Unexpected Appearance Chapter 25

"Mr. Castle, I've prepared the suite the way your email requested," Maurice, the concierge, declares proudly. "You have the largest whiteboard we provide for business meetings, and an espresso maker is set up and ready to go. You also have VIP access to room service and premium high-speed encrypted wi-fi. If you require anything else, you have only to call."

Rick passes the concierge a folded $100 bill. "Thank you, Maurice. Your service is exceptional as always."

"You've stayed here before, Castle?" Kate asks as the door closes behind the concierge.

"It's my favorite hotel in LA. I used this suite when I brought Alexis out to visit her mother, and Black Pawn books it for me when I'm out here on tours. The other room is for whomever Gina assigns to keep an eye on me. That's how I knew we could use it as our crime-busting headquarters. So, you want to get settled in?"

"No, I want to check out wherever Mike was living." Kate holds up her phone. "This is the address that was on his driver's license."

Rick lets out a whistle. "Expensive neighborhood, Beckett. How could a down-and-out ex-bounty hunter afford digs like that?"

"Let's find out," Kate says.

Rick fingers the key in his pocket. "At least the Ferrari I rented will fit right in."

A raspy voice comes through the intercom on a tall, wrought-iron gate. "Yeah?"

"We're friends of Mike Royce," Kate announces.

"Come around back," the voice instructs.

A long-haired middle-aged man with an annoyed expression talks into his cell phone near the edge of a sparkling pool. "Jerry, I cannot help you out. I'm sorry. You got to go without. Yeah." Rick loudly clears his throat. "I got to go." He glances toward Rick and Kate. "Hello."

Rick's eyebrows jump. "Whoa! You're Gene Simmons."

"Yeah, I'm that weird guy in KISS, the one with the long tongue and everything." Gene's eyes sweep over Kate. "Hellooo! Who's this pretty little lady?"

"I'm Detective Beckett, NYPD," Kate announces.

Concern replaces the lust on Gene's familiar face. "Is Mike in trouble?"

Kate feels her chest tighten. "He was murdered."

"That's terrible!" Gene exclaims.

"How did you know him, exactly?" Rick inquires.

"Well, I got into trouble a few months back, and Royce helped me out. There was one of those crazies who stay just over the edge of stalking so that the cops don't intervene. But Mike put eyes on him. Then the asshole tried to come at me with a knife, and Mike took him down. Mike was living in a rathole in the Wholesale District, so I decided to help him out and let him live in my guest house."

"So you're saying he was in the business of helping people?" Kate asks.

"I gave him referrals to some of the other people I've worked with. They all told me he was very good at it."

"Was he helping anyone lately?" Rick asks.

"Yeah. One of those girls who come to LA hoping to make it. She might. She's stunning. I told her I'd keep an eye out for gigs she could go after."

"What was her name?" Rick asks.

"Violet, something. She gave me her headshot with her resume." He smiles at Kate. "Give me a minute, and I'll get it for you."

Kate returns the smile. "Thank you. That will help a lot."

"This is so weird," Rick says as Gene disappears inside his mansion.

"Why?" Kate asks. "You know lots of celebrities."

"Yeah, but I dressed up as this one for Halloween."

Kate chuckles. "So did I."

From the comfort of his rented Ferrari, Rick studies the headshot and resume Gene Simmons gave Kate. "Violet Young, a lovely wannabe starlet whose only credit is Slumber Party Zombie. Alexis and I do a zombie movie night every couple of weeks, but I've never heard of that one before. Still, I suppose she sees it as a foot in the door – as long as the foot doesn't fall off."

"I don't know about a foot falling off, but she must have thought she was in some kind of danger to go to Mike," Kate figures.

"And considering that Mike's dead, she must have been right," Rick says. "Her address is on here. Shall we go ask her?"

"I need to make a call first."

"Yo, Ryan!" Esposito greets his partner. "What's up?"

"We got lucky. Kids were tagging the building across from the alley where Royce was shot, so the owner put up a camera." He points at a screen showing a man tossing a gun in a dumpster and approaching a car.

Esposito grunts. "You can't see his face or the license plate. All I can tell is he's white."

"But you can see the arm of the guy driving the car," Ryan points out, "And he's not."

"Ebony to our killer's ivory," Esposito assesses.

"Still got that friend at TSA?" Ryan asks.

"Yeah. Why?"

"Maybe they'll share security footage of the checkpoint the shooter had to pass to fly to LA. The guy was in town for six hours, right? There's a chance he was still wearing the same clothes."

Esposito shakes his head. "I don't know, Bro. He would have had to have a checked bag to hide his silencer. He could have had a change with him."

"He might have at least been wearing the same hoodie," Ryan suggests. "Looks comfortable."

"All right," Esposito agrees. "It's worth a shot, but you're chipping in on the case of beer it's going to cost me."

"To get a look at this guy's face, it'll be worth it."

Kate hangs up her cell phone. "According to Violet's agent, she wouldn't be home. She's shooting a commercial at Zenith Studios today."

"No way!" Rick exclaims. "That's where they're shooting Heat Wave. It's kismet, at least in terms of getting in. I remember when Mother used to try sneaking on lots to wheedle jobs. The guardians at the gates can be very stubborn. But I'll have the producer leave our names, and we can drive right in. What stage is Violet's commercial shooting on?"

"Stage Seven."

"Perfect! Heat Wave is on six."

If a casting director had called for an actor to play a Hollywood producer, someone looking exactly like the man embracing Rick would have shown up. "Rick Castle!" He pounds Rick on the back. "I can't believe we finally got you out here."

Rick grins. "Tony, you money-grubbing bastard! How's filming?"

"You kidding me? It's awesome. You keep writing 'em. We'll keep making 'em."

"Tony, I want you to meet Kate Beckett," Rick says. "She's the inspiration for Nikki Heat."

With a professional eye, Tony assesses Kate's features. "With your looks, Honey, you could be an actress."

"I'm completely comfortable being a cop," Kate declares. "Castle, I'm going to go look for Violet. Tony, it was nice to meet you."

Tony looks on admiringly as Kate strides away. "No wonder the book sizzles, Rick. She's hot!"

"Yes, she is," Rick agrees.

"With the steamy love scene you wrote, you two must be doing it, huh?"

"A gentleman never tells, Tony. And there are complications."

"With beautiful women, there always are," Tony says. "And speaking of complications, we had to replace Natalie Rhodes as Nikki."

"Really? She worked so hard getting into Kate's skin that it was creepy."

"That's not all that got creepy. She got involved with a local doctor feelgood and let's say there was a mix-up with her prescriptions."

"She's in rehab?"

"You didn't hear it from me. But at least we've got the perfect Rayley and Ochoa. You've got to meet them."

"Sure," Rick agrees, "I can't wait."

No one questions Kate as she walks onto Stage Seven. Almost immediately, she can see why. No one is shooting anything. So, where the hell is Violet Young?"