Unexpected Appearance Chapter 9
"Why the Interview Lounge?" Rick asks Kate as LT ushers the Talbots into the friendly surroundings.
"I don't want to put them on their guard," Kate explains. "Cameron thinks we gave him a pass, and Melissa doesn't know he's implicated, so they're less likely to clam up and demand a lawyer."
"I can understand that with the bad doctor," Rick says, "but we have no evidence Melissa did anything wrong."
"We'll know one way or another soon enough," Kate declares.
The Talbots sit together on a couch while Kate and Rick take comfortable chairs separated from the Talbots by a low table bearing a tissue box. Kate's leather folder joins it. Melissa twists the thin strap of her handmade leather purse. "I'm sorry. I'm confused. We want to help in any way we can, but as we told you, we barely knew the woman. She'd only been working in the building a few months."
"As it turns out," Kate says, "your paths crossed long before you realized. Eliska Sokol had a son born at Bryant General on the same day as your son Zane."
"He passed away three years ago," Rick adds. "He died of Niemann-Pick. It's a rare congenital disorder."
Melissa presses her hand to her mouth. "Oh God! Oh, that poor woman! That's probably why she was so attentive to Zane. They were the same age."
"We think there was a bit more to it than that," Kate reveals, pulling a document from her folder.
"The incident with the lollypop you told us about," Rick continues, "we think she gave it to Zane to distract him so she could swab his mouth."
Kate holds up the paperwork. "This is a report that was sent to Eliska Sokol. Unfortunately, it didn't reach her mailbox until today, when it was removed by Nora Swenson."
Melissa turns to her husband. "Your nurse? What would your nurse be doing with something from Eliska Sokol's mailbox?"
"You know what the report says, don't you, Dr. Cameron?" Rick questions.
Melissa puts her hand on her husband's arm. "Cam, what are they talking about?"
Cameron Talbot swipes his knuckles across his eyes. "The report will say that Eliska Sokol was Zane's biological mother."
Melissa shakes her head. "No! Zane is mine! You put him in my arms after he was born."
Tears well in Cameron's eyes. "That wasn't the Zane you carried. Remember your amnio? When the results came back, they were positive for Niemann-Pick. I just didn't know how to tell you. I knew you'd see taking care of the child through, no matter what the test said. I thought I'd put it off, and we could deal with it after the baby was born."
"But Cameron, Zane, our child is fine," Melissa protests.
Cameron takes her hand. "No. Our child had Niemann-Pick. There's no treatment. It's always fatal, usually by age three. I knew I'd have to tell you, that the symptoms would give me no choice. But then I was in the nursery checking on our baby, and I saw Eliska's child. There they were, side by side. You were still in recovery, and I thought, how hard would it be? I could just switch tags and no one would know. I could pick him up and bring him to you in the room and everything would be all right. He'd be ours, and you'd never have to know."
Melissa pulls her hand loose, shrinking away from her husband. "Cameron, please tell me you didn't kill that woman. Oh my God! Oh my God!"
"I couldn't let her destroy our lives," Cameron pleads. "I couldn't let her take him away."
Melissa looks desperately around the room. "What am I going to do? Someone, please tell me what I'm going to do."
As Rick and Kate look on, Montgomery studies Kate's report. "Nice detective work, you two."
"Actually, it was Eliska Sokol who did the detective work," Kate points out.
"But it cost her life," Rick says grimly. "And Zane will grow up without the father he knew. But he does still have a father, who desperately wanted a family."
"You mean Teodor Hajek?" Kate asks. "Castle, he's undocumented. He could be deported anytime."
"I had a talk with him before he was released from Holding," Rick says, "father to father. He would love to be involved in Zane's life somehow, if it's possible. And I called the immigration attorney who worked with Alicia. Since Teodor can prove he has a child born in this country, he stands a much better chance of obtaining legal status. He may have to go outside our borders for an interview, but it can happen."
"With you picking up the attorney's fees?" Kate asks.
Castle shrugs. "No need. The attorney works for a non-profit. I have, however, been known to make a donation or two."
"What about Melissa?" Kate wonders. "She comes from money. She'll be all right financially, even without her husband. But after all she's gone through, she's not about to give up Zane to some stranger. And she can afford to fight for custody."
"Maybe she won't have to fight," Castle suggests. "She has the resources to give Zane a good life, but it could be even better with a father playing a supportive role. Do you think you could talk her into letting Teodor see Zane?"
Kate nods. "I can give it a shot."
Rick and Kate wait in the lobby with Teodor Hajek while one of the many employees of the concierge building double-checks that Melissa will see them. "My hands are shaking," Teodor confesses.
"It'll be OK," Kate assures him. "We told Mrs. Talbot that you have no intention of trying to take Zane away, that you just want to be part of his life."
The trio gets waved upstairs to find Melissa standing in her doorway. "Please come in."
"Mrs. Talbot," Teodor says hesitantly.
"Please call me Melissa," she urges as they go inside.
Zane is on the thick carpet, running a toy car over the surface. "He's beautiful," Teodor marvels.
"Yes, he is," Melissa agrees. "Tell me about, um, him – my son."
"He was a beautiful boy, too," Teodor says, pulling his wallet from his pocket. He takes out the picture he'd shown Rick and Kate. "Here, for you."
Suddenly Zane stops playing and holds up the toy and a detached wheel. "Mama, it's broken."
"Oh!" Melissa exclaims.
Teodor holds out a strong hand. "Give it to me."
Zane shyly hands him the car and the wheel, which Teodor easily snaps back in place. He holds it out to the boy. "There. All fixed."
"I think that's not all that's fixed," Rick whispers to Kate.
She starts backing toward the door. "We can leave it to family now."
"You know, Castle, I don't think that would have happened without you," Kate says as they exit the building.
"I grew up without a father. I didn't want to see Zane have to when Teodor so passionately wants a son," Rick confides.
"So are you going to keep hanging around interfering in people's lives, or are you going to plot out intrigues for a certain British secret agent?" Kate asks.
"The agent and the money the Brits are offering have more than a certain appeal," Rick admits. "But as it turns out, the sales of Heat Wave are through the roof, and I got a pretty good deal for more Nikki Heat books, too. So, all in all, it will be more fun to stick around."
"Then, you'd better come back to the precinct with me. I could use a latte."
"Ah, my true purpose at the 12th. Your barista is ready, willing, and able."
"Considering your latest triumph, you were uncharacteristically quiet at dinner," Martha notes over a glass of red wine.
"I was just thinking about something that's never made sense," Rick explains. "When I was ten and looking for a book at the public library – the big one with my pals the lions – a guy gave me a copy of Casino Royale."
"Are you sure?" Martha asks. "I don't remember that."
"You were in the stacks. You never saw him."
"What did he look like?"
"I know everyone looks big to a kid, but he was tall, at least six-four. Brown hair, brown eyes, a softer voice than I would have expected on someone that large. Have you ever known anyone like that?"
"That's a pretty vague description, Richard. In the business, I've met many tall men. They tend to create a presence on stage and on screen. But," she says, suddenly wistful, "anything is possible."