Now What? Chapter 4
Kate and Rick find a haggard Vince Powers on a stage in Gemstar Studios. "Mr. Powers, following up on information we've received, was Sarah Cutler your wife?" Kate inquires.
"Poor Sarah. Yes, she was," Vince confirms.
"When was the last time you spoke to her?" Kate asks.
Vince shuffles his feet against the floor. "Last night, here, where we're standing, right here."
"And what did you talk about?" Kate asks.
"End of day, around six, just touching base."
"End of day," Rick repeats. "Wouldn't you and your wife talk about the day at home?"
"Sarah worked long hours. I'm used to her getting home late after I'm in bed."
"In bed with whom?" Castle presses.
"Mr. Powers," Kate picks up, "we have information that you and Sarah were no longer living together."
"But that you might have had, um, other companionship," Rick adds.
"All right," Powers admits. "Sarah and I were…."
An older but still beautiful woman runs on stage, practically colliding with Vince. "Is it true?" She wraps her arms around him.
"I'm sorry," Vince responds as the woman clings. "I'm so, so sorry."
"My baby's gone!" the woman wails.
Vince pulls free of her grasp. "This is Sarah's mom, Gloria Chambers." He motions at Kate and Rick. "Detective Beckett and Mr. Castle are investigating Sarah's death."
A sob rises from Gloria's chest. "It's so unfair! I just got her back, and now she's gone."
"Ms. Chambers, were you and Sarah estranged?" Kate asks.
Gloria rubs tears from her cheeks. "We had been for years. I had her when I was – too young. I had to give her up for adoption." Fresh sobs rattle in Gloria's throat. "What kind of a monster would do this?"
"We don't know yet," Kate admits. "But we are gonna do everything we can to bring them to justice."
Gloria's eyes harden as the sobs stop. "You'd better, or I'll sue the entire city for every nickel it's worth." Whirling away, Gloria rushes off the stage.
"An odd time for avariciousness to surface," Rick notes.
"Sarah was going to leave the bulk of her assets to her literacy charities," Vince explains. "Gloria had been maneuvering to get her to change her will and leave money to her, but Sarah hadn't done it. Most of her money came from her adoptive parents, and she felt strange about any of it going to the woman who gave her up."
"How about you?" Kate asks. "Were you in the will?"
"Or did Sarah drop you when she kicked you out?" Rick queries.
"I was never in it," Vince says. "I have a trust fund of my own. That's one of the reasons Sarah and I got together. She knew I wasn't interested in anything but her love. But after her promotion, she started working late almost every night, and I – drifted."
"Meaning you cheated on her," Rick accuses.
"Yeah, I did. But that also means I have an alibi for her murder. I was at a hotel with, um, someone."
"Would that someone have been Mandy Bronson?" Kate inquires.
"Yes, it would," Vince confirms.
"And she was there with you the entire time from seven to eleven?" Kate probes.
"No, actually she wasn't," Vince recalls. "She got an email around seven and said she had to leave. But I cracked the mini-bar and ordered pay-per-view so the hotel would have a record that I was there."
"Did Mandy Bronson say who the email was from?" Rick asks.
"Yes. She said it was from Sarah, who needed to talk to her about changes to her character. Mandy wanted to make sure she'd stay in the spotlight."
Kate sighs as she and Castle leave the stage. "According to the boys, Mandy Bronson claimed she went straight home and took a bubble bath. She described it in some detail."
"Or lied about it in some detail," Rick suggests.
"I'll check Sarah's email records to find out if she sent the email and check with the hotel about Vince. Then we can have a talk with Mandy Bronson."
"Pull your tongue back into your head," Rick advises Esposito as the detective stares hungrily through Observation's glass. "Mandy Bronson might be an axe murderer."
"I don't see it,' Ryan puts in. "For one thing, look at those perfect nails. Jenny can work on hers for an hour, and they won't look like that. Mandy wouldn't take a chance on ruining them."
Esposito smirks at his partner. "You're looking at her nails?"
"If Jenny thought I was looking at anything else, I'd sleep on the couch."
"Who would tell her?" Esposito asks.
"Believe me, she would know. She knows everything," Ryan declares. "Oh, Beckett's going in. You going to join her, Castle?"
Rick grins. "Wouldn't miss it."
Kate slams her black leather folder down on the table before taking a seat opposite Mandy. Castle rushes in to sit beside her. "Ms. Bronson, are you aware that making a false statement to the police is a crime?" Kate demands.
Mandy flutters her eyelashes, more at Rick than at Kate. "I didn't make any false statements."
Kate pulls a sheet of paper out of her folder and reads from it. "'We wrapped at six, and I went straight home. I drew a bath, poured some wine, and put on some John Legend. Then I stepped out of my silk robe and let the bubbles soak every inch of my body.' That's from your statement to detectives Esposito and Ryan. But it was a lie, Ms. Bronson. You didn't go home. You went to a hotel with Vince Powers. Your arrival is on video. Then, you received an email from Sarah Cutler and took a cab back to the studio."
"The cabbie remembers you quite clearly," Rick adds.
"And we have the email," Kate continues. "Meet me at the office ASAP."
"Sarah had some new script changes for me to memorize. That doesn't mean I killed her," Mandy insists.
"There were script changes, all right," Castle jumps in. "The email had an attachment, a scene with your character, Angela Cannon, vacationing in Pamplona. Unfortunately for you, she gets gored to death during the running of the bulls. Sarah was writing you off the show. Understandable. Wives have been known to get miffed at women who sleep with their husbands."
"She wasn't going to kill off Angela Cannon," Mandy claims. "Writers write death scenes for every character on the show. It's supposed to keep the actors in line."
Kate taps on a copy of the receipt from Mandy's cab ride. "But you did go to see her."
"Sure, I went to remind her that Angela Cannon is the heart and soul of the show and the only thing keeping the ratings up."
"And what did she say?" Kate probes.
"That FoxCon was losing viewer appeal, and she was going to write me off the show. But I didn't need to kill her."
"And why is that?" Kate questions.
"Because I still had a hand to play. Everyone thinks Sarah calls the shots at Temptation Lane. But the real power, the one the network trusts, is the second in command, Peter Connelly."
"And what other hand did you play?" Kate asks.
"I did what any industrious actress would do. I went to his apartment straight from the studio. There should be a cab record of that, too. Then, I used my powers of persuasion to get him on my side."
Rick clears his throat. "And at what time did you finish using your powers of persuasion?"
"The sun was up, and my character's still alive," Mandy declares.
Ryan punches his partner's arm. "See, I told you. She got her way without having to mess up her nails."
Esposito shakes his head. "Women!"