40. Chapter 40

Chapter 40

After a morning working on the case they had left behind on Friday, the team was hoping for some sort of lead from lab results. When the report came in, though, their hopes were dashed. Another dead end. About the time they realized that, the next call came in…a Beckett flavored one.

They were called when a body was found, but when they arrived, there was no body. Blood, but no body. Before it was over, they had tracked a van to a cryogenics lab, fought a few legal objections from the lab when they tried to obtain the head…the only part the lab needed…worked through several possible suspects, and finally charged the wife with the murder. She committed suicide in holding before they could process her because she wanted to be with her husband, the two of them having faith that they could be revived later and have more time together. The team breathed a collective sigh of relief when the case was solved.

As the three detectives dug into the paperwork for the cryogenics days later, Castle took another look at the board with the previous case, the one that had left them with only dead ends. Talking more to himself than to anyone else, he mumbled, "I've seen that somewhere before."

"What have you seen before?" Ryan asked.

"Sorry. Talking to myself. That cufflink. I've seen it somewhere before, and I think it was here."

"Does that mean someone here was wearing it, Mr. Castle?" Gates asked, stopping to look as she walked back to her office with her coffee.

"No. I think it was a picture on a murder board. I'm not even sure it was one of ours…this team's."

"Well, take your picture and check with the other teams. See if anybody else remembers seeing it."

"We already checked on the cufflink itself, and it's not fine jewelry. High end costume kind of stuff. There were too many places that sell it to find any viable leads," Ryan told Gates.

"It isn't high end or hard to find, but the design isn't quite plain enough to blend into the woodwork, either," Castle commented. "Wasn't there a partial print on it?"

"Yeah, and probably enough to match, but it wasn't in the system," Beckett answered.

"Can you try matching it in the database?" Esposito asked. "If the picture was on a murder board, maybe it would show up in a search. Does it work that way?" he asked Ryan.

"I guess it's possible," Ryan answered. "Can't hurt to try."

"Give it a shot, Ryan. It sure can't be any less helpful than what we've got already." Beckett said from her desk.

After a few minutes of images flashing by, another image of what appeared to be an identical cufflink appeared on a crime scene photo of a man's body. Ryan pulled up the information on that body and discovered it was closed for lack of evidence. And it was one Karpowski's team had set aside six months before.

Gates was still hovering. "Pull up all the particulars and talk to Detective Karpowski when she gets back," she ordered. "And let me know if there's any progress."

When Karpowski's team came back from their crime scene that afternoon, Beckett gave them a little time to set up their murder board and organize their information, and then she took the picture from their own crime scene and told Karpowski what they had found that morning. "I thought we both seem to be at dead ends. Maybe if both teams look at both murders we could see if anything overlaps."

"Yeah, sure. This one today looks like jealousy winning out over good sense. Bar fight that got out of hand and somebody pulled a gun. If you don't have anything pressing right now, get somebody to get the files from records and we'll look at it with you. Our guy's going nowhere. A roomful of witnesses saw him pull the gun and shoot the victim, who was unarmed. Victim was just waiting for the shooter to get up and get back to the fistfight, but he pulled the gun instead. I should have it written up by the time you get the old records."

"Thanks, Karpowski. I'll be back soon." Turning to her husband, she said, "Come on, Castle. Let's go get those records."

"I can go," Esposito offered.

"No. I've already spent too much time chained to a desk. We'll be back as fast as we can."

"Suit yourself," Esposito answered.

When they returned, Castle took the evidence box and the file to the conference room, and Ryan and Esposito brought their file and rolled in the murder board. Karpowski's team looked over their case to refresh their memories, then they traded cases to look for anything that might coincide with the case they worked on. There was one name that turned up in both cases, and they all agreed they would look into it first thing the next morning.

After returning the records to their proper files, they all went home feeling ready to get to work on those cases first thing the next morning, and with the hope that they might be able to solve them.

xxxxx

When the couple arrived at home, Alexis was sitting at a table in the living room closing her laptop.

"Hi Alexis." Kate turned to Castle and said, "I'm gonna go change clothes. Be right back." Then she headed for their room.

"Hey. What's up?" Castle asked.

"Um, Skyping with Ashley, but we just finished."

Castle sat down across the table from his daughter and hoped he'd say the right things this time. "You know, even when you were a little girl, you were a serious person. I think I've just gotten used to you being sensible and mature. Sometimes more than me."

"Sometimes?" she asked with a teasing smile.

"Point taken," he answered playing their longstanding game. "The thing is, Alexis, I know there are other sides of you. Impulsive sides. Romantic sides. And I don't want you to deny them."

"You were right," Alexis interrupted. "I've decided to pick my own classes. I don't know which ones, but not economics."

Castle looked relieved. "Even if you don't take the same classes as Ashley, you'll see plenty of each other."

"Especially if we move in together," she answered sweetly.

Aaand Castle looked anything but relieved.

"Kidding dad," she said laughing. "You should have seen your face."

"Not funny, Child. Soooooooo not funny. Are you trying to give me a heart attack so you can inherit my money and go off and do who knows what with no financial worries?"

That was when Kate walked in. "Looks like I missed something. Alexis, what is it you're planning to do with your father's money after you give him a heart attack?"

"Our child is being evil," Castle said as he stood, looking unpleased. "I'm going to start dinner."

"No need," Alexis answered. "I made Cobb salads while I waited for Ashley's call. All you need to do is heat the oven for the garlic bread."

"Thanks for that," Kate answered, dropping a kiss on the girl's head as she went to the kitchen. "I'll set the table," she told her husband, rubbing her hand soothingly along his back. Although she had missed most of their conversation, it was obvious that Alexis had said something that left him in a state of distress. "You can tell me later," she whispered as Castle turned on the oven.

Martha arrived as they were getting the salads from the fridge. "I met with the last contractor today…got the last estimate on the renovations for the building I decided on. Will one of you help me do a little more research on them online before I decide who to hire?" she asked as she took off her gloves and deposited her purse on the coffee table.

All of them, in varying terms, simultaneously agreed to help.

"Well, that should do it," Martha answered with a smile and a little bow. "And I thank all of you." Noticing what her son and his wife were doing, she commented. "Dinner is already going on the table? Somebody's been efficient."

"That would be your grandchild. We just got here," Kate answered. "We're only waiting for the garlic bread to be ready."

"Shall I pour some wine?" Martha asked.

"I could use some," Castle answered. When Martha raised a questioning eyebrow in his direction, he basically repeated what he had said to Kate. "Your grandchild is evil." Alexis just giggled in the background and went upstairs to put away her laptop.

Castle pouted his way through an explanation of his daughter's evilness, and the two women sympathized but couldn't help smiling at his reaction.

They had a pleasant dinner together, all listening to Martha's excitement about plans and talks with the various contractors.

Alexis apologized to her father before she went up to study before bed.

"An apology isn't nearly as effective when you're still giggling while it's delivered," he called after her as she went up the stairs.

She came back to the foot of the stairs and stopped on the bottom step. Looking serious, she said, "What I should really apologize for is saying that you only do what you want. I know how many times you put aside what you want in favor of what I needed. That wasn't fair."

"Apology accepted."

She flung her arms around his neck, and he hugged her tight before kissing the top of her head and sending her off to study.

Kate watched unobtrusively from the kitchen as she put the last of the dishes in the dishwasher and smiled as he came toward her.

"You were right. She came to her senses on her own. She was still evil, but she even apologized for how she ended the last college conversation."

"I heard."

"Could I interest you in an early bedtime?" he asked, bestowing Kate with a less than chaste kiss. "I'm feeling a little celebratory at the moment."

"Come on, writer man," she answered, taking his hand and leading him toward their bedroom.

xxxxx

The following morning they went into the precinct with travel mugs of coffee from home, anxious to see what connections they might be able to make on the two murders. After going over interview notes with Karpowski's team, they realized that both victims had recently been contacted by their birth father, the Gerald Thompson who was the connecting factor between the two victims. Mr. Thompson had been so devastated by the first death that he hadn't thought to mention his other sons. He had mentioned to Ryan that he had lost another son earlier in the year, but not that he had been murdered; so no connection had been made. Again, the man had seemed devastated at the news.

They called Mr. Thompson in and took him to the conference room to try to gain enough more information to move the cases forward.

"You said both these men were your sons, but their last names are both different from yours," Beckett began.

"My wife and I had three boys. We divorced, and she was granted full custody… didn't want me to have anything to do with them. I retaliated by not doing what I should have to help with child support. Not proud of that. I didn't have any other family, so I didn't have anybody to report in with, and my work had me travelling a lot. I didn't know she had died, and nobody knew where to find me by then; so the boys were adopted by different families. Couldn't find anybody who would take all of them."

"You said you had three sons. Who is the third one?"

"You don't think he could be in danger, too? I haven't been a lot of help to you up to now, have I?"

"What can you tell us about him, Sir? Castle asked respectfully.

"His name now is Gerald Gregor. He was my first…Gerald Jr. then. He's the only one of them old enough to remember that we were a family once. I found out he also remembers how hard it was for his mother to make ends meet after I left and didn't send child support. He should hate me, but so far he's been forgiving."

"Do you have his contact information? We'd like to check in with him."

"Sure. I've got his business card here. He's an electronics salesman at a little place in Queens."

Castle accepted the card, Beckett pushed her notepad over to him, and he jotted down the information, returned the card, and pushed the notepad back to Beckett while she took over the questioning again.

"Have you ever seen this cufflink before?"

"Yeah. When I found out I had cancer, I wanted to see my boys again while there was still time. I hired somebody to help me find them, and met each of them separately. We all got together for dinner just before Christmas last year, and I gave each of them a set of those cufflinks. With nobody but me, I just kept putting my money in the bank. I told them it would all go to them. They said I should spend it enjoying what time I had, but I got no energy left to travel or anything anymore. I'd rather they…" He broke down at that point.

If we have more questions, we'll call you, Mr. Thompson. Thank you for coming in," Beckett told him. "Take a few minutes if you need to. We understand this is a difficult time for you."

As they left, they saw Karpowski, her partner, the captain, and the boys exiting observation.

"Must have been crowded in there," Beckett commented with a smile. "Esposito, you and Ryan see if you can find our victim's cufflinks in his personal belongings. Track down Gerald Gregor and have Hastings and Campbell bring him in. When he's here, let's find a way to get him to leave some prints and DNA. Lanie's report on the first victim's body showed a few drops of blood that didn't belong to Karpowski's victim but probably belonged to a relative. You want to sit in on this one?" she asked Karpowski.

"Sure," she answered. "It's getting interesting, isn't it?"

By the end of the day, they had found the second set of cufflinks intact in the new victim's drawer and matched the print to Gerald Gregor, a sullen man about the age of the younger detectives. His DNA from the Sprite can he drank from matched the unidentified blood drops on the first victim, which allowed them to get a search warrant for his apartment; and he later confessed. His younger brothers had gone to loving families who were able to give them college educations and careers he envied. Aside from losing the family he remembered, the family who adopted Gerald gradually deteriorated into an abusive situation, and provided little opportunity for him to get ahead. He said he wanted to destroy what his father loved the way his father had destroyed his life…and having the estate all to himself was an attractive bonus."

"I sure wouldn't want to be on the receiving end of an interrogation from the two of you," Castle told the two female detectives. "You can both be kind of scary by yourselves, but together…"

Beckett and Karpowski high fived and smiled.

"Good call on that cufflink, Castle," Esposito said where the captain could hear him.

"Excellent work, ladies and gentlemen. All of you." The captain turned and went into her office, closing the door behind her.

Ryan subtly pointed in the direction opposite Gates's office, turned facing that direction himself, leaning against the corner of Beckett's desk, and waited for the others to turn with him. "Did anybody notice she didn't intentionally leave Castle out this time?" he asked.

"You think she meant for me to be included, or did she just forget to be sure I knew I wasn't?" Castle asked.

"I dunno, Castle," Karpowski teased. "Maybe you're getting through to her. You grew on the rest of us…eventually.

"Yeah. If you ever need a new muse, you can join us, said Jennings, Karpowski's partner."

"I married that muse, Jennings. I don't think I'm ready to give her up yet. I like the benefits."

"Castle!" Beckett smacked him in the chest with the file she was holding.

"You sure you want to keep her?" Jennings laughed.

Castle held his chest in mock pain and then grinned. "Drinks at The Old Haunt before we go home?" he asked. "My treat."

"Best offer I've had all day," Karpowski answered. "Ten minutes?"

"Sounds good to me," Ryan answered, and everyone else just nodded.

The two teams sat at The Old Haunt for a little over half an hour just talking, sipping their drinks and getting to know each other a little better.

"Who knew Jennings was that much fun?" Castle asked on the way home. "He's usually kind of quiet."

"Maybe victory brings out his extrovert genes," Beckett answered.

"Like it brings out my…"

"Yeah, I know exactly what it brings out for you. And I'm more than happy to help with that."

xxxxx

Smith called again that night. Just as a reminder. He was aware of Ryan and Esposito's work on the money trail that could eventually lead to the man Beckett wanted more than anything to find and expose.

"I'm impressed that you've left it alone, Detective Beckett. From what I've learned, that hasn't always been the case."

"I have more to consider now," she answered. "Castle is here to help keep me grounded in that. And it helped that the new captain closed my case for lack of evidence before I got back."

"Keep in mind that I can't protect you if you don't cooperate."

"We're holding up our end of the bargain," Castle assured him. If there's any investigating being done, it has nothing to do with us."

"That's what I needed to hear. It feels like something new is in the wind, but I don't know what. Just be careful what you're involved in." The line disconnected then, and Castle put his phone on his desk, looking annoyed.

"I hate this," he snarled.

"Me, too," Beckett agreed, "But we're still alive, which means we have a chance to get to the bottom of all of it one day."

"I'm sorry keeping us alive to fight another day causes you so much conflict."

"Not your fault."

"Not yours, either."

"Did you ever buy that extra computer?"

"Not yet."

"I think it's time. I think I'm ready. So the computer… You got a guy for that?"

"Yeah…that and some burner phones. If we start asking questions, we may not want anybody to know where they're coming from."

"Good idea. Enough to give one to everybody in the family…and Lanie and the boys?"

"Yeah. Can't hurt to be prepared."

"And we're only documenting all of it on the computer...organizing what we have...not actually following anything up yet?"

"Right. Let's get you back to a solid hundred per cent before we even begin to think about that."

"Wonder why Smith thinks something new is in the wind?"

"I don't know, but I think we need to be extra careful."

"I might be a little scared again.

"Me, too."