446. Chapter 446

After Kill the Messenger

Episode 2.08

By

UCSBdad

Disclaimer: I'm not rich enough to be the owner of Castle. Rating: K+ Time: See above.

Jameson Rook watched the beautiful and extraordinary Detective Nikki Heat walk into the interrogation room. He was happy that he was able to follow her in. He knew this would be a very tough interrogation. Interrogating a suspected dirty cop is one of the toughest jobs in the police department. A dirty cop knows all of the tricks the interrogator has, because he's used them himself. And he has more of an incentive to beat the rap. The life of an ex-cop in prison was not a happy one. But he knew that the extraordinary Nikki Heat would win in the end.

Rook sat down next to Nikki and looked across at their suspect. Rook knew that this one would be especially tough. The man himself was built like a bull, and from the aroma that rose in waves from him, bathed about as often as your average bull. Rook surreptitiously looked over the man, noting his broad shoulders and massive arms. Rook noted that the man was good looking in a flashy, superficial way. Rook was happy that this was not the sort of man that Nikki would ever date. He smiled to himself, thinking about how he had shared a coffee just this morning with the delectable Detective Heat.

Nikki carefully studied a folder before her, not to familiarize herself with it, she knew it backwards and forwards by now. She was giving the suspect time to wonder exactly what was in the file. Wonder and worry.

Nikki looked him in the eye. "Tell me who paid you to steal the evidence in the Olive DiOyl case." She snapped.

Detective Dumming threw himself on the floor, assumed a fetal position and screamed around the thumb he had jammed into his mouth.

"Dumming, don't force me to raise my voice to you. I don't want to, but I will."

Dumming looked up from the floor. "I can't tell you. You don't know what he's like."

"Dumming!" Nikki said, her voice rising slightly above conversational level.

"It was Eric Yawn."

"The billionaire Eric Yawn?" Rook said, shocked.

Dumming shook his head while crying piteously. "Please don't yell at me."

Nikki lowered her voice to a whisper. "Just write out a statement telling me everything that happened and I won't yell at you."

Dumming took a pad of paper and his box of crayons and began laboriously writing his statement in big, block letters. He even thought to attach a drawing of Yawn with a forked tail and cloven hoofs, to go with a drawing of Nikki with a halo and angel's wings.

With the confession in her hand, Nikki took it to Anal. Anal was the mashup of the names of her two trusted subordinates. Bubba Anders, a tall Afro-Swede, had spent twenty years in the Boy Scouts before beginning his career with the NYPD. His partner was Francis Albert, a blue eyed fellow who had been undercover with the Presbyterian mob on the mean streets of East Hampton. Some of the stories he had told had made their blood run cold. The story about how prospective mob members had been forced to eat pizza with their hands, rather than using a knife and fork had been chilling.

"According to Dumming he got the payoff from Yawn on the divider of the Henry Hudson Parkway in Upper Manhattan last Fourth of July. See if we can find some traffic cam footage.

"Your wish is our command." Anal said bowing and running off to do Nikki's bidding.

"You're magnificent." Rook whispered in her ear.

"You were pretty good last night, Tiger." Nikki whispered back. "That was a ten."

"A ten out of ten?" Rook said, his chest swelling with pride.

"A ten out of a hundred." Nikki replied. "But at least you're out of the negative numbers."

"I'll do better." Rook swore.

They were interrupted by Anal. "We found it." Both men were holding opposite ends of a USB drive, trying to be the one to give it to Nikki.

Nikki took it from them and put it in her computer.

"There!" Rook said. "That's Dumming, disguised as a homeless man."

"No." Nikki said. "That's how he dresses usually."

Suddenly the video showed a limo pull up and they clearly saw billionaire Eric Yawn throw a bag of money to Dumming which knocked him into the oncoming lane. Fortunately, he only suffered a flesh wound when the 18 wheeler ran over him.

"Pick Yawn up and bring him to me." Nikki said coldly.

But, before Anal had a chance to return with Yawn, Nikki was visited by FBI Agent Will Sorebutt.

"I need to see you alone, Heat." He snarled.

"Will you be able to perform better than the last time we were alone?"

He delivered his message. "Don't investigate Eric Yawn. He has friends that you'll never be able to touch. Now, if you'll excuse me, having been reminded of what I lost with you, Nikki, I'm resigning from the FBI and entering monastery, taking vows of poverty, obedience and…chastity." With tears pouring down his cheeks, he left the material world behind.

Eric Yawn looked disdainfully at Nikki. He didn't deign to look at Rook. "Do you know who I am? I have friends that you'll never be able to touch. And you can't touch me."

Nikki displayed her hands, covered with a pair of designer rubber gloves. "I gave no intention of touching you. Let me tell you what I found. Your factory in Mexico is allegedly making medicines for the poor. On a hunch, I paid it a visit. Do you know what I found?"

Yawn turned white. "You didn't have a warrant!"

"Your factory manager was very cooperative. You've been making illegal copies of Donnie and Marie Osmond records and smuggling them across the border and into Utah. You've made a fortune doing this. Now, confess and I'll put in a good word for you with the DA, Ike Parker."

"All I know is that I give the profits to a man known only as "Doc". Yawn sobbed.

Nikki nodded. "Doc! At last." She said under her breath. "When are you supposed to meet Doc again?"

"Tomorrow. I'm to bring the money to him in Central Park. At noon."

At noon the next day, Nikki, looking stunning in a tight tee shirt, tight shorts and running shoes with four inch heels, trotted through Central Park. Anal, disguised as a dog walker and a French poodle walked through the park, carefully examining the trees. Rook, proudly ran alongside Nikki, although Nikki had to stop twice to revive him when she ran at more than two miles an hour. Yawn sat on a park bench with a duffle bag full of money by his side.

Promptly at noon, a dark haired man drove up on a tricycle, with training wheels on it. As soon as Yawn handed him the money, Nikki and her team swooped.

"You're under arrest, Doc." Nikki yelled.

The man known only as Doc just laughed. "You'll never be able to touch me, Heat. My friends will protect me." Then he laughed scornfully.

But Nikki noticed something. "Why are there strings attached to Doc's body?"

"Why, he's just a puppet." Rook said.

That said, Doc fell over bonelessly, much like a puppet that had its strings dropped.

Suddenly Nikki and Rook looked at each other. "I know who the killer is!" They said in unison, before sharing a wet, sloppy, passionate ten minute kiss. When they were done they followed the strings to a limo parked illegally on a traffic control officer.

Nikki opened the door. "Senator Broken!" She exclaimed.

The Senator laughed. "You'll never touch me, Heat." The senator resumed pawing at his two female "friends", a redheaded tramp and a slutty blonde.

"You think your friends will save you? Not going to happen." Nikki said, pulling out her handcuffs.

"No, your friend will save me." He turned to Rook. "Rook, you'll testify that you helped Heat to manufacture the evidence against me?"

Nikki turned to Rook in shock.

"Sorry, Nikki." Rook said sadly.

Nikki just smiled and ripped the mask off of Rook's face. "Colin Bunt!" She exclaimed in triumph.

"Curses, foiled again." Senator Broken snarled.

A search of the car revealed the real Rook tied up in the trunk. "I knew something was wrong when you only scored a ten in our love making last night." Nikki told Rook once they were back at the 20th Precinct.

"Is that a ten out of a hundred?" Rook asked.

"No, silly. It's a ten out of ten. You normally score at least a twelve."

Rick Castle looked up from his laptop. "Kate, can we talk about your story?"