Looking at Esposito and his companion approaching with flattering smiles and rubbing their hands, Castle said seriously, "Yes, actually, when we caught those four female Brazilian robbers last time, I had this idea. You both know, the police cars you're using now are way too old. Who knows how many hands they've been through? The entire precinct barely has a few cars that are in decent shape. Like the one you gave me that day, the Dodge with the V8 engine—now that was pretty good.
I was thinking, since we've already upgraded the weapons and body armor, why not upgrade the cars all at once? That way, the Twelfth Precinct will have the best equipment in all of the NYPD!"
Esposito's smile widened until his eyes nearly disappeared. "Wow, Castle's really got the cash. Is he seriously suggesting upgrading the entire precinct's cars? Haha, I better hold on tight to this golden ticket!"
Ryan was just as thrilled, thinking, "Finally, no more driving those crappy cars! Castle, you're amazing!"
Castle's carefree, "money's not an issue" attitude made the two outstanding NYPD officers nearly bow in admiration. Just as they were about to shower him with praise, Castle casually asked, "So, what kind of car should I buy? Honestly, I thought that V8 Dodge I drove the other day was pretty good. What do you think?"
Esposito became serious. "Castle, you should know that the V8 Dodge isn't exactly the standard car we use. Most of our patrol cars are Fords. If you replace all our patrol cars with Dodges, it might cause issues with maintenance and logistics, and the headquarters could get upset."
Castle wasn't familiar with the NYPD's vehicle procurement process, but he listened carefully to Esposito's words. "So, what are you suggesting?"
Esposito, sincerely looking at Castle, who was clueless about internal police procurement, said, "I think it's best if you discuss this with Beckett first. As much as we'd love to get new patrol cars, it's ultimately up to the captain to decide. You wouldn't want to buy the cars only to find out we can't use them, right?"
Esposito's advice seemed reasonable, and Castle agreed to the suggestion without hesitation.
While the three of them were in the underground parking lot watching other officers unload goods from a truck, Beckett was in her office with Jones and Diana, seriously discussing the 3XK case.
No matter how focused the three were, they didn't make any breakthroughs in the case, which had only occurred the day before. When Castle came upstairs to say goodbye to Beckett, they still hadn't found any useful leads. This was to be expected. If finding clues were that easy, Jerry Tyson would have been caught long ago.
In fact, the only reason Jerry Tyson is currently in prison has nothing to do with his identity as a serial killer; it's for another reason entirely.
Castle went upstairs because he needed to come up with a plausible excuse to steer the investigation toward the path of the original show, where the police eventually track down Jerry Tyson's prison cellmate, who's actually the copycat. Only by doing this could he, like in the show, manipulate events so the police would need Jerry Tyson's help, reluctantly agree to his demands, and get him out of prison. Then, when Jerry Tyson thought he had everything under control, Castle would swoop in and deliver a fatal blow.
For that to happen, Castle needed to find a reason and an excuse to discreetly gather information on the current copycat killer without arousing Beckett's or, more importantly, the two federal agents' suspicions.
But now wasn't the time to reveal this information, especially not on the first day Jones and Diana arrived at the Twelfth Precinct. Castle needed to buy some time and conceal how much he actually knew about the case. So, when he told Beckett he needed to meet with a confidential informant, it sounded perfectly reasonable.
It also allowed him to temporarily get away from Jones and Diana, who were clearly tasked with observing him. Although Castle wasn't worried about them discovering anything incriminating, being watched all day was uncomfortable—especially since one of the agents, while attractive, wasn't into men. And, of course, Castle already had Beckett! So, if he couldn't beat them, he could at least avoid them, right?
Beckett, unaware that Castle just wanted to escape the silent scrutiny of Jones and Diana, assumed he was genuinely going to meet with his informants to gather intel. Focused on her case files, she simply waved him off without a second thought.
Jones and Diana could only watch as their primary target casually strolled out of the precinct. After all, they were there under the pretense of collaborating on the serial killer case and couldn't exactly follow Castle out of the station.
Outside, Castle carefully recalled the plot from his previous life but ultimately decided not to track down the copycat killer just yet. The guy wouldn't strike again this week, so Castle figured he had some time. Maybe he could visit Henry or Abraham for a bit. It had been a while since he'd stopped by to see the amusing old Jewish man, Abraham, anyway. Since there was nothing pressing, why not?
Castle decided to act on his whim and drove straight to Abe's antique shop. To his surprise, Dr. Henry Morgan was also there, despite it being work hours.
Castle's arrival caught the attention of both Abraham, who was fiddling with something behind his desk, and Henry. Seeing it was Castle, Abraham cheerfully put down his notebook and laughed, "Well, well, look who's here! Our great author finally found time to visit his friends?"
After hugging the enthusiastic Abraham, Castle greeted Henry, who smiled at him from a short distance. "What are you doing here, Henry? Day off?"
Even at home, Dr. Henry Morgan was impeccably dressed, exuding charm. In his classic London accent, he explained that he had just solved a case with his partner, Detective Jo Martinez, that morning, so he came home early. Little did he expect Castle to drop by right after.
The three of them went upstairs, where Abraham, without a second thought, closed the shop. After all, he no longer needed to run it for money—after Castle had given him a hefty 50 million-dollar payout, the two were financially free. Abe decided that chatting with Castle was more important than running the store for now.
Upstairs, Castle casually shared his recent accomplishments. When Henry and Abraham learned that Castle had become a shareholder in the third-largest arms manufacturer in the USA, even they, knowing Castle's penchant for wild ventures, were stunned.
Castle hadn't come with any particular agenda; he simply wanted to catch up with Abraham. Running into Henry was a pleasant surprise. It wasn't until Henry pressed him for details that Castle mentioned working with Beckett on the 3XK case, which immediately piqued Henry's interest.
Castle learned that Henry had been following the 3XK case for over four years. He had been deeply interested in the serial killer who had claimed so many victims across the country. Now that this case had fallen into Castle and Beckett's lap, Henry's eyes lit up with excitement. It was then that Castle realized how much Henry had changed. Ever since Castle had helped him reunite with Abigail, removing the long-standing burden from his heart, Henry had become much more open, no longer the somber figure he once was.
Could it be that Henry and Jo Martinez's relationship was developing?
The ever-curious Castle didn't hesitate to ask. But as soon as the words left his mouth, Henry's expression darkened, and Abraham burst into laughter. "Ha! Castle, you don't know, do you? Jo's currently being pursued by a billionaire. Henry here is none too happy about it, and you just had to rub salt in the wound!"
Abraham didn't hold back, ruthlessly spilling the gossip, while Castle, who had watched Forever in his previous life, immediately understood the situation. Apparently, the billionaire had already met the widowed Jo and was actively pursuing her, recognizing her as a tall, leggy beauty!
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