836. Chapter 836

After The Blue Butterfly

Episode 4.14

By

UCSBdad

Disclaimer: You're good, Sweetheart. Very good. But you don't own Castle either. Rating: K Time: See above.

Things were quiet in the Big Apple, which is good for a lot of people. I suppose. But it's not good for me. The PI biz depends on things being bad for someone. And when things are bad for someone, well, I get to earn my fifty clams a day, plus expenses.

Then she walked into my office like she owned the joint and I knew my day was about to get bad. Really bad. I drew a breath and greeted her. "Good morning, Miss Rodgers."

She sneered at me. "Cut the baloney, Beckett. I need something."

I nodded. If Alexis "Big Al" Rodgers needed something from me, I knew I'd better get it or else. "How can I help you?"

One of her goons, a musclehead who went by the moniker of Doc tossed a photo on my desk.

"His name's Richard Castle. He's a writer. Find him."

"Where's he at?" I asked.

She glared at me. "If I knew that, you dumb shamus, I'd get him myself." She turned around and walked out, leaving the air a little fresher when she did. Doc tossed a handful of Jacksons on my desk and stomped off after his boss.

I looked at the photo and smiled to myself. I'd happily look for this one for free, if I could keep him for myself.

The first place I went to was the 12th Precinct where I had worked before a problem with a sergeant who was on the take caused me to change careers. I still had a couple of friends there who might be able to help me out for old time's sake. Luckily, I ran into the guy I was looking for in a coffee shop adding a little water of life to his coffee.

"Hello, Boyo." I said softly.

"Beckett! What are you doing here? Still a PI?"

"You bet. I'm looking for a jamoke named Richard Castle. You know anything about the mug?"

Ryan looked around carefully, like he was afraid we'd be overheard. "You didn't hear this from me, got that?"

I nodded. "You know me. Mum's the word."

"The Literary Police have been after Castle for years for felony plagiarism."

"The Literary Police? You don't fool with those guys. A friend of a friend got sent up the river for excessive clichés. He's proof reading children's book for the State of New York. How'd Castle stay out of their way?"

Ryan started to sweat. "They say he's in tight with the grammar cops."

"The FGI! Federal Grammar Investigators? Are you serious?"

"As serious as death. Word on the street is that Castle is ghost writing speeches for the big boys. Real heavyweights down in DC. Why do you want to get mixed up with a bird like him?"

"It's my job."

"You should have turned the job down. Turned it down flat."

I decided I'd better tell someone about the job just in case….Well, just in case. "I couldn't turn it down. Big Al told me to take the case."

"Big Al Rodgers?" Ryan took a long sip of his Irish coffee. "Do you have any idea how many people have been pulled out of the East River wearing concrete petticoats because of that dame?"

I just nodded. "So where can I find this Castle?"

Ryan shrugged. "Try the writer's bars."

I hated writer's bars. Guys were always hitting on you by asking you who you thought wrote the plays attributed to Shakespeare, or asking if The Old Man and The Sea was really a homoerotic tale about Hemingway's actual sexuality. Like I cared.

I hit a couple of bars and pretended that I was a Jane Austen freak and managed to find absolutely nothing. I did have to fight off some creep who wanted to show me a first edition of Pride and Prejudice back at his apartment. Did these guys think I was born yesterday?

Then my luck changed. I ran into Benny. The best Benny had ever been able to do was write some scurrilous limericks that tickled the fancies of the New York Literary Review crowd. Benny had been hanging around with them and I knew he picked up some gossip.

"You look like you could use a drink, Benny." I said, sidling up to him.

"Hey, thanks Beckett. I'll have a Scotch rocks." He motioned to the bartender.

I sipped my Virgin Mary and waited until he was ready for another drink. "So, what can you tell me about a writer named Richard Castle?"

His eyes got as big as saucers. "Nothing. I don't know nothing, I swear."

I shook my head. "Wrong answer, Benny. If you really knew nothing you'd be making up lies to try to get me to buy you another drink." I waved the bartender over and nodded towards Benny. The bartender brought him a fresh drink.

Benny looked at the drink longingly. "All I know is the name of what he's working on."

I raised an eyebrow. "So?"

Benny just looked at me, so I called the bartender over and tossed a double sawbuck down. "Keep them coming until this runs out."

Benny smiled at me, something that would have given a dentist nightmares for a week. "It's called the Blue Butterfly. That's all I know, I swear."

If Benny wasn't going to try to get more booze out of me, that must have been all he knew. I left.

I spent the rest of the day at the NY Public Library looking up references to a blue butterfly. All I found out was there were a lot of blue butterflies out there and they all flew. As far as I could tell, none of them were big book buyers. I headed back to my office to write up my notes and have a drink.

As soon as I saw his clodhoppers on my desk, I went for my snub nosed .38. It was half way out of my shoulder holster when I saw his face.

"I hear you've been looking for me." He said with a smile.

"Word gets around in this burg, doesn't it, Mr. Castle?"

"Word sure does." Said a voice I had already heard too many times today.

Castle smiled at the woman behind me. "What is it, Pumpkin?"

I got ready for the fireworks. Nobody called Big Al that and lived to tell the tale.

"Daddy! Please don't call me that. Especially not in front of people."

Daddy? That was news to me.

"What do you need Alexis? I'm sure you don't need an allowance again."

"It's Mom. She'd driving me crazy. I got her a part in a Broadway play and she's awful. I've had my people out selling tickets at gunpoint and even though the theater has been sold out night after night, there's no audience except me and the boys. Mom is starting to get suspicious."

"Have you considered buying a movie studio in LA? Or maybe Europe?"

"Daddy! That's a great idea. Do they have movies in China?"

"They should, Pumpkin."

She kissed her father and left.

"That was it?" I asked Castle.

"I'm thinking of writing a new mystery about a tough, savvy and gorgeous private eye after a rare statue called the blue butterfly. It's covered in blue diamonds."

"Sounds like the Maltese Falcon."

Castle nodded. "Say, you're pretty sharp. Mind if I follow you around for a few days? Get some research done?"

"I don't know. Can you afford my rates? Fifty a day plus expenses."

"How about I give you the first year's pay in advance?"

I walked over and sat on his lap. "How about I give you a discount?"