Finding the Fit Chapter 65
As Kate jabs her marker at the timeline on a murder board, it crashes to the floor of the bullpen. While Ryan and Esposito pick it up, Rick lays his hands on her shoulders. "Hey, Waterhouse said Bracken's city trial is going on for a couple of months. And the one the SDNY will be bringing to federal court will go on longer than that. If you're strung this tight now, your strings are going to pop before the juries can come back with their verdicts. You need to kick back somehow."
"How am I supposed to kick back, Castle? I have a murder to close."
"I know, but you've already got enough evidence from Lanie and from CSU to nail the jealous lover for it. Should be pretty much a slam dunk. The boys can handle it."
"I'm not testifying for Waterhouse. He has enough from Coonan and forensics to make his case. So what am I supposed to do, Castle?" Kate demands. "Watch the legal consultants from ZNN talk their heads off while Jake Tasker tries to get their attention for the actual updates coming in from the reporters in the courtroom?"
"It works better if you turn off the sound and just read the scroll at the side of the screen," Castle offers. "However, I was thinking that getting away for a while would be even better. We could go somewhere away from TV and internet, and you could just chill out for a while – or warm up if the location is tropical."
"Assuming I could get leave from the NYPD to go, where in the world is still like that?"
"Resorts all over the world offer that lack of technology as a feature. They call it 'digital detox.' The last time I had dinner with my mother she talked about some actors she knows who went that route. According to what they told her, people who tried it either went into electronic withdrawal and had to leave or stayed and had the time of their lives." Rick pulls out his phone. "Let's see, 'digital detox.' Uh-huh, there's a whole list of places, a national park in Washington State, Costa Rica, American Samoa…."
"Anyplace closer?" Kate interrupts.
"Hmm, there's a lodge in Upstate New York."
"My father has a cabin up there, but it gets cell service – sort of."
"Well, apparently, this lodge doesn't. They have a radio so they can get help in an emergency, but other than that, it's just woods, trees, a lake, and, ooh, cuddling up in front of a fireplace with your choice of comfort snacks and beverages. The place also boasts an impressive library. There's fishing, too. Didn't you say you used to go fishing with your father?"
"Yeah, I did. We'd catch, clean, and cook them all on the same day. It was amazing."
"If we rent one of the cabins at this lodge, you can do that if you want to." "And we can find other ways to amuse ourselves," Rick's eyebrows do a Selleck, "and each other."
Kate sighs. "It does sound wonderful, Castle. But what happens if something goes wrong at the trial and Waterhouse needs me?"
"You let the DA's office know where you'll be, and they can radio the place or send a ranger or state trooper or someone to fetch you. Come on, Beckett. You've been going flat out for a long time, probably since your mother's murder. And you'll have to be back for Bracken's federal trial. Take some time to decompress while you can. You've also got the stress of keeping a lid on the dicey chapter in Montgomery's history. Signing off on some leave for you is the least he can do."
"All right, Castle. I'll put in my request."
Kate gazes around their cabin at the Black Lake Lodge. The furniture is rustic but sturdy. The kitchen area features a stove, oven, refrigerator, and counter equipped with a knife block and an extra deep sink, perfect for cleaning a day's catch. The bathroom is far from fancy, but it has everything necessary. What appears to be a handmade quilt covers a queen-sized bed - a little small for Castle, but they can snuggle. Fishing gear occupies one corner. She'd already noted the boat they can use during their stay, tied up at the small pier outside.
Rick peeks inside the refrigerator and pulls out a chilled bottle of Dom Perignon. "Ah, just as I requested, and," he checks the cabinet above, "serviceable glasses. Not crystal, of course. They'd hardly fit in with the furnishings, but more than adequate. And," he pulls a bowl out of the fridge, "fresh strawberries. Perfect!"
"Castle, if this place has no phone or internet, how did you arrange that stuff?"
"There's an agent in town who has both. That's how I made the reservation. I told him what else I wanted, and he relayed the request."
"Any more surprises?"
"Actually, yes. If you get bored with fishing and whatever else we can think of to do around here, we can take a ferry to Dark Island. There's an old castle, no pun intended, that we can explore there. But that's only if you feel like it. This is your time to do whatever you want."
"Do whatever I want," Kate muses. "I don't think I've really been able to do that for more than a few hours since I left Stanford."
"Then it's high time you got the chance," Castle declares.
The remaining Russian attaché Hunt's been targeting leaves Dungeon Alley as usual but doesn't return to his assigned quarters, the UN, or the consulate. Instead, he drives up to Morningside Park near Columbia and settles himself on a bench there. Other than throwing bits of a bialy he'd been munching on to a few pigeons, he doesn't appear to be doing much. Hunt wonders if the Russian has a rendezvous. He doesn't have to wait long to find out. An attractive woman smiles and sits on the bench next to the attaché. Hunt recognizes her unique looks immediately. Sophia Turner! What the hell is she doing there?"
After some small talk about seeing some sunshine for a change, the attaché offers her a piece of his bialy to feed the birds. Hunt notices that as he gives it to her, he slips her a small folded piece of paper with it. Faking a sneeze, Sophia reaches into her pocket for a tissue and drops the paper inside.
Bialy crumbs reach the greedy pigeons for a few more minutes until a frisky terrier on a short leash sends them off to do their begging elsewhere. Sophia sits for another minute or two before claiming she has to catch a bus. The attaché stays for a few minutes after that before returning to his car and driving toward his quarters. Hunt would love to know what was on the paper he slipped to Sophia. Still, as seasoned an agent as she is, he can't just break into her apartment and look for it. No matter how careful he is, she'll have a telltale indicating things have been disturbed. However, her interaction with the attaché gives him reason to switch his surveillance to her. She's roused his suspicions for some time. Now, he's going to find out exactly what master she serves.