198. Chapter 198

Chapter 198

Castle got up and put together a couple of things for a quick breakfast for two. The coffee was on a timer and Kate was already filling their mugs. The children had a lot of fun the night before, but they were tired enough at bedtime that they would probably sleep a little later than usual, so the couple sat at the breakfast bar side by side, sipping coffee and nibbling at cheese and fruit.

"So, were there names attached to those moles in your game last night?" Castle asked.

"Wilmer was at the top of the list, followed closely by the rest of the Unholy Five. Captain Ervin was up there with them, too. He allowed them free rein to behave that badly…consciously created that atmosphere of allowing them to continue that behavior."

"Did something worse than usual happen yesterday?"

"I had to arrest Wilmer…an NYPD detective…for the attempted rape of the young woman he was obsessed with…inside the precinct. The other four were standing guard at the bottom of the stairs to no man's land and at the elevator. They were arrested as accessories…by a group of homicide detectives who happened to be available when I needed them…good men who are as disgusted with them as I am. From what I've heard from the women who filed complaints, and some of the male lieutenants who wrote them up for similar problems or went to the captain to complain about these guys, there should have been enough in their files to have removed all five of them from NYPD by now. But the complaint forms disappeared. I've checked folder labels in all the file drawers, gone through most of them individually, and checked with anybody I can think of who might have received them; but there's nothing so far. When Alvarez told me about the problems I needed to solve there, it was community outreach, including a problem with some of the officers being overly aggressive, and a better environment for the women in the precinct; but I never saw this on the horizon. Wilmer's crazy. He seems to run his life on anger…and sleaze."

"He certainly wasn't thinking with a fully functioning brain when he decided to do that in a police precinct…especially yours."

"I even had him sign an acknowledgement of my order to have no contact with Forster at all, and to be no closer to her than fifty feet. He and Leavitt didn't think I could enforce it. And apparently I couldn't. Somebody else had to come to tell me what was happening."

"And you acted on it fast enough to keep it from being worse. His signature…it just adds another piece of evidence that there was an ongoing problem."

"But he was out of control. I worry that he'll be granted bail and we'll have to move Forster out of her apartment and put her on desk duty so he can't get to her…worst case to a safe house. That would be like punishing her for being his victim.

Castle put his arm around his wife's shoulders and scooted his bar stool a little closer to hers so she could lean her head on him. He kissed her head and said, "You'll make it work…whatever happens, you'll figure out how to keep her safe.

Both Jamie's birthday and all the turmoil at the eighty-fifth happened on a Friday; so at least theoretically, Kate should have had a couple of days away from the precinct. In reality, on Saturday, she had to take a couple of phone calls about Wilmer's case. No one seemed to think there would be a problem prosecuting it, but they still needed the results from the lab work before the file was complete and ready to go to a prosecutor.

About mid-morning, after the children were fed and playing, Kate logged into her NYPD email and found one from CSU with lab results, the message with it saying they fast-tracked the results because they felt an obligation to support the officer who was assaulted. Having that, she called the hospital to see where they stood on the lab results there and was told she should have it by early Monday morning. Then she called Forster to check on her. She claimed to be fine, but Kate told her about the PTSD after her shooting anyway. "That's an example," she told Forster. "It doesn't mean I expect it to happen to you. Just remember that finding somebody to help when you need it doesn't make you weak. It shows your strength in facing your struggles. My husband taught me that, and it's true."

"Thanks for checking in on me, Captain."

"Just keep in mind that I'm available if you need me." Disconnecting the call, she turned to Castle when he came into the room and said, "I can have the rest of the weekend now. Labs are in from CSU, labs will be in from the hospital early Monday morning, and I checked in with Forster. I suspect she isn't quite as fine as she says she is, so I gave her the 'get help when you need to' pep talk."

"This coming from the queen of 'I'm fine.' Sometimes delivered with all the warm fuzzies of an angry grizzly bear."

"I'm not that bad," she argued, swatting his arm.

"Are, too."

"Am n…" At his mischievous look with one eyebrow arched higher than his other in question, she caved. "Okay. Maybe once in a while. But you love me anyway, right?"

"Yeah. But in those moments I sometimes have to remind myself." He grinned when she swatted his arm again, and he laughed. "It was nice of you to check on Forster. She'll remember that." He picked up the laptop he came in for and told her, "Jamie and Jo and I are working out the next part of our Girl With Red Hair book. Alexis will be here soon. We have the problem and the bad guy, now we have to decide how everybody else figures it out. Jo is so excited. I read what I'd written from the things we talked about last time, and she told me, 'That's what we said, but I like it better.' I guess I'd call that a compliment. Jamie is good at this. He's pretty creative about deciding who does what…has the reasons for it thought out well. I think I'd be impressed even if he weren't mine. Of course, he is mine; so it must be genius."

Kate laughed. "Those daddy genes happy dancing again, are they?"

He did a few silly dance steps and finished by wiggling his backside at her in the doorway and looking flirtatiously over his shoulder as he went back to his children. When he looked back, she was laughing…maybe just a little too hard for his ego; but she looked happier than she had earlier in the day. His job was done.

From there they just enjoyed the weekend. On Sunday, they went to the Museum of Natural History, started with the obligatory visit to the dinosaurs and then wandered through other exhibits. On the way home, they had dinner; and afterward, Castle announced that Mommy had a really hard week at work and he thought she needed ice cream. The children were very supportive of his method of cheering Mommy up.

xxxxx

On Monday morning, Beckett left home early enough to avoid feeling rushed about being sure the files were together. On Friday, she had called Chief Dawson's office and left a message with his secretary as to what had happened. He was out of town at a conference through the weekend, but Gloria promised to leave the message where he'd see it first thing on Monday.

Beckett printed out the CSU report attached to her email and added it to Wilmer's file; and then, while she waited for the lab report from the hospital, she looked at the file cabinet. She had already thumbed through the files looking for anything that could even loosely translate as complaint, grievance, transfer request, or discipline report and found nothing. She had thoroughly investigated every file in all but the bottom two drawers, so she opened the next one and went to work. It was odd. The other drawers had nothing but old fashioned police file folders but this one had hanging files. A metal frame had been added to allow them to hang, and they skimmed very close to the top of the drawer, almost catching as the drawer opened. She started, as she had with the others, by taking out a few files at a time checking what was inside, and taking notes when she found something she wanted to remember was there. As she was returning some of the files to the drawer, Kaufman came to the door to ask a question and surprised her. She dropped her pen in the opening; and in reaching for it, she didn't find just the pen and the bottom of the drawer. The metal hanging frame was sitting on another flat wooden frame around the edges of the bottom of the drawer.

"Kaufman, help me move these files to my desk. It feels like there's a box under here." She took out several handfuls of files, and Kaufman stacked them neatly on her desk. Under the files in the well stuffed drawer, there was a flat, black box about the same depth as the wooden frame. She picked up her phone and said, "I know it looks like an overreaction; but at the moment, I feel the need to document anything here that doesn't look normal."

"After what happened on Friday, I'd have to agree," Kaufman answered.

She snapped a couple of shots of the box before putting on a glove and taking the lid off. At the top of the box was a complaint filed against Wilmer about a year earlier, which called for another click of her camera. Moving the first three pages, and spreading them overlapping slightly on the box, she took another picture. The pages were all complaint forms, two filed against Wilmer, and one against Leavitt. After returning the forms to the box, she told Kaufman to meet her in the conference room with gloves to see what else was there. As they spread the pages out on the table in the conference room, Kaufman said, "There must be close to fifty of these…complaint forms, discipline report forms from some of the lieutenants, and transfer requests. After finding a camera for more documentation and taking a good look at what was there, she and Kaufman carefully copied everything and put all the originals back in the box.

"The dates on these go back to a little over two years ago," Beckett said. "I really thought he had just thrown them out. I'm glad you came in when you did. I might have missed them otherwise. It's nice to have even accidental backup."

"What are you going to do with them?"

"We made several copies of everything. So now that we have the originals and the copies, I have a curiosity question. If you were captain, what would you do?"

"You don't break a captain wannabee in easy, do you…Ma'am?" he asked with a little smile.

"Look what happened here within a month of my arriving at this precinct. I wouldn't be doing you any favors if I only asked the easy questions."

"I'd want to document anything that could make it hard for Ervin to deny he saw those forms we found. I don't know what can be done to hold him accountable…if it would even matter now that he's retired, but I'd want it available. The copies are good enough for the files for IA and the DA's office, aren't they?"

"Good thinking. I want our five offenders out of here for arraignment as soon as possible. The Wilmer file is ready except for the hospital lab report, which I'm expecting any minute now. We've sorted the copies of complaints that apply to each of the five men and have the appropriate copies in their files for the ADA, and I'll send copies to IA to add to what they already have from Friday. And absolutely, the originals go to the lab to document anything that says Ervin can't deny knowledge of any of them…not that finding them where we did leaves much doubt." Her computer alerted her to a new email, and she now had the hospital report to complete the file. She read through it, and as she started making copies of that, she asked, "What were you about to ask me when you came in?"

Kaufman chuckled. "I don't remember any more. This was apparently much more interesting. Wiped it right out."

"Yeah. This was a good find. Thanks for all the help." Picking up her lab report copies, she made sure they were sorted properly and added the pages to Wilmer's file with a little flourish. "Done," she said with a satisfied look. Time to call IA and the ADA."

Before she could call anyone else, Chief Dawson was calling her. "Beckett, what the hell happened on Friday? There's not much in this note Gloria left, and none of it is anything I'd ever want to see."

"It wasn't something I ever wanted to see, either, Sir. It was one of Captain Ervin's friends." She explained what had happened, and the chief was livid.

"I can't believe one of our own… Other cops covering for him… And in the precinct… How is Officer Forster?" He seemed to be having trouble with his words.

"I suspect not as fine as she's tried to convince me she is, but she's determined to help convict Wilmer. What makes it worse is that there's the possibility it could have been avoided if action had been taken to curb earlier problems." She then explained about the ignored complaints, etc, and let him know the circumstances of how they had found all of them that morning. "All five files are ready for ADA Gonzalez, complete with copies of the earlier, unprocessed complaints. I was about to call her to let her know. And I'm sending an officer to take copies to IA with the same information for their files. Lieutenant Kaufman has been helping me this morning. We have all the originals back in the box they were found in and…"

"I hope you handled them with gloves."

"We did. I don't know what, if anything, can be done about Captain Ervin's lack of responsibility, but it looks to me like a recipe for reckless endangerment."

"Lock that box up somewhere nobody can get to it and leave Ervin to me. Attach that documentation you mentioned to an email and send it to me so I can see how bad it is. I'll be by around noon to pick it up and you can update anything we've missed in the last few minutes."

"I know you just got back. I could bring it or send an officer to deliver it."

"No. I gave you this mess to handle. I just didn't know it would be this bad. By noon it's going to be good to get out of the office anyway. After being gone for a few days, I have a lot of loose ends to tie up this morning and a long list of people trying to call me, but this is at the top of the heap. I assume you've called the DA's office."

"Yes, Sir. Should I have waited?"

"I hate this, but no. If anybody else had been caught in the act, there wouldn't be a break for them. We have to prosecute it. Do what you have to do, and I'll stand behind you."

"Thank you, Sir. The case was assigned to ADA Gonzalez. I just got Officer Forster's lab results from the hospital, so the file is complete. I'll call her now."

"I'll see you at noon."

"Kaufman, I want you to put this box in an evidence bag and lock it in your desk drawer. Dawson said to lock it up where nobody will find it. Nobody will think to look for it in your desk. He's going to be here sometime around noon to pick it up."

"I'll take care of it," he said as he took the box in his still gloved hands and went back to the bullpen.

Beckett started with a brief call to IA and asked for Brennan.

"What can I do for you, Captain Beckett?"

"I found them. All the missing complaint forms, discipline forms, transfer requests... They were hidden in a box under some hanging files. It looks like there are about fifty of them."

"Have you been through them yet?"

"Yes. Complaints about Wilmer include two incidents that can definitely be called sexual assaults…not on the scale of the one on Friday, but definitely beyond 'a little fun' as he so mistakenly refers to the other incidents that were reported…multiple incidents. I've made copies of everything that applies to the five men involved, so they're available for everyone's files."

"Why do you suppose Ervin left them?"

"I don't know. Maybe a CYA move? He could always say he lost them; but having over two years' worth of them tucked in the same hidden box, I doubt anybody would believe him. He may have kept them in case a specific incidence was questioned. He could always say the form had been misplaced. Or he may have simply forgotten they were there. I'm just glad he was stupid enough to do it. These complaints should establish a pattern of behavior for all five of the men we charged, and the transfer requests should establish that it wasn't being addressed by the captain. I'll send an officer with the copies for your files."

"Thanks Captain. I'll be looking for them."

After clearing that call, she called the DA's office and asked to speak to ADA Gonzalez, who had been assigned the case when Beckett had called on Friday.

"Yes, the file is complete," she told Gonzalez. "I think we have enough here to make your job easier."

"I had a cancellation and have an opening at ten. Will your schedule allow you to meet me at my office? We might as well get started. I know this case will be a sensitive predicament for the NYPD."

"It's definitely a black eye for the department, but it can't be ignored; and the chief called me just before I called you. He isn't happy, but he supports pursuing it. I hate that the press could get wind of it, but they probably will eventually."

"Somebody usually does," Gonzalez agreed. "I'll see you at ten."

"I'm leaving now. I need to be back by noon, though."

I only have until ten-thirty open anyway. We'll schedule something later if we need to. You should be back in time," Gonzalez answered.

Beckett was in the DA's office sitting in a conference room with Gonzalez within minutes of ten. She handed the files to the ADA, complete with the badly outdated and unprocessed forms she had so recently found, and they briefly discussed the cases.

"We'll pick up all five of them for arraignment before the end of the day," Gonzalez promised.

"If it can be done, I'd like to see you argue for no bail for Wilmer. You can see the anger on the body cam video. If he's given bail, I need you to give me a call as soon as it happens. Holly Forster should know, and I should have a protective detail at her apartment. I think the arrests alone will be all the encouragement the others need to keep them away from her, but Wilmer can't be explained. He seems to feel entitled."

"I'll do what I can. And I'll watch the video as soon as I've had a more in depth look at the file; but this looks like everything we need. It's unbelievable that an NYPD captain would withhold that kind of information…and so much of it."

"Yes it is. I didn't like him before, and I like him even less now. But copies of all the forms I found are also in the proper files with IA. Even if the other four get by without charges as accessories, they can't get past IA with all those complaints against them; and their behavior on Friday should lend credence to those complaints."

"I hear you've only been at the eighty-fifth for a month. Sounds like a rocky start."

"Another case of the few contaminating the many. I hope prosecuting these guys will make it clear we mean to correct that.

"Thank you, Captain Beckett. I know you put in a lot of effort to have this much ready for me this quickly."

"I had good people helping me, and all of them worked as hard as I did to get all the reports and statements in. It's a depressing position to be in, and I think we all wanted it done. I wish Officer Forster could be finished with it that easily." Rising from her chair, Beckett said, "I'll get back to work now. You know where to find me if you need anything else."

It wasn't quite eleven-thirty when Beckett pulled up outside the eighty-fifth. She had called in an order to the sub shop on the next block and asked an officer on his way into the precinct to let Sergeant Young know she was going to get lunch and would be back soon. When she reached the corner of the block and crossed the street, former Captain Ervin got out of his car and swaggered confidently into the precinct.

"Hey, Young. Is Beckett in?"

"Captain Beckett just left for lunch. You want to wait for her?"

"I don't have much time this morning. I left a file of personal information in the office file cabinet when I left. I just need to get in and pick it up. It won't take but a minute. I'll get Thompson to let me in. The numbers here are still in my phone."

"I guess so. You know we don't usually do this."

"Thanks. I won't be long."

Beckett only had to pick up her order and pay for it, so it took very little time to get back to the precinct. As she walked toward the building Chief Dawson moved into step with her and said, "Morning, Beckett." Motioning to her sandwich bag, he said, "Sorry. I'm a little early."

"No problem. It's a cold sandwich. It'll keep."

"Captain Beckett," Young called as they walked in. "I was about to call you. Captain Ervin came in just a couple of minutes after Robbins told me you went to get lunch. He said he didn't have much time and needed to pick up a personal file he'd left in the file cabinet in your office. He said he'd only be a minute and he'd call Thompson to let him in; but the more I thought about it, it just didn't feel right." Then he seemed to realize who was with her, and he stood. "Chief Dawson, Sir."

"Never do that again unless it's someone I've pre-authorized. Call me first," Beckett said.

"Yes, Ma'am."

"Sit down, young man," Dawson said. "Don't do it again, but we all know Ervin was taking advantage of his recent position here to get past you. And if he tries to leave before we tell you he can, have him stopped."

"Yes, Sir."

"Take the stairs, Beckett. I think I still have it in me to make it that far in time to stop him."

"The box is locked in Kaufman's desk, so he's going to be disappointed."

"Good!"

They entered the hallway and walked quietly to Beckett's office. The office door was open and Ervin was there looking frantically through desk drawers, all of them and the boxless file drawer hanging open.

"How did you get in, and how did you open my locked desk drawers?" Beckett asked calmly as she leaned against the doorway."

"I'd be interested in that answer, too," the chief added.

"I called Thompson to…"

"Let's just cut to the chase, Ervin," Dawson interrupted. "You forgot about the box, didn't you…until you heard about your buddies' arrests? You're here on your own CYA mission. Give me the keys you used to get in. You shouldn't still have copies. And on my orders, what you're looking for isn't here. Right now, you're coming with me, and we're going to discuss why you ignored all those complaints, and why you let your friends get away with so much that we ended up with Friday's horror. And then we'll decide how much of the responsibility for this debacle, this outrageous embarrassment to the entire NYPD falls on you personally. Captain Beckett, if you'll bring that box to me, I'll take it and remove this man from your office. And I'd like an officer to ride with us.

Ervin dropped the keys for the entire precinct and the desk into the chief's hand and waited angrily without any further conversation.

Beckett was back in a couple of minutes with Officer Robbins and the evidence bag containing the requested box. She also went to the file cabinet and took out the copy of the files she had put together for the chief. "I think everything you'll need to view the cases is in the files except for the lab reports. I'll forward those emails to you."

"Thank you. I had intended to discuss it with you; but since Ervin here conveniently showed up just in time for me to invite him to my office to discuss what was found in that box, it looks like you can enjoy that sandwich earlier than you thought."

He turned and took Ervin's arm to lead him out of the precinct, Officer Robbins following behind them.

xxxxx

The cases involving Wilmer and his crew were in the hands of the prosecutors, Ervin's sins were in the hands of IA and the Chief of Police, the ADA had the men picked up for arraignment that afternoon; and within the next week, Beckett's life at the precinct was becoming something resembling normal. In the week after the assault, the other team of the arrested men's friends in Vice were still angry and uncooperative. As Beckett was checking in on cases, one member of the angry team was mumbling behind her about Ms. High and Mighty thinking she had to arrest another cop.

"Put the face of your wife, your daughter…any woman important to you into what a seriously angry Wilmer intended to do to Forster, starting with a rough enough attack to give her a concussion. If it were somebody you cared about personally, would you be complaining louder if I did arrest him or if didn't? It's done. They all deserved it. Get over it. We're three quarters of a team down indefinitely, so there's more than enough work to occupy your minds."

Turning to the one remaining member of the missing team, one who didn't appear to be part of the problem, she said, "Berkowitz, it looks like you're on your own. For the time being, just fill in where another team can use some help. If there isn't enough to do here, I'll move you to a different division temporarily."

Berkowitz nodded, and Lieutenant Clement said, "We've got him, Captain. We won't let him feel useless."

"Should I worry?" Berkowitz asked good naturedly.

Beckett chuckled and moved on to her next stop in Narcotics.

xxxxx

The community work seemed to be paying off. She picked up her old habit of trying different places to eat every day and making a point of meeting someone new while she was out. On one of her first trips, she was about to enter a little diner where a couple of teenage boys were leaning against the wall eyeing her as she walked in their direction. A couple of remarks were passed between them loud enough for her to hear them, and she bypassed the door of the diner, held up the badge on the chain around her neck and they stood a little straighter, looking worried. She said, "Kate Beckett, new captain at the eighty-fifth precinct. Next time I see you, I'll look for a little more respect, and I'll try to give you the same. Deal?"

The two looked shocked and answered, "Deal." She held out her hand, each of them shook it, and she turned and went into the diner, leaving them looking dazed. One of the men about to enter the diner held the door for her and said, "Thanks for what you did, Ma'am. They need to learn some respect, but you started them on the path by giving them a chance to prove they can. We need more of that."

She was invited to sit with the man and his friend when she asked if they had other opinions to share.

"My wife will be here in any minute if that would make you feel more comfortable," he said. "And she's not shy about giving her opinions, either."

"I can't stay too long, but I'd love to hear what all of you want to tell me."

Similar stories played themselves out over time until a number of people smiled or waved or otherwise acknowledged her while she was out. At times she would ask for a problem officer's schedule and "accidentally" run across him/her on their beat. She would offer to buy coffee and introduce them to some of the people she encountered, or meet someone new by name and start a conversation between the three of them. The TOs picked up on it after a while and did the same when they could. She used the opportunity to instill the idea of community and encourage getting acquainted with the people there. When you've talked to somebody, heard their stories, joked around a little bit with them, and called them by name, you tend to view them differently; and it's less tempting to sling them up against a wall for no good reason. Things weren't perfect, but definite improvement was happening; and Reverend Willows and the community group let her know the efforts were noticed.

xxxxx

By mid-spring, Captain Reddman, from an adjacent precinct, had heard Beckett was working well within the community as well as improving productivity and closure numbers at the precinct. At the next captains' meeting, he introduced himself and asked about her community outreach program; so he was invited to the next meeting at the church and came with his sergeant. By then, the meetings were happening twice a month, and he came to the next one with a group of community leaders from his own precinct. There were good ideas on both sides, and occasional events were planned that got people out for things more pleasant than arrests or complaining…and some of the local NYPD was out to help or participate.

There was a baseball game advertised between the two precincts that garnered a respectable contingent from each community to cheer for their own police team. Both captains were on the field with their staff…laughing and trash talking to play to the crowd and actually playing the game pretty well. They all mingled affably with the spectators after it was over. Castle and the children would come to most of the events and enjoy blending into the fun. The entire family came to the baseball game Kate played in…except for Martha. She had a dress rehearsal that Saturday for a Sunday matinee at her school, and they all suspected she was relieved not to have to sit through a baseball game. Jim and his son-in-law and grandchildren were fascinated to see Kate playing through an entire game, and doing it well; and Castle encouraged Jim to relive his Katie's days on the school softball team for them between innings.

Another game happened later, with the two local police precincts providing a respectable cheering section for their own community youth league teams, and concessions for both games were set up to benefit a local charity.

xxxxx

Invitations for the September wedding of Gina Cowell and Bentley Keane came late in the spring. A surprise came with it in the form of a handwritten note from Gina saying that both children were included in the invitation. Bentley had talked about their family often enough that his niece and nephews wanted to meet Jo and Jamie, who were close to their ages.

"I guess that means a new suit," Kate said. "By September, Jamie won't be able to move in his jacket without ripping something. And Jo will be thrilled to shop for a new princess dress."

"Maybe we should take them somewhere between now and then to practice their princess and gentleman manners."

"I'd like that. We can look online for something while I'm home this weekend."

xxxxx

Beckett was still communicating regularly about cases in the precinct, praising work done well, offering suggestions, asking the kinds of questions that made her detectives and officers think in different directions where it seemed productive, victoriously waving reports showing higher closure numbers or community support, and showing her pride and respect for them.

She also encouraged Lieutenants Kaufman and Clement to take the captain's exam and offered to use some of the time she still had at the eighty-fifth to mentor them. Kaufman took her up on the offer and was showing a lot of promise. Since the exam wouldn't be given until shortly after her retirement, she made it clear that Kaufman could call her for backup if he needed help or advice.

Captain Reddman came and followed Beckett around for a day, assessing her methods of working with her detectives and her lunchtime jaunts into her community, joining her in laughing and talking or discussing things with the people they met and congratulating or sympathizing where it was appropriate. One day, they had lunch together in his precinct and she did the same.

By the time summer arrived, she and Captain Reddman had cooperated well enough that they were willing to back each other up so each of them could have a few days out of town now and then. The eighty-fifth was running smoothly by mid-summer, and Kate was able to spend a week once and a couple of long weekends with her family at the beach. Jo was almost five and getting more independent as far as doing things for herself, so the trips were a little easier than they used to be.

The beach was as relaxing as ever for the parents, even more when the older siblings came and took over some of the play time with the younger ones. They spent time making sand castles, taking walks, playing in the pool, taking trips into town, reading, and evenings of games or movies and just enjoying family.

All of it was even more enjoyable knowing that they were very close to having four months of complete freedom before Kate's half year of work began in January.