[Castle] Ch: 78 [The Evil Twin Theory] (Patreon)

On the way there, Kate called Castle and gave him the address, telling him to meet them at the location if he wanted to see where Zalman Drake had been disappearing to for the past month.

By the time Travis and Kate arrived, Castle was already standing near the entrance with his hands inside his coat pockets and an expression that made it obvious he'd been waiting impatiently.

"Well, it's about time," Castle said. "I've been standing here for exactly eight minutes staring at a remarkably boring brick wall, which means we are either hopelessly lost or on the verge of discovering something wonderfully sinister."

Travis looked toward the building in front of them. "Wait, you beat us here and actually waited outside? Why? Couldn't find the door?"

Castle gave him an offended look. "I am perfectly capable of respecting protocol, Travis. Especially when there's no one around to appreciate me blatantly violating it. And I couldn't find the door." He spoke the last part in a low voice.

Kate walked past both men and checked the address Travis had written down. "Town car manifest matches. This is definitely where Zalman was dropped off."

The location looked like a dead end. A narrow passage ended against an old brick wall, with storage buildings surrounding it on either side. There wasn’t an obvious door, gate, or entrance that explained why Zalman had repeatedly traveled all the way out there.

Castle immediately folded his arms and studied the wall. "Secret magician's lair."

Kate glanced toward him. “You got that from a brick wall?”

"Zalman goes off the grid multiple times a week, rides the subway to the end of the line, and walks to a dead-end with absolutely no visible doors. Ergo: hidden magical lair."

Travis looked around. "Or he was just meeting a contact around the corner."

Castle shook his head with complete confidence. "Tragically ordinary! These are magicians. They live for theatrical architecture. I guarantee you there is a hidden lever, a trick brick, or a stone gargoyle whose eyes you have to poke simultaneously."

"Castle, there are no gargoyles," Kate said, shaking her head with a little smile.

"Which merely implies the trigger mechanism is much more sophisticated."

Travis walked toward the brick wall and knocked against several sections with his knuckles. "He might be onto something. Let's check for hollow spots."

Castle immediately joined him and started tapping different bricks. "Yes! We are officially knocking on the door of a secret lair. This is so much fun."

Kate ignored them and crouched slightly near the ground.

Several dusty footprints crossed the narrow passage. Most headed in ordinary directions, though one set went directly toward the brick wall and appeared to stop there.

Kate stood and followed the prints with her eyes. “Guys.”

Travis stopped knocking.

Castle turned toward her. "Please tell me you found the gargoyle."

Kate pointed down. “Footprints.”

Both men followed her gaze.

The tracks led directly into the wall.

Castle's eyes lit up. “Secret door.”

Kate approached the bricks more carefully and examined the surface. One brick near waist height had slightly cleaner edges than the others. She pressed it. "Open sesame!" 

Something clicked inside the wall.

Castle smiled triumphantly. “Secret door.”

A section of brickwork moved inward several inches before sliding sideways.

Travis looked toward Castle. "You are going to be completely insufferable about this, aren't you?"

"I deduced the existence of a secret lair within thirty seconds of arriving. I've earned at least a full day of gloating."

Kate drew her weapon before stepping through the opening. “Save the celebration until we make sure no one's waiting for us on the other side."

Travis followed her while Castle entered behind them.

The hidden room was much larger than the exterior suggested. Worktables were covered with magician equipment, mechanical components, ropes, locks, mirrors, trap boxes, false-bottom containers, stage blades, decks of cards, collapsible cages, handcuffs, escape restraints, and several partially assembled illusions.

Castle slowly turned in a circle. "Oh, this... this is magnificent."

Kate looked toward him. “Don’t touch anything.”

Castle immediately picked up a deck of cards.

Kate stared at him.

Castle looked down at the cards. "Technically, my fingers made contact before you finished the word 'anything'."

Travis had already wandered toward another table, where a polished wooden box sat beside several metal rings. He lifted the lid and found the interior apparently empty.

Castle joined him. “What’s that?”

“No idea.”

Travis pushed one finger against the bottom.

The entire interior shifted sideways and revealed a hidden compartment.

Castle leaned closer. "Ooh, a false bottom."

Travis smiled. “That’s pretty cool.”

Kate looked over from the other side of the room. "You two know I can see you, right?"

Travis immediately closed the box. "We are simply inspecting the evidence, Detective."

Castle nodded seriously. "With the utmost professionalism."

Kate shook her head and continued searching.

Castle picked up three linked metal rings and tried separating them. He twisted one, pulled another, then frowned when nothing happened.

Travis took them from him. “You’re doing it wrong.”

"And you're suddenly a master illusionist?"

"I know enough to recognize that yanking on it like a caveman isn't the solution."

Travis turned one ring, felt along the edge, and found a tiny break disguised inside the metal. He rotated it and separated the ring.

Castle stared at him. “You’ve done that before?”

“Nope.”

"That is intensely aggravating."

Travis handed the rings back and moved toward a table containing a mechanical hand mounted on a wooden base. He pressed a button, and the hand suddenly snapped forward.

Castle jumped slightly.

Travis laughed. "Gotcha."

"I didn't jump. That was a tactical flinch."

"You let out a very high-pitched yelp."

"I absolutely did no such thing."

Kate glanced toward the floor and noticed another pattern in the dust. 'Looks like tracks...' Two narrow parallel lines ran between several tables and disappeared toward the rear section.

She crouched beside them.

“Wheelchair tracks.”

Travis stopped messing with the mechanical hand and walked over. “Fresh?”

"Fresh enough to cut through the top layer of dust without settling."

Castle followed the tracks with his eyes. "So Zalman was having secret rendezvous with someone in a wheelchair."

“Maybe,” Kate replied. "Or someone in a wheelchair was working out of here."

They continued searching.

Near another workbench, Kate found several large sheets of paper covered with detailed diagrams for stage illusions. Some showed pulleys, hidden compartments, trap mechanisms, and measurements for custom equipment.

One design had been cut directly down the middle.

Kate placed the pieces beside each other, though several sections remained missing.

"These schematics... they look like pieces of a much larger puzzle."

Travis leaned over her shoulder. "Custom stage trick?"

Castle joined them immediately. "Without a doubt. Look at these dimensions. Whatever Zalman was building in here, you can't exactly buy it at the local magic shop."

A scraping sound came from behind them.

Kate turned instantly.

Travis moved at the same time.

The lid of a large decorative sarcophagus near the rear wall shifted outward, and a man stepped from inside.

Kate drew her gun and aimed directly at him. "NYPD! Let me see your hands!"

The man immediately raised both hands.

Castle’s mouth dropped open. “Wait! He’s alive?”

The man looked confused. “Who the hell are you people?!”

Travis studied his face carefully. “That’s not Zalman.”

Castle looked between them. “He has Zalman’s face.”

The man slowly lowered his hands a fraction before Kate tightened her grip on the weapon.

“Keep them up.”

He raised them again. "Okay, alright! My name is Edmund Drake."

Castle blinked.

Travis said, "The brother from Poughkeepsie."

Edmund nodded carefully. “Twin brother.”

Castle looked absolutely delighted by the development. "The identical twin brother! Just like The Prestige!"

Kate gave him a warning glance before he could say anything.

Castle closed his mouth, though the grin remained.

...

...

[12th Precinct]

Travis and Kate sat across from Edmund Drake inside the interrogation room.

Edmund looked tired and irritated as he leaned back in his chair. Kate placed several photographs from Zalman’s hidden workshop on the table between them, including the cut-up plans they had recovered.

Travis looked at him. "You want to tell us what Zalman was really doing out there?"

Edmund glanced down at the photographs before looking back at them. “I don’t know everything he was doing.”

Kate folded her arms. “You were inside his secret workshop when we found you.”

“Knowing where the door is doesn't mean he gave me the grand tour. He kept things to himself," Edmund replied. 

Travis leaned forward slightly. "Then tell us what you do know."

Edmund hesitated for a moment before answering. "Zalman called me a few weeks ago. Said he needed a quiet place to stash a lot of cash."

Kate’s expression sharpened. “How much money?”

“He didn’t tell me.”

“Where was it coming from?”

Edmund looked between them before letting out a tired breath. "He said he took a private gig, and the payout was strictly off the books. Way off the books."

Travis raised an eyebrow. "Illegal how? Murder? Smuggling? C'mon, give us something to go with."

"He just said it was off the books. And I knew he was going through financial problems, so I didn't push it."

Kate leaned forward. “Did he tell you who was paying him?”

“No.”

“Did he tell you what he was being paid to do?”

"No. Like I said, Zalman kept the mechanics to himself."

Travis glanced toward the photographs on the table. "What about these blueprints?"

Edmund looked down at them again.

“We found them inside the workshop,” Travis continued. “Somebody cut them in half. Can you look at the remaining halves and tell us what your brother was building?"

Edmund shook his head. “I can look at them, but I won’t be able to tell you much.”

“You grew up with him,” Kate said. “You must know something about magic.”

“Basic stuff, sure,” Edmund replied. “Zalman was the one who understood how the bigger tricks worked. He knew the mechanics, the construction, all of that. I don’t have the same skills.”

Behind the observation glass, Castle stood beside Ryan with his arms folded while watching Edmund through the one-way mirror.

Castle narrowed his eyes. "He's lying. I don't trust him."

Ryan glanced toward him. "Based on what, Castle?"

"The identical twin."

Ryan waited.

Castle continued. "Ryan, look at the board! Dead magician, secret lair, hidden trapdoors, and boom! Suddenly his exact genetic copy emerges from a sarcophagus?"

Ryan looked at him. "Yeah. Because it's his brother."

“That’s what he says.”

Ryan slowly turned toward Castle. "Castle, where exactly are you going with this?"

Castle pointed toward Edmund through the glass. "That guy in there? That is Zalman."

Ryan stared at him.

Castle became more animated. "The Ultimate Prestige! Zalman murders Edmund, dumps him in the water tank, assumes his identity, and walks away scot-free while the NYPD chases a ghost!"

Ryan rubbed one hand over his face. "You honestly think a guy drowned his own twin just to fake his death?"

“It’s a classic.”

“In movies.”

Castle lifted one finger. "Alright, fine. If you insist on being a killjoy, there is a secondary theory."

Ryan already looked concerned. “Of course there is.”

“Edmund is exactly who he says he is.”

Ryan nodded slowly. “That sounds more reasonable.”

"And he is the Evil Twin."

Ryan closed his eyes briefly. "And we're back."

Back inside the interrogation room, Travis continued questioning Edmund.

"Where were you the night your brother was murdered?"

Edmund gave them his answer, along with the information they needed to check it.

Kate and Travis asked several more questions about Zalman’s recent behavior, the money, and the workshop, but Edmund couldn’t give them anything that directly connected him to the murder.

They stepped out afterward and checked his alibi.

It held, and they also had no physical evidence connecting Edmund to Zalman’s death and nothing that gave them enough cause to detain him any longer.

A short time later, Kate opened the interrogation room door. "You're free to go, Mr. Drake."

Edmund stood and looked between them. “That’s it?”

“For now,” Kate replied. “If we have more questions, we’ll contact you.”

Edmund nodded and walked out.

Castle and Ryan emerged from the observation area almost immediately. Castle watched Edmund leave before turning toward Kate and Travis. He walked into the room. "You're just going to let him stroll right out the front doors?"

Kate looked at him. "We have zero evidence to hold him, Castle."

“His brother is murdered, we find him hiding inside a secret magician lair, and he just happens to look exactly like the dead guy.”

Ryan stepped beside Castle. “Because they’re twins.”

Castle pointed toward him. "Exactly! Which makes the 'Deadly Switcheroo' incredibly viable!"

Kate stared at Castle. "You are still on the 'Zalman faked his own death' train?"

"I'm saying we should keep our minds open to the theatrical arts!"

Travis leaned against the edge of the desk. “His alibi checks out.”

Castle waved that aside. "Fine. Then we pivot to Theory B."

Ryan sighed. "Ah yes. The Evil Twin."

Castle nodded immediately. “Exactly.”

Kate picked up the file and started walking away. “We’re not arresting someone because you’ve watched too many movies. Besides, the CSU is sweeping the workshop. Let them finish processing the scene, then we'll see.”

Castle followed her. "I'm telling you, Beckett, the Evil Twin trope exists for a reason! It's a foundational narrative pillar!"

Ryan walked after them and looked toward Travis. "Does he actually listen to the words coming out of his mouth?"

Travis gave Castle an amused look. "I'm pretty sure he enjoys the sound of his own voice too much to critically analyze it."