79. Chapter 79

Chapter 79

The business of choosing and buying trees being taken care of, the Castle entourage moved on to snacks and hot chocolate before they tackled the Christmas shop. The Christmas store was as all-inclusive as Alexis had said, and some of the ornaments were as gaudy as Castle said they would be. But, overall, there were a lot of nice things to choose from. They laughed at some of the most outrageous ornaments and the Christmas signs, wall hangings, etc. with funny holiday jokes. And they groaned at the Christmas puns, and admired the large number of well-crafted objects and ornaments. Alexis found the glass icicles Castle had wanted, and he picked up enough for the large tree they had chosen. Orders were placed for several personalized ornaments that they would pick up later and found a few other things that one or the other of them just wanted. After arranging to pick it all up later, they went to look around at Santa's village and have a few pictures made.

Alexis and Castle showed them all the little details they had noticed a little at a time over the years, and the new members of their Christmas trip seemed duly impressed. Once in Santa's presence, Castle's first order of business was a picture of Kate with Santa Claus. He insisted on a silhouette shot so the baby bump was on display; and amazingly, she indulged him with no protest. They also had photos taken with both of their children, born and waiting to be born. One was made with Alexis and JD, and the last with all four of them, the men standing next to Santa's chair with an elbow propped at the corner of the chair back, and the women sitting on the arm of the chair next to Santa. Castle had extra copies made for his mother and Kate's father and JD. He realized that he really was enjoying having the younger man around.

They stopped at the Christmas store long enough for Castle to make one more purchase, then went to the café and had a leisurely, late lunch and more hot chocolate to fortify themselves for the trip home. Then they went to pick up their purchases and make the drive back to Manhattan.

"I have to admit, that was a little bit magical," Kate said as Castle pulled the SUV out on the highway again.

"You're my witnesses," he said to the young couple in the back. "My wife just admitted to feeling the magic."

Kate swatted his arm and the others just laughed.

Castle found Christmas music on the car radio, and there was a comfortable silence among the four of them for a while as everyone relaxed after their little adventure.

Finally, Castle said, "The tree should be delivered and set up sometime late tomorrow morning. We can bring the Christmas boxes up from storage and start decorating it over the next couple of days."

"With that much tree, it's probably going to take at least two days. I seem to remember that you tried to put everything in every box on it last year," Kate teased.

"We always have. It's Christmas, and it's there. Might as well use it. We had a decorator come and put the tree up the year we got married, but I like the ones we do ourselves better. Somebody else can come and wrap the stairs with evergreen garland and hang it around the loft, but we get the tree to ourselves."

"So every year you get more ornaments to hang…and the tree just gets fuller and fuller?" JD asked.

"Lots of memories on that tree, was Castle's answer. "It's hard to decide what to leave out, so..."

"So they all go on the tree," JD answered. "I get it."

"Do your parents put all the stupid little ornaments you made in school on the tree every year?"

"I don't know if they even saved them. I never saw them again after the Christmas I made them. Mom gets a decorator, and every year the tree has a different theme. No room for school age art, I guess."

Alexis reached over and took his hand. "That's terrible. I mean it embarrasses me sometimes to see them and hear Dad tell somebody about it like it's something worth bragging about, but it does feel good that he thinks they're special."

"I like the way your family does things. This is the kind of family I want someday."

Alexis didn't let go of his hand, but she looked thoughtful and went silent for a little while."

All of them were tired but happy as they engaged in sporadic conversation on the way home.

xxxxx

Martha's voice could be heard from the top of the stairs when the other three members of the Castle family returned. "I assume you bought more ornaments for the tree," she called as she descended the stairs.

"Of course we did. We have glass icicles that should reflect the lights, a few ornaments that reflect personalities, and some just because it's this year."

"Did you have fun, Katherine? Did they wear you out? The year I went with them, they were both relentless…non-stop excitement."

"I'm tired, but it was fun," Kate answered.

"It isn't my cup of tea, but I always enjoy seeing what they've brought back."

"On the table, Grams. Want to see the pictures first? We have copies for you."

"You know I love the pictures," she answered as she joined them. "Oh look! Katherine and my grandson with Santa. You're glowing, Darling." There was a little pause as she looked at the picture and touched it. "Beautiful," she said softly. Then, sounding curious, she noted, "Santa looks amused."

"That's because Castle was trying for the angle that made me look most like a blimp. He told the resident elf that he wanted a picture of his wife and son with Santa…even stole my coat so it would be more obvious."

"That sounds like my boy."

The next picture was Alexis and JD.

"JD was there?" Martha asked, looking surprised as she saw it. Looking at Alexis, she said, "This has always been a family trip. Is there something you need to tell me?"

"Nothing like that, but it's still a good story." Alexis answered with a grin.

All of them took turns telling parts of JD's Aunt Eugenia story, and Martha enjoyed it as much as they had.

"Mr. Farnsworth sends you his regards, by the way," Castle added.

"He's a good man," Martha told them. "But I met JD's parents once, and they're both a couple of cold fish. I wasn't that impressed with either of them. I think JD turned out the way he did because his grandfather enjoyed spending a lot of time with him. They have very similar personalities. Well, however JD got there, Alexis, this is a lovely picture. And there are more? Weren't the parents in line with their children giving you the evil eye by the time you got to the last one?"

"Only one," Castle answered. "And she had the same sour look on her face wherever we saw her. Under her coat, I think she was wearing a T-shirt that said 'Bah! Humbug!' Besides, none of us needed to sit on Santa's lap to recite endless Christmas lists, so we were quick. And the sign does say adults are welcome, too."

The third picture was the Castles and JD, and Martha smiled and raised an eyebrow at her granddaughter.

"Grams, stop it," Alexis scolded, but she was smiling.

Then Martha found the one with the three Castles and looked at it misty eyed, bringing one hand over her heart. "Richard, this is what I've always wanted for you, and I know it's what you've always wanted. You're such a beautiful family, and all of you look so happy."

"We are, Martha," Kate assured her. "And we should have another one taken soon where you're with us."

Martha swung her arm around Kate's shoulders and said, "Now what else do you have?"

"Ornaments," The three of them answered together, and all four of them laughed as Castle took them out of the box they were packed in.

The first one was a lime green glittery star they'd had personalized with the word 'Diva'. Martha backhanded his chest, but she was smiling. He knew she liked it. Alexis had chosen one that had books and pens, and said Columbia 2012. Castle's ornament was a book with his writer vest on the cover, and Kate's was a badge hung from handcuffs.

"Okay, we don't know what somebody was thinking with that last one, but we got it anyway. So those are all the really cheesy ones." Castle said.

"Show her this year's commemorative collection," Alexis told her father.

Those ornaments were more sedate than the others and all of them were personalized with the year and the caption they had requested.

"JD had this one made for Alexis," Kate told her mother-in-law. It had only their names and the year, and Alexis held up another one very much like it that read "Castle and Beckett".

"I like this one," Castle said, holding it up for Martha's inspection. That one said "Baby in progress", and a small picture of Kate with Santa had been incorporated into the design.

"I don't know how somebody managed to use that picture and still manage to give the design a little class," Kate noted as she looked at it again. "And then there are these," she announced, unwrapping one while Castle and Alexis took out several others, all of which were small works of art.

"The tree should be here tomorrow," Castle told Martha, "and we can start working on it…give these a place of honor."

They worked on the tree off and on over the weekend, finishing most of it. But close to eleven on Sunday night, as they were about to go to bed, Esposito called Beckett from a crime scene.; and she put her phone on speaker so Castle was part of the conversation, too.

"You do realize I'm not on call, right?"

"Yeah, we do. But we had to call," Esposito answered.

Ryan chimed in from close by, "Castle would never forgive us if we didn't let him in on this one."

"What happened?

"Nuh-uh," Ryan answered. "We want to see his face."

"What about it Castle? You want to go?" Kate asked.

"Not exactly the high point of a Christmasy, family weekend, but it's intriguing that they won't tell us what's going on," Castle answered as he stopped trying to fight the draw of another mystery.

"Text me the address," she told boys. "You got him hook, line, and sinker."

"Yes!" Esposito said at a volume level appropriate for a crime scene but an enthusiasm level that might not be.

xxxxx

They were given the address of an upscale department store and told that the officer at the door would direct Castle to the crime scene when he got there.

"Sorry I can't take you and Peanut," he told his wife.

"I'm getting used to it. Just have the camera ready. After all this buildup, I'd better get video from the time you get out of the car. I don't want to miss anything."

He planted a kiss on her lips, then went for another one, and left saying, "Lots of video…of whatever it is. Promise."

When Castle reached the front of the store, he realized he had forgotten the small separate camera he had bought for recording crime scenes, so he resorted to his phone again. His camera was already running, as promised. The officer at the door pointed him to the elevator and the correct floor; and as he left the elevator, there was a sign that read, "See Santa at the end of Candy Cane Lane. About halfway across the floor, large candy canes formed a long path where visitors could be corralled into a line to reach what appeared to be Santa's house. Another officer, who was putting up crime scene tape, directed Castle to go around the outer edge of the floor, which took him behind Santa's house. The boys met him there.

"So, what's going on? Why such a secret?" Castle asked.

"The victim is Beverly, according to her name tag. No last name yet," Ryan stated. "Looks like she's about twenty."

"Come on," Esposito said. "We'll show you. Lanie got here a few minutes ago, and the store manager should be here any time now."

"When they rounded the edge of the Santa's House setup, they found Lanie leaning over the body of an elf in full regalia, pointy ears and all, near the snowy house set up for the Santa visits. The elf…well, Beverly, Castle forced himself to remember, was on her side, draped across the seat of the rather large sleigh, one arm extended over a few of the brightly wrapped packages piled behind the wide front seat. Beverly's lifeless presence negated the sleigh's intended purpose of providing festive ambience for Santa's front yard.

Castle's absolutely genuine response was every bit what he knew the boys had hoped for. "There was a murder at Santa's house?" he exclaimed. When a few CSU workers looked up at that, he whispered excitedly to Ryan and Esposito, "Elficide?"

No one else except Lanie caught it, but Ryan and Esposito were obviously trying to rein in their smirks and surreptitiously bumped fists.

"Damnedest thing I've seen in a while," Lanie said looking up at them.

"These ears…" Castle said in awe, making sure his phone camera picked up every possible angle of ear.

"Not real, Castle," she told him with an amused little smile, "But I have to admit, I had to check. Amazing makeup job. I half expected plastic surgery."

"You got a cause of death yet?" Esposito asked.

"Almost certainly strangulation. No sign of ligature marks, though. There's bruising on the neck. Looks like someone used bare hands."

Castle still seemed mesmerized by the ears.

About that time, Castle's phone pinged with a text from Beckett. 'I got it. Really nice ears. Now what else should I see?'

"Time of death?" Ryan asked.

"Approximately four hours ago," Lanie told them. "And indications are that it happened here. It doesn't look like the body was moved post mortem."

So about seven?" Castle asked, mentally returning to the crime scene and panning the camera slowly around the area for his wife's benefit.

Seeing an officer escorting a distraught looking man in their direction, Castle and the two detectives went to meet him behind the house before he could walk into the crime scene area.

"Lawrence Warren," the man said, extending his hand to Castle. "I'm the store manager, Detective."

"Richard Castle, civilian consultant," Castle corrected. Indicating the other two men, he said, " Detectives Ryan and Esposito."

Mr. Warren reached to shake their hands as well. "Sorry. I'm a bit distracted right now. I was told there was a death. What happened?"

Esposito explained the situation and told him they would have to close the entire floor until they could clear the crime scene.

"We know it's going to present a business problem and will disappoint a lot of children," Ryan sympathized, but there's no choice."

"I can't say it won't be a problem, but I understand." Warren eased around toward the other side of the house, asking with gestures whether it was acceptable. Esposito nodded, and they took him to an area outside the yellow tape. "Oh, my god." His hand went to his mouth. "When did this happen?"

"Around seven," Castle told him. "What time does the store close on Sunday during the holidays?"

"At five-thirty. Everybody except security and custodial staff should have been gone well before seven, and they usually are. Most of them are high school or college students and have better things to do." Standing for a moment and looking at the scene, he breathed a sigh. "I have a daughter about her age. Poor kid. She'd been with us for several years. Seemed like a nice girl. Her parents… How do you deal with losing a child?"

"Did you know her well?" Ryan asked.

"No. I didn't really know her, just her work. I'm up here a lot during the holidays. I like to keep an eye on how the staff interacts with the families…make sure it's all positive. It's an important time of the year. She was great with the kids. They loved her." After another sigh, he added, "Not to trivialize the tragedy, but I have to recognize that this is going to be a PR nightmare."

"We always begin with eliminations, so we might as well ask now, where you were at seven tonight?" Esposito asked.

"We had guests for the holidays. They're leaving first thing in the morning. We were having drinks after turkey leftovers. I can give you their names and contact information."

We'd appreciate that," Ryan answered. "We'll also need a list of everyone who has personal access to the store after hours, and the surveillance footage for yesterday and last night."

"I'll print a list for you and have security get you the video." Looking up at the jacket blocking the camera that covered the sleigh, he said, "They should have caught that a camera went dark."

"They did. Security was first on scene. Quinn over there called it in, but we don't know yet how long it was dark before they caught it."

"We're also going to need to speak to the rest of the personnel who work in the Santa operation, and the ones who manage it," Ryan explained, and he asked Warren to arrange a meeting with all the people on that list and provide them a meeting room at twelve-thirty the next afternoon.

"It would be helpful if we could explain to everyone once and get all the interviews done quickly," Castle explained.

"I'll have people arrange for that first thing in the morning. Laurel Buchanan is in charge of the Santa House and all its accompanying planning, advertising, decorating, etc. We have a number of young people working as elves. They've been managed by Ed Ekman for the last couple of years. He's been an elf with us since he was eighteen. He's now twenty-eight."

"That's a little long in the tooth for this kind of work, isn't it?" Castle asked.

"It is, but he seems to enjoy it, and the lines, photos, costumes, and work schedules have run like clockwork since he's been in charge. He's a little odd, but harmless, and the parents and kids love him. He works in menswear the rest of the year."

"We'll leave an officer on the premises overnight. I think we're about done here for now," Ryan informed the manager.

"Whatever you need to do. And let me know if I can be of further help. If you'll excuse me, now, I have a lot of decisions and arrangements to make before we open tomorrow."

"Thanks for your cooperation," Esposito said.

Warren nodded, spoke to Quinn briefly, shook his hand, and left for his office.

Quinn showed them to the locker room/employee's lounge area that was set up for the Santa and elf staff during the holidays, and Castle scanned the room with the camera and sent that video, including the contents of Beverly's locker, to Beckett. Everything they would expect was in her purse in her locker, except a cell phone, but they did now have her full name and next of kin identified. She was Beverly Coolidge, a student at NYU.

The men discussed what they had and what they needed, and they decided a lot of it would have to wait until morning, and that almost everything else could, too.

"That's all of it for now, Kate. See you in half an hour, maybe less," Castle said before stopping the recording. His phone pinged again, and he checked the text and smiled as he put the phone in his pocket, leaving Ryan and Esposito to wonder why. "Thanks, guys. I wouldn't have wanted to miss this one," Castle told the boys as they entered the elevator.

"It would have been better with Beckett, but we didn't want you to miss the full effect of the initial crime scene," Esposito said with a smirk.

"You think I could get away with a book titled Murder in Santaland?"

"People have gotten away with worse. Doesn't mean you ought to try, though," Ryan answered with a grin.

"You're probably right," Castle agreed. They left the building to return to their cars, and Castle lifted a hand in parting before getting in his car and leaving for home.

xxxxx

"So is this ear fixation something I should know about?" Kate teased as she filled a cup with hot cocoa and added plenty of marshmallows. When Castle took off his coat and dropped it on the back of the sofa, she kissed her husband and handed over the cup.

"Elficide, Kate!" he said with a smile that crinkled the corners of his eyes.

"So I heard," she answered, smiling back and picking up her own cup.

"We have to show Mother the makeup. It was seamless. You heard Lanie, right? It even made her think it could be real."

Leaning against the breakfast bar with him as they sipped hot cocoa, she asked "What did you think of Lawrence Warren? Any potential there as a suspect?"

"I doubt it. He seemed upset about the whole thing, concerned for the family…and stressed. I don't envy the man his job for the next week or so. Ryan and Esposito were going to notify the girl's parents before they go home tonight, and they're planning to check with Warren's guests before they leave town tomorrow morning…later this morning, I guess…to confirm his alibi. They have to be there before eleven."

"Let's put it all on hold and tackle it in the morning," Kate suggested. "We know enough now to have a starting point. I'll try to get the boys out of the precinct right after the meeting at the store so they can catch up on some sleep. I hate that they're having to cover so much of the legwork for me."

"We'll have to try to find ways to take some of the pressure off the work at the precinct for them." Standing and taking her hand, he put his cup in the sink and tugged her toward their room. "Bedtime," he declared. "The ungodly hour you insist on getting up for work will be here before we know it, and you need your rest."

xxxxx

Beckett and Castle encountered Gates when they entered the precinct. "I know you weren't on call yesterday, but do you know any of the particulars about the situation at the department store last night?" she asked.

"Castle met Ryan and Esposito there, so we have just about all of it. He sent several videos last night, so I'm caught up on most of it, too."

"And why did they call Mr. Castle when you weren't on call?"

"It happened at the Santa House display," Castle answered. "Elficide."

"You're wearing that out, Castle," Beckett told him firmly.

"No need for further explanation," Gates interceded. "Tell me where we are."

Beckett started her computer and brought up the video, fast forwarding past the ear cam shots to the full shot of the house and sleigh and the discussion with Lanie. She gave Gates the victim's name and the little bit they knew at the moment.

"We also spoke to the store manager," Castle told her. "He was very cooperative. There's a meeting scheduled this afternoon for everyone involved with the Santa thing… twelve-thirty at the store. And he's given us a list of everyone with keys and/or access to the alarm system. Ryan and Esposito have picked up the surveillance videos for yesterday."

"Ryan and Esposito won't be here first thing, by the way. They're stopping by Mr. Warren's house to confirm his alibi with his house guests, and they notified the parents on the way home last night. I'd like to let them leave after the meeting this afternoon…let them get some sleep."

"That won't be a problem." Gates agreed. "With any luck, you and Mr. Castle will have something new to work with by then."

They did what they could until the boys came in.

"Beverly's parents took it hard," Ryan told them. "I hate that part of the job."

"We have the surveillance footage," Esposito said, holding it up where they could see it. "And Warren's alibi checked out."

"Go get some coffee and let's look at what we have so far. There are bear claws on your desk,"

"Be right back," Ryan answered, and went to the break room, Esposito close behind him.

"We've done background checks on the people with access to the building," Castle said when they were back. "Nobody stands out as a problem."

After that questions and suggestions bounced between them.

"Crime of passion?"

"Could be. Choking somebody to death bare handed is…"

"Why was she there after hours?"

"And who else was there."

"It had to be somebody with the alarm codes."

"A temporary holiday employ isn't likely to have that."

"An affair gone wrong with someone at the store?"

"Opportunity for theft?"

"Had security or custodial staff seen anything after hours before now?"

"We met with the custodial staff before you got there last night. Nothing came up there," Esposito reported.

"Security hasn't seen anything unusual, either," Ryan added. "They were down a man last night. Somebody had an emergency at the last minute, and they couldn't get a replacement on that short notice. The guy who would have been manning the cameras replaced him when they made their rounds of the store, so they aren't sure exactly when the camera view was blocked, but we'll find it when we watch.

"I talked to Lanie just before you got here. She's just finished the autopsy report for Grayden's case. She was getting to Beverly Coolidge and said she might be able to tell us something by the time we finish the meeting this afternoon," Beckett told them.

"Then I guess we'll just have to eat bear claws and wait," Esposito answered around one of the pastries.

"And plan how to handle the meeting and the interviews," Beckett reminded them. "And, Castle, don't forget the other camera this time. "It's easier when you have me on speaker than when I have to text. I want to be able to ask questions if something comes up."

They all went to lunch at Remy's, then Beckett went back to the precinct and Castle and the boys went to meet with the members of the department store's Santa operation.