Unexpected Appearance Chapter 24

"We've got a murder weapon," Esposito announces as Kate stares at the murder board. He holds up an evidence bag containing a gun. "Unis found it in the dumpster closest to where the murderer took out Royce."

"It's been recently fired, but the killer took the time to empty the bullets," Ryan adds.

"A strange economy," Rick remarks.

Kate takes the evidence bag from Esposito. "This is a cheap street gun, a throwaway, but the barrel is threaded."

"For a silencer?" Rick asks.

"Yeah," Esposito confirms.

Kate glares at the gun. "Allowing the killer to shoot Royce in broad daylight."

"Listen, Beckett, we're gonna get this guy," Ryan asserts. "We've got uniforms headed to every store and apartment in a five-block radius."

"This is New York," Esposito says. "Someone had to see something."

"It's New York, all right," Kate agrees. "Someone may have seen something, but that doesn't mean they're willing to go through the hassle of telling cops or going to court. And if there was a good Samaritan, they probably would have called in or told someone at the scene already."

"Beckett, cameras aren't afraid of going to court," Rick says. "An enquiring lens might have caught something."

Kate leans on the desk next to the murder board. "I hope so, Castle. Espo, can you get that gun to the lab?"

"On it!'

"Beckett, you knew Royce better than anyone here. Why would he have flown from LA to New York?" Rick wonders from his seat beside her desk.

"He insisted that I learn every inch of our patrol area, said you always fight best on familiar ground. If he were running from something – or someone – he would have wanted to meet them on home turf."

"Yo!" Esposito calls. "We were right about the silencer. The lab found trace amounts of titanium alloy in the threads of the gun. They narrowed it down to one or two commercial suppressors. They each run about a grand."

"Why put an expensive silencer on a cheap gun?" Rick queries.

"Our killer must have followed Royce from LA," Kate realizes, "and couldn't take a gun on the plane."

Rick nods. "But a silencer is just a cylinder, easily hidden in a checked bag."

"Espo, Ryan, check out the passengers on the flight listed on Royce's boarding pass and any taking off for LA around the same time," Kate orders. "The killer couldn't have waited long and still had time to pick up the gun here. Concentrate on passengers buying tickets at the last minute."

"Right," Esposito acknowledges.

"Royce's boarding pass was coach, wasn't it, Beckett?" Rick asks.

"Yeah, why?"

Because you'll want to look at first-class passengers. If the killer had been on the same plane as Royce, he would have been behind the curtain. First class gets to deboard first. So if the killer boarded last minute, Royce never would have seen him."

"I'll check that out," Esposito agrees.

Shaking her head, Kate gazes over at the murder board. "What were you into, Mike?"

Ryan jabs a finger at his computer screen. "OK, so we've got five flights to New York out of LA that meet our criteria. I ran all the passengers, and one name popped: Neil McCauley."

Rick looks over Ryan's shoulder. "Neil McCauley, really?"

"Why?" Kate asks.

"That was De Niro's character in Heat. Why is it that killers have to be so unoriginal with their aliases?" Rick muses. "Picking a random but common name like George Johnson would draw much less notice."

"His lack of originality could be our first break, Castle. I'm betting that's our guy." Kate starts walking away. "Let's get him."

"Well, you're gonna need a plane," Ryan says, "because Mr. McCauley flew back to LA two hours after Royce's TOD."

Montgomery springs up from behind his desk. "I'm not sending you to LA, Beckett. You have no solid evidence linking Neil McCauley to this murder."

"He came to New York for six hours," Rick points out. "Who flies in for that short a stay?"

"Businessmen do it all the time," Montgomery counters.

"Businessmen don't use false IDs," Rick points out.

"Or pack a silencer," Kate adds.

"That's supposition,' Montgomery declares. "When some bean counter at 1PP looks at the paperwork, I would need a lot more justification than that to fly a detective across the country."

"Bean counters don't understand how quickly a trail goes cold, Captain," Kate argues. "But you and I both know that the longer we wait, the less chance there is of catching this guy."

"Take a day. Shore this up,' Montgomery advises. "If there's sufficient evidence, I'll contact the LAPD."

Kate's fingernails dig into her palms. "You'll contact the LAPD? This is my case. It happened in our jurisdiction. You think the LAPD is going to lift a finger?"

"Kate, you're too close to this," Montgomery says.

No Sir! I am committed, not compromised."

"You're torn up," Montgomery insists. "Things between you and Royce ended badly. I get it. But that emotion is exactly why you shouldn't be on this case. Ryan and Esposito can continue with it, but you're off."

Kate orders her fingers to uncurl and her voice to lower. "You know what? You're right. I am too close to this. I have some vacation days on the books. I think now would be a good time to take them."

"Beckett, you better not be thinking about doing something reckless," Montgomery warns.

"No, Sir," Kate assures him.

As Rick trots after Kate toward the elevator, he pulls out his phone.

"What are you doing, Castle?" she asks as the doors close.

"Booking two first-class tickets to LA. That's where you're planning to go, isn't it?"

"Castle, I won't be a cop in LA. I'll be working without jurisdiction. I can't get you involved with that. Montgomery could kick you out of the precinct."

"He's not kicking me anywhere, not if Mayor Weldon has anything to say about it. And even if he does, it will be worth it to help you settle Mike's score – and yours. Besides, the studio's been after me for weeks to fly out and do a set visit for the Heat Wave movie. I'll be there on legitimate business."

"Which is more than I'll be," Kate admits.

"Catching killers is your business, Kate. The venue is just a minor detail. And we can use our flight time to work out a plan for the investigation. I'll line us up a rental car, and we can go straight to the suite the studio promised to comp me."

"Castle, I can't stay in a suite with you. There's still…."

"Josh, I know – too damn well. But it's a two-bedroom suite, which is perfectly proper. There's also a sitting room we can use as our base of operations. And the hotel is very discreet. You wouldn't believe the…. On the other hand, you're a cop, so you probably would. But anyway, it's a perfect setup. You'll see."

As they leave the 12th, Rick pushes a "Book" button with a flourish. "Done!"

"How long before our flight leaves?" Kate asks.

"Four hours, and it will take at least a half hour to get to LaGuardia this time of day, so you'd better hurry up and pack."

"Castle, I've always got a 'go bag.' Standard operating procedure."

"I should have known. Well, try to stuff something un-cop in there. I'm going to get us a reservation at Spago's."

"Castle, I don't need to eat at Spago's."

"Once you've had the Agnolotti with peas and fresh truffles, you'll change your mind."

Kate rolls her eyes but can't help smiling.