As Jack had said, once the dust settled, he'd still have time to buy a beautiful dress and a bouquet of flowers, and go visit his eldest daughter with Jubal.
While the little girl would inevitably undergo a painful bone marrow biopsy tomorrow, which would be confirmed to be a misdiagnosis, a false alarm was better than months or even a year or two of long-term treatment.
While medical advances have made both childhood aplastic anemia and childhood leukemia less incurable, the lengthy treatment process is still agonizing for both children and their parents.
Saturday had already arrived. Jack had no idea how Danny and his wife Linda's "wild night" went, but he and Hannah had certainly had a blast playing games last night.
Octavio was in prison, and the jury's verdict was still unknown, but at least his son had been saved; the surgery was a success. While the future held its own, it offered the family a glimmer of hope.
On Sunday morning, Hannah and Alexis, the beautiful daughter of the Castle family, had plans to go shopping. Jack was alone at home typing away. As he was typing away, his phone suddenly rang. It was Rick Castle.
"So, can you explain what's happening?" Jack spent a full ten minutes using a lockpick to open the Castles' high-security door. In the living room, he found the renowned author, his hands and feet duct-taped to a chair.
Half a sheet of tape still covered Castle's face, slumped over the glass coffee table, his face pressed against the phone, which was covered in the man's saliva. One could imagine how difficult it must have been for him to call him.
"It was just a character experience. I happened to be writing about my novel, Nicky Hitt, being tied to a chair and trying to figure out how to break free."
Castle wasn't surprised by Jack's easy access to his home. It seemed as if lock picking was a skill every FBI agent should possess.
"So you let Alexis tie you up like this before you left, without even considering the consequences of being unable to break free?"
Jack cut the tape from the clown's hands and feet, helping him pick up his wallet, which had been discarded on the floor. It was clear that Alexis had faithfully played the role of robber, emptying her father's wallet of cash before leaving.
"Calling for help is one option, isn't it?" Castle gritted his teeth as he peeled off the tape from his mouth, which was also covered in disgusting saliva, which he had just licked away with his tongue and saliva.
Jack wondered how he would apply this plot to his book's beautiful and sexy heroine, Nikki Hitt.
Castle hurriedly wiped his phone clean, scrolled through the messages, and began to urge Jack, "Hurry, hurry, do you have the car keys? We need to get to the Beaumont Hotel as soon as possible."
"Beaumont Hotel? We?" Jack was confused.
"Oh, come on. Beckett called me an hour ago, then sent me a message later. There was a bridesmaid murdered at a wedding at the Beaumont Hotel. Don't tell me you don't want to go see it?" Castle said as he put on his coat.
"Uh, okay," Jack shrugged noncommittally. His writing was already messed up anyway, so he might as well go see the fun.
The Beaumont Hotel is a five-star hotel in Manhattan, right near Central Park and within the jurisdiction of the NYPD's 12th Precinct, not far from the upscale apartment building where their families lived.
Entering the hotel lobby, Castle felt like he'd met old acquaintances. He warmly greeted the two detectives wearing NYPD badges. Jack wasn't particularly familiar with the detectives, but he had a strong impression of them. The detectives were Kevin Ryan, a skinny, short white man, and Esposito Javier, a burly Latino.
They were a lively and witty pair, professional comedians. They seemed to have become familiar with Castle and greeted him with equal enthusiasm.
The two were a bit surprised to see Jack, confused as to why an FBI agent was here. But as the saying goes, birds of a feather flock together—er, to be more precise, they shared a common love of gossip. After listening to his story about Castle's recent embarrassment, Kevin and Esposito simultaneously let out a vicious laugh.
"We were planning to send a search and rescue team after you."
"This is work, work, understand?" Castle retorted weakly, quickly changing the subject. "Where's the crime scene?"
"Sixth floor, let's go up together. We just needed to ask security for the guest information." Kevin raised a stack of A4 paper in his hand.
After reaching the hotel's sixth floor, the four of them stepped out of the elevator. Cassel, now in high spirits, began to inquire about the situation. "I heard the bridesmaid was murdered. What exactly happened? Did she die in her bridesmaid's dress?"
He and Esposito exchanged a knowing smile .
Kevin was relatively kind. "It wasn't that bad. It was a lavender chiffon dress."
"Come on, are you serious? It was lavender." Esposito, as usual, mocked his partner, this time questioning Kevin's taste.
Kevin remained unconvinced. "What's the problem? I have sisters too. Haven't you seen the dresses they wore as bridesmaids? They're awful!" He gestured for emphasis.
"Typically, bridesmaids' dresses are pretty awful," Jack, having attended several weddings, commented with experience.
"Really? Why?" Esposito, a single man, expressed confusion.
"That way, the bride looks even more beautiful." Beckett appeared before everyone, striding forward with his long legs, still as dashing as ever.
Castle perked up at the sight of her. "Aha, see? Every woman has endless fantasies about her wedding, even Kate Beckett. Can
you honestly say you've never cut a wedding dress out of a magazine?"
Beckett leaned in closer, her words spoken with earnest emphasis. "I've never cut a wedding dress out of a magazine."
"You're lying!" Castle turned to look at Jack. "Psychologist, she's lying, isn't she?"
Jack nodded slightly as Beckett turned to leave. The two clowns around him mercilessly mocked their female boss. "Right."
They followed Beckett into a guest room where several members of the forensic team were busy. A woman's body lay in front of a wardrobe. As Kevin had said, she was wearing a lavender chiffon dress.
A Latina medical examiner, round-faced, slightly plump, with curly hair, and a dark brown complexion, was crouching on the floor examining the body. She and Esposito shared a deep tan. Her eyes lit up with unconcealed amazement when she saw Jack.
"Do you mind?" Jack put on rubber gloves and squatted down in front of her, asking politely.
The female forensic doctor was slightly distracted, and only came back to her senses when Beckett coughed lightly. She quickly reached out and shook Jack's hand.
Jack took the initiative to introduce himself, "Jack Tavoler, FBI, a friend of Cassel and Beckett. Do you mind if I take a look at the body? I'm also very interested in forensic work."
The female forensic doctor smiled like a flower, and for a long time she didn't say anything, just nodded continuously.
"Is that forensic doctor Lanny Parrish? I heard Hannah mention you." Jack felt a little uneasy at the look in her eyes.
This female forensic doctor was Beckett's best friend. Although Jack had never met her before, since Hannah, Beckett and Stella from CSI became best friends, best friends naturally expanded their circle of friends.
"Oh, I remember, Hannah's handsome boyfriend." Lanny raised her hand and gestured to Jack to feel free, as if the body on the ground was not a creepy corpse, but something interesting.
(End of this chapter)