Evelyn

Chapter 33

With a crooked grin, Rick stares through the observation window at Roland's line up. "Your dad is really into the part. I don't think I've ever seen him look that mean."

"He might have when a member of a grunge band I was dating showed up to take me to a music festival. I think Dad had a few words with him that I didn't hear." Kate recalls. "Poor guy looked nervous the whole time we were out. Come to think of it that concert was our last date."

Rick studies Jim Beckett's face. "I can believe that. I'm glad I never got that look."

"Considering how Mom loved your books, I don't think Dad would have had the heart to do it. But he did ask me if I kept my off-duty gun on me when we started seeing each other away from the job."

"Hmm," Rick considers, "I may ask him for advice about what to do when Alexis gets serious with someone."

"You don't have to worry about that now," Kate asserts. "If she's serious about anything, it's databases and test tubes."

"Which is fine with me," Rick confides. "Ooh, L.T.'s bringing Armstrong."

"Take your time," Kate instructs the prisoner. "You need to be sure."

Roland stares through the glass as Kate goes through the standard routine, forcing herself to keep a straight face when her father steps forward.

"It's No. 4," Roland declares, identifying Jerrold Evans.

"You're sure?" Kate queries.

"Absolutely," Roland confirms. "He's the one who signed me up to deactivate alarm systems."

Kate nods, gesturing to L.T., "You can take him back to holding now."

"What about my deal?" Roland protests.

"I'll contact the district attorney's office and get you a sit-down," Kate promises.

"What kind of a deal do you think he'll get?" Castle asks after L.T. leads Roland away.

"I don't know," Kate admits. "He is going to help us put someone responsible for God knows how many deaths behind bars. We can still only get Evans on conspiracy, but given his age and the seriousness of the crime, he will still probably spend the rest of his life in prison."

"How about the murder of Mara and Paul?"

"I'll still grill him about that and see what I can get out of him."

Kate turns a laptop toward Jerrold Evans as she plays the video of him telling Connors about the device that he commissioned to flip cars. "Did you use it yourself, Jerrold, or were you the kind of coward you are now, sending in your lackeys to get the job done?"

"I'm no coward!" Jerrold insists. "I defended my home against invading scum."

"Invaders from where, Jerrold? What kind of invaders?" Kate demands.

"Guttermonk**s from their filthy nests."

"Like Michigan?" Kate presses. "Did you ever use your invention to defend the city against invaders from Michigan?"

"Maybe. Nice car, they probably stole it. Thieves get what they deserve."

"What about a little girl with her parents in that car from Michigan?" Castle interjects. "Did a little girl deserve to be attacked, to have her parents killed?"

"I saw a little girl wander off," Evans claims, "Maybe she was in the back seat or just saw the car. There wasn't any blood on her, and she didn't even look at me, just walked away. Mindless, like all her kind."

Rick can hear the banging of Montgomery's fist against the observation window. "You're about to find out just who is mindless," he spits out.

A.D.A. Eli Douglas puts his hand on Montgomery's shoulder. "Yes, he is."

With a sigh of satisfaction, Rick lays down his copy of The Ledger and takes a long sip of his favorite, if expensive, Kona coffee blend. "The story is just the bare-bones, but they didn't get any of the details seriously wrong. It looks like Eli Douglas is going to have a substantial role in taking Evans and his racist band down. That's karmic, isn't it? Evans murders Mara and Paul, but years later, through the memories of their daughter, Cousin Eli goes after the bastard."

"And Shaw and Avery put more notches on their belts, and the N.Y.P.D. got credit for uncovering a nest of Neo-Nazi terrorists," Kate notes.

"More than a little late," Rick responds, "but better late than never. And the best thing is that after all of it, you get a whole week off. We could go somewhere. Buried as deep as she is in forensics with a side of genealogy, Alexis will hardly notice we're gone. Mother can keep an eye on her, and she can keep an eye on Mother. That's worked out before. Normally, I'd suggest someplace tropical, but given the weather here this summer, I could do with some lower temperatures. How about New Zealand? In the Southern Alps, we could even ski this time of year."

"Sounds terrific. Oh, wait! Are you using this as an excuse to visit Hobbiton?"

"It did cross my mind," Rick admits. "But hey, it would be fun. And we could do both. What do you think?"

"I don't know, so many pieces of the case are still unfolding, I'd like to be here, or at least closer, to keep an eye on things. And we do only have a week. Going to New Zealand and back, we'd be spending a couple of days on planes. That wouldn't leave much time to play tourist."

"You're right," Rick concedes, "We'd be better off with a short trip – or no trip. We could hunker down here and drive ourselves to obliviousness with bad movies and evil snacks. We can also indulge in whatever other delights we care to experience in a love nest where my mother and daughter only make fleeting appearances. But if anything comes up on the case, we can break free of our languor, and you can get on top of it."

Kate traces her fingers down the line of Rick's back. "Would we stock up on that special dark chocolate you so lovingly lock away?"

"Absolutely, and I'll order another case of that red wine you love."

"Sold!" Kate declares. "When do we start?"

Rick's eyebrows ripple. "No time like the present."

"Have you decided about your trip to Minnesota?" Roy asks as Evelyn scrolls through photographs attached to an email from Sonia.

"I was thinking more of making it a family trip," Evelyn explains. "Eli said he'd like to go too. He's curious about a branch of his family he never knew existed. And the girls are coming up with all sorts of questions they want to ask their cousins. Evan will be back from camp by then, and you've got vacation days saved up. We could rent a minivan or something and drive. If you and I and Eli switch off driving, that shouldn't be too tiring. Or we could take the train."

"It could work," Roy muses. "I'll have to see about scheduling some time off. Oh, I got a text from Evan this morning. He picked up a nickname at camp. They're calling him 'Sticks,' because he's always drumming on things. He wants to take lessons when he gets home, and he wants to keep being called 'Sticks.' He saw some news about the case and isn't too crazy about answering to Evan anymore."

"I can't blame him for that," Evelyn responds. "He could always go by his middle name, Michael, after that old friend of yours, but 'Sticks' isn't bad. I wonder where he got drumming from. Neither one of us has ever wanted to do it."

"Maybe," Roy muses, "that's one of the things about this family; we'll find out."

Evelyn snuggles into his shoulder. "Maybe it is."

Finis

A/N I admit that when I started this story, I didn't intend to make it quite so topical, but things have a way of happening. Sooooo, my next one, still in this universe, will be called "Flu," as in the H1N1 pandemic that broke out more or less around the time Castle originally went on the air. I am not in any way, implying that COVID-19 is a flu. It most certainly is not. The viruses aren't even related. But they do both affect the lungs, and the H1N1, like COVID-19, was a novel virus with some unfortunate and unexpected symptoms. It also largely impacted an unanticipated population. So, I hope I'll see you tomorrow for "Flu." Love, Sally.