Finding the Fit Chapter 94
"Girl, let me see that ring!" Lanie grabs Kate's hand and shoves it beneath her magnifier. "That is fine! The man knows you."
"Yeah, he does," Kate accepts, "sometimes more than I wish he did. I'm not always sure I know him as well."
"What do you mean? He's rich. He has an above-average IQ. He's not bad-looking, and he loves you. What else is there to know?"
Kate sighs. "I'm not sure. He has contacts that no writer, not even a Tom Clancy, should have. He toured countries authors don't usually tour and he writes about spies. He has to shadow me to write about police. Ian Fleming could write about James Bond because he worked in British Intelligence himself. So how does Castle know about spies?"
"I think being around Castle is rubbing off on you, Girl. You're starting to imagine the kind of crazy scenarios he does. But if you're curious, why not ask him?"
"Because if he did work with the CIA or something, he'd either have to lie or break some kind of secrecy oath. I can't put him in that position."
Lanie's expression softens. "You really do love the guy, don't you?"
"I wouldn't have agreed to marry him if I didn't."
"Then you'll just have to take him as he is, mysterious spy background or not. He's put up with enough of your sh*t."
A wan smile spreads across Kate's face. "Yeah, he has."
"All right," Lanie declares. "So about the dress. I like jewel tones, and the girls need their room."
"They'll get it," Kate promises. "We'll pick it out together."
"You and Lanie get in your bride to maid of honor tête à tête?" Rick asks, plopping into his seat by Kate's desk.
"Yeah, I got to the morgue before she started her first autopsy. We're looking at dresses this weekend."
"You don't look overjoyed about it," Rick notes.
"It's fine. But I had been thinking we could take in that sci-fi spy film marathon at the Angelika on Saturday. I've seen all the movies before, but I thought you might clue into something I missed."
Rick quirks a brow. "You thought that I might catch something the eagle eyes the Detective Supreme missed? What's really going on, Beckett?"
"Castle, you started trailing me and working with me to research how police investigations really work."
"That and because your hotness nearly burned my eyes out, but what does that have to do with sci-fi spy movies?"
"You know so much about spying, and you have contacts no one would expect a writer to have. So I was wondering if there might be something you aren't telling me."
Rick cradles his face in his hands. "Oh, the detective that you are, Beckett; I knew you'd have to ask sooner or later. I can only tell you this. There are things that I won't say because I can't tell you, not because I don't want you to know. Maybe, someday, it will be possible to tell you. I don't know. I understand that having to keep some things to myself upsets your dig-for-the-truth detecting sensibilities, but we all make promises. I intend to keep mine to you, but I have to keep others as well. And if I can't keep those, could you trust me to keep my word to you?"
"No, I guess I couldn't," Kate realizes. "OK. Maybe we can catch the '50s sci-fi marathon next weekend. They're showing Forbidden Planet, the original, and the original The Day the Earth Stood Still."
"Mmm," Rick considers, "if the Angelika is doing the '50s, maybe they'll put real butter on the popcorn."
Kate shakes her head. "I wouldn't count on it."
"Hey, Beckett!" Ryan shouts across the room, "we've got a fresh one."
Rick pushes out of his seat. "Back to the present."
"Any ID on him, Perlmutter?" Kate queries the gruff ME crouching next to a body in the narrow space between two buildings.
"Picked clean," Perlmutter reports. "No wallet, no phone, no jewelry. Lividity indicates he died here. TOD between eight and ten last night. COD three shots to the torso. From the size of the wounds, the gun was a small caliber, possibly a .22." He gets to his feet and points an imaginary gun. "The killer could have forced him in here, robbed him, and then shot him."
"This part of town is an extension of the financial district," Rick notes, "pretty dead at night. Not too many people on the street to hear a shot. "
"Three shots, Castle," Perlmutter corrects. "I'll know more when I get him back to the lab, but this was no homeless guy hunting for a meal or a place to sleep. He has all his teeth, and they're in good shape."
"His clothes aren't cheap either," Rick adds. "One of his shoulders is lower than the other, but they fit him anyway. Either they're custom-made, or he has a good tailor."
"Which means he has money," Kate figures. "Maybe he works around here. I'll have the boys set up a canvass to find out." She squats next to Perlmutter. "One of his shoes has a built-up sole and heel."
"One of his legs is shorter than the other. He'd need that to normalize his gait," the ME explains.
"A birth defect or the result of an accident?" Rick inquires.
Perlmutter scowls. "I said I'd know more when I get him back to the lab, Castle. Detective Beckett, I'll let you know when I have a prelim."
Rick snaps a picture of the victim's face with his phone.
"We'll have crime scene photos, Castle," Kate reminds him.
"I know," Rick acknowledges, "but if this guy is a financial hotshot, his picture would be on a company website. I'm going to run his photo through 'Search by Image' and see if I get anything. If it works, it will be a lot quicker than a canvass to ID the victim."
"Good thought," Kate says. "The guy who discovered the body looks a little shaky. I'm going to talk to him before he faints or rabbits."
Jerry Sutherland shuffles his feet and stares down at the sidewalk. "I was just looking for cans, you know? I've found a bunch of them there before. People like to toss them between the buildings instead of holding on to recycle them. I saw all the blood, and I called 911 right away."
Kate glances at Jerry's shabby clothes. "You have a cell phone?"
"It's from one of those programs where they give it to you so you can call if you hurt yourself or something. It doesn't show movies or anything like the smartphones, but I can call for help. I've called when some guys were sick, you know? But I never found anyone dead before. I don't like it."
"I don't like it either," Kate assures the man. "No one does. Were you around here last night?"
Jerry shakes his head. "Too many rats out around here at night. I got a bed in the shelter. They can tell you I was there."
"All right, Jerry, thanks."
"Hope you find the guy who did it, Detective Beckett. The rats are bad enough, but at least they don't go around killing anybody."
"Jerry, I promise. We'll do the best we can."
Rick meets Kate as she returns to the murder scene. "I scored, Beckett. The victim is Brian Newfelter. He runs one of those new anti-cybercrime tech firms. It's only half a block from here. According to his bio, he was pretty hot stuff, stopped three of those multi-million-dollar ransom schemes dead in their tracks."
Kate looks down at the body. "Until someone decided to stop him."