Finding the Fit Chapter 18
"It wasn't like him to disappear," Nurse Julia Hammond says, a catch in her voice. "I guess when we couldn't reach him, and Courtney couldn't either, we knew deep down that something was wrong."
"Courtney?" Kate queries.
"Courtney Morantz, Dr. Leeds' fiancée," Julia explains. "They were planning their wedding. When he didn't show up for a cake tasting she called here looking for him."
"I'll need her contact information," Kate says.
Julia glances at the reception clerk. "Mario?"
Mario Guerrero nods, reaching for his keyboard. "Of course. However, I can help." He hands Kate a sheet of paper that comes off the printer.
Kate nods. "Thank you. Nurse Hammond, did Dr. Leeds seem agitated or nervous about anything?"
"He was nervous about his wedding," Julia says.
"But aren't all grooms?" Nurse Maggie Dowd inserts, looking at Castle.
"I wouldn't know," Rick says. "I've never been lucky enough to find the right woman."
"How about the doctor's patients?" Kate goes on, ignoring the marriage commentary. "Any of them upset with him?"
"More than upset," Maggie says. "Jacey Goldberg threatened him."
"Why?" Kate questions.
"She wanted a procedure. Dr. Leeds refused," Julia explains. "Since that option is elective, he was always very careful that his patients were in the right frame of mind to receive it."
"She's already had three," Mario adds.
Julia glares at him. "We can't discuss the medical details of patients' cases."
"Of course," Kate allows. "Anything you can tell us that isn't a medical detail."
"She sued him," Mario says. "It got thrown out of court."
"That's when the threats started," Maggie adds.
"I'm going to have unis bring in Jacey Goldberg," Kate tells Castle on the way back to their unit. "We have to go see Courtney Morantz."
"This is the hard part, huh?" Rick says.
"You don't have to come along, Castle. I'll be escorting her to the morgue to make the official ID. I can drop you home and call you when I'm finished."
Rick sinks into the passenger seat. "I wouldn't be much of an observer by stepping away when things get tough. I'm in."
Kate starts the ignition. "All right. But when I pick up Courtney, you'll have to be sitting in the back – and observing quietly."
"Not a sound," Rick agrees.
Lanie pulls back the sheet covering Joshua Leeds' body. Courtney gasps. "I was hoping it wouldn't be… but yes, that's Joshua."
"I'm so sorry for your loss, Ms. Morantz," Kate says, "but I'm going to need your help to find out who did this. It's more comfortable in the waiting room. We can talk there."
Kate arranges a circle of chairs in the anteroom to the labs. "I knew it, when Josh didn't show up and didn't call, I just knew it," Courtney says, emotion roughening her voice. "Josh's surgeries had almost no complications, but sometimes a patient would need reassurance. He would always drop everything to offer it, but he'd always let me know if he was going to cancel something or show up late. If he was rushed, he'd just send a text, but he always touched base."
"How long were you engaged?" Rick asks.
"Almost a year. We were going to get married next month, at The Gardens. We thought we were so lucky to get it when someone canceled." Tears glisten in Courtney's eyes. "Now I'll be canceling too. What did the killer want? Money?"
"It didn't appear to be a robbery," Kate says.
Words choke in Courtney's throat. "Then why?"
"Was Josh involved in anything that might have brought him in contact with criminals?" Kate asks gently.
Horror blanches Courtney's face. "No! Not my Josh! That's just not who he was."
"Before he disappeared, did you notice anything different about him?" Rick inquires.
Courtney stares in confusion. "Different?"
"Did he seem worried or scared or distracted?" Kate clarifies.
"No, he was fine. He was looking forward to our tasting. He had a thing for coffee cream, and that was supposed to be one of the kinds of frosting."
"Where was the tasting?" Kate asks.
"Kerry's Kreations, on 36th Street."
"His office was in Midtown, but his Mercedes was parked on 133rd Street. That's the opposite direction," Rick notes. "Have you any idea what he might have been doing there?"
"None," Courtney admits. "He'd never go that far North. If he was leaving the city, he'd take the Midtown Tunnel to the LIE – and he'd always let me know."
"All right, Ms. Morantz. I appreciate your help," Kate says, handing Courtney her card. "If you think of anything, please feel free to call, day or night."
Rick and Kate return to the bullpen while Ryan and Esposito are clipping items to the murder board. "Anything new on the canvass?" Kate inquires.
Ryan turns around. "Nada. Locals only remember seeing the car after the tickets. There are no security cameras on the street."
"A Mercedes just sitting at the curb with no cameras or nosy natives. I'm surprised no one stripped it," Castle muses.
"I've got a buddy in Organized Crime," Esposito offers. "He says that in that part of town, no one does business without permission."
"So any local who was tempted might face some serious penalties," Castle assumes.
"Very serious," Esposito confirms.
"Which means that Leeds' murder could have been sanctioned," Kate realizes.
"Detective Beckett," a uniformed officer calls across the bullpen, "Ms. Goldberg is here, in number one. She has a lawyer with her."
"Thanks, LT," Kate calls back. "I'll be right there." She turns to the men at the board. "Even with a lawyer, I'll probably get more out of her woman to woman. I should go in there alone." She grabs a copy of Jacey's lawsuit that was pinned to the board.
Rick and the male detectives trail after her to watch through the one-way mirror. Esposito stares open-mouthed at sausage-like lips, oversized cheekbones, and breasts almost reaching Jacey's waist. "Wow! How can anyone do that to themselves?"
"Leeds' nurse said he made sure a patient was in a reasonable state of mind before he'd operate," Rick recalls. "No wonder he wouldn't touch her."
"What's all this about, Detective?" Jacey's attorney queries.
Kate ignores him, speaking directly to Jacey. "Ms. Goldberg, are you familiar with a plastic surgeon named Joshua Leeds?"
Jacey draws herself up, her breasts jutting like a Wagnerian soprano's armor. "Yes."
"You recently sued him for malpractice," Kate states.
"That's correct," Jacey confirms.
Kate starts reading from the lawsuit. "For refusing to perform elective cosmetic surgery, specifically a facelift, facial implants, and liposuction."
"I can assure you each procedure was medically necessary," Jacey insists.
Her lawyer coughs.
"I'm sure you felt that way, but doesn't the word 'elective' imply that they weren't?" Kate probes. "Dr. Leeds certainly thought so."
Jacey's eyes blaze. "That arrogant bastard thought he could play God."
"Then why didn't you just go to another doctor?" Kate asks.
"Because I wanted the best," Jacey declares. "Who is he to deny me the best?"
"So you threatened to ruin him?" Kate presses.
"Why does he get to tell me what I can and cannot do? Why does he get to decide what I look like?" Jacey demands.
"Is that why you killed him?" Kate returns.
Jacey stares at Kate in confusion. "What?"
"Dr. Leeds was killed last week," Kate says.
"Last week?" Jacey repeats. "Last week, I was in the hospital, the one that sonofabitch had me sent to, until Wednesday."
"He was killed on Friday," Kate counters.
"On Friday, I was at the Lingman Woman's Surgical Center having another procedure," Jacey claims. "I still have the billing statement." She retrieves a printout from her large purse and passes it across the table. "A woman needs to be tight everywhere."
Kate reddens as she reads the details. "I'll want to check this."
"Go ahead, Detective," Jacey accedes. "You never know when you might need it yourself."
Shuffling their feet, the men in observation try to look anywhere but through the glass.