Unexpected Appearance Chapter 6

Through a gap in commercial kitchen shelves, Teodor Hajek nervously observes Kate, Rick, Ryan, and Esposito questioning a member of the staff. His adrenalin soars as a co-worker's finger points in his direction. The beautiful woman leading the group strides up to the shelves. "Teodor Hajek?"

His voice trembles slightly as he answers. "Yes."

"Could you step around, please?" Kate requests. "We'd like to ask you a few questions."

As Teodor begins to move around the barrier, another member of the staff comes toward him, carrying a crate. Teodor pushes him down, blocking the aisle behind him as he takes off running.

Esposito leaps over the crate and tackles Teodor to the ground. Kate stares down at him. "Now you'll need to answer more questions and do it at the 12th Precinct."

His white kitchen shirt damp with sweat, Teodor waits in his seat in Interrogation One as Kate and Castle enter. Kate takes the chair across from the suspect while Rick drops into the one beside her. "Teodor Hajek?" Kate confirms for the recording apparatus.

"Yes."

"You've been informed of your rights?"

"Yes?"

"And you've declined an attorney?"

"What difference does it make?" Teodor retorts. "You're going to deport me anyway."

"Mr. Hajek," Kate explains. "We're not from immigration. Is that why you ran?"

"My visa is expired many years before," Hajek confides.

"Common problem," Rick mutters.

"Well, we're not interested in your immigration status," Kate responds. "I'm a homicide detective. I need to ask you a few questions about your ex-wife."

Teodor leans toward Kate. "Eliska, yes? What happened? Tell me."

"She was killed three nights ago," Kate replies softly.

Rick can't understand the Czech words Teodor murmurs, but the grief in them is universal.

"Where were you on Thursday between 5 and 9 pm? " Kate asks.

"I was home asleep. I work double shift and was tired."

"Can anyone verify that?' Kate questions.

Teodor's broad shoulders slump. "Maybe neighbors saw. I don't know."

Kate zips open her folder and pulls out a document. "We have a domestic disturbance complaint from two years ago involving you and your wife. Mind telling us about that?"

Teodor shrugs. "We were arguing. Neighbors call police."

"What were you arguing about?" Rick asks.

"She wanted to leave me. I didn't want her to go."

"Why did she want to leave?" Rick queries.

"She said to be with me hurt her. I remind her too much of Mattie, our son. God took him from us three years ago."

Rick can feel his chest tighten at the thought of losing a child.

"I'm very sorry to hear that," Kate says.

"It tore her heart away," Teodor continues. "He was everything to her. He was so perfect when he was born. But the sickness was in him even then. There was nothing we could do except watch him waste away and away."

Teodor pulls out a battered wallet and hands them a worn and creased photo of himself and Eliska with a baby boy. "This was my family. We were happy once. Now they're both of them … gone."

Rick passes Kate a mug of coffee as she takes a seat with him at a breakroom table. "The unis checked with Teodor Hayek's neighbors. They confirm his alibi. He didn't kill Eliska. They also confirm his story about Eliska and their son. Everyone saw that poor little boy fading away day by day, even as Eliska clung to him. Teodor was telling the truth."

Castle rubs his mug between his hands. "I can't imagine anything worse than losing a child. I don't know what I'd do if anything happened to Alexis. To lose one like that, to watch the life drain away, would be painful beyond endurance. And with her immigration problems, Eliska could have found it impossible to seek help. She wouldn't know whom she could trust. No wonder she reached out to Zane. He's the same age as Mattie would be. Maybe for a few moments, she could imagine he was her son. But I don't know why she'd give him the lollypop. I tried one. They taste like soap. But then that's cultural. Most people who didn't grow up in the U.S. can't stand peanut butter. Alexis eats it right from the spoon."

"I wonder whom she learned that from," Kate teases. "But you have a point. Eliska observed Melissa Talbot with Zane enough to know how protective she was. It's strange she risked giving him a lollypop. Maybe something will come up on the canvass of the SRO. Ryan and Esposito went back to check on some tenants who weren't home the first time around." A text alert dings on Kate's phone. "They've got something!"

Rick and Kate watch as the NYPD sketch artist fills in the details of a man seen arguing with Eliska in the hall outside her apartment. "The ears stick out a little, but it could still be a lot of guys," Rick notes.

"Was there anything unusual about him?" Kate asks the witness.

"He had a pager on his belt. You don't see that too often anymore. Most people just use their phones."

"Cameron Talbot!" Rick and Kate exclaim.

At the desk in his office, Cameron Talbot glances at the sketch before looking up at Kate and Rick. "I admit there's a similarity, but it wasn't me."

Kate's eyes narrow. "Do you want me to put you in a lineup? Because unless you come clean with me, that's where this is going."

Talbot tosses the sketch on a pile of papers. "This is insane. I hardly knew the woman."

"Really?" Kate questions. "We did some checking, Dr. Talbot. You see your patients at Bryant General, don't you?"

"All the doctors in this network do," Talbot argues.

"But all those other doctors don't have a connection with Eliska Sokoll," Rick points out. "She worked at Bryant General before she went to work in your building. It seems the hospital is another organization that runs on taking advantage of cheap labor. So, exactly what was your relationship with her?"

"There was no relationship," Talbot insists.

"All right, you're out of here. You're coming with us to the precinct," Kate declares.

"Wait!" Talbot protests. "All right. There was a relationship. Eliska and I met at the hospital. We were having an affair."

"She couldn't have changed the towels in your bathroom too many times before discovering you were married," Rick assumes. "What happened when she found out?"

"She threatened to tell Melissa about the affair. I talked to the manager and got her fired. No one like her who isn't on staff could get near the place – or Melissa again."

"Nice," Rick grunts.

"But I felt bad about it. I went to her place to give her money, but she wouldn't take it. She wanted a family – me and Zane. She was screaming, and there was nothing I could do but turn and walk away."

A nurse knocks on the door. "Excuse me, Doctor, but your wife and son just arrived. You were supposed to have lunch today."

"Can you tell them I just need one more second?" Talbot asks.

"Of course." The nurse leaves the office.

"Please, just check my alibi. I was here. My nurse can tell you. But leave my wife and son out of it," Talbot pleads.

"There are no promises, Dr. Talbot," Kate warns. "I'm following this investigation wherever it leads. But I won't further involve your family if it isn't necessary."