Kate Beckett, Investigator Chapter 2

Kate starts bringing up social media sites and searching for mentions of Sal's wife Connie and his daughter, Francesca (Frankie) Gambitto. She can almost hear Castle yelling "Booyah!" in her head as she finds a post with a picture of Connie Gambitto driving a BMW E92. Better still, Frankie is at the wheel of a Lexus IS 350. The two add up to about $150,000 worth of cars. As far as Kate can determine, neither one of the women holds a paying job. With Sal Gambitto receiving a yearly salary of $195,000, the expenditure isn't impossible but it is definitely budget-bending. Sal gets to live free of charge in Gracie Mansion, but how else is the family spending money?

Connie Gambitto is a very public supporter of numerous good causes and attends all the galas and fundraisers. Kate skims the images. The woman is jeweled and dressed to the nines. Some designers and jewelers will lend their creations to celebrities for publicity purposes. But Connie is no Sophia Vergara. At most, she's C or D list, not worthy of that much investment.

Kate switches to views of Frankie. She's attending a showing of Wicked. Though not dripping with as many gems as her mother, she is wearing Prada. Other posts show the Gambitto women frequenting Le Cirque and even more upscale establishments. As fine diners, they make Castle look like a piker.

Kate wonders what Sal is doing while his wife and daughter enjoy New York's more expensive offerings. She scrolls through the images of various political functions and finds two in particular that look most promising. They're both photos taken by tourists in Central Park. They show the mayor in a grove of trees talking to men Kate vaguely recognizes. A double check confirms her suspicions – executives from Nesgadol. Now why would they be having an afternoon in the park with Sal? Castle could be right about Nesgadol. It deserves a much closer look.

"So, how do you plan on worming your way into Nesgadol?" Castle asks Kate over lunch at a diner near Jim Beckett's law office.

Kate stares broodingly at a steak fry she was about to cover in ketchup. "To tell you the truth, Babe, I have no idea. I was hoping that your writer's imagination would come up with one of your brilliant plot twists."

Castle reaches for one of his own fries. "Hmm, a brilliant plot twist. That usually means that the hero finds something on the very periphery of what a villain or villainous organization is up to and installs himself or herself in a largely unnoticed position. So, what does Nesgadol do besides real estate? Any subsidiaries? The more off the wall, the better, but it would help if your actual experience would factor into obtaining a position. The more you have to make up, the more chance of messing up. You remember when Derrick Storm…?"

"I remember," Kate responds, leaning her elbows on their booth's table. "Nesgadol does own some smaller companies. They use most of them to mark up raw materials – an 'I buy and then sell to you' kind of thing."

"Yeah, the sort of underhanded maneuvers for which the TV and film industry is infamous. Like Aaron Spelling claimed Charlie's Angels made no money so he wouldn't have to pay Robert Wagner and Natalie Wood their cut for helping develop it. But how would you insinuate yourself?"

"One of the companies, Gidon, specializes in inspecting imported materials used in construction – especially from China. I had a summer job doing something like that when I was at NYU. Mostly, I spotted instances when the paperwork was phonied up to represent the materials at a higher grade than they were. This time of year any college students they could hire cheap for the job would be in school. As long as I don't ask for too high a salary, I should be able to get a position. Dad did some pro bono work for one of my old employers. I should be able to get a reference out of it."

"And assuming you do get the job, what are you going to be looking for?"

"I'm not sure yet. But every company has a grapevine. And one of the better spots to listen to it is the ladies' room. If Nesgadol is looking to make out by bribing Mayor Gambitto, I should be able to pick up something."

"And if someone recognizes you as famous homicide detective Kate Beckett?"

"It's Nikki Heat who's famous. And if she's on a book cover, she's always in silhouette. And I can change a few things."

Castle sputters out bits of potato. "Change what things?"

Kate reaches for another fry. "You'll just have to wait and see."

"I have to admit," Castle says, studying the lank fall of Kate's dishwater blonde hair and her bulky shape-disguising clothes, that if I didn't know you so, um, intimately, I might have trouble recognizing you. How about your ID?"

"I had your old friend Powell help me out with that. He has an associate. He said it's better that I don't know who, but I have a driver's license and an online background that establishes my cover. Powell said to consider it a belated wedding present. And my reference letter will have a name to match."

"And what is your name?"

"Velma Dinkley."

"As in Scooby Doo's Velma?"

"Castle, have you ever met anyone else who actually knows Velma's last name?"

"There was the gang at the Scooby Doo booth at Mystery Toon Con."

"Anyone else?"

"Not that I can recall, " Castle concedes.

"I think," Kate declares, "that I'll be fine."

"At least you're not wearing the glasses."

Kate winks. "Only for close work."

"Mmm, that could be sexy. When is your interview appointment?"

"Ten A.M."

"It's only 8:30 and Alexis left for school an hour ago. Want to show me how that close work goes?"

"I'd have to wear the glasses."

"All the better."

Elliott Wigdor skims through the pile of documents in front of him. "Your credentials seem adequate, Ms. Dinkley. And your reference is outstanding. As it happens, we do have a shipment of materials due to be offloaded tomorrow morning. We'll need someone to ensure that all the paperwork is in order and matches the actual contents of the container. Could you be available that soon?"

"I'll have to rearrange some plans, but if the situation is that immediate, I believe I can manage it," Kate replies. "May I ask what type of materials will be arriving?"

"Chinese drywall, Ms. Dinkley."

"For which I'll have to confirm the sulfur levels don't exceed acceptable standards."

"Exactly correct, Ms. Dinkley. Our lab will be alerted to expect samples. You'll be taking them, doing the documentation, and delivering them. We'll need you to accomplish that by noon at the latest."

"That won't be a problem, Mr. Wigdor," Kate asserts.

Elliott rubs his hands together. "Excellent. Then I will send you on to personnel to get your company ID and fill out the rest of your paperwork. I will need you on the dock at 7:00 A.M. The exact location will be provided to you."

"I will be there, Sir," Kate declares.

Wigdor nods, smiling. "Then let's get you on your way."

Kate smiles to herself. She does seem to be on her way.