Finding the Fit Chapter 81
"I don't understand why I'm here," Lakos complains from his seat in Interrogation One. "I haven't done anything."
Kate glares across the table at him. "You're here on suspicion of the murder of Francine Meyers."
Nick shakes his head. "Francine Meyers? I don't know any Francine Meyers. Who the hell is she?"
"You shipped her a case of quinoa," Castle inserts, "a strain of quinoa that made her so ill that she went after the cause. When she eventually discovered what it was, she threatened to expose you. So you killed her."
"You think I killed someone over a case of quinoa?" Lakos retorts. "Look, I'm an odd lots vendor. People offer unsold shipments, overruns, and returns cheap. I buy them, put them in my warehouse, and list them for sale in my online store. Everything is marked 'as is' with no warranties. Someone orders something, I ship it. If this Francine Meyers sent in a complaint about something, I would never have seen it. She would have gotten an automated response reminding her of the terms of the sale. End of story."
"So you're saying you have no idea that your quinoa made Francine Meyers sick?" Kate presses.
"Not a clue," Lakos insists. "Look, I ship all kinds of junk, hundreds of packages a week. I don't know my customers. They don't know me. The only thing I promise them is that the crap will get where it's going. They pay their money and take a chance they'll be happy. If they're not, it's their problem, not mine. Hey, I'm sorry if this Meyers lady got sick. But I never knew about it, and I sure as hell didn't kill her."
"So, where were you at five o'clock yesterday afternoon?" Kate queries.
"At my warehouse, waiting for a shipment to come in. I signed for it around 5:15-5:30 on one of those computer pads. You can check with LocoLogistics. They should have a record of it."
"I'll do that," Kate assures Lakos.
"So?" Rick asks as Kate hangs up her landline.
"Lakos was telling the truth. He signed for a shipment at his warehouse at 5:24. There's no way he could have killed Francine."
"Maybe Francine went after whoever sold Lakos the quinoa," Castle suggests. "The name could have been on the boxes somewhere. And Lakos should have a record."
"Yeah, I'll get it from him," Kate says, rolling her fatigued shoulders.
"It's been a long day. Tired?" Rick asks.
"Frustrated. I was really hoping we had our guy."
"Yeah, I was hoping that too – among other things."
Kate reaches for his hand. "I know, Castle, but…."
A tech riff blares from Rick's cell phone. "That's Bosco! He must have a line on Julia. Hey, Man, did you find our girl?"
"I found a Toyota Corolla Cross that makes regular trips to Tygerberg. And get this, it's registered to an Abraham Lesar."
Rick leans into his phone. "Any signs of Julia?"
"One security cam got a shot of a little girl in the passenger seat. The resolution could have been a lot better, but I could see dark hair."
"Julia has dark hair," Rick recalls. "Have you got an address for Abraham Lesar?"
"There's one on the registration. I'm emailing it to you as we speak."
"That's fantastic, Bosco. Thanks."
"Just get Julia back to her parents, Rick."
"That's the plan."
"Damn! It's the middle of the night in South Africa," Rick notes as he brings up his contact info for Ossie Melville. "But under the circumstances, I don't think Ossie will mind too much."
It takes five rings for Ossie to answer, but he finally accepts the call. "Ricky?" a sleepy voice inquires. "Miss Lula never could keep you from trying to write at all hours."
"Ossie, I'm sorry about the time, but I think I have the address where Julia Witzenberger is. Could you check it for me?"
"Yeah, sure, Ricky, of course. We should get that little girl home. But I don't think it would help if I go banging on a door at this time of night."
"You're right, Ossie. I'm sending you the info now. Go as soon as you can, OK?"
"You've got it, old friend."
"Castle," Kate says, returning from Interrogation. "I'm going back to Lakos' warehouse with him to get the info on the dealer who sold him the quinoa. Want to come?"
"Might as well. It will beat pacing around all night waiting for Ossie to let me know if he's found Julia."
Kate puts her hand on his shoulder. "Maybe tomorrow we'll have both cases solved. Let's go."
Lakos drops into a well-worn desk chair in front of his computer and starts pressing keys. "All right, there it is: a case of quinoa from Smith Enterprises. I'll print it out for you." The dealer grabs a sheet of paper off his printer and hands it to Kate. "Is that it? Are we done now, Detective? I'd like to go home and get some sleep. I have shipments coming in at six o'clock in the morning."
"You're free to go for now," Kate agrees. "But the DA might need your testimony later."
"Then give the DA my number," Lakos returns. "I'm getting out of here."
"Smith Enterprises, not the most unique of company names," Rick observes.
"No, it isn't," Kate agrees, "but we have the billing address for the shipment. We'll check it out in the morning. Come on. We should get some sleep."
Rick sinks into the passenger seat of Kate's unit. "Beckett, I don't know about you, but I doubt I'll be able to close my eyes until I hear from Ossie about Julia."
"Yeah, me either," Kate admits, starting the car.
"And we never did finish the conversation we were having in the van before Lakos showed up."
"Castle, I don't know what else to say."
"Well, I was starting to say that I hoped we could at least have an agreement to revisit our plans as a couple as soon as the SDNY case winds up. Maybe we can even make some progress after Bracken's sentenced in Michaud's court. Can you give me that?"
"I think so, Castle."
"Then, as soon as Michaud bangs the gavel on Bracken's sentence, you and I are going to have a very, very special date. But as far as tonight goes, we'll need something to pass the time. Razzing infomercials?"
"I don't think I'm up to hearing about how I can make a fortune in real estate by buying a set of videos for the low, low price of $99.99."
"How about the wonders of air frying?"
"Not that either. But we could play poker."
"Seven-card stud or Texas hold 'em?"
"I was thinking more like strip."
"Really? I mean, I didn't think, um, after what you just said about not wanting to, um …."
"Castle, I also said that I love you. I meant it. The rest of it we will work out later."
"Is that a promise?"
"Yes, it is."
"Well, in that case, I'll open a fresh deck."
"Castle, you've checked your phone at least ten times this morning," Kate says, as while staring at his cell, Rick drops into his chair next to her desk. "It's on. It's working. I'm sure Ossie will get back to you as soon as he has something to report."
"I know he will, Beckett, but it's already afternoon in South Africa. He could have made it to Abraham Lesar's house hours ago. Maybe Julia isn't there. Maybe it's…." Ossie's ringtone cuts through the air.