110. Chapter 110

Chapter 110

Egan was grumpy, but he had no choice about handing the file over to an officer a couple of steps above his rank.

Alvarez sat down at Esposito's desk and read through the folder, then he walked back to Egan and asked why there wasn't more information.

"The trail went cold. I know it wasn't the guy Beckett suspected. We were at the same bar that night, and neither of us left. And besides, the ballistics didn't match."

"I'm going to hold on to this for the time being," Alvarez stated, giving him a long, hard look. "Right now I'm going to ask for an update on what happened to those two children. I hear they were found and sent home with their mother last night." He then went into the conference room and closed the door, handing the file to Beckett and saying, "Tell me if all the information you gave Egan is in this file."

Beckett turned to Shaw and said, "I need that file copy Castle brought from home yesterday." Taking the file Shaw handed her and returning her attention to Alvarez, she told him, "This is what we gave Egan the day Martinez was found. I can tell you now that the security footage isn't here, but I'll compare the rest."

"I still know how to do that," the deputy chief stated, taking the file from her. "May I?" he asked, indicating one of the FBI's work tables. Shaw nodded, and he sat down for a closer look at the two files.

"Some of this has been altered," he announced after a few minutes. "Egan told me ballistics didn't match. Agent Shaw, I imagine you have everything entered in this computer system of yours. If I call and ask the lab to send the original copy of the ballistics report, can you verify that for us? I assume you already have ballistics from last night."

"Not a problem, and yes, we do," she answered.

Alvarez got the contact information and called the lab; and in short order, a definite ballistics match was confirmed for both the murder and the shootout the night before.

"Turning over a case doesn't usually involve making copies before passing it on, Beckett. Why did you do that?"

"The circumstances seemed…unusual," Beckett answered. "Egan went to Captain Bronson immediately after Craig Tandy's picture went up on the murder board, and they both returned about fifteen minutes later. Egan was quick to give Tandy an alibi. The case was handed to Egan immediately, which seemed odd, since he was the man's alibi; and my team and I were reassigned to field training and evaluations. That order wasn't what I would have expected from Captain Bronson under…" She stopped and cleared her throat before going on. "I had no proof of wrongdoing and no authority to continue to follow leads on the case. But I wanted the little bit of evidence we had so far to be intact somewhere, in case…"

"Understood, Lieutenant."

"To be transparent about the situation, Sir, I should tell you that I mailed another copy of the file to Captain Gates and had it sealed, signed, and dated by a postal employee. I sent a cover letter with mention of a possible problem and a request to keep it confidential and to hold the sealed envelope in case it was needed later. I trust her to do exactly that.

"After Agent Shaw brought me into the FBI's case, I got a call from Dom Martinez's wife, Celia. I told her the case had been reassigned, but she didn't want to talk to Egan. Dom gave her no names, but he had confided to her that he suspected some of his customers of using their storage units for illegal purposes. Bronson and Egan have ties to the neighborhood that go back to childhood. After what happened to her husband, she didn't want to talk to Egan because she was afraid someone in the area might find out and target her, too. She didn't know who to trust, but she knew she didn't trust Egan.

"And did you?"

Beckett hesitated briefly before answering, "No, I didn't. The whole situation looked wrong, and it left me in the position of deciding between protection of the very pregnant wife of a victim, withholding evidence, or insubordination. Celia and her children were already victims; and victims come first, even if it means I'm suspended or have a reprimand in my file. So I went to her brother-in-law, Gil Valdez, who said Dom thought he was seeing suspicious activity since he'd been on night shift. He intended to let Gil know if he saw anything of concern. Gil also said both Tandy and his uncle have storage lockers there. He's been working Dom's night shift this week and promised to call me if he saw anything. The pieces connecting the murder to the kidnapping case started falling into place during the day yesterday. Gil called us last night, and I think you know the rest. I still don't know what to tell you about Egan."

"Well, I can tell you that, at minimum, Detective Egan has falsified police records, and I'm about to see if there's anything else."

Just after Egan told him that Alvarez had the Dom Martinez file, Bronson found himself fielding a call from Travis Tandy, who wanted to know why his nephew needed a lawyer...and why the call came from an FBI agent. Tandy wasn't happy when Bronson had to tell him that he didn't know but he would find out.

To heighten the joy in Bronson's day, Alvarez left the FBI's space at the precinct, found a private place to make a phone call and arranged for IA to come to the fifty-first for two interviews later in the day. Then he went to see Bronson with his suspicions and recommended that he and Egan both call their reps before IA arrived. By the end of the day, it was clear to the rest of the homicide floor that something was happening with Bronson and Egan.

It was also clear to Shaw's team that Craig Tandy's lawyer had advised him to cooperate; and once he started, even his lawyer's best efforts couldn't stop him. Alvarez observed as Tandy did his best to warrant a deal that would take the death penalty off the table. Tandy seemed to have no loyalties at all and gave up everybody who had helped him, including Egan, Bronson, Bronson's contacts in the other divisions at the precinct, and the uncle who had raised him and arranged for his attorney. He even told them that his Aunt Lydia knew about her husband's illegal activities as well as the arrangement that allowed the two Tandy men to avoid lengthy and serious criminal records. But he still maintained that he used the storage units and his uncle's warehouse so his cousins wouldn't be caught up in his illegal business dealings. Craig and his uncle had fully embraced their criminal activities and profited well from them; but somehow, Travis's two sons had always stayed out of trouble. To Craig, his cousins were more like his brothers, and they seemed to occupy the only points of conscience in his entire being.

Alvarez also watched from the observation room that afternoon as IA, armed with Craig Tandy's statement, separately interviewed Bronson and Egan. Seeming to recognize the oncoming demise of their careers, and probably their freedom, each of them said they had never considered covering up a murder before; but Craig Tandy was out of control. His uncle called and said he didn't condone what Craig had done; but he was family, and protecting his family and his businesses was the reason he was paying Bronson and the others so well. They were making enough from the two Tandys to have things they could never have had on police salaries, and it had been going on for so long that it now felt like business as usual. Tandy said if his nephew went down, Bronson and his friends would go down with them. Travis Tandy also told them pointedly that he no longer had any control of his nephew, and that his nephew knew where their children and grandchildren lived. Their sins were catching up with them, and Bronson and Egan had given in to the threats.

Word of the IA presence spread through the precinct rapidly, and reports of other cases that had recently been reassigned filtered back to Alvarez. Tom Demming's team had been working on a case…a theft and fencing operation that had apparently been working in the area for years with no arrests ever made. As soon as it appeared to point toward Travis Tandy, the case had been reassigned to another of Bronson's old friends. A team in narcotics found themselves in the same position. IA would be busy with the precinct's illicit network for a while, and Craig Tandy and his uncle were all out of favors.

Chief Dawson had been called earlier in the day and stepped out of observation with Deputy Chief Alvarez when Bronson left the interrogation room. "Bronson, there are so many things I could say about what you've done; but if I start, we'll be here all night, and I'm not going to waste that much time on you. This will be by the book. You are relieved of your command indefinitely, and you and Egan are suspended without pay until further notice. We're still working through the rest of your little network here, and formal charges will be made when IA has finished the investigations. He and Alvarez walked away in disgust.

By the time the interviews were complete, the FBI's team was packing equipment and clearing the conference room. Beckett and Castle had filed their reports, said their goodbyes to their FBI colleagues, and were on their way home to see their son.

"Lieutenant, judging from the time of the phone call last night and the time you came in this morning, I doubt you've had more than a few hours of sleep in the last couple of days," Alvarez observed. "Go home and enjoy your weekend."

"I'm on call this weekend, but I'll enjoy..."

"Not anymore. You're not to be back here for any reason until Monday morning. That's an order. I'll need to take charge of this mess for the weekend. Just come back on Monday ready to help."

"Yes, Sir. Thank you."

As Bronson and Egan were being escorted from the precinct, their paths crossed the Castles' at the elevator. When the doors closed on the awkward atmosphere, Bronson looked at Beckett with a sneer and asked, "Are you happy now?"

"Of course I'm not happy," Beckett snapped back. "A cop was shot because of your greed, Bronson…a cop…a good friend of mine; Celia Martinez had her baby this morning without her husband there to hold their son; two little kids are probably going to need therapy for a long time before they can get back to normal, and the whole department gets another black eye because of a few dirty cops. What should I be happy about? So don't expect me to feel sorry for you because of bad decisions you and Egan made when I was still in junior high. You did this to yourselves. The FBI case just brought it to light."

"Bitch," Egan said bitingly from behind her.

"That's Lieutenant Bitch to you, Egan," she said, never looking back as Castle guided her out of the elevator with his hand at her back. He looked at her with a proud little smirk, and she smiled back at him as they walked away, saying, "Let's go home and see our little boy."

They walked outside to Beckett's car, anxious to get home, and he said, "Wonder who's on Jamie duty this afternoon. We owe all of them big time by now."

"I don't care, as long as whoever it is hands over my baby as soon as we get there."

"You're gonna have to share, you know. I haven't seen him in almost two days, either."

"He's probably having Daddy withdrawal by now," Beckett answered

"I'll make it up to him next week. We'll do things he loves to do." As Beckett pulled out into traffic, he said, "Why don't I order Italian on the way back. It should be there by the time we are, and we'll get enough for whoever happens to be there, too."

"It feels weird not knowing who's with our son, even though we know we trust everybody your mother scheduled."

"Yeah, it does." He paused for a moment then said with mock seriousness, "Drive faster."

Kate grinned at his silliness. "I love you Writer-Man"

xxxxx

When they opened the door of the loft, they were treated to the sight of their son riding on John's back as "G'ampa John" crawled around on the floor making horse noises.

Kate came in first, calling out excitedly, "Where's my boy?"

"Mommy!" Jamie squealed, scrambling madly to get down from John's back. John just fell to the floor on his stomach and laughed when Jamie rolled off his back and got to his feet. The excited little boy didn't have to run more than a few steps before Kate was kneeling in front of him sweeping him into her arms and giving him kisses. Jamie giggled, threw his little arms around her neck and held on. The two of them could easily pass as an illustration of the word "happy". Kate stood, and Castle walked up behind her, wrapping his arms around her waist and kissing his son's face where it was watching him over Kate's shoulder. "Daddy," the little boy said contentedly from his mother's arms. Castle moved one arm up to wrap around Jamie and held them both.

"Were you playing with Grandpa John, Buddy?" Castle asked.

"Play horsey." Jamie said happily. Then he pulled back and pointed to where John was still lying on the floor. "G'ampa John horsey."

"Horsey's worn out," John said from the floor. "This was a lot easier when JD was little."

As John slowly began to pick himself up from the floor, Castle said. "It was easier for this horsey when Alexis was little, too. Thanks for being here, John. I can't tell you how much we appreciate it. We've ordered Italian. It should be here any minute, and there should be plenty for all of us, probably with leftovers. You'll stay, won't you?"

"Hard to refuse Italian. I'd love to. I've enjoyed your boy, but he keeps a man busy sometimes."

"That he does," Castle agrees. Some days he entertains himself most of the time, others he wants my full attention."

Jamie was clinging to his mother's neck again, and Kate was talking to him softly, saying nothing of much consequence other than varying forms of "I love you."

The food arrived; but as he took it to the kitchen, Castle heard Jamie say, "Books, Mommy? Up?" He pointed upstairs then turned toward his father. "Daddy, books?"

"Books in his room. I got it," John said. "Go on. He's been looking for you every time there was a sound at the door. Food can wait. You don't mind if the aged horsey collapses on your couch while you read do you?"

Kate laughed. "Feel free. Are we going to need to wake you for dinner?" she teased.

"I make no guarantees. Just don't let me miss it," he answered good naturedly as he sat down. "Food and I have a close and loving relationship."

"Thanks for understanding," Castle told him appreciatively. "This is sort of a routine when Kate gets home after work."

In Jamie's room, they let him choose several books, then Castle sat down in the chair, Kate sat in his lap, and she helped as Jamie clambered up into hers. Castle held the two of them and started reading, and the normalcy and closeness of the moment eased all of them back into a sense of comfort and well-being. After their reading time and allowing themselves a few more minutes for a good snuggle, they went back downstairs for dinner and found that John appeared to be dozing on the sofa. Kate went to warm the food, and Castle whispered to Jamie to wake Grandpa John for dinner. He demonstrated by shaking Jamie's arm gently, then he put Jamie on the floor.

John wasn't really asleep but pretended he was until the third time Jamie shook his arm. Then as he sat up slowly he said in a villainous voice, "When the horsey sleeps, sometimes he turns into the tickle monster," and chased after a giggling Jamie before grabbing him and putting him in his high chair.

"I can see why JD grew up loving you," Kate said when they all sat down to eat.

"Jamie reminds me a lot of JD when he was this age. JD has always been a good kid. I can't believe I raised his father and he grew into a man who could treat his child the way… Well, that's water under the bridge. JD has all of us. I don't think that's too bad."

"Me, either," Kate answered. "In spite of Castle's page six reputation in the past, I think you're both fine examples of how a man should treat his family.

"And in spite of her wild child days, Kate's been a fine example for Alexis," Castle retaliated.

"Wild child?" John asked with a mischievous grin. "Why haven't I heard about this before? I'm gonna need stories."

Simultaneously he heard from Beckett and Castle, "Not happening, John." and "Later."

Kate glared at Castle, the men chuckled, and Jamie smiled with them at the sound of their teasing.

"You're going to tell me about the case later, aren't you? How you managed to find the two children?"

"Yeah. Later," Castle agreed.

Kate took Jamie for a bath and played with him while the two men talked. When he was in his pajamas, she read him another book before they snuggled and rocked. Castle went up when it was quiet enough that he knew Kate was rocking Jamie and stopped at the door to watch the sight before him. He'd never tire of it. His wife was holding their son as if he were the most precious treasure in the history of the world and Jamie was tucked, contented and sleepy, with his forehead in the curve of her neck. He walked in quietly and picked up the warm, droopy weight of his baby boy to cuddle him a moment or two before they tucked him in. After kissing Jamie's head and waiting for Kate do the same, Castle then put him gently in his bed, lifting the side of the crib and clicking it in place. Kate rubbed their baby's back and pulled a soft blanket over him, and they stood and watched him for a moment as he settled himself into sleep.

While they walked down the steps, Castle said, "I hope you don't mind. I told John about the case. He still has a couple of questions, but I could tell you were at the rocking stage. I didn't want to be left out of the tucking in."

"I don't mind at all. We've already spent enough time living it this week. A break from it was nice. What else did you want to know, John? And you know none of the information leaves this house unless it's made public later, right?"

"Right."

"I'm pretty sure most of it will be made public, probably in stages; but there was a lot going on, and some of it needs to stay quiet until the investigations are complete."

"I know those two Tandy men were running illegal businesses out of storage units, but how could they pay the cops that well on an operation that small?"

"It wasn't that small. They kept what was earmarked for the local area there. The biggest part of it operated out of Travis Tandy's warehouses a little farther away. He had what appeared to be a legitimate furniture store, which would require a warehouse, but he had two. One housed only the illegal operations, receiving and selling stolen goods and distributing Craig's drugs. The other one was mostly for the furniture store. Tandy's sons did legitimate deliveries for the furniture store, but his wife convinced him to let them run a legal business and leave them out of the rest. She liked being in the neighborhood where she had friends, so they didn't buy a big house like Bronson did. They took expensive vacations, bought nice furniture, went to the city for shows and fancy dinners. Egan did the same, but the rumor mill says Bronson's wife is a bit of a social climber and wanted to live in a nicer place. She stays involved in volunteer work and gets to rub elbows with higher society. Nobody knows if she knew where the money was coming from. Tandy had just bought a nicer house, too; so it looks like he had finally convinced his wife to move."

"I guess the rumor mill was on high alert today," John speculated.

"Sure was."

"So Rick, the FBI calls you in to consult, too? Not just NYPD? That impressive."

"Only Jordan Shaw when her team is here," Castle answered. "We worked with her before we were married, and she asks for both of us when she needs to coordinate with the police."

"So, Kate what are you going to do with your uninterrupted weekend?" John asked, seeming to have satisfied his curiosity about the case.

"You mean after a good night's sleep?" She looked to her husband as if contemplating something. "Does this weekend sound like a good time for an adventure? It's supposed to be warm enough to be comfortable."

"You want to take Jamie and go on your first adventure?" he asked excitedly.

"Yeah. I think it's time. Maybe just for the day this time. You can break us in slowly."

"What kind of adventure?" John asked, smiling at Castle's excitement. After Castle had explained, John said, "JD and I used to do that, too, but we just called it a road trip. Those were some good times."

Castle took his phone out and called Alexis. "Hi, Honey. Kate's ready to take Jamie on an adventure this weekend. Do you and JD want to come with us and help introduce them to a properly run adventure?"

"Let me talk to JD and call you back."

"We'll know in a minute or two," he reported, but the phone was ringing in no time.

"JD said he and his grandfather used to do the same thing. He's in. Can Grandpa John come, too?"

"That's why I called now. He's sitting right here, and I suspect he might be willing."

"Next week is eerily clear of heavy things to study for. It must be a sign. Text me a time when you decide."

"Okay. See you tomorrow."

"So, John, you up for an adventure? We promise you won't have to do horsey duty."

John grinned. "Yeah, sure...as long as the horsey clause is included in the contract." Standing, he said, "Well, I guess we'd all better get some sleep. Those trips were fun, but I seem to remember coming home exhausted, and that was when I was a decade younger." He stood to leave, and the couple walked him to the door. "Thanks for the dinner and good company. Don't forget. Text me when you text Alexis."

"Will do. See you in the morning." Castle promised. He and Kate talked for a couple of minutes, weighing the pros and cons of departure times; and when they settled on one, Castle sent the texts.

"Love how you asked me before inviting a crowd, by the way," Kate teased.

Wondering if he had made a mistake, Castle said, "I'm sorry. Did you want to go with just the three of us? I…"

"Relax Rick. I was just kidding. It should be fun."

"Don't do that to me, woman. You know how this week has been. I'm a little off my game."

"Well, let's go get out of these clothes we've worn for two days, wash off the remnants of the week, and rest up for a family adventure."

"You gonna wash my back?"

"I'll wash anything you want me to," she answered, appropriating his signature eyebrow wiggle and pushing him toward the shower.

The next morning, they packed the SUV with all the Jamie gear they would need, and the family piled into the vehicle and decided north was a good direction for that day. Castle reminded everybody to buckle up, and they were off to see what looked interesting.