130. Chapter 130

After Secret's Safe with Me, Again

By

UCSBdad

Disclaimer: I've searched all over and I find no evidence that I own Castle. Rating: K Time: See above.

"Castle," the butler did it" is not only completely clichéd, but no one has butlers anymore. This is not the nineteenth century when everyone with a little money had servants."

"It's not clichéd! It's a classic. Doesn't it remind you of English country house murders? Creepy mansions with secret passages? Movies like The Thin Man from the '30s? William Powell and Myrna Loy? Glamour? Excitement?"

"Housemaids knees? Long hours and low pay?" Kate shook her head. "No one would be interested in a book where the butler did it. It wouldn't be real."

"Okay, but I don't want to write a book. I have to get out the next Nikki Heat and I'm…"

"Miles behind, as usual." Kate finished for him, giving him a quick kiss.

Rick kissed her back, stroking her long hair as they lay on his bed. "I bet I could write a short story where the butler did it that you'd like."

"Dream on, Castle."

"My dreams are all about you. And I will write that story, and you will love it.

Three nights later Castle called Kate into his home office. He smiled and showed her a sheaf of papers. "All printed out. I call it, The Adventure of the Scandalous Servant." He handed it to Kate, who sat and began reading.

I walked out of the elevator on the penthouse level. The front of the elevator was mirrored, so I stopped to check myself out. Yes! Ruggedly handsome, well dressed and with a devil may care smile. I was ready. I was always ready, of course. I strode to the door of the penthouse and rapped sharply on the door. There was a brief pause and the door was opened.

She was a babe, all right. Her baggy maid's uniform covered her up, but I could tell she was all woman. She gazed longingly at me with her hazel eyes. "May I help you, sir?" She asked.

"Detective Rock Rook, NYPD. I'm here about the murder and theft."

She looked around me to the hallway. "Don't you have more officers with you?"

"More officers?" I said with a killer smile. "What for? I'm all I need."

"I'm all I need?" Kate quoted. "You, may be all that you get tonight."

"Just read. No editorializing is needed at this time."

She sighed and took in my manly chest, slim waist and bulging biceps. She was hooked, I could tell. "Come this way, sir. Dr. Davis will see you now."

I followed her, watching the rhythmic sway of her hips. The penthouse was almost as nice as mine, although the décor was decidedly over-done. The doc had obviously asked his decorator to do the place up so that everyone would know he was rich. The doc himself was in his mid-forties, starting to bald and with a little paunch. He was dressed in a silk dressing gown and had a Laphroaig Scotch whiskey in his mitt. He didn't offer me one which was just as well. It was eighteen year old Scotch and I much preferred the forty year old Laphroaig.

"Mr. Davis, I'm Detective Rock Rook, NYPD. I'm here about the murder."

"It's Doctor Davis, actually." He said snottily.

"You have a doctorate in Ancient Roman pornography from a diploma mill in the Caribbean that was closed down by the fraud people years ago. So why don't we stick to Mr. Davis?"

He sneered at me, but didn't say a word.

"So how about you show me the scene of the crime?"

Davis led me to the kitchen where the dead body was. The knife in his back was a dead giveaway. "And this was?" I asked. I already knew, of course, but you never knew…

"Sordidson, my wine steward. I'm afraid he was stealing from me. I found a bottle of Chateau Brionne Rothschild, '39, in his quarters. It's the rarest, and best, wine in the world. When the Germans over ran France in 1940, the French destroyed almost the entire vintage. Only twelve bottles were spared. I owned four of them. Now I have only the one. He must have stolen and sold the other three."

"Any other people here?" I asked.

"Just Dumming, my butler. "

"Get him in here." I said quietly.

Davis glared at me again, but called his flunky in.

"So, do you have an alibi, Davis?" I asked.

"Certainly. I was with Kate in the library when we heard a scream. She's quite taken with me, the dear girl. She can hardly keep her hands off me."

"Is that true, Miss…" I realized I didn't know her name. A capital mistake in my book.

"Miss Kate Buckett. And I was with Dr. Davis when we heard the scream."

Davis looked smug, but Miss Buckett gave him a look that could have frozen lava solid. It didn't take much of a detective to figure out that she'd have no trouble keeping her hands off of Davis. It was Davis who couldn't keep his mitts off of her.

"What about you, Dumming?"

"I was in my quarters. I had to run past Dr. Davis to get to poor Sordidson."

"Just Davis? Didn't you have to run past Miss Buckett as well?"

He shook his head. "She was in the library."

"I told Miss Buckett to stay in the library. Whatever had happened, I thought it best that she didn't witness it." Davis interrupted.

"Is that what happened, Miss Buckett?"

"We heard the scream, and then Dr. Davis told me to stay where I was and ran out."

"Did you see Dumming go by?"

She shook her head. "No, Dr. Davis shut the door."

I nodded and smiled at her. I was glad she wasn't involved. "Well, the butler did it. Dumming, you're under arrest for Sordidson's murder."

"That's absurd!" Dumming said. "Doctor Davis saw me. I was nowhere near the kitchen."

I smiled coldly. "That's because he was in on it with you. Let me tell you what happened. Davis here has been stealing his own wine and selling it, then putting in an insurance claim for wine worth millions. Unfortunately for Sordidson, he figured out what was going on. He had to die."

"That's ridiculous! I demand you retract your idiotic accusations or I shall sue you!" Davis raged.

"As it happens I bought the three bottles of the '39 Chateau Brionne Rothschild when they went on sale. I was very curious as to how they came on the market." I smiled at the thought. "Now I have eleven of the bottles."

"You told Dumming to kill Sordidson, but he needed a bit of encouragement, a little liquid courage. So you gave him a glass of the eighteen year old Laphroaig you have in your glass. I can smell it on Dumming's breath and I can just catch a whiff of it on Sordidson. You have to get close to a man to knife him. So close you breathe on him, don't you, Dumming."

Dumming looked stunned. So, I went on. "Although Davis is holding a glass of Scotch, he has the '39 Brionne Rothschild on his breath. If you're a real connoisseur you can pick it out easily."

Dumming broke. "He was behind it all!" He screamed, pointing at Davis. "He told me I could have Buckett if I killed Sordidson."

"WHAT?" Buckett screamed. "You thought you could give me away to that…butler?" She yelled at Davis. "I quit!"

"Not necessary, Miss Buckett." I said softly. "Your boss is going up the river for good. Your job is gone anyway."

I called the precinct to have a couple of uniforms take Davis and Dumming in. While I was waiting, Miss Buckett walked over to me. "Detective Rook, sir? I know this is awfully forward of me, but I'd really like to go out with you. I know I'm just an unemployed maid, and you're world famous detective, chased by beautiful society women, models, and actresses. But I'd really like to go out with you. Please?"

I smiled at her. "You know, Kate, I think this could be the beginning of a beautiful friendship,"

"Oh, thank you, sir." She said with tears in her eyes. "You won't be sorry, sir. And I will have a memory to treasure for the rest of my life."

Kate put the last page down. "Castle, that's….horrible! It's wretched! It's awful! It's the worst thing you've ever written. It may be the worst thing anyone has ever written."

Castle nodded solemnly. "When I read it I thought it might just need a little something else, so I wrote this." He handed her a final page.

Epilogue

Miss Buckett was right. She would have a memory to treasure for the rest of her life. And the rest of her life would be with me. I had fallen in love with her as soon as I saw her. Somehow I managed to convince her to become my wife and I have never been happier.

Nothing in my life could ever compare with having Kate by my side. Always.

"Castle, that is so sweet."

"Do you like it?" he asked, whispering.

She smiled at him and nodded. "I love it."