Unexpected Appearance Chapter 50

Rick comes out from behind the murder board and flips it so Kate can see what he's been doing. "Behold! A photo of our masked vigilante juxtaposed with issues from my own Marvel collection."

Kate's eyes widen. "You have Avengers #1?"

Rick rocks on the balls of his feet. "There's so much more where that came from, all stored in a climate-controlled unit with 24/7 security. That's why I could send a messenger for the issues I wanted. I called security for a one-time code I could give him to get into the unit. I would be happy to give you a code you could use to peruse my issues anytime. But, to the business at hand. Note that the killer has drawn inspiration from the costumes of other superheroes. The color evokes Spiderman – which doesn't fit badly with Slicerman. The horned helmet is an obvious homage to Daredevil. The sword and scabbard, Deadpool. A high collar, just like Black Panther. Now, what do all these characters have in common?"

Esposito snorts. "They're make-believe?"

"They're driven by the death of a father figure or loved one," Kate realizes.

Rick shoots her an "I told you so" look. "Exactly. I believe our killer shares a similar backstory, which is why he's borrowed from these characters' costumes. Since out of costume, some superheroes tend to be unassuming, we might add mild-mannered to the profile. Or, like Daredevil, or," Rick clears his throat, "someone else I can think of, be in a law-related profession that can't always get the job done by following the rules. Superheroes often have helpers, too. The Avengers have the agents of Shield. If we jump universes, Batman has Alfred, Superman has Lois and Jimmy. Our vigilante might have some kind of support system. And there's one more thing. In order to borrow from all these sources, our killer collects comic books or has access to a substantial collection. Either way, he's deep into the comic book world. And I know the perfect place to inquire about its denizens."

As he and Kate approach a storefront, Rick inhales deeply. "Do you smell that? The wafting scent of printed pages. Comicadia. Beckett, this place is the premiere comic book shop. It's the Vatican to a Catholic. It's Mecca to a Hajji. It's upstream to a spawning…."

"I know, Castle," Kate interrupts. "I bought my first comic book here when I was 14. Sin City. A Dame to Kill For."

Rick whistles. "That's hardcore. But wasn't 14 kind of a late start? I was scraping my pennies together for comics by the time I was eight. I did homework assignments at a nickel-a-shot for three of the bullies in my class. It also kept me from getting beat up. But I yearned for superheroes who would remove the menaces from the world."

"When I was that age, I had my own heroes fighting evil in the world, my mom and dad," Kate explains. "They really still were when I was a teenager, but by then, I realized how slowly the law could move, and I knew how many cases they lost. I still wanted to go into the law, but I'd lost my innocence about it. Most of what I could save went toward buying my motorcycle, but a little of it went toward reading about more direct heroics."

"If you could be any comic book character in the world, who would you be?" Rick queries.

Kate shrugs. "Elektra, maybe."

"Ah, a ruthless assassin who hides from her emotions."

"No, a woman with badass ninja skills."

"Your skills are pretty impressive already – on and off of the mean streets."

"What about you, Castle? Spiderman? Ironman?"

"Not crazy about getting bitten by a spider, radioactive or otherwise, or having my heart shut down on me. "I could go for billionaire industrialist Bruce Wayne, aka Batman. He has the coolest toys."

Kate chuckles. "Yeah, I can see why that would appeal to you."

From behind the Comicadia counter, Mike Hoover spies Rick and Kate as soon as they enter the store. "Mr. Castle! And you're Kate Becket, right?"

Kate nods. "Mmm-hmm."

Mike sticks out his hand. "It's such an honor to meet you, Sir. We just got your Derek Storm graphic novel. I mean the art, the writing, in a word, it's awesome!"

Rick's eyes light up. "Tell me, what's your favorite part?"

"Definitely when Derek Storm escapes the two bad guys by crashing the…."

"Taxicab," Rick and Mike exclaim together.

Mike looks sheepishly at Kate. "I'm sorry, Detective Beckett. I saw your name on the preorder list. I should have said spoiler alert."

"It's all right. We're not here about that," Kate replies hurriedly. "We need to ask you a few questions." She holds up a picture of Chad Hockney, the bumbling Red Maroon. "Mike, do you recognize this man?"

Mike regards the image. "He doesn't look familiar."

"How about this one?" Rick asks, holding up a video capture of the masked vigilante.

"Yeah, I know him," Mike says.

Kate's mouth gapes. "You do?"

"Yeah." Mike types an entry on his computer and turns the screen for Kate to see.

"The sword, the suit, that's our vigilante," Kate realizes.

Rick regards the image. "Lone Vengeance. That explains the 'L' he carved into Tony Valtini's backside. But Sword of Lone Vengeance? How come I've never seen this?"

"It's online only," Mike explains. "It's kind of fringe but has a following. A guy named Sean Elt writes it."

"Looks like you put more thought into the killer's costume than he did, Castle," Kate asserts. "He copied it out of the comic book."

Rick points to the hand of the character displayed onscreen. "I've seen that before."

"The knuckle plate? Where?" Kate queries.

"On the ground at the crime scene. I thought it was a button, but this is what it was. It fell off his suit. If we can find that – if it's still there – it could lead us to the killer."

"Castle, it's getting dark. If we're going to look for it, we'd better hurry up," Kate advises.

Rick searches the cracked cement in the alley as Beckett sweeps the beam from her Mag Lite over it. "It was here. I know it was here."

"Maybe someone picked it up, or maybe it was a button," Kate offers.

"No, it's…. Ah hah! There it is! That's no button! It's a piece of his costume."

With gloved fingers, Kate picks up the plate. "I think there's a partial print on it."

A hand encased in a gauntlet reaches out and grabs the evidence. The costumed figure takes off, with Rick pounding after it. Lone Vengeance leaps atop a dumpster and rebounds off a wall, landing astride a motorcycle. The engine roars to life, leaving Kate and Rick staring after the escaping suspect."

Even as she yells, "Police! Stop!" Kate realizes it's useless. "Damn!"

Rick puts a consoling arm around her shoulders. "Beckett, I know you hate it when a suspect gets away, but you couldn't have been prepared for an encounter with a real superhero."

"I'm supposed to be prepared for everything, Castle. Now we lost the only lead we have."

"No, we didn't. A traffic cam could have caught that motorcycle. Also, the boys have been sweating their asses off tracking purchases of Samurai swords. He can't carve another L – or cut someone in half – without a replacement. And we know this guy is taking his cues from that Lone Vengeance comic. It can't be online without creating an electronic trail. We have plenty of leads. We'll get him."

"Castle, when did you become such an optimist?"

"We're in the comic world now, which makes me your sidekick. Cheering you on is my job."

"Castle, sidekicks get killed – or turn into supervillains."

"I have no intention of being either, so for now, let's say I'm supporting my partner."

Kate flashes a wan smile. "OK."