Papa Jack Chapter 84
Kate presses her palms to her eyes. "Castle, it's been weeks trying to track down Fisk through darts, blowguns, and extraction equipment dealers, and we're still nowhere."
Richard flicks a strand of Kate's hair out of her face. "Maybe not as lost as you think." He points to the laptop on his end of her desk. "Since we were striking out with the retail outlets of the weapons and poisons, I decided to try another tack. I'm on the website of a lodge in Malaysia that invites its patrons to explore the use of blowguns that shoot poison darts. According to the site, some anthropologists go there to learn some basics they can apply to the cultures they study. However, the majority of the guests are tourists looking for something to do that's exotic with a hint of danger. Fisk could have made a visit there to pick up the techniques he needed."
"How about the abrin? How would he get that?"
"The lodge keeps small amounts on hand to coat darts for demonstration purposes. The live targets the management offers are not of our species, but the skills and equipment needed to take them down would be much the same. Fisk could have filched some pre-poisoned ammunition."
"It's a reach, Castle. But it wouldn't hurt to send the lodge a query about any rip-offs of abrin-coated darts," Kate admits. "What's it called?"
"Rumah Berburu and you can send a message right from the website. It has a form for English. I'll send you a link."
"All right," Kate agrees. "Hey, you must be feeling the pressure to get Fisk, too, Castle. Isn't your fundraiser in a couple of days?"
Richard nods. "This Saturday night. I have a ticket for you right up front if you want to come."
Kate squirms in her chair. "I don't know, Castle. All those celebrities will be there, and I'm just a cop. I wouldn't even know what to wear."
"Beckett, you could wear a potato sack and look as good or better than any woman there. But I've noticed that the brilliant Dr. Parish has a keen eye for style. Perhaps she can help you discover something in your wardrobe appropriate for the occasion."
"Castle, Lanie's a doctor, not a fairy godmother."
"Well, think about it, Beckett. Your seat will be waiting."
"I will, Castle. But once I send off my inquiry to Rumah Berburu, I have a hot shower waiting. "
"A tantalizing image. And I have some business of my own to tend to. See you in the morning, Beckett?"
"Sure, Castle."
Martha Rodgers hurriedly answers her phone. "Richard, I wasn't expecting your call. Is something wrong with the fundraiser?"
"Not a thing, Marth, um, Mother. So far, everything is fine. But I do have a favor to ask concerning the event."
"I owe you several decades' worth," Martha Rodgers responds. "What can I do?"
"I need to find a very special dress for a very special lady whom I want at my side."
"Detective Beckett?" Martha guesses.
"Uh-huh. She can use a Cinderella night."
"Well," Martha reflects, "I can't do anything about glass slippers. Even the best boutiques don't sell those, and it's too late to have them made. We can, however, find the perfect gown. Do you know her size?"
"I helped her on and off with her jacket a few times when she was still having trouble after she was shot. I noticed the label said size 4."
"Umm. Slim figure. The camera must love that. Height?"
"She's about five-nine and just started wearing heels again. She likes them high."
"I get the picture," Martha declares knowingly. "All right. Meet me at the House of Veronique's boutique on Broadway and 81st. Henri will open it up for me. Cinderella shall have her gown. But playing Prince Charming will be up to you."
Lanie Parish shakes her head as Kate holds up each of the few formal dresses she has in her closet. "Damn, Girl! That last one must date back to your prom. Don't you go shopping?"
"For shoes, sometimes. And I bought a few things to wear as a detective. But until I got promoted, I spent most of my time in uniform. I was too busy trying to solve my mother's murder to go out much. I only bought gowns when I had to be a bridesmaid."
"Yeah, I saw those! Ugh!"
"They were supposed to make the bride look good. So, you don't think anything I have will work?"
"Honestly, Kate, if…"
A loud rap sounds on the apartment door as a voice calls out. "Delivery!"
"Must be our Thai," Kate says, trotting across the apartment.
A stylishly dressed young man whom she suspects is wearing eyeliner holds a large dress box. "Katherine Beckett?" At Kate's nod, the messenger hands her the box. "From the House of Veronique. Enjoy."
Kate carries the box back into the bedroom. "Why don't you open it?" Lanie questions. "It's not ticking or anything, is it?"
"No, and it feels like a dress. Oh, God! Did he?" Kate opens the box and pulls out a card. "Bibbity bobbity boo! Your fairy godwriter. Oh, he did! It's from Castle."
"Well, let's see it," Lanie urges. Kate holds up a gown adorned with sparkly red stones. "Wow! Look out, Halle Berry!" the ME exclaims. "Here comes Kate Beckett."
As Richard walks off the elevator in the morning, Kate flushes. "Castle, the gown is amazing. I don't know what to say."
"Just say you'll wear it to my fundraiser."
"I'll wear it to your fundraiser. But how did you even get it? Isn't the House of Veronique only by appointment to the stars?"
"I had a little, actually a lot, of help from Martha Rodgers, who apparently has the keys to the fashion kingdom. She'll be at the fundraiser if you want to compliment her on her taste. But now that the fashion emergency is solved, how are we coming with the case? Have you heard from Rumah Berburu?"
"I have. Malaysia's 12 hours ahead of us, so they must have answered it last night. Someone stole abrin-coated darts from them. Apparently, it cost them some business, and they want to find out who did it as much as we do. They take pictures of their guests' hunts. They sent copies of some taken around the time the darts disappeared." As Kate brings up images on her monitor, Richard points at the screen. "That one looks like the description of Fisk."
"I think so, too," Kate agrees. "And according to the lodge, Fisk was the name on a guest's passport. Registration there always requires foreigners to show their papers."
"He must have believed that no one would ever figure out he was there," Castle says. "So now we know definitively who John Doe's murderer is. We just have to find him."
"Castle, if he killed a Russian good guy to cover up some plan, he should be turning up in New York again soon, maybe around Loftview. I'll put the BOLOs out again. But he'll still be in a city of eight million people, and we don't know what or if he'll be driving."
"Maybe we'll get lucky," Richard suggests. "After weeks of hunting down darts and abrin, we're due for a break."
Kate's teeth dig into her lower lip. "I kept trying to believe I'd get a break for years when I was trying to find my mother's killer."
"But you did find your mother's killer, Kate. He's rotting in a Venezuelan prison, and his minions are doing the same in American ones. Fisk will turn up. One way or another, Fisk will turn up, and he'll get what's coming to him."