Finding the Fit Chapter 91
The smug look on Esposito's face is obvious the moment the elevator doors open on him and his partner. Kate looks up from her desk. "What have you got?"
Esposito nods at Ryan, who holds up an evidence bag containing a knife. "It was under a floorboard," Esposito crows.
"Murderers don't seem to be able to come up with original hiding places anymore," Ryan continues. "It's got blood on it, probably from at least one victim – and it's rusty."
"Any prints?" Kate asks.
Esposito rocks on the balls of his feet. "There's a good one – in blood."
"There could be more, but we didn't want to disturb the blood by dusting it," Ryan adds.
"All right, I'll need some pictures of it, especially the bloody print." Kate uses her phone to snap several images. "OK, you guys run that thing over to the lab. Tell Chief Carl it's priority one. I need the results to pressure a lawyered-up multiple murder suspect in custody."
With Ryan in tow, Esposito turns toward the elevator. "On it!"
Kate sends her pictures to the printer just as Rick emerges from the men's room. "Castle, the boys found the murder weapon."
"Damn! I missed the good stuff!"
Kate winks. "It will get better. I'm going back in the box. When my pictures come off the printer, put them in a file folder, come into the box, drop them in front of me, and smile before you sit down. We've had Chuckie and his lawyers stewing all this time, waiting for the next shoe to drop."
"And now they'll discover it will be a very heavy thud," Rick realizes.
"You bet!"
Kate takes her seat opposite Charles Bennett III and his legal team and silently smiles at the men across the table.
"We've been waiting more than long enough, Detective. If you have enough evidence to charge my client, prove it now, or we're walking out of here," Crowell declares.
Kate shrugs. "There will be more, Counselor, but we can get started. As I informed you would occur, detectives Ryan and Esposito conducted a search of Mr. Bennett's home."
"There was nothing to find at my house," Chuckie blusters.
"Unless someone looked under the floorboards," Kate replies evenly. She opens the file Rick gave her and spreads out the pictures. "The detectives discovered the knife shown here. You may find it difficult to make out detail in the photographs, but it contains both rust and blood."
Chuckie whispers in Crowell's ear.
"My client knows nothing about a knife or a hiding place under the floorboards," Crowell claims. "The house had two previous owners. That knife could have been hidden by either one of them. You can't prove otherwise."
Kate leans back in her seat. "I'm afraid that isn't quite true, Mr. Crowell. Again, the details in the photos aren't as clear as they might be, but there is a fingerprint in the blood. As we speak, the lab is working on an identification. It will also be comparing the blood to that of the victims Mr. Bennett is suspected of murdering and the rust to that found in their wounds." Kate stares directly at Chuckie. "What do you think the lab will find, Mr. Bennett?"
Chuckie stirs restlessly in his chair before starting to whisper again to Colin Crowell. Kate can see the color drain from the lawyer's face. "I believe Mr. Bennett may have given you a good idea of what the laboratory analysis will reveal, Mr. Crowell," Kate goes on. "So I am offering a one-time deal. Your client gives a full accounting of the murders of Floyd Jensen, Walter Martindale, and Detective Rivens, and I will tell the D.A. that his sentence recommendation should reflect complete cooperation. Otherwise, I will suggest a recommendation that your client receive the maximum penalty possible under the law. Mr. Bennett has until the lab results come back to make up his mind, and he shouldn't take too long. I could get a report any time now. The lab is very quick with high-priority requests." Kate rises from her seat, signaling Rick to follow, and strides toward the door. "Tell the uniformed officer on guard when Mr. Bennett's made his decision."
Rick follows Kate to watch through the glass. "How long do you think it will take Bennett to crack?" he wonders.
"We might have time for a coffee before he caves," Kate speculates, "but I wouldn't count on it."
Rick grins. "I'll skip the latte art."
"You know," Rick says as he drops linguini in boiling water, "the Stormies will be disappointed that Chuckie decided to plead out. Some of them would have loved sitting in court and watching him squirm at a trial."
"With a plea deal, he'll have to elocute to his crimes. That should make him squirm plenty," Kate points out.
Rick nods. "They'll probably fill a row in the gallery. It should be a satisfying show, but not as satisfying as watching Bracken endure his federal trial. Still, he's already in prison for life. He could decide to plead guilty and just do what Chuckie will have to do, although with as many crimes as he's committed, just recounting them could take a week."
Kate tears at the lettuce for the salad. "I hope he doesn't. He should have to suffer through every day of the trial, with the press covering every word. The whole world or at least the whole country should understand what he did and how much misery he caused for all those years – and how so many people bought into his garbage."
Rick wraps his arms around her. "One way or another, the world will know, Beckett. I promised Elizabeth Westmore I wouldn't write about Bracken while the legal proceedings were going on. But once the trial's over, I can write anything I want. I've never put out a book as thick as that one will have to be, but I'll do whatever it takes to put every slimy scintilla of that man's evil on record."
"Are you sure you want to do that, Castle? A book like that is a long way from Derrick Storm or a character based on me."
"I'm sure, Beckett. I've always wanted to write a serious book, and Bracken's is a story that demands to be told, if nothing else, to keep another asshole politician from trying to repeat it. And I've already done all the research. I'm not about to waste it."
Greens fly at Kate's sudden burst of laughter. "Of course, you wouldn't want to waste your research Castle."
Rick takes a step back. "Seriously, Beckett. No one should ever be allowed to do what Bracken did again."
Kate turns, pressing her face into his chest. "Amen. Oh! Castle, your linguini is boiling over."
Rick rushes to place a wooden spoon across the pot. "Something always is."
Kate grabs a handful of Rick. "After dinner, we could do a little boiling ourselves."
Rick drains the pasta. "Mmm, were you thinking a simmer or a full-on steamy roll?"
"Definitely the steamy roll."
"We could always put the linguini away and have dinner later," Rick murmurs as Kate's body rubs against his.
"But I would love to taste a cannoli now," Kate purrs.
"We bought tiramisu, not cannoli, but if you want…." Kate tugs at his waistband. "Oh, that cannoli! I believe it is coming right up!"