Ian 2

Chapter 82

Two Years Later

Even engulfed by her voluminous graduation robe, Fleur’s baby bump was not hard to discern as she mounted the podium to receive her honors emblazoned diploma. The Clarys had flown in from Martinique to spend two weeks attending this event and others that were cause for celebration that week. They sat proudly in the audience with Rick, Kate, Martha, Jim, and Amelia, who was trying her best not to squirm.

Ten days earlier, the same family group, with the abrasive addition of Sheila Blaine, had observed Ian’s commencement. Sheila’s distaste with Fleurs condition had been obvious, but fortunately, she had departed immediately after the ceremony, shoving a graduation card with a small check inside into Ian’s hand before she left. Ian immediately announced to the chortles of the rest of the family that the money would be used to purchase baby clothes.

When the speeches were over, Fleur and her cheering session retired to the Castle loft, where Jacqueline and Roger had been welcomed to stay by Rick, Kate, and Amelia. A feast had already been prepared, requiring only some reheating and final flourishes. Jacqueline had been especially enthusiastic in contributing to the spread with a dish for which she’d gauged the freshness of the main ingredient herself, at New York’s famous Fulton Fish Market. Amelia had teamed up with Ian to bake cookies utilizing the newly released Riton cookie cutter. Amelia also proudly drank from a Riton cup and stowed Riton fuzzy slippers under her bed.

“So, Jim,” Martha began the dinner conversation, as dishes were passed around the heavily laden table, “tell us about the work you’ve been doing with the international partners on Fleur’s Refuge from the Storms organization.

“It’s going very well, Jim reported. “A group from France was the first to sign on.” He nodded at Roger Clary. “We have you to thank for that.”

Roger shook his head. “Ce n'était rien.”

“It most definitely was something,” Martha interjected.

“Yes, it was,” Jim agreed. “We’ve had organizations from several other countries sign on since then, mostly from Europe, but there’s one from South Korea that has become involved as well. We expect them to be particularly helpful in providing technology like cell phones to facilitate communication.”

“Outstanding!” Castle commented. “And if I can help in any way, you’ll let Kate or me know.”

“You’ve already helped a great deal, Rick,” Fleur said. "When you wrote RFTS into your last book, we received inquiries and donations from all over the world.”

“RFTS is going to be featured in an episode of Riton,” Ian added. “The actor who voices him will be doing a PSA afterward, giving the website. That should attract a lot of attention too.”

“Speaking of attracting attention, aren’t you and Fleur doing the red-carpet tomorrow night for the release of the Riton DVD?” Rick asked.

Fleur smiled, shaking her head. “If Maman can help me let my dress out again. I thought with that design, it could flow over anything, but Olympe had other ideas.”

“After you told us what you are going to name the baby, I read up on Olympe de Gouges,” Kate said. “What an amazing woman she was, advocating for both improving conditions for the slaves and for women’s rights. I’d never heard of her before. I didn’t even know there were women playwrights in the 1700s.”

“She’s part of the history of French colonies like Martinique,” Fleur said. “I discovered a book about her when I was 13, and she’s been a heroine to me since then. I’m glad Ian is willing to go along with the name.”

Ian squeezed her hand. “I think it’s a great choice. I look forward to seeing our daughter live up to it.”

The grand ballroom at the Ritz-Carlton in Battery Park had been reserved for the release party of the Riton DVD. Since Amelia’s unfortunate abduction by the still hospitalized Arthur Seacrest, the Castle family had avoided limousines. Ian and Fleur arrived in a cab amid the stream of fancier conveyances. He helped her out and tucked her hand into his elbow to make their way as quickly as they could through the gauntlet of clicking cameras.

Once inside the hotel, he presented their invitation, which had been embossed with an image of the heroic dorlis and security ushered the couple into the affair. Fleur wobbled a bit as they made their entrance. Ian immediately put a supportive arm around her. Are you all right?”

Fleur nodded. “Bien, but could we sit down? I think Olympe knows we’re at a party. She’s trying to dance, and my back is a little sore.”

Ian assumed an expression he’d seen his father use to part crowds when Kate had been pregnant and steered Fleur to a table where several people were already sitting with offerings from the open bar. “You want me to get you a water?” Ian asked.

Fleur shook her head. “Non. I just want to sit for a little while.”

“OK,” Ian agreed.

Mack Richards took his place behind the podium and cleared his throat. “When Dark Force decided to start a junior bullpen, we didn’t know what to expect. Based on an obscure self-published comic called Baby Blaster…” Richards stopped while the room broke into applause. “Because of Baby Blaster,” he continued after the noise died down, “we decided to take on Ian Castle. Baby Blaster, particularly from a merchandising standpoint, was more profitable than we could have imagined. In her first Christmas, she made more in sales than any of the action figures of mainstream superheroes. Even at Dark Force, we couldn’t have dreamed how successful the next character created by Ian with an assist from his wife Fleur would become. Youngsters and adults everywhere eat Riton rice bowls and drink Riton shakes. Children cuddle Riton plush toys on five continents, and Riton comics and cartoons have been translated into 40 languages. The launch of this DVD represents only the latest triumph for our brave dorlis and his creators Ian and Fleur Clary-Castle.” Mack scanned the faces in the room and gestured toward the table where Ian and Fleur sat. “Could you stand please to receive the ovation you deserve?”

Ian looked at Fleur, who nodded. With a hand under her elbow, he helped her rise from her seat. The room erupted in sound. Ian helped Fleur back into her chair as the din died away. ”I see another creative force from our dynamic duo will soon be making an entrance into the world,” Mack commented, before continuing his speech on the anticipated sales for the DVD and future Riton comic books, cartoons and merchandise.

Ian’s brows lowered, and he raked a hand through his characteristically uncooperative hair. “It wasn’t necessary for Mack to mention the baby. How pregnant you are, isn’t really the concern of this crowd. Most of them seem more interested in his business forecast anyway. You can practically see the dollar signs in their eyes. I may use that look in a character in my next story.”

Fleur shifted uncomfortably in her chair, putting a hand on her belly. “But I think Mack may be right about Olympe being about to make an appearance. I just felt a contraction, and it wasn’t like a Braxton Hicks.”

Ian felt his breath force its way from his chest. He was really going to be a father.

.

Ian 2

Chapter 63

“Kate, you should take a look at this,” Castle called.

Kate clomped in from the bedroom, where she had just pulled on her boots. “What, Babe?’

“It’s a news story, not exactly a banner headline with all the political stuff going on, but good enough to make it as human interest. There was a cooler of organs dropped off anonymously at New York-Presbyterian, complete with the tissue typing records. The hospital confirmed the test results were correct and several patients signed waivers to receive the organs, even though there was an extra degree of danger attached because the provenance was unknown. One of the patients needed a liver so badly; she would have died in a few hours without the one from the cooler. I think this may be related to the body parts in the bin. There were no organs, right? And no head either? That cooler didn’t just have kidneys, a liver, and a heart; it had corneas. Those would have had to come from the head.”

“That’s a stretch, even for you.”

“Maybe,” Castle allowed, “but could you get Perlmutter to tissue type what body parts he has and crosscheck them with the hospital? I’ll bet that if I’m wrong, the chances of a match are pretty small.”

Kate shrugged. “I can try, Babe, but you know Perlmutter. It won’t be easy.”

“Kate, I have faith. You can make the most hardened criminal crumble. You can handle Perlmutter.”

“Ex-detective, you have been with that writer too long,” Perlmutter accused. “I’m assuming this is his idea?”

“It is,” Kate admitted. “But I am officially consulting for the N.Y.P.D., and I’m the one making the request. If you want to verify that with Captain Montgomery, I’ll wait.”

“I’ll do that,” Perlmutter huffed. He turned to her a few moments later as he hung up the phone. “It seems that Montgomery shares your acceptance of your husband’s fantasies.”

“Or my husband’s brilliance,” Kate suggested. “How long will it take to get results of the tests?”

“The tests can take weeks,” Perlmutter replied sullenly.

“During which time a lot of patients would die,” Kate retorted. “What’s the fastest you can get me some reasonable results?”

“There is a queue, you know, Mrs. Castle. Those are hardly the only tests I need to run.”

“Seeing that all your patients are dead, I don’t see why the tests can’t be moved to the front of the line,” Kate argued. “You’ve already heard from Montgomery, and I did play poker with the mayor and the commissioner, last week.”

Perlmutter threw up his hands. “All right! I should have something preliminary for you by tomorrow. Happy now?”

“I’ll be happy when I have some results,” Kate replied.

Jed Marsten sat by his wife’s bed. She was already looking a lot better. Her skin was less sallow, and the shadows under her eyes had retreated. She still had months ahead of her before she’d be fully healed, but she would be healed. That was all that mattered. That was all that had ever mattered.

The records of who’d received the other organs were confidential, but as a doctor, he’d heard his share of scuttlebutt. They’d all served a good cause. He tried as hard as he could to feel sad for the donor, but he couldn’t. He could only see life and death as inextricably linked. From rotting plants fertilizing new ones to the death of one man giving new life to so many, it was all connected. It all made sense. The universe was one big recycling center. Everything was part of a grand plan. He couldn’t feel guilty for his role in that.

Ian and Fleur snuggled beneath a blanket in front of the big screen television. Chick flicks were not usually his thing. He preferred a good sci-fi story, or swords and sorcery. Fleur usually liked historical dramas, but that Friday, she wanted guaranteed happy endings, and he couldn’t blame her. They could have gone Disney or Pixar, but romance gave them an excuse to cuddle. Not that either one of them normally needed one, but what happened at the park had a chilling effect on the kind of sexual play they had been having when Jody’s screams erupted. Warmth and closeness were all either one of them wanted at that moment --- and hot chocolate. They’d made it the classical way, carefully melting shaved chocolate on the stove and stirring in cream. It was thick and didn’t really need marshmallows, but they added them anyway, the sticky sweetness covering their lips. To add to the sweet buzz, they shared a plate of dark chocolate dipped cookies, left over from the Thanksgiving feast.

Ian watched the story unfolding on the screen. It was hardly an original plot. The protagonists had been high school sweethearts but torn apart when the boy received a scholarship to a school across the country, where his girlfriend would be unable to follow him. He had been willing to reject it, in favor of staying with her, so she broke up with him rather than do what she saw as ruining his future. Years later, both divorced, they met at a high school reunion. The old sparks flew, and they ended up getting married.

Ian couldn’t help thinking about how much time had been wasted. He’d been young during his father’s unhappy marriage to Gina, but he remembered pieces of it. He remembered how many times he’d come home to the lights off because his dad had a migraine after the two of them fought.  And even when he wasn’t in physical pain, Ian could often tell his dad was unhappy, just by the tiny lines around his eyes and mouth. Gina wasn’t happy either. Ian had decided that it could never be worth it to be with someone you didn’t love, and it was worth everything to be with someone you did. He could see that with his dad and Kate. And he could feel it with Fleur. He pulled her toward him, feeling the comforting weight of her head against his shoulder. Chocolate was great, but Fleur was better.

Dr. Sidney Perlmutter gritted his teeth as he picked up the phone to call Kate Beckett. He’d been hoping she was wrong, or more accurately that that crazy husband of hers was wrong, but the preliminary tests were finished, and they checked with the data he’d obtained from the hospital. It was possible that some factors wouldn’t match when the final results were in, but the odds were against it. He already had enough of a match that an emergency transplant could have been authorized. Claude Barger’s organs had ended up on the doorstep of New York -Presbyterian.”

Castle popped out of his chair. “So, I was right!” 

“You were, Kate confirmed. “But I’m not sure how much closer that gets us to Claude Barger’s killer. The traffic cams were a bust. There weren’t any close enough to the house to pick up any car that might have been heading there, and the only thing we have to narrow down the suspects from the cars caught by cameras further away is that the voice the neighbor heard was a male.”

“You have more than that,” Castle pointed out. “Those organs were removed and kept in transplantable condition, all of them. That implies a surgeon or at least someone with advanced surgical skills. Could you run the owners of the cars in the area around the time the neighbor heard the argument against the professions of the owners?”

Kate rubbed her hand down the length of her face. “The DMV doesn’t have that kind of data. We’d have to individually check the background of the owner of each car --- assuming their owners were driving the cars. It’s a long shot, Babe and a lot of work. I’d have to access the databases available at the precinct.”

“I’m pretty sure that Ian and Fleur are going to be here pretty much all weekend,” Castle said. “If they are willing to spend some of that time looking after Amelia, I can help.”