Now What? Chapter 48

The casters on Kate's chair screech against the floor as she shoves herself back from her computer screen. "I don't see anyone in the bank that looks like someone scoping out victims. How about you guys?"

"No," Esposito replies glumly.

"Nada," Ryan chimes in.

"Castle?" Kate inquires as he leans over a precinct-owned laptop.

"Not a one. But maybe we're going at this from the wrong angle."

"What do you mean, Bro?" Esposito questions.

"Robbery said that most of the attacks occurred in the general area of the bank, right?"

"Yes," Kate confirms.

"So what if the tipoffs aren't coming from a member of the robber gang but from a bank employee?" Rick queries. "All the spotter would have to do is whisper a few words into a cell phone. It could take less than a minute to line up an attack. Then the inside person could collect a cut after the dirty deed is done."

Kate scowls at her screen. "But Castle, the employees are on the phone all the time. How would we spot whoever is tipping off the gang?"

Rick leans forward in his chair. "Lanie's autopsy indicates that gang members wear their hammer rings. Maybe the employee has one, too."

"Lots of the employees wear rings, Castle," Ryan points out. "But the resolution on the video isn't good enough to see the details of any of them."

"Then we should pay Banfield Bank a visit." Kate decides.

"Anyone tipping off the gang isn't going to be straight with a cop," Esposito asserts. "And if they have a ring, they might take it off."

"Right," Kate considers. "But Castle isn't a cop, and I don't have to flash my badge." She winks at the writer. "So, how do you feel about opening an account?"

"I don't know, Beckett. What's the interest rate?" Rick teases.

Kate rolls her eyes. "Come on, Castle! Let's go!"


Rick and Kate settle in visitor's chairs in front of the desk of Bank Officer Penelope Sellars. The banker offers an accommodating smile. "How can I help you?"

"Your ad on the internet says that your bank is open in the early morning for large deposits and withdrawals. Is that true?" Rick asks, smiling back.

"We open early for those services and many others," Penelope responds. "Which of our services interest you?"

Rick gazes lovingly at Kate and takes her hand. "You see, Ms. Sellars, Kate and I get impulses to take off almost on a moment's notice. We might go antiquing in Vermont or touring the amusements in Orlando. We never know when we'll get the urge. So I want to open an account where I can easily access the cash we'll need before we leave the city."

"Checking or savings?" Penelope inquires.

"Most definitely savings," Rick declares. "Can't let the money lie idle between trips."

"Then I would suggest one of our high-interest accounts with unlimited accessibility. The interest rate is variable with market pressures, but right now, we're offering 4.55%. You would, however, have to deposit a minimum of $25,000 and keep a balance of at least $10,000."

Rick's eyes flick over Penelope before he grins. "No problem. No problem at all. Can we do the paperwork now?"

Penelope reaches into a drawer for a form. "Of course. But I'll have to verify your identity first, Mr. …."

Rick pulls out his driver's license. "I have taken better photos, but this isn't bad. Castle, Richard Castle."

Penelope nods. "I'll just get a picture of this, and we'll get started."

As Penelope walks away to use a copy machine behind the tellers' windows, Kate whispers to Rick. "I haven't seen anyone here wearing one of those hammer rings."

"I haven't either," Rick agrees, "but did you see Ms. Sellars' pendant?"

"I thought she was wearing a cross."

"From your angle, it might look like one, but I was looking at it straight on. Beckett, it's a hammer. Penelope Sellars is the gang's spotter. And she wouldn't wear a pendant like that for a casual association. She must be in tight with those guys."

"Then we have what we want to know. You don't have to deposit any money here."

Rick shakes his head. "Are you kidding, Beckett? That interest rate with unlimited accessibility? It's a good deal, and it's FDIC-insured. I'll take it!"


"What did you find on Penelope Sellars?" Rick asks as Kate uses the NYPD database.

"She's clean. No rap sheet. Not even a parking ticket."

"She must intersect with the robber gang somehow." Rick pulls out his phone. "Maybe the bank puts out little bios on its officers on its website. Uh-huh, here she is. Penelope Sellars graduated from Hunter H.S. – smart cookie."

"Hunter isn't better than Stuyvesant," Kate argues.

Rick suppresses a smile. "Of course not. Let's see, she got her degree from SUNY Buffalo. She must like cold weather. The tuition would be cheaper up there, but it could still leave her with a mountain of debt. Checking out her social media. Oh, she's a member of a group that is about building personal strength. That would make sense with the hammer. And she's part of another one posting about caring for elderly parents, which would put her under financial pressure at both ends. That's more motive than a lot of people would have for working with a robber band.

"Not just robbers, but murderers," Kate points out.

"But apparently, this is the first time anyone died. Maybe the gang didn't intend to kill Charlie until he started fighting back."

"Even if they didn't, it would still be felony murder. We should bring Penelope Sellars in."

"Beckett, she's smart enough to ask for a lawyer and keep her mouth shut. Why not stake her out? Maybe she'll meet up with the gang – to collect her cut, if nothing else."

"You may be right," Kate mulls. "A banker would know better than to do anything that would leave a paper trail. She'd get her money in cash."

"Which means someone would have to give it to her or at least leave it for her. So, stakeout time?"

Kate reaches into her drawer for her tote. "Stakeout time."


Rick crisscrosses the passenger seat in Kate's unit with duct tape before topping it with a new pillow. "That should keep the spring at bay until Charlie's successor can fix it. If we're going to be sitting around watching Penelope Sellars, I at least want to be comfortable."

"Speaking of comfortable, how's your head?" Kate asks.

"Still twinges every now and then, enough to remind me to duck. But I'm not dizzy or anything. It's OK."

"Castle, do you realize how lucky you were? When you were lying in that alley with blood pouring out of you, I was terrified you were going to die. Don't you ever put me through anything like that again!"

"Is that an order, Detective Beckett?"

"Absolutely."

"Then I will try my best to obey it. But I need you to promise to do something for me."

Kate's eyes narrow. "What?"

"Don't you ever get shot either."

"I will try my best."

Rick reaches over the center console to take her hand. "I guess that's the most either of us can do."

Kate leans toward him for a kiss. "It will have to be."


Penelope Sellars leaves the bank and heads toward a bodega two doors down.

"What's she doing in there?" Rick wonders.

Kate watches as a man approaches and follows Penelope in. "We may be about to find out."