Seeing the four men's shocked looks, Jack shrugged, indicating that any fool could have guessed what was going on.
He placed the cigar box on the table, motioning for them to help themselves, and then looked back at Castle, who was in charge of the storytelling.
The next developments were even more bizarre. During the court hearing for the additional indictment, Hal Lockwood was kidnapped.
Several stun grenades knocked everyone present, including Beckett and Castle, to the ground. Three armed men posing as bailiffs escorted him to the rooftop, where they boarded a helicopter and fled.
The getaway helicopter was later recovered at a New Jersey airport, but all DNA had been removed using a detergent.
With this development, the dark past of Commissioner Roy Montgomery could no longer be hidden.
The escaped Hal Lockwood broke into his home late at night and threatened to kill his entire family unless he turned over Beckett.
Meanwhile, Kevin and Esposito scoured through a mountain of old papers, searching for anyone who might have interacted with John Raglan and Gary McAllister.
They came across a veteran police officer named Mike Ivankovich, who had graduated from the police academy with John Raglan.
They visited the retired officer's bar, where they came across an old photo of John Raglan, Gary McAllister, and Roy Montgomery.
Kevin and Esposito, convinced that the long-respected Commissioner Montgomery was the mastermind behind the incident, engaged in a brawl in the bar's back alley.
By the time they remembered to inform Beckett, she had already been summoned by Commissioner Montgomery to the hangar where the helicopter had been found.
There, the black officer revealed everything to the female detective: he was the rookie officer who had accidentally killed FBI undercover agent Bob Amen during the gang-on-gang kidnapping case 19 years earlier.
John Raglan and Gary McAllister were Montgomery's trainee instructors and heroes.
Naive, he saw their kidnapping of gang members for ransom as an act of justice and joined in. It wasn't until the gunshot rang out during the robbery, leaving Bob Amen lying in a pool of blood, that the then-trainee black inspector realized what he had done.
But Montgomery wasn't the mastermind. Someone else knew what the three men had done and had the power to send them all to prison, but chose to demand the ransom.
Montgomery's exact words were, "He used that money to get to where he is now."
"So where has he gotten to now?" Jack wondered.
"He didn't say." Beckett shook her head, wiping away the tears. This was the first time Jack had ever seen the usually dashing female detective cry.
Montgomery also expressed her guilt over Beckett's mother's death. While the murder was the work of the mastermind, he was clearly involved.
He knew the truth all along, but remained silent for fear of being ruined and the power of the mastermind behind the crime.
Seeing Jack holding his head with a headache, Castle helped explain, "Montgomery said he knew Beckett's character. If you tell her the other person's name, she will go directly to him, but that would be tantamount to suicide."
Jack already knew what happened next. Before the killer arrived, Superintendent Roy Montgomery asked Castle to take Beckett away by force, and chose to stay alone, dying together with Hal Lockwood and his men in a state of atonement.
It's such a clichéd plot, I can't even begin to complain. While the whole thing seems ridiculous at first glance, it does make sense logically.
Roy Montgomery, consumed by guilt after Beckett's mother's death, took good care of her after Beckett graduated from the police academy and joined the 12th Precinct.
They developed a mentor-mentee relationship, which fueled Montgomery's desire to protect her after she discovered Beckett had been secretly investigating her mother's murder.
Jack concluded, "So, Commissioner Montgomery probably has some crucial evidence that could reveal the mastermind and deter them.
Perhaps there was even some kind of agreement, with Commissioner Montgomery keeping Beckett under surveillance to prevent her from uncovering the truth, and Commissioner Montgomery promising not to harm her."
"We think so too," Cassel continued, seeing the other three languidly silent.
The four had decided to keep the matter a secret, insisting that Roy Montgomery had died in the line of duty, letting everything return to dust.
In other words, until this moment, Beckett had given up on seeking justice for her mother through legal means.
"Alright," Jack checked the time. It wasn't too late, just after 9:00, so he looked at the female detective, who had once again fallen into a daze.
"So, no matter what, you're not going to give up on the pursuit of the truth, right? Even if they could send in new assassins at any moment, even if it puts everyone around you in danger."
Beckett, having regained her composure, fidgeted with these rather pointed words. She instinctively glanced at the clown duo across from her, then at Castle, her expression utterly conflicted.
"I don't know. I... No, you're right, but I can resign. I can carry on on my own."
Jack found it amusing. "Resign? Losing your police status means you lose all your resources, and it means they can target you with even greater impunity. Do
you really expect me to take over your case and finally uncover the true culprit, even after you've left a body lying on the street?"
Castle, standing beside him, seemed to have imagined something and shuddered. But before he could say anything, Jack briskly stood up.
"Leave this case to me. In exchange, please sign the film and television adaptation agreement for the 'Nikki Hitt' series as soon as possible. Chris has complained to me several times that your publisher's ex-wife is really difficult to deal with."
Castle couldn't help but cheer up when he heard this. Just as he was about to agree, he heard Beckett's protest, "This is my business, and has nothing to do with Castle."
Jack ignored her protest, winked at the great writer, and said to himself, "You all stay here tonight. Kevin and Esposito should not get involved in what happens next. It might get you fired."
Seeing that he was about to go out, Castle asked in confusion, "Where are you going at this time?"
Jack turned around and smiled mysteriously at the four of them, "Of course, I'm going to see Commissioner Frank Regan and talk to him about how long to suspend the three of you."
Hearing this, the three NYPD officers present all showed stunned expressions.
(End of this chapter)