59. Chapter 59

Chapter 59

"Beckett," A nervous Kate answered out of habit when her burner phone rang. There was only half an hour left before the deadline she had set for Bracken, and she and Castle had discussed what they should do if he didn't call. They were sure he would, probably late enough to make them worry; but if he didn't, they would have to back up the threat…and then probably use Castle's fake ID's and escape plan…and disappear until Jordan and Avery had time to complete their investigation. But that was far from the desired outcome.

"Detective Beckett," Senator Bracken's practiced campaign voice answered.

"I could say that I'm disappointed or surprised at your lack of integrity, but I'm not," she told him. "Except for the listening device in our bedroom. That's low even from you. Were you hoping for informational pillow talk, or should we add pervert to murderer, blackmailer, drug dealer, and practitioner of prosecutorial misconduct?"

"Sometimes the operatives like to entertain themselves and don't tell me," he told her flippantly. "Come now, Detective. Surely you didn't expect me to do nothing at all to help myself?"

"You don't seem to be taking me seriously, Senator. You should think twice before you try anything else because I won't stop the process again. You should also be reminded that you aren't working with stupid people. We found those devices within five minutes after we got back from the Hamptons and tolerated them until we could get whatever information we could find from them. Within a day after agreeing to my terms, you hacked security systems here, had us under surveillance, and broke into our home to plant listening devices. Everyone close to us knows to be looking for them now, too; and I'll be checking our desks, cars and common spaces at the precinct from now on. If anybody finds even one, it's over."

"I think you're bluffing. I don't think you have anything at all."

"If you want to push me, go ahead. Just don't expect any further patience from my side. The affidavits from the three cops, along with their receipts for the money orders they sent to your bank account should be pretty convincing. I can give you the account number if you'd like. The death of your ADA two days after he took the affidavits and offered those men protection in return for their testimony against you will be interesting to the public, too. And I'm sure you know there's more. Pay close attention this time, Bracken. If I see any sign of what you've just done or any other problem that looks like you've had a hand in it, the news reports that end your career will reach you at the same time they reach the rest of the general public. You won't even see it coming. This one warning is because I know you find integrity challenging. But don't do anything else this stupid." At that point, she ended the call.

"You okay?" Castle asked after turning off the recorder.

"I will be," she answered, taking a deep breath and looking shaky. "Give me a minute."

Putting his arm comfortingly around her shoulders, he asked, "What do you think he'll do?"

"I don't know, but I think he challenged me about bluffing to see if he could shake me." She pulled away and started pacing to relieve some of the nervous energy. "He'll still have us monitored however he can, but I think I gave him enough information from the files that he knows I've at least seen them. I doubt he'll take the chance of coming after me again, at least, not right away. Shooting me twice in barely a year would be much too obvious…cause too much media attention. And using another method or making it look like an accident would have him taking the chance that I wasn't bluffing about triggering an automatic response."

"I don't think he will, either.

"But we know we can't trust him, and we know he won't wait forever. We still can't relax." Stopping and leaning against her husband, she said on an exhale, "I'm so tired of fighting him. Even when I didn't know who he was, I still felt like I was fighting him."

"But you have help now. Jordan Shaw has a small, quiet team fighting with us. Try to remember that."

"I'm trying. Thank you for sticking with me through all of it. I'm trying hard to believe in our long life together; but after everything that's happened, it's hard to believe he won't find a way to take it away from us."

"We're going to have it, Kate. I can feel it. The kind of gut feeling that you'd pay attention to if we were on a case.

Melting into him and wrapping her arms around his neck, she admitted, "I want that so much, Rick. I want our little Castle baby, and our grandchildren. And maybe when we retire we could live at the beach house most of the time. And we could have the grandchildren visit so their parents can have some time to themselves. And we can spoil them rotten while we have them…and then give them back."

He held her close, and he could feel her smile where her face was tucked at his neck. "You have an evil mind, wife," he answered with a chuckle.

"Tell me you wouldn't help," she challenged

"You'd have trouble keeping up with me," he assured her, leaving a little kiss on her hair.

"And then we'd get even older, and you'd have your walker and I'd have my cane..."

"Hey, how come I need the walker?"

"Cause you're older than I am," she answered, lifting her head to give him a teasing grin and a quick kiss.

"Okay. I'll give you that one," he answered indulgently.

"Do you think Jordan's team will find enough to take him down?" she asked quietly, nuzzling her forehead back against his neck.

"I have a good feeling about it. But how long it will take is another story."

Looking at the tumbler which was housing the four soggy listening devices Castle had drowned after they sent the message for Bracken, she asked, "Are we a hundred per cent sure all the Bracken bugs are dead?"

"You saw me check them earlier. Not a peep out of them. As dead as the proverbial door nail."

"Then I guess we should let them dry out before somebody picks them up at the precinct tomorrow."

"Probably. Want to pour us some wine while I take care of that?" He planted a quick kiss on her forehead before she moved away to get wine glasses, then Castle poured the water into the sink and set the devices on a towel.

"It would be much easier to have just called tech to take care of them, but then we'd have too much to explain," she said as she poured the wine.

"Well, this seems to have done the job, and any identifying marks should still be intact.

When he returned, they took their wine to the sofa, sat close together, and sipped it in comfortable silence.

Kate was the one who finally spoke. "Are you exhausted, too? I am. All this worrying and secret keeping is wearing me down."

"Yeah. Why don't we get ready for bed? If we aren't sleepy, we can read…or lie there close to each other and enjoy the company...whatever you want."

"Let's do that," she agreed, and took his hand to walk to their room. "Even if we're reading, I'll enjoy the company."

Having the loft free of other people offered Mr. and Mrs. Castle ample opportunity to make love whenever, wherever, and however they wanted, and they took full advantage. They missed their family but loved their temporary freedom.

It was nearly time for Martha and Alexis to return from their European trip. Farraday retired, and took Castle up on his offer to close The Old Haunt for a couple of hours for a retirement party. The next day Kate took Farraday's place as lieutenant. The Bracken situation hadn't shown signs of new problems, and Kate's work situation hadn't changed enough yet to be difficult for them. She had more responsibility in relation to the other detectives, but the good rapport she had already built with them over the years seemed to be holding out. The good will left from interactions with the other teams while she was stuck on desk duty seemed to be paying off as well, manifesting itself in the form of others seeking her out now and then asking questions, requesting assistance, or asking an opinion. The worst part of her new rank was the additional paperwork that loomed in the background. She and Castle had recently worked out a system for combining their efforts when her paperwork was getting too deep, and he had actually been helping voluntarily more often recently. Of course, compared to what he had done to help in the past, more often still didn't qualify as frequent. Gates was obviously keeping a sharp eye on the new change of rank dynamic within the bullpen, and she seemed to be satisfied.

Anxious to see the rest of her family again, Kate had arranged to go in a couple of hours early on the afternoon Martha and Alexis would be getting home. She wanted to be able to leave early enough to go to with Castle to pick them up.

Castle insisted on meeting Alexis and Martha at the airport, rush hour traffic or not. He had arranged for a car so he and Kate wouldn't have to worry about parking, and he had Michael drop them off at arrivals.

After checking the display to see where the luggage for the European flight would be sent, they headed for the baggage carousels.

"Can't wait to wrap your arms around your little girl again, can you?" Kate asked with a soft smile.

"That obvious? What am I going to do when she's living in the dorm this fall and gone all the time?"

"We'll have to learn to cope…and visit, and bother her a lot?"

"You'd help me with that?" he asked with a grin. "Then she might be mad with both of us."

"We'll invite JD, too, sometimes. Maybe that will ease the interference."

"Conniving with me. I like it."

"Partners, remember?"

"We're a little early. Let's find a place to sit where we can see them when they get here."

They sat and talked while they watched for the rest of their family, and stood to meet them as soon as they appeared.

"Dad!" Alexis squealed as he wrapped her in a bear hug.

Kate went for Martha, and then they exchanged family members and hugged some more.

"I think we're blocking traffic," Kate pointed out, pulling Castle to one side.

"Sorry," he apologized to the people around him, and then he took his mother's carry-on bag and pulled her with him toward the baggage carousel with an arm around her shoulders. Kate was doing the same with Alexis. Martha's luggage was easy to spot. It was as distinctively colorful as her clothing. Alexis had chosen a much more conservative pattern and color than her grandmother's, but the subdued pattern was still distinctive, so it didn't take long to spot their bags. Castle called Michael, and by the time they had retrieved all the luggage and had taken it to the curb, Michael was waiting beside the car to help load it into the trunk.

On the way home, the couple was bombarded with stories of train stations and airports and the trip home…the annoying man across the aisle, the adorable baby in the waiting area in London, the architecture in a couple of the train stations as they travelled around. Castle asked questions and joked about some of their stories, and they were nearly home before they knew it.

"Would you like to stop for dinner before we go home or order in once we're there?"

"I want a shower and my favorite pajamas," Alexis answered.

"I second that," Martha agreed.

"Delivery it is, then," Castle was saying as Michael pulled up to the curb in front of their building. Castle got out and helped unload the bags, and Michael helped take them to the elevator.

Europe was great, but it's nice to be home. I missed you guys," Alexis said. "We kept seeing things I knew you'd enjoy."

"Come on. I'll help with your bags and your dad can help Martha," Kate answered. "We missed you, too."

While the two travelers showered, Castle ordered food, then kissed his wife. "Less freedom for our libidos now."

"They'll get some exercise anyway," Kate promised. "That's what doors are for."

Dinner gave the family time to hear travel stories and catch up on the news about Kate's advancement in rank and responsibilities and Castle's writing and the deadlines approaching. Everybody conscientiously ignored any talk of secrets or FBI contact. They'd get to that another time. Homecoming was for enjoying, and they did just that.

Martha went back to work in earnest at her school. She had a month before classes started, and she discovered she had chosen her staff well. She'd had three phone calls while she was away, to ask questions or to verify what she wanted them to do, and she had checked in a couple of times herself; but they had handled things admirably. On her return, she asked questions and inspected, went through student lists and classes, sifted through bills that had and hadn't been paid, discussed marketing for the fall, and generally showed herself to be much more in tune with the business end of the process than even those who knew her had expected.

She had talked to her son about what she was doing, but one morning when he had stayed home to write, he took a break and stopped by the school to ask if she'd like to have lunch. He knew how hard she had been working and thought she might need a break, too. When he arrived, he saw her deeply involved in a discussion with the office staff and intended to simply wait for a break in the conversation, but he ended up listening to a productive discussion between them. She was both listening to their suggestions and countering with suggestions of her own, then someone came in with questions about the stage area and she was off with them. There were two others who caught her with concerns before she returned to the office, and she seemed to be fielding the constant pull in several directions with aplomb. Castle was thoroughly impressed.

"Mother, you seem to be in demand," he said as she returned to the office area.

It was the first time he had seen her focus weaken. "Richard, don't sneak up on me like that. Not that it isn't lovely to see you, Darling, but why are you here? I thought you stayed home to write today."

"I needed a break and thought you might need one, too. How would you feel about lunch with your only child? Do you have time for that? You look busy."

"I am busy. But I do need a break. Let me get my purse. Tell Delia where we'll be. I'll be right back." She disappeared into her office, and Castle spoke to her secretary; and when she returned, he smiled and gallantly offered her his arm as they walked toward the double doors at the front of the building. "To what do I owe this chivalry?" she asked, looking pleased.

"I'm impressed, Mother. I was here longer than you realized, and you were handling every distraction and still managing to keep your eyes on the big picture."

"You haven't actually had to stage a play?" she reminded him. "Everybody wants or needs you for something. It's a series of distractions from beginning to end. If you lose focus, you're dead meat. That's where it comes from. New situation, same method of dealing with it. I've seen you and Katherine work a case that way. Where do you think you learned it? You used to hang around when I was working and offer critiques on the directors…pros and cons of their abilities and how well they could keep the performance on track. I used to love discussing all that with you. And your opinions were usually spot on, even when you were barely in junior high and constantly making mischief."

"I remember that. It made me feel good that you seemed to take me seriously. I always wondered if you were just humoring me."

"No. I was impressed that you could see those things. I was proud of you."

He patted the hand his mother had placed at his elbow when he offered his arm and answered, "I'm impressed and proud of you, too, Mother. I think you may make this school a success."

Martha stopped and looked at him with such love that he was afraid he might embarrass himself with a sheen of tears in his eyes, right there on a Manhattan street outside the restaurant where they would have lunch.

"I can't tell you how much that means to me," she said softly and gave his arm a loving squeeze.

"Let's go and see Arturo. He asked about you the last time Kate and I were here. I'll even tell him I'm proud of you."

Their actual moment was over then, but the warmth of it remained throughout their meal. Then they parted and went back to working at their respective deadlines.

He talked to his wife about it that evening, and her answer was, "Never sell Martha Rodgers short. She's quite a woman."

It seemed that the last half of June was the time for settling into future responsibilities after a difficult spring. Castle's newest book was in the stores, and he was trying to meet deadlines for the first chapters of the next one. The recent Bracken demands had slowed him down, but he couldn't tell Gina that; so he was pushing himself to catch up.

Martha was preparing to open her school, and Beckett was proving herself in her new position.

Alexis went to see her college counselor and confirmed her classes for the fall semester. And JD took her on a tour of the campus, pointing out the buildings her classes would be in, and the ones his would be in…and the places convenient to both where they could meet for lunch or coffee between classes.

One night in mid-June, Jordan Shaw called again. "I wanted be sure you haven't had any new problems from the senator," she explained.

"So far we haven't seen anything else. It's probably plaguing him, though," Kate answered as she motioned for Castle to follow her into the study.

"I certainly hope so," Jordan answered.

"I know there are things you don't feel you can tell us, but is there anything you can?"

"In general, I can tell you that we're closing in on him. The information you gave us opened a doors for warrants and what we found opened the door for more. Someone helped him hide bank accounts well, and it was like navigating a labyrinth to find some of them, but we've found more than we expected. A couple of old accounts tie him to payments for things that you already know about, and there are other connections…and more recent activities. And Mr. Ghost has come through with a lot more than we had hoped for. None of us have met him, but he's provided us access to several off-shore accounts that were well hidden but traceable through shell companies. He's also made a few connections to some unsavory international activities…all of it coming back to Bracken, and all legally useable in court. If we had to provide evidence today, we could prove enough to put him behind bars; but we know there's more, and we also want to take down his network. The pieces are falling together into one big, ugly picture."

"You don't know how much we needed to hear that, Jordan. Encouragement is exactly what we need right now," Castle told Agent Shaw.

"We just need you to hang in there a little longer," Jordan told them. "I said more than I should have; but we trust both of you. We wouldn't be where we are without the information you gave us, and you two have been through enough to earn it. Take care of yourselves."

"You do the same. And give Avery our regards."

When the call ended, Kate put her phone back in her purse and threw her arms around her husband. "It looks like it's going to happen doesn't it? I want to know everything they have, but I don't want to put Jordan on the spot. I can hardly believe they've made that much progress."

"I'm impressed with your self-control. There was a time when you would have been quizzing her to within an inch of her life."

"Maybe you've taught me patience," she answered flirtatiously.

"Me? The nine year old on a sugar rush?" he teased.

"You're still him now and then, but I love him, too. He just requires a little more of that patience you mentioned. Not that there aren't things that require a lot of patience with me."

"I'm planning on getting lucky after the child goes to bed, so I'm not about to answer that."

"I always knew you were a smart man," his wife told him with a playful smile. "Let's go see what we can think of that will make Alexis sleepy."