Papa Jack Chapter 82
Kate finger-rakes back the strands of her growing-out pageboy. "You're sure it's OK to bring me along for dinner with your father, Castle?"
"It's fine, Beckett. With all the time I've spent hanging around with you, he wants to meet you. Just remember that his name is Hunt, not Castle. I use Castle for professional reasons, not to distance myself from Dad."
Kate gazes around the entry to Tantalizing Table. The décor is modern but quietly expensive. A woman in a black vest and tuxedo pants looks up from the reservations stand. "May I have the name, please?" she asks, not aiming her inquiry specifically at Kate or Richard.
"Hunt," Richard responds quickly. "We're meeting my… oh, I see him."
Jack gives a muted wave from a table where he has his back to the wall. The hostess nods. "Very good. This way." She leads Richard and Kate to Jack, who pulls out a chair for Kate. The hostess hands the newcomers menus. "Your server will be right with you."
Jack offers a welcoming smile. "I'm glad you could join us, Detective Beckett. Richard can hardly open his mouth without your name or something about a case coming out. You're quite the inspiration to him."
"That goes both ways, Mr. Hunt," Kate says. "Castle, um, Richard, is amazing at making connections most cops would miss."
"Richard's always had quite the imagination," Jack agrees. "And you can call me Jack. Everyone – except for Richard – does."
"All right, Jack," Kate concedes, studying the older man."I'm Kate." It's hard to tell with both of them seated, but Jack seems taller than his son by a couple of inches. Though white, his hair is as bountiful as Castle's. His eyebrows are dark but not as mobile as the writer's. Jack has a reserve about him. Kate doubts that he wears his heart on his sleeve as Castle often does – except for his reluctance to reveal his mysterious source.
A woman in a chocolate brown vest and matching pants rapidly strides to the table and addresses Jack. "My name is Clara. I'll be your server. Would you like to see the wine list?"
Jack looks questioningly at Richard and Kate. Aware that during her extended convalescence, Kate is still off alcohol, Richard shakes his head. Jack's face radiates sudden charm. "No need. We'll get right down to the business of dinner. I understand that the chef is offering a special tonight."
"Yes, Sir. The chef has chosen seven courses, including an appetizer and a dessert, to provide a unique dining experience."
Jack glances around the table. "Are you two in the mood to give it a try?"
"Sounds like fun," Kate responds.
"Always up for dining adventures," Richard declares.
Jack nods at Clara. "The special all around."
Clara makes a brief note on her order pad. "I'll bring your appetizers right away."
Kate closes her eyes as she bites into a duck-fat fry. "Wow! This is amazing. Even Remy's fries are nothing like this."
"If they were, the line at the take-out window would be about five miles long," Richard says. "We would also see a startling decrease in the duck population. But this is quite a start for a gustatory adventure."
"You must be experiencing some new adventures with the NYPD," Jack prompts.
"We do have a strange murder case," Richard says. "And it's got a weird connection to the fundraiser I'm doing with Martha Rodgers."
"Oh, I've been looking forward to attending that. What kind of connection?" Jack queries.
Kate presses her knee against Richard's under the table. "We can't discuss ongoing investigations."
"Except that nothing is ongoing," Richard says. "The leads have been going nowhere."
"We'll find a break somewhere," Kate declares. "Jack, what about your work? Castle, uh, Richard, told me you're a translator for Hill and Schwartz. You must get to read a lot of fascinating books."
"I don't know how fascinating," Jack says. "Aside from the Harry Potters Bloomsbury put out, the best-selling books in the world are romances. The ones Hill and Schwartz publishes are a few literary levels above the airport bodice rippers. There are endless variations in terms of characters and settings. Still, the plots are all basically the same. Two people who seem totally unsuited for each other fall in love. Just as it looks like the romance is heading toward perfect happiness, some obstacle, usually a misunderstanding, appears. In the rest of the book, they make their way back to each other for a happy ending. With some authors, I can predict the whole sequence from the opening few pages. Still, it pays the bills and allowed me to work from home so I could raise Richard. Fortunately, his books aren't quite as predictable. I enjoy them."
"So do I," Kate confides, finishing the last of her fries.
"Kate is helping me with research for my new series," Richard says. "Without sparing the excitement, it will still accurately portray police work."
"Unless you want to insert the hours of boredom on stakeouts that go nowhere and endless waits for lab results, it won't be that accurate," Kate teases.
Richard winks at her. "I can take a little poetic license." As Clara approaches, an enticing aroma wafts toward the table. "That must be the soup. I wonder what kind of poetry the chef has infused into it."
Turning toward Clara, Kate inhales deeply. She winces at the pull on her incision. "You all right?" Richard asks anxiously. "I can take you home."
"No way!" Kate insists. "I can't wait to see what comes next."
"Richard," Jack whispers while a pleasantly full Kate is visiting the ladies' room, "I know who the victim of the Loftview murder is."
"When you invited me and Beckett to dinner out of the blue, I figured you might," Richard confides. "His postmortem and his DNA indicated that he could be Russian."
"He is," Jack says. "He's a Russian agent named Nicholas Persky. But he was no rogue. He wasn't allowed to pull anything that would create an international incident."
"But he might have been checking on someone who was?' Richard guesses.
"That's the working theory," Jack confirms. "And it got him killed. Chances are that he was chasing down a plot involving Loftview, with you and your fundraiser as a possible target. The Ms. Necras you've been dealing with may be involved. And it's likely that one of the murder suspects is, or was, working with our old friend Anatoly."
"Then I should cancel the fundraiser," Richard exclaims.
"Keep your voice down," Jack chides. "That's the last thing you should do. Anatoly would just choose another way to get at you and this country. I have eyes on what he's been putting together. And I can stop it. But I need everything the NYPD digs up on this murder, especially anything leading to Anatoly."
"So, can I use you as my mystery source to move the investigation along?" Richard queries.
"As long as no one – including Kate Beckett – knows. Right now, you know what I know. But if something new pops up in the investigation, I'll need you to call me right away."
"All right," Richard agrees. "But Dad, it won't just be me at that fundraiser. It will be a bunch of celebs, including my mother."
"I know, Son. But the wheels are in motion to stop Anatoly and anyone working with him. That train is rushing downhill. We can't pull the emergency brake now."