Unexpected Appearance Chapter 11

Alone in a back stairwell of the 12th Precinct, Rick punches a number into his phone. "Thai food is pleasing to the tongue." A nondescript beep tells him his message was accepted. Now, all he has to do is wait. He's a little surprised to realize that since he remembered the incident in the library, he's nervous about seeing Gray's tall replacement again. He can't let that matter. If Amir Alhabi is involved in some Syrian intrigue, the company would know about it. Or Rick at least hopes they would."

"Auto Theft got a hit on the stolen parts," Esposito announces as Rick returns to the bullpen. "Guy named Leman Jones was selling them at a chop shop. VIN number on the parts matches our cab."

"Where's Jones now?" Beckett asks.

Esposito grins. "Interrogation One."

Arms crossed over his chest, Leman props his feet on the table. "I found those parts."

With one arm, Kate sweeps his legs down. "You found them on the cab you stripped. We have a witness who places you at the scene. So stop lying."

"A witness?" Leman shrugs. "All right. I stripped the car. That's what I do."

"After you killed the driver," Kate accuses.

Leman bolts upright. "After I what? No, I didn't kill any driver 'cause there was no driver."

"He was left in the warehouse," Rick says.

"Robbed and shot in the head," Kate adds.

"I didn't shoot anyone," Leman insists. "I don't even have a gun. You can search my place. You can run one of those tests on me you guys do to see if I shot one."

"You've had plenty of time to ditch it and scrub up," Kate points out.

"I didn't shoot him," Leman repeats. "Look. I was cruising, and I saw the cab sitting empty. I figured there was no point in letting good parts go to waste."

"What time was that?" Beckett asks.

Leman shrugs again. "I don't know. Maybe about 11:15."

Rick smacks the table. "Well, there you go. That's right when the driver died."

Leman throws up his hands. "Look, no! I don't hurt people. I'm just a car guy. Your witness must have done it. That's it! And I was just playing innocent bystander or something."

"There was no witness," Kate counters.

"Cops are allowed to lie like that," Rick inserts.

"Really?" Leman asks.

"Uh-huh," Rick confirms.

"I was bluffing," Kate says.

"No!" Leman exclaims. "There was a guy. I saw him."

"What guy? Describe him," Kate demands.

"I didn't get a clear look. He ran off when I pulled up. But he was there. He was looking for something in the car," Leman adds.

"What makes you say that?" Rick questions.

"Because he did a number on the interior. He tore up the upholstery. I'd have no reason to destroy good merchandise like that. Check it out," Leman suggests. "You'll see."

Kate grabs the CSU report from the murder board, flipping to the description of the cab's interior. "Leman was telling the truth – about the car anyway. The seats were slashed open."

"If the killer was looking for something, that would fit with Amir's broken fingers," Rick considers. "The killer wanted something, and he thought Amir had it. But maybe Amir didn't."

"What do you mean, Castle?" Kate asks.

"Remember Jamal said that he and Amir rented shifts to other drivers? Maybe one of them stashed something in the car, and the killer thought Amir had it."

Ryan walks off the elevator as Castle finishes his conjecture. "Hey, I spoke to one of the drivers who rent shifts with Amir's cab."

"Kevin McCann?" Castle asks.

"No, the other one. Dmitri Voldov. He alibied out, but he had a lot to say about McCann. Him and Amir got in a major fight two days ago."

"About what?" Rick queries.

"Voldov didn't know, but he said Amir told him he was going to fire McCann."

"McCann could have hidden drugs," Kate suggests, "or money from drugs. Maybe that's what the killer was looking for."

"Which would explain the torn-up upholstery, but not the stop in Washington Heights," Rick points out.

"Still, we need to talk to McCann," Kate says.

Esposito holds up a file. "I just tracked him down. He started renting shifts at Allied Taxi. He should be picking up a cab there in an hour."

"I'll be there when he does," Kate says.

A text alert buzzes in Rick's phone. "Backstairs. Now."

"Um, Beckett, that's only a half-hour from here. I want to check on something before we go."

"All right, Castle, but if you drag your feet, I'm going without you."

"Noted."

The tall figure waits in the shadows on a seldom-used landing. "You want to know if your Syrian dead body was more than a cab driver."

"You get right to the point, don't you?" Rick asks. "So was he?'

"He worked on research the Syrians wanted to use for weapons. Our intelligence is that he wanted nothing to do with that usage, which is why he left the country. The Syrians value him enough to try to keep him safe so they can lure him back."

"So, could someone else have wanted to use his talents?" Rick queries.

"If you mean a foreign terrorist group, none that we've monitored. But his skills could be useful."

"Would he have possessed anything that could be used to make a weapon?" Rick asks.

Hunt rolls his eyes. "Everyone possesses something that could be used to make a weapon. You can blow up a building with what you can find in people's garden sheds. You should know that Richard. I believe you had the course."

"Something small enough to hide inside a cab?" Rick presses.

"Not that we know of, and from everything we know about him, he'd have no reason to do it."

Rick nods. "All right. That's at least some of what I needed to know."

"Keep an eye on this one, Richard. Whoever wanted something from Amir wasn't a friendly."

"Right. I caught that. But one more thing. Have you ever spent any time in the Main Library, maybe with Ian Fleming's books?"

Hunt hesitates for a fraction of a second. "I don't need to read about British spies. I know them personally. And you'd better get back to Beckett."

"Yeah. Gotta go see a man about a murder."

Flat-topped and wide-shouldered, except for civilian dress, Kevin McCann looks as if he could have walked out of a war movie – or a war. He doesn't, however, show the polite respect for an NYPD detective that service members usually do. "Amir and I had words. No law against that, right?"

"Where were you at 11:15 last night?" Kate questions.

"In this cab driving a drunk bond trader to the Upper West. Why?"

"Because that's when he was murdered," Kate responds.

"You're kidding me. Look, I didn't lay a hand on the guy."

"Why did you and he fight two days ago?" Rick queries.

"Because he was raping me on rent." McCann retorts. "Look, the guy could afford it. He was flashing a roll that could choke a horse, five grand easy."

"Wait!" Kate interjects. "Was he known for carrying around that much money?"

"First I saw of it," McCann claims. "Look, are we done here? My meter's running."

"For now," Kate says.

"If Amir was struggling with medical bills, what was he doing with that much cash?" Rick wonders as he and Kate leave the cab company.

A text alert sounds on Kate's phone. She checks the screen. "It's Esposito. We need to get back to the crime scene."

Lines deepen on Rick's forehead as he follows her back to her unit. Puzzle pieces swirl in his mind but none of them fit together.