webnovel

351. Chapter 351

After Rise

Episode 4.01

By

UCSBdad

Disclaimer: I don't remember if I own Castle. No, wait. I lied. I don't. Rating: K Time: See above.

"Buy you a drink, Castle?" Beckett seemed calm and collected, but on the inside she was close to panicking. He loves me. Of course he loves me. Everybody has seen that. Everyone but me, that is. And I love him as well. Correction. I will love him. I cannot love him until the wall comes down. I have to maintain some distance between us. But not the distance we had before. I have to let him know that I want the wall to come down. And that I will have the kind of relationship I want. With him. But can I make him wait that long? What if this takes years? What if I never…No! One way or another, the wall is coming down. I can do this. We can do this.

"Remy's?" Castle asked. "You buy the first round and I'll buy the second?"

"Sounds like a plan." Kate grabbed her coat and headed for the elevator with Castle right behind her.

I can do this. Castle thought. I can keep her safe. I can keep her away from her mother's case. And what if I can't? The thought came unbidden to his mind. Then I have another option. Just because I'm keeping Beckett from investigating her mom's murder, doesn't mean I can't investigate it. Whoever is behind this has probably got ties to law enforcement. Any move by Beckett to look into the murder would set off alarms. But, as I keep saying, I know a guy. Actually, I know lots of guys. Guys who operate off the grid and who like the shadows. If someone gets wind of them, the trail will lead back to me, not Kate. Okay, maybe the bastard who's behind this won't care. Maybe he'll decide to kill Beckett anyway. But, if I can find him, get iron clad evidence and present it to Beckett, he'll go down before he can do anything. Maybe. There are just too damned many unknowns. But what else can I do? I've got to help her get that wall down.

Once at Remy's, Beckett drank her wine and Castle sipped his Scotch.

"You were right." She said suddenly.

"Of course I was." He said with a smirk. "Um, would you mind telling me what I was right about?"

She smiled at him. That's the Castle I know. That's my partner. That's my friend. That's…a man I can have a future with. "When we arrested Dale Landers, I froze. I couldn't even raise my weapon. My hand was shaking. "

"It could have happened to anyone." Castle said quickly.

"It happened to me. And I could have gotten killed. Or I could have gotten Ryan, Esposito or you killed. I might have gotten Landers killed. He was an innocent man, although we didn't think so at the time."

"Nobody got killed."

"Which doesn't mean I didn't screw up. And I was almost as bad when we arrested Mitch Yancey. I wouldn't have made it if it wasn't for you."

"Like I said, that's what partners are for." Castle smiled at her.

She shook her head. "It works both ways, Castle. Partners don't ignore problems that could put someone else's life in danger. They don't need their partner to carry them through something that should be second nature. I screwed up, Castle. I needlessly put your life at risk. I'm sincerely sorry and I promise it will never happen it again."

"No need for an apology."

She shook her head slowly. "Yes, there is, and I apologized for it. Do you accept my apology?"

"Of course."

Kate breathed a sigh of relief. "Thank you." Apologizing to Castle is something. It's a start, but I have to remember that it only a start. This is just so damned hard. I need to keep Castle close, but not too close. I just wish…No! No wishes. I have to be real. I have to face facts.

They finished their drinks and Castle bought the second round.

After a while, Beckett spoke. "I've been reading up on Halstead and the fire."

"There's nothing there, Beckett. We've looked at it a hundred times. We've looked at Halstead. Not just the two of us, but Ryan and Espo. There's just nothing there."

"I know. It's just…I have to do something." I can't just sit and hope that wall comes down by itself. I know that'll never happen. But what the hell can I do?

Castle had an idea. "I read something once."

"I'm sure you did." Beckett teased.

"Someone said, "If you're not getting the answer you want, maybe you're not asking the right question."

"Oh, how very Zen of you, Obi Wan."

"What I mean is, maybe instead of looking for a crooked arson investigator, we should be looking at an arsonist good enough to fool a good arson investigator. Look at who the person behind this uses. Coonan was a professional killer who charged a hundred grand for a hit. Lockwood was a complete ghost. We never found out one damned thing about him. The same with his team. And the guy who shot you. He got ahold of a sniper rifle lost by a dead Navy SEAL, shot you and disappeared into nowhere. Whoever is behind this has got money to burn and can find and use the best. Why not hire the best arsonist on the planet for this. It makes more sense that trying to corrupt an arson investigator with no apparent weaknesses."

Beckett shook her head. "Castle, that's like looking for a needle in a haystack."

"No, it's like looking for a needle in a field of haystacks. But, everything we have indicates Halstead is an honest, competent arson investigator. If it's not him, we have to look elsewhere."

"And if I start asking about arsonists, then I have to go back to the FDNY. I'll bet anything my accusations against Halstead are all over the arson squad." Beckett said unhappily.

He shrugged. "So have Ryan and Esposito ask. There's no need for anyone to know you're involved, or that it has anything to do with your mom's case. And if you're not involved, you're safe. I hope.

Kate frowned. "Castle, this is such a long shot."

"I agree. This guy could be anywhere. He could be happily retired and living in Rio de Janeiro under a false identity and so far under the radar that no one will ever spot him. But what other options do we have?"

She slowly nodded. "You're right. Thanks."

"That's what partners are for."

Two days later, Rick Castle was sitting on a park bench in Central Park. An older man in a hoodie, a baseball cap and sunglasses say down on the other end of the bench and started working on his laptop.

"Nice to see you again, Jimmy."

"I'm retired, Mr. Castle. I'm a retired gentleman of leisure. And that's all. Even if it's for a book, I'm not interested."

"It's not for a book and I don't need you to do anything illegal. And I do want to pay you a lot of money for your trouble."

"How much?"

Castle named a figure. Jimmy whistled. "That's more than I ever got paid for…my services. What do you need?"

"I need someone to look into a fire that took place in 1999."

"Hey! It wasn't me."

Castle smiled. "I know, Jimmy. You were in prison from 1997 to 2002. That's one of the reasons I came to you."

"One of the reasons?"

"Mostly because you're the best."

Jimmy smiled. "What do you need, exactly?"

Castle handed him a file. "Look over this report from the point of view of a man…with your special talents. See if anything looks odd to you. Ask around and see if anyone knows anything about this Halstead. I'm pretty sure he's honest and competent, but maybe he has a blind spot or something. If you find anything, let me know. And I'll need you to nose around. See if anyone in your former…line of work might have been involved. And be careful. People who got involved in this have gotten dead."

"I am careful. I only got caught once because my client was an idiot who ran his mouth. Us retired gentlemen of leisure are like anyone else. We like to get together and chew the fat about the old days. No one'll know a thing."

Castle slid an envelope across to Jimmy. "For your expenses."

Jimmy opened the envelope and smiled. "You are a true gentleman, Mr. Castle. I'll be in touch."

Castle watched Jimmy walk away. No, I'm not a gentleman. I'm a desperate man in love with a driven woman. This is probably a waste of time and money. But I have to do something.

Author's note: This marks a half a million words in this series.