Chapter 22: The Second Heist

After spending two days at home organizing the outline for his new book, Richard Castle arrived at the 12th Precinct early on the morning Vanessa planned to execute the second bank robbery.

"Yo, writer, haven't seen you these past two days," Esposito greeted Castle warmly as he entered with two cups of coffee.

Handing over one of the coffees to Beckett, Castle replied to Esposito, "Oh, hi Esposito. I've been sorting out the outline for the new book I'm about to start writing at home. Now, I just need some real-life cases."

"I've even written a substantial part about you and Kevin!"

After greeting Esposito, Castle turned to Beckett and asked, "How's it going? Did you guys find any suspicious targets over the last couple of days?"

Beckett, who had been smiling at Castle joking with her subordinates, replied with a resigned tone, "Your guess the other day might have been right. Our patrol officers found burned pieces of a bright red car wrap and several suits in a garbage bin a few kilometers from the crime scene. According to the test results we just got, we detected traces of women's perfume on the suits, suggesting the robbers might have disguised themselves as men. So, thanks to you, our pool of suspects has doubled."

"Yo, not bad, at least you have a clear direction now!

Let me summarize for you: female suspects, likely four in number; driving a BMW 760i, though we can't be sure of the color yet; excellent driving skills; able to switch from hardened criminals to glamorous city women.

Right?

New York is a big city, but there shouldn't be many in Manhattan who fit this profile, right?

You can totally track the vehicle to find them! Search for a BMW 760i driven by four women in Manhattan in the surveillance system, and have the patrol officers keep an eye out as a backup to the cameras. Is that too hard?

See, doesn't the investigation direction seem clearer now?"

"Since yesterday when our officers found the items discarded by the robbers, the police station has been doing just that, but the range of street surveillance isn't broad enough, and patrol officers can't possibly stop every BMW 760i they see on the road! Do you know how many complaints that would bring?" Beckett expressed her dissatisfaction with Castle's grand statements.

"You said you thought they'd rob another bank, right? When do you think the next robbery will be?" Beckett asked, irritated by Castle's comfortable theorizing.

"You're asking me about their next robbery?

Hmm... I have a strong feeling that they might just carry it out today, starting their second action!!" Castle dramatically predicted, though it didn't sound convincing at all.

"Ha ha, do you really think you're a prophet? Today? If they dare come again today, I'll show them..."

"Beep beep beep..." The ringing phone on the desk interrupted Beckett just as she was about to make a vow.

"I'm Beckett... What? What did you say?" Clearly, the news on the other end of the phone surprised Beckett.

With a slam of the phone, Beckett, with a fierce look, shouted at Esposito, "Quick, those bastards are at it again, you and Kevin rush to the Manhattan Bank, move out..."

After issuing the order, Beckett, angered, glanced at the leisurely Castle, "Mr. Crow's mouth Castle, what do you think? We're about to head out to chase these robbers, are you coming with us?"

"Of course, this could make a great plot for my novel, isn't that why I'm here, to get involved in such actions?

Oh, don't worry about me; I'll look after myself. I've got a bulletproof vest!" Castle hastily replied, worried Beckett might not want him to tag along for the spectacle.

Beckett nodded, "Alright, just watch out for yourself. Let's go..."

"Command center, where are the robbers now?" Beckett asked the command center for the robbers' fleeing direction as she drove with flashing lights and a blaring siren.

"The robbers are now fleeing towards 67th Street on Broadway..." The command center provided the precise location from monitoring and the pursuing patrol officers.

"67th Street? That area is congested because of the Green Tree High School. Why would they head in that direction?

Unless..."

Castle carefully ensured his muttered words were audible to Beckett.

"Unless what?" Sure enough, Beckett took the bait.

"Unless they plan to drive right through the park on 67th Street. They're on the run, so they probably wouldn't mind driving over sidewalks.

Only this way could the robbers quickly shake off the police cars behind them.

That would explain why they chose to head towards the traffic-jammed 67th Street.

They probably

 want to use the congested traffic on 67th Street to block the police cars chasing them.

I think we could wait here... and catch them in the act!"

Castle opened his phone map, pointing at the intersection at 112th Street, and cunningly suggested to Beckett.

"Are you sure?" Beckett, realizing she wouldn't catch up with the robbers anyway, decided to try Castle's suggestion.

"Yes, I'm sure!!" Castle replied seriously, not a time for jokes, to strengthen his persuasiveness.

"Anyway, your little car wouldn't catch up with Vanessa and her crew. I'm just trying to let you see firsthand that the robbers are indeed four beautiful women!!! Laying the groundwork for the upcoming capture, hehehe..." Castle thought secretly.

"Alright, let's wait for them at the intersection of 112th Street. I sincerely hope you are right this time..." Beckett turned the steering wheel, directing the police car towards 112th Street.

Just as Beckett drove to the intersection of 112th Street and was about to check with the command center for the robbers' real-time location, she heard a series of urgent sirens approaching her direction.

Following that, a bright red BMW 760i sped out from the street crossing 112th Street.

It seemed Castle had guessed correctly again.

"Brace yourself..." Beckett saw the robbers rush past her car and quickly started the chase.

Unfortunately, after a wild pursuit, with Beckett's subpar driving skills and the old Ford police car, how could they match the skilled Vanessa and her crew in a top model BMW? Unsurprisingly, the chase failed again, and Vanessa, with her remarkable driving skills, shook off the encircling police and made a clean getaway!

"Damn..." Beckett, losing sight of the target, was furious and slammed the steering wheel hard.

Then turning to Castle with intense eyes, she said, "You got it all right, the escape route and even that the robbers are four women!

What now? How do we find them next?"

Watching the robbers escape from her grasp, Beckett was determined to put aside her prejudices and seriously consider the advice of Castle, the man with bizarre ideas who repeatedly guessed the truth.

After accompanying Beckett through a crazy chase, Castle, feeling a bit shaky on his legs, suggested, "How about we head back to the station first? I'm feeling a bit unwell!!"

Castle internally complained about Beckett's driving; who would have thought that the usually robust Beckett had such terrible driving skills? As soon as the speed increased, her handling was all over the place.

It seemed nobody's perfect after all!

Castle's speculation about the situation was still very accurate. As soon as they returned to the station, they saw a distressed-looking Captain Roy Montgomery waiting for them in the main hall.

"Beckett, the current situation is very unfavorable for the police. The media is blasting us for allowing the same group to successfully rob twice in three days. I just received a call from the higher-ups demanding that we solve this case ASAP, catch these robbers, and recover the stolen cash.

What do you think? Are you confident?"

Captain Montgomery truly seemed anxious; otherwise, he wouldn't have been waiting in the hall, not even allowing his trusted subordinates a moment to rest before speaking.

"Captain, Castle and I discussed some preliminary ideas on the way back, but right now, all we can do is stick to our original plan and involve all the patrol officers to look for that BMW.

Also, captain, the robbers are not men; they are four women. I saw one of the drivers myself, a blonde, South American type, and although I couldn't see the co-driver clearly, I'm certain the robbers are four women!!

Captain, we still have too little intelligence right now. Esposito and the others are just back from the crime scene, let's see if they can bring us some different clues."

"Female robbers? All four?" Montgomery was surprised.

"Yes, female robbers! Sorry, captain, my car couldn't keep up with them! They got away!"

Beckett was equally frustrated, but with too few leads, she could only helplessly apologize for the urgency.

"But captain, I promise you, I will catch this gang. I guarantee it!!!"

Beckett, always rising to the challenge, saw the immense pressure on Captain Montgomery, who had always valued her, and immediately reassured him.

"Yes, Captain Montgomery, we will catch them!" Castle also spoke up to alleviate the captain's stress.

Seeing Castle join the conversation, the captain reminded him, "Oh, Mr. Castle, you can follow Detective Beckett on this case, but please don't interfere with her.

Also, be mindful of your safety! The intelligence says those four robbers have powerful automatic weapons."

"Thank you, captain. I will be careful!" Castle promised adeptly, responding to the captain's intense

 mood.

After calming the captain down, Beckett stood in front of the large whiteboard plastered with case files to analyze the situation, while Castle sat beside Beckett's desk, pondering his own thoughts.

"Alright, Vanessa and her crew's second action has really blown this up, and the media is all over it.

Now, I just need to wait another day to let this issue ferment a bit more, then I can figure out how to help Beckett wrap this up.

But how do I convey this to her?"

Just then, Esposito and Kevin returned, unfortunately without any good news from the scene!!

Like the previous robbery, four individuals armed with automatic weapons executed a quick and clean bank heist, taunted the chasing police, and then vanished without a trace.

Having a rough idea of how to conclude this matter, Castle stood up, "Folks, I think it's pointless to stay here; I've decided to consult someone. Beckett, are you coming with me?"

Beckett thought it over carefully and decided that since she had just resolved to let Castle run wild with his ideas once, she might as well really follow his approach this time.

"Alright, I'll go with you..." Beckett made her decision.

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