694. Chapter 694

After The Blame Game

Episode 8.12

By

UCSBdad

Disclaimer: It's no puzzle. I don't own Castle. Rating: K Time: See above.

Rick set the dish down in front of his wife, then took a seat across from her.

"Chinese?" She asked. "You didn't cook this yourself, did you? I'm not getting mu shu smorlettes, am I?"

He sighed. "No. I thought better of it and ordered it from China Seas. Put I did carefully remove it from those little cardboard boxes and arrange it nicely on your plate."

"And it looks fantastic."

"So, how was work?"

Kate quickly chewed some mu goo gai pan and swallowed. "In one way I wish every criminal was like Brandon Northcliff.

Castle made a face. "You can't be serious. He's completely nuts. And a cold blooded killer."

"All we get are killers and more than a few are nuts. But, in the week since we arrested him, he won't stop talking. His Public Defender keeps trying to get him to shut up, but he's proud of what he did. He thinks that a couple of lives were a small price to pay for exposing his parents. Short of gagging him, I can't see how the PD will ever get him to shut up."

"Sounds like he's already planning his insanity defense." Castle said, skewering a pot sticker.

"No. His PD has tried to get him to talk to a psychiatrist, but he refuses. That's the one and only time he does stay quiet. I was talking to his attorney the other day and we could hear Brandon in holding, or rather not hearing him. The psychiatrist couldn't get a word out of him. Not even his name."

"What's that mean?"

Kate shrugged. "I'm not sure. I've talked to the ADA handling the case. He says that no psychiatrist would find a person insane, unable to tell the difference between right and wrong, without any input from the patient. But, Brandon wants a trial. He sees this as his big chance to show what monsters his parents are. He'll be convicted for sure. "

"He could get the death penalty in New York now."

"He was planning to kill himself after killing one of us, remember. In fact, he's about half convinced himself that he had no intention of killing either of us. That he planned for us to capture him."

"Why would he think anything like that?" Castle put a bit of orange chicken on his plate and began eating.

"More publicity. After all, he was captured by "New York's own crime fighting celebrities", to quote the Ledger. From his perspective, it took the real life Nikki Heat and the real life Jameson Rook to bring him down. And he may be right. The police press office is getting calls from all over the country, even from abroad." Kate began eating one of her egg rolls.

"His parents deserve everything they get, and more. What they did to those two kids was criminal."

"They may not get anything. It looks like the statute of limitations has run out. However, the ADA is trying to get a Federal case brought based on the denial of the kid's civil rights. But the Northcliff's lawyers are fighting that. Faye is dead and Brandon is a killer, so the only evidence we have is the tapes, and their lawyers want those suppressed."

"Why? They were seized legally. They're evidence in Emma Matthews' murder."

"The lawyers are arguing that no one knows what Emma did with those. She could have altered them."

"That's ridiculous. Why would she?"

"It's just another legal delaying tactic. Oh, pass the Mongolian beef, please?"

"So all they get is some bad publicity?" Castle asked disgustedly, handing her the Mongolian beef.

"Afraid so."

"What about Meadow, the one who tried to kill you?"

"Ah, now that one is going all out for a temporary insanity defense. Even if that doesn't work, she may not get more than a slap on the wrist. She was kidnapped, saw her husband lying dead, apparently with you as the shooter. And she tried to shoot me with a booby trapped pistol that would have killed her if she'd tried to shoot me. The ADA didn't sound like he wanted to press too hard on that."

"I want him to press hard. I don't like people threatening my wife. I should call Bob and bitch about that."

"Except we're supposed to be separated."

"Another reason we shouldn't keep this phony separation up."

"Castle, I'm trying to protect you." Kate quickly changed the subject. "Brandon's lawyer is trying to get the death of Simon taken off the indictment."

Castle grimaced. "How? His death was a direct result of a felony committed by Brandon, the kidnapping of seven people. That's first degree murder as I understand it. "

"Me, too. But the lawyer is arguing that Simon was committing a felony of his own. He pointed the pistol at you, Brandon and Judah, and threatened to kill you. Then he fired the gun, intending to kill all three of you. The lawyer is arguing that aggravated assault and attempted murder, felonies in their own right. The ADA says the case law is kind of murky, but he doesn't want to set a precedent by taking it off. Brandon, is helping of course. He says he's totally responsible for Simon's death."

"By the way, did we ever find out what Simon's or Meadow's involvement was? You're the head of the 12th Precinct whose officers failed him, Patty works as a psychiatrist for the Board of Education, but what about those two?"

"It turns out that Simon's father was a building contractor. He built that bunker where the original experiments were done and where we were held." Kate wrinkled her nose. "Could we change the subject?"

"Certainly. I have an idea for a collaboration between me and Steven King. Another volume of the Dark Tower series. Who is the main protagonist in this exciting excursion into a different and terrifying world, you ask? A ruggedly handsome Everyman who finds himself in this strange new, world… "

As Castle spoke, Kate reached for the mu shu pork.

The next day, Kate had an unexpected visitor. "Can I speak to you for a moment?"

"Sure, Alexis. Come in. Sit down."

The young redhead closed the door as she entered, then sat. "I'm not stupid, you know."

Kate was taken quite aback by that. "Alexis, I've never thought you were stupid. If I've ever said, or done anything, that made you think…"

Alexis cut her off. "Dad's phone calls are logged into the office computer. That's how I found the number that Brandon used to lure my dad to that building. But, I noticed that you'd called him just before he went inside. I checked, you two have been talking a lot lately. Earlier, for several months you didn't talk on the phone at all."

"Just because your dad and I are not together doesn't mean..."

Alexis cut her off again. "My dad was miserably unhappy for months after you left, and then suddenly he's his old self again."

"Doubtlessly your dad has adjusted to the…"

"I can smell your perfume in the loft. I can smell your cherry body lotion and shampoo in the bathroom. Grams and I repeatedly find two wine glasses in the dishwasher and we found two champagne flutes, one of which had your lipstick on it. You are not separated from my dad. I know that, so don't treat me like I'm stupid, please."

Kate took a deep breath. "We're not separated. I do go to the loft whenever I can to be with him. I love him more than I have the words to tell you. But I'm doing this to keep him safe. I'm involved in an investigation that's very, very dangerous and I don't want Castle involved for fear he'd get hurt. Please, Alexis, don't tell anyone else what I just told you. You have no idea how dangerous this could be to your dad."

Alexis slowly nodded. "Okay, but that means it's dangerous to you, too. Right?"

"I'm trained for this, your dad isn't."

Alexis smiled. "Are you sure? Dad has been with you for a long time and has done pretty good, hasn't he? Kate, I'm worried sick about Dad. Even if he's not involved in this, whatever, you're investigating, he keeps getting into trouble. If you hadn't been together this last time, one of you might have gotten killed. I think you're both safer as a team. So think about it. One way or another, I think you and Dad would be a lot safer together. Just think about it."

Kate did think about it for a long, long time.