Unexpected Appearance Chapter 65

A chess player studies the picture Ryan holds in front of him. "I've seen him. He comes to the park two or three times a week looking for games."

"You ever play with him?" Ryan asks.

"A few times."

"So, what do you know about him?" Esposito questions.

"He's a crazy chess player, makes some weird moves, like sacrificing his queen, just to see what happens. He always wins, though."

"Do you know his name?" Esposito queries.

"Scott, something. We didn't talk much. We just played. But if you want to know about him, you should talk to Jani. He's another chess player. Him and your guy been spending a lot of time together lately."

Kate puts down the phone in Castle's loft. "Unless the CIA tapped your line, they won't be in on the information I got from Blakely's banks."

"One thing I did learn under Turner's tutelage is how to check for that. In order to eavesdrop on an American citizen, the CIA is supposed to get a warrant from a FISA court – not an easy thing to do. So they developed some tools to get around that annoying little stumbling block."

Kate's lips thin. "Nice."

"The company's never been known for being nice. Anyway, they don't actually tap the phone. It's too easy to prove. What they do is set up bugs that can pick up one side of the conversation – usually on the roof on the spot closest to the phone. The bugs don't put out a steady signal, so they're not detectable in a standard sweep. But they do have a small heat signature detectable by thermal imaging. I went up there with a thermal imager while you were trying to tame the last effects of the river out of your hair. So far, the landline is clean, but I'll have to keep an eye on it. So what did you find out?"

"Blakely had over two million in six accounts. None of them were under his real name. Deposits were made by non-profits, aid groups, and environmental organizations."

"So, if those were his secret consulting accounts, it's possible that one of the payments was for operation Pandora," Rick figures.

Kate holds up her pad and points to a notation. "I'm thinking these two of half a million each. One was from three months ago, and this one from a week ago."

"His start and finish payments," Rick assumes. "But you wouldn't think he'd get the last payment until they knew if Pandora was going to work. Oooh, unless they expected the U.S. banking system to collapse and the money to be worthless anyway. They may be stockpiling gold or platinum or whatever they expect to be worth a lot after the deluge. Lithium maybe. The whole world is starting to run on batteries."

"That could make sense because both accounts are offshore and closed. They're a dead end."

"Maybe not entirely. We still are looking for our clue convergence. Where do the banks and chess parks come together?"

"I heard from Espo. He says he and Ryan uncovered a Blakely sighting that pointed them to another chess buddy, an economics professor named Janacek Spivey."

"Chess buddy in spades! I tripped over his name a lot when I was trying to solve Blakely's code. He's a two-time national champion, but that's not all. He's an advisor to the IMF, the U.N. Economics Council, and the Congressional Finance Committee. If Blakely was looking for a brain to pick for a linchpin, he'd be a prime candidate. Oh, by the way, where did the boys find their Blakely sighting?"

"The Chess and Checkers House in Central Park.

"Which is, if I recall correctly, not far from a large branch of First Second Financiers Bank, one of Blakely's big two."

Kate tugs on Rick's collar. "You recall correctly."

"Ah, the pieces are beginning to cluster on the board. Ready to find out how Professor Spivey fits into the game?"

"Yeah, but there are too many eyes at the precinct to bring him in there for questioning. How do you feel about a trip to Central Park?"

"Can we get hotdogs?"

Kate giggles. "Sure."

"Dr. Spivey?" Kate inquires of a gray-bearded man.

Spivey nods. "Detective Beckett and ah, Richard Castle. My mother enjoys your books very much." Rick does a quick mental calculation, figuring the fan in question must be about 90. "She listens to the audibles while she's brewing."

"Tea or coffee?" Rick asks.

"Something stronger, actually. She keeps up with the times. She's gotten into IPA. Detective Beckett, you said you need my help on an urgent matter. What do I have to do with a police investigation?"

Kate holds up a photograph. "This is Dr. Nelson Blakely. Do you recognize him?"

"I know him. Exceptional chess player. But he told me his name is Scott McGregor, not Blakely."

"What do you know about him?" Kate asks.

"He played a very unusual game. I've never seen anything like it. He seemed to know every move before I made it."

"What do you know about him personally?" Kate presses.

"He never really talked about his personal life," Spivey claims.

"Witnesses said you spent a lot of time talking. What about?" Rick inquires.

"Economic theory. When he found out what I did, he had a million questions."

"What kind of questions?" Kate probes.

"About world economic forces, historic socioeconomic models. There were times when it seemed like he knew more than I did. He was quite the hobbyist."

"Oh, he was more than a hobbyist," Kate says. "Did he focus on anything specific?"

Spivey strokes his chin. "Not that I remember. But he was very concerned with the U.S. economy. Of course, in these times, who isn't?"

"Good point," Rick says, "but you would think he would worry about family and friends. Did he mention any at all?"

"No."

"Did he mention anything that might indicate where he lived?" Kate asks.

"Like a favorite store or restaurant?" Rick prompts.

"Neither of those, but I think he might have lived near Union Square."

"Why do you say that?" Kate questions.

"Because we played and I took walks there. And after one of my walks, I discovered I left my chess set. When I went back for it, I saw him going into a building."

"Do you think you can identify the building for us?" Kate asks.

Spivey nods. "I think so."

Landlord Jack McKinney points at a door. "Oh yeah, this is his place right here, but he told me his name was Finley, not McGregor." McKinney inserts a key into the door and opens it.

"Thanks," Kate says.

"What are we looking for?" Rick asks as Kate cautiously enters the apartment.

"Papers, computers, phone records, bills, anything that will help us figure out what he was up to."

"Don't we know what he was up to? From what he said and what Spivey told us, he was trying to figure out what Jenga piece to pull to make the U.S. economic tower fall."

"Right," Kate agrees, "but we need to find something that identifies the vital piece."

Rick opens the door to a room, peers in, and quickly pulls the door shut. "Beckett, I think I found it."

'What, Castle?"

Rick slowly opens the door again, revealing papers stuck to the wall, marked with notes connected by a spiderweb of string.

Kate gazes around the room. "What the hell?"

"Apt description," Rick says, reading the notes. "Taiwan Bank and Trust falls. Economic embargo. CH3 – CH2 – H2C = 01 = C = 0. Taiwan and Chinese subs collide." Rick slides his fingers along the strings connecting the notes. "Everything comes to a nexus here, Beckett." He reads a note connected to strings across the room. "Linchpin outcome – WWIII – August 2017 – U.S. surrenders, estimated 27 million casualties."

"This can't be real," Kate insists. "This place looks like something out of A Beautiful Mind after Nash has a psychotic break."

"Beckett, someone thinks it was real enough to kill to find the linchpin," Rick points out. "If they're right, we better find it first."