Ghostwriter

Chapter 1

Kate was a writer. She wrote children's mystery books and cranked one out roughly every six months. She didn't make a lot of money. Honestly, she knew her books would never make the New York Times Best Seller list, but she made enough to live by herself, which was no small feat since she lived in New York City.

It was a one-bedroom unit, not a studio. It wasn't in Soho, but where she lived wasn't bad. She considered it safe enough, not that she wanted to walk it in the dark. What she did want was just to be safe. She had three locks on the front door. There was the ever-present deadbolt, but she had added two more just to be careful.

Kate managed to have all the furnishings, even had pictures on the wall and one window full of plants for some greenery. She also had a cell phone and didn't have a landline like many of her friends, which were few, but she had them. Kate was also addicted to coffee and couldn't live without it.

Today was grocery day, and she had one full bag in her hand when she stopped at her mail slot and took out her mail. Then she walked up to her third-floor apartment, let herself in, and tossed the keys on a side table. Kate immediately locked every lock and set the mail on the side table along with the keys.

Sighing, she went into the kitchen. It was small, but it had everything she needed – almost. The one thing it didn't have was a dishwasher. She would kill for a dishwasher.

She began putting her groceries away, including things in the freezer for later. After folding her shopping bag and tucking it on the shelf, she started the coffee maker. It was a great coffee maker, well worth what she had splurged on it, not one of those cheap machines. While her coffee brewed, she went to the sofa and made herself comfortable. Kate picked up the remote, clicked the TV on, and surfed the channels, looking for something to watch. Then she pressed Guide and looked at what was available. She settled for watching HGTV, except there was a commercial break talking about mail.

Oops, she forgot about it, so she got up and retrieved it. First up was junk mail, mostly fliers about what was available for sale. She skimmed through them just to be sure, then put them aside. Next was her phone bill. She opened it to see if anything had changed. It hadn't, so she laid it aside for later.

Kate noticed a letter with a return address from Black Pawn. She had no idea what Back Pawn was, but she opened it anyway.

Dear Ms. Beckett,

We have an offer for you and would like for you to contact our office at your earliest convenience.

We look forward to hearing from you.

Sincerely,

Gina Cowell

"An offer?" Kate had no idea what it could be. The letterhead said Black Pawn with an address and a phone number.

She set it aside since her coffee was ready. She got up and poured herself a cup, then returned to the sofa and picked up the letter again. "An offer." Kate didn't get it, but she took out her cell phone and dialed the number listed at the top.

"This is Kate Beckett. I have a letter from Gina Cowell asking me to contact her," Kate told the person answering the phone. She asked Kate to please hold while she transferred her.

"This is Gina Cowell, Ms. Beckett. Thank you for contacting me. I'll get right to the point. We're a publisher, and we have an offer for you."

"A publisher? I'm sorry, but I already have a publisher."

"Yes, I know. We're willing to buy you out of your contract and to make an offer for you to write for us. Are you interested?"

Kate didn't understand at all. "Why would you want to buy me out of my contract?"

"That's something best discussed in person. When can I expect to see you in my office?"

"Um, tomorrow, I guess." Kate still didn't understand, but since they were willing to buy her out of her contract, she would listen.

"Excellent. Say 10 am, my office?"

"Ten will be fine."

"Good. I expect to meet you in my office at 10 am tomorrow and look forward to talking to you. I think you'll like our offer. Goodbye." And with that, Gina hung up on her.

Kate still had no idea what this could be about, but she would go and listen. She could always say NO.

~oo0oo~

Kate wore one of her better dresses for this meeting since she wanted to put on a good front. She picked up her clutch and made sure she had everything she might need.

On her way out, she picked up her keys and locked her door. She hurried downstairs, walked to the subway, and took the train. There was a station close to Black Pawn.

She looked at the directory and saw that Black Pawn was on floor 12. So she took the elevator to the 12th floor, where she got off and looked for their door. Kate stopped, then went in.

"I'm Kate Beckett. Gina Cowell is expecting me." The receptionist asked her to wait while she dialed a number. She spoke to someone and then hung up. "You can go in. It's the third door on your left."

Kate walked to the door and stood there for a moment. She pulled herself together, knocked, and entered her office. "I'm Kate Beckett."

Gina got up from her desk and offered her hand to her, and Kate shook it. "I'm Gina Cowell. Please have a seat." She motioned to a chair in front of her. "Thank you for coming. No doubt you're wondering why you're here."

"You could say that. I can't begin to understand how I can help you, Ms. Cowell."

"I have an offer for you, but first, may I offer you something to drink? Water, coffee?"

Kate shook her head. "Nothing, thanks. I already had my coffee."

"Let's get right to it then. I'm offering you a job as a ghostwriter," Gina revealed. "You will write under someone else's name. He'll get all the accolades while you get all the money."

"Interesting. You said something about buying me out of my contract."

"That's correct. Black Pawn will buy you out of your contract to write for us. You will receive an advance of 1.5 million dollars if you agree to be our ghostwriter."

"I'm sorry, did I hear you say 1.5. Million. Dollars?" Kate was stunned. She couldn't make that kind of money in more years than she wanted to think about.

"Correct. I take it that you're interested?"

"Yes, I am. Who would I ghostwrite for?"

"His name is Richard Castle." Gina watched her reaction. "I see you've heard of him from the look on your face."

Kate nodded. "Yes, I've heard of him. He writes murder mysteries."

"Yes, he does. Now, why I would consider you – you write murder mysteries for children. I've read your work, and I think you would be a good fit to replace him."

Kate was indeed interested. At 1.5 million, who wouldn't be? "Why? I mean, why does Richard Castle need a ghostwriter? I've been to his book signings."

"You won't be signing any books, obviously. Nor will you be attending any book launch parties. You'll be a ghost in every sense of the word. As to why," Gina paused since this was partly her fault, she feared. "Richard Castle was recently convicted of rape and is serving ten years in prison with another ten years probation."

"Rape!" Kate was shocked to learn that, though she knew he was known as a playboy, so maybe she could see it.

"Unfortunately, yes. I won't go into details save to say Rick won't be writing books anytime soon. That's why we're interested in a ghostwriter. He's one of our most popular authors, and we can't afford to lose him."

"I see. So I would write chapters and send them to you for editing, correct?"

"Yes, you will send them directly to me. You have one year to finish the first book. I expect you to send me the chapters as you complete them. I will offer revisions and send them back to you.

"Do you accept our offer?" Gina waited, hoping she would say yes.

Kate nodded. "Yes, I accept."

"Excellent. I will have a contract written out for you to sign. I suggest you take it to a lawyer and have him look it over." Gina stood and offered her hand to Kate. "I look forward to working with you, Ms. Beckett."

Kate took her hand and shook it. "Thank you for the opportunity."

"You will receive the advance the minute I receive a signed contract," Gina told her. Kate thanked her again and left her office.

She was in a haze. She knew what she agreed to but didn't believe it. Maybe she would when she received that check for 1.5 million dollars.

Kate made it home. She changed out of her dress and ordered pizza since she didn't feel like going anywhere. She sat on her sofa with her cup of coffee and wondered what she would do with 1.5 million dollars.

The first thing she thought about was getting a bigger and better apartment, but she rejected that idea in favor of getting a Certified Financial Planner. After all, this could be the first and last check she would ever see from Black Pawn.

~oo0oo~

It was two days later, and Kate was sitting there watching TV when someone knocked on her door. She peered through the spy hole first and decided he looked safe enough, so she opened it.

"Kate Beckett?"

"Yes," Kate replied.

"This is for you. Sign here, please." He held out a clipboard to her.

Kate scrawled her signature on it. "Thank you." After handing over the package, the boy left. He had a backpack, so she guessed he was a bike messenger. She saw them everywhere, all over the city, weaving in and out of traffic.

Kate closed and locked the door, took her package to the sofa, and opened it.

Ms. Katherine Beckett,

Enclosed is your contract. Please take it to a lawyer and sign it. As soon as you sign and return it, we will buy out your contract with your publisher as agreed.

I look forward to working with you.

Gina Cowell.

Now she just needed to find a lawyer.

~oo0oo~

She was able to find one and met with him. Kate described what she needed from him and handed him the contract. Tristan Bigelow told her he would be pleased to help her for a price. It would take him a week to complete the task.

So now Kate was at home waiting for him to call.

Five days later, Tristan called her and asked her to come in. So there she was, back in his office.

"Your contract states your old publisher will be bought out, thus ending your association with them. In addition, it says that Ms. Gina Cowell expects you to send her each chapter when you complete it.

"The moment you sign and return this contract, you will be offered 1.5 million dollars. Black Pawn expects you to complete the book within one year. I find no hidden language; it's all up front and center for you. I can't tell you to sign this, Ms. Beckett, that's entirely up to you to decide, but it looks good."

Kate thanked him and wrote a check to pay his fee, which hit her bank account, but soon enough, it would hold 1.5 million dollars.

Kate didn't trust a bike messenger with her contract, so she signed it and took it to the Black Pawn office personally.

One day later, there was a knock on her door. It was another bike messenger, and Kate had to sign for an envelope. She locked the door and ripped it open. Inside was a check for 1.5 million dollars.

'I'M RICH! I'M OFFICIALLY RICH!" Kate clutched the check to her chest and danced around her living room, smiling wide. She decided to officially celebrate with a drink. She had just one bottle of vodka, so she pours herself some and sipped it.

"Now I need a Certified Financial Planner." Kate intended to stick to her guns and invest this money after she took out enough to reimburse herself for what she spent on the lawyer.

~oo0oo~

After finding and talking to a CFP, which took up two long hours, she went shopping. She bought herself a laptop and downloaded a decent word processor.

So she sat there at her small desk. "What do I write?" Kate wracked her brains. She was used to writing children's books, but this wouldn't be one of those. No, this was going to be a novel. She decided to use someone she had written about for one of her books, but she changed the name. "Derrick Storm." Kate decided it was perfect and began typing. She amazed even herself when she finished the first chapter that very night.

She looked up Gina's email, attached it, and clicked on Send. "Now we wait," Kate told herself.

She made herself some dinner and was eating when her cell phone rang. She picked it up and saw the caller ID was Gina. "Already?"

"Hello?"

"Kate, I'll get right to the point. I LOVE IT. It's an excellent chapter. I approve," Gina raved. "I still have some redlines I would like to make, but they're small ones. I'll send them to you, and you can incorporate them and send it back to me. But keep up the good work." And that was that. Gina hung up on her.

"She loved it! I don't believe it. She loved it," Kate said to herself as she got back to work writing, knowing that she loved it.

~oo0oo~

Kate went to the grocery store and took a cart this time. She walked around collecting things and ended up in the meat section. Kate looked at a steak. It was expensive, but she decided she could afford it, so she picked up a New York Strip.

"Steak?" the woman next to her commented.

"Uh-huh, I'm splurging. I don't usually get one, but I feel like celebrating."

"I'm Angela."

"Kate," she responded while putting her steak in her cart.

"I'll see you around. Good luck, and have a good time celebrating," Angela told her.

"Thanks." Since Kate had everything, she went to check out and noticed Angela was right behind her with her choices.

"Could I talk you into meeting up for coffee?" Angela asked her. "I want to hear about what you're celebrating."

Kate looked at her. She was pretty with long coppery-red hair. She dressed modestly, but then so did Kate. "Sure," Kate told her. After all, it was only coffee, and she liked coffee. "There's a coffee shop not far from here. Say one hour?"

"I think I know the place you're talking about, and one hour would be fine." Angela smiled. "I look forward to hearing what you're celebrating."

Kate hurried home with her purchases and put them away. The steak went into the refrigerator. She had time to kill before she met Angela. Maybe she could be a friend? She could use a new friend.

~oo0oo~

Kate arrived just a little early and found Angela waiting for her. "Thank you for meeting me."

Kate shrugged a little and smiled. "I like a good cup of coffee."

"By the way, this is my treat since it was my idea, so order what you want, Kate."

Kate listened to Angela's order, which contained nutmeg. They got their coffees and sat down opposite each other.

Angela stirred her coffee. "So, tell me what we're celebrating."

"I recently signed a contract to write a book. I sent in the first chapter, and the editor said she loved it, so we're celebrating."

"You're a writer? How interesting!"

"What do you do?" Kate asked her and sipped her coffee.

"I'm FBI."

Hearing that, Kate nearly choked on her coffee.

Angela smiled at her, and Kate thought she looked even prettier. "Relax, I'm not a field agent. I'm an analyst. I sit behind a computer all day."

"You're still FBI. I suppose you carry a gun." Kate looked for one now that she knew.

"Like I said, I'm not a field agent, so no, I don't carry a gun."

"What does an analyst do?" Kate asked, her curiosity piqued.

"I hack cell phones, computers. I do searches for a person of interest. That sort of thing."

"I better keep my phone safe from you, then," Kate teased her.

"I don't know. Do you need to hide your phone from me?" Angela teased her right back.

"NO, I'm a nobody." Kate watched her smile at her. "Funny."

Angela kept smiling at her. "I thought so."

"If you don't mind me asking, how long have you been FBI?"

"Just about two years. I like what I do. I help find bad guys. I have no interest in being a field agent."

"Could I see your ID?" Kate asked and watched as Angela fished it out of a pocket and handed it to her. Kate opened it, and sure enough, it said FBI. She handed it back to her. "When do you have days off?"

"I get two days a week. It varies when those two days are, based on whether I'm needed. I got today off and go back to work tomorrow. I live not too far from here. I take the subway to reach the office."

"Would you like to meet up again?" Kate asked, hoping she would say yes. "I've never met an FBI agent before."

"I'd like that. Give me your phone." Angela held out her hand and waited for Kate to give it to her. She typed in her contact information, including her home address.

Angela handed it back. "There, whether we meet again is in your hands."