator, I'll have to address the tragedy in a speech. My thoughts and prayers will be with the families of the victims," Bracken proclaims.
Carmack guffaws. "Yeah, right."
Kate stares down at a stack of files Gates dropped on her desk. "What are those?" Castle asks.
"Reports from other cops I'm supposed to review. Ugh! I hate paperwork!"
Castle's brows ripple. "Really? I would never have known it from the at least 50 other times you've mentioned it. Well, you know you'll be riding a desk until we get the word from the SDNY. What are you supposed to be reviewing them for, anyway?"
"I'm supposed to look them over for any way resources could have been better deployed to solve the cases or get a conviction in the ones that were thrown out on technicalities."
"Hmm. How many times have you complained about the bad guys walking on a technicality just to commit another crime? Sounds like Gates is actually giving you something useful to do. I can't think of anyone more qualified to suggest tweaks to the system."
Kate sighs. "Sometimes it needs a lot more than tweaks. But my question is, if I find something that should be changed, can Gates actually do anything about it, or am I just wasting my time?"
"You never know until you try, Beckett. She might surprise you. The way she brought me back in was one hell of a surprise. Do you want to give me a couple of those to look at? I'm no detective, but I know dropping the ball when I see it."
Kate hands Castle half her folder pile. "Knock yourself out, Babe."
If I were going to do that, I'd prefer to lose consciousness while performing more pleasurable acts. But, I'll give it a shot. Ooh! Bad choice of words?"
Kate rolls her eyes. "Just read, Castle. Just read."