Finding the Fit Chapter 101
"Look, we don't know anything about a murder," Louie Limon insists from his seat next to his brother in Interrogation One. "We were just meeting Leslie to talk about taking over NP Cyberservices. The business should have been ours in the first place. We wrote the original code."
"The court disagreed with you about that, Mr. Limon," Kate points out. "And what about your relationship with Lyle Bartell?"
Lennie Limon sniffs. "We don't have a relationship with Lyle Bartell. We were working with Leslie. She likes the asshole."
"Bartell is a criminal. We don't have anything to do with criminals. Newfelter took him down," Louie adds. "That pissed Leslie off. So she hooked up with us to take Newfelter down. But we were talking about taking over his company, not killing him. If Leslie had anything to do with that, she was on her own."
"Taking over a company – honestly, that is – takes money. Your suit against Newfelter and NP nearly wiped you out. Where were you going to get the capital?" Castle asks.
"We had some things going," Lennie replies. "We were working on Sam Tuchman, who owns Chez Pierre. The place is a gold mine."
"We also had other interested parties," Louie adds. "And we didn't know Newfelter was murdered. A murder will make any investor nervous about having anything to do with NP. It would be bad business. If we'd known Leslie had anything like that in mind, we wouldn't have touched her with a ten-foot pole."
"Even with those gazongas," Lennie murmurs.
Rick and Kate exchange glances. "All right," Kate says, "assuming you're telling the truth about knowing nothing about the murder, when was the last time you talked to Leslie Burke face to face?"
Louie shrugs. "I don't remember, maybe a few days ago."
"I remember," Lennie chimes in. "She was at Leo's Bagels. All the hotshots in the district go there. And she was wearing this hot pink…."
"We didn't really talk," Louie interrupts. "We said hello. She said hello. She got her bagel and left."
"She ordered cinnamon raisin," Lennie recalls.
"And that was it?" Kate presses.
"That was it," Louie confirms.
Kate's phone beeps. She holds up the screen for Rick to read Chief Carl's text. "Cat positive DNA match to sample from body. Come get him." She turns back to the Limon Brothers. "You're free to go, but don't leave town."
"Beckett, what are you going to do with the cat?" Rick asks after the Limons depart.
"I don't know, Castle. Maybe we can find an animal rescue or something that will take him in. But right now, the clock is ticking on letting Leslie Burke go. It's more important to tell her and her lawyer that we're using the lab results to charge her with conspiracy to commit murder. If Shane is any good, he'll try to talk her into flipping on Bartell to get a deal."
"Then can we go get the cat? He shouldn't have to hang out in a lab. With being almost blind, all the chemical smells and stuff will probably drive him crazy."
"Castle, I didn't know you were a cat person."
"I'm not. I mean, I've never had a pet. I couldn't have one at Compassionate Hearts, and after that, I was always running around too much to take care of an animal. But I don't have a heart of stone. We could keep him at the loft until we can find somewhere better. There's plenty of room, and we can get everything he needs at the Pet Barn. I can put in an order online and we can pick it up on the way to the lab."
"You really want to take him, don't you, Castle?"
"Like I said until we can find someplace better."
"You're not going to quit talking about the cat until I say yes, are you?" Kate asks.
"No," Castle admits.
Kate shrugs. "I don't have the time to argue about it. I need to get Shane back in here. That will take a while. Go ahead and put in your order for cat stuff. Karpowski has one. She can tell you what you'll need. We can pick it up on our way back to the lab."
"Outstanding!"
Kate drops her leather folder on Interrogation One's table. "Mr. Shane, your client has a big problem. She got a text from an LB saying he took the cat to the pound. We retrieved the cat and found Lyle Bartell on the surveillance video bringing it in. Our lab has just matched DNA from that cat to fur found on Brian Newfelter's dead body. That is a direct link between your client, Lyle Newfelter, who is already a fugitive for bail violation, and the murder of Brian Newfelter."
"It won't be difficult for a prosecutor to draw a picture for a jury of a vicious cybercriminal who was thwarted by Brian Newfelter using a helpless blinded cat to lure Brian into the path of three deadly bullets," Rick adds.
"And as I'm sure you are aware and can instruct your client, her facilitation of the murder by notifying Bartell when Brian left the building puts her in line for a life sentence," Kate continues. "However, if she cooperates with the capture and conviction of Mr. Bartell, she might get out while she still has a chunk of her life left. We'll leave you two to discuss it, but tick-tock. If Bartell successfully evades rearrest, all bets are off. Ms. Burke will take the fall by herself, and the DA will make sure she falls hard." Kate signals Rick to follow her out of the box.
"Do you think Leslie will flip?" Rick asks as they cross the bullpen to Kate's desk.
"She's a fool if she doesn't, but we can't count on it. I need to check on what's keeping the traffic cam video from outside the pound. Then we can go pick up all the cat stuff and the cat. I hope you ordered a carrier."
"Among many other things. The Pet Barn had this… never mind. I just hope you don't have any extra junk in your trunk. We'll need the cargo space."
Kate sighs. "I'm sure we will."
Kate slams the receiver of her landline back into its cradle. "The computer system hosting the traffic cam video storage crashed. We can't get the footage we need until they get it back up."
"You don't think Bartell could have had something to do with that, do you? Hacking is his thing."
"I don't know. But if he did," Kate considers, "maybe NP knows his MO well enough to trace him. I'm going to call Neil Patel and see if there's anything he can do."
"Just don't take too long. Kitty cat is waiting."
"I'm sure Chief Carl's people will take good care of him until we arrive with all your Pet Barn treasures."
"Detective Beckett, the traffic cam service is already an NP client," Patel responds to Kate's query. "Ahmed is investigating the exact cause of the crash, and I'm searching for system intrusions. Our primary task is to have the system back up as soon as possible, but if I find any of Bartell's signature code, I'll let you know immediately."
"Thank you, Mr. Patel."
"Detective Beckett, we all want Bartell to pay as much as you do. Maybe more."
"I understand that, Mr. Patel."
"Can we go take care of the cat now?" Castle demands as Kate ends the call.
"OK, Castle. Let's go."