Finding the Fit Chapter 15
"Can you raise that kind of money in 48 hours?" Sorenson asks the Candelas.
"It's everything we have," Theresa answers. "I don't know if we can liquidate that fast."
"Is there someone you can call to help you?" Kate inquires.
Alfred turns to his wife. "Your sister, Nina!" He looks back at Kate. "She's a CPA. She helped set up our accounts."
Theresa reaches into her pocket for her cell phone. "I'll call her."
Castle motions Kate back into the kitchen. "Beckett, what kidnapper asks for an amount like $700,000? I could see a million, or even half a million. But a number corresponding to the sum of the Candelas' holdings? It would have to be someone very familiar with their finances."
"Maybe someone from Theresa's office," Kate considers.
"Right, a hotbed of financial knowledge," Castle agrees.
Kate motions for him to follow her back to the living room, where Theresa is finishing the call with her sister. "Mrs. Candela, is there anyone with a grudge against you, maybe someone you work with?"
Theresa starts to shake her head. "I can't think of any…."
"What about Doug Ellers?" Alfred interrupts.
"Maybe," Theresa acknowledges. "He used to work for me, but his group was underperforming, so I had to fire him. He was angry."
"He was more than angry," Alfred says. "He called here a few times. I picked up when Theresa was at work. He said his wife divorced him, he lost his kids, and it was all 'that bitch's' fault."
"That would fit," Rick offers. "He loses his kids so he decides to get his revenge by taking yours and wiping you out financially in the bargain."
"We need to talk to Ellers," Sorenson declares.
"I'll do it," Kate volunteers. "I'll have my guys pick him up and bring him to the 12th. I'm set up to lean on him there."
"If Ellers took Angela, Beckett will get it out of him," Rick tells Sorenson.
The agent nods. "I know she will."
"So," Rick asks as Kate steers through morning traffic to the 12th, "what's with you and Sorenson? The way he confirmed your excellence at interrogation sounded like you two know each other pretty well."
"Knew each other," Kate corrects. "Will and I dated for about six months – before the case where we lost the little boy. After that, nothing was the same."
"Haunted by the ghost of tragic failure?" Rick suggests.
"Nothing quite that dramatic. But we weren't really connecting anymore. It was like we were just going through the motions. Then he was told he was transferring to Boston. He asked me to go with him, but I couldn't see the point. I would have been giving up everything I built with the NYPD. I'd have to start over in Boston. And then what would happen if he got transferred again?"
"Which he obviously did," Rick points out. "But that wasn't the real problem, was it? Women and some men, give up jobs and a lot more to follow the people they love. Did you love him, Beckett?"
"I thought I might before the boy was killed. But after that, I don't know what I felt. Whatever it was wasn't enough to follow him to Boston. So we broke up."
"Men don't normally invite old girlfriends back into their lives, Beckett – unless they're trying to relight the fire. Sorenson requested you on Angela's case because he wants you back," Rick asserts.
"Castle, the only one I care about getting back is Angela – alive."
"If Ellers has her, you can make that happen," Rick declares.
"Unis picked him up at his new job. It's only a mile from here," Esposito explains, pointing through the one-way glass into Observation. "No sign of the girl there. Ryan went to the guy's new bachelor pad to see if he's got her there. He should be there any minute." Esposito's cell sounds off. "That's my man now. Yeah. Sure. I'll tell her." Esposito shoves the phone back in his pocket. "The place is empty, and there's no sign that Angela was ever there."
"All right," Kate acknowledges. "Let's see what Mr. Ellers has to say."
"Kidnap Theresa's little girl? That's nuts!" Ellers exclaims. "Yeah, sure I was pissed off that she fired me. But it was a blessing in disguise. I'd let my skills slide, and I didn't want to admit it. So I took a cert course on the new financial management tools. That got me a better job for more money. You can check with my boss."
"Oh, I will," Kate assures him.
"And my lawyer petitioned the court to get me more time with my kids. She says it looks like the judge is going to grant it. I'd be crazy to jeopardize that by pulling something crazy like a kidnapping. I really hope you find the little girl, Detective, but I'm not the one who took her. Can I go now? I do have a job to do."
"I'll let you know when you can go, Mr. Ellers," Kate says. I'm going to triple-check everything you said, and then we'll see."
"He didn't do it, Beckett," Rick whispers as they exit Interrogation.
"What makes you so sure, Castle?"
"Ellers and Theresa Candela weren't exactly the best of friends. There's no way he'd know about the window or that Alfred would be painting and blasting music in his ears when he should have been taking care of Angela. Whoever took that little girl had to know more about what was happening in that family."
"Castle, the FBI already checked sitters and any other hired help that would have been in and out of the Candelas' apartment."
"I can't say that greatly inspires confidence, but assuming Sorenson and his people did a competent job, not all babysitters are hired. Sometimes they're friends and relatives. At least they are for some of the other authors I know. And the Montgomerys use Evelyn's mother a lot."
"You are getting buddy-buddy with the captain, aren't you?"
"We understand each other, but that's not the point. Whoever took Angela was familiar with what went on in the Candelas' apartment and possibly someone the girl would be comfortable with. It's also someone familiar with their finances. That has to be a pretty short list."
"Yes, it does," Kate agrees. "I still need to check everything Ellers said, but then we need to have another talk with the Candelas."
"We?" Rick questions.
"If you're right about what's going on here, Castle, you've earned it. But just sit tight until I finish finding out if Ellers was telling the truth."
"I could make us some lattes with the machine I bought for the break room," Castle offers.
Kate gives him her first smile of the day. "That would be nice."
Martha's phone dings with a text signaling that My 46 found a new DNA connection for her. A quick swipe reveals it to be another cousin, one that shares less than one percent of her DNA at that. She takes a quick scroll through her emails. Her sample arrived at Family Tree and is in the queue for analysis. She should have something within a couple of weeks. "Well," she mutters to herself, "I guess that's progress."
Kate lays her landline back in its cradle and downs the last of her latte. She glances toward Castle, who occupies a well-worn chair next to her desk. "Doug Ellers was telling the truth. Time to head back to the Candelas'."